| Lil Jon and the East Side Boyz Kings of Crunk | 1.0 |
| Metallica Some Kind of Monster | 2.0 |
| Britney Spears Oops!...I Did It Again | 2.0 |
| Backstreet Boys Millennium | 2.0 |
| Snoop Dogg Paid tha Cost to Be da Bo$$ | 2.0 |
| Pink Floyd A Momentary Lapse of Reason | 2.5 |
| Marilyn Manson Smells Like Children | 2.5 |
| Cradle of Filth Live Bait for the Dead | 2.5 |
| Static-X Beneath... Between... Beyond | 2.5 |
| Metallica St. Anger | 3.0 |
| In Flames Soundtrack to Your Escape | 3.0 |
| Mudvayne L.D. 50 | 3.0 |
| Slipknot Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat. | 3.0 |
| Mushroomhead XX | 3.0 |
| Wu-Tang Clan Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) | 3.0 |
| Static-X Start A War | 3.0 |
| Mudvayne The Beginning of All Things to End | 3.0 |
| Korn Untouchables | 3.0 |
| Aphex Twin Windowlicker | 3.0 |
| HIM Dark Light | 3.0 |
| Korn See You on the Other Side | 3.0 |
| Bush Razorblade Suitcase | 3.0 |
| Nine Inch Nails Things Falling Apart | 3.0 |
| Moby 18 | 3.0 |
| AFI Decemberunderground | 3.0 |
| Led Zeppelin BBC Sessions | 3.0 |
| Ice Cube AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted | 3.0 |
| Cradle of Filth Bitter Suites to Succubi | 3.0 |
| Radiohead Amnesiac | 3.5 |
| Metallica Kill 'Em All | 3.5 |
| Placebo Sleeping with Ghosts | 3.5 |
| Tool Opiate | 3.5 |
| Darkthrone A Blaze in the Northern Sky | 3.5 |
| Oasis (What's the Story) Morning Glory? | 3.5 |
| Green Day Nimrod | 3.5 |
| Korn Take a Look in the Mirror | 3.5 |
| Alice in Chains Sap | 3.5 |
| Orgy Candyass | 3.5 |
| Cradle of Filth The Principle of Evil Made Flesh | 3.5 |
| Disturbed The Sickness | 3.5 |
| Public Enemy It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back | 3.5 |
| Slipknot Iowa | 3.5 |
| Red Hot Chili Peppers Blood Sugar Sex Magik | 3.5 |
| Ulver Nattens Madrigal | 3.5 |
| Bathory Bathory | 3.5 |
| Green Day Kerplunk | 3.5 |
| Judas Priest British Steel | 3.5 |
| DJ Shadow Endtroducing..... | 3.5 |
| Pink Floyd A Saucerful of Secrets | 3.5 |
| Korn Life Is Peachy | 3.5 |
| 311 From Chaos | 3.5 |
| Mudvayne Lost and Found | 3.5 |
| Gorillaz Demon Days | 3.5 |
| Eminem The Eminem Show | 3.5 |
| Type O Negative October Rust | 3.5 |
| Arch Enemy Doomsday Machine | 3.5 |
| Soilwork A Predator's Portrait | 3.5 |
| Sepultura Roots | 3.5 |
| Judas Priest Killing Machine | 3.5 |
| Children of Bodom Are You Dead Yet? | 3.5 |
| DevilDriver The Fury of Our Maker's Hand | 3.5 |
| Daft Punk Homework | 3.5 |
| Arch Enemy Burning Bridges | 3.5 |
| Slipknot Disasterpieces | 3.5 |
| In Flames Come Clarity | 3.5 |
| Drowning Pool Sinner | 3.5 |
| Boston Third Stage | 3.5 |
| Dr. Dre 2001 | 3.5 |
| Jurassic 5 Power in Numbers | 3.5 |
| Darkthrone Soulside Journey | 3.5 |
| Sugar Ray Floored | 3.5 |
| Aphex Twin Classics | 3.5 |
| Kansas The Best of Kansas | 3.5 |
| Brian Eno Neroli | 3.5 |
| Nas It Was Written | 3.5 |
| Meshuggah Contradictions Collapse | 3.5 |
| Lamb of God Sacrament | 3.5 |
| Korn Deuce DVD | 3.5 |
| Weird Al Yankovic Straight Outta Lynwood | 3.5 |
| Deerhoof Reveille | 3.5 |
| The Wallflowers Breach | 3.5 |
| Cradle of Filth Thornography | 3.5 |
| Portishead Portishead | 3.5 |
| The Orb Orblivion | 3.5 |
| Deerhoof Friend Opportunity | 3.5 |
| Chimaira Resurrection | 3.5 |
| Dream Theater Train of Thought | 4.0 |
| A Perfect Circle Thirteenth Step | 4.0 |
| Deftones White Pony | 4.0 |
| The Mars Volta De-Loused in the Comatorium | 4.0 |
| Dream Theater Images and Words | 4.0 |
| Alice in Chains Dirt | 4.0 |
| System of a Down System of a Down | 4.0 |
| System of a Down Steal This Album! | 4.0 |
| Pink Floyd The Piper at the Gates of Dawn | 4.0 |
| Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin III | 4.0 |
| Pink Floyd Animals | 4.0 |
| Placebo Without You I'm Nothing | 4.0 |
| Iron Maiden Powerslave | 4.0 |
| Tool Undertow | 4.0 |
| Meshuggah Destroy Erase Improve | 4.0 |
