Favorite Albums: 66 - 65

66. God Shuffled His Feet by Crash Test Dummies (1993)

So, usually one of the sites I use for reference gets into a ton of detail about pretty much every album. The entire review from this album reads:

Thanks to Jerry Harrison's remarkably clear and focused production, Crash Test Dummies' second album became a surprise hit. Apart from the relatively concise pop smarts of the singles "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" and "Afternoons and Coffeespoons," God Shuffled His Feet isn't all that different from the band's first album.

That's it? Really? How is it not different from The Ghosts That Haunt Me? What a lazy ass reviewer. How about mentioning that many people hadn't even heard the first album, but because of the success of this one, the first one got pretty popular, too, and "Superman's Song" became a hit over two years after it was originally released? Grrr. Lazy.
So. Anyway. This album kicks off with the title track, a pretty amusing song about the conversations at a picnic between God and some of the first people he made. Best line? "If your eye got poked out in this life, would it be waiting up in heaven with your wife?" Ha. "Afternoons and Coffeespoons" is next, a pretty decent song that became a minor hit after "MMM, MMM, MMM, MMM" but before "Superman's Song". "MMM, MMM, MMM, MMM" is next, easily the most popular Crash Test Dummies single ever. I'm sure you've heard it. "In the Days Of the Caveman" is next, a pretty dull song, really, basically about what separates humans from animals, with a bunch of camping analogies. Blah. "Swimming In Your Ocean" is pretty funny, all sorts of sexual innuendo. Good tune. "Here I Stand Before Me" Is decent, nothing great. It's basically about the human body and how it works, and... Yeah, I'm bored too. "I Think I'll Disappear now" is great, to me. It's not really the best song on the album, but it's one of my favorites, for some reason. Hard to explain. "How Does a Duck Know?" is awesome. Absolutely love this song. "When I Go Out With Artists" is pretty crappy, on the other hand. Worst song on the album. "The Psychic" is a very pretty song, great harmonies and a nice simple melody. Good tune. "Two Knights and Maidens" is another pretty song, telling the story of two knights (shocking!) who want to get it on with some maidens (shocking!) but the maidens, well, have other plans, which include drugs and tigers. Nifty stuff. The final song is an untitled minute and a half instrumental that is extremely pretty and would have been great as a full song, especially keeping it an instrumental. Good stuff. I know I'll get made fun of for liking this album, and honestly I don't care. I dig it. It's pretty good, with only two songs that I don't care for. Worth a listen, yes?
5 Best Songs:
5. "God Shuffled His Feet"


4. "MMM, MMM, MMM, MMM" (This one's kind of loud)


3. "Swimming In Your Ocean"


2. "I Think I'll Disappear Now"


1. "How Does a Duck Know?"


65. International Superhits! by Green Day (2001)

I have seriously tired of the greatest hits and singles collections, so this is going to be pretty quick. (There are only a couple more left, including each of the next two albums, but after that I think there's only one more. Sure hope so, anyway. Okay, I was wrong, just went through and counted, and there are 8 more, ten if you count the next two. Sheesh. What was I thinking?) So, this one contains everything pre-American Idiot. There really aren't any weak songs out of the 21 here, but there are some definite strong points. "Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)" is obviously a great song, as are "Longview", "She", and "When I Come Around". "Minority" is one of the better Green Day singles, a somewhat underrated song. The other main highlights include "Geek Stink Breath", "Nice Guys Finish Last", "Warning", and "Redundant", as well as the rockabilly tinged "Hitchin' a Ride". For me, though, the best part of the album is the one-two punch of "Brain Stew" and "Jaded". Love the slow methodical "Brain Stew" followed by the absolute chaos of "Jaded. Great stuff. I know I am being super weak on this album, and it deserves more attention than I am giving it, but I've just had an absolute shit day, and kind of just want to get it over with. Step one? finishing this so I can go read and go to bed. Anyway, there are quite a few songs on this album that I didn't even mention, but I can confidently say it is well worth checking out. Good album.
5 Best Songs:
5. "Warning"


4. "Hitchin' a Ride"


3. "Minority"


2. "She"


1. "Brain Stew/Jaded" (I know, they are two songs, but they go together pretty well and are usually even played together on the radio.)

