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| 56 Classic LP's Out Of 2821 Rated
I rated my entire music collection (except 7" singles), both on vinyl and digital, and after all was said and done, out of my nearly 3,000 LP's, there were only 56 'classic' rated LP's. Here are those incredible 56 LP's and my long-winded personal reflections on them. Have fun! | | 1 |  | Angelo Badalamenti
Twin Peaks
It's fitting that the best show of all time has the best soundtrack of all time. Not only does Angelo Badalementi create a dark and memorable musical atmosphere wrapped in eerie layers of tragic, gauzy, waltzy loss, but, he also manages to create songs that are sultry, aggressive, kitschy and high-brow all at the same time. And, like the show, there is an unpredictable depth to even the most restrained aspects of the songs. Understated key changes subtly drift in and out, and ominous synth drones slyly alter the landscape with their unsettled, hovering tones. These chimerical movements often occur without the listener even being cognizant of the snaking, unstable backdrops slyly shifting, letting the LP unravel in an unconscious, organic way. Whether you have this LP with a, "damn good cup of coffee," and a slice of pie from the RR Diner, or a late-night whiskey on your couch, this is an ageless masterpiece that never grows old! | | 2 |  | Arab Strap
The Red Thread
Arab Strap made a career out of interpreting life's melancholy misfortunes into uncomfortably honest confessionals, and, "The Red Thread," is the ultimate statement by the band. Aidan Moffet's brilliant Bukowski-esque self-loathing is always tinged by a sense of smug resignation. On the, "Red Thread," he readily concedes to indiscretions and anxieties most of us would be ashamed to be so proud of. On the highly recommended proceeding 2 Arab Strap LP's, "Philophobia," and, "Elephant Shoe," Moffet's lyrics disclose a fleeting, yet conscience dishonor while reflecting on his bar-light betrayals, infamously impressive drinking, and the base nastiness of his Hobbesian existence. But on, "The Red Thread," there rises up a sense of existentially stoic pride in Moffet?s sordid tales. It's not arrogance per se, but a sense of acceptance of one's base instincts, admitting that one is not necessarily, "good," and then brashly displaying it for all to see. This is all set to the spidery, Slint-influenced guitar genius of Malcolm Middleton and the glitchy, cheap-as-shit dance beats that work so well in this band's dark cauldron of endless alcohol, desperate beauty, deceit, and fuck-everyone mentality. | | 3 |  | Archers Of Loaf
Icky Mettle
An album that starts with what may be THE ultimate indie rock anthem, "Web In Front," is almost doomed to fail after such a tremendous opening, but, "Icky Mettle," never falters, and in the course of this LP's 13 songs the band would define the indie rock genre for the next 25 years to follow. As the band progressed, the songwriting became less linear, and developed into a more arcane version of the indie rock beast they were on this LP. Not to say that other LP's are not brilliant LP's, but the band would never recreate the jump-around-my-room-with-headphone on pop genius of songs like "Backwash," or the quirky catchiness of, "Wrong," or the cleansing break in the spectacular, "You And Me." There is a focused abandonment to the LP as the band lets themselves unwind in energetic indie-noise, while still retaining the verse / chorus / verse familiarity of classic indie music. By utilizing catchy, boisterous guitar interplay, biting lyrical motifs, loud / quiet dynamics, and top-notch songwriting, "Icky Mettle," has not only stood the test of time, it's continuing to re-define the future. | | 4 |  | Bad Religion
Suffer
Punk rock in 1988 was in an unusual place with geographically splintered scenes and conflictive politics (a microcosm of that macrocosm was the rather large divide between the west coast, San Francisco based, Maximum Rock n' Roll set, and the East Coast, DC based, Dischord set). The original greats were gone, and in the pre-ironic days of 1988 there was no savior on the horizon, until Los Angeles's Bad Religion returned from a minor hiatus and dropped, "Suffer," onto the world, literally restating the punk rock credo of "loud, fast rules," in 26 minutes of melodic yet unrelenting punk rock ferocity. Bad Religion employs an incendiary arsenal of catchy hooks, thoughtful political lyrics, and surprisingly complex harmonies to not only restate the punk rock credo, but it on this take-no-prisoners blitz of an LP to make it, "loud, fast, smart rules"! This is an unyielding assault of spitfire punk rock anthems that never lets up throughout the LP?s blazing attack, and the best LP of what was to be the first of 3 back to back to back brilliant Bad Religion LP's (with, "No Control," not making this list by a hair)! | | 5 | | Belle and Sebastian
If You're Feeling Sinister
The real genius of this stunning sophomore LP from B&S is that; underneath the ostensibly wistful songwriting, hovering surreptitiously under the surface of the gentle Smiths-by-way-of-The-Go-Betweens guitar jangles, beneath the coy Henry James-reading, bicycle-riding, love-lost surface of the LP's magnificent brook and babble, are self-deprecating and sometimes snarky-yet-playful life observations wrapped in depth and beauty of language hardly ever seen. All put together, it makes this LP a triumph on so many levels that its justifiably revered stature has rarely been reached since! The band seldom recaptured the heights and precocious charm displayed on these delicately devious pop songs, and never captured them on a whole LP again (worth noting that, "This Is A Modern Rock Song," is their best song, and a classic in its own right), but, for this brief instant they were everything indie-pop music had promised to be, but had never managed to attain. | | 6 |  | Black Flag
The First Four Years
Though, "Damage," will undoubtedly reign for the masses as the ultimate Black Flag LP (and, it is a deservedly lauded LP!), for me it is this concentrated maelstrom of early Black Flag tracks that not only captures the band at its tempestuous best, but, is really the greatest snapshot of 2nd wave punk rock ever recorded. Collecting 4 EP's and 2 compilation tracks, this 1984 release is the the most volatile collection of L.A. punk rock ever released. Showcasing a few different line-ups, this 30 minute compilation became the prototype for 30 years of punk rock to follow. But none would ever match the ferocity, the sincerity, or the end-of-the-line desperation demonstrated on tracks like the white-knuckle, "Nervous Breakdown," or the defensive, alarming anger of, "Revenge." The Rollins years were great, and I even like some of Greg Ginn's mid 80's sludgy dirges, but the early unrestrained, violent, erratic Black Flag is the one I have always identified best with! | | 7 | | Bonnie 'Prince' Billy
I See a Darkness
Will Oldham has worn so many masks over the years, under such a myriad of monikers, that it can be daunting, if not impossible, to sift through his massive body of work. Within that lengthy anthology, it is the windswept, antiquated folk of, "I See A Darkness," that stands out from his collected recordings. It is an LP that is a never-ending source of private joy in its deep, dark melancholy. Minimal songwriting is sustained by 19th century gothic Americana, dust-bowl-folk-ballads, narcotic piano stumbles, whispered transgressions and rueful longings. The LP is strangely alluring and heartfelt while being so sparse and dark, and is tailor-made for low-lights and whiskey-induced-reflections. And, at the risk of sounding like "that guy," this is really an LP that sounds so much better on vinyl. The unintended atmosphere vinyl adds is welcome anytime, but here it assists Oldham in shaping a world insensitive to era or time, a bizarre, sepia-colored world somewhere between Faulkner's decaying south and Oldham's decaying south. Along with the collection, "Lost Songs and Other Blues," this is must-have Will Oldham material. | | 8 |  | Boys Life
Boys Life
This is one of those LP's that for me changed everything, and is still changing things. Part of the first-wave of mid 90's Midwest emo (they were on Crank! Records) Boy's Life were not trafficking in the beauty of Christie Front Drive, or the sad, cathartic guitar eruptions of Mineral, but instead looked to the aesthetic zeal of Drive Like Jehu's unique time signatures and creative tuning to create an LP far more harrowing than any of their emo colleagues other than Indian Summer. The musicianship here is unmatched by their contemporaries, with stop-on-a-dime time changes, unorthodox, sometimes inharmonious melodies. In many ways this LP is not only the greatest emo record ever made, it's also one of the greatest math-rock records ever made! The LP is an unnerving exploration into terse guitar interplay and anxious loud / quiet dynamics that certainly fits the template of the mid 90's emo genre, but thoughtfully bends it into a noisy, crashing, manic-depressive masterwork! This is not a, "I-have-a-crush-on-a-girl-emo," this is, "the-girl-is-gone-I'm-drinking-alone-for-two," emo, which resonates for me with a deeper sincerity than the overtly heart-on-sleeve variety employed by many bands during the mid 90?s emo epidemic. The follow up LP, "Departures and Landfalls," is also highly recommended, (as is Brandon Butler's post Boy's Life band, the unappreciated emo band, The Farewell Bend, and even more recommended is Brandon Butler's post, The Farewell Bend band, Canyon, who's 2nd LP, "Empty Rooms," is a; what-the-fuck!-left field-shoegaze-meets-Syd-Barret-meets-Midwest-Americana-masterpiece). | | 9 |  | Built To Spill
