@Jordan - That's cool! I know Vespertine is generally considered one of the best, though she has a few more that belong to that category.
@pain - It's actually Kimbra on the avatar and not Natalie this time, but I might go back to Natalie sometime in the future again.
As for Amplifier, I still think Octopus is a really great accomplishment for a double album, but it has a few songs that are not as good as the best ones, so overall I would rank the debut and Echo Street as slightly more "solid" albums all in all. But Octopus is glorious for being a double album.
@ColdFireYYZ - If you enjoy electronic music, Vespertine is certainly a good starting point. If you want something more "natural", her debut album might be a good starting place, since it's a bit more jazz-sounding, and feels a bit more "natural" so to speak.
Anyhow, thought I would swing by with another update.
44. Blackfield - Blackfield (2004)Genre: Art RockBlackfield should be familiar to many people around here, considering that it's one of the biggest side-projects of Steven Wilson, and together with Aviv Geffen he put out 3 albums under the Blackfield-name, before sort of dropping out. (Even though he will be involved on the new album, as a producer/mixer and also on a song or two) While Blackfield shares a couple of similarities with Porcupine Tree, such as beautiful and catchy melodies and strong hooks, the music is much more compressed into a pop-format with songs around 3-4 minutes in length, and the progressiveness that many other SW projects has is nowhere to be found. I would say this is one of the strongest points of Blackfield, and as much as I love what SW has done within progressive music, his biggest strength in my opinion has always been writing calmer songs, more focused on melody with emotional delivery. I think even within his other projects, I have often leaned more towards songs like Deform to Form a Star or Trains, where he takes a step back from making progressive music, to really focus on melodies. On the other hand, Blackfield has always been more of Aviv's project for me. The songs I tend to gravitate more towards are the ones Aviv has written, but I feel like SW's strength is taking something really good, and adding magic with his musicianship and creativity. The band has continued to put out great stuff, but their debut continues to be my most played album by them, and it's just such a heartfelt and honest album all the way through. It's an emotional album with a lot of feelings, haunting and beautiful choruses, and just overall a well-written art-rock/pop album.
Favorite songs: Summer, Scars, Lullaby, Hello, Blackfield.43. Tool - Lateralus (2001)Genre: Progressive MetalThis album was for a long time my favorite progressive album, and it continues to have a very special place in my heart. I sometimes change opinions over if Aenima or Lateralus is the better album, because I think they are both fantastic at what they are trying to do. Aenima, I would say is a bit more alternative, where Lateralus is a more progressive album, but I feel like Lateralus has a slightly better balance, and the album doesn't only have amazing songs, but good "filler"-songs, that gives some nice breathing space between the longer ones. The album is probably familiar to a lot of people here, but what makes Tool progressive is their amazing musicianship when it comes to rhythm. Their music is almost hypnotic at times, and a song like "Schism" is the perfect example of how Tool use their instruments to make a very mesmerizing sound, that will captivate you. The songs really take their time to build-up, and the payoff is really rewarding. The album might take time to grow on you, but the reward is amazing, and it's one of the best modern progressive albums for sure.
Favorite songs: Lateralus, The Patient, Parabol/Parabola, Schism, The Grudge42. The Tallest Man on Earth - The Wild Hunt (2010)Genre: Singer/Songwriter, FolkNext up on the list we have Swedish singer/songwriter, Kristian Mattson who goes under the name "The Tallest Man on Earth". He has been compared to Bob Dylan a lot (mostly because of the voice), but I think the comparison is fairly surface-level, and when you really start exploring the music, apart from being similar kind of music (a man with a guitar) and the voice, there are differences in a lot of other places. I've never cared much for Dylan personally, but Tallest Man on Earth has really stuck with me. It took me a few listens to warm up to his voice, but once it clicked, it clicked big time. I consider all his three albums to be of excellent quality, but The Wild Hunt was the first one I heard, and I have a lot of personal memories related to first hearing the album and falling in love with it. If you enjoy a man with a guitar who sings his heart out, this music has the ability to wow you. He's also quite the guitarist and has some pretty neat fingerpicking moves. All in all just an excellent folk/singer-songwriter album, and a very stripped down sound.
Favorite songs: Love is All, Troubles Will Be Gone, Kids on the Run, Burden of Tomorrow, The Wild Hunt.More updates to come!