| 5.0 classic |
| Charles Mingus The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady |
| Mingus was the coolest dude around, even though he was a dick. Probably the best jazz album ever. |
| D'Angelo Voodoo |
| Dinosaur Jr. You're Living All Over Me |
| DJ Shadow Endtroducing..... |
| Despite only using samples, Shadow has crafted an incredibly deep, detailed and sophisticated melange of horror-movie piano, slithering guitar and those oh-so-perfect drum breaks. If I may utilize an old cliche, it works best listened to as a whole, the tracks segueing into each other perfectly, from the flying breakbeats and organ of 'The Number Song' to the poignant, beautiful 'Midnight in a Perfect World'. If that wasn't enough, you get plenty of leavening humor (mostly stemming from the interludes) and some great vocal samples thrown into the mix. Shadow would never better this - but then, neither has anyone else since. |
| Fugazi The Argument |
| Legendary post-hardcore band decides to make guitar rock album. Genius ensues, in the shape of the raging guitar and jaw-dropping breakdown of 'Epic Problem', the driving, fleet footed drums of 'Ex-Spectator', and the stunning, haunting 'Strangelight'. The best album from one of the most consistently great bands ever |
| Jason Isbell Southeastern |
| Jeff Rosenstock WORRY. |
| Magnolia Electric Co Magnolia Electric Co |
| Miles Davis Jack Johnson |
| The best album of Miles' electric period features just two tracks. 'Right Off' is 25 minutes of relentless jazz-rock awesomeness, with John McLaughlin's guitar kicking up a storm, Herbie Hancock being badass on a toy organ, and Miles unleashing the most monumental, unhinged solo of his career. 'Yesternow' is an ambient comedown in the vein of 'In a Silent Way'. Flawless. |
| Radiohead OK Computer |
| One of the few albums I've heard that actually lives up to the hype, with fantastic, often heart-wrenching songs backed by distinctive guitar and nimble drumming. Paranoid Android is prog re-tooled for the 90s, and Lucky is one of the most devastatingly beautiful songs I've ever heard. You know it's a great album when the worst track is the opener... |
| Songs: Ohia Ghost Tropic |
| Sonic Youth Daydream Nation |
| Talk Talk Laughing Stock |
| Best rock album ever made. Nothing more to see here, move along |
| Television Marquee Moon |
| Famous mostly for the godlike guitar work, but it wouldn't be the classic is if the songs weren't fantastic. Friction and See No Evil are concise blasts of ultra-cerebral punk, and the monumental title track takes the genius and inventiveness of prog whilst stripping away the pretentiousness and every other extraneous element |
| The Mountain Goats Tallahassee |
| The Wrens The Meadowlands |
| 4.5 superb |
| ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead Source Tags and Codes |
| Amon Tobin Supermodified |
| Andrew Lloyd Webber Jesus Christ Superstar: Original Cast |
| Archers of Loaf Icky Mettle |
| Arctic Monkeys Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not |
| Arctic Monkeys Favourite Worst Nightmare |
| Art Blakey Moanin' |
| one of the best and most accessible post-bop records around. the title track is a classic |
| Arthur Russell Another Thought |
| Ash Intergalactic Sonic 7s |
| Big Boi Sir Lucious Left Foot |
| Black Sabbath Paranoid |
| Blonde Redhead 23 |
| Blur 13 |
| Bomb the Music Industry! Scrambles |
| Bomb the Music Industry! Adults!!!: Smart!!! Shithammered!!! And Excited By Nothing!!!!!!! |
| Bomb the Music Industry! Vacation |
| Bonnie 'Prince' Billy I See a Darkness |
| Brian Eno and Karl Hyde High Life |
| Built to Spill Keep It Like a Secret |
| Built to Spill Perfect from Now On |
| Can Tago Mago |
| Can Ege Bamyasi |
| Can Future Days |
| Car Seat Headrest Twin Fantasy (Mirror to Mirror) |
| Car Seat Headrest How To Leave Town |
| Car Seat Headrest Teens of Denial |
| Car Seat Headrest Nervous Young Man |
| Charles Mingus Mingus Ah Um |
| Second best Mingus = better than 99.9% of everyone else's discographies |
| Charles Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus |
| Charles Mingus Pithecanthropus Erectus |
| Charles Mingus Epitaph |
| Charles Mingus Let My Children Hear Music |
| stunning. |
| Charles Mingus The Clown |
| Charlie Parker Ken Burns Jazz: Charlie Parker |
| Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie Bird & Diz |
| Chisel Set You Free |
| Christian Scott Stretch Music |
| Clarence Clarity No Now |
| Clipse Hell Hath No Fury |
| Cursive The Ugly Organ |
| Danny Brown XXX |
| dEUS The Ideal Crash |
| one of the most consistent albums ever released |
| dEUS In a Bar, Under the Sea |
| Duke Ellington The Far East Suite |
| Dusty Springfield Dusty in Memphis |
| Elvis Costello This Year's Model |
| fIREHOSE Flyin' The Flannel |
| Fugazi In on the Kill Taker |
| Fugazi 13 Songs |
| Fugazi Repeater |
| Fugazi Red Medicine |
| Future of the Left Travels With Myself And Another |
| Intelligent and manly post-hardcore? With hilarious/genius lyrics? From Wales?rCOUNT ME IN |
| Future of the Left The Plot Against Common Sense |
tracks on this album include 'City Of Exploded Children', 'Sheena Is A T-Shirt Salesman' and
'Robocop 4: Fuck Off Robocop'. need i say more? |
