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General => Archive => General Music Archives => Topic started by: Marvellous G on October 27, 2011, 12:22:16 PM
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Yes, yet another one of these! My taste is a bit weird, although not as diverse as a lot of people's here, but I hope that there'll be some cool albums for people to check out/hate me for including on here nonetheless. I actually have this list typed up basically already, so I do plan to actually finish this. :lol ONWARDS!
Disclaimer: For reasons of not having the entire top 10 being taken up by about 3 or 4 bands, I've limited myself to 1 entry per artist here!
50. Oasis – What’s The Story Morning Glory (1995)
(https://static.rateyourmusic.com/album_images/09cfbd10c3f126b715c358bac80ec239/35.jpg)
– Oasis have always seemed to me to be a band more suited to ‘greatest hits’ style efforts than actual cohesive albums, and if I was allowing myself to include that kind of thing on this list, they’d be a lot higher up on it. As it stands, thought, Morning Glory has the band’s best three songs all in one place, and some other great tracks that showcase Noel Gallagher’s songwriting at its absolute best. So, a really good album, but not quite cohesive enough to claim more than spot number 50 here.
49. Bohren & Der Club of Gore – Sunset Mission (2000)
(https://3.bp.blogspot.com/_9pq2ikaKNoU/STmyIBF_qZI/AAAAAAAAAFw/AtpkSBVn2VA/s320/Sunset_Mission.jpg)
– As you’ll come to learn throughout this list, I’m a bit of a noir fanboy. Be it in films, music or games, I like my atmosphere to be murky and evocative, the kind of thing I could sip an espresso (no homo), or wander the night streets, to. This album is perfect for that kind of mood, with its tempo being so slow as to almost come to a standstill at points, and its amazing and hypnotic double bass lines evoking a stream of mental images ripped straight out of a 40s detective film. My only complaint here is that it does become a bit of a slog to actually concentrate on and listen through, due to the extended running time and repetitive nature, but as background, or thinking, music, it can’t be beaten.
48. Susanne Sundfor – The Brothel (2010)
(https://notpop.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Susanne-Sundf%C3%B8r-The-Brothel.jpg)
– Another noiry, atmospheric pick here, I have Seth to thank for discovering this one. This is probably one of the most evocative albums of all time, with the cover art and the eerie reverb, let alone Sundfor’s incredibly strong voice and unusual instrumentation, all adding to the feel of being in a murky backstreet, slightly paranoid, but still enthralled nonetheless. The title track of this album would probably place in my top 20 songs of all time, but even aside from that, there are some wonderful tracks on here and, most importantly, one of the most perfectly judged flows of all the albums on this list. A real ‘album’s album,’ it’s let down slightly by a couple of weaker tracks.
I'll try and update this every other day, maybe a bit quicker depending on the response! Let's see how much hate number 50 gets me first. :lol
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Susanne Sundfor! :heart
She is one amazing artist, both her albums are just really good!
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Awesome! Will definitely follow this!! :tup Nice to see The Brothel btw!
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Prediction: this list will be the best ever.
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Prediction: this list will be the best ever.
I would wait until you see my top 5, there might be some choices you don't quite agree with, and I'm sure you can guess two of them now. :lol Thanks for the kind words though guys, this should hopefully help me get my taste at the minute pinned down.
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DMB and Tool will be up there.
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POKER FACE
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Although I don't have any of their music in my collection currently I used to have that Oasis album. Very solid choice to start the list off.
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Following for the MG love. <3
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POKER FACE
I knew you loved Lady Gaga. :biggrin:
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Following. . . .
I have the Oasis album but never listened it to.
Haven't heard of the other two but I'll make sure to fix that.
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Now this is a list worth following.
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All lists are worth following. The real magic comes if they're worth listening to!
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While I'm a few lists behind, I actually listen to everyone's posts that I haven't heard before.
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– Oasis have always seemed to me to be a band more suited to ‘greatest hits’ style efforts than actual cohesive albums, and if I was allowing myself to include that kind of thing on this list,
You kind of already did. Bar the four song stretch of Live Forever-Up in the Sky-Columbia-Supersonic on Definitely Maybe, What's the Story is, for all intents and purposes, their Best Of collection. Even the lesser tracks on that album dwarf everything else I've ever heard by them.
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Don't know these, but I'll be following!
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Cool, excited to see what's next!
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OASIS! It's my favourite album from them. You're off to a great start :tup
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Another update because I enjoy procrastinating from holiday homework! Featuring: yet more noiry stuff.
47. Massive Attack – Mezzanine (1998)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4f/MassiveAttackMezzanine.jpg)
– Well, it had to be on here somewhere, didn’t it? This is the trip hop album that virtually no one dislikes, with a masterful grasp of the genre being displayed before it was even popular. With the unnerving buildups – in particular in Inertia Creeps - and thick atmosphere of the whole album, Mezzanine is always a delight to listen to, and is one of the best genre-founding albums ever.
46. Thomas Dybdahl – That Great October Sound (2002)
(https://static.rateyourmusic.com/album_images/6033fd3acfa13532e3cfb9cfa43763d2/62684.jpg)
– I have TheVoxyn to thank for this one, and my debt to him is greater than this list makes it seem; if I hadn’t limited myself to one album per artist here, Dybdahl would have taken up three or four spots of the 50. But this is my favourite release of his, if not his best; ‘One Day You’ll Dance For Me, New York City’ is arguably the more refined, subtle album, but TGOS has my favourite songs of his, and a lovely vibe that perfectly matches the title. Opener ‘From Grace’ is also one of my favourite songs ever, but the whole album rolls along effortlessly in a relaxing, comforting manner.
45. Burial – Untrue (2007)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/6/64/BurialUntrue.jpg/220px-BurialUntrue.jpg)
– So we’re back to noir yet again. But Untrue is a different beast to the previous albums on here that have evoked scenes of 40s New York; here, Burial is aiming to capture the uncertain, unnerving feel of a late night journey home through the gritty London streets, and he does that so perfectly here in every way, that one can’t help but admire the album. And hey, any album that samples Metal Gear Solid and Christina Aguilera in the same song can’t be bad. Headphone music at its finest.
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Those Massive Attack and Burial albums are amazing. Haven't heard the other though.
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Massive Attack!! Haven't heard of the others though.
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Massive Attack!! Haven't heard of the others though.
listen to that Burial album! I think you'll love it.
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Mezzanine is SO good
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I've only heard of the other two but that Massive Attack album is great! :tup
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The stuff I've heard off of that Burial album is great. I need to pick it up already.
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Massive Attack!! Haven't heard of the others though.
listen to that Burial album! I think you'll love it.
"Got" it, will listen soon.
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Massive Attack!! Haven't heard of the others though.
listen to that Burial album! I think you'll love it.
"Got" it, will listen soon.
Yeah, Untrue seems like it could really be your kind of thing, hope you enjoy it!
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MORE UPDATES BECAUSE I'M CRAZY LIKE THAT
44. Mozart – Don Giovanni (1787)
(https://www.musicalcriticism.com/recordings/jacobs-don-giovanni.jpg)
– I’ll preface this description with an annoying fact; classical music often goes over my head. Sure, I love a few select pieces (Claire De Lune would make my top 5 songs of all time) but I’m just not cultured, or intelligent, enough, to appreciate a lot of what makes so much of it amazing. Don Giovanni, however, is undoubtedly one of the finest operas, and/or pieces of classical music, that I’ve ever heard. Whilst I still haven’t read up on the story enough to understand it fully, the music here is just so gorgeous, and so evocative, that I feel like I know exactly the emotions that Mozart was getting across in the plot.
43. Sade – Soldier Of Love (2010)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/5/5c/Sade_-_Soldier_Of_Love.jpg/220px-Sade_-_Soldier_Of_Love.jpg)
– Yes, lol it up, but I love Sade. In particular, I adore this album. It’s her most recent release after a long hiatus, but it’s one of the best chillout albums I’ve ever heard. You could just put this on after a hard day, sit back with a nice hot drink, and forget about all your worries for 42 minutes. That idea is a cliché, but it really applies here, as songs like the title track, Skin and the unexpectedly incredible guitar parts in The Safest Place create an atmosphere that really makes the album feel like, well, the safest place in the world for a short time. Highly recommended to all effeminate music fans, such as myself.
42. Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers – Moanin’ (1958)
(https://www.innerurban.com/innerurban/images/Art%20Blakey%20Moanin.jpg)
– For those people that don’t really enjoy jazz, this, along with a certain other album that will be showing up much later on, is one of the most perfect introductions to the genre I could think of. It’s got a great balance between the relaxing side of jazz that people like, with some crazy soloing that those who were more interested in the musicianship could pick up on. The album rolls along at the perfect pace, never lingering on one idea for too long before moving on to another great sound.
These picks might start getting less genre-typical soon, just hold on for a bit longer!
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MOZART :heart
Also, There's quite a few albums I don't know on your list... Given the albums I do know are all excellent, I'll check out the others fo' sho' (bitch)
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Wide music-taste, Tom has it! :tup
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Sade is great and always smooth. I love the song "Soldier of Love" its :chill
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Gotta check that Mozart tomorrow :)
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I need to check out more Mozart operas. At the moment, I only have Die Zauberfloete. Liked some songs, didn't like others, but after Carmina Burana and Beethoven's 9th, it's literally my introduction to choral music, and opera has always put me off, so liking some is a victory in itself.