| Metallica Ride the Lightning | 4.0 |
| Red Hot Chili Peppers By the Way | 4.0 |
| Cradle of Filth Midian | 4.0 |
| In Flames Reroute to Remain | 4.0 |
| Tool Salival | 4.0 |
| Slipknot Slipknot | 4.0 |
| Slayer Reign in Blood | 4.0 |
| Deftones Around the Fur | 4.0 |
| Van Halen Van Halen | 4.0 |
| Red Hot Chili Peppers Californication | 4.0 |
| Korn Korn | 4.0 |
| Dream Theater A Change of Seasons | 4.0 |
| Iced Earth Night of the Stormrider | 4.0 |
| Meshuggah Nothing | 4.0 |
| Faith No More Angel Dust | 4.0 |
| Killswitch Engage The End of Heartache | 4.0 |
| Slipknot Vol. 3: The Subliminal Verses | 4.0 |
| My Dying Bride The Angel and the Dark River | 4.0 |
| Anthrax Spreading the Disease | 4.0 |
| Children of Bodom Hate Crew Deathroll | 4.0 |
| Meshuggah I | 4.0 |
| Darkthrone Transilvanian Hunger | 4.0 |
| Mudvayne The End of All Things to Come | 4.0 |
| Explosions in the Sky The Earth Is Not a Cold Dead Place | 4.0 |
| Led Zeppelin Physical Graffiti | 4.0 |
| Children of Bodom Something Wild | 4.0 |
| Pearl Jam Vitalogy | 4.0 |
| Iced Earth The Blessed and the Damned | 4.0 |
| Iron Maiden Killers | 4.0 |
| Shadows Fall The War Within | 4.0 |
| Green Day American Idiot | 4.0 |
| Emperor IX Equilibrium | 4.0 |
| AC/DC Back In Black | 4.0 |
| Pink Floyd Echoes | 4.0 |
| Cradle of Filth Nymphetamine | 4.0 |
| Dimmu Borgir Death Cult Armageddon | 4.0 |
| Cradle of Filth Damnation and a Day | 4.0 |
| Lamb of God Ashes of the Wake | 4.0 |
| Mushroomhead XIII | 4.0 |
| Korn Issues | 4.0 |
| Dr. Dre The Chronic | 4.0 |
| Moby Play | 4.0 |
| Bjork Post | 4.0 |
| Eminem The Slim Shady LP | 4.0 |
| N.W.A. Straight Outta Compton | 4.0 |
| Static-X Wisconsin Death Trip | 4.0 |
| A Perfect Circle Mer de Noms | 4.0 |
| Godspeed You! Black Emperor F♯ A♯ ∞ | 4.0 |
| Weird Al Yankovic Running With Scissors | 4.0 |
| Opeth Morningrise | 4.0 |
| Ulver Kveldssanger | 4.0 |
| Dissection The Somberlain | 4.0 |
| The Smashing Pumpkins Adore | 4.0 |
| Marilyn Manson Antichrist Superstar | 4.0 |
| DragonForce Sonic Firestorm | 4.0 |
| Opeth Damnation | 4.0 |
| The Chemical Brothers Dig Your Own Hole | 4.0 |
| Korn Follow the Leader | 4.0 |
| Marilyn Manson Mechanical Animals | 4.0 |
| Nine Inch Nails With Teeth | 4.0 |
| Alice in Chains MTV Unplugged | 4.0 |
| Godspeed You! Black Emperor Yanqui U.X.O. | 4.0 |
| Sepultura Chaos A.D. | 4.0 |
| Coldplay X&Y | 4.0 |
| Nine Inch Nails Broken | 4.0 |
| Meshuggah Catch Thirtythree | 4.0 |
| Meshuggah Chaosphere | 4.0 |
| Pink Floyd Ummagumma | 4.0 |
| Led Zeppelin Best Of, Vol. 2: Latter Days | 4.0 |
| Bjork Medulla | 4.0 |
| Weird Al Yankovic Bad Hair Day | 4.0 |
| Bush Sixteen Stone | 4.0 |
| Arch Enemy Black Earth | 4.0 |
| Nevermore This Godless Endeavor | 4.0 |
| Guns N' Roses Appetite for Destruction | 4.0 |
| Common Be | 4.0 |
| The Black Dahlia Murder Miasma | 4.0 |
| HIM Love Metal | 4.0 |
| Aphex Twin Come to Daddy | 4.0 |
| Aphex Twin ...I Care Because You Do | 4.0 |
| Disturbed Ten Thousand Fists | 4.0 |
| Kanye West Late Registration | 4.0 |
| HIM Razorblade Romance | 4.0 |
| HIM Deep Shadows and Brilliant Highlights | 4.0 |
| Hypocrisy Abducted | 4.0 |
| Slipknot Vol.3: The Subliminal Verses [Reissue] | 4.0 |
| System of a Down Hypnotize | 4.0 |
| Death Individual Thought Patterns | 4.0 |
| Death Human | 4.0 |
| Jurassic 5 Quality Control | 4.0 |
| At the Gates With Fear I Kiss the Burning Darkness | 4.0 |
| Hypocrisy The Final Chapter | 4.0 |
| In Flames Lunar Strain | 4.0 |
| Dimmu Borgir Spiritual Black Dimensions | 4.0 |
| In Flames The Tokyo Showdown | 4.0 |
| Brian Eno Ambient 4: On Land | 4.0 |
| Weird Al Yankovic In 3-D | 4.0 |
| Korn Greatest Hits Vol. 1 | 4.0 |
| Snoop Dogg Doggystyle | 4.0 |
| Type O Negative Bloody Kisses | 4.0 |
| Ihsahn The Adversary | 4.0 |
| Cradle of Filth Cruelty and the Beast | 4.0 |
| Blue October Foiled | 4.0 |
| Bathory Under the Sign of the Black Mark | 4.0 |
