Retro Albums of the Year 2010's: 2020

[HOF]

1. Eric Johnson - Venus Isle (in my top 10 albums of all time)

Listened to it again tonight. It is truly magnificent.

It's a unique masterpiece. Ah Via Musicom gets all the plaudits but Venus Isle is where I feel he reached the apex of his talent. The song Venus Isle (that run in the solo at the end), Lonely In The Night (the single greatest guitar solo ever in my opinion), When The Sun Meets The Sky, Pavilion, the short but brilliant Venus Reprise...a total masterpiece of an album (and full of personal tragedy - his girlfriend at the time he was recording it was raped and murdered, and Song For Lynette is for her).

Absolutely no doubt it’s his masterpiece. Just a flawless album from start to finish. And that solo in Lonely in the Night is definitely one of the best ever.

[jingle.boy]

Not sure I'll have much to add .... let's see.

Not mentioned yet:

Axel Rudi Pell - Magic
Brazen Abbott - Eye of the Storm
Kiske - Instant Clarity
Mystery - Theatre of the Mind
Ten - X
Ten - Name of the Rose
Thunder - The Thrill of it All
TSO - Christmas Eve and Other Stories (surprised I'm the first to mention this)
Vanden Plas - AcCult

Seems I did have a few to add.

[TAC]

Music would start to take kind of a back seat in my life for the next couple of years, even though 1996 would be the year my life turned around.

Albums I bought in 1996.


Michael Kiske-Instant Clarity
Bruce Dickinson-Skunkworks
Metallica-Load
Rush-Test For Echo
Dio-Angry Machines


I wish I could 've bought Helloween's The Time Of The Oath, but I was not into what I heard of Master Of The Rings. This was such a blown opportunity.

I also came thisclose to buying Amorphis' Elegy after hearing it play in a store. Another blown opportunity.

Other 1996 albums I missed the first time around that I really like are:
King Diamond-The Graveyard
Merciful Fate-Into The Unknown
Iced Earth-The Dark Saga




My concerts for 1996:

1996..1/16.. Anthrax..Avalon, Boston
1996..1/20..Ozzy Osbourne, Korn..Worcester Centrum
1996..2/2..Tesla.. The Strand Providence
1996..2/3..Tesla..Avalon Boston
1996..3/19..AC/DC..Fleet Center
1996..6/20..Styx..Great Woods Mansfield MA
1996..10/12..Kiss..Knickerbocker Arena Albany NY
1996..11/9..Rush..Fleet Center Boston
1996..12/12..Dream Theater.. The Strand Providence

[nick_z]

I'm not quite sure how it happened, but I forgot to include In Flames - The Jester Race on my 1996 list.

It's one of my absolute favorites of that year, and a pivotal album in the scene. More melodic than their "cousins" Dark Tranquillity at the time, they put out an amazing batch of melodic death metal songs on Jester Race. It's  like "death metal meets Helloween/Iron Maiden" (and that short instrumental, The Jester's Dance, has clean guitars that sound straight out Annihilator's playbook. SO good)

I'll have to add this to my post 

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

I'm not quite sure how it happened, but I forgot to include In Flames - The Jester Race on my 1996 list.

It's one of my absolute favorites of that year, and a pivotal album in the scene. More melodic than their "cousins" Dark Tranquillity at the time, they put out an amazing batch of melodic death metal songs on Jester Race. It's  like "death metal meets Helloween/Iron Maiden" (and that short instrumental, The Jester's Dance, has clean guitars that sound straight out Annihilator's playbook. SO good)

I'll have to add this to my post 

The Jester Race is on my complete list, but didn't quite make my top 50.

[nick_z]

The Jester Race is on my complete list, but didn't quite make my top 50.

It comfortably makes my Top 10 for 1996 - which is why I can't quite understand how I missed it 

[wolfking]

I'm not quite sure how it happened, but I forgot to include In Flames - The Jester Race on my 1996 list.

It's one of my absolute favorites of that year, and a pivotal album in the scene. More melodic than their "cousins" Dark Tranquillity at the time, they put out an amazing batch of melodic death metal songs on Jester Race. It's  like "death metal meets Helloween/Iron Maiden" (and that short instrumental, The Jester's Dance, has clean guitars that sound straight out Annihilator's playbook. SO good)

I'll have to add this to my post 

One of the first albums that got me into harsh vocals.  It's amazing.

