top __ albums

[B. Brian Brunzell 0]

I'm throwing out my picks now. Yay.

 

The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars-David Bowie

Louder than Love-Soundgarden

London Calling-The Clash

1999-Prince and the Revolution

Thriller-Michael Jackson

Master of Puppets-Metallica

Here Comes the Zoo-Local H

Undertow-TOOL

Love Gun-KISS

Southern Accents-Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Raising Hell-Run DMC

It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back-Public enemy

Ten-Pearl Jam

Purple-Stone Temple Pilots

[Guest LooseCannon]

This feels about right. Plenty of heretical moments and questionable choices for all to scratch their heads over and pick apart.

 

 

 

1. Pixies - Doolittle

2. Husker Du - Zen Arcade

3. Clinic - Internal Wrangler

4. Tom Waits - Swordfishtrombones

5. Bob Dylan - Blonde on Blonde

6. Fugazi - In on the Killtaker

7. The Beatles - Abbey Road

8. Radiohead - The Bends

9. Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation

10. NWA - Straight Outta Compton

11. Wu Tang Clan - Enter the 36 Chambers

12. Dr. Dre - The Chronic

13. Elvis Costello - This Year’s Model

14. Black Flag - Damaged

15. The Beatles - White Album

16. Beck - Odelay

17. The Who - Who’s Next

18. Portishead - Portishead

19. Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited

20. Guided By Voices - Alien Lanes

21. The Germs - GI

22. Fugazi - Repeater

23. Notorious BIG - Ready to Die

24. The Beatles - Revolver

25. Fugazi - Red Medicine

26. Radiohead - Ok Computer

27. Bad Religion - No Control

28. Bad Religion - Against the Grain

29. Guided By Voices - Bee Thousand

30. Bad Religion - Suffer

 

 

EDIT: I added and then removed 20 other picks which were ill-advised in hindisight.

[Guest Cheech13]

In no real order, my favorites:

 

Dark Side of the Moon - Pink Floyd

Abbey Road - Beatles

Rubber Soul - Beatles

Off The Wall - Michael Jackson

Some Girls - Rolling Stones

Paul's Boutique - Beastie Boys

Ready to Die - Notorious BIG

36 Chambers - Wu-Tang Clan

Aquemini - Outkast

Unplugged In New York - Nirvana

Led Zeppelin II - Led Zeppelin

Pretty Hate Machine - Nine Inch Nails

[Guest Agent of Oblivion]

Eh, might as well throw out some of my picks.

 

1. Black Sabbath-s/t

2. Black Sabbath-Paranoid

 

Easily the best two albums released back to back from any band I've ever heard. Those two albums made me interested in music.

 

3. Tool-Lateralus. My favorite album that's come out within the past few decades. I love it more every time I hear it. It manages to wander a lot, but still remain interesting to me.

 

4. Rush-Moving Pictures. Has so many awesome tracks on it, great musicianship as always.

 

5. Slayer-Reign in Blood. The first thing non-Sabbath that got me into metal.

[Guest Hogan Made Wrestling]

I won't order my favs, since I would probably give a different order 10 minutes from now:

 

Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti

Pink Floyd - Meddle

Black Sabbath - Vol. 4

Jeff Beck - Blow By Blow

Soundgarden - Down On The Upside

Radiohead - Amnesiac

Pink Floyd - Animals

Dr. Dre - The Chronic

Ozzy Osbourne - Ozzmosis

The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

 

many others of course.

 

I'll weigh in on the Dylan debate as best I can. I don't like him either. I don't hate him mind you, I simply don't find his music to be anything special. Granted, he is a great lyricist, but so are guys like Paul Simon, Paul McCartney and Roger Waters who have much better voices and/or compose better instrumental music. While Dylan's music might be appropriate for the songs, I don't find it particularly good. I also find his subject matter tiresome and outdated when listened to today, I don't find his songs timeless at all. I short, I think he's a good musician, and I respect his longevity, but I think he's overrated. But as one final note, I think "Time Out Of Mind" is a great album with it's more bluesy sound, probably Dylan's best IMO.

[Guest Agent of Oblivion]

Believe it or not, I don't like Dylan either.

[Guest Incandenza]

Well, given your metal leanings, it's acceptable. In my field, it is heresy.

[Guest Kibagami]

1. Suicide Machines, Destruction by Definition

2. The Pilfers, Chawalaleng

3. Catch-22, Kesaby Nights

4. Black Flag, Damaged

5. Counting Crows, August and Everything After

6. Nirvana, In Utero

7. The Pietasters, Turbo

8. Agent Orange, Living in Darkness

9. Bim Skala Bim, Krinkle

10. 7 Seconds, Scream Real Loud LIVE!

