ALL RIGHT! 20 to go! This is where you really get to know me and what albums I truly love! These were the easiest 20 albums to come to a conclusion on, because I have listened to the songs on these albums, hundreds upon thousands of times. That is no exageration. I LOVE MUSIC. I breathe it. I AM MUSIC. Well, friends... here is numbers 11-20. Get ready!
#20 - HoobUstank - They Sure Don't Make Basketball Shorts Like They Used To (1998)
FORGET everything you think you know about Hoobastank. This is HoobUstank. Same band, but before they became the megastars they are today. They used to have a saxophonist & a good bass player. This album is WAY different than anything they followed it up with. Because this was an independently released album, most people never even had a chance to hear it. Once again, my good friend Nate introduced me to these guys in 2000. This was a year before their huge self-titled album came out and went platinum. It was HUGELY inspired by Mr. Bungle, Faith No More & Incubus. Unfortunately, they transitioned out of this style, lost the saxophonist, Jeremy Wasser and became more "commercially" acceptable. This album will always be one of my favorites and you should check it out all the way through at least once. If you've ever heard one of their songs, you definitely owe it to yourself!
NONE of you have ever heard of this band... and that's a FUCKING shame. This may just be the best unheard of album of ALL TIME. I mean... this album is better than 99% of the albums i've ever heard. It is that good. Oh, and they're from Ireland. Cork to be exact. So let me tell you how I heard about them. You deserve a story on this one!
Back around 2007 or so I was on a musician website called "Garageband". No not the apple program either. It was a site where musicians could earn credits to have their music reviewed by reviewing other artists or by paying a small fee for the credits. Well, anyways... one of the bands I reviewed was these guys. I got a song called "Sub" and back then they were called "Silo". I WAS BLOWN AWAY! I found the Fingersmith version and you can hear it below.
So after hearing this song, I was an INSTANT fan. I needed more! It was extremely hard to find, but I managed to find a demo with 4 songs on it. Soon after I lost it and forgot about them for a couple of years. One day I had the urge to look them up again and what do ya know! They changed their name to "Fingersmith" and had just released "The Annexe"! I was thrilled when I managed to get a copy of it. It was LITTERALLY one of the best albums I have ever heard. Earlier this year I got in contact with the singer and he told me they had broken up. What a shame. But out of our conversation, he did lead me to a site where I could find some unreleased songs I had never heard! Wwll, now you can hear them too! LISTEN TO ALL OF THEM!!!!!!!! You can thank me later!
This was probably the best album put out in 1995. A lot of people instantly wrote this off when it came out because it was recorded by Nirvana's former drummer, "Dave Grohl". It's kind of funny 20 years later to see how famous they have gotten over the years. The best thing about this album is the fact that Dave wrote, recorded & produced everything by HIMSELF! In a sense, this is the best solo rock cd to ever be recorded! We lost a great musician when Kurt died, but we gained an even better one in Dave Grohl. Think about it. Erase all of Dave's accomplishments since Nirvana & bring Kurt back from the dead and replace Nirvana for all of those years instead. Rock music would have been completely different. This album started it all for the Foos!
This is Tool's "Magnum Opus". Nothing they have ever written or will write in the coming years will ever compare to this. There was a dark kinda magic to this cd that made you just wanna mosh in your living room. When it came out, I wasn't a fan. Not even remotely. Around 8th grade in 98, when me and my friends started drinking, my friend Dustin would put it on when his mom was working nights and we would get drunk and mosh around his living room listening to this. Haha. SEE!!! I never listened to the lyrics until I was in my early 20's but this album was dark! You probably have already heard it... if not, look below!
#16 - Red Hot Chili Peppers - Blood, Sugar, Sex, Magik (1991)
When this album came out in 1991 I was 8 years old. I remember my brother loving this album and like so many of his albums, I took it and listened to it as well. BLOWN AWAY. The funk that came out of my Sony Walkman penetrated my ears and made me love the Peppers even to this day. Those guys are like the "Rolling Stones" of my generation. They've been through some serious shit, but still continue on as a BAND. It's cool to still hear new stuff from these guys every couple of years and everytime, it still sounds as fresh as ever. However, this album is where most of my favorites reside.
This album was destined to become an instant classic. Quite possibly the greatest double disc album ever written, this album is SUPERB! It's a shame that Roger Waters is such a dick and runs this album into the ground. I don't feel I need to explain why I love this album. You probably do to and this is widely considered one of the greatest rock albums in the history of rock music. I would link to it, but Roger Waters is a douchebag and has the videos on Youtube blocked. Go buy the album instead. WELL worth it!
