COUNTDOWN: Top 50 Music Albums Of All-Time.

Arghus

Zaph wrote: »

Played like a fiddle.

Arghus

This is what it's all about lads: the arguments.

Arghus

BonnieSituation wrote: »

Loveless is a masterpiece. Sure I nominated it. Listen to "Soon" and "I Only Said" from it as they are the most accessible songs from the album.

Sorry to say that Loveless does very little for me. And I like overwhelming, I like the mystique of the album, I even like the cover art - but I'm still on the outside with that album, it's never drawn me in.

The J Stands for Jay

Reberetta wrote: »

41st 24 Pts

Fever Ray
Fever Ray (2009)

Finally, something decent. Enough dadrock.

Arghus

McGaggs wrote: »

Finally, something decent. Enough dadrock.

Even though I voted for it I was most definitely not expecting it make the top 50.

Maybe most of us voted for the same 30-35 albums and anything outside of that had maybe three or four votes had a chance of making up the lower reaches.

BonnieSituation

Arghus wrote: »

Even though I voted for it I was most definitely not expecting it make the top 50.

Maybe most of us voted for the same 30-35 albums and anything outside of that had maybe three or four votes had a chance of making up the lower reaches.

Honestly, seeing that in there shocked me, as tbh, I would assume those that voted for it would likely have rated the likes of Silent Shout higher, all things being equal.

---

As an aside, I had OK Cowboy by Vitalic, Radiator by SFA and Faded Seaside Glamour by Delays in my Top 10. so it shows the impossible breadth of choice that Reberetta had to work with that for Fever Ray to make it was incredible.

Arghus

I can't fault Silent Shout. It's a stunning album, definitely The Knife's best work, but there's a special mysterious dark atmosphere and cohesiveness to Fever Ray that sets it apart, in my view.

And I hated it at first. Which can frequently happen with albums I end up loving. Albums that reveal their brilliance, that make me work a bit, end up taking a special place in my heart.

BonnieSituation

Arghus wrote: »

I can't fault Silent Shout. It's a stunning album, definitely The Knife's best work, but there's a special mysterious dark atmosphere and cohesiveness to Fever Ray that sets it apart, in my view.

And I hated it at first. Which can frequently happen with albums I end up loving. Albums that reveal their brilliance, that make me work a bit, end up taking a special place in my heart.

Most of my favourites tend to be in that vein as well.

Crystal Castles I, Radiator, Era Vulgaris.

Silent Shout and Loveless on the other hand despite their reputations were instant loves.

What would we be without music?

Electric Nitwit

Reberetta wrote: »

One MASSIVE album missed the cut. But which one?

I'm guessing Dark Side of the Moon for this

BonnieSituation wrote: »

As an aside, I had OK Cowboy by Vitalic, Radiator by SFA and Faded Seaside Glamour by Delays in my Top 10

That's a great shout

BobbyMalone

I've had just the one in the top 50, and it barely scrapped in. I can see maybe two from my list in the top 10, but you never know.


Some great ones that I probably should've included did make the list, and there are lots of albums that I've been meaning to check out.

Declan A Walsh

I'm enjoying reading posters' guesses about my nominations - some of them are a bit tongue in cheek (I hope!)! Won't reveal anything just yet.

Incidentally, I forgot that another album in my own collection was nominated earlier in the countdown - Joshua Tree by U2. it just goes to show how the interest has waned in that album, although it has a lot of good tracks on it.

S.M.B.

BonnieSituation wrote: »

Honestly, seeing that in there shocked me, as tbh, I would assume those that voted for it would likely have rated the likes of Silent Shout higher, all things being equal.

Fever Ray > Silent Shout imo too. It may not be as seminal a piece of work but I adore it.

Very fond memories of the Oxegen show in 2009 which was stunning even though it felt like there was only a handful of people there.

Also I think the album spawned my favourite cover version of all time. I think both versions are phenomenal in their own way.

https://youtu.be/4F-CpE73o2M

https://youtu.be/WAs5y2lvO-Q

Edit:trying to embed videos while on mobile is a real pain, won't be trying that again

Reberetta

Thus far, besides the albums I nominated, Definitely Maybe is the album I admire most from the list.

