I tried doing this once before..i can't remember if I did it here or somehwere else..But It kind of died..Ill do it properly this time!!
100- Adam Ant- Wonderful Now, this album isn't what you would expect. When you hear Adam Ant, you think glam rock, nu romantic sort of stuff. This album however isn't that at all. It is an acoustic album full of mellow and intelligant songs. It is good just to chill out to, and although i prefer his stuff with the ants, it is stil a very well made album, very much worth a listen. 'won't take that talk' 'Yin and yang' and 'image of yourself' are all very witty and lyrical sound songs..
99-Travis-The invisable band.
Obviously, this didn't live up to the Man who, but personally I believe it is a really good album, it's just been overshadowed. Other people may disagree. But to me this album has got a few really good tunes on it. 'Flowers in the window' and 'sing' spring to mind as great pop tunes. This album like 'Wonderful' is just a chill out album you can just sit back and relax too, or go to sleep to!
98- Kasabian-Kasabian
I first saw Kasabian live without having listened to the album, I actually saw them for free, which is probably why I hadn't bought the album beforehand. However they were great live and really impressed me, so I bought their album. It was not a dissapointment. Theyre self titled album is as good as they are live. It's really good, and impressive. 'LSF' 'Club foot' are two great tunes that any Dj should play or any party would be lacking without. And i've seen them live since, and they were great. theyre tunes are so addictive and dancy.
97- Bob Marley- Soul rebel We all know how amazing Bob marley is, and this early album like all of Bob's stuff is just full of tunes that every music fan can sit back and listen to. It's funny how even fans of rap and hip hop can still listen to a Bob Marley tune and sing along. Soul rebel in particular is full of very smooth, laid back tunes like 'Lively up yourself' 'soul rebel' and 'Mr. brown'. This album is one of Marleys early ones, so it's not full of big hits like No woman no cry but it is however still very full of soul, and is still great to sit and smoke a joint to(not that I am sending out a pro-drug message). This album is just full of tunes that you can just let wash over you, and you just appreciate it. You ca't help but just feel laid back to this album. It's kind of infectious.
I like your #99. Looking forward to the rest of your list! I've made some sort of top 50, but I'm still working on it - and also, my favorite albums change every month or so.
------ Aren't there any girls out their who like good music? I need to and want to meet them. My favorite bands are Overkill River, The Nife, Songs:Ohio, and Nuetral Milk Hotel. Please let me know if your into indy music and like to go to show's and drink beer's and makeout.
96- Bonnie Tyler- Secret Dreams and Forbidden Fire What a name for what an album. Secret Dreams? damn right I have secret dreams about nailing Bonnie Tyler, and Forbidden Fire? damn right, Bonnie could cause a fire to swell up in me..Anyways, this album has on it the hit 'Holding out for a hero' which of course is one of two Bonnie Tyler songs that every school boy/girl knows. Mainly thanks to being in Shrek, but it's a quality tune nonetheless. It also has on it two other very good songs 'If I were a woman and you were a man' and 'loving you is a dirty job but someones got to do it.' I just think this album is full of great rock/pop tunes, that every music fan should appreciate. Bonnies just got such a great voice and this album illustrates it vividly and beautifully.
95- Eva Cassidy- Eva By heart
Eva Cassidy died when she was only 33, and she was never really allowed the amazing career she could of had. But this is her only true Studio album and it shows what she could of become. her voice is memersizing and although i do confess i'm a big fan of acoustic stuff, this is just amazing. It's a weird mix of soul, folk and blues. Wade in the water, song bird, wayfaring stranger etc are all very soulful tunes, that are almost breath taking and spine tingling. I can't emphasise how much of a good voice Eva cassidy had, and if youve never heard of her before I can't tell you how much your missing. Go by this album now, if you havn't already.
94- Nick Drake- 5 leaves
Again like Eva Cassidy this is another tragic case. Nick Drake also died before he could fulfill his potentail. However thsi is Nick Drakes debut album, and what a debut! I think you've realised that I like a lot of acoustic singer/songwriter stuff, and this album although very depressing, is music that makes you think. Time has told me is my favourite song, and from the minute I heard it I was totally hooked on Nick Drake. the Cello Song is another imaginative and original tune on this album. This album explores a lot of ideas, and is very imaginative and chilling. I like all three of Nick Drakes albums, but his debut is probaly my favourite. Although he isn't as well known as he should be, if you listen to this album you will realise that maybe he should be as famous an dbig as Nirvana or Blink or Green day, because believe me he is so much better.
