oh fuuuuuuuuuuuck. been a long time since I was heavy into Floyd... was surprised to see people in this thread picking it over dark side, completely forgot shine on was off it... one of the greatest songs of all time easily
I recently rediscovered my love for this work and also discovered that it’s part of a larger work: Il Cimento dell’armonia e dell’inventione. For those that like the four seasons, you’ll probably like the rest.
So many of the greatest violinists have recorded the four seasons it’s difficult to pick a favourite but for me it’s Federico Guglielmo. I usually prefer a clean style but the expression is excellent.
So modest mouse is my favorite band. The first song I heard was Alone Down There on a skate video. I loved it, but it was uncredited. So for a year I didn't know who made this amazing music. Then I started dating a girl who was into a bunch of indie shit I had never heard, and The Moon and Antarctica had come out that year. It is also indelibly etched into my soul. The first song she played for me was Wild Pack of Family Dogs, which I loved. Then I heard the song from the skate video again and everything clicked.
My favorite album though is The Lonesome Crowded West.
I'm drawn in by the authenticity of their early music, the pure emotion, and the sometimes enigmatic lyrics. Being a punk kid when I heard them, I was attracted to Isaac Brock's raw vocals even though the music was in general much less aggressive than what I was typically listening to then.
These days I mostly listen to hiphop so it's been a journey. Modest mouse is still my favorite. They represent a time in my life when I was first learning to be my authentic self.
It is not to my tastes anymore, but at the time when I was very swept up in it, it was truly an immersive and transformative experience. As a piece of art, I feel that it was a tremendous success.
I learned a few years back that the original vinyl pressing of this had a completely different track order than the the CD version (and I think was three LPs). I changed the track order on my digital version to match this (without the extra tracks that are near impossible to find) and it works so much better (and I love the album). I'd love to get my hands on a copy but can't find them for less than $300 if you're lucky.
I just read about this. It's related to the amount of bass a song has, and heavy songs tend to play better on the outside of a record, than closer inside. The needle can actually skip.
No question. I got it when I was 15 in '91. Over the years, I've seen countless bands of various genres. My tastes evolved, and frankly, some of the records and CDs I loved at that age have not held up as my taste and musical appreciation broadened, but this one's timeless. For a while, I preferred In Utero for its rawness, but Nevermind is basically flawless in my opinion.
I got this for dissolved girl (knock knock, neo) and the rest of it sounds different. It's a good different. I was disappointed at first, but - unlike another hit/album mismatch finger eleven - I grew to really like the rest of it as a completely separate entity from the catalyst track that made me get it.
Had to scroll too far for a Rage album 🫡 it's funny how New Millennium Homes is still so fucking relevant (I mean they all are but I fkn love that song).
this is one of the dozen or so albums that I'll listen to front to back. I appreciate when an album is put together as a whole work and not just a bunch of songs smahmshed together
do I know for sure that album was made that way? no. but it feels like it.
Everyone I’ve talked to seems to gravitate to Doolittle or Come On Pilgrim as a favorite Pixies record, or the album that defines their vibe. But for me this album was my entry point not just for them, but to a bigger musical world and I’m forever grateful for that.
I was super into Deftones when i was 15 to 17 or so. I barely listened to it after turning 19, for no particular reason. At 38, i saw that the deftones poster was still in my childhood room and listened to it while renovating my basement. It's still good, but it hits so different. It's hard to explain, back then it was the pinnacle of music and lyrical expression. At almost 40 i looked at is as a edgy boyband or somethimg. Not in a negative way in any shape or form, but it's interenting to me how things change. And holy shit time flies
Holy shit I must have listened to this album about 1000 times when I was a teenager in the late 90s. Huge influence on me and also on post hardcore as a genre.
Clarity is incredible. Jimmy Eat World was at their absolute creative peak right before they made it big with their next album.
In 1999 or thereabouts my girlfriend left me for another guy at a music festival. I will never forget grabbing my discman and headphones and heading out to be alone and feel sorry for myself.
I sat in a muddy cow pasture listening to Clarity for hours that night. That’s what emo is to me.
I've got it on vinyl and this is definitely the way to hear it. Not because of quality but because it has to be heard in one go, not as separate songs.
I've heard it many times throughout the years and I still find new meanings to the songs depending on where I am in my own life.
My favourite changes constantly, but right now it’s Masks Off by Jesse Welles. I’ve said it several times here before but Lemmy would really like his lyrics and more folks here need to check him out.
I choose to interpret this question as: "what album has been your favorite for the longest part of your life?" This was the first album I liked when I was a lil' kid even tho I didn't really understand what they were singing about. It's still a great listen, every song rocks, and some songs (like "Eruption") are legendary.
Yes maybe the first one is musically better, but this one helped me in my life when i was a young man not understanding what i am going through, it kinda relate more to me.
Yeah, that’s fair. Be Yourself will always be one of my favourite songs, same with Doesn’t Remind Me.
I’ve only ever heard good things about Chris, I’d like to think he was a good person. Same with Layne. And Kurt too, actually. I’m starting to notice a pattern here…
ohh it's an insanely difficult question since I've gone through so many music phases and now listen to almost all of them
the album I've played the most and has had the most influence on me is probably The Shamen - Axis Mutatis, The Shamen had a few big hits off their first album, this second album was more experimental and I don't think it hit as well with the party crowd, but to me it has some excellent lyrics, melodies, sound design.
