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General => Archive => General Music Archives => Topic started by: LieLowTheWantedMan on September 19, 2012, 04:14:54 PM
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Greetings! This is my second Top 50 Albums thread, due to the fact my tastes have changed very drastically since the previous one. I have discovered a lot more music and have fallen in love with many more albums since then. For example, only 11 of the 50 albums appeared in my previous top 50, and the #1 from before is no longer even on the list! However, it would likely be #51 or so. So without further ado, let's get this show on the road!
#50. Gojira - From Mars to Sirius (2005)
(https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51QS4YQSP8L.jpg)
This is without a doubt one of the heaviest albums I've ever heard. The riffs and the drums pound at you like a sledgehammer with the guttural tough-guy vocals over the top. It's metal in every sense of the word. My favourite element is probably the riffs as they really drive the whole thing home. The only problem I have is it's a bit lengthy, but other than that it's a great ride of an album.
Favourite tracks: Flying Whales, Ocean Planet, Backbone
#49. 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)
So we're two albums in the list and I'm already wracked with guilt at a very low placement. I really regret not putting this higher, as it has arguably more epic moments than any album I own, but I felt this was appropriate. Maybe I'm just impatient to wait for them I don't know. Either way, this is a really enjoyable 87 minutes of music crammed into only 4 tracks. Every track has it's share of amazing moments, and it's hard to pick favourites.
Favourite tracks: All
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Fucking amazing double punch in your first post. From Mars to Sirius is one of my personal favourites and arguably my favourite heavy album of all time (in my own top 50 I had Deconstruction and BTBAM's Colors above it, so feel free to decide for yourself whether they're 'heavier' than FMTS) and Lift Yr. Skinny Fists... is an amazing album as well. Can't wait to see more, but this start is already a change from your previous Top 50. Cool stuff.
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Godspeed You! Black Emperor :heart
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Also, in case anyone cares, there are 3 EPs on the list.
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Hey LLTWM (and others doing a v2), my plan is to just replace your old list with this one in my DTF top 50 database. It sounds like it is, but I just want to make sure that this is your true current top 50 and not what DTVT was/is doing by making a list of underrated/other albums that are not your top 50.
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Yes, this will be my definitive one. :)
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Lift You Skinny Fists... is one of my favourite post-rock albums (though I don't know much from the genre, true) - it's an amazing album. Gojira, however, has never really done it for me. :dunno:
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I've always been meaning to check number 49, mainly because most of you guys speak so highly of it.
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LLTWM, one other thing, would you mind adding the release year of each album you post?
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Done. Also, next update coming very shortly.
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Here's more. I don't expect to see many fans of either of these albums, but oh well.
48. Loreena McKennitt - The Book of Secrets (1997)
(https://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pv3VcPJynWM/SpsSs6G3K0I/AAAAAAAAAdo/1vU8TAtReHg/s320/loreena.jpg)
Loreena McKennitt is a celtic folk artist from the Canadian province of Manitoba, not too far from me. She has one of the most beautiful voices I have ever heard and this album is just full of gold. Every song sounds very full and lush, and it's one of the most relaxing albums out there. The lyrics are kind of typical of the genre, but quite well done. A perfect album.
Favourite tracks: The Mummer's Dance, The Highwayman, Marco Polo
47. Frank Turner - England Keep My Bones (2011)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/6/65/Frank_Turner_-_England_Keep_My_Bones_Cover.jpg/220px-Frank_Turner_-_England_Keep_My_Bones_Cover.jpg)
And we have another folk album! This time it's good old acoustic folk with some alt rock tendencies. The songs are catchy as all hell, the lyrics are some of the best out there, and I always picture this as one of the best albums to drink with your buds to. It's got lots of energy behind it and it's very patriotic (towards England, but it doesn't really matter) and fun. Frank also has an awesome and fitting voice to go with the music. Just a really fun album.
Favourite tracks: Rivers, If Ever I Stray, Glory Hallelujah
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I need to listen to more Loreena. I liked the songs I got sent in my last roulette. Would you recommend that as a good album to start with?
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I need to listen to more Loreena. I liked the songs I got sent in my last roulette. Would you recommend that as a good album to start with?
Yeah, I'd call it a good start. :)
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Book of Secrets :metal
Also, is one of your EPs Jar of Flies?
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No, sorry. It's been a while since I've listened to much of AiC's music really, but I do enjoy them.
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LYSF should be higher. Will be following. :tup
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All great picks but havent heard 47!
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I've heard all so far, but I doubt that will continue for much longer. :biggrin:
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46. Emilie Autumn - Opheliac (2006)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/f0/Opheliac_cover.jpg/220px-Opheliac_cover.jpg)
This was the first album in this style I had ever listened to, but it caught me pretty much immediately. The songs are pretty angry and bitter for the most part, and she has a great voice for pretty much any mood. The electronic beats are quite effective as well. It's an album that's pretty hard to say exactly why I like it so much, but it's a great listen.
Favourite tracks: The Art of Suicide, Thank God I'm Pretty, Gothic Lolita, Liar
45. Porcupine Tree - Stupid Dream (1999)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/b4/Porcupine_tree_stupid_dream.jpg/220px-Porcupine_tree_stupid_dream.jpg)
It was kind of weird how this was the PT album I had always neglected the most. I rarely listened to it for the longest time for no reason I can tell, but one time I just sat down for a proper listen and I loved it to death. It was very sudden. The songs are arguably the catchiest out of any PT album, and his harmonies are at their absolute best here in my opinion. It also has the criminally underrated Baby Dream in Cellophane, which has one of their nicest sounding choruses.
Favourite tracks: Don't Hate Me, A Smart Kid, This is No Rehearsal, Baby Dream in Cellophane
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that PT album is awesome.
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that PT album is awesome.
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Another two good albums.
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Both good but not great albums for me :)
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Considering I was too busy to update yesterday, here's an extra one for today.
44. Between the Buried and Me - Colors (2007)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/cb/Colors1.jpg/220px-Colors1.jpg)
I'll admit, I'm rarely ever in the mood for this album. And it's quite a beast to listen to entirely even if I am in the mood. But it doesn't change the fact that it kicks serious ass. The growls are awesome, the guitars are awesome, the drumming's awesome, it's all just at full power here. The lyrics I think leave a bit to be desired, but it's a crazy and incredibly heavy album. There's also the random polka and bluegrass sections that have a bit of comedic effect, but are also kinda cool in their own right. The closest thing to metalcore I could see myself enjoying.
Favourite tracks: Ants of the Sky, Sun of Nothing, White Walls
43. Brand New - Deja Entendu (2003)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/7/7b/Brand_New_Deja_Entendu.jpg/220px-Brand_New_Deja_Entendu.jpg)
This year thing has made me realize there are way too many albums from the 2000s here. Funny because I always though I was more of an older music person. :lol Anyways, what to say about this. I find it's the easiest of Brand New's albums to pick up and just listen to. It's still not my favourite, but it's a solid alt rock album. The lyrics are awe-inspiring and drip with emotion like always for Brand New and the songs are very well written. Play Crack the Sky also hits me right in the feels every listen.
Favourite tracks: Play Crack the Sky, The Boy Who Blocked His Own Shot, Jaws Theme Swimming
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Colors :heart :heart :heart :heart
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Another two good albums. Colors would be in my top 5, when it comes to Brand New I've always preferred Devil & God over Deja Entendu, but it's a great album anyways.
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Colors :heart :heart :heart :heart
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Two fucking amazing albums. Deja doesn't get the love that it deserves - it's on par with TDAGARIM, imo.
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42. My Bloody Valentine - You Made Me Realise (EP) (1988)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/6/65/Youmademerealise.jpg/220px-Youmademerealise.jpg)
To be honest, the cover of this has always unnerved me a little. Just the look on her face while she's holding a knife to her throat. I find it odd. In any case, the music is awesome. The title track is one of the heavier tracks of MBV, and Slow has great melodies despite the terribly cheesy sexual lyrics. :lol The EP as a whole was when MBV really came into their own, and I give it quite a few spins. The noise is great and you can kind of make out the lyrics in places unlike on Loveless where audible lyrics are scarce. The title track is one of the greatest songs they've ever done (possibly the greatest), and it's just a really nice, short little listen.
Favourite tracks: You Made Me Realise, Slow, Cigarette in Your Bed
41. Boards of Canada - In a Beautiful Place Out in the Country (EP) (2000)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/3/3c/Inabeautifulplaceoutinthecountry.jpg/220px-Inabeautifulplaceoutinthecountry.jpg)
Two of the three EPs knocked off in a row! Anyways, this is my favourite BoC EP by quite a large margin, and they possibly have my favourite EPs overall of any band ever. Kid For Today is probably my favourite BoC song, and all three of the other tracks are top notch quality, even for them. BoC always seem to carry this lovable and addictive aura about their music that no other electronic group could emulate, which is why they're definitely my favourite electronic artists. The only thing wrong with it is I wish it lasted longer, but alas it is an EP.
Favourite tracks: Kid For Today 1st, then all 3 of the others tied for 2nd.
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so much discussion
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This being a Dream Theater Forum, I can imagine what the third EP might be... ;)
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This being a Dream Theater Forum, I can imagine what the third EP might be... ;)
This being LieLow, I doubt that it is what you imagine... :biggrin:
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I don't think the lack of discussion is only in this thread, but in most "top X"-threads. In the beginning it was kinda new and cool, so people commented more, but I think now, people mostly lurk. They're still most likely following it, just not commenting as much.
Two nice picks. :tup
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I'm certainly lurking, waiting for something I like lol ;D
So far LieLow and my musical compatibility is rather low! I will have a listen to the stuff I don't know and if anything sticks I'll chip in. No point bringing a negative vibe when things are just not my taste.
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This being a Dream Theater Forum, I can imagine what the third EP might be... ;)
This being LieLow, I doubt that it is what you imagine... :biggrin:
I don't think the lack of discussion is only in this thread, but in most "top X"-threads. In the beginning it was kinda new and cool, so people commented more, but I think now, people mostly lurk. They're still most likely following it, just not commenting as much.
