This might be the most evil sounding album ever recorded. Greece’s appropriately named Rotting Christ did themselves one better with this superb collection of symphonic black metal, complete with Latin choirs.
I found out about Bowie’s passing while doing these write-ups and it’s still a shock to me, the man truly seemed immortal to me. Bowie’s second great album of his Berlin period picked up almost exactly where Low left off. The title track is easily among his all time greats, and the album goes out on more than a high note with “The Secret Life of Arabia”.
A remarkably assured debut from this New York indie-punk trio. Balancing between over the top loud amplification and some of the finest ballads of the decade, this album hits all the right notes.
Camera Obscura is what I wish She and Him sounded like. The arrangements are worthy of vintage Phil Spector, with some of the sweetest vocals you’re likely to hear. A positively joyous band regardless of what their singing about, Let’s Get Out of This Country gets my vote for their finest hour.
The Pumpkins debut album might have died in obscurity during it’s initial release but it remains the tightest and least pretentious of any of Billy Corgan’s future albums. The Pumpkins seemed to pick up where Jane’s Addiction left off with slightly better songwriting.
Skynyrd’s debut album is one of the hallmarks of classic 70s rock. Containing the monstrous genre defining songs “Tuesday’s Gone”, “Simple Man”, and of course “Freebird” which still shows up on the shortlist of the greatest solos in rock and roll history.
Although he rapped almost exclusively about how much better of an MC he was than everybody else, Rakim broke new ground in the rap world. His rhymes and flow were so good and influential that he’s still considered by many the greatest to ever pick up a mic, and never was he better than on Paid in Full.
Muhammed Suiçmez finally got himself a backing band and officially blew every technical death metal band out of the water. As sick as the shredding is on this album, the riffs themselves might be the most complicated part about the music. Musical masturbation of the heaviest variety.
Dummy set the standard for what has been sometimes mockingly dubbed “trip-hop”. Building on spy soundtrack samples with hip-hop beats and some of the coolest and iciest vocals courtesy of Beth Gibbons, Portishead fashioned a masterpiece right out of the gate.
Richard and Linda Thompson picked up right where Fairport Convention left off but did them one better. Full of Irish folk songs recorded in happier times in their relationship, it ironically enough is arguably their darkest work.
I first heard about this band when Dear Science topped Rolling Stone’s 2008 best albums list. I have to thank those good people, because this instantly became one of my favorite albums of the decade, and this remains their strongest album start to finish.
His self titled album might have featured excellent songs but Dirty Mind is the album where Prince put it all together. He fully embraced his sexually deviant side, complete with shocking-for-the-time profanity, but it’s the funk that brings it all together. This album barely comes up to breathe and perhaps my only complaint is how damn short it is.
Def Leppard spent an absurd amount of time and money on their follow up to Pyromania but it was certainly worth it. A nearly perfect sounding album that produced a countless string of hit singles and helped make Def Leppard the biggest band in the world for a little while in the late 80s. Mutt Lange’s obsessive production at it’s finest.
Eminem’s debut for Aftermath Records helped turn him into the most popular and by far the most controversial rapper at the turn of the century. On this album people genuinely seemed unable to tell what was a sick joke or his reality, but damned if this wasn’t one of the freshest new voices to come out in a long time.
Rush’s best album was the culmination of all their post-2112 improvements. They toned down most of the excessive songs and focused on their tightest, catchiest songs that still sounded undeniably like Rush. On Moving Pictures Lee, Liefson, and Peart learned how to do more with less. The first half of this album would all belong on the list of best Rush songs, including their most iconic "Tom Sawyer".
I dare you to find a more universally liked group than Rodrigo y Gabriela. The dynamic duo seemed to find the perfect mix of Latin, classical, and metal and it’s hard to argue they didn’t get the magic formula better than on their self titled album.
Armed with three chords, The Ramones stripped all the artifice away from rock and roll and launched a musical revolution. There was only so far they could take this act, but for their debut it’s a non-stop string of classics. This is punk at it’s most enjoyable.