Favorite Albums: 68 - 67

So, yeah, I'm only, what, 3 days late or so? No big deal. Ha. This is going to be a horrible entry, fair warning. 4 hours sleep since Monday does not make for a coherent mind, so.. yeah... it's not going to be pretty.

68. Twice Upon a Time

I started this on May 20th. That's how far I got. It's now May 27th. Time to quit slacking!

68. Twice Upon a Time: The Singles by Siouxsie and the Banshees (1992)

This was the second singles collection from the Banshees, and it includes every single from 1982 - 1992. From start to finish this is just an awesome collection, with one exception, which we'll get to later. It's all in chronological order, as collections like this should be, so it gives a really nice sense of how the band grew over a decade. "Fireworks" kicks things off with a bang, a very high energy song, very good. "Slowdive" is another pretty good tune. A little slower and less frantic than "Fireworks", but not much. Very similar feel, actually. "Melt!" is next, a very pretty very mellow song. Love it. Next is their cover of The Beatles' "Dear Prudence", and it is bad ass. I actually like this version more than the original, personally. Just a very good version. "Swimming Horses" is a really cool song, and not just because Robert Smith was in the band at the time. (This song, "Dear Prudence", and the next song were all from the album that Robert appeared on while The Cure were on hiatus.) Nifty tune. "Dazzle" was the song that made me like Siouxsie and the Banshees. I'd heard other stuff by them, and thought they were okay, but this is the song that made me a fan. Love it. "Overground" is a very cool atmospheric song. Dig it very much. "Cities In Dust" is one of the band's most known songs, and is a really good one. It has a nice mix of standard Siouxsie and the Banshees and pure pop, which gels better than it seems it would. "Candy Man" is a decent song, but kind of forgettable. Not bad by any means, just kind of gets lost in the shuffle. "This Wheel's On Fire" is kind of the same way. It's not quite as good as "Candy Man", but also not a bad song at all. again, just gets lost in the mix. "The Passenger" is next, another cover song, this time of the awesome Iggy Pop tune. This is another great cover, and to be quite honest, I didn't know until a few years after I got this CD that this was a cover song. Never really listened to Iggy Pop and the Stooges before. My bad. Killer song. Next up is the first song I ever heard by Siouxsie and the Banshees, at least, first one that I knew who I was listening to. "Peek-A-Boo" is just an infectiously catchy song, from the beat to the vocals to the music. Just an awesome song. "The Killing Jar" is probably the most surprisingly unappreciated Siouxsie song ever. Just a great great song. "The Last Beat Of My Heart" is next, in a live version recorded during the first Lollapalooza tour. The album version is way better, in my opinion, but the live version is still pretty kick ass. One of the most beautiful songs ever. "Kiss Them For Me" was the biggest U.S. hit for Siouxsie and the Banshees, and is still a killer song even now. "Shadowtime" is yet another one of those songs that I always forget about, then play several times in a row because I forgot how much I like it. Good stuff. "Fear (Of the Unknown)" is the only weak part of this album. The actual album version is really good, but this is some remixed dance club version that is just annoying. If they had put the regular version, it would have been much better. The final song is "Face To Face" from the Batman Returns soundtrack. It is just an unbelievably beautiful and sad and wonderful song, and still my favorite by them. Outstanding. Overall, this album rules, if you can deal with (or skip) the one truly bad song. But really, one bad song out of 18 is a pretty good ratio.
5 Best Songs:
5. "Overground"


4. "Fireworks"


3. "The Passenger"


2. "Dazzle"


1. "Face To Face"


