| 5.0 classic |
| Aphex Twin Selected Ambient Works 85-92 |
| An exploration of relaxation from a wide variety of rhythms, melodies, and sounds culminate in this classic of the genre. Years later it still sounds as new as it probably did in 1992. |
| Boards of Canada Music Has the Right to Children |
| An album coloured with emotions and organized beautifully. Nostalgic but contemporary, this is a phenomenal accomplishment of the genre that truly captures the human spirit in sound. |
| Boards of Canada Geogaddi |
| Uncomfortable and prodding, this frightening work challenges the psyche and sounds like something from an alien Hell. Absurdly fascinating. |
| Brand New The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me |
| An open diary of the soul. Jesse Lacey writes possibly the most personal and vulnerable album ever and stuffs the first half with some of the most excellent songs in the style. While the latter half settles down and is overall weaker, it still maintains his undeniable presence. |
| Cynic Traced in Air |
| What Cynic began to do on Focus comes to its apex. Every sound from every instrument is in near perfect harmony with every other instrument, none of the outlandish effects sound "cheesy" or contrived, and on the contrary add to the overall atmosphere of the album. Cynic sounds more progressive on this album than most bands sound today in general; ten years from this year - 2014 - this album will still sound modern.rWhat truly sets this album apart from any other metal releases of the year - the decade, even - is the sheer brilliance of its sum and its parts. Rarely does an album succeed so thoroughly with each of its songs as well as it does as a whole. Focus was much more successful as an entire cohesive album than it was as a collection of outstanding tracks, but even in its full, complete entirety it doesn't compare to Traced In Air as a full album.rWhile in no way is Focus any less magnificent on its own, it simply cannot compare to Traced In Air. On this release, Cynic refined a sound that was considered by many to be almost revolutionary and made it into something so much more than unique; they made it into something definitive of musical progression. |
| David Bowie Low |
| David Bowie's best album, full of unique ideas and coloured with a broad assortment of classic songs. A departure from much of his previous work, it still manages to completely embody his style and never feels stale. Without question a classic. |
| David Bowie The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars |
| Iconic in the genre and even an entire era. Bowie's best known work is loaded with some of the greatest rock songs ever written, and offers a seamless cohesion unlike many other albums with a similarly strong tracklist. An obvious classic. |
| Death The Sound of Perseverance |
| A definitive expression of progressive death metal and a perfect sendoff to one of the most legendary outfits to ever do it. Timeless; the sound of perseverance indeed. |
| Dismember Like an Ever Flowing Stream |
| Death metal at its peak. Creativity and musicianship is on point, and the atmosphere is savage and unrelenting in the best way possible. |
| Godspeed You! Black Emperor F♯ A♯ ∞ |
| Haunting ambience and precise instrumentation combine to form a behemoth of an album that feels like the perfect soundtrack to the apocalypse. Simultaneously capturing feelings of despair, hope, love, fear, and more, this is likely one of the most extraordinary releases that music will ever see. |
| Godspeed You! Black Emperor Slow Riot For New Zero Kanada |
Probably the most perfect two song release on this side of the solar system. Moya is great, and
BBFIII is an otherworldly beast. It doesn't waste a moment but never feels rushed. Each song
compliments the other phenomenally. Debatably the band's best. |
| Kayo Dot Choirs of the Eye |
| One of the most original and captivating works of the modern era and the closest thing to a continuation of maudlin of the Well, similar in artistic scope but wildly different in terms of achieving tonal, atmospheric, dynamic, and stylistic diversity. You would be doing yourself a disservice missing out on this. |
| King Crimson In the Court of the Crimson King |
| A progressive masterpiece rife with some of the most timeless music in rock history. There are passages of pure chaos and also spans of therapeautic ambience. There probably won't be a point in time where this album's sound isn't relevant and modern. |
| maudlin of the Well Bath |
| An impossibly creative work that manages to succeed on innumerable levels. Instrumentation is fascinating, the vocals are charged with emotion, the production is stellar, and every moment is significant. Cutting edge work from start to finish. A perfect album. |
| maudlin of the Well Leaving Your Body Map |
| Simply put, the second half of perfection. Its ideas aren't quite as clearly stated and bound to one another as 'bath' but it still manages to be immensely impressive on a creative and compositional front. |
| Mono Hymn to the Immortal Wind |
| A unique journey that tells a story without words. Bittersweet, some songs seem to blossom with fresh new youth while others sound like they are drawing their last breath. Very passionate music. |
| Neurosis Through Silver in Blood |
Harrowing and oppressive. Few albums try to capture such a strong sense of emotion and execute
flawlessly on so many different occasions. Post-metal's finest, undoubtedly. |
| Nobuo Uematsu Final Fantasy VI: Original Soundtrack |
| It's a miracle that my favourite game of all time also has one of my favourite soundtracks. Each song is memorable and adds to the general atmosphere of the game while also working tremendously as a collection of standalone tracks. "Maria and Draco" is probably my second favourite video game song ever right behind the masterpiece that is "Dancing Mad". |
| Pink Floyd Animals |
| Though it doesn't have too many songs, this album has a whole lot of music - a whole lot of really, really great music. Politically and institutionally charged and featuring Roger Waters' best performance, the flawless cohesion of this album puts it a step above its contemporaries and solidifies it as Floyd's best work. |
| Radiohead OK Computer |
| Very possibly the best constructed album of the 20th century. Radiohead's ideas of technology, politics, and their trademark weirdness mesh together clearly and make for a truly classic album where every track feels necessary and each one fits perfectly in between the opener and closer. Effectively flawless. |
| Radiohead Kid A |
| Almost as good as it gets. Every track is outstanding (aside from Treefingers) and comes together to form a more meaningful final product, and Radiohead's greatest achievement to date. |
| Ween The Mollusk |
| No other album so effortlessly embodies the fun of music as this one. Nautical goofiness and genuinely brilliant music is the name of the game here, and every song feels like an experiment in strangeness and originality. An accidental masterpiece. |
