I'm always interested in the idiosyncratic and unusual choices that people make on these board. Amid all the unanimous praise heaped on Animal Collective, Grizzly Bear, The National, TV on the Radio, and Radiohead, I love to hear about albums people love that no one else knows about, or that no one else likes.

I can immediately think of four albums that I think are masterpieces, and that I have listened to at least a hundred times each, that NO ONE else seems either (a) to particularly like or (b) to know about:

1. "A Boot and a Shoe" -- Sam Phillips (2004). The best album by the criminally underrated singer-songwriter -- wise and witty lyrics, hugely catchy melodies, Phillips' strange, languid and unique singing voice, and a gorgeous production by T Bone Burnett, simultaneously evoking Tin Pan Alley, new folk and Tom Waits in the 1980s.

2. "Future Signs" -- Warm Jets (1998). A flawless collection of irresistable modern noo wave songs, as entertaining as "Parallel Lines" or "This Year's Model". I bought this on a whim in London in 1998, after having heard a single from it, but I have never met another person who owns or has even heard of this album.

3. "Wake Up Captain" -- Kevin Tihista's Red Terror (2004). An exercise in musical styles, this meticulously crafted album of chamber pop evokes Brian Wilson and Elliott Smith.

4. "White Bread Black Beer" -- Scritti Politti (2006). A totally surprising comeback from the 80s British band (essentially a solo project by leader Green Gartside), this was my album of the year for 2006. It's one of the most sheerly lovely albums I have ever heard. The stunning melodies and the complex and lush layering of the instruments and production evoke "Pet Sounds" and -- I am not joking here -- the best of the great lost soul group Debarge (just listen to Debarge's songs "Time Will Reveal" or "A Dream").

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Peewee,

Hey, nice idea. I have several that come to mind.

Prior to finding this community I pretty much lived in a bubble as far as music is concerned. I hunted down and found music that I thought was interesting and read blogs, but for the most part I had very little feedback on what was truely popular in the music world and what wasn't. I now have a pretty firm understanding of this, and with some research I can look back and discover what was popular in the past. There are several things that I've found that I fully believed everyone was going crazy about, but apparently it was just me.

Here's a few:
The Jealous Sound - Kill Them With Kindness (2003)
Blair Shehan, who started off in the equally excellent band Knapsack, with Pedro Benito who was in the equally excellent band Sunday's Best, formed this one EP, one album effort. The album was on the pop side of punk and more on the rock side of emo. But the guitar hooks just dug into me back then. I would listen to this album over and over again in 2003, and still pick it up frequently. "Anxious Arms" is one of my favorite songs from this period of my life. This album might actually take a second place to Knapsack's This Conversation Is Ending, Starting Right Now.

The Kamikaze Hearts - Oneida Road (2006)
This is the folk version of Wolf Parade. Two different styled vocalists alternating back and forth on a list of song that are strikingly powerful and vividly colorful. It is such a solid album yet I have never heard anyone mention them before. It would be the album I would give a contempory country music lover to show them how much more you can accomplish if you get rid of all the garbage posturing and needless twang, but kept the roots of idea intact. This album is amazing.

Sleep Station - The Pride of Chester James (2008) and After the War (2004)
David Debiak plays under the name Sleep Station. He has produced 6 albums since 2000 and yet still only have about 100,000 plays on LastFM. He has a highly polished singer-songwriter asthetic. He writes well throught out concept albums about astronauts (Hang in There Charlie) and World War II (After The War). There is a tangible passion in his work, but I can't help but feel like he is doing all of this work just for me, since I see no evidence that there is anyone else really paying attention to him.

Remy Zero - The Golden Hum (2001)
I was a big Remy Zero fan prior to this album's release. I enjoyed the backstory of the group starting out playing songs that they had discovered in a train yard, recorded by some guy that had written and recorded them into a simple recorded seemly just for his own benefit. The band isn't entirely obscure, and this particular album was noteworthy for containing the song "Save Me" which was the theme for Smallville or something like that. But forget all of that and just listen to the music and you have a really solid and surprisingly dynamic pop-rock album. "Glorious #1" should have been the teen anthem for a new generation. But it seems to have been tossed aside and forgotten.

I have more, but I will leave you with those for now. I look forward to reading other people's inclusions as well.

Paula Kelley - The Trouble With Success or How You Fit Into the World (2003)

Gorgeous orchestrated but energetic indie pop - think Burt Bacharach's heyday with fairly more ambitious and differentiated arrangements. Personal, literate lyrics that manage to be introspective without navel gazing. All topped off by Kelley's sweet, girlish and ever so slightly raspy voice.

Paula Kelley might be more well known as a founding member of the Boston shoegaze act Drop Nineteens.

Colour Haze - Tempel

Apparently this is a stoner/acid rock (which i learned after a little research), and their german. But I didn't give a crap when i first listened to it.
It's 48 minutes long with 8 tracks, and has got some of the best guitarmanship I have heard. When I heard it I was like "Wow, this will definitely be in the MC forums" so I searched for it, and nothing came up. :S

Anyways, I think it's a great album full of epic guitar songs, that will be one of my favourite for the decade.

Boa - Twilight

I first heard about this group through an anime called Serial Experiments Lain. They provided the gorgeous, haunting theme song "Duvet," and once I heard that song, I was hooked.

The whole album, Twilight, is just as good as "Duvet," filled with bittersweet indie pop. I always thought if these guys could get on the radio, they'd be huge. Alas, that never happened, and after Twilight and their next release, Get There, they went on hiatus and haven't been seen since.

quote:

Originally posted by Peewee:

3. "Wake Up Captain" -- Kevin Tihista's Red Terror (2004). An exercise in musical styles, this meticulously crafted album of chamber pop evokes Brian Wilson and Elliott Smith.

philosopherEric, back when he was still here, mentioned his love for Tihista a few times, I believe. I don't think I ever listened to them though. Guess I probably should.