Zook’s Top 50 Albums Thread! v. A New #1 Has Been Crowned

[Zook]

Finally the wait is over! Greetings and welcome to Zook’s Top 50 Albums Thread of brutal brutalitary brutalness*.

I don't have nearly as many CDs as some of you folks, but it was still hard trying to pick 50 and rank them. Some of these albums I really don't listen to a whole lot anymore, but have had a big impact on my life and helped shape my musical tastes. Although, since constructing this list, I have gotten back into old favorites. Writing was never a strong point for me as I've already ran out of things to say, so let's dive right in, shall we?

*brutalness may vary

Coming in at #50:













50. Sarah McLachlan – Afterglow (2003)



Canadian singer/songwriter Sarah McLachlan isn’t new to me, as I’ve heard her music everywhere for years, but I didn’t really get into her (lol) until last year when I heard Into The Fire at local CD store Zia. But that song isn’t on Afterglow so who gives a crap? Anyway, to me, Afterglow is the most consistent of her albums with no snoozefests on them. Arguably, Drifting could be put into that category, but it’s not a bad song by any means. The songs on Afterglow range from upbeat to McLachlan’s trademark ambient folk whatever. I AM A MUSIC MAJOR I SWEAR. (I’m not) But seriously, if you like soft, folkish, contemporary rock, you should check this album out. The first three tracks, Fallen, World On Fire, and Stupid are a nice 1-2-3 punch (a soft punch mind you) with Stupid being my favorite song on the album. This album is pretty mellow, but has plenty of soothing melodies and hooks to keep even a new listener intrigued. Oh and that guttural scream she does in Answer is fucking insane! 

Recommended tracks: Stupid, Trainwreck, Answer, World On Fire, Fallen



49. Green Carnation – Light Of Day, Day Of Darkness (2001)




What can I say about this album? Well, it’s a 60 minute song! And it keeps you interested the whole time! How many bands can accomplish that? Probably a lot, I don’t know. Light of Day, Day of Darkness takes you on one hell of a journey and doesn’t let up until the 30 minute mark where a siren won’t shut up for 5 minutes, but after that, it’s back to the onslaught of dark doomy progressive metal. The pacing of this song is great and it really doesn’t feel like an hour has passed with all that’s going on in the song. 16:22 - 18:00 is my favorite part of the whole song. It's intense and The keyboards on this song are great as well. They create an amazing atmosphere. Also, those concerned with the vocals, they are 99% clean with only two quick sections that are screamed/growled with a total of two words. They happen so quick that even those who despise harsh vocals shouldn't have a problem with them. Check it out!

Recommended tracks: Light Of Day, Day Of Darkness



48. Def Leppard – Pyromania (1983)




I only bought this album recently, and have only heard the singles from it, but I always enjoyed them. My older brother was a big Def Leppard fan back in the day and owned this on cassette, so I was exposed through radio as well as family. So once I popped this in the ol’ CD player, I was immediately taken back by just how good the whole thing was. After not hearing these songs for years, still remembering the words to some, and being introduced to the other songs on the album, it was clear that this album would become a favorite of mine. It seriously rocks. Sure it’s a bit poppy, and cheesy, but the guitars shred it up and as a whole, Pyromania is catchy as fuck.

Recommended tracks: Foolin’, Too Late For Love, Rock Of Ages, Die Hard the Hunter

[Dr. DTVT]

You mean you can only recommend one song from that album?  Lame

Not familiar with 50, but GC is awesome and I grew up listening to Def Leppard, so I'll call it a good start.

[TAC]

How are the vocals on Green Carnation?

Nothing wrong with old Def Leppard.

[Dr. DTVT]

How are the vocals on Green Carnation?

Not cookie monster, if that's your concern.

[ariich]

Didn't really expect to see Sarah McLachlan in here, but Afterglow is a lovely album, great start!

[Zook]

How are the vocals on Green Carnation?

I updated the description for you.

