4 Years on the Sputnikmusic; Top 100
*Every album's ranked should be subtracted by 1 because of limited room* It's my 4 year Sputversary! Well tommorrow it is but I'm posting this today because I'll be way too busy tommorrow and the weekend. Wasn't able to make this a top 200 deal because of how excruciating it is to rank everything and even then this top 100 is rather loose (except for top 10) and likely incomplete to an extent. Also for the sake of having as much variety on this list as possible, I've excluded any potential 2016 album from entering into this ranking and albums that I felt are equal in quality were tied as long as they were by the same artist. I thank everyone here on Sput for this awesome journey! |
| 101 |  | Tears for Fears
The Seeds of Love |
| 100 |  | Pink Floyd
Live at Pompeii |
| 99 |  | Sweet Trip
Velocity : Design : Comfort |
| 98 |  | Acid Bath
When the Kite String Pops |
| 97 |  | Tom Waits
Mule Variations
This should probably actually be higher but oh well |
| 96 |  | Johnny Cash
At San Quentin |
| 95 |  | No Doubt
Tragic Kingdom |
| 94 |  | Pearl Jam
Ten
*Tied with their MTV Unplugged* |
| 93 |  | Led Zeppelin
Physical Graffiti |
| 92 |  | My Chemical Romance
The Black Parade |
| 91 |  | Guided by Voices
Bee Thousand |
| 90 |  | David Bowie
"Heroes" |
| 89 |  | The Stooges
Fun House |
| 88 |  | Godspeed You! Black Emperor
'Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend! |
| 87 |  | Iggy Pop
The Idiot |
| 86 |  | David Bowie
Station to Station |
| 85 |  | Sex Pistols
Never Mind the Bollocks... |
| 84 |  | Coil
The Ape Of Naples |
| 83 |  | Lil Wayne
Tha Carter III |
| 82 |  | Deftones
White Pony |
| 81 |  | Nirvana
Incesticide
Like almost all of my favorite Nirvana songs are on this album and it's the only main release by the band that hasn't suffered in some way from being overplayed by me |
| 80 |  | Burzum
Filosofem |
| 79 |  | Alice in Chains
MTV Unplugged |
| 78 |  | Radiohead
In Rainbows: From the Basement |
| 77 |  | Killing Joke
Hosannas From The Basements Of Hell |
| 76 |  | Porcupine Tree
Fear of a Blank Planet
*Tied with Nil Recurring* |
| 75 |  | Swans
Public Castration Is a Good Idea |
| 74 |  | Sigur Ros
Agætis byrjun |
| 73 |  | Full of Hell and Merzbow
Full of Hell and Merzbow
*Tied with Sister Fawn* |
| 72 |  | Gorillaz
Demon Days |
| 71 |  | Silencer (SWE)
Death - Pierce Me |
| 70 |  | A Place to Bury Strangers
Exploding Head |
| 69 |  | Clint Mansell and Kronos Quartet
Requiem for a Dream |
| 68 |  | Public Enemy
It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us |
| 67 |  | Death Grips
The Powers That B |
| 66 |  | Cryptopsy
None So Vile |
| 65 |  | Nine Inch Nails
Year Zero |
| 64 |  | Discordance Axis
The Inalienable Dreamless |
| 63 |  | Muse
Absolution
*Tied with BH&R* |
| 62 |  | System of a Down
System of a Down
*Tied with Toxicity* |
| 61 |  | Portishead
Dummy |
| 60 |  | The Beach Boys
Pet Sounds |
| 59 |  | The Beatles
The Beatles |
| 58 |  | Eminem
The Marshall Mathers LP
Tbh everytime I now listen to a Ken Kaniff skit from this guy I think about ArsMoriendi being Ken. It's quite amusing |
| 57 |  | AJJ
People Who Can Eat People are the Luckiest People |
| 56 |  | Against Me!
