Jasdevi087
INTERNATIONAL POPSTAR STEVEN WILSON
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Last Active 12-16-22 8:35 pm
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Jasdevi's top 150 favourite albums: Part 1 150-101

So since my birthday is coming up in just under two weeks and it's my Sputversary as well not long after that, I've decided to do a project listing my favourite albums ever. I'll probably do one other part every couple of days. I do admit that there's gonna be a bit of doubling up from the bands in my favourites box on my profile, but they are my favourites, so it makes sense. As the title describes, this list runs from 150 to 101, I know you can put 100 on a list, but it'll take me way too long to do it like that. I've tried including my favourite songs as well. Not putting live albums on the list made choosing a lot harder. It could be said that this is more of an honorable mentions section. I did personally believe them to be honorable enough to mention in saying that.
50the GazettE
DIM

Considering I called out their latest copycat album in my last review, it's probably, actually no, it's really odd to see one of their albums make my favourite albums list. But, I've tossed it around in my head long enough and I've decided it would be unfair to exclude the album that was instrumental in my introduction to J-rock of the list. There's so much nostalgia for me in "The Invisible Wall" and other songs like "Ogre" that keeps calling me back here. Yeah, it's still not a very original album, but at least in this case, the GazettE did it right.

"The Invisible Wall" "13stairs [-]1" "DISTRESS AND COMA" "Ogre"
49Neutral Milk Hotel
In the Aeroplane Over the Sea

I really have tried liking this more over the years, it's one of those albums that's just talked about so much you kind of feel obliged to make the effort. Unfortunately, I can't 5 this album, hell, I can't even 4 it. Though I must admit that I do constantly return to songs off this album. It may not be the best thing on the planet, but at least it has a heart and at the very least, it has replay value.

"King of Carrot Flowers pt. 1" "In An Aeroplane Over the Sea" "Two Headed Boy pt. 1"
48Izumi Macra
Sotsugyou to, sore made no utouto

Izumi Macra is something that's rather hard for me to describe the appeal of, especially so much that I've put one of her albums at the bottom of my favourites list. I think it's how reclusive everything about this sounds, how timid and tired her voice sounds and how home-made everything feels. I can't really say, but it's something like that.

"Balloon" "Muscari"
47Bic Runga
Drive

Though she doesn't really have many memorable songs outside of "Drive" and all of her other singles that inevitably have ended up on nearly every single Great New Zealand Song book or Nature's Best compilation albums, she does have a very soothing voice and she is a charismatic performer. Most of her best work, for me anyway, is on this album. It's not one I can say I'd return to an awful lot and maybe it's only found its way on here due to it being fresh in my mind. It is good though, I'll give it that much.

"Drive" "Sway"
46a-ha
Hunting High and Low

Now when it comes to memorable songs, there's not an awful lot of songs out there as memorable as "Take on Me". I mean, damn if you're looking at this and going "I have no idea what that song is," look it up real quick, I can almost guarantee you do. I managed to come across a tape of this in a box of my uncle's stuff and a whole album of this is just about as good as I imagined it would be. It unfortunately does drop off in quality around the second half, but not so much that it completely ruins the album.

"Take on Me" "Train of Thought" "The Sun Always Shines on TV"
45MUCC
Houyoku

While I've never really gotten into this band, I ended up buying a limited edition of this just because it was cheap and easily available, so I wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to give them another go if it meant having an album that I could sell for a large sum if I ended up not liking it. I'd say I definitely ended up liking it, and I think it's also safe to say that I now get what the appeal of this band is for a lot of people. Something about that hand drawn bird flying through some skyscrapers on the cover evokes a lot of imagery about what this album sounds like. There's this bizarre nostalgia about this album, even though I'd never even heard about these guys more than a year ago, I still feel a weird attachment to this album. I can't really say why that is, it's just a feeling.

