Here we are. The top ten. After the number one entry, I'll be putting up one large post that covers all 100 entries along with a breakdown of albums by year, and the twenty-five albums that missed the cut.
No need to drag it out. Let's see if some of your favorite albums are in the top ten or missed the top 100 altogether.
#10
Third Eye Blind
Third Eye Blind
They're not even close to one of my top ten bands but they most certainly put out a top ten album. That's the fun of this list. A band can endure successfully for years but never really put it all together for a truly great album. Conversely, some bands exhaust nearly all their creative juices putting everything they have into one album. Third Eye Blind has other albums other than their self-titled debut, but no one would argue that the subsequent releases were superior. I would say they didn't even come close, and that's okay. The bar they set was high.
It's been surprising to me over the years the number of different people who can talk in depth about this album. More times than not when this album or just Third Eye Blind in general are brought up, the conversation is pushed more toward the lesser known tracks or a discussion on the totality of the album rather than just commenting on the hits like "Semi-Charmed Life", "Jumper" and "How's It Going To Be". Make no mistake, the strength of those three songs are what allowed many of us to stride to the cashier at Best Buy or Sam Goody with confidence that we were making a competent purchase. And if the rest of the album turned out to be no more than just filler around those three songs, the purchase would have been justifiable but the album would have faded over time.
Instead, my sentiment is that it has received a prominent placement in the fond memories of late nineties albums for many in my generation. Everyone has their own favorite lesser known song here. And there are many to choose from. There's the angsty "Graduate". There's the lead-off "Losing A Whole Year" that assured me that I had, in fact, made a smart buy. There's the strong guitar riffs in "London" or the smooth bass line in "Burning Man". And there are the two slowed down tracks "Motorcycle Drive By" and "God of Wine" that serve as the album's send-off.
The band is still around but the days of hoping that they will put out an album that's even in the same solar system of their debut album are gone. They've had radio hits here and there like "Never Let You Go" but their lightning won't be captured in a bottle again. It's hard not to call them a success though. Many bands who toil for years would kill to have an album that's as complete as the number ten album Third Eye Blind. And the fact that it's still remembered this fondly almost 24 years later seems to indicate that it will be an album that endures for more years to come.
#9
Cracked Rear View
Hootie & The Blowfish
Similar to Third Eye Blind, the number nine entry is from a band who also treated their music career the way that I treated a marathon - empty the tank early and worry about the repercussions later. Not a great strategy for running (but I did squeeze in the fact that I've run a marathon again) and it's not the best strategy for longevity of a music career. I know that's being too hard on these bands who really only put out one great album. I assume that when a band is writing an album, especially their first album, they just want to make it the best that it can be. They don't know if it will be a success or if there will be another chance to release a follow-up album. So best to just put the best work forward. In the case of Hootie And The Blowfish, they most definitely fully shot their shot with their debut 1994 album Cracked Rear View.
Also similar to Third Eye Blind, most people know this entire album but that's because almost literally half of the track listings here made it onto the radio at some point. The nineteenth best selling album in the United States (as in ever), this album boasted the wildly popular singles "Hold My Hand", "Let Her Cry", "Only Wanna Be With You" and "Time" but it was the consistency of the entire album that drove it into the stratosphere of sales. Led by Darius Rucker's comforting voice and smooth, easygoing guitar work albums don't get much easier to listen to regardless of setting. But no other album that they released would get anywhere close to this level of success or quality other than the song "I Go Blind" that was released as part of a Friends soundtrack. Is there a more 1990s sentence than "Hootie and the Blowfish contributed to the Friends album"?
The band faded to the background for me as they failed to produce a follow-up that grabbed my teenager attention. But five years ago, my in-laws took my wife and I to see Darius Rucker when he performed at Atlantic City. I was a little hesitant to go. I was a little mad that the biggest hit of his solo career was "Wagon Wheel". His song was a cover of the superior Old Crow Medicine Show version, which we insisted was the last song at our wedding (I know I'm one of many who can probably say that). So I went to the show with relatively low expectations and I was so pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. It shouldn't have been a shock that he largely played Hootie and the Blowfish songs and those songs were mostly from Cracked Rear View. I hadn't heard the album in years and hearing him enthusiastically sing it reinvigorated my interest in it.
It's been 26 years since its release and I'm convinced that it will endure as one of the classic albums from that era and it deserves that reputation. To my amateur ears, it's hard to place why it resonated with so many people. The guitar work isn't spectacular but it's easy listening and the choruses are heartfelt and fun to sing along with. So the number nine album sounds like a simple recipe but, given the dearth of albums who match its success, it's much harder to actually pull off.