[Big Hath]

I actually have Surfacing from Sarah McLachlan - listened to it A LOT during college.  It was the favorite cd of a girl I fancied, so that was part of it, but I did enjoy the music.


Hey Zook, would you mind including the release year of each album?  It makes it much easier to input into my top 50 database.

[Jaffa]

it’s back to the on slot of dark doomy progressive metal

Was that intentional?

[Lowdz]

Love Pyro, probably their best. The deeper tracks are best and are the ones you've highlighted pretty much. love Stagefright too but always thought it should have opened the album.

Listening to GC now, not a band I've heard of but it sounds interesting. In a good way.

The folk music you can keep 

[Unlegit]

Def Leppard niceee. I personally prefer Hysteria, but Pyromania is my second favorite album by them. Don't know the other two choices.

[Zook]

it’s back to the on slot of dark doomy progressive metal

Was that intentional?

No. I'm just dumb...



I MEAN YES!

[Zook]

Hey Zook, would you mind including the release year of each album?  It makes it much easier to input into my top 50 database.

No probs.

[Elite]

Nice start, following!

[senecadawg2]

Awesome, should be an interesting list. I haven't ever listened to Green Carnation, but your write-up makes it sound very interesting.

I was surprised to see the most brutal of all singer/songwriters, SM, at number 50.

[LieLowTheWantedMan]

Been forever since I've given Light of Day, Day of Darkness a listen. Love that song tons. Pretty easy to listen to for a 60 minute song.

[jingle.boy]

Following.  Pyromania makes it a good start.

[Zook]

47. Linkin Park – Hybrid Theory (2000)



Linkin Park were certainly a surprise to me and for many a breath of fresh air. I was never a big fan of rap, but the whole concept of blending rap and rock together (something that wasn’t new, mind you) just seemed to work with these guys. The heaviness, the screams from Chester Bennington, those angsty lyrics, the melodies and even Mike Shinoda did a good job with his rap sections. He didn’t screw that up until Meteora. Hybrid Theory is an album you can blast in the car and sing along to. To me, this album is still their best and I don’t think they can ever top it, especially with the direction they’ve gone. I guess the only down side is that the bass is barely audible, but that would become the norm among nu-metal bands. I actually traded this album in years ago, and a few months ago something sparked my interest in them again, and after buying it again I realized what a mistake it was to get rid of it in the first place. Most people here don’t like nu-metal and for good reason, but Hybrid Theory stands above the others as one of the better albums in the genre.

Recommended tracks: Papercut, Points Of Authority, Runaway, By Myself, Pushing Me Away



46. 3 Doors Down – The Better Life (1999)



Nu Metal was a rising force by the end of the millennium (and would soon completely dominate), but one band decided to do things a little differently: they would make a normal rock album! 3 Doors Down’s first single Kryptonite exploded on the radio and MTV (back when they still played videos… sometimes) and although Kryptonite is their most well known song, most of the other tracks on The Better Life are better. One thing to note about this album is singer Brad Arnold who also played the drums as well. Cool story bro. The Better Life is full of upbeat, catchy rockers that’ll have you banging your head and throwing the devils horns in the air. 3 Doors Down have been known to have the craziest mosh pits at their concerts. That last part may or may not be true. Unfortunately 3DD would get softer and softer with each new release and become the Nickelback of contemporary rock, but The Better Life is alternative rock at its finest.

Recommended tracks: Duck And Run, Not Enough, Life Of My Own, By My Side



45. Alyson Avenue – Presence Of Mind (2000)



Nightwish fans might recognize this band as it’s Annette Olzon’s first band before joining Nightwish as their new singer, replacing Tarja Trurnrununrun. Alyson Avenue can be described as Pat Benatar meets good music. I’ve always had a fondness for the 80s rock sound (not to be confused with the new wave british sound) and Presence Of Mind hones in on that with perfect execution. Every song on the album could be a hit. Annette sounds great as her voice fits the AOR pop sound perfectly and I can imagine her doing that sexy dance she does in Nightwish’s Amaranth music video. This album certainly isn’t for everyone, not even Nightwish fans it would seem, but if you’re a fan of AOR bands with that 80s flare and nothing but great hooks and melodies, check out Alyson Avenue.

