Back when I joined DTF, it seemed like the ultimate goal to write out your own top 50 albums thread and so I did, more than 4 years ago. I put myself on the waiting list and created a list of what were, to me, the best albums ever recorded. Of course, I hadn't heard a whole lot and as such, that list became outdated the moment I started listening to other music, more music. A year later, I created another top 50 albums thread, a list that contained 50
different albums from the first. While making that one I actually realised that one’s tastes really can’t captured by a list of any kind, because tastes change (drastically) over time and on different days I could fancy something else completely. The intention with the second list was to eventually merge both my first list (which is hugely outdated nowadays) with the second to create a 100-album list that would be the best account of my tastes. I didn’t do it in the end, because frankly, I completely suck at ranking stuff like this. This realisation has kept me from doing a third list for a long time – 3 years to be exact. But now the time has come to finish what I started.
This will likely be the last list I will make, at least for the next couple of years. As stated, I find it incredibly difficult to put together a list like this and I hope it actually does my tastes a little justice. It’s been three years since the last, I listen to different music now than I did three years ago, I’ve heard a lot of new stuff and all of that complicates composing a list like this one. Three years ago I was heavily into progressive metal, nowadays I’m not so much anymore, I prefer concise song-writing to the usual ‘prog-wank’ that is apparent in lots of bands from the scene. That said, there’s a bunch of albums on here I just could not leave off, for nostalgia’s sake, but also because they’re just too good.
Without delving too deep into the problems of creating a list like this, there’s a couple of things I need to get off my chest before I even start this. And those things are the following:
- selecting just 50 albums is an absolute crime. I have a library of over 600 albums to choose from and those are just the albums I own or have saved on Spotify. I have heard much more music I don’t even have saved.
- I listen to quite some different music, although my roots are in the prog/metal. How do you adequately rank an album that’s completely different next to a bunch of prog/metal albums?
- really, the ranks from, say #10 to #40 could almost always be interchanged. There’s no real reason why I like album #34 more than #35. It’s arbitrary and the difference between places is minimal. The top 12 is something I’m really certain about, but the rest can fluctuate from day to day. For that reason, if there’s bands or albums I have forgotten at the time of writing this, that’s a shame. This list is therefore not a perfect representation of my tastes, but I think it comes close.
- I love diversity in lists like these
This has led me to the following:
- doing 50 albums was too hard, I’m doing a main list of 50, with 10 honourable mentions
- one album per artist on this list. That’s right, 50 different artists
- no live-albums, compilation albums or EPs. What a shame, I had to leave some great stuff out
- no classical music
- all write-ups will be done in the same manner; I’ll write something about the artist, about the album and name my favourite songs from the album. I’ll also give a suggestion for my second favourite album by said artist
Random facts about this list:
- oldest album from 1966, newest from 2015
- almost all albums have lyrics in English, there’s a few exceptions
- decade representation:
2 albums from the 60’s (4%)
6 albums from the 70’s (12%)
9 albums from the 90’s (18%)
23 albums from the 2000’s (46%)
10 albums from the 2010’s (20%)
- best represented year is 2001, with 6 albums
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The list so far:Honourable mentions:
Shining – Blackjazz (2010)
Protest the Hero – Fortress (2008)
Dan Swanö – Moontower (1999)
Royal Hunt – Paradox (1997)
Beyond the Bridge – The Old Man and the Spirit (2012)
Euzen – Metamorph (2015)
Theodor Bastard – Vetvi (2015)60. Metallica - Ride the Lightning (1984)
59. Gojira - From Mars to Sirius (2007)58. Headspace - I Am Anonymous (2012)
57. Agalloch - The Mantle (2002)56. The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Are You Experienced (1967)
55. The Fall of Troy - Manipulator (2007)54. Neal Morse - ? (2005)
53. Toxik - Think This (1989)52. Symphony X - V: The New Mythology Suite (2000)
51. Seventh Wonder - Mercy Falls (2008)---
50. Beardfish - Mammoth (2011)49. Schizoid Lloyd - The Last Note In God's Magnum Opus (2014)48. The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)47. Circus Maximus - Isolate (2007)46. The Mars Volta - De-Loused in the Comatorium (2003)45. Boudewijn de Groot - Voor de Overlevenden (1966)44. Arcade Fire - Funeral (2004)43. Mastodon - Crack the Skye (2009)42. Caligula's Horse - Bloom (2015)41. The Dandy Warhols - Thirteen Tales From Urban Bohemia (2000)40. Eisley - The Valley (2007)39. Sublime - Sublime (1996)38. Alice in Chains - Dirt (1992)37. Converge - Jane Doe (2001)36. Ayreon - The Human Equation (2004)35. Flaming Row - Elinoire (2011)34. Yes - Close to the Edge (1972)33. David Bowie - Hunky Dory (1971)32. Jolly - The Audio Guide to Happiness (2012 & 2013)31. The Ocean - Pelagial (2013)30. Karnivool - Sound Awake (2009)29. Spock's Beard - The Kindness of Strangers (1998)28. Steven Wilson - Insurgentes (2009)27. Wishbone Ash - Argus (1972)26. Thrice - The Alchemy Index (2007 & 2008)25. Shadow Gallery - Legacy (2001)24. Bruce Springsteen - The Wild, the Innocent and the E-Street Shuffle (1973)23. Devin Townsend - Terria (2001)22. Riverside - Anno Domini High Definition (2009)21. Anathema - We're Here Because We're Here (2010)20. The Dear Hunter - Act II: The Meaning Of, And All Things Regarding Ms. Leading (2007)19. Between the Buried and Me - Colors (2007)18. Agent Fresco - Destrier (2015)17. Pain of Salvation - Remedy Lane (2002)16. King Crimson - Red (1974)15. Haken - Aquarius (2010)14. Radiohead - OK Computer (1997)13. Transatlantic - Bridge Across Forever (2001)12. Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon (1973)11. maudlin of the Well - Bath (2001)10. Obsidian Kingdom - Mantiis (An Agony in Fourteen Bites) (2014)9. Porcupine Tree - Signify (1996)8. dredg - El Cielo (2002)7. Opeth - Blackwater Park (2001)6. Mr. Bungle - California (1999)5. Have a Nice Life - Deathconsciousness (2008)4. Godspeed You! Black Emperor - F#A#∞ (1997)3. Jeff Buckley - Grace (1994)2. Leprous - Bilateral (2011)1. Dream Theater - Images & Words (1992)