#8
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Kanye West
Runner-Up: Graduation
Bronze Medal: The College Dropout
Honorable Mention: 808s & Heartbreak
I loved this album when it was released in 2010. I thought it was genius. Then four years ago I listened to the second season of the podcast Dissect and, after spending ten hours exploring every nook and cranny lyrically and musically of this album, I know it's genius. I have plenty of problems with Kanye West's behavior and political worldview but if I'm able to separate my feelings of the artist from the art while I'm dancing to "Billie Jean" at a wedding, then I feel completely fine listening to My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy or any of Kanye's other stellar albums. Like him or not, it's a mistake not to view him as one of the best artists of our generation.
The stories surrounding this ten year old album are well circulated by now but if you need a crash course then I'd recommend this great summation from The Ringer. Or, if you have ten hours, then the Dissect podcast gives you the full deep dive. Whether you spend two minutes or two days diving into the minutiae of how the album was made, the quality of each track on the album speaks for itself.
Guest spots and prominent piano work is a running theme throughout the album and that's displayed right from the start as "Dark Fantasy" leads things off with Nicki Minaj reading a verse from Roald Dahl's retelling of "Cinderella" followed by Justin Vernon's backing vocals as the piano kicks in. The song's beat is infectious but there's something slightly off about it from the abrupt stops and starts to the false ending. That's not a knock on the song. It just sets the table for an album that will keep you on your toes from song to song and even verse to verse.
"Gorgeous" is a sprawling six minute follow-up that plays shorter than its actual run time thanks to some of the best lyrics on the album and the continual whine of the backing guitar riff. Kanye's everything here. He's defiantly arrogant (he still can't let go of the South Park "fishsticks" joke) but he's vulnerable as the chorus continually reminds him that if he blows this album, it's all over. He's terrified that after the Taylor Swift VMA incident and the backlash from 808s and Heartbreak that his fame will leave him or at least greatly diminish. It's a familiar formula with a Kanye song or album. Brash bravado covering up an overpowering desire to be liked and praised, all set to the tune of his genius music that makes us listen to his Jekyll and Hyde routine time and time again.
That takes us to my favorite stretch of the album starting with "Power", moving to "All Of The Lights" and finishing with "Monster". "Power" has always been, forgive the redundancy, a powerful song. Between the chants and the strong drum line, it was designed that way. But it was listening to Dissect that revealed to me what kind of a unique ear that Kanye has for sampling and producing. "Power" is comprised of samples from three songs. "21st Century Schizoid Man" by the rock band King Crimson, "Afromerica" by a French disco group, and the funk song "It's Your Thing" by The Cold Grits. If you gave me unlimited time and resources to make those three songs into one, the best I could come up with would be on par with the loud noise that hostage negotiators use to keep their targets from sleeping. Kanye makes a masterpiece and then adds in some phenomenal lyrics that include some of his standard double entendre (still don't know if he's saying "diamond" or "dying man" when describing his encrusted piece) and the way that he morphs "so excitin'" into "suicide" toward the end of the song is foretelling of the dark places the album will visit.
"Power" is followed up by my favorite song on the album "All Of The Lights". If you've been following this list then you know that I'm a sucker for a long instrumental lead-in before a song kicks in at full. This one might be the best of the best as the strings and piano perform what will be the hook for "All Of The Lights". I take the song as a metaphor for Kanye losing his fame akin to a father losing custody of his child in a split. But ignore the lyrics for all I care. The sound production is what you're here for. The guest spots on the track read like Stallone's The Expendables. Elton John is on piano. Backing vocals are provided by Kid Cudi, Rihanna, Drake, Alicia Keys, Fergie and Charlie Wilson to name a few. And they're supported by a robust section of trumpets and French horns. Writing it out sounds like it would be too much for a five minute song but it's grandiose for a purpose and the song executes that theme to perfection.
"Monster" is next, a song which could have been the lowlight of the album. It's not Kanye's best lyrics and the second verse from Jay-Z might be one of the weakest sets of lyrics he's ever contributed to an album. Luckily, he'd find his footing again more than ever a few months later with Watch The Throne. But the relatively unknown (at the time) Nicki Minaj steps in and makes the third verse, and ultimately the entire track, her own. The track is closed out with another admission of guilt from Kanye, possibly about the Taylor Swift incident as the line is repeated "I crossed the line / And I'll let God decide".
The rest of the album is just as solid including the eight minute, emotional "Runaway", the admission of a certain kind of addiction in "Hell Of a Life", and the Justin Vernon backed "Lost In The World" which I enjoyed more before I knew that the lyrics were part of an email he sent to Kim Kardashian. But that last part is indicative of following Kanye West. Whenever I get too enthusiastic about following him, he'll do something that reminds me to keep my expectations in check. The album ends perfectly with a revisit from the "Power" drum beat and "Who Will Survive In America" with a very small smattering of applause at the very end. I interpret that small applause as a subtle sign that, despite this grand, masterpiece of an album, Kanye is unsure if the public will embrace it or, ultimately, him.
