First thing’s first… there’s already too many of these lists. Music is subjective and you should listen to it to find whatever emotion in the sounds you’d like. With that said, let’s get into it.
I find each new edition of a top100/300/500 list has something to say. I hope as mine rolls out you can see what I’m trying to communicate, but if you can’t I’ll openly tell you this: A LOT of records that get rated on these lists are simply not enjoyable listens, are exceptionally over-hyped by oldheads, and many genres get cast aside for far more “critically approved” sounds. Critics also love whoever “does it first” – well I REALLY care if someone does it better.
This idea has been in my head since Apple Music pushed out their top100. While their catalogue is aggressively fine, it’s lacking nuance, personality, and looks curated to create the discourse rather than actually pay homage to the artists and their works of art. There are some albums that are universally beloved, and many of them will be here (21 to be exact), but there is no reason for us to pretend that music made after 1992 is somehow worse than music made before 1981, or that an artist’s first album is their best just because it started the wave.
With that, this list will not be cataloging Miles Davis, Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, or John Coletrane. I have immense respect for Davis and Coletrane, who have put out countless records that have stood the test of time (and pushed boundaries further than any limit) — but their addition to this project simply would feel disjointed. Listen to Giant Steps, A Love Supreme, Kind of Blue, Bitches Brew next time you’re bored. They’re all fantastic. For Dylan and the Stones, I find their music to be “the before times…” Yes, Highway 61 is absolutely fantastic, and you should listen to it. I will not be ranking it. Separately, I believe the Rolling Stones are the most overrated band in history who have put out some absolute masterpiece singles. Lastly, the Beatles & Johnny Cash will both be included. If you find that hypocritical, it’s cause it is. If you don’t like that, make your own list 🙂
There will be artists on here that are controversial, I am of the opinion that their music and art is a reflection of the times they made it in. Artists and records that are controversial for the sake of being controversial are excluded, but many may be controversial in retrospect. We should celebrate progressive works of art that vocalized the ideals we have now however, it’s hard to escape the fact that many bad people have made fantastic works of art.
Let’s get down to brass tacks now. My rating criteria is a mix of: influence, atmosphere, listenability, uniqueness, delivery, artist evolution, and genre mastery. An album that’s the best of it’s era, genre, trend, dripping in personality, or shows an artist turn key will be rated far higher than you may think. Keep this in mind if one album is rated higher than what you might expect in their catalogue. I am not without bias: I personally love dense albums that are only catchy after the 6th listen, quirky noises, grand and broad instrumentation, and albums you have to dedicate time to. I will be capping 2 entries per artist. I’ll start by posting 10 albums on July 8th, each with a short blurb or a paragraph about what makes it so special. All will be written by me, unless otherwise noted.
How to Listen: Music Formats 101
I get it, it’s the age of streaming. Everyone looks something up on Spotify/Apple music and that’s how we get our music these days. Many of the albums in this list will be from before everything was at our finger tips. Depending on the year, the way they were made and arranged was for the distribution format. I recommend you always snag a physical copy of the era, sit down in a room and do nothing but truly *listen* to the music.
VINYL: Pretty much anything before 1988 was pressed on wax. It’s still the (in my opinion) best way to experience music, as many music heads love the minor imperfections that translate onto vinyl. With the vinyl format, your albums are almost entirely 40 – 48 minutes long, with the singles, catchiest, or awe-inspiring songs being the first and last song on each side of the record. A ton of artists also pressed singles as the first/second songs on each side. Many times these albums were meant to be listened to in halves with air, space, and silence in between the flip. You might find albums that are “Double LPs” and these were quite literally, two records as one album with four sides of music. Albums like Queen’s Night at the Opera, Pink Floyd’s The Wall, The Clash’s London Calling, many Beatles records have very concrete vibe shifts depending on the side of the album you’re on and that tone shift is frequently lost through streaming. If you listen to any of these albums from 1987 or earlier, recognize this format.
CDs: Most music from the late 80s to the early 2010s was planned to be listened on a CD. Singles could be put anywhere on the album as you could easily skip to it, and album lengths could go up to 70ish minutes. Albums start getting longer, a little bit more bloated, and you’ll find some interesting ways to organize albums in this era.
Streaming: Many albums from the 2010s onward were frequently made with streaming in mind. This is where we end up with these absolutely massive 20+ song marathons, where artistic vision is cut in the name of streaming numbers. The biggest artists of this era chase new #1s by constantly releasing the same songs, re-releasing the same record, have unnecessary features, and pushing out the most bloated albums possible. It’s no coincidence this list will have albums highlighting “focused” projects in this era, as so many albums are quite literally a chore to get through.
Here’s a list of records that didn’t quite make the cut and…
newer releases, older stuff, albums just on the cut off, cult classics, etc. that I believe deserve a shout out
Rock:
- Paramore: This is Why (2023) – Potentially the turning point for the band
- Sonic Youth: Daydream Nation (1988) – essential indie/post-rock
- IDLES: Joy as an Act of Resistance (2018) – Fantastic modern post-punk album
- Nirvana: In Utero (1993) – One of the most harrowing records ever
- Gaslight Anthem: The ’59 Sound (2008) – heartland pop punk
- Creedence Clearwater Revival: Cosmo’s Factory (1970) – The best southern-rock album ever made
- Television: Marquee Moon (1977) – Insanely fantastic record written as post-punk was turning into nu-wave
- Destroyer – Destroyer’s Rubies (2006): Very very cool dream poppy indie rock album that’s heavily influenced by shoegaze
- Cloud Nothings – Attack on Memory (2012): this album RIPS and is modern post-rock/punk
Pop & singer/songwriter:
- Charli xcx: BRAT (2024) – Will probably be the most influential work in pop this decade
- Donna Summer: Bad Girls (1979) – Disco CLASSIC
- Cocteau Twins: Heaven or Las Vegas (1990) – probably the best dreampop album ever
- David Bowie: Blackstar (2016) – a sensational album about embracing death
- Kate Bush: Hounds of Love (1985) – Kate Bush’s masterpiece
- Michael Jackson: Bad (1987) – Lives in the shadow of Thriller, it’s fantastic!
- Jeff Buckley: Grace (1994) – This album made me reconsider what pop music could be
Electronic:
- underscores: Wallsocket (2023) – “hyperpop” gone ballistic
- Kraftwork: Trans-Europe Express (1977) – an electronic album made in the 70s
- Iglooghost: Neo Wax Bloom (2017) – modern industrial dance music turnt to 11
- Brian Eno: literally any of his albums in the Ambient: series, or anything from the 70s. Just about all of them are absolutely insanely fantastic. If you *need* a recommendation, Ambient 1: Music For Airports broke me from it’s melodies the first time I heard it.
Hard rock/metal/hardcore:
- Sleep: Dopesmoker (2003) – maybe the silliest metal album ever made
- Alexisonfire: Crisis (2006) – generational talent on clean vocals, generational talent on screams. Their 2022 album Otherness is also *insane*
- Jeff Rosenstock: HELLMODE (2023) – one of the coolest modern punk albums
- Bring Me the Horizon: Sempiternal (2013) – the best full album from the myspace era
- In Flames: The Jester Race (1996) – one of the best melodic death metal albums ever
- Disarmonia Mundi: The Isolation Game (2009) – a studio metal supergroup that made some of the best solos, riffs, breakdowns, and vocals I’ve ever heard.
- Fires in the Distance: Air Not Meant for Us (2022) – genuinely shocked death metal/black metal can make an album this gorgeous in this decade
- Ice Nine Kills: The Silver Scream (2018) & The Silver Scream 2 (2022) – a hardcore/metalcore band decides to make not one but TWO concept albums about horror movies. They’re *both* very good.
Hip-hop & rap:
- SZA: SOS (2022) – a true benchmark for modern R&B
- Massive Attack: Blue Lines (1991) – banger, banger, banger, banger
- Freddie Gibbs & Madlib: Pinata (2014) – Just a fantastic collab album
- Travis Scott: Rodeo (2015) // A$AP Rocky: Long Live A$AP (2013) – psychadelic hip hop at it’s absolute peak. Rocky hasn’t gotten his flowers for that record yet (it’s fantastic), and Rodeo was one of the best records of the 2010s.
- JID: The Forever Story (2022) – Ungodly fantastic album about JID’s upbringing
- Wu-Tang Clan: Wu-Tang Forever (1997) – I’m assuming you’ve already heard Enter 36, but if you haven’t listen to their victory lap record. They knew they struct gold twice.
100 – 91: Let’s Get Started
100. Deftones – White Pony (2000)
Apple Music // Spotify // Genre: Hard rock, nu-metal
The turn of the millennium had a lot of rock that was simply devoid of either personality or was fighting for a lick of limelight in the grunge era. Deftones followed up their fantastic ’97 album “Around the Fur” by abandoning any concept of genre mainstream ideas and instead embraced ideas of shoegaze, electronics, grueling vocals, and genuine experimentation. It’s no secret I’m not fond of many rock records from this era and many of the copycats of each other, but Deftones struck genuine gold with this. Separately, Passenger is one of my favorite songs from the decade.
99. King Crimson – In the Court of the Crimson King (1969)
Apple Music // Spotify // Genre: art rock, post-rock
It is genuinely so ambitious to attempt to write an album like this – nonetheless in 1969. Lyrically – it delivers. Instrumentally – it delivers. Every performance on here is one to be proud of for a lifetime, and practically inventing/anointing a genre in the process is something to be adorned.
98. Danny Brown & JPEGMAFIA – Scaring the Hoes (2023)
Apple Music // Spotify // Genre: experimental hip hop
“It’s new”, “It’s produced weird”, “It’s corny”, grow up. It’s fantastic. The production is absolutely ballistic, Danny sounds more blown out and more eccentric than ever. The bangers will blow your face off, the rare moments to breathe will have you soaring. There are bars on here that are funnier than entire Netflix specials, and it’s wonderful to see two people in their prime genuinely deliver on their potential. Note: the DLC Pack B-sides are equally as fantastic, with “Hermanos” specifically being one of the better tracks released so far this decade.
97. Attack Attack! – Someday Came Suddenly (2008)
Apple Music // Spotify // Genre: post-hardcore
This is a moment in time. A time capsule of a bygone age, where snakebite piercings and gauged ears were all the rage. There are too renditions imitations of this extremely blown out style, and *many* of them are absolutely terrible and so extremely rife with misogyny it’s hard to listen to. This is a gospel post hardcore dance record, made by a band professing their faith to god, breakdowns, and bad mixing.
