Give Up is disqualified immediately because of Sleeping In.
My two choices would be The Moon and Antarctica by Modest Mouse or Kid A by Radiohead, but these threads are kind of stupid anyway. A better thread would be 'Best Album of The 1970s' or what have you, so we can look back and choose some criteria to judge which album is 'best', rather than just spitting out our personal favorite albums, however shitty they may be.
I don't see how there's really a big difference.
People would just start spitting out their favorite albums of the 1970s.
As an aside the best album EVER is without a doubt The Who's Quadraphenia.
Everything else I can think of fails in some way despite being brilliant but there you have two perfect albums, one of which is all the more remarkable for being flawless across two discs. And the other is the maximum length of a single CD anyway.
It's the only album i've ever listened to that sounds like an album, and not a collection of songs like 99.9% of the other stuff out there.
Each song on it's own is good, but when brought together it's an experience. Better yet, the more you listen to it the more each song connects to one another, like you're clued in to the overall picture.
I agree with a lot of the recommendations in here already. Lateralus by Tool would make my shortlist, as would Leviathan by Mastodon, and I'd also be inclined to throw out In the Absence of Truth or Panopticon by Isis.
But, I think that all of those albums pale in comparison to Labor Days by Aesop Rock.
I could go on and on about how great it is, but I won't.
Yup.
Rapeasaurus on
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
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sportzboytjwsqueeeeeezzeeeesome more tax breaks outRegistered Userregular
Madonna - Confessions on the Dancefloor
The Knife - Silent Shout
Ladytron - Light and Magic
Felix Da Housecat - Kittenz and Thee Glitz
Cut Copy - In Ghost Colors
Soulwax - Nite Versions
Justice - Cross (Begrudgingly)
Kylie Minogue - X
The Chemical Brothers - Surrender
Eluvium - Copia
Contains ZERO johnny cash while mashing a bunch of dance stuff in that shouldn't be there. Epicest Fail.
I mean, if he'd included something other than JUST dance (with a few albums that shouldn't even be mentioned, madonna, minogue, Chem Bros) I'd maybe excuse it. As it is, he missed my fave AND janked up a bad list. This isn't the "best dance of the past 10 years" or "best pop of the last 10 years" or I might give you a pass.
and the best chemical brothers album is come with us, which came out in . . 02 or 01. which is amazing.
so this guy epic fails
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While De-loused was incredible, If I had to choose between the two albulms I would go with Amputechure if only because Tetragrammatron and Viscera Eyes have such powerful endings and are my 2 favorite songs on the albulm. :^:
While Amputechture was a really good album, and Tetragrammaton and Viscera Eyes great songs, I'm going to have to disagree with you on its placement in 'best album'. Compositionally, Amputechture was amazing, in fact probably better than any other Mars Volta album. But Amputechture suffers when compared to any other Mars Volta album because of 1) terrible mixing and 2) terrible playing. If you've ever seen the Mars Volta live, you know that an integral part of their work is improvisation and playing with feel, and perhaps because of Jon Theodore's problems with the band at that point, Amputechture was devoid of good playing and improvisation. Compare the meaty middle section of Cassandra Gemini with the various solos in either Day of the Baphomets or Tetragrammaton, and you'll see a distinct difference. The only song on Amputechture with any sense of emotion at all was Viscera Eyes. Not to mention that sometimes Omar's guitar tone sounded like someone stepping on a duck, and that the drums were nearly mixed out completely. I could see Amputechture being their best album if they did a new version of it with fresh recording.
I would have to say that Frances the Mute is their best album because of the improvisation and cohesiveness as an album. De-loused was not really as well played as Frances, and Bedlam sounded like a bunch of singles (if you can imagine a single that's too long for radio play). Especially with the climax in Cassandra Gemini, the flow from one song/feel to another augments the value of the entire work: greater than the sum of its parts.
Deftones - The White Pony - I couldn't make up my mind if I wanted to put this, the self-titled album, or Saturday Night Wrist in this spot. I thought they were all brillianr, but I think the White Pony is the one that has the most consistent level of excellence and the most powerful and memorable songs. It's also one of the most bizarrely erotic albums I can think of, yet it's probably one of the best make-out albums I've ever experienced. Digital Bath, Change (In the House of Flies) and Passenger being the prime examples. In terms of just raw energy, I've never heard another song like Knife Party.
Couldn't agree with you more, White Pony got me through my earlier years of high school.