This album sits at the peak for me in the Kanye West catalogue but it's impossible to deny how good The College Dropout, Late Registration, and Graduation are. I'll cop to the fact that I don't really "get" the Yeezus album and I actually liked 808s and Heartbreak. Hard to tell what the future will hold for Kanye, other than the fact that he won't be president. He clearly has some issues and demons that he's working through. But I will continually root for him to provide the music world with more of his one-of-a-kind releases just like this album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy which comes in at number eight.
#7
The Rising
Bruce Springsteen
Runner-Up: Top Ten List Below
I think he's the greatest and most culturally reflective musical act the US has ever produced. In the "pick one artist's work to have on a desert island" game, it would be hard for me to not select The Boss. With a discography as broad and diverse as what Springsteen has put out over almost 50 years, it's impressive that I'm able to give Springsteen his own Top 10 within the number seven entry.
10) Springsteen on Broadway - If you weren't able to fork over the close to four figures for a ticket for Springsteen's run on Broadway, this is the next best thing. He opens up about the inspiration behind many of his songs. The fact that his songs were personal reflections of his life or had such a strong narrative makes this added commentary even more special. What a world where you can talk that way about your work. There will never be a time where I'm on a stage describing to an entranced audience how I wrote each of these blog posts. "So there I was. Gym shorts and coffee searching for the perfect way to describe Moby."
9) Magic - One of the most radio friendly and light albums Springsteen has released, it's impossible to not find the opening track "Radio Nowhere" insanely catchy. But it's the more somber songs here like "Devil's Arcade", "Long Walk Home", "Magic", and the tear-to-your-eye hidden track finale "Terry's Song" that makes this album worthwhile.
This was the album he was promoting when I saw him in concert at Madison Square Garden in 2007. One of my friends visited from Indiana to see the show and was currently enrolled in a musical elective for college. The class was tasked with seeing three live shows and writing a report on it along with turning in the ticket stubs. Apparently the teacher was dubious that seeing Bruce Springsteen at MSG was one of the three shows she attended but, after some convincing, the teacher, who was a huge Springsteen fan, wanted to know all about it.
8) Greetings From Asbury Park - Through tracks like "Growin' Up" and "Blinded By The Light", it's easy to hear why even Springsteen's first release caused some ears to prick up. Others like Lester Bangs (yes, the Almost Famous one) thought the band was a derivative of Van Morrison. He'd admit to being proven very wrong over the coming years.
7) We Shall Overcome: Seeger Sessions - Only seems appropriate to have an American icon like Springsteen singing early American ballads like "O Mary Don't You Weep", "Old Dan Tucker" or "Jesse James". Much of Springsteen's work lyrically has had a story-like narrative so singing folk music just seems like a good fit. And I'm sorry but if you're not humming or singing along the chorus of "Mrs. McGrath" then you and I are just very far apart.
6) The River - Everything seems bigger about this album. The track listing expands to 20 tracks versus eight on Born to Run and ten on Darkness On the Edge of Town. But the album doesn't feel bloated or superfluous. Instead Springsteen is able to craft effective lyrical narratives around some of the band's best work. Songs like "The River" and "Wreck on the Highway" (one of my dad's favorites) are both melancholy but compelling. "Hungry Heart" manages to make an upbeat rock song out of a man abandoning his family and looking for a new start. That's not to say that every song is a lyrical master class. And that's fine. There are just out and out great rock songs like "Out On The Streets" and "I'm A Rocker". Released in October of 1980, The River started the decade off strong for The Boss.
5) Tunnel of Love - Strong nostalgic ties to this one for me. This was part of the first group of CDs my dad bought with our CD player and I remember listening Springsteen's first solo album Sundays after church. Songs like "Tunnel of Love" sound dated as eighties songs but that doesn't make them any less catchy. And "Tougher Than The Rest" and "Brilliant Disguise" sound timeless. I remain convinced that they're two of the best songs Springsteen has ever recorded. There was definitely something missing without the full E Street band supporting him but this was an incredibly strong solo debut.
4) Darkness on The Edge of Town - Might be the best overall rock album that the band made. If it weren't for Born to Run that is. If "Thunder Road" was a gentle on-ramp into the Born to Run album, then "Badlands" is a jet taking off down the runway on Darkness. The few seconds of a drum solo followed by the full band kicking in gets the album off to such a strong note. It's just an overall great American rock album with tracks like "Darkness on the Edge of Town", "The Promised Land" and "Adam Raised a Cain" particularly standing out.
