your top ten albums

i recently narrowed down all the albums i love into a top ten list (i did the same thing for movies, but this is essentially a music message board, so we'll just stick to music). here's my list -- what's yours? (top TEN, kids. restrict it to that. love to see what you have put down). in no particular order...


1. the who - "tommy"

what many call the first rock opera is still the best. "quadrophenia" is amazing as well, but it isn't as concise, yet epic as this one. the instrumental sections are to die for, and i could play "go to the mirror, boy" over and over and never get sick of it... but if i did that, i would be missing out on the rest of the album.


2. harvey danger - "king james' version"

each song is well-crafted, placed perfectly on the album, and has damn fine lyrics. so witty and clever, but not overly so. at times, it's very fun and at others, it's melancholy, but it works. their latest album is great, but nothing will beat this one.


3. the beatles - "let it be"

how does one pick a favorite beatles album? i had to choose between this one, "revolver", "sgt. pepper", "abbey road", and "the white album", but when it comes down to it, i really didn't have to choose. this has always been my fav fab four album. from "two of us" to "get back", it's a stipped down, yet geniune beatles. it's rockin' and balladin' beatles. it's the band falling apart, yet still very close. and don't give me that "let it be naked" bullshit. this is the one i grew up with, and it's the one i adore.


4. weezer - "pinkerton"

this was another tough one. "the blue album" is one of the best albums out there, but this one... whew. it's rivers cuomo's soul in musical form (but let's not forget matt sharp... the band fell apart after he left). i don't like the term "emo", but this is considered the first emo album, so that's gotta say something about it. "across the sea" is my favorite depressing love song ever.


5. led zeppelin - IV (zoso)

probably the best classic rock album, and i mean ROCK rock. what else can i say? eight songs, all pure rock, even the slower ones. i'm not the world's biggest zeppelin fan, but you can't deny them this album.


6. nine days - the madding crowd

an exceptional pop-rock album. the even number of songs by brian and john singing solo and then the collaboration of them singing on "so far away" and "end up alone" makes a good mix of their distinct styles that, at the same time, work extremely well together. this is the album that got me into the band and made them one of my favorites (and the one that i feel most personally connected to because of this phorum and the closeness of the band to the fans).


7. the postal service - give up

i never thought i'd dig electronic music, but if ben from death cab is involved, apparently i can be pursuaded. i wanted to put a death cab album on here, but the honest to god truth is that this album is better than anything death cab has put out as a whole. each song is amazing, and never gets repetitive or boring, though it would seem that way with electronic music. "give up" is one of those albums that has opened up my eyes to different kinds of music that i usually would think i wouldn't be into.


8. matchbox twenty - mad season

it's always a good sign when the singles, which are good, are the worst songs on an album. this is the case with "mad season". though the singles are probably some of matchbox twenty's best, the rest of the album is what is amazing. it's their most realized album. "angry" is a sensational opener, and the orchestrated secret song at the end is a great closer. their following album was just so-so, and though rob thomas's solo effort was enjoyable, it was far too poppy. this is not saying "mad season" isn't pop. it's just pop at its best.


9. traveling wilburys - volume one

my dad refers to these guys as "the best bullshit band ever". it's the truth. you get five rock legends together and you get magic. and the thing is that these songs aren't even that amazing musically. in fact, they're quite simple. but these ten songs are what classic rock is all about.


10. foo fighters - one by one

the best modern rock album. nirvana was doing nothing for dave grohl. the foo is where he shines. and this album is their rockin'est from start to finish. it's the most layered of anything they've done, and it makes me wanna bang my head every time i listen to it, and i'm not a headbanger.



Post Edited (06-27-06 00:00)

~ Eric of Wisconsin ~

Nine Days and John Hampson music featured in my independent feature film "Will and Testament"!

Facebook Page for "Will and Testament"
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Matthew Good Band -- Audio of Being
Bruce Springsteen -- Born to Run
Weezer -- Pinkerton
Matthew Good Band -- Beautiful Midnight



10. Third Eye Blind -- Third Eye Blind
From front to back a superb album. I chalk it up to Cadogan. Good effort by Jenkins on the lyrics, cool vocals. Just a great album.

9. The Mighty Mighty BossTones -- Question The Answers
Their finest album in my estimation. Straight up ska-core that punches you in the face and makes you want to dance like a civilized person all at the same time. Great horn work and guitars that the band has never produced since. Barret's bulldog vocals get a little over the top at times but they're perfect for the aggression of the album.

8. Harvey Danger -- Where Have All The Merrymakers Gone?
Straight up garage rock. I wanted to go with King James Version but sometimes it's just too pretentious, even for me. This album is something I can always listen to and love.

7. Matthew Good Band -- Underdogs
Clean-sounding straight-forward polished alternative rock with the cynicism and brooding that was going to become more pronounced later on. They're mostly fun songs even when the subject matter might not be and great music for the car.

