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Top 50 Albums, v. ariich

Started by ariich, May 13, 2011, 04:22:32 PM

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zxlkho

Oh god, that was the greatest 2 days ever.

skydivingninja

Experiments > Milliontown for me.

ariich

Quote from: skydivingninja on May 21, 2011, 04:38:57 PM
Experiments > Milliontown for me.
It's very very close for me. I knew they'd be in basically the same place because I've never actually ranked them before, but I figured it would cheating to put them both in the same spot, so I had to make a decision.

Quote from: Buddyhunter1 on May 10, 2023, 05:59:19 PMAriich is a freak, or somehow has more hours in the day than everyone else.
Quote from: TAC on December 21, 2023, 06:05:15 AMI be am boner inducing.

Jamesman42

I've heard good things about Haken. Perhaps they are good for a certain roulette?
\o\ lol /o/

ariich

Well it won't fit any of the next 3 rounds, but I might send a song in the final open round!

Quote from: Buddyhunter1 on May 10, 2023, 05:59:19 PMAriich is a freak, or somehow has more hours in the day than everyone else.
Quote from: TAC on December 21, 2023, 06:05:15 AMI be am boner inducing.

contest_sanity

Quote from: ariich on May 22, 2011, 02:33:58 AM
Well it won't fit any of the next 3 rounds, but I might send a song in the final open round!
But the short song round???

:neverusethis:

ariich

Booya!


26. Thrice – The Alchemy Index [2007-8]
Thrice are another song roulette discovery for me, again from orcus, but they have very quickly become a favourite band of mine, and I know they're a keeper, because I just cannot get enough of their music. The Alchemy Index was an ambitious idea, but one that they really pulled off tremendously. Their existing post-hardcore style is still strongly present throughout, but a whole host of other influences (particularly prog and post-rock) were brought in to create a very dynamic and exciting work. If I split these out, I'd have put Volumes 3 & 4 even higher and 1 & 2 wouldn't have made my top 50, but when it comes down to it, I listen to this as one complete work and find it hard to think of it in any other way.

25. Porcupine Tree – Stupid Dream [1999]
Oh man a PT fan on DTF, what a shock! For real though, I just love this album. I can't even remember when I discovered PT, but it must have been around the DT.net days I think. There wasn't really anything similar that I listened to back then, and to be honest they still have a pretty unique sound within my music collection. While I like their heavier stuff, this album shows just how well they can do the whole alt-rock thing as well. The songs have a great vibe to them and the album has a wonderful sound and a nice concept underlying it. While I love the music they've been making recently, a part of me would love to see them try something like this again.

24. Karmakanic – Who's the Boss in the Factory [2008]
I discovered these guys a year or two ago, and at the time I thought of them as a Flower Kings side-project, but I quickly realised they were much more than that, and that really their music sounds very different. Their first two albums are decent although nothing to write home about, but with this one they've really crafted out a wonderful sound. The basis is very much traditional prog, but a number of the melodies throughout the album really give me a vibe of Broadway/West-end musicals. I have no idea if that was actually an influence on the album or not, but it's a feel that I get from a few of the songs, and it works amazingly well at making this huge songs very accessible and enjoyable.

Quote from: Buddyhunter1 on May 10, 2023, 05:59:19 PMAriich is a freak, or somehow has more hours in the day than everyone else.
Quote from: TAC on December 21, 2023, 06:05:15 AMI be am boner inducing.

ClairvoyantCat

Thumbs up on Stupid Dream.  Definitely a top 3 Porcupine Tree album.  The Thrice album is also pretty good, especially in the "Water" section. 

Gorille85

That Thrice album should be way higher. Nice to see PT on the list too! :tup

ariich

Water is terrific, but Air and Earth are my favourites.

Quote from: Buddyhunter1 on May 10, 2023, 05:59:19 PMAriich is a freak, or somehow has more hours in the day than everyone else.
Quote from: TAC on December 21, 2023, 06:05:15 AMI be am boner inducing.

Ravenheart

Stupid Dream is my favorite PT album  :tup That Thrice album is pretty damn good, too.

AcidLameLTE

Nice to see some Thrice on there!

Sintheros


Zantera

Great to see Stupid Dream, though it's even more great to see The Alchemy Index!
I rank that album very high myself, and all 4 EP's really have to be included.

Air and Earth are my favorites as well!  :D

ariich

BAZINGA!