Perfect From Now On
BTS could have stopped playing music after the timelessly endearing indie pop genius of, "There Is Nothing Wrong With Love," and would have gone down in history as one of the greatest indie rock bands of all-time. But, instead of that, Doug Martsch and crew re-invented themselves on this their major label debut by replacing the open-book vignettes of previous works, with sprawling, guitar-god influenced indie rock epics that upped the ante on every level, not only for the band, but for all guitar-driven indie rock music. The band moves from 3 minute pop anthems to ambitious, lush 8 minute indie rock sagas. The Multi-textured song arrangements have and an almost orchestral feel to the LP that give it a grandiose feeling that is smartly matched by the LP?s long build-ups, deft production and crashing walls of welcome catharsis. Equally refreshing was the switch to much more introspective, and sometimes bitter lyrical motifs, in contrast to the charming, but slightly cloying lyrics of the previous LP. BTS have release 4 great LP's since this 1997 LP. They continue to grow their sound into a larger, more all-encompassing library of work, but it is the experimental, pop-tinted, guitar epics of, "Perfect From Now On" that is the band's finest moment. | | 10 |  | Burzum
Filosofem
Personal opinions of Varg aside, the first 3 Burzum LP's are all essential black metal LP's and tremendous works of fiendish genius, but, it is the fourth LP, "Filosofem," that finds Varg finding the perfect balance of the earlier, more raw work, and the ethereal atmospherics of his under-appreciated later work. This LP is a seamless tapestry of drone, minimalism, lo-fi black metal and sepulchral vocal laments all woven into a cohesive sounding LP that is oddly both extremely alienating whilst simultaneously reassuring and almost inviting...in some kind of deranged, misanthropic way. The 12th-rate production is the ideal way to capture the dead-world decay of the songs seemingly simple structures, adding layers of exposed and grim instrumentation to the LP's treeless landscape. A primal hum runs throughout the LP, reinforcing the cold guitar buzz and the nightmarish quality of the keyboards. Every component of this LP works to create as a whole, one of the (if not THE) greatest albums of hopeless darkness, depression and black atmosphere ever recorded! | | 11 |  | Codeine
The White Birch
Along with Low, The Red House Painters and Idaho, Codeine invented an entire subgenre of music uninspiringly called slowcore. And, along with their contemporaries, Codeine certainly plied a brand of indie rock that was lonely, molasses-slow, wintry, depressive and uniquely pretty, but, unlike those contemporaries, Codeine was a much heavier beast. Foregoing much of the beauty and atmosphere of Low and Idaho respectively, for more of a down-tuned sludge, that, at times could be a Melvin's record on 8 RPM's, and borrows as much from Flipper as it does from the eclectic 1994 indie rock world it inhabited. Most folks choose the slightly more, "accessible," 1st Codeine LP, "Frigid Stars," over this one, but, "The White Birch," is a stunning, crushing, defeating LP that meshes an atonal guitar crunch, empty space that hangs heavy as lead, and a feeling of almost stoic resignation in the face of life's sometimes overwhelming sadness that all culminates in an LP that is somewhat humorously, a tour-de-force of ennui. | | 12 |  | Coldworld
Melancholie
A newer release on this list, and one of the only contemporary black metal LP's to earn and retain its 5 rating. To be classic, there needs to be some time to put things into proper context, and this 2008 release, in hindsight of the Deafheaven / post-shoegaze black metal scene, was a harbinger of all that was to come. While the aforementioned contemporary scene is a white-washed pastiche of various genres (almost haphazardly stapled together sometimes), "Melancholia," brilliantly utilizes ethereal atmospherics and brooding post-Xasthur synth to flesh out a more narrative, identifiable form of black metal. The post-rock influence and post-gaze aesthetics are there, but so is an effortlessly encompassing diversity of genres, including black metal touchstones like Burzum. The lo-fi production contributes to the snow-clad environment of the LP's dismal, barren vision. If ever there was a black metal record that unpretentiously and truthfully weeps the feeling of funereal melancholy, this LP wears that mourning veil of loneliness and loss with an unholy and forebodingly spectacular beauty. | | 13 |  | Darkthrone
Transilvanian Hunger
One could really choose any of the first 3 Darkthrone LP's (post, "Soulside Journey") as classic and receive no argument from me. But, "Transylvanian Hunger" is the band?s best work, and as a template for the last quarter century of extreme music, it's amazing how no other band since has ever managed to re-create an album that, on the surface, is fairly straight-forward and relatively primal and rudimentary. But, closer inspection shows an extremely layered and harrowing LP that manages to somehow embody the very heart of the black metal aesthetic. The production is like someone pressed record on an old hand-held Fisher-Price tape recorder and then buried it in the mud to record the band in the next room. This wonderfully distressing LP is a claustrophobic shipwreck of jagged, buzzing guitars, dark primordial drumming, and marked by a hammering, hypnotic use of creaking, clanging song structures along with ghastly, spectral, screaming. Amazing! | | 14 |  | Earth
Hex: Or Printing In The Infernal Method
Earth can be rightfully credited with spawning a whole genre of amplifier worshiping drone bands (none more influential than the outstanding Sunn and their abundant contemporaries). This is largely due to the first 3 Earth LP's, where low-end drones ruled the roost and there was enough time to make eggs-and-toast in-between chord changes. But it is the band's 2005 LP, "Hex: Printing in the Infernal Method," that cemented them as not only as the preeminent masters of drone, but downright altered the perception of what "heavy," was, and is. The ambitious LP is an amalgamation of a reverberating Spaghetti western dooooooom drone and spacious acoustic passages. Earth takes their previous capacity for drawn-out single notes and incorporates these almost pretty apocalyptic desert drones into their songwriting, opening the sound into formerly unexplored voids. If prior records personified a more monomaniacal desire to suffocate the listener in almost motionless drone, this LP expresses a sense of open-air surrender as it yields to a vastly larger expanse of sounds, that is maybe the best headphone LP ever made! | | 15 |  | Elliott Smith
Either/Or
The tortured singer / songwriter is a musical stock character in a larger-than-life film that can be traced from Mozart, to Robert Johnson, to Patsy Cline, and one that can unwittingly becomes the spokesman for every broken-hearted, hard-living 25 year. Elliott Smith's incredible career can be seen as the script to that film, both personally and musically. Though there isn't a dud in his thrilling body of work, this LP is almost flawless from start to finish. Either / Or straddles the line between the home-recordings of his earlier work, and the baroque studio work of his later output. Songs like, "Rose Parade," and, "Between The Bars," show why he is rightfully considered one of the best lyricists ever, and his unique Nick Drake-isms on guitar never sounded as genuine and softly tragic as they do on this enduring LP. | | 16 |  | Empire! Empire! (I Was A Lonely Estate)
What It Takes to Move Forward
Emo as a genre can be guilty of a garden-variety of whining self-indulgences, and trite paint-by-numbers bands that owe more to third rate horseshit alterna-rock than they do to Portraits Of Past or Sunny Day Real Estate. But, emo can also be the refuge for brilliant artists in need of emotional catharsis. Bands like Mineral, SDRE, Benton Falls, Knapsack, etc, all were able to create enduring emo that was uniquely their own sound, while building upon the emotional-hardcore of the 10 years previous. Empire has done the same thing, but with an additional ten years of hindsight to work with. The band creates one of the best emo LP's ever made as it brilliantly incorporates the mid 90's Crank! Records sound, with chiming post rock crescendos, genuine, emotionally affecting lyrics, and beautifully sad, sad, sad, songs. This band helped usher in a new wave of emo bands, and, frankly, I kind of wish they hadn't, as there are not many good ones, but, if in 10 years time even one band can build upon what Empire so successfully built on, and once again re-invent the genre, this LP will be revered for the landmark LP it is! | | 17 |  | Explosions In The Sky
Those Who Tell the Truth...