A close runner up would be:
While De-loused was incredible, If I had to choose between the two albulms I would go with Amputechure if only because Tetragrammatron and Viscera Eyes have such powerful endings and are my 2 favorite songs on the albulm. :^:
Look I think De-Loused and Amputechture are fine albums with great songs/moments (amputechture in particular is pretty short on wankery, or when it's there it doesn't ruin everything)
but best of the decade? nah
Cedric Bixler is like Cliffy B of epic games. He can do some awesome explosive histrionic stuff. But ask him to write...
A concept album about fighting, pink robots, and the universe.
Excerpt from "Fight Test"
Oh to fight is to defend if it's not
Now than tell me when would be the time that you would stand up
And be a man - for to lose I could accept but to surrender
I just wept and regretted this moment - oh that I - I
Was the fool
Excerpt from "One More Robot - Sympathy 3000-21"
Unit three thousand twenty one is warning
Makes a humming sound - when its circuits
Duplicate emotions - and a sense of coldness detaches
As it tries to comfort your sadness -
The music is amazing. At times it is sing along space rock. At others, it is a slow drift to the center of the mind. Which is really a journey to the center of the universe.
Plus it had Did you Realize
the sun doesn't go down
it's just an illusion
caused
by the world
spinnin' round
So good.
But I'd give it to Funeral by The Arcade Fire. Neon Bible was amazing too, but Funeral is pretty much perfect.
I also enjoyed Lily Allen's Alright, Still, but I wouldn't give it an award. It's just fun to listen to.
Oh, crap. One of the Decemberists albums should probably get it, actually. If The Tain counted that would totally be it. Unfortunately, it's only one twenty-five minute song so it probably can't be called a real album.
Nine Inch Nails - The Fragile (The Pick)
Seeing a lot of love for this in here and for good reason. This album is simply incredible although I personally prefer Left to Right.
Nine Inch Nails - Year Zero
Tells a story and you can listen to it over and over again. I listen to this at least once a week.
Tool - Lateralus
Incredible.
Other noteworthy albums:
Rage Against The Machine - The Battle of Los Angeles
Muse - Black Holes and Revelations
Moby - Play (I *think* this just makes the cut)
Madonna - Confessions on the Dancefloor
The Knife - Silent Shout
Ladytron - Light and Magic
Felix Da Housecat - Kittenz and Thee Glitz
Cut Copy - In Ghost Colors
Soulwax - Nite Versions
Justice - Cross (Begrudgingly)
Kylie Minogue - X
The Chemical Brothers - Surrender
Eluvium - Copia
Contains ZERO johnny cash while mashing a bunch of dance stuff in that shouldn't be there. Epicest Fail.
I love Cash's American Recordings, but I'm still not sure if what were essentially cover albums should qualify.
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sportzboytjwsqueeeeeezzeeeesome more tax breaks outRegistered Userregular
edited December 2008
They were cover albums sort of that covered 100 years of time and made artists say, "Yea, that song's HIS now (Danzig)." So I feel like they cover a huge musical span, do it well, and go together as an album, making them my best of the last 10 years. I am listening to arguements for Make Yourself and maybe Eminem's, along with a few others.
Can I mention the Killers first disc just because I liked almost every song on it and it flowed well from start to finish, which it should work!
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Dave Matthews Band - Before These Crowded Streets.
The whole album flows, doesn't have a week song except perhaps "Halloween", covers all styles, presented music that the band would take and run with for the rest of their career, and has great lyrics.
"Spoon"
From hand to hand,
Wrist to the elbow
Red blood sand
Could Dad be God?
Crosses cross hung out like a wet rag
Forgive you? Why?
You hung me out to dry
And maybe I'm crazy
But laughing out loud
Makes the pain pass by
And maybe you're a little crazy
But laughing out loud makes it all subside
Holding, I'm holding
I'm still falling,
I'm still falling
"Last Stop"
How is this
Hate so deep
Lead us all so blindly killing killing
Fools we are
If hate's the gate to peace
Foo Fighters - There is Nothing Left To Loose
A record made at Dave Grohl's house in Virginia. He used to say that he moved back to Virginia, smoked pot and played Sega with his best friend while making a studio in his basement. The record is loose, real loose, everything happens so easily and all the songs are great and is my favorite Foo's record.
Opeth - Blackwater Park.