Close second is Skinny Puppy - Mind The Perpetual Intercourse
Well, technically its a double album: Yellow & Green. And I would say Green is a close second.
Something about it just blew my mind. Like, I had heard Baroness before, stuff from Red and Blue. They had a song or two on the early Guitar Hero games. I just thought "oh another okay metal band, whatever". Yellow and Green were just... Different. The tone, the vocal style. The whole approach to writing ans playing guitars was different than what i was used to. Thr production has this kind of modern dirtiness, like the noise came from radiation or something. The lyrics are absolutely battling, as they were translated across multiple languages and the meaning was only clinging to them by a thread. The album art is incredible too. The bass is perfect, never too much or too little. The drums use disco and other dance beats along side this metal-ish music in a fantastic way.
It kind of felt it cane fron another dimension. A different timeline where English and western music evolved similarly to ours, but jjsy different enough to be uncanny.
The quintessential goth metal album. Their layers of sound, Pete’s incredible ability to make the most sardonic lyrics sound romantic and the bands utter control of melodic harmony make it an album that I have listened to an innumerable amount of times since its release.
There really is something special here than no band since has captured on tape. It came out when I was a sophomore and immediately became something that I knew would be with me my entire life.
This album bleeds sensuality with a not so subtle wink and nod to the ridiculousness of the human condition in a way few, if any before or after it ever have. It is equal parts sexy and hilarious. Type O was a band whose depth was often missed by the outlandish nature of who their frontman Peter Steele was. A man capable of being a sulking giant with a broken heart one second and a sexy rock and roll god doing a centerfold photoshoot for Playgirl the next.
I never stopped loving this band for that perfect mixture of mischief, tongue in cheek self awareness and Gen X melancholy they brought to everything they did. There are great albums by them before this one and great ones after. But October Rust stands as a truly unique album without peer in my heart for all time.
This is a pure slab of American Black Metal by way of a multi-instrumentalist that grew up on 90’s alternative, particularly Tool. It bridges the gap between two eras of metal so effortlessly it boggles the mind at times. Erik Wunder played all the instruments and was the primary songwriter on this album and it is so complete in a way that can only be achieved through that singular of a vision. It’s like a dark mirror version of the first Foo Fighters record in a myriad of ways. He sadly passed away last year and was only able to perform these song live a few times in the decade and half since its release. I was lucky enough to catch two of those performances and they were as beautiful as I had hoped.
His passing hit like a brick as I was able to talk quite a bit with him on Facebook in during the early years of the band and spend some time in person when they played near me. He was always very gracious and intelligent in person. He had that specific blend of honesty and intelligence that separates the good from the great in music. I often wonder what could have become of the band if he had been able to find more stable vocalists and the ability to create while sober. It’s a real bummer we will never know.
This is one of those albums that came at exactly the right time in my life to become an encapsulation of moments of darkness and hope being perfectly intertwined. It gave me a place to put my sadness, my longing, my fears and my dreams while I sorted out who I would be for the second half of life on this planet.
There are moments of spite that feel so real you can almost feel the tension in the rooms that inspired it. Then there are moments of such soulful beauty and longing you can’t help but get lost in thoughts of heartbreak right along with the band.
I truly believe Josh Homme wrote his opus here. It’s the perfect Queens album and, in my opinion, the greatest rock and roll album of all time.
October Rust is SUCH a good album. Type O w/ Peter Steele (is there Type O without?..) was really something special. Love You to Death & Wolf Moon for me from that album. Unreal stuff.
I was listening to Cobalt today! Gin. I didn't know he died. That sucks. I like the double album he did after Gin, too, but I don't come back to it nearly as often as Gin.)
I don't normally do superlatives, so my answer could change at any time soonish, really. That said, if I'd point to one album that I've reliably enjoyed a lot for quite a while, I'd say:
Ooh yes amazing album and amazing group? project? Not sure what to call ayreon lol. Though from their discography I think I'd personally lean towards 01011001.
01011001 is a close second imo. But ITEC gets me into the mood for some hobby stuff more effectively, so that one gets the win right now.
I guess project might as well be the best description of Ayreon. The only stable participant is the fact it's all written by the same guy, Sir Arjen Anthony Lucassen
I don't have a favourite album of all time, but I do have favourites for certain genres/vibes.
For just putting on as some music in the background it's Selected Ambient Works 85-92 by Aphex Twin
For metal, it's Behemoth, either The Satanist or I Loved You at Your Darkest.
For electronic music, Biceps Isles is great, and when I used to run, it's great exercise music. But in that same vein Palaces by Flume is also excellent.
For down tempo vibes it's gotta be Mezzanine by Massive Attack, although Music has the right to Children by Boards of Canada is a very close second. And fuck actually Dummy by Portishead
For more classic easy listening vibes, Chicago 2 by Chicago.
For something I think anybody can enjoy, it's plastic beach by Gorillaz. It's their best album by far and I love a concept album.
When I want to hear BEAUTIFUL music that also goes hard, it's John Hopkins immunity. I had the title track play at my wedding and it captured the vibe perfectly.
