Daft Punk reclaimed their rightful place as the kings of modern dance music with their best album in a dozen years. Fully embracing the disco they so love and featuring a who's who of guest vocalists, a near perfect album.
It didn’t take long for George Michael to emerge from Wham as something of a white Prince. Writing, producing, and playing on nearly every track, Faith was a hit machine that made Michael an international superstar.
A concept album about Moby Dick set to some of the most over the top drumming this side of Terry Bozzio. This was Mastodon’s first great album and established them as a major and unique force in metal.
I’m not as big of a Madonna expert as other former band members, but it’s hard to find fault with Like a Prayer. The title track is on the short list of her best songs, and nearly everything else was single worthy.
Pete Townsend sure loved his concept albums, and in my opinion Quadrophenia was the strongest of the bunch. “Love Reign O’er Me” is probably the best thing Townsend ever wrote, and the accompanying film might actually be superior.
In 2008 Vampire Weekend emerged as a bunch of nerds obsessed with sounding like Paul Simon’s Graceland. Their third album features some of their most mature music to date, and in my opinion their best.
The most iconic album from the very iconic Marc Bolan and company, Electric Warrior is all you need to know about British glam rock in the early 70s.
The last great Stones album was ironically enough put together with mostly outtakes. “Slave”, “Hang Fire”, and of course “Waiting on a Friend” let people know that the Stones were going to be great for another decade.
REM’s second album is superior in almost every way to their first, with the exception of that old historical impact part. “Harborcoat” is possibly the catchiest song they ever wrote, and the rest of the album follows suit with near perfect jangle pop.
Before punk was a thing, a bunch of loud would be revolutionaries kicked rock music right in the dick. After failing to capture the energy of their live show in the studio someone had the bright idea of just recording it live, and there you have my lists only live album.
Described as the album where PJ Harvey inexplicably got happy, Stories from the City might remain her most accessible. Influenced by her stay in New York, this is about as commercial as her music can get and even features a rather excellent duet with Radiohead’s Thom Yorke.
Easily the best metal album to come out of Brazil, Sepultura emerged as distinct and powerful voices on Chaos A.D. “Refuse/Resist” helped open a world to metal’s future and a well needed breath of fresh air when most of their contemporaries were gradually getting softer for the radio.
This is where it all started kids. This is the album that launched a revolution in underground metal and still stands as Metallica’s fiercest and thrash happy album. Kill ‘em All is about as historically significant as a metal album can be.
437. Sigur Ros - ()
How does an Icelandic shoegazing/ambient group that sings in its own made up language get weirder you ask? By making their album untitled, and not naming any of their songs while they’re at it. Simultaneously mellow and grandiose, this is the perfect blend of whatever the hell Sigur Ros was doing.
Hot off his breakthrough with Black Star, Mos Def emerged in 1999 poised to be the next big thing in hip hop. He delivered big time with Black on Both Sides, an album that seems to combine all the best elements of Black Star, The Roots, and the Native Tongue movement of a decade before.
It’s hard to call Lyle Lovett country music, but his second album meets that definition in the loosest sense of the term. Expanding the groundwork from his debut, Lovett stretches into whatever musical style suits his mood and pulls it all off with that strange idiosyncratic charm of his.
When you hire Brian Eno to produce your album and already have aspirations to be the next U2, you had better deliver. Coldplay’s fourth album did just that with guitar driven pop rock ready made for arenas.
433. De La Soul - 3 Feet High and Rising
The daisy age was born with De La Soul’s first album, a rather unique and radio friendly alternative to commercial rap music at the time. For better or worse this is the album that gave birth to the rap “skit”, but also delivered two of the all time greatest rap classics with “Me, Myself, and I” and “The Magic Number”.
The best remembered album from ska’s second wave in the late 70s and early 80s, Just Can’t Stop It was something of an institution in music. Roughly half the album featured charting singles in England and they went on to influence nearly every band from The Police to The Mighty Mighty Bosstones.
It’s odd that a metal band will steadily produce albums for 13 years before inexplicably knocking one out of the park like Testament did with The Gathering. Former Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo was recruited and he makes his pummeling presence felt immediately on “D.N.R.” and “Legions of the Dead”, easily the two best songs Testament ever recorded.
You wouldn’t expect a band’s 4th album in less than two years to be this absolutely stacked with hits, but such was the power of John Fogerty and company in 1970. Over half this album has become classic rock radio staples.
The world’s a better place for having Feist as a solo artist. Her would-be debut album is some of the best alt-pop of the decade, recorded in Paris during 2002-2003. It’s worth the price of admission for her cover of the Bee Gee’s “Inside and Out”.
Mike Skinner might have become the best new thing in hip hop with Original Pirate Material but it didn’t take long for me to think his follow up was the superior album. A concept album that follows the loss of 1,000 pounds, a relationship beginning and ending, and nearly any other mundane activity that crosses his mind. Impressively compelling regardless of the subject matter.
A near perfect follow up to a near perfect debut, Skynyrd’s second album features no shortage of classics, including the ludicrously overplayed “Sweet Home Alabama”. Ronnie Van Zandt continued his development as a truly gifted songwriter and this album cemented Skynyrd as the best southern rock band around.
Critics and even quite a few fans were never too kind to Ozzmosis, but I hope to help change that. Zakk Wylde delivers some of his best riffage and shredding of his career, while the Ozzman isn’t afraid to embrace his slightly softer side. Along the way he reunited with Geezer Butler, and found time to collaborate with Steve Vai, the last Ozzy album worth listening to and damn near the best.