96. Guns n’ Roses – Appetite for Destruction (1987)
Apple Music // Spotify // Genre: Hair metal
Written by Artie Cruz (@artie_cruz): The antithesis of all the upbeat synch-pop of the era, Guns ‘N’ Roses came out of the gates HARD in their debut album, both musically and lyrically. Appetite for Destruction takes it’s influences from the punk bands of the 70s like The Ramones and Sex Pistols, and combines it with all of the hair metal attitude of the 80s. Axel Rose wants you to know that the business of Sex Drugs & Rock’n’roll ain’t pretty, and he screams that to you in “Welcome to the Jungle” and “Nightrain”. The album also showcases some the most iconic guitar riffs and solos of the 80’s on “Sweet Child o’ Mine” and “Paradise City”. Appetite for Destruction put all of the supposed hair metal bands of the 80s on notice, and is a genre-ending album. Editor’s note: please don’t remember Guns N’ Roses as the old and dated band they are now, please remember them as a dive bar band that accidentally made it huge.
95. Soft Cell – Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret (1981)
Apple Music // Spotify // Genre: Nu-wave
Nu-wave is a… very peculiar genre. Every band seems to have one, maybe two albums that are deemed “great” yet unless you were there… they make no sense. Here’s the curious case of Soft Cell: where they simply don’t care and write a “pop” album where they’re pissed, they’re normal, they’re in heat, and you know what? F**k it we can dance. It makes for a very exciting listen, where you literally do not know what’s around each corner. Quite literally around the first corner? One of the best covers of all time in Tainted Love. A few more turns and you’re going to end up in songs that make you feel like you’re at the cabaret.
94. Car Seat Headrest – Teens of Denial (2016)
Apple Music // Spotify // Genre: Indie rock
DIY, loneliness, and a journey. You gotta trust your own sadness to embrace an album like this, but there’s enough here to latch onto the album’s wonderful little quirks. One of modern rock’s greatest band’s greatest album.
93. Blink-182 – Enema of the State (1997)
Apple Music // Spotify // Genre: Pop-punk
Blink-182 will literally spend the rest of their careers rewriting these exact songs with different lyrics in an attempt to crack the billboard top 100 (Dumpweed is literally First Date). This is their only one where they actually dig at emotions deeper than boofing beers, fart jokes, and bad humor. It’s also one of the only pop punk records to cast a shadow large enough that everyone else is called a copycat. Enjoy the singles, add them to your playlists, but if you press play from the start a lot of those songs have a pretty different meaning in the context of the entire record. A note about Adam’s Song: this tune is a genre-defining track. It’s known to the greater population as a sad song about suicide – in the context of this album I can’t begin to explain how powerful this song is.
92. Frank Ocean – Blonde (2016)
Apple Music // Spotify // Genre: R&B
This album sounds the way 2016 felt (complimentary), and is continually daring in it’s lyrical themes. Frank has never been more melodic, and we’re grateful for his very short and limited time in the limelite. His mythos as an artist has made this album’s legacy grow to imperceptible heights, and this masterpiece is well worth your time.
91. Passion Pit – Manners (2009)
Apple Music // Spotify // Genre: Indie pop
A cartoonishly overdone synth-pop fever dream, Manners pushes the boundaries of the happiness we can feel. Take your hands off the wheel, let the synth guide you, hit the dance floor, and live a little.
90 – 81: Digging in.
90. Tycho- Dive (2011)
Genre: Downtempo
Close your eyes, lean back in your favorite chair, and let the melodies take you. Tycho will have you flying, swimming, diving, crying, and sobbing in this audio-visio masterpiece. This is a record to remind you of all the times of peace, all of the bliss, and all of the elation that life can have.
89. Parkway Drive – Deep Blue (2010)
Genre: Metalcore
While Parkway Drive’s first two records are timeless, there are few moments more interesting than when the band looks inward to defiantly ask: “Am I the problem? Can I be better?” Before the modern shameless ratrace to be so gruelingly heavy, Parkway Drive brought us memorable riffs and breakdowns filled with deep & true introspection. There’s maybe 10 clean vocals on this bad boy, and the first one I can *confidently* identify is: “What the f**k have I become?” – a pretty confident theme for the record.
88. Katy Perry – Teenage Dream (2012)
Genre: Pop
What if you wrote a record where every song was the “song of the summer” — you’d get Teenage Dream. We’re all stuck being 17, head in the clouds, chewing bubblegum and basking in the summertime sun. This is a defining artwork in the pop genre, glitzed and glammed chock-full of sugar and dopamine. Critics panned it, and I’m here to tell you they were all wrong. Think of it this way: so many artists chase having a single hit, yet Last Friday Night was the *5th* single released off this album. Unlike so many albums you’ll see on this list, you’re not supposed to give this record everything you have — you’re supposed to drop the roof with your friends, lower the windows, turn it up, and dance in the sun.
87. Ween – The Mollusk (1997)
Genre: too many
OCEAN MAN. TAKE ME BY THE HAND LEAD ME TO THE LAND THAT YOU UNDERSTAND. Jokes aside, one of the most fun albums of the 90s that doesn’t understand what the word “serious” means. Every style of music is loaded onto this bad boy, including a bustling sea shanty. 90s alt bands really were throwing everything at the wall, and Ween gave us one of the more dynamic offerings possible.
86. American Football – American Football (1999)
Genre: Emo
A fever dream of a record, this album feels as though you’re floating. It’s hazy, blurry, and gray, and sometimes the in between area of black and white is where we can truly feel. Few records will ever incite the feeling of in-between better than this. From the exceptionally iconic opening riff, to the choruses you scream with your friends, this is a delight through and through. Your first listen? Bad. Your fifth listen? It’s great. Your tenth? Might be the best album you’ve ever heard.
85. Jessie Ware – What’s Your Pleasure (2020)
Genre: Pop, disco
Let’s DANCE! Without this album and Ware’s career, every other pop artist of the 2020’s wouldn’t have the green light to do disco-revival to the point they are. Jessie Ware is their blueprint. This modern disco revival album is sensational from start to finish, and will have you up and out of your seat. It would not shock me, or many other Jessie Ware fans, if she releases an album that tops this one or many other records in her career. If you like pop music, grooving, or disco this is for you. Note: Her 2023 record That! Feels Good! is also incredibly fantastic.
84. Fall Out Boy – From Under the Cork Tree (2005)
Genre: Pop punk
It’s very rare for pop punk albums during immature years to be speaking about mature topics. At surface level, this album is about hooking up with women and hating yourself, but if you step one level deeper it’s a deep psycho-analysis of the band’s psyche as they fight with very blatant mental struggles. It’s self realizing, and the rest of the album clearly lives in the shadow of the anthems and famous bars held in the first half. While you may know every word to Sugar, We’re Going Down, you might not know the lines about taking your daily prescribed medication, having manic-depressive episodes, or the countless self-deprecating lines about never meeting others expectations. EDITOR’S NOTE: Sugar, We’re Going Down & Dance, Dance are the exact same thing as Mr. Brightside & When You Were Young.
83. Outkast – Stankonia (2000)
Genre: Rap
If you haven’t heard this yet, you have to listen to the greatest hip hop group ever stunt on every single style of the music and combine ascetics of 90s rave culture with Atlanta hip hop. Every single rapper after Stankonia is grateful for the neo-psych and progressive electronic styles Outkast finesses their way around. It’s inconceivable this record came out in the year 2000, is as progressive as it is, and contains maybe the greatest hooks in music. We are all blessed to have lived in a world with Outkast.
82. Oasis – What’s the Story (Morning Glory) (1995)
Genre: Brit-pop
Picture this: britpop is dead. Oasis brought it back with their absolutely stellar debut, and they follow it up by simply creating the best britpop album since widespread adoption of microwaves. Notably, all songs on Definitely, Maybe and Morning Glory were written in the same session, perhaps the best way to dodge a sophomore slump ever? Who’s to say. The riffs are addictive, the choruses are booming, and the hate between brothers is not yet palpable. If you blindly put this album on, you will not believe how many songs you recognize – and yet the ones you DON’T might be the best songs on the album.
81. Deafheaven – Sunbather (2013)
Genre: Shoegaze, black metal
A shoegaze black metal record influenced by dream pop got released and obliterated the minds of average metal listeners. A dear friend of mine once said “if the cover wasn’t pink, it wouldn’t be that popular” in reference to Turnstyle’s Glow On — this record has the exact same deal. However, it’s maybe the first black metal record *ever* that’s actually approachable, and for that reason people despise it. I don’t. I’m of the opinion it’s the most important black metal record since the death of MySpace with some of the most gorgeous and powerful riffs throughout.
80 – 71: Zappa & Beefheart in 1969, and Genre Cornerstones
80. Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band – Trout Mask Replica (1969)
Youtube – gets pulled off streaming every other week, comments are worth the click.
Genre: Experimental rock/folk/blues/jazz/alternative/spoken word/ska
Produced by the one and only Frank Zappa, welcome to the avant garde. Nothing has ever sounded like this, shockingly, even 55 years later. Doesn’t even sound like the vocals were supposed to be on here. This is as if blues and experimental folk collapsed in on itself in a record, and I genuinely think the time signatures in some of the songs look like this: (̷̝̙͌͌ë̸̘̰i̶͌ͅx̵̱̹̒ ̵̖̚+̵̱̓ ̵̢̈e̸̱̋-̵͔̝̍i̷̛̯x̶͈͈̊̚ ̷̫̭̿)̵̛͚͊2̸̮̿ ̵̖͕͗̏/̶̼̃̉4̸͕̳̓ ̷̺̅+̷̡̣͂̽ ̶͉͊͜s̸̺͋̄i̶͔̙͛̾n̵̥̩̓̾2̷̱̲̇͑ ̴͙̂(̶̛̗̜͋x̵̧͆͊)̴̩̊͐ ̵͎͖͐̊=̶̓ͅ ̵̡̀ͅ(̸̺͋e̴̖̓̚2̷̠͆ī̴̥̯x̶̗̅̌ ̷̜͒+̶̝͌̓ ̵̬̄͂ë̶͔́-̷̪͌̓2̴̲͖́i̴̧̫̎x̵͈́ ̶̝̘͑)̴̳͊/̸̯̲̐̊4̸̩̱͒ ̷̟̼̅̀+̵͕͕̚ ̸͍͋e̴̯͊̇2̵̭̅͂l̸̘̣̂n̵͕̐(̷̣̈͌s̵̨̰͒̈i̷͎̿̕ͅn̶͚̆̐(̶̜̳͗̾x̵̠̀)̴̣̆)̵̯͌͊ ̷̰̀̑ͅ+̴͙̽ ̷̨͚́1̷̠̘̒/̴̻͛͝2̵̯̆̂. In a way, it’s almost anti-music. This is either the greatest album you’ve ever heard, or it’s absolutely completely unlistenable. That’s fine. Is it bad? Maybe? Is it good? Who knows. Is it captivating? Endlessly.