Firstly, it is possibly the BEST MIXED AND MASTERED metal album in existence. The fact you can hear acoustic guitars over the top of screaming metal guitars is great, but the fact it still sounds heavy is awesome. This is the album that "Later" Opeth fans love, and i'm a later Opeth fan. To me this album has everything and is perfectly paced. In terms of the overall layout of the album I feel that this is the best of them, the fact that the title track seems like a giant finale to the entire record seals the deal for me.
Ben Folds Five - The Unauthorized Biography Of Reinhold Mesner.
DES-ERR-EY, JES-SUIS AMERICAN, PLEASE COOK MY STEAK AGAIN.
"I love you, good bye." always makes me sniff. *sniff*
Smashing Pumpkins - Adore.
Because I can.
Late Edits:
I forgot the album of my teen years! Used to play Gran Turisimo 3 and listen to this album on repeat.
If we're talking Decemberists my choice has to be Picaresque.
But regarding this thread in general, we're clearly not going to arrive at a single best album, but this kind of thing is always good fun, not least because you get exposed to some great music you haven't heard before. I'm definitely going to check out some of the albums that have been mentioned.
While De-loused was incredible, If I had to choose between the two albulms I would go with Amputechure if only because Tetragrammatron and Viscera Eyes have such powerful endings and are my 2 favorite songs on the albulm. :^:
While Amputechture was a really good album, and Tetragrammaton and Viscera Eyes great songs, I'm going to have to disagree with you on its placement in 'best album'. Compositionally, Amputechture was amazing, in fact probably better than any other Mars Volta album. But Amputechture suffers when compared to any other Mars Volta album because of 1) terrible mixing and 2) terrible playing. If you've ever seen the Mars Volta live, you know that an integral part of their work is improvisation and playing with feel, and perhaps because of Jon Theodore's problems with the band at that point, Amputechture was devoid of good playing and improvisation. Compare the meaty middle section of Cassandra Gemini with the various solos in either Day of the Baphomets or Tetragrammaton, and you'll see a distinct difference. The only song on Amputechture with any sense of emotion at all was Viscera Eyes. Not to mention that sometimes Omar's guitar tone sounded like someone stepping on a duck, and that the drums were nearly mixed out completely. I could see Amputechture being their best album if they did a new version of it with fresh recording.
I would have to say that Frances the Mute is their best album because of the improvisation and cohesiveness as an album. De-loused was not really as well played as Frances, and Bedlam sounded like a bunch of singles (if you can imagine a single that's too long for radio play). Especially with the climax in Cassandra Gemini, the flow from one song/feel to another augments the value of the entire work: greater than the sum of its parts.
I've never understood this. I love Deloused and I thought Frances the Mute was pretty good too after I did a personal remix and cut 15 minutes of noodling, but Amputechture was risible. I cannot listen to it at all. It's like listening to alley-cats masturbate.
There's one album I really, really have to post my opinions on.
Neon Bible is really alright. It was way over hyped, and to this day I don't understand why it was so well received. The entire album is a direct lift of Springsteen's late 70s work. Born to Run/Darkness on the Edge of Town plus effects pedals and tinges of new wave production. And what gets me more is that it's really acknowledged, and that the band and Springsteen both even admit it openly, and did a small tour together where they played in eachothers' songs.
It's a good album, but it is not even the best album of 2007, much less the best album of the last 10 years.
Wow I can't believe all the love for funeral, not one mention for Neon Bible, which I think is a superior album in every way.
I agree with your assessment but we are in the minority. My nomination was an attempt to combine personal preference with general consensus (Modest Mouse, Good News.... but apparently I'm in the minority there too.
Some other ones to throw out in combo mode
Elliot Smith - From a Basement on the Hill (I prefer to Figure 8)
Radiohead - Kid A
Wilco YHF
Personal preference would lean towards
And a realization that 1998 was a very good year for albums
Going back over my music library, here are some albums that I consider "classic" that I don't think have been mentioned yet:
2000:
At the Drive-In- Relationship of Command
The Avalanches- Since I Left You
Common- Like Water for Chocolate
Yo La Tengo- And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out
2001:
Bob Dylan- Love and Theft
Explosions in the Sky- Those Who Tell The Truth Shall Die blah blah blah
Nas- Stillmatic
2002:
The Decemberists- Castaways and Cutouts
GZA- Liquid Swords
The Roots- Phrenology
Sigur Ros- ( )
2003:
Death Cab for Cutie- Transatlanticism
Explosions in the Sky- The Earth is Not a Cold Dead Place
The Shins- Chutes Too Narrow
The Unicorns- Who Will Cut Out Hair When We're Gone?
