The Top 20 albums with writing by users! - Topic Powered by eve community

1. TV on the Radio – Return to Cookie Mountain (1016 total votes, 11 first-place votes, including top 5 votes from members Hophead--Vypa--GrungeMuffin--L.R. William Spencer--MusicEmissions.com--Besttasteinmusicever--less_success--Chamberk--Il Mago--Crowdiggs--Cyrone--The Rabbi--paxsoprano--trev smith--telephonemonkey--HappyTimeHarry--TRUC--petrolfire--buraj.n--cutshallow--joji--Art Vandelay--GG Allin--musicfanatic--paradox--tkoom--grabblegarr--benjiru--Tru Blu--Borachon--Dork--thomyorkeisgod--mr_sir--tinyspeckofmanythings--Gopher--BContrat.) ~ A dazzling, trippy experience from experimental rock's finest. Combining noisy, often almost atonal guitars with odd samples and relatively unusual rock instruments, the Brooklyn band's major label debut spans moods, genres and sounds effortlessly original. When no genre can accurately define a sound and no boundaries are known, you really have something special. A triumph. – Dork

2. Joanna Newsom – Ys (870 total votes, 13 first-place votes, including top 5 votes from members GrungeMuffin--L.R. William Spencer--nathanielkt--Cyrone-- Besttasteinmusicever--Platypus Quest--modestryan--Sicnarf--Everyoneanindividual--Sideshowbob--Zero On His Hand--vitunkrapula--trev smith--HappyTimeHarry--fearlessweaver--Benno--buraj.n--Kuro--FragileKidA--Art Vandelay--LD--Stocky--paradox--grabblegarr--benjiru--Tru Blu--Johnsofats--thomyorkeisgod--tinyspeckofmanythings--CoCoCo--Vykromond--BContrat.) ~ What an immensely beautiful piece of music. The five tracks on this album can’t even justly be called “songs” but rather, pieces of orchestral music. The arrangements are lush and diverse, the lyrics are intelligent and poetic and the gorgeous music is far ahead of anything else. In an age and time where originality is almost implausible, Ys delivers in every single way possible. – FragileKidA

3. The Hold Steady – Boys and Girls in America (806 total votes, 11 first-place votes, including top 5 votes from members L.R. William Spencer--less_success--ericg75--The_Sprawl--bonzob--philosopherEric--Troy--keylimetrev--Vancea Mihai--paxsoprano--Zero On His Hand--Smo--m.leland--DrAwesome--LD--Daniel, Esq.--b0arder753--tkoom--Daddyboy--kendocubano--Sloop--¡Ya Lo Tengo!--LinnTate--Johnsofats--CoCoCo--BContrat) ~ Boys and Girls in America is a lyrical narrative set to blazing guitars and anthemic choruses. Like much great artwork, Craig Finn's lyrics give attention and find beauty in the banalities of life; in this case, bar-hopping, partying, drinking to excess, and the inevitable feelings of regret the next morning. The new prominence of keyboards in enhances fist pumping epics like "Stuck Between Stations", "Chips Ahoy", and "The First Night". Despite some possible juvenility of the characters, they aren't portrayed as marginalia in society, but instead exalted in a glorious presentation of the American dream in alternative form. Boys and Girls in America questions whether this dream is really getting as rich as possible - or getting through life as richly as possible. – BContrat

4. The Decemberists – The Crane Wife (600 total votes, 2 first-place votes, including top 5 votes from members Soft Silly Music--nathanielkt--Chamberk--The Rabbi--Troy--Medicated Soap--Zero On His Hand--fearlessweaver--Rocko Spooner--m.leland--DrAwesome--Casper--Daniel, Esq.--kendocubano--Borachon--thomyorkeisgod--mr_sir) ~ Without any doubt, this is their best album to date and the sky is the limit for them. With The Crane Wife, The Decemberists have finally broken into the mainstream crowd and their outstanding music is finally getting some recognition. An album filled with richly folk/rock, stories about love and love lost and even two strikingly long songs that you wish would never end. Everything on this terrific album is utterly absorbing and evokes an understated brilliance in Colin Meloy’s songwriting. – FragileKidA