79. Green Day – American Idiot (2004)
Genre: Pop punk/rock
Written by Artie Cruz (@artie_cruz): As with any good punk band in 2004, Green Day had no shortage of grievances to air about the American political/cultural landscape. When they aren’t railing against the Iraq War and cable news (“Holiday”), they’re capturing the feelings of disillusionment of the middle-class suburban teenager (“Wake Me Up When September Ends”). How they went about voicing their opinions is what sets this album apart from its anti-establishment contemporaries. Sure, it has the hallmarks of punk with the gritty and lightspeed guitar riffs on “St. Jimmy”, but it also has the power chords and storytelling of a true rock opera on “Jesus of Suburbia”. Bush may have won reelection, but American Idiot was made into a Broadway musical, so who’s the real winner?
78. Frank Zappa – Hot Rats (1969)
Genre: Jazz Rock
Zappa’s experimental jazz record with heavy distortion and solos, Hot Rats is a blast from start to finish. There’s like 100 words spoken on it total and I think Captain Beefheart says 60 of them. Let loose, have a little fun sometimes. Listen to Zappa shred, lose yourself in the drums, let your mind wander into the distortion effects. Zappa was clearly given a LONG creative leash, you might as well let him run with it and hop on the silly ride.
77. Jay-Z – The Blueprint (2001)
Genre: Rap
Written by Artie Cruz (@artie_cruz): Despite being essentially on top of the rap world in 2001, Jay-Z decided he needed to put out an album like his rent was due. It’s a tale of two Jay-Z’s; one enjoying the spoils and limelight (“Izzo”) and the other constantly paranoid of a coup coming for his throne (“Takeover”). His heavy burden resulted in the sound that brought hip hop kicking and screaming from the old guard of the 90s into the sample heavy and soulful revival of the 00s. It was, in fact, the blueprint. The album also served as a coming out party for two of the next decades most prominent producers; Kanye West and Just Blaze, whose production influence can be clearly identified on “Heart of a City” (West) and “U Don’t Know” (Blaze).
76. The Smiths – The Queen is Dead (1986)
Genre: Britpop, indie
This record has genuine insane amounts of aura. I am of the belief this is the best britpop album ever, and one listen all the way through should have you at least understanding why. There are songs on here are bleak, and sound as mellow as depression feels. There are songs on here that are funnier than any Netflix comedy special ever. There are songs on here I would play in a club in 2024. A quick sample: “Vicar in a Tutu” was panned in the 80s, but it’s a joyous little tune celebrating anti-religion and gender nonconformity in 1986 and it’s not a top5 track on the record.
75. The White Stripes – Elephant (2003)
Genre: Garage rock
Jack & Meg White decide to do every style of rock, pull it off, and do it better than any of your favs. During the garage rock resurgence, so many bands attempted to pick up the pieces from grunge. Yet The White Stripes instead decided to do everything else, and every critic that stopped listening after the opening track simply should be laughed out of the room. Seven Nation Army may be absolutely ubiquitous at this point, but it’s genuinely JUST the intro.
74. Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin IV (1971)
Genre: Rock
The singles that spawned off this record are some of the most timeless songs in rock and roll and the forward thinking on so many of the tracks is commendable. This has rock and roll, blues, *very* early heavy metal, and a few folk tunes all jam packed and are some of the absolute best versions of those genres. There’s extremely definitive splits from Side A & B, notably with the 4-song run on side A being quite literally perfect. I also cannot emphasize enough how fantastic their live record ‘How the West Was Won‘ is. It’s very long, but you genuinely will hear Zeppelin at their masterful peak on it.
RANT: I do not get how people rate any of the self-titled albums above this. Yeah, I, is VERY good and essentially created classic rock and is maybe the best blues rock album ever. II has people fawning over it like it’s the greatest rock album ever – it’s not. Oldheads heard Heartbreaker transition into Living Loving Maid and I guess that was enough to make the album better than this? I don’t think so. Ya’ll really love the drum solo in Moby Dick that much? I do to, but man it’s not better than Going to California. If anyone says they like III more than the other 3, they’re probably lying or have a very different taste in music (acoustic/folk), and I absolutely LOVE Zeppelin III. People get on the internet or someone with 2 pensions yaps at a barbecue like “bro Whole Lotta Love is the best song ever!” Okay? Every other song on that bad boy was done better 10x over by Zeppelin within 2 years. I really do not care that everything off II became a single, the album is AGGRESSIVELY okay for a band as mythical and statuesque as Led Zeppelin. Why would you listen to Ramble On or Heartbreaker when you could listen to Black Dog or Rock and Roll? IV LITERALLY has Stairway to Heaven – a song so ubiquitous with perfection you can call anything the “Stairway of X” and people know what you mean. It’s that good, still. Seriously there’s 22 straight minutes of perfection that starts this album, and it ends with close to 10 straight minutes of perfection. You’re telling me, with a STRAIGHT FACE, Led Zeppelin II has a better run than that? Straight up, Moby Dick & Bring It On Home are better than Going to California & When the Levee Breaks? No jokes, hold the clownery, Whole Lotta Love & What Is and Should Never Be is better than Black Dog and Rock and Roll? There’s just no way. Now don’t even get me started on Physical Graffiti –
73. Billy Joel – The Stranger (1977)
Genre: Piano pop
Written by Artie Cruz (@artie_cruz): Following a couple of underwhelming records, Billy Joel decided to record his fifth studio album with his touring band in an effort to bring the gritty energy from his live shows, which were notably very strong performances, back into the studio. The result is the Billy Joel we all know and love, combining that Long Island grit with the rock and roll influences of Elvis and the Beatles.The Stranger brings us arena anthems like “Moving Out” and “Only the Good Die Young”, and the timeless coming-of-age accordion-laden “Vienna”. But the magnum opus is the 7-minute ballad about a couple of divorcees that features five distinct parts and may as well be the sampler for Billy Joel’s entire discography. The song might not be on this album, but The Stranger is why Billy Joel is THE piano man.
72. Nick Drake – Pink Moon (1972)
Genre: Singer-songwriter
11 songs, 28 minutes, a lifetime of powerful lyrics. Pink Moon tackles inner turmoil and asks the question, “is it okay if we’re actually so small?” Well, if we’re capable of art like this, maybe it is. This record is as poetic as it is beautiful. If you allow it, it will consume you and you will be haunted for the rest of your days by its beauty. I am.
71. Arcade Fire – Funeral (2004)
Genre: Indie rock
Countless bands attempt to recreate the formula of virtuoso artists coming together to make forward thinking art-rock. Most bands do it terribly or sound a bit too drawn out, but Arcade Fire’s highs on this record cast a shadow over the entire genre to this day. Few records are paced as fantastic as this – where right when you drift, they drop the hammer of a timeless banger on you. The grandiose instrumentation, the sheltering fire that’s burning throughout the entire record, the atmosphere that’s developed… Funeral must be experienced at some point in your life. Sit down, kick your feet up with your favorite beverage, and hold onto each and every single note as it’s played and you’ll truly experience the beauty of music.
70 – 61: Influence, Bangers, Legacy
70. Big Thief – Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You (2022)
Apple Music // Spotify Genre: indie rock
I will be one of the first people in the room to recommend UFOF to anyone that likes folk music. For a band from BK to devote their time and energy after mastering the folk genre to create THIS – c’mon man that’s so extremely compelling. This is a 20 song epic, traversing across every single topic possible. Written to be listened to in a true 2xLP style, there are discernible shifts in both tone and style throughout every pace of this story. If you let them, you will allow true masters of their craft bring you into their unique little world where they knit with your heartstrings. I personally believe Big Thief has not yet peaked.
69. DJ Shadow – Endtroducing….. (1996)
Apple Music // Spotify // Genre: beats
I still don’t know how this album exists, and it’s so unbelievably impressive to have came out in 1996. It sounds so natural that DJ Shadow wasn’t even trying, and literally influenced almost all future experimental works in -hop related genres. Fewer records have ever been as impressive as this. Released in 1996, I’m continually in awe at how modern an instrumental like sounds even though it’s pushing 30.
68. …And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead – Source Tag & Codes (2002)
Apple Music // Spotify // Genre: emo
Few albums sound like the shtick will be up any minute – yet the second before the theme dies they pull it back. You’re going to hurt, you’re going to heal, and YOU WILL survive. The lyrics are so extremely vivid and extravagant it feels like you’re in the studio with the band. The guitars are so piercing it sounds like the amp is in your ears. A masterpiece of post-rock/early hardcore.
67. Rage Against the Machine – Rage Against the Machine (1992)
Apple Music // Spotify // Genre: rock
Written by Artie Cruz (@artie_cruz): In their debut, self-titled album, RATM made it no secret where they stand on a number of political and societal issues. There’s no way to do these lyrics justice by summarizing them, so here are just a few snippets:
“Some of those who work forces / Are the same that burn crosses” (Killing in the Name) — “Landlords and power whores… / …I Ignite them and watch them burn” (Bombtrack) — “You know they murdered X / And tried to blame it on Islam” (Wake Up) — But for all its history lessons, calls for revolution, and straight up threats (they even called themselves “guilty parties” on the album sleeve), the iconic sound is what really sets RATM apart. Combining Zach de la Rocha’s powerful and raspy rap-metal vocals and Tom Morello’s heavy metal/punk guitar riffs and scratchy high-pitched solos, they carved out a unique place for themselves in music. The bass grooves from Timmy C on songs like “Take the Power Back” and “Know Your Enemy” do a great job of tying it all together with a funky bow. EDITOR’S NOTE: How in the world did this come out in 1992?