| Boston Don't Look Back | 4.0 |
| Autechre LP5 | 4.0 |
| Boards of Canada Twoism | 4.0 |
| Nine Inch Nails Further Down the Spiral (US) | 4.0 |
| Sentenced Down | 4.0 |
| The Police Every Breath You Take: The Classics | 4.0 |
| Mastodon Blood Mountain | 4.0 |
| Dark Tranquillity Character | 4.0 |
| Ulver Themes From William Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell | 4.0 |
| Alice in Chains Nothing Safe: Best of the Box | 4.0 |
| Deerhoof Milk Man | 4.0 |
| Squarepusher Ultravisitor | 4.0 |
| Deftones Saturday Night Wrist | 4.0 |
| Dark Tranquillity Damage Done | 4.0 |
| Dark Tranquillity Projector | 4.0 |
| Mouse on Mars Instrumentals | 4.0 |
| Delerium Karma | 4.0 |
| Killswitch Engage As Daylight Dies | 4.0 |
| Enya Shepherd Moons | 4.0 |
| Squarepusher Selection Sixteen | 4.0 |
| Autechre Peel Session 2 | 4.0 |
| Boards of Canada Peel Session | 4.0 |
| Boards of Canada Trans Canada Highway | 4.0 |
| Dark Tranquillity Skydancer/Of Chaos And Eternal Night | 4.0 |
| Nine Inch Nails Year Zero | 4.0 |
| Pearl Jam Ten | 4.5 |
| Radiohead The Bends | 4.5 |
| Metallica Master of Puppets | 4.5 |
| Pink Floyd The Dark Side of the Moon | 4.5 |
| The Smashing Pumpkins Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness | 4.5 |
| Led Zeppelin Best Of, Vol. 1: Early Days | 4.5 |
| Tool Ænima | 4.5 |
| Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin | 4.5 |
| Iron Maiden The Number of the Beast | 4.5 |
| Radiohead Kid A | 4.5 |
| Nine Inch Nails The Fragile | 4.5 |
| Metallica ...And Justice for All | 4.5 |
| Nirvana In Utero | 4.5 |
| Green Day Dookie | 4.5 |
| System of a Down Toxicity | 4.5 |
| The Smashing Pumpkins Siamese Dream | 4.5 |
| Sepultura Arise | 4.5 |
| Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin IV | 4.5 |
| Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin II | 4.5 |
| Nirvana Nevermind | 4.5 |
| Porcupine Tree In Absentia | 4.5 |
| Rush Moving Pictures | 4.5 |
| The Jimi Hendrix Experience Electric Ladyland | 4.5 |
| Cradle of Filth Dusk... and Her Embrace | 4.5 |
| In Flames Colony | 4.5 |
| After Jester Race and Whoracle, it seemed like things couldn't have gotten better for In Flames. Colony proved that this would be an incorrect assumption, as Colony marked the continued progression of the band's sound, without compromising their quality. Colony marks the progression towards In Flames' new sound, which isn't a bad thing, at least for this album. It is still definately melodic death metal, and it is still as great as ever. |
| Nine Inch Nails Pretty Hate Machine | 4.5 |
| Emperor In the Nightside Eclipse | 4.5 |
| Pink Floyd Meddle | 4.5 |
| At the Gates Slaughter of the Soul | 4.5 |
| Slaughter of the Soul seemed to mark the beginning of At the Gates' widespread success, but it actually meant the beginning of the end for the melodic death metal group. Slaughter of the Soul is seen as a landmark melodic death metal album, and for good reason. It is far more brutal than Dark Tranquillity's The Gallery and In Flames' The Jester Race, and what it lacks in creativity it makes up for with its crushing sound. Even dismissing its influence, which cannot be overlooked, this album is a masterpiece of melodic death metal. |
| Alice in Chains Facelift | 4.5 |
| Agalloch The Mantle | 4.5 |
| Carcass Heartwork | 4.5 |
| In Flames Clayman | 4.5 |
| Eagles Hotel California | 4.5 |
| Portishead Dummy | 4.5 |
| Eminem The Marshall Mathers LP | 4.5 |
| Aphex Twin Richard D. James Album | 4.5 |
| Nas Illmatic | 4.5 |
| Godspeed You! Black Emperor Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven | 4.5 |
| Godspeed You! Black Emperor Slow Riot For New Zero Kanada | 4.5 |
| Opeth Orchid | 4.5 |
| The Beatles Abbey Road | 4.5 |
| Dissection Storm of the Light's Bane | 4.5 |
| Bathory Blood Fire Death | 4.5 |
| Ulver Bergtatt - Et eeventyr i 5 capitler | 4.5 |
| Pink Floyd The Wall | 4.5 |