67. Genesis by Genesis (1983)

This was the last Genesis album before they went strictly pop, containing just enough of their artsy prog rock roots to keep old fans happy, but more than enough pop whimsy to attract new fans. It was a bit too much for one nine track album to accomplish, yet it is still a really great album. It starts off with the crazy, eerie "Mama", which is seen by a lot of critics and fans as the third song in a trilogy, along with Phil Collins' two solo songs, "In the Air Tonight" and "I Don't Care Anymore". It's very similar both musically (very sparse, with heavy emphasis on the percussion for most of the song) and vocally, more chanted than sung. Good song. It's odd, though, to go from "Mama" into "That's All", because the change in mood is so stark. Yes, "That's All" is still angry lyrically, but the poppy circus like music just feels odd after "Mama". The next two songs, "Home By the Sea" and "Second Home By the Sea", are brilliant. They tell the story of someone who goes into a house (or buys it, or something) and encounters a ghost, only to become one himself, trapped in the residence for eternity. This is old school Peter Gabriel type Genesis, and it kicks ass. "Illegal Alien" is easily the worst song on this album. It isn't that bad in concept - the struggles of an illegal Latino immigrant trying to provide for his family and not get shipped out of the country. It's the way Collins sings it that makes it a bad song. He sounds like he's trying to do a bad Mexican accent, and it just comes off horribly. Bad Phil. Bad. "Taking It All Too Hard" is a really pretty break up song, like it very much. "Just a Job To Do" is the only song on this album that was not released as a single or b-side, and it was the only song from the album not played live during the tour for this album. Makes no sense on either count, because it's a really strong song, one of the best Genesis songs nobody has heard. "Silver Rainbow" is a really good song, I think, but it is always ripped by critics. I dig it. The final song is "It's Gonna Get Better", the only really hopeful song on this surprisingly dark album. It's a pretty song, and a good way to close the album out. Overall, I think this is one of the best Genesis albums around. It is fairly steady, and even with how dark the lyrics are it's really easy to listen to and get lost in. Highly recommended.
5 Best Songs:
5. "It's Gonna Get Better'


4. "Silver Rainbow"


3. "Just a Job To Do"


2. "Home By the Sea"


1. "Second Home By the Sea"

Favorite Albums: 70 -69

70. No Jacket Required by Phil Collins (1985)

Yep, yet another album from 1985. I think once this is over I am going to tally up what year each album was from, and I can almost guarantee 1985 will have the most. Only one I can think of that might come close is 1987, but that's highly doubtful. Anyway. This one starts off with "Sussudio", a pretty popular tune that helped catapult this album up the charts. (Yes, I feel like a douche for typing that sentence.) "Only You Know and I Know" is next, a decent song but kind of forgettable. "Long Long Way To Go" is very pretty ballad that has Sting sharing the vocal duties. Good song. "I Don't Wanna Know" is easily the worst song on the album. Just an overload of keyboards and no substance whatsoever. "One More Night" is one of Collins' signature ballads, a really pretty song that is heard at every school dance ever. "Don't Lose My Number" was a pretty big hit back in the day, but it really isn't played much any more because, well, it hasn't really stood the test of time. Still a decent tune if you only hear it once or twice a year, but just sounds too dated if it's played too often. "Who Said I Would" is okay, but kind of blah. "Doesn't Anybody Stay Together Anymore" is a surprisingly good song. Just kind of creeps up on you, and before you know it you're sitting there tapping your foot and humming along. Nice tune. "Inside Out" is a good song, but it seems like he couldn't decide if he wanted it to be a ballad or not. Kind of stuck in some sort of off-tempo limbo. Like it though. The final song is, in my opinion, the best one on the album. "Take Me Home" is just a bad ass song that I can listen to any day. Such a cool tune. Overall, this is a decent album. Probably shouldn't be this high on the list, but... It's here, so it's staying. Some good stuff, some bad stuff, but most of it is worthwhile.
5 Best Songs:
5. "Long Long Way To Go" (Horrid fan video using clips from a soap opera, but only one I found with a clean album version of the song.)


4. "Doesn't Anybody Stay Together Anymore"


3. "One More Night"


2. "Inside Out"


1. "Take Me Home"


69. Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me by The Cure (1987)