As a post rock band, Explosions In The Sky have really followed a fairly recognizable formula, not deviating far from the path laid down by previous bands like Mogwai, Godspeed and Mono. But, there is something so singular about Explosions in the Sky, something that, as good as the aforementioned bands are, makes them seem more personal, somehow they seem even more authentic than the original. Explosions in the Sky manage to take the finest aspects of the entire genre and decorate it with their own flourishes of marching band drumming, warm arpeggios, and patient build ups that cede to purifying releases. "Have You Passed Through This Night," is a blueprint for post-rock, and it is here where the striking guitar interchange, the heartfelt ethereal aesthetic, the layering and texturing all coalesce in a stunning song that encapsulates the band's, and the LP's, ageless strength. | | 18 |  | Grouper
Dragging a Dead Deer Up a Hill
The newest release on this list, and probably my favorite LP of the last few years. Liz Harris began by making wonderfully gloomy, grey, gossamer drones on the first 2 Grouper LP's, and though those saturated, sedative tones are still evident on this LP, a gothic world-weariness has also arrived in the form of her playing the funereal folk singer on this LP. The songs have a glazed, motion-sick blurriness to them, and with Liz Harris's woozy warble the songs are comparable to old faded photographs slowly bleeding into sepia tones. A compelling melancholy and a troubling falling-apart-at-the-seams feel to the LP only helps to craft an emotional world of gauzy drones and lilting loss in what, if there is justice in this world, will be esteemed as a landmark LP of our times! | | 19 | | Guns N' Roses
Appetite for Destruction
As this list makes apparent, I don't venture too often into the arena-rock spectrum of music. It's not because I have anything fundamentally against it, but, the truth is that most of it was, and is, total pabulum. Appetite for Destruction is no glam-band fluff, but, along with Iggy & The Stooges, "Raw Power," is the most genuinely dangerous LP ever made. The L.A. scene that bred this notorious band was an infamous cesspool of vice and unchecked hedonism. This LP manages to symbolize all of that, heats it up on a spoon, and then mainlines it, adding mid 70's Aerosmith riffs, punk rock, the Rolling Stones and a bit of The New York Dolls to make an almost flawless LP ("Anything Goes," is just ok) of unaffectedly gritty rock n' roll with 5 musicians all at the top of their game. And, after 25,000 listens, I still think this LP rocks, and I still sing along to the verses of "Paradise City," without really knowing the lyrics. | | 20 |  | Hot Snakes
Suicide Invoice
Considering that the Hot Snakes are a band with members who played in such remarkable and influential outfits as; Rocket From The Crypt, Drive Like Jehu, The Night Marchers, The Sultans, Pitchfork and The Obits, it's even more impressive that this "side project," band ending up being my favorite of the bunch. All 3 of their LP's are essential, but, "Suicide Invoice," is a sneering, revved up, garage punk rock LP that is heavily indebted to the Northwest's great, The Wipers. But, unlike Greg Sage and The Wipers, Hot Snakes keep their feet firmly planted in 3 minute angular garage rock that is equally influenced by post-punk (Wire), punk rock (The Wipers), noise rock (Drive Like Jehu) and pre-punk (The Sonics) Every song is vitriolic barn-burner with searing guitar zip and, rolling drum beats, and screamed / sang invectives colored with a certain sense of San Diego irony. A punk rock masterpiece and a highly undervalued LP! | | 21 |  | Jawbreaker
Dear You
All 4 of Jawbreaker's LP's were indisputably Jawbreaker LP's, but all 4 were also singular in their execution, bearing little resemblance production-wise to each other, shifting the lyrical focuses and altering the songwriting formula that would take the band from the 1989 pop punk abandon of Unfun's, "Busy," to the menacing epic of 1995's, "Basilica," on Dear You. Jawbreaker will always be tied to Blake Schwarzenbach's absolutely brilliant diary-entry, post-modern lyrics, and if the first 3 records dealt with Blake's incisive observations on various themes from; politics, to throat surgery, to selling out, to relationships, to punk rock, etc, "Dear You," is a personally fixated lyrical LP that is a liberating acerbic testament to; hurt, bitterness and resigning oneself to one?s luckless fate. For a writer who may be the best in punk rock history, songs like "Accident Prone," and the jaw-dropping, "Sluttering May 4th," are lyrical masterpieces that should be coveted by every poet-in-the-night-in-waiting who starts a band. The songs are big and crunchy, with colossal catchy hooks, and though it's over-produced, it doesn't detract from the power of the songs as the LP moves fluidly through pop nuggets like the memorable, "Oyster," the heart-on-sleeve charm of "Unlisted Track," and cheerless masterworks like, "Jet Black," and "Basilica." Chris Bauermeister and Adam Phaler rarely get the credit due to them, but they shine throughout the band's career, and on this LP the musicianship is tight, edgy and unfortunately, the death knell of the best punk band of the last 25 years! | | 22 |  | Jawbreaker
24 Hour Revenge Therapy
This Steve Albini produced Jawbreaker LP is about as close to perfect as a punk rock record can come. A surprisingly diverse group of songs that showcases a band at their creative peak. It's an LP that almost effortlessly defined a generation, and forever altered the musical landscape it inhabited. Every single song has been my favorite song on the LP at one point, and, besides the Smiths, I cannot say that for any other band or record. From the epic and haunting, "Ache," to the tongue-in-cheek snark of, "Boxcar," to the inspiring awe of, "Do You Still Hate Me," 24 Hour Revenge Therapy has been a staple of my existence for many years, and it is a rare album, not unlike the greats of all time (I?m talking Rolling Stones, Leonard Cohen, Replacements style great) that refuses to be pigeonholed into a timeframe, and as I age the lyrics and the music seem to age with me, continually re-defining themselves within the mercurial context of my life. "In Sadding Around," means something very different for me now than when I first heard the song, but what's remarkable, is that though the meaning has changed, the impact has remained just as strong as it ever was, which is true for this entire glorious LP. In my top 5 of all time! | | 23 |  | Jesu
Jesu
On ensuing releases Jesu would develop its sound to produce songs equally indebted to bands like The Red House Painters and Low as it is to Godlfesh and Neurosis. But, on this debut Jesu LP, Justin Broderick created something wholly unique, though hazily identifiable. This LP is a dazing juxtaposition of slow, labored, heavy, doomy, disheartened and ghostly sludgy dirges, and these hazy, dreamy, comforting, droning atmospheric, minor key requiems, which, is rounded off by a further contrast between down-tuned, low-end, glacial guitar crunches, and warm, thick, shimmering electronics. The LP as a whole nods to the My Bloody Valentine / Red House Painters influence to follow, but here the metallic edge of metal is still clearly evident in its dissonant Isis-esque, filmy, industrial-tinged metal-gaze?something Aquarius records called, dream-sludge, which, I think is awfully apt. The songs are dense, threatening and unnerving, but, they are also engaging, reassuring and serene in all of their world-weary contrasts. | | 24 |  | Joy Division
Unknown Pleasures
My all-time favorite LP, and one that I believe persists as a worthy symbol of indie rock's expressive power and its capacity to impact lives. The jagged, icy atmosphere of this LP had zero predecessor, and, in fact Warsaw (Joy Division's original name) was a great post-punk LP in its own right, but even it didn?t prepare the world for this LP. What makes Joy Division so exceptional, is that they manage to convey such an unparalleled gravity of sincerity and emotion into their exposed songwriting. Stripping down everything in the post-punk cannon to its purest base core, the sparse, almost clinically unadorned textures of the LP leaves absolutely no room for artistic or lyrical laziness, and, there is absolutely none. The songwriting, the lyrical explorations, the menacing melancholy, and post-punk guitar work have never been equaled in music. Knowing the Ian Curtis / Joy Division story only adds to the lore of the LP, and its truly amazing that 35 years later, this album is still challenging, still wholly unique and still sounds innovative and inspiring. | | 25 |  | Joy Division
Closer