66. New Order – Substance (1987)
Apple Music // Spotify // Genre: nu-wave, goth-dance
“It’s a collection of singles!! It’s not a real album!!” Okay then why is this collection of singles better than your favs’ best album? A true joy to listen to, full of timeless songs that clearly influenced everything after their release. One of the most interesting bands of all time, New Order’s Substance is the definition of a band in it’s prime writing nothing but hits. Sometimes it’s cooler to write like 10 #6s than chase a #1. If you like house music at all, you have to listen to this.
65. My Bloody Valentine – M B V (2013)
Apple Music // Spotify // Genre: shoegaze
How do you possibly follow up a classic like Loveless? Well, simply put you try writing it every time the band is back together before you inevitably break up again. There is no follow up to Loveless, and instead this is MBV’s attempt to spark a new whirlwind in a new world. It’s not the 90s anymore, and the band is forming a new identity in the shadow of it’s previous record. There’s beauty in that, and it’s sensational to see such a triumphant return.
64. The Cure – Disintegration (1989)
Apple Music // Spotify // Genre: goth
The opus of goth, the masterpiece of Robert Smith, and the last truly fantastic record from the 1980s. Disintegration is so incredibly layered, so impeccably gorgeous, and so unparalleled. This album embraces the melancholic lyrics of standard gothic hymns, but it’s covered in some of the most wonderful instrumentals. This is beauty incarnate and deserves to be danced to in the rain, listened to in a warm bath by candlelight, or as the sun sets on a wonderful day.
63. Danny Brown – XXX (2011)
Apple Music // Spotify // Genre: hip-hop
A record that forces the listener to expand their own taste and palate, Danny pushed the boundaries of what could be done on a hip hop record. If you think it’s a banger, it’s cause it is. If you think he’s trying to be funny? He is. In the age of mixtapes, indie rappers, blogs, and a new free project every week, Danny delivered maybe the most concise and locked in series of hard-hitting (and hilarious) lines elevated by his eccentric delivery. EDITOR’S Note: Please also listen to Atrocity Exhibition and Old if you end up liking the weird beats and ridiculous lyrics.
62. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Fever to Tell (2003)
Apple Music // Spotify // Genre: garage rock
Very interesting album where each member of the band wants something different – driven by each member’s raw angst and energy. Karen O is too magnetic, and while some songs will burn your psyche, other’s will drive you to cry. There’s rage, longing, yearning, partying, and everything in between packed into many bite-sized tracks. While “Maps” has been burnt into the American scenesters psyche for 20 years, the charisma dripped into other tracks are not overshadowed. Take this record as lesson to all up and coming bands: you don’t need 10 instruments, you barely need string instruments, but you NEED to have an overly captivating vocalist.
61. Vince Staples – Big Fish Theory (2017)
Apple Music // Spotify // Genre: Experimental rap
You are all cowards for not liking this record as much as it deserves. This is experimental hip hop at it’s most accessible, experimental hip hop at it’s catchiest, and if it was released in 2020 or 2021 it would be celebrated as one of the best albums of the decade. “Brat for boys!!” everyone would be tweeting. Sophie forever.
60 – 51: Defining the Culture
60. Gorillaz – Plastic Beach (2010)
Apple Music // Spotify // Genre: alt-pop
Collaboration: “the action of working with someone to produce or create something.” Plastic Beach is a blockbuster album from one of the largest groups from the 2000s, and they pull in everyone to create this future-funk, neo-soul sound. The features are abound with an extremely broadened cast of characters known from far reaching genres. The production is so varied from song to song, it’s almost impressive to hear rhythmic bass lines surrounded by screeching synths. It’s soaring and flying when you get an A-list rapper going over the futuristic beats, and within a snap of the fingers it’s dancing and gleaming.
59. Madvillain – Madvillainy (2004)
Apple Music // Spotify // Genre: hip hop
22 songs, 46 minutes, a weirdo record for weirdos. MF DOOM is rapping as weird as the beats, and the beats are as weird as everyone’s feelings are. When everyone’s doing one thing (being cool, being tough, living hard), it’s interesting to do the opposite (rap over jazz instrumentals and superhero radio announcements). Separately, a record like this validates sampling to such an extreme degree that you seldom even know where the samples are coming from. People call this MF DOOM’s opus, but it genuinely also might be Madlib’s.
58. Linkin Park – Meteora (2003)
Apple Music // Spotify // Genre: nu-metal
Nu-metal as a genre was on life support when this came out. The 2000s were slowly shifting to hard rock, adding more and more melodic notes (and terrible radio rock) when Linkin Park locked in and delivered one of the most concise albums of the era. Meteora is symbolic for it’s time, as the rage and anger is palpable while many of the themes are about feeling helpless. This entire sound dies after this record, but man I really hope you liked the ride.
57. Young Thug – Jeffrey (2016)
Apple Music // Spotify // Genre: hip hop
Atlanta hip hop defined the 2010s (shout out Future and DS2), and few were as experimental, preeminent, or distinct that decade as Young Thug. Thugger pushes the human boundary of what the voice can do, and on Jeffrey he bends and contorts his voice into fits. Just when you start to get tired of one style and crave another, he’s already three steps ahead of you. Young Thug named the songs on this record after people that inspire him like “Floyd Mayweather” – a trip hop song featuring the usual suspects, “Wyclef Jean” – a 4 minute reggae-inspired banger (with an all-time music video), and “Harambe” – named after the gorilla.
56. August Burns Red – Constellations (2009)
Apple Music // Spotify // Genre: metalcore
This was the logical end goal of the lineage Killswitch Engage started in the early 2000s: absolutely brutal breakdowns, gorgeous harmonic riffs, deep and grueling vocals. Constellations tells the story of being paranoid, fighting the struggles of aging, and within the music you’ll find the beauty that’s stuck in all of it. Metalcore’s a peculiar genre: most bands simply are corny, full of fandoms that can’t (lack the ability to) read the The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and have aged worse than week-old-Thanksgiving-leftovers. Constellations and ABR have not. This album is fantastic, and full of some absolutely timeless performances mixed among a few gorgeous ballads and one of the best songs metal songs ever.
55. Buena Vista Social Club – Buena Vista Social Club (1997)
Apple Music // Spotify // Genre: Cubano Bolero? I don’t know man.
This will transport you to Havana with the most incredible performances across the 16 musicians that were in the room. We are so extremely blessed this project made it international, and all of the mistakes and imperfections along the way have only enhanced every listen of it. I beg of you, please read the story of this record. Some critics call this the “Latin Dark Side of the Moon” – and man… I can’t explain how incredible this album is or how valid that comp is. Please, I beg of you, give this a chance even if you don’t speak Spanish.
54. The Wonder Years – The Greatest Generation (2013)
Apple Music // Spotify // Genre: pop punk
After a decade of stagnation, The Wonder Years were the first band to actually push the pop-punk genre forward. Following up on their absolutely fantastic 2011 record, Suburbia I’ve Given You All and Now I’m Nothing, The Wonder Years end their early trilogy with a benchmark pop punk benchmark. This is the culmination of 50 years of teenage anger and suburban rage, and a perfect evolution for a perfect band. The Wonder Years are a once in a generation band, and they’ll only get their flowers when it’s too late.
53. Lana Del Rey – Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd (2023)
Apple Music // Spotify // Genre: pop/singer-songwriter
While NFR gave Lana her flowers, Ocean Blvd certifies Lana as the greatest living American song-writer. Her influence is being seen now, and while all of her “peers” attempt to make disco-laden filler or delux-edition-remaster-leaked-acoustic-diary releases, Lana forces her idea of Americana into everyone’s subconscious. She also has never tried to be the “relatable” “down to earth” “pour you a beer” type celebrity this generation is so extremely saturated with – she has always tried to paint her picture of ideas and ideals as vividly as words can allow. This is truly the masterclass in songwriting, by an artist that has mastered their craft, and will go down as one of the best albums of all time. Lana – your vision of Americana is materialized in your music, and we are all grateful for it.
52. Black Country, New Road – Ants from Up There (2022)
Apple Music // Spotify // Genre: indie rock
The most recent edition in the line of indie/art masterpieces, Ants from Up There contextualized in Isaac Wood’s (lead singer) departure will bring immense sense of power to every delivery. You will be devastated, you will cry, you will feel like they are performing directly for you. This is as city-core as music can get, but the lyrics will sound as though they are being delivered DIRECTLY to you. Snow globes do in fact, not shake on their own, and the conclusion of the record will rip you to shreds.
51. Swans – To Be Kind (2014)
Apple Music // Spotify // Genre: post-rock
To Be Kind arrived just in time. Swans made a record that sounded as though rock music was crumbling in upon its own ego and self-destruction. The 2000s saw so much absolutely horrific rock music blasting over the airwaves that someone needed to do something. Swans proudly declares: rock is dead, we’ll describe in agonizing detail its doom, dig the grave, and put up the tombstone ourselves in this 2+ hour long triumph. Swans are a legendary band, and the fact they have a catalogue of classics is a testament to their ability to deliver such timeless masterpieces. To Be Kind just so happens to be *their* masterpiece.
50 – 49: Genre Progression & Perfection
50. Michael Jackson – Off the Wall (1979)
Apple Music // Spotify // Genre: disco
Disco’s masterpiece delivered by the future king of pop. It’s so unbelievable how fantastic this album is, and how much it will make you groove. While it might not have the stratospheric-shattering singles a few records in the 80s have, Off the Wall has some of Michael’s best performances and melodies and is his most concise record through and through. This is truly a perfect disco record.
49. Bruce Springsteen – Nebraska (1982)
Apple Music // Spotify // Genre: singer songwriter
Few people have made better songs and have a better prime catalogue than the boss. My pick is Nebraska, his tone-downed and striped version about America’s outcasts. The grandiosity of Born to Run and Born in the USA bookend his prime, yet this absolutely quintessential piece of music sounds better than almost every piece of hyper-produced music in this era. Addition by subtraction, get lost in every single minute detail that was picked up on his 8 track. You can literally hear the air in the room as he inhales on Atlantic City.
