Under_The_Mayo
Master of Quanculations
It's Thursday night, there's nothing to do until GBS. So here are my TOP 15 albums, and why. I'm not saying they're the greatest, those a couple of them surely are. You'll ask "where are the classics from earlier decades or other genres?" Well, this is a personal favorites list! Albums that speak to me. Everything listed here comes with the highest recommendation, especially if starred (***)!
This is not in any particular order. Only one rule: No repeating artists, or half the list would be from 2 bands. I hope you discover some new favorites here! And please contribute with your own lists. Try to keep this thing alive. I really wanna see what people love the most.
1. The Fragile --- Nine Inch Nails (1999)
While this list isn't in any order, I did put this one first because it's my favorite. In 16 years I have never heard a better album. Every song is sonically and tonally different. An album created in total isolation and artist freedom, projecting soul-crushing rage and anguish not just in the words, but in every beautifully crafted tone of guitar drums and synth. If you're new to NIN, you should listen to The Downward Spiral first. It is ONLY with a developed ear for Trent Reznor's sound that you can fully appreciate the genius that is The Fragile.
Can't stand to listen to their first two albums, even after calling this a favorite. Fairly musically simple, but so expressive and well produced that it'll shake you to your bones. It's said that this record was created after frontman Jesse Lacey suffered severe issues with depression, and you can feel it. Also lyrically brilliant, this record is haunting from the first moment as he speaks "I've been losing all my friends to drinking and to driving."
Possibly the most solid debut album ever released, at least in the 2000's. Maynard from Tool singing for Billy Howerdel's studio-created band. Expertly produced and written. It's lean, it's rich, and it's a one of a kind creation. It also rocks.
Again, hard to pick between SH2 3 and 4. I'm going with SH3 because of the darker tone in drum programming and atmospheres. The first Silent Hill OST to feature vocalist Mary Elizabeth McGlynn. Akira Yamaoka's music and sound design is just as beloved as the games they are featured in. You can spin this record a thousand times and never get tired of it.
A band that, in my opinion, joins the ranks of Taking Back Sunday, Brand New, and BMTH, that started off unimpressive and restricted by their genre, eventually breaking out and proving themselves solid songwriters as everyone else from their genre died. After finding their dynamic talents for alternative pop, this originally post-hardcore band eventually released a 4-part "concept" album that boldly experiments with industrial metal, ambient trance, country, and basically anything they want. A truly unique record that, while not connecting to me so much emotionally, will forever impress due to the musical ambition.
A band that was regularly, and rightfully, booed off the stage in their begining days as a chaotic teenage deathcore band, eventually disowning their own successful debut record. As they matured, you can hear their songwriting do the same. This album has imaginative and groovy riffs from begining to end, and the expressiveness of screaming vocals capture the hopelessness that was likely connected to frontman Oliver Sykes' depression and Ketamine addiciton, for which he went to rehab after this record. Since this album, they've gone more pop, which I still enjoy. But this record has a unique madness and innovation that makes it special.
The majority of Tool fans will pick their first albums, but for some reason I just enjoy the long sprawling nature of Lateralus. The flow of this album is epic. Favorite moments are the quiet part of the title track, and peak of the guitar melody in "The Patient". If you don't like at least one album from Tool, there must be something wrong with you.
This is not in any particular order. Only one rule: No repeating artists, or half the list would be from 2 bands. I hope you discover some new favorites here! And please contribute with your own lists. Try to keep this thing alive. I really wanna see what people love the most.
1. The Fragile --- Nine Inch Nails (1999)
While this list isn't in any order, I did put this one first because it's my favorite. In 16 years I have never heard a better album. Every song is sonically and tonally different. An album created in total isolation and artist freedom, projecting soul-crushing rage and anguish not just in the words, but in every beautifully crafted tone of guitar drums and synth. If you're new to NIN, you should listen to The Downward Spiral first. It is ONLY with a developed ear for Trent Reznor's sound that you can fully appreciate the genius that is The Fragile.
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2. The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me --- Brand New (2006)
2. The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me --- Brand New (2006)
Can't stand to listen to their first two albums, even after calling this a favorite. Fairly musically simple, but so expressive and well produced that it'll shake you to your bones. It's said that this record was created after frontman Jesse Lacey suffered severe issues with depression, and you can feel it. Also lyrically brilliant, this record is haunting from the first moment as he speaks "I've been losing all my friends to drinking and to driving."
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3. Mer De Noms --- A Perfect Circle (2000)
3. Mer De Noms --- A Perfect Circle (2000)
Possibly the most solid debut album ever released, at least in the 2000's. Maynard from Tool singing for Billy Howerdel's studio-created band. Expertly produced and written. It's lean, it's rich, and it's a one of a kind creation. It also rocks.
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4. Silent Hill 3 OST --- Akira Yamaoka (2003)
4. Silent Hill 3 OST --- Akira Yamaoka (2003)
Again, hard to pick between SH2 3 and 4. I'm going with SH3 because of the darker tone in drum programming and atmospheres. The first Silent Hill OST to feature vocalist Mary Elizabeth McGlynn. Akira Yamaoka's music and sound design is just as beloved as the games they are featured in. You can spin this record a thousand times and never get tired of it.
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5. The Alchemy Index 1-4 --- Thrice (2007-2008)
5. The Alchemy Index 1-4 --- Thrice (2007-2008)
A band that, in my opinion, joins the ranks of Taking Back Sunday, Brand New, and BMTH, that started off unimpressive and restricted by their genre, eventually breaking out and proving themselves solid songwriters as everyone else from their genre died. After finding their dynamic talents for alternative pop, this originally post-hardcore band eventually released a 4-part "concept" album that boldly experiments with industrial metal, ambient trance, country, and basically anything they want. A truly unique record that, while not connecting to me so much emotionally, will forever impress due to the musical ambition.
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6. No Devolucion --- Thursday (2011)
I was never crazy about Full Collapse, but I got into them with War All The Time in 2003 and I've loved it all since then. This MASTERPIECE was created when singer/songwriter Geoff Rickly gave the band the task of writing an album without him in just two weeks. The result is an absolutely brilliant mix of jamming songs and ambitious songwriting after having being together for 14 years. It's a very dirty and noisy record, as you never really pay attention to certain sounds. It's all one dreamy landscape of sound that ends up making all other music sound weak and too clean in comparison.6. No Devolucion --- Thursday (2011)
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7. There Is A Hell, Believe Me I've Seen It --- Bring Me The Horizon (2010)
7. There Is A Hell, Believe Me I've Seen It --- Bring Me The Horizon (2010)
A band that was regularly, and rightfully, booed off the stage in their begining days as a chaotic teenage deathcore band, eventually disowning their own successful debut record. As they matured, you can hear their songwriting do the same. This album has imaginative and groovy riffs from begining to end, and the expressiveness of screaming vocals capture the hopelessness that was likely connected to frontman Oliver Sykes' depression and Ketamine addiciton, for which he went to rehab after this record. Since this album, they've gone more pop, which I still enjoy. But this record has a unique madness and innovation that makes it special.
__________________________________________________________________________________
8. Lateralus --- Tool (2001)
8. Lateralus --- Tool (2001)
The majority of Tool fans will pick their first albums, but for some reason I just enjoy the long sprawling nature of Lateralus. The flow of this album is epic. Favorite moments are the quiet part of the title track, and peak of the guitar melody in "The Patient". If you don't like at least one album from Tool, there must be something wrong with you.
CONTINUED IN THE NEXT POST