[nick_z]

And another one I missed - I guess it's a good thing this thread is making me revisit my archive, as the years are messed up sometimes:

Sentenced  - Down

New singer and, at least partially, new style. I don't love it as much as Amok, but it's a great album

[SoundscapeMN]

1997, a very memorable year for a number of things. I think 1st and foremost, it was in a lot of ways, the peak of my love for Dream Theater and the long wait for their 1st full-length album since becoming a fan.

Falling Into Infinity took forever to come out, and I remember being at Best Buy where I was working at the time, and while I enjoyed it, I was a little underwhelmed with such high expectations.

To compare, earlier in the year, Fates Warning had released A Pleasant Shade of Gray, which I remember really liking, but also not looking at Fates Warning as good as my favorite bands like Rush and Dream Theater. But as I came to realize, it was a masterpiece, and their greatest masterpiece.

I do recall being really sad though as learning both Joe DiBiase and Frank Aresti had left the band and being incredibly depressed about that, along with Kevin Moore's departure from Dream Theater not that long before also hitting me hard. And oddly enough, it was not long after I became a fan of both bands.

Anyway, looking at the rest of 1997, Soundscape's album Discovery I enjoyed when I heard it, but in truth, became more of a fan in the subsequent years. Pain of Salvation's debut album Entropia I didn't hear then but years later; but it has become one of my favorites of theirs, debut albums, and progressive metal albums, etc.

Royal Hunt, Savatage, Angra's live album, Big Wreck, The Tea Party, Mew's debut, Godspeed, Devin Townsend's debut, etc..a lot of good stuff or artists who put out albums early in their careers of course. A lot of Prog Metal as the mid and late 90's it was being made in large numbers, and on my radar. And frankly, while much of it sounded a lot like Dream Theater, it seemed still enjoyable and unique in some ways. I dunno, it didn't seem as watered down as it became and has been the last 10 or 15 years. But maybe some of that has to do with nostalgia.

I think 1997 was a year that was in the midst of a lot of terrible mainstream music, and got looked down on by the prog scene, but maybe has aged relatively well over the last 2 decades.

1. Fates Warning - A Pleasant Shade of Gray
2. Soundscape - Discovery
3. Pain of Salvation - Entropia
4. Dream Theater - Falling into Infinity
5. Savatage - The Wake of Magellan
6. Pat Metheny - Imaginary Day
7. Royal Hunt - Paradox
8. Marillion - This Strange Engine
9. Magellan - Test of Wills
10. Big Wreck - In Loving Memory Of...
11. Enchant - Time Lost
12. Angra - Holy Live
13. Godspeed You Black Emperor! - F♯A♯∞ (1995-1997)
14. Ocean Machine - Biomech
15. Eternity X - The Edge
16. Conditioned Response - Pavlov's Dogs
17. The Tea Party - Transmission
18. Mew - A Triumph for Man
19. The Flower Kings - Stardust We Are
20. Galactic Cowboys - The Horse that Bud Bought
21. Yes - Keys to Ascension 2
22. Live - Secret Samadhi
23. dredg - Orph [EP]
24. Faith No More - Album of the Year
25. MagellanMusic - A Strange Traffic of Dreams
26. Incubus - S.C.I.E.N.C.E.
27. The Quiet Room - Introspect
28. Tiles - Fence the Clear
29. IQ - Subterranea
30. Queensryche - Hear in the Now Frontier

[ReaperKK]

Great list Soundscape, here is my 1997:

1. dredg - Orph - 5/5 - Short EP but awesome couple of tracks
2. Aerosmith - Nine Lives - 4.5/5
3. Third Eye Blind - Third Eye Blind - 4.5/5
4. Creed - My Own Prison - 4.5/5 - Say what you will about Creed, this is a fantastic album
5. Incubus - S.C.I.E.N.C.E. - 4.5/5 - Incubus really starts hitting their stride with this album, some great riffs and solos to be found here
6. Foo Fighters - The Colour And The Shape - 4/5 - Top tier FF record
7. Limp Bizkit - Three Dollar Bill, Yall$ - 4/5 - Elementary school me loved this album and adult me still thinks it's solid
8. Dream Theater - Falling Into Infinity - 4/5
9. Mogwai - Mogwai Young Team - 4/5 - My favorite Mogwai album, a lot great songs here
10. Collective Soul - Disciplined Breakdown - 3.5/5
11. Metallica - Reload - 3.5/5
12. Silverchair - Freak Show - 3/5
13. The Notorious B.I.G. - Life After Death - 3/5
14. Sevendust - Sevendust - 3/5
15. Days Of The New - Days Of The New - 3/5 - An album with a handful of really killer songs
16. Deftones - Around The Fur - 3/5
17. Radiohead - Ok Computer - 2.5/5
18. The Flower Kings - Stardust We Are - 2/5
19. Ocean Machine - Biomech - 2/5
20. Ben Folds Five - Whatever and Ever Amen - 0.5/5

