I have been listening to a lot of music in my travels lately. It got me to thinking about the great albums of the past 25 years. Best written, performed and produced. The "Sgt Peppers" or Pet Sounds. If I had to pick 3, for me it would be:
Blood Sugar Sex Magik - cover to cover a masterpiece. Their writing and playing were on point and Rick Rubin did an unbelievable job producing. The depth inside the music is unreal. Mouth forks, trash cans, toy pianos.
OK Computer - rarely does am album come out that sounds like nothing before it and be almost perfect. The guitars on this album are among the best. Songwriting was amazing and it's a very passionate album.
Black Messiah - D'Angelo. This album, to me, is a generational album. In my top 5 of all time. The funk of Sly, soul of James and his own darkness. Every song has great blending of genres. Hell, one song has steel pedal twang in it. This album doesn't get its due because the music industry sucks , but 20 years from now this will be considered one of the most influential albums of all time.
Quote:
Interesting. I prefer Pinkerton.
Also a Pinkerton guy. However, without Blue, there would be no Pinkerton.
Here's one I don't get back to enough, but it's one of those albums where I never need to skip a single song.
Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
MGMT - Oracular Spectacular
Brian Jonestown Massacre - Bravery, Repetition, and Noise
Beta Band - The Three E.P.'s
The National - Trouble Will Find Me
Beck - Sea Change
Band of Horses - Everything All the Time
Beach House - Bloom
Explosions in the Sky - The Earth is Not a Cold Dead Place
Neil Young - Mirror Ball
REM - Monster
Soundgarden - Superunknown
Beck: Guerro (Tough choice between Midnight Vultures and this one, but I'm going Guerro).
The White Stripes: Get Behind Me Satan (IMO, Jack White's best work, a bridge to what was to come later in his solo career. Hard to believe this was made by just two people, really just one minus the drums, as it has so many instruments played by White that drive the songs. The music pours out of him and you focus on the rif and not the instrument. You often forget whether you're listening to piano, bass, guitar, etc...)
Honorable Mention The Raconteurs: Consolers of the Lonely (A supergroup of sorts, Jack White can just shine musically without being front and center, but the rest of the band more than holds it's own. I'm anxiously awaiting another album from these guys. Hope it happens eventually).
All fantastic albums from beginning to end, the kind you can put on and just listen straight through.
Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
MGMT - Oracular Spectacular
Brian Jonestown Massacre - Bravery, Repetition, and Noise
Beta Band - The Three E.P.'s
The National - Trouble Will Find Me
Beck - Sea Change
Band of Horses - Everything All the Time
Beach House - Bloom
Explosions in the Sky - The Earth is Not a Cold Dead Place
Neil Young - Mirror Ball
REM - Monster
Soundgarden - Superunknown
To each his own, but I can't believe I'm seeing Monster as a top album. It's widely panned by fans of REM as their worst album of all time. I remember back when there were CD Trade-In Centers all over that just a couple years after its release, there were always several copies of Monster available. What do you like about it aside from Kenneth?
B.A.D II (Big Audio Dynamite) (Mick Jones) The Globe:
Built to Spill - Keep it Like a Secret:
Dinosaur Jr, Where you been:
Jesus and Mary Chain Honey's Dead
Lemonheads - It's a Shame About Ray
Misfits - American Psycho (older stuff is better but doesn't meet the 25 years)
Pavement, Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain
Rancid ...And out come the wolves
that's all for now...
Adele- 21
Amy Winehouse- Back to Black
Ray Charles- Genius Loves Company
John Legend- Get Lifted
Daft Punk - Discovery, Random Access Memories
Eminem- Marshall Mathers LP
Chris Stapleton- Traveller
Hamilton- Original Broadway Soundtrack
Lauryn Hill- Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
Alanis Morisette- Jagged Little Pill
Dave Matthews Band- Before These Crowded Streets, Big Whiskey and the Groo Grux King
Radiohead- OK Computer, Kid A
The Strokes- Is This It?
U2- All That You Can't Leave Behind
Hey, thanks for the reply. Different strokes! I have sort of a random favorite REM song..."Green Grow the Rushes" from Fables of the Reconstruction. Love my REM channel on Pandora.
Quote:
Yeah I know that album want to popular with some of the fan base, but I thought it took balls to change their sound up that much, and IMO they pulled it off. I like the entire album; Crush With Eyeliner is probably my favorite REM tune.
Hey, thanks for the reply. Different strokes! I have sort of a random favorite REM song..."Green Grow the Rushes" from Fables of the Reconstruction. Love my REM channel on Pandora.
Superman is my favorite REM song, they had a strange history. started out as alternative rock pioneers and changed their sound quite a bit.
Great call, I thought it was older than 25 years. It's not, I thought it came out in 89/90.
I'd also add,
Arcade Fire has hands down my favorite albums in my lifetime
Arcade Fire - Funeral
Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
Arcade Fire - Reflektor
And my #2 is LCD SoundSystem's albums
Self Titled Debut
Sound of Silver
This is Happening
Also heres a few others
Darkside - Pyschic
Modest Mouse -The Moon and Antarctica
Tame Impala -Currents (first two albums also really good)
M83 - Saturdays = Youth (Earlier albums also really good and Hurry Up We're Dreaming is also a masterpiece)
Gary Clarke Jr - Blak and Blu
Arctic Monkeys: Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not.