Reinventing Axl Rose
*Tied with s/t acoustic EP* |
| 55 |  | Red Hot Chili Peppers
Californication |
| 54 |  | Blur
Blur |
| 53 |  | Green Day
American Idiot
Probably the most extreme example I've come across where brickwalling has damaged an album's entertainment value so much. The remastered version transformed this from a light 3 to a solid 5 for me |
| 52 |  | Bathory
Blood Fire Death |
| 51 |  | Mayhem
De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas |
| 50 |  | Spacemen 3
Forged Prescription |
| 49 |  | Unwound
Leaves Turn Inside You |
| 48 |  | Bjork
Medulla |
| 47 |  | Suicidal Tendencies
Lights...Camera...Revolution |
| 46 |  | Swans
Soundtracks for the Blind
*Tied with Swans Are Dead* |
| 45 |  | Metallica
...And Justice for All
So many thanks to my guitar teacher for giving me his guitar booklet of this album even tho they're all hard as fuck to play/learn |
| 44 |  | Smashing Pumpkins
Siamese Dream |
| 43 |  | Bob Dylan
Highway 61 Revisited |
| 42 |  | Pig Destroyer
Prowler in the Yard |
| 41 |  | The Dillinger Escape Plan
Irony Is a Dead Scene |
| 40 |  | Nirvana
Live and Loud |
| 39 |  | MGMT
Congratulations
Can't wait till I receive this edition of the album: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXLM3kG8yEs |
| 38 |  | Agoraphobic Nosebleed
Altered States of America |
| 37 |  | Tears for Fears
Songs from the Big Chair |
| 36 |  | Mr. Bungle
California |
| 35 |  | Guns N' Roses
Use Your Illusion
*Both discs of the album* |
| 34 |  | Prince
Purple Rain |
| 33 |  | David Bowie
Young Americans |
| 32 |  | The Who
Tommy |
| 31 |  | The Cure
Disintegration |
| 30 |  | Talking Heads
Remain in Light
*Tied with Stop Making Sense* |
| 29 |  | Joy Division
Les Bains Douches 18 December 1979
*Tied with Preston 28 February 1980* |
| 28 |  | Coldplay
Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends |
| 27 |  | Arcade Fire
Neon Bible |
| 26 |  | Manic Street Preachers
Journal For Plague Lovers |
| 25 |  | Neil Young
Live Rust |
| 24 |  | Boris With Merzbow
Rock Dream |
| 23 |  | William Basinski
The Disintegration Loops |
| 22 |  | The Angelic Process
Weighing Souls With Sand |
| 21 |  | Marilyn Manson
Holy Wood |
| 20 |  | United Nations
United Nations
File Under: Love at first listen; I forgot how I found this tbh |
| 19 |  | Marina and The Diamonds
Electra Heart
File Under: Love at first listen; Marina is bae gtfo if you think otherwise; Under appreciated
The album that got me out of that "born in le wrong generation" phase and made me realize just how good and brilliant pop music can be. Every song on this as well as the ones that didn't make it but were posted on her VEVO are practically perfect. It's just pop at its finest. Also check out her entire discog too cos she's got something for everyone
Essential Songs: Honestly I mean like all of them, stop sleeping on pop's most underrated artist ever and get on her music right now |
| 18 |  | Boris
Pink
File Under: Deluxe Edition of this is essential for anyone who loves music; Everything around me is Pink and idk what to do
m/ If that second disc of unreleased demos from this album made it onto the original album as is, they wouldn't sound out of place at all. They're just as on par as the songs on the original both in terms of songwriting and audio quality. In fact it could've made for one of the best double albums ever
Essential Songs (just for the regular edition): Farewell, t/t, Nothing Special, Blackout, Just Abandoned My-self |
| 17 |  | The Clash
Rat Patrol from Fort Bragg
File Under: Purchasable Bootleg so it isn't disqualified; Better than the Original Album
You can still hunt down much better quality sounding versions of the demos that appear on the bootleg. But wow did Combat Rock lose so much meat when the songs were trimmed down and the excluded songs like The Beautiful People Are Ugly Too and Kill Time are surprisingly essential The Clash songs. Such a shame there isn't any interest to re-release this as a proper comp with remastered quality because this could be seen as a gargantuan even bigger than London Calling. But even then, for a lot of the songs the rough quality makes certain songs feel more poignant
Essential Songs: The Beautiful People Are Ugly Too, Kill Time, Straight to Hell, Sean Flynn (fuck on the original album this felt like incomplete filler but wow does it now pack a punch), Ghetto Defendant |
| 16 |  | The Velvet Underground
White Light/White Heat
