Sacul's top 50 albums v3. #20-#1 speedrun any%

[Buddyhunter1]

Jane Doe fucks It took a particularly shitty day for the sheer anger of the album to really resonate with me, but since then I can listen to and enjoy songs from it pretty much whenever.

Concubine, Fault And Fracture, and Homewrecker are probably my favorites.

[LithoJazzoSphere]

No love for one of the best 90s albums? Oh well

Yeah, well, give me a few days. 

And you already know what I think of the Jane Doe title track now.  I look forward to seeing if my opinion of the rest of it has improved as well. 

[TheSoylentMan]

33

Portishead
Dummy

I have tried to get into this, but it's a bit samey for me and Gibbons' voice grates on me after a while. I did just revisit it, and I'm sure I will again. I'm usually an album guy but I think I would enjoy individual songs more in small doses. That said, I do appreciate it more knowing some of the history and production techniques - nice tip on that. Interesting to know the lengths they went to to get that "scratchy record" sound. Nowadays you'd just throw a filter on your recording to replicate that sound; this was the real deal. Way ahead of its time for 1994.

[Sacul]

Jane Doe fucks It took a particularly shitty day for the sheer anger of the album to really resonate with me, but since then I can listen to and enjoy songs from it pretty much whenever.

Concubine, Fault And Fracture, and Homewrecker are probably my favorites.

Oh yeah, it also clicked with me on a particularly bad day. Great stuff.

No love for one of the best 90s albums? Oh well

Yeah, well, give me a few days. 

And you already know what I think of the Jane Doe title track now.  I look forward to seeing if my opinion of the rest of it has improved as well. 

I don't think you'll vibe with like half of the album tbh, I'd recommend you give their 2009 album Axe to Fall a try tho, as it better balances the harsh and calm sounds, and noise and the melody.

33

Portishead
Dummy

I have tried to get into this, but it's a bit samey for me and Gibbons' voice grates on me after a while. I did just revisit it, and I'm sure I will again. I'm usually an album guy but I think I would enjoy individual songs more in small doses. That said, I do appreciate it more knowing some of the history and production techniques - nice tip on that. Interesting to know the lengths they went to to get that "scratchy record" sound. Nowadays you'd just throw a filter on your recording to replicate that sound; this was the real deal. Way ahead of its time for 1994.

Indeed, they were quite innovative in the process. I can recommend you giving a try their other 2 albums, as they're a bit more varied in sound and more experimental.

[Buddyhunter1]

I don't think you'll vibe with like half of the album tbh, I'd recommend you give their 2009 album Axe to Fall a try tho, as it better balances the harsh and calm sounds, and noise and the melody.

Or All We Love We Leave Behind, which is pretty much Axe To Fall but better.

[Sacul]

31

Bent Knee
Shiny Eyed Babies



One of the most original albums of the past decade, with a sound and style so unique that people didn't know how to tag them - is this Art Rock? Prog? Something else? Certainly they've defied labels and their following albums went into some interesting and unusual directions, but here I feel that their best songs really came to be. Powerful crescendoes, super quiet moments, blasts of disonnant yet clean guitars and violins, paired with some amazing vocals - you've got a very interesting mix, and it doesn't let go, song after song, banger after banger. Truly a remarkable record, that still captivates me to this day.

Recommended song: Being Human

[ReaperKK]

I defintely agree that Bent Knee is original but I can't get into them. I discovered them through Adam Neely's youtube channel but when I sat down and listened to the records it was incredibly grating. Last I heard they lost a couple of members, are they still around?

[HOF]

They are definitely a marmite type of act. I can dig what they do but don't especially want to listen to them! Strangely enough, my wife (who is not into this type of music whatsoever) really liked a few of their songs.

[Sacul]

I defintely agree that Bent Knee is original but I can't get into them. I discovered them through Adam Neely's youtube channel but when I sat down and listened to the records it was incredibly grating. Last I heard they lost a couple of members, are they still around?

I think they are? Haven't been keeping up with them lately, but I hope they carry on in some way or another.

They are definitely a marmite type of act. I can dig what they do but don't especially want to listen to them! Strangely enough, my wife (who is not into this type of music whatsoever) really liked a few of their songs.

Yeah they're quite hit or miss with people, as the sound is quite eccentric, but I love it.