The White Stripes- Elephant
Yeah Yeah Yeahs- Fever to Tell
2004:
DJ Danger Mouse- The Grey Album
Iron and Wine- Our Endless Numbered Days
Kanye West- The College Dropout
2005:
Antony and the Johnsons- I Am a Bird Now
Common- Be
M83- Before the Dawn Heals Us
The Mountain Goats- The Sunset Tree
Stars- Set Yourself on Fire
Wolf Parade- Apologies to the Queen Mary
2006:
Girl Talk- Night Ripper
J Dilla- Donuts
2007:
Kanye West- Graduation
Justice- Cross
Animal Collective- Strawberry Jam
I guess my selection of albums is pretty limited 'cause I only listen to them when I buy them, and I only buy them when I have the money, which I typically spend on computer stuff or booze. That and it hasn't been 10 years since I seriously started listening to and appreciating more music.
So for me, I'd say either:
Deathcab for Cutie: Plans
The Killers: Hot Fuss
Gorillaz: Demon Days
The Raconteurs: Broken Boy Soldiers
I'm pretty surprised to see a couple of mentions of Yeah Yeah Yeah's Fever to Tell and none of Show Your Bones, which I thought was a much better, much more mature album overall. It's not among the best of the last ten years I don't think, but definitely one of the best of the 5 years in my estimation.
The Shape of Punk to Come is very good. Very very good.
I read every post to see if anyone has mentioned this. so naturally its the last post.
THIS IS THE ALBUM OF THE DECADE.
While nearly every album mentioned in this thread rocks the shit out of a special place in my heart, REFUSED were truly genius.
A CHIMERICAL BOMBINATION IN 12 BURSTS, this album has it all. If you don't own it, go 'buy' a copy RIGHT NOW.
EDIT: AH SHIT! recorded in 1997 - hell and damn
EDITED AGAIN: released in October 1998 - what are the rules exactly? I suppose thats still over ten years...
The Shape of Punk to Come is very good. Very very good.
I read every post to see if anyone has mentioned this. so naturally its the last post.
THIS IS THE ALBUM OF THE DECADE.
While nearly every album mentioned in this thread rocks the shit out of a special place in my heart, REFUSED were truly genius.
A CHIMERICAL BOMBINATION IN 12 BURSTS, this album has it all. If you don't own it, go 'buy' a copy RIGHT NOW.
EDIT: AH SHIT! recorded in 1997 - hell and damn
EDITED AGAIN: released in October 1998 - what are the rules exactly? I suppose thats still over ten years...
I was hoping it would just about qualify.
There's more coming. We're gonna get, gonna get a little sort of a session going here. A bit of a session, a session that will feature the rhythm section...
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AbsoluteZeroThe new film by Quentin KoopantinoRegistered Userregular
edited December 2008
A Perfect Circle: Thirteenth Step
One of the very few albums out there where I can put it in, turn it on, and never want to skip a track. Fan-freaking-tastic.
The Beatles: Love
The DVD-Audio release, specifically, is a close second. It is so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking it up.
My favorite album is
It's a Wonderful Life by Sparklehorse.
I guess it really isn't relevant to our modern times, but it is relevant to, you know, life and mortality.
Some of my favorite lyrics:
Little Fat Baby (Some of it is from a Vic Chesnutt poem)
Did you save your wisdom teeth?
Did you burn your christmas tree?
He got dragged by a donkey
Through the dust and the myrtle
But he was once a little fat baby
Piano Fire
How do you feel?
How do you feel?
I can't seem to breathe with a rusted metal heart
I can't seem to see through solid marble eyes
Sea of Teeth
stars will always hang in summer's bleeding fang
but seas forever boil, trees will turn to soil
Apple Bed
Of horses wet
With melted ice
They would not heed
My advice
And burdened limbs
Of it's weight
To break and rot
A whispered fate
Please
Doctor, please
A remedy
In a bloody sea
To breach the hive
And smoke the bees
You can be my friend
You can be my dog
You can be my life
You can be my fog
Please
Doctor, please
The witches will return to their sticky tree knots
I will feel the sun
I will feel the sun
I will feel the sun coming down
I wish I had
A horse's head
A tiger's heart
An apple bed
The Shape of Punk to Come is very good. Very very good.
