| Doof's Top 100 Albums |
| 101 |  | Thomas Feiner & Anywhen
The Opiates Revised
The winner of the rec competition, The Opiates Revised joins the list at No 22 - congratulation to Clover. Also mention must go to the other suggestion that would have made the list: Twig's rec of Roxy Music, For Your Pleasure that would also make the top 50. |
| 100 |  | Fennesz
Endless Summer
Just making the cut at 100 is 'Endless Summer'. Layers of fuzzy distortion that relax me to the point of narcolepsy. Those buried melodies tho. |
| 99 |  | Lewis
L'Amour
The man, the myth, the accidentally genius synth-laden dream pop masterpiece?
FULL REVIEW: http://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/67780/Lewis-LAmour/ |
| 98 |  | Jane's Addiction
Ritual De Lo Habitual
Good ole' Perry Farrell and Dave Navarro. Flamboyance in rock - thankfully you can never have enough. Ridicule is nothing to be scared of and all that.
FULL REVIEW: http://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/69023/Janes-Addiction-Ritual-De-Lo-Habitual/ |
| 97 |  | The Knife
Silent Shout
Imagine forcing Bjork into a Darth Vader helmet and throwing her kicking and shrieking into one of those Tron arenas. Sounds amazing am I right. |
| 96 |  | DJ Shadow
Endtroducing...
The Hendrix of samples they said. Hyperbole hyperbole. For once warranted. |
| 95 |  | Boards of Canada
Geogaddi
Gurgle gurgle...[subliminal messages about bringing down the government]...gurgle gurgle "love the planet"...gurgle gurgle [kill the false ones]. That's what I'm getting how about you? |
| 94 | | Red House Painters
Red House Painters I
Kozelek the lovelorn pup. I'd like to be able to go back and tell that young man things would get easier as he got older and that his spirit would be filled with a newfound lightness as he matured...but I'd have been lying. Mark Kozelek: the many ages of despair. |
| 93 |  | Sigur Ros
( )
Now let me see [closes eyes]...I picture snow blowing across an Icelandic volcanic crater with pixies partaking in face painting and bum sex - usual drill. Rules. |
| 92 |  | Jeff Buckley
Grace
Dude warbled like a champ - pour yourself a drink, relax and listen to Cohen get served on 'Hallelujah'. |
| 91 |  | Nick Drake
Pink Moon
Man and guitar, allegedly recorded in one take with Nick playing while facing a blank wall. Issues. |
| 90 |  | Radiohead
Kid A
It's the year 2000, prepare to forget everything you thought you knew about Radiohead. There are ballsy artistic statements...and then there's 'Kid A'. |
| 89 |  | Massive Attack
Blue Lines
Ah, the consummate smoker's choice, the most blunted of the blunts...and yes, I find this an even more satisfying listen than 'Mezzanine'. |
| 88 |  | Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven
The first GSY!BE album I listened to and imo the least pretentiously annoying. |
| 87 |  | Tindersticks
Curtains
Three 'Sticks seems excessive and this is definitely the weakest of that opening trio of albums...'Another Night In', 'Let's Pretend', 'Ballad of Tindersticks', 'Bathtime'...no can't chop it sorry. |
| 86 |  | Julia Holter
Loud City Song
Take a tumble down the rabbit hole to a fantasy noir dreamworld. Not alone you doofus, with a babe. |
| 85 |  | David Bowie
Blackstar
Too soon. |
| 84 |  | Grizzly Bear
Shields
Prog and indie in 'not a detestable combination' shocker. |
| 83 |  | Gas
Pop
Gas canister pops...(track 1 starts playing)...feeling drowsy....(track 5 starts playing)...is someone watching me?...reveal yourself...(track 7 starts playing)...wtf is happening? |
| 82 |  | Mastodon
Blood Mountain
The hardcore influence is still evident and the drumming is from another planet. Not sure what happened after this one...maybe the drummer got a sick note from the doc saying 'slow those tempos, drop the manic jazzy fills, think of your blistered hands'. I hope they have an excuse anyway. |
| 81 |  | Animal Collective
Merriweather Post Pavilion
Mainstream breakthrough with zero compromise and no reduction in either personality or sense of adventure. Fair play to them. |
| 80 |  | Shearwater
Rook
Call it a Talk Talk rip off all you like but this is just masterful. 'I Was a Cloud', 'Snow Leopard' and 'The Hunter's Star' will have you running naked through babbling brooks with a dead salmon hanging from your chops before you know it. |
| 79 |  | Portishead
Third
"Portishead coming back after a near ten year hiatus? Sure they've mellowed, maybe we'll get 'Dummy 2". Cue intro to 'Machine Gun'. Ahhhh |
| 78 |  | Stone Temple Pilots
Purple
Grunge? Surely this is classic rock with psychedelic touches and a pop sensibility - what's more you'll be lucky to find a more consistent example of the style than this. |
| 77 | | Vic Chesnutt
Is the Actor Happy? [reissue]
This is the greatest album Michael Stipe featured on post Automatic - he takes production duties and puts in a vocal cameo on the closing 'Guilty By Association'. Chesnutt is the missing link between Stipe, Daniel Johnston and Mark Linkous and lives up to those comparisons to the point it seems almost unnecessary to even bother mentioning he was partially paralysed from the age of 18.