The Head On the Door was The Cure's first real attempt at making a pop album. Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me took the parts that worked and made them even better. But they also experimented quite a bit, which is why Kiss Me ended up being an 18 song double album full of awesomeness. "The Kiss" starts the album off, and other than "Plainsong" on Disintegration it's my favorite album opening song from any Cure album, and top 5 for any album in general. Just a kick ass song. The anger of "The Kiss" leads into the very sweet "Catch", a very nice little song about love, loss, and regret. "Torture" swings back toward angry, but not quite as angry as "The Kiss". "If Only Tonight We Could Sleep" is a very pretty song, very calm and warm, really. Good tune. "Why Can't I Be You?" is an extremely catchy and addictive song. One of the best pure pop songs The Cure has ever done. "How Beautiful You Are..." is kind of a funny song. It sounds all sweet and stuff, except that the lyrics are actually about how much he hates some woman for being so conceited. Good stuff. "The Snakepit" sounds like it should have been on an earlier album, especially The Top. Would have fit perfectly there, but seems a bit out of place here. "Hey You!" is just a quick little song that is usually only on the cassette version of the album. Fun little song. "Just Like Heaven" is just, like, awesome. I absolutely love this song still, and will never get sick of it. "All I Want" is decent, but it's my least favorite track on the album, I think. Maybe second least favorite, but up there either way. "Hot Hot Hot!!!" is another catchy pop song, and while it is pretty good, it's not quite at the same level as "Why Can't I Be You?" or "Just Like Heaven". Actually, compared to those two, it's pretty weak. "One More Time" changes the mood yet again, to a more sad, longing, "wish we could be together" kind of vibe. Very pretty song. "Like Cockatoos" is more of a narrative, weird but cool song. "Icing Sugar" is a very fast crazy song, very cool. "The Perfect Girl" should have been a single. It's a very good, very catchy song, and if they had released more songs like this, they wouldn't have been pigeonholed into the "depressing goth blah blah blah" labels they've been stuck with forever. Great song. "A Thousand Hours" is the prettiest song on the album, and probably the saddest. Mostly instrumental, the lyrics are just filled with pain, loss, and longing. Great great song. "Shiver and Shake", on the other hand, goes back to the "I hate you get out of my life" vibe that is all over the album. Not great, but not bad. "Fight" is the final song, a good tune about standing up for yourself, pretty much. This album just rules. really thought I had it higher up on the list, but apparently not. Great album, and a must have if you're a Cure fan.
5 Best Songs:
5. "Like Cockatoos"


4. "The Perfect Girl"


3. The Kiss"


2. "A Thousand Hours"


1. "Just Like Heaven"

Favorite Albums: 72 - 71

Moving right along...

72. Beelzebubba by The Dead Milkmen (1988)

This album, more than any other, reminds me of high school and skateboarding. Yeah, I was horrible at skateboarding (and at high school, really) but those were just some fun times, for the most part. (The skateboarding, not high school.) "Brat In the Frat" is a nice caustic little tune, basically just berating somebody for wanting to be like everybody else. "RC's Mom" Is a kind of funny, kind of annoying song. It's like a funk parody, almost, with lyrics about wife beating. Odd combo. "Stuart" is frigging awesome. It's basically a narrative about "what the queers are doing to our soil", and has one of my favorite lines from any song. One of the sections is talking about a kid in the neighborhood who gets a burrow owl for his birthday, and he's looking for it in a tree, and the narrator screams, "Jumpin' Jesus on a pogo stick! Everybody knows that a burrow owl lives in a hole in the ground! Why the Hell do you think they call it a burrow owl anyway?!?!?" Sorry, I just laugh every time I hear that part. That, and, "Pow! He was decapitated! They found his head over by the Sno-Cone concession!" Freaking hilarious song. "I Walk the Thinnest Line" is also great, talking about how he's walking the thin line between the good and bad sides of his mind. Funny song. "Sri Lanka Sex Hotel" is bad ass. I can never quite stop myself from dancing to this one. "Bad Party" is pretty crappy, really. Just a dumb song. "Punk Rock Girl" is pretty much the only Dead Milkmen song that anybody knows, and it's just a classic. Great tune. "Bleach Boys" is another fun little song, good to be-bop around the house to. "My Many Smells" is great. One of my favorite songs by them. (You'll hear that statement four more times on this album alone, and there are several others that are damn close to that level.) "Smokin' Banana Peels", on the other hand, is probably my least favorite Dead Milkmen song ever. Just annoying as hell. "The Guitar Song" is, without question, my favorite song by these guys. Just a nice simple melody, and one of the few non-funny, honest, sweet songs by them. Not a love song or anything, just a very very good song. (Each of the next two songs also fall into the "one of my favorite songs by them" category as well.) "Born To Love Volcanos" is basically a tribute to PBS fundraising auctions. Absolutely hysterical song. "Everybody's Got Nice Stuff But Me" is an awesome jealousy filled song. What makes it awesome, though, is the stuff he's jealous of. "She's got eyes of deepest blue. He's got hair that's green. Everybody's got nice stuff but me." Great. "I Against Osborne" is a hectic, frantic tune. Pretty good. "Howard Beware" is a great song about a paranoid conspiracy theorist who thinks absolutely everybody on the planet is out to get him. Love it. "Ringo Buys a Rifle" is about Ringo Starr losing his mind and going after the other Beatles, basically. Good but not great. The final song is also the final "one of my favorites by them" song. "Life Is Shit" is just amazing. Such a great song, and such a great way to close the album out. This album is just awesome. Cannot get enough of it, and hopefully I'll never tire of it. Great stuff.
5 Best Songs: (I could only find a video for one of these. Seriously????)
5. "Everybody's Got Nice Stuff But Me"
4. "My Many Smells"
3. "Born To Love Volcanos"
2. "Life Is Shit"