 

K.

[Guest ElectricRaccoon]

Man, Kinetic can always be counted on to like some good tunes. Although, he is hearing something in Elvis Costello that I’m not. This is my current top 20, subject to change.

 

Honorable Mention (which, I guess, is technically #21). Buckethead Giant Robot

 

20. Minutemen - Double Nickels on the Dime

19. The White Stripes - De Stijl

18. Primus - Frizzle Fry

17. Sloan - Smeared

16. They Might Be Giants - Apollo 18

15. Beck – Odelay

14. Neil Young – Harvest Moon

13. Rush – Permanent Waves

12. Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited

11. Ben Folds Five - The Unauthorized Biography of Rheinhold Messner

10. Neil Young - Harvest

9. Beck – One Foot in the Grave

8. The Beatles - Abbey Road

7. REM - Out of Time

6. Neil Young and Crazy Horse – Everybody Knows this is Nowhere

5. Leonard Cohen - New Skin for the Old Ceremony

4. Ben Folds Five - Ben Folds Five

3. Bob Dylan - Blood on the Tracks

2. Neil Young and Crazy Horse - Rust Never Sleeps

1. Beck – Mutations

[Guest ArkhamGlobe]

Ok, I've been thinking about this on and off for about a day and now I've got a top 25 (I'd probably list different albums if asked to do it again tomorrow):

 

The Kinks - Something Else by the Kinks

The Beatles - Revolver

The Beatles - Abbey Road

Neil Young - Tonight's the Night

Tom Waits - Rain Dogs

Talking Heads - Fear of Music

Bob Dylan - Blood on the Tracks

The Velvet Underground - The Velvet Underground and Nico

Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited

Talking Heads - Remain in Light

Roxy Music - For Your Pleasure

Bob Dylan - Blonde on Blonde

Pink Floyd - The Piper at the Gates of Dawn

The Who - Who's Next

The Beatles - The White Album

Pink Floyd - The Dark Side of the Moon

Neil Young - Freedom

The Clash - London Calling

Spiritualized - Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space

Radiohead - OK Computer

Neil Young - Ragged Glory

Pink Floyd - A Saucerful of Secrets

Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffitti

The Velvet Underground - White Light/White Heat

The Velvet Underground - s/t

 

I'm also a big fan of Prince, though never having heard an entire album makes it rather impossible to place him on the list. I'll probably be picking up Sign 'O the Times when I get some more money though.

[Guest Edwin MacPhisto]

I'm also a big fan of Prince, though never having heard an entire album makes it rather impossible to place him on the list. I'll probably be picking up Sign 'O the Times when I get some more money though.

Sign is a tough place to enter at because it's so long...but it's also absolutely amazing, so. Purple Rain is probably the most accessible right off the bat if that's what you're seeking.

[Guest AzkulKazul]

1) At The Gates - Slaughter Of The Soul

2) Theory In Practice - The Armageddon Theories

3) Behemoth - Satanica

4) Summoning - Stronghold

5) Limbonic Art - In Abhorrence Dementia

6) Edge Of Sanity - Crimson

7) Summoning - Dol Guldur

8) Root - Black Seal

9) Moonspell - Wolfheart

10) Samael - Passage

11) Theory In Practice - Colonizing The Sun

12) Symphony X - The Divine Wings Of Tragedy

13) Hollenthon - With Vilest Of Worms To Dwell

14) Vintersorg - Till Fjälls

15) Iron Maiden - Piece Of Mind

16) Summoning - Let Mortal Heroes Sing Your Fame

17) Arcturus - La Masquerade Infernale

18) Mutant - The Aeonic Majesty

19) Falkenbach - ...Magni Blandinn Ok Megintiri...

20) Dark Tranquillity - The Gallery

21) Carcass - Necroticism: Descanting The Insalubrious

22) Diabolical Masquerade - Death's Design

23) Windir - Arntor

24) Death - Symbolic

25) Amon Amarth - Once Sent From The Golden Hall

[Guest godthedog]

did i miss the meeting where it was decided that 'tonight's the night' is suddenly one of the greatest albums ever made? i've never even heard of it before, nobody makes any mention of it in my presence for the entire 20 years that i'm on this earth, and then it comes out of nowhere and appears on everybody's favorites list.