FULL REVIEW: http://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/70547/Vic-Chesnutt-Is-the-Actor-Happy/ |
| 76 |  | Portishead
Portishead
Gibbons gets in touch with her inner witch bitch and goes to work pissing on everyone's pancakes. For six months back in '97 I set 'Cowboys' as my morning wake up alarm...?!? |
| 75 |  | Bloc Party
Silent Alarm
Some bands just spunk out all their best swimmers on the first album. That's nature. |
| 74 |  | Bark Psychosis
Hex
Veeeery highbrow but leads the way in 'chin strokery with poncey vocals'. Competitive field. |
| 73 |  | Elliott Smith
XO
"Mr Smith please step inside this expensive recording studio and prepare to live out your every Beatles inspired fantasy." |
| 72 |  | R.E.M.
Murmur
One of the all time great debuts, R.E.M. laid waste to the indie scene of the 80's unleashing a hail of...pleasant jangly guitars and sweetly melodic vocal harmonies. Ooof. |
| 71 |  | The The
Soul Mining
Johnson's music still sounds like a bedsit bound venture at this point but you can hear he's building that confidence. Sounds almost like a proto-'Pretty Hate Machine', Reznor among others owes this one a nod of acknowledgement. |
| 70 |  | Girls
Father, Son, Holy Ghost
Retro derivative pap that revealed itself as the ultimate breakup album...timing is everything. |
| 69 |  | Boards of Canada
Music Has the Right to Children
I prefer the mixtape vibe of this one compared to 'Geogaddi' is my flawed reasoning for ranking this higher. So good I'm saying this album has the right to my first born. |
| 68 |  | Faith No More
Angel Dust
FNM were lovable mongrels, Patton a personality switching deviant, and this is their only album where they seem to be at ease with all that. Mischievous. |
| 67 |  | Pearl Jam
Vitalogy
Angry gnarled bitter rueful Vedder > |
| 66 |  | Unwound
Leaves Turn Inside You
I only say I like this one because I'm on Sputnik. Secretly I absolutely loathe it. |
| 65 |  | Gavin Clark
Beautiful Skeletons
Blokey bloke is good at songs. |
| 64 |  | Cass McCombs
Big Wheel & Others
I clearly have a blind spot for double albums.
FULL REVIEW: http://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/67600/Cass-McCombs-Big-Wheel--Others/ |
| 63 |  | Sun Kil Moon
April
So I guess 'April' is underrated then? No one really talks about it, which is strange because it finds Marky Mark at his most consistent and eager to please. 'Tonight in Bilbao', 'Heron Blue' and 'Blue Orchids' are among his best pre-Grouch material. |
| 62 |  | Everything Everything
Get To Heaven
'The end is nigh' lyrics: 2015 Edition. |
| 61 |  | TV on the Radio
Dear Science
Fusing the winning elements of Radiohead, Prince, Talking Heads and Bloc Party together and not have the mixture explode in your face is some science. |
| 60 |  | David Bowie
Station to Station
The Thin White Duke> Ziggy |
| 59 |  | Tom Waits
Rain Dogs
Waits sounds like a barkin' carny booze-stinkin' 'cross the street to avoid' oddbaw. I'm guessing it's deliberate. |
| 58 |  | Deerhunter
Halcyon Digest
Woozy, narcotic bliss state jams. |
| 57 |  | Sun Kil Moon
Ghosts of the Great Highway
Possibly Mark's most straightforwardly pretty set, songs like 'Carry Me Ohio' and 'Duk Koo Kim' just melt into your ears. Not in a cheesy way. |
| 56 |  | Tindersticks
Tindersticks II
Every song is about crumbling relationships and disappointing yourself. Not a single song resorts to whining or whinging. Crikey, I say!