I agree with both of these. :)
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40. Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here (1975)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/3/39/WishYouWereHere-300.jpg/220px-WishYouWereHere-300.jpg)
This album has always been special to me. It seems to feel just different from any other album. Only 5 tracks, but they're all amazing in their own way. The first Shine On You Crazy Diamond track being my second favourite of the band, and the title track possibly being my all time favourite song that appears frequently on the radio, and also one of my favourites of the band. I don't really know how to describe this one, and I'm sure most of you have heard this one already anyway. If you haven't, listen to it now. It's fantastic.
Favourite tracks: Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts I-VII or whatever the hell it is), Wish You Were Here, Shine On You Crazy Diamond (the other one)
39. Unexpect - In a Flesh Aquarium (2006)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/ff/Unexpectflesh.jpg/220px-Unexpectflesh.jpg)
This is another one that could easily have gone much higher, but I don't listen to it quite as religiously as before. Anyways, this is one of the most insane albums that will ever be made. Incredibly heavy metal, mixed with many other genres such as circus music and jazz, and it's constantly all over the place going in a different direction when you least expect it. The vocals are handled by three wonderful people, two male vocalists, and one female with some of the most beautiful vocals I've ever heard. Not for the faint of heart at all, and it's the very definition of avant-garde. Be warned.
Favourite tracks: Desert Urbania, Psychic Jugglers, Megalomaniac Trees, Summoning Scenes
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WYWH is now tied with Operation: Mindcrime as the 5th most mentioned album
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Two good albums again. I'm not a huge PF-fan, but I am starting to get into the band, and that through WYWH, so nice choice!
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WYWH is fantastic. I'll have to give that Unexpect album a spin, I've only heard good stuff about it.
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WYWH is a masterpiece. I placed it much higher in my top 50. Good to see it here
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38. Tom Waits - Rain Dogs (1985)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/46/TomWaitsRainDogs.jpg/220px-TomWaitsRainDogs.jpg)
Dat voice. There's no one out there who sounds like Waits, and boy is he satisfying to listen to. The music is very eclectic, going through jazz numbers, honky-tonk bar songs, blues, and even country. It's really not something I expected to enjoy, but it's quite nice and fun. His voice sounds like it's been weathered by centuries of drinking, but that's really the attraction of him. That dry, raspy voice gives every song the feel that only Waits can give.
Favourite tracks: Clap Hands, Jockey Full of Bourbon, Singapore
37. Thrice - The Alchemy Index (all) (2007 and 2008)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/c0/Thrice_-_The_Alchemy_Index_Vols._I_%26_II-Fire_%26_Water_cover.jpg/220px-Thrice_-_The_Alchemy_Index_Vols._I_%26_II-Fire_%26_Water_cover.jpg)(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/e6/Thrice_-_The_Alchemy_Index_Vols._III_%26_IV-Air_%26_Earth_cover.jpg/220px-Thrice_-_The_Alchemy_Index_Vols._III_%26_IV-Air_%26_Earth_cover.jpg)
All four of the discs are really something special, and I consider them one album. Anyways, I bought it all at once, enjoyed it an insane amount, stopped listening for a while, then recently picked it back up and I'm addicted again. Every disc has it's own element, and in turn, it's own theme and sound. The heavy, blazing Fire, the electronic-tinged, relaxing, ambient Water, the soft, airy rock of Air, and the organic, folky Earth. My personal favourite is probably Water. I haven't gotten much Thrice besides this (only Major/Minor), but I'm thinking I really should soon.
Favourite tracks: Daedalus, Digital Sea, Night Diving, Burn the Fleet, The Arsonist, Come All You Weary
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Your sentiments on The Alchemy Index are almost spot on to what I think. I enjoyed them greatly in the first 6-8 months of having heard them, but after that my interest in them has waned a bit unfortunately. The musicianship is great though and the albums/disc are great seperately, but as a whole as well. I should listen to them sometime soon again.
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Two amazing picks! When it comes to Thrice, Vheissu is their best IMO, but TAI is not far behind.
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:tup for Alchemy Index, and yes you should get some more Thrice! May I recommend.....all of their albums? ;)
Nice to see Deja Entendu get some love around here too.
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Tom Waits is the man.
I dunno if you've heard it but his newest one, Bad As Me, is the cat's meow.
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Tom Waits is the man.
I dunno if you've heard it but his newest one, Bad As Me, is the cat's meow.
Cup, you're back! Where were you, man?
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Tom Waits is the man.
I dunno if you've heard it but his newest one, Bad As Me, is the cat's meow.
Cup, you're back! Where were you, man?
Busy with boring stuff. Lots of paperwork. But that's over and I'm glad to be back.
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I dunno if you've heard it but his newest one, Bad As Me, is the cat's meow.
Haven't heard it yet, but I've heard nothing but good things. I'll get around to it soon.
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36. Harmonium - Si On Avait Besoin D'Une Cinquieme Saison (1975)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/c1/Harmonium_-_Si_On_Avait_Besoin_D%27Une_Cinqui%C3%A8me_Saison.jpg/220px-Harmonium_-_Si_On_Avait_Besoin_D%27Une_Cinqui%C3%A8me_Saison.jpg)
This is definitely one of the most beautiful albums I have ever heard. Definitely one of the pinnacles of 70s prog. It's very different from other prog though for multiple reasons. One of the most notable things is there is no drumming whatsoever. It's just pure relaxing, beautiful prog folk. Each track represents a season (the title of the album translating to If We Needed a Fifth Season). Vert representing spring, Dixie representing summer, Depuis L'Automne representing fall, and En Pleine Face representing winter. The final track, the epic 17 minute Histoires Sans Paroles, represents the "fifth season" and sounds a lot like soundtrack music, but it is indescribably beautiful. If you like calm, relaxing, folky music, get this now.
Favourite tracks: Depuis L'Automne, Histoires Sans Paroles
35. Agalloch - The Mantle (2002)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/13/The_Mantle.jpg/220px-The_Mantle.jpg)
This album is pretty popular here, and for good reason. It evokes a chilling, wintery atmosphere unlike any other album. It's also good at being simultaneously heavy and soft, with snarling harsh vocals and a metal sound blended with 12 string acoustic guitars and a nice folky atmosphere. It's really the perfect winter album. I don't really know what else to say other than it's awesome.
Favourite tracks: In the Shadow of Our Pale Companion, I Am the Wooden Doors, The Lodge, Odal
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That Agalloch album is all kinds of awesome, musically, but the vocals are something that I just can't stomach - which is strange, 'cause I enjoy harsh vocals quite a lot, but they never seem to work for me in context with Agalloch.
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The Mantle! :heart
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I've always enjoyed Ashes more than Mantle, but it's a fantastic album still. The other album sounds really cool from your description.
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The Mantle is one of my favorite albums ever. It does indeed remind you of bleak woods in the deep winter, when the dark trunks of leafless trees stand out against the white snow. Beautiful. :heart
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The Mantle is awesome. Great album.
As for Tom Waits, I've never been able to get past his voice and just enjoy the music though.
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Because of this list, I listened to Digital Sea off of the Thrice album. That night I had weird dreams involving this song. Now I have to buy that album! It's a sign!
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Because of this list, I listened to Digital Sea off of the Thrice album. That night I had weird dreams involving this song. Now I have to buy that album! It's a sign!
:D!
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Because of this list, I listened to Digital Sea off of the Thrice album. That night I had weird dreams involving this song. Now I have to buy that album! It's a sign!
:D!
You have no idea. :biggrin:
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34. Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning (2005)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/3/36/Imwideawake.jpg/220px-Imwideawake.jpg)
This is just a wonderful album. It has it's depressing moments, it has it's happy moments (which are a decent bit fewer, but they're there), and Conor Oberst delivers all the emotions with some of the best lyricism out there. Hell, I'd go as far as to call him my favourite lyricist (although he is mighty close with Peter Hammill of Van der Graaf Generator). Anyways, this is some of the highest quality indie folk you'll find, and a nice, easy listen.
Favourite tracks: Lua, Poison Oak, Old Soul Song (For the New World Order), First Day of My Life
33. Burial - Kindred (EP) (2012)
(https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Y2UPb6o-A9Y/Tz7AX3-OG_I/AAAAAAAAAkA/smrUmE8mEN0/s320/burial-kindred-ep.jpg)
So this probably isn't the one people were expecting. Oh well. Call it 2-step garage, call it dubstep, all I know is I love this album. This isn't the WUB WUB noisy dubstep most are familiar with, (hell, if you showed this to a run-of-the-mill mainstream dubstep fan the last word ever they'd likely use to call it is dubstep) but it's subtle and atmospheric in it's own way, utilizing edited and distorted vocal sample and a crumbly static sound, he crafts a dark, "city at night" feeling with the music. Most people know Burial for his highly acclaimed Untrue album. Well the shortest track of this EP is longer than the longest track on that album. We have 3 tracks, two coming in at 11+ minutes, and one at 7+ minutes. And I actually prefer this EP to Untrue. Untrue is still an amazing album, but I feel this EP is his strongest effort yet, and hopefully a wonderful sign of things to come.
Favourite tracks: All of them.
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This being a Dream Theater Forum, I can imagine what the third EP might be... ;)
This being LieLow, I doubt that it is what you imagine... :biggrin:
Case proven.
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:tup for I'm Wide Awake! Nice to see Bright Eyes mentioned on the forum again, I thought that everyone who liked them that posted here had either been banned or stopped posting. Conor is one of my all-time fave singer/songwriters.
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The Mantle is incredible!
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Since I'm in a supercool totally awesome mood I'll give you guys a six album update to make up for the fact I didn't update the past few days. Enjoy.