5. Destroyer – Destroyer’s Rubies (584 total votes, 6 first-place votes, including top 5 votes from members GrungeMuffin--ericg75--Il Mago--subrock--advancemelee--The Rabbi--WaxTadpole--Illiniq--trev smith--Cbankerman--buraj.n--crabsody--P1x44r--FragileKidA--DrAwesome--Art Vandelay--grabblegarr--Gopher--Vykromond.) ~ On Destroyer's Rubies, Dan Bejar crafts an amazing collection of songs that often recall the work of early David Bowie, and overshadows his work in the New Pornographers by a long shot. Bejar has an interesting knack for making every song feel like an epic. The breezy musical backdrops and la-la-la choruses slowly build into crashing drums and blistering guitar solos. Though every song stands on its own, Bejar brings it all together with his terrific lyrics, making it one of the finest albums of 2006. – ericg75

6. The Knife – Silent Shout (532 total votes, 4 first-place votes, including top 5 votes from members Malondron--Platypus Quest--bonzob--jonathanbrisby--in limbo--cody--WaxTadpole--Illiniq--tomrainbow--P1x44r--joji--Art Vandelay--musicfanatic--eggTweedyegg--Turenne--RavingLunatic--dubs) ~ I hesitate to use the term "haunted house" (I find it a bit cloying), but it is an apt description of this masterpiece. A few insanely dance-able songs are scattered around this album, but the rest of it is entirely concerned with atmosphere. Dark and brooding, you can see the specters floating up and down those musty halls, sometimes whispering, sometimes howling, but always just seconds away from either terrifying or overawing you. This album is indeed fearful, but it is not the fear of sheer terror—it’s the fear of the unknown, even the unknowable, and for an album to be able to convey such a sense of sublime beauty for any length of time is a considerable achievement. This is one "haunted house" I will revisit many times. – in limbo

7. Liars – Drum’s not Dead (489 total votes, 6 first-place votes, including top 5 votes from members Craigster--nathanielkt--less_success--The_Sprawl--jonathanbrisby--Vancea Mihai--gomad361--vitunkrapula--TRUC--tomrainbow--Peewee--musicfanatic--stereo--benjiru--tinyspeckofmanythings.) ~ A concept album in a sense, ambiance is what makes Drum’s Not Dead an interesting listen, not lyrics. Musically the album is eerie and strange. As you could imagine from the title, percussion is one of the central focuses. You could describe it as tribal, but carnal seems more accurate. Melodies are not often easily found. The vibrating aesthetic throughout is appealing, but you’ll need a set of proper headphones to get the full effect. Drums’ Not Dead is an experimental and strange album at times. Traditional songwriting is not to be found, so if you’re a verse/chorus kind of listener, you should probably turn away. If you’re looking for a completely different musical atmosphere, there’s not other album out right now that I would suggest more. – less_success

8. Neko Case – Fox Confessor Brings the Flood (445 total votes, 2 first-place votes, including top 5 votes from members Chamberk--in limbo--The Rabbi--keylimetrev--Smo--Cbankerman--SDF--Benno--P1x44r--FragileKidA--pak--Johnsofats--CoCoCo--Vykromond.) ~ Neko Case is mostly known for her stint with the Canadian supergods of power pop, The New Pornographers, but as a solo artist she is an extremely distinguished country belle. Fox Confessor Brings the Flood is by no means unorthodox as far as country goes but it does provide a sultry and tender slab of beautiful music. Charismatic and emotional, you may even find yourself with a tear in your eye. From the stunning opener to the somewhat endearing closer, it is without question the best country album this year. – Everyoneanindividual

9. Beirut – Gulag Orkestrar (434 total votes, 3 first-place votes, including top 5 votes from members Malondron--Besttasteinmusicever--subrock--droganzundt--Zero On His Hand--Illiniq--DrAwesome--kendocubano--benjiru--Tru Blu.) ~ An album fueled by scenery and romance, it may not shed new light on indie pop but it did bring us one of the best songs of the last five years ("Postcards From Italy"). Surprisingly, when you thought that Gulag Orkestrar was enough to hold you until the next Beirut record, Zach Condon decided to release the Lon Gisland EP (which is also a good listen). Overall, if you like depth when hearing someone's perception of the world, you will definitely find it here. – Everyoneanindividual

10. Band of Horses – Everything All the Time (395 total votes, 3 first-place votes, including top 5 votes from members Vypa--dano--HappyTimeHarry--SDF--outis--mr_sir--CoCoCo.) ~ This is undeniably an “okay” record with its obvious dips and peaks track by track. There’s a mix of rockers and softer tracks that, perhaps, could have been sequenced better. But its personality and sincerity still come through and—despite its obvious flaws—you listen to it over and over again. Even when there are better records to listen to. There are so many more influences on this newly fermented band (one of them NOT being the Shins, by the way), one that is on its way to becoming the perfect art and rock/indie and RAWK balance between Sparklehorse and Crazy Horse. – Yay!

