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General => Archive => General Music Archives => Topic started by: KevShmev on July 15, 2013, 12:50:31 PM
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Time for my top 50 albums list, and like some others have done, I will be featuring only one each per band/solo artist, that way, it isn't a flurry of albums by mostly my favorites, with a few handfuls of albums by others. 50 different artists (although some might argue that there are duplicates, since certain songwriters might see an album by the band they are in and an album they did as a solo artist).
This top 50 will be based on not only greatness, but also how much influence the album had on me as a music fan. In certain cases, I might not even necessarily list what I think is the best album by that artist, but maybe the album listed will be the one that had more influence on me during a certain time of my life or got me into the band or some other circumstance. I do know that, even going with only one per artist, it was still tough to get it down to 50.
On that note, away we go:
50. Steely Dan - Aja (1977)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/49/Aja_album_cover.jpg)
Ah, the summer of 1992. I knew several Steely Dan songs at this point, but they were the ones that were (what I viewed as) straight classic rock: Do It Again and Reeling in the Years. Then in June of 1992, my cousin Dan introduced me to this album, which completely caught me off guard, as it more laid back jazz rock than the classic rock I knew by them already. It was unlike anything I knew or liked, but I loved it right away. It didn't take long for me to buy my own copy of it on CD, and it has gotten a lot of play over the years. I can still listen to it and be amazed.
Favorite songs: Aja, Deacon Blues, Black Cow and Josie
49. Sigur Rós - ( ) (2002)
(https://www.sevencrystal.com/images/stories/sigur-ros-frontcover.jpg)
This was the album that really got me to love any post rock in the mid 00s, which I largely credit to Ray/Vintage Eyes, who doesn't post here anymore, but he used to post on the old dt.net a lot, and we had frequent AIM chats, and I have him to thank for my love of just about anything called post rock. This album was the one that really made me realize how awesome the genre could be.
Favorite songs: Popplagið (Untitled 8), Samskeyti (Untitled 3), E-bow (Untitled 6) and Njósnavélin (Untitled 4)
48. Van Halen - Van Halen (1978)
(https://rjdent.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/vanhalen-vanhalen.jpg)
I didn't hear this whole album until years after first hearing the band in 1984, but there is no doubt that this is the best thing they have ever done. It has an energy, feel and power that is just absolute money. I still wonder what it was like for fans who heard this when it was first released in 1978...
Favorite songs: Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love, Runnin' with the Devil, Atomic Punk, Little Dreamer and I'm the One
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Aja rocks balls and grooves like mad. Nice.
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Very excited to follow your list! 3 great albums to get it started
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Following, should be interesting!
Not a bad start at all. Not really a fan of Van Halen, but Sigur Ros are great and () is wonderful, and Steely Dan I've enjoyed most of what I've heard by. Never really got into them in a big way, but I think I'll check out Aja as I've never heard that one.
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Fun fact about Steely Dan: their original drummer was Chevy Chase.
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Not a fan of any of these albums, but I'm still following this, I'm sure there's great stuff to come.
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Love Steely Dan!
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That debut album by Van Halen is actually the only Van Halen album I like. Killer songs from start to finish and dat guitar tone :eek
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That Sigur Ros album is on my to listen list, I haven't heard the rest either.
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Aja is a masterpiece and the title track is to die for. That drum break late in the song is just killer.
What can you says about an album that had almost every song played on the radio. The first VH album is a classic.
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I love and own all three of these albums. :biggrin:
But will a longer lived Kev thread create any stories from me? STAY TUNED. :rollin
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I am counting on it. :lol :lol
Good to see much love for the Aja pick. :coolio
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Aja is an excellent album. Van Halen's debut is good, even though I rarely listen to it anymore (I kind of burned out on VH in general).
I love ( ).
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Some nice choices to start this off. Definitely following ;)
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Following and shit.
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Following and shit.
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A guy called Dan introduced you to Steely Dan? :lol
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surprisingly, this is the first mention of Aja (or Steely Dan, for that matter) in any top 50 list.
Hey Kev, would you mind put the year of release for each entry going forward? You don't have to go back and do these.
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Will do, and did. :biggrin:
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Fun fact about Steely Dan: their original drummer was Chevy Chase.
Really?
And another :tup for Aja. The title track is my favorite Steely Dan song.
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This forum is gonna make me spend ALL my money! But I love it. I have Aja singles but it looks like I need the album, now. Amazon has an Aja DVD I think I'll pick up, as well.
Cheers for the reccos, guys. Nothing better than finding great music! :)
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Wow the Steely Dan and VH selections right off the bat.... great, great, great albums.
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This forum is gonna make me spend ALL my money!
Welcome to the board :D
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:lol thanks!
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First Van Halen would still probably be my favorite debut album of all time. Hard to find something more explosive.
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This forum needs more Steely Dan. Aja is just great.
Same goes for Van Halen :metal :metal
Been always meaning to check out Sigur Ros but so far I haven't, maybe some time later.
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Aja is really good but I prefer the debut. () is one of my 3 fav Sigur Ros albums. Oh and Van Halen's debut is actually pretty good.
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VH is one of the best debuts of all time no question!
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47. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues (2011)
(https://www.thepointofeverything.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/helplessness_blues.jpg)
Often described as indie folk, this band sure knows how to write catchy tunes, and their overall sound almost sounds like music that would be playing in an old-fashioned, country restaurant, if that makes sense. Anyway, the self-titled debut was really good, and their second album really took it to the next level, with every song being a winner. My brother Mark and I saw them when they toured on this album, and if we weren't big fans already, seeing them solidified that.
Favorite songs: Helplessness Blues, The Plains/Bitter Dancer, Bedouin Dress, Lorelai and The Shrine/An Argument
46. Emerson Lake & Palmer - Emerson Lake & Palmer (1970)
(https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dgycAa7pOWo/UaDypNwma_I/AAAAAAAACqs/-_dM4i587aU/s320/emerson,+lake+and+palmer.jpg)
Like VH, ELP had a fantastic debut, one they never really topped. I got into the band through Black Moon and the Atlantic Years 2-disc compilation, and Take a Pebble and Tank were two of my favorites as far as the non-hits went, and once I got the first four albums on CD, and heard The Barbarian and The Three Fates, there was little doubt as to what their best record was.
Favorite songs: Take a Pebble, Tank, Lucky Man and Knife-Edge
45. Extreme - III Sides to Every Story (1992)
(https://fanart.tv/fanart/music/0e6cc5e5-4f03-4993-a481-d70d0e354d9f/albumcover/iii-sides-to-every-story-4f7768a30c026.jpg)
I can thank my brother Mark for loving this album. I never would have thought to buy this on CD, despite liking the two songs played on the radio, but he got it and played it to death, and I heard it so much that I started loving pretty much all of it (save for Politicalamity, which I still am not wild about). I love the three different sides the album throws at you: the rocking side in Yours, the more laid-back, melodic side in Mine and the epic side in The Truth. Listening to this album is one helluva journey!
Favorite songs: Rise 'N Shine, Peacemaker Die, Am I Ever Gonna Change, Seven Sundays and Tragic Comic
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III Sides is a great one. Marked the end of decent Extreme music. Nuno is so under-rated. Great way to describe it... it certainly is a 'journey' to digest the whole thing.
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VH is one of the best debuts of all time no question!
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III Sides is a great one. Marked the end of decent Extreme music. Nuno is so under-rated. Great way to describe it... it certainly is a 'journey' to digest the whole thing.
I thought that Waiting For The Punchline was a seriously great record, but I think I'm almost alone with that opinion.
Anyway III Sides just rocks and "Am I Ever Gonna Change" might be one of the best rock tunes ever written.
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I never really liked the ELP debut. Too noisy, not melodic enough. That Fleet foxes album, on the other hand, was recommended to me by quite a few friends of mine, so I better check it out.
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ELP is a great album. Very dark, very energetic.
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Fleet Foxes are pretty good. Haven't listened to them all that much, but my brother listens to them a good amount, and I like what I've heard. I'm also a fan of Father John Misty who was in the band for a few years, so, I really have no reason not to check them out.
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III Sides is a great one. Marked the end of decent Extreme music. Nuno is so under-rated. Great way to describe it... it certainly is a 'journey' to digest the whole thing.
I thought that Waiting For The Punchline was a seriously great record, but I think I'm almost alone with that opinion.
Anyway III Sides just rocks and "Am I Ever Gonna Change" might be one of the best rock tunes ever written.
Waiting For The Punchline is my favorite Extreme album.
III Sides is a close second. Both are amazing.
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I don't know most of these, but I'm following.
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ELP is one of my favorite debuts and that Fleet Foxes album is pretty enjoyable. I don't listen to it often, but I always like it when I do decide to play it.
Extreme has been on my ever-expanding list of bands that I need to listen to.
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44. Death Cab for Cutie - Plans (2005)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b6/Death_Cab_For_Cutie_-_Plans.png)
I really do not remember how exactly I got into this band, except that my younger brother Mark had a hand in it. I just remember this record knocking me for a loop, as the catchy melodies, great lyrics and wonderful melodies blended together to make some great music. This is a great band, and while there are times where I slightly prefer The Photo Album and Transatlanticism, Plans is the one that really won me over at first and made me a big fan, so it is the choice for the purposes of this top 50.
Favorite songs: What Sarah Said, Brothers on a Hotel Bed, Crooked Teeth, Different Names for the Same Thing and Your Heart is an Empty Room
43. Pet Shop Boys - Fundamental (2006)
(https://albumcovers.toomanyvoices.com/img/petShopBoys-fundamental-500x500.jpg)
Anyone who knows me knows how much I love the 80s, and a big part of the 80s was synth pop. And Pet Shop Boys were one of those great synth pop bands that gained their popularity in that decade. But for the longest time, I only really knew the handful of hits they had from that decade, but a few years ago, I read a random review somewhere talking about how great the Fundamental album was, and I decided, "What the hell, I will check it out." And was I glad I did! I was stunned at how great it was. And getting into this album then got me to check out the rest of their albums, almost all of which are filled with good songs. Many think of synth pop as soulless dance music, but their music is always filled with sneaky good melodies, as well as infectious dance beats and some of the most bad ass synth leads you will hear from any genre.
Favorite songs: Numb, Luna Park, Integral, Minimal and Casanova in Hell
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Don't know either album. PSB was cool in the 80s, but I'm pretty sure I've moved on from that genre of music. I'll search this up just to be sure.
Don't think I've ever heard any DCC
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I honestly am not expecting either of these albums to get a lot of feedback :(, but I wanted them to at least have their own time in the sun, and if I had featured them at the same time as 42 and 41, they would have been glossed over, so I figured I would wait and do 42 and 41 later today, since both of them are very loved here...