[jingle.boy]

I love getting in here quick to get my entries posted.  I had JUST graduated Uni, and early '97 was when I discovered DT.  This was the time I started getting back into the musical scene, but I'd also just met mrs.jingle, so that derailed my musical exploration again.  I remember I had a chance to see DT in a local (hour+ away) pub, and didn't jump on it (I probably jumped on something else that night ).  Wrong move 

@ Reaper, it's funny you mention Creed.  I was just listening to some of their 'hits' recently, and I thought I should really check out the entirety of those albums.  Also, nice of you to mention Nine Lives 

Not mentioned yet:

Brazen Abbott - Bad Religion
Conception - Flow
Elegy - State of Mind
Harem Scarem - Karma Cleansing
Led Zeppelin - BBC Sessions
Nightwish - Angels Fall First
Nocturnal Rites - Tales Of Mystery And Imagination
Rhapsody - Legendary Tales
Sass Jordan - Present
Shania Twain - Come On Over
Symphony-X - The Divine Wings of Tragedy
Ten - The Robe
Threshold - Extinct Instinct
Vanden Plas - The God Thing

[ReaperKK]

Oh man that Shania Twain album! The moment I read your post Come On Over started playing in my head .

Creed I think got a lot of hate but their songs were good, with less than stellar lyrics at times. I highly recommend checking out My Own Prison, I'd love to hear your thoughts on it.

As for Nine Lines that to me was the last great Aerosmith album, I know people say their prime was before the 90's but to me Pump through Nine Lines was about as good as Aerosmith got.

[ariich]

Right, really getting into the period where I like a lot of music.

Fully appreciate that my number 1 may be a little unconventional around here.

1. The Offspring - Ixnay on the Hombre
2. Dream Theater - Falling Into Infinity
3. The Flower Kings - Stardust We Are
4. Radiohead - OK Computer
5. Loreena McKennitt - The Book of Secrets
6. Alkinoos Ioannidis - Ο δρόμος, ο χρόνος και ο πόνος (The Road, the Time and the Pain)
7. Pain of Salvation - Entropia
8. Green Day - Nimrod
9. Gamma Ray - Somewhere Out in Space
10. Foo Fighters - The Colour and the Shape
11. Bruce Dickinson - Accident of Birth
12. Cherry Poppin' Daddies - Zoot Suit Riot
13. Fates Warning - A Pleasant Shade of Gray
14. In Flames - Whoracle
15. Ocean Colour Scene - Marchin' Already
16. BT - ESCM
17. Symphony X - The Divine Wings of Tragedy
18. Sarah McLachlan - Surfacing
19. Ocean Colour Scene - B-Sides, Seasides & Free Rides
20. Björk - Homogenic

Also good:
Amorphis - My Kantele
Borknagar - The Olden Domain
Conception - Flow
Depeche Mode - Ultra
Empyrium - Songs of Moors and Misty Fields
Matthew Good Band - Underdogs
Megadeth - Cryptic Writings
Metallica - Reload
Oasis - Be Here Now
Devin Townsend - Ocean Machine: Biomech
Savatage - The Wake of Magellan
Silverchair - Freak Show
Elliott Smith - Either / Or
Spiritualized - Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space
Tower of Power - Rhythm & Business
The Verve - Urban Hymns

[nick_z]

Ok, 1997...

1997 arguably continues the slight downward trend for me (not in terms of sheer amount of music I was getting into, though!). I guess this was the year when the resurgence of European power metal was in full force. While I appreciated some of it, broadly speaking it wasn’t necessarily my thing. DT released a controversial album that I deeply enjoyed (despite admittedly containing some duds). Queensryche released their own controversial album which I only mildly enjoyed. Some other good stuff on the prog/power front (Among others, Fates Warning with a difficult but very satisfying concept and Symphony X with their “classic” album. Pain of Salvation make their debut too, although I would come to know them one year later) and the gothic/darker side of metal (Paradise Lost, Moonspell, The Gathering). And Bruce Dickinson makes his “metallic” comeback, planting the seeds for the big reunion…

Here's for a relatively fluid top 15:

