| 5.0 classic |
| Against Me! Against Me! |
| there are very few albums from my teen years that i still love to this day for reasons other than nostalgia. of course nostalgia probably plays a big part in why this ep is one of my favorite albums, but this ep is just perfect. the desperation in tom's voice and the lyrics just make it so hard to fight the urge to sing along. its just such a genuine and fun album that seems impossible to dislike. |
| AJJ Knife Man |
| well my aoty for 2011 rapidly grew on me with every listen. all of the sudden its one of my favorite albums. its one of the most brutally honest albums i've ever heard which makes it so easy to connect to. some of the lyrics are so cheesy but they seem to fit so well. and i love how sean creatively adds in the "we're the kids in america" and "when the saints come marching in" parts. this album, along with "people who eat people" just make me feel the need to be a better person. |
| Bob Dylan The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan |
| dylan has so many great albums, but this one will always be my favorite. at 21 years old, dylan penned the epic 'a hard rain is gonna fall' and the revolutionary lyrics to "blowin in the wind". pretty impressive. whether he is telling an entertaining and comical story, or singing about leaving his girl, he just has a way with words that never ceases to amaze me. there's not much to say other than he is a true wordsmith and deserves all the recognition that he gets. |
| Bomb the Music Industry! Scrambles |
| i guess reading the background story for the lyrics on this album makes it much easier to fall in love with it, but it's not like i wouldnt have eventually fell in love with scrambles anyway. i remember saying "man, btmi! would have been my favorite band if i would have listened to them back when i was in high school" after listening to 'band minus album'. but after listening to scrambles, i thought "wow i fucking LOVE btmi!". jeff's lyrics might make it seem like he is a miserable twenty-something year old stumbling through life, and he may be, but really hes just like a lot of young adults afraid of growing up. of course going out and getting hammered all the time can be awesome, but jeff does an amazing job of describing the shitty side of the broke rockstar partying lifestyle. do i even have to mention how relatable this is or how creatively these songs are put together? |
| Bright Eyes I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning |
| well this is my favorite album and its not really close. this album changed the way i listened to music. at the time i listened to this album, freshman year in uni, i pretty much only listened to pop-punk and my favorite bands were nofx and four year strong. i still vividly remember checking out at the bottom of everything on youtube and listening to conor tell that story and i didn't know what to expect. then the song kicked in and the lyrics just amazed me. before this, i never really cared for lyrics, but for some reason, the switch just flipped. the first couple times i listened to it, i HAD to read the lyrics along with it. i listened over and over and never got tired of it. a couple years later, i still discover lines that just amaze me. i can honestly say that i believe that every lyric on this album is gold. i could go on forever about this album so i'll just say this; this album changed my life. instead of music (listening or writing) being something to do to pass the time, music is now something i love way more than words can describe and plays a huge role in my life. |
| Dan Mangan Nice, Nice, Very Nice |
| wow im kinda glad it took me so long to find this album. its amazing how much you can connect with an album on a personal level when youre going through some rough times. sorta like how i got attached to elliott smith a couple years back. i find myself going back to listen to road regrets everytime i finish this album. his lyrics and voice are just...remarkable |
| Elliott Smith Elliott Smith |
| well elliott is a perfect example of an artist that has so many amazing albums and the first one that i listen to becomes my favorite, even if the others are just as good or better. while "xo" and "either/or" are equally amazing, i just became attached to this album. Not only are the lyrics and his voice on this album so chilling, his guitar work is just beautiful. he is just a brilliant songwriter and this album, pretty much featuring just him and his acoustic, showcases his songwriting ability better than his others. if this album doesn't evoke any emotions in you, it is safe to say you are a robot. |
| Frank Turner Sleep Is For The Week |
| i always loved this album but it didn't receive classic status until i saw him live. seeing his ear to ear smile while the crowd sang his words made me think, that gotta be the best feeling in the world. when i got home around 2am i gave this a listen. and boom it just hit me. as a songwriter, this definitely has the most "GOD DAMMIT WHY DIDN'T I THINK OF THAT" moments. frank is just one of those guys that i relate to so much that it seems like he knows me better than my best friends. and even though his fame is growing rapidly, (selling out wembley!) he is still one of the most humble and down to earth people you'll ever meet. crazy how a guy with his acoustic guitar from across the pond can become one of the people i look up to the most. |
