| 5.0 classic |
| Alice in Chains Dirt |
| This is the perfect album. Everything came together just right. Staley and Cantrell in their prime, with a little success under their belts, giving them some room to breathe in the studio. The definition of grunge, this album is my favorite by my favorite band of the "grunge artists." Quite simply one of the best albums ever made. |
| Alice in Chains Jar Of Flies |
| They take it down a notch with this EP, bust out the acoustic guitars, and kind of jam out for a while. The vocal styling of AIC we all know and love is still front and center. A perfect change of pace, and quite enjoyable. |
| Animal Collective Merriweather Post Pavilion |
| It's bizarre! It's weird! Go into it with an open mind and you will experience bliss. As one reviewer put it, it only takes one album to flip the world upside down, and this is that album. |
| Between the Buried and Me Colors |
| Technically amazing, and basically an hour-long Mozart composition with guitar work that will melt your face right off, BTBAM created their opus with Colors. Anyone who rates this a 1 is just jealous of their amazing songwriting ability. Everyone should be jealous, actually. |
| Bon Iver Bon Iver, Bon Iver |
| Impeccable songwriting. Each song flows beautifully into the next. Vernon's falsettos take the driver's seat on these songs, moving them forward with confidence. The full-band approach is refreshing compared to For Emma. For Emma is good in its rawness, but Bon Iver's self-titled has a sense of knowing what its made of, where it's going, and it has a purpose. One of the most melodically gorgeous albums of our era. Vernon shows that his musicianship is greater than we could have imagined. #1 in Pitchfork's list for best albums of 2011. |
| Brand New The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me |
| This album is raw and inspired... there are musical mistakes, but they just let them stay there. I think that shows that they wanted a certain raw quality about it. Lacey's vocals are all over the place, loud, soft, screaming... but only when necessary. This album is an emotional roller coaster. |
| Brand New Deja Entendu |
| I thought this album was a 4.5 but then I calculated what I had rated it on iTunes. Upwards of 4.8. All tracks at 5 stars besides two: "Sic Transit Gloria... Glory Fades" and "The Boy Who Blocked His Own Shot." Both of those tracks got 4s, or excellent from me. Final score of 4.8 which rounds up to a 5. This is the album that first got me into Brand New. I saw them when they toured for it. I love every song. They are great musicians, they need to release more albums. |
| Bright Eyes Four Winds |
| Bright Eyes I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning |
| Conor Oberst's masterpiece. Incredible songwriting, lots of emotion, basically what he had been working for his whole career. I'm just now revisiting this album and I am kicking myself for having it at a 4.5. It is clearly a 5. |
| Fleet Foxes Fleet Foxes |
| For a debut album, this is pretty remarkable. The vocal harmonies, the melodies; everything comes together in just the right way. Often compared to CSNY, Fleet Foxes is doing music the proper way in a world that no longer cares about "proper" music. Listen to any popular music radio station, and then listen to Fleet Foxes and there will be no comparison, as far as raw talent goes. |
| Fleet Foxes Helplessness Blues |
| Fleet Foxes' follow-up to their debut self-titled is even more folksy, which I didn't think was possible after listening to their debut. They still amaze with impressive vocal harmonies, but this time around, they have a more mature sound. They've taken a few steps forward in the growth of their sound. |
| Fleetwood Mac Rumours |
| Just an obvious classic. This is the album, for FWM, that influenced countless artists and music as a whole. This album is basically their greatest hits without the title of greatest hits. This is the album that, when talking about or listening to Fleetwood Mac, one turns to as a reference point. |
| Led Zeppelin Houses Of The Holy |