In 1991, Metallica was on top of the world! They were the biggest band in rock and you couldn't listen to the radio without hearing one of these songs on. My brother bought it when it came out but for once, that wasn't where I heard it for the first time. In the second grade our music teacher, Mrs. Wade, had a music hall pass she gave out for good behavior, for you and a friend to go out in the hall and listen to the music of your choice on her cassette player. Well, a kid named "David Beckman" invited me to come listen to Metallica with him. My life was forever changed. =0)
The first album of theirs was weird. This one was weird too but HOLY SHIT! This is the ultimate head-banging album! This album solidified them as being one of the best, most exciting rock bands of their era. This album made me scream meaningless lyrics for no apparent reason, other than screaming them. HAha. Every song on this album is amazing and holds special meaning to me. I now even judge how good a drummer is by the measure of how well he can play "Toxicity" on the drums and if he can't... well... can he even be considered a drummer?
#12 - The Mars Volta - De-Loused In The Comatorium (2003)
This was an album that made me super excited! As a fan of "At The Drive-In" I didn't know what to expect. This album beats the shit out of you from the intro to the closing notes. IT was not only an adventure, it was an inspiration to countless musicians to come. This album defined 2003 and brought hope back to music enthusiasts everywhere! If you have not heard it, you need to. If you do not own it, you need to. If you dislike it, well... I don't want you reading this blog anymore! Hahaa.
#11 - Faith No More - King For A Day, Fool For A Lifetime (1995)
This album should have and would had been released in 1994, if it weren't for the death of Kurt Cobain. With close ties to Nirvana, Faith No More were dealing with the loss of a close friend and prolonged the release of this album a year. This is my favorite FNM album and easily one of the most underrated. Funny, it was only this year I sat down and listened to it and already it's number 11 on my list. I shame myself for not listening sooner, but who knows... maybe younger me wouldn't have appreciated it as much. Nonetheless, this album is PURE GOLD. This album is pretty much responsible for anything that came out of the "Nu-Metal" scene and none of those bands are afraid to admit it. FNM was years ahead of their time, it's just a shame this album didn't get more play.
Well. 10 left. Hard to believe it! The next 10 are going to be EXTREMELY fun to write about. Any guesses? This is the point where you can click follow and start commenting by the way!!! See ya next Friday!
Ok! Now that we have the first 50 out of the way it's time to get into my top 50 favorite albums of all time. This is where it gets good, so get ready!
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.
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.
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!
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.
#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!
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))
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?
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.
#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.
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!
So it looks like everyone is stuck with me yet again! This will be my third week straight! Ok. So we've went through 81-100 and now we're really starting to get into my true favorites. It started to get really hard around here but i'm pretty sure i've got it mostly figured out now. It really is hard to come up with your favorite 100 list. Don't believe me? Try it for yourself! So here we go again! 71-80!
Not many people watched MTV as much as I did. At least, no one I knew did. At one point in 2000, they had a special called "MTV's Ultimate Cover Band Battle". There was a band I took notice to named, "Strangers With Candy". They did a cover of A-Ha's "Take On Me". It blew me away. I was an instant fan and waited for their cd to come out from that day forth. Well, it never came... or at least I thought. For 2 years I waited and waited. One day in the Napster era of music, I downloaded one of their songs from that show. Well. It brought back some other results with a new name... "Lifer". Oh my GOD, I thought to myself as I listened... IT WAS THEM!!! So that's why I didn't know. They changed their name. I wondered why everyone always thought I was talking about the lady on the Comedy Central show. Haha. So here we are, #80 on my list. Lifer has always been that band for me that I rediscover every 5 or so years and it makes me happy everytime! Check them out, maybe you'll like them too!
#79 - Tears For Fears - Songs From The Big Chair (1985)
Tears For Fears was quite possibly one of my top five favorite bands in the 80's growing up. They were always on the radio and some of their songs were the first songs I memorized every lyric to. This was the cd that really did it for them. It had so much great music and that music still follows me to this day. Anytime I hear, "Shout" or "Everybody Wants To Rule The World" I always still sing along. I'm willing to bet most of you do too. However... I never listened to the whole album until my friend Justin told me to watch "Donnie Darko". I heard this song playing and completely missed it in the 80's!!! Easily one of the best, overlooked 80's songs, if you don't know it, Youtube it immediately!