It features the three greatest Oasis songs in my view: Live Forever, an outstanding timeless classic, the superb Supersonic and Bring It On Down, a middle finger in melody, my favourite track by the Mancunians.

Crunching guitars in a harmonious vein, anthemic stompers with attitude, simple but effective guitar solos, delivered with a hint of rebelliousness, sentimentality and humour and with Liam at his snarling best on vocals, I prefer the debut to the more acclaimed and best-selling follow-up What's The Story which, although brilliant in its own right, doesn't have the same menace of old-fashioned RAWK.

The sappy Cast No Shadow and the pedestrian Hey Now are a little limp, while the debut rocks along with emotion that doesn't meld into mundane mawkishness. I think there's more cohesion, force and energy about Definitely Maybe; a better flow to the structure of the songs, more life; less self-consciousness, maybe less pretention.

If the interludes-and they are interludes rather than genuine tracks- of The Swamp Song on WTSMG were deducted (and I could live without those segues as they interfere with the momentum of the album) one can even say that Definitely Maybe has more songs.

What's The Story might be like a skilful, jabbing boxer who jinks and jives his way to a points decision, but for me, Definitely Maybe is a no-frllls, brawler who comes out first round and tries to knock you flat on your face and doesn't care if you do the same to him.

Thinking about what my ideal combo of the albums would look like, I came up with the below.

1.Rock 'n' Roll Star
2. Morning Glory
3.Live Forever
4. Up in the Sky
5. Columbia
6. Supersonic
7. Bring It on Down
8. Cigarettes & Alcohol
9. Wonderwall
10. Don't Look Back In Anger
11. Champagne Supernova

P.S. I am aware that some of you think Oasis are just absolute pants.:P

Electric Nitwit

I agree with you Reb, What's The Story has amazing high points but is nowhere near as solid and cohesive as Definitely Maybe.

Although the one I find myself going back to most these days is The Masterplan, the B-side collection from same era. There's some real gems on that. And no filler which is amazing, given they were B-sides

Reberetta

I've haven't heard The Masterplan.:pac:

trashcan

[QUOTE=BonnieSituation;114740450

---

As an aside, I had OK Cowboy by Vitalic, Radiator by SFA and Faded Seaside Glamour by Delays in my Top 10. so it shows the impossible breadth of choice that Reberetta had to work with that for Fever Ray to make it was incredible.[/QUOTE]

I have literally never heard of any of these ( unless SFA is Super Furry Animals ? - have one album by them, Guerilla. Northern Lites is a fine song.) Is this what the young pups are listening to these days ?

Electric Nitwit

Reberetta wrote: »

I've haven't heard The Masterplan.:pac:

I'd highly recommend it, if you like oasis of that era you'll love it

Reberetta

I haven't heard it in a long time but from memory

Radiohead The Bends

Many good songs.

The dreamy depressive opener Planet Telex, the biting bipolar rocker The Bends ending (almost, but not quite-it's Radiohead after all) on a high note.

The acoustic melancholic musings of High and Dry, the forsaken Fake Plastic Trees, the mortality anthem Bones, the wishful Nice Dream building to a crescendo of gut-wrenching yearning before settling down into the musical form of a sunset, lights going out on hope (remember again, it's Radiohead).

The story behind Just is the guitarist was challenged to fit as many chords into a song as possible. One of the finest Radiohead songs in terms of invention on guitar; a scolding, scorching rocker.

And the finale, just when you think you've reached the bottomest pit of hellish despair, along comes the gloomy Street Spirit, possibly the highlight of a soundtrack of sadness which would drive many people to suicide-if it wasn't so brilliant.

Marilyn Manson loves this album.

the purple tin

This big album that wasn't nominated?
Is it possible that a certain Seattle band have not been chosen by anyone
No, on second thoughts never mind me, that is a crazy notion.
Mind you...if it did happen it would be the ultimate example of the 'gas leak effect'.

Reberetta

The Smiths The Queen Is Dead

A consistently brilliant band who barely put a foot wrong, I nevertheless feel that The Smiths didn't release a truly epic album that would blow you away on its own. I honestly couldn't say what my top Smiths album would be; it's like they're all a continuation of the other.

