This was an incredibly difficult progress. I'm constantly discovering new music - for about a year, I've listened to the albums on this list and it has certainly influenced and widened my taste in music. I'm not done with the list, I'm still only at #156, and in the end only two albums from my experiences with that list made the cut, but a LOT of albums are close.
Every artist is featured a maximum of one time.
10. The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars – David Bowie
While we're all too young to have heard this album when it was new and sparked the cult around Bowie you can easily see why it had such an appeal. The best tracks on this record are the ones opening and ending the album if you ask me - Five Years & Rock'n'Roll Suicide - but there's no weak tracks. Certainly a masterpiece. One of the two albums I discovered through the above list.
9. Att Ha Fritidsbåt - Lolita Pop
Att Ha Fritidsbåt (To own a leisure boat) is a Swedish album from 1985 by rock-punk-indie group Lolita Pop. This album, and group, is probably unknown for people in my generation - no songs from this album exist in non-live versions on Youtube - but I'll never regret discovering this. The lyrics are escapist and fairly vague, while the powerful rock sound hooks you. The tracks Långa tåg (Long Trains) and Två x två (Two times two) are my favorites. Unfortunately, Lolita Pop decided to make albums in English after this, losing some of their appeal to me, and they never reached this height again (albeit their sales increased so there's that).
8. Mezzanine - Massive Attack
These dark and haunting sounds, combined with the powerful vocals from the guest artists (including lead singer from the band on #2 on this list) create a perfect opportunity to get chills along your spine. The album drops in intensity as time goes on and wouldn't be enough for me to get hooked, but the first four tracks are among some of the best I've heard. Loveyouloveyouloveyouloveyou...
7. Close to the Edge - Yes
Progressive rock has taken a big hit in popularity, but in the early 1970's, the public still bought full-length albums consisting of less than four tracks. This album consists of three songs: Close to the Edge, And You and I, and Siberian Khatru. If you look up the lyrics for the (ridiculously amazing) 18-minute title track, you'll find it divided into four parts with their own distinctive names. Part three of this song is my favorite - initially very dreamy and airborne, eventually developing into a charged organ solo.
6. Moby Grape - Moby Grape
1967 spawned a massive amount of great albums and this is the one that catches me the most. Psychedelic rock's finest moment, this album has an average track length of less than 2½ minutes and five tracks beneath 2 minutes. The short length of each track allows the band to burn through multiple genres though and every try at something new is flawless. The most well known track from the album, and the most energetic, is Omaha. Other great tracks include Changes, Indifference and Hey Grandma.
5. Dive - Tycho
Unlike the other albums listed so far, this album is entirely instrumental. I've never heard anything more relaxing than this. During SPL, I always started this album before playing to reduce stress levels. I honestly can't pick a favorite track from this album because apart from the first track, they all float apart to me and I have never listened to any track individually, because there's no need. The album is predictable - and that's fine, because the quality is so high.
4. The Stone Roses - The Stone Roses
Let's be real - The Stone Roses falling apart after their debut album is one of the biggest shames in music history. This album is mesmerizing. The opening track is also the best one (seems to be a reoccurring theme on this list) with a long intro, simple lyrics and yet the slightest change in lyrics towards the end amplifies the entire experience. The tracks that follow differ slightly in style but are still solid showings.
3. The Earth is Not a Cold Dead Place - Explosions in the Sky
Post-rock never rose above this and never will. The five pieces on this album form a concept album of sorts, despite being instrumental the sense of a shared theme of love shines through. The titles do their part to help set the feeling as well. The tracks are formulaic in the sense that they all slowly escalate towards a predictable climax, but even when you know that it's coming, it's a great show. The Only Moment We Were Alone is the best of them, but the album opener and finisher are also explosive (h3h3h3).
2. Treasure - Cocteau Twins
I had to choose between this album and Heaven or Las Vegas when choosing album for this group. Cocteau Twins is the band I listen to the most right now and I've done so for the past year or so. The lyrics are hardly able to be called lyrics, instead the singer Elizabeth Fraser (who also appears on Mezzanine) carries vocals that are to be interpreted as yet another instrument. It works out perfectly. Dream pop at its dreamiest while searching the surroundings for other genres to absorb (Persephone is a try at something resembling hard rock while retaining the dream pop feel), it's a treat for the ear.
1. Jag rear ut min själ! Allt ska bort!! - bob hund
My favorite album by my favorite group containing my favorite songs. Jag rear ut min själ! Allt ska bort!! (I'm selling off my soul! Everything must go!!) was the national breakthrough for the Swedish indie-rock-???-band, already being known in the underground scenes. I first saw the album when I was seven years old and had a fever. Upon reading the title and seeing the man on the album cover, I became filled with sadness - this man was so poor that he had to sell his soul to people to survive, and he had to do it for a discount price as well! Have mercy on him! I went home and had nightmares for a week about it. Ten years later I discover bob hund's music for the first time and went full circle. The best tracks on this album would be everyone but Helgen v. 48, which is honestly a bit mediocre (yet chosen as the only single from the album...). The title track deserves a mention though and everyone who knows Swedish should listen to it.
other great albums:
Kind of Blue - Miles Davis
The Velvet Underground and Nico - The Velvet Underground
LP3 - Ratatat
Drink the Sea - The Glitch Mob
XXYYXX - XXYYXX
All is Violent, All is Bright - God is an Astronaut
Die Mensch-Maschine - Kraftwerk
Dark Side of the Moon - Pink Floyd
III - Kite
Legend - Bob Marley
Rumours - Fleetwood Mac
Every artist is featured a maximum of one time.