Dream Theater – Falling Into Infinity (a step down, yes, but the highs here are unbelievably good)
Paradise Lost – One Second (big change in sound for the masters of gloom. And another fantastic album in my book)
Moonspell – Sin/Pecado (third album, this time throwing fans for a loop…and third success!)
Fates Warning – A Pleasant Shade of Gray (a slow burner and a brave album that pays off handsomely)
Symphony X – The Divine Wings of Tragedy (well-deserving of all the praise it gets. Everything comes together beautifully for Romeo & the rest of the gang)
Savatage – The Wake of Magellan (my favorite of the post-Criss Oliva albums. Another slab of Broadway-metal, very tastefully done)
Everon – Venus (probably my favorite from the German prog rock/metal band)
Foo Fighters – The Colour and the Shape (my favorite FF – I guess not a controversial choice, but it’s hard to argue with the songs in here)
The Gathering – Nighttime Birds (not as good as Mandylion, but close. And Anneke was getting better and better)
Bruce Dickinson - Accident of Birth (the joy of hearing Dickinson and Smith together again! It most certainly was a conscious effort to regain the “metal” fans, but it had great songs to back it up - thanks to Roy Z contribution as well)
Conception – Flow (very cool album from the Norwegians – the last before a hiatus that lasted a couple of decades)
Lacuna Coil – Lacuna Coil (if you only know them from their recent material – which I enjoy, by the way – you might want to try this debut EP. Much more in the vein of the Century Media bands of the time, a little rough around the edges, but with beautiful melodies and atmosphere)
Katatonia – Discouraged Ones (often forgotten, this is Katatonia at their bleakest)
Grip Inc. – Nemesis (second album from Dave Lombardo & co post-Slayer band. Much more “their own thing” compared to the debut, and fantastic songs/riffs throughout)
Strapping Young Lad – City (brutal Devy. Pretty amazing listening experience)

...and the honorable mentions:

Arcturus – La Masquerade Infernale
Armageddon – Crossing the Rubicon
Blackmore’s Night – Shadow of the Moon
Collective Soul – Disciplined Breakdown
Crematory – Awake
Dark Tranquillity – The Mind’s I
Days of the New – Days of the New
Deftones – Around the Fur
Depeche Mode – Ultra
DGM – Change Direction
Dimmu Borgir – Enthrone Darkness Triumphant
Ebony Tears – Tortura Insomniae
Eldritch – Headquake
Elisa – Pipes & Flowers
Emperor – Anthems to the Welkin at Dust
Enchant – Time Lost
Eucharist – Mirrorworlds
Fair Warning – Go!
Faith No More – Album of the Year
In Flames – Whoracle
In The Woods – Omnio
Incubus – S.C.I.E.N.C.E.
Lake of Tears – Crimson Cosmos
Life of Agony – Soul Searching Sun
Marillion – This Strange Engine
Pain of Salvation – Entropia
Porcupine Tree – Coma Divine
Queensryche – Hear in the New Frontier
Rammstein – Sehnsucht
Rhapsody – Legendary Tales
Royal Hunt – Paradox
Secret Discovery – Slave
Stratovarius – Visions
Sundown – Design 19
Tad Morose – A Mended Rhyme
Ten – The Robe
The 3rd and the Mortal – In This Room
Third Eye Blind – Third Eye Blind
Devin Townsend Ocean Machine – Biomech
Vanden Plas – The God Thing
Within Temptation - Enter

Obscure Prog metal batch for the year:

(Interestingly, 6 out of 10 bands in the list below are from Italy… Empty Tremor and Helreid’s album, to be honest, are not that great, although I haven’t heard them in ages. Black Jester’s Divine Comedy is a pretty ambitious attempt to put a classic of Italian literature in music. It’s actually pretty cool, but the vocals are…let’s just say, very much an acquired taste? Arhké is pure Dream Theater worship - even the singer tries really hard to sound like JLB. Not one for the ages. Zen is classic prog metal, but well done – again, as far as I can remember. If you then count Eldritch and DGM from the main list, that’s plenty of prog from Italy that year…and then of course Rhapsody on the power metal front…)

Arhké – Arhké
Black Jester – The Divine Comedy
Empty Tremor – Apocolokyntosys
Heaven’s Cry – Food For Thought Substitute (I like this one a LOT. A bit weirder than your typical prog metal. The guitarist/vocalist, Pierre St-Jean actually played bass on Voivod’s Outer Limits as a session musician)
Helreid – Mémoires
The Quiet Room – Introspect
Spastic Ink – Ink Complete
Zen – Gaze Into the Light

[hefdaddy42]

Oh man, I'm so far behind (my last entry was for 1984).

Let's see, 1997.