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FUCK YES. Don G is probably my favourite opera, such amazing stuff. Although I always ignore the very last finale bit (the last 5-10 minutes ish) and end it after the really epic part where he gets dragged to hell. I saw a student production that ended on that bit and it so epic it gave me chills all down my spine. Whereas the actual ending that Mozart didn't even want to add on but had to to fit the convention of "happy endings" at the time is just cheesy and annoying.
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Following this list, some really interesting choices so far
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FUCK YES. Don G is probably my favourite opera, such amazing stuff. Although I always ignore the very last finale bit (the last 5-10 minutes ish) and end it after the really epic part where he gets dragged to hell. I saw a student production that ended on that bit and it so epic it gave me chills all down my spine. Whereas the actual ending that Mozart didn't even want to add on but had to to fit the convention of "happy endings" at the time is just cheesy and annoying.
Interesting stuff! :)
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Yeah, I highly recommend Don Giovanni to anyone remotely interested in classical music, it's about all my classical-averse brain can handle. :smiley: ON WITH THE LIST
41. Nas – Illmatic (1994)
(https://www.steadybloggin.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/illmatic-pic.jpg)
- Despite making, as Jay-Z famously called him out on, ‘one hot album every ten year average,’ when Nas did step it up, he really, really stepped it up. Illmatic is that rarest of things; an absolute staple of a genre, that manages to be completely relevant and enjoyable to this day at the same time. With genre classics such as The World Is Yours and N.Y. State of Mind, this is an essential hip-hop album that anybody who doesn’t think they like the genre just has to check out.
40. Bonnie Prince Billy – I See A Darkness (1999)
(https://static.rateyourmusic.com/album_images/8de9f0e6bd695e4807d694cbe61300da/2647.jpg)
– More props to TheVoxyn for this recommendation. This album confuses me; every single review I’ve seen has placed it in the top 10 or so albums of its decade, but very few people seem to have actually heard of it. Well thank God that Voxyn did recommend it, it’s absolutely worth all of the hyperbole; Will Oldham’s voice is one of the most perfectly suited to narrate the tales of American dreams gone awry since some other artists that will appear later one, and his lyrics and instrumentation are effortlessly heart-breaking but, at the same time, feel weirdly hopeful. And once again, the title track is one of the best songs of all time.
39. Stevie Ray Vaughan – Texas Flood (1983)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/5/5e/StevieRayVaughanTexasFlood.jpg/220px-StevieRayVaughanTexasFlood.jpg)
– I’ll say it now, SRV is, in my opinion, the greatest guitarist of all time. Whilst he was tragically taken from us too soon in a helicopter accident, his legacy as one of the all-time greats was ensured thanks to albums like this. Chock-full of future genre stalwarts, the guitar work on display here is, from the perspective of a guitarist, nothing less than astonishing. Whether it’s the insane technicality displayed at points in the title track and Pride & Joy, or the emotion that drips from the standout track Lenny, the work SRV left behind for the world to hear on Texas Flood makes it doubtful that, for me, anyone will ever overtake him as a guitarist. Well, maybe there’s been one recent contender, but more on that later.
Not that I don't love all the albums I've listed thus far, this starts to get to what I think is some really good stuff pretty soon...
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Yeah, I highly recommend Don Giovanni to anyone remotely interested in classical music, it's about all my classical-averse brain can handle. :smiley: ON WITH THE LIST
That's the great thing with Mozart though. A lot of his stuff is very accessible, which isn't something you can say about a lot of the big classical names.
SRV was my favourite guitarist for a very long time. There are several guitarists I think I'd hold over him now, but he's still right up there. And Texas Flood was the best thing he ever did in the studio.
I could never get into Bonnie Prince Billy. It's annoying, because his stuff is definitely the sort of thing I normally get into.
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What I like the most about your list, Tom, is that there are many albums here that weren't on past lists and likely won't be on many, if any at all, future lists. It keeps things interesting. :tup
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What I like the most about your list, Tom, is that there are many albums here that weren't on past lists and likely won't be on many, if any at all, future lists. It keeps things interesting. :tup
Tom is one of the people with the widest music-taste I know, so I agree with pretty much all of this.
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Don Giovanni? :tup
If I'd make a top 50 albums and I could include classical works, I wouldn't know where to begin and how long they'd have to be to be included. I mean, some works are hours long - yet some are very short. What criteria does it have to fill to be considered an album? Too much to take into account. :dangerwillrobinson:
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(Probably Fairly Generic)
wat
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This has been a pretty Sputnik list so far. :lol
That isn't a bad thing at all though.
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I tried to like Illmatic, I really tried, but it just didn't click with me. Think I'll give it another shot soon though. SRV though = :tup :tup
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Dude, in the first post you had Bohren & Der Club of Gore. That definately makes me want to follow the list. Have you checked out their album 'Black Earth'? I think I like that album even better than 'Sunset Mission'. But that aside, next post there's both 'Mezzanine' and 'Untrue'. Your taste in music is awesome. And I'm so glad I'm into Burial. The better side of dubstep music. I love Submotion Orchestra as well, check that out if you haven't.
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Dude, in the first post you had Bohren & Der Club of Gore. That definately makes me want to follow the list. Have you checked out their album 'Black Earth'? I think I like that album even better than 'Sunset Mission'. But that aside, next post there's both 'Mezzanine' and 'Untrue'. Your taste in music is awesome. And I'm so glad I'm into Burial. The better side of dubstep music. I love Submotion Orchestra as well, check that out if you haven't.
I haven't actually got round to Black Earth yet because Sunset Mission kind of gave me my slow-jazz 'fix' for last Winter, but I'll be sure to pick the first one up now you mention it! I need to check out Submotion Orchestra too, I've heard awesome things about them, so they're definitely on 'the list.'
And as for being generic, I mean these are kinda genre staples I'm listing as I haven't really had the time in my music life to go too in depth to different genres yet, and Ryan's right, this list is pretty standard Sputnik stuff at the minute. :lol Don't worry though, the top 10 get progressively less revered/popular/good - 2 of my top 5 in particular might garner a fair amount of hate. :lol Will try and update again tonight, but ploughing through some holiday homework atm.
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Standard Sputnik is generally pretty top tier stuff anyway, so that's a good thing.
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Cool stuff so far. Mezzanine in particular is fucking awesome.
Can't get into Burial though.
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I loooooove Untrue so much.
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Dude, in the first post you had Bohren & Der Club of Gore. That definately makes me want to follow the list. Have you checked out their album 'Black Earth'? I think I like that album even better than 'Sunset Mission'. But that aside, next post there's both 'Mezzanine' and 'Untrue'. Your taste in music is awesome. And I'm so glad I'm into Burial. The better side of dubstep music. I love Submotion Orchestra as well, check that out if you haven't.
I haven't actually got round to Black Earth yet because Sunset Mission kind of gave me my slow-jazz 'fix' for last Winter, but I'll be sure to pick the first one up now you mention it! I need to check out Submotion Orchestra too, I've heard awesome things about them, so they're definitely on 'the list.'
And as for being generic, I mean these are kinda genre staples I'm listing as I haven't really had the time in my music life to go too in depth to different genres yet, and Ryan's right, this list is pretty standard Sputnik stuff at the minute. :lol Don't worry though, the top 10 get progressively less revered/popular/good - 2 of my top 5 in particular might garner a fair amount of hate. :lol Will try and update again tonight, but ploughing through some holiday homework atm.
Genre staples are normally genre staples for a reason. In my experience, most music which rises to the surface within its genre in terms of popularity or critical acclaim is better than most music that doesn't, so I've never seen the appeal of milling through countless little-known bands whose music most likely won't be as good as the recognised forerunners. Not to mention that anyone with a wide enough taste of music can easily stick to genre staples and never get bored anyway.
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Yeah I guess, it's just 17 year old me wants to get more into classical and hip-hop, etc, I just don't quite have time yet. :sadpanda: ANYWAY, moar updates, and it's still a bit more Sputnik-y for just a while longer :lol :
38. Madvillain – Madvillainy (2004)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/5/5e/Madvillainy_cover.png/220px-Madvillainy_cover.png)
– This is another hip-hop album that would definitely appeal to people who don’t even like hip-hop; the lyrics are abstract and poetic, the instrumentation is concise and restrained, and the samples are nothing less than genius. The short track lengths mean that Madvillainy goes down more easily than the monster listens that some similar albums offer, and you’re left able to get a quick fix of awesomeness whenever you want, and with tracks like Shadows of Tomorrow, ALL CAPS and Rainbows, there is no shortage of awesome here.
37. The National – Boxer (2007)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/0a/TheNational-Boxer.jpg/220px-TheNational-Boxer.jpg)
– The National are a band that were, for me, actually pretty hard to get into. When I first heard Boxer, I didn’t really ‘get it;’ the lyrics were mumbled and repeated phrases seemingly too often, and the instrumentation seemed a bit flat and uninspiring. After a few listens, though, all of these oblique parts of the album seemed to come together perfectly, and I fell in love. Matt Berninger’s depressing vocals are almost always laced with sardonic wit, and the music, the drumming in particular, is subtly brilliant when given time to shine. Also, everybody should listen to Apartment Story right now, that song is frigging incredible.
36. Godspeed You! Black Emperor – Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven (2000)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/d/d3/Liftyrskinnyfists.jpg/220px-Liftyrskinnyfists.jpg)
– Well, here is another album that sort of ‘had to’ be here. And there’s a reason that this receives such ludicrous amounts of praise from almost every corner of the music world; it’s damn good. We’ve all heard the positives of this release countless times before, so I’ll just focus on why I have it this 'low;' it really does drag at points. Sure, when I’m in the mood for it, it’s actually the greatest thing of all time, but I don’t often have 87 minutes (yes, 87) to set aside to focus on an album. Consequently, I often end up using this album as background music of a sort, but when I suck it up and give it the attention and time that it deserves, it’s every bit the masterpiece that so many claim it to be.