[Sacul]

30

Steven Wilson
Grace for Drowning



I love pretty much most of what Steven has put out in his career through his many, many projects - even if some of his later work doesn't convince me much, there's still a few gems here and there. This album I feel is the peak of his solo career, a blend of the weird prog he's into, with noise, avant-garde jazz, ambient, and many more. the result is a very unique and breathtaking record, one that's very dark and ominous, yet has plenty of beautiful moments. It's quite well balanced, and has some top-notch players here, like Rudess making heartfelt arpeggions on the piano, or Theo Travis' subtle and not-so-subtle wind instruments put in the right places.
Truly an amalgamation of most of Steven's styles and interests in one insane double album.

Recommended song: Deform to Form a Star

[Sacul]

Ok let's revive this thing...

29

Radiohead
OK Computer



I know it's kind of a basic choice for a Radiohead album, but while I like their other records (Kid A came quite close), I find this one interesting because it's right at the edge of things - neither too commercial nor too experimental, but still somehow both. Every song is a banger and a bit weird but also quite accessible, which is a flavor I crave for deeply in music for some reason.

Recommended song: Exit Music (For a Film)

[LithoJazzoSphere]

Now that I'm done with my roulette I might have more time to listen to these again.  I've never gotten the big deal with Radiohead, but Kid A is my favorite of the ones I've heard.  I should give OK Computer another listen again. 

[Stadler]

I've been refraining from posting in the Radiohead thread on the premise that if you don't have something nice to say....    I'm just... I don't get it.  I have OK Computer, I have Kid A, and I bought Hail To The Thief as part of an eBay auction... I still have the first two, but I couldn't get rid of HTTT fast enough.   One of the very very few records I viscerally and actively disliked.

[Sacul]

Now that I'm done with my roulette I might have more time to listen to these again.  I've never gotten the big deal with Radiohead, but Kid A is my favorite of the ones I've heard.  I should give OK Computer another listen again.

Give it some time, it took a bit for to grow on me. I think you might enjoy their last album, A Moon Shaped Pool, which is quite different and more atmospheric.

I've been refraining from posting in the Radiohead thread on the premise that if you don't have something nice to say....    I'm just... I don't get it.  I have OK Computer, I have Kid A, and I bought Hail To The Thief as part of an eBay auction... I still have the first two, but I couldn't get rid of HTTT fast enough.   One of the very very few records I viscerally and actively disliked.

That's fine, we know you've got a distaste for anything electronic . I'm not that fan of that album tbh, and I think the only albums I had the same reaction to were XTC's Skylarking and Anathema's Serenades. But it's been so long since I've listened to either and my tastes have changed, so maybe I'll enjoy them more now.

[HOF]

I was kind of a latecomer to Radiohead by way of friends in college and other bands who cited them. OK Computer is quite strong, but doesn’t always excite me. I have to be in the right mood. I go back and forth which of this, The Bends, or Kid A are my favorite of theirs. But I will credit this one for being an ambitious departure from the alt rock norm and being somewhat on the edge of prog.

[ReaperKK]

I tried with Radiohead so many times but apart a handful of songs I just can't get into them.

[HOF]

Oh, and Let Down is a really great song (not sure if it’s underrated, but it’s one of my favorite Radiohead songs).

[Metro]

OK Computer is a classic, and Let Down is underrated 

[Stadler]

Now that I'm done with my roulette I might have more time to listen to these again.  I've never gotten the big deal with Radiohead, but Kid A is my favorite of the ones I've heard.  I should give OK Computer another listen again.

Give it some time, it took a bit for to grow on me. I think you might enjoy their last album, A Moon Shaped Pool, which is quite different and more atmospheric.

I've been refraining from posting in the Radiohead thread on the premise that if you don't have something nice to say....    I'm just... I don't get it.  I have OK Computer, I have Kid A, and I bought Hail To The Thief as part of an eBay auction... I still have the first two, but I couldn't get rid of HTTT fast enough.   One of the very very few records I viscerally and actively disliked.

That's fine, we know you've got a distaste for anything electronic . I'm not that fan of that album tbh, and I think the only albums I had the same reaction to were XTC's Skylarking and Anathema's Serenades. But it's been so long since I've listened to either and my tastes have changed, so maybe I'll enjoy them more now.

It's funny, because it's not really the electronic.  There's something about Thom Yorke that just... I don't know.  "Creep" just makes my skin crawl. I'm a big vocal/melody guy, and he just does not deliver for me in that department.   I almost NEVER am bothered by lyrics, be them political, social, or otherwise; I don't really like "stupid" (for some reason, references to "fried chicken" in songs bother me, with the notable exception of "One Vision" by Queen) but other than that, I'm pretty tolerant of lyrics.  But the lyrics on HTTT made me want to urinate on my speakers.   And I'm a big interview guy: I like reading interviews with the artists whose work I listen to and like, and I have yet to hear/read an interview with either Yorke or Johnny Greenwood where they don't irk the crap out of me; pretentious beyond words (and for perspective, I LOVE Emerson, Lake and Palmer and Yes!)