Rust in Peace was undoubtedly a masterpiece in metal, and Megadeth once again followed the lead of their rivals Metallica in streamlining their sound on their next album. Countdown showed Dave Mustaine arguably at his best as a songwriter, as opposed to riff writer and shredder extraordinaire. He might not have topped his old band in sales, but for my money the songs here have held up much better. Who knew Megadeth would provide arguably the greatest metal karaoke song ever with “Sweating Bullets”?
Criminal Minded may have been the first hardcore rap album, and Ice-T had already made his debut to put LA on the rap map, but Straight Outta Compton is the album that busted things wide open. Musically it might sound a bit dated next to their follow up, but lyrically there is no contest. Ice Cube was never better and this album’s first three tracks are as strong as any rap songs ever recorded.
In the 80s, Iron Maiden could scarcely do any wrong. The one perhaps logical complaint they suffered was that by 1986 it was largely Maiden by numbers. Adrian Smith seems to have temporarily supplanted Steve Harris as the bands best writer here, particularly with the single “Wasted Years”. Unlike Judas Priest who disastrously tried to incorporate synths into their sound on that same year’s Turbo, Maiden chose to use the keyboards more for texture and atmosphere, still relying on guitar, bass, and drums. This is the first Maiden album I ever heard and for that reason it holds extra significance for me, but I don’t think Maiden ever embraced their guitar harmonies more fully. Smith and Murray are perfectly in sync here and they help to elevate often embarrassing choruses and lyrics with their stellar interplay.
Every metal head on the planet owns this album, has heard it about a 100 times, and recognizes that although it might not be Slayer’s best, it is certainly their most iconic and important. After a couple of under produced and primitive albums for Metal Blade the band signed with Rick Rubin’s new American record label where they finally matched their music to production values. The result is a heavy album with some meat to it. The drums are booming, and Dave Lombardo quickly earns his title as thrash metal’s best. Tom Arraya’s lyrics are brutal, and he seems determined to sing at the tempo of the music which only adds to the chaotic energy of the album. The whole thing is so short and fast that it doesn’t feel like there’s a wasted moment on here. The only songs over 3 and half minutes are “Angel of Death” and “Raining Blood” which you may recognize as quite possibly the two best metal songs ever written. The late Jeff Hanneman did the bulk of the writing here and it’s pure metal perfection. It’s easy to look past this album for heavier, faster, more brutal, etc. but no thrash band ever put it together quite this perfectly before and probably since.
Zappa’s best album is virtually inseparable from it’s follow up Apostrophe. More noticeably obscene than his previous albums, musically it is among his absolute best. With this cast of musicians, he somehow makes the ridiculous complexity sound simple, seriously can anybody play the riff to “Zombie Woof”?
I know some of you will feel butt hurt for me including this album but I stand by it. Arguably the best rap album of the ‘10s it doesn’t just moralize, it seems to offer actual solutions. Greatly underrated is Ryan Lewis contributions musically which perfectly compliment Mackelmore’s often heavy lyrics.
An insanely catchy collection of pop songs filtered through punk energy and attitude. Jackson’s complaints might seem slightly juvenile, but damn if they aren’t effective.
Among the many, many musical re-inventions that Bowie went through in the 70s, few could match his instrumental heavy Berlin period. Bowie hooked up with arguably the best in the business, Brian Eno to help craft some of the best music of either of their careers. Of the vocal tracks, it's hard to find a catchier song than "Sound and Vision".
I’ll admit I was very late to this party. Along with The Strokes, The Shins seemed to herald in the new era of indie rock. They channeled Pavement but with much more refinement and melody. James Mercer’s lyrics are moving beyond the need to be clever and opening up in a way that steered far clear of the whiny emo kids, quite the balancing act. “Caring is Creepy” opens the album and probably is the album’s finest moment, but that doesn’t mean every other track doesn’t hold it’s own. Musically this seems to be right at home in late 60s British rock, notably The Zombies and Kinks influence.