File Under: Lou Reed has a sick sense of humor; VU did avante garde rock first and the best |
| 15 |  | Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Slow Riot For New Zero Kanada
File Under: Wow; Controlled chaos; Iron Maidenftw |
| 14 |  | John Coltrane
A Love Supreme
File Under: Spiritual Goodness; Fuckin poetry |
| 13 |  | The Flaming Lips
7 Skies H3
File Under: Wow; It's Like I'm listening to a Nice Painting; Psychedelic Goodness
Painstakingly made a 4 hour edit of the 24 hour song. I wish to not divulge into how quickly tedious the task became. Album is still an utter stunner that never fails to blow my mind |
| 12 |  | Grouper
A I A
File Under: Thanks Sput (Aka AlienObserver); Love at First listen; Grey Desolation |
| 11 |  | Mayhem
Live in Leipzig
File Under: Pure Fucking Black Metal; RIP; Deluxe Edition of this is essential for anyone who loves music
Notoriously bad in quality (if there was just slightly more in the low end then the quality wouldn't that bad actually), notoriously the final official release to have Dead on vox. Whatever, this legendary gig is probably the most ferocious and misanthropic metal release known to man. The deluxe edition contains a second disc, Live at Zeits, was a gig the band played the day before Leipzig and the CD booklet is a fascinating look at the history surrounding this live album as well as a cool explanation by Dead on how he got the name
Essential Songs (for both discs actually, although Zeits doesn't have Pagan Fears): Pure Fucking Armageddon, Funeral Fog, Carnage, Pagan Fears, The Freezing Moon |
| 10 |  | Pink Floyd
Is There Anybody Out There?
File Under: Underrated as Fuck (Live album edition); Better than the original album; It's like I'm listening to the soundtrack of a musical
I wanted to tie this with The Wall but decided against it. Hell I decided to not have The Wall anywhere near my top 200. Yeah original album is fantastic but this one right here blows it right out of the water. Even the tracks that I originally considered filler (Goodbye Blue Sky, Vera, Is There Anybody Out There?) became essential to the storyline in how they take a break from the story to let the audience (as well as Pink himself) take a break from the story and absorb everything that has happened to him so far. The plot is thick with symbolism and other stuff that I (over)analyzed in my analysis of the film for my AP Psych class last year. The Master of Ceremonies bits are awesome as well, hopefully you can also find somewhere the version of the album that contains the 3 minute versions of both these interludes
Essential tracks: Outofroom |
| 9 |  | Wendy Carlos
Walter Carlos' Clockwork Orange
File Under: Cool movie but the book is still better; Wow this shit was ahead of its time; Synthetic goodness
"Oh bliss! Bliss and heaven! Oh, it was gorgeousness and gorgeousity made flesh. It was like a bird of rarest-spun heaven metal or like silvery wine flowing in a spaceship, gravity all nonsense now. As I slooshied, I knew such lovely pictures!" *Proceeds to masturbate*
Because it's so hard to find otherwise:
https://www.yourmusics.co/album/wendy-carlos-a--clockwork-orange-10359.html
Essential Songs: Timesteps; Ninth Symphony, Fourth Movement; Title Music from a Clockwork Orange; idk everything else this shit is essential af |
| 8 |  | Nine Inch Nails
The Fragile
File Under: breakingthefragile; Wow; It's Like I'm listening to a Nice Painting
Probably Trent's most creative album. I downloaded what I think is the most definitive version of this album (all signs of loudness war is gone and restores the originally longer instrumentals of certain songs as well as some greatly placed songs that were cut due to keeping the record short as possible or whatever) but the Youtube vid is now taken down due to Copyright and all that. It's one of those albums that I like to compare to a painting because it should be digested holistically. Idk I just like to liken to a painting
Essential Songs: Get a vinyl rip and absorb all the lost layers due to the shit dynamics |
| 7 |  | Spiritualized
Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space
*Tied with: Live From Royal Albert Hall*
File Under: Psychedelic goodness; wtf shoegaze my ass; Sadboi
Soundoff for Live from Royal Albert Hall: The way how the band brings that spacey atmosphere of their first few albums to the stage while making the arrangements noticeably more sparse than the original is so amazing.