FULL REVIEW: http://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/67890/Tindersticks-Tindersticks-II/ |
| 55 |  | Fleetwood Mac
Tusk
I realise I'm supposed to worship the one that features a foot stool on the cover but I can't help but prefer this double set named after the drummer's mighty old chap. Buckingham > the rest of the gang. |
| 54 |  | My Bloody Valentine
Loveless
>Insert industry approved 'Loveless' anecdote about thinking cassette was getting chewed up upon first discovery listen.
>Insert disappointment at now unavoidable association with Bill Murray's hangdog mug. |
| 53 |  | Pavement
Slanted and Enchanted
The greatest of all the scuzzy lo fi albums that sound a little like ass. |
| 52 |  | Slint
Spiderland
Hypnotic creepy misfit music - allegedly they considered the title 'Music to Stalk Girls By' but settled on 'Spideyland' cos spiders. |
| 51 |  | Elliott Smith
Either/Or
That delicate but barbed voice matched with songwriting that barely dips. 'Angeles', 'Between the Bars', 'Say Yes', 'Ballad of Big Nothing'...you could argue that those are his four greatest songs and they're all packaged together here. |
| 50 |  | Modest Mouse
The Lonesome Crowded West
Six plus minute long songs about doomed white trash chokin' in the dust bowl and howlin' at the Lord. |
| 49 |  | Sun Kil Moon
Benji
So 'Benji' wins the Kozelek mini league. Controversial in so far as a lot of people don't like the stream of consciousness/dear diary approach Mark has got going right now. I get that, but then I listen to 'Micheline' or 'Jim Wise' and that argument curls up, releases its guts, and dies. |
| 48 |  | Talking Heads
Fear of Music
Highbrow arty bs like this shouldn't be nearly as much fun. 'Animals...they don't...even know...what a joke is...!!' |
| 47 |  | Pixies
Doolittle
'Doolittle' is just wall to wall classic tunes with a welcome dash of subversiveness thrown in the mix. |
| 46 |  | Destroyer
Streethawk: A Seduction
Bejar throws his best 'early era Bowie' shapes on this one. There's only one Ziggy son. |
| 45 |  | Wu-Tang Clan
Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)
Tag teamin' cut n' thrust, there's no let up at any point from this ripper. |
| 44 |  | Nine Inch Nails
The Downward Spiral
Sometimes an artist just blows that progression curve for the remainder of their career. After this meisterwerk what exactly was the point of any subsequent NIN album? A 'Ruiner' indeed. |
| 43 |  | Sparklehorse
It's a Wonderful Life
The earlier albums were more experimental and varied but sometimes prettiness is all. |
| 42 |  | Led Zeppelin
Physical Graffiti
People say 'only eight of the songs here are originals the rest were offcuts from their other albums etc'. Well the eight original tunes on their own would still have made for my favourite Zep player and if these are offcuts then they're scraps from god's own kitchen table. |
| 41 |  | Manic Street Preachers
The Holy Bible
Richey was a sick puppy and this is the sound of a man losing grasp of all reality...before starting a new life as a B n' B owner in the Costa del Sol. Now he can just sit back with a glass of something cheeky and laugh as a sagging Bradfield still attempts to wrestle with his lyrics while touring the summer festival set. |
| 40 |  | Eels
Electro-Shock Blues
The most left field follow up to a successful debut of all time? Sadder than the opening section of Up, the closing Six Feet Under montage and the scene where Bambi's mother gets shot combined. |
| 38 |  | Tricky
Maxinquaye
Gotta love an underdog. Having this ranked above any Massive Attack albums might raise an eyebrow but this one keeps growing on me more and more over the years. |
| 37 |  | Run the Jewels
Run the Jewels 2
Shame on me putting this on here as the highest placed hip hop album. I find it irresistible, apologies. |
| 36 |  | Sufjan Stevens
Carrie and Lowell
The album I always hoped Stevens would produce. Genuine, focused, inspired - here have a gold star. Now go back to writing about robots and serial killers if you insist. |
| 35 |  | Bon Iver
Bon Iver, Bon Iver
Some prefer the heart on sleeve authenticity of the debut and i get that, this one's just my boy. 'Holocene', 'Towers', 'Calgary'...come on now. |
| 34 |  | Destroyer
Poison Season
As close to a perfect follow up to 'Kaputt' as I dared hope, Bejar has won me over, he could read the script to Malcolm in the Middle episodes over keyboard demo presets at this point and I'd lap it up.