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Not even the foggiest idea for either. Bring on the Rock!!!! Where is some Blue Oyster Cult :)
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Because you seem to think so highly of them, I'll give Death Cab a shot. Seriously, though, that's probably the worst band name ever. :lol
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Not even the foggiest idea for either. Bring on the Rock!!!! Where is some Blue Oyster Cult :)
Give it time. :biggrin:
Because you seem to think so highly of them, I'll give Death Cab a shot. Seriously, though, that's probably the worst band name ever. :lol
I am sure there is a reason why most fans just refer to them as Death Cab. :lol :lol
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the catchy melodies, great lyrics and wonderful melodies
The melodies are so good, you mentioned them twice!
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I liked about half of Plans when I heard the whole thing last year, but Soul Meets Body is the one that stuck out most to me, mostly because my sister played the damn song a million times whenever she had to drive me somewhere. :lol
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Damn it, ariich. :facepalm:
42. Metallica - Master of Puppets (1986)
(https://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/uponsun/assets_c/2011/03/master-of-puppets-thumb-500x500.jpg)
I remember the dishwashers at the restaurant I worked at when I was 16-17 constantly listening to this record non-stop, and I thought it was just pure noise; I was not a fan of Metallica at all at the time. Even when The Black Album was big, I still wasn't, except for Wherever I May Roam, which I dug from the start. But I think it was a few months before Load came out that some friends and I were at a Blues game, and the intro to Enter Sandman was played several times during puck stoppages or TV timeouts, and I thought, "Ya know, this song is pretty cool." So I borrowed my brother's copy of The Black Album, and thus started my journey into getting into Metallica. Master of Puppets was next on the list, and I got it thinking, "Okay, fresh listen, open mind, let's see if this is really that good." And boy was it ever! This record dominated my CD player for weeks after that. The thing was struck me was that, as heavy as it is, it is actually fairly melodic, too, thanks to a lot of those lead guitar lines. :metal :metal indeed.
Favorite songs: Orion, Disposable Heroes, Master of Puppets, Leper Messiah and Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
41. Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath (1970)
(https://mysteriousuniverse.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/BlackSabbath.jpeg)
I only knew Iron Man and Paranoid before getting the 3-disc compilation set that covered the first Sabbath songs (having almost every song, but leaving off like one or two songs from each album). The songs from the first album absolutely slayed me from the start. It was so neat to hear what I thought would be a straight metal album feature something as out there as Sleeping Village. Just about every other song speaks for themselves. Many other Sabbath albums are worthy picks as well as far as Best Sabbath Album, but for me, nothing will ever top the debut album when it comes to greatness, influence on me and hitting just the right spot. :metal
Favorite songs: Sleeping Village, N.I.B., Black Sabbath and Behind the Wall of Sleep
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All right!! Now I can relate to these picks. Two metal masterpieces!
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All right!! Now I can relate to these picks. Two metal masterpieces!
This. :metal
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I don't really care for Metallica but Sabbath's debut is awesome.
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Nice metal update. :metal
I've also never listened to Death Cab, so will give Plans a listen on Spotify later.
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All right!! Now I can relate to these picks. Two metal masterpieces!
This.
Also, Death cab has been on my list for months now, better get an album or two...
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Amazing update.
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All right!! Now I can relate to these picks. Two metal masterpieces!
From PSB to MOP. Pretty crazy!
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The Pet Shop Boys had some cool tunes and some downright annoying ones (Go West comes to mind), I even heard one or two of their albums but never got around to own one. For me they were always in the "just not good enough to really like it" categorie.
Not that big on Metallica but Master is a classic, same goes for Sabbath. :metal :metal
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I've always had some love for the first Sabbath album, which other than a few songs isn't really like the rest of their early albums. It's more bluesy and jamming, especially the material that made up the second side of the vinyl. There's hints of the proto-metal band they became on Paranoid, but this is a Sabbath that isn't all that removed from being the really loud blues rock band Earth.
And Master of Puppets-well, if I was still prone to making lists in my grouchy old age, it'd be far higher on my list. Definite top 20 material for me. I remember a friend of mine giving me a copy of Kerrang, which back then only tended to pop up at random 7-11s, sometimes never two months in a row, with an article that had the track listing and release date for Master of Puppets, and since he'd owned the issue for a bit, the album was coming out in three days. As Ride The Lightning had awed me when I first heard it, I was beyond impatient for new Metallica, so that three days felt like forever.
Thankfully the article from the UK based Kerrang had gotten the release date for the US right, or I'd have been utterly ANNOYED.
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The Pet Shop Boys had some cool tunes and some downright annoying ones (Go West comes to mind),
I would say that applies for lot of PSB albums really. Some really great tunes, but a lot of fillers in there.
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Nice update! This is looking like it will become a damn good list. ;)
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Master of Puppets is magnificent!
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40. Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven (2000)
(https://www.progarchives.com/progressive_rock_discography_covers/1245/cover_141592172004.jpg)
The sheer amount of power and intensity on this album is always too much to handle sometimes. I basically have to be in the right mood to listen to this from start to finish, but when I do, oh man, it is one helluva experience. Four songs, all averaging nearly 22 minutes, and every one of them has a build-up that is too good for words.
Favorite songs: Storm and Antennas to Heaven
39. INXS - Kick
(https://nyquil.org/uploads/Inxs-Kick-Fixed.jpg)
In 1987, this was my favorite album, hands down. I probably listened to my Kick cassette just about every day, and I loved every song on it (except Devil Inside, which for some bizarre reason I was not overly crazy about it back then). I still dig this CD a lot, and considering how important it was to me at the age of 13-14, it had to make this list.
Favorite songs: Need You Tonight, The Loved One, Calling All Nations, Never Tear Us Apart and Tiny Daggers
38. dredg - The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion
(https://www.media.wmg-is.com/media/portal/media/cms/images/200903/the-pariah-the-parrot-the-delusion-extralarge_1236009174807.jpg)
This is THE album that got me into dredg in a big way. I already had El Cielo and Catch Without Arms, and both were enjoyable enough, but when I got around to listening to The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion during the Christmas season of 2009, it kicked my ass like you wouldn't believe. So much, in fact, that I recommended it to both my brother Tim and cousin John, both of whom checked it out, loved it, too, and became big fans of the band as well. Gun to my head, I probably would probably now call El Cielo the slightly better album, but The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion gets the nod for the massive impact it had on me. I wouldn't be a big dredg fan without it.
Favorite songs: Quotes, Ireland, Gathering Pebbles, Mourning This Morning and Cartoon Showroom
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Nice, my favorite dredg album. It actually took me a while to get it, honestly, but once it clicked, boy was it magical!
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These forums got me into Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and while F#A#Infinity is my favorite of theirs, this is a close second. It's an album that's totally about build and release, and it is a definite mood album, but wow, the payoffs when they hit...
Somehow I'm not shocked to see this INXS album on your list after the MTV thread. :lol There's actually an INXS-related story that I hinted at during that thread, and since it also gets amazingly self referential to TWO Kev run threads, fuck it, here it comes. My best friend in high school had the crush of his life on his chorus partner in the school chorus; I mentioned this crush in a post on one of the songs on Survivor's Vital Signs. She was actually one of the many girls who came up to me to be "protected" from their crushing chorus partners on the chorus trip that I tagged along with, and bought Goodbye Yellow Brick Road on because of my love for Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding. She was a cute enough girl, great legs, nice ass, but hey, at the time I had my own Crush of Doom, so I never really gave her much time.
Few years pass. INXS is touring for Kick, and coming to my home town. My best friend worked at Red Lobster, and someone he worked with had gotten a couple of tickets to go, but his girlfriend had to work and he didn't want to go alone, so my best friend bought them off the guy, called me and told me about it and asked if I wanted to go. Sure, why not, I said.
Guy never shows. I was utterly annoyed, not so much because I didn't get to see INXS, but because, well, if you promise something and don't deliver, it annoys me. Found out the next day that my best friend had had a brain wave and had taken Susan, the girl who he'd crushed on in high school. "Did you, at least, get some?" I asked sarcastically, and he said "no, but she invited me to a toga party a friend is having, they'll be other girls there, I'll make it up to you by taking you."
"Fine, whatever, but you're paying for the fucking beer."
The party comes, and...well. Toga parties are known, historically, for their debauchery. This was basically ten or so people that knew Susan, me, and my best friend, playing drinking games at a friend of hers with only a few of the girls wearing sheets for togas, including Susan. I was generally, back in my drinking days, a happy go lucky drunk (as my stories likely attest) but this was one of my rare surly nights. I was still pissed off about the INXS thing so I was sitting on the couch, fighting a battle against a can of Foster's Beer (which back then was sold in a huge can with a tiny tab, that always foamed like a bitch when you opened it) when Susan sat down and asked me what was wrong. She dragged the story out of me while my best friend was losing miserably at a quarters game, and when it was done she said "well, that was shitty of him." Then she grinned. "I'd have rather gone with you anyway."
"Really now?" I asked.
"Sure. I've thought you had a nice ass since eleventh grade. And my opinion hasn't changed."
Took my best friend an hour and ten minutes to realize we'd left and gone to her place. Eventually he decided what I did was well played. Eventually.
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Haha, that's great. :tup :tup
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Christ man! :hefdaddy I know I've got stories like that, but pot and hash were my substances of choice between the ages of 17 and 22... So I don't remember shit!
Kick was a great album. I wore the fuck out of that cassette too.
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Some really great picks so far! :tup
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Props on having Kick in here, no doubt a highly influential Aussie band, I never could stand them though.
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37. The Decemberists - Picaresque (2005)
(https://www.progarchives.com/progressive_rock_discography_covers/2972/cover_1901222122007.jpg)
2011 was the "Year of the Decemberists" for me. I got into them very early in the year, I saw them in the spring, and they were by far the band I listened to the most that whole year; great band. And Picaresque is a masterpiece of a record. I remember being thrilled to death when they played six of the 11 songs at the show we saw, topped off by a spectacular performance of The Mariner's Revenge Song, which is a badass song anyway, and they really do a fantastic job with it live.
Favorite songs: The Mariner's Revenge Song, The Infanta, The Bagman's Gambit, On the Bus Mall and The Engine Driver
36. The Who - Tommy (1969)
(https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51DSQ0X2VAL.jpg)
It was 1992, I already knew some stuff by The Who, and I liked it, but then I heard the Overture to Tommy and my mind was blown. I immediately went out and bought Tommy on CD, and I was quite obsessed with it for quite a while. And this was during my year-long phase of getting into Rush, who were becoming my favorite band, so the fact that Tommy stole my attention for a bit of time away from Rush spoke volumes as to what an impact it had on me.