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I thought you would have Boxer a bit higher tbh.
and Skinny Fists would be top 5 for me.
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Lift Your Skinny Fists! :heart
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Nice, nice.
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Lift Your Skinny Fists! :heart
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I need to make a list at some point of the 20-30 top hip hop albums. I have a vague idea of what albums to look up, but at the moment, I just have a big long list of artists and it's a bit overwhelming.
And yeah, as great as it is, you really do have to be in the mood for Lift Your Skinny Fists.
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Yeah, the only hip-hop stuff that I like, or is on this list, is pretty standard for the genre, I really wanna delve into it further at some point. An honourable mention that's not on here is A Tribe Called Quest's 'The Low End Theory,' that was the kind of laid back stuff I was after.
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Moar albums:
35. Sigur Ros – () (2002)
(https://gregsaltiel.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Sigur-Ros.jpg)
– Sigur Ros are a band that I’ve always felt that I should like a lot more than I actually do. Luckily, they do have one album that I love an appropriate amount, and it’s not, like it is for many others, 2005’s Takk. Instead, () is their most emotional release by far for me, and that’s what Sigur Ros are all about. With the gloriously upbeat first half of the album, they manage to put into music what so many before them have put into inferior words, and then with the emotional downturn of the second half, the album becomes a dark, convoluted beast that can alternately destroy and uplift the listener in equal measure. And I really can’t say that for Takk.
34. Kanye West – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f9/Kanye_West_My_Beautiful_Dark_Twisted_Fantasy_album_cover.png)
– Haters gonna hate, but this album really was worth the hype. Because it’s really, really damn good. MBDTF (lolDTF) sees Kanye bringing together every aspect of his schizophrenic career up to this point together, for one of the most insane ego-trips ever seen in public. But I’m inclined to let him off this time; songs like Dark Fantasy, Runaway, Blame Game and the absolutely awesome POWER show that West really can justify all of his self-promotion when he really puts his mind to it. And as the man himself says, this is the perfect theme music for everyone’s (least) favourite superhero.
33. Vangelis – Blade Runner OST (1994)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/1c/Bladerunnervangeliscover.jpg/220px-Bladerunnervangeliscover.jpg)
– Yes, more noir. Blade Runner is one of my favourite films of all time, and one of the key reasons for that is the incredible soundtrack. Blade Runner Blues in particular is probably the best musical summation of a film that’s ever been committed to CD, and the whole soundtrack features 80s synthy goodness, with a pleasingly large side helping of cheesy jazz that errs just on the right side of AWESOME. This might be one of the weakest picks on my list objectively, but the mental association I have with the film it complements means that I absolutely love this album whenever I put it on.
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I really really really don't understand how people like Kanye at all.
Also ( ) should be way higher :P
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( ) is one of my favorite albums and that Kanye West one is super good!! :tup
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Sigur Rós!
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I guess () might seem low to some, but I just really don't get that level of praise that it gets. I think it's incredible, but not top 34 album quality for me. I also get that loads of people find MBDTF overrated, but I think purely on a song-for-song basis it basically sounds like a greatest hits collection (in a good way :P) and it has this awesome, ridiculous, overblown but brilliant consistency as an album that earns it its spot here for me.
And Blade Runner Blues (the song) with a black coffee and Rainymood should convince any doubters.
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Sigur Ros FTW. Agaetis Byrjun is really growing on me lately, I don't know if it will manage to overtake () as my favorite, we'll see.
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Been trying to get more into Sigur Ros recently. When I was like 16 I picked up Von because it has a cool cover, but didn't really like it. Recently got () though and it's instantly a lot more interesting. Need a little more time to digest it fully but it's definitely a great record.
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33. Vangelis – Blade Runner OST (1994)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/1c/Bladerunnervangeliscover.jpg/220px-Bladerunnervangeliscover.jpg)
– Yes, more noir. Blade Runner is one of my favourite films of all time, and one of the key reasons for that is the incredible soundtrack. Blade Runner Blues in particular is probably the best musical summation of a film that’s ever been committed to CD, and the whole soundtrack features 80s synthy goodness, with a pleasingly large side helping of cheesy jazz that errs just on the right side of AWESOME. This might be one of the weakest picks on my list objectively, but the mental association I have with the film it complements means that I absolutely love this album whenever I put it on.
Ok. I'm going to have to check this out. Blade Runner is one of my favorites too. Plus I dig Vangelis. I had a album by him in college and listened to it all the time.
edit: I almost went on a rant about the Kanye West album but deleted it. Don't want to derail your list. I'll be respectful. :angel:
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edit: I almost went on a rant about the Kanye West album but deleted it. Don't want to derail your list. I'll be respectful. :angel:
wuuut that Kanye album is great!
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I never read this thread before and I enter it once and see I'm mentioned a few times in the write-ups. You're welcome for the recommendations Marvellous and I'll make an exception regarding lists and read through this one ;).
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edit: I almost went on a rant about the Kanye West album but deleted it. Don't want to derail your list. I'll be respectful. :angel:
wuuut that Kanye album is great!
I think I'm too old for it. I feel like my Dad when my 16 year old Korean exchange student plays rap music in my house. "TURN THAT RACKET OFF! THAT'S NOT MUSIC". I caught myself saying that a few weeks ago. :facepalm:
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I guess that's kind of fair enough based on Kanye's lyrics, but if you just embrace the absurdity of it all it's brilliant OTT spectacle. :D Anyway, updates...
32. Damien Rice – O (2002)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/d/de/Damien_Rice_O_album_cover.jpg/220px-Damien_Rice_O_album_cover.jpg)
– When deciding between this and Rice’s other great release, 9, I ran into a bit of trouble. 9 features some of my favourite Rice tracks in isolation (and Dogs, one of my favourite songs of all time) but O is, ultimately, the stronger album as a whole. It displays a surprising amount of variety for the limitations of the genre, and Rice’s vocals and lyrics are touching and emotional, even within the context of his crowded field. Older Chests in particular is one of the most touching songs I’ve ever heard, but the whole album is really an emotional journey.
31. Arcade Fire – Funeral (2004)
(https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61RWH06QN6L._SL500_AA300_.jpg)
– Look everybody, it’s everyone’s generic favourite indie album! Well, there’s a reason for that; Funeral is by far Arcade Fire’s best album and it really is one of the best in its genre. From the gorgeous opening chimes of first track Neighbourhood #1 to the final wails of In The Backseat, Funeral is a really, really intense ride emotionally that runs the gamut between complete despair and the hopeful joyousness of the amazing Wake Up. I’m sure everybody has heard this album by now, but those that have been conscientiously objecting to the hipster-dom which listening to this entails really need to finally give it a chance to live up to the hype. Which it does. This isn’t my favourite indie album (that’s still to come) but it is, arguably, the quintessential one.
30. Shpongle – Nothing Lasts… But Nothing Is Lost (2005)
(https://images.jambase.com/fans/gorgone/Shpongle%20-%20Nothing%20Lasts...%20But%20Nothing%20Is%20Lost.jpg)
– Ahhh, Shpongle. I actually only listened to this album, and consequently the rest of the band’s awesome discography, because I loved the cover art for this so much. Luckily, the album completely blew me away on first listen, and I was hooked from then on. Arguments could be made for the band’s most recent, or first albums, being better musically, but this one will always hold a special place in my heart as I remember what a crazy experience it was on my first listen. Sure, I was ‘doing it wrong’ by not doing drugs and consequently being sober whenever I listen to this band and album, but judging by the mindfuck that it proves to be even then, I’m not sure that my brain could take any more craziness than this album already offers.
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Three great bands I really need to explore more.
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Damien Rice :heart :hefdaddy
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Just got into Shpongle a few months ago but they are awesome! I've only listened to Nothing Is Lost. . . . tho
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Just got into Shpongle a few months ago but they are awesome! I've only listened to Nothing Is Lost. . . . tho
I think their newest album, Ineffable Mysteries from Shpongleland, is possibly held in a little higher regard by fans, although I don't personally love it quite as much, so I'd try that next!
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O is definitely better than 9. I love Damien Rice.
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Damien Rice is pretty much all I have been listening to the past weeks, fits my current mood perfectly.
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He's definitely a really good wintry/introspective artist.
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Good stuff, Tom. Also, nice work on moving this along. Moar plz.
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I seem to be the only person in the world who finds 9 a LOT better than 0. About half of 0 is really good, but as an overall album, it's fairly monotonous, some tracks feel amateurish, and some are too dreary just for the sake of being dreary. Not only are there no weak tracks on 9, but there's far more variety - there are loud tracks and quiet ones, there's more full band stuff and some moments with full orchestra, there are sad songs and angry songs and hey, even some more upbeat, hopeful songs, and it all works, so it's far more interesting.
Also, for some great live material, I recommend: https://www.archive.org/details/damo2006-11-13.el-rey-theatre-los-angeles-ca , which you can download for free. Awesome non-album tracks Childish, The Professor/La Fille Danse, and Toffee Pop, the recording quality's brilliant (except on the tracks with distortion, I Remember, Then Go, and Elephant, where admittedly, it craps out almost completely), and there'd be a fair few versions on here I prefer to in the studio (in particular, Delicate, Eskimo, and The Blower's Daughter with the Toffee Pop intro all slay the album versions).
