Alright! Today we're going to reach the halfway point! This has been a very fun experience so far and now we're really getting into my absolute FAVORITE albums. We're going to focus on albums 51-60 and this is where it truly began to get difficult. So without further ado... Here we go again!!!
While this is by no means the greatest album ever recorded, it does contain what I truly believe to be the greatest song ever written... "Stairway To Heaven". There is something truly magical about "Stairway" that transcends time and musical genres. It is one of the first songs that many guitarists, including myself, set out to learn. Clocking in at 8 minutes in length, it's hard to tell what direction music would have went had they not written this song. The famous scene in Wayne's World would have never been, the drunken Dave Grohl performance of it would have never happened & who knows what else. It truly is that POWERFUL. Anytime anyone ever asks me what the greatest song ever written was, this is ALWAYS the first song that pops into my mind. No one has ever disagreed with me, ever. Overall this album, is very good. This song however makes it EPIC.
SUGGESTED LISTENING (#4 - Stairway To Heaven)
By the way, the Dave Grohl version I previously mentioned is below. You're welcome.
____________________________________________________________________________
#59 - The Doors - Strange Days (1967)
My introduction to The Doors came with a little movie from 1987 titled, "The Lost Boys". AND IT WASN'T EVEN THEM!!! It was a cover of "People Are Strange" by Echo And The Bunnymen. It had a profound impact on me and I have forever been in love with this song. This album is GREAT! It has inspired so many musical artists over the years and it is hard to think about a world without it. In my early 20's I got to a lonely time in my life where I would just sit in the dark, smoke a blunt and listen to albums from start to finish with my eyes closed taking in everything I was hearing. This was one of those albums. This album simply put, is best listened to from start to finish. DO IT, you won't regret it, I PROMISE!
SUGGESTED LISTENING (#2 - You're Lost Little Girl)
I had just turned 10 years old when "The Chronic" came out. I didn't know what to think of it. I was a little white kid from Columbus, Ohio. But I realized it was something truly special. Growing up in the era of MTV & The BOX, I was constantly exposed to this album. My brother bought it and as always I snuck it out of his room and would play it while I was playing Nintendo games. Hell, my mom even liked "Nothin But A G Thang". This was my introduction to Snoop & Dre. I never knew what gangsta rap was till this cd came out. To me, this is the second greatest rap album ever recorded.
SUGGESTED LISTENING (#5 - Nuthin' But A G Thang (Featuring Snoop Doggy Dogg))
There was just something about the music released in 1994. I can't stress that statement enough. It was a magical year. My introduction to Jeff Buckley came in 2004 when some friends of mine were always talking about him. I had heard the name, but never heard the music. Being the music lover I am, I went home and decided to look it up. I listened to "Grace" and was simply blown away. EASILY one of the 10 greatest vocalists of all time, it's a tragedy that he had to die so young. This album is everything a debut album should be. He commands your attention and every song on it is a MASTERPIECE. Though his life on this Earth was cut way too short, at least he was able to leave us with this album. I suggest you listen to it. You won't be sorry!
Any true Pink Floyd fan knows the story of Syd Barrett. They also know that following his departure they began to stray away from their psychedelic roots and go in a more progressive direction. This album contained 6 tracks. 5 on the first side and when you flipped it over, it contained the 24 minute long "Echoes". This song served as a taste of what was to come for them. It was a pre-cursor to Dark Side Of The Moon. Simply put, it was one of their most unique offerings and to this day, one of the greatest songs they wrote. Echoes isn't just a song, it's an adventure. This song has the power to take you on a journey to parts of your mind you didn't know existed. Don't believe me? Listen for yourself! Just hit play, close your eyes and really listen to it.
#55 - Guns N' Roses - Use Your Illusion 1 & 2 (1991)
Guns N' Roses were one of the most powerful bands in the late 80's, early 90's. Another one of those bands that were inescapable. Use Your Illusion was released as 2 separate albums, although it should have just been a double. Haha. Way to make extra money I guess. These albums came at the height of their career and turned them from great status to legendary status. November Rain, Civil War, You Could Be Mine & Knockin' On Heavens Door, just mentioning those songs should remind you how great they were. It's a shame what happened to them in the years following. It's another one of those classic feud stories that tore apart something great. We've heard that story too many times before. Thank GOD they released these albums though. Terminator 2 made great use of the song, "You Could Be Mine".
SUGGESTED LISTENING - Use Your Illusion I (#10 - November Rain)
SUGGESTED LISTENING - Use Your Illusion II (#12 - You Could Be Mine)
Since it's November and rainy, here's a bonus.
And just because this song is BAD ASS.
____________________________________________________________________________
#54 - Miles Davis - Kind Of Blue (1959)
Around 2003, I kept hearing Miles Davis this & Miles Davis that so I sat down and decided to listen to what all the fuss was about. Boy did I pick a GREAT album to start with! I believe this is the oldest and most random album on my list, but it is certainly well deserved. To those who don't know, Miles Davis was a jazz trumpet player. Although he could fit into other genres, especially later in his life, he mainly played jazz. Jazz has never been my forte. However, this album made me open my mind up and because of it, I am forever thankful to him and his wonderful music. "If peeing in your pants is cool, then consider me miles davis". Hahahaha.
Here is where I begin to make some enemies. The following statement I believe to be completely true. "The Beatles are the most over-rated band of all time". There... I said it. Go ahead and bash me. Come on, do it! But before you do, consider this. Early in their career they were under guidance from their record labels. Everything was poppy and "fake". Their early songs were ok, but it was albums like this and "The White Album" that truly showed their potential. With that being said, I LOVE ABBEY ROAD. This album is ICONIC. The album art is easily the most recognized cover in music history. EVERYONE has seen it. But a lot of people have only heard what the radio plays. Booooooooooooo! I say to those people. Listen to track #8, "Because". It is easily one of their best, non-single songs. Haunting and beautiful. Also, listen to track #1, "Come Together". Is John Lennon really saying, "Shoot Me"? If so, that's just creepy. Really creepy.
Well, ladies and gentleman, here it is. The last rap album on my countdown. This is the GREATEST rap album ever recorded. It was hard not to place it higher up cause it definitely deserves a spot in the top ten. But once again, this is my favorite list, not the definitive one. So why is this album so high up? If you were alive, you know why. This album is FILLED with conspiracy and GREAT, GREAT music. Loaded with hits, this is the best 2Pac had to offer and came at the end of his life? I put a question mark there because who knows! 2Pac was so powerful with his lyrics that he transcended the rap genre and crossed over and connected with anyone who listened to his music. He is not only the greatest rap artist of all time, but his music will live on for thousands of years. Do you think people in a thousand years will be listening to Jay-Z? Probably not, he's shit in comparison. 2Pac will forever be the GOAT. And this is the album why.
This is my last Beatles album included on my countdown. Although many would place this much, much higher. It clocks in at #51 on my list. This was a double album that represented the beginning of their experimental music. They started doing drugs and opened their minds to more possibilities musically. The Beatles were great, don't get me wrong. But this album was their peak. This album inspired Charles Manson (Helter Skelter) & Pink Floyd (Dear Prudence) and countless others. It is a GREAT album and will be remembered long after all of us have come and gone.
SUGGESTED LISTENING (Disc 1 - #11 - Blackbird)
So there you have it! Halfway done! I hope you have enjoyed our time together so far, cause I have a blast writing these out every week! With so many albums that most people would have listed in their top 10 already out of the way... who knows what I have left in store for you all! Same time next week! You know where to find me! Till then, thanks for checking it out again!
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.