 

this is just like the pixies. up until about a year ago, i'd never heard of the pixies, and i have plenty of very musically educated friends. then i see some stuff on the board about them, i buy 'doolittle' & tell my friends about it, and they're all like "hell yeah, that's one of my favorite albums!" and i go "well shit, it must be since you always talk about it."

[Guest TheyCallMeMark]

1. Ten - Pearl Jam

 

In my mind, a perfect album. There is rocking out evenly mixed with heart-wrenching vocals. Vedder had a weird way with lyrics on this album, and if you read them it's not going to look very good. The way he presents it is what is special. Epic, sorrowful, angry and also hopeful he really scans every emotion in the book besides happiness and joy. This is also the very best album musically, with a bunch of places they let McCready rip. They really haven't done that since. The track's order is also 100% correct, weaving the rockers and ballads in perfect placement, each flowing into the next (unbeleiveably). The way they go so well from a hard song to a soft song is beyond me, but they did it. I also like the fact they used alot of reverb (in true metal fashion) whereas their guitars weren't as muddy, and very distinct in later albums. I liked this sort of sloppy sounding thing better.

 

2. Appetite For Destruction - Guns N' Roses

 

Rock-out perfection. What can I say. They took everything the Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, AC/DC and Van Halen had before them, taking the exact right elements of each and setting them up in an album that is in my opinion greater than the sum of it's predcessors work. They really made the ultimate stadium-rock band. Rolling Stones controversy, Aerosmith's vocal sense, AC/DC's rocking spirit and Van Halen's rip-ass soloing, doing everything one better than those bands had done (on this record). Though, in my mind, their other albums weren't so blow-away good, they hit the spot with Appetite.

 

3. Nevermind - Nirvana

 

Best pop album of all time, hands down. I've listened to the Beatles' hailed work (well, some of it) and I just do not see it standing up against Nevermind. Nevermind did more than just appeal to the teeny-bopper girlish masses. It appealed to everyone at once. In my mind, Cobain really shined here, using former pop bands (like the Beatles) styles, combining them with very non-mainstream sounds (like the Pixies) in a breeding that satisfied both sides of the equation. Alot of people say "Well, these two bands made Nirvana, and Nirvana ruled" so they then blow the moderate contributions of the emulated bands out of proportion, not realizing that (from my perspective anyway) Cobain did what neither aspect could do on their own; channel both sides while staying true to himself.

 

4. Californication - Red Hot Chili Peppers

 

Well, it's probably not popular opinon among music freaks, but I think Californication is the Chili Peppers best record. I hear alot of Blood, Sugar, Sex, Magik praise amongst music freaks, but as I seem to alot, I have to go against the grain and pick the more friendly of a band's releases. I just like listening to stuff that is well, easy to listen to. Californication is really easy to appreciate. Every song has something that I can attach myself to, and though it obviously gets weaker in the second half and has a song I don't like ("Porcelin"), the positives outweigh the negatives. Fruciante and Flea really have a thing going. They keep the musical level high, even though it would be easy to sit in the backround and let Anthony carry them (which they do a bit on By The Way).

 

5. Colma - Buckethead

 

It's all instrumentals, but something about it just grips me. At first I said "Why did I buy this?" but after listening to it alot, I've come to realize how brilliant the playing is. It seems sparse, at first, but that's because you really can't passively listen to the music and fully appreciate it. You have to LISTEN to it, and when you do, Buckethead takes you on a journy of lifetime. It's hard to beleive someone could do what he does with a guitar.

 

6. Dirt - Alice In Chains

 

Just a good metal album. Cantrell just wrote some good metal songs, good metal solos and then Layne Staley absolutely took it to the next level, using his voice to really bring a texture that wasn't common. The emotion in his voice also was a bit off track for a metal band, and it really made AIC sound unique. Such a different sound they actually had trouble marketing themselves as metal. Every song on this album kicks ass. I just love it.

 

7. Surfing With The Alien - Joe Satriani

 

Satriani shreds. Then he shreds some more. Then he takes a quick break and starts shredding again. I honestly don't know how you get this good at the guitar. As far as I'm concerned, when this was released, it brought fretboard wizardry to a peak since touched on only once or twice. It just kills me every time I listen to it. Every time I hear the "Surfing With The Alien" riff I just start freakin' out.

 

8. Metallica - Metallica

 

Take that, Laz. Metallica's second effort at making a mainstream rock album, in my opinion their best effort overall. Hell, every track is great. It's heart-warming to listen to the whole Metallica library in order and here them mature bringing metal to it's limits. Sure, there are a couple give-or-take tracks, but nothing offensive. Besides, such hard rock classics as "Enter Sandman", "Sad But True", "Wherever I May Roam" and "Through The Never" make it hard to deny this masterpiece from the top ten spot. I gaurantee this album is the number one reason most people play guitar.