| Godspeed You! Black Emperor Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven |
| to me, post rock has always been that genre that made great background/sleeping music. hell i even listened to this album while falling asleep like 15 times and never understood what was so great about it. other than some parts in 'sleep' i thought this was just a snoozefest. then one night (while tripping), i devoted my full attention to this and suddenly everything just clicked. it was such an amazing experience. i was actually physically and emotionally exhausted after i took my headphones off when it ended. ive never felt this way after listening to an album. this is such a huge album and not one you can't just throw in all the time. to anyone that isnt sold on this album, i recommend giving this your full attention the next time you listen. honestly it is well worth it. |
| Modest Mouse The Moon & Antarctica |
| there was a point where i listened to modest mouse, and only modest mouse for about two months straight. i considered this and TLCW classics but the latter has kinda grew off me a bit but i still find myself loving TM&A more and more with each listen. you got issac's interesting philosophical lyrics backed by some catchy and beautiful guitar hooks. the desperation in issacs voice is still here, albeit not as much as his previous efforts, but perfectly utilized when needed. this album is ethereal, beautiful, creepy, sprawling, alienated, chill, and crazed. |
| My Bloody Valentine Loveless |
| Nana Grizol Love It Love It |
| Neil Young Tonight's the Night |
| this is the last album you want to throw on if you're having a great day. inspired by the loss of a couple people close to him, neil belted out this heart-wrenching album. his voice is just filled with pain and angst throughout this album and you can just tell how genuinely devastated neil was by his loss. this album is about as emotional you can get when it comes to music. |
| Neutral Milk Hotel In the Aeroplane Over the Sea |
| so youre stuck in a concentration camp and youre probably gonna die a miserable death. you dont know what you did or why the world is so cruel. but even in this horrible situation, you manage to see the beauty in everything. i mean, you only get one life to live right? where does being cynical about everything get you? ok so im gonna go out on a limb and say if your reading this your life is not as bad as those who suffered in the holocaust. well mine isnt either. but man does it seem like i have the worst luck some times. but there are things beyond my control, so why even waste time worrying about those things? why not focus on the good? it is hard to explain how perfectly put together this album. jeff's raw, pure, and 'ugly' voice layered over the haunting, dirty, and surreal music just creates this hauntingly beautiful atmosphere. it just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. and the holocaust references just hit it home for me. i mean he took one of the cruelest points in human history and laced it with this naive sense of hope and optimism. yeah we are all gonna die but can you believe how strange it is to be anything at all?r/pretentious interpretation of pretentious hipster album |
| Paul Baribeau Grand Ledge |
| Pavement Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain |
| this album is pretty much everything that i was looking for in a rock album. yeah it rocks, and is super catchy, but the lazy and seemingly effortless vocals delivered by malkmus make this ultimate slacker chill out album. i also cant get enough of how the guitars on this album seem to match the laziness of malkmus's voice, they just sound so perfect together. |
| Pink Floyd Wish You Were Here |
| i loved this album before i even had the attention span to enjoy 6+ minute long songs. i will admit, i wasn't really a fan of the opener or closer when i first started getting into this album. now i am in love with them. the guitar on these tracks are just so beautiful and waters vocals are so heartfelt. and then their is the title track. i have no clue how many times my friends and i drunkingly yelled this song at the top of our longs since high school. and when i'm alone, i think of those times everytime that acoustic lead comes in at the beginning. the song is perfect. how waters managed to not ruin this tribute to syd by adding two songs that feature his critique of the music industry, i have no clue. how he managed to merge that concept into a tribute for syd and make one of the best albums of all time, yeah. im speechless. |
| Radiohead Kid A |