1. "The Guitar Song"

71. Apollo 18 by They Might Be Giants (1992)

It's kind of funny. This is very close to being my favorite TMBG album, yet the other one doesn't show up until the top 20. That's how close the albums on this list are, to me. Apollo 18 starts off with "Dig My Grave", a loud frantic song that just sets the pace for the rest of the album. It's short, just over a minute, but only three of the 18 songs are over three minutes, and there's even one shorter than this. Good song. "I Palindrome I" is great. At one point there's a section of about 15 lines that is an actual continuous palindrome. Awesome. "She's Actual Size" is pretty good also. Can get annoying after too many repeated listens, but for the most part it's a good song. "My Evil Twin" is pretty funny and pretty catchy. Good tune. "Mammal" is great, one of the best on the album, I think. Just a total nerd song, really. "The Statue Got Me High" is pretty good. Used to hate it, but it's grown on me over the years. "Spider" is a quick 50 second song, kind of annoying. "Dinner Bell" is really good. The way the verses are sung is great, with the dueling vocals and such. Fun song. "Narrow Your Eyes" has probably the best vocals on the album, as far as real singing, but it's just kind of boring. It's okay, just dull. "Hall Of Heads" has some great horns, but that's pretty much the only redeemable quality it's got. Blah. "Which Describes How You're Feeling" is a great song, but way too short at just under two minutes. The way he sings this song is great, though. Really wish it were longer. "See the Constellation" is okay, nothing special. "If I Wasn't Shy" is another song that is way too short, because it's really good, and really could be my theme song. "Turn Around" is also pretty great. Definitely a top 5 song. "Hypnotist Of Ladies" should be top 5, but probably comes in sixth. We'll see. Very good song. The next song is "Fingertips". Technically, the next 21 songs are "Fingertips". It is a collection of little snippets ranging from 4 seconds to one minute one second. Basically, this song was designed with the "shuffle" feature on CD players in mind. Remember, in '92, this was still kind of a big thing. Basically, it makes it so that if you threw the CD on shuffle you'd never hear the same album twice. Brilliant concept, and brilliantly executed, because even as a whole, these 21 snippets make a pretty interesting and fun song. The final song is "Space Suit", a nice little instrumental. Good closing song. Overall, this album is just kick ass. Absolutely love it, and absolutely recommend it.
8 Best Songs: (going 8 since there was only 1 video for the other album.)
8. "The Guitar"


7. "Which Describes How You're Feeling"


6. "Hypnotist Of Ladies"


5. "Fingertips"


4. "If I Wasn't Shy"


3. "Turn Around"


2. "Mammal"


1. "Dinner Bell"

