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

[KevShmev]

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.

[KevShmev]

34. Arcade Fire - Funeral (2005)


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)


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)


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

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

I have a feeling this list will cost me lots of money.

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.

[Big Hath]

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.

[jingle.boy]

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.

[KevShmev]

I have a feeling this list will cost me lots of money.
 

 

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.

[Mladen]

Terrific Judas Priest record. Always great to see appreciation for Take These Chains.

[Lolzeez]

Up 
Funeral 

Also,why no Laika on your fav songs from Funeral. 

[jjrock88]

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!

[KevShmev]

31. The Flaming Lips - The Soft Bulletin (1999)


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)


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

[jjrock88]

That BOC has a cool album cover

[Lolzeez]

Never was a huge fan of TFL but that's one awesome BÖC album. 

[Jaq]

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 

[KevShmev]

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 

  *smacks Jaq*

[KevShmev]

29. Spock's Beard - V (2000)


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)


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)


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

[jingle.boy]

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.

[TAC]

Emerging from the cave to say that Screaming For Vengeance 

[Jaq]

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 

  *smacks Jaq*

Thought that'd get your attention. 

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  ) His solo work just never clicked for me musically, and I'm really not sure why.

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

I would comment here more, but I haven't heard most of these.

[Mladen]

Neal is the man. 

[ariich]

I haven't actually heard Testimony 2, the last solo album I have is Sola Scriptura. Sounds like I'm missing out!

[SoundscapeMN]

I saw a copy of The Kindness of Strangers at Half Price Books in St.Paul a few weeks ago.

[Kwyjibo]

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.

[KevShmev]

26. Steven Wilson - Grace for Drowning (2011)


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)


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)


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.   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

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

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.

[KevShmev]

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. 

[kirksnosehair]

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. 

[KevShmev]

I would have agreed with that, before T2 came out. 

[Mladen]

Fantastic Opeth album, and a great release by Steven Wilson, although it already got surpassed by The Raven in my book.

[senecadawg2]

I'm not crazy about Queen, but there's no arguing with the other two!

[adace]

3 great albums

[Jaq]

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. 

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?  ) 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.

[Sketchy]

<3 Still Life and GfD.

[Kwyjibo]

Three very solid choices there, though for each artist I personally would choose another record as their best.

[Zydar]

Great choice for Queen there, it's my favourite album from them along with A Night At The Opera.