In no particular order:


Foo Fighters - The Color And The Shape
Pat Metheny Group - Imaginary Day
Godspeed You!  Black Emperor - F♯ A♯ ∞
The Flower Kings - Stardust We Are
Buena Vista Social Club - Buena Vista Social Club
Radiohead - OK Computer
Shania Twain - Come On Over

[SoundscapeMN]

1997, a very memorable year for a number of things. I think 1st and foremost, it was in a lot of ways, the peak of my love for Dream Theater and the long wait for their 1st full-length album since becoming a fan.

Falling Into Infinity took forever to come out, and I remember being at Best Buy where I was working at the time, and while I enjoyed it, I was a little underwhelmed with such high expectations.

To compare, earlier in the year, Fates Warning had released A Pleasant Shade of Gray, which I remember really liking, but also not looking at Fates Warning as good as my favorite bands like Rush and Dream Theater. But as I came to realize, it was a masterpiece, and their greatest masterpiece.

I do recall being really sad though as learning both Joe DiBiase and Frank Aresti had left the band and being incredibly depressed about that, along with Kevin Moore's departure from Dream Theater not that long before also hitting me hard. And oddly enough, it was not long after I became a fan of both bands.

Anyway, looking at the rest of 1997, Soundscape's album Discovery I enjoyed when I heard it, but in truth, became more of a fan in the subsequent years. Pain of Salvation's debut album Entropia I didn't hear then but years later; but it has become one of my favorites of theirs, debut albums, and progressive metal albums, etc.

Royal Hunt, Savatage, Angra's live album, Big Wreck, The Tea Party, Mew's debut, Godspeed, Devin Townsend's debut, etc..a lot of good stuff or artists who put out albums early in their careers of course. A lot of Prog Metal as the mid and late 90's it was being made in large numbers, and on my radar. And frankly, while much of it sounded a lot like Dream Theater, it seemed still enjoyable and unique in some ways. I dunno, it didn't seem as watered down as it became and has been the last 10 or 15 years. But maybe some of that has to do with nostalgia.

I think 1997 was a year that was in the midst of a lot of terrible mainstream music, and got looked down on by the prog scene, but maybe has aged relatively well over the last 2 decades.

1. Fates Warning - A Pleasant Shade of Gray
2. Soundscape - Discovery
3. Pain of Salvation - Entropia
4. Dream Theater - Falling into Infinity
5. Savatage - The Wake of Magellan
6. Pat Metheny - Imaginary Day
7. Royal Hunt - Paradox
8. Marillion - This Strange Engine
9. Magellan - Test of Wills
10. Big Wreck - In Loving Memory Of...
11. Enchant - Time Lost
12. Angra - Holy Live
13. Godspeed You Black Emperor! - F♯A♯∞ (1995-1997)
14. Ocean Machine - Biomech
15. Eternity X - The Edge
16. Conditioned Response - Pavlov's Dogs
17. The Tea Party - Transmission
18. Mew - A Triumph for Man
19. The Flower Kings - Stardust We Are
20. Galactic Cowboys - The Horse that Bud Bought
21. Yes - Keys to Ascension 2
22. Live - Secret Samadhi
23. dredg - Orph [EP]
24. Faith No More - Album of the Year
25. MagellanMusic - A Strange Traffic of Dreams
26. Incubus - S.C.I.E.N.C.E.
27. The Quiet Room - Introspect
28. Tiles - Fence the Clear
29. IQ - Subterranea
30. Queensryche - Hear in the Now Frontier

forgot to add

Concerts

7/9/97 Queensryche/Malicious Mischief - Target Center Minneapolis, MN
7/22/97  The Who - Target Center Minneapolis, MN
11/01/97 Kansas - Treasure Island Casino Red Wing, MN
11/2/97  Dream Theater/Big Wreck - First Avenue Minneapolis, MN
11/18/97 Yes - The State Theatre Minneapolis, MN

[King Postwhore]

Clumsy - Our Lady Peace
Freak Show - Silverchair
Secret Samadhi - Live
Whatever and Ever Amen- Ben Flods Five
Hear in the Now Frontier  - Queensryche
Self titled - Third Eye Blind
Marching To Mars - Sammy Hagar
Surfacing  - Sarah McLachlan
Much Afraid  - Jars Of Clay
Carnival of Souls - KISS
Falling into Infinity - Dream Theater

[Dave_Manchester]

1. Elliott Smith - Either/Or (the album in my avatar)

2. Joe Satriani, Steve Vai and Eric Johnson - G3 Live in Concert (though I only really love this for the Eric Johnson cuts)
3. Godspeed You Black Emperor - F# A# Infinity