Favorite songs: We're Not Gonna Take It, Overture/It's a Boy, Amazing Journey/Sparks, Sally Simpson, Go to the Mirror Boy and Pinball Wizard
35. Jeff Beck - Blow by Blow (1975)
(https://www.jazzmusicarchives.com/images/covers/jeff-beck-blow-by-blow.jpg)
I am having trouble remember the exact circumstances of how I got into this record, but I think I remember reading excellent reviews of it, and being not a huge fan of guitar hero-type stuff, I was a bit hesitant to get it, but I took the plunge, and boy am I ever happy that I did. For one, it was not a guitar hero-type album, at least not in the sense I was thinking. Yes, it was guitar-driven, but it was still very much a band effort, with the fusion-esque influences and whatnot. Beck has several other albums I love like crazy, too (Wired, Who Else and You Had It Coming), but Blow by Blow is where it's at.
Favorite songs: Scatterbrain, Diamong Dust, Freeway Jam, She's a Woman and You Know What I Mean
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That's one great album by The Decemberists. :tup
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Tommy! :tup
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Man, I just have to tell you that you've got great taste in music. Such a diverse list, and all stuff that I like as well.
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Man, I just have to tell you that you've got great taste in music. Such a diverse list, and all stuff that I like as well.
Thanks, man. :hat
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34. Arcade Fire - Funeral (2005)
(https://2.bp.blogspot.com/_uQXvxkqCC1k/TKeRG0vUg2I/AAAAAAAAZhM/Pk8CbWsiQxs/s1600/Arcade-Fire-Funeral.jpg)
Another one of my favorite newer bands, all three of their albums are dynamite, and while I was pretty tempted to feature The Suburbs, as good as it is, it just can't beat the awesomeness of Funeral from start to finish. Great live band, too. I suspect those who are not familiar with this band at least know Wake Up; you'd have to have been living in a cave the last ten years not to have heard it.
Favorite songs: Power Out, Rebellion (Lies), In the Backseat, Tunnels and Crown of Love
33. Peter Gabriel - Up (2002)
(https://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/_/12713091/Up+PeterGabriel.jpg)
It speaks volumes as to how awesome PG has been for so long when he was able to release a record this great this late in his career. He has a handful of really great solo records, but this to me is truly the best thing he has done since leaving Genesis. This is a great album to listen to on a dark, autumn drive. The way the album kicks off is incredible, with the mellow intro of Darkness, and the soft whisper of "Consequence," leading directly into the fury.
Favorite songs: Sky Blue, I Grieve, Signal to Noise, Darkness and Growin Up
32. Judas Priest - Screaming for Vengeance (1982)
(https://heavymetalblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Screaming-For-Vengeance-Album-Cover.jpg)
Trying to decide which Priest album to feature was rather difficult. I almost went with Sad Wings of Destiny, but the fact that half of the songs on that were made much better live hurt it just a tad, and as great as Unleashed in the East is, I cannot never say a live album by any band is my favorite, so Screaming for Vengeance gets the nod by a hair over Stained Class.
Favorite songs: Bloodstone, Electric Eye, Fever, Take These Chains and You've Got Another Thing Coming
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I have a feeling this list will cost me lots of money. :lol
The only Priest album I have so far is Painkiller. I've been getting into Peter Gabriel lately (mainly So) so I'll probably check out Up.
I haven't ever heard Arcade Fire, but I hear they're good.
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I suspect those who are not familiar with this band at least know Wake Up; you'd have to have been living in a cave the last ten years not to have heard it.
just took a listen. I must live in a cave, because that was my first time to hear it.
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I suspect those who are not familiar with this band at least know Wake Up; you'd have to have been living in a cave the last ten years not to have heard it.
just took a listen. I must live in a cave, because that was my first time to hear it.
Guess I'm there with ya, roomie!
Never stayed with Gabriel solo stuff after So, but with Us and Up now on a couple of Top 50s, guess it's on 'the list'. Also never was a Priest kinda guy, so I don't know that either.
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I have a feeling this list will cost me lots of money. :lol
:biggrin:
I suspect those who are not familiar with this band at least know Wake Up; you'd have to have been living in a cave the last ten years not to have heard it.
just took a listen. I must live in a cave, because that was my first time to hear it.
Hmmm, I would think the big harmonies would be familiar to everyone since they were featured in a commercial that played non-stop a few years ago.
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Terrific Judas Priest record. Always great to see appreciation for Take These Chains.
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Up :heart :heart :heart :heart :heart
Funeral :heart :heart :heart :heart :heart
Also,why no Laika on your fav songs from Funeral. :tdwn
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Terrific Judas Priest record. Always great to see appreciation for Take These Chains.
Hellion/Electric Eye is the best lead off track of all time IMO!
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31. The Flaming Lips - The Soft Bulletin (1999)
(https://livemusicblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/softbulletin.jpg)
I remember getting into this band thanks to my brother Mark. He played Do You Realize? for me, which I liked, so he took it upon himself to buy me The Soft Bulletin for Christmas shortly thereafter, which I admittedly was like, "Oh. Cool." He was like, "Trust me, it's awesome." And boy was he right. This is one of those albums that should be put in a time capsule for people to listen to hundreds of years from now. Yes, it is that awesome. I always describe the Lips as bombastic, psychedelic rock on acid, and this record is the best example of that sound.
Favorite songs: The Gash, What Is the Light?, The Spark That Bled, Sleeping on the Roof and Buggin'.
30. Blue Öyster Cult - Cultosaurus Erectus (1980)
(https://eil.com/images/main/Blue+Oyster+Cult+-+Cultosaurus+Erectus+-+LP+RECORD-463957.jpg)
I have never hidden my longtime love for B.O.C. I have every studio album of theirs, and even the few average ones still have a few great songs on them. And then there is Cultosaurus Erectus, which is chock full of killer tunes, delivered forth in a running order that makes for a great flow. Lyrically speaking, this band is one of my favorites. Songs like Deadline, Black Blade and The Marshall Plan from this record as examples why.
Favorite songs: Black Blade, Lips in the Hills, Deadline, Monsters and The Marshall Plan
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That BOC has a cool album cover
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Never was a huge fan of TFL but that's one awesome BÖC album. :tup
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Your praise of Cultosaurus Erectus in the BOC thread caused me to revisit that album, which I'd basically seen for years as being Black Blade, The Marshall Plan, and a bunch of other songs. Turns out I'd been wrong about that for a long time, it's a great album that's wall to wall great music.
I still like Club Ninja better though ;)
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Your praise of Cultosaurus Erectus in the BOC thread caused me to revisit that album, which I'd basically seen for years as being Black Blade, The Marshall Plan, and a bunch of other songs. Turns out I'd been wrong about that for a long time, it's a great album that's wall to wall great music.
I still like Club Ninja better though ;)
:facepalm: :lol *smacks Jaq* :biggrin:
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29. Spock's Beard - V (2000)
(https://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e46/tcktrc/SpocksBeard-V.jpg)
After getting into Transatlantic in the spring of 2000, I decided to check out the various bands the guys in the band were in, and I found Beware of Darkness and The Kindness of Strangers at a local CD shop (imagine finding their CDs anywhere now but online), both of which I liked, but neither of which initially blew me away. Then V came out that summer, and that one absolutely floored me. I could not believe how awesome the song At the End of the Day was; sometimes, I still can't. What my favorite Spock's album really does vary a lot from listen to listen, but for now, V is the choice.
Favorite songs: At the End of the Day, The Great Nothing and Goodbye to Yesterday
28. Triumvirat - Spartacus (1975)
(https://www.progarchives.com/progressive_rock_discography_covers/392/cover_582142182008.jpg)
Looked at by some as an ELP wannabe band, Triumvirat nonetheless has several outstanding records, Spartacus being my favorite, not to mention a record we listened to a ton back in the early 90s. In fact, a buddy of ours used to have a pool table in his basement, and every time a bunch of us would drink some beer and play some pool, we'd listen to this CD. An odd choice for such an environment, some might say, but I think it was that friend's way of getting us all to like a CD he always told us was great. And he was dead right.
Favorite songs: The School of Instant Pain, The March to the Eternal City, The Walls of Doom, Spartacus and The Deadly Dream of Freedom
27. Neal Morse - Testimony Two (2011)
(https://www.progarchives.com/progressive_rock_discography_covers/712/cover_371041342011_r.jpg)
While some jumped ship on Neal, or simply lost a lot of interest, when he went solo and went with more overtly obvious spiritual lyrics than he had written with Spock's Beard, I have not. But I was starting to lose a bit of interest in his solo career until Testimony Two came out in 2011, which renewed my interest in his solo work. And why not, as it is an absolutely fantastic record, one which brought back some of the fun aspect in his music that was often there in Spock's Beard, but had been largely absent in most of his solo work prior to that. "We were rocking!!!"
Favorite songs: Crossing Over/Mercy Street Reprise, Seeds of Gold, The Truth Will Set You Free, Mercy Street and It's for You
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V - Spectacular
Spartacus - don't know it.
Testimony 2 - I too got into Neal based on SB, but never checked out his solo stuff until a couple of years ago, and when I did, I hammered thru his whole discography over a couple days on Grooveshark. By the end of it, I was a little worn out by the religious themes. I loved it all, just never went back to any individual albums, cuz I wasn't stimulated by the lyrical themes. As I said in someone else's Top 50 recently (I believe the album was ?), I should go for another round.
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Emerging from the cave to say that Screaming For Vengeance :metal
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Your praise of Cultosaurus Erectus in the BOC thread caused me to revisit that album, which I'd basically seen for years as being Black Blade, The Marshall Plan, and a bunch of other songs. Turns out I'd been wrong about that for a long time, it's a great album that's wall to wall great music.
I still like Club Ninja better though ;)
:facepalm: :lol *smacks Jaq* :biggrin:
Thought that'd get your attention. :biggrin:
Of the three albums here, V is the only one I own, and is my favorite Spock's Beard album. Triumvirat is a band I've meant to get into, and I just can't get into Neal's solo material. (It's not the Christian thing, either, as I love Stryper for fuck's sake :rollin ) His solo work just never clicked for me musically, and I'm really not sure why.
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I would comment here more, but I haven't heard most of these. :lol
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Neal is the man. :tup
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I haven't actually heard Testimony 2, the last solo album I have is Sola Scriptura. Sounds like I'm missing out!
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I saw a copy of The Kindness of Strangers at Half Price Books in St.Paul a few weeks ago.
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V was my introduction to Spock's Beard and I still think it is their best album.
For Neal solo I prefer One and ?, the rest isn't bad but gets kinda samey and predictable to my ears, oh and the christian themes themselves don't bother me, but they make for some incredibly cheesy lyrics.
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26. Steven Wilson - Grace for Drowning (2011)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/dc/Steven_Wilson_-_Grace_for_Drowning.jpg)
I probably don't need to say much about this album, since I have expressed my thoughts about it enough over the years in other threads. To me, the greatness of this album speaks for itself. I will say, though, that if I did this same list a year from now, it would probably be replaced by The Raven That Refused to Sing, but since I don't like putting albums under a year old in lists like this, since I want to see how they age for a year first, Grace for Drowning gets the nod right now. And a very deserving one.