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I seem to be the only person in the world who finds 9 a LOT better than 0. About half of 0 is really good, but as an overall album, it's fairly monotonous, some tracks feel amateurish, and some are too dreary just for the sake of being dreary. Not only are there no weak tracks on 9, but there's far more variety - there are loud tracks and quiet ones, there's more full band stuff and some moments with full orchestra, there are sad songs and angry songs and hey, even some more upbeat, hopeful songs, and it all works, so it's far more interesting.
Come on! The Blower's Daughter, Cannonball, Amie, Cold Water, and to top it off I Remember, by far my favourite Damien Rice song.
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I seem to be the only person in the world who finds 9 a LOT better than 0.
I might agree with you. For me it's one of those things where I find 0 easier to listen to, but 9 more rewarding. Both great albums, though, love me some Rice.
Also, hooray for Shpongle. Awesome list so far!
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I seem to be the only person in the world who finds 9 a LOT better than 0. About half of 0 is really good, but as an overall album, it's fairly monotonous, some tracks feel amateurish, and some are too dreary just for the sake of being dreary. Not only are there no weak tracks on 9, but there's far more variety - there are loud tracks and quiet ones, there's more full band stuff and some moments with full orchestra, there are sad songs and angry songs and hey, even some more upbeat, hopeful songs, and it all works, so it's far more interesting.
Come on! The Blower's Daughter, Cannonball, Amie, Cold Water, and to top it off I Remember, by far my favourite Damien Rice song.
Cannonball is possibly my least favourite Rice song, and just what I mean by amateurish. And Cold Water is exactly what I mean by too dreary for the sake of being dreary.
Blower's Daughter and Amie are both great though, and I'd say I Remember is almost certainly my favourite song of his too. But that song perfectly illustrates the problem with 0. It's brilliant, and it's a complete outlier on that album, he's so focussed on melancholy folk, he doesn't try anything else of that ilk at all... until 9.
By the way, if you haven't heard this version of I Remember, get ready to love it even more. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J74gTgea5-I
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By the way, if you haven't heard this version of I Remember, get ready to love it even more. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J74gTgea5-I
Jesus Christ. :o That was astonishing, thanks very much for the find! I'll check out that El Rey Theatre concert, too.
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I seem to be the only person in the world who finds 9 a LOT better than 0. About half of 0 is really good, but as an overall album, it's fairly monotonous, some tracks feel amateurish, and some are too dreary just for the sake of being dreary. Not only are there no weak tracks on 9, but there's far more variety - there are loud tracks and quiet ones, there's more full band stuff and some moments with full orchestra, there are sad songs and angry songs and hey, even some more upbeat, hopeful songs, and it all works, so it's far more interesting.
Come on! The Blower's Daughter, Cannonball, Amie, Cold Water, and to top it off I Remember, by far my favourite Damien Rice song.
Cannonball is possibly my least favourite Rice song, and just what I mean by amateurish. And Cold Water is exactly what I mean by too dreary for the sake of being dreary.
Blower's Daughter and Amie are both great though, and I'd say I Remember is almost certainly my favourite song of his too. But that song perfectly illustrates the problem with 0. It's brilliant, and it's a complete outlier on that album, he's so focussed on melancholy folk, he doesn't try anything else of that ilk at all... until 9.
By the way, if you haven't heard this version of I Remember, get ready to love it even more. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J74gTgea5-I
Why the Cannonball hate? I can relate so much to that song... It kind of describes how I always feel in a relationship. And Cold Water nearly bring me to tears every time I hear it, so beautiful... Ah well. To be honest I'm not that familiar with 9. I've listened to it a few times but I never felt connected to any of the songs. I'll give it a second chance though.
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29. Ulver – Perdition City (2000)
(https://covers.mp3va.com/220/28/78/297828.jpg)
– What a surprise, yet another noiry album. This is the daddy of all Ulver albums for me, regardless of how good Blood Inside and Shadows of The Sun were. From literally the first two seconds of Lost In Moments to the death throes Nowhere/Catastrophe, Perdition City offers up a world that really does fulfil the promise of the pretentious sounding ‘soundtrack to an interior film’ claim that the band themselves offer. When my parents finally stop being insane and overprotective and I’m allowed to go walking around our town at night, this album might well be the only one I listen to when doing so for a very long time.
28. Arctic Monkey - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not (2006)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/7/74/Wpsiatwin.jpg/220px-Wpsiatwin.jpg)
- This debut album from the internet-indebted Sheffield locals has gotten its fair share of 'overrated!' shouts since its release half a decade ago. Admittedly, the Monkeys' sound evolved on their next 3 albums, becoming a bit denser musically and a lot more abstract lyrically, which was great. But this is what they're really all about. The arrangements are tight and intense, and the band don't let the fact that they'd only been playing their instruments for two years at the time of the album's release hinder them in any way. Every song has incredible lyrics, almost every song has a gasp-worthy riff, breakdown or drum part, and the album ends on A Certain Romance. It might be pretty simple compared to their successive three releases, but WPSIATWIN sees the Arctic Monkeys at the (unfortunately premature) peak of their genius.
27. Thrice – The Alchemy Index (2007/2008)
(https://jackdawnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/bolten-alchemy-index.gif)
– It might be cheating to include both albums in one slot, but they really are best when taken as a whole. I’m still not quite sure that Thrice deserve the enormous amount of praise that they receive in hardcore circles, but with these two releases they really showed that they could retain their post-hardcore roots whilst mixing up their sound with some great genre experiments. The Water EP here is my personal favourite, and it really does live up to the atmosphere that its name brings to mind, sounding just like a tranquil, deep sea dive should. There’s a lot of other great material here to admire, though, and whilst a few tracks are admittedly a bit dull, there are so many of them that you can forgive the occasional misfire.
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Ulver and Thrice!
I quite dig some Arctic Monkeys as well, though they have a tendency to sound a bit samey after a while for me.
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ULVER AND THRICE :heart :heart :heart
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Water is probably my fave too! :D Nice pick.
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I like what I've heard of Thrice and Ulver, Thrice more than Ulver, but they're both fairly low on my to-check-out list, so I can't see myself getting to them anytime soon.
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yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh ulver
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To be honest I think they're both pretty overrated on here in terms of their whole discography, but I do really love those albums - and Thrice's new one could well end up making the list in time. Updates, let's keep this going...
26. She & Him – Volume One (2008)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/ed/She_and_Him.jpg/220px-She_and_Him.jpg)
– I’m a real sucker for the warm, harmonious pop of the 60s, and I’m also a real sucker for anything even remotely involving Zooey Deschanel. So it seemed like a match made in heaven when I heard about her joint project with M. Ward, She & Him, which married those two obsessions of mine in a hopefully-awesome matrimony. But hot actresses have made terrible albums before (hi, Scarlett Johansson) so I wasn’t convinced. Luckily, She & Him are great. Nothing revolutionary at all, but great. Volume One sees Deschanel’s surprisingly lovely voice and lyrics complemented by M Ward’s restrained but excellent instrumentation, and the whole album really feels like a labour of love. It might do literally nothing new, but it’s such a triumph of style, with enough real lyrical and musical substance to carry it, that I can’t help but love it.
25. Steve Reich – Music For 18 Musicians (1978)
(https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Q4sNDXj8L._SL500_AA280_.jpg)
– Here’s an odd one. Steve Reich is the famous musical innovator, whose experiments in rhythm, sound effects and texture have led to him being revered by many a music fan, myself included. In Music For 18 Musicians, the premise is, essentially, 18 musicians play a note repeatedly, and independently of each other, for the duration of each track. The timings offset each other, and the combination of all of these notes being played at once makes a sound that intrigued Reich. And with good reason; this is one of the most original, hypnotic albums I’ve ever heard. It really sounds like how driving down a motorway at night feels, and it’s the perfect album for travelling while looking out of the window or, and I mean this in a good way, getting to sleep. Sadly, the album is a bit too repetitive to stomach all in one go, but it’s excellent when I just want to zone out to something. The ideas in this album were picked up by another modern artist who will be making an appearance at some point later on this list…
24. My Chemical Romance – The Black Parade (2006)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/ea/Blackparadecover.jpg/220px-Blackparadecover.jpg)
– This might be a pretty controversial pick. And I can see why; other than this album, I hate MCR. Helena, I’m Not Okay and all of their other hits sound horrendous to my ears, and Gerard Way’s vocals on every other album of theirs I’ve heard are just whiny, generic and annoying, and the music is typical pop-punk. But on this album, they did something very, very right. Switching out pop punk for classic rock, they released a concept album of startling lyrical and musical maturity which I was just as surprised by as I was impressed. Songs like the title track, Disenchanted and Famous Last Words are genuine classics of our generation, mixing the typical anthemic choruses with intricate music, great solos and some surprisingly wonderful vocal moments. I’ll confess that I’m almost a little ashamed on having such a band on my list at all, let alone moderately high up, but this, along with one other album of a similar ilk which is yet to come, is one of the few albums that I listened to relentlessly when I was first getting into music, and which I still enjoy now.
Things start to get a little more eclectic from here on in, so I expect the flaming to begin, with this post probably. :lol
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If you're going down, I'm going down with you. I actually quite like The Black Parade myself. In no way would I lump that specific album in with all of the other generic pop-punk clones out there.
(https://i.imgur.com/GUMT1.gif)
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If you're going down, I'm going down with you. I actually quite like The Black Parade myself. In no way would I lump that specific album in with all of the other generic pop-punk clones out there.
(https://i.imgur.com/GUMT1.gif)
\o It's so underrated, mainly because of where it's coming from, and it's not fair because it's AWESOME. Seeing some of the best songs from it played at Reading this year was brilliant!