Favorite Albums: 74 - 73

74. Automatic For the People by R.E.M. (1992)

This was the follow up to Out Of Time, and it is so vastly superior to that album that it's almost unfair to compare the two. Obviously, "Everybody Hurts" was an extremely popular song, but there was so much other good stuff on this album. It kicks off with "Drive", a very slow and plodding song. As bad ass as the album version is, the live version is a little better. It's faster, more driving, more urgent. Both versions are great though. "Try Not To Breathe" is a pretty song, very lovely, except that the lyrics are about an elderly person trying to end their life. "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite" is one of the best true pop songs R.E.M. has ever recorded. The lyrics are absolute nonsense, but the music is great, and it actually sounds like they are having fun recording it. Great song. "Everybody Hurts" is next, and while it is indeed a good song, much like "Losing My Religion" I think it's a bit overrated. It's not the masterpiece everyone claims it is, and it's not even the best song on this album, to be quite honest. Still good, though, and the video is one of my favorites, but it's just not an "all time great" song. "New Orleans Instrumental No. 1" is, as the title implies, an instrumental. Quick little pretty song. "Sweetness Follows" is an absolutely amazing song. Just amazing. "Monty Got a Raw Deal" is pretty good. I kind of go through phases with this one on liking it and hating it. No real reason why, it just happens. "Ignoreland" is decent but I can't listen to it after a while. Again, no real reason why, just starts to get on my nerves. "Star Me Kitten" was originally supposed to be called "Fuck Me Kitten", but Warner Bros. told the band that they couldn't put the f-bomb on the cover, so it would just read "**** Me Kitten". So, they just changed it from "Fuck" to "Star". True story. Good song. "Man On the Moon" is an exceptional song. Because of its success, R.E.M. did the entire soundtrack to the film of the same name. Both are about Andy Kaufman, obviously, and both are great, I think. This is one of Michael Stipe's best vocal performances, and probably would be the best if it weren't for the horrid attempts at Elvis impersonations. Ill conceived, there. "Nightswimming" is a gorgeous song, Mostly piano and strings, with a little oboe thrown in for good measure. Th lyrics are a tad repetitive, but if that's the only weakness in the song, so be it. "Find the River" closes out this awesome album. It's a nice relaxing song, and brings a bit of hope at the end of what is undoubtedly R.E.M.'s most depressing album. Great ending to a great album.
5 Best Songs:
5. "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite"


4. "Try Not To Breathe"


3. "Nightswimming"


2. "Man On the Moon"


1. "Sweetness Follows"


73. Stop Making Sense by Talking Heads (1984)

Classic live album, one of the most widely heralded out there. The set list is a bit out of order from what it was at the actual show, and as it is in the movie version, but for the most part it's extremely well done, if a little over produced. It starts off with "Psycho Killer", one of the greatest Talking Heads songs ever. Outstanding live, too, as it's just David Byrne with an acoustic guitar and a recorded rhythm section. Kicks ass. "Swamp" is next, and this is really the only weak spot on the album. Just a boring song. "Slippery People" is a pretty decent song, one that I kind of forget how good it is until I hear it again. From this point on, the album just gets epic. "Burning Down the House" is awesome here, probably the best version I've ever heard. "Girlfriend Is Better" is classic, awesome keyboards, awesome vocals, great song. "Once In a Lifetime" is also amazing here. Again, best version of this song I've heard, as well. "What a Day That Was" is stellar, absolutely perfect version of a really cool song. "Life During Wartime" became my favorite Talking Heads song for a while after I got this album. Love love love love love it. "Take Me To the River" closes out the album, a very good song to end on, bringing it to a smooth close. Overall, this album is a classic. It definitely deserves all the praise it gets. Now, I just have to get the double album version that came out a couple years ago that has the full concert in order on it. It will be mine. Oh, yes. It will be mine.
5 Best Songs:
5. "Girlfriend Is Better"


4. "Burning Down the House"


3. "Life During Wartime"


2. "Once In a Lifetime"


1. "Psycho Killer"

Favorite Albums: 76 - 75

Hot damn! After these two, we are officially at the half way point! Why didn't I start this at 100 again? Oh well. Not going to get done any faster sitting here bitching.