Favorite songs: Raider II, Remainder the Black Dog, No Part of Me, Deform to Form a Star and Sectarian
25. Opeth - Still Life (1999)
(https://sebastianbohm93.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/still_life_big_opeth_extremecult_1999_front.jpg)
It almost feels like this should be higher, but here it is at 25 nonetheless. I got into Opeth through a 10-song CD a friend made, and four of the songs were from this album (tracks 2-5). Oddly, despite being into the band for nearly nine years, Still Life hasn't been my favorite Opeth album for that long - it used to go back and forth between Blackwater Park and Ghost Reveries - but I finally came to the realization a year or two ago that Still Life is, from start to finish, their best and most complete work.
Favorite songs: Face of Melinda, White Cluster, Godhead's Lament and Moonlapse Vertigo
24. Queen - Sheer Heart Attack (1974)
(https://www.rollingstone.com/assets/images/album_review/28c9c98d1e697a3d1171c267ad7c81c017de4e4f.png)
Unbelievably, despite being a huge Queen fan since the early 90s, I never got around to checking out all of Sheer Heart Attack till five or six years ago, IIRC. I blame a friend who always told me it wasn't that good. :facepalm: Yeah, he was dead wrong. Listening to this album was like winning the lottery, except that I had had the winning ticket for years and just never cashed it in. That is what it felt like. As much as I love A Night at the Opera and Innuendo, Sheer Heart Attack quickly became my favorite Queen record and reignited my love for the band.
Favorite songs: Killer Queen, Flick of the Wrist, In the Lap of the Gods, Stone Cold Crazy and Lily of the Valley
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Grace For Drowning is tremendous.
Still Life I haven't heard yet, and Queen I haven't really gotten into.
I'm surprised Opeth is on your list. For some reason I had the impression you weren't much of a metal guy.
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I'm surprised Opeth is on your list. For some reason I had the impression you weren't much of a metal guy.
I'm really not, per se. There are probably only 4-5 artists I would describe as metal at all that I listen to on any kind of regular basis anymore.
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As I said in someone else's Top 50 recently (I believe the album was ?), I should go for another round.
"?" is easily Neal Morse's best solo record. At least, that's what I think.
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I would have agreed with that, before T2 came out.
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Fantastic Opeth album, and a great release by Steven Wilson, although it already got surpassed by The Raven in my book.
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I'm not crazy about Queen, but there's no arguing with the other two!
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3 great albums :tup
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Two out of three ain't bad. I'm that guy who just isn't all that crazy about Grace For Drowning. You knew there had to be one. :lol
Still Life reminds me of my most recent ex girlfriend (what, is it a shock that a guy who tells all these whacky stories about women has trouble KEEPING them? :lol) who got into Opeth around the same time I did, before we actually started dating and were just friends. At the time Still Life was head and shoulders the hardest Opeth album to find in stores in America-it was either the Peaceville version was out of print, or was going out of print in favor of the versions that came out with bonus tracks, I can't remember which. Since we were only friends, we were both buying Opeth albums separately, and were being competitive about it instead of pooling our resources to find them. Anyway, she went with her family on a vacation to London, and one day while she was gone, I got an e-mail that read this line, repeatedly:
I GOT STILL LIFE I GOT STILL LIFE I GOT STILL LIFE.
Broke up with her a few years back, though we've been friends on and off since then (and oh my god, this is really complicated friends with benefits until relatively recently). Actually went on a family vacation with her family at one point when we were engaged. To this day, she still reminds me of how she got Still Life before me, and I still point out that if we'd started dating six months earlier, I could have possibly been with her and gotten it to. Ahh, life.
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<3 Still Life and GfD.
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Three very solid choices there, though for each artist I personally would choose another record as their best.
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Great choice for Queen there, it's my favourite album from them along with A Night At The Opera.
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23. Liquid Tension Experiment - Liquid Tension Experiment (1998)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/5e/LiquidTensionExperiment.jpg)
Back in the late 90s, I used to get the DT fan club magazine four times a year, and I remember one issue having a review of a new record John Petrucci and Mike Portnoy were a part of called Liquid Tension Experiment. Being that I was anxious to get my hands on anything DT-related at the time, as well as being a big fan of blind purchases, I figured, what the hell, and ordered it online right away. And when I got it, I was like :eek :eek :eek :eek :eek. I couldn't believe how awesome it was. It was like all-instrumental DT on steroids. And yet despite the dazzling technical prowess that was being flashed everywhere, there were still enough great melodies and hooks to grab me. This was my main workout CD for quite a long stretch in later 1998/1999.
Favorite songs: Freedom of Speech, Universal Mind, Osmosis, Kindred Spirits and Three Minute Warning
22. Camel - Moonmadness (1976)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4e/Camel-moonmadness.jpg)
Camel is by far the most underrated awesome prog band that came out of the 70s. A lot of hardcore prog fans know and love them, but many are still completely oblivious to them, and that is a damn shame. They have a sound that, despite having some obvious influences, is clearly their own, led as always by the dazzling guitar-playing of Andrew Latimer. Moonmadness and Mirage usually run neck-and-neck for what is my favorite Camel CD; this week Moonmadness is the one I prefer, hence its placement at number 22.
Favorite songs: Air Born, Another Night, Lunar Sea and Song Within a Song
21. The Moody Blues - In Search of the Lost Chord (1968)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/7c/In_search_of_the_lost_chord.jpg)
One of the founding fathers of prog rock, the Moodies have been a longtime favorite of mine. They were the 3rd classic rock band I fell hard for (after Boston and Pink Floyd), and they remain a favorite to this day. And while those first seven records are all great, In Search of the Lost Chord stands out to me as not only the definite best of the bunch, but also one of the best rock records ever. Plus, they get mad points for being THE band that popularized the mellotron, credit of course going to Mike Pinder.
Favorite songs: Legend of a Mind, Ride My See-Saw, Visions of Paradise, House of Four Doors and The Actor
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Moonmadness :heart
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Always been a greatest hits fan of the Moody's, but never dove into their discog. Guess that'll change and I'll fire this one up. Camel... never listened to them.
As for LTE, they have their moments, but there's some tracks that just don't click for me.
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23. Liquid Tension Experiment - Liquid Tension Experiment (1998)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/5e/LiquidTensionExperiment.jpg)
Back in the late 90s, I used to get the DT fan club magazine four times a year, and I remember one issue having a review of a new record John Petrucci and Mike Portnoy were a part of called Liquid Tension Experiment. Being that I was anxious to get my hands on anything DT-related at the time, as well as being a big fan of blind purchases, I figured, what the hell, and ordered it online right away. And when I got it, I was like :eek :eek :eek :eek :eek. I couldn't believe how awesome it was. It was like all-instrumental DT on steroids. And yet despite the dazzling technical prowess that was being flashed everywhere, there were still enough great melodies and hooks to grab me. This was my main workout CD for quite a long stretch in later 1998/1999.
I would never have heard of Dream Theater were it not for Liquid Tension Experiment. A friend shared this CD with me and WOW!!! :o LOVED IT!!! :metal That led me to investigating the individual members...and all was revealed. :hefdaddy
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I've been meaning to check out both Camel and the Moody Blues. I guess these albums are as good a place to start as any. And yes, LTE is a great workout album.
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OMG I just discovered this thread. Fill me with your love, Kev :heart :millahhhh
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Moonmadness is awesome. I still prefer Mirage and the self titled though.
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Love all three of those albums :heart
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Moonmadness :heart
Sums it up for me. Like the other two but Moonmadness is fantastic.
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I love half of the LTE albums- the composed half. Not a fan of the more jam-my stuff but the more structured tracks are :hefdaddy :hefdaddy :hefdaddy
I really like Camel, after seeing then on a tv concert in the 80s. I didn't know who they were, wasn't even sure it particularly rocked but I loved it enough to track down the album of the gig (Pressure Points). Played Rajaz earlier today, but my fave is Nude.
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Glad to see some are gonna check out Camel and The Moodies as a result of this thread. :)
OMG I just discovered this thread. Fill me with your love, Kev :heart :millahhhh
Grab your ankles, buddy. :biggrin:
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I love half of the LTE albums- the composed half. Not a fan of the more jam-my stuff but the more structured tracks are :hefdaddy :hefdaddy :hefdaddy
Exactly how I feel.
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So I really enjoyed that Moody Blues album (will definitely give it another try later), but after one measly listen I was even more impressed with Days of Future Passed :heart
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I'm a bit late on this one, but I'm surprised to see you listed Death Cab's album Plans here. It's an awesome album :tup Couldn't listen to it for the longest time because it reminded me of an ex GF :lol But I revisited it recently and it is a magical album.
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Yes, that's a beautiful album. I will follow you into the dark :heart
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So I really enjoyed that Moody Blues album (will definitely give it another try later), but after one measly listen I was even more impressed with Days of Future Passed :heart
A lot of people do think Days... is better, but I always disagree. In fact, of those seven albums they did, Days... is probably only my fourth or fifth favorite.
I'm a bit late on this one, but I'm surprised to see you listed Death Cab's album Plans here. It's an awesome album :tup Couldn't listen to it for the longest time because it reminded me of an ex GF :lol But I revisited it recently and it is a magical album.
Yep, it is great. The Death Cab thread isn't visited very often, so it is easy to forget who here is a fan. :lol
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20. Muse - Black Holes & Revelations (2006)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c5/BlackHolesCover.jpg)
This came out literally as I was getting into Muse, so this became part of my getting into Muse process, and it kicked my ass from start to finish. And is still does. I love every song on this record. I still think Muse has a better album in them somewhere, which I can only hope we get at some point, but if they never top this, there'll be no shame in that, considering how great this record is.
Favorite songs: Map of the Problematique, Take a Bow, Knights of Cydonia, City of Delusion and Invincible
19. Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin II
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/20/Led_Zeppelin_-_Led_Zeppelin_II.jpg)
LZ has a handful of records that are all so great that strong arguments can be made for them all, in regards to what is the best, so I am going with personal choice of II here. There are days where I think Houses of the Holy is better, but while that album has a dude (The Crunge), II is great from start to finish, with every track being a winner.
Favorite songs: What Is and What Should Never Be, The Lemon Song, Whole Lotta Love, Heartbreaker and Ramble On
18. Styx - Pieces of Eight
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c4/Styx_-_Pieces_of_Eight.jpg)
i got this CD from my brother Tim on the day I graduated from high school in June of 1991. I already knew and loved The Grand Illusion, and then Tim gave me this CD while also telling me, "This is better than The Grand Illusion!" And I think he was right. This is another case of I could really go either way when asked which album I now prefer, but Pieces of Eight has more nostalgic value for me, and since the albums are pretty equal, that gives it the very slight nod.
