Thursday, December 24, 2015

Jack Willowbee's Top 100 Albums Of All Time (1-10)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! Well, Ladies & Gentleman... this is it! We have reached the end of my top 100 favorite albums of all time list! But, don't think of this as the end... think of this as the beginning!!! Starting January 1st I will be doing weekly reviews every Friday on new albums! Most will be rock, but I will be open to listening and reviewing anything. We will have some surprises along the way and it will be fun to watch this blog grow as the year progresses! It will be interesting to see how many new faces I will know come this time next year. Well, without further review I present you with my top ten favorite albums of all time!!!

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#10 - Dredg - Leitmotif (1999)


This was Dredg's SPECTACULAR debut release! The songs on this album helped pave the way for what would become a very successful underground music career. Though they have enjoyed a degree of mainstream success, they never quite broke it big like many of the other bands from their era did. But that's fine with me. They have became one of my favorite bands over the years and this was the album that made it happen. Their instrumentation and Gavin's vocals make for beautiful, wonderful music that needs to be listened to, over and over and over and over again.



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#09 - Foo Fighters - Wasting Light (2011)



The Foo Fighters have become one of the best, most iconic bands of our era. When this album came out in 2011 it felt like 1997 all over again. It had the same iconic power as their, "The Colour And The Shape" album. It was the return of the great PAT SMEAR! For those of you who don't know who he was... look up Nirvana towards the end of their career. He was their "unoffical" 4th member. He would have found a permanent spot with them, had it not been for the untimely death of Kurt. This album was FANTASTIC from start till finish. It brought the raw energy back that they so desperately needed and in some sense, brought the Foos storming into a new decade. This album is simply put, a MASTERPIECE.



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#08 - Incubus - Make Yourself (1999)



In the spring of 2000, I had just moved and started school in a new city, with a bunch of new kids I had never met before. It was weird at first but it's something you get used to. Anyways, as the summer approached I got a job at a lazer tag place and it was AWESOME. I had heard, "Pardon Me" and wasn't extremely impressed, I was still pretty big into Limp Bizkit and Incubus never really caught on to me. Now, one day while playing lazer tag with my friends after hours, a guy I worked with, Adam, decided that I NEEDED to hear this album. We could play cds while we played lazer tag so we popped it in and began what would become one of the most important moments in my life. As we played, I listened and as the album got to track 4, "The Warmth" something inside of me clicked. I finally realized I wanted to be a musician. I wanted to write music and it was because of THIS album, that I pursued it. This is one of those albums that is life-changing. It should be listened to by every human being born on Earth.



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#07 - Third Eye Blind - Third Eye Blind (1997)



This album came at what I consider to be the end of my childhood. After this album came out I grew up pretty quick. My dad died the following year and that's life-changing for anyone. That may be the reason I liked this album so much, but nevertheless... it was AMAZING! 3EB was huge as soon as this album came out! With "Semi-Charmed Life" being the anthem of 1997, it was one of those songs that was and still is inescapable. If you've never listened to the album, do so. Most of the songs that received no air play, are the ones that were the best!



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#06 - Foo Fighters - The Colour And The Shape (1997)



With the Foo's coming off of the success of Dave Grohls recorded demo album of 1995, the follow up was nothing short of SPECTACULAR. "TCATS" has become one of their most iconic works and to many, including myself, considered to be their greatest achievement. This is one of those infectious albums that can get stuck in your head for weeks, with just one listen. The songs on this album have been used in countless mediums, in everything from football games, to tv shows and movies. This is easily one of the best rock albums ever written.




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#05 - Incubus - S.C.I.E.N.C.E. (1997)



Any true Incubus fan will tell you why this is their best album. This was the album that set them up for the mainstream success they've achieved nowadays. The musicianship and vocal ability of Brandon Boyd blended together magically to form one of the best musical works of the 1900's. The sad part about it, is how underrated this album is. Brandons quirky, well thought out lyrics, not only make you think deeply, they seduce and rape you. But in the most gentle, subtle way possible.



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#04 - Nirvana - Nevermind (1991)



In 1991, Nirvana made themselves a household name. MTV played, "Smells Like Teen Spirit" non-stop, as well as the radio. From the opening riffs of that song, we knew something big was about to happen. The sheer power of Daves drum intro to that song, crushed our puny minds. It was devastating and it forever changed the way we listen to rock music today. Countless people have tried to create a song that powerful and EVERYONE has failed. This wasn't simply a song, this was a song written by the gods themselves and handed to Nirvana to perform. IT was that powerful. Shit... it's STILL that powerful.



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#03 - Michael Jackson - Thriller (1982)


This album is LITERALLY the best selling album of ALL TIME. It just hit 30 times platinum in the US. That's 30,000,000 copies sold in the US alone. With those numbers in mind, that's roughly 1 in every 10 Americans owning a copy of it. This album is ICONIC. I mean, 7 out of the 9 songs on it became chart topping singles. That is UNHEARD of. The video for Thriller was like a mini movie. And EDDIE VAN FREAKING HALEN played the guitar on "Beat It". This album WAS the 80's. Pretty cool for an album that came out the same year I was born! Below, I leave you with the "Thriller" video in it's entirety!



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#02 - Pink Floyd - The Dark Side Of The Moon (1973)



"Dark Side Of The Moon" has become one of the most well known, most treasured albums of all time. Pink Floyd became instant LEGENDS and catapulted themselves into a household name. This album and it's lyrics are just as relevant now more than ever. If you have never heard it, you're probably under 13 and you should do so immediately. This album spent 741 weeks on the Billboard charts from 1973 to 1988. That is insane.



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#01 - The Offspring - Smash (1994)


"Ahhhhhh, it's time to relax and you know what that means." At this point it should come as no surprise that my favorite album ever came from 1994. "Smash" was something special. There was just something about it that made me get all ADHD every time I heard it. I wanted to throw things and mosh with the couch in our living room. I can remember being home alone and putting our stereo speakers up to our screen door and blaring "Bad Habit" as long as it would go so all of my neighbors who were outside could hear, "You stupid, dumbshit, god damn, mother fucker" as loud as stereoly possible. =0) If you were one of said neighbors, i'm not sorry. That album ROCKED and 21 years later it's still MY FAVORITE ALBUM EVER.


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Thanks for reading and keeping up every week as I shared with you my favorite albums of all time. Now the reviews will begin! Get ready for some shitty and awesome music being fed to you! Who knows, maybe some new favorites will emerge from this blog. Expect new things such as a layout and links to where you can find these great and shitty albums for cheap! Thanks for reading and MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! Now you can go spend some time with the relatives you HATE!!! Or just click share and share this page with everyone you know!!! Till next year, i'm Jack Willowbee and this has been AWESOME! Remember to check back every FRIDAY in 2016 for a new review!

2 comments:

  1. Nice list and reviews to wrap up the year! Will be curious to see what's next. I don't remember the date but I saw the offspring in the 94 era.

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    1. I bet that show was awesome too! My friend Stephen got to as well. I was always envious of that. But I got to see Incubus 6 times and he has still yet to see them, so it's all good. Thanks for reading!

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