11. Grizzly Bear – Yellow House (337 total votes, 3 first-place votes, including top 5 votes from members Vypa--droganzundt--in limbo--HappyTimeHarry--joji--paradox--stereo--SeamusStimpsonAndHisMagicalMelodyMachine--mr_sir--tinyspeckofmanythings--dubs) ~ From the opening note of this album, you are in another world—a quieter version of your everyday life. It is this sense of exquisite serenity that pervades the entire album. The variety of instruments (everything from panpipes to flutes to mandolins) is accompanied by cavernous production, as if they are echoing off the myriad walls of a deep canyon. In short, Grizzly Bear have recorded a quintessentially modern pastoral piece. Using current technology, they have made something that sounds more ancient and profound than anything before it - and yet one can still see the shepherds under the trees, singing their hearts out to the stars alone. – in limbo

12. The Thermals – The Body, The Blood, The Machine (331 total votes, 2 first-place votes, including top 5 votes from members ericg75--Chamberk--Il Mago--bonzob--vitunkrapula--cutshallow--PRG--¡Ya Lo Tengo!--Johnsofats.) ~ The Thermals third studio album is a great combination of pop-punk hooks and smart lyrics. Hutch Harris and company tackle the bleak subject of right-wing Christian fascism in such a way that you can’t help but get up out of your chair and dance. The Body, The Blood, The Machine is the rare album that is insanely catchy and thought-provoking. – ericg75

13. Yo La Tengo – I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass (318 total votes, including top 5 votes from onFire--MJmovieluver88--paxsoprano--telephonemonkey--TOPMAN--¡Ya Lo Tengo!--mark f--BContrat.) ~ For me, 2006 was the year the “Old Farts” fought back and beat the kids at their own game. After two pretty but very sedate albums, I'm glad that Yo La Tengo turned up the amps and picked up the beat on their latest, fashioning an album reminiscent of their classic I Can Hear the Heart Beating As One. This new one roars, at its beginning and end, with guitar freakouts and distortion, but at its heart, it's a bouncy pop record, anchored by shoulda-been-hits "Beanbag Chair", "Mr. Tough", "The Room Got Heavy", etc. It's also got an evocatively-cool instrumental in the middle (a la Heart's "Green Arrow") in "Daphnia". Even if I can't say that this new album is quite as good as its model, it's still easily one of the best of 2006 and YLT's career. – mark f

14. Tom Waits – Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards (296 total votes, including top 5 votes from members GrungeMuffin--Malondron--Everyoneanindividual--cody--telephonemonkey--Kuro--m.leland--Daniel, Esq.--VoteForPedro--Vic--Dork--Vykromond.) ~ A massive 3 album set, almost too good to be true. With all-out rockers on one disc, ballads on another and experimental on the last, Waits delivers some of the year's very best and manages to tackle 56 songs worth of amazing material with almost no drops in quality. Expensive, yes, but worth every penny; the year's greatest achievement. Blisteringly relevant and varied, this is a far cry from the "dad-rock" into which many older musicians have slumped. – Dork

15. Bob Dylan – Modern Times (293 total votes, 2 first-place votes, including top 5 votes from members Craigster--The Rabbi--paxsoprano--buraj.n--Art Vandelay--Peewee--Stocky--mark f.) ~ Dylan's latest album finds him completing his transformation from the prophet of his early days, through his latter-day Moses phase, into one of your best buddies who is trying to give you the benefit of his weary wisdom on how to live and find some happiness before the end comes. The guitar/bass/drums band and its leader show palpable warmth on the blues songs, usually featuring Bob as the victim of some scheming woman, and the alternating, old-timey pop tunes where he just wants to be lucky enough to stay with his lady love. This is another of the Master's classics, but it may be "too classic" for some to find it relevant now. Even if I'm sure that it will only grow in stature as the years pass, I wouldn't want anybody to pass on digesting it because your life and this album both involve these Modern Times. – mark f