6. Brand New -- Deja Entendu
The leap made between Your Favorite Weapon and this album was astonishing and have cemented these guys as one of my favorite bands and made me anticipate their next album in a way that I haven't in years. Great lyrics, brooding music, great overall tone.

5. Bright Eyes -- Lifted OR The Story's In The Soil, Keep Your Ear To The Ground
My favorite of Oberst's albums. It's epic, folky, rocky and emotional. Fantastic lyrics and story-telling.

4. Weezer -- Pinkerton
The finest of Weezer's efforts with the best, most insightful and personal lyrics, some of the most interesting and random guitar work I've ever heard and song structures that don't make sense but make sense. Just a shame that they'll never produce anything like this again.

3. Matthew Good Band -- Beautiful Midnight
Great from front to back, though sometimes I'll skip a song like "Going All The Way." Rocking and catchy where it needs to be, epic and haunting where it needs to be, sadistic where it's unexpected. Perfect blend of "Oh, this sounds familiar enough for me to access," and, "This isn't what I expect at all," at first listen, and often enough after many.

2. Bruce Springsteen -- Born To Run
Don't quite know what can be said about this that hasn't been said. Brilliant lyrics with desperate music accompanying them, it's like a work of art. The whole album is like an anthem (with the exception of Meeting Across The River which has one awfully forced rhyme I don't like to think about). Brilliant album before he became a cash cow.

1. Matthew Good Band -- Audio of Being
My personal favorite album. The whole thing is like an angry tale of heartbreak and just speaks something to me that nothing else can. Sadistic and pissed off and oh so sad and tragic and great. Like "Requiem For A Dream" only not like that but kind of like that.

-Mike





Go listen to my band. We're awesome.

http://www.myspace.com/rosencrantzny
weallgotwoodandnails

Message deleted on 2015-09-05 06:30:16 PDT

Embrace - The Good Will Out
Stereophonics - Just enough education to perform
Ryan Adams - Heartbreaker
Damien Rice - O
Embrace - Drawn from memory
Sigur Ros - Takk
Embrace - Out of Nothing
Brand New - Deja Entendu
Ryan Adams - Love in Hell (Part 2. Part 1 wasn't so special)
Ninedays - The Madding Crowd

Might do some reasons later.



Post Edited (06-26-06 16:45)

~ Sofi ~

"And so tomorrow there will be another number for the one who had a name."

i didn't wrote them in order, but here's my top 10:

# Nine Days - The Madding Crowd (2000)
# Nine Days - So Happily Unsatisfied (2002)
# Goo Goo Dolls - Dizzy Up The Girl (1999)
# Third Eye Blind - Out Of The Vein (2003)
# Vertical Horizon - Everything You Want (2000)
# American Hi-Fi - American Hi-Fi (2001)
# Switchfoot - The Beautiuful Letdown (2003)
# Flickerstick - Welcoming Home The Astronauts (2001)
# Flickerstick - Tarantula (2004)
# Queen - Queen II (1974)

i'm going to edit my post soon and give reasons because, hey, why not? it's fun.

plus, mike did it, and i want to be like him.



~ Eric of Wisconsin ~

Nine Days and John Hampson music featured in my independent feature film "Will and Testament"!

Facebook Page for "Will and Testament"
IMDB Page for "Will and Testament"

in no particular order

*stroke 9 : rip it off
*northstar : pollyanna
*nine days : the madding crowd
*say anything : ...is a real boy
*taking back sunday: where you want to be
*brand new : deja entendu
*eve 6 : hororscope
*new radicals: maybe youve been brainwashed too
*transmatic: transmatic
*third eye blind: out of the vein



Post Edited (06-27-06 15:42)

The Early November - The room's too cold
The Juliana Theory - Understand this is a dream
The Juliana Theory - Emotion is dead
The Hoodies - Karma is a boomerang
Northstar - Is this thing loaded?
Northstar - Pollyanna
Nada Surf - The Proximity Effect
Nine Days - So Happily Unsatisfied
Oasis - (What's the story) Morning Glory
Weezer - Blue Album/Pinkerton (not sure which one is the best)

Maddening Crowd? n00b.

-Mike





Go listen to my band. We're awesome.

http://www.myspace.com/rosencrantzny
weallgotwoodandnails

So working out WHY you love records is a lot harder than just writing a list!

Embrace: The Good Will Out

The vocals are ****. I mean they're really bad. And on first listen it sounds very standard, quite brash and thoughtless, very disposable. But it's huge; the guitars are confident and lusty, and it's covered in these orchestrated instrumentals and choruses that seem so sure of what they're doing you can't help but agree. The songs are all full of huge, world-changing ideas. But then every so often there's a song or a line or a tone of voice vulnerable enough for it not to sound arrogant in the least, and to provide a perfect contrast. The whole thing is just so fucking hopeful and optimistic and eager; it makes you think the world is a nice place again, and if it's not, we can make it good. Good intentions, and ultimately, well executed.

Stereophonics: Just Enough Education to perform.