I fully embrace that it's a "me" problem, but I'm okay with it, since I have so much other music to listen to, I couldn't possibly like everything.   The artists I actively dislike are on one hand, thankfully.

[Kwyjibo]

I know some people who love and hyped Radiohead/this album and some people who hate them/it with a passion. So I was curious and was convinced that whatever I think I would feel strong about it.

And then I listened to OK Computer and thought: what is all the fuss about, I really don't understand it. I mean I like this record, I even own it, but all in all it's so ordinary. Where are the excellent, groundbreaking songs, where's the stuff that nobody has done before? Or the opposite: where are the songs one could really hate?

Maybe I just understand what Radiohead is about. :shrug:

[HOF]

I know some people who love and hyped Radiohead/this album and some people who hate them/it with a passion. So I was curious and was convinced that whatever I think I would feel strong about it.

And then I listened to OK Computer and thought: what is all the fuss about, I really don't understand it. I mean I like this record, I even own it, but all in all it's so ordinary. Where are the excellent, groundbreaking songs, where's the stuff that nobody has done before? Or the opposite: where are the songs one could really hate?

Maybe I just understand what Radiohead is about. :shrug:

Well, I think a lot of people have copied this style since, but at the time I think it was pretty original and unique considering what was popular in 1997 (though like I said I came to it several years later, and at that time yeah I think a lot of bands sounded kind of like that in one way or another).

[Buddyhunter1]

Yeah, I also just can't get into Radiohead, and they SHOULD totally be my thing, with how universally praised they are and my affinity toward bands that clearly have taken a lot of influence from them (Oceansize, Porcupine Tree). But they just CAN'T click. I've tried this album, OK Computer, In Rainbows... I always feel like there's potential there for me to finally "get" them, but it never happens. And I don't know why. I guess I just don't find their songs very captivating - they all sound great, but compositionally they usually leave me cold. Plus I just don't really like Thom Yorke as a vocalist.

[LithoJazzoSphere]

Plus I just don't really like Thom Yorke as a vocalist.

That's my single biggest problem with them. 

[WilliamMunny]

Now that I'm done with my roulette I might have more time to listen to these again.  I've never gotten the big deal with Radiohead, but Kid A is my favorite of the ones I've heard.  I should give OK Computer another listen again.

Give it some time, it took a bit for to grow on me. I think you might enjoy their last album, A Moon Shaped Pool, which is quite different and more atmospheric.

I've been refraining from posting in the Radiohead thread on the premise that if you don't have something nice to say....    I'm just... I don't get it.  I have OK Computer, I have Kid A, and I bought Hail To The Thief as part of an eBay auction... I still have the first two, but I couldn't get rid of HTTT fast enough.   One of the very very few records I viscerally and actively disliked.

That's fine, we know you've got a distaste for anything electronic . I'm not that fan of that album tbh, and I think the only albums I had the same reaction to were XTC's Skylarking and Anathema's Serenades. But it's been so long since I've listened to either and my tastes have changed, so maybe I'll enjoy them more now.

It's funny, because it's not really the electronic.  There's something about Thom Yorke that just... I don't know.  "Creep" just makes my skin crawl. I'm a big vocal/melody guy, and he just does not deliver for me in that department.   I almost NEVER am bothered by lyrics, be them political, social, or otherwise; I don't really like "stupid" (for some reason, references to "fried chicken" in songs bother me, with the notable exception of "One Vision" by Queen) but other than that, I'm pretty tolerant of lyrics.  But the lyrics on HTTT made me want to urinate on my speakers.   And I'm a big interview guy: I like reading interviews with the artists whose work I listen to and like, and I have yet to hear/read an interview with either Yorke or Johnny Greenwood where they don't irk the crap out of me; pretentious beyond words (and for perspective, I LOVE Emerson, Lake and Palmer and Yes!)

I fully embrace that it's a "me" problem, but I'm okay with it, since I have so much other music to listen to, I couldn't possibly like everything.   The artists I actively dislike are on one hand, thankfully.

I try so hard to stay away from  ‘…but, have you heard?’ Posts, largely because I have no interest in trying to convince anyone of anything, let alone music. I mean, we all like what we like for the reasons we like it, am I right?

But…if only for the reason that you brought it up (and I feel like we have VERY similar tastes), I humbly submit Radiohead’s A Moon Shaped Pool for consideration.