I read every post to see if anyone has mentioned this. so naturally its the last post.
THIS IS THE ALBUM OF THE DECADE.
While nearly every album mentioned in this thread rocks the shit out of a special place in my heart, REFUSED were truly genius.
A CHIMERICAL BOMBINATION IN 12 BURSTS, this album has it all. If you don't own it, go 'buy' a copy RIGHT NOW.
EDIT: AH SHIT! recorded in 1997 - hell and damn
EDITED AGAIN: released in October 1998 - what are the rules exactly? I suppose thats still over ten years...
Thank you for bringing this up, I've been meaning to get it for years, definitely going on the list.
I'm pretty surprised to see a couple of mentions of Yeah Yeah Yeah's Fever to Tell and none of Show Your Bones, which I thought was a much better, much more mature album overall. It's not among the best of the last ten years I don't think, but definitely one of the best of the 5 years in my estimation.
Show Your Bones is much more mature, sure, and maybe it was more consistent. But Fever To Tell was raw, regardless of whether or not that rawness was intentional. With the maturity of SYB came a bit of a bore, in my opinion.
As for me, I can't really decide. But.
The White Stripes - White Blood Cells. This (and, partially, Elephant) was the last album before Jack White started to get a little too ambitious with his 2 person, 3 aspect/colour band.
Interpol - TOTBL. This album is dark and danceable, the lyrics are amazingly ridiculous, to the point of hilarity. I also liked their follow up, though, but can't stand their latest. Also helped bring to the forefront a trendy, grimy New York scene that I hadn't seen in a while.
Beck - Anything. I have gone on and off with listening to him, but all of his albums seem to turn out well. If he doesn't have the best album of the past 10 years, he's definitely one of the best, most consistent artists of the years.
Menomena - Friend or Foe.
Mos Def - Black on Both Sides. One of my favorite hip hop albums of all times, and it's a shame that Mos hasn't followed up with anything relevant.
Bright Eyes - Lifted. Probably the only album of theirs that deserves the hype. I can go back and listen to this time after time and catch some clever turn of phrase that I'd missed before. It's nothing too deep or profound, but it's still really good, especially in comparison to the blandness Conor produces nowadays.
Arcade Fire - Funeral. It just seems like it needs to be included. It's pretty good, with a few lacking spots, but I think the fact that it made it to the mainstream is pretty significant, especially because it had an affect on music being made for Top 40 (Coldplay, off the top of my head. Though anything is better than X & Y I guess).
Those are off the top of my head, and I'll admit to a few things: I haven't listened to all of Radiohead's albums, nor Sigur Ros. Also, the Kinks, the Beach Boys, Bowie and other such artists are what I've been listening to for the past few weeks, so thinking of recent stuff is tough.
edit: I completely forgot about Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots. Definitely one of my favorite albums of the past few years.
My favorite album is
It's a Wonderful Life by Sparklehorse.
I guess it really isn't relevant to our modern times, but it is relevant to, you know, life and mortality.
Some of my favorite lyrics:
Little Fat Baby (Some of it is from a Vic Chesnutt poem)
Did you save your wisdom teeth?
Did you burn your christmas tree?
He got dragged by a donkey
Through the dust and the myrtle
But he was once a little fat baby
Piano Fire
How do you feel?
How do you feel?
I can't seem to breathe with a rusted metal heart
I can't seem to see through solid marble eyes
Sea of Teeth
stars will always hang in summer's bleeding fang
but seas forever boil, trees will turn to soil
Apple Bed
Of horses wet
With melted ice
They would not heed
My advice
And burdened limbs
Of it's weight
To break and rot
A whispered fate
Please
Doctor, please
A remedy
In a bloody sea
To breach the hive
And smoke the bees
You can be my friend
You can be my dog
You can be my life
You can be my fog
Please
Doctor, please
The witches will return to their sticky tree knots
I will feel the sun
I will feel the sun
I will feel the sun coming down
I wish I had
A horse's head
A tiger's heart
An apple bed
For those who haven't heard of it, it's a progressive metal rock opera. It follows the character Nicholas, who's recounting to a psychiatrist strange dreams he has been having about a girl named Victoria. Victoria was killed in 1928, while Nicholas is living in 1963.
The music is incredible, ranging from complex epic progressive pieces, to simple piano backed songs, setting the atmosphere perfectly for each section. The story is well told, and is quite interesting in itself.
