was more difficult than i anticipated, i've compiled some of my favourite albums before but to pick my absolute favourite 10 albums was a challenge heh
1.
unwound - leaves turn inside you probably my most listened to album ever from my favourite band, 77 minutes of lush dreamy post rock with shoegaze and post hardcore influences throughout. an album that never fails to amaze me, with me hearing something new every time and with every track having a distinct personality, it constantly keeps you guessing. one of the few albums i consider a true 10/10
2.
jackson c. frank - self titled very personal and heartfelt outsider folk from a man who suffered with depression his whole life. an album that lifts you up in the beginning to destroy you in the second half towards the end. one of the few albums to make me feel something when listening along, incredible
3.
slint - spiderland many consider spiderland the starting point for post rock, and for good reason. this album is very similar to unwound's leaves turn inside you, but dabbles a little less with the experimentation. an album that is incredibly minimal, but is executed perfectly. it creates an atmosphere with the almost ineligible vocals and distorted low key guitars that consumes you, surprised if this isn't one of most people's top albums
4.
fuck buttons - slow focus an album that combines drone, electronic, ambient, psychedelic and trance. fuck buttons take elements from their previous releases and really master it with their 2013 effort. there have been few albums that really surprise me from the 2010s, but this is sincerely my album of the decade so far
5.
a silver mt zion - he has left us alone but... asmz is the somewhat underappreciated side project of godspeed you black emperor, and for most fans of post rock their side seems to pale in comparison. for me though this album is near flawless, long haunted passages intertwined with orchestral vocals help to create something that gy!be couldn't for me. not necessarily an overlooked album, but definitely under valued
6.
joy division - unknown pleasures an iconic album in the 80s post punk movement, with joy division influencing groups that came after their time with their gothic and dark portrayal of post punk. it was hard to choose between this and closer, as both are exceptional. if you're to pick one post punk album to listen to, listen to this
7.
thinking fellers union local 282 - mother of all saints an album hard to narrow down into one particular genre, noise rock infused with punk and indie rock with lo fi production, that encompasses the best part of all of these genres. a very fun album with acquired vocals with one of the strongest first halfs of an album you will ever listen to. an album with no filler and a lot of replayability, and something i will likely still consider a musical masterpiece years down the line
8.
the radio dept - lesser matters lush, catchy shoegaze/dream pop, that isn't drowned in reverb loud guitars and gorgeous melodies, a pleasure to listen to. isn't trying too hard to sound like mbv. the radio dept don't have a bad release in their discography. i'm not too big a fan of this genre, and few albums apart from loveless and souvlaki's albums have really impressed me, but the radio dept do modern day dream pop justice
9.
polvo - today's active lifestyles a mix of math rock and post rock creates one of the more unique sounding albums of this genre. today's active lifestyles is incredibly layered, with the angular guitars and distorted vocals really help to differentiate themselves from other math rock bands that have too much of a focus on bashing drums for 7 minutes straight. incredibly consistent through, some of my favourite tracks of all time are on this album
10.
smog - julius caesar quirky lo fi folk music with bill callahan's fuzzy vocals layered over the top. it takes you on a ride of emotions, with sincere and mellow tracks intertwined with more upbeat tracks while still maintaining this warm and self aware aesthetic. of the albums on this list this is the one i've found the most recently and i'm desperate to find more like this.
honourable mentions
lightyears away - astral navigations
paul simon - graceland
the velvet underground - the velvet underground & nico
arthur russell - world of echo
natural snow buildings - dance of the sun and the moon
can - ege bamyasi