48. Lorde – Melodrama (2017)
Apple Music // Spotify // Genre: pop
Written by Artie Cruz (@artie_cruz): There are certainly no shortage iconic breakup albums out there, but with Melodrama, Lorde may have set a whole new standard. It’s almost the antithesis to her breakthrough debut Pure Heroine. Where that album was minimalist in sound and lyrically focused large scale culture and generational identity, Melodrama completely flips that on its head. The narrative is centered on a single person’s emotions navigating a breakup while at house party, and the music is a full-scale maximalist pop production, while not taking away from Lorde’s iconic powerful yet soothing vocals (especially on “Liability”). The electro-pop influence of co-writer Jack Antonoff can especially be recognized on the layered vocals of “Sober” and “Perfect Places” and the synth drums and piano of “Green Light”. EDITOR’s NOTE: Lorde was a half decade ahead of her “peers” and many of them still to this day live in the shadow of this record.
47. Modern Baseball – You’re Gonna Miss It All (2014)
Apple Music // Spotify // Genre: pop punk/emo
The greatest pop punk/emo album ever written. The album that embodies all that came before it, and is the quintessential embodiment of DIY ascetics, pop punk choruses, and extremely vibrant indie storytelling. This piece of music is that sticky basement floor, surrounded by people you barely know, screaming words to choruses you heard 40 seconds ago. If you haven’t heard this album by the time you turned 24, it’s too late (Going to Bed Now actually speaks to this). It’s exceptionally rare a band this talented not only forecasts it’s own demise as teenagers, but also calls it quits before the ride turns into a terrifying crash. I hope you enjoyed it already, if not you already missed it.
46. Metallica – Ride the Lightning (1984)
Apple Music // Spotify // Genre: thrash metal
Many Metallica records could have made this list, but my pick is easily the one that combines the most melodramatic acoustic power ballads with grueling thrash. Ride the Lightning is so unbelievably over the top, dramatic, and embellished that it genuinely is Metallica’s diva record. There are songs on here that Metallica will chase the joy of for the rest of their careers, and the full project is tighter than anything they will release for the rest of their lives. EDITOR’S NOTE: If you like this, I cannot recommend Megadeth’s Rust in Peace enough.
45. Charli XCX – How I’m Feeling Now (2020)
Apple Music // Spotify // Genre: pop
Charli XCX is pop’s modern savior. The lone artist left willing to push the boundaries with experimentation, and after half a decade of pushing the right buttons she locked in a masterpiece. How I’m Feeling Now is a roller coaster: it’s emotional, it’s sad, it’s dance-able. Delivered at the perfect moment (May, 2020), Charli brought us into her space and gave us a refined look of what she’s capable of. She’s brought pop into the modern era even if it comes kicking and screaming. EDITOR’S NOTE: BRAT is also a masterpiece and has insane legacy potential. I would like to stamp now, in July ’24 that Brat will go down as a top10 album of the decade.
44. Johnny Cash – Live @ Folsom Prison (1968)
Apple Music // Spotify // Genre: classic country
Country is a genre so extremely bastardized in the modern era it causes tons of casual listeners to write the whole genre off. Cash @ Folsom is a look into the yesteryear of what could be, what it once was, and what happens when you give a genuine superstar and master of their craft a unique stage to do what they want. Cash’s voice alone will evoke goosebumps. This performance is haunting as Cash genuinely singing songs to people he genuinely believes are his peers. If you can, invest the 2 hours into the Legacy edition as it’s nearly unedited.
43. MGMT – Oracular Spectacular (2007)
Apple Music // Spotify // Genre: indie pop
Written by Artie Cruz (@artie_cruz): The first full-length record from MGMT, Oracular Spectacular was the perfect album at the right time in the indie-pop scene. Dripping with heavy 80s synth-dance rhythms, while spouting lyrics that would make even the most whimsical NYU student roll their eyes (“Kids”), they somehow churn out some of the catchiest earworms of the decade. The album literally opens with insect and water noises transitioning into over-distorted synth on “Time to Pretend” and it works. “Electric Feel” is mostly in 6/4 and entirely sung in falsetto, and it might just be the indie-pop national anthem. EDITOR’S NOTE: The 2nd half of this album is so funny, because they literally decide to just sing about acid for 4 straight songs
42. Sophie – OIL OF EVERY PEARL’S UN-INSIDE (2017)
Apple Music // Spotify // genre: progressive pop
#SOPHIEFOREVER. The most progressive pop album of the 2010s, Sophie’s grabbed the pop genre and finally brought it into the 21st century. Pop has been kicking, screaming, fighting, and trying to keep up ever since. It’s no secret, nor a surprise everyone she worked with is flying to new heights – and her influence with the PC Music crew will be felt for decades.
41 – 31: Great Risks & Uncharted Adventures
41. Fiona Apple – The Idler Wheel is Wiser than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do (2012)
Apple Music // Spotify // genre: “art pop baroque pop art rock alternative”
Listen, you could put any Fiona Apple album here and I would agree with you. Few artists have had so much to say, say it so concisely, so pointedly, and continually met the moment. The Idler Wheel somehow makes you feel as though palpable rage and unrelenting romance can be survived. Her ability to continually steer the ship, and guide us through what is essentially a 45 minute explosion is incredible. Fiona Apple is on the Mt. Rushmore of American song-writers, and so many people aren’t ready for that conversation yet.
40. Converge – Jane Doe (2002)
Apple Music // Spotify // genre: hearing loss
The greatest metal album of a generation, Converge’s masterpiece. Jane Doe kicked the door open for what metal could be in a new millennium, full of technicality and some of the most insane vocals ever recorded. This album is a shotgun blast to the chest. The vocals are an express lane to macrodosing tinnitus. It’s a sprint, a record that will immediately put you into fight or fight, and once you finally get to rest you are treated to one of the greatest songs in the genre: Phoenix in Flight.
39. Pink Floyd – Dark Side of the Moon (1975)
Apple Music // Spotify // genre: progressive rock
T-shirt core at it’s finest with the most captivating atmosphere possible. Dark Side brings us to and from space, and delivers on two of the deepest facets of humanity: our obsession with time and money. This album is so incredibly layered, textured, and detailed that you will find new facets captivating on each and every listen. It’s also such a complete work of art that you will fall deeply, deeply in love with a different song on each following listen. This album starts the greatest 4 album run in history: Dark Side, Wish You Were Here, Animals, The Wall.
38. Kanye West – 808s & Heartbreak (2008)
Apple Music // Spotify // genre: hip hop
Kanye asks, “Do I still got time to grow?” – well, for a 29 year old Kanye West, the answer was an extremely resounding “Yes.” In a catalogue that started with nothing but influential records, it’s insane to think this one might have the largest lasting legacy & impact. 808s & Heartbreak was one of the most controversial records of the modern era, watching as the hottest up-and-comer abandon rapping & soul beats for autotune, sadness, singing, paranoia, and introducing a layer of glitchy beats. This album sounds as modern and new today as it did then, and brought and ushered a completely new era in the hip hop space. Deep levels of emotional vulnerability, embracing auto tune, pounding 808s, it starts here. EDITORS NOTE: It wouldn’t shock me if we never get “retrospective” reviews on this record due to Kanye being far too problematic, but this album deserves critics to look back on it. Additionally, Yeezus would be listed instead of 808s if Send It Up & Guilt Trip weren’t both very bad.
37. The Velvet Underground- White Light/White Heat (1968)
Apple Music // Spotify // genre: rock
The Velvet Underground fired Andy Warhol to write this album. They’re so locked in, focused, and ready to just toss aside any preconceived notions of what the elite will think. If you want to truly scare someone with your taste in music, pop on the 17 minute masterpiece “Sister Ray” – one of the coolest songs ever written. Someone says they “like anything!” when you ask about their music taste? Boom: The Gift, an 8 minute long spoken word poem/story/whatever narrated over the rest of the band going ballistic. It’s so fun, they start each side of the record off with a wonderfully catchy song that will hook you for hours. As you’re hooked, they twist it… further and further to see what you’re willing to accept as they push the boundaries of songwriting.
36. The Strokes – Is This It (2001)
Apple Music // Spotify // genre: indie rock
Let’s time travel to the Lower East Side in the turn of the millennium – a Manhattan long lost. This record forces skinny jeans, cigarettes, being too cool, and guitars to be cool again. One of the very rare true masterpieces of American rock music, the next decade will be flush will Strokes-wanna-bes that will end with differing rates of success. People always joke about the Strokes, but they became the blueprint for the wacky post-dance-punk bands that dominated the early 2000s (shout out The Bravery). It’s one of those pieces of music that you don’t find, it’ll find you. Many records encompass a specific time, for Is This It that specific time is your first listen.
35. Talk Talk – Spirit of Eden (1988)
Apple Music // Spotify // genre: jazz rock
Few bands ever get the option for full creative control on a major label, with no feedback from the suits. Talk Talk, after popular success with easy-pop music (#1, #2), was given a chance… and they took it and shattered the idea of how you could “sell” music. In many ways, this album is the reverse sell out. This is the sound of ego-death and will force you into the journey of music free from the confines of sales, music executives, consulting firms, and business degrees. You don’t need catchy choruses or earworm guitar riffs – you barely even need structure. This is a masterpiece. Not many bands get one chance with a blank check…
34. System of a Down – Toxicity (2001)
Apple Music // Spotify // genre: hard rock
15 songs in 45 minutes, I hope you’re ready. Hey kid, you know politics? Hope you don’t, cause you’re gonna be mad. This intensity and experimentation in rock songwriting was decades-long-gone when this came out, and metal/nu-metal simply couldn’t ever compete with what Serj & crew could do. Very few bands would ever be able to come close to conjuring a record like this, none-the-less pulling it off. The anger & rage of the late 90s/early 00s are so extremely palpable here that anyone would be willing to go to war to stop war. We are so, so, so extremely blessed to have experienced System of a Down.
33. Nirvana – Nevermind (1991)
Apple Music // Spotify // genre: grunge
Not many bands will ever cast a shadow as large and deep as Nirvana, and their debut forced Seattle grunge into a national spotlight they didn’t even want. Nevermind sounds pissed off, angry, and dismissive of all norms of what preceded it. I’m not going to bore you with a recycled thought about how cool this album or Nirvana is, just listen to the record til the end – cause if you haven’t made it to Endless, Nameless yet… you haven’t experienced Nevermind.
32. Fishmans – Long Season (1996)
Apple Music // Spotify // genre: Japanese rock
One of the coolest recorded albums ever, the modern opus of Japanese rock music… a single 35-minute song. Each note is so carefully and meticulously placed it only feels natural to hear the evolution of each melody. You will be held captive for the entire masterpiece, until Fishmans finally decide to let you go as you discover the true kaleidoscope of their ideas.