| Led Zeppelin is iconic and still relevant today, despite that it's been over 30 years since their disbanding. Why? They must have done something right. What I like best about this album is that it's songs you don't usually hear on the radio. This album came out when they had already had success. They were free to do whatever they pleased, and with freedom comes great music. |
| Nujabes Metaphorical Music |
| Mesmerizing & surreal, a "refreshing sound" according to a reviewer. I'm not really into hip hop, but Nujabes does it differently. They infuse elements of jazz. With many guest vocalists, Nujabes keeps it fresh. They are not bound to one vocalist. One of my favorite albums. It has the "I-can-listen-to-it-over-and-over" factor. |
| Orbs Asleep Next to Science |
| I hate religion too, Orbs. It's proggy, it's metal, it's melodic, it's eerie. Orbs is truly doing something different in a genre that really doesn't do much other than what is expected. The keys are incredible on this album, something about it that just sucks you right in. |
| Pink Floyd Animals |
| Some of the reviews on here sum it up perfectly. Animals is a critique of the society that spawned it. What a good way of putting it, right there. Now I don't need to say much, except that I could listen to this album and only this album for the rest of my life. It never gets old. It's perfect. |
| Pink Floyd Wish You Were Here |
| Arguably the best album of all time. Pink Floyd had free range to do whatever they wanted post-Dark Side of the Moon, so they used the opportunity to jab at the music industry. "Have a Cigar" is the best example of this. This was their album to really say what they feel. |
| Radiohead OK Computer |
| Musically enchanting. This album defined Radiohead's career. The vocals are what makes this album stand out. A very entertaining record. |
| Radiohead Kid A |
| Say Anything ...Is a Real Boy |
| This is the music from The Full Monty... in that it's honest. Max Bemis bares all in ...Is A Real Boy, but that's not all, folks. The music is innovative and the music theory is brilliant. I find myself, still, to this day, listening to certain parts and being like "what a perfect transition" and "I can't believe he went to that chord there." It's just wonderful listening to this album. |
| The Beatles Abbey Road |
| My favorite album by my favorite band. From "Come Together" to "Something" to "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" to "Here Comes the Sun," this album is the Beatles' opus. It's perfect. It was the culmination of years and years of being international superstars and making music your main focus in life. The Beatles were quite simply the best at what they did, and Abbey Road is the exclamation point at the end of their sentence of a career. |
| The Beatles Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band |
| One of the more "fun" albums out there. The Beatles try something different with Sgt. Pepper's; they pretend to be a different band. So many classic songs on this record, including Ringo's vocal hit "With a Little Help From My Friends" and "A Day In the Life," arguably the Beatles' best song ever. Some also argue that this record is their best... it's in my top 3 for sure. |
| The Beatles Revolver |
| This album is just a unique collection of well-written songs. No particular meaning behind the album as a whole, but there is much diversity. The Beatles were starting to grow up, as this album was released in 1965, 4 years before their opus Abbey Road. That's what makes it so impressive -- the Beatles threw together a bunch of songs that were finally moving in the more experimental direction of their later days. One might not even classify this album as one of their later albums. I would argue that it is, just based on the sound that they achieve. Every song is different. If you've never heard Revolver before, you will be listening, and thinking to yourself "I wonder what comes next!" |
| The Cure Disintegration |
| One of the most influential gothic rock, post-punk records of our day. The music that has followed in its footsteps will never really be able to top it. It was the original of its kind and it can't and won't be touched. |
| The Dear Hunter Act II: The Meaning of, & All Things Regarding Ms. Leading |