3) Born In The USA - The album was a victim of its own success as many songs like "Dancing In The Dark" and "Born In The USA" were so overplayed that it dampened the effect of the album and actually made it a little uncool to admit to enjoying this album. But it's a classic for a reason.
In my high school salutatorian speech (out of a class of 48, calm down) I referenced "Glory Days" by saying that I hoped that, unlike the people in the song, our glory days were not behind us but in front of us. Patted myself on the back for that one. Now I wonder how many high school speeches that has referenced that song. Side note, the whole notion of asking the valedictorian and salutatorian to give graduation speeches, many of which turn into attempts at advice, is laughable. I couldn't think of a person less equipped to tell someone how to live their life than an 18 year old me. I know the intentions are good but the thought that I should be dispensing life advice to peers because I wrote a better paper about The Grapes of Wrath has some flaws in it.
What were we talking about? Born In The USA. Right.
There are more classic hits than forgettable tracks on this album and it's such a testament to Springsteen and the entire band's ability to understand the ear of the public and what makes for a hit song. I can't imagine you haven't heard this album and if you haven't heard this one then there's zero chance you've heard any of the last 95 albums I've been writing about. It's an all-time great American rock album that's recognizable by its cover alone. And it still only comes in at number three on my Springsteen mini-list!
2) Born to Run - What can I really write about an album as unassailable as Born to Run that hasn't been said before? You know all eight songs here but especially "Thunder Road", "Born to Run", "Tenth Avenue Freezeout", "Backstreets". It's remained prominently placed in the annals of rock history for the last forty-five and it will be remembered that way for at least another forty-five. Even if we're overtaken by aliens, they may crank up Born To Run while going about their task of enslaving us. It's that good.
1) The Rising - It will never be confused as the defining album of his career but The Rising seemed to breathe new life into the band and Springsteen's career. In his early work he tapped into the hopes and frustrations of the everyman of the late seventies/early eighties as the source of inspiration for much of his work. But every artist only has so much to say before the well of inspiration has run dry. For Springsteen, the turmoil of his marriage and his band served him well lyrically for Tunnel of Love but, after that, he seemed to hit a dry spell other than the occasional one-off track like "Streets of Philadelphia". Eventually rock stars stop becoming one of the people because of their wealth and fame. So when they attempt to write music from their own life experiences, many times they're writing about the problems of the extremely wealthy or famous. That doesn't connect with people in the same way and the music tends to suffer especially for an artist like Springsteen, where extreme wealth ran counter to his early life and the lyrics of many of his fictional song characters.
I could listen to his earlier albums as I was growing up and appreciate the music for the high quality albums they were. But I didn't really connect with it because I could hear that the message was meant for another generation's set of ears even if some of the topics he covered were timeless. The albums were like a hand-me-down sweater from my dad and sister. I appreciated them and they fit great but I knew they weren't mine. Then September 11th happened.
The tragedy of 9/11 was going to have a profound impact on me regardless of what age I was but considering I was sixteen, it was a very impressionable time in life. There was a lot of uncertainty, a lot of grief but also a lot of optimistic resolve that America was going to be okay. Those were the messages that I heard when I listened to Springsteen's The Rising. For the first time I felt like there was a Springsteen album that I really connected with in real time. I wasn't listening to it as a passed down album from my dad or my sister. We were all experiencing it together firsthand. He was also speaking to something deeper than his albums from the last fifteen years. He was talking about life and death instead of a marriage failing.
While albums like Born To Run or The River will deservedly be remembered as superior rock albums, The Rising could easily be the apex album for any other artist. It's difficult to not feel uplifted listening to the title track "The Rising", "Mary's Place" or "Further On (Up the Road)". But you can also hear the ache in "Lonesome Day", "Empty Sky" or "Worlds Apart". The 2002 album will be remembered as a snapshot of the country in the aftermath of 9/11 and as we entered into a Middle East conflict that would last well over a decade. But musically, the album also proved that Springsteen both had more to say and could say it with close to the same musical prowess he'd displayed early in his career. It's very deserving of the number seven spot on the list but you could say that about any of his ten albums above.
#6
Babel
Mumford & Sons
Runner-Up: Sigh No More
Bronze Medal: Delta
Honorable Mention: Wilder Mind
It's hard for me to believe that, for a band I enjoy this much, I don't have a lot of things to say about them. If you've been following this list, you'll see a theme of the kind of music that I really enjoy. There has already been plenty of representation of folk or rock-a-billy music that toes the line of country western but never fully crosses over (e.g. The Decemberists, Chris Isaak). Mumford and Sons specializes in this hybrid of rock and banjo that flirts with country and flirts with folk but maintains a more unique sound. If I've heard a complaint against the band it's that their music all sounds the same. I understand where that is coming from, especially if you compare the band's first album Sigh No More with the follow-up Babel. But subsequent albums and projects like Wilder Mind and especially Johannesburg, which the group recorded with South African band Beatenberg and Senegalese singer Baaba Maal, can sound very different from the first two albums.