16. Thom Yorke – The Eraser (291 total votes, 2 first-place votes, including top 5 votes from Craigster--Cyrone--gomad361--hal--P1x44r--Kuro--paradox--eggTweedyegg.) ~ More minimal and electronic than any of Radiohead's later offerings, the lead singer's solo album combines simple melodies with his deeply affecting voice and an array of stuttering beats and claustrophobic synth backgrounds. Some found it to be too sparse and alien, while others warmed to Yorke's moving vocals and intelligent lyrics. – Dork

17. Islands – Return to the Sea (281 total votes, 2 first-place votes, including top 5 votes from members Hophead--L.R. William Spencer--nathanielkt--Il Mago--subrock--Sideshowbob--kendocubano--stereo--Sloop--mr_sir--dubs.) ~ Islands won't change your life. They won't show you things that previously did not exist. Nope. If you're looking for that, look elsewhere. Islands want you to have fun. Their songs are classic alt-pop; Strong melodies, off-kilter instrumentation and oddly-affecting but slightly out-of-tune vocals. Their strongest asset is their rhythm. Tight, propulsive drumming, clickety-clack wooden percussion and bouncy, almost raggae-fied bass keep the album rolling along smoothly. Throw in the strangest rap verse I've ever heard (Busdriver, the second rapper on "Whalebone") and I'm laughing, smiling and bobbing my head along with every song. In a time when "indie" culture is taking itself way too seriously, Islands just want to party. Apparently I do too, because I can't stop listening. – Il Mago

18. Califone – Roots and Crowns (268 total votes, 2 first-place votes, including top 5 votes from members onFire--Everyoneanindividual--Vancea Mihai--tomrainbow--outis--kelly1/1.) ~ A glitchy electronic folk album that has an undisputed array of poppy bluegrass gems and sweet ambient melodies. The Tim Rutili led group has made a delectable mess of distorted and wailing noises that are balanced by overlapping vocals. Songs like "Sunday Noises" and "The Orchids" even though short make an exceptional listen because of the beautiful acoustic arrangements. Dense, rich, and full of flavor Root's and crowns is a digital masterpiece that should be heard by all just to understand that nailing simplicity is better than failing at complexity. – Everyoneanindividual

19. Midlake – The Trials of Van Occupanther (255 total votes, including top 5 votes from members Besttasteinmusicever--Dumbangel--gomad361--LD--Daniel, Esq.--Johnsofats.) ~ Gave The Crane Wife a run for the money in my upcoming top 30. On almost any song I can pick apart and say maybe I could do this and it will sound better(to me, that is) but there are two tracks in this release that are perfect in my opinion. – thomyorkeisgod

20. Belle and Sebastian – The Life Pursuit (254 total votes, including top 5 votes from members trev smith--Mathieu--petrolfire--Karen--buraj.n--DrAwesome--Casper--b0arder753--kendocubano--Gopher.) ~ Ten years after becoming indie-pop legends with the release of If You're Feeling Sinister, Belle & Sebastian continue to move further away from the lo-fi, twee sound they mastered with their newest release The Life Pursuit. Their production may be more polished, but Stuart Murdoch hasn't lost his knack for writing amazing pop songs, while also delving into different musical styles ranging from glam on "White Collar Boy", to jangle rock on the incredible "Another Sunny Day." While not the top to bottom classic as some of their previous releases, The Life Pursuit is still a solid, enjoyable album that will leave you wondering where Belle & Sebastian will go next. – Hophead

Contributors: Thomyorkeisgod--Dork--Yay!--BContrat--less_success--mark f--Il Mago--Everyoneanindividual--Hophead--in limbo--ericg75.

Thanks to everyone for helping out. I would like to start this earlier next year so that maybe we could do write-ups for the top 40-50 albums of 2007. Thanks again to all! ~ FragileKidA

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I got a stone where my heart should be.

Posts: 5714 | Location: Texas | Registered: 27 December 2005

Il Mago

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