| Opeth Blackwater Park | 4.5 |
| Opeth is easily one of the greatest metal albums in existence, successfully mixing progressive and folk elements with death metal (newer works) and with symphonic black metal (older works). Blackwater Park follows the template presented in Still Life, and adds more texture to that sound. What results is a more atmospheric, equally brutal, and less balanced album. For its few flaws it makes up for in far greater measure in terms of beauty, creativity, and brutality. It might not be their greatest album (I would reserve that title for Still Life or Deliverance), but it is one of their best, and is subsequently one of the best releases in the metal genre. Highly recommended. |
| In Flames Whoracle | 4.5 |
| In Flames perfected melodic death metal with The Jester Race, so they had quite a lot to live up to with Whoracle, and although it lacks the influence or overall atmosphere of its predecessor, it is still an amazing album. It has a more crushing, powerful, and epic sound than The Jester Race, and only looses out with the a few weak songs. Other than that, this album is a complete masterpiece of melodic death metal. |
| Opeth Deliverance | 4.5 |
| Opeth My Arms, Your Hearse | 4.5 |
| Brian Eno Ambient 1: Music For Airports | 4.5 |
| System of a Down Mezmerize | 4.5 |
| The Beatles The Beatles | 4.5 |
| Death The Sound of Perseverance | 4.5 |
| Led Zeppelin Houses of the Holy | 4.5 |
| Black Sabbath We Sold Our Soul for Rock 'n' Roll | 4.5 |
| Boston Boston | 4.5 |
| Metallica Metallica | 4.5 |
| Rush Permanent Waves | 4.5 |
| Soilwork The Chainheart Machine | 4.5 |
| Tiamat Wildhoney | 4.5 |
| Bjork Vespertine | 4.5 |
| The Beatles 1 | 4.5 |
| Daft Punk Discovery | 4.5 |
| Aphex Twin Selected Ambient Works Volume II | 4.5 |
| Few albums in existence are as beautiful or as haunting as this album is. Unlike S.A.W. 85-92, Vol. II is pure ambient. And just as with Drukqs, this album is an exercise in contrast. The most touchingly beautiful opuses you will probably ever hear are met with chilling dark ambient pieces. Each song presents its own atmosphere, and although this album is not as cohesive as it could be, it still makes for a wonderful whole. I'd give this album a 5 but it just is too inconsistent, but despite this it is still an amazing album that should be experienced by anyone interested in electronica or ambient music. |
| Agalloch Pale Folklore | 4.5 |
| Dimmu Borgir Enthrone Darkness Triumphant | 4.5 |
| Wintersun Wintersun | 4.5 |
| Death Symbolic | 4.5 |
| Nine Inch Nails Still | 4.5 |
| At the Gates Terminal Spirit Disease | 4.5 |
| Slaughter of the Soul may be At the Gates' undisputed hit, but Terminal Spirit Disease is my personal favorite. Not quite as polished as its successor, it is harder edged than SOTS, and it is more diverse in its sound. |
| Boards of Canada The Campfire Headphase | 4.5 |
| Biosphere Substrata | 4.5 |
| Boards of Canada Geogaddi | 4.5 |
| The Haunted Made Me Do It | 4.5 |
| Cradle of Filth Lovecraft & Witch Hearts | 4.5 |
| 2Pac Me Against the World | 4.5 |
| 2Pac All Eyez on Me | 4.5 |
| Unlike Me Against the World, All Eyez on Me is not the poetic and reflective look on ghetto life. All Eyez on Me is more about being a "thug," and living life without regard to others or to consequences. This might be why Tupac met an untimely demise, which adds some historical significance to this album, but overall this album is not as strong as Me Against the World. It lacks the depth and creativity of its predecessor. This album is far from being completely devoid of depth, it just concentrates more on the beat production and lyrics portraying the thug life. For that it is plagued by the usual gangsta cliches, but despite this it is still a great album for rap enthusiasts. |
| AFX Chosen Lords | 4.5 |
| Tool 10,000 Days | 4.5 |
| Nine Inch Nails And All That Could Have Been | 4.5 |