23. Amorphis – Silent Waters [2007]
Amorphis have had a career of ups and downs, but they seem to have hit their stride now, sticking to one style but doing it really very well. For me, this album is the epitome of what they can do, and how far they have come. There are a couple of very heavy songs, a handful of very melodic ones, and one all-out folk song, and all of them are top-notch. I love Eclipse as well, which was the first album in their current style, but this was the album that really showed how comfortable they were in it. The album has a nice flow to it as well, and there’s a very epic undercurrent that, even in the more straightforward songs, creates a huge feel.

22. Pain of Salvation – The Perfect Element I [2000]
So, I discovered Pain of Salvation on a bit of a whim really. I’d heard about them but not heard a single note of their music, and was in a store and came across 12:5, their acoustic live album, and decided to give it a try. Of course I loved it, and proceeded to quickly get the rest of their albums at the time. Bizarrely, I wasn’t massively keen on this album at first, but after a few months I came to the realisation that this is the dictionary definition of a “grower”. The songs are dense and at times inaccessible, both musically and lyrically, but once you get to grips with it, it’s such a rewarding listen. There is an intense personal emotion that runs throughout the album and really drags the listener in and makes them feel the pain of the characters. And the bridge section of the title song is one of the greatest moments in the history of music.

21. John Coltrane - Blue Train [1958]
This is, easily, my favourite jazz album ever. I think it’s the way Coltrane and the other musicians play so amazingly and really fast at times (as one would expect from hard-bop) but somehow all the songs still sound so laid back. I also like the fact that some of the improvised solos have duff notes here and there, which in a lot of styles of music just wouldn’t work, but here gives the whole thing a very “live” feel, enticing the listener to imagine being there at the recording. I completely appreciate how some of his later albums were more influential and ground-breaking, and I like those a lot too, but this album despite being more straightforward is simply more enjoyable. It’s cool, it’s groovy, and it’s brilliant.

Quote from: Buddyhunter1 on May 10, 2023, 05:59:19 PMAriich is a freak, or somehow has more hours in the day than everyone else.
Quote from: TAC on December 21, 2023, 06:05:15 AMI be am boner inducing.

jsem

Blue Train is what hard bop is all about. Lee Morgan's trumpet playing on that record is nothing but legendary too. What an album.

Ravenheart


ariich


Quote from: Buddyhunter1 on May 10, 2023, 05:59:19 PMAriich is a freak, or somehow has more hours in the day than everyone else.
Quote from: TAC on December 21, 2023, 06:05:15 AMI be am boner inducing.

Quadrochosis

You have some incredible picks on this list, Rich. :tup

ClairvoyantCat

The Perfect Element is probably the best prog metal album I know. 

King Postwhore

I absolutely love In The Flesh.
"I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down'." - Bon Newhart.

Zydar

TPE hasn't clicked for me yet, but I will keep on trying. I love RL though.

Nick

Was following this on my phone and once I have a functional brain again tonight I will be posting some comments.

ariich

Quote from: Quadrochosis on May 23, 2011, 04:05:34 PM
You have some incredible picks on this list, Rich. :tup
Thanks man! I wasn't sure how well the list would go down considering how eclectic and, frankly, random my tastes are, so I'm glad people are digging it!

Quote from: Nick on May 24, 2011, 12:00:07 AM
Was following this on my phone and once I have a functional brain again tonight I will be posting some comments.
"Again"?

:-*

Quote from: Buddyhunter1 on May 10, 2023, 05:59:19 PMAriich is a freak, or somehow has more hours in the day than everyone else.
Quote from: TAC on December 21, 2023, 06:05:15 AMI be am boner inducing.

skydivingninja

Blue Train is fantastic.  Haven't heard Silent Waters though.  I guess I'd like it if I like Eclipse and Skyforger.

Nick

Okay, here we go.

And Justice For All... great album, but there is no question in my mind that Master of Puppets is their premier album.

The Dear Hunter: Cool to see them make it, but I think Acts I and III are both better than II.

Ok Computer and Addicted I'll just never understand the love for, but that's a subject I've hit way too many times already.

The Flower Kings are awesome, and their biggest problem is that they have filler on almost everything. Stardust We Are is amazing and has very little of it and is my 2nd favorite album of theirs. As you said the title track is phenomenal. I honestly don't think there is a bad track on Paradox Hotel and that is why it's my favorite.

Haken's Aquarius was an amazing debut and it's cool that it made your list.

While I don't have Frost*'s 2nd album, I do have the live disc and those songs to me seemed an improvement over Milliontown but I still don't think either album has a place in anyone's top 50.