This is the album that got me into progressive music, and many of the songs (especially Overture 1928, the first I heard from it) still send a chill down my spine in a good way every time I hear them.
I can't speak to what others will take from the album, or if others will even like it, but for me, nothing tops it.
Posts
As an aside the best album EVER is without a doubt The Who's Quadraphenia.
Let me help.
Any album that manages to add the Fibonacci sequence to one of its songs is truly godly.
Which is pretty awesome.
It's the only album i've ever listened to that sounds like an album, and not a collection of songs like 99.9% of the other stuff out there.
Each song on it's own is good, but when brought together it's an experience. Better yet, the more you listen to it the more each song connects to one another, like you're clued in to the overall picture.
Yup.
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however this is what I'd consider to be the most important/defining/whatever album of that timeframe:
some other great albums that I listened to way too damn much:
While Amputechture was a really good album, and Tetragrammaton and Viscera Eyes great songs, I'm going to have to disagree with you on its placement in 'best album'. Compositionally, Amputechture was amazing, in fact probably better than any other Mars Volta album. But Amputechture suffers when compared to any other Mars Volta album because of 1) terrible mixing and 2) terrible playing. If you've ever seen the Mars Volta live, you know that an integral part of their work is improvisation and playing with feel, and perhaps because of Jon Theodore's problems with the band at that point, Amputechture was devoid of good playing and improvisation. Compare the meaty middle section of Cassandra Gemini with the various solos in either Day of the Baphomets or Tetragrammaton, and you'll see a distinct difference. The only song on Amputechture with any sense of emotion at all was Viscera Eyes. Not to mention that sometimes Omar's guitar tone sounded like someone stepping on a duck, and that the drums were nearly mixed out completely. I could see Amputechture being their best album if they did a new version of it with fresh recording.
I would have to say that Frances the Mute is their best album because of the improvisation and cohesiveness as an album. De-loused was not really as well played as Frances, and Bedlam sounded like a bunch of singles (if you can imagine a single that's too long for radio play). Especially with the climax in Cassandra Gemini, the flow from one song/feel to another augments the value of the entire work: greater than the sum of its parts.
or
I really don't know what can contend with this.
but best of the decade? nah
Cedric Bixler is like Cliffy B of epic games. He can do some awesome explosive histrionic stuff. But ask him to write...
uh oh
BIG SURPRISE EH
Plus it had Did you Realize
the sun doesn't go down
it's just an illusion
caused
by the world
spinnin' round
So good.
But I'd give it to Funeral by The Arcade Fire. Neon Bible was amazing too, but Funeral is pretty much perfect.
I also enjoyed Lily Allen's Alright, Still, but I wouldn't give it an award. It's just fun to listen to.
Oh, crap. One of the Decemberists albums should probably get it, actually. If The Tain counted that would totally be it. Unfortunately, it's only one twenty-five minute song so it probably can't be called a real album.
Nine Inch Nails - The Fragile (The Pick)
Seeing a lot of love for this in here and for good reason. This album is simply incredible although I personally prefer Left to Right.
Nine Inch Nails - Year Zero
Tells a story and you can listen to it over and over again. I listen to this at least once a week.
Tool - Lateralus
Incredible.
Other noteworthy albums:
Rage Against The Machine - The Battle of Los Angeles
Muse - Black Holes and Revelations
Moby - Play (I *think* this just makes the cut)
I love Cash's American Recordings, but I'm still not sure if what were essentially cover albums should qualify.
Can I mention the Killers first disc just because I liked almost every song on it and it flowed well from start to finish, which it should work!
TylerJ on League of Legends (it's free and fun!)
The whole album flows, doesn't have a week song except perhaps "Halloween", covers all styles, presented music that the band would take and run with for the rest of their career, and has great lyrics.
From hand to hand,
Wrist to the elbow
Red blood sand
Could Dad be God?
Crosses cross hung out like a wet rag
Forgive you? Why?
You hung me out to dry
And maybe I'm crazy
But laughing out loud
Makes the pain pass by
And maybe you're a little crazy
But laughing out loud makes it all subside
Holding, I'm holding
I'm still falling,
I'm still falling
"Last Stop"
How is this
Hate so deep
Lead us all so blindly killing killing
Fools we are
If hate's the gate to peace
Foo Fighters - There is Nothing Left To Loose
A record made at Dave Grohl's house in Virginia. He used to say that he moved back to Virginia, smoked pot and played Sega with his best friend while making a studio in his basement. The record is loose, real loose, everything happens so easily and all the songs are great and is my favorite Foo's record.