| My Dying Bride The Dreadful Hours | 4.5 |
| 2Pac Greatest Hits | 4.5 |
| 2pac is one of the most infamous and prolific rap artists to have ever lived, so an equally prolific compilation album should have been produced to honor his death, yes? Well Death Row's Greatest Hits might not be as prolific as it could've been, and is far from a historical reflection into 2pac's music, but it is still an adequate mix of some of Tupac's great songs. Getting all of his greatest hits was an impossible thing to do on two discs, so this isn't the definitive compilation album, but it serves well to those who just want a compilation of some good 2pac. |
| Bathory Hammerheart | 4.5 |
| Burzum Filosofem | 4.5 |
| Eagles Hell Freezes Over | 4.5 |
| Boards of Canada Hi Scores | 4.5 |
| Aphex Twin On | 4.5 |
| For a release with only four songs, this EP accomplishes a lot. On #1 can be looked as a very short overview of Aphex Twin's unique sound in the early 90s (circa 1993), which varied from ambient electronica to hardcore acid techno. Each track represents a different sound (whether it be ambient electronica or acid techno). Tracks 1 and 4 are beautifully textured and structured ambient techno pieces reminiscent of Selected Ambient Works 85-92, while tracks 2 and 3 are rougher and harder-edged songs more akin to I Care Because You Do. Overall it's a short but great EP that sums up the early career of Richard D. James better than any of his other much longer LP releases. |
| Autechre Incunabula | 4.5 |
| The early 90s was an amazing time for electronica music, as some of the most acclaimed albums were released during this time. Incunabula marked the debut of Autechre in 1993. It followed the IDM/ambient trends of the day, with Autechre's own special IDM sound textured with ambient and even some hip-hop influences. Incunabula is by far Autechre's most accessible release (it was my first, and was my favorite for quite a while), and is one of my favorites. The sound production sounds a bit dated, but Incunabula still stands as one of the great electronica releases on the early 90s. |
| Squarepusher Go Plastic | 4.5 |
| Dark Tranquillity The Mind's I | 4.5 |
| Mouse on Mars Autoditacker | 4.5 |
| Enya A Day Without Rain | 4.5 |
| Enya Watermark | 4.5 |
| Boards of Canada In a Beautiful Place Out in the Country | 4.5 |
| The Gathering Nighttime Birds | 4.5 |
| Squarepusher Hard Normal Daddy | 4.5 |
| Autechre Peel Session | 4.5 |
| Harold Budd and Brian Eno The Pearl | 4.5 |
| Harold Budd and Brian Eno had already made an ambient landmark release in 1980 with Ambient 2, but in 1984 they created an even greater album: The Pearl. Using the same minimalist ambient formula used in Ambient 2, the duo create a beautifully painted work of art with their soft and atmospheric approach. The Pearl is my favorite Eno/Budd album, and is easily one of the my favorite ambient albums of all time. |
| Biosphere Microgravity | 4.5 |
| The Orb Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld | 4.5 |
| The Orb Orbus Terrarum | 4.5 |
| Dark Tranquillity Fiction | 4.5 |
| Taake Nattestid Ser Porten Vid | 4.5 |
| Tool Lateralus | 5.0 |
| Words simply cannot describe the depth and complexity of this album. I don't know why Tool is so popular, because most of the people who listen to know don't know anything about the music. Lateralus is probably the most symbolically dense albums that has ever been created. The music that is the vehicle for this symbolism is just as amazing, thanks to the supreme talent of this band. Everything about this album is beautifully textured and composed. I could go on and on about how truly amazing this album is. |
| Nine Inch Nails The Downward Spiral | 5.0 |