What's the Story Morning Glory? - Oasis
OK Computer - Radiohead
The Marshall Mathers LP - Eminem
In Utero (or Nevermind or both) - Nirvana
War Stories - UNKLE
Ten - Pearl Jam
It's Blitz - Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs
The Chronic - Dr. Dre
Is This It - The Strokes
The Downward Spiral - Nine Inch Nails
Quote:
In comment 13046883 Go Terps said:
Quote:
Yeah I know that album want to popular with some of the fan base, but I thought it took balls to change their sound up that much, and IMO they pulled it off. I like the entire album; Crush With Eyeliner is probably my favorite REM tune.
Hey, thanks for the reply. Different strokes! I have sort of a random favorite REM song..."Green Grow the Rushes" from Fables of the Reconstruction. Love my REM channel on Pandora.
Superman is my favorite REM song, they had a strange history. started out as alternative rock pioneers and changed their sound quite a bit.
REM is 3 different bands. Early, popular (document through Monster) and later.
I have a great appreciation for the later albums. I rediscovered Reveal this year. Gorgeous album. Very Beach Boysesque. Summer Turns To High is a masterpiece.
Up is a wonderful album as well. At My Most Beautiful was our wedding song. I think they went out on top.
It's funny, until Up I felt Life's Rich Pageant would never be topped.
Helmet, Meantime
The Jesus Lizard, Goat and Shot. Shot doesn't get the critical love that Goat did but it's a personal favorite.
Sonic Youth, Dirty
Fugazi, The Argument and In on the Killtaker
Alice in Chains, Dirt
NIN, Broken....no, it's not a full length album and The Downward Spiral is the one everyone loves. I disagree. Broken is eight songs of utter brutality and rage. Love it.
Morphine, Cure for Pain
Soundgarden, Badmotorfinger
Megadeth, Countdown to Extinction
The White Stripes, Elephant
Ministry, Psalm 69
Jawbox, For Your Own Special Sweetheart
Everclear, Sparkle and Fade....highly underrated. Most people only remember Santa Monica, but there are no bad songs on this album.]
Johnny Cash, American Recordings
Tool, Undertow
Butthole Surfers, Independent Worm Saloon
Primus, Pork Soda
Soup is great. My sleepers in the 90s were:
Soup
Amorica
Northern Soul - The Verve
I wore those out
The only thing about the Black Messiah album is that it is so complex that sometimes it can be an overwhelming listen, if that makes sense.
Margot and the Nuclear So and So's - Dust of Retreat
The only thing about the Black Messiah album is that it is so complex that sometimes it can be an overwhelming listen, if that makes sense.
I don't hear that, but I get it. When I put on Black Messiah I get taken in right away. I actually feel like I'm IN the album. I get the complex thing. I get that with Zappa at times.
Some of my other favorites:
Animal Collective - Feels
Panda Bear - Person Pitch
Sigur Rós - Ágætis byrjun
Jason Isbell - Southeastern
Jayhawks - Hollywood Town Hall
Ryan Bingham - Mescalito
Dave Alvin - King of California
Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Jason Isbell - Southeastern
Jayhawks - Hollywood Town Hall
Ryan Bingham - Mescalito
Dave Alvin - King of California
Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
No Jacksonville City Nights?? Psht.
Good call on all of them except Dave Alvin...I've never heard that. I will check it out.
Jason Boland
and it could be any of the couple albums before this one too.
You'll swear this album was recorded in a garage in 1970. An amazing slice of fuzzy stoner rock. That lineup could only keep it together for one album and an ep but GD was it good. I wish more people knew about this band
Proper, Poet, and the Pig - ( New Window )
Plymouth Voyager.
and it could be any of the couple albums before this one too.
That was their radio friendly turn but IMO it doesn't get any better than Thickfreakness with Rubber a Factory a close second
Quote:
Black Keys El Camino
and it could be any of the couple albums before this one too.
That was their radio friendly turn but IMO it doesn't get any better than Thickfreakness with Rubber a Factory a close second
I wouldn't argue that one bit.....for me I was late to the Black Keys party and because of the radio friendly release i dug up their other stuff and loved it. But that's what makes it iconic IMO even if not "better".
I like their ska stuff better.
Journey to the End of the East Bay is their best song.
I like Let's Go too, it's how I heard them initially - Salvation was worn out on my CD player, but I like even Indestructible better than Let's Go.
From Indestructible Born Frustrated is great.
I like them all. Radio was written by the guy from Green Day I think. Or he co-wrote it. He almost joined Rancid before having the success with Green Day. Would have been a very different world, I like Rancid a lot, but Billie Joe just might have had a cool impact on Rancid - and I'm not a Green Day fan though I liked their first couple albums.
Lateralus - Tool
40 oz To Freedom - Sublime
Oh Inverted World / Chutes Too Narrow - The Shins
Smoke em if you got em / The Full Custom Gospel Sounds - Reverend Horton Heat
Anchor Drops - Umphreys McGee
Bird in a House - Railroad Earth
Too Far To Care - Old 97's (honorable mention to Most Messed Up by Old 97's)
D - White Denim
Desaguou - Andre Sampaio
Highway Companion - Tom Petty
Shame Shame - Dr. Dog
Things We Do - Indigenous (album release was 1998 but I couldn't help myself. the song Holdin' Out is a great place to start with this very talented electric blues band)