4. Oasis - Be Here Now
5. Ocean Colour Scene - Marchin' Already
6. Dream Theater - Falling Into Infinity
7. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - The Boatman's Call
8. Genesis - Calling All Stations
9. Radiohead - OK Computer
10. Bob Dylan - Time Out Of Mind

11. U2 - Pop
12. Aerosmith - Nine Lives
13. The Rolling Stones - Bridges to Babylon


And even though I'm not too keen on the albums they came from, 1997 is also the year that produced some of the most iconic pop-rock tunes of the 90s (in the UK anyway) such as Bittersweet Symphony (The Verve), Song 2 (Blur) and Tubthumping (Chumbawamba)

[ReaperKK]

Wow, I didn't realize those three came out in the same year. All fantastic songs.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

Top 50 of 1997 incoming. Full list here. Tons of amazing albums here, especially the top 30.

1. Ocean Machine - Biomech (Devy's first true masterpiece)
2. Godspeed You Black Emperor! - F♯A♯∞ (A landmark album in the post-rock scene)
3. Symphony X - The Divine Wings of Tragedy (Symphony X's first masterpiece)
4. Enslaved - Eld (The pioneers of Progressive Black Metal begin their transition here)
5. Esoteric - The Pernicious Enigma (the masters of Funeral Doom are at it again with another amazing album)
6. Savatage - The Wake of Magellan (Savatage's magnum opus)
7. Dave Matthews Band - Live at Red Rocks 8.15.95 (DMB's best live album)
8. Porcupine Tree - Coma Divine: Recorded Live in Rome (Porcupine Trees legacy of amazing live recordings begins here)
9. Incubus - S.C.I.E.N.C.E. (The legend of Incubus begins here)
10. In the Woods... - Omnio (How do you blend Prog, Doom, Gothic, Black metal, and Avant-garde into one album, In the Woods is here to show you)
11. The Gathering - Nighttime Birds
12. Marillion - This Strange Engine
13. Dream Theater - Falling Into Infinity
14. Fates Warning - A Pleasant Shade of Gray
15. Empyrium - Songs of Moors and Misty Fields
16. Tiles - Fence the Clear
17. Flower Kings - Stardust We Are
18. Summoning - Dol Guldur
19. Summoning - Nightshade Forests
20. Foo Fighters - The Colour and the Shape
21. Björk - Homogenic
22. Breach - It's Me God
23. Arcturus - La Masquerade Infernale
24. Motorpsycho - Angels and Daemons at Play
25. Spastic Ink - Ink Complete
26. Modest Mouse - The Lonesome Crowded West
27. Depeche Mode - Ultra
28. The Tea Party - Transmission
29. Deftones - Around the Fur
30. Discipline - Unfolded Like Staircase
31. Matthew Good Band - Underdogs
32. Dark Tranquillity - The Mind's I
33. Amon Tobin - Bricolage
34. Radiohead - OK Computer
35. Gamma Ray - Somewhere Out In Space
36. Voivod - Phobos
37. Kampfar - Mellom skogkledde aaser
38. IQ - Subterranea
39. Nagelfar - Hünengrab im Herbst
40. Saturnus - Paradise Belongs to You
41. Borknagar - The Olden Domain
42. Autechre - Chiastic Slide
43. The 3rd and the Mortal - In This Room
44. The Derek Trucks Band - The Derek Trucks Band
45. In Flames - Whoracle
46. Vanden Plas - The God Thing
47. Faith No More - Album of the Year
48. Our Lady Peace - Clumsy
49. Absu - The Third Storm of Cythrául
50. Lake of Tears - A Crimson Chaos

[MirrorMask]

1997, the beginning of resurgence of power metal! but victory goes to...

1. Bruce Dickinson - Accident of Birth

A spectacular comeback from him and Adrian, and who knew it was only a stepping stone for what would come the year after!

2. Savatage - The Wake of Magellan
3. Stratovarius – Visions

I don't even know how to properly complete the list, since it's hard to judge albums in different styles, but trying to fill out the year we'd have....