Joy Division's 2nd LP sees the band preserve the cold post-punk severity of the 1st LP, but on Closer a heavier sense of foreboding, an almost overwhelming sorrow saturates the LP, while simultaneously integrating aspects of Wire style post-punk gloom-and-doom. The songs can be catchy, punchy and narrative at times, but, underneath is always the shadowy existential desperation of Ian Curtis's moving lyrics and the bands adherence to dim atmospherics. The scratchy guitar and the austerity of the LPs assembly exposes the listener to a stark LP full of uncomfortable candor that hides behind nothing. The album is nearly faultless, but, it is the final 2 songs that have impacted me the most. The plodding, alarming discomfort of "The Eternal," is a manic-depressive masterwork and one of the most affecting songs ever recorded. This is followed by, "Decades," which, with its atonal keys and textured build-up is the album's most thrilling moment, where one can see the past (Warsaw), meet the future (New Order), at a crossroads, that regrettably due to Ian Curtis's suicide, would never be crossed. | | 26 |  | Leonard Cohen
Songs of Love and Hate
Leonard Cohen's body of work is mightily impressive, spanning 5 decades, his influence on music has been on a Herculean scale that is well warranted. Of his seminal first wave of work (1967 - 1974) Leonard Cohen released 4 indispensable LP's, but none more vital than, "Songs of Love and Hate." This Canadian troubadour was never one to fashion sunny landscapes, but the world on this LP is an unusual and slightly off-kilter place. A literary world populated by dingy French cafes, bleary red eyes, empty wine bottles, "bluesy" waltzes, unread love letters, dog-eared Rimbaud books and Leonard Cohen's genius lyrics delivered in his singular baritone vocal style. The spacious production gives a haunted feel to the more minimal numbers, and a curious hymnal tone to the more baroque compositions. His whole catalog is worth investigating, but I feel the first 4 records and, "I'm Your Man," are essential listening, but if I were to start somewhere, it'd be here! | | 27 |  | Low
I Could Live in Hope
One of the greatest bands to ever play music, Low have produced a 25 year catalog of sensational music. They are still putting out notable records, and, besides the just ok, "The Great Destroyer," they never released a single poor LP, but they released one outright classic in, "I could Live In Hope." Low's brand of glacially paced indie rock is quite unlike the bands they get linked with. Not as metallic as Codeine, not as fragile as The Red House Painters or as ethereal as Idaho. No, on the band's debut, Low create an album of unrestrained sadness and beauty, which is reinforced by the strong songwriting which is confident, potent and impossibly beautiful. Songs like, "Lazy," and "Rope" are delicate, arctic odes that combine surprisingly challenging harmonies, while standouts like "Down," and, "Slide," are these wonderfully fuzzy, elusive, labored pop songs buried in a morose, filmy prettiness. This band is from Minnesota, where I live, and if any band has nailed what it feels like to go through a subzero, never-ending Minnesota winter, it was Low on this astonishing LP. | | 28 |  | Lurker Of Chalice
Lurker Of Chalice
A bit of a left-field choice, especially when one views the wildly disparate critical opinions of this LP, but it's an LP that I have found myself constantly coming back to, and one that I believe warrants a classic rating. Wrest's principal project was always the fantastic Leviathan, but as Lurker Of Chalice he forsakes the asphyxiating cacophony of the black metal madness Leviathan plies so well, for a sinister, richly atmospheric LP that is still in the black metal camp, but forays into a variety of dissimilar directions from; experimental funeral doom, to fractured drones, to ultra-depressive lo-fi black metal elegies, to damaged hymns and sepulchral noise. Listened to as a whole it's a deeply unsettling LP, and not unsettling in the theatrical ha-ha Marduk / corpse-paint way, but, unsettling in that disturbingly sincere, "A Last House On The Left," horror movie way. As much as I love Leviathan, this is better than anything under that moniker, and an absolute headphone delight. If you can find the vinyl version on Southern Lord, it?s worth shelling out the dough for! | | 29 |  | Misfits
Collection I
The Misfits are so taken-for-granted in today's musical periphery, that, like The Ramones or The Stooges before them, people forget that when this band came out in the late 70's, there was very little going on across the globe that sounded anything like the Misfits. If one is able to forget the last 20 years and all that Danzig and the post-Danzig remains of The Misfits have done, one would be left with a band who released some of the best punk rock singles ever recorded...ever..as evidenced on this pell-mell collection of Misfits songs. These are garage rock inflected pop-punk scorchers with well-thought out harmonies (Danzig could sing even back then!) and just the right amount of ambiguity regarding the sincerity of these New Jersey hoodlums! The raw-as-fuck production, and occasionally flimsy musicianship only strengthens the bands science-fiction, B movie mentality. An essential LP in any collection, and to this day I'd probably vote, "Bullet," as the greatest punk rock song of the 70's (other than "Search and Destroy," by the Stooges). | | 30 |  | Modest Mouse
The Lonesome Crowded West
Isaac Brock has fashioned some terrific LP's with Modest Mouse over the last 20 years, (The Moon And Antarctica barely not making this list), but it's this LP that is the definitive Modest Mouse LP, and a zeitgeist of late 90's indie rock. Quirky, catchy, irreverent, wise and devilishly playful, "The Lonesome Crowded West," is a post-modern pastiche of several musical styles, that all fit securely under the idiosyncratic post-Built To Spill indie rock anthems the band so finely crafts. A certain self-assuredness permeates the LP, a kind of, "you had to be there," feel, as songs about distance, travelling, drinking, drug deals and isolation are ostensibly little stories told in song, but, their wording is always vague enough to leave the listener hesitant if they're in on the joke or not, which I find creates a welcome tension. The LP is pure indie rock gold, with nary a poor note struck across this rewarding double LP, and, beneath the wry observations (Polar Opposites, Out Of Gas) there is a sensitivity to the LP (Trailer Trash, Baby Blue Sedan) that round out the more acerbic songs (Shit Luck, Doin? The Cockroach) that gives the LP a depth not immediately recognized on initial listens. This was finally repressed on vinyl as well, so, grab a copy! | | 31 |  | Moss
Cthonic Rites
One doesn't really, "listen," to Moss on this LP, very few people have the focus (or patience) to rhythmically follow 40 minute funeral doom songs that moves like a sick, slow-motion nightmare where you are being chased but cannot run. Instead, one "experiences," Moss on this LP. It's kind of like the difference between "sipping," a shot of low-proof top-shelf tequila, and "experiencing," a shot of high-proof, low-grade tequila. This LP is fearlessly harsh, discordant, misanthropic and maddening in its glacial delivery. "Glacial" doesn't even do justice to the space in-between chords, it's almost motionless at times. It's somehow like the ringing death-bells of the guttural apocalypse crashing out as some soupy, metallic, slow-motion amplifier snuff film. It's a deep, dark, uncomfortable lead curtain of pain and grimy, depraved doom, that is stifling and wonderfully alienating. Subsequent Moss Records would never be this unforgiving, or this painfully deliberate, and most folks prefer that more "accessible" version of the band, but, for me, this is classic Moss, funereal doom-hate-sludge played to its logical and amazing conclusion! | | 32 | | Patsy Cline
Patsy Cline's Greatest Hits
In a perfect world it would be a law that all low-light, end-of-the-line dive bars would have to play this LP one hour before closing time to remind the last-call-bell audience, that going home alone to your dog and a half bottle of Old Grand-Dad bonded is a-okay. Sung in the late 50's and early 60's, it's easy to forget that this young woman was in her late 20's when these were sung (tragically dying at 30). This is the same age as Chelsea Wolfe or Liz Harris. My point being that, it?s easy to lazily misconstrue these songs as sad campy 1950's relics sung by a bygone woman with little relevance to contemporary times, but that's not the case. As with Chelsea Wolfe or Grouper, the 28 year old Patsy Cline was in the midst of a tumultuous existence, and her music was the expression that she chose to speak to the world with, and it's a voice that transcends the 55 years since these songs were recorded. This compilation showcases her best work, the gentle country waltzes, the lonely tinkling piano, her wounded pride, her yearnings, her pain and her divine contralto vocals. | | 33 |  | Pixies
Surfer Rosa
The first 4 Pixies LP's (if one includes Come on Pilgrim) are requisite indie rock gems that re-invented the wheel while paying a playful-yet-dangerous homage to everything from post-hardcore, to surf rock, to barking art-rock. Though, "Doolittle," is marginally more well-rounded than, "Surfer Rosa," this Steve Albini produced LP is a more engaging and volatile outing for Black Francis and crew. It?s an LP that is still slightly terrifying and confrontational in its wiry, detached explosions of loud / quiet dynamics and screamed / sung what-the-fuck-is-frank-Black-talking-about-invectives. Smartly deranged indie noise songs like the howling, "Bone Machine", or "Break My Body," and "Tony's Theme," are well balanced on the album by the eccentric pop of "Gigantic," and the "Desert Island," track, "Where Is My Mind." The band had 2.5 great albums left in them after this release (post-pixies bands and solo work have seen an up-and-down quality for all members) , and Doolittle and Bossanova are classic LP's in their own right, but there is a purity of spirit on this record that I feel captures this enormously influential band at its primal best. | | 34 |  | Red House Painters