Favorite songs: Pieces of Eight, Queen of Spades, Renegade, Great White Hope and I'm O.K.
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Not really a Muse fan here.
LZ II... can't go wrong there. If not for the two 'dudes' in "The Crunge" and "D'yer Mak'er" HotH would be a top album for me too. II came in at #16 on my list.
Pieces of 8... solid. Rock fucking solid. Prolly my fave Styx album.
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I've been wanting to pick up LZ II. I like a lot of the tunes on it, particularly "What Is and What Should Never Be". It has a deeper meaning to me... :(
Thanks Kev, for your sharing your fine taste! :hat
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Amazing thing you included Muse. The Origin of Symmetry/Absolution/Black Holes triad is just otherwordly.
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Knights of Cydonia :metal
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Love Pieces Of Eight.
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Holy shit, I just realized Absolution was released 10 years ago.
Years have passed us with no warnings. :millahhhh
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Holy shit, I just realized Absolution was released 10 years ago.
Woah. :eek
LZ II... can't go wrong there. If not for the two 'dudes' in "The Crunge" and "D'yer Mak'er" HotH would be a top album for me too. II came in at #16 on my list.
I adore D'yer Mak'er. :shrug
Thanks Kev, for your sharing your fine taste! :hat
No problemo. I am just happy some are checking out some great music they hadn't heard yet! :tup :tup
Amazing thing you included Muse. The Origin of Symmetry/Absolution/Black Holes triad is just otherwordly.
Pretty much, yes. I hope that one day they re-release them with them sounding better. Albums that good deserve to sound a lot better.
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Let's see, a good to great Muse album, a great Zeppelin album, and the best album Styx ever did. Good choices all.
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The next update will be a good one, as it will have an album each from the 70s, 80s and 90s!
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But will the 80s album cause a story from me?
THE SUSPENSE. :rollin
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Well, it's not gonna be Europe...:lol :lol
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I'd worry if Europe was this high on a top 50 list. :lol
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Classic LZ!!
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Not my favorite Zeppelin and Muse albums, but still good stuff. :metal
The Crunge is amazing, by the way. :hefdaddy
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Muse is one of the bands I should check out, sooner or later.
Knights of Cydonia :metal
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Been a really solid list so far, you have a great taste in music, man :tup I'm looking forward to seeing your top 10.
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Been a really solid list so far, you have a great taste in music, man :tup I'm looking forward to seeing your top 10.
It's a good list, it just needs more cowbell!!
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:rollin :rollin
:cow:
(https://netdna.copyblogger.com/images/cowbell.jpg)
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17. The Police - Synchronicity (1983)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/7f/Police-album-synchronicity.jpg)
This had to be top 20. It was the first full-length vinyl I ever owned, and it is still an album I love listening to pretty often. Considering how important this album was to me, it might have been top 10 if tracks 4 and 8 were stronger, but I was never overly crazy about King of Pain, and even though I don't think Mother is as positively awful as many do, it still is not very good. But everything else on this record is dynamite, and they are one of a handful of bands that went out on top.
Favorite songs: Synchronicity II, Wrapped Around Your Finger, Synchronicity I, Walking in Your Footsteps and O My God
16. Boston - Boston (1976)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/23/BostonBoston.jpg)
This was THE album that got me into classic rock. I cut grass with my older cousin Tim in the summers of '89 and '90, and he always had classic rock stations on, so I got familiar with a lot of classic rock that way. I still remember the first time I heard Foreplay/Long Time; it was the greatest thing I had ever heard. I ran out the next day and used my grass-cutting money to buy the first Boston album on cassette, and for weeks, all I listened to was Foreplay/Long Time (which was placed as the last track on Side 2 of the cassette). Once I got around to listening to the whole thing, which took some prodding from my cousin, who kept telling me, "Every song is great," there was no doubt in my mind that Boston was one of the best albums ever.
Favorite songs: Foreplay/Long Time, Hitch a Ride, More Than a Feeling, Peace of Mind and Smokin'
15. Dave Matthews Band - Before These Crowded Streets (1998)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/ae/DMB_-_Before_These_Crowded_Streets.jpg)
Yes, this album by Dave Matthews Band really is that awesome. Without a doubt. I only knew What Would You Say by them for years, and that song never did much for me back then, but when Before These Crowded Streets came out, my brother Mark loved it and told me how good it was, but I was like, "Meh, no interest." But he insisted on playing me the three song run of The Stone, Crush and The Dreaming Tree. Suffice it to say, I was shocked at how great all three of those songs were, and I was like, "Wow, is this the same band??" It wasn't long before I had my own copy on CD, and the rest of the record is absolutely fantastic as well. With eight of the 11 songs being over six minutes (four of which being over seven minutes), this album is by far the most they have ever stretched out, and you could even call this album epic.
Favorite songs: The Dreaming Tree, The Stone, Don't Drink the Water, Crush and Rapunzel
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Not too fond of DMB, Synchronicity is amazing-I think it's probably the best mainstream rock album of the 80s-but my love for Boston's debut is unparalleled. More Than A Feeling has been my all time favorite song for over 30 years now, and Boston's debut is the best album that came out in 1976, the year I consider the single best year for rock music ever. (A top 50 list of mine would have as many as 10 albums that came out in 1976, and two of them-Boston and Thin Lizzy's Jailbreak-would be top ten.) Boston is timeless.
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I like DMB, but I feel that they get a little samey after a while.
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Not too fond of DMB, Synchronicity is amazing-I think it's probably the best mainstream rock album of the 80s-but my love for Boston's debut is unparalleled. More Than A Feeling has been my all time favorite song for over 30 years now, and Boston's debut is the best album that came out in 1976, the year I consider the single best year for rock music ever. (A top 50 list of mine would have as many as 10 albums that came out in 1976, and two of them-Boston and Thin Lizzy's Jailbreak-would be top ten.) Boston is timeless.
Jaq, you need to do a Top 50!
Boston is great! and yes, 1976 was a great year.
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Boston is a damn good classic rock album, but I prefer the two albums that followed. :metal
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Boston is a damn good classic rock album, but I prefer the two albums that followed. :metal
Now there is something you don't hear very often... :biggrin:
Jaq, you need to do a Top 50!
Amen to that!
I like DMB, but I feel that they get a little samey after a while.
I agree, but what does that have to do with Before These Crowded Streets? DMB didn't get samey until well into the 00s.
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I'm actually surprised you don't have Boston higher. It is certainly one of the top albums of the 70s. I don't get how Tom Scholz wasn't able to recapture the awesomeness that is on that debut. So disappointing we didn't get more quality work from them.
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Boston is a damn good classic rock album, but I prefer the two albums that followed. :metal
You're first person I've ever seen whose favorite isn't the debut. :eek
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I too am not a big fan of DMB. Boston's s/t was #15 on my list. Best debut ever ... screw GnR that outsold this as the best selling debut (not sure if that's still the case). Synchronicity is filled with gems.
Another grand update. I suspect it's only gonna get better from here.
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Not too fond of DMB, Synchronicity is amazing-I think it's probably the best mainstream rock album of the 80s-but my love for Boston's debut is unparalleled. More Than A Feeling has been my all time favorite song for over 30 years now, and Boston's debut is the best album that came out in 1976, the year I consider the single best year for rock music ever. (A top 50 list of mine would have as many as 10 albums that came out in 1976, and two of them-Boston and Thin Lizzy's Jailbreak-would be top ten.) Boston is timeless.
Jaq, you need to do a Top 50!
I lost my taste for lists a while ago. :lol I have no problem putting together a top 10, but I'd have a lot of trouble once I got down to about 25 or so making a list. If I can ever manage to put together 50 albums in a reasonable order, and then actually think of fifty entries, I might give it a shot though.
Actually, when I sat down to do it, I could have done a Top 100. I'll take a crack when the next what, six or so people are done? :lol
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Synchronicity is my favorite Police album, and Boston's first album is awesome too! :tup
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three great ones there!
Miss Gradenko is so quirky and fun. It is one of my favorites from the album along with Wrapped Around Your Finger and Synchronicity II.
That DMB album is really good. Crush is easily my favorite from that album.
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Two more tonight, I'll do two more tomorrow, and then the top 10 will begin on Monday.
14. Yes - The Yes Album (1971)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/27/The_yes_album.jpg)
It was tough deciding on a particular Yes album, but while I think Close to the Edge is THE definitive Yes album, The Yes Album was the first 70s Yes album I heard, so it was what got me into their classic stuff, and it is probably the one I still listen to the most. Starship Trooper absolutely blew my mind to shreds when I first heard it back in the day, and the latter half of I've Seen All Good People was stuck in my head for weeks after the first time I heard it.
Favorite songs: Starship Trooper, Yours Is No Disgrace, I've Seen All Good People and Perpetual Change
13. Queensrÿche - Promised Land (1994)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/91/Queensryche_-_Promised_Land_cover.jpg)
I was a moderate fan of this band in the early 90s - I like most of the Empire hits, and I liked what I had heard of Mindcrime, but nothing they had done had really wowed me. Then Promised Land came out. And the funny thing is, I didn't know what to make it. I like some of it, but some of it really seemed "out there," and yet I continually went back to it over and over, and before I knew it, I was loving every single minute of it. 1994 was a very special musical year for me, for a variety of reasons, and Promised Land is one of those reasons. The tour for this album was absolutely amazing, too. I can still listen to this and take a major ass-kicking. :lol
Favorite songs: Damaged, Promised Land, Out of Mind, Lady Jane, I Am I and Someone Else?
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the yes album is fantastic. Glad to see it so high on your list. :tup
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I agree with that QR release. It would make my top 20. The first time I heard it, I thought it was weird and out there. But I kept going back to it. It still is weird and out there, but also very cool and addicting to listen to. The title track is pure epic and awesome. Great choice.
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Good ones, especially The Yes Album. :tup
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When I was putting together my first draft of my top 50 last night, I struggled fairly mightily with what my favorite Yes album was. I'll spoil one item on my list now by saying it was Close to the Edge, but The Yes Album is so close, it might very well wind up being in that spot when it actually gets around to being my turn.
As for Promised Land-I have to say I'm consistent about it. I didn't like it when it was released. I didn't like it when I went back to it a few months later thinking "Oh, it's a grower, go back and try again." I've never liked it. The departure of Chris DeGarmo and Geoff Tate taking over with his outside writer friends is when most people say QR lost the plot, but I honestly think even if DeGarmo had stayed, they were losing the plot. Empire was the last QR album I liked until the self titled. And yeah, I know, those are fighting words! :lol
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The Yes Album is definitely one of the most classic, and band-defining albums there ever was.