32. Can - Future Days (1973)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/1d/Can_-_Future_Days.jpg/220px-Can_-_Future_Days.jpg)
So despite this being over 70 million spots lower than it was my last top 50, this album still does it for me. This is a beach album right here. Even the opening track opens with the sounds of a nice summer beach. These krautrockers go full on ambient in spots here and it's majestic. This album is nothing like any of their others. I mean, you still can't understand a damned word Damo Suzuki says if he's even saying anything at all, and Jaki Liebezeit is still providing some super groovy drums. Every track is awesome in it's own way though. The 9 and a half minute title track, just being relaxing as hell with soothing guitar solos and is the beachiest song here. Spray opening with a 6 minute improv section with some of the coolest percussion you will ever hear in any song ever before letting Damo provide some lazy sounding vocals for a couple minutes. Moonshake looks back to previous albums, is very accessible, only 3 minutes long, and is just groovy and catchy as all hell. Then there's the 20 minute epic, probably the most misguided use of the word epic ever. It's the length of one, but it's not epic one bit. It's just 20 minutes of pure krautrock bliss, with lots of improv, soothing sections, and some of Damo's best vocal work ever. That song just makes me feel insanely good. So yeah, this was a long writeup but for some reason this is an album I feel the need to blabber about. Probably should've placed this higher.
Favourite tracks: All of them
31. The Cure - Disintegration (1989)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/b8/CureDisintegration.jpg/220px-CureDisintegration.jpg)
This is the only album by The Cure I have and every time I listen to it I feel like a complete jackass that this is the case. It's another watery album, but not beachy. This is more "staring off a cliff into the horizon where the sun sets and touches the water and everything is beautiful"-y. Right from the moment the synth in Plainsong comes in the feeling just washes over you and it is wonderful. You have a fusion of gothic elements and pop elements throughout this album and it melds together beautifully. It's just a wonderful album.
Favourite tracks: Plainsong, Lullaby, Pictures of You, Fascination Street
30. The Smiths - The Queen is Dead (1986)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/ed/The-Queen-is-Dead-cover.png/220px-The-Queen-is-Dead-cover.png)
It's funny because I don't listen to this album much, but I felt the need to put it here. Probably because whenever I do listen to it it kicks my ass and makes me like it. Okay so it's not heavy or anything as you'd think from that sentence, it's just so... good. It's hard to explain. Anyway it has it all. It's catchy, the lyrics are just plain brilliant, and hilarious at that. Morrissey's voice was something I had to get used to as I found it had a weird nasally quality despite being generally low-pitched, but I love it tons now as well. It's one of the ultimate pop albums and right when the drums in the title track come in, you know you're in for something sweet.
Favourite tracks: There is a Light That Never Goes Out, Bigmouth Strikes Again, The Queen is Dead, Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others
29. Sigur Ros - ( ) (2002)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8d/Sigurros%28%29.jpg/220px-Sigurros%28%29.jpg)
This album is breathtaking. Plain and simple. Once you're in the mood for it, nothing else will do. You need to hear the beauty of this album. The lyrics...well...there really are no actually lyrics as it is all in a language called Hopelandic that means nothing. It may seem a little demanding for some at 72 minutes too. And as an addition to their being no actual lyrics and no actual title, the songs have no names either. Oh, and the album booklet? Blank. All blank. Nothing about this album is anything. But does it matter? Hell no! It's one of the most relaxing and beautiful albums out there and that's that.
Favourite tracks: Untitled 3, Untitled 6, Untitled 7, Untitled 8
28. The Devin Townsend Project - Deconstruction (2011)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/5/5f/Deconstruction_%28The_Devin_Townsend_Project_album%29_cover.jpg/220px-Deconstruction_%28The_Devin_Townsend_Project_album%29_cover.jpg)
Now here's an album that grabs you by the balls and swings you around like a medieval flail. This one is heavy as all hell, and is Devy's best with no contest in my opinion. The first track is one of the coolest songs I've ever heard, with lyrics of sobriety in the style of the music he made when he was sober, but suddenly comes "AHHHH GIMME THAT WIIIIIINE GIMME THAT ACIIIIIIIID" and the song gets gradually heavier and until suddenly, it climaxes into one of, if not THE most epic introduction to any album ever. That first song leaves such an impression it's insane. And the rest of the album backs up that impression to. It's silly, yes. It may seem overwhelming, yes. But I enjoy every second of it thoroughly. The title track might have sounds of a man taking a diarrhea shit that's kind of stupid, but the song itself is just pure chaos and I love it all. Listen to this.
Favourite tracks: Deconstruction, The Mighty Masturbator, Stand, Praise the Lowered
27. Comus - First Utterance (1971)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/97/FirstUtterance.jpg/220px-FirstUtterance.jpg)
"Comus glare, Comus glare, Comus bare,
Comus rape, Comus break sweet young virgin's virtue take
Naked flesh flowing hair her terror screams they cut the air
Comes the sunlight summer day Comus wakes he starts to play
He starts to play he starts to play he starts to play
Aah
Chastity chaser virile for the virgin's virtue
Excite her exciter you better go before you bleed and he hurts you
He chased the chaste you better leave if you value your virtue"
"Hey, hey
Drip drip from your sagging lip
Liquid red down your body spread
Your soft breast glistens your deep navel fountains"
Some of you people may have heard of Comus through Mikael Akerfeldt referencing them in Opeth titles (My Arms, Your Hearse is a lyric from the track Drip Drip, The Baying of the Hounds is a lyric from the track Diana). Well this album kicks ass in my opinion, but I gotta warn you, this is not music for normal people. You have to have some degree of fucked-upness to enjoy this. It is the weirdest folk music you will ever hear I can guarantee you this. Sounds like it was made by gremlins in a forest, and even the vocals sound this way. The lyrics were very :metal for their time, although the music isn't heavy or metal in the slightest. It contains lyrics about raping, murdering, hanging a Christian, all that wonderful, cheerful stuff. And it's mostly sang with this odd kind of joy and sadisticness which makes it even weirder. But as weird as this is, it is wonderful. Sadly, their album after this in 1974 is quite average. They did make a comeback album this year though (almost 40 years later ffs) and I have yet to hear it, but I hear talk that it's a goodie.
Favourite tracks: Diana, Drip Drip, Song to Comus, The Herald
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() :heart
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Brilliant update right there. And nice writeups. I know it's pain in the ass that it takes so much time to write it down, only to be read in seconds, but good work. :)
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Thank you. :) Yeah, I like the writeups this update more than my others. For some reason I just felt more motivated to write this time. :lol
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Listening to Comus now and loving it. Always been a huge folk person.
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Good to hear. I recommend Si On Avait Besoin D'Une Cinquieme Saison for a listen to if you don't mind music in other languages since you're a folk person. It's not pure folk, but any folk fan should love it IMO.
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Sweet, I'll check it out. :tup
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26. Dir en Grey - UROBOROS (2008)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e0/Dir_en_grey_-_Uroboros.png)
This was an album I didn't expect to like near as much as I did. I'd heard Vinushka and loved it to death, but thought it'd be the highlight and the rest might be meh, so I was reluctant to buy. Luckily, my hunch was wrong and this album was insanely good. The lyrics are a mix of Japanese and English that is so heavily accented that it might as well be Japanese. Despite this fact, Kyo is possibly my favourite metal vocalist. His clean vocals are nothing special, but beyond that he has so much versatility and can provide harsh vocals with so much ferocity it's just mind-boggling. He screams, growls, hisses, and does some weird shrieky scream that I've never heard anyone else do anything like, and it's all done exceptionally. The riffs are also intense, and the melodies are awesome, but his harsh vocals are certainly the highlight.
Favourite tracks: Vinushka, Reiketsu Nariseba, Gaika Chinmoku Ga Nemurukoro, Stuck Man
25. Don Caballero - Don Caballero 2 (1995)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/23/Doncab2.jpg)
This is almost certainly my favourite drumming album of all time. Don Caballero is one of the pioneers of the math rock genre, and my almost certainly my favourite. This album here is a blend of math rock and some heavier elements. It's raw, in your face, powerful, and crushing most of the way through, but knows when to calm itself down and relax you a little. As I said, the drumming is just phenomenal. Don Cab is one of the few bands where the drumming seems to take the lead while the guitars make for some extra intensity, and Damon Che uses this lead to it's full potential. He goes through wacky time signatures accompanied by even wackier drum lines, crazy fills, awesome cymbal work, the whole package. He just never gets boring.
Favourite tracks: please tokio please THIS IS TOKIO, P, P, P, Antless, Stupid Puma, Repeat Defender, Cold Knees (In April)
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Didn't expect much attention for this update. :lol
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Some awesomeness in the last two updates. Dir En Grey are amazing, Uroboros and Dum Spiro Spero are among the best metal albums ever made IMO.
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I listened to the Harmonium album. Good stuff. :heart
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:tup :tup
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Time for some classic prog!
24. Yes - Relayer (1974)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/92/Relayer_front_cover.jpg/220px-Relayer_front_cover.jpg)
This is by far Yes' most unconventional album, mostly in the first 2 tracks. I also find it their most fun to listen to. Gates of Delirium is unquestionably one of their best, mostly thanks to the blistering instrumental section. The crashing of those automobile parts coming down is just deadly. Sound Chaser is a brilliant song guitar wise, and is just a delight to listen to. To Be Over is a beautiful track, and although I don't like it as much as the first two it makes a brilliant addition to the album. Yes' best album for sure.
Favourite tracks: Gates of Delirium, Sound Chaser
23. Genesis - Foxtrot (1972)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/3/39/Foxtrot72.jpg/220px-Foxtrot72.jpg)
This album is just plain heavenly. Every song is brilliant, all in their own way. The closer is one of the most highly acclaimed prog epics of all time, and with good reason. It's literally perfect in my mind. Can-Utility and the Coastliners isn't far behind though, and fits so much beautiful material into a small space. Those two songs are the best Genesis songs in my mind, even though Can-Utility seems to be highly underrated :(. I don't know what else to say, but this album is brilliant and a must-own for any prog fan.
Favourite tracks: Supper's Ready, Can-Utility and the Coastliners
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Amazing picks. The Gates of Delirium is my favorite Yes song, and Supper's Ready is my favorite Genesis song. I also love Can-Utility and the Coastliners. It's almost everything great about the Gabriel-era crammed into a short song.
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I'm waiting for your writeup on that crazy Japanese stuff you posted in your last roulette.
