Ok so as some of you have somehow managed to work out, that was actually a fake #1.
TSR is actually the most horrible thing I have ever had the misfortune to listen to, and that’s coming from someone who LOVES genre-shifting in cover songs. I have no idea who Dirk Ulrich is, but for creating this monstrosity, he should be hung, drawn and quartered.
1. The Dear Hunter – Act III: Life and Death [2009]
I'm sure this comes as no surprise whatsoever to many of you, but as far as I’m concerned, this album achieves a rare thing – perfection. Which isn’t to say that I WOULD change anything in the majority of the albums in this list, but as I’m sure most people will agree, even the best albums have moments here and there where on some listens, a particular riff feels like it’s repeated a few too many times, or an ambient section goes on a little long and your attention starts to drift, that sort of thing. This is the only album I’ve ever heard where on every single listen (and it’s a lot now) I have not felt that way about a single moment. It is the most perfectly-paced album in existence, and that in itself is just the icing on the cake. The underlying songs themselves are just incredible. The music is big and strong and really powerful, but at the same time is not afraid to be cool and groovy. As my dad put it when he first heard The Dear Hunter, “they swing!”. (You’ll have to forgive him, he’s from a different generation). The folky-proggy-post-hardcore base is there but the way they incorporate other influences and instruments has always been great and on this album achieved outright brilliance. It also takes the lyrical concept to a new level, with the protagonist going to war making everything that much more intense, and I think the music stepping up a notch in intensity reflects that perfectly. I haven’t had a “favourite band” in years, but with this album (and considering the already high quality of everything else they’ve done), I think TDH have laid claim to that position, at least for the time being. Even though I can’t imagine them or anyone else releasing something better than this, I will continue to get everything else they make with great excitement and anticipation.
Well done to Ravenheart and mrbeekle (who is my brother, by the way, and so possibly had an advantage) for figuring out my top 2!
So, that top 50 list in full:50. Kings of Convenience - Riot on an Empty Street [2004]
49. Metallica - …And Justice For All [1988]
48. The Antlers – Hospice [2009]
47. Regina Spektor – Soviet Kitsch [2004]
46. In Flames – Colony [1999]
45. Oscar Peterson - Night Train [1963]
44. The Dear Hunter – Act II: The Meaning Of, & All Things Regarding Ms. Leading [2007]
43. Shpongle – Nothing Lasts… But Nothing is Lost [2005]
42. Linkin Park – A Thousand Suns [2010]
41. Opeth – Ghost Reveries [2005]
40. Stevie Wonder – Songs in the Key of Life [1976]
39. Dog Fashion Disco - Adultery [2006]
38. Nellie McKay - Pretty Little Head [2006]
37. Radiohead – OK Computer [1997]
36. Danny Elfman - Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas [1993]
35. Devin Townsend – Addicted! [2009]
34. The Cat Empire – So Many Nights [2007]
33. Bad Religion – Stranger Than Fiction [1994]
32. The Flower Kings – Stardust We Are [1997]
31. Wolverine – Cold Light of Monday [2003]
30. The Evpatoria Report – Golevka [2005]
29. Haken – Aquarius [2010]
28. Frost* - Experiments in Mass Appeal [2008]
27. Frost* - Milliontown [2006]
26. Thrice – The Alchemy Index [2007-8]
25. Porcupine Tree – Stupid Dream [1999]
24. Karmakanic – Who’s the Boss in the Factory [2008]
23. Amorphis – Silent Waters [2007]
22. Pain of Salvation – The Perfect Element I [2000]
21. John Coltrane - Blue Train [1958]
20. Dream Theater – Images and Words [1992]
19. Fair to Midland - Fables From a Mayfly: What I Tell You Three Times Is True [2007]
18. Queen – Innuendo [1991]
17. Devin Townsend – Terria [2001]
16. The River Empires – The River Empires (Epilogue) [2010]
15. Muse – Absolution [2003]
14. King Crimson - In the Court of the Crimson King [1969]
13. Tower of Power – Soul Vaccination: Live [1999]
12. Dream Theater – Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence [2002]
11. Thrice – Beggars [2009]
10. Shpongle – Tales of the Inexpressible [2001]
9. Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here [1975]
8. Opeth – Blackwater Park [2001]
7. The Flower Kings – Paradox Hotel [2006]
6. Ulver – Perdition City [2000]
5. BT – This Binary Universe [2006]
4. Porcupine Tree – Deadwing [2005]
3. Jeff Buckley – Grace [1994]
2. Pain of Salvation – Be [2004]
1. The Dear Hunter – Act III: Life and Death [2009]
Topic: Top 50 Albums, v. ariich (Read 58167 times)