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o/* I definitely agree. All of the songs on there are just genuinely catchy, melodic, epic, and well-written.
And, honestly, I'm sure I'll get lots of flaming for some of the albums on my list. :angel:
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I actually can't wait for yours! I'll probably support you in most of your flamable (flammable?) picks as well, assuming a lot of them are 80s. :D
But yeah, I'll try and keep this going pretty quickly so people further down the list actually ever get to go, such as yourself!
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Oh yes, a good portion of my choices are from the 80s. The Gothic 80s, of course.
You're keeping the pace on updating your llist good. Updates are daily, the descriptions are detailed, and the grapes are ripe for the pickin'.
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Haha thanks, it helps having it mostly done sitting in a Word Doc beforehand. :lol
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Props for Art Blakey, Thrice, and She & Him. Sorry I haven't been following this too closely :P Just missed it for this long. Gonna have to check out some albums here.
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Nice picks but I can't get behing The Black Parade I thought it was the weakest album up to that point. Their first album (name which escapes me at the moment) was my favorite.
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Nice picks but I can't get behing The Black Parade I thought it was the weakest album up to that point. Their first album (name which escapes me at the moment) was my favorite.
I guess most actual fans of the band as a whole agree with this, but most people who dislike them in general like The Black Parade, so each to their own I guess. I've actually warmed up to their other stuff a bit after seeing some of it live, but TBP is still my favourite I think. Anyhoo, updates:
23. Opeth – Watershed (2008)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/ee/Opeth_-_Watershed.jpg/220px-Opeth_-_Watershed.jpg)
– Well, Opeth had to make an appearance somewhere. I’ll get flamed a fair bit for this, I guess, but Watershed really is everything I want from Opeth. It has the seriousness and the metal side of their previous albums, but it introduces a sense of *gasp* humour to the band’s sound, which, after hearing the final product, really does seem like it was the missing ingredient that Opeth needed. Because they weren’t taking themselves as seriously as they used to, we got crazy outros of downtuning guitars, creepy processed laughter, funky keyboard sections and a genuine desire to experiment with their tried and tested formula. And, for me at least, it completely paid off. Watershed is by far the most interesting album in the band’s discography, and whilst I can see how some of the experiments might have put people off, they all succeeded resoundingly for me.
22. John Coltrane – A Love Supreme (1965)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/e6/John_Coltrane-A_Love_Supreme.jpg/220px-John_Coltrane-A_Love_Supreme.jpg)
– I know it’s one of the ‘obvious choices’ in terms of jazz, but A Love Supreme has garnered so much praise and acclaim since its release that it’s easy to forget just how good it genuinely is. The three (or more recently, four) part masterpiece shows Coltrane at his best, but also showcases some of his more experimental moments. It’s much freer sounding and flowing than his previous work, but that suits the music and genre incredibly well as the album flows effortlessly by. I remember on my first listen, by the time I’d reached the ubiquitous chanting in the first track, I knew that this album was gonna be riding high in my listening habits for a very long time.
21. Joanna Newsom – Have One On Me (2010)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/f8/Joanna_Newsom_-_Have_One_On_Me.jpg/220px-Joanna_Newsom_-_Have_One_On_Me.jpg)
– Whilst this is one of the most recent albums on my list, it fully deserves to be this high up. It’s not often that one sees a triple album released in today’s musical climate, and it’s even less often that one sees such an album justify its extended running time. Thankfully, Have One On Me more than does so. It’s such a sprawling release that it took me literally six or seven listens to get my bearings, and then everything started to fall into place. Newsom is on her career best form in terms of lyricism here, with tracks like Good Intentions Paving Company and In California demonstrating an ability for tonguetwistingly brilliant depictions of people and situations that would almost make Joni Mitchell blush. The music is vastly improved and expanded here compared to her previous efforts, too, but Newsom and her harp still remain firmly in the centre of attention. And frankly, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
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Watershed and A Love Supreme are great albums. I wish I could like Joanna Newsom, but I just can't get past her voice. :-\
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I love Watershed! Great album. I've listened to A Love Supreme once, I'll have to do so again.
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>Alchemy Index not in Top 5 at least
But no, cool list so far - every album I've heard on it is excellent besides Kanye, which was honestly a massive disappointment after all the hype there was around it.
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Was it not good or can you not listen to without thinking "this was fucking by a fucking douchebag"? I can't bring myself to listen to any of his stuff because of the latter.
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Nice picks!
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A Love Supreme is a great album, and it's fairly obvious why it's considered a classic. I prefer both Blue Train and Ascension though.
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I have Blue Train but I never checked out A Love Supreme
I have to make a point to listen to it sometime soon.
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Last few updates have been amazing!
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I do love Blue Train but A Love Supreme just about edges it for me I think. I'll have to check out Ascension though, I've been meaning to for a while but not gotten round to it yet! Anyway, probably the most controversial update yet:
20. CING – Hotel Dusk OST (2007)
(https://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ncr_pXOgzzM/SQ-VMLAC_1I/AAAAAAAABJw/G5ZOO_I6rm4/s200/hoteldusk.jpg)
– I’m hoping that this will be a pretty surprising pick. And I can also see how it could seem like a completely ridiculous one. I mean, a DS game soundtrack as my 20th favourite album, EVER? Well, yeah, it is, and it really deserves it. Not only is Hotel Dusk in my top 5 games of all time, the music is so perfectly suited to the hard-boiled, neo-noir stylings of the game itself that it really is the ultimate noir album and, luckily for those of you who are getting bored of such albums cropping up on here (ie, everyone who reads this far) it’s also the last noir album on my list. Serenity, in particular, is the most perfect summation of the entire noir movement into sound of all time for me, conjuring up images of men in trenchcoats, shady murder scenes, plot twists, cigarette smoke and damsels in distress much more effectively than any other ‘proper’ music I’ve heard ever has. And for that, I’ll always love it.
19. Dixie Chicks – Taking The Long Way (2006)
(https://4.bp.blogspot.com/_tSdae_m2QAQ/RiNY2KCCkSI/AAAAAAAAAH8/D8wwRVQaLlA/s320/dixie_chicks_taking_the_long_way.jpg)
– Oh no I di’int. But no, your eyes don’t deceive you, I freaking love the Dixie Chicks. Whilst their 2002 effort Home could also easily have placed this high, its successor Taking the Long Way just edges it out for me. From the first vocal melody of the first track, this album shows that the Dixie Chicks really are the master of pleasing, lightweight pop songs that don’t get boring after repeated listens. It’s also chock-full of surprising and wonderful moments; when the harmonies first kick in during Easy Silence, when John Mayer takes a brilliant guitar solo spot in Baby Hold On, and when you realise that the closing track I Hope is an awesome gospel track, rather than a country one. I know that nobody will be checking this album out despite my high placement of it, but I’d ask that before people troll me, they at least realise that this is more than just a crappy country cash-in album. That shit’s reserved for Taylor Swift.
18. Norah Jones – Feels Like Home (2004)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/3/3b/Norah_Jones_-_Feels_Like_Home.jpg/220px-Norah_Jones_-_Feels_Like_Home.jpg)
– Okay, I promise that the incredibly unmanly picks will stop for a while after this. But, once again, on this album Norah Jones completely eschews the notion that she’s nothing more than a pretty face, with a pretty voice, with some generic and pretty songs. 2002’s Come Away With Me was a good album that might have justified some listeners’ apathy to Jones’ music, but on Feels Like Home she really matures the musical side of things, to the point where it’s a legitimately brilliant record. Her voice is, obviously, the main focus here, and it is wonderfully warm, soothing and comforting. But the music on Feels Like Home is more than just an afterthought; whether it’s Humble Me’s gorgeous acoustic backing, Don’t Miss You At All’s jazzy cool, Sunrise’s double bass relaxation, or really any of the instrumentation to be heard on this album, it’s always understated, but it’s always good. Jones’ career did take a bit of a nosedive after this, but at least she churned out one genuine masterpiece before succumbing to the mainstream.
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Was it not good or can you not listen to without thinking "this was fucking by a fucking douchebag"? I can't bring myself to listen to any of his stuff because of the latter.
No, it just wasn't good. There were a few songs that had some good bits, but as a whole it just didn't do anything for me.
I SENT THIS BITCH A PICTURE OF MY DICK
edit: Norah Jones :heart
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That's fair enough, I do think as a complete package it's much better than the (already really good imo) sum of its parts though. AND YES NORAH JONES!
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Norah has a great voice (and more) :tup
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Feels Like Home is definitely her best album.
And I'd say she's done the opposite of succumbing to the mainstream. I once read a review (maybe on allmusic?) where they described Not Too Late as her Kid A, and I think there's a lot of truth to that. Meaning that on that album, she basically throws away her established sound, the one she's popular for, and starts again for the sake of stretching out as an artist, regardless of how it's going to affect her sales. And if anything, she was searching even more on The Fall.
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Feels Like Home is definitely her best album.
And I'd say she's done the opposite of succumbing to the mainstream. I once read a review (maybe on allmusic?) where they described Not Too Late as her Kid A, and I think there's a lot of truth to that. Meaning that on that album, she basically throws away her established sound, the one she's popular for, and starts again for the sake of stretching out as an artist, regardless of how it's going to affect her sales. And if anything, she was searching even more on The Fall.
Really? I guess maybe that's what she's was going for, but it doesn't come across like that to me when I actually listen to the albums. Glad we agree on Feels Like Home though! Anyway, getting into the tippity-top stuff now...