Even the latest album, Delta, is more akin to the first two albums but still maintains a marked difference in sound. Sure, Marcus Mumford's voice and the strong use of drums are still prevalent in almost all the band's work but a band can only deviate so much from its strong suit and natural sound. Listeners aren't clamoring for freestyle rap or death metal from this group. Besides, had Mumford and Sons continued putting out albums similar in sound and style to Babel and Sigh No More, I would have continued listening. I never complained about Michael Jordan dunking too much or sighed heavily because Tom Clancy put out another military thriller. I understand that too much of anything is a bad thing but if this band's sound isn't your thing then just move on down the road.
I enjoy all the of the band's work but Babel takes the spot here as the number six album. It just seemed like the band took the pieces of Sigh No More that worked the best and arranged an entire album that played to those strengths. There's not a miss on this album, not a track that I skip past or wish would finish faster. The deluxe version is 15 tracks and it's the version that I recommend versus the standard 12 track album. The additional three songs are worth it, especially the band's cover of "The Boxer" where Paul Simon himself even steps in to lend a hand in a version that I may like better than the original. Other favorites here are "Lover of the Light (which we used in our wedding video), "I Will Wait", "Whispers In The Dark" and "Hopeless Wanderer" (whose music video below showed that the band had a sense of humor about itself and their folks-y image)
The pounding drum and choruses that encourage sing-along make these albums excellent for road trips. I remember driving to Charlotte from Atlanta with one of my best friends listening to this album and the live show from Red Rocks in its entirety. I'm anxious to hear what the band comes up with next but, for now, Babel is the peak their releases and it comes in at number six on list.
#5
Boxer
The National
Runner-Up: Trouble Will Find Me
Bronze Medal: High Violet
Honorable Mention: Sleep Well Beast
I think it's natural that the band member who receives the most attention is the lead singer. It's the member who generally stands front and center at live shows and, given that it's usually the only voice of the band that the listeners hear, there's a more intimate relationship that's established. But as I got older and learned more about what went into making an album, I found that, in many cases, what drew me to many of my favorite bands wasn't the lead singer or the lyricist. While Joe Strummer was an undeniable talent for The Clash, the band's sound was largely driven by Mick Jones. The same could be said of Steven Van Zandt who helped Springsteen refine and enhance the sound of The E Street Band. U2 has The Edge. The Rolling Stones has Keith Richards. And Tom Morello was the engine that made Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave go.
When I first heard The National, it was in 2010 via their radio hit "Bloodbuzz Ohio" from their fifth album High Violet. The song stood out due to the pounding drum line and the unique sound and lyrics from lead singer Matt Berninger. And while some of the lyrics were unclear (I still don't know what "I was carried to Ohio in a swarm of bees" means), I appreciated his way of turning a phrase through lines like "I still owe money to the money, to the money I owe". I knew that I wanted to hear more from this band.
Starting with 2004's EP Cherry Tree, the band hasn't released a dud album in seven attempts. And the more I listened to the band's work, the more I realized that it wasn't really Matt Berninger's voice that was drawing me to the band's work. It's the work of the Dessner brothers, Aaron and Bryce, who, through their work on strings, keyboard, guitar and piano, provide the band with their unique sound. They somehow found a way to craft songs that can bring you on the verge of tears but also uplifting. That's not to say that those two are solely responsible for the band's success. Berninger is incredibly gifted as a singer and writer and Bryan Devendorf's drum work, more prominently featured in later albums, gives the tracks more of a kick that was lacking on early albums.
You could pick any of the band's last six albums and I could find a way to defend it as being worthy of a spot on this list. But of all their albums, Boxer is probably their most complete. From the first piano notes of "Fake Empire", the whole album was an exercise in the listener repeating "oh, I like this song too". Songs like "Squalor Victoria" perfectly exemplify the impact of both Dessners and Devendorf as the drums, strings and piano carry the song for a full minute before Berninger jumps in. "Start A War", "Green Gloves", "Slow Show", "Guest Room" and "Mistaken For Strangers" are the other highlights here.
It's hard to tell what the future holds for the band. Matt Berninger recently released a solo album along with a side project EL VY ("Return to the Moon"). More importantly, Aaron Dessner has received a lot of positive attention for his work with Taylor Swift on the folklore and evermore albums. Change is inevitable for most bands but I hope that the band still finds time to record music together. Given the high heights they're able to reach together, as evidenced by the number five album Boxer, it would be a shame if their string of releases stopped now.