90's Canadian rock, with "Shortcut to Moncton" as my favourite track, and "One More Astronaut" as the album's biggest single. I listened to this one end to end so many times, and there's not a bad song on it, my fave just in terms of number of listens. It's aged okay. I don't replay it obsessively like I did in my late teens
Raw Data Feel by Everything Everything! I drove from Seattle to San Diego one time and I listened to that album at least 10 times on the drive. So good.
I hate it when someone names a totally obscure album that no one’s ever heard of just to be cool, but I looked through my whole collection and no other single album felt right as my Favorite Album Of All Time, which I have to underscore is different than what I think is the best album of all time.
So anyway, my personal favorite album of all time which I can listen to any time and which transports me to a different place and time in my life:
Model Engine - The Lean Years Tradition
I’ve been saying that for 15 years or so and it remains true, but I don’t expect folks will listen to it and be blown away. That said, it’s an amazing album that came along at just the right time to get baked into my personality forever.
My favorite album that’s more well known, and which I would argue is genre defining: Sunny Day Real Estate - The Pink Album
My favorite album of the last 5 years is Rosalia - Motomami
Music is so fucking great isn’t it? I think it is one of the better things to come out of humanity.
The one that has pictures of my love ones both those with me and those I only have memories left. Its white and has gold trim bought it in a KMart in late 80s and its been with me for so many moves. It was one of the few things left behind when my house got robbed. So I thank them for that.
"Who will survive and what will be left of them?" by Murder By Death
It's a cohesive concept album with a really kick ass Western story about the devil taking over a small Western town. Cowboys and zombies and demons and holy shit it's just so fucking cool. I think it was written as a theological thesis.
"Pink Lemonade" by Closure in Moscow. Every track is an absolute fucking banger. The technical musicianship and brilliant use of genre and style are seriously like nothing else I've ever heard.
Runnerups for me in no particular order: Justamustache - Thunder Birds are Now! Bleeds - Wednesday, there goes the neighborhood - kid kapichi, the software slump - grandaddy
Rush - Grace Under Pressure (Moving Pictures is fantastic and the cliche choice, but there's something about this one I love.)
The Knife - Silent Shout (Some reviewer called it "Haunted House" and that is the perfect descriptor. Eerie and intriguing electronic music.)
The For Carnation - The For Carnation (What became of Slint after Spiderland. This one doesn't get anywhere near as much recognition, but I think it's the more mature work overall. Groovy, minimalist post-rock.)
The Delgados - The Great Eastern (Hard to choose between their albums, too, but I think this one was a perfect straddling of their rockier bits and their symphonic dreampop that they leaned hard into later on. Great band!)
R.E.M. - Life's Rich Pageant (This one or its followup: Document which won them more accolades, but I think is slightly less consistent. Their peak-songwriting, IMO.)
Boards of Canada - Music Has the Right to Children (I know a lot of people love everything they've done, but I think they've never really topped the atmosphere of this one.)
Cocteau Twins - Treasure (At the time there was nothing else like it. There still isn't quite.)
The Afghan Whigs - 1965 (One of their less-popular albums, but I think Dulli and co nailed the RnB rock formula with this one. Their newer stuff is also pretty great.)
Basement Jaxx - Rooty (I'm torn between this and Kish Kash. Rooty is maybe slightly more consistent. Wall-to-wall banging big beat pop tunes. Fantastic production.)
Vektor - Terminal Redux (I went through a metal phase for some years, and this one still stands out. Amazing thrash-prog with a vocalist who sounds like a banshee from outer space. Amazing stuff!)
Skeletonwitch - Devouring Radiant Light (Gonna catch hell for this one. They were a very popular thrash band, then they fired their singer and went black metal. It was an unpopular decision with most of their fans. I think they knocked it out of the park. They haven't made an album since, though..)
Big Boi - Sir Lucious Left Foot - The Son of Chico Dusty (The [somewhat] underrated member of Outkast. This album goes hard. Lots of interesting collabs, too.)
Blackalicious - Blazing Arrow (Peak alt-hip-hop IMO. RIP Gift of Gab)
Glenn Gould's recording of the Goldberg Variations.
Back in Black by AC/DC, The Bends by Radiohead, Hybrid Theory by Linkin Park, A Place For Us to Dream by Placebo - this one is a compilation album, but it has some very cool versions of older songs that I like more than the originals. Nevermind by Nirvana, Hysteria by Def Leppard.
nin has a huge catalog but this one had some special magic. i remember reading that Trent wrote and recorded it on a tour bus. you can hear little slip ups sometimes where he starts singing a beat early then caught himself. he left it in. it's raw and angry and sad and damning and hopeless all at once.
the lyrics are very much of their time, but becoming more and more relevant as we sink deeper into late-stage capitalism.
It's the one concert that I wish I had been born early enough to attend, but alas I was only five years old at the time. When the album came out in 2007 was when I became a Queen fan.
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Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd.
Shine On is so beautiful. Then the middle songs, especially the title track, scratch that more catchy, accessible itch.
My dad would fall asleep to this album when I was growing up. It's really special.
'Falling asleep'.
I have seen people pass out while that album was playing.
No, he would literally queue the album up after he tucked me in to bed and then got ready to go to bed himself.
