KevShmev's Top 50 Albums!!!! (Number 1!!!!)

[Mosh]

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.

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

I don't know most of these, but I'm following.

[ColdFireYYZ]

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.

[KevShmev]

44. Death Cab for Cutie - Plans (2005)


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)


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

[jingle.boy]

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

[KevShmev]

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...

[jjrock88]

Not even the foggiest idea for either. Bring on the Rock!!!! Where is some Blue Oyster Cult

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

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.

[KevShmev]

Not even the foggiest idea for either. Bring on the Rock!!!! Where is some Blue Oyster Cult

Give it time. 

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.

I am sure there is a reason why most fans just refer to them as Death Cab.

[ariich]

the catchy melodies, great lyrics and wonderful melodies

The melodies are so good, you mentioned them twice!

[Nel]

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. 

[KevShmev]

Damn it, ariich. 

42. Metallica - Master of Puppets (1986)


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. indeed.

Favorite songs: Orion, Disposable Heroes, Master of Puppets, Leper Messiah and Welcome Home (Sanitarium)

41. Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath (1970)


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.

Favorite songs: Sleeping Village, N.I.B., Black Sabbath and Behind the Wall of Sleep

[jjrock88]

All right!!  Now I can relate to these picks.  Two metal masterpieces!

[adace]

All right!!  Now I can relate to these picks.  Two metal masterpieces!

This.

[Lolzeez]

I don't really care for Metallica but Sabbath's debut is awesome.

[ariich]

Nice metal update.

I've also never listened to Death Cab, so will give Plans a listen on Spotify later.

[Mladen]

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...

[wolfking]

Amazing update.

[TAC]

All right!!  Now I can relate to these picks.  Two metal masterpieces!

From PSB to MOP. Pretty crazy!

[Kwyjibo]

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. 

[Jaq]

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.

[rumborak]

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.

[Tom Bombadil]

Nice update! This is looking like it will become a damn good list.

[Ruba]

Master of Puppets is magnificent!

[KevShmev]

40. Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven (2000)


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


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


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

[Mladen]

Nice, my favorite dredg album. It actually took me a while to get it, honestly, but once it clicked, boy was it magical!

[Jaq]

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.  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.

[KevShmev]

Haha, that's great.

[jingle.boy]

Christ man!     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.

[Zantera]

Some really great picks so far! 

[wolfking]

Props on having Kick in here, no doubt a highly influential Aussie band, I never could stand them though.

[KevShmev]

37. The Decemberists -  Picaresque (2005)


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)


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)


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

[Mladen]

That's one great album by The Decemberists. 

[masterthes]

Tommy! 

[chaotic_ripper]

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.