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Two prog classics. :tup
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Hooray for Relayer!
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I'm waiting for your writeup on that crazy Japanese stuff you posted in your last roulette.
:lol While it is totally awesome, I'm afraid it's not here. ;)
22. Converge - Jane Doe (2001)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/b5/Converge-JaneDoe.jpg/220px-Converge-JaneDoe.jpg)
This is an album almost no one likes immediately. Some do, but it's rare. I LOATHED this album when I first heard it. Thought it was sorta cool instrumentation mixed with the worst excuse for vocals ever, and was just all noise for the whole 45 minutes. Now I see it for it's true glory. It's another album that grabs you by the balls, it's heavy as all hell, it's incredibly intense, but also very emotional which many will overlook due to the fact the vocals are mostly RAAARARARARARARARRARAORAIHGNDIASNGUASGNASKBGAJSDGBASNG. The lyrics in the booklet are mostly not actually in the songs, but are very beautifully written nonetheless and shows that Bannon can write. So despite my undying love for this, I only recommend it if you like metal, are fine with harsh vocals, and are incredibly pissed off on the first listen. It is then you will see it for it's true beauty and will hopefully fall in love with it. Otherwise you might shun it like me. Oh, and the drumming is sexy.
Favourite tracks: Jane Doe, Heaven In Her Arms, Hell to Pay
21. Porcupine Tree - The Sky Moves Sideways (1995)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/bc/Porcupine_tree_the_sky_moves_sideways.jpg)
Yes. This is still PT's best. Haters gonna hate. I love this album passionately and have since first listen. It's unlike any other in their discography really. It's a completely different kind of psychedelic then what came before it, and everything other than Signify (which was darker and much more trippy) that came after wasn't psychedelic at all. It's sort of an oddball in their discography, but it's a great listen. The title tracks are both flawless, and Moonloop (Improv) is a delight if you're a krautrock fan like me, and the Coda is just awesome all around. Every song on this album is perfect, and it is their best for sure. It seems to get some flak on this forum so I can't expect much agreeance, but meh.
Favourite tracks: The Sky Moves Sideways Phase One and Two, Moonloop Improv and Coda, Stars Die
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Dude I've been meaning to check out Converge, I've heard a lot about them and they sound like they're right up my alley. Is that the album you recommend to start with or is there one that would be better for a noob?
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Yeah, I'd go with this one. :)
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Word
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Not much of a fan of that PT album.
I missed the Yes/Genesis update. Both excellent albums :tup
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I get what you mean with Converge. First time I heard the album, I was like: "what the fuck is this?", but it grows on you.
Good update!
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That PT album is much better without Moonloop on it.
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Just listened to the song Jane Doe. I've never heard of Converge before. It was.......interesting. I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it, but it was seriously one of the most intense things I've listened to. The vocals techniques are extreme and the whole mood and atmosphere is somewhat disturbing. Don't know what to make of it, but I sort of like what they are doing. Not something you would listen to all the time, but great intensity.
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That's pretty much how I feel about Converge. When I'm in the mood to listen to Jane Doe, it's an amazing album. But it is very heavy and doesn't give you much time to "breathe", so it's not an album I can put on every day, it has to be something special.
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Just listened to the song Jane Doe. I've never heard of Converge before. It was.......interesting. I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it, but it was seriously one of the most intense things I've listened to. The vocals techniques are extreme and the whole mood and atmosphere is somewhat disturbing. Don't know what to make of it, but I sort of like what they are doing. Not something you would listen to all the time, but great intensity.
Yeah, it's really a true "anger" album. It gets most of it's listens when something is really bothering me.
Anyways, next update in a few. :)
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20. The Mars Volta - Amputechture (2006)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/e7/GSL126_cover_temp_461.png/220px-GSL126_cover_temp_461.png)
I know I'm in the minority, but this will always be my favourite TMV release by a large margin. It's full of TMV's best moments, and Tetragrammaton is their best song in my opinion. They're not as explosively noisy as they are in lots of Frances the Mute, but they still play with their signature ferocity and the drumming is as brilliant as ever (especially in the aforementioned Tetragrammaton). The bass solo in the intro of Day of the Baphomets is also something new for them, but it's great. And Cedric is going higher up then ever vocalwise. Definitely their best for me.
Favourite tracks: Tetragrammaton, Meccamputechture, Viscera Eyes, Day of the Baphomets, Vicarious Atonement
19. Guided by Voices - Bee Thousand (1994)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/7/78/Bee_Thousand.jpg/220px-Bee_Thousand.jpg)
This is an interesting album. On the surface, there's really nothing special about it. It just sounds like a nice catchy rock album played by a middle aged English teacher going through a midlife crisis and his buddies. The reason it's so amazing to me is...well...it's just that. It's a nice catchy indie rock album with lo-fi production that doesn't try too hard to make it's statement. Pretty much every song has something that sticks to you to the point where only the second listen of the full album will feel very familiar. The tracks are very short, at 20 songs with a total length of 36:35, and the longest track being 3:04. However, every song ends exactly when it needs and pretty much always leaves a hook embedded in your subconcious to reveal itself later. It really sticks with you. What also is amazing is that each song was written in about half an hour and then recorded on some of the lowest grade recording equipment you could get away with on a record. To add to the whole "don't give a fuck" feel, you can clearly hear the guitar abruptly stop in the opening track (Hardcore UFOs) which leads to the belief the guitarist dropped his pick or something. Anyways, sorry for rambling. It's weird that I have to say so much to describe such a small, simple album, but I love it lots and it's essential for any indie lover. Now I have to go listen to it again.
Favourite tracks: I Am a Scientist, Tractor Rape Chain, Buzzards and Dreadful Crows, Gold Star for Robot Boy, Echos Myron, The Goldheart Mountaintop Queen Directory, Hardcore UFOs, Queen of Cans and Jars, Peep-Hole, A Big Fan of the Pigpen, Her Psychology Today
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No discussion? Okay. :lol
18. Boards of Canada - Geogaddi (2002)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/86/Geogaddi.jpg)
This album is kinda known for being satanic. it's 66:06 in length, 666 MB in size, and is full of backmasked messages and weird dark noises. But it's also Boards of Canada and therefore beautiful. This is their second full length release out of 3 and it is by far their darkest release. It also sounds more weathered and static-y than their other releases, which was supposedly done on purpose because "perfect music is boring". At 23 tracks, there's a lot of different tunes to be found. Ranging from the just plain beautiful (Dawn Chorus) to the just plain fucked up (A is to B as B is to C). Then the in-between, like The Devil is in the Details, which repeating riff is meant to represent 6-6-6 in some weird music theory way I can't remember the specifics of. This album is full of enough nuggets to make Octavarium seem like a Justin Bieber album, but it's wonderful. Also, if you love Salad Fingers, you'll definitely recognize Beware the Friendly Stranger :) .
Favourite tracks: Julie and Candy, Alpha and Omega, Dawn Chorus, Gyroscope, 1969
17. Van der Graaf Generator - Pawn Hearts (1971)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/1d/Pawnhearts.jpg)
So these guys used to be my favourite band, and they're still up there. This album was their lowest ranked that made my last list, but now it's my favourite. I don't know why this came to be, but this is my favourite classic prog album. It only has 3 tracks coming in at 11:37, 10:20, and 23:04 in length, the 23 minute track being one of the earlier side-long rock tracks out there, but it is possibly one of my top 5 songs of all time. The lyrics are possibly also the best out there, and may seem incredibly pretentious to some, but are amazing. This is also their most psychedelic and weird of their great albums. If you wanna get a start on this band, I wouldn't exactly recommend this one, but if you wanna jump right into the fire then do it by all means.
Favourite tracks: All
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Nice to see VdGG in your list! Pawn Hearts is one of my favorite albums. It would probably be in my top 10.
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Yeah, they used to be my favourite band, but my tastes have changed drastically. They still kick serious ass though. :metal
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Back in the day, from 1994-1998, I was a big indie, and one of the indie bands I liked was Guided By Voices. I saw them the summer before I started college in Pittsburgh on the Mag Earwhig! tour, and the only things I remember about it was the insanely hot blond girl and her even hotter brunette girlfriend. It was the first real lesbien kiss I ever saw. They put on a great show, and so did the band, so I'll always have a soft spot for GBV.
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Cool! :) Didn't think you'd be a fan. :D
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16. Pink Floyd - Animals (1977)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/7/74/Pink_Floyd-Animals-Frontal.jpg/220px-Pink_Floyd-Animals-Frontal.jpg)
You're probably all wondering what the hells going on since I just called the previous album my favourite classic prog album. Well for some reason I never think of PF when I think of classic prog. Not sure why. In any case, this album kicks all sorta of ass. Bookended by two short acoustic tracks that are exactly the same aside from the lyrics, but the three tracks in the middle are where it's all at. All three are top 10 PF songs for me, with Dogs being my favourite, Sheep being my 3rd, and Pigs (Three Different Ones) being somewhere else up there. This is PF at their rawest and most powerful. David Gilmour shines as always here, the lyrics kick all sorts of ass, and the outro to Sheep is one of my all-time favourite outros. The entire album is perfect and a must-listen.
Favourite tracks: Dogs, Sheep, Pigs (Three Different Ones)
15. Sigur Rós - Ágætis byrjun (1999)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/92/%C3%81g%C3%A6tisByrjunCover.JPG/220px-%C3%81g%C3%A6tisByrjunCover.JPG)
This album is one of SRs most optimistic and cheerful moments. The music is slow and relaxing as usual, but there's just a cheerful aura about it. It puts me in a really bright mood. This album, while only 14 seconds shorter than ( ), seems to go by so much quicker. There are no weak moments or overplayed sections whatsoever here, everything is as long as it should be and never overstays itself. Everything is constructed to make the perfect beautiful and bright atmosphere it is intended to make, and it's all perfect. With this one, SR truly prove themselves as possibly the most beautiful sounding band out there.
Favourite tracks: Viðrar vel til loftárása, Svefn-g-englar, Ágætis byrjun, Olsen Olsen, Starálfur
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Animals :heart
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Agaetis Byrjun is my third favorite Sigur Ros album, but it's fantastic never the less. :hat
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Great picks!