| One of the most incredibly orchestrated albums of this age. Released in 2007, at a time when there wasn't much going on that really impressed anybody, The Dear Hunter defied all expectations, and continues to do so. This is a dynamic album, where no two minutes of it sound alike. It's an animal that is constantly changing until arriving at its foreboding conclusion. Well done to the mastermind who also wrote Between the Heart and the Synapse. |
| The Decemberists The Crane Wife |
| The Decemberists Picaresque |
| The Doors The Doors |
| A rock and roll masterpiece. Jim Morrison's voice is their signature, low and booming. This album defines rock and roll and classic rock at that. You just have to listen to it to see what I mean... this album is in a league of its own. Music for a true hippie. |
| The Jimi Hendrix Experience Are You Experienced |
| 1967 was a good year for music. The Doors' self-titled, Sgt. Pepper, and the Jimi Hendrix Experience. I always knew I was born in the wrong era. I would have thrived in the 60s! All of these 1967 albums defined rock and roll in one way or another, so I think I'll just leave it at that. Also, Jimi Hendrix knew his way around a guitar. Listen to those bluesy riffs... they're awesome! |
| The Mars Volta De-Loused in the Comatorium |
| I don't put much recent music as a 5, but De-Loused and I go way back. I had a band in high school, and we were all obsessed with this album. The story, the music, their general attitude toward music, we loved it all. We wanted to be The Volta. This album is a work of art. |
| The Tallest Man on Earth The Wild Hunt |
| The Wild Hunt is an honest and earnest effort from a man and his guitar (and piano). Intricate acoustic guitar work, unique vocals, and heartfelt lyrics makes this album one to listen to again and again. If I had to take 5 albums onto a desert island, this one would be on the list. Favorite song - "Kids On the Run" |
| The Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground & Nico |
| 1967 was arguably the best year in music. Some of the most influential music was released in this year, including this one. What I love most about The Underground is that they make repetition feel normal. It doesn't get old, it only gets better as the track goes on. |
| Wilco Yankee Hotel Foxtrot |
| Obviously Wilco's best effort to date... and I don't think they'll ever top it. It's a masterpiece. One reviewer put it well: it begs the questions what is success? What is failure? And what is happiness? Jeff Tweedy was lost in 2002, using drugs and contemplating life's biggest questions. Sometimes, in this case especially, that's just what you want for an album to be great. |
| 4.0 excellent |
| 2Pac Me Against the World |
| A Perfect Circle Thirteenth Step |
| Aerosmith Toys In The Attic |
| Alice in Chains MTV Unplugged |
| Alice in Chains Alice In Chains |
| Alice in Chains Black Gives Way to Blue |
| Andrew Bird The Mysterious Production Of Eggs |
| Animal Collective Strawberry Jam |
| Animal Collective Sung Tongs |
| Animal Collective Fall Be Kind |
| Animal Collective Water Curses |
| Animals As Leaders Weightless |
| Arcade Fire The Suburbs |
| Arcade Fire Neon Bible |
| As Cities Burn Son, I Loved You at Your Darkest |
| As Cities Burn Come Now Sleep |
| Even without the singer, these guys kill it. |
| At the Drive-In Vaya |
| Band of Horses Cease to Begin |
| Battles Mirrored |
| Beach House Teen Dream |
| Beck Sea Change |
| Beirut Gulag Orkestar |
| Ben Kweller Sha Sha |
| Ben Kweller Ben Kweller |
| Between the Buried and Me The Silent Circus |
| This was BTBAM's first album on Victory, meaning they had a lot to prove if they wanted to stay on their roster. And prove themselves they did. Dirty fuckin' metal is what this album is, with a softer interlude or two thrown in the mix, just to lighten the mood a bit. One of my favorite metal albums, because every song sounds distinctly different... BTBAM always knows how to keep things fresh. |
| Between the Buried and Me Between the Buried and Me |
| Between the Buried and Me Alaska (Instrumental) |
| Billy Joel 52nd Street |
| Billy Joel The Stranger |
| Black Sabbath 13 |
| Blonde Redhead Misery is a Butterfly |
| Blonde Redhead 23 |
| Bob Marley and The Wailers Legend |
| Bon Iver Blood Bank |
| Boris Pink |
| Brand New Your Favorite Weapon |
| Brand New Daisy |
| Brand New Fight Off Your Demons (The Demos) |
| Bright Eyes Motion Sickness: Live Recordings |
