I love making lists. I’m not sure what it does for me, really, but I love picking out favorites of things and then ordering them just to get a more concrete sense of how I feel. I’ve done this with movies, TV series, seasons of TV series, but never really with music. I know that I have several favorite albums, but in what order do they fall?
I did this a while back but I know for a fact I’ve changed my mind a lot since then. So, without further ado, here’s my top 10 favorite albums of all time!
1. Muse – Black Holes and Revelations
Everything about this album is perfect. For starters, it has my favorite song of all time – “Knights of Cydonia.” Second of all, as an album itself, from start to finish, it has the perfect flow. It starts high, ends high, and takes a carefully calculated slowed dip in the middle. It’s high craftsmanship and I love it.
2. Guns n’ Roses – Appetite for Destruction
I understand that (rightfully so) Boston’s debut album has sold the most copies of any debut album in history. However, I’d argue that this album is nearly as good (if not better) and is a product I could listen to over and over again. Every song has immense energy and power and intensity. While I’m one of the few (or so it seems) who enjoys Chinese Democracy, it’s not GNR. This is and it’s incredible.
3. Beastie Boys – Paul’s Boutique
This one is a tough one. The Beastie Boys are my most-listened to band on last.fm, and one of my three favorite bands (along with Muse and Van Halen). What makes it hard for me is deciding exactly which of their albums I like the most. I think the first one I heard was To the 5 Boroughs, so for a while I liked that most. Then, I began listening to Licensed to Ill a lot and fell in love with it (add in the fact that my favorite Beastie Boys song, “Paul Revere” is on there, and you get more of a full sense of things). However, I think Paul’s Boutique is the choice. There are so many good songs on here, and it’s the perfect blend of old school Beasties (the punk feel) and new school Beasties (the hip-hop feel).
4. Van Halen – 1984
This album makes the list primarily because of three incredible tracks. First and foremost, there’s “Hot for Teacher.” Behind “Knights of Cydonia,” it’s my favorite song; everything about it is incredibly awesome (especially the music video). Add to that “Jump” and “Panama” and you have one of the coolest albums of the 1980s. I’ve already written on here why I wish I grew up in the 1980s; this album is a key reason why.
5. Radiohead – Kid A
Another shoutout to an earlier blog post! My very first on here was me describing how awesome this disc is. I haven’t listened to it in a while (and I’m really digging Hail to the Thief as well) but I still love it. It’s the only concept album on this list (as far as I know), which only adds to how cool it is. I already spent that whole blog post on this (http://themistershow.blogspot.com/2009/01/radiohead.html), so I won’t beat a dead horse.
6. Coldplay – Viva la Vida (or Death and All His Friends)
When originally constructing this list, I somehow forgot about this album. When realizing this, I felt suddenly shocked and embarrassed for leaving off my favorite new album of the last year. Viva la Vida (along with the accompanying Prospekt’s March) is an excellent construction of songs. When I got to it in my library recently (as I continue to play through all my tracks), I marked more than half the tracks on the album as “loved” tracks on last.fm. Each song is so good in its own way. No offense to Plant and Krauss, but I wish this had won Album of the Year.
7. Bang Camaro – Bang Camaro
Bang Camaro is the band on this list that casual music fans may not know. After hearing “Push Push” in Guitar Hero II – and “Pleasure (Pleasure)” in Rock Band – I knew they were something special. I’ve seen them live twice (the only band on this list I’ve seen) and seeing anywhere between 9 and 15 vocalists on stage at once is something you just need to see to believe. This debut album (they’ve since followed it with Bang Camaro II) is just super cool; the awesome guitar riffs are accompanied by words with few words (the song “Bang Camaro” has exactly two lyrics: “Bang” and “Camaro,” combined in many different and awesome ways).
8. Tenacious D – Tenacious D
Like Bang Camaro, Tenacious D is another band of mine that I love for the pure awesome factor. Though their live stuff is more fun to listen to than their studio albums, I have to give this album credit for starting everything and giving the world such tracks as “Wonderboy” and “Kielbasa.” The combination of hilarious songs and conversations between Jack Black and KG make for an all-around great time. Their other studio album – the soundtrack for The Pick of Destiny – is nearly as good, but I have to give this album the nod.
9. Garbage – Beautiful Garbage
I became obsessed with Garbage seemingly overnight, and this album was a big reason why. The most impressive thing to me about this album is that every song has such a different feel, yet they are all extremely enjoyable and great in their own ways. My favorites are “Shut Your Mouth” and “Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go!)” and listening to just the two of these can give you the extent at which Garbage varies their sound on this disc. “Shut Your Mouth” has an intense, dark vibe, while “Cherry Lips” harkens back to a simpler time. I think I love “Cherry Lips” so much because it feels like the song in David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive that the girl sings as her audition. I love that movie and that scene especially, which might explain why this song, album and band are so near and dear to my heart.
10. Beck – Guero
In high school, I didn’t listen to a whole lot of music. With the possible exception of Paul’s Boutique, I’d say that this was the only album I’d heard prior to getting to college. The opening three songs – “E-Pro,” “Que Onda Guero” and “Girl” might be my favorite three-song opening to a CD ever, but the rest of the album is nearly on par. My favorite Beck album – and I love Beck – is one that I can go back to over and over again.
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