"Kagayaku Sekai" "Komorebi" "Ame no Orchestra" "Kokoro no nai Machi"
44Red Fang
Red Fang

Red Fang for me have never been more than a "great" band. They have some really fun songs and they have some really memorable songs too, but they've never managed to make an album that I felt was more than a 3.5. Credit to them, I do enjoy their albums and their songs, particularly their first album which was one of the first albums that I really gave a good listen to. Keeping in mind that I haven't been indulging in branching out in my listening for very long, in fact I only really started doing it a couple of months after joining Sputnik. This was one of the first and it'll always hold a special memorable spot in my heart.

"Prehistoric Dog" "Humans Remain Human Remains"
43Tang Dynasty
A dream returns to Tang Dynasty

Oh so there is metal in China" is one of the first things I probably thought when I listened to this, since the only reason I discovered this at all is because I was specifically looking for stuff from China, which gets a total of zero exposure in my part of the world. I think it's my satisfaction with how this sounds exactly like I imagined it would sound like is one of the reasons I like this so much. As in, it sounds like classic heavy metal but with traditional Chinese elements thrown in every now and then.

"A Dream Returns to Tang Dynasty" "The Sun"
42Malice Mizer
Bara no Seidou

While this is exactly what I always hope an album tagged as "gothic" sounds like going into them, I do feel that this album can be a little too much at times. Which is a pretty ridiculous thing to criticise a Malice Mizer album for being, since it's over the top by nature. At the end of the day, this album deserves its spot here for it's dark textures that manage to evoke exactly what they promise to. It is a real shame that Mana went on to drive himself into the ground trying to beat this sound like a dead horse with his future project Moi Dix Mois, but even though he may have fucked up big time there, at least he made this before he did.

"Kyomu no Naka de no Yuugi" "Mayonaka ni Kawashita Yakusoku"
41Monoral
Turbulence

The final album on the list that has made it on despite me having only rated it a 3.5. For some reason, even though this album means quite a lot to me, I've never had the nerve to bump it's rating. Perhaps because it's too simple an album, an album that doesn't actually appear to have anything special about it. It's, above everything else, the feelings of summer and the freedom from despair that this album conjures up that keeps me coming back to it. One day I'm sure I'll find myself clicking that "change rating" button. Most likely it wont be too long after making this list.

"Sparta" "Monkey Cage" "Tuesday" "Kiri"
40Darkthrone
A Blaze in the Northern Sky

Finding its way on thanks to an interest in the Norwegian black metal scene I had a little while back, sparked by reading an article on it and watching the film "Until the Light Takes Us". I initially was not all that into Darkthrone when I first listened to them, almost certainly because the production was a little too jarring at first. But once you actually get down to it, this riffs pretty damn hard and Fenriz has such an aura about him that it gets hard not to come back to this every now and then just to hear what it sounds like.

"Kathaarian Life Code" "Where Cold Wind Blows"
39Mr. Bungle
Mr. Bungle

I don't do Mike Patton in large doses. I do however, enjoy myself a little bit of Mr. Bungle. Probably some of the most ridiculous music on the planet and easily some of the most directionless at times, which makes it so intriguing to listen to. The carnival parts on this album are just far to comical for me not to enjoy this at least on a superficial level.

"Squeeze me Macaroni" "Egg" "My Ass is on Fire"
38The Sisters of Mercy
Floodland

One of my favourites from this style of post-punk. I think I discovered these guys doing a research assignment on the Sisters of Mercy (as in the nuns, not this band) and the moment I saw this album cover I new "yep, listening to that later". This is one of those albums where I don't have heaps to say here really, it just kind of speaks for itself.

"Lucretia My Reflection" "Dominion"
37Versailles
Noble

I am a bit of a sucker for the artwork and fashion style of the french aristocracy. Something as flamboyant as that probably sees perfect reasoning that it should end up being combined with Japanese power metal and vampires, cause, I mean, what the fuck else right?

"Aristocrat's Symphony" "ANTIQUE IN THE FUTURE" "After Cloudia" "The Revenant Choir" "Episode"
36Klaha
Nostal Lab

Considering how big Gackt ended up becoming after his departure from Malice Mizer, it's natural to begin to wonder "whatever happened to his successor Klaha?" Well, he's actually gone MIA it seems, but he did leave behind an excellent piece of contemporary j-pop before he disappeared of the face of the earth. Considering he was a bit of a one trick pony on Bara no Seidou, Nostal Lab shows quite a surprising amount of versatility.