I'm sure many people have done drugs while listening to Pink Floyd, and my dad sure did in his youth, but he truly used that album as a sleep aid lol
That and the dark side of the moon. The two last songs (eclipse and brain damage) are ao frigging great.
oh fuuuuuuuuuuuck. been a long time since I was heavy into Floyd... was surprised to see people in this thread picking it over dark side, completely forgot shine on was off it... one of the greatest songs of all time easily
Jagged Little Pill
That's an "80-percenter"! My personal benchmark for a great album is 80%+ of perfect songs.
Not so easy to answer! But Vivaldis four seasons has been a great companion over the last 50 years
I recently rediscovered my love for this work and also discovered that it’s part of a larger work: Il Cimento dell’armonia e dell’inventione. For those that like the four seasons, you’ll probably like the rest.
So many of the greatest violinists have recorded the four seasons it’s difficult to pick a favourite but for me it’s Federico Guglielmo. I usually prefer a clean style but the expression is excellent.
Discovery - Daft Punk
Demon Days by Gorillaz
Linkin Park's Meteora or HybridTheory
R.I.P. Chester 🫡
Modest Mouse - The Moon & Antarctica
"We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank" is tied for me
YESSS
I carry that album in my soul for real haha
So modest mouse is my favorite band. The first song I heard was Alone Down There on a skate video. I loved it, but it was uncredited. So for a year I didn't know who made this amazing music. Then I started dating a girl who was into a bunch of indie shit I had never heard, and The Moon and Antarctica had come out that year. It is also indelibly etched into my soul. The first song she played for me was Wild Pack of Family Dogs, which I loved. Then I heard the song from the skate video again and everything clicked.
My favorite album though is The Lonesome Crowded West.
I've tried so hard to like Modest Mouse, but they just don't do it for me and I don't know why.
Have you tried...
Cowboy Dan
Alone Down There
Tiny Cities Made of Ashes
or especially
Teeth Like God's Shoeshine
Yeah, I've listened to almost everything they've released. They seem like a band I should love. I dunno..
I'm drawn in by the authenticity of their early music, the pure emotion, and the sometimes enigmatic lyrics. Being a punk kid when I heard them, I was attracted to Isaac Brock's raw vocals even though the music was in general much less aggressive than what I was typically listening to then.
These days I mostly listen to hiphop so it's been a journey. Modest mouse is still my favorite. They represent a time in my life when I was first learning to be my authentic self.
Tastes change for sure. I'll have to give them another shot some other time.
Mellon Collie & the Infinite Sadness.
It is not to my tastes anymore, but at the time when I was very swept up in it, it was truly an immersive and transformative experience. As a piece of art, I feel that it was a tremendous success.
I learned a few years back that the original vinyl pressing of this had a completely different track order than the the CD version (and I think was three LPs). I changed the track order on my digital version to match this (without the extra tracks that are near impossible to find) and it works so much better (and I love the album). I'd love to get my hands on a copy but can't find them for less than $300 if you're lucky.
I just read about this. It's related to the amount of bass a song has, and heavy songs tend to play better on the outside of a record, than closer inside. The needle can actually skip.
Stuff like this fascinates me, the ways in which physical limitations can impact a piece of art.
Wow! What an interesting addition!
Mine is Siamese Dream
Nirvana - Nevermind
No question. I got it when I was 15 in '91. Over the years, I've seen countless bands of various genres. My tastes evolved, and frankly, some of the records and CDs I loved at that age have not held up as my taste and musical appreciation broadened, but this one's timeless. For a while, I preferred In Utero for its rawness, but Nevermind is basically flawless in my opinion.
@YeahIgotskills2 @als I feel the same... discover nirvana way late arround 2010, I feel its simple and a masterpiece at same time
Massive Attack - Mezzanine
I got this for dissolved girl (knock knock, neo) and the rest of it sounds different. It's a good different. I was disappointed at first, but - unlike another hit/album mismatch finger eleven - I grew to really like the rest of it as a completely separate entity from the catalyst track that made me get it.
Air, Moon Safari
Fuck yeah, my wife and I used to make love to this album.
Premiers Symptômes is also great.
I didn't like the following albums as much as the first two.
Album I would listen to start to finish on any given day: Rubber Soul by the Beatles.
Favorite overall album to listen to: Chutes Too Narrow by The Shins.
Most important album: London Calling by The Clash
Chutes is legendary
Feel like it was a defining sound for many millennials.
Goldberg Variations. In particular, the 1981 recording played by Glenn Gould.
Yes, this. So much character. Gould was an amazing pianist!
Murray perahias recording I reluctantly think may be superior.
Anything by Glenn Gould! (As long as the recording removes the vocals...)
The Battle of Loss Angeles by RATM, probably?
Soul Food by Kognitif if we're measuring it by how much I love it relative to it's popularity
Had to scroll too far for a Rage album 🫡 it's funny how New Millennium Homes is still so fucking relevant (I mean they all are but I fkn love that song).
Songs for the Deaf - Queens of the Stone Age
In my opinion, it's one of the most solid albums ever, start-to-finish - the kind of album that's great on tape.
100% awesome album.
you can't even hear em!
this is one of the dozen or so albums that I'll listen to front to back. I appreciate when an album is put together as a whole work and not just a bunch of songs smahmshed together
do I know for sure that album was made that way? no. but it feels like it.
Alice in Chains - MTV Unplugged
If I had to pick just one.