| the first time i ever took shrooms i threw this album on. this was the first time i have ever had such an experience with music. i wont go in depth, but i'll say that it was a pretty crazy journey that i was not expecting (in a good way). but even before that experience, i loved the album (which is why i threw it on). from the first couple notes of 'everything in its right place', to the ending of 'motion picture soundtrack' where thom sings "i will see you in the next life", kid a is packed full of emotion and hauntingly beautiful soundscapes. this album definitely opened doors for me to enjoy not only electronic based music, but also any music outside my comfort zone. |
| The Hold Steady Teeth Dreams |
| The Hold Steady Almost Killed Me |
| The Microphones The Glow Pt. 2 |
| i know a lot of people say this album takes forever to grow on you, but damn did i fall in love as soon as the fuzzy title-track burst into my headphones after the warm and soft intro. after hearing the title track, i knew this album was special. i will admit that it did seem to drag throughout the second half, but it didn't take long to appreciate it as much as the first half. the crazy song arrangements and the beautiful acoustic guitars (clean and fuzzy) are the main things i admired from this album. that being said, phil's unique vocals also drew me in. throughout most of the album they were soft and quiet. even most of the times he raises his voice it still seems very soft and quiet, yet he still conveys his emotion perfectly. this is one of the most unique albums i have ever heard. |
| The Mountain Goats We Shall All Be Healed |
| before i say anything about this album, i'll just throw out there that i am a HUGE JD fanboy. he is the only lyricist that i would put ahead of dylan. i love pretty much anything he records. 'we shall all be healed' features some of his best lyrics, which are based on people john used to know who are "mostly dead or in jail by now". he paints the most vivid pictures in the most creative and witty ways with his astounding wordplay. this album has a perfect mix of the lo-fi mountain goats sound and his more polished sound. now i dont know much about meth-addicts other than they are usually pretty fucked up people. but somehow JD manages to not only give us a sense of what life as a meth-addict is like, but he also makes us empathize with these messed up people. i guess i'll just finish this with a verse from one of his most moving songs 'your belgian things'. "The arteries are clogging in the mainframe/ There's too much information in the pipes/ I saw the mess you left up in the east bedroom/ A tiger's never gonna change its stripes/ I guess, I guess/ but Jesus what a mess/ One way in and no way out." |
| The Tallest Man on Earth The Wild Hunt |
| Matsson takes his exceptional songwriting in "Shallow Grave" to another level with The Wild Hunt. this album is just the perfect folk album. some of the best lyrics i've ever heard, beautiful guitar/fingerpicking, and an unique, expressive voice that just grabs your attention (in a good way). there is not a dull moment on this album that features Matsson alone with his acoustic/piano. this is an album that i can throw on at any time, and no matter how much i listen, it never grows old. |
| Titus Andronicus The Monitor |
| who knew that a two hour commute to school alone could be so awesome? that is, until you don't have a voice left after. not only is the monitor the best driving album, it is also the best album to throw on while hammered (don't get any bad ideas). this album just fucking rules. when it comes to writing lyrics, stickles doesn't give a fuck about what anyone thinks of him. he knows he is a loser, and he will agree if you call him a fuck up. but hey, we are all imperfect so its okay. he has people who accept him for what he really is, so who gives a shit about the others. stickles wants us to go out get hammered, have fun, and fuck up. you can live life miserable, and do what everyone expects you to do, but in the end, what the fuck was it for anyway? |
| Wilco Being There |
| there is one album that i just cant give anything lower than a 5, even though it's not my favorite album from the band. being there is that album. there are even songs on this double album i'm not quite fond of, but i just fucking love this album. this is wilco in their transitional period between their alt-country folk roots and their indie rockin' future albums. this album got wilco rockin' out and writing catchy songs stuck in your head for days. its also features a more somber and darker side of tweedy that just oozes emotion. like i said, wilco has done better, but it took a hell of an effort to top this. |
| Wilco Yankee Hotel Foxtrot |
| one of the reasons i gave wilco two classics is because, besides tweedy's vocals, YHF and 'being there' sound like 2 completely different albums from two different bands. this album definitely took a while to grow on me, but damn, am i glad it did. musically, this album is about as close to perfect as you can get. wilco can take even the simplest three chord song (i am trying to break your heart), and make it into a masterpiece. you can credit that to some amazing drumming throughout the album along with the amazing sounds they created by experimenting. couple the amazing background music with tweedy's perfect voice and exceptional songwriting and you got one of the greatest albums ever produced. |