FULL REVIEW: http://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/68394/Destroyer-Poison-Season/ |
| 33 |  | Megadeth
Rust in Peace
Dave is the ultimate metal fan. Manic, defensive, unreasonable, totally uncool and cluelessly evangelical. Perfect. |
| 32 |  | Bonnie 'Prince' Billy
I See a Darkness
I probably have more songs by Will Oldham stored in my mind palace than any other artist's. 'I See a Darkness' gets the penthouse. |
| 31 |  | Metallica
Master of Puppets
I listened to this album more than any other in my early school days simply because it was the one album every c"nt could agree on. Even wore out my cassette from forwarding the ending of 'The Thing that Should Not Be' once too often. Legendary. |
| 30 |  | Radiohead
In Rainbows
The mask of genius slipped on 'Amnesiac' and 'Hail to the Thief' and I'd given up on Radiohead ever releasing anything as good as their classic trilogy...then this comes along. Faith restored. |
| 29 |  | Sigur Ros
Takk...
This is the most pop moment from the gibberish spouting Icelandics, it's like they channelled the best parts of Muse and Coldplay here but ditched all the guff....and that's a lot of guff. Hats off. |
| 28 |  | Animal Collective
Strawberry Jam
Their strangest album and so through applying AnCo logic it becomes their best. Childhood nostalgia gone askew. |
| 27 |  | Pavement
Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain
You say 'indie' and the first thing I picture is this album sleeve. So many genre standards - 'Gold Sounds', 'Range Life', 'Cut Your Hair', 'Stop Breathin'...they're all here. |
| 26 |  | Oneohtrix Point Never
Garden of Delete
Yes this is my favourite 'electronic album'. It's a total misfit and doesn't feel like it belongs to EDM, industrial or any other tag. The 'tracks' here feel more like conventional 'songs', the clincher being that they're also 'genius songs'. Clearly informed by 'The Downward Spiral' this actually tops Trent on my list. |
| 25 |  | Nirvana
Nevermind
At the time this hit me like nothing before and I wasn't alone. Beatlemania for the 90's. For two years this band ruled the planet and pretty much ruled my life too. |
| 24 |  | Therapy?
Troublegum
Fourteen songs, all quality, this album just powers.
FULL REVIEW: http://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/67472/Therapy-Troublegum/ |
| 23 |  | Radiohead
The Bends
'Street Spirit' is the song to have a greater influence over the direction my music taste took than any other. Album sees Yorke's best vocal performance and Jonny's guitar playing is smoking throughout. |
| 22 |  | Modest Mouse
The Moon & Antarctica
The most stylistically varied MM release, it also contains Brock's most conceptually satisfying lunatic lyrics and the scope of the album just feels huge. |
| 21 |  | Songs: Ohia
Magnolia Electric Co
Molina has one of the great folk voices and the fuller sound on this album works wonders. The first three songs will grab you by the throat. |
| 20 |  | The Flaming Lips
The Soft Bulletin
The album's lyrics hint these songs could hold the answers to life, the universe and everything. Music is so good I'm inclined to believe it. |
| 19 |  | Nick Drake
Five Leaves Left
Eight of these songs are solid gold classics, and that's an even better hit rate than 'Pink Moon'. |
| 18 |  | R.E.M.