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Animals is indeed a great album, though I'd rate WWYH a bit higher than it. Sheep is my personal favourite song on the album, and a Top 3 PF song for me.
I have only recently begun getting into Ágætis byrjun, after having listened to () for quite a long time, but it really is a beautiful album. Starálfur is great.
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Geogaddi and Agaetis Byrjun ♥
Animals <3 too
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I knew this thread can't go without a Van der Graaf Generator album. :hefdaddy
Also, Animals :tup
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Sorry guys. You get 4 today.
14. Godspeed You! Black Emperor - F♯ A♯ ∞ (1997)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/90/Gybeinfinity.jpg/220px-Gybeinfinity.jpg)
I know this is stated by everyone who has ever talked about this album, but this is the soundtrack to the apocalypse. It's dark, has voice samples that sound like those kinds of matters, and carries a feeling of desolation throughout. This is my favourite release by Godspeed for good reason. I find it to be the easiest to listen to in it's entirety (not only that, I feel it has to be), I find the enjoyment never stops throughout, and every mood and note is perfect. I should listen to this on December 21st methinks. :neverusethis:
Favourite tracks: All
13. Massive Attack - Mezzanine (1998)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4f/MassiveAttackMezzanine.jpg)
This is a real night album. It's also known for apparently being quite fun to fuck somebody too. I could see why too as it is a very sexy album. But it's not only good for getting laid too. No, it's more than that. It's just plain hypnotic in it's own way. And it never breaks that flow. I know there's an argument that the two Exchange tracks disrupt this flow, but I find they enhance the album a lot, and the second one is one of my favourite closings to an album. I couldn't say exactly why, it just ends it all with this perfect feeling. So I think these people are nuts and this album is flawless, especially in the first four tracks. If you have the faintest interest in trip-hop, I recommend this muchly.
Favourite tracks: Too many candidates for this so I'll just say all.
12. Bright Eyes - Lifted or The Story is on the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground (2002)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f6/Lifted.jpg)
Whenever I'm feeling all sad, emotional, and deep, this is often my go-to album. I mean it's not depressing all the way through (Bowl of Oranges is one of the happiest songs ever), but a great bit of it is, while even the rest of the album is very lyrically personal, and I like that. Waste of Paint and Let's Not Shit Ourselves are great showcases on how Conor can make a song brilliant almost solely with his incredible lyrics. Waste of Paint being a compilation of depressing tales of multiple people and one of the saddest songs I've ever heard. So if you're ever feelin real down, I recommend this one for a spin.
Favourite tracks: Waste of Paint, Let's Not Shit Ourselves, The Big Picture, False Advertising, Don't Know When But a Day's Gonna Come, Bowl of Oranges
11. Portishead - Dummy (1994)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/cf/PortisheadDummy.jpg/220px-PortisheadDummy.jpg)
And only 2 spaces ahead of Mezzanine we have an album often known as sort of a rival to Mezzanine. There is lot's of argument on which of the two is better, and evidently I think this one is. But very slightly and I probably wouldn't have said this a few months ago. To be quite honest this album bored me a bit at first. But now it's another album in the depressing pile. Beth Gibbons has a very enchanting voice, that she can make sound pretty different in certain songs which I love a lot. The entire album is dark, spacey, and like Mezzanine, rather sexy. Another awesome trip-hop release.
Favourite tracks: Biscuit, Wandering Star, Glory Box, Roads, Sour Times, Numb
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All cool albums, GYBE especially.
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Big Hath could verify, but I swear Animals has to be the most mentioned album. It's pretty cool how it shows up on the lists of prog, metal, indie, post-(fill-in-the-blank) fans alike.
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Yeah, I noticed how well-loved it is here.
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16. Pink Floyd - Animals (1977)
An album I actually recognize! ;D
Great album!!
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F# A# Infinity is a great album. I'm listening to it at the moment.
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Awwwh yeahhhhhh takin it slow now.
10. Pixies - Doolittle (1989)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/6/6b/Pixies-Doolittle.jpg/220px-Pixies-Doolittle.jpg)
So this and their previous album, Surfer Rosa, are probably the two most influential albums in alt rock, or at least are up there. Hell, just ask Nirvana, who thought Smells Like Teen Spirit was basically a Pixies ripoff. These guys are incredibly important to the genre, and this is easily their best album IMO. Every song is awesome, Black Francis just enhances everything with his awesome, and at times maniacal vocals. He sings like a madman and it gives every song their character. The basslines on this album by Kim Deal are also very well done and drive the bands sound nicely. Any alt rock fan absolutely needs to hear this.
Favourite tracks: Hey, Monkey Gone to Heaven, Mr. Grieves, Debaser, I Bleed
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F#A#infinity is superb.
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The only Pixies song that I know is Where Is My Mind?.
I quite like it, but it never compelled me to check them out further. Is it characteristic for the bands sound?
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Ehh maybe in a couple songs, but they have a pretty varying sound. I'll admit Where Is My Mind? never impressed me as much as lots of their other work and most of the songs on this album.
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Big Hath could verify, but I swear Animals has to be the most mentioned album. It's pretty cool how it shows up on the lists of prog, metal, indie, post-(fill-in-the-blank) fans alike.
lets see . . .
Animals is tied with several other albums for 14th overall in number of mentions. It is tied with DSOTM as the 2nd most mentioned Pink Floyd album behind Wish You Were Here.
Other albums tied with Animals and DSOTM at 14th are: Rust In Peace, Somewhere In Time, Still Life (Opeth), Fear of a Blank Planet, ( ), and Lateralus. Pretty good group there!
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Nice list so far, I'm enjoying this. I have about 10 of these, with a bunch more in my "why don't I own this yet?" pile (Foxtrot, F#A#, Agaetis Byrjun...) I will have to check out some of the unfamiliar ones for sure. Looking forward to the top 10.
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Thanks. Here's 9. :D
9. Unexpect - Fables of the Sleepless Empire (2011)
(https://www.metalkingdom.net/album/cover/d81/43046_unexpect_fables_of_the_sleepless_empire.jpg)
Putting this above In a Flesh Aquarium might be seen as a little controversial, but I am confident with this. :) In a Flesh Aquarium is better in the way of all out insanity, but this is more controlled. This could be seen as a disappointment to those who loved them for the fact their quirkiness was unmatched, but some will appreciate it even more. The insanity is definitely there, but the songs feel a lot more focused and well put together. There are more memorable sections overall, and there is a clear sense of direction in some songs. The last three tracks are actually all one song, which is probably my favourite song to come out of 2011, and definitely the bands best. It's epic, the lyrics are humourous (actually, the album as a whole is full of pretty funny lyrics), and it is one of the best closings to an album I have ever heard. It's also notable Leilindels angelic vocals take more of a forefront, while she also has more harsh vocal spots, and ChaotH's basslines are more awesome than ever. That 9-string bass may seem show-offey, but he uses it to it's full potential. This may be less insane than IaFA, but here you get Unexpect at their full creative and epic power. It's definitely a masterpiece.
Favourite tracks: Until Yet a Few More Deaths Do Us Part (all three songs, not the identically named final section), Unfed Pendulum, Unsolved Ideas of a Distorted Guest, Orange Vigilantes, The Quantum Symphony, Mechanical Phoenix
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:tup
I like Fables A LOT more than IaFA, though I haven't come to fully appreciate it yet.
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8. DJ Shadow - Endtroducing..... (1996)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/c1/Endtroducingcover.jpg/220px-Endtroducingcover.jpg)
So this album has the honour of being the first album ever to be made entirely of samples. I'm sure some may be thinking about how little talent that must take. Couldn't be more wrong. The skill in this album is just plain awe-inspiring. I'm gonna borrow something a reviewer said once. You listen to Jimi Hendrix or Eddie Van Halen (I don't like him, but he's an example) or hell, even John Petrucci, play guitar and you think "Damn, this is pretty amazing." But you know in the back of your mind that with practice, you could play that song by them you're listening to, or even make a solo similar to it yourself. The same cannot be said with DJ Shadow's sampling. The perfection of every sample blending together to make something beautiful, entrancing, yet totally new is really an unthinkable accomplishment to me. You couldn't even picture the samples being used being anywhere other then in the song they're placed in. Shadow has an astonishing collection of over 60 000 records to choose from, and he seems to be able to pick the perfect songs to sample in every track. He's classified as instrumental hip-hop (and allegedly gets annoyed being called electronic and moves any of his albums he sees in an electronic section in a store to the rap/hip-hop section), but he's really on a whole other level. Some call him trip-hop, but to me he doesn't seem to fit in with that crowd in my eyes. I don't know what I'd call him, but I don't feel either of these genres from him. Kind of ambient, yet with very prevalent beats. He's his own genre, and only he can do it.
Favourite tracks: Midnight in a Perfect World, Changeling, Building Steam With a Grain of Salt, Stem/Long Stem, What Does Your Soul Look Like (Part 4)
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And don't believe it's amazement? Check out these review scores:
(https://puu.sh/1gCoP.jpg)
Marvelous. :D
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Great picks!
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Listening to DJ Shadow right now, all I can say is fuck. Wonderful choice man :tup
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Listening to DJ Shadow right now, all I can say is fuck. Wonderful choice man :tup
Thanks. :) I'm wasn't sure how he would fly over here, but I'm glad you like. :D
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Listening to DJ Shadow right now, all I can say is fuck. Wonderful choice man :tup
Yeah, this. Midnight in a Perfect World is amazing.