A remarkable leap forward from their debut, Black Sabbath set the standard for which metal would be measured for nearly 4 decades. The instrumental wanking was trimmed way down and the songs themselves are all essentials. “War Pigs” is nearly impossible not to sing along to, and pretty much every track can make a case for the album’s best song.
After the success of Something/Anything, Todd Rundgren went in an utterly bizarre and brilliant direction with his next album. He barely gives the listener a chance to catch his breath on the ADD inspired first side of the album. This is all over the place in only the most brilliant of ways.
Face to Face might be the first great Kinks album, but if you asked anyone what their favorite track might be they’d probably scratch their head and answer something like “all of them”. Something Else is well, something else. I may never really know what the hell a “Harry Rag” is but that doesn’t matter, this is vintage Kinks firing on all cylinders. This was the album where Dave Davies shined and contributed three songs including a rare single “Death of a Clown”. However the strength of this album is the opener “David Watts” and more importantly the closing number “Waterloo Sunset”. I’m not exaggerating when I say “Waterloo Sunset” is the best song Ray Davies ever wrote and easily the best Kinks song.
Joy Division’s second and final album is an eerie masterpiece. Listening to it posthumously you can feel the impending tragedy in the music. The second half of this album in particular is some of the most haunting music you’re likely to hear this side of Nirvana’s Unplugged.
This is easily one of the strangest “metal” albums ever made. Full of heavy guitars, pounding Hellhammer double-bass drumming, but with clean vocals and long piano driven instrumental passages. Even among Arcturus albums nothing sounds quite like this and if you’re not hooked by “Kinetic” then this album might be lost on you, but it’s more than worth seeking out.
This may seem an opportunity for me to start apologizing, but this album is just simply great. After two albums featuring catchy songs and some often embarrassing miscues, Avril came into her own here. The songs are among the catchiest pop-punk of the decade, and there doesn’t seem to be a serious note around. She seems well aware of the fact that she’s a princess and struts about the album flaunting that fact, all while unleashing a healthy amount of profanity. Pure juvenile bliss here, and a remarkably assured album haters be damned.
The third Police album was in many ways their best. Remarkably catchy, it showed Sting fully blossoming into a great songwriter. Always known for their hits, this album features the band’s best album tracks, particularly in “Man in a Suitcase” quite possibly the happiest sounding song about life on the road.
The last Simon and Garfunkel album was a near perfect sendoff. The opening title track became one of the most covered songs in the history of music, but no one can sing it quite like Art. The rest of the album shows Paul Simon stretching his writing abilities out quite a bit and setting the stage for his solo debut. “The Boxer” shows that they haven’t gotten too far from their roots and is one of the many highlights to be heard.
R.E.M.’s last independent album was a massive leap forward following the low-fi alt-rock of their first four albums. This might best be known as the album to contain their first real hits, but I’ll happily skip past those to get to “Finest Worksong” and “Lightnin’ Hopkins” which features some rare double bass.
This might seem like a low placement, but this album is everything there is to like about PJ Harvey. The opening title track is ominous and brilliant, and her surprise hit “Down By the Water” is a revelation. Her songwriting is far more adventurous and the production was light years above Dry and Rid of Me, a perfect place to start with her music.
Zep’s last album cleaned up the drugged out excess of Presence with a more focused and adventurous group of songs. John Paul Jones dominates the album and like every other Zeppelin album there isn’t a bad song on here. “All of My Love” might be Plant’s finest moment as a songwriter, and it’s fitting that the album would end with their most blues based song in years, “I’m Gonna Crawl”.
Tosin Abasi could very well be the most talented guitarist alive right now, and this album can more than back up that claim. This is metal in the loosest sense of the term, an all instrumental album that owes more to jazz than Sabbath. Plenty of odd timings, complicated arrangements, and often beautiful melodies. One of the best instrumental albums you’re likely to hear.
When most of the rap world was worried about Biggie and 2 Pac, The Fugees quietly made their case for best rap group of the decade. Their second and final album was a masterpiece from start to finish that showcases all of their talents, particularly of the soon to go solo and then crazy Lauryn Hill.