 

9. Portrait Of An American Family - Marylin Manson

 

Let me defend myself in advance. I am not a fan of anything else Manson has done. I hate all of it, and realize it's trite nu-metal garbage. But this was just something else. He had a different guitarist, a different bassist and boy they could really play. The awesome layered rhythms and beats (and loops) are easily overlooked; but these guys wrote some damned good songs. They always get overshadowed, though, by Manson's lyrical contributions, understandably. He really did something good with his voice on this record. He sounds more "real" than his wimpy hisses and moans to come later. When he's belting it out; there is something very human about it. It wasn't overproduced, so it really appeals to me in that aspect. They didn't really tamper with the guitar or vocals too much in the studio which really helps the album out. Speaking of the vocals, can I just say that Manson wrote lyrics that I don't think I'll ever hear rivaled. Offensive, crude, metaphorical and catchy.

 

10. Weezer - Weezer

 

Second best pop album ever, from where I sit. "Say It Ain't So", "Buddy Holly" and all the rest of the songs are just great. I love the hooky riffs and the lyrics (which are as silly as possible without being on Seasme Street). I take this album over Pinkerton because (mainly) that Pinkerton, while still being an great disc, doesn't have as many powerhouse tracks as the first. Not much more I can say.

 

After the top ten it all starts being Pink Floyd, AC/DC, Aerosmith, Santana, Hendrix and the other obvious greats. It gets very, very hard to distinguish which album is better than the other, so I think I'll quit. Let me just say, that in the top twenty five, the most recent album might end up being Toxicity - System Of A Down, though I can't say for sure. Maybe Soundgarden, STP or something else, also. Just hard to decide.

[Guest Kinetic]

I actually read about Tonight's The Night on 411's music page and it sounded interesting, so I bought it. It helps to be a fan of Neil Young's previous work, because it's sort of the culmination of all that done with the recent deaths of a bandmate and a roadie as the backdrop. After having listened to it for a few months, I'm genuinely surprised that it isn't held in higher regard in music circles, as well as in Neil Young's catalogue. It's just ridiculously good.

[Guest Incandenza]

Bod Dylan is staring at me from the cover of the just purchased Blonde on Blonde. His expression is one of smug contempt. It's almost as if he's daring me to not like this record.

[Guest Kinetic]

I'll buy that Tom Waits album once I feel it's safe to drive that far and have the electricity required to listen to it.

[Guest Incandenza]

I was reading in the newspaper about the shitty weather you guys are having. We don't get too many ice storms 'round these parts.

[Guest goodhelmet]

ok, i'm a neil young fan and i know the debate has been raging. well, i am here to assert that tonight's the night is NOT one of the best albums ever made. hell, it's not even one of neil young' better albums, but like with every single comment on here, it's just my opinion.

 

some notable neil young albums to grab...

 

Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere

After the Gold Rush

Rust Never Sleeps

[Guest Kinetic]

It's definitely better than Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere. That album, while good, can be a little difficult to listen to with the never-ending guitar freakouts on "Down By The River" and "Cowgirl In The Sand." After The Gold Rush is an excellent and nearly flawless album, but I simply like the songs on Tonight's The Night better.

[Guest Incandenza]

::clears throat::

 

So, yeah, Blonde on Blonde is good.

[Guest godthedog]

::clears throat::

 

So, yeah, Blonde on Blonde is good.

and the heavens did rejoice and the angel kinetic did receive his wings.

[Guest Kinetic]

That's right. I hope everyone learned a valuable lesson from this little episode.

 

I've purchased a copy of Tom Waits' Swordfishtrombones and am currently in the process of getting through it. It seems good.

[Guest Incandenza]

For those playing along at home, the best Blonde on Blonde tracks are "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35," "I Want You," "Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again," and "Sad-eyed Lady of the Lowlands." The weakest is "Just Like a Woman," which is still pretty good.

[Guest Kinetic]

I'd say that's about right, but with either "Pledging My Time" or "Obviously 5 Believers" as the worst track and "One Of Us Must Know," "Visions of Johanna," and "4th Time Around" ranking somewhere amongst the best tracks.

[Guest Incandenza]

I really like "Pledging My Time." I'll add "Leopard-skin Pill-box Hat" to the weak list. It's agreeably pleasant filler, but filler nonetheless.