I never felt any great seismic shift in direction, or dabblings in experimentation, whilst they didn't go in for conceptual double-albums designed to define a generation or culture. Morrissey didn't really bring out the horn section or get to work on a didgeridoo; although he did try a harmonica once, about as daring as the sedate Mancunian would be.

Having said that, Marr's genius on guitar resulted in some astounding atmospheric variety in tracks; How Soon Is Now? is dark and somewhat musical-logic defying and the song Barbarism Begins At Begins At home almost strays into a dance/disco territory to my ears.

But if the Smiths didn't invent genres or create a groundbreaking album that changed music forever, even if they were a little conventional and simplistic in their method, they were still stellar; stunning riffs, whether acoustic or electric, poetic lyrics painting a landscape, bleak but with a bounce of rock.

Speaking of The Queen Is Dead, which appeared previously on the list, Bigmouth Strikes Again, The Boy with the Thorn in His Side are highlights.

While There Is A Light That Never Goes Out, a wistful acoustic, stinged hymn for lonely, disenchanted youth, and Cemetary Gates, a mourning humourous melody on mortality, and my favourite Smiths song ever, are outstanding and out of this world.

Reberetta

S.M.B. wrote: »

Fever Ray > Silent Shout imo too. It may not be as seminal a piece of work but I adore it.

Also I think the album spawned my favourite cover version of all time. I think both versions are phenomenal in their own way.

https://youtu.be/4F-CpE73o2M

https://youtu.be/WAs5y2lvO-Q

Fever Ray's vocals (and music- but moreso vocals) on that cover are reminiscent of Bjork. I don't like the original song and thus, the cover version doesn't move me either.

I do like the song Keep The Streets Empty by Fever Ray.


P.S. Top ten coming up at 1pm folks.

Reberetta

10th 52 pts

Guns N Roses
Appetite For Destruction (1987)

Chart Peak Ireland /UK/ USA: 7/5/1
Singles:  "Welcome to the Jungle", "Paradise City" and "Sweet Child o' Mine".
Nominated by BaronVon, Sawduck, Bigtime Charlie, Y0ssar1an22, Kolido

Many of the songs on Appetite For Destruction began as solo tracks that individual band members wrote separate from the band, only to be completed later. These songs include "It's So Easy" (Duff McKagan) and "Think About You" (Izzy Stradlin).

"Rocket Queen" was an unfinished Slash/McKagan/Adler song that was written from their earlier band Road Crew, whereas "Anything Goes", written by Hollywood Rose and included in their compilation album The Roots of Guns N' Roses, was later re-written for Appetite.

Most of the songs reflect the band's personal experiences and daily life, such as "Welcome to the Jungle", some of the lyrics of which Rose wrote after he encountered a man in New York shortly after arriving there from Indiana in 1980, and "Mr. Brownstone", which is about the band's problems with heroin. Lyrics to some of the songs focus on the band members' younger years, like "Out ta Get Me", which focuses on lead singer Axl Rose's constant trouble with the law as a youth in Indiana.

Reviewing in 1987, Dave Ling from Metal Hammer dismissed the album as an inferior mix of elements from bands such as Aerosmith, Hanoi Rocks, and AC/DC.

Robert Christgau,while applauding Rose's "effortless, convincing vocal abilities" as "undeniable and [setting] him apart from his contemporaries", the journalist found his performance undermined by questionable lyrics that reveal darker ideas: "He doesn't love 'Night Train', he loves alcoholism. And once that sweet child o' his proves her devotion by sucking his cock for the portacam, the evil slut is ready for 'See me hit you you fall down.'"

Critics in England were more positive; Kerrang! claimed that "rock is at last being wrestled from the hands of the bland, the weak, the jaded, the tired, the worn, and being thrust back into the hands of the real raunch rebels."

Russell Hall, the features writer for Gibson's online publication, said the album "injected a much-needed dose of ’70s-style rebellion into the frothy pop metal of the '80s", by "combining the swagger of late '60s Stones and vintage Aerosmith with the menace of punk and a trash-glam aesthetic".

It topped the Billboard 200 and became the best-selling debut album of all time, as well as the eleventh best-selling album of all time in the United States. With over 30 million copies sold worldwide, it is also one of the best-selling records of all time.

Track by track in Guns N Roses own words.

Twenty five things you might not know about the album.