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7. Brand New - The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me (2006)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/6/6e/Thedevilandgodareraginginsideme.jpg/220px-Thedevilandgodareraginginsideme.jpg)
So I'm sure a few people knew this one was coming eventually. This is one of my most frequently spun albums without a doubt. Hell, I'm playing it over my surround sound right now. It's really tough to explain why it's so awesome. I here Brand New usually referred to as a band in the emo genre, but they're an entirely different beast. They're definitely depressive, but I find bands in the emo genre often come off as fake and desperate to be sad. That's where Brand New is set apart from the rest. Their music has a very genuine and down-to-earth feel to it. This album is a brilliant example of that. This is where I find all their elements come together just right and create the perfect album. They also deviate quite a lot from their normal structuring and style in Limousine, and it is in my opinion their best song (well that and Play Crack the Sky off of Deja Entendu, but Play Crack the Sky is special to me in a very personal way). It doesn't have a chorus really, just a series of verses/bridges, and the building "love you so much" section is one of the greatest moments in their entire discography. So yeah, if you're ever sad or whatever, give this thing a shot. It's a perfect album. Oh and seeing You Won't Know live was one of the best experiences of my life. They extended it and put a cool Phantom of the Opera section. It's about my 3rd favourite song by them and they really improved on it.
Favourite tracks: Limousine, You Won't Know, Millstone, Degausser
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I prefer Deja myself, mainly because it contains my favourite Brand New song (Me Vs. Maradona Vs. Elvis), but this album is pretty awesome as well, probably my second favourite by them. :tup
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I keep seeing this band popping up all over the forums. I should really get around to checking them out.
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I do think its a good album, but I don't like it as much as a lot of you guys I think :)
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I keep seeing this band popping up all over the forums. I should really get around to checking them out.
Do so. :) I recommend them to anyone who likes alt rock or sad lyric. :)
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Another awesome album. Luca and Handcuffs would be my favorites from it.
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Millstone and Jesus are my faves
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Just checked out that album. It's incredibly excellent. All the songs are great, but Millstone, You Won't Know, Jesus Christ, and Sowing Season are my favorites probably.
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Yeah, Luca and Jesus are amongst my favourites too. :metal Although I almost shit myself the first time I heard Luca. :lol
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6. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion (2009)
(https://cdn.pitchfork.com/news/33888/bc68a14f.jpg)
I don't really see this getting much attention over here. Either way, AC is an incredibly inventive band. I own three albums, and each one is absolutely nothing like the others, aside from the fact they all have the childish happiness of AC. From the ones I own, Feels is a calm and sort of folkey album. Strawberry Jam is sort of abrasive pop that has harsh screams every now and then which don't fit the music at all yet make it all great. Then there's this one. This is a whole different beast and you can tell right from the moment the acoustic guitar starts fading in on In the Flowers. The production alone sets it apart from anything else. It's psychedelic and intensely trippy to the very max. Without all the psychedelic noises, this could almost be dismissed as a radio pop album in a sense, but all of it together creates a totally different album from what it could have been, and it's both of these things coming together that makes it great. It's got their childish happiness. It is intensely catchy in spots. And it can brighten just about any mood and is almost the happiest album I have. But with all of these points it's counteracted by an extreme psychedelia element that gives the album a whole new personality, pretty much ensuring you'd never hear it on the radio. It's both accessible and inaccessible. Quite awesome. Some may find AC's style incredibly annoying, but I love them and they became one of my favourite bands not long after discovering.
Favourite tracks: Brother Sport, In the Flowers, Bluish, My Girls, Lion in a Coma
P.S. Have fun staring at that cover. It's a very accurate depiction of the albums sound. Probably the most fitting cover ever.
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P.S. Have fun staring at that cover.
AAAHHH!!!! It's moving, but it's a JPG?! I'd love to show that to someone tripping on LSD.
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Yeah, that is strange!
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Yeah, the illusion works a lot better when big on a computer screen then with the physical copy. :lol But you can still get a physical one to move and it's still cool. :)
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Alright guys, we're in the top 5. Prepare for incredibly long writeups.
5. Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea (1998)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/83/In_the_aeroplane_over_the_sea_album_cover_copy.jpg/220px-In_the_aeroplane_over_the_sea_album_cover_copy.jpg)
If I wasn't branded a hipster with the Animal Collective addition, perhaps this will do it. This is largely looked at (and sadly, often dismissed) as a "hipster" album, whatever that is supposed to mean. Anyway, this was a tough addition to the list. Sometimes this album is #1 without a doubt in my mind. But I put it here just because it felt right for now. Anyway, this is THE indie album. Kind of in the same way some may look at Images and Words as THE prog metal album. It definitely isn't the first of the genre by a LONG shot, but it was very groundbreaking and important in establishing the sound many indie bands have today. This one is much better than any other indie album though, for several reasons. First, I'll get it out of the way that I don't even like the vocals. So I probably look like some kind of madman for having the album this high. But trust me, the music is that good to me that the vocals go from being grating to a non-factor.
Anyways, now on to the good. First, the lyrics. Oh my god is Mangum a good songwriter. I'll start off by saying the lyrics are weird as all hell, often sexual in the weirdest possible ways, and very hard to make sense of at times, so I need a little assistance from the internet often to get what he's going for. But even when I don't know I appreciate it greatly. It's not only in what the words say though, he uses alliteration like a master (especially in Oh Comely) and it's very effective in making it stick with you. He writes songs like a surreal author. It's pretty cool. Of course you have those moments that are notorious ("I LOOOOOVE YOU JESUUUUUS CHRIIIIIIIST") but I don't mind them. There's also moments that are just plain delightful and fun. The King of Carrot Flowers Pt. 2 and 3, the Untitled instrumental, and Holland, 1945 are songs that just make me wanna go outside and run for no reason. There's amazing melodies everywhere, lots of emotion, moments that make you feel like you're in some kind of deranged circus, and one of the best endings to an album ever (which is only really effective if you listen to the whole thing prior, but whatever). So this writeup probably kinda sucked because I feel I wrote a lot while saying very little, but properly explaining why this album is how it is is an impossible task. Something you just gotta hear. Most people would love it if Jeff Mangum could sing, like at all. :lol But if you look at reviews and opinions of it, you can see how well-respected it is anyway.
Favourite tracks: All (but mostly Ghost)
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I love that album. It's just perfect. If you haven't listened to it, you're missing out big-time. :heart :heart
Semen stains the mountaintops. :eyebrows:
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Semen stains the mountaintops. :eyebrows:
Proves that she must still exist, she moves herself about her fist :eyebrows:
Also, if you guys could help, speaking of the Untitled instrumental I have no idea what instrument is used.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmnVESaiRqw
Comes in at like 0:14ish.
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Sounds like bagpipes to me.
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Sort of, yet it sounds different. And I don't really hear the signature drone notes of bagpipes either. Hmm.
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Well, it might have some kind of effect on it. It sounds so similar to bagpipes. Really weird.
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I adore In the aeroplane over the sea. :heart
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9. Unexpect - Fables of the Sleepless Empire (2011)
Putting this above In a Flesh Aquarium might be seen as a little controversial, but I am confident with this.
No, great call. :tup
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NMH and that album is pretty good, but I don't seem to like it AS much as some other people do. I'd probably give it a 4 out of 5 (if you count 4.5 as a grade as well) but a pretty solid album.
Maybe it will climb higher with time.
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4. Boards of Canada - Music Has the Right to Children (1998)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/e9/Musichastherighttochildren.jpg/220px-Musichastherighttochildren.jpg)
This one was released only 2 months after the previous entry (Aeroplane). It's also BoC's 3rd and final entry on this list. I think I mentioned earlier that they're a group that I enjoy in a totally different way than other groups. When I like one of their tunes, I don't simply enjoy it. I feel it, as pretentious as that sounds. Whenever I'm in a BoC mood, whatever song I pick I feel could go on forever and I'd never get bored of it. And then it ends, and the next song blows me away the same way. As cliche as this may sound, their music is like a drug to me. They give a really new level of enjoyment to everything.
This album came to me in a time when I was unsure about electronic music. I heard some tunes I liked in the past, and wanted to enjoy it, but the genre as a whole just didn't speak to me. It felt so sterile, and to put bluntly, lame. Not lame as in uncool, lame in an almost literal sense. Take that as you will. Then, I heard the buzz from all the acid droppers and shroomheads that this one was the bees knees. The cats pajamas. "It's an album that totally speaks to you, maaaaan. It's like all nostalgic and stuff." Well I had my doubts, but thought if they really felt something so much on another plane, despite all of the hallucinogens they were taking, it was worth a try. I was on vacation in Calgary visiting my dad at this time. My first listen? Ambivalent. I really enjoyed a song here and a song there, but as a whole it was much too long at 70 minutes. But I definitely thought it was worth exploring more. I began to enjoy it more, but new my true appreciation likely wouldn't come until I was home, had my computer so I could put it on my iPod, and listening with some high quality headphones. That's when it came. That's when it really clicked. Every track was perfect. Has an unsettling childishness to it. And just felt... different then anything else. Tracks like Olson and Bocuma. Both very short interludes, yet containing incredibly captivating melodies that just make everything seem so bright and beautiful. Triangles and Rhombuses really accentuates that nostalgic feel people seem to get from this album. The nostalgia thing isn't just me being crazy, I've heard a very large amount of people say similar things. Any album that can make you feel like a kid, where everything is beautiful and unique, is special.
So if you have any interest in relaxing electronic music, you have to get this. You have no excuse. Do it now.
Favourite tracks: All 18 of em. But I'll put a spotlight on Olson for just using a simple melody with an increasingly staticey 3-note bassline to make the most effective musical interlude in any album ever. Just beautiful.
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That writeup was only like half of what I have to say of this album. Just don't wanna bore you all. :lol
Anyways, please note all of the top 5 were potential #1s. In fact, you can think of them all being #1. This is just my mood lately.
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Portishead :tup Pink Floyd :tup DJ Shadow :tup.... some really good stuff :hat
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BOARDS OF CANADA ONE OF THE BEST BANDS EVER MHTRTC IS FUCKING AMAZING
Ima fan of them :3
You heard the rumors LieLow? they are working on a new material :3
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Yeah, I'm really excited! :D Been so long since we've heard new music from them.
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I listened to that Neutral Milk Hotel album after Xanthul sent me The King of Carrot Flowers Pt. 1 in my roulette, which I enjoyed. I absolutely disliked the rest of the album and was very glad when it was over. What am I doing wrong that you placed it at #5?
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Anything in particular you disliked?