| Future of the Left How To Stop Your Brain In An Accident |
| Gang of Four Entertainment! |
| Gang Starr Step in the Arena |
| where it all came together. a hip hop classic |
| Goat World Music |
| Godspeed You! Black Emperor Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven |
| Godspeed You! Black Emperor Slow Riot For New Zero Kanada |
| Gorillaz Demon Days |
| Graham Coxon The Kiss of the Morning |
| Grandaddy The Sophtware Slump |
| Grizzly Bear Shields |
| GZA Liquid Swords |
| Herbie Hancock Maiden Voyage |
| Hood Cold House |
| Husker Du New Day Rising |
| Isaac Hayes Hot Buttered Soul |
| J Dilla Donuts |
| Jeff Beck Wired |
| Jim O'Rourke Simple Songs |
| John Coltrane Giant Steps |
| John Martyn Solid Air |
| Jon Hopkins Immunity |
| Joy Division Closer |
| Julia Holter Have You In My Wilderness |
| Junior Boys So This Is Goodbye |
| Kate Bush Aerial |
| Kate Bush Hounds of Love |
| King Crimson Discipline |
| King Crimson Red |
| King Crimson Larks' Tongues in Aspic |
| LCD Soundsystem American Dream |
| Living Colour Vivid |
| Madvillain Madvillainy |
| Magazine Real Life |
| Magazine The Correct Use Of Soap |
| Manic Street Preachers The Holy Bible |
| The spectre of Richey Edwards haunts this album, from the harrowing '4st 7lb' to the blacker-than-black 'Archives of Pain'. James Dean Bradfield's committed vocals and spellbinding guitar only add to the sonic maelstrom. Pure horror, but with strangely hummable tunes ('Die in the Summertime', 'Faster', 'Yes'). |
| Max Roach, Charles Mingus, and Duke Ellington Money Jungle |
| mclusky McLusky Do Dallas |
| Metallica Master of Puppets |
| Mike Patton Mondo Cane |
| Miles Davis Milestones |
| Miles Davis Agharta |
| Miles Davis E.S.P |
| Minutemen Double Nickels on the Dime |
| Minutemen Buzz or Howl Under the Influence of Heat |
| Modest Mouse The Lonesome Crowded West |
| Mogwai My Father My King |
| Neil Young On the Beach |
| Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds Abattoir Blues/The Lyre Of Orpheus |
| OutKast Stankonia |
| OutKast Aquemini |
| Pantha Du Prince This Bliss |
| Pat Metheny Group The Way Up |
| Pavement Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain |
| Pinegrove Cardinal |
| PJ Harvey Is This Desire? |
| Public Enemy It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back |
| Queens of the Stone Age Songs for the Deaf |
| Queens of the Stone Age ...Like Clockwork |
| Radiohead The Bends |
| Radiohead In Rainbows |
| Richard Thompson Mock Tudor |
| Shellac Dude Incredible |
| Sleater-Kinney No Cities to Love |
| Snarky Puppy We Like It Here |
| Snarky Puppy Sylva |
| Soft Machine Third |
| Sonic Youth Goo |
| Sonic Youth Sister |
| Sonny Rollins Saxophone Colossus |
| Sonny Rollins Freedom Suite |
| Stan Getz Focus |
| Steve Reich Music for 18 Musicians |
| Oh jesus, you haven't heard this until you see it live. Seriously, you haven't. Go see it. now. I SAID NOW |
| Stevie Wonder Innervisions |
| Stiff Little Fingers Inflammable Material |
| Streetlight Manifesto Somewhere in the Between |
| Swans Soundtracks for the Blind |
| Talk Talk Spirit of Eden |
| Talking Heads Remain in Light |
| Ted Leo and the Pharmacists Shake The Sheets |
| The Afghan Whigs 1965 |
| The Allman Brothers Band At Fillmore East |
| The Beatles A Hard Day's Night |
| The Clash The Clash (US version) |
| The best band the UK punk scene ever spawned, and for me their debut is its best album. Consistently stunning songwriting, in the form of 'What's my Name' , 'Complete Control', and the welcome reggae influences abound in 'White Man in Hammersmith Palais'. Not a bad song on the album, which just so happens to be one of the most visceral, thrilling end-to-end listens of any record. Musical anger, distilled with melody. rAlso better than London Calling, for my money. |
| The Drones I See Seaweed |
| The Fall This Nation's Saving Grace |
| The Magnetic Fields 69 Love Songs |
| The National Alligator |
| The National Trouble Will Find Me |
| The Notwist Neon Golden |
| The Replacements Let It Be |
| The Smiths The Queen Is Dead |
| The Smiths Strangeways, Here We Come |
| The Sound Jeopardy |
| The Stone Roses The Stone Roses |
| The Streets Original Pirate Material |
| The Weakerthans Left and Leaving |
| The White Stripes White Blood Cells |
| The World Is a Beautiful Place... Harmlessness |
| The Wrens Secaucus |
| The Zombies Odessey and Oracle |
| Thelonious Monk Brilliant Corners |
| Tom Waits Rain Dogs |
| TV on the Radio Dear Science |
| Ty Segall Manipulator |
| Unwound Leaves Turn Inside You |
| Venetian Snares Rossz Csillag Allat Szuletett |
| Viktor Vaughn Vaudeville Villain |
| Wayne Shorter Speak No Evil |
| Wilco Yankee Hotel Foxtrot |
| Wilco Summerteeth |
| Perfect, amazingly melodic and often chilling pop from Tweedy and crew. Kicking off with 'Can't Stand It', a supreme piece of bouncy rhythm & blues with a desperate chorus, there's not a loser in the batch- from the pounding 'Shot in the Arm', the heartbroken, heartbreaking ballad 'Just Friends', and most of all the harrowing centerpiece, 'Via Chicago'. Depression never sounded more inviting than this. |
| Wipers Youth of America |
| Wire Chairs Missing |
| Wolves in the Throne Room Two Hunters |
| Wynton Marsalis Wynton Marsalis |