One of the few live albums I like. Most of the songs on this I prefer over the studio versions. I consider this one to be a masterpiece.
Hybrid Theory (Linkin Park) is objectively the greatest album of all time in my subjective opinion
My Head is an Animal (Of Monsters And Men) is probably my personal favorite though
Hybrid Theory
My first thought as well.
Pixies - Trompe Le Monde
Everyone I’ve talked to seems to gravitate to Doolittle or Come On Pilgrim as a favorite Pixies record, or the album that defines their vibe. But for me this album was my entry point not just for them, but to a bigger musical world and I’m forever grateful for that.
Such a great album!
Deftones - White Pony
Loved it as a teen, love it as an adult
I was super into Deftones when i was 15 to 17 or so. I barely listened to it after turning 19, for no particular reason. At 38, i saw that the deftones poster was still in my childhood room and listened to it while renovating my basement. It's still good, but it hits so different. It's hard to explain, back then it was the pinnacle of music and lyrical expression. At almost 40 i looked at is as a edgy boyband or somethimg. Not in a negative way in any shape or form, but it's interenting to me how things change. And holy shit time flies
I'm curious which album you're referring to if not White Pony, and what music you are into these days?
My taste changed with age, but the overall feeling Deftones create is still in line with what else I like now.
Right now it's a toss-up over:
Rumours by Fleetwood Mac
Graceland by Paul Simon
Time by Electric Light Orchestra
She's So Unusual by Cyndi Lauper
(I really love them all; other top contenders are Born to Run by Springsteen and Untitled by Blink-182)
+1 for Graceland, not my current favourite, but always high up there.
I don't really know. Kinda depends in the mood I'm in I guess.
Kendrick Lamar - good kid, m.A.A.d. city
Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
Alice in Chains - Facelift
FIDLAR - FIDLAR
Queens Of The Stone Age - Songs For The Deaf
Rage Against The Machine - Rage Against The Machine
EDIT (some more):
Gojira - From Mars to Sirius
Pearl Jam - Ten
Soundgarden - Superunknown
what an absolutely brutal question! yet my answer never changes:
The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Electric Ladyland
Refused - The Shape Of Punk To Come
Holy shit I must have listened to this album about 1000 times when I was a teenager in the late 90s. Huge influence on me and also on post hardcore as a genre.
I picked this album up purely on the art and the name of the album, not knowing of Refused at all. I was not disappointed!
Great choice. I saw them at a festival at the end of '25 - so much energy. They sounded excellent.
Oof that’s a hard one. One of the below:
Jimmy Eat World ‘Clarity’
Mineral ‘The Power Of Failing’
Neutral Milk Hotel ‘In The Aeroplane Over The Sea’
The Decemberists ‘Picaresque’
Clarity is incredible. Jimmy Eat World was at their absolute creative peak right before they made it big with their next album.
In 1999 or thereabouts my girlfriend left me for another guy at a music festival. I will never forget grabbing my discman and headphones and heading out to be alone and feel sorry for myself.
I sat in a muddy cow pasture listening to Clarity for hours that night. That’s what emo is to me.
I definitely like seeing Picaresque up here, fantastic album.
Hey if you like that, well I can't really explain why this album is similar, but try "England Keep my Bones" by Frank Turner.
Jamiroquai - Dynamite
Beastie Boys - Hello Nasty
The Damned - Machine Gun Etiquette
The Velvet Underground and Nico.
So good. When Nico sings on Femme Fatale it still gives me goosebumps. "Everybody knows..."
Sgt. Peppers.
I've got it on vinyl and this is definitely the way to hear it. Not because of quality but because it has to be heard in one go, not as separate songs.
I've heard it many times throughout the years and I still find new meanings to the songs depending on where I am in my own life.
Fixing A Hole is still one of the best songs I've ever heard. Harrison's guitar, McCartney's vocals and lyrics are all top notch.
My favourite changes constantly, but right now it’s Masks Off by Jesse Welles. I’ve said it several times here before but Lemmy would really like his lyrics and more folks here need to check him out.
He’s incredible. He just played a show at the hot dog place near me and I missed it!
I saw him back in March, he was amazing live. I’ll absolutely be seeing him again.
Van Halen (first album)
I choose to interpret this question as: "what album has been your favorite for the longest part of your life?" This was the first album I liked when I was a lil' kid even tho I didn't really understand what they were singing about. It's still a great listen, every song rocks, and some songs (like "Eruption") are legendary.
I wasn't a huge fan when I was younger, but now I can't help but like them, the guitar work is just insane and the songs are really feel good mostly
Audio slave - Out of exile
I have a slight preference to their first album but they’re both excellent.
Yes maybe the first one is musically better, but this one helped me in my life when i was a young man not understanding what i am going through, it kinda relate more to me.
RIP Chris, i hope you were a good human.
Yeah, that’s fair. Be Yourself will always be one of my favourite songs, same with Doesn’t Remind Me.
I’ve only ever heard good things about Chris, I’d like to think he was a good person. Same with Layne. And Kurt too, actually. I’m starting to notice a pattern here…
Coheed and Cambria - Good Apollo, I’m Burning Star IV.