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The vocals in particular and some of the production, it seemed the album was trying deliberately to sound outdated. If that makes any sense, I only listened to it once though.
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I find the album to be very unique. It's one of those albums that seems to divide people the most, either you dislike it or you really love it. The only album I could think of which comes close to this would be "BE" by Pain of Salvation which also has some haters, though mainly people who love it.
I remember getting the CD from my dad who really didn't like it. He bought it and played it in the car but didn't care for it at all, so I got his copy. I didn't listen to it until like a year or two after that, but I really like it myself.
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Yeah, it's really the definition of a love or hate album. The vocals usually being the thing that turns people off. Either that or the old "Pitchfork likes it so I am obligated to dislike it as much as possible", which is pretty annoying. But yeah the vocals are definitely not the greatest out there so it's understandable to dislike it. Me, I eventually got past them with listens. Whether you can or can't I don't know though. :o
Anyways, next album coming soon.
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3. maudlin of the Well - Bath (2001)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f0/Bath_%282001.jpg)
So last time I did this list, Bath was only my third favourite of maudlin's 4 albums. Part the Second being my favourite. My gigantic love for it isn't due to acquired taste so much, where you listen and listen until eventually it was amazing. This was a lot more sudden. As in one day I had nothing to listen to and decided to give it a spin and it blew me away. Since then, it has become my most listened to album according to iTunes.
Some don't really call motW progressive metal, and instead prefer avant-garde. Both terms work really, but I'd like to say out of all progressive bands ever, anything Toby Driver is in "out-progressives" anything else. And I'm using the most cut-and-dry, literal interpretation of the term. Music that progresses. Music that pushes the boundaries and progresses the metal genre into something totally different and new. There is nothing like this album anywhere, and I doubt there will be. It's not avant-garde metal in the Unexpect sense, the musical equivalent of a Pan-Galactic Gargleblaster. No, maudlin focuses on being beautiful and majestic while also being dark, brooding, and heavy. They have this feel to them that no one else has that you'd have to hear to understand.
Either way, for an example for what this album can do. It goes from an 8 minute instrumental intro track that is incredibly soft and ends louder, into the next track which is an all out death metal assault, into the next which begins with pizzicato strings with sweet singing and eventually turns into an extremely dark, heavy, fast ending (but with mostly clean vocals). Then you also have track 8, Birth Pains of Astral Projection, which starts out as a gorgeous jazz tune, turns into heavy death metal, then eventually turns into a really nice sounding clean vocal section, and it stays moderately heavy with a great guitar solo for the remainder. I'm sure you get the point that this album does it all. It soothes you, it kicks your ass, it does everything any metal album could ever hope to do and better than any other metal album does it. Also, Interlude 2 is a funny little ditty with a happy little bassline and water splashes as percussion. Just thought it was worth mentioning because it's amazing.
Anyways, it's really an indescribable album. If you adore both heavy metal and soft stuff, you owe it to yourself to grab this.
Favourite tracks: Geography, Birth Pains of Astral Projection
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Oh yes, killer album. I own it on vinyl and CD and it never ceases to amaze me. I had in at #17 on my list when I did this, but next time it will most likely end up higher. Awesome stuff.
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The Blue Ghost is an amazingly beautiful song, I think its my fav song from that absolutely incredible album.
And, I know this album so well that I know Birth Pains of Astral Projection is track number 8, not 9 :)
I was so excited whan I bought it, really. totally worth it
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The Blue Ghost is an amazingly beautiful song, I think its my fav song from that absolutely incredible album.
And, I know this album so well that I know Birth Pains of Astral Projection is track number 8, not 9 :)
I was so excited whan I bought it, really. totally worth it
I made that typo once and coulda sworn I fixed it. Thanks for catching it. :lol And yeah The Blue Ghost is one of the higher up songs for me. Adore it. :)
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Bath is awesome, though my favourite is The Ferryman. That organ introduction (or whatever else that is) is so fucking awesome and majestic. :metal
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Great album!
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Love the motW love.
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Bath is awesome, though my favourite is The Ferryman. That organ introduction (or whatever else that is) is so fucking awesome and majestic. :metal
I prefered the organ outro of this song :p
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Amazing album
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Never been able to hugely get into MotW. It contains so many elements I often like, but it just doesn't sit right with me for some reason!
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I tried listening to them and while some of their songs I liked, some of them I just couldn't listen to at all.
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I've been wanting to check out Bath for a long time (as well as the other Maudlin of the Well CD's). The only Toby Driver-related album I currently have is Choirs of the Eye. How would you say that compares to Bath?
I will say that CotE is absolutely beautiful, and definitely one of my favorite albums since I discovered it about a year ago.
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Personally I like Choirs of the Eye the most out of Toby's albums, but the maudlin albums are really awesome as well.
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Anyone wanna guess the top 2?
Bath and Choirs both combine metal and soft beauty in really effective ways. However, Bath is more easy to digest and has more direction whereas Choirs wanders more. Bath is also less bleak, dark, and frightening than Choirs. However, if you like Choirs I think it'd be a safe bet to say you'd like Bath as well. :)
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I didn't check the list, but Images and Words probably shows up somewhere.
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I didn't check the list, but Images and Words probably shows up somewhere.
Yeah, no, probably not. I'm thinking Magma maybe?
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Magma has like 3 albums that barely missed the top 50. :lol So unfortunately no, not this time. :sadpanda:
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Can or Vandergraaff Generator?
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Vandergraaff Generator
that's my guess
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Better have some Van der Graaf Generator in the top 2. ;D
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VdGG isn't really my all time favourite anymore, but I still adore them. Anyways, so far nobody is right. Here's #2.
2. Kayo Dot - Choirs of the Eye (2002)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/b4/Kayochoirs.PNG/220px-Kayochoirs.PNG)
Looky here, y'all were just talking about this one. Anyways, two Toby Driver releases on this list, both coming in at #3 and #2. Not bad at all. The man is truly a musical genius and one of my greatest inspirations as a musician. So while Bath is notable for being the most listened to album I own, this one here I rarely listen to at all anymore. It's the definition of a mood album. But when I'm in that mood I literally refuse to listen to anything else, and this can last like a week sometimes. No other album really does that for me.
Anyways, I pretty much called Bath my favourite metal album last writeup. So what gives? This is metal, right? Well some say so. However, I believe it is 100% unclassifiable in genre, but has a few metal moments here and there. Not really a full metal album. This is really the only album I have no idea what to name it in genre. Anyways, why is it so good? The amount of effort, work, and care put into each track is just phenomenal. It can create a shivery dark atmosphere, builds, lulls you into a trance, smashes you out of said trance, and transcends a huge list of genres that most bands would take a career to cover, all of which can be done in the course of a single track. However, does it sound like a musician gone mad trying to shove as many different genres as he can into one piece of music? No, each piece makes perfect sense in every way. It takes a certain gift to do that.
So far to those who haven't heard, it probably seems like it's a lot like Bath. This isn't exactly true. At the time of this album, Kayo Dot was simply a continuation of maudlin of the Well. And Bath (along with LYBM) was their last album before this. However, this is like motW split into a completely different direction. While before it combined genres, yet had an overall sense of direction and you can kinda feel where each song is going, this album is unpredictable. In Marathon, just as you feel comfortable being lulled away into the almost psychedelic atmospheres, the song will come crashing down on you with all fury. You can never feel secure really. The ending spoken word section is also incredibly well executed and effective. Then there's A Pitcher of Summer, a song almost like chamber pop gone horribly wrong (in all the right ways of course). The Manifold Curiosity wanders probably more than any other tracks, but it definitely works to the song's advantage. It takes you in, builds in a post-rock like way into a nice clarinet(?) solo. Then the last 4 minutes is probably the most insane thing ever put to music. Wayfarer is one of the most beautiful things out there, making heavy use of strings and nice acoustic guitar. The Antique has a long 6 minute intro that very slowly builds into finally you're battered relentlessly with heaviness for a while, then gently lowered back out of the album with one of the most beautiful ending sections out there.
I know track-by-track reviews are kinda lame, but I felt it was necessary here as the album has so many different sounds to take in a general description would be near useless. Along with SOABDCS by Harmonium, this is the most beautiful album of all time. But this one contains a dark, almost creepy kind of beauty whereas Harmonium's album is bright and wonderful for the most part. This one also fuses that beauty with pure aggressiveness in points. So while I'm rarely in the mood to take this beast of an album in, it is impossible not to appreciate the absolute perfection at work here. And once I reach that mood... dayum.
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Nice writeup. Couldn't agree more about this one being a 'mood album'. It never ceases to amaze me when I am in that mood.
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Choirs of the Eye is brilliant, my favorite Toby-album for sure.
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Any #1 guesses? No one is right so far. ;)
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It's tough. F#A#Infinity has already been on the list and I think that's your favorite GYBE album.
It's really hard to guess, something by Mr. Bungle? I don't really recall your closest favorites so I'm probably off.
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(https://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/_/33549977/True+Symphonic+Rockestra+truesymphonicrockestraconciert.jpg)
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^We have a winner!
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I still haven't listened to Choirs of the Eye, so before someone goes 'FIX THAT NAO', I have it set up to play sometime this week.
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Here's a list of honourable mentions:
Van der Graaf Generator - Still Life
Van der Graaf Generator - Godbluff
Dream Theater - Awake
Pavement - Slanted and Enchanted
Magma - Mekanik Destruktiw Kommandoh
Magma - K.A.
Magma - Kohntarkosz
Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures
Nick Drake - Pink Moon
Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral
Slowdive - Souvlaki
Buckethead - Inbred Mountain
Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam
Now a few albums I got into during this list that could easily have made it (or have been an honourable mention or I could feel growing later on):
Between the Buried and Me - The Parallax 2: Future Sequence (would have definitely made the list)
Animal Collective - Feels (would very likely have made it)
Stereolab - Transient Random-Noise Bursts With Announcements
The Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
Yo La Tengo - I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Tender Prey
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*snip*
JLB's facial expression :lol
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You've never seen that before? :lol
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You've never seen that before? :lol
Never really looked at it, no. I'm glad I did now :laugh:
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I still haven't listened to Choirs of the Eye, so before someone goes 'FIX THAT NAO', I have it set up to play sometime this week.