[Guest Kinetic]

True. It's kind of humorous, but that's not enough to save it from being filler. It's kind of depressing to think that a motorcycle accident so shook Dylan shortly after that album's release that he's only recorded a few albums half that good since.

[B. Brian Brunzell 0]

I still actually prefer Highway 61 Revisited to Blonde On Blonde.

[Guest converge241]

ok in order as much as i could get it

(with much internal arguing)

50. The Haunted

49. Danzig II

48. Clutch

47. Liberate - Zao

46. 5 Leaves Left - Nick drake

45. facelift - Alice In Chains

44. With Sympathy- Ministry

43. Korn

42. amongst the catacombs - Nile

41. Dog eat Dog - Warrant

40. Electronic

39. Music - 311

38. Mad Season

37. Stigma - EMF

36. Bloody kisses - Type O Negative

35. 2nd toughest of the infants- underworld

34. King for a day - Faith No More

33. Repeater - Fugazi

32. Mechanical resonance - tesla

31.the Menace - Elastica

30.Ten - Pearl Jam

29. Slang - Def Leppard

28. Lost Souls - the Doves

27. Whitesnake

26. Garbage

25. Cowboys From Hell - Pantera

24. Full Collapse - Thursday

23. Infernal Love - Therapy?

22. Animals - Pink Floyd

21. Led Zepplin I

20. River Runs Red - Life Of Agony

19. Crimson Idol - WASP

18. Shout at the Devil - Motley crue

17. Dos Dedos Mis Amigos - Pop Will Eat Itself

16. Around The Fur- deftones

15. Angel dust - Faith No More

14. OK Computer- Radiohead

13. Master Of Puppets - Metallica

12. Kid A - radiohead

11. Dummy - portishead

10. Disintegration - Cure

9.Rid of Me - PJ HArvey

8. Endtroducing _ DJ Shadow

7. Appetite- Guns N Roses

6. Pretty Hate Machine - Nine Inch Nails

5. Blues For The Red Sun - Kyuss

4. The Bends - Radiohead

3. Gentlemen- Afghan Whigs

2. Pornography- The Cure

1. Operation: Mindcrime - Queensryche

[Guest saturnmark4life]

i CANNOT choose my favourite album ever, but these are the ones i need to listen to every week to stay sane, more or less.

 

Andrew WK - I Get Wet

 

my obsession has reached unhealthy levels now, but i honestly don't care. Maybe it's because 99.9% of everyone i meet hates him. It fuels me in a petty, confrontational way. And I owe it all to this record. I LOVE THIS FUCKER SO MUCH. I don't mind admitting that the title track once moved me near to tears. Yeah, i had been getting stoned all day, but it was a special moment.

 

Melvins - STAG

 

this is, in my mind, a nigh on perfect album. The most varied record i have ever heard, and it all works. Everything that is good about the melvins is here, the heaviest, sludgiest riffs known to man, the ambient soundscapes, the sounds equivalent to being ground face first across a road of sandpaper taped to the floor of a cruising truck, it's all here. And more. A true testament to the band's talents, and a great introduction.

 

The Smiths - Everything The Smiths Have Ever Done Apart From Golden Lights And They Didn't Write It Anyway

 

I can't pick one album over the others and stick with it, i've met people who side with each one and i agree with all of them, so i have to say the whole back catalogue. It helps i got them all for £5 each. The Smiths are the greatest band ever. Morrissey's voice and lyrics just, effect me somehow, like no one else can. Of course, there's a fair case for him being satan himself, so that might be where the power comes from. And Marr is one of the most important guitarists ever. I still remember being hooked the very second i heard the opening riff to 'this charming man' on a music show and i haven't looked back. I still hope to god i can see mozza's live show sometime soon.

 

Frank Black and the Catholics - Black Letter Days

 

this is my album of the year. The most underrated artist out there as far as i'm concerned, with his solo stuff being invariably compared to the pixies, and never appreciated as free standing work. It's a different style of music, and if you listen to all his solo stuff you can tell he's evolving STILL, with the brand of country-rock-but-better he established with the also genius Dog in The Sand being showcased in a variety of ways, with the ROCKING jam '1826' through to mellow numbers like 'the farewell bend'. Oh and there's two versions of Tom Waits' 'the black rider' to start and finish. Oh and he's the best gig i have ever been to in my life, ever. I still think he stopped time for a while, playing about 10,000 songs from his solo catalogue and plenty of SWANK pixies stuff (gouge away live is godlike, trust me). If you can find this album (i dunno if it's out in the US) I cannot recommend it enough.

 

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