Electric Nitwit

Kolido wrote: »

Late to the party. No GnR yet?

Kol will be happy now

lassykk

No surprise to see them make the cut. Some iconic tunes but a bit overplayed for me at this stage

Reberetta

Outta Get Me might be their finest moment.

Sheridan81

I really like their cover of Sheryl Crow's Sweet Child 'o Mine.

ShaneU

Only 4 albums from this century and three of them are Linkin Park and Radiohead....YAWN

Boards I am dissapointed. I expect that other Radiohead album will be in the top ten too...YAWN

Need to give Fever Ray a listen

Sheridan81

I think I've had 2 albums come up-Rem and Linkin Park. Don't knock Linkin Park, have you heard Hybrid Theory? It is fab nu metal, the pinnacle of a crap genre.

Reberetta

9th 56 pts

Alanis Morrissette
Jagged Little Pill (1995)

Chart Peak Ireland /UK/ USA: 1/1/1
Singles: "You Oughta Know, Hand in My Pocket, "Ironic", "You Learn", "Head over Feet", "All I Really Want"
Nominated by speckle, Reberetta, Strawberry Milkshake, Jp Liz V1,Kolido

Glen Ballard met Morissette in 1994 when his publishing company matched them up. According to Ballard, the connection was "instant", and within 30 minutes of meeting each other they had begun experimenting with different sounds in Ballard's home studio in San Fernando Valley, California.

The album's most successful single "Ironic" was the third track to be written for the album. In an interview with Christopher Walsh of Billboard, Glen Ballard explained how he and Morissette met, and how "Ironic" was written. He commented: "I'm telling you, within 15 minutes we were at it — just writing. 'Ironic' was the third song we wrote. Oh God, we were just having fun. I thought 'I don't know what this is — what genre it is — who knows? It's just good'."

“I didn’t even want Ironic on the record,” Morissette told Rolling Stone Music Now podcast. “And I remember a lot of people going, ‘Please please, please.’ So I said,’Ok’. That was one of the first songs we wrote, almost like a demo to get our whistles wet. But people wound up really liking the melody, and I wasn’t that precious about it”.

The lead single, "You Oughta Know", has guitar by Dave Navarro and bass by Flea of Red Hot Chili Peppers. The song was written with a different instrumentation; the pair were then asked to re-write the music – something Navarro described as being "A lot like a remix ... The structure of the song was in place but there were no guide tracks, we just had the vocal to work from. It was just a good time and we basically jammed until we found something we were both happy with. Alanis was happy too."

Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic highlighted the intensely personal nature of the album's lyrics and found it "remarkable" that the album "struck a sympathetic chord with millions of listeners, because it's so doggedly, determinedly insular."

Erlewine concludes, "As slick as the music is, the lyrics are unvarnished and Morissette unflinchingly explores emotions so common, most people would be ashamed to articulate them.

 Rolling Stone commented: "Jagged Little Pill is like a Nineties version of Carole King's Tapestry: a woman using her plain soft-rock voice to sift through the emotional wreckage of her youth, with enough heart and songcraft to make countless listeners feel the earth move".

Morissette's success with Jagged Little Pill (1995) was credited with leading to the introduction of female singers such as Shakira, Tracy Bonham, Meredith Brooks, and in the early 2000s, Pink, Michelle Branch, and fellow Canadian Avril Lavigne.

American singer Katy Perry cites Jagged Little Pill as a significant musical inspiration, and opted to work with Morissette's frequent collaborator Ballard as a result. Perry stated, "Jagged Little Pill was the most perfect female record ever made. There's a song for anyone on that record; I relate to all those songs. They're still so timeless.

Jagged Little Pill topped the charts in thirteen countries; with sales of over 33 million copies worldwide, it is one of the best-selling albums of all time and made Morissette the first Canadian to achieve double diamond sales.

Thirteen musicians inspired by Jagged Little Pill.

Swallowing Jagged Little Pill at 25

ShaneU

ShaneU wrote: »

Only 4 albums from this century and three of them are Linkin Park and Radiohead....YAWN

Boards I am dissapointed. I expect that other Radiohead album will be in the top ten too...YAWN

Need to give Fever Ray a listen

Are we all old farts on this thread? (Me included)- surprised myself there weren’t more