That album is a masterpiece.
ohh it's an insanely difficult question since I've gone through so many music phases and now listen to almost all of them
the album I've played the most and has had the most influence on me is probably The Shamen - Axis Mutatis, The Shamen had a few big hits off their first album, this second album was more experimental and I don't think it hit as well with the party crowd, but to me it has some excellent lyrics, melodies, sound design.
Close second is Skinny Puppy - Mind The Perpetual Intercourse
Currently I'm in a rediscovery / re-appreciation phase so:
Sinead O'Conner - The lion and the Cobra
The Doors - Morrison Hotel
Probably all time favourite, although it fades in and out of rotation:
Dream Theater - Metropolis pt2
Yellow by Baroness.
Well, technically its a double album: Yellow & Green. And I would say Green is a close second.
Something about it just blew my mind. Like, I had heard Baroness before, stuff from Red and Blue. They had a song or two on the early Guitar Hero games. I just thought "oh another okay metal band, whatever". Yellow and Green were just... Different. The tone, the vocal style. The whole approach to writing ans playing guitars was different than what i was used to. Thr production has this kind of modern dirtiness, like the noise came from radiation or something. The lyrics are absolutely battling, as they were translated across multiple languages and the meaning was only clinging to them by a thread. The album art is incredible too. The bass is perfect, never too much or too little. The drums use disco and other dance beats along side this metal-ish music in a fantastic way.
It kind of felt it cane fron another dimension. A different timeline where English and western music evolved similarly to ours, but jjsy different enough to be uncanny.
R.E.M. - Reckoning. All killer no filler
That a Sum 41 album /s
Great choice. It's my favourite album of theirs too.
Damn straight! Maybe my #2 behind Life's Rich Pageant.
69 Love Songs from The Magnetic Fields
Probably a generic answer but lateralus or ænima.
The Best Of of Tears for Fears
Probably Touché Amoré - Stage Four
Such a cool band. Great live too!
Boys For Pele - Tori Amos
She does so much with the orchestration that I'm still finding new elements
Scurrilous by Protest the Hero
It's their turning point, the last album with og line-up. Rody (vocal) taking charge of the lyrics. Simple drum (set up), insane riff, varied theme.
From the futility of suicide, cancer, to record label greed.
I mean I like their newer material even more, but this one special to me.
October Rust - Type O Negative.
The quintessential goth metal album. Their layers of sound, Pete’s incredible ability to make the most sardonic lyrics sound romantic and the bands utter control of melodic harmony make it an album that I have listened to an innumerable amount of times since its release. There really is something special here than no band since has captured on tape. It came out when I was a sophomore and immediately became something that I knew would be with me my entire life. This album bleeds sensuality with a not so subtle wink and nod to the ridiculousness of the human condition in a way few, if any before or after it ever have. It is equal parts sexy and hilarious. Type O was a band whose depth was often missed by the outlandish nature of who their frontman Peter Steele was. A man capable of being a sulking giant with a broken heart one second and a sexy rock and roll god doing a centerfold photoshoot for Playgirl the next.
I never stopped loving this band for that perfect mixture of mischief, tongue in cheek self awareness and Gen X melancholy they brought to everything they did. There are great albums by them before this one and great ones after. But October Rust stands as a truly unique album without peer in my heart for all time.
Moving forward a little,
Gin - Cobalt
This is a pure slab of American Black Metal by way of a multi-instrumentalist that grew up on 90’s alternative, particularly Tool. It bridges the gap between two eras of metal so effortlessly it boggles the mind at times. Erik Wunder played all the instruments and was the primary songwriter on this album and it is so complete in a way that can only be achieved through that singular of a vision. It’s like a dark mirror version of the first Foo Fighters record in a myriad of ways. He sadly passed away last year and was only able to perform these song live a few times in the decade and half since its release. I was lucky enough to catch two of those performances and they were as beautiful as I had hoped.
His passing hit like a brick as I was able to talk quite a bit with him on Facebook in during the early years of the band and spend some time in person when they played near me. He was always very gracious and intelligent in person. He had that specific blend of honesty and intelligence that separates the good from the great in music. I often wonder what could have become of the band if he had been able to find more stable vocalists and the ability to create while sober. It’s a real bummer we will never know.
Finally,
…Like Clockwork- Queens of the Stone Age
This is one of those albums that came at exactly the right time in my life to become an encapsulation of moments of darkness and hope being perfectly intertwined. It gave me a place to put my sadness, my longing, my fears and my dreams while I sorted out who I would be for the second half of life on this planet. There are moments of spite that feel so real you can almost feel the tension in the rooms that inspired it. Then there are moments of such soulful beauty and longing you can’t help but get lost in thoughts of heartbreak right along with the band. I truly believe Josh Homme wrote his opus here. It’s the perfect Queens album and, in my opinion, the greatest rock and roll album of all time.
October Rust is SUCH a good album. Type O w/ Peter Steele (is there Type O without?..) was really something special. Love You to Death & Wolf Moon for me from that album. Unreal stuff.
Wow, I completely forgot about October Rust, used to listen to it a lot in highschool, definitely need to give it a try again.
I was listening to Cobalt today! Gin. I didn't know he died. That sucks. I like the double album he did after Gin, too, but I don't come back to it nearly as often as Gin.)
I don't normally do superlatives, so my answer could change at any time soonish, really. That said, if I'd point to one album that I've reliably enjoyed a lot for quite a while, I'd say:
Ayreon - Into The Electric Castle
Wikipedia, Bandcamp (original), Bandcamp (20th anniversary remaster), and they're on Spot & YT as well.