| If you want to know the definition of angst through sound, just listen to The Downward Spiral. Representing the high school outcast in all of us, Trent Reznor paints a perfectly bleak picture with his industrial sounds. Far better produced than Broken, and in my opinion all around superior album, The Downward Spiral is beautifully chaotic and deranged. It's an extremely emotional album that doesn't let the listener go until the end of one of the most suicidal songs ever written, "Hurt." It's a dark masterpiece of anger and loathing. |
| In Flames The Jester Race | 5.0 |
| It might not be the most brutal or heavy death metal album to be produced, but Jester Race is definately one of the greatest. This is widely considered to be In Flames' masterpiece, and I would strongly agree with this statement. A landmark melodic death metal release, it fuses elements of death metal, power metal, progressive metal, and folk to form this amazing album. If only In Flames were still this great... |
| Massive Attack Mezzanine | 5.0 |
| Trip-Hop isn't a necessarily complex genre when you look at it. Just mix huge bass with some slower electronic beats, add some heavy effects in the background and add either a rapper or female vocalist to the mix, and viola, you have some trip hop. But Mezzanine is so much more than this. Everything about this album oozes quality. From the production quality to the arrangement of beats to the vocals, it all is assembled perfectly. Mezzanine is the essential trip-hop album, and for good reason. |
| Pink Floyd Wish You Were Here | 5.0 |
| Even though Dark Side of the Moon is Pink Floyd's universal hit, Wish You Were Here deserves just as much praise, if not more. It represents Pink Floyd in their prime; such gems as "Wish You Were Here" and "Welcome to the Machine" sandwiched between the 15 minutes opuses of "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" pts. 1-5 and 6-9. The overall cohesion of the album transcends that of Dark Side of the Moon, which still is an amazing album... just not as amazing as Wish You Were Here. |
| Aphex Twin Selected Ambient Works 85-92 | 5.0 |
| Aphex Twin is easily one of the most influential electronica artists ever, and this album is easily one of the most influential IDM albums ever, and is easily one of Richard D. James' best. Despite the name (which implies it is ambient), this album is pure IDM at its best. Much more consistent but less evocative than S.A.W. Vol. II, it's regarded by many as his best, and although I wouldn't feel completely confident saying the same, it is one of his best. |
| Bjork Homogenic | 5.0 |
| Bjork is known as one of the strangest artists in popular music, but strange isn't always bad. Her voice is absolutely sublime and stunning, inspiring awe in the listener as to how she has such a beautiful and soft, yet potent and powerful voice. The music behind her voice is only supplements her beauty, adding texture and atmosphere, helping portray the song's meaning and emotion. Bjork's beautiful voice, wonderful lyrics, and equally wonderful music has made her one of the most well-known artists in the electronica genre, and Homogenic is her magnum opus in my opinion. Every song is a gem. |
| Radiohead OK Computer | 5.0 |
| Opeth Still Life | 5.0 |
| Opeth is easily one of the greatest metal bands in existence today, if not the greatest. I could go on forever why, but I'll spare you that for now, and talk about their best album, Still Life. All of their albums are top-notch, but Still Life is my personal favorite. It has a fresher, better produced sound than My Arms, Your Hearse or Morningrise, and set the sound that would be modified on Blackwater Park. It represents the balance between the overall brutality of My Arms, Your Hearse and the atmospheric tunes of Blackwater Park, which makes for a wonderful compromise. The overall balance, beauty, and atmosphere of Still Life makes it my favorite Opeth album, and one of my favorite metal albums of all time. |
| Emperor Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk | 5.0 |