PL, excellent album, but definitely 3rd when it comes to QR albums for me. I dig it start to finish (except maybe My Global Mind)
:tup update
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12. Genesis - Selling England by the Pound (1973)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/57/GenesisSellingEngland.jpg)
I didn't get into classic Genesis until many years after I had already gotten into the other classic 70s prog bands, and doing so was almost an accident. I remember reading somewhere about how great those early albums were, so one of my brothers bought me Selling England by the Pound as one of my Christmas presents one year (maybe 1999?), and when I listened to it, I was immediately taken with it; the first song, Dancing with the Moonlit Knight, was a major grabber. By the time I was finished listening to the whole thing, I knew I was gonna be listening to a lot of Genesis for the long haul. And I sure have.
Favorite songs: The Cinema Show, Firth of Fifth, Dancing with the Moonlight Knight and After the Ordeal
11. The Beatles - Abbey Road (1969)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/42/Beatles_-_Abbey_Road.jpg)
Getting into this album was almost an accident, too. I had loved the Beatles since growing up listening to Sgt. Pepper, and later The White Album (thanks to my cousin Tim playing it one day during one of our lawn-cutting excursions), but for whatever reason, I never dug deeper into the other studio albums until the mid 90s or so. I remember hearing Something on the radio or something, and I thought it was great, but I had no idea what the name of the song was. It took me a few days to find out (and I was like, "Duhhhh!', when I found out :lol), and I then bought Abbey Road. I already knew Come Together, and I was aware of the rep the album had, but I was not expecting the awesomeness that followed when I listened to it, especially Side 2. I then ended up getting Revolver, Rubber Soul and a few others shortly thereafter, thanks to Abbey Road, which brought me from being a casual Beatles fan to a huge one.
Favorite songs: Something, Here Comes the Sun, Golden Slumbers, She Came in Through the Bathroom Window, Mean Mr. Mustard and Maxwell's Silver Hammer
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These are some excellent albums here!! Selling England might crack my top 10 and abbey road probably top 25. Love this list man :tup
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I think Abbey Road is by far the Beatles' greatest work. Nice pick.
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Selling England to me is perfection. Just utter perfection.
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Great albums once again. :tup
Also, it's interesting how you keep picking incredible bands, but never my favorites from them. ;D
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Here is a fun little game: Can anyone correctly guess the remaining 10 artists? The ones that will make up the top 10? I would think anyone who knows me and my tastes should be able to guess most or all of them. A recap of 50-11:
50. Steely Dan - Aja
49. Sigur Rós - ( )
48. Van Halen - Van Halen
47. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues
46. Emerson Lake & Palmer - Emerson Lake & Palmer
45. Extreme - III Sides to Every Story
44. Death Cab for Cutie - Plans
43. Pet Shops Boys - Fundamental
42. Metallica - Master of Puppets
41. Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath
40. Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven
39. INXS - Kick
38. dredg - The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion
37. The Decemberists - Picaresque
36. The Who - Tommy
35. Jeff Beck - Blow by Blow
34. Arcade Fire - Funeral
33. Peter Gabriel - Up
32. Judas Priest - Screaming for Vengeance
31. The Flaming Lips - The Soft Bulletin
30. Blue Öyster Cult - Cultosaurus Erectus
29. Spock's Beard - V
28. Triumvirat - Spartacus
27. Neal Morse - Testimony Two
26. Steven Wilson - Grace for Drowning
25. Opeth - Still Life
24. Queen - Sheer Heart Attack
23. Liquid Tension Experiment - Liquid Tension Experiment
22. Camel - Moonmadness
21. The Moody Blues - In Search of the Lost Chord
20. Muse - Black Holes & Revelations
19. Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin II
18. Styx - Pieces of Eight
17. The Police - Synchronicity
16. Boston - Boston
15. Dave Matthews Band - Before These Crowded Streets
14. Yes - The Yes Album
13. Queensrÿche - Promised Land
12. Genesis - Selling England by the Pound
11. The Beatles - Abbey Road
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I think it's safe to assume we will see some Dream Theater? Beyond that, I can't really guess. :lol
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I would say DT, The Flower Kings, Porcupine Tree, Rush and Marillion are likely.
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I could do a top 200 albums, with no repeating artists, and I don't think Marillion would make it. :lol :biggrin:
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:emo:
edited for my amusement
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Oh well, for some reason I thought I thought you were a fan :lol
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Not at all. Marillion and Pain of Salvation are my two biggest failures ever, considering I gave them both tons of attention, but never took much of a liking to either, outside of a few songs by each.
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I love both myself but I guess we can't all have a perfect taste in music :neverusethis:
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Definitely expecting DT and Porcupine Tree. Maybe some King Crimson since you seem to like 70s prog. Not sure about any others but I'm excited to find out. And I can't get into Pain of Salvation either.
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I will bet my entire salary for next year that Rush will be somewhere in the top 10. :biggrin:
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Abbey Road. :biggrin: And within a few places of where it's standing on my rough draft top 50 to boot. Not too shabby. As for the Genesis album-right now my favorite Gabriel era album is Foxtrot, but it HAS been Selling England By The Pound. Just an amazing album.
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Before I get into the top 10 later today/tomorrow, here are some honorable mentions:
King Crimson - The Power to Believe
Heart - Dreamboat Annie
Roger Waters - Amused to Death
Supertramp - Crime of the Century
Eric Johnson - Venus Isle
Asia - Asia
Talking Heads - Remain in Light
Jethro Tull - Aqualung
Frank Zappa - Hot Rats
David Gilmour - On an Island
Blackfield - Blackfield II
Billy Joel - The Stranger
Triumph - Allied Forces
The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds
Cutting Crew - The Broadcast
Ayreon - The Dream Sequencer
Coldplay - Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends
Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
David Bowie - Low
Kaïpa - Keyholder
Damn Yankees - Don't Tread
Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank
Prince and the Revolution - Purple Rain
Ozzy Osbourne - Diary of a Madman
The Rolling Stones - Sticky Fingers
Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble - Texas Flood
Michael Jackson - Thriller
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Is On An Island that good? A friend of mine gave it to me as a present like years ago and I haven't touched it yet because I'm not the biggest fan of Gilmour's solo work.
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Oh yes Promised Land! :hefdaddy :hefdaddy :hefdaddy
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Gotta be something from Floyd in there. Perhaps something else from the 80s. No Eagles yet? Skynyrd? Breakfast in America?
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Is On An Island that good? A friend of mine gave it to me as a present like years ago and I haven't touched it yet because I'm not the biggest fan of Gilmour's solo work.
Yes. To me, it was the natural follow-up to The Division Bell, albeit a bit more mellow, and is lights years ahead of any of his other solo albums.
No Eagles yet? Skynyrd? Breakfast in America?
Supertramp was covered in the honorable mentions. Those other two have songs I like, but don't have any one album I would call great enough to come close to making a list like this, especially since I like so many bands.
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Time for the top 10! I will be doing them one at at time, but more than one a day.
10. U2 - Achtung Baby
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/72/Achtung_Baby.png)
I was a big U2 fan in the 80s. In fact, by the time the 80s ended, they were one of my two or three favorite bands. However, once I discovered classic rock and other forms of rock from 1989 to 1991, U2 kind of fell by the wayside on my list of priorities. In fact, when Acthtung Baby came out, I heard Mysterious Way, hated it and thought, "If this is the new direction people are talking about, they can have it." Being that I was no longer watching MTV anymore, I didn't see any of the videos for the other hits, and when I did listen to the radio back then, it was classic rock, so for years, the only song I knew from this album was Mysterious Ways. It wasn't until 1995 that I finally got around to actually hearing it. I think I heard Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses somewhere, liked it, mentioned it to a friend who liked the album and he let me borrow his copy. I was pretty flabbergasted when I listened to it; it was a lot better than I thought it was gonna be. In fact, I liked it quite a bit. However, when Pop was a major flop in 1997, even though I liked some of it, U2 fell by the wayside for me for literally about a decade. But then about five years ago, I suddenly got a hair up my ass to listen to some U2 again, and when I did, I not only discovered that most of their music had aged really well, but that Achtung Baby was a flawless record from start to finish. I even like Mysterious Ways quite a bit now! So, when I finally saw U2 on the 360 tour a couple years ago, you can only imagine my euphoria when they began the show with five straight songs from Achtung Baby. :hat
Favorite songs: Until the End of the World, Ultraviolet (Light My Way), The Fly, Acrobat, Love Is Blindness and One
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Probably my LEAST favorite U2 album. I think I'd even take How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb over this.
I will end this post by saying something nice though... I'm really looking forward to #9 - whatever it is will be an improvement. :lol
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Can't stand U2. Sorry. You still got 9 more coming. :tup
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Probably my LEAST favorite U2 album. I think I'd even take How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb over this.
I will end this post by saying something nice though... I'm really looking forward to #9 - whatever it is will be an improvement. :lol
:eek :eek :eek Wow.
Number 9 is coming up a little later today...
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Probably my LEAST favorite U2 album. I think I'd even take How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb over this.
I will end this post by saying something nice though... I'm really looking forward to #9 - whatever it is will be an improvement. :lol
Chad, I had no idea that you even liked U2. I dunno, it never seemed like something that would fit your taste.
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Great pick. Until the End of the World and The Fly are great songs. I don't know if this album reaches the highs of say the Joshua Tree, but it is consistently very enjoyable. I think I skip one song (So Cruel) but the others make up for it.
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Probably my LEAST favorite U2 album. I think I'd even take How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb over this.
I will end this post by saying something nice though... I'm really looking forward to #9 - whatever it is will be an improvement. :lol
Chad, I had no idea that you even liked U2. I dunno, it never seemed like something that would fit your taste.
Oh totally. Joshua Tree is an all-time classic. Unforgettable Fire, October, War... all great stuff.
Let me correct ... Zooropa had been purged from my mind, so I'll correct that Acthung is not my least favorite. And I don't really know much of the post 90s stuff... didn't follow them much after Achtung.
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Glad Power To Believe got an HM. That album is so damn good. Three years ago, it probably would have been in my 50.
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I figured U2 would make the top 10-call it a hunch-but I didn't expect this album. Totally expected Joshua Tree.
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I figured U2 would make the top 10-call it a hunch-but I didn't expect this album. Totally expected Joshua Tree.
Great pick. Until the End of the World and The Fly are great songs. I don't know if this album reaches the highs of say the Joshua Tree, but it is consistently very enjoyable. I think I skip one song (So Cruel) but the others make up for it.
I think it does. Plus, so many of U2's albums, The Joshua Tree included, have songs that became much better live, but with Achtung Baby, they brought out the best on nearly every song on the studio versions.