17. Porcupine Tree – Fear Of A Blank Planet (2007)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b6/Fear_of_a_blank_planet.jpg/220px-Fear_of_a_blank_planet.jpg)
– Choosing my favourite Porcupine Tree album is actually the hardest time I ever have when selecting my favourite record from a certain artist. Normally it’s a clear cut win for one album over the others, or at least I can decide after some deliberation, but with Porcupine Tree it’s nigh-on impossible to do so. So bear in mind, Lightbulb Sun or Deadwing could easily be up here as well. But whilst Fear of a Blank Planet isn’t the band’s most perfect album, it’s their most consistently enjoyable, and their most endearing. The title track is an underrated beast of a song, Anesthetize is their greatest epic, and the closing one two punch is legendary. There may only be six songs to enjoy on here, but being concise is far better than needlessly fattening an album out. Steven Wilson knows this better than anyone, and so the entirety of the 50 minute running time of FOABP is used to its absolute fullest. Sure, some moments aren’t quite up to scratch, such as the painful second half of Way Out Of Here, but FOABP manages to combine both the ‘new PT’ with some amazing newer-still elements, which were sorely lacking from The Incident, and which we might not ever hear again. Which is a crying shame, because FOABP is nothing less than amazing.
16. Gospel – The Moon Is A Dead World (2005)
(https://covers.mp3va.com/220/34/70/317034.jpg)
– I’m not really a fan of harsh vocals. Sure, I like Opeth and some Devin Townsend etc, but that’s a case of me listening to them in spite of their harsh vocals, rather than because I enjoy them. Gospel are the only band with which it’s a different story entirely. With The Moon Is A Dead World, the band released probably the most urgent, apocalyptic sounding album that I’ve ever heard; every single second feels like the band are playing their hearts out in a race against time to save the universe, and judging by the vocals you really would believe that their lives depended on it. Tracks like A Golden Dawn, with its ludicrously intense climax, or What Means of Witchery’s sheer insanity, show that Gospel are one of the most underappreciated acts not only of the last decade, but also of all time. I can’t recommend this album enough, and remember, if you don’t like harsh vocals, I didn’t until I heard this. Admittedly, this is still the only time when I really enjoy them, but what an enjoyable listen it always is.
15. Tosca Tango Orchestra – Waking Life OST (2001)
(https://images.bizrate.com/resize?sq=220&uid=6323536)
- Yes, another OST is riding high up on my list. Waking Life is my favourite film of all time, and, once again, a large reason that I love it so much is the soundtrack. For those that haven’t heard much about it, Waking Life is all about lucid dreaming and other such interesting, abstract stuff, and so it would appear to be an odd choice for director Richard Linklater to choose, well, a tango orchestra to provide the music for the film. But it works bizarrely well; the aching beauty of the strings and the crashing dissonance that the piano occasionally provides serves up an atmosphere quite unlike anything other than the feeling of dreaming. The final track of the album, which plays during the final scene of the film, is absolutely the most desperate sounding song I’ve ever heard, and the whole album is full of perfectly judged emotions and feelings, which any music fan would and should enjoy, regardless of whether they’ve seen the film or not.
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Some cool picks, I especially like FOABP since it's my favorite PT album as well!
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Hm. I prefer Deadwing, In Absentia, Stupid Dream and Lightbulb Sun over Fear Of A Blank Planet.
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Haven't heard the OST, but FOABP and The Moon is a Dead World are both great albums. Cool to see some love for Gospel on DTF :tup
Speaking of screamo, did you ever listen to Circle Takes the Square?
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Haven't heard the OST, but FOABP and The Moon is a Dead World are both great albums. Cool to see some love for Gospel on DTF :tup
Speaking of screamo, did you ever listen to Circle Takes the Square?
Ohhhh I haven't yet actually, I've heard them completely raved about though so I'll make sure to in the next week or so. Thanks for the rec! :tup It'll take a lot to top Gospel, though...
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Just stopping buy to say that I gave Madvillainy a listen, and damn, it might be the best hip hop album I've ever heard.
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I would rank FOABP that high, I haven't heard the other two albums.
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I would rank FOABP that high, I haven't heard the other two albums.
Same! FOABP is amazing :)
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Here we get to, with #14, the album I'd most like to recommend to people on here as I'm sure it's the last one which can remotely qualify as 'obscure.' If there's one album on this list I'm saying LISTEN TO! because you won't otherwise, it's #14, so on with the picks...
14. Nizlopi – Half These Songs Are About You (2004)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/82/NizlopiAlbumCover1.jpg/220px-NizlopiAlbumCover1.jpg)
– A lot of people might only have heard of Nizlopi because of their brief fame due to the JCB Song. A lot of people hate that song. Whilst I’d have to completely disagree with those people (when you learn the tragic backstory the JCB Song becomes one of the most uplifting tunes imaginable) Nizlopi are still so much more than just that one ‘novelty single.’ Half These Songs Are About You showcases singer Luke Concannon’s rich, gorgeous voice and equally lovely lyrics, and bassist John Parker supplies the album with evocative double bass grooves and textures. Songs such as Faith, Girls and Freedom show that Nizlopi really are one of the best bands of all time when it comes to ‘softer’ music, and even when they get all fired up for tracks such as Fine Story and Call It Up, there’s still always a bittersweet emotional edge to proceedings that makes this such a wonderful album. You might not have heard of them before now, but you really should change that right away.
13. Radiohead – In Rainbows (2007)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/2/2e/In_Rainbows_Official_Cover.jpg/220px-In_Rainbows_Official_Cover.jpg)
– I’ll get it out of the way first; Kid A is, in my mind, objectively Radiohead’s greatest album, and one of the greatest albums of all time. But whilst Kid A is the album I’d placer much higher in a ‘best albums’ list, this is a list of my favourite albums. As such, In Rainbows is the Radiohead album that suits it best, for the key reason that I enjoy it more. The opening drums of 15 Step are one of my favourite sounds in music, because I know that if I’m hearing them I’m about to hear another near-perfect forty minutes of brilliance. In Rainbows is not only one of the warmest, most cohesive albums on this list, it also offers up some brilliant individual tracks, even outside of the context of the album. Jigsaw Falling Into Place is the perfect mini-epic, Weird Fish/Arpeggi is an increasingly unsettling journey that goes from hypnotic to disturbing, and All I Need features Radiohead’s most post-rocky moment yet. All in all, In Rainbows is the perfect combination of a cohesive album with great standout tracks, and some brilliant refinements whilst retaining a sense of fun that Kid A sorely lacked.
12. Green Day – American Idiot (2004)
(https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/518vUjTWNNL._SL500_AA300_.jpg)
– I’m not entirely sure whether I love American Idiot whenever I listen to it nowadays because I’m actually enjoying it, or because I’m so grateful for what it did for me. I like to think it’s both, but its influence on my listening habits is the greatest any album has ever had on me. Before American Idiot, I listened to basically exclusively pop. After American Idiot came a massive influx of new, exciting music which I wouldn’t have tried otherwise. Nonetheless, it is a magnificent album, and it’s what I’d say was Green Day’s only classic. Jesus of Suburbia and Homecoming in particular can rival far more ‘serious’ bands in terms of musical sensibility, and when Green Day revert to their punkier roots on tracks such as Letterbomb and St Jimmy, they do so with far more aplomb than they ever had done in their career up to, and after, that point. American Idiot might well have been the perfect gateway album for me, but it’s still a consistently brilliant album in its own right that fully deserves its place up here.
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I do love In Rainbows, especially Reckoner
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– I’ll get it out of the way first; Kid A is, in my mind, objectively Radiohead’s greatest album, and one of the greatest albums of all time.
notthisshitagain.jpg
But In Rainbows is a great album, as is Kid A. American Idiot is pretty cool, too. I find most of the criticisms aimed at it very petty, weak, elitist, and amusing.
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In Rainbows! :heart
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Green Day’s only classic
Dude.
Dookie.
Insomniac.
Obviously you have a special place in your heart for American Idiot, but those earlier albums were some of the defining moments of 90s punk rock, along with Enema of the State. Dookie in particular is not just classic, it's iconic. Just had to throw that out there! :lol
Cool list so far, plenty of things to add to my ever growning list of new music to discover.
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American Idiot :tup
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Green Day’s only classic
Dude.
Dookie.
Insomniac.
Obviously you have a special place in your heart for American Idiot, but those earlier albums were some of the defining moments of 90s punk rock, along with Enema of the State. Dookie in particular is not just classic, it's iconic. Just had to throw that out there! :lol
Cool list so far, plenty of things to add to my ever growning list of new music to discover.
I guess Dookie is kind of a 'classic' too, but I mean 'classic' in the sense of an amazing album in its own right, rather then definition/epitome of a movement, which I feel American Idiot falls into more. Fair enough, though.
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Whoops, sorry for the delay, almost done now though...
11. Pearl Jam – Ten (1991)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/2/2f/Ten_(Pearl_Jam)_album_cover.jpg/220px-Ten_(Pearl_Jam)_album_cover.jpg)
- Ten manages to do that rarest of things in music; epitomise an entire movement, namely the grunge influx of the early 90s, but also remain relevant in today’s music world when considered outside of its legacy. Ten is, if anything, more akin to classic rock and blues acts than it is to Alice in Chains or Nirvana, but it’s for that reason that it’s so much more interesting than those rivals. Eddie Vedder’s ‘golden baritone’ is also a crucial factor in setting Ten apart from the pack, as he delivers his excellent lyrics with the kind of emotion that most other singers could only dream of. Ten is really just a great amalgamation of a lot of my favourite genres and styles, and, considering the fact that it has one of the best songs ever in Black, it really comes together to make something truly great.
10. Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago (2007)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/e0/Bon_iver_album_cover.jpg/220px-Bon_iver_album_cover.jpg)
– There’s just something intangibly brilliant about this album, which means that people either seem to place it in their top albums ever or call it out as overrated. When I first heard it, I was very much in the latter camp, and I was actually kind of disappointed that an album held in such high regard by people whose taste I trust did so little for me. But that was because I had it playing on my laptop while I mindlessly browsed the internet. A few days later I tried it again while walking through the park, feeling depressed, as it started to rain. As comically sad a picture as that paints, this was the perfect soundtrack for it, and every song on the album suddenly clicked. From the achingly beautiful chorus of opener Flume, to the monolithic, towering Re: Stacks closing the album out in the best way possible, For Emma is a truly significant achievement, and while it’s ‘only’ 10th on my list, it might well be the best album of our generation.
9. Sufjan Stevens – Illinois (2005)
(https://www.revolver.nu/bilder/album/sufjan_stevens_illinois.jpg)
– This is, for me, the king of all indie albums. And to be honest, it beats most other albums of any genre. It’s the most ambitious record I’ve ever seen attempted by a solo artist, with the song titles alone proving the Stevens is setting himself a loftier goal than any singer-songwriter has done before him. What’s most endearing about Illinois, then, is that Stevens not only pulls off everything he attempts, he does it with a joyfulness and enthusiasm that puts most other artists to shame. And the album’s instrumentation is also astonishingly varied and skilled for being done, essentially, by just one guy. Illinois is really the ultimate triumph of style, and Stevens manages to combine amazingly poetic lyrics with amazingly complex and compelling music to create something that is more than the, already considerable, sum of its parts.
These/the remaining 9 are clearly what I think are the best albums OF ALL TIME, so massive recommendations for each of them should be implicit if they sound at least a bit like your kind of thing!
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Been meaning to check out Sufjan Stevens for a while, especially now when both you and Seth (unless I remember wrong) had albums with him in your threads.
Any starting point-recommendation?
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I started with Illinois and loved it on first listen, but it depends on what you want, really.
Seven Swans is a quiet, calm and lovely acoustic/clean album with more delicate, less ambitious songs. Michigan is kind of a bridge between Seven Swans and Illinois (musically, not chronologically) and I think Seth prefers Michigan; it's still really mellow but a lot more complex than Seven Swans. Illinois is the big, bombastic 'classic' of his albums, but I can definitely see the argument for it being a bit overblown. Then Age of Adz is very good also, but not quite as good as those other three, and there's a massive focus on electronic stuff and EVEN MORE bombast than Illinois. :lol You really can't go wrong with any of those four though, they're all amazing. I would say that Illinois is the best combo of easy to get into/summing up all of his music, though.
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Ten is a great album unfortunately for PJ they never got better album wise than that IMO.
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Yeah, they had Arcade Fire syndrome (or vice versa). :sadpanda:
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3 excellent albums! :)
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Been meaning to check out Sufjan Stevens for a while, especially now when both you and Seth (unless I remember wrong) had albums with him in your threads.
Any starting point-recommendation?
I'm still in the Michigan party, but the general public seems to agree on Illinois. Either one would be a great starting place, I think!
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Yeah, they had Arcade Fire syndrome (or vice versa). :sadpanda:
The Suburbs is awesome!
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True I guess, but it wasn't anywhere NEAR on the level of Funeral for me. Much like PJ have had really good albums since Ten, but nothing on the same plane of awesome.
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I REALLY don't understand the love for Sufjan Stevens (or Arcade Fire for that matter).
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It's okay.
Actually, I'm with you on Arcade Fire. Never quite as wild about them as others, though I really like Funeral.
As far as Sufjan is concerned, I think it's mostly the arrangements. He's not a particularly special singer, (though I think his voice fits well enough) but I love the piano/banjo/horn/bells/loads of other things found on his albums, especially Michigan, and how they interact together perfectly. IS THAT GOOD ENOUGH?
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I remember when Pearl Jam's Ten just came out, but they weren't big yet - just an occasional "Alive" late night on MTV. Then a friend of mine bought it and said it was the greatest thing he ever heard. Granted, a 13 year old before the internet-age was limited to what radio and MTV played, and Pearl Jam didn't get any love whatsoever until Evenflow dropped. I still have Ten on cassette (along with a copy of vs that has the title "Five Against One). Pearl Jam was probably my favorite band from 1992-1996, at which point Tool replaced it until I discovered Dream Theater.
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Cool to see Bon Iver!
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Getting near to the end here, so don't worry, I'll definitely finish quickly for those waiting to go...
8. Miles Davis – Kind of Blue (1959)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/9c/MilesDavisKindofBlue.jpg/220px-MilesDavisKindofBlue.jpg)
– So here it is, arguably the most popular jazz album of all time. It also happens to be my favourite. Kind of Blue manages to combine the relaxing vibe and chilled out soloing of more amateurish jazz, with incredible musicianship from every single person involved that makes it perfect both as background music and an intense musical study. Davis’ chops alone are more than worth the price of admission, and he’s backed up by the closest thing jazz has seen to an ensemble cast, all of whom play their part enthusiastically and masterfully. All of this results in an album that never, ever, gets old, and I’ve studied for many a test, passed many a long train journey, and enjoyed many a good cup of coffee with Kind of Blue present. For the comfort it now gives me alone, incredible musicianship aside, I’m eternally grateful to, and in awe of, the album.
7. Metallica - …And Justice For All (1988)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/bd/Metallica_-_...And_Justice_for_All_cover.jpg/220px-Metallica_-_...And_Justice_for_All_cover.jpg)
– All but one (Kill ‘Em All) of Metallica’s albums could easily place fairly highly in this list. They were the band that got me into heavy music, and I still love their albums more than almost every single other heavy bands’ that I’ve heard since. To me, …And Justice For All was the absolute pinnacle of their evolution. Master of Puppets is often cited as their masterpiece, but the songwriting on AFJA is just so much more ambitious, so much more… progressive, that I can’t help but feel that those who place Puppets above it are only doing it for nostalgia’s sake. The title track of AJFA alone shows complexity unrivalled in Metallica’s music until Death Magnetic two decades later, with its many twists, turns and tempo changes staying on the right side of technical wankery, unlike the bands they would help to get me into. The album also has Hetfield’s best lyrics and vocals for me, with his tales of corruption and 1984-esque governments being a little clichéd, but surprisingly cleverly penned. It also has some of the best Metallica tracks of all time; Blackened, the title track, One and Dyer’s Eve could all quite comfortably qualify for being amongst my top ten tracks of the band’s entire career. For all of these reasons, AJFA really is the best Metallica album to me, and I fail to see how anybody could think otherwise.
6. The Tallest Man on Earth – The Wild Hunt (2010)
(https://markwestreviews.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/the-tallest-man-on-earth-the-wild-hunt-album-cover.jpg?w=220&h=220)
– So, a 2010 album is already this high up in my all-time favourites. It’s testament to Kristian Matsson, AKA The Tallest Man On Earth’s, latest full album that upon my first listen, I knew immediately that I was listening to something that would go down in the annals of not only my memory, but also in music history, as being a true masterpiece. And the astonishing thing is, it literally doesn’t ever lose any of its appeal, even after the several dozen listens which I’ve given it to date. It combines the cohesiveness of lyrical themes and musical styles that I look for in my favourite albums with the incredible fact that every single song could be labelled as a ‘standout track.’ In most of these descriptions, I’ve listed some of my favourite tracks from each album, but that would be pointless here; they genuinely do all quality. I will say, though, that King of Spain in particular is one of the most carefree and ebullient songs of all time, but every song is perfect for a certain mood. With The Wild Hunt, Matsson really earns the title that he uses on stage, and proves himself to be undoubtedly the best folk artist since… well, we’ll get to that guy later. For now, though, The Tallest Man on Earth might be our generation’s best pure songwriter for quite a while to come.
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The Wild Hunt is a excellent pick!! :tup
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I guess it might seem like a ridiculously high placement to some people considering how recent it is, but it's really that high up for me. It's basically perfect, as is the Sometimes The Blues Is Just A Passing Bird EP imo.
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AJFA and The Wild Hunt, two excellent picks!
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Justice! Easily my favourite 'tallica record. If somebody I know is bashing them, that's the album I put on to shut them up.
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Great to see Miles Davis and Metallica!
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Top 5, it's getting serious now brah...
5. Bruce Springsteen – Born To Run (1975)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/43/Borntorun.jpg/220px-Borntorun.jpg)
– With Born To Run, Springsteen released his magum opus, the album that he seemed to have been put on this earth to make. It was supposedly a long, long time in the making, but by God was it worth it. Thunder Road, the opening track, set standards impossibly high for not only the rest of the album to follow, but also for the rest of rock music; Thunder Road is, in my opinion, the best rock song of all time. It’s testament to Springsteen’s ability, then, that he does actually manage to follow the best opener of all time with a string of worthy contenders for his own best rock song of all time; the title track is now deservedly legendary, Jungleland is one of the best epics ever written, Backstreets captured the hearts and minds of hundreds of thousands of youths at the time, and then there’s Meeting Across The River. Probably one of the 20 or so ‘perfect’ songs I’ve ever heard, Meeting Across The River sees Springsteen managing to do in three minutes and a couple of hundred words, what countless other artists haven’t achieved with multiple albums and reams of lyric sheets. Born To Run’s only failing is its quality; nothing Springsteen can do now could ever follow it for me, and it really does remain the pinnacle of his career, and almost all of rock music.