Recommended tracks: You can't go wrong with any of them. My favorite on the album is One Touch.

[Lowdz]

Not interested in LP or 3DD but the Alyson Avenue is good. Nice choice.

[jingle.boy]

I'll second you on the LP and 3DD, but I don't know AA.  Will check it out though.  Annette in an AOR/pop setting sounds intriguing.

[Jaffa]

The Better Life is a great album, although I disagree with you about most of the songs being better than Kryptonite.  Despite overexposure to that song, I love it to pieces.

Also, Hybrid Theory.   

[TAC]

3DD is a band that seems pretty good. I just wished I like them more.

[Zook]

The Better Life is a great album, although I disagree with you about most of the songs being better than Kryptonite.  Despite overexposure to that song, I love it to pieces.

Also, Hybrid Theory.   

Over exposure is part of why I like the other songs more, but more so it's because the other songs are better.


44. Nightwish – Imaginaerum (2011)



Speaking of Annette, here we have Nightwish’s magnum opus, Imaginarium or Imaginaerum. I never had a problem with Tarja, and I like their past albums, but they’re very inconsistent. I wasn’t much of a fan of Dark Passion Play though, but that had nothing to do with Annette. The songs just weren’t interesting, besides the first 3. Imaginaerum is the first Nightwish album where I think every song is great. Even the intro track, but that has a lot to do with the orchestration, which is one of Nightwish’s finest qualities. I love good Symphonic Metal, and Nightwish delivers in that regard. Even bassist Marco has stepped up his game surprising me with a side of his vocals I never heard. Epic is definitely the word to describe this album, with many different styles throughout, including an upbeat circus like section in the vein of Haken as well as an almost lounge style song. There is a spoken word section at the end of Song Of Myself which lasts a good 6 minutes, but with the beautiful music underneath, it moves along pretty quickly. If you like heavy symphonic metal, check this out. You won’t be disappointed.

Recommended tracks:  Storytime, Slow Love Slow, I Want My Tears Back, Last Ride Of The Day, Song Of Myself



43. Judas Priest – Painkiller (1990)



After two WTF albums by Heavy Metal giants, Judas Priest, they returned with the heaviest album they will ever make. Granted, besides Turbo and Ram It Down, it’s also the cheesiest album they will ever make. But that’s OK. It fucking slays. I’ve known about JP for a long time, hearing their singles on the radio, but I didn’t delve into their discography until probably 2005 maybe. I bought the Remasters Box set which included Painkiller with it and was blown away by how fucking heavy it was. From the opening drum fill of Painkiller, this album dominates. Any doubts JP fans had about them not being Heavy Metal again were gone once they pushed play. Leather Rebel has some insane riffage with great double bass drums accompanying it. Rob Halford proved at the time he was still the king of metal vocalists with his blistering shrieks and wails with one moment in the ballad A Touch Of Evil that’ll give you goosebumps. The closing track, One Shot At Glory is a stand out for me with an epic solo section and even more epic final vocals by Halford. If you like Heavy Power metal, you’ll love this one.

Recommended tracks: Painkiller, Leather Rebel, A Touch Of Evil, One Shot At Glory



42. Stone Sour – Come What(Ever) May (2006)



My brother recommended this album to me, so I listened once and didn’t like it. Months later I decided to check it out again on my own accord and was taken aback. This album is really good. The first track, 30/30-150 starts the album off with a bang with kick ass drumming from Godsmack drummer Shannon Larkin who sadly only appears on this song. The album continues the metal with the title track and Hell & Consequences before slowing down for the first ballad of the album, Sillyworld. Although the next song, Made Of Scars has some pretty silly lyrics about showing off scars, it’s still a good rocker. Same can be said for the other songs. I was so sick of Through Glass being played on the radio constantly, but somehow I liked it again once I heard it on the album. Weird. Besides 30/30-150, the best song on the album by far is Zzyzx Rd., A ballad about singer Corey Taylor’s time recovering from alcoholism. Zzyzx Rd is full of genuine emotions that have brought me to tears on occasion. Very moving. Come What(ever) May is a great Alternative Metal album with great grooves and melodies. There’s cussing on this album but it’s not distracting or anything.