"Taiyou no Ori" "Chocolate"
35Kamelot
Epica

Power metal has never really been my cup of tea. Neither has Kamelot really, but I really like their two Faust concept albums, Epica in particular. Big swooping melodies and guitar wankery abound, which as a guitarist, vocalist and avid consumer of cheese myself, I'm not all that opposed to.

"Center of the Universe" "Edge of Paradise" "A Feast for the Vain" "III Ways to Epica"
34Extreme
Waiting for the Punchline

Not huge on the classic sort of heavy metal sound (except of course for Iron Maiden), not exactly small on this either. Solid riffs all round, I know it's not supposed to be their strongest album, but it's the only one I've heard and it's pretty damn good. Love the cover too.

"Waiting for the Punchline"
33The Cranberries
No Need to Argue

This is an album that definitely brings up memories of the past, especially if one of both of your parents were into The Cranberries. Now, Cranberries are a fairly edible berry imo, love some cranberry jelly with chicken and brie. But, oh yeah, this is pretty good too. I mean, it's got Zombie ffs

"Zombie" "The Icicle Melts" "Ode to my Family" "Daffodil Lament"
32Stampede to Timberline
You Were my Coldest Season

This is one of my favourite ambient albums. It's one of the only ones I can frequently sit all the way through. There's a lot of space in the sounds on this album and it makes clever use of sampled speech and field recordings. It's also a user made album too, which makes it pretty unique on this list.

"Ghosts in America" "A Sandstone Heart"
31slint
Spiderland

This is another one of those certified sput-classics that never really grew on me as much as the rest of the site. I think when I was going into this I was looking for something else, but the fact that it's still had staying power regardless is a pretty good testament to it's strength me thinks.

"Good Morning, Captain"
30Michael Jackson
Off the Wall

Regardless of what kind of person he was, it's hard to deny that he was an amazing performer. His first real big step as a solo artist foreshadows the kind of impact he would truly go on to have. The hooks, they're just too hooky.

"Don't Stop 'til you get Enough" "Off the Wall"
29Joy Division
Unknown Pleasures

Dark, sad, miserable, odd. A classic in it's field, though a little bit difficult to listen to at times. Another entry where I don't really know what to say, I can now see why people usually post these lists without descriptions.

"Disorder" "She's Lost Control"
28Hightide Hotel
Naturally

Easily one of my favourite albums in this style of emo. Great lyrics, awesome song writing too.

"Basement Warfare" "An Absense Felt"
27Internet Club
Webinar

I entirely understand why pretty much no one can unironically listen to vaporwave, because it is an irony in itself. But as someone who discovered the genre accidentally rather than through one of the hundreds of near identical ironic meme pages, the sound an imagery of vaporwave sparked up this whole new world in my head. Webinar is easily one of the most consistent in the genre and one of the best at embodying it too. I wouldn't write the whole genre of if I was you, even though most of it is just shit, some of it isn't.

I don't remember the names of any of the songs on this, it works better as one whole thing.
26Ahab
Call Of The Wretched Sea

this is some heeeeeavy funeral doom, an album that really brings the word "doom" into your mind when you listen to it. Some of the best whale metal in existence.

again, can't remember any of the songs on this as I usually run through it as a whole. [2]
25Shapeshifter
The System Is A Vampire

Some incredibly solid drum and bass. This album has a lot of familiarity in its sound for me as someone from New Zealand. I have pretty fond memories of watching "Twin Galaxies" on TV and it being one of my favourite songs when I was younger. I have to say this aged incredibly well for me.

"Dutchies" "Twin Galaxies" "Tokyo"
24Envy
All the Footprints You've Ever Left...

While this album does suffer from bloating a little, it's still amazing. Huge amounts of energy can be felt in these recordings, definitely some of the most well executed emo/post-hardcore I've heard.