Red House Painters I
Commonly called the, "Rollercoaster," LP because of the cover, this untitled sophomore LP from the downhearted and sometimes maudlin Red House Painters is THE pre-eminent slowcore LP. Few records have ever managed to be so fragile while being so forceful. It's as if all the isolation and misery displayed on these 14 songs had a visceral lifeblood that commands the listener's attention. Even during Mark Kozelek's painful confessionals sung over the layered songwriting, which, is ironically self-possessed for an album so shaded by insecurity and lost desire. The band is not afraid to draw-out songs like the downer-anthem, "Mother," into long mesmerizing laments, or add a trembling emotional exclamation point with loud, terse guitar crashes as on, "Funhouse." These excursions are aural respites from the beautiful depression displayed on the jaw-dropping, "Katy Song," or the archetypical Mark Kozelek song, "Grace Cathedral Park." Every single Red House Painters record is recommended, but the first 3 LP's are the bands seminal work in my opinion..."Benji," released by Kozelek this year is a contender for best LP of '14, and with enough time will probably earn a "classic," rating...cool that an artist can make records a quarter century apart that would make this list! | | 35 |  | Rex
C
Without that doubt the outsider LP on this list, and one I assume few have ever heard. Released in 1996 to minimum fan-fare, this was the band's 2nd proper full-length release, and the first where Rex was the focus, as opposed to a side project (Rex has members of Codeine, June of 44, HIM and others in it). The slowcore canon has grown to embrace a wide swath of bands, touching on everything from doom, to shoegaze, to folk, and all in-between, but Rex is really the only band (maybe bits of Lambchop, but, not really) who effectively blended the haunting presence of desolate 1950's Americana, with 1990's thought-provoking, and foreword-thinking math rock. The LP never wavers from its hungover-on-the-front-porch pace, but a never-ending fireworks display is delicately going on under the languid surface: drums discreetly saunter in and out, cellos surreptitiously call out, an irregular piano sighs a trilling key, guitars spider and snake through the 70 minute LP like the "ghost of Hank Williams," filtered through Slint. The record is shadowy, atmospheric and smoky, with an indolent vocal delivery and narcoleptic time changes, but the patient listener is handsomely rewarded with an LP that is in my opinion, the most overlooked record of the last 25 years. | | 36 |  | Slint
Spiderland
If there ever was a flaw on, "Spiderland," I am now unaware of it, as, like a bar of silver, I have polished this with so many listens over the years, that any superficial imperfections have been absorbed into a perception of a perfect whole. This is a top 5 all-time LP for me, and what?s even more amazing, is that over the years, the LP has continued to ascend my "favorite albums," list. Very few records have a viable life-span as long as, "Spiderland," and for a band that released only 2 LP's, the impact this band had on music is astonishing. This was so, so, so, so, so ahead of its time that in 2014 the LP is absolutely still uniquely challenging, genre-defiant, and is still a work of art many bands have attempted to emulate, but zero have ever captured. The band's brand of dark, super complex math rock was not called, "math-rock," back then, nor was the whole spoken vocals presentation a normal thing as it is in today's indie scene. It literally started from ground zero (for the sake of argument at least), and single-handedly transformed music forever. Slint is a band who gets their due, and, critically they have undertaken their rightful place as godfather's of math-rock (or Slint-rock as it sometimes referred to), but I personally feel that critical praise aside, the LP has never registered with the larger indie masses the way other critical darlings did, like say, The Arcade Fire or Sonic Youth. Which I find is proof of the unconventional complexity and inspiring nature of Slint?s undying masterpiece, "Spiderland." | | 37 |  | Songs: Ohia
Ghost Tropic
This list is full of moody, atmospheric music, but there is really no greater LP of perfect 3:45 AM
whiskey-eyed-woe than this masterstroke by Jason Molina's perilous and Spartan, Songs: Ohia. The
LP itself is more like a long, sad verse played in unstable, palpitating movements that are divided into the 8 haunting songs that make up this magnificent LP. The LP moves more on the shaded perimeter of
folk music, as opposed to visibly within it. The LP keeps an inconsistent time, utilizing an odd
combination of David Lynch-isms and gothic Americana to create an LP that deliberately stumbles through a variety of iridescent drones, plinking, icy keys, softly strummed guitars, clanging out of tune guitars, Molina's creaking vocal prowess, and even, sometimes almost adding little horror jazz moments. The LP is unhurried, mournful and is startling intricate for what seems at first a very simple record, but songs like the 11 + minute, "incantation," will reward the patient listener with a strata of measured sounds. The forest birds sound-clips and minimalist voodoo-rhythm drumming add a sense of eerie displacement to his antique folk songs, that only assist to give the LP an otherworldly feel that perfectly suits the somber funeral songs Molina plays here. This LP has aged very well, and was one that took me a while to fully grasp, but, when I did this became my favorite of all of Molina's highly recommend work. | | 38 |  | Sunny Day Real Estate
How It Feels To Be Something On
No question that SDRE's 1st LP, "Diary," is one of the greatest records ever made (and it didn't make this list by the slimmest of hairs), and the fan titled, "Pink LP," is also a vital record in any fan's collection. But it is SDRE's 3rd LP, "How It Feels To Be Something On," that sees the band impressively expand on the sound of the first 2 LP's to deliver a luminous work of art that shows an LP that works on multiple levels. I see 3 marked shifts on this LP: First, SDRE were always a cut above their peers as far musicianship goes, but this LP displays a dazzling array of intricate guitar work, clever time signatures, and an almost mystical / Eastern feel to some of the songs. Second, Jermey Enigk's lyrics made colossal strides on this LP. Not that, "Diary," or, "The Pink LP," were necessarily bad lyrical albums, but in contrast to this LP's private narratives colored by modernist imagery, they were not on the same level. On the post coming-of-age lyrics here, an endearing insecurity is beautifully illustrated. It's obvious how much Enigk has grown vocally and lyrically on this LP. The 3rd, and most imperative shift, is that the band made an incredibly diverse LP that pays deference to the earlier LP's emotionally strained hanging-by-a-thread emo, but opens up to everything from prog rock to post punk to noisy math rock to softly chanted refrains. This is almost a different band than on, "Diary", but still playing a variety of their own emo, but a variety adorned with a much richer collage of musical directions, that makes this LP the band's finest moment. | | 39 |  | The Afghan Whigs
Gentlemen
High-brow hedonism never had as authentic a voice tell the sordid tales of sex, drugs, and rock n' roll as well as the godlike Greg Dulli. This LP isn't about the thrilling part of sex and drugs, no, this about the defiled, uneasy parts: The deception, the resentment, the dependence, the ambiguity, the pain, the infatuation, the wickedness, and the resigned shame we carry throughout days and nights spent in city-bars, late-night clubs and in-between-the-sheets of lovers used. Dulli not only recounts these tales with naked honesty, he lives these tales! The words resonate with an almost unprecedented sense of uncomfortable candor. Songs like, "When We Two Parted," or "What Jail Is Like," are painful and personal, but, as with the entire LP, come across as a stoic admission of debasement, rather than a humbled admission of guilt. It's more like, "life is fucked, I'm fucked, you're fucked, but it's beautiful because it's all fucked." The band made huge steps here combining their brand of ultra-sultry soul influenced indie rock, with pedal steel guitars, top-notch production, and a much larger focus on melody. The subsequent LP, "Black Love," picks up where this one leaves off, and is also highly recommended, but this LP is a testament to the enduring power of sex and drugs as builder and destroyer in the all-encompassing world of art! | | 40 |  | The Comsat Angels
Sleep No More