93- Meat Loaf- Bat Out Hell 2
This is a bit of a change of tact from me, because as much as Eva Cassidy and Nick Drake are mellow, slow and quiet bluesy/folk tunes, this is as powerful, loud and operatic as it gets. It opens with the huge hit 'I'd do anythign for Love' which is a powerful and gothic romance ballad. It features Meat Loaf's huge vocal range and his huge presence and charisma. The album just shouts out at you with charisma and is full of operatic grandour. Meat Loafs voice is just immense as he is, and this album really proclaims that fact. Meat Loafs a larger than life person and some of these songs are larger than life! It has the gritty rock tunes 'Out of the frying pan and into the fire' and 'lifes a lemon and I want my money back' as well as the haunting lyrically beautiful 'Objects in the rear view mirror may appear closer than they are' Not as good his debut, but still a great, great album..
This album is one of Marleys early ones, so it's not full of big hits like No woman no cry but it is however still very full of soul, and is still great to sit and smoke a joint to(not that I am sending out a pro-drug message).
As long as you share I don't mind.
Good luck, I truly look forward to seeing how this list, and thread progress. I do like you immediately reaching for Marley, hopefully you won't neglect some of his other albums.
Man JJF, I really like your list so far. It's rare to see a top whatever list with anything surprising on it, and so far yours has been surprising in really good ways. Now I need to go track down eva cassidy.
I'm very partial to your #94, jjf: Five Leaves Left is my favorite Nick Drake album also. Your reviews are interesting and fun to read -- looking forward to #s 92-1.
Originally posted by keylimetrev: Man JJF, I really like your list so far. It's rare to see a top whatever list with anything surprising on it, and so far yours has been surprising in really good ways. Now I need to go track down eva cassidy.
Hear, hear. 8 albums in and so far I've only heard one of them. This is gunna be fun
Razorlights debut album is almost as good as it gets for debut albums. Obviously 'Golden Touch' is Razorlights anthem as it were, and was the single that shot them to stardom but there are other golden tracks on this album too. 'Somewhere else' is the other big pop song from the album, and the other single that got overplayed on teh radio and MTV. However I think all the songs are pretty decent. Rock N roll lies, stumble and fall and Vice are all quality rock N roll tunes. And Razorlight have backed up their claim to be the next big thing with their self titled second album. I'm not sure which album is better, as they both have a lot of good material on them! But since I saw them just after the release of the album I put this one in the list.
91- Motley Crue- Girls, Girls, Girls
yeah, I know, it's hair metal! Cheesy hair metal! But it's all a bit of good fun really. Girls, Girls, girls, may be crude and offesnsive to some ears but to me it's just Motley Crue taking the **** out of the taboos of society, and having a bit of a laugh. It's a very light hearted album. it's not an album you can really take seriously, as it's heavily commercialised and very poppy, but nonetheless Wild Side is a good tune. Motley Crue turned up the sleaze on this album and tried to lean heavily on Aerosmith, but unfortunatly it's not as conssitant as it could be, but what the hell, it has enough high points to be worth a listen!
90- Blur-Parklife
This is one of BritPop's finest moments in my opionon. You can't get much better than Blur! This quintessentail album includes the two hit tracks 'Girls and Boys' and of course Parklife. Blur have taken a lot from the Kinks, but added a new wave slant on their music. It's an inspirational and innovative album, one that influenced pratically all pop bands to come. Albarn is witty and cynical but this album also has the heartbreaking Badhead on it and the Walker Brothers (The sun ain't goinna shine anymore) tribute 'To The End.' It has been described as a thoroughly 'modern' album, but I would say that it eclipses time and is relevant whatever year it happens to be. Blur bought something new to the music industry, and they basically revinted British Pop/rock much like the Kinks and the Small faces did decades before. If you havn't got this album, I would seriously buying or downloading it, because it a breathe of fresh air, and I think metal/rock/pop fans will all like it.
Number 89- Bon Jovi-Slippery When Wet
Tut tut, I hear you say! More cheese! More hair metal! I happen to like hair metal! And who doesn't appreciate a bit of Bon Jovi? Especially this album. I'm sure everyone most have a copy hidden somewhere. It has the rock classics 'livin' on a prayer, You give love a bad name, and Wanted Dead Or Alive' upon it. What more could you ask for? It even has the romantic 'i'd die for you' on it. It's just a classic album, it may be pop, it may be commercialised, but damn anyone who says they don't enjoy this album is lying to you! Overproduced and over the top Bon jovi maybe, but I love them all the same!
Props on the Blur and Nick Drake. I need to hear Five Leaves Left (it's the only Drake album I haven't heard) but Time Has Told Me is a great, great song. And Parklife, that album has some great tunes as well. I'm definitely a fan of Badhead.