"Farewell to Words" "A Cage it Falls Into"
23System of a Down
Toxicity

memories. That's all I really can do to justify the two spots these guys take up on this list. Just fond memories of me jamming these guys with my friends.

"Prison Song" "Needles" "Chop Suey" "Aerials"
22System of a Down
Mezmerize

[2] Edges out Toxicity for me slightly

"B.Y.O.B" "Cigaro" "Radio/Video" "Questions" "Lost in Hollywood"
21A Perfect Circle
Mer de Noms

This really is some of the best alt rock ever. Proof that Maynard James Keenan's voice works in different environments as well. Super consistent songs, some of my all time favourites on here.

"Orestes" "Judith" "Thomas"
20Mutato Muzika
Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back

Crash Bandicoot 2 was, still is actually, one of my favourite video games of all time. There's a lot of memories and various other recollections tied to this game for me. Figuring out exactly how you got the red gem in the second level, running away from the enormous polar bear and randomly running through level 1 without breaking open the crates and unlocking the blue gem. As well as being an amazing platform game, it's soundtrack fit it perfectly. Nothing is out of place about it, every single one is memorable and instantly recognisable with which level it goes with.

"Hang Eight" "Crash Dash" "The Eel Deal" "Bear it" no idea if the songs are actually named after the levels or not quite honestly.
19Fugazi
Fugazi

There's a reason that "check Fugazi" is a term thrown around sputnik an awful lot, because you actually, really need to check Fugazi if you haven't already. There's bands that push out energy and then there's Fugazi, this EP contains some of the most bitchin songs ever recorded. No joke.

"Waiting Room" "Bulldog Front" "Glue man"
18Casiopea
Inspire

No other album in the world is more deserving of this album cover than this one. Probably because it actually is this album's cover, but that's getting into technicalities. Chill, jazz fusion bullshit with just the right amount of bullshit to be real jazz fusion bullshit.

[3]
17Daft Punk
Discovery

This really is the pinnacle of dance music. There is very little else to do to this gratingly repetitive album other than dance. However, I think this is one of the very few occasions in which I could find myself saying that this album is so good because of how repetitive it is. Some of these songs you just wish would go for longer even (except for that last 10 minute song, that was pushing it's luck)

"One More Time" "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger"
16Yui
Holidays in the Sun

Yui is such a good performer and songwriter(?) that I can safely give Holidays in the Sun a spot on this list without my massive respect and admiration for Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood biasing it. This album has such a ridiculously appropriate title, this is seriously an album for summer holidays at the beach.

"Again" "Gloria" "Driving Happy Life" "Kiss Me"
15T.M.Revolution
Triple Joker

I have a really odd liking for Takanori Nishikawa's voice. The guy can sing, with some pretty impressive belt on him too. Above all else, he's been on some holy shitting good pop songs, easily one of the better J-pop stars and one who has managed to stay consistently above the pack. My favourite release is probably this one, brilliant production and superb performances from Nishikawa.

"White Breath" "Mid-Nite Warriors" "High Pressure"
14Macintosh Plus
FLORAL SHOPPE

When it comes to vaporwave, which I've mentioned previously, no one is as prolific or has captured what the sound is as well as Vektroid. Easily the strongest and by far the most memorable of Vektroid's productions has to be FLORAL SHOPPE. Everyone's seen this fucking cover in their facebook feed at some point. But beyond the mythos and beyond the fact that yes, it is pretty much just Diana Ross slowed down, if you let it, it has a pretty encompassing atmosphere to it.

"Lisa Frank 420/Gendai no Konpyuu" "Suugaku" "Untitled"
13Death
Symbolic

Metal has really worn off me over the years. I definitely still listen to a fair amount of it, don't get me wrong but once I grew out of the metal/rock master race phase of my adolescence and broadened out my horizons a little, metal just didn't get given as much time as everything else. Needless to say this is still one of the best albums I've ever heard and I'm sure if 14 year old me had discovered this, I would be obsessed with it. This is pretty much everything that's good about metal in one album for me.