| Bright Eyes Fevers & Mirrors |
| Bright Eyes Lua |
| Bright Eyes Every Day and Every Night |
| Broken Social Scene You Forgot It in People |
| Broken Social Scene Broken Social Scene |
| Buddy Holly Buddy Holly |
| Camera Obscura Let's Get Out of This Country |
| Can Ege Bamyasi |
| Circa Survive Blue Sky Noise |
| Circa Survive Juturna |
| Circa Survive On Letting Go |
| Circa Survive Violent Waves |
| Circle Takes the Square As the Roots Undo |
| Coheed and Cambria From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness |
| Coheed and Cambria The Afterman: Ascension |
| Colour Revolt Plunder, Beg, and Curse |
| Comeback Kid Wake the Dead |
| Company Of Thieves Running From A Gamble |
| Converge Jane Doe |
| Converge All We Love We Leave Behind |
| Copeland Eat, Sleep, Repeat |
| Copeland Beneath Medicine Tree |
| Copeland In Motion |
| Craft Spells Idle Labor |
| Crystal Castles Crystal Castles III |
| Currensy Pilot Talk II |
| Currensy Pilot Talk |
| Cursive The Ugly Organ |
| Cymbals Eat Guitars Why There Are Mountains |
| Dance Gavin Dance Happiness |
| Dashboard Confessional The Swiss Army Romance |
| Dashboard Confessional The Places You Have Come To Fear The Most |
| Deerhunter Microcastle |
| Deftones Deftones |
| Emery The Weak's End |
| Emery ...In Shallow Seas We Sail |
| Eminem The Marshall Mathers LP |
| Every Time I Die Ex Lives |
| Every Time I Die The Big Dirty |
| Faith No More Angel Dust |
| Fever Ray Fever Ray |
| Fleet Foxes Sun Giant |
| Freddie Gibbs ESGN |
| Fuck Buttons Slow Focus |
| Fujiya and Miyagi Transparent Things |
| fun. Aim and Ignite |
| Further Seems Forever How to Start a Fire |
| Girls Album |
| Glassjaw Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Silence |
| God Is an Astronaut The End of the Beginning |
| Good Old War Only Way To Be Alone |
| Gorguts Considered Dead |
| Gorillaz Demon Days |
| Grizzly Bear Shields |
| Hot Chip The Warning |
| Hot Chip Made in the Dark |
| Imogen Heap Speak For Yourself |
| Incubus (USA-CA) Make Yourself |
| Interpol Turn on the Bright Lights |
| Interpol Antics |
| Iron And Wine Our Endless Numbered Days |
| Iron And Wine The Shepherd's Dog |
| Jack Johnson In Between Dreams |
| James Blake James Blake |
| James Blake Overgrown |
| Jens Lekman Night Falls Over Kortedala |
| What a unique album. Never heard anything like it. |
| John Lennon Imagine |
| John Mayer Room for Squares |
| John Mayer Continuum |
| John Mayer Trio Try! |
| Jonsi Go |
| Joy Division Unknown Pleasures |
| Jukebox the Ghost Let Live & Let Ghosts |
| Justice †|
| Keane Hopes & Fears |
| Kendrick Lamar Section.80 |
| Kid Cudi Man on the Moon: The End of Day |
| Kings of Convenience Quiet is the New Loud |
| Kings of Convenience Riot on an Empty Street |
| Koji Kondo The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask OST |
| This game is a classic... the music is amazing, but not "classic" worthy. |
| Koji Kondo The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker OST |
| La Dispute Wildlife |
| La Dispute Rooms of the House |
| LCD Soundsystem This Is Happening |
| LCD Soundsystem Sound of Silver |
| Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin |
| Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin III |
| Led Zeppelin Presence |
| Leprous Bilateral |
| Leprous Coal |
| Les Savy Fav Inches |
| Lovedrug Pretend You're Alive |
| Lydia Devil |
| Great, but still not nearly as good as Illuminate. They should have aimed more for that caliber. |
| M.I.A. Kala |
| M.I.A. Arular |
| M83 Saturdays=Youth |
| M83 Hurry Up, We're Dreaming |
| M83 Dead Cities, Red Seas and Lost Ghosts |
| One has to be in a particular mood for m83. I'm in that mood right now. |
| Mac DeMarco 2 |
| A very mellow album, with some interesting guitar riffs and relaxed vocals. Overall, very good. |
| Mae Destination: Beautiful |
| Mae (m)orning |
| Manchester Orchestra I'm Like a Virgin Losing a Child |
| Manchester Orchestra Mean Everything to Nothing |
| Manchester Orchestra Let My Pride Be What's Left Behind EP/DVD |
| Manchester Orchestra Cope |
| Maps and Atlases Tree, Swallows, Houses |
| Matt Pond PA Several Arrows Later |
| Sounds good on vinyl. |
| Memory Tapes Seek Magic |
| mewithoutYou A to B: Life |
| mewithoutYou Ten Stories |