#4
Weezer (The Blue Album)
Weezer
Runner-Up: Make Believe
Bronze Medal: Weezer (The Red Album)
Honorable Mention: Maladroit
Everything you need to know about Weezer fans can be covered in this SNL skit with Matt Damon and Leslie Jones going toe to toe about when the band truly peaked.
Consider me firmly in Leslie Jones's camp as I think the band's best work was in the form of their 1994 self-titled debut Weezer or as it's more commonly known The Blue Album. 13 albums have come after this ten track gem but, in my opinion, nothing has topped it. And I'm not in the camp of "all new Weezer music is terrible". I've found plenty to like on subsequent albums like Maladroit, The Red Album and especially Make Believe where I think "Perfect Situation" is one of the best songs they have made. I've kept the band in my periphery over the years and I'll still give their album a listen upon release. But clearing the high bar they set for themselves on their debut album will be almost impossible.
Produced by Ric Ocasek, formerly of The Cars, the The Blue Album sound stands out in stark contrast to other rock albums that the time who were still firmly in the grunge phase like Soundgarden or Nirvana. But it's probably the unique sound of the guitar work and that it was NOT a grunge album that made the album stand out even more at the time. The album is littered with hits but "Undone (The Sweater Song)", "Buddy Holly", and "Say It Ain't So" (a song I only recently put together is about lead singer River Cuomo's father's and stepfather's use of alcohol) are the songs that received the most radio airtime. It's hard to downplay how great the "Buddy Holly" music video is too. But the album is this high on the list for a reason. "My Name is Jonas", "The World Has Turned" and "Surf Wax America" could easily have been the three radio singles and the album still likely would have been a huge success.
I know Pinkerton has its share of defenders from "true" Weezer fans and other fans may pick Make Believe as more of a mix of what the band was going for all along. But The Blue Album is a boring pick as Weezer's best album for a reason. When there's a choice this obvious, it takes away some of the suspense and sexiness of the selection. But to take any other album from the group would just be acting contrarian for the sake of being contrarian. The album has been present in my life since I was ten years old. I listened to it when I first started driving. I heard it in bars in college and in my twenties. And I still listen to it around the house now. The number four album, Weezer (The Blue Album) may be 26 years old but its sound still sounds unique and I'm still not tired of hearing it.
#3
Dookie
Green Day
Runner-Up: American Idiot
Bronze Medal: Nimrod
Honorable Mention: Warning
Following Weezer's self-titled debut album at number four, here's another album from 1994, Green Day's Dookie. It's the third 1994 album inside the top ten and the fifth inside the top 50 (Hootie's Cracked Rear View, Live's Throwing Copper and Bush's Sixteen Stone). I know that 1994 wasn't this magical year when all the musical stars aligned and the best music ever was created. I know I'm looking back with rose colored glasses at an era during which I was starting to find my own footing in musical taste. But, on the other hand, here are some of the other albums released in 1994: Tom Petty's Wildflowers, Pearl Jam's Vitalogy, Nirvana's Unplugged, Beastie Boys's Ill Communication, R.E.M.'s Monster, The Offspring's Smash, Soundgarden's Superunknown, Nas's Illmatic, and Beck's Mellow Gold. So maybe it's not all positive bias that's leading me toward this year as the strongest on the list.
Green Day's Dookie certainly helps 1994's case as a strong album release year. The lyrics won't win a Pulitzer and they're not recreating Hendrix with the guitars but these three guys knew how to make a brisk and amazing rock album. In the early and mid-nineties, the angst, anger and emotion of grunge wasn't really connecting with me. I was too young. What did I have to be upset about? My mom forgot to buy the graham crackers? It was too windy to play basketball outside ("damn you Indiana prairie winds!")? But Dookie was fun, it was light and, even if the more adult references flew right over my head, I loved it. Between this and the Weezer debut, this kind of pop punk was a drastic rock alternative to bands like Soundgarden or Nirvana.
Chances are even if you're vaguely aware of Green Day, you know all the hits on Dookie like "Welcome to Paradise", "Basket Case", "Longview" and "When I Come Around". But it's the songs built around those hits that make the album a classic especially "Having A Blast", "Pulling Teeth", "Sassafras Roots", and "Emenius Sleepus". The 14 track album (15 on Spotify because they ruin Tre's hidden song at the end) moves along at only 38 minutes, walking that line between feeling like you got your money's worth but not overstaying its welcome.