"Empty Words" "1000 Eyes" "Crystal Mountain"
12Death Grips
The Money Store

While by the end of the year it's almost certainly going to be Jenny Death that I'd put on the list, since I recall enjoying that more than Death Grips other outings, for now, until I've let it digest a little better, The Money Store is probably my favourite. Their most immediate album, I'd say their most accessable as well. The beats on this are crazy and MC Ride is also crazy (probably in more ways than his stage presence, but that's not really a story for right here, right now). This doesn't irritate my ears as much as their other stuff, but it still makes me headbang like a mindless idiot.

"The Fever (aye aye)" "I've Seen Footage" "Double Helix"
11My Bloody Valentine
Isn't Anything

This album didn't make any sense to me at all until Loveless finally clicked. I'm not sure exactly what was missing from this the first two or three times, but whatever it was I've found it. It's a lot more varied texture wise than MBV's other stuff, a little less consistent for that reason too, but yeah its good [1000]

"Lose My Breath" "No More Sorry"
10They Might Be Giants
Flood

The pinnacle of their sound. So much fun on this album, as with pretty much all of tmbg's albums, it's so damn stupid, but it's so damn fun at the same time. On that note, there are a couple of songs that are just stupid, like "Sapphire Bullets of Pure Love" which is nowhere near interesting enough compared to the rest of the album, but everything else pretty much gets a pass from me. This is also one of those albums for me where when I play a song from it, I get so into it that I end up pretty much listening to the whole thing.

"Birdhouse in your Soul" "Istanbul (not Constantinople)" "Dead" "Whistling in the Dark"
9Blur
The Magic Whip

It didn't even come out that long ago, but it's already my favourite Blur album and one of my favourite projects that Damon Albarn's been involved in. Getting me real hyped for the new Gorillaz album that they're supposed to be recording this month.

"Lonesome Street" "Go Out" "Ghost Ship" "Pyongyang" "Ong Ong"
8Gackt
Rebirth

Basically a continuation of Mars, with a little more rock flavour to it for me. Gackt is one of my all time favourite singers and composers, the guy has incredible taste in pop sensibility.

"Secret Garden" "Seki-ray" "Marmalade" "Papa Lapped a Pap Lopped" "Kimi no Tame ni Dekiru Koto"
7My Dying Bride
The Angel and the Dark River

Awesome album title and cover, even better album. An absolute pillar of doom, love the violin all over the album. The riffs are just so heavy and ugh.

"The Cry of Mankind" "A Sea to Suffer In"
6Plastic Tree
Chandelier

I really like the colour of the album cover. Obviously there's more to it than that, but this isn't the only Plastic Tree album on the list, so around to it in about a week. Good album.

"Hate Red, Dip It" "Ghost" "Rokugatsu no Ame"
5Minus the Bear
Planet of Ice

Now here's another album with a lot of memories attached to it. So I bought this like the day before me and my mate and his mates went to a convention, I got it because I liked the cover and their name. I think I played it in the background while we all did batsu games. Yeah on that trip we watched Blue Exorcist and I thought it fucking sucked and my mate thought it was all good lol.

"Burying Luck" "Ice Monster" "Knights" "Throwing Shapes"
4Kamijo
Symphony of the Vampire

Basically everything I said about Noble can be cut and pasted here. Except that obviously I like this quite a bit more. "The whole thing is one song"
3KRS-One
Meta-Historical

I got assigned to do this for Judio's review a random album game last year by Hil. So glad I did, because this is the album that got me listening to hip-hop at all. Before I heard this album I didn't really get it, but the blast master taught me how.

"Murder Ya" "Gimmie the 90s" "Meta-Historical"
2boa (UK)
The Race of a Thousand Camels

Watching Lain when I was supposed to be studying for exams is a fond memory of mine. I still passed everything as well and I finished watching Lain. Anyway my reason for talking about that is because the theme song is on this. Long story short, good Cranberriescore

"Duvet" "Twilight" "Elephant" "Rain"
1L'arc-en-Ciel
HEART

Half of this album is J-rock classics. Seriously one of the best J-rock albums ever, so many damn good songs on here.

"LORELEY" "Shout at the Devil" "fate" "Anata"
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