Essential Songs (Ladies and Gents...): T/t; Home of the Brave; Stay With Me; I Think I'm in Love; Cop Shoot Cop
Essential Songs (Live from Royal): Shine a Light; Walking With Jesus; Broken Heart; Cop Shoot Cop; Oh Happy Day |
| 6 |  | Linkin Park
A Thousand Suns
File Under: Grey Desolation; Underrated as fuck; Just cos the band sucks doesn't make the album automatically bad; Thanks Dad; Imo my best review
http://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/69629/Linkin-Park-A-Thousand-Suns/
Essential songs: I mean it's a concept album and all the songs flow into each other like it's all one song so just listen to it and be patient with it |
| 5 |  | Jane's Addiction
Nothing's Shocking
File Under: Underrated as fuck; Titties on the cover; Shoegaze and grunge before they were albums
I would copy and paste my soundoff but it's too long and I'm too lazy to write a more concise piece on what my thoughts are on this album.
Essential songs: Up the Beach, Ocean Size, Ted (Cruz), Just Admit it..., Summertime Rolls, Jane Says |
| 4 |  | Refused
The Shape of Punk to Come
File Under: Punk is fuckin' dead (because of this album); Fuckin poetry; Bernie Sanders' favorite album
Becoming more educated in music, especially punk, this album hit me like a train wreck. Passionate, fierce, noisy, this album leaves no room for "familiar territory" for the listener to tread on. The lyrics are beautiful, being a statement for listeners to toss complacency out the window and do something and anything that makes the world a better place to live in. The overall creativeness from the techno beats that come out of nowhere to the jazz fusion elements are integrated so cleverly. The musicianship is so on point with the heavily jazz influenced drumming and the inclusion of upright bass on heavy sections of certain songs. The CD booklet is also really cool especially with the opening bit from a close friend of the band describing "a psychological scrutiny of their motives" (read: an indirect explanation as to why the band broke up).
Essential songs: I got no more room |
| 3 |  | Neutral Milk Hotel
In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
File Under: Folk punk, rock, indie, whatever; Semen staind mountain tops; Fuckin poetry; Thanks Sput
Before there was The Holy Bible, there was this one right here. I remember my first encounter with this was when I was looking at a list that described this user and his girlfriend having the same music taste and the album cover really interested me. The thing is, Jeff is a really bad singer. But goodness can the dude rip out your heartstrings. The beginning of the album goes from being so innocent to descending into a world of darkness and the reprise of Two-Headed Boy just leaves you so devastated by reality. The eclectic instrumentals, the odd but powerful lyrics, the simply but straightforward folk chord progressions, it's just a perfect storm but the real power house is Jeff's passion and emotion that gives the songs so much character. No other singer, no matter how much better they are, can do these songs justice
Essential songs: Idk all of them I guess |
| 2 |  | Manic Street Preachers
The Holy Bible
File under: Misanthropic punk rock; Thanks Sput; fuckin poetry; GOAT; I forgot How I Found this tbh
Unfortunately, I don't remember which review but I checked this out when the review mentioned this alongside those super dark 90s alternative albums that defined the decade (like In Utero, Ten, whatever). Not very sure what to say that may or may not have been said before. What makes this as emotionally devastating as it is, is how the entire albums sounds like a celebration of all of humanities woes with the nihilistic lyrics sung over power pop style hooks. Like the sample used towards the end of Mausoleum, the album essentially "wanted to rub the human face in its own vomit and force it to look in the mirror" and by God does the band do just that with this juggernaut. |
| 1 | | Manic Street Preachers
The Holy Bible
(continued): From topics ranging from the death of a girl suffering from anorexia, to the Holocaust, to even censorship due to PC culture, this was Richey's last hurrah with a society that he was slowly becoming fed up with. Hell, even if he was alive, there was a certain tension he felt with the music industry itself, Yes being the band's version of Rape Me (despite its blunt lyrics about the day in the life of a prostitute, it's actually an analogy for how Richey felt record companies and the media were handling him and the band).
Essential songs: All of them but I mean if I had to pick: Yes, Of Walking Abortion, Archives of Pain, 4st 7lb, PCP |
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