| Being fairly new to the black metal genre, I have not listened to all the black metal albums that are out there, but I have listened to a few, and Anthems to Welkin at Dusk is easily my favorite of them all. Emperor might not have invented the genre, but they definately changed the sound of black metal with In the Nightside Eclipse. Anthems follows in its predecessor's footsteps, using the same crushing vocals, guitar work, and drumming along with the atmospheric keyboarding that makes for an all-around symphonic black metal masterpiece. |
| Boards of Canada Music Has the Right to Children | 5.0 |
| What can I say about this album? A better question to ask is what can I not say about this album? When I listen to music and decide whether it is any good or not, I tend to look first at the overall texture and atmosphere of the music; the overall quality of the music. Music Has the Right to Children is probably my favorite album of all time because it possesses these qualities many times over. It fills the listeners ears and brain with sounds that evoke a child-like nostalgia, love, mystery, and awe. Every sound is a soundtrack of its own kind. Each piece forms together to make a breath-taking cohesion of perfected sound. |
| Brian Eno Another Green World | 5.0 |
| Brian Eno is known as the father of ambient music, and his creation of ambient music begins here. Another Green World is a strange yet beautiful mix of Eno's earlier prog/art rock and of the ambient music he would become even more famous for than he already was. It represents each of these two genres in their prime, which makes Another Green World one of the Eno's best albums. |
| Aphex Twin Drukqs | 5.0 |
| I have read a lot of negative reviews about Drukqs, and I can understand why. I used to think the same way about this album. It is an album of stark contrast, far beyond anything else Richard D. James has done. One song will consist of minimalistic piano pieces, the next will be hard drum n' bass, and the next will be dark ambient. It's not an easy album to get used to, but, given time and an open mind, Drukqs will reveal itself to be perfected by its contrast. At first it seems like Drukqs is just a bunch of random songs assembled into a two disk set, but it is really far from the truth. Drukqs is a masterpiece of experimental electronica, and is one of James' best albums, and is probably my favorite. |
| Autechre Tri Repetae | 5.0 |
| After their first two IDM-based albums, Autechre began to change there sound here, on their most acclaimed and influential album. Tri Repetae++ is what the world would sound like if the machines took over. In ways it is completely desensitized, but in others it retains the human emotion and inspiration from Amber. It's Autechre's middle-ground, between their IDM/ambient works of the early 90s and the harsh glitch that would come about in the late 90s and ealry 2000s, and it represents Autechre's musicianship more than adequately. Although I prefer Amber, Tri Repetae++ is a landmark electronica release that must be experienced. |
| Autechre Amber | 5.0 |
| Incunabula may be more accessible, and Tri Repetae++ might be a more complete overlook at Autechre's unique sound (and has gained more critical acclaim), but Amber is my favorite Autechre album. It is probably their accessible and consistent album of Autechre's early years (every album after Tri Repetae++ would prove to be much more challenging), Amber is Autechre's most evocative album. It mixes ambient, IDM, and even some industrial and glitch all into one blissful package. Consistency is an issue here, especially when compared to Incunabula and Tri Repetae++, but this only adds to the overall darker atmosphere of the album. Amber is certainly an experience to behold, and will remain near the top of my electronica albums list. |
| Global Communication 76:14 | 5.0 |