2006 was a weird, transitional year for me. I had just landed a new job, I released my debut personal album, "The Rise And Fall Of Jack Willowbee" and I finally started to embrace adulthood. I was 23 and social media was beginning to flourish. Around this time I started to search out new bands from all over the world. I stumbled onto this band accidentally looking for archived "Pink Floyd" concerts I had never heard. I sat down and checked them out. I was HUGE into songs that lasted 15 minutes plus and here I was presented with a brand new band to me from England. I was captivated by them. Their music was so hauntingly beautiful. They were almost like a medicine to me in 2006. Their cd "Lights" was just coming out and I may have been one of the first people in America to know about it. I love that about me. I have always been one to not dismiss someones music after first listens and because of that, I have been rewarded tenfold. If you have never heard of Archive... I suggest you check them out. They may change your life. Seriously. If you ever feel down and out, listen to "Lights". It always makes the day brighter for me.
#77 - The Butterfly Effect - Final Conversation Of Kings (2008)
I just found out about these guys last year! I was hanging out on Youtube, as usual... and BAM! Suggested videos on the right hand side pointed me the way! So I heard one song, liked it and decided to burn a cd of theirs. Me & my wife listened to it for a good month straight. This cd was easily likable and had us singing along in no time. It truly is a great album. It's just a shame that these guys broke up. This cd had a magical feel to it. I never realized these guys were Australian either! Besides "Men At Work", I couldn't tell you another Australian band. Very good album. I don't say this disrespectfully but it kind of gives you a Richard Marx rocking out kinda vibe.
SUGGESTED LISTENING - (#5 - Window And The Watcher)
With The Doors, it can be hard to narrow it down to a favorite cd of theirs, all were great, but this one really sticks out more to me than the others. It could be "The Lost Boys" fault for introducing them to me in 1987 with the song, "People Are Strange". But even though that is my favorite song of theirs, "The Doors" is by far my favorite album. After watching the Val Kilmer movie based on them, I have grown a huge love for the song "The End". Once again, a song clocking in at almost 12 minutes long! Songs like that have the power to take you to another world. All you have to do is close your eyes, relax and just clear your mind.
#75 - Rage Against The Machine - Evil Empire (1996)
Everyone who listens to rock music, likes at least ONE Rage song. For me that songs is, "Bulls On Parade". There was just something about Tom Morello's guitar playing style along with Zach's vocals that made them a band to remember. This album was EVERYWHERE in 1996. Produced by one of the greats, "Brendan O' Brien" and released on the Epic label. This album was destined to be GREAT from the start. Not to mention, "Bulls On Parade", turned out to be the first song I got 100% on expert in Guitar Hero. HAha.
In 1998, NO ONE, knew what to think of this band. They weren't even on the Frank Zappa weirdness level. But for some reason, "Sugar" hit and they became HUGE. One of my favorite bands to this day, System Of A Down are quite possibly the weirdest rock band in the history of rock. This album was their debut and was loaded with great, short masterpieces. "Spiders" was the sleeper track here and has always been my favorite song of theirs on this album. This however, is an album you have to have an open mind with while listening. It's different from everything else that came out in the mainstream 90's.
This was the prequel to their "Back To The Future" success. This was the album they released right before "Back To The Future" made them the success they are internationally today. "Heart & Soul" & "If This Is It" are easily 2 of the greatest 80's songs ever recorded and they just happened to be on the SAME CD! If you grew up in the 80's you know how inescapable this band was. They were in one of our favorite movies, they owned the radio & our parents liked them. This to me, is the album that catapulted their career. "Back To The Future" would not have been the same without this album being made first. Very important album.
When I heard about Muse in 2002, they were still virtually unknown. I happened along the song, "New Born" and saw the fire in their live performance and saw another "Nirvana" unfolding right before my eyes. Unfortunately as of late they have went more electronic, but this cd shined. It was a masterpiece and in my opinion their best work. "Feeling Good" was written by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley for the 1964 musical "The Roar of the Greasepaint - The Smell of the Crowd" but made famous by the legendary jazz singer Nina Simone. Their version is by far better and on this cd, it shined. If you like Muse and have not heard this album, what are you doing with your life? Seriously?
In 1997, when MTV still played music videos, "Paranoid Android" was given to the world. The music video was as weird as Tool's and it made me a true Radiohead fan. "Karma Police" was equally as important and both remain in heavy rotation on radio stations around the world. Radiohead bust onto the scene in 1992 with their hit, "Creep" but this was the album that really showcased their talent. One of it's greatest praises came this year when it was declared to be, "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for inclusion in the National Recording Registry". Pretty high honors if you ask me.
70 albums to go and it feels like were still just getting started. I'd love to know what everyone thinks so far! Don't be afraid to comment, like, share or follow me! I could use some more eyes and it all starts with all of you! So happy reading and until next time, i'm Jack Willowbee.