Recommended tracks: 30/30-150, Hell & Consequences, Reborn, Socio, Zzyzx Rd.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Now for a few Honorable Mentions in no particular order:

Dream Theater - Train Of Thought (2003)
Balls and chunk galore, a great shredfest, perfect for blasting in the car, but not quite top 50 material, thanks to As I Am.

Nevermore - Enemies Of Reality (2003/2005)
This album would have made my list, but there are a couple tracks I'm not too fond of. As for the rest of the album? Holy shit. Andy Sneap's 2005 remix made this one of the best, and heaviest sounding albums I've ever heard. Heavy fucking metal.

Megadeth - Youthanasia (1994)
Although Megadeth continued to move away from thrash, their mainstream sound was still pretty heavy. An album full of catchy metal tunes, awesome riffage and loud bass.

More to come tomorrow!

[Nekov]

Painkiller 

[adace]

I love Painkiller and Imaginaerum. Awesome picks!

[Jirpo]

Wow, props for updating so fast. Really love Afterglow, Green Carnation and Painkiller so nice one

How many bands can accomplish that? Probably a lot, I don’t know.

[senecadawg2]

Judas Priest and Nightwish 

[jjrock88]

I've never seen Sarah Maclaclan and Judas Priest mentioned together in any capacity anywhere.

[Jaffa]

Imaginaerum is utterly fantastic.

[Kwyjibo]

I think that the Stone Sour album ist great  I like it a lot. Sadly the other ones (by Stone Sour) didn't quite meet my expectations.

[Zook]

I've never seen Sarah Maclaclan and Judas Priest mentioned together in any capacity anywhere.

Really? That's weird. They're two of the greatest progcore bands around.

I think that the Stone Sour album ist great  I like it a lot. Sadly the other ones (by Stone Sour) didn't quite meet my expectations.

Their self titled is pretty good, but Audio Secrecy was a huge letdown.

[Zydar]

I'm not really into "hair metal" but Pyromania is a damn fine album.

Both Painkiller and that Stone Sour album is great too

[Kwyjibo]

Their self titled is pretty good, but Audio Secrecy was a huge letdown.

Yeah, the debut is pretty decent but compared to Come What(ever) May it's not as good. Audio Secrecy was mainly crap.

Also Pyromania is great, the last hard rocking album by Def Lep and although I don't know Green Carnation, your writeup got me interested, may try it some day.

[wolfking]

Following.

Green Carnation and Priest 

Their self titled is pretty good, but Audio Secrecy was a huge letdown.

Yeah, the debut is pretty decent but compared to Come What(ever) May it's not as good. Audio Secrecy was mainly crap.

I thought Audio Secrecy was fantastic.

[Lowdz]

Big Priest fan here but Painkiller is 50/50. The drum work really hits hard. Seems a bit heavy for the sake of it though.

Not a big Nightwish fan. Prefer Within Temptation but the whole genre is a bit samey to me. Not really given Imaginarium much time yet.

Love the megadeth album you gave an honourable mention. not a fan of the earlier stuff (and hated Mustaine) but Youthanasia is great. Enjoyed Cryptic Writings and Risk too.

[TAC]

Painkiller 

What a great album. Scott Travis brought so much life back into this band.

Love the megadeth album you gave an honourable mention. not a fan of the earlier stuff (and hated Mustaine) but Youthanasia is great. Enjoyed Cryptic Writings and Risk too.

I remember Megadeth losing me with Youthanasia. A couple of years ago, I went back and revisited it, and yes, it is very good. But I remember hating it when it came out.