10. The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars – David Bowie
While we're all too young to have heard this album when it was new and sparked the cult around Bowie you can easily see why it had such an appeal. The best tracks on this record are the ones opening and ending the album if you ask me - Five Years & Rock'n'Roll Suicide - but there's no weak tracks. Certainly a masterpiece. One of the two albums I discovered through the above list.
9. Att Ha Fritidsbåt - Lolita Pop
Att Ha Fritidsbåt (To own a leisure boat) is a Swedish album from 1985 by rock-punk-indie group Lolita Pop. This album, and group, is probably unknown for people in my generation - no songs from this album exist in non-live versions on Youtube - but I'll never regret discovering this. The lyrics are escapist and fairly vague, while the powerful rock sound hooks you. The tracks Långa tåg (Long Trains) and Två x två (Two times two) are my favorites. Unfortunately, Lolita Pop decided to make albums in English after this, losing some of their appeal to me, and they never reached this height again (albeit their sales increased so there's that).
8. Mezzanine - Massive Attack
These dark and haunting sounds, combined with the powerful vocals from the guest artists (including lead singer from the band on #2 on this list) create a perfect opportunity to get chills along your spine. The album drops in intensity as time goes on and wouldn't be enough for me to get hooked, but the first four tracks are among some of the best I've heard. Loveyouloveyouloveyouloveyou...
7. Close to the Edge - Yes
Progressive rock has taken a big hit in popularity, but in the early 1970's, the public still bought full-length albums consisting of less than four tracks. This album consists of three songs: Close to the Edge, And You and I, and Siberian Khatru. If you look up the lyrics for the (ridiculously amazing) 18-minute title track, you'll find it divided into four parts with their own distinctive names. Part three of this song is my favorite - initially very dreamy and airborne, eventually developing into a charged organ solo.
6. Moby Grape - Moby Grape
1967 spawned a massive amount of great albums and this is the one that catches me the most. Psychedelic rock's finest moment, this album has an average track length of less than 2½ minutes and five tracks beneath 2 minutes. The short length of each track allows the band to burn through multiple genres though and every try at something new is flawless. The most well known track from the album, and the most energetic, is Omaha. Other great tracks include Changes, Indifference and Hey Grandma.
5. Dive - Tycho
Unlike the other albums listed so far, this album is entirely instrumental. I've never heard anything more relaxing than this. During SPL, I always started this album before playing to reduce stress levels. I honestly can't pick a favorite track from this album because apart from the first track, they all float apart to me and I have never listened to any track individually, because there's no need. The album is predictable - and that's fine, because the quality is so high.
4. The Stone Roses - The Stone Roses
Let's be real - The Stone Roses falling apart after their debut album is one of the biggest shames in music history. This album is mesmerizing. The opening track is also the best one (seems to be a reoccurring theme on this list) with a long intro, simple lyrics and yet the slightest change in lyrics towards the end amplifies the entire experience. The tracks that follow differ slightly in style but are still solid showings.
3. The Earth is Not a Cold Dead Place - Explosions in the Sky
Post-rock never rose above this and never will. The five pieces on this album form a concept album of sorts, despite being instrumental the sense of a shared theme of love shines through. The titles do their part to help set the feeling as well. The tracks are formulaic in the sense that they all slowly escalate towards a predictable climax, but even when you know that it's coming, it's a great show. The Only Moment We Were Alone is the best of them, but the album opener and finisher are also explosive (h3h3h3).
2. Treasure - Cocteau Twins
I had to choose between this album and Heaven or Las Vegas when choosing album for this group. Cocteau Twins is the band I listen to the most right now and I've done so for the past year or so. The lyrics are hardly able to be called lyrics, instead the singer Elizabeth Fraser (who also appears on Mezzanine) carries vocals that are to be interpreted as yet another instrument. It works out perfectly. Dream pop at its dreamiest while searching the surroundings for other genres to absorb (Persephone is a try at something resembling hard rock while retaining the dream pop feel), it's a treat for the ear.
1. Jag rear ut min själ! Allt ska bort!! - bob hund
My favorite album by my favorite group containing my favorite songs. Jag rear ut min själ! Allt ska bort!! (I'm selling off my soul! Everything must go!!) was the national breakthrough for the Swedish indie-rock-???-band, already being known in the underground scenes. I first saw the album when I was seven years old and had a fever. Upon reading the title and seeing the man on the album cover, I became filled with sadness - this man was so poor that he had to sell his soul to people to survive, and he had to do it for a discount price as well! Have mercy on him! I went home and had nightmares for a week about it. Ten years later I discover bob hund's music for the first time and went full circle. The best tracks on this album would be everyone but Helgen v. 48, which is honestly a bit mediocre (yet chosen as the only single from the album...). The title track deserves a mention though and everyone who knows Swedish should listen to it.
other great albums:
Kind of Blue - Miles Davis
The Velvet Underground and Nico - The Velvet Underground
LP3 - Ratatat
Drink the Sea - The Glitch Mob
XXYYXX - XXYYXX
All is Violent, All is Bright - God is an Astronaut
Die Mensch-Maschine - Kraftwerk
Dark Side of the Moon - Pink Floyd
III - Kite
Legend - Bob Marley
Rumours - Fleetwood Mac
