Top 30 Favorite Albums
Every album on this list is a 10 and there are no big gaps of enjoyment between any two albums, so I don't prefer my number one pick so much more than my number thirty pick. I just had to rate them from the lightest 10 to the strongest 10. |
| 30 |  | Jimi Hendrix
Band of Gypsys
The perfect farewell for the greatest and most exciting rock guitarist of all time. Contains some of the most thrilling solos you'll ever hear in your life. |
| 29 |  | Opeth
Still Life
I just love Opeth, and this album beats its successor Blackwater Park any day. Although Blackwater had some very strong material, Still Life was a bit more interesting and had stronger material overall. |
| 28 |  | Neutral Milk Hotel
In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
Very simple indie folk meets fantastic extra instrumentation (including the zanzithophone and uilleann pipes) This is a recent addition to my collection and it's already on this list, even topping the Opeth album that I've been listening to since high school. |
| 27 |  | Metallica
Master of Puppets
Brutally heavy for its time, yet surprisingly sophisticated for a genre wrongly thought to be composed by monosyllabic cavemen. This is '80s metal meets the symphony. |
| 26 |  | Viktor Vaughn
Vaudeville Villain
MF DOOM (remember all caps when you spell the name) is always an interesting and refreshingly unique rapper who fits no stereotype. This album's highly-praised successor Madvillainy is a fantastic album for sure, but this album possesses much more aggression and energy. |
| 25 |  | Soft Machine
Third
LONG jams. Only four songs and each one is over 18 minutes long. A wonderful of jazz fusion and progressive rock. |
| 24 |  | King Crimson
Lizard
When King Crimson gets brought up in a conversation, this is usually never an album that gets brought up (see; In the Court of the Crimson King and Red). This is a shame, since this album clearly rules. The 23 minute closing track may be the most progressive (and most self-indulgent) progressive rock song of the '70s. |
| 23 | | The Beatles
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Arguably the greatest album of all time (it was at the top of Rolling Stone's list) Sgt. Pepper is truly special. "A Day in the Life" alone is worth the price of admission, it being one of the greatest songs in popular music history |
| 22 |  | Mahavishnu Orchestra
The Inner Mounting Flame
Some of the most exciting jazz fusion you'll be bound to come across. Amazing musicianship all-around and solos that were more metal than any early metal that was out at the time. |
| 21 |  | King Crimson
Red
A somewhat more straightforward Crimson album, this album succeeds at being a more accessible way to get into great progressive rock. The closing track "Starless" is just gorgeous. |
| 20 |  | Astra
The Weirding
"How is these copycats higher on the list than King Crimson, Soft Machine, and Mahavishnu?!" They just are. I just connect with this album a little more than those other releases. |
| 19 |  | The Smiths
The Queen Is Dead
Tight and technical instrumentation meets a singer who doesn't really possess much technical ability, and some may even call him tone deaf. The result is surprisingly impressive, even jaw-dropping. |
| 18 |  | Queen
Queen II
This brought rock music to a level of theatrics and drama unheard of. The sequence of "Ogre Battle" "Fairy Feller's Master Stroke" "Nevermore" and "March of the Black Queen" should never be listened to out of sequence. |
| 17 |  | Queens of the Stone Age
Songs for the Deaf
The Beatles' pop sensibility meets heavy metal. At times insanely catchy, and other times hard to pin down. An essential modern rock album. |
| 16 |  | Gorillaz
Demon Days
When I heard this album when I was 11 I thought nothing of it, shelved it, and it never saw the light of day until I graduated high school. Today, I love it with my heart and soul. |
| 15 |  | OutKast
Aquemini
Probably the most ambitious hip-hop album I've ever heard. Expertly crafted instrumentals with real musicians playing them, top-notch lyricism and interesting skits all combine to make an indispensable album in hip-hop. |
| 14 |  | Moby
Play
This is just a special album for me personally. It was given to me on cassette tape in 2000 when I was maybe 7 years old and I've grown to appreciate it more and more over the years. There's so much stylistic variety yet is flows like a cohesive album |
| 13 |  | The Cult
Sonic Temple
A perfect hard rock/metal record. Massive, crushing guitars and wild solos with passionate, wailing vocals? What more do you want from a metal album? |
| 12 |  | Iron Maiden
Powerslave
If there's one album that I'd recommend to anyone who asks me "Where should I start with heavy metal?" This would be the first album I'd tell them about. It's the meat and potatoes of the genre, and a picture perfect example of all that metal is. |
| 11 |  | Jeff Buckley
Grace
The first, and last, album by a man who was blessed with one of the greatest voices in rock history, or of all time. A beautiful record that everyone should open their hearts to. |
| 10 |  | Tool
Lateralus
I couldn't stand Tool at one point because of how overplayed they were on the rock radio stations in my city, but I came around. A wholly original sound in the vast sea of progressive metal, Tool crafted their best album yet with this release, and "Schism" must be one of the coolest songs of all time. |
| 9 |  | Wu-Tang Clan
Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)
Arguably the greatest hip-hop album of all time, Wu-Tang brought heavy metal darkness and aggression to hip-hop in the '90s. Some songs on here just feel like you're getting your ass kicked in one of the martial arts movies that are sampled all over the album. |
| 8 |  | Pink Floyd
Wish You Were Here
A fulfilling progressive rock opus that just feeds the soul. Amazing solos by Gilmour, and a title track that may be one of the greatest rock songs ever written. |
| 7 |  | Rush
Permanent Waves
A bright and exciting, as well as an accessible progressive rock album that may appeal to any rock fan. The composition is air-tight, and the closing 3-movement epic "Natural Science" may be the best multiple movement song in Rush's discography. |
| 6 |  | The Cure
Disintegration
An unbelievably depressing, yet beautiful and appealing record. Open yourself up to it and get enveloped in its alluring darkness. |
| 5 |  | Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Choosing my favorite Zeppelin album was easy, but choosing where it goes on this list was a little tricky. It obviously ended up being very high. Robert Plant is one of the most gifted vocalists in rock, and the band's mangling of the blues into a new, heavy sound is admirable. |
| 4 |  | Opeth
Ghost Reveries
It was in a very harrowing and confusing time in my life when I discovered this album. It blew me away to put it mildly, and that's why it made it to the top 5. This is just Opeth at their absolute best. |
| 3 |  | Ours
Distorted Lullabies
There is no hope of this album ever becoming a classic, and that's a shame because of just how goddamned good it is. It's the perfect of the singer/songwriter elements Jeff Buckley and the art-rock ambition Radiohead. I'll always love this one. |
| 2 |  | Judas Priest
Stained Class
My favorite album from my favorite band. Not the most celebrated Judas Priest album, but the one that gets me the most pumped up. "Beyond the Realms of Death" in particular is one that resonates with me deeply. |
| 1 |  | Radiohead
OK Computer
I know that no one on this site wants to see another list with Radiohead ever again but whatever, this is unquestionably my favorite album. It just keeps on giving, as I notice something new almost every time I listen to it. Just a beautiful record. |
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