Opeth - Blackwater Park.
Firstly, it is possibly the BEST MIXED AND MASTERED metal album in existence. The fact you can hear acoustic guitars over the top of screaming metal guitars is great, but the fact it still sounds heavy is awesome. This is the album that "Later" Opeth fans love, and i'm a later Opeth fan. To me this album has everything and is perfectly paced. In terms of the overall layout of the album I feel that this is the best of them, the fact that the title track seems like a giant finale to the entire record seals the deal for me.
Ben Folds Five - The Unauthorized Biography Of Reinhold Mesner.
DES-ERR-EY, JES-SUIS AMERICAN, PLEASE COOK MY STEAK AGAIN.
Smashing Pumpkins - Adore.
Because I can.
Late Edits:
I forgot the album of my teen years! Used to play Gran Turisimo 3 and listen to this album on repeat.
But regarding this thread in general, we're clearly not going to arrive at a single best album, but this kind of thing is always good fun, not least because you get exposed to some great music you haven't heard before. I'm definitely going to check out some of the albums that have been mentioned.
I'll do it tomorrow if someone else doesn't.
I've never understood this. I love Deloused and I thought Frances the Mute was pretty good too after I did a personal remix and cut 15 minutes of noodling, but Amputechture was risible. I cannot listen to it at all. It's like listening to alley-cats masturbate.
Neon Bible is really alright. It was way over hyped, and to this day I don't understand why it was so well received. The entire album is a direct lift of Springsteen's late 70s work. Born to Run/Darkness on the Edge of Town plus effects pedals and tinges of new wave production. And what gets me more is that it's really acknowledged, and that the band and Springsteen both even admit it openly, and did a small tour together where they played in eachothers' songs.
It's a good album, but it is not even the best album of 2007, much less the best album of the last 10 years.
That is all.
I should hope not.
I agree with your assessment but we are in the minority. My nomination was an attempt to combine personal preference with general consensus (Modest Mouse, Good News.... but apparently I'm in the minority there too.
Some other ones to throw out in combo mode
Elliot Smith - From a Basement on the Hill (I prefer to Figure 8)
Radiohead - Kid A
Wilco YHF
Personal preference would lean towards
QEDMF xbl: PantsB G+
2000:
At the Drive-In- Relationship of Command
The Avalanches- Since I Left You
Common- Like Water for Chocolate
Yo La Tengo- And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out
2001:
Bob Dylan- Love and Theft
Explosions in the Sky- Those Who Tell The Truth Shall Die blah blah blah
Nas- Stillmatic
2002:
The Decemberists- Castaways and Cutouts
GZA- Liquid Swords
The Roots- Phrenology
Sigur Ros- ( )
2003:
Death Cab for Cutie- Transatlanticism
Explosions in the Sky- The Earth is Not a Cold Dead Place
The Shins- Chutes Too Narrow
The Unicorns- Who Will Cut Out Hair When We're Gone?
The White Stripes- Elephant
Yeah Yeah Yeahs- Fever to Tell
2004:
DJ Danger Mouse- The Grey Album
Iron and Wine- Our Endless Numbered Days
Kanye West- The College Dropout
2005:
Antony and the Johnsons- I Am a Bird Now
Common- Be
M83- Before the Dawn Heals Us
The Mountain Goats- The Sunset Tree
Stars- Set Yourself on Fire
Wolf Parade- Apologies to the Queen Mary
2006:
Girl Talk- Night Ripper
J Dilla- Donuts
2007:
Kanye West- Graduation
Justice- Cross
Animal Collective- Strawberry Jam
Far superior to Kid A anyway
So for me, I'd say either:
Deathcab for Cutie: Plans
The Killers: Hot Fuss
Gorillaz: Demon Days
The Raconteurs: Broken Boy Soldiers
I read every post to see if anyone has mentioned this. so naturally its the last post.
THIS IS THE ALBUM OF THE DECADE.
While nearly every album mentioned in this thread rocks the shit out of a special place in my heart, REFUSED were truly genius.
A CHIMERICAL BOMBINATION IN 12 BURSTS, this album has it all. If you don't own it, go 'buy' a copy RIGHT NOW.