| MGMT Time to Pretend |
| Miike Snow Miike Snow |
| Minus the Bear Menos El Oso |
| Minus the Bear Highly Refined Pirates |
| Modest Mouse Good News for People Who Love Bad News |
| Modest Mouse The Moon & Antarctica |
| Monsters of Folk Monsters of Folk |
| Muse Absolution |
| NAILS Abandon All Life |
| New Found Glory New Found Glory |
| Nujabes Modal Soul |
| O'Brother Garden Window |
| of Montreal The Sunlandic Twins |
| of Montreal Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? |
| of Montreal The Bedside Drama: A Petite Tragedy |
| Okkervil River Black Sheep Boy |
| Panda Bear Person Pitch |
| Passion Pit Chunk of Change |
| Passion Pit Manners |
| Paul Simon Graceland |
| Phoenix (FRA) Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix |
| Phoenix (FRA) Bankrupt! |
| Pianos Become the Teeth The Lack Long After |
| Pianos Become the Teeth Old Pride |
| Pink Floyd The Wall |
| Pink Floyd Meddle |
| Pink Floyd A Saucerful Of Secrets |
| Portugal. The Man Waiter: ''You Vultures!'' |
| Portugal. The Man The Satanic Satanist |
| Prince 1999 |
| Prince Sign o' the Times |
| Protest the Hero Kezia |
| Protest the Hero Fortress |
| Protest the Hero Scurrilous |
| Protest the Hero Volition |
| Queens of the Stone Age ...Like Clockwork |
| Radiohead Hail to the Thief |
| Radiohead The Bends |
| Ratatat Ratatat |
| Ratatat Classics |
| Ratatat LP4 |
| LP4 gets a 4 from me. |
| Real Estate Days |
| Red Hot Chili Peppers Blood Sugar Sex Magik |
| Relient K Mmhmm |
| Rooney Rooney |
| Russian Circles Geneva |
| Saves the Day Through Being Cool |
| Say Anything Say Anything |
| Sigur Ros Kveikur |
| Sky Ferreira Night Time, My Time |
| Something Corporate North |
| Sonic Youth Daydream Nation |
| Spoon Kill the Moonlight |
| Stars Set Yourself On Fire |
| Stone Temple Pilots Core |
| Streetlight Manifesto Everything Goes Numb |
| Taking Back Sunday Tell All Your Friends |
| The Antlers Burst Apart |
| The Avett Brothers Emotionalism |
| The Beatles The Beatles |
| |
| The Beatles Hey Jude |
| The Beatles Help! |
| The Beatles Beatles for Sale |
| The Beatles Please Please Me |
| The Beatles 1 |
| The Beatles Let It Be… Naked |
| It's the same as Let It Be, but with the songs in a different order. Wat |
| The Beatles Past Masters, Vol. 1 |
| The Beatles Past Masters, Vol. 2 |
| The Blood Brothers ...Burn, Piano Island, Burn |
| The Cure Greatest Hits |
| The Cure The Head on the Door |
| The Cure Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me |
| The Dear Hunter Act I: The Lake South, the River North |
| The Dear Hunter Act III: Life and Death |
| The Dear Hunter Orange |
| The Dear Hunter Yellow |
| The Dear Hunter White |
| The Dear Hunter Migrant |
| An excellent release, as good as I was hoping for. |
| The Early November The Room's Too Cold |
| The Early November For All of This EP |
| The Early November In Currents |
| The Early November Acoustic EP |
| The Format Interventions and Lullabies |
| The Format Dog Problems |
| The Good Life Album of the Year |
| The Hush Sound Like Vines |
| The Killers Sam's Town |
| The Pains of Being Pure at Heart Belong |
| The Police Synchronicity |
| The Police Outlandos d'Amour |
| The Rural Alberta Advantage Hometowns |
| The Sound of Animals Fighting Tiger and the Duke |
| The Starting Line Say It Like You Mean It |
| The Swellers Ups and Downsizing |
| The Tallest Man on Earth There's No Leaving Now |
| The Tallest Man on Earth Sometimes The Blues Is Just A Passing Bird |
| The Walkmen Lisbon |
| The War On Drugs Slave Ambient |
| A very chill album. |
| The Weakerthans Reunion Tour |
| The Weeknd Thursday |
| The Weeknd House of Balloons |
| The Weeknd Echoes of Silence |
| The White Stripes White Blood Cells |
| The Who My Generation: The Very Best of the Who |
| Thom Yorke The Eraser |
| Thrice The Artist in the Ambulance |
| Touche Amore ...To the Beat of a Dead Horse |
| Touche Amore Is Survived By |
| Two Door Cinema Club Tourist History |
| Various Artists Kill Bill Vol. 1 Original Soundtrack |
| Vashti Bunyan Lookaftering |
| Washed Out Within and Without |
| Weezer Pinkerton |
| Wilco Summerteeth |
| Wilco Being There |
| Wilco Kicking Television: Live in Chicago |
| Yeasayer All Hour Cymbals |
| Youth Lagoon The Year of Hibernation |