The band would follow this up with four solid albums over the next ten years, most notably Nimrod and Warning, before releasing American Idiot in 2004. The rock opera could have easily taken the spot on this list since it was meant for consumption in full album form rather than just a collection of singles. It's more cohesive in sound, theme and thought. It's at least trying to be more mature even if it feels like our favorite immature rockers are playing dress-up in politics anger. I love that album and even have a soft spot for the follow-up 21st Century Breakdown. But Dookie is a nineties rock classic and, for people my age, it was one of the first cassettes/CDs that was purchased or that we were at least aware of as a full album. And in a musical year as strong as 1994, it still stands out for its brashness and energy, just like the many teenagers (and this eleven year old) who were listening.
By the way, I'm well aware that I missed an incredible pun opportunity to place Dookie at number two. I pushed down every dad joke impulse I had. At 36, there may be hope for me yet.
#2
The '59 Sound
The Gaslight Anthem
Runner-Up: Handwritten
Bronze Medal: Sink or Swim
Honorable Mention: American Slang
After the New Jersey-based quartet finished playing "The 59 Sound" on The Late Show With David Letterman in early 2009, Letterman came out to shake hands with the band ("What are you, the drummer? Good." is such a natural Letterman interaction) and he turns to the crowd saying "That's all you want right? Just tremendous." That's how I feel about this album. That's how I feel about this band. There's no gimmick. There's no banjo or violin or DJ or odd instrumentation. There's just Benny Horowitz on drums, Alex Levine on bass and a very strong Alex Rosamilia on lead guitar. And, perhaps most importantly, there's Fallon's guitar, voice and personal, heartfelt lyrics that, even when they cross into cliche territory, never feel maudlin or insincere).
I know that this isn't the album that many expected to be the last step before we reach the top of the mountain that it took three months to climb. But I'd be lying to myself if I put any other album here. I bought this album on a lunch break perusal of the Best Buy music section in 2009 without knowing a single song. I was just browsing in the rock section, the cover was straightforward and I had a feeling about it. Ten seconds into "Great Expectations" I started to get my hopes up about what this album can be. I had to wait until my drive home to get through the full album but after forty minutes and 12 songs, I not only knew I had made a wise use of 18 dollars but that I had found a band that I would follow for as long as they were putting out music.
What added to the experience was that I had found them. Their songs weren't on the radio yet. This wasn't one of my sister's CDs that I borrowed. It wasn't a vinyl of my dad's. I introduced the band to my friends instead of the other way around. I equated it to finally discovering gold after years of buying it in the open market from other miners.
The Gaslight Anthem is a band that has self-admittedly been influenced by so many of the bands and albums that have come before them on this list. You can hear the influences of Tom Petty and Bob Seger in their music and lyrics. They have listed The Clash as one of their primary inspirations and even recorded a song to Joe Strummer's memory on their debut album Sink or Swim called "I'da Called You Woody, Joe". Fallon has stated he loves Weezer but believes "Hash Pipe" is one of the worst songs ever written.
They were labeled by some as the next Springsteen which was aided by Bruce playing "The '59 Sound" with them at Hard Rock Calling in London in 2009. It's easy to see where the similarities come from. Lyrically Fallon, like Springsteen, likes using the name "Mary" in his lyrics and also has a propensity for name dropping their shared home state of New Jersey. For example, their song "Blue Jeans & White T-Shirts" references both Little Eden (also referenced by Springsteen in "Sandy") as well as two locations in Rehoboth Beach. It's one of a myriad of New Jersey references the band as made over the course of its work.
More specifically, the band formed in New Brunswick, New Jersey which is also where the headquarters of my first employer Johnson & Johnson is located. I spent a few weeks in that town spread out over 2007 to 2009 visiting many of the same bars that the band spent their very early years frequenting (long live Wednesday karaoke at The Golden Rail). My familiarity with their home town illogically but acutely made me feel even more of a connection to the band.
Eleven years later, The '59 Sound still sounds fresh and I find myself coming back to it. The bookends of the album are the strongest portions with "Great Expectations" and "The '59 Sound" bringing high energy to start things off while "Here's Looking At You Kid" provides an emotional love letter to past loves before "The Backseat" closes things out with a heartfelt anthem that might be the best song on the album and was always the way the band closed out the show the four times I saw them live. That's not to say the rest of the album is worth skipping. "Meet Me By The River's Edge", "The Patient Ferris Wheel", "Miles Davis & The Cool" and "Even Cowgirls Get The Blues" are some of my favorite songs the band has recorded. But it's rare that I won't just let the whole album play through.
Two more solid albums would follow with American Slang and Handwritten, which included their biggest radio hit "45". But following a fifth studio album, Get Hurt, the band went on an indefinite hiatus in 2015 as Fallon wanted to focus more on a solo career (not counting his one-off side project The Horrible Crowes). Other than the occasional live show, the band has more or less confirmed that their hiatus will be a permanent one but I still hold out hope that there's still more that the band will produce together. There didn't seem to be any bad blood behind the break-up. Fallon describes it as the band saying all it had to say musically. I can't argue with that logic. I enjoyed Get Hurt but it's definitely the weakest of the band's albums.