One of the supremely unsung bands in music history, The Comsat Angels first 3 LP's are all works of brilliance, but it's their 1981 sophomore LP, "Sleep No More," that serves as an example of everything awe-inspiring about their dreary, fragmented, yet exceptionally catchy brand of undressed post-punk. One can hear Joy Division's icy post-punk in the songs, but unlike that band, the Comsat Angels also have pop moments that push the songs into a more inviting brand of inconsolable post-punk. Bands like Interpol, The Fall, The Chameleons, Catherine Wheel, Wild Nothing and countless others have been either knowingly or unknowingly influenced by this band's early work, but none ever fully realized the sharp, punchy odes of cold pop genius like, "Sleep No More," or the unbelievable, "Our Secret," (though, they all come very close). It does venture in Bauhaus territory at times, with a gloom-and-doom Bat Cave vibe, but here it sounds fleshed out with reverby guitars and labored drum beats. Most folks have never even heard of this band, yet alone this LP, but, it's a worthy addition to any collection. Side note: I'd be curious to know if The Edge was influenced by this LP, because his early-work chiming pick harmonics are eerily redolent of the guitar work done here! | | 41 |  | The Cure
Pornography
Another top 5 LP's of all-time LP for me. Besides a relatively dull post-"Wish," period Cure (1992-1999), Robert Smith and crew have released 12 stellar albums, and dozens of classic singles over the last 35 years. I cannot think of another band with that creative longevity. Robert Smith?s best work has been greatly spread out as well (2000's, "Bloodflowers," 1989's, "Disintegration," 1980?s, "Seventeen Seconds"), but none really approach the leaden veil of maddening post-punk goth-pop that, "Pornography," pulls off. By far the blackest LP from a dark band, with even the pop singles, like, "The Hanging Garden," and, "A Strange Day," bringing a dim, low-spirited sound that is simultaneously confrontational and detached. The band skulks through the record, adding all the characteristic Cure sounds we now recognize as standards, but in 1982 these coiling guitar lines, mopey-head-in-hand drum beats, and desperately dejected lyrics had been employed by other bands (Bauhaus, Joy Division, The Comsat Angels, etc) but hadn?t been pulled together into such ironically accessible alienation. Robert Smith walked the walk, and the LP has that "fuck everything," acerbity that comes with heavy drugs, alcohol and hanging-off-of-balconies-at-5:00-AM, but instead of coming across brazen, it comes across as authentic, which is what makes The Cure so special; they manage to be embittered and alienating, but are inescapably relatable. This LP has zero of their, "Just Like Heaven" pop-glow, but it shines brighter than any of the band's other amazing work. | | 42 |  | The Cure
Disintegration
The sheer immensity of sound on this glorious LP is like overdosing on everything amazing about all of the outstanding 1980?s dream-pop and post-punk bands that defined the mercurial 80's. As if it was all meticulously compacted into one epic farewell to that decade's alternative rock character. The ominous dread of earlier work is still here in songs like, "Prayers For Rain," and "Disintegration," but the songs are more confident and brimming with a textured, opulent production. Radio favorites like "Pictures Of you," and, "Love Song," are perfect melancholy missives, justified in their timeless status. But, it is songs like, "Plainsong" and "The Same Deep Water As You," that create a swarm of keyboard surfaces, and pre-shoegaze walls of sound, that propel the songs into smeary pop splendor. As great as the whole LP is, it also contains the band's ultimate moment, and, arguably of course, the greatest song of the entire 80's decade, "Fascination Street." I have never tired of this viscerally striking song as it lurches, pulls, and pushes, like an anthemic drunken guitar unwinding its circuitous notes into an echoing hymn of drink, dance, drugs, sex, love, hate and everything in-between. This LP is widely regarded as the band's greatest triumph, and it deserves all the acclaim it has ever received, as it stands as a legendary LP in the canon of rock n? roll! | | 43 |  | The Mummies
(You Must Fight To Live) On The Planet Of The Apes
Garage rock that comes from the punk rock camp is an amusing beast: it personifies the decadent spirit of rock n' roll in its purest form; No frills, no solos, no production, no encores, no bullshit...just rock and roll, alcohol and "fuck you," but simultaneously, unlike its 1960?s forbearer's, garage punk is fiercely independent, scene-driven, and frustratingly antagonistic. This early 90's San Francisco band was a shameless mess of deliberately sabotaged shows, 34th rate production, B&W Xeroxed 7" single artwork and what I can only call, punk rock n' roll in its least dolled-up form...no make-up, no bright-lights-big-stage, in fact, it was just pawn-shop instruments and dollar-store toilet paper to wrap themselves up in as "mummies." All of this would be childish horse-shit though if the band didn't back up this wanton disregard for accessibility with THE best garage rock songs of the last 50 years. Their LP's are pure garage-punk genius, and the band knew this, which only reinforces the unabridged wonder of this 7" single. It?s a shambles of shitty guitars and crappy amps that is a bull-in-a-china-shop backdrop to a tongue-in-cheek (kinda?) garage rock stomper that is equal parts Billy Childish, sci-fi trash and their own brand of deranged Nuggets era punk rock. Note: this is the only 7" single I included on this list, as all physical versions of this song are out of print. The CD-loathing, The Mummies did release a very small pressing of CD's called, "Death By Unga Bunga" on Estrus Records several years ago with this song on it, but, it's easier to find it on the original (or repress) 7" single on Ebay / Discogs than that rare CD pressing from several years ago. Besides, vinyl is king anyway. | | 44 |  | The Murder City Devils
In Name and Blood
In 2000, Velvet Underground influenced indie rock and classic Stooges influenced punk rock had unconsciously separated into relatively disparate camps. But, both camps were deadly bored of the late 90's PC proselytizing, and the faux-sincerity of a billion bad Get Up Kids style emo bands. The Murder City Devils brashly entered into this severed foray with 2 solid punk rock LP's (1997's, s/t LP and 1998?s, "Broken Bottles, Empty Hearts"). Then in 2000 they dropped this LP, and for the first time in a decade, indie rock and punk rock were no longer divided, but united by this grimy underbelly of American punk rock. Spit and venom never sounded so literate, wryly campy, and human as they did coming out of the mouth of the charismatic, Spencer Moody. The Pagans meets Lords of the New Church grit of songs like "Rum To Whiskey," and "Idle Hands," are indisputable punk rock classics, as is the tempestuous, "Somebodys Else's Baby," and the organ-driven fan-favorite, "Press Gang." The band reeled and writhed through dark punk rock-garage rock, all with their particular Dead Boys meets gothic-keyboard-colored clatter. Rock n, roll is supposed to be over-the-top and dangerous, and this LP is fucking dangerous. It's a tale of never-ending bars and poorly lit club-bathrooms, "broken bottles and empty hearts," but it's not just Bacchanalian excess for the sake of excess, it's the beautifully sordid essence of rock! | | 45 |  | The National
Alligator
Time will be kind to The National, as their catalog of melancholy chamber pop and Leonard Cohen-tinted Indie rock, covers an extensive array of influences across a compelling string of releases, but for me, their 2005 release, "Alligator," is the bands supreme declaration ("Boxer," isn't too far behind). All the last-calls and forlorn longings of our soft sadness are here; the pensive stoicism of defeat, the isolation and frustration of relationships unhappily soured, and an ever-present sense of acceptance at one's ill-starred fate. The songs are baroque chamber pop, fleshed out by gothic Americana and quiet indie rock Nick Cave-isms, which cover a surprising amount of depth. The LP is nothing but gems, but the pop genius of, "All The Wine," the elegantly narrative, "The Geese Of Beverly Hills," and the expulsive, "Mr. November," are perfect examples of the songwriting ability of an impressive band at their apex. Side note: if you can find the bonus disc of songs buy it immediately. There's a song on there called, "Driver Surprise Me," which, is the best song on the LP...that didn?t make the LP. | | 46 |  | The Smiths
Strangeways, Here We Come