It’s been said that Buddy Holly was the single most creative and influential force in early rock and roll. While that may be debated, there is little arguing the songs contained on his debut album aren’t among the all time greats. This has nearly everything you could want from Buddy Holly and early rock and roll in general.
Yet again I flipped a coin for which album to represent an artist, but you could hardly go wrong with Tea for the Tillerman or Teaser and the Firecat. Cat Stevens might have gotten increasingly bizarre and religious over the years but this is just a wonderful mix of folk and baroque pop.
Paul Simon’s first official solo album quickly demonstrated that he hadn’t even begun to stretch his wings creatively. Remarkably upbeat, it established quite quickly that he would do just fine without Mr. Garfunkel.
Despite the assist from Bob Dylan, it was pretty evident on The Band’s first album that they had a sound unlike anyone in music. With bizarre three part harmonies, and a musical palette that could only be described as eclectic they came out of the gate swinging.
Sorry to say this album is probably better known today as a t-shirt than the startling work of musical genius it is. Ian Curtis and company cranked up the gloom and emerged as spokespeople for the disenchanted youth.
I’ve largely fought against this album throughout the years, considering it very top heavy with hits and a bit long in the tooth. The more I put it on the more every non-hit seems to emerge as a classic. Elton and Bernie were in fine form and showed no signs of slowing down even after an absurd contract calling for two albums a year.
The 90s were a great time for hype, and few artists came around with as much as Missy “Misdemeanor" Elliot. Her brilliant blend of hip hop and r & b backed by one of a kind Timbaland beats were a hard combo to top. In this case the hype was justified and more than rewarded on later releases.
Mutt Lange turned Def Leppard from British New Wave of Heavy Metal afterthoughts to the biggest and most polished band in the land. Hair metal by the loosest definition, they employed some of the sleekest and most memorable hook-heavy music of the decade all while often utilizing 4 part background harmonies.
After the uneven and overlong Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence Dream Theater was back with a set of tight and excellent songs on what would ultimately turn out to be their last great album.
After a few years of being the world’s best background vocalist Emmylou Harris finally had her own album of brilliant introspective country pop. Her cover of “For No One” might just be one of the only to improve upon the original, but for my money the best song remains “If I Could Only Win Your Heart”.
I’m not entirely sure I “get” Sonic Youth, but I do love this album at least. An opus of dissonance, odd timings, and experimentation that somehow found itself into cohesive songs. It also has one of the most oddly satisfying album covers to boot.
At one point in time I though this was the best electronica album there is. It may have been topped, but it still hits all the right notes for me.
The PBBB might win the award for favorite band I forget I like. Their first two albums are both classics in electric blues, and helped restore some of the glory to Chicago where it belongs. Their second album helped expand their sound a bit and finds a perfect mix of staying true to their sound while trying new things.
The King’s first album might not have been his best, but it’s hard to find a better rock and roll album from the 50s. Quite a few of the songs that made Elvis a legend appear in slightly more polished versions than his original Sun Recordings.
The Stone Roses ignited something of a musical revolution with their unassuming brand of hook heavy yet hazy guitar pop. They set the stage for a number of dance friendly, drug influenced bands in their wake, but their debut is still the standard by which all others are measured.
Recorded over the span of 3+ years, Funcrusher Plus is THE underground hip-hop album. Backed by sparse and often abstract beats, Big Jus and El-P elevated the art of rhyming to levels that still haven’t been matched since. An absolute essential for anyone whose interested in the art of rap.
After the massive breakthrough of British Steel, Judas Priest took one small step back before making a triumphant leap forward. Screaming for Vengeance is easily the best album of the Dave Holland era, and “Electric Eye” is their best album opener this side of “Painkiller”.
After solidifying their lineup on No Exit, Fates Warning cleaned up their production and embraced prog-metal full force. This was one of those albums that proved to be a huge unconscious influence on my own writing, and few drummers have ever been as fascinating to listen to as Mark Zonder.
Speaking of amazing drummers, Richard Christie wasted little time in establishing his presence on what would turn out to be the final Death album. Musically, Chuck Schuldiner never stopped developing, and arguably reached his peak in songwriting with this album. If you can get past the slightly absurd vocals then this album is infinitely rewarding.
A very bold choice of an album name, but Chan Marshall more than delivers with this album. Comprised almost entirely of piano driven ballads it’s my kind of singer/songwriter album.
It may have taken me far too long to check it out (hence it’s relatively low placement), but Bjork’s second official solo album far eclipses her first. She’s still in a world all her own, but she seems hell bent and determined to try whatever style of music suits her.
After two solid throw-back soul albums, Chicago’s favorite Northside band updated their sound and stopped trying to blatantly imitate others. Howl delivered on the promise this band always had live, and I could listen to “Married for a Week” and “Before You Die” on repeat for the remainder of my days.
403. Dr. Octagon - Dr. Octagonecologyst
Kool Keith’s most famous alter ego (and there were lots of them), was one of the most truly bizarre rap albums to emerge from hip-hop's underground in the 90s. Dr. Octagon was somehow a lesbian gynecologist space alien who might have been “Half shark alligator-half man”. Dan the Automator’s beats perfectly compliment the bizarreness of Keith’s rhymes.
The Byrds’ second album picked up exactly where their debut left off. One of many versions of “America’s Beatles” the Byrds largely delivered on that early promise. At the very least the title track served as the theme song to an entire decade.
After John Cale’s departure from The Velvet Underground, Lou Reed steered the band in a much quieter direction for their self titled album. Gone are the loud feedback exercises, and in it’s place are somber, introspective songs that showed a yet unknown side of Reed and his short lived brilliant band.
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