Peter Gabriel’s third self titled solo album at times sounds like a best of his first two. This is still artsy and experimental but with a stronger focus on songs than his first offerings. “I Don’t Remember” and “Games Without Frontiers” showed he could still write catchy music, even if it’s disturbingly sinister.
If it weren’t for years of being force fed rock radio, Back in Black might be AC/DC’s best album. I have to go with it’s predecessor, which also happened to be the last with Bon Scott. At times you can hear the man forecasting his own demise, particularly on the title track, but the rest is just the band doing what they do best. “Beating Around the Bush” is far and away my favorite song they ever recorded, and new producer Mutt Lange helped tighten up their wild sound.
Before he seemed to cultivate our hatred and ridicule, Kanye West was emerging as one of rap music’s top producers who was incredibly unproven as a rapper. Plenty of other top producers put out solo albums that bombed spectacularly, but Kanye stumbled upon a winning formula particularly with “Jesus Walks” and well he certainly seemed to save all his best beats for himself. Today this album almost feels like a greatest hits of the decade, and it seems odd to think there was a time when we didn’t know if this guy could hold his own for an entire album.
There are no less than three stellar, near-perfect albums from The Jam, but All Mod Cons gets the honor of representing the band here. Paul Weller channels his inner Ray Davies in evoking a very detailed segment of British life and backs up his “voice of a generation” lyrics with some irresistibly catchy songs. Perhaps it isn’t too surprising that he would cover “David Watts” here making the comparison more than obvious.
Outkast had already delivered two great albums, but Aquemeni was the album that brought them officially to the mainstream and saw their deep southern funk find it’s most fitting outlet. “Rosa Parks” is one of those songs I could never get sick of, and how is that possible with that harmonica breakdown? The rest of the tracks take their time unfolding and are as reliant on narratives and instrumental passages as their verbal gymnastics. It was on this album though that Big Boi finally caught up to his partner in rapping ability and their combined strengths are hard to top.
A drugged out ode to unrequited love, Eric Clapton formed his own band with former Delaney and Bonnie members and Duane Allman and proceeded to make the finest album of his career. Although his guitar playing is noticeably powerful here, his voice never sounded better.
After the commercial and artistic breakthrough of Talking Book, Stevie Wonder found himself getting more political and socially aware on Innervisions. “Higher Ground” is a worthy follow up to “Superstition”, but Stevie finds himself dabbling in Latin with “Don’t You Worry About a Thing” and elastic funk on “Too High”. This showed Wonder expanding his sound and consciousness, one of the all time greats hitting his stride.
The world needed The Darkness in 2003, and we still need them today. It’s easy to dismiss the band as silly throwback music, but Justin Hawkins incredible gifts as a songwriter/guitarist/vocalist made their debut one of the most indispensable albums of the decade. Combining their love of Thin Lizzy, AC/DC, Mott the Hoople, and Queen they took none of it seriously, but remained incredibly catchy. Who else could get a worldwide hit with a song about herpes?
After recruiting Bruce Dickenson with the previous year’s Number of the Beast, Iron Maiden added their last essential piece with new drummer Nicko McBrain for Piece of Mind. The classic lineup was in full force and songs like “The Trooper”, “Still Life”, and “Where Eagles Dare” showed the band growing by leaps and bounds. Start to finish this was noticeably stronger and more focused than any of their previous three albums and it was only the beginning of their peak.
It would seem after nearly thirty years of debate Dave Mustaine appears to have won the thrash metal wars. Megadeth never had a shredder quite as freakishly good as Chris Broderick and his talents are all over this album. Along the way Mustaine seems re-energized with some of his strongest songs in years, particularly the lead single “Head Crusher”. Mustaine is still obsessed with political and military corruption, but it becomes secondary when the songs are this fantastic.
Elvis Costello’s last album of the 70s was his third straight masterpiece. Nick Lowe’s influence was more noticeable this time around as the album has a much more polished pop sheen than his previous two albums, and also ends with a cover of Lowe’s “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding”. Costello the songwriter was far from running out of steam though as “Accidents Will Happen” and “Oliver’s Army” remain two of his all time best songs.
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