If it's all over after five albums and a phenomenal EP, the band will have fallen short of its label as "the next Springsteen" but to me, they'll always be one of my favorite bands. So they'll have to settle for number two on the list. Oh so close to number one. Speaking of....we have arrived at the number one spot. This is usually the spot on the list where the creator really can't win. Either the selection is safe and boring or a bolder choice is made but likely earns the ire of the reader. We'll see if I can thread the needle and land this plane.
#1
Achtung Baby
U2
Runner-Up: The Joshua Tree
Bronze Medal: War
Honorable Mention: All That You Can't Leave Behind
It's fitting that the best song on the number one album is "One". Critics and pundits will spend decades debating this list was a three month exercise to build to one dad pun joke. I'll never tell.
This whole list has been about controversy. I'm sure there have been more entries at which you've screamed "what?!" than you've said "yeah, that's a good call". That's the nature of lists. It's why we follow them. It's no fun if there is mass consensus. So it's fitting that the number one album could generate heated debate not only about a U2 album coming in at number one but also which U2 album I chose.
For me, the decision on which U2 album to select came down to two unsurprising choices: The Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby. It's also not surprising that I didn't select Songs of Innocence. We're told that right now we've never been more divided as a country, but we've never been more united as a country when millions joined hands and cried out that they did NOT want a free U2 album automatically downloaded to their phones. I long for the days when a free U2 album was in the top ten of our society's biggest complaints.
Picking The Joshua Tree would have been perfectly defensible and safe. It's clear that "Where The Streets Have Name", "With or Without You" and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" will be remembered not just as some of U2's greatest hits but some of the greatest songs from that generation. Even songs like "In God's Country" and "Bullet the Blue Sky" have stood on their own legs as some of the band's best songs. "One Tree Hill" even got its own TV show (the dad jokes keep coming). But Achtung Baby turns thirty years old this year and I've listened to it on a consistent basis since I was eight years old. I'm still not tired of it. "Zoo Station", "Even Better Than The Real Thing" and "One" represent an opening that's just as strong as The Joshua Tree. More than happy to debate that. "Zoo Station" is weaker than "Where The Streets Have No Name" but "Even Better Than The Real Thing" and "One" are superior to "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" and "With Or Without You".
Brief aside here about the phenomenal song "One". As much as I love this song, it astounds me when I hear that "One" had a stint as being used for first dances at weddings. Listening to the lyrics, it's a small step above choosing Cee Lo Green's "F*ck You" as a wedding dance. "One" is about the breakdown of a relationship. I picture couples staring into each other's eyes as Bono laments "you gave me nothing, now it's all I've got" and thinking they should have spent more time vetting songs other than just agreeing the song's melody is pretty. If this was your wedding song and this offends you, I'm glad you made it all the way to the number one entry before you felt that way.
As strong as the album's start is, things don't fall off from there. "Until The End Of The World", "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses", "So Cruel", "The Fly", "Mysterious Ways", and "Tryin' To Throw Your Arms Around The World" are waiting right around the corner. And the finale "Love Is Blindness" leaves the listener with a haunting, heartfelt send-off from Bono. Learning that the album's creation was filled with anger, turmoil and self-doubt as the band dealt with a potential break-up makes the achievement all the more impressive.
When I started compiling this list, I didn't know how many of the albums would be traced back to my youth. It makes sense and it's a comforting thought that I have so many pleasant memories of growing up in a house that really appreciated and valued music. The day my dad brought home our first CD player that was as big as our VCR rivaled the day that we got a Nintendo. And I still remember the elation when we got our first car with a CD player ("I can play the Top Gun soundtrack in the car?!?"). Achtung Baby falls in the category of albums I associate with my family and that only adds to the value I place on it as the top album on the list. It's an all-time great album and I feel confident placing it at the apex of this Top 100 list.
So that's it. The conclusion of a list of rankings that I'm sure I'll change my mind about in two weeks. For those who followed along in real time or for those who are finding the list now, I really appreciate all the feedback you've provided. I hope this made the days of quarantine and political turmoil pass a little faster and a little easier for you. I hope you were at least able to discover or reconnect with a band or album. I don't expect a Top 100 list but I'd love to hear your top albums. It will never grow old debating movies, music or TV and that was why we started this site to begin with. And all that sweet, sweet blog money. Thank you again for indulging me. I will now start lobbying fellow creator Nick to compile his list.
For those who aren't sick of me or my opinions, stay tuned for the Never-Ending Queue podcast! Am I kidding?
Graduate... Still kicks to this day.
ReplyDeleteCompletely forgot about the God of Wine. What a gut punch