Automatic for the People
This album really stands apart in the R.E.M discog, they have other great albums but this thing just oozes class from every pore. The worst song is probably 'Man on the Moon'. Not bad. |
| 17 |  | Nirvana
In Utero
Cobain tries to make an antisocial, anti pop statement in response to 'Nevermind's success and ends up writing an even greater set of songs. Production and vocal delivery are poisonous and all the better for it. |
| 16 |  | David Bowie
Low
Side A is the perfect representation of Bowie the art rocker and Side B plays up to his otherworldly sci fi shtick, all of it equally essential. |
| 14 |  | Tindersticks
Tindersticks
Sprawling and chaotic, this is the ultimate scrappily perfect debut and features a ridiculous amount of classic songs. |
| 13 |  | Pink Floyd
Animals
Controversy, my top ranking Floyd is 'Animals' - it's less heavy on the bluesy noodly licks and the theme/imagery really appeal to me is my thinking. Yeah I admit to seeing all my fellow Sputulace as either dogs, pigs or fuckin' cattle. |
| 12 |  | Robert Wyatt
Rock Bottom
'Not nit.
Not nit.
No, not nit. Nit.
Folly bololey' Best lyrics of all time? |
| 11 |  | The National
High Violet
Only The National could have a third best album this good. 'Sorrow' and 'Vanderlyle' make a strong claim to go down as their most definitive tunes so far. |
| 10 |  | Mercury Rev
Deserter's Songs
As much as I love the Rev in all their manifold guises just where the hell did this one come from? Do you just wake up one day with eight or so perfect, and I mean really perfect, symphonic pop songs? Apparently you might just do. |
| 9 |  | Talk Talk
Laughing Stock
Minimal moods, like floating on a river, ripple ripple blub, then woah maximal overload and you're bumping on the bottom of the river bed. |
| 8 |  | Lambchop
Is a woman
An album that slowly wears down all resistance until you fully give in to it's snail pace and bizarro worldview.
FULL REVIEW: http://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/69590/Lambchop-Is-a-woman/ |
| 7 |  | Talking Heads
Remain in Light
The first four songs are impeccable, perfectly balanced between catchy and experimental, they flow like nothing else. The second side is quirkier but Byrne still brings it home on tracks like 'Seen And Not Seen' and 'Listening Wind'. |
| 6 |  | The National
Boxer
More National I know. This is the one that turned them from a band I quite liked but found a little clunky on 'Alligator' to a sleek, nonstop hit making machine I just couldn't get enough of. |
| 5 |  | Sunhouse
Crazy on the Weekend
The greatest Sput discovery of the year, I feel like I've been searching for this album since the 90's, Gavin Clark is a true songwriting great with the most engagingly intimate voice of them all.
FULL REVIEW: http://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/69446/Sunhouse-Crazy-on-the-Weekend/ |
| 4 |  | The National
Trouble Will Find Me
The National were the band to reassure me that truly great album acts weren't a thing of the past. This album sounds like the culmination of everything they'd done up to this point...at least to me. I know this isn't their most popular album but its the longest, the most archetypal, and my favourite. |
| 3 |  | Radiohead
OK Computer
The album to kickstart a new age of music obsessiveness, hell without this album there might not have been enough music nerds to start a website like Sput to begin with. The impact of this album is hard to express, suddenly the 90's had an album to rival anything by Elvis, The Beatles, Pink Floyd or Michael Jackson and THAT was entirely unexpected. Especially from good old shy and retiring polite lads Radiohead. Album is a beast. |
| 2 |  | Destroyer
Kaputt
What album has the audacity to push the mighty 'Ok Computer' to third place...believe it or not it's the humble 'Kaputt'. The album possesses an atmosphere all of its own, one so gloriously unified and seductive you can fall into the trap of just listening to it for days on end. Fun fact: it took me three months to even begin to enjoy this album. Make of that what you will. |
| 1 |  | The The
Infected
Top of the pile, the first album to put those hooks in and tell me that music was going to be a major part of my life. For a while I only owned the album on cassette and after I upgraded to CD's I forgot about it through most of my teenage years...when I rediscovered it aged 19 it went straight back to being my favourite album where it stays to this day...
FULL REVIEW: http://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/67453/The-The-Infected/ |
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