Be careful...
and lets go LieLow! This has been a fantastic list, and I can't wait for number 1
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Oh and a note: I almost forgot for honourable mentions:
Red House Painters - Rollercoaster
Steven Wilson - Grace for Drowning
Radiohead - Kid A (actually, I outright forgot this one. What a horrible failure.)
The #1 post is coming. It will take a while to type while I fanboy over this album. I'll hint now that the band appeared early on in this list, and I'm surprised no one guessed it because this is really the bands most highly acclaimed by far. Well you'll see. ;)
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Looking back through the list, I was hoping you'd have F#A#Inf. at #1, until I saw it at #12 and then saw my comment about loving it. I'm forgetting stuff. :lol
I have literally no clue what could be your #1.
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1. My Bloody Valentine - Loveless (1991)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a6/MyBloodyValentineLoveless.jpg/220px-MyBloodyValentineLoveless.jpg)
So yeah, here we are. This album rose up to my #1 faster than any album ever could, so this might be a little controversial. It's an underground classic and critics are constantly having boners over it. But there's a good reason: it's fucking astonishing how good this album is. But it's hard to explain why fully. Anyone who really loves this knows it's hard to explain why it's good without sounding like a pretentious asshole. And then the people take your advice and many dismiss it immediately from first listen as just noise, forever tainting their view of your tastes as you hang your head in shame. But it's more than just noise. Way, way more. First of all, take a look at the cover. That sums up the album. It's very guitar driven, it's distorted and fuzzy, it has a bright pink romance about it. It's really one of the most suitable covers out there. Anyways, time to go more in depth.
So I'm gonna paraphrase someone from Pitchfork (EWWWWW I know) here: for exactly one second on the opener, Only Shallow, My Bloody Valentine just sounds like any normal rock band. Then once that introductory 4 hits of the snare is done, you can almost feel their entire careers change as a band, and arguably the entire sound of guitar-based indie rock in general. It actually kinda shocks you at first because of how jarring that screaming guitar breaking through those power chords is, and it sounds a lot more like a buzzsaw ripping through sheet metal than a guitar riff, but it sets the tone for the rest of the album. And then after that dissonant, heavy section is done, you're instantly brought into a dreamy, beautiful verse delivered as if you weren't just being rocked the hell out a second earlier. Bilinda's barely audible vocals carry you off into a dreamy atmosphere, only to be jarred out by that riff again. It's pretty much just that structure repeated, yet you almost forget how simplistic it is because of how perfectly it lulls you in and before you know it you have a calm keyboard outro and you're headed into Loomer, with a riff that chugs along like a train with smoke billowing out the smokestack steadily.
Why'd I spend so much time on 1 song of an 11 song album you may wonder? Well because that's basically the story of the album. It repeatedly jars you yet entrances you both alternately and simultaneously, and it never gives up. And even though the vocals are nearly incomprehensible, they're there as another instrument and pretty much enhances the dreamy atmosphere 1000%. If you could understand them, it probably would not have the same effect.
So back to the guitars again: they're phenomenal. Not for catchy reasons, not for technical reasons, but for the pure noise they sometimes create a la Sonic Youth, and their whole style of whammying insane amounts in lots of places. A good example is the track To Here Knows When. There's a reason for the fact that if you type in that song name on Google one of the first suggestions you'll get is for the guitar sound. ;) It's kinda puzzling. It sounds kinda like a vacuum cleaner playing different pitches and with whammy on it, if you could picture that. It's just as stunning live though. If I remember correctly that song alone took almost a whole year till it was recorded and mixed correctly, the album as a whole taking 2 years and almost singlehandedly bankrupting the record company. Either way, the sound works amazingly and it has the effect present throughout the album: gritty and ugly guitars contrasted by incredibly sweet vocals. Both Bilinda and Kevin sing on this album, but it's mostly Bilinda, however there are tracks where there are both singing, and Kevin is the forefront on When You Sleep, What You Want, and Sometimes. Sometimes being a breathtakingly sweet-sounding acoustic ballad and definitely one of the highlights of the album and, consequentially, music in general. When You Sleep being a really catchy, synth driven track. What You Want is another catchy track, and a real rocker with a trippy and beautiful atmospheric outro. Also, as for them both singing, they're both wonderful on Soon I thought I'd say. It's a very catchy and almost dancy track in the non-lyrical sections, and when the lyrics come in the guitar is noisy and they both sing amazingly. It's almost kind of a reverse Only Shallow.
What tracks haven't I touched on now? How about Touched! :neverusethis: Basically, it's Chewbacca caught in the land of shoegaze. Take that as you will, it's just a short instrumental interlude. For I Only Said? Well, if you were going for a nice drive while listening to this album and When You Sleep had just ended, this track would probably make your car lift off the ground and fly slowly out into the sunset majestically as if it was the ending of a cheesy movie about flying cars. Well not literally, but it's an image I get from the song. Come in Alone is another track where Bilinda and Kevin share the vocal parts equally. It has a beautiful pre-verse melody, and the bass really drives this one home. Playing up high during the vocal spots and then down low giving a sort of heaviness during the instrumental pre-verse spot. It's wonderful. Blown a Wish is a really innocent and happy song with Bilinda leading the vocals. It has kind of a disorienting atmosphere throughout, but it works great.
So yeah. That was really long. But that was about as short as I could make it without shooting myself for forgetting to mention something. Basically, if you like Sonic Youth or noisy atmospheric goodness, you have to listen. Like now. Do not wait. What are you doing go listen.
Favourite tracks: Every song on here is better than any other song ever made.
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Actually I did forget something. You know somethings awesome when an entire Final Fantasy plot device is named after it. ;) Not even joking. It's from Crisis Core, and it's not coincidence. It is named after the album. :)
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Oh yes, this one. One of the wackiest albums I've heard and that's because of the sound. I'll just play it right now. I didn't like this AT ALL the first time I heard it, long ago, but I can see how important an album it has been and it has grown on me. I can recall some singer saying once that he used this album as an inspiration to write lyrics, he would just think of the lyrics while listening to the songs, because they are barely audible anyway. Nice write-up.
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Oh yes, this one. One of the wackiest albums I've heard and that's because of the sound. I'll just play it right now. I didn't like this AT ALL the first time I heard it, long ago, but I can see how important an album it has been and it has grown on me. I can recall some singer saying once that he used this album as an inspiration to write lyrics, he would just think of the lyrics while listening to the songs, because they are barely audible anyway. Nice write-up.
That singer appeared on this list at #19. Guided By Voices' Robert Pollard. :)
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The list:
1. My Bloody Valentine – Loveless
2. Kayo Dot – Choirs of the Eye
3. maudlin of the Well – Bath
4. Boards of Canada – Music Has the Right to Children
5. Neutral Milk Hotel – In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
6. Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion
7. Brand New – The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me
8. DJ Shadow – Endtroducing...
9. Unexpect – Fables of the Sleepless Empire
10. Pixies – Doolittle
11. Portishead – Dummy
12. Bright Eyes – Lifted or The Story is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground
13. Massive Attack – Mezzanine
14. Godspeed You! Black Emperor – F#A# Infinity
15. Sigur Ros – Agaetis Byrjun
16. Pink Floyd – Animals
17. Van der Graaf Generator – Pawn Hearts
18. Boards of Canada – Geogaddi
19. Guided By Voices – Bee Thousand
20. The Mars Volta – Amputechture
21. Porcupine Tree – The Sky Moves Sideways
22. Converge – Jane Doe
23. Genesis – Foxtrot
24. Yes – Relayer
25. Don Caballero – Don Caballero II
26. Dir en Grey – Uroboros
27. Comus – First Utterance
28. Devin Townsend Project – Deconstruction
29. Sigur Ros – ( )
30. The Smiths – The Queen is Dead
31. The Cure – Disintegration
32. Can – Future Days
33. Burial – Kindred (EP)
34. Bright Eyes – I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning
35. Agalloch – The Mantle
36. Harmonium – Si On Avait Besoin D’Une Cinquieme Saison
37. Thrice – The Alchemy Indexes
38. Tom Waits – Rain Dogs
39. Unexpect – In a Flesh Aquarium
40. Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here
41. Boards of Canada – In a Beautiful Place Out in the Country (EP)
42. My Bloody Valentine – You Made Me Realise (EP)
43. Between the Buried and Me – Colors
44. Brand New – Deja Entendu
45. Porcupine Tree – Stupid Dream
46. Emilie Autumn – Opheliac
47. Frank Turner – England Keep My Bones
48. Loreena McKennitt – The Book of Secrets
49. Godspeed You Black Emperor – Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven
50. Gojira – From Mars to Sirius
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Checking out your #1 right now. I really like the singer's voice and the guitars are used in a cool way.
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You're not supposed to like it on first listen.
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Oh. :lol
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Haha, I remember my first listen. I was puzzling over why it was so highly rated. :lol I think reading more into others opinions helped me understand the album a lot more though. Now it's my favourite. :)
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I haven't been around here too long, but I find it astonishing that someone with such a large post history on a Dream Theater forum doesn't have a single DT album in their Top 50.
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Me (and a few other posters) aren't as big as fans of the band as we were when we first joined, but we stick around anyways because of the community. :D I still like the band, don't get me wrong. But they're more a band I listen to in short bursts now then before when I had an obsession with them. And like I said, Awake was definitely close to making it. Still love that one a lot. ;)
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Steven Wilson - Grace for Drowning
Radiohead - Kid A
These are great. :tup
And I couldn't have predicted your number one, I'm very surprised. Haven't heard the record, though.
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Great number one!
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Wow- I don't think I've heard that album since like junior high, but this made me want to check it out again! Cool pick for #1!
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havent been following (too busy for extensive forum exploration), but i see some familiar favorites.
shall backtrack some reading and probly give that #1 a spin to see what all the fuss is about.
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Hope you enjoy! But like was said, it's usually not totally liked first listen. :)