EDIT: AH SHIT! recorded in 1997 - hell and damn
EDITED AGAIN: released in October 1998 - what are the rules exactly? I suppose thats still over ten years...
Done!
Did anyone read that 33 1/3 book on the album? Is it worth reading?
I was hoping it would just about qualify.
There's more coming. We're gonna get, gonna get a little sort of a session going here. A bit of a session, a session that will feature the rhythm section...
A Perfect Circle: Thirteenth Step
One of the very few albums out there where I can put it in, turn it on, and never want to skip a track. Fan-freaking-tastic.
The Beatles: Love
The DVD-Audio release, specifically, is a close second. It is so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking it up.
It's a Wonderful Life by Sparklehorse.
I guess it really isn't relevant to our modern times, but it is relevant to, you know, life and mortality.
Some of my favorite lyrics:
Little Fat Baby (Some of it is from a Vic Chesnutt poem)
Did you burn your christmas tree?
He got dragged by a donkey
Through the dust and the myrtle
But he was once a little fat baby
Piano Fire
How do you feel?
I can't seem to breathe with a rusted metal heart
I can't seem to see through solid marble eyes
Sea of Teeth
but seas forever boil, trees will turn to soil
Apple Bed
With melted ice
They would not heed
My advice
And burdened limbs
Of it's weight
To break and rot
A whispered fate
Please
Doctor, please
A remedy
In a bloody sea
To breach the hive
And smoke the bees
You can be my friend
You can be my dog
You can be my life
You can be my fog
Please
Doctor, please
The witches will return to their sticky tree knots
I will feel the sun
I will feel the sun
I will feel the sun coming down
I wish I had
A horse's head
A tiger's heart
An apple bed
Thank you for bringing this up, I've been meaning to get it for years, definitely going on the list.
Show Your Bones is much more mature, sure, and maybe it was more consistent. But Fever To Tell was raw, regardless of whether or not that rawness was intentional. With the maturity of SYB came a bit of a bore, in my opinion.
As for me, I can't really decide. But.
The White Stripes - White Blood Cells. This (and, partially, Elephant) was the last album before Jack White started to get a little too ambitious with his 2 person, 3 aspect/colour band.
Interpol - TOTBL. This album is dark and danceable, the lyrics are amazingly ridiculous, to the point of hilarity. I also liked their follow up, though, but can't stand their latest. Also helped bring to the forefront a trendy, grimy New York scene that I hadn't seen in a while.
Beck - Anything. I have gone on and off with listening to him, but all of his albums seem to turn out well. If he doesn't have the best album of the past 10 years, he's definitely one of the best, most consistent artists of the years.
Menomena - Friend or Foe.
Mos Def - Black on Both Sides. One of my favorite hip hop albums of all times, and it's a shame that Mos hasn't followed up with anything relevant.
Bright Eyes - Lifted. Probably the only album of theirs that deserves the hype. I can go back and listen to this time after time and catch some clever turn of phrase that I'd missed before. It's nothing too deep or profound, but it's still really good, especially in comparison to the blandness Conor produces nowadays.
Arcade Fire - Funeral. It just seems like it needs to be included. It's pretty good, with a few lacking spots, but I think the fact that it made it to the mainstream is pretty significant, especially because it had an affect on music being made for Top 40 (Coldplay, off the top of my head. Though anything is better than X & Y I guess).
Those are off the top of my head, and I'll admit to a few things: I haven't listened to all of Radiohead's albums, nor Sigur Ros. Also, the Kinks, the Beach Boys, Bowie and other such artists are what I've been listening to for the past few weeks, so thinking of recent stuff is tough.
edit: I completely forgot about Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots. Definitely one of my favorite albums of the past few years.
Yes.
This.
Weakerthans--Reconstruction Site
It's also surreal for me that it just barely falls under "past 10 years".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scenes_From_A_Memory
For those who haven't heard of it, it's a progressive metal rock opera. It follows the character Nicholas, who's recounting to a psychiatrist strange dreams he has been having about a girl named Victoria. Victoria was killed in 1928, while Nicholas is living in 1963.
The music is incredible, ranging from complex epic progressive pieces, to simple piano backed songs, setting the atmosphere perfectly for each section. The story is well told, and is quite interesting in itself.
This is the album that got me into progressive music, and many of the songs (especially Overture 1928, the first I heard from it) still send a chill down my spine in a good way every time I hear them.
I can't speak to what others will take from the album, or if others will even like it, but for me, nothing tops it.