With regards to The Joshua Tree more specifically, the studio versions of Streets... and Bullet the Blue Sky almost sound like warm-ups compared to the beastly live versions that followed for years. Same for Exit, which is rather limp in the studio, but slayed on Rattle & Hum.
Glad Power To Believe got an HM. That album is so damn good. Three years ago, it probably would have been in my 50.
Same here. But over time, King Crimson is just not a band I listen to hardly at all anymore (and never really did that much, honestly, except for the "getting into them" phase). That said, Starless and The Power to Believe II are still two of the greatest songs I have ever heard. :coolio
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09. Transatlantic - SMPTe (2000)
(https://www.progarchives.com/progressive_rock_discography_covers/337/cover_36441718102008.jpg)
It was early in 2000, and several of us were knee deep in DT and all of its greatness surrounding Scenes from a Memory, and it was my older brother Tim who one day told me, "Hey, I bought this CD that Dream Theater's drummer plays on; it's good; you should check it out." So, I did. And the rest, as they say, is history. I was taken immediately with the voices of both Neal Morse and Roine Stolt, the vintage-sounding prog music and the overall scope of the disc. This CD is single-handledly responsible for getting me into The Flower Kings and Spock's Beard (and later by extension, Neal Morse's solo career). I cannot count the number of hours I have spent in the 13 years since listening to all of those acts. Really, I could have picked any of the three TA records, as they are all such great, but SMPTe gets the nod because of its impact and influence on my musical direction.
Favorite songs: All of the Above, My New World and We All Need Some Light
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Oooh, nice. I've heard the other two TA albums, and I've been meaning to get this one for a while.
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I gotta admit,I've only heard The Whirlwind from the band. And that was like a year ago. I think I gotta listen to it again and then check out the others.
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I heard of the first TA album, I believe, via a bit of news on the Marillion site, and my reaction to it was this "Wow, Pete from Marillion's gonna be in a band with MP and...two guys I've never heard of!" I wasn't very deep into the current prog scene then, what can I say? By the time it came out, though, I'd heard it was five songs and nearly 80 minutes, which sold it. Bought the album, went home to play it, and was in love with it by the time the vocals came in for All Of The Above, which remains, still, my favorite TA song. Much like Kev, this album led me to listening to Spock's Beard and the Flower Kings and broadening my knowledge of "modern" prog, so it wins out as my favorite TA album for the same reason; it had such a strong effect on the music I would listen to for the next decade that it gets the nod, though all three albums are largely even in terms of quality.
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I was right, this was a way better update than #10! :jets:. BAF was my first Transatlantic experience and wowzers! Didn't get SMTPe until a few years later. It was excellent, but honestly ... I was a little underwhelmed, given how wow'd I was from BAF. I should probably revisit it.
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08. Devin Townsend - Terria (2001)
(https://www.metal-archives.com/images/3/6/1/9/3619.jpg)
This is another one of those CDs that I was not a big fan of on the first several listens, outside of a few songs, but I was persistent and kept plugging away and the light eventually went on. And did it ever. Looking back, it seems laughable that I didn't always think this was wondrous, but shit happens, right? :lol This is like the ultimate road trip CD, which is fitting considering Devin was inspired to write it while driving across Canada. I get that his music is not for everyone - his wall of sound throws some people, and his occasional screaming vocals are not everyone's cup of tea, and they usually aren't mine - but there is just something about his writing and style that is so inviting and so majestic. And Terria is him at his absolute best. While the DTP had him showing off his many sides on four different-sounding records, Terria manages to do it with just 10 songs and one record.
Favorite songs: Tiny Tears, Earth Day, Deep Peace, Stagnant and The Fluke
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Now that's a good album. :tup
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Best Devin album. Good pick!
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My favorite Transatlantic album right there. :tup
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Kev, most of this list is quality, but some of the sequence is absolutely killing me :P
Stuff like,
49. Sigur Rós - ( )
48. Van Halen - Van Halen
40. Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven
39. INXS - Kick
24. Queen - Sheer Heart Attack
23. Liquid Tension Experiment - Liquid Tension Experiment
14. Yes - The Yes Album
13. Queensrÿche - Promised Land
11. The Beatles - Abbey Road
08. Devin Townsend - Terria
I guess it all comes down to personal tastes, and again I think the list is full of quality music, just the sequencing raises so many red flags :P
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DEVIN!
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It's called diversity, man. :biggrin:
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Hell yes Terria! :tup
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Terria is a god-tier album.
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07. The Flower Kings - Flower Power (1999)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/30/Flower_Power.jpg)
Your first love with a band really is the best band sometimes, and that was certainly the case with The Flower Kings. I got Flower Power shortly after getting into Transatlantic and wanting to check out Roine's Stolt's full-time band. As soon as I heard the first three tracks of the Garden of Dreams suite, I was sucked in. Now, it admittedly took a bit of time to get into some of the rest of the suite, particularly a lot of the second half, but trying to get into something that grand in scope all at once is not always that easy, so I doubt was alone in that regard. And for some strange reason, I never bothered listening to the 2nd CD until literally over a year later after first getting Flower Power, but when I do, I was like, "Holy crap, the 2nd disc is amazing, too!!!" The Flower Kings are one of my favorite bands ever, and to me, Flower Power is their crowning achievement. It is a masterpiece of modern progressive rock.
Favorite songs: Simple Song, Business Vamp, All You Can Save, Psycedelic Postcard, Deaf, Numb and Blind, Attack of the Monster Briefcase, The Final Deal and Stupid Girl
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Interesting. Never heard of this band, but I'll be sure to check them out now.
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That album is badass. I love Garden Of Dreams. Excellent choice, dude.
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That album is badass. I love Garden Of Dreams. Excellent choice, dude.
Thanks! :coolio
Interesting. Never heard of this band, but I'll be sure to check them out now.
They are all kinds of awesome. Start with Flower Power, Stardust We Are, Space Revolver or Paradox Hotel. :)
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Flower Power was the first Flower Kings album I bought after hearing Transatlantic, and I was beyond awed at it. Like a lot of Flower Kings double albums, it tends to be a mood album for getting through ALL of it, because you're investing over two hours to do so, but it's always a worthwhile journey.
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Haven't really explored TFK much. This seems like a good place to start.
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I'm going to have to check TFK out as well. The album cover is awesome though :lol
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Yep, that has long been one of my favorite album covers.
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Boston is a damn good classic rock album, but I prefer the two albums that followed. :metal
You're first person I've ever seen whose favorite isn't the debut. :eek
I guess I'm the second, then. I tend to prefer "Don't Look Back" myself. But only by a hair.
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06. Kansas - Leftoverture (1976)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a3/Kansas_-_Leftoverture.jpg)
Liking the classic rock mainstays of theirs early on in my classic rock discovery days, I bought the Best of Kansas CDs; in fact, it was one of the first CDs I ever bought. And I thought it was really good, but for some reason never thought to check them out any further. Fast forward to several years later, and my friend Mike and I were hanging out, and I asked him to make me a Kansas mixed tape - back then, he had the awesome stereo system that could make a mixed tape that sounded the best - but when I told him what songs I wanted, he was like, "Wait, what? You are missing a ton of great songs!" The Best of had zero songs from Masque and only two songs from each Leftoverture (Carry On Wayward Son and The Wall) and Point of Know Return. So, he told me I needed to hear three particular songs from Leftoverture: Miracles out of Nowhere, Cheyenne Anthem and Magnum Opus. Suffice it to say, my jaw was on the floor during the entire time listening to those three songs; I could not believe how awesome they were. In fact, nearly two decades later, we still occasionally laugh about that particular night, as my reaction was so, "OMG, this is the best thing ever!" :lol Leftoverture was soon a part of my CD collection, and it has been a top 10 all-time CD in my book ever since. In fact, it might be number one if track 3 was as great as the rest. Don't get me wrong, What's on My Mind is a good song, but not awe-inspiring like the rest. So, it will have to settle for number six for now. :biggrin:
Favorite songs: Cheyenne Anthem, Miracles out of Nowhere, Magnum Opus, The Wall and Opus Insert
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A great album for sure. I should like Kansas more than I do.
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Haven't really explored TFK much. This seems like a good place to start.
Their catalog is very dense. Definitely prepare to have quite a few ?WTF? moments while listening. And I mean that in a good way. "Flower Power" is among their most consistent albums start to finish. It's got a few things I routinely skip, but practically every TFK release has something on it that I skip. They tend to get a little weird sometimes. "Stardust We Are" and "Unfold The Future" are probably the two biggest offenders in this area.
These guys are great. One of the very few bands still on my automatic purchase list. And I will always go see them live if they come anywhere near me.
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Leftoverture is one of my all-time favorites, as well. The Wall is probably one of the sweetest pieces of music I've ever heard.
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A great album for sure. I should like Kansas more than I do.
I just need to play them more often than I do.
These guys are great. One of the very few bands still on my automatic purchase list. And I will always go see them live if they come anywhere near me.
Unless its on a boat. :neverusethis:
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Leftoverture. Really shouldn't have to say much more than that. It's running just slightly ahead of Masque as my favorite Kansas album, and wins out on the strength of it having so many classics on it. And hell, while it's overplayed and kind of tired, Carry On Wayward Son IS one of those classics. Great album. A few years ago it would have been a lot higher on my top 50 than it currently is (and it could wind up higher when it finally gets to be my turn :lol) but that doesn't take away from how amazing it is.
And yes, it's from 1976, which as I never get tired of saying is the best year in rock and roll history.
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Awesome album.
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I actually haven't heard that Kansas record yet. I love Song For America and Point Of Know Return though so I'll definitely have to check that out tonight! :tup
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05. Radiohead - In Rainbows (2007)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/2e/In_Rainbows_Official_Cover.jpg)
I remember how exciting this was when it came out. There was no long build-up to its release or anything. The band basically said, "Oh yeah, our new album is done, it'll be available online next week, and you can pay whatever you want for it." I admittedly didn't pay a thing for the online release, because I knew I would pay for the physical copy when it came out, which I did when it came out two months later. This was one of the most unique ways ever to release a new record. But anyway, as to the actual music on the CD, yes, it is good enough to warrant the number 5 spot here; every song is magnificent, and they played every song from it when we saw them in the spring of 2008 (but all over the set, not played straight through). I didn't become a Radiohead fan till the summer of 2005, so this was their first album after I became a fan, and it couldn't have been a better one. I was already convinced that they would never top OK Computer or Kid A, but they did it, in one fell swoop. The bonus CD of eight tracks makes it even more awesome. This is a record that it is just easy to crank up and get lost in; the songs, like so many by Radiohead, just have this other worldly feel and vibe to them. My brother Mark, my cousin John and I all joked back then that In Rainbows was so great that we all literally listened to almost nothing but it for months straight. It is an achievement of major proportions, on multiple levels.