Ooh yes amazing album and amazing group? project? Not sure what to call ayreon lol. Though from their discography I think I'd personally lean towards 01011001.
01011001 is a close second imo. But ITEC gets me into the mood for some hobby stuff more effectively, so that one gets the win right now.
I guess project might as well be the best description of Ayreon. The only stable participant is the fact it's all written by the same guy, Sir Arjen Anthony Lucassen
I honestly have no idea. My first favorites were Dookie and Smash, and I don't enjoy either any less than I did, then.
I don't have a favourite album of all time, but I do have favourites for certain genres/vibes.
For just putting on as some music in the background it's Selected Ambient Works 85-92 by Aphex Twin
For metal, it's Behemoth, either The Satanist or I Loved You at Your Darkest.
For electronic music, Biceps Isles is great, and when I used to run, it's great exercise music. But in that same vein Palaces by Flume is also excellent.
For down tempo vibes it's gotta be Mezzanine by Massive Attack, although Music has the right to Children by Boards of Canada is a very close second. And fuck actually Dummy by Portishead
For more classic easy listening vibes, Chicago 2 by Chicago.
For something I think anybody can enjoy, it's plastic beach by Gorillaz. It's their best album by far and I love a concept album.
When I want to hear BEAUTIFUL music that also goes hard, it's John Hopkins immunity. I had the title track play at my wedding and it captured the vibe perfectly.
So I guess no, I don't have a favourite album
Random Access Memories by Daft Punk
Thirteenth Step - A Perfect Circle. I've listened so many times start to finish, absolutely in love with it.
ahhh thanks for the reminder this exists. it's like an instant time warp for me to a different era
Came here to say this exact album.
Of course this changes over time but right now it's probably a toss up between Marquee Moon by Television and 154 by Wire.
What a hard question. But i always come back to Metallica - Ride the Lightning
Ditto. Ride the lightning was my, "and the rest was history" moment. Never even cared about music until then.
Dream Theater, Metropolis Part 2
The Downward Spiral [NIN halo 8]
It used to be Donny Osmond's Greatest Hits but now it's Lou Reed's New York.
Have you heard Lou Reed’s Rock N Roll Animal? Amazing live album.
No, but now I'm curious. Thx.
Pornography by the Cure. So dismal
Jeff Buckley "Grace"
The Royal Scam - Steely Dan
Ecliptica (Original album, not the revisited one) - Sonata Arctica
Dire Straits - Dire Straits
Vital Remains - Let Is Pray
Electric Wizard - Dopethrone
Crass - Penis Envy
Aus-Rotten - The Rotten Agenda
Dayglo Abortions - Feed Us a Fetus
It's somewhere between those this year. It would've been totally different five years ago, will be totally different five from now.
Moron Police - Pachinko
Joni - Blue
Purple Rain
I listen to too much music to pick just one lol.
I should probably stop.
Dream Theater - Live Scenes from New York.
If it has to be a studio album, same artist, Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory
Sketches of Brunswick East by King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard and Mild High Club
Strange Trails by Lord Huron
I was never as good as I always thought I was
My Arms, Your Hearse by Opeth
Will the Circle be Unbroken - Nitty Gritty Dirt band and friends.
there are lots of other great ones, but there is a reason this keeps coming up as a defining album in folk or bluegrass music circles.
Rhyme Asylum - Solitary Confinement
I Mother Earth - Scenery & Fish
90's Canadian rock, with "Shortcut to Moncton" as my favourite track, and "One More Astronaut" as the album's biggest single. I listened to this one end to end so many times, and there's not a bad song on it, my fave just in terms of number of listens. It's aged okay. I don't replay it obsessively like I did in my late teens
La mécanique du cœur by Dionysos
Oh wow, I haven't thought about that in over 15 years
True Defiance by Demon Hunter, it have so many songs I can hear on repeat.
Good & Evil by Tally Hall
Great songs, great album art.
The whole Animals as Leaders discography. Incredible band.
"Blues & Roots" by Charles Mingus
Raw Data Feel by Everything Everything! I drove from Seattle to San Diego one time and I listened to that album at least 10 times on the drive. So good.
The Mark, Tom, & Travis Show by Blink 182
The Story So Far self titled
Every time I hear Dumpweed from the start of that live album I am so happy. It’s played faster and with so much enthusiasm.
Hits the dopamine receptors just right.
The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me
Sol - Seeming
Brooklyn Funk Essentials - Cool & Steady & Easy - is high on my list at the moment.
Blink 182 -Take of your pants and jacket
It's a hard one.
The Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd or Hybrid Theory from Linkin Park
Relapse by Eminem
What a delightfully impossible question.
I hate it when someone names a totally obscure album that no one’s ever heard of just to be cool, but I looked through my whole collection and no other single album felt right as my Favorite Album Of All Time, which I have to underscore is different than what I think is the best album of all time.
So anyway, my personal favorite album of all time which I can listen to any time and which transports me to a different place and time in my life:
Model Engine - The Lean Years Tradition
I’ve been saying that for 15 years or so and it remains true, but I don’t expect folks will listen to it and be blown away. That said, it’s an amazing album that came along at just the right time to get baked into my personality forever.