HammerFall – Glory to the Brave
Royal Hunt - Paradox
Loreena McKennitt - The Book of Secrets
Symphony X - The Divine Wings of Tragedy
Gamma Ray - Somewhere Out in Space
Blackmore’s Night – Shadow of the Moon
Nightwish - Angels Fall First
Rhapsody - Legendary Tales

And let's not forget:

Dream Theater - Falling into Infinity
Jag Panzer – The Fourth Judgement
Threshold - Extinct Instinct
Elisa – Pipes & Flowers
Judas Priest – Jugulator
Metallica - Reload

[nick_z]

Elisa – Pipes & Flowers

Happy to see this on someone else's list too. Had to be from a fellow Italian, of course 

[HOF]

1997 was a year where I felt that mainstream rock (which was ironically alternative rock at the time) was starting to go downhill a bit. I wasn't tuned into prog yet, but that was actually a pretty strong year for prog. My older brother was getting into DT by that point, but it wouldn't be until late 1997/early 1998 that I started picking up on them too (I swiped his tape of I&W and listened to it a ton over Christmas/New Years break that year). From that point on, I didn't pay nearly as much attention to mainstream music.

1. Spock's Beard - The Kindness of Strangers
2. Dream Theater - Falling Into Infinity
3. The Flower Kings - Stardust We Are
4. The Pearlfishers - The Strange Underworld of the Tall Poppies
5. Enchant - Time Lost
6. Toad the Wet Sprocket - Coil
7. Marillion - This Strange Engine
8. Genesis - Calling All Stations
9. Fish - Sunsets on Empires
10. Radiohead - OK Computer
11. Sixpence None the Richer - Sixpence None the Richer
12. Collective Soul - Disciplined Breakdown
13. Caroline's Spine - Monsoon
14. Steve Hogarth - Ice Cream Genius
15. U2 - Pop
16. Big Wreck - In Loving memory Of
17. Niacin - Niacin

Also, I would rank Big Big Train's English Boy Wonders here, but I've never actually heard the original 1997 version. The 2008 version was significantly re-recorded/re-mixed, and the track listing re-arranged, so I'm going to include it in 2008 (nobody heard it in 1997 anyway!). A great great album though.

[MirrorMask]

Elisa – Pipes & Flowers

Happy to see this on someone else's list too. Had to be from a fellow Italian, of course 

I remembered this thanks to you!  didn't know you were italian like me 

[nick_z]

I remembered this thanks to you!  didn't know you were italian like me 

Yes! I've been living in the US since 2003 (I was 26 then), but born and raised in Italy 

[nick_z]

1. Spock's Beard - The Kindness of Strangers

This is probably still my favorite Beard's album - but I have it as 1998 in my archive. Is that not correct?

[HOF]

1. Spock's Beard - The Kindness of Strangers

This is probably still my favorite Beard's album - but I have it as 1998 in my archive. Is that not correct?

Yet another misfiling by my Windows media player. Came out in 1998. Ah well, congrats to Falling Into Infinity getting bumped to number 1!

Edit: HOLD UP. Discogs says 1997 too. https://www.discogs.com/Spocks-Beard-The-Kindness-Of-Strangers/master/313361 Checked my CD copy which also says 1997. Sorry FII!

[nick_z]

Interesting! So, my copy is the Giant Electric Pea version, i.e. the European version that was released in 1998. Had no idea it was so much later than the US version...

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

1. Spock's Beard - The Kindness of Strangers

This is probably still my favorite Beard's album - but I have it as 1998 in my archive. Is that not correct?

Yet another misfiling by my Windows media player. Came out in 1998. Ah well, congrats to Falling Into Infinity getting bumped to number 1!

Edit: HOLD UP. Discogs says 1997 too. https://www.discogs.com/Spocks-Beard-The-Kindness-Of-Strangers/master/313361 Checked my CD copy which also says 1997. Sorry FII!

I'm about 90% certain Discogs is wrong. I have the US version from Metal Blade and it says 1998...

[TAC]

1. Spock's Beard - The Kindness of Strangers

This is probably still my favorite Beard's album - but I have it as 1998 in my archive. Is that not correct?

Yet another misfiling by my Windows media player. Came out in 1998. Ah well, congrats to Falling Into Infinity getting bumped to number 1!

Edit: HOLD UP. Discogs says 1997 too. https://www.discogs.com/Spocks-Beard-The-Kindness-Of-Strangers/master/313361 Checked my CD copy which also says 1997. Sorry FII!

I'm about 90% certain Discogs is wrong. I have the US version from Metal Blade and it says 1998...

Wow, you guys must really love this album to not even know when it came out.

[HOF]

1. Spock's Beard - The Kindness of Strangers

This is probably still my favorite Beard's album - but I have it as 1998 in my archive. Is that not correct?

Yet another misfiling by my Windows media player. Came out in 1998. Ah well, congrats to Falling Into Infinity getting bumped to number 1!