------ Aren't there any girls out their who like good music? I need to and want to meet them. My favorite bands are Overkill River, The Nife, Songs:Ohio, and Nuetral Milk Hotel. Please let me know if your into indy music and like to go to show's and drink beer's and makeout.
This is a really great thread, and quite an interesting list so far. A few friends of mine did their all-time top 100's a couple years ago, but I got overwhelmed and never finished mine.
The dilemma for me will always be...where to rank the stuff that I loved as a kid, which holds a special place near and dear to my heart, but which I now realize isn't as great as I thought it was then?
There still needs to be a place on the list for that stuff, but it's hard to find the right middle ground between amateur critic and fan.
Originally posted by LD: The dilemma for me will always be...where to rank the stuff that I loved as a kid, which holds a special place near and dear to my heart, but which I now realize isn't as great as I thought it was then?
This is a good question. I usually split the difference. I take into account how much I used to love an album even if I don't like it much at this very moment, but I rank the album closer to how much I like it at this very moment than to where it would be if I ranked it based on how much I used to like it.
-------------------------------------------------- Anatomy to me is a homesick stomach and a broken heart
The dilemma for me will always be...where to rank the stuff that I loved as a kid, which holds a special place near and dear to my heart, but which I now realize isn't as great as I thought it was then?
For me, all my music lists are unabashedly subjective. I guess another way to think of this is not in terms of a "best" list, but rather a "favorite" list. I don't have the education or training to critically analyze records and compare them, especially when it comes to comparing a Miles Davis album against a Beatles one. I don't even know the criteria by which to measure an album to see if it's the "best," so I don't try.
Originally posted by PRG: For me, all my music lists are unabashedly subjective. I guess another way to think of this is not in terms of a "best" list, but rather a "favorite" list. I don't have the education or training to critically analyze records and compare them, especially when it comes to comparing a Miles Davis album against a Beatles one. I don't even know the criteria by which to measure an album to see if it's the "best," so I don't try.
To me, this is the only honest way to do a list. If you do anything otherwise, you're probably just changing your list to appear sophisticated. Then again, I doubt if there's hardly anyone does a "best" list rather than a "favorite list."
-------------------------------------------------- Anatomy to me is a homesick stomach and a broken heart
This is one of BritPop's finest moments in my opionon. You can't get much better than Blur! This quintessentail album includes the two hit tracks 'Girls and Boys' and of course Parklife. Blur have taken a lot from the Kinks, but added a new wave slant on their music. It's an inspirational and innovative album, one that influenced pratically all pop bands to come. Albarn is witty and cynical but this album also has the heartbreaking Badhead on it and the Walker Brothers (The sun ain't goinna shine anymore) tribute 'To The End.' It has been described as a thoroughly 'modern' album, but I would say that it eclipses time and is relevant whatever year it happens to be. Blur bought something new to the music industry, and they basically revinted British Pop/rock much like the Kinks and the Small faces did decades before. If you havn't got this album, I would seriously buying or downloading it, because it a breathe of fresh air, and I think metal/rock/pop fans will all like it.
Just ordered a used copy from amazon.com on the strength of your recommendation. I'm a huge Kinks and Small Faces fan yet don't have any CDs from the '90s BritPop movement they inspired (except for a Stone Roses compilation). My daughter was a mere child then; I was busy raising her and without the internet couldn't keep up very well with the British music scene, much less order CDs online. Now I can backtrack and discover what I missed out on! Thanks for the great review, jjf; I'm looking forward to hearing Parklife.
Originally posted by LD: The dilemma for me will always be...where to rank the stuff that I loved as a kid, which holds a special place near and dear to my heart, but which I now realize isn't as great as I thought it was then?
I find that a lot of stuff I loved as a kid actually holds up pretty well, LD. What I am discovering is that it's not as great because there's still lots of great music being made. Which equals double the pleasure.
For me, all my music lists are unabashedly subjective. I guess another way to think of this is not in terms of a "best" list, but rather a "favorite" list.
I absolutely agree, but I also agree with RL that you sometimes have to split the difference. I don't claim to be a critic, so of course my list would be my favorites rather than a "best of", but I still want to save a place for albums that I don't love as much now as I once did. These may be albums that I listened to more than any others, so in some sense my top 100 would become the soundtrack of my life, so far.
I also agree with Pulque that some of the stuff I liked as a kid still holds up pretty well and, obviously, these are the only ones I would consider. That means no Styx in my top 100, but maybe an ELO and/or a Cheap Trick album.
I think we need more "long projects".