31. Joni Mitchell – Blue (1971)
Apple Music // Spotify Genre: singer songwriter
The essential singer/songwriter record. There are so few albums that busk in their own emotions as deeply and visible as this, and genuinely might be the album that will cut you with a knife and twist it further than anything else ever made. This is perfection incarnate.
30 – 21: Magnificence Incarnate.
30. A Tribe Called Quest – We Got It from Here… Thank You 4 Your Service (2016)
Apple Music // Spotify Genre: rap
The oldhead hip-hop record from the 2010s, A Tribe Called Quest delivered in a moment where everyone’s emotions flipped. ATCQ’s first record in 18 years and recorded on ancient equipment, this is a magic moment in history. The legendary group managed to bring together every single last ounce of magic and youth in each of the members’ bank, and delivered as fiercely and poetically as possible. ATCQ’s third classic, this is a career victory lap, a lifetime service award, and a crown jewel in hip hop. Phife Dawg forever.
29. MIA – Arular (2005)
Apple Music // Spotify Genre: experimental rap
MIA has always been 5 to 10 years ahead (and like… 40-50 years behind politically). Her debut record showed a shape of what’s to come, and the power of electronic and glitchy beats. Somehow, this came out halfway through the Bush admin and it genuinely sounds futuristic in 2024. If it came out in 2024 it would probably be hailed as a classic, suburbanites just simply weren’t ready for this in 2005.
28. Wu-Tang Clan – Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) (1993)
Apple Music // Spotify Genre: rap
I don’t even know where to start with this thing man. RZA’s production? Ghostface’s delivery? ODB? I genuinely do not know. Let’s discuss influence: if it wasn’t for this record hip hop might have been forever dominated by the synth-heavy G-funk style from the West Coast (shoutout Dre). If it wasn’t for this record, we might not have had a soul revival in the 2000s. If it wasn’t for this record, east coast hip hop wouldn’t have ever gone national. Wu-Tang lit the torch for everyone, kicked every door down in front of them, and gave the genre a launching pad into popular culture. It’s insane how much talent is jam packed into this album.
27. Radiohead – In Rainbows (2007)
Apple Music // Spotify Genre: indie rock
The album where Radiohead finally embraces a full cornucopia of melodies, realizing that you *can* actually make melodic music without being robotic. While Kid A and OK Computer are forever revered for their influence, the listenability of In Rainbows and Radiohead’s embrace of humanity should be a critical *and defining* point of their legacy. Spoiler: this is the only Radiohead album.
26. The Beatles – Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band (1967)
Apple Music // Spotify Genre: pop/rock
Released in 1967, this might be the most beautifully produced album of all time. The production standards on this record should impress anyone listening, as the meticulous levels of detail on each and every song can entertain for a lifetime. I cannot believe the band that wrote A Hard Day’s Night wrote this same album. Bands should do what they want more often, and they should be given limitless money bags and gold coins to do that. This is a testament for humanity’s ability to be creative, and to the limitless extent of imagination. EDITOR’s NOTE: I don’t like talking about individual songs too much, as it de-emphasizes the rest of the album, but I’d be foregone to not mention ‘A Day in the Life’ – what I believe to be the greatest song ever written. It concludes the album, and in many ways concludes all music before it.
25. Carly Rae Jepsen – E•MO•TION (2015)
Apple Music // Spotify Genre: pop
Bubblegum pop has never peaked higher. After being dismissed and trampled on by her label, Carly’s triumphant love letter to the 80s will stand the test of time on the Mt. Rushmore of pop albums. Few artists will ever have highs as high as this, and even fewer will spawn as many artists that have garnered *more* fame with the same sound. Separately, the B-sides of this record are equally as good, and seldom ever receive the light of day. Carly had her back against the wall, was given one last chance before her career would have essentially ended, and she delivered a timeless masterpiece that will be enjoyed for decades to come.
24. My Chemical Romance – The Black Parade (2006) *corrected*
Apple Music // Spotify // Genre: rock
Original write up: “My Chemical Romance SOLD OUT!!!” okay then why is this a rock opera? This is the anthem for the cast away, embracing some of the darkest themes in life. This album is dramatic, belongs in a high school theater class, is full of over the top carnival theatrics, and yet still should be placed in the same catalogue as “A Night at the Opera” and “The Wall.” MCR was and is one of the greatest bands of all time, and it’s a blessing to this list to have an album as grand as this on it. We may all go to hell, but if a parade this wonderful brings us there then maybe it’s worth the ride?
Corrected write up: Yeah besties I got this one wrong earlier. This is a top25 album. I mean no disrespect to The Beatles and Sgt. Pepper, but get it twisted this album has it all. On my most recent listen I remembered that it starts with one of the best 5 song runs, and the mid-section from Cancer to Teenagers is close to perfect. This is better than almost every concept record, and you’ll see the few that I think might be better (literally the next album). If I ever make a retrospective version of this list (it won’t be for at least 6 years), it wouldn’t shock me if my opinion has this in the top10/15. Gerard Way sounds possessed, the guitars are soaring higher than most classic rock bands could dream, and it’s tied together in the most dramatic fashion.
23. David Bowie – The Rise and Fall of Ziggie Stardust and the Spiders From Mars (1972)
Apple Music // Spotify Genre: glam rock
Thank you, David Bowie. Here’s the concept: an alien rock star from space comes to Earth, becomes a superstar, and then succumbs to their own ego and self destruction. Also, they’re androgynous, wear full drag, and rip on guitar. Simply one of the most important records ever, pushing the boundary of songwriting, theatrics, drama, gender, and everything in between.
22. The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Electic Ladyland (1968)
Apple Music // Spotify Genre: blues rock
A double album influenced deeply through blues, Hendrix & the crew endlessly blend psychedelia through an hours-long expansive journey. The performances are remarkable, every member remains locked in all the way through, and by the time you hear All Along the Watch Tower and Voodoo Child, you are caught into the theatrics of guitar solos and driving drums. Let the group bring you on a journey, it’s up to you to keep up.
21. Joy Division – Closer (1980)
Apple Music // Spotify Genre: goth rock, post-punk
The masterpiece of the 80s, Joy Division’s 2nd album is as haunting as it is magnificent. Few bands will ever refine their sound so perfectly with direction to paint such a vivid image with extremely abstract song styles. A terrifying recording, this album encapsulates all of the mental and physical pains Ian Curtis was experiencing. It will haunt you. Joy Division is and was a once-in-forever band, and this is their opus.
20 – 12: Perennial & Iconic
20. Beyonce – Lemonade (2016)
Apple Music // Spotify // Genre: pop, r&b
Beyonce has always been flush with talent, but her self-titled is where the talent became mythos. The album was a decade+ in the making, where she grabs the crown and puts it on herself by flipping every norm of an album rollout on it’s head. Lemonade is where she reminds us the crown is molded on and won’t ever fall off. This is Beyonce at her pop/r&b peak, and she clearly must have agreed as she’s ventured into many difference genres since. This album is a modern marvel, a genuine masterpiece, and deserves every single word and breath that’s been spent on it. It’s so insanely impressive to have a career like Beyonce, who simply pushed the barrier of how good she could perform for two straight decades.
19. Prince & the Revolution – Purple Rain (1984)
Apple Music // Spotify // Genre: rock, r&b
A genuinely near perfect record with some of the highest heights music will ever reach. I need to be clear, this record has 2 songs that would be in my top10 of all time, including the single greatest song in American music. Prince’s mythos and aura is so strong even to this day, this record cannot help but compel the deepest level of emotion of humanity. Purple Rain as a record beautifully makes heartbreak, lust, love, and everything in-between come together in a beautiful thunderstorm.
18. Lady Gaga – The Fame Monster (2010)
Apple Music // Spotify // Genre: pop
It’s insane to think that Gaga documented celebrity torment before she reached the international superstardom she was always destined for. Few artists will ever destroy every barrier in front of them like Gaga, and The Fame Monster is her catalyst where she fully embraces her talents. Pop music was *barely* ready for Gaga when she released The Fame, and by the time The Fame Monster released people were just warming up to the idea of her music. This album casts such a shadow over the 2010s pop music, the entire pop-EDM revival can almost entirely be attributed to Gaga’s influence and impact. Additionally, Bad Romance might be the greatest pop song of all time.
17. The Microphones – The Glow pt. 2 (2001)
You: YOU BETTER NOT BE PROGRESSIVE EXPERIMENTAL FOLK WHEN I GET THERE.
My goofy self:
Genre: pop experimental progressive folk indie shoegaze rock
*Clears throat* Ahem, yep. Big ‘ole YUUUUUUUUP. This bad boy? Yessir. That’s the one. Mhmmmm. Exactlyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy. Now let me tell you something, let me let me tell i said, i said let me tell you one thing. Are you ready? Dedicate an afternoon with good headphones and listen to this. I don’t know how they made these noises, nor how they work, or how they somehow blend every single noise-related genre into a folk record. This needs to be experienced once in your life.
16. Kendrick Lamar – good kid, m.A.A.d city (2012)
Apple Music // Spotify // Genre: rap
Written by Artie Cruz (@artie_cruz): In his second studio album, Kendrick Lamar wanted to tell us a story. Specifically: his story of growing up in Compton, and dealing with gang violence, substance abuse, economic strife, and how they affect his life and his friends and family. Between the many characters, split narrative personalities, and non-linear storytelling, there’s absolutely no way to unpack all of that without writing a peer reviewed essay, so I’ll just say here that this deserves be taught in literature classes (and it is!) – GKMC is the culmination and pinnacle of the prior 3 decades of west coast hip-hop, and that’s really the only way to put it.
15. Neutral Milk Hotel – In the Aeroplane Over the Sea (1998)
Apple Music // Spotify // Genre: indie rock
Very… very few projects will ever have the extremely vivid and visual lyricism and extremely blown out production sound and be as captivating as this. Simply put, one of the most important records in the history of music, and we are honored to start the timeline of the modern indie/hip resurgence here. This album is weird, catchy, atmospheric, and frenetic. The lyrics are… something. The delivery? Ridiculous. The production? So unbelievably compressed it sounds synthetic. Every single song has a moment or 3 that is so unbelievably memorable it’ll be stuck with you forever. I LOVE YOU JESUS CHRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
14. Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here (1975)
Apple Music // Spotify // Genre: progressive rock
The greatest progressive rock project ever. The intermission will bring you on a journey you have to be ready to take, and accept the emotions it will bring you. By the time David Gilmore & co. start singing again, be prepared to confront the ups, downs, and everything in-between on that journey. You might be able to relax, kick your feet up and smoke a cigar, but within moments you will be transported back into the beauty of the abyss.