Perhaps you’ve already heard it, but either way, I feel like the album’s low key, organic instrumentation and lyrical focus on Thom Yorker’s crumbling marriage (his ex-wife subsequently died) makes this the outlier in Radiohead’s catalog.

I’d liken it to Beck’s Seachange or T-Swift’s Folklore as the album for those who just about hate everything else by said artist.

Of course, it just might be that they will never be your cup of tea, which is absolutely fine by me… (we’ll always have Rock ‘n Roll Over!)

[Sacul]

Oh yeah I can definitely recommend A Moon Shaped Pool to any Radiohead haters, it's such a different album, quite orchestral and atmospheric, but also very introspective.

[ReaperKK]

I'll give that a spin, I do like orchestral music and one of the few Radiohead songs I really love is Burn The Witch which is off this album.

[Sacul]

And now, onto something quite different!

28

Ulver
The Assassination of Julius Caesar



Pretty crazy to know this band has been around for almost 30 years now, and none of their records really sound like the other - what began as a trve kvlt black metal outfit, quiickly turned into a very experimental Electronic / Avant Garde project with Industrial, Trip Hop, and Ambient influences, then went into Dark Ambient, then into weirder shit, then they put out an amazing orchestral record, and suddenly... Synthpop? We were all shocked at first, but even more so that it was really really good!
As much as I hold Perdition City, Shadows of the Sun, and Messe close and dear to me, it's this album the one I find myself going back to the most these days. Just banger of a song after banger of a song, and with some neat experimental bits to spice things up.

Recommended song: So Falls the World

[ReaperKK]

I've only heard Perdition City and I really liked it. I'll give this a spin in the next few days.

[Buddyhunter1]

Top 20 album for me.

[Sacul]

I've only heard Perdition City and I really liked it. I'll give this a spin in the next few days.

Let me know what you think!

Top 20 album for me.

[LithoJazzoSphere]

Good album, though I haven't spent as much time with it as I'd like to.  Very few artists have covered the ground Ulver has.  Shadows of the Sun is their pinnacle for me personally, that'll be in my own top 50. 

[nick_z]

Love this album...I kinda feel the same way, in that it's probably the one I go back to the most. I feel Flowers of Evil is of very similar quality. Listened to that one a fair bit the year it came out.

Back to Assassination...So Falls the World is a great track to recommend. The most goosebump-inducing moment, though, might be on Angelus Novus, the part starting around 1:25...so good.

[ReaperKK]

I gave The Assassination of Julius Caesar a spin this morning and I enjoyed it. It think my only real complaint with it was that it felt repetitive. "Nemoralia" and "Rolling Stone" were the highlights for me, strong start to the album.

[Sacul]

I gave The Assassination of Julius Caesar a spin this morning and I enjoyed it. It think my only real complaint with it was that it felt repetitive. "Nemoralia" and "Rolling Stone" were the highlights for me, strong start to the album.

No you are repetitive


Alright, let's move on to...

27

David Bowie
★



Back in late 2015, when he released the Blackstar single, a 10 minute experimental song with a very interesting music video, we were all shocked - many praised it and thought it to be Bowie's best song in literally decades. And while I personally love some of the 90s albums, I agree that song was just on another level. Then the album released, to universal acclaim, and we thought he was back on the spotlight.

3 days after the release, he passed away.

And looking back into the lyrics, it was just obvious - this was his goodbye, a true swan song in every sense. He both looks past on his life and at the imminent future, facing it without hesitation.

While I've gone back and tried many of his past albums (and some are quite growing on me!), it's this one that I find the most fascinating still, after all these years.

Recommended song: Lazarus

[WilliamMunny]

I gave The Assassination of Julius Caesar a spin this morning and I enjoyed it. It think my only real complaint with it was that it felt repetitive. "Nemoralia" and "Rolling Stone" were the highlights for me, strong start to the album.

No you are repetitive


Alright, let's move on to...

27

David Bowie
★



Back in late 2015, when he released the Blackstar single, a 10 minute experimental song with a very interesting music video, we were all shocked - many praised it and thought it to be Bowie's best song in literally decades. And while I personally love some of the 90s albums, I agree that song was just on another level. Then the album released, to universal acclaim, and we thought he was back on the spotlight.

3 days after the release, he passed away.

And looking back into the lyrics, it was just obvious - this was his goodbye, a true swan song in every sense. He both looks past on his life and at the imminent future, facing it without hesitation.

While I've gone back and tried many of his past albums (and some are quite growing on me!), it's this one that I find the most fascinating still, after all these years.

Recommended song: Lazarus

Damn fine pick there, Sacul–hats off to you