____________________________________________________________________________
#50 - Green Day - Dookie (1994)
Another CD from 1994! Don't worry, there's still more! I told you, 1994 was a magical year. Being an 11 year old kid was AWESOME in 1994. There was so much good music coming out in every genre, it was definitely amazing being alive and witnessing it first hand. Green Day's 1994 offering was no different. This was the album that put them on the map. Everyone had heard of Green Day, but they were one of those bands that only a few people liked. Then this album came out and shot them into mainstream success. Without this cd, many of the bands you love today wouldn't have existed. Call it "the butterfly effect" if you will. This cd was LOADED with hits but my favorite was always, "She". If you're young and haven't heard it yet for whatever reason, do it. This was, is and always will be, a GREAT album.
SUGGESTED LISTENING (#8 - She)
____________________________________________________________________________
#49 - Silverchair - Neon Ballroom (1999)
Silverchair was one of those bands I completely ignored as a child. I knew about them and a couple of their songs, but I just never had the urge to listen to them. When I finally came around and checked out a whole cd of theirs, it was this one. Immediately, I was floored. WHY DID IT TAKE ME SO LONG??? Oh well, better late than never. I always liked, "Anthem For The Year 2000", but... "Emotion Sickness". Well, that song was them saying goodbye to their musical careers.
SUGGESTED LISTENING (#1 - Emotion Sickness)
____________________________________________________________________________
#48 - Shades Apart - Eyewitness (1999)
Here's one of those bands that you might know about, but probably not. They had a song on the American Pie soundtrack titled, "Stranger By The Day". It was always one of my favorites and when I saw this album on the shelf in West Virgina on a family outing, I was soooooooooooooooooooooo freaking happy! I must have listened to it 20 times that afternoon and it has remained in my head ever since. Great album! Although not as heavy as a lot of the albums on my list, it's spot is definitely deserved!
SUGGESTED LISTENING (#1 - Edge Of The Century)
____________________________________________________________________________
#47 - Tomahawk - Tomahawk (2001)
What can you say about Mike Patton that hasn't already been said a million times. If you don't know who he is then you have definitely been living under a rock. This guy does it all, he's been in countless bands and side projects, he even did all of the monster growls in the Will Smith movie, "I Am Legend". EASILY, the most versatile vocalist of our time, he's one of those people you either love or hate. At first listen you may turn this album off and dismiss it. It's easy to do. However, if you listen to it repeatedly it grows on you like that wart you don't want anyone to see. I suggest you check this out.
SUGGESTED LISTENING - (#4 - God Hates A Coward)
____________________________________________________________________________
#46 - System Of A Down - Mezmerize / Hypnotize (2005)
These albums were both equally as good and often overlooked. If you actually sat down and listened to both of them however, you would know how good they were as a whole. As always, it featured music only Serj and company could come up with. It was like a carnival ride with Frank Zappa as the ringleader. The movie "Disturbia" with Shia Lebeauf even used their song, "Lonely Day" in their trailer. Start with track one on Mezmerize and listen all the way through. It's worth your time, I promise!
SUGGESTED LISTENING (Hypnotize - #8 - Holy Mountains)
____________________________________________________________________________
#45 - Deftones - White Pony (2000)
The Deftones were one of those bands that again, I was late to the bandwagon. My introduction to them came with this album. But I must say, I am happy it did! This was their best album in my opinion and the fact that it had Maynard from Tool on one track made it all the more amazing. If you haven't heard this album, you might as well do it right now. This may have been the album that ended the Deftones because after it, I never listened to another album of theirs again. Every song on this album was awesome and it was the kind of album, best listened to, driving down the freeway at night.
SUGGESTED LISTENING - (#9 - Passenger (Featuring Maynard James Keenan))
____________________________________________________________________________
#44 - Alice In Chains - Dirt (1992)
This is easily one of the best albums of the 90's. There were so many iconic songs on this album that it would be hard for any Alice In Chains fan to pinpoint a favorite. Another one of those bands I wasn't into until my late 20's, I wish I had listened to them wayyyyyy earlier. I always liked their hits and all, but some of the other album tracks were just dark. The band "Godsmack" even took their name from one of this albums tracks. It's a shame Layne had to die so young, but most of the truly great ones do. Isn't that the case with rock and roll though?
SUGGESTED LISTENING (#13 - Would)
____________________________________________________________________________
#43 - Stone Temple Pilots - Core (1992)
This was always my favorite STP album. It had a TON of great music and was the perfect debut album. I can remember being 9 or 10 and having the cassette in my walkman all of the time. I would always get to "Creep" and rewind it everytime. Then I would repeat this process for about an hour. I always loved this album and still do to this day. I'd even be willing to bet that another 23 years from now, I will still love it.
SUGGESTED LISTENING (#2 - Sex Type Thing)
____________________________________________________________________________
#42 - Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness (1995)
"The World Is A Vampire"... might just be the most recognized song intro of all time. I can remember hearing it when I was little and thinking to myself, "What the hell does that even mean". Well, 20 years later, I think we all know what he was trying to say. This album had so many great songs layered throughout it. You didn't have to like them to like the songs on this album. Everyone is guilty of singing along to at least one of them. It's funny how people say, "I hate Billy Corgan and The Smashing Pumpkins". Only to hear that same person singing along to "Bullet With Butterfly Wings" when it comes on.
SUGGESTED LISTENING (Disc 1 - #4 - Zero)
____________________________________________________________________________
#41 - Faith No More - The Real Thing (1989)
When "Faith No More", kicked vocalist "Chuck Mosely" out of the band, it may have been the greatest decision of their lives. In 1989 a song came out named "Epic". It hit MTV and the radio with so much fury that it's still being played today. EVERYONE has heard that song and was, to many of us, our introduction to Mike Patton. No one had any idea who he was to become but because of THAT song and THAT album, MOST of the bands you know and love today were formed. So much great music has been inspired because of this album that it would literally be a completely different world musically had it not been written. Mike Patton was decades in front of music. This album is still as relevant today ad it was in 1989. Amazing foresight into the future. Thank you Mike Patton. Thank you.
SUGGESTED LISTENING (#4 - Surprise! You're Dead!)
____________________________________________________________________________
Well. We are 4 weeks away from the last of this countdown. It's been fun sharing all of this with the thousands of you now reading! Happy Thanksgiving and i'll see you next week!