The final studio LP from my all-time favorite band is too-often misinterpreted. Incorrectly marked as a break-up LP (Marr and Morrissey were at the acme of their musical partnership, and the studio time had been the best they'd ever had). True, this LP was band's last LP, and the 25 years of nastiness to follow has left this LP open to some hindsight-driven interpretations, but the only thing that matters is that they went out at the top of their game. Still taking all the ingenious T-rexisms of prior records, but here embellishing them with a lusher production that allows for more explorative songwriting. The LP sounds self-possessed, and is teeming with a melancholy energy. Marr shines on, "Paint a Vulgar Picture," and the opening, "Rush and a Push and the Land Is Ours," is one the band?s ultimate feats. But it's the 5 + minute, "Death of a Disco Dancer," and the evocative, "Last Night I Dreamt I Loved Somebody," that showcase Marr and Morrissey taking the Smiths resonant sound and expanding it into innovative and exciting directions. As always, Joyce and Rourke are the backbone to this band, and even with the added production values, they still assuredly command the listener's attention. Morrissey's vocal delivery is at its dramatic and self-affected height, reaching previously unknown depths of range. Lyrically, this is the most rancorous of Smiths LP's, and the least maudlin. "Unhappy Birthday," and "Girlfriend in a Coma," are wonderfully ironic songs with biting, poetic invectives set to baroque indie-pop genius. A graceful swan song if there ever was one! | | 47 |  | The Smiths
The Queen Is Dead
The preeminent studio LP from The Smiths is an album of unblemished songwriting, with Morrissey penning the most phenomenal lyrical album of the decade. There isn't an instant on this LP that isn't a transcending moment of awe. Every song has been a favorite at one point, and as a whole the LP is sequenced so deftly that it flows fluidly from the post-punk inflected guitar mischief of, "The Queen Is Dead" to the not-so-slyly Geoff Travis directed pop of, "Frankly Mr. Shankly," to the archetypical Smiths Bolan-touched gloom pop of, "Cemetery Gates," and Marr's songwriting tour de force, "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out." For a band who released 1 shoddy song in their entire career (the out-of-character, "Golden Lights," cover), selecting a best is difficult, but I'd opt for, "Bigmouth Strikes Again," as THE classic Smiths song, with its vigorous playing-a-song-within-a-song-within-a-song bass lines of Andy Rourke, the crafty drumming of Mike Joyce, or the sterling, and unmatched guitar-god virtuosity displayed by Johnny Marr. Morrissey is never to be found in better studio form as he is here, a bit unrestrained and larger-than-life in contrast to the 1st 2 LP's, and it's warranted. The lyrics are simply staggering, with really no equivalent at all. His writing is admirable, if not radiant, on all LP's, but the themes and imagery abound here in a form never to be re-captured in all of music! | | 48 |  | The Smiths
Louder Than Bombs
Not since late 70's Buzzcocks had a band released such a prodigious wealth of top-notch singles in such a brief span of time as The Smiths did in 4 the four years between 1983 and 1987. "Louder Than Bombs," collects all of those singles on one double LP, and comprises all of their B sides as well. Most bands would kill their mother with a rusty claw-hammer to have written just one of the songs penned on this killer 24 song album. But these Mancurian lads had a measureless stock of uncommonly impressive songs, that even the B-sides are really double A-sides, and sans the crappy, "Golden Lights," there isn?t a second of fluff to be found in any of these benchmark Smiths singles. All the favorites are here, "Hand In Glove," "Ask," "London," and countless others, but this is also the LP where we get Morrissey's most heart-rending song, "Asleep," Marr's glammed up indie anthem, "Panic," and the band's most rousing moment , "Sweet And Tender Hooligan." With such a wealth of dazing material on this record it's difficult to summarize in one paragraph how sensational this collection of songs really is. Every release by the band is of the essence, but this is the absolute best starting point for anyone new to the band. | | 49 |  | The Smiths
Hatful of Hollow
The only band with more than 2 "classic," ratings on this list was the Smiths, and they got 4 "classic" ratings. Of those 4 classic albums it is, "Hatful of Hollow," that is the band's unqualified masterwork and a top-5 all-time LP for me. A compilation of BBC recorded material, this takes all of those previously released studio tracks, which are classics on their own, and adds a visceral charge to them. The vim and charming venom of the band is magnified on this recording as the instruments are punchier, wirier and grab the listener with an arresting array of top-notch musicianship. Marr's guitar sounds less prettied-up and more organically terse here than on studio recordings, and Joyce's drums pop with added kick. The bass is livelier and Morrissey's Wilde-on-sleeve vocals are less guarded, giving the songs a bit more room to crackle and hiss with an energy one cannot reproduce in a studio. The band's live performances are things of lore, and these BBC tracks perfectly embody that instinctual sound. The rawer production strips some of the misty-eyed aspects of the band away, leaving the songs to speak for themselves, and on the lively, "Handsome Devil," or the somber, "Back to the Old House," the sound captures more than The Smiths as a band, it captures The Smiths as a "gang." The Smiths were a rat-pack bunch the first couple years, and this recording is a witness to the band's improbable chemistry. This is also Morrissey's voice at its most ingenuously unreserved, belying an innocent confidence to his passionate delivery on this LP. This is an essential LP from arguably the best band, playing at its best, recorded at its best. | | 50 |  | The Stooges
Raw Power
THE most dangerous record ever made. This LP is a contentious punk rock n' roll scorcher with James Williamson's sneering guitar work taking the previously amazing Stooges into formerly uncharted waters. This is Iggy at his infamous apex of yelping, self-destructive decadence. Mixed with Williamson's guitar-on-fire fret work, and the Asheton Brothers hammering, driving anthems, and the muddiest mess of fantastically shitty production ever (David Bowie had a hand in it coincidentally), one gets the greatest punk rock record ever made...ever. The New York Dolls, The MC5, The Sonics and a few other punk hoodlums had been re-inventing the wheel to relatively dismal fan-fare for a few years, and Ann Arbor Michigan's, The Stooges were an integral part of that disastrous group of revolutionary degenerates, but an entirely different beast than their peers. The 1st two records were dirty rock n' roll proto-punk that was everything, "peace, love and happiness," was not. By 1973's, "Raw Power," the drugs, violence, sex, instability and all-around hedonistic bombast hadn't completely ruined the band yet, but everyone was on the proverbial razor's edge, and this LP IS that razor's edge. The album is literally the most rip-roaring rock n' roll record ever, with a nonstop parade of frenzied rock n' roll played by madmen with nothing left to lose. This LP is self-destruction at its most unabashed, its most candid, and it reminds me every time I hear it, that rock n? roll is supposed to be threatening , unpredictable, slightly anxious and very real, and there is no LP more, "real," than The Stooges immortal 3rd LP, "Raw Power." | | 51 |  | Tim Hecker
Harmony in Ultraviolet
Ambient drone has had some notable musicians that have made some groundbreaking music over the past "X" amount of years. Whether it's Glenn Branca in the 80's, Labradford in the 90's, or Stars Of The Lid in 00?s, etc, etc, but of all of the bands that fall under the mercurial "drone," label, none have coalesced everything into such an ordered whole as Tim Hecker does on the gray eminence of his best LP, "Harmony In Ultraviolet." An LP where divergent drones surge and shimmer, and cotton-filtered hums bleed into granulated static, that collapses apart into crackling currents of shivering electrical fuzz. Plangent, pealing electrical threads seem to be weft deftly in and out of his post-Eno loom of layered songs, making for a dreamy, drug-like atmosphere. At times it's as if the songs are moving in and out of water, only to emerge to ringing thunder claps of ambient, warm tinnitus, and palliated electrical gauze. There is nothing deconstructed about this LP, as there is with much of drone music. On this LP all of the sum orchestral sounds undoubtedly add to a logical whole. The LP feels thought-out, and not a pastiche of indiscriminate thoughts placed together under the guise of an ambient drone album. It almost feels like a proper, linear LP, as if these auditory missives tell an abstract narrative of sorts...well, I guess more of a white-washed, fucked-up, post-modern fairy tale kind of narrative, but a narrative nonetheless. | | 52 |  | Tim Hecker
Mirages