Stupid Dream is amazing and I'm glad it's on the list. I'm very glad it's on here and Lightbulb Sun won't be.

Karmakanic needs more love and especially that album. Send a Message From the Heart alone is worth buying that disc.

Silent Waters is great, but I think Amorphis has been getting better each time lately and I prefer Skyforger.

While I would have preferred to see Scarsick on this list I'm certainly happy that either Perfect Element of Remedy Lane would be on here.


zxlkho

Quote from: Nick on May 24, 2011, 12:11:04 PM
The Dear Hunter: Cool to see them make it, but I think Acts I and III are both better than II.
Noooooo way man.

Nick

Well, man, that's like, your opinion, man.

zxlkho

Well, man, Act II is like, the best them, man.

Kosmo


ariich

Nick, I can see why you'd prefer Skyforger as the growls are toned back on that one, and it is for sure an excellent album still. But for me Silent Waters is more consistently great throughout, whereas Skyforger has a couple of songs that I'm just not bothered about.

As for some of your other comments, I feel that you're being a little pre-emptive. I haven't finished yet...

Quote from: Buddyhunter1 on May 10, 2023, 05:59:19 PMAriich is a freak, or somehow has more hours in the day than everyone else.
Quote from: TAC on December 21, 2023, 06:05:15 AMI be am boner inducing.

Nick

Sweet. :D

I should know by now to let you take your time and always let you finish.  :|

ariich

DAMMIT NICK YOU MADE ME SPIT TEA ONTO MY LAPTOP :lol

Quote from: Buddyhunter1 on May 10, 2023, 05:59:19 PMAriich is a freak, or somehow has more hours in the day than everyone else.
Quote from: TAC on December 21, 2023, 06:05:15 AMI be am boner inducing.

ariich

RAWR


20. Dream Theater – Images and Words [1992]
I got into DT in 2002 (coming up to 10 years now!) and at the time I appreciated the older albums but was much more into SFAM and, to some extent, Six Degrees. But as time went on, and I kept listening, everything about this album just fell into place. It's not perfect by any means, but even the weaker songs (PMU and Surrounded) are top-notch and have plenty to enjoy about them. The rest of the songs are wonderful, well-crafted and very engaging, and the whole album has a lovely energy to it that makes it feel and sound amazing, despite (or possibly enhanced by) the slightly dated production. It's hard to describe, but to me the album sounds very... open. While I undoubtedly prefer the more modern production on DT's later material, there is something about this album that makes it sound very free and almost whimsical.

19. Fair to Midland - Fables From a Mayfly: What I Tell You Three Times Is True [2007]
Another band I discovered through DTF, and what an amazing album! I don't even know how to define these guys (their myspace goes with Metal / Progressive / Rock but I don't feel that really does them justice), which I think says a lot about exciting and original the music is. The music is energetic and at times fairly heavy, but to me it really sounds like there's a strong indie rock influence as well. This album is chock full of great riffs, melodies and other ideas, and is simply an enthralling listen from start to finish. I'm very excited that they are releasing a new album soon!

18. Queen – Innuendo [1991]
Queen are undoubtedly one of the more important and influential bands in the history of rock music. They released some great music in the early stages of their career, focussing on the prog rock style (albeit on the more flamboyant end of things) before turning towards more conventional poppy music for a while. Which is no bad thing in itself, but for me the albums in that period were pretty inconsistent, with only a handful of top-notch songs scattered throughout. But in the late 80s they had a bit of a return to form with The Miracle, and then in 1991 released what, to me, is their masterpiece. Innuendo has it all: great rock songs, moving ballads, some fun songs and all sorts of other things (like gospel) thrown in for good measure. There is one weak song (Ride The Wild Wind), but even that is fairly enjoyable; the rest are just brilliant and show how versatile and majestic Queen could be.

Quote from: Buddyhunter1 on May 10, 2023, 05:59:19 PMAriich is a freak, or somehow has more hours in the day than everyone else.
Quote from: TAC on December 21, 2023, 06:05:15 AMI be am boner inducing.

skydivingninja

Wasn't expecting to see FtM on here, but its cool that they're there.  I checked them out to prepare for the Scale/Periphery/Fair show (that I ended up not going to and Periphery dropped out of) and I was absolutely blown away by how good that album is.

I&W is my favorite DT album and one of my top ten, if not top five, albums ever, but I'm glad to see it on the list anyway.

Oh, and Nick fails for his opinions on Porcupine Tree, Radiohead, and Devin Townsend.