Edit: HOLD UP. Discogs says 1997 too. https://www.discogs.com/Spocks-Beard-The-Kindness-Of-Strangers/master/313361 Checked my CD copy which also says 1997. Sorry FII!

I'm about 90% certain Discogs is wrong. I have the US version from Metal Blade and it says 1998...

I have the Radiant/Metal Blade version, and my CD says 1997. I’d post a picture but I don’t know how!

Wow, you guys must really love this album to not even know when it came out.

Ha! Well, it is really great, but I didn’t hear it until 2004, so it’s not like I experienced it in 1997. But also, I was right that it was released in 1997!

[WardySI]

1. BRUCE DICKINSON Accident Of Birth

2. SAXON Unleash The Beast

3. CREED My Own Prison

4. DREAM THEATER Falling Into Infinity

5. FATES WARNING A Pleasant Shade Of Grey


PARADISE LOST One Second
SEVENDUST Sevendust
SCREAMING JETS World Gone Crazy
QUEENSRYCHE Hear In The Now Frontier
FAITH NO MORE Album Of The Year
METALLICA ReLoad
SILVERCHAIR Freakshow


ETA: CREED!

Forgot about their debut while don't give the album much attention nowdays can't deny the impact and love I had for it at the time \m/

[SoundscapeMN]

1. Spock's Beard - The Kindness of Strangers

This is probably still my favorite Beard's album - but I have it as 1998 in my archive. Is that not correct?

Yet another misfiling by my Windows media player. Came out in 1998. Ah well, congrats to Falling Into Infinity getting bumped to number 1!

Edit: HOLD UP. Discogs says 1997 too. https://www.discogs.com/Spocks-Beard-The-Kindness-Of-Strangers/master/313361 Checked my CD copy which also says 1997. Sorry FII!

I'm about 90% certain Discogs is wrong. I have the US version from Metal Blade and it says 1998...

I have the Radiant/Metal Blade version, and my CD says 1997. I’d post a picture but I don’t know how!

Wow, you guys must really love this album to not even know when it came out.

Ha! Well, it is really great, but I didn’t hear it until 2004, so it’s not like I experienced it in 1997. But also, I was right that it was released in 1997!

it would not be surprising if the 1997 copies were advanced or promos sent to Radio Stations, Magazines, etc.

Other than the discogs listing, every other site seems to show it being released in 1998, including on the band's official website.

[HOF]

1. Spock's Beard - The Kindness of Strangers

This is probably still my favorite Beard's album - but I have it as 1998 in my archive. Is that not correct?

Yet another misfiling by my Windows media player. Came out in 1998. Ah well, congrats to Falling Into Infinity getting bumped to number 1!

Edit: HOLD UP. Discogs says 1997 too. https://www.discogs.com/Spocks-Beard-The-Kindness-Of-Strangers/master/313361 Checked my CD copy which also says 1997. Sorry FII!

I'm about 90% certain Discogs is wrong. I have the US version from Metal Blade and it says 1998...

I have the Radiant/Metal Blade version, and my CD says 1997. I’d post a picture but I don’t know how!

Wow, you guys must really love this album to not even know when it came out.

Ha! Well, it is really great, but I didn’t hear it until 2004, so it’s not like I experienced it in 1997. But also, I was right that it was released in 1997!

it would not be surprising if the 1997 copies were advanced or promos sent to Radio Stations, Magazines, etc.

Other than the discogs listing, every other site seems to show it being released in 1998, including on the band's official website.

I suppose that’s probably it, but I’m seeing May 1998 as the release date. Would they have sent promo copies out 6 months early? I’m pretty sure I ordered my copy new from Laser CD back in the day. Would be odd for them to sell a promo copy, right?

[romdrums]

Surprised I haven't really gotten into this thread yet.  1997 was probably the peak of my Marillion fan-dom.  I have 3 versions of This Strange Engine: the UK digipak import, the original US jewel case version, and a deluxe version with the remix of Estonia and an acoustic version of Man of A Thousand Faces I think?  Anyway, I contributed to the Tour Fund that year, and was able to see them in Cleveland, Grand Rapids and Chicago.  I was able to get both a signed and unsigned version of the tour fund CD.  I requested of H that they play the Beatles' You've Got To Hide Your Love Away at their in-store appearance in Grand Rapids prior to their show that night, and they did.  I bought the original version of Ice Cream Genius and the You Dinosaur Thing single just to get the B-side The Last Thing.  I saw Fish at a club in Grand Rapids that summer.  Great show!  Anyway, my favorite records from 1997: https://rateyourmusic.com/list/romdrum/my_favorites_from_1997/