4. Bob Dylan – Blood On The Tracks (1975)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/b1/BloodTracksCover.jpg/220px-BloodTracksCover.jpg)
– Wow, 1975 was a great year. Not only was the greatest rock album of all time released, but we saw the greatest folk album of all time come out as well. Here he is, the daddy of all singer-songwriters. The debate over Dylan’s best album is a fair one; Freewheelin’, Highway 61, Blonde on Blonde, Bringing It All Back Home and Desire could all qualify, but it was when I heard Blood On The Tracks that Dylan really, really clicked for me like I’d always hoped that he would. It’s the greatest break up album of all time, but it also features some of Dylan’s best music to go along with his predictably perfect lyrics. Simple Twist Of Fate is a fantastic, mellow meditation on a missed opportunity, Idiot Wind is one of the most damning numbers I’ve ever heard, and If You See Her Say Hello has one of the most relatable lines in music ever (‘She might think that I’ve forgotten her, don’t tell her it isn’t so’) and genuinely every moment on the album is perfectly judged, and perfectly executed. For the many that don’t understand the love that Dylan gets from all corners, I was like you before I heard this album. It really did change my outlook on music after I heard it, and it’s only really been bettered for me by, well, four other albums.
3. John Mayer – Continuum (2006)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/82/Continuum_(album).png/220px-Continuum_(album).png)
– Okay, how to explain myself here? John Mayer is renowned for being one of the biggest douchebags in music, and I’ve seen countless people swear off of his music because of his activities in the press involving certain actresses. But those people are missing out on one of the best singers and songwriters of our generation, and who I’d say was also undoubtedly the best guitarist since SRV. On Continuum, Mayer abandoned the bubblegum pop of his earlier work which was, admittedly, not anything to write home about, in favour of the bluesy stylings which he’d hinted at for so long. And thank God that he did; after two solid releases, Continuum saw Mayer finally making the album that we all knew he had in him; refined, perfected, restrained and, most pleasingly of all, genuinely bluesy. There’s so much to admire on Continuum that it’s easy to forget that it’s an album made by, well, John Mayer, writer of Your Body Is A Wonderland. Every solo here is magical and expertly judged, every drumbeat or bassline used to perfectly complement Mayer’s guitar parts, and even the lyrics are pretty darn good. For his next album, Battle Studies, Mayer reflected on the fact that when recording Continuum, he’d been a perfectionist, redoing everything until it was just right. Whilst Battle Studies is a great album too, and feels much freer than Continuum, this perfectionist side really seems to have been the thing that Mayer needed to go from ‘pretty good’ to ‘best in his class.’ And with Continuum, he’s gone pretty much unbeaten ever since.
Final update coming at some point this weekend...
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Not really digging Bruce or Dylan, but I have been meaning to check out John Mayer for a while.
Is Continuum a good starting place?
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I've kissed goodbye the howling beast on the borderline which separated you from me.
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Not really digging Bruce or Dylan, but I have been meaning to check out John Mayer for a while.
Is Continuum a good starting place?
I guess it was my starting place and I loved it/him instantly, but I'd say 'Where The Light Is' gives you probably the best of every side of Mayer, and is basically a greatest hits live album with incredible performances of the best Continuum songs, so I'd go with that to try.
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Someday I am going to actually sit down and really listen to Bob Dylan. It's actually pretty embarrassing that I've never given him a proper listen, given how important and influential he is to a large portion of the music that I listen to.
I'll put this one (Blood on the Tracks) on later tonight, hopefully!
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You'd lost me up until Bruce. Great album... one of the best from the 70s. Under-appreciated here at DTF. :isyl:
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I've kissed goodbye the howling beast on the borderline which separated you from me.
Best 'angry' song, maybe other than Positively 4th Street, ever.
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LET'S FINISH THIS THING
2. Dave Matthews Band – Before These Crowded Streets (1998)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/ae/DMB_-_Before_These_Crowded_Streets.jpg/220px-DMB_-_Before_These_Crowded_Streets.jpg)
– And at number 2 is another band that seems to be almost universally hated by supposedly ‘hardcore’ music fans. Well, once again I despair for the elite of our beloved art form, as they’re missing out on probably the best band, overall, I’ve ever listened to. Dave Matthews Band might be famous for the cheery Ants Marching and sappy Crash Into Me (both of which are actually great anyway, but I digress) but with Before These Crowded Streets, they shocked the world by following 1996’s joyous ‘Crash’ with one of the darkest albums ever released by a popular band. On Before These Crowded Streets, Matthews deals with themes as diverse as the plight of the Red Indians, to Jesus dying on the cross, to oral sex. Yes, there’s always going to be a ‘bit of mischief’ when it comes to DMB, but on BTCS they ditch their happier side almost entirely in favour of dark, complex lyrics backed by equally dark and complex music. Odd time signatures abound, and there are some almost horror-movie-esque moments to be in disturbing tracks like Halloween and The Stone. But in spite of all of this despair, BTCS has an underlying and redeeming sense of hope to be found in all of the songs, which makes it a truly redemptive, emotional listen every time. It’s a fairly well documented fact that DMB are almost always better live than in studio, prone to extended soloing as all of the band members are, but on BTCS they have put together eleven tracks which all stand up to live versions as they are, and which all perfectly complement each other to make BTCS the second most perfectly judged, perfectly flowing and perfectly enjoyable album I’ve ever heard.
1. Tool – Lateralus (2001)
(https://www.metalmusicarchives.com/images/covers/tool-lateralus.jpg)
– And so here we are, my favourite album of all time. To be honest, there’s not really much I can say to justify Lateralus’ brilliance here without resorting to an essay running for several thousand words, so I’ll just say that it’s by far the most intense, emotional, deep and pretentious album I’ve ever heard. Yes, I just listed pretentious as a plus point, but with Tool, you really can forgive them when they churn out albums as good as this and the almost equally brilliant Aenima. The title track on here is also my second favourite song of all time, which is a nice bonus. So this doesn't seem like a massive cop-out, for a more in depth summary of why I think this is the best album ever, I’ve reviewed it at length here: https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/43190/Tool-Lateralus/ But to be honest, those who’ve heard it and loved it like I have will know exactly what I mean without it needing to be put into words. All hail Tool, they deserve it. P.S. NEW ALBUM PLEASE.
Well, I really enjoyed doing this, thanks to all who followed, and sorry to those who have been waiting on me to finish. :lol I do recommend my top 15 to everyone on this forum regardless of taste, and I obviously recommend my whole top 50 to people if they think something sounds interesting. But yeah, thanks DTF, this was fun!
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Interesting list. Not a lot up my alley (and I'm sure mine is the same for you), but that's the beauty of doing these... we get to see and absorb the diversity here at DTF.
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Lateralus is a great pick! :tup
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Never listened to Dave Matthews Band, I guess that would be a good place to start then :lol
Lateralus is cool too, but the pretentiousness of their music, more specifically that of Maynard, spoils the overall Tool package for me.
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My biggest problem with DMB has never been the music, it's been the people who listen to DMB. They tend to be douchey frat types.
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Fuck yes!
that DMB album is awesome, lateralus is good too.
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My biggest problem with DMB has never been the music, it's been the people who listen to DMB. They tend to be douchey frat types.
I definitely get that, for Americans, this is a big turn-off against DMB, but once you get past the douchiness they're associated with, they're an amazing band.
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I could never really get into DMB. Never had any experiences with their fans, the music just doesn't do anything for me.
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Great list, Tom. :tup
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Great list, Tom. :tup
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My biggest problem with DMB has never been the music, it's been the people who listen to DMB. They tend to be douchey frat types.
I would actually like to meet one of these douchebag DMB fans, just to have experienced it. All of the DMB fans I've met in my life, bar one, got into the band through me. The other guy was my flatmate who introduced them to me in the first place. This stereotype of "those damn douchey DMB fans" is like this great myth to me. Maybe they all live in Timbuktoo.
A flatmate of mine played me a John Mayer live album a while ago. It sounded pretty good. I plan to check him out at some point. Considering I like most of those vaguely blues-ey, slightly more mainstream singer songwriter-ey types, he seems like something I might get into.
Great list, of course. Can you make a version that includes multiple albums per band? Just to see how it changes in that format. Obviously doesn't have to be exact, just a general idea.
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Very nice finish! Interesting top 10 :tup
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I'm a big fan of Continuum. I listened to it almost non-stop when it first came out.
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The douchebag college frat kids are definitely abundant in the US, but that doesn't make the band any less awesome. A lot of the actual fanbase is composed of normal people, it's just a lot of college douchebags use the shows as a reason to get really drunk and be obnoxious.
BTCS is an awesome album! :tup Think I'll listen to it now, matter of fact.
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I guess I really can't comment on the DMB issue either way as I wouldn't be exposed to the douches if they did exist anyway as I'm in the UK, but all I can say is, if they're the thing putting you off, don't let them!
As for Fluffy's question about if I'd included multiple albums per artist, it would probably have changed to look roughly something like this:
Tool - Lateralus and Aenima both in top 10
John Mayer - Continuum and Heavier Things top 10, Battle Studies around the 25 mark
Dave Matthews Band - BTCS and Crash both in top 10
Bob Dylan - Bringing it all Back Home, Blonde on Blonde, Highway 61 Revisited and Blood on the Tracks all in top 20
Miles Davis - Kind of Blue where it is, Bitches Brew around 30 ish
Tallest Man on Earth - Shallow Grave would have been near the bottom of the list
Metallica - Puppets might have made it in near the bottom
Radiohead - In Rainbows and Kid A both in top 20
It would have been a much narrower list. :lol