My favorite album that’s more well known, and which I would argue is genre defining: Sunny Day Real Estate - The Pink Album
My favorite album of the last 5 years is Rosalia - Motomami
Music is so fucking great isn’t it? I think it is one of the better things to come out of humanity.
Computerwelt by Kraftwerk.
But Remain In Light by Talking Heads is a very close second.
Chikoi the Maid is really good https://chikoithemaid.bandcamp.com/
i'm really bad at describing music genres but it has this mixture of electronic and rock music that i really like. (it has no vocals btw)
i think my favorite song so far is Affliction https://chikoithemaid.bandcamp.com/track/in-affliction-yakui-the-maid-cover
The one that has pictures of my love ones both those with me and those I only have memories left. Its white and has gold trim bought it in a KMart in late 80s and its been with me for so many moves. It was one of the few things left behind when my house got robbed. So I thank them for that.
Vitalogy - Pearl Jam
IV by Black Mountain and Private Tales by Sleepy Sun.
I don’t really grasp genres very well so I’ll just call them rock. But I love these albums with all my heart, front to back.
tie between Pink Floyd's "The Wall" and Coletta's "Idealism". I can also confidently say anyone who likes Pink Floyd should check out Coletta.
Can't pick one or two.
The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars - David Bowie
London Calling - Clash
The Gift - The Jam
Rubber Soul - The Beatles
Tin Drum - Japan
Dark Side Of The Moon - Pink Floyd
Synchronicity - The Police
Remain In Light - Talking Heads
New Traditionalists - Devo
La folie - The Stranglers
I have two I think:
"Who will survive and what will be left of them?" by Murder By Death
It's a cohesive concept album with a really kick ass Western story about the devil taking over a small Western town. Cowboys and zombies and demons and holy shit it's just so fucking cool. I think it was written as a theological thesis.
"Pink Lemonade" by Closure in Moscow. Every track is an absolute fucking banger. The technical musicianship and brilliant use of genre and style are seriously like nothing else I've ever heard.
Runnerups for me in no particular order: Justamustache - Thunder Birds are Now! Bleeds - Wednesday, there goes the neighborhood - kid kapichi, the software slump - grandaddy
One is impossible.
I'd better stop...
Jean Michel Jarre: Oxygens, Les Chantes Magnetique.
Mike Oldfield: Tubular Bells II.
Pink Floyd: Dark Side of the Moon
Haha! I think you replied to me by mistake.
Back in Black by AC/DC, The Bends by Radiohead, Hybrid Theory by Linkin Park, A Place For Us to Dream by Placebo - this one is a compilation album, but it has some very cool versions of older songs that I like more than the originals. Nevermind by Nirvana, Hysteria by Def Leppard.
Colin James - Fuse
The hunting party by linkin park
Came out on a perfect time for me
Daft Punk - Alive
Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
Opeth - Blackwater Park
I have a few. In no particular order:
It's a Kind of Magic -Queen Time -ELO Howard Jones greatest hits Ten Summoners Tales - Sting Asia-Asia Heavy Metal Soundtrack
Brothers in arms- Dire Straights
Cat Stevens - Tea for the Tillerman
although Cat is a misogynistic asshole, his music is still fire.
Counting Crows- August and Everything After. Perfection from start to finish.
Master of Puppets - Metallica
I have 2 and it depends on what mood I am in.
For Albums I need to like every song and I need to be able to listen to the whole thing without skipping.
Anamanaguchi - Endless Fantasy is one of them and I just to LP for it: https://anamanaguchi.bandcamp.com/album/endless-fantasy
But if I’m looking to relax;
Austin Wintory - Journey: https://austinwintory.bandcamp.com/album/journey
Bruce Springsteen, several albums, almost all the early ones
Easy Rider (soundtrack), or perhaps On the Threshold of a Dream (The Moody Blues).
nine inch nails - year zero
nin has a huge catalog but this one had some special magic. i remember reading that Trent wrote and recorded it on a tour bus. you can hear little slip ups sometimes where he starts singing a beat early then caught himself. he left it in. it's raw and angry and sad and damning and hopeless all at once.
the lyrics are very much of their time, but becoming more and more relevant as we sink deeper into late-stage capitalism.
Myrath - Tales of the Sands
Beyonce - Cowboy Carter
Pendulum - Hold Your Colour
Led Zeppelin - dark side of the Moon
TARANTULA
Such a hard question.
Old - Boz Scaggs Silk Degrees
New - Fontaines DC Romance
Borrowed - Cafe Tacuba Avalanche de Exitos
Blue - Nick Drake Bryter Later
Queen Rock Montreal
It's the one concert that I wish I had been born early enough to attend, but alas I was only five years old at the time. When the album came out in 2007 was when I became a Queen fan.
Paradigmes - La Femme
If you enjoy alternative kinda trippy pop, it slaps
So many…
Deathconsciousness by Have a Nice Life
Surf’s Up by the Beach Boys
The Glow pt 2 by the Microphones
The Velvet Underground by the Velvet Underground
Mignone by Taeko Onuki
In the Aeroplane Over the Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel
Red Headed Stranger by Willie Nelson
wallsocket by underscores
Townes Van Zandt by Townes Van Zandt
The Stone Roses by the Stone Roses
…
I could go on forever I think you get it