Favorite songs: 15 Step, Jigsaw Falling into Place, Nude, Weird Fishes/Arpeggi, Videotape and All I Need
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I can't believe how long In Rainbows has been out for now, I still distinctly remember listening to it for the first time. One of my friends sent me the album and told me to listen to Jigsaw Falling Into Place and the rest was history after that :lol I love the album, but I would rank it somewhere around the middle of Radiohead's discography. Unlike many previous albums by Radiohead, a lot of tracks on this album took a long time to grow on me because it wasn't the sound I was used to hearing at all from the band. I still don't care for Reckoner; it really never did anything for me, but seeing it live in Paris last fall made me appreciate it a bit more. I also remember 15 step being a bit off-putting when I first heard it, but now I love the song. Ultimately a great album, but still it doesn't come close to the magic of Kid A and OK Computer for me, as I'm sure many other people will say. That's not to say I don't think it deserves a high spot like this on your list :lol I have noticed a lot of people that are somewhat newer to Radiohead or became a fan around when this album came out like it more than any of their other stuff.
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It's definitely in my top 3 Radiohead releases. I love it so much. The 2-disc version is almost essential for Up On The Ladder. Favorite song is Jigsaw Falling Into Place though.
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Me and Radiohead. A relationship with many bumps.
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Lots of diversity in this Top 50, I've heard fewer than 10 of these. I wish I had more time to branch out and try some of this stuff. I'm far too pidgeonholed into prog metal.
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You must have forgotten about Reckoner while naming your favorite songs. ;D
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Really nice run of albums at the moment, great choices Kev!
Personally I don't rate Flower Power all that highly, there's quite a few of their albums that I prefer, but it's still a really nice album and it's great to see TFK so high!
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You must have forgotten about Reckoner while naming your favorite songs. ;D
I still love it to death, but when mentally going through what my favorite songs were, the others just came to mind first.
Really nice run of albums at the moment, great choices Kev!
Personally I don't rate Flower Power all that highly, there's quite a few of their albums that I prefer, but it's still a really nice album and it's great to see TFK so high!
Really, it could have been top 5, and it might be on certain days. 10-5 here really could have been in any order. Top 4 are pretty set in stone. Speaking of which...
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04. Porcupine Tree - Lightbulb Sun (2000)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d8/Porcupine_tree_lightbulb_sun.jpg)
Very few have talked about the greatness of PT on this forum/dt.net as much as I have over the last 9-10 years, and Lightbulb Sun has long been my favorite record of theirs, although there are times where I could give Deadwing the nod. But Lightbulb Sun is, hands down, from start to finish, the best PT record ever. Unlike a lot of current bands, my favorite album by them was neither my introduction to them (it was the 4th CD of theirs I heard) nor their first release after becoming a fan (I became a fan in 2004-2004). But the awesomeness of Lightbulb Sun is far too obvious to deny. Porcupine Tree is now my 2nd all-time favorite band, largely because of their consistency; their last EIGHT studio albums I would give 4 1/2 or 5 stars.
Favorite songs: Lightbulb Sun, Hatesong, Feel So Low, Shesmovedon, Last Chance to Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled and Russia on Ice
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In Rainbows! :tup Lightbulb Sun is good as well, though for me it has a few filler songs mixed with some of their best.
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Ah this is one porcupine tree album I don't have (hoping to get it in the next week or so), but if it's as good as most porcupine tree is then it certainly deserves this spot.
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Tremendous PT album. I definitely prefer it over some more obvious choices.
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Not even my favorite PT album but still awesome. :tup
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03. Dream Theater - Awake (1994)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/65/Dream_Theater_-_Awake.jpg)
I am guessing no one is surprised to see this being my choice for Dream Theater, much less it being this high. The crazy thing is, this album was a slight disappointment on my first listen. Well, maybe disappointment is not the right word, but it was so different from I&W that I wasn't sure what to initially think. 6:00 and the beginning of Voices were the things that I really like a lot the first time around. The heaviness of it threw me, too. Sure, I&W was heavy at times, but The Mirror or Lie heavy, and I was not much of a fan of metal prior to 1994. But I kept plugging away, listening to some songs here and some songs there, often times not in order, and I slowly got into the album, and before I knew it, it was loving every second of it. And as luck would have it, I saw Dream Theater for the first time early on on the Awake tour. In another bizarre happening, when we were waiting to buy the concert tickets in Schnucks (back when Schnucks was a good place to get tickets the minute they went on sale), I was flipping through a music magazine where I read about how Kevin Moore had left the band. It was kind of a killjoy, finding out that the band's keyboard player had left the band, moments before getting tickets to see them for the first time, but that is life sometimes, right? The concert, with Derek Sherinian, still slayed, as they played eight of the 11 songs. But there is just something about Awake that is just magical. There is a vibe and feel that they had no only not captured prior to that, but not since. It is very unique in that regard - it is also probably the least wanky Dream Theater album to date - and the songwriting is simply the overall best of their career.
Favorite songs: Scarred, Voices, Erotomania, Space Dye Vest, Lifting Shadows Off a Dream and The Mirror
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I'm kinda the same way. I got into DT in late '96, so I&W, Awake and ACOS were my first experiences. After moving on to Awake from I&W, I was underwhelmed. For years, I really only listened/liked the final three tracks. Then, sometime early 2000s, something clicked. I'm still not a big fan of Lie, Mirror or Caught in a Web, but the other 2/3 of the album is beyond awesome.
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Awesome album! :hefdaddy It's been steadily climbing my DT ranking and would probably now be one of my Top 3 DT albums, along with SDOIT and FII.
Though I was expecting this to be #2, tbh, and I'm at a total loss what could be at #2. Fates Warning, perhaps? Don't know if you're a fan, but this high? I doubt it.
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Awake is a top3 DT album for me, and one of the albums by them I would say is really darn good. So nice pick. :)
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Nice album right there. :tup
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That's a good one. ;D Nice writeup as well.
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Only two bands of significance missing. Rush and Floyd.
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That's a good one. ;D Nice writeup as well.
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02. Rush - 2112 (1976)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c9/Rush_2112.jpg)
No, folks, Rush will not be at number 1; they are at number 2 here. The funny thing is, Permanent Waves was my favorite Rush album for the longest time, but when I went through a Rush phase a few months back, I came to the realization that 2112 really is my favorite. It has my favorite song ever, the 20-minute plus title track, and all of the Side 2 songs are great as well. Plus, when you talk about influential, 2112 was very much so when I was getting into the band in 1991. I couldn't believe how awesome the song 2112 was, and honestly, I still can't. It's destruction of me :lol was a big reason I gave Rush a serious chance after years of not wanting to give them a try because I couldn't stand "that singer's voice." :facepalm: :lol But here we are, over 20 years later, and I can safely say that 2112 is THE Rush album. It is my favorite album by my favorite band. 'Nuff said. :hat
Favorite songs: 2112, The Twilight Zone, Tears and A Passage to Bangkok
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The last two picks: :hefdaddy.
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As awesome as 2112 is, I don't think it even cracks the top 5 for me in Rush albums. IMO, too inconsistent. Some of side two is cringe-worthy for me. It's like Houses of the Holy... awesome is awesome, but dud is dud.
Heh... them's tastes for ya. Excellent album though.
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Nice choices there, especially with Awake being so high on the list - and of course 2112 is great.
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Alright. Now all we need is a Pink Floyd album, fingers crossed that it's not The Division Bell. ;D
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What's wrong with The Division Bell :(
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What's wrong with The Division Bell :(
Word. It's not my favorite Pink Floyd album, but High Hopes is probably my PF favorite song.
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There's nothing wrong with it, except that I'm not a fan of it. I just remember that Kev loves The Division Bell, so if it turns out to be his all time favorite album, I wouldn't be trilled. ;) ;D
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While I really like Division Bell, I don't think that Kev picks that as #1.
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Yeah, it's obviously gonna be The Final Cut.
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Mighty as well get this over with... :biggrin:
01. Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon (1973)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/3b/Dark_Side_of_the_Moon.png)
Yes, I love The Division Bell a ton, but had it been my choice for Floyd, it wouldn't have been number 1. And actually, up until a few days ago, The Wall was gonna be my number 1 pick, as that was a life-changing record for me back in 1990, but having listened to both The Wall and Dark Side the other day, it is clear that Dark Side of the Moon is not only the clear-cut better record, but the greatest rock album ever recorded. And it had a huge impact on me as well, once I heard it a few months after getting into The Wall. It is pretty much perfect in nearly every way imaginable. There isn't much I can say about this record that hasn't been said many times by many people over the years. It is simply the best.
Favorite songs: Speak to Me, Breathe, On the Run, Time, The Great Gig in the Sky, Money, Us and Them, Any Colour You Like, Brain Damage and Eclipse
:coolio :coolio :coolio
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Yeah, it's obviously gonna be The Final Cut.
Hey, I like The Final Cut!
Nice list, Kev! Pretty diverse.
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Indeed it is. Good choice, great list.
and :lol @ your 'favourite songs'.
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DSOTM is actually my least favourite of the "classic" Pink Floyd albums, but I'd still give it 5/5 :biggrin:.
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Nice list, Kev! Pretty diverse.
Thanks! Diversity is a big reason why I did this list this way, having only one album per artist. Had I not done it that way, 5-6 artists would have taken up half of the top 50 alone, and what fun would that have been? Doing one album per artist really showed off the range of artists I listen to, I think. :)
and :lol @ your 'favourite songs'.
Had to do it. :biggrin:
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Cool list. Dark Side is a really good album, though personally I would put it as their fourth best after The Wall, Animals and Wish You Were Here. (in that order)
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Nice top two, Kev, especially the top one.
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cool list! my list wouldn't even be remotely diverse lol
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That's more like it, brilliant album at number one. In fact, top 5 is great. I really enjoyed the list, Kev. :tup
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Only two bands of significance missing. Rush and Floyd.
Good call! :tup
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Nice list, man! I really enjoyed following it. Certainly can't argue with Dark Side of the Moon being #1, it's a fantastic album, although personally I like Animals just a little bit more. Great list!
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Cool list. Dark Side is a really good album, though personally I would put it as their fourth best after The Wall, Animals and Wish You Were Here. (in that order)
Except I would put Dark Side before The Wall
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DSOTM. :tup
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While I like Wish You Were Here and Animals more, no problem with Dark Side being number one. No problem at all.
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While I like Wish You Were Here and Animals more, no problem with Dark Side being number one. No problem at all.
Agreed, 100%. Dark Side is my third favourite Floyd album, but it's still amazing.
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DSOTM is actually my least favourite of the "classic" Pink Floyd albums, but I'd still give it 5/5 :biggrin:.
Ditto.. suffers from the fact it (along with Comfortably Numb and Another Brick Pt2) has the only songs that ever make it on the radio these days. Nothing wrong with rating it #1 of all time for anyone though.