13. Outkast – Speakerboxx (The Love Below) (2003)
Apple Music // Spotify // Genre: rap, r&b, pop
This might be the only double album I’ve ever heard that I wish was longer. The songs are extremely ambitious, endlessly creative, dripping in personality, and are so unbelievably catchy and timeless. While Stankonia may have broken the boundaries and the barriers that previously held the genre back, Speakerboxx/Love Below jettisons the sound into the mainstream that’s so progressive it took close to a decade for anyone to catch up. The psych-rap genre exploded in the mid-2010s, and Outkast’s influence on psych-rap, pop, and music in general should be celebrated daily. Yes, this record is close to 40 songs, but I promise you… you will find something that will change your idea of music and grooves on here.
12. Tom Waits – Rain Dogs (1985)
Apple Music // Spotify // Genre: yup
Tom Waits is one of the most interesting songwriters in American history. We so frequently emphasize sings with talented voices, expressive ranges, and people that can fly up and down the octave chart. Tom cannot. He really can’t. He has an extremely deep, gravely voice that would almost be characterized as a Disney Channel Original Movie animated villain in another life. It’s maybe the most unique one to grace charts like this – and he uses it to his upmost advantage.
Starting his career in folk, his career to make something like Rain Dogs was as twisted and abrasive as rope. While everyone was embellished in the rock styling and flying guitars of the British Invasion, Waits began singing about the underbelly of America: poverty, hard work, dirty & dingy night life, and crime. This obsession with the lowest rung of society is admirable, as his music sung lyrics about people as pretty and beautiful as his voice. That never stopped him.
If you’re a true cinephile, you might recognize this name from one of the great American directors: Francis Ford Coppola. Years before his creative explosion trilogy, Waits composed the soundtrack for One From the Heart – an absolute failure critically and commercially. The movie was the definition of a flop from the former Godfather director, and Waits’ name was attached to it. This was an extremely deep bump in the road for someone like Waits, who had been searching for a deep and true breakthrough into the critical field as a new resident of New York City.
His early career before One From the Heart saw him release 6 albums in 6 subsequent years. Putting the pen to the page, writing poetry in motion, attempting to find his niche in the world. These releases were weird and different, combining varying degrees of folk and jazz, dripped and drowned in super melodramatic lyrics. His obsession with trying to make these genres blend was highlighted in his 1975 album, Nighthawks at a Diner, where the entire ambiance and scene is attempting to replicate a dirty underground jazz club. It’s something to be commended as the album charted, and gave him the financial means to put together a touring band behind his 1976 release Small Change.
Immediately following these commercial successes, Waits dropped 3 albums that flopped as similarly as his cinema career. That deep and grungy voice, sounding much akin to the streets he recorded on, was no longer receiving acclaim. His albums were dismayed by critics, typically his strongest supporters. The combination of folk, jazz, spoken word, with elements of rock in his music might have reached the apex. We’ve seen so many careers like this: you get a few commercially successful albums that just can’t be followed up. Every subsequent release just seems further and further from the plot. Many artists never know when it’s time to quit – and it would have been more than fine for Tom to quit right here. So many singers and bands would rather put out the grosses, meanest, most disrespectful slop into the ecosystem than look in the mirror and understand that the ride is officially over.
Why not completely flip the plot on it’s head? Why not try to completely reinvent yourself? You already made the charts, you made some money, why not try something new? Take a risk once? In 1983 Waits tossed grabbed the usual suspects: his guitar and piano, with a few new tools to write his sensational record Swordfishtrombones. This record begins his very loose trilogy of youthful joy, discordant heartbreak, poetry, and attempting to tie a present in a bow for all American music together. He’s done singing about being drunk and in dingy clubs in a hyper specific street while he walks by Madison Avenue. The whole world of the dirty underside of society is now his oyster. Many of these tracks are spoken word or borderline lo-fi. Swordfishtrombones is essentially a 40 minute poetry slam by someone dripping in talent, and laid the groundwork for the style of storytelling Waits would soon be capable of.
This is where we come to Rain Dogs. Rain Dogs is, and will forever be, the pinnacle of old & classic American artistic poetry. This is a love letter to being a castaway, to the streets and influence of New Orleans, and to the musicianship long forgotten on the charts. Gone are the piano and guitar: welcome to the big band, gospel, polka, sea shanty, and to the carnival. This record is the feeling of walking into an invite-only restaurant in a dimly lit basement and being served your favorite dish by a butler that already knows your name. You never know what the next story can hold, but the it’s only 9pm and you’re ready to go out until the sun rises in the morning. It always does.
Many albums on this list are the pinnacle of a genre, or close the door on the music before them to usher in a new era. Rain Dogs closes the door on Tom Waits’ early career, and officially ends old Americana. If you’re here for low brow individuals and acoustic story telling, I am really sorry to tell you that Waits’ has officially moved into a new realm. It is as though all of the prior tales of the streets of the city were just the tip of the iceberg, and it’s officially time to spiral in the gutter and sewer until there’s no turning back. Turn the lights off, pour yourself that whiskey, smoke that cigar, light it with a strangers’ Zippo™.
This album sounds like you’re being offered a pack of cigarettes from the inside of a trench coat on the streets of Banjo-Kazooie and is narrated by someone who’s daily diet is 4 packs of American Spirits and 2 bottles of Bombay. It is not rare for people to have full blown spirals from Waits’ storytelling and his extremely specific style of songwriting. This is not meant for a broad appeal. He is writing specific lines and hyper-specific melodies to tear apart one individual in a thousand person crowd. If you’ve ever told a joke in a room to make one person there laugh, Waits’ is doing that with individual notes and individual words so one listen of a million will never recover.
The instrumentation is absurd. Some bass notes are so low they are indistinguishable from white noise. There’s full big band sections on here with trombones and tubas blaring. Waits’ voice. The guitar sounds like it was pulled directly out of Johnny Cash’s hands. Many piano notes sound like the piano player is absolutely hammered but determined to drive home. There’s percussion noises from instruments I can’t tell you their origin. A few tracks that are genuinely written in the style of Memphis Jug with jugs acting as the snare. It’s all produced and brought together in a way where you will feel like you are getting physically punched on your first listen.
Waits’ lyrics will provoke nightmares and tension headaches. Every one of these songs is a tale or story about some seedy character you’ve somehow met before: the drunk who stays too late, the usual suspects of the worst family members you have, the starving artist who’s art is actually terrible, and the self-depreciating standup comedian who’s addicted to misogyny with nothing behind their eyes. One of the most captivating features, is Tom Waits’ plays many of these characters throughout the record. He, himself, is acting as these cast of characters. He is addicted to the freedom of being without a place you would like to lay your head – and he will do every single thing to remind you that it’s actually hell. The way this cast of characters exist in Waits’ world will be repulsive to even the most common man, yet even for them the forever-long night will eventually end and they will wake up the next day.
Some songs don’t have choruses. Some do. Those with them will be jarring on the first listen. By the 3rd or 4th listen you will be screaming the words to them while Waits’ fights his own tears. This is the album is the culmination and finalization of American music long lost and forgotten – the ballroom bop, the classic pop, the lounge blues performer. This is the love letter to the neighborhood paved over to sell you truffle fries, the buildings torn down to build a 6th lane on the highway, the love letter to the dimly lit bar with a cosmopolitan served in a pint glass. Many days this will be way too much to listen to.
Vocally, this is one of the greatest performances in music. This is for the lonely husk of a person, for the individual that is as empty as their heart, for the empath that feels nothing for the destitute. This record is for the anyone cashing checks searching for love, for the Manhattanite that calls Brooklyn too far, for anyone watching as your family and loved ones age and become unfamiliar. Rain Dogs is for the heartbroken, the beaten, the downtrodden. Rain Dogs is for the lost, the seeing blind, the hearing deaf who refuse to listen, for those who have painted their heart and soul in black to cope with modern existence. Rain Dogs is for them, for everyone you pass on the street, and most importantly, it’s for you.
11 – 1: The End.
11. Lauryn Hill – The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998)
Apple Music // Spotify // Genre: rap, r&b, pop
Written by Artie Cruz (@artie_cruz): In her one and only studio album, Lauryn Hill does it ALL. It’s beautifully produced and it’s raw and gritty. It’s profound and it’s fun. It’s in your face and its reserved. This record runs the gauntlet everything you could possibly want to experience listening to R&B, and Lauryn Hill does it better than any of her contemporaries. To even call it just R&B is way too limiting. It’s got neo soul, old roots reggae, it’s even got a sample from The Doors. The best way to understand how diverse and impactful this album is to look at the list of artists it influenced (spoiler, a bunch of them are on this list). You may be thinking “I wish we got another album from her” and to that I say, “just shut up and listen to it again, dork”. I promise, you‘ll experience something new on every single listen. Like I said, she does it all.
10. Talk Talk – Laughing Stock (1991)
Apple Music // Spotify // Genre: post-rock
…yet Talk Talk got two. Launching off the loose and free nature of Spirit of Eden — Laughing Stock forces you into the mind of Mark Hollis, and the all encompassing atmosphere that it entails. If Spirit of Eden is what music sounds like without MBAs. Laughing Stock is what rock can be without producers, record labels, radio stations, payola, streaming, distribution, networking, fancy ties, oak desks, and everything in between. This record stands tall as a masterpiece of creativity, as it destroys the very notion of old-Hollywood and legacy media existing in the recording industry. It should not have been released to the general public. It was supposed to be thrown out or saved on some intern’s hard drive. Yet, here we are, blessed with one of the most incredible pieces of artwork ever made to conclude the evolution of one of the most interest bands in modern American music. There will never be another album that ever exists like this again from a band with a career trajectory remotely similar to this.