Never got whether the title was about sex or music. Probably both. I only realised a few weeks ago that as much as I love the two earliest Stereophonics records for all of their entertaining stories and bouncing, fluid melodies, they're not really that good; they're neither challenging or intriguing, and they were never going to change the world. They're "sit around a campfire a sing us a song" records. It wasn't until this record they really started to get better musically, but right here they maintained the story telling and the ease. I always thought the following record was the start of the decline of that. So it's a perfect balance between the two. Totally sing-along-able, whilst varied and intelligent.

Ryan Adams: Heartbreaker.

It's just fucking beautiful. I mean it'll make you want to crawl up and the corner and cry forever, but it's beautiful. It's tortured and raw without being whiney or repetitive, and I can't think of a bad word to say about it. Wonderfully varied, considering it's all as depressing as hell, and harrowing lyrics. The ultimate depressive's record.


I'll do the others later; my mind aches from thinking about it.



Post Edited (06-27-06 13:04)

~ Sofi ~

"And so tomorrow there will be another number for the one who had a name."

1. Nine Days - The Madding Crowd
2. Radford - Sleepwalker
3. Goo Goo Dolls - Dizzy up the Girl
4. Nine Days - Flying the Corporate Jet
5. Something Corporate - North
6. Goo Goo Dolls - Let Love In
7. Led Zeppelin - IV (zoso)
8. 3 Doors Down - Away From the Sun
9. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Stadium Arcadium
10. Fuel - Natural Selection



Post Edited (06-28-06 11:40)

Mike Mc--



Myspace.com/macattack42691

no particular order :

Weezer - The Green Album
Oasis - (What's the story) morning glory
Nine Days - The Madding Crowd
Damien Rice - O
Green Day - American Idiot
Green Day - Dookie
Creedence Clearwater Revival - Chronicle
Arctic Monkeys - What people say I am, I'm not
Phantom Planet - The Guest
Nine Days - So Happily Unsatisfied



--- I can't remember to forget ---

Pearl Jam - Ten
Nine Days - The Madding Crowd
The Calling - Camino Palmero
Lenny Kravitz - 5
Sister Hazel - Fortress
Jamiroquai - Travelling Without Moving
Lifehouse - No Name Face
Pearl Jam - Yield
Alice in Chains - MTV Unplugged
Maroon 5 - Songs About Jane

I can't narrow it down to ten, but here are my favorites:

Eve6 - Eve6
Spitalfield - Remember Right Now
Eve6 - Horrorscope
Live - Throwing Copper
Collective Soul - Dosage
Dishwalla - Opaline
Incubus - Morning View
Incubus - Make Yourself
Incubus - A Crow Left of the Murder
Collective Soul - Collective Soul
Tool - Aenima
Foo Fighters - There Is Nothing Left To Lose
OAR - In Between Now and Then
Hootie and the Blowfish - Cracked Rearview
De La Soul - 8 Feet High and Rising
Sarah Mclachlan - Solace
Sarah Mclachlan - Fumbling Towards Ectasy
Sarah Mclachlan - Surfacing
Nine Days - Madding Crowd
Weezer - Green Album
Third Eye Blind - Third Eye Blind
Green Day - Dookie
David Gray - White Ladder
Three Doors Down - Better Life
Disturbed - Believe
Rage Against the Machine - Evil Empire
Soundgarden - Superunknown
Bush - Sixteenth Stone
Nada Surf - Let Go
Nada Surf - Weight is a Gift

As to the original author of this thread. One by One is a second rate album when compared to There Is Nothing Left to Lose from top to bottom. The hooks are better, the sound is better, the lyrics are better, and ultimately, the songs are better. Best album Dave Grohl ever wrote.

I can spend 1000 words explaining my attachment to all of these albums, but truth is, most of them speak for themselves.

As for the no namers on the list like Spitalfield and Nada Surf, I really recommend these particular albums. They're worth the money. They are three of the hookiest, most groundbreaking albums I have ever heard. If you check out any of these albums, then you're going to check out 3 of the best albums written in this century. I kid you not. Ironically enough, they never got on the radio either. Go figure. Radio sucks.

Also, I really like the lost Dishwalla classic Opaline. I fell in love with it about 3 years ago. Dishwalla took a break from their aggressive grunge/alternative roots and wrote what I consider their most honest, endearing album ever which is filled with great lyrics, great music, and great vocals. I think the ladies will definately dig it, it's probably more their style. My girlfriend loves it to death and I'm trying to figure out a way to pry it away from her. She won't give it back like most of these CDs above.



Post Edited (07-01-06 02:40)

i like "there's nothing left to lose", but it's too poppy for the foo. i like them best when they rock hard and "one by one" rocks the most consistently. that is my rebuttal.



~ Eric of Wisconsin ~

Nine Days and John Hampson music featured in my independent feature film "Will and Testament"!

Facebook Page for "Will and Testament"
IMDB Page for "Will and Testament"