Released in 2004, "Mirages," static-suffused, crackling drones, cinematically bleed, bend and buckle under the weight of the LP?s skillfully textured polar-lights pageant of sound. Fugitive drones mesh seamlessly with derelict grainy noise, elusive spectral shimmers, and wraith-like, warm, pulsing drones. When all these outwardly wayward sounds do merge, it?s amazing how they mesh so well; somehow illuminating the chimerical landscapes in a prism of faded highs and hazy come-downs. The songs can sound ominous at times, projecting crepitating, oil-paint-smeared, grainy aural films through the speakers. It could be construed as a mushroom-induced interpretation of the, "Emperor's Theme Song," as heard played through a faint, static-peppered radio signal. But, as with all of his work, there is always an underlying warmth to the LP, a sense of safety in the harbor even as the songs occasionally steer us into deep, dark waters. It's like being lost out in negative 10 degree weather, with the sun reflecting off the snow, saturating your vision with blurry brightness, but, even though you're bit disoriented and scared, you're calm in your toasty winter jacket and gloves, and you know the way home even amidst all the cold, glinting confusion. Tim Hecker's catalog is extremely strong, and, for the majority of his fans, "Harmony In Ultraviolet," and, "Ravedeath 1972," stand out as his eminent works, and, though both are superb LP's, "Mirages," stands below only, "Harmony In Ultraviolet," in his catalog, but above all but a scant minority of LP's I've ever heard...that's a solid 2nd place. | | 53 |  | Unwound
Leaves Turn Inside You
Some bands have an irregular trajectory to follow, but Unwound have a catalog where every record builds on the previous ones. Like they retained all the best parts learned from every recording session, or show played, or silly fight had in the tour-van, and then added an entire new layer of sonic debris to their volatile noise-punk. Building on the startling, "Repetition," "Leaves Turn Inside You," is an apt culmination to the band's entire career. Not only does this LP manage to encapsulate their exceptional sound over a restive 11 year career, but it also intuitively encapsulates their various influences into an unintended homage. The Jesus Lizard, The Fall, Sonic Youth and Fugazi are all present, but here their influences are understated shades rather than blatant deference. This double LP is taut, noisy, circuitous, wiry, and is both somewhat menacing and somewhat pop, yet really neither. The songs are more focused, even as they are more expansive, unfolding into 10 minute atmospheric epics that utilize facets of post-rock and psychedelic post-punk to flesh out their clamorous din. But this is still Unwound, and one can hear the coiling, "Corpse Pose"-esque, bass-lines of Vern Rumsey slither in and out of the songs, Sarah Lund's super-cool abstract paradiddle drumming, and the dissonant guitars and the detached vocal drawl of Justin Trosper. The LP is unhurried, yet never lethargic, and the patient headphone listener will be rewarded with a surplus of depth in every song. This was the bands last LP, but a stirring sendoff from a truly marvelous band. | | 54 |  | Wire
Pink Flag
Post-punk is perhaps my most beloved genre, and as The Stooges are to punk rock, or the Velvet Underground is to indie rock, Wire are the true godfathers of post-punk. Releasing 3 essential LP's between 1977 and 1979. "Pink Flag," was the band's 1977 debut, and its sharply defined, jabby take on punk rock succeeded in exemplifying an assured art-school detachment without coming off pretentious. "Pink Flag," is really an unadorned, well-focused LP that sacrifices none of the edge or vitality of punk rock, but abandons much of the proto-punk ancestry of The Dolls or Sex Pistols. Instead the band opts for a brand of unfussy, to-the-point punk rock, completely absent in any excess. It's important to recall here that much of 1st wave UK punk's central resolve was to strip the excess off of rock n' rolls bloated 1970's self-image. By removing the excess from an already rather stark brand of rock n' roll, it leaves an unapologetic, raw, skeletal, spartan sound that remarkably never becomes clinical. Genius pop anthems like, "Ex Lion Tamer," are 2 minutes of pure Wire brilliance, with its cutting, catchy punk rock. The 54 second, "It's So Obvious," makes its punctuated point and promptly departs, but before we can miss it, we are taken to the next punching punk rock vignette. The 2 songs on this LP that most folks know are the constantly-covered, "Mr. Suit," and, "12 x U," and it's significant to mention these two because one can unquestionably hear the next 35 years of punk rock succinctly foretold in the driving punk rock of, "12 x U," and, "Mr. Suit." These 2 songs would, consciously or unconsciously, become the blueprint for all subsequent post-punk to follow, and even hardcore to a lesser extent. Also, if you can find the older CD pressing with the bonus songs, I recommend that, as it has the amazing, "Dot Dash," on it, which is one of the best songs by the band unfortunately not on the vinyl pressing. | | 55 |  | Xasthur
Nocturnal Poisoning
Xasthur's collective output, though a bit uneven, is one of the more formidable catalogs in black metal. A strung-out bedlam of caustic black metal genius coldly reinforced by abstract, sometimes incoherent, fragments of filmy ambience and doomy synth. Xasthur touched on a wide range of slit-wrist atmospherics over the years, from psychedelic drones, to unhinged suicidal black metal, but it was 2002's, "Nocturnal Poisoning," that saw Xasthur's sole member, Malefic, pull it all together into a sepulchral, cohesive piece of disfigured black metal grandeur. The LP takes cues from Burzum and Mutiilation, but then wrenches them into the band's own submerged, singular vision; echoing with muddied, smothered, keyboard burial hymns, and doleful, lo-fi, atonal guitar buzz. The LP is disquieted and unsteady, with a faltering, drunken ennui to the clanging, sulphurous sounds of the hissing, blown-out, underworld guitar hum. The programmed blast beats cede to sinister mid-paced laments, and the dissonant, corrosive splendor of the keyboards creates a maddening, reeling sound. The whole LP is a depressive dirge of narcotic cacophony and anxious misanthropy, with nary a sliver of hope or light to penetrate this seething snake pit of forbidding misery. Taken as a whole, the LP flows effortlessly together to create an unbroken mood of suffocating, stygian, black metal bliss that remains as vital a piece of work in 2014 as it was in 2002! | | 56 |  | Xasthur
Telepathic With the Deceased
It's Xasthur, it's amazing....and after all is said and done, 56 LP reviews and I am calling it a day...g'night! | |
treeqt.
11.30.14 | "only" | eddie95
11.30.14 | 50 is amazing | afoolonahill
11.30.14 | holy epic list! | manosg
11.30.14 | Great list, you've got a couple of my personal favorites on here. I completely agree with your descriptions for 19 and 29. | Ryus
11.30.14 | cool list bud, pos for hecker, wire, unwound, smiths, national, sdre, afghan whigs, list, pixies, modest mouse, misfits, low and a bunch of other stuff + descriptions | Asdfp277
11.30.14 | where bjork | IronGiant
11.30.14 | nothing better than a personal list AND great music. awesome job man I'll be sure to check some of your favorites out | BMDrummer
11.30.14 | well damn, good albums | VisionsFromTheDarkSide
11.30.14 | Man this must have taken ages | jagride
11.30.14 | good call on the mummies but cringing hard at most of those punk picks and descrips. murder city devils
were horrible | NorthernSkylark
11.30.14 | you are the best user! will explore those i don't already know | Snake.
11.30.14 | props for 38 | ArsMoriendi
11.30.14 | Surfer Rosa is awesome.
This list seems to have something for everyone so nice! | JasonCarne
11.30.14 | Holy shit, best list in like months. | Pheromone
11.30.14 | been jamming 3 so much lately - adore it.
great list tbh | Pheromone
11.30.14 | god damn this list rules wow | AliW1993
11.30.14 | Amazing list, so great to see Arab Strap making an appearance, even though Philophobia is their masterpiece, for me.
Same goes for Songs: Ohia. Wonderful, wonderful songwriter. | Totengott
11.30.14 | Amazing list. | aaronrkc
12.01.14 | Bravo. | ZombicidalMan
12.01.14 | gotta jam 14 with my good headphones now | clercqie
12.01.14 | This was a good read. | grish
12.01.14 | love to see 5 so high, such a great fucking album | lobstah
12.01.14 | Gotta say, great list! Also really enjoyed reading your descriptions of the albums and what they mean to you. Found a few here I really need to check out. | Dickens44
12.01.14 | Thanks all, I had a shit-ton of fun writing these....more lists to come! | YetAnotherBrick
12.01.14 | amazing list. i like how you emphasized the lyrics of 21, and i had no idea of the bonus songs you mentioned about 45, i gotta hear that shit | Chortles
12.01.14 | Nice | VaxXi
12.01.14 | Lol I only knew 5 of these and only heard 2. | tcat84
12.02.14 | Cool list, very disparate! Gonna check a bunch. .. PS grish... This list was alphabetical | DrGonzo1937
12.02.14 | List rules. 1 is so damn good. | SnipeCity
12.04.14 | Fantastic. I appreciate how much effort must have went into this. | duckenstein
12.04.14 | Exceptional list. Will definitely check out the ones I've yet to hear. | AlmostSeriousOpinion
12.06.14 | incredible list. you like so much thing I like too. will be listening to the stuff I didn't yet. | NorthernSkylark
12.07.14 | "Lol I only knew 5 of these and only heard 2."
wow | Bromero
12.07.14 | Great list! You hit the nail on the head with 19 | MMX
12.07.14 | Completely agree with your Black Flag & Misfits Choices
Black Flag's Early Stuff > Damages | pbass0
12.21.14 | No jimmy eat world? I could see you lovvinngggg clarity to death. |
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