9. LCD Soundsystem – This is Happening (2010)
Apple Music // Spotify // Genre: indie rock
Written by Liam Thomas (@brainstaticmusic): This album blends all 2010s indie charm and 1980s nu-wave synth together to create an album that is timeless. LCD Soundsystem’s magnum opus, there is nothing on here that makes it easy to pinpoint the year it was recorded. Cool is officially dead, so cash those corporate checks and drink those trendy cocktails as gentrification kills fun. The intro track remains one of the greatest songs of all time, with its tongue & cheek lyrics, incredible crescendo, and groovy/emotional outro. The fun never stops, as every song after finds itself oddly familiar while also being unique enough to peak your interest. This album truly has a bit of everything: Catchy lyrics? Check. Fat synths? Check. Dancability and intensity? Check and check! It doesn’t matter who you are, anyone you meet and anyone in your life (from your classic-rock-only uncle to your youngest sibling) can consume and enjoy this record in any capacity.
8. Fleedwood Mac – Rumours (1977)
Apple Music // Spotify // Genre: pop/rock
The breakup record to end all breakup records. Rumours is what happens when you have an entire band hate each other, so much so that you get addicted to the heartbreak. The greatest pop record ever, where it only builds excitement as every song finishes.
7. Kanye West – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010)
Apple Music // Spotify // Genre: rap, r&b, pop
The stake that killed bling rap by being so over-eccentric and over the top, Kanye had no choice but to take TWO victory laps (Watch the Throne & Cruel Summer). There are numerous performances on here that are career bests for artists to this day, and beats and melodies that will never be replicated. Classics like Monster and Devil in a New Dress bring highs to even the mountains. In this marathon we truly learn that no… no we cannot get much higher as we learn that there are two eras of hip-hop: before and after MBDTF. Outside of a very select few, many have lived in the shadow of this blockbuster. To blend genres, to mend the themes, to psychoanalyze yourself this deeply, there is not and will never be another record like this.
6. The Notorious B.I.G – Ready to Die (1994)
Apple Music // Spotify // Genre: rap
A long, long time ago, there was this place called Brooklyn. Biggie is ready to make you live each and every crack in the sidewalk or pothole while he lived there. One of the densest, most intense, conceptual hip hop records that only builds on its lived experience as every single song passes. When Juicy finally hits 38 minutes deep, you feel like you finally made it with Biggie. Each and every repeated listen will have you fawning over something new: Biggie’s once-in-a-generation delivery, his storytelling, the *very* progressive production, clacking snares, and you might even laugh at some of the more humorous skits (and one absolutely ridiculous bar). It’s a shame Biggie never got a chance to live to his true potential, but hip hop will forever be in his debt.
5. The Beatles – Abbey Road (1969)
Apple Music // Spotify // Genre: rock, pop
The Beatles are a tricky group. They’re the most successful pop group of all time, that just so happened to create so many different genres of music and force sounds into the landscape. It’s impossible to write about their impact. Abbey Road, released in 1969, was their stamp as the gifted ones where they went back to their basics: four extremely talented songwriters going song-for-song, melody-for-melody until they’re out of ideas. Side A contains some timeless singles: Come Together, Octopus’ Garden, and She’s So Heavy (one of the greatest songs ever made) it might feel a marathon. Please, take 10 seconds and pretend to a flip a record. Then Side B is a full blown sprint with 7 songs under 2.5 minutes full of the most incredibly textured music you will ever hear. More words will be spent on the Beatles than any other group, but it will forever be incredible what was able to be written in such a short period of time. EDITOR’S NOTE: It’s absolutely ridiculous what classic rock enthusiasts and boomers have done to The Beatles’ legacy. It’s really up to true nerds and dorks to defend this band these days. I can’t recommend enough listening to A Hard Day’s Night, Help, Rubber Soul, and Revolver. In a sentence:
–Hard Day’s Night is pop meets rock
-Help! is Hard Day’s Night 2, but the band discovers cannabis
–Rubber Soul is where the cannabis turns into LSD
–Revolver is *insane*, where the entire band is like “hey you ever been to India? You can visit if you microdose acid in your tea every morning and play sitar and drone on this instrument I got in [REDACTED].
They wrote all 5 of those albums within 2 years, and the Beatles’ story of HDN -> Abbey Road is barely FIVE years.
4. Daft Punk – Alive (2007) (2007)
Apple Music // Spotify // Genre: rap, r&b, pop // BUY THIS ON CD
Written by Liam Thomas (@brainstaticmusic): Nothing should give all of us more fomo than realizing we will never experience a live performance by Daft Punk. Luckily for all the new fans of house music, we can come pretty close to imaging what it might be with Alive 2007. The duo’s incredibly seamless live mixing brings the listener on a journey through the most iconic songs in their catalogue. Each iteration of the songs are morphed and mixed from their original production to explode into a magnificent live performance. It’s not dramatic to say this album & tour simultaneously *created* EDM and killed it. No other production has ever compared, and even after watching thousands of hours of house/techno/edm shows throughout the world you realize every single DJ is still trying to replicate an ounce of what Daft Punk did here. It might seem straight forward to newer electronic fans, but please remember this was three years before EDC Orlando, four years before Swedish House Mafia headlined MSG, five years before Levels, and eleven years before Losing It, and sixteen years before Coachella booked another house headliner. It’s full of songs produced and made before most of us were logging memories, yet every house rat, bass head, techno snob, and EDM fan is in debt for what Daft Punk made. Pay your debts: chant to Crescendolls, bang your head to Too Long, throw your fist to Prime Time of Your Life, jump to Rock N’ Roll, and remember we’re actually Human After All.
3. Marvin Gaye – What’s Going On (1971)
Apple Music // Spotify // Genre: soul, pop
It’s really hard to write about: race riots, American racial terrorism, divorce, death, and the Vietnam War, but man Marvin Gaye really did – nothing shatters my heart more than Gaye’s life & not living to see the praise and impact he made on music.
2. Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp a Butterfly (2016)
Apple Music // Spotify // Genre: rap
This album is a benchmark in songwriting, encompassing all that came before it and casting a shadow of all after it. It’s so hard to believe that humanity is capable of art like this.
1. Stevie Wonder – Songs in the Key of Life (1976)
Apple Music // Spotify // Genre: soul, r&b, rock
The perfect album that all visionaries should chase. This record has some of the most unforgettable performances of all time on it, and will continue to be revered more and more to the point it will be the consensus “best album ever” one day. This is a love letter to music, what it is and what it can be. We should all be in awe we can decorate time as beautifully as this, as grand and wonderful as Stevie believes music can be. Each and every performance, each and every word, this is the pedestal of perfection. Stevie Wonder was 24 when this was released.
Note to the reader: thank you 🙂
Drew Lamp 100: Epilogue
Thank you all. Thanks to everyone that messaged me, liked any story, shared their thoughts, laughed at a joke, or sent their ideas over. It seriously means the world, and this was genuinely so extremely fun to write. Even more thanks to everyone that’s dedicated some time to listening to albums on here, and shared their experience with me. Special thanks to Artie & Liam, who both wrote some absolutely fantastic reviews. Shout out to Ben May who guessed 10/30 albums in the top 30.
Music is so extremely special. It’s how we use art to spend time. Music is supposed to be a direct way to communicate an experience and emotions in a way that is so raw you have to contort your voice or use new tools to explain it. I hope somewhere on this list there is an album or song that makes you feel that power and raw feeling. I hope you can find music that makes you feel emotion so raw your own lived experience can expand.
Some additional thoughts:
- People asked me all the time if it was harder to do the albums in the 1 to 20. It wasn’t. That territory it mostly reserved for stuff that has really stood the test of time, or albums that we know will. What was VERY hard was the 80 – 100 – there’s so many albums that are excellent and worth mentioning I could have probably easily done a top150 instead.
- The most LIKED album on Instagram was Big Thief’s Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You (17 likes). Had no idea ya’ll messed with Big Thief like that.
- The whole “2 albums per artist” rule was very directly imposed. A bunch of people who knew me well asked if it was self-imposed for Kanye, but it was actually imposed for Pink Floyd. Pink Floyd has 4 albums that can and easily should make lists like this. The Beatles also have 4 if you’re a White Album fan. If you’re a sicko: Danny Brown has 3, Swans has 3, Charli XCX has 3, Young Thug fans argue he’d have like 6, New Order is kinda Joy Division so they actually have 4, you can see how semantics can blow this up fast.
- A lot of you picked up on how I heavily emphasized different genres. I do wish I included something from the indie sleaze era (probably AM), LA punk (X’s Las Angeles), or another really excellent r&b or vocal record. I have no idea what I would have cut. There is no full album from the soundcloud-era of hip hop that I think will make it on these lists, and it’s a shame.
- Lil Peep and Juice Wrld have as many horrible songs as they do good ones, but I’m of a firm believer they would have released a classic by now.
- I will not be doing any other list anytime soon. I might do a revisit of this in like 5ish years.
- A few people asked what my top songs ever would look like. It’s genuinely impossible to try and even rank 100+ individual songs, but my top10 would be something like:
- Purple Rain, When Doves Cry, I Want You (She’s So Heavy), Ms. Jackson, m.A.A.d city, A Day in the Life, Runaway, Bad Romance, Age of Consent, Forever, Adam’s Song, The End of Heartache, Juicy
Some albums I recommend you listen to by artists that were on the list:
- David Bowie: Low
- Pink Floyd: Animals
- Pink Floyd: The Wall
- Any Beatles record between A Hard Day’s Night and Let it Be
- Kanye: Yeezus
- Kanye: The Life of Pablo
- Danny Brown: Atrocity Exhibition
- Outkast: Aquemini
- MF DOOM: mmmmfoood
- Fiona Apple: Fetch the Bolt Cutters
- System of a Down: Steal This Album!
- Rage Against the Machine: The Battle of Los Angeles
- Nirvana: In Utero
- A Tribe Called Quest: Midnight Marauders
- A Tribe Called Quest: The Low End Theory
- Radiohead: Kid A
- Carly Rae Jepsen – EMOTION B-Sides
- My Chemical Romance – Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge
- Lady Gaga – Dawn of Chromatica (I cannot believe she released this)
- Charli XCX – Charli
- Charli XCX – brat
- Bruce Springsteen – Born to Run
- Bruce Springsteen – The River
- Parkway Drive – Horizons
- Swans – Soundtracks fo rthe Blind
- Swans – The Seer
- The Wonder Years – The Hum Goes on Forever
- New Order – Power Corruption and Lies
- Deafheaven – New Bermuda
- Ween – Chocolate & Cheese
M&Ms: Music + Movies + Etc. 