76. Bloodflowers by The Cure (2000)

For some reason this album took me a long time to start enjoying. Like, four or five years. And I really don't get why I disliked it so much, because this album sounds closer to Disintegration than anything else they've recorded, and I love that album. Anyway. "Out Of This World" is the opener, a very slow, somber song, very pretty. Not necessarily the best song to start an album with, but not the worst by any means. "Watching Me Fall" is a bit more up tempo, with very biting lyrics, and clocks in at over 11 minutes. Really good song. "Where the Birds Always Sing" is good, but a little bland. Could have been better. "Maybe Someday" is bad ass, very driving, even though it's slower paced. Really well done song. "The Last Day Of Summer" is one of the more upbeat songs on the album, musically, at least. Pretty somber lyrics, but very pretty music. "There Is No If..." is amazing. Very understated music, very powerful lyrics, and the only song on the album under 5 minutes. Great song. "The Loudest Sound" is one of my absolute favorite Cure songs. It's just an insanely sad song, about two lovers who have nothing left to say to each other. Just a brilliant song. "39" is a very very angry song. Really hate filled. Good tune. "Bloodflowers" closes out the album. It's slow, but keeps that angry vibe, but throwing in the faintest hint of hope. Overall, this album is one of the more solid albums The Cure have recorded. There really aren't any bad spots, just a very even, steady album. Two thumbs up.
5 Best Songs:
5. "Out Of This World"


4. "Maybe Someday"


3. "39"


2. "There Is No If..."


1. "The Loudest Sound"


75. Gordon by Barenaked Ladies (1992)

The official debut album by Barenaked Ladies is one of the best debuts by any band not named Nirvana or Smashing Pumpkins. It kicks off with "Hello City", which right off the bat introduces BNL's signature harmonies. "Enid" and "Grade 9" are both pretty much trying to be high school anthems of a sort, the former about not getting the girl of choice, the latter about not fitting in. Both are pretty good. "Brian Wilson" is one of BNL's most beloved songs, and for good reason. Just a great song. "Be My Yoko Ono" took a while to grow on me, and I'm still not a huge fan of it, but it's pretty well written overall. "Wrap Your Arms Around Me" is an extremely pretty song that I forget about sometimes. Good tune. "What a Good Boy" is fantastic, one of their best songs. "The King Of Bedside Manor" is probably the funniest song on this album. All sorts of innuendos and double meanings and such. Pretty good. "Box Set" uses the idea of a musical box set being used to describe a failed relationship from beginning to end, with each "disc" being a chapter in the relationship. Pretty clever, but kind of a rip off of "Every Day I Write the Book" by Elvis Costello. Still a good song, though. "I Love You" is a funny jazzy little number, a fun listen. "New Kid (On the Block)" is kind of blah. Tries to be funnier than it is, and just comes out sounding somewhat forced. "Blame It On Me" is another slow pretty song, with some pretty funny lines. Good tune, but could have been better. "The Flag" is a surprisingly sad song on an otherwise extremely up beat album. Very very good song. "If I Had $1,000,000" is, well, the trademark song of Barenaked Ladies. If you don't know this song, shame on you. Shame. Ha ha. "Crazy" closes out the album on a fun note, very cool song. This is just a great album. Very mellow, very good to just throw on while your reading a book, or if you want to dance around. Nice balance of styles and rhythms. Good times.
5 Best Songs:
5. "Crazy"


4. "The Flag"


3. "I Love You"


2. "Brian Wilson"


1. "What a Good Boy"

favorite Albums: 78 - 77

This may end up being a horrible post, because I am in a ton of pain right now, and I didn't sleep well last night. Let's find out together, shall we?
And wow. These two albums could not be much more different.

78. Korn by Korn (1994)

I used to HATE this album. An old friend got it when it first came out, and it was all he ever listened to for a few months straight. Got really annoying. It wasn't until about 5 or 6 years ago that I finally got it, and now I love it. Starts off with "Blind", an amazing song to start an album with. Love the way it just starts with the cymbals, then the other instruments slowly join in, then it just explodes. Great song. "Ball Tongue" Is a nice pounding number, very good. "Need To" is relentlessly driving, a very solid song. "Clown" is bad ass. Just an awesome song. "Divine" is decent, but not great. "Faget" is just filled with all sorts of issues. Good song, but gets a bit annoying sometimes. "Shoots and Ladders" is freaking awesome. When we got married, this was the song Holley and I got introduced to at the reception. (The rest of the wedding party got introduced to "Sober" by Tool. Ha!) Second favorite Korn song ever, behind "A.D.I.D.A.S.", and it's a very close second. "Predictable" is probably the worst song on this album. Kind of sounds like he's trying to sound like Chris Cornell singing. Not a terrible song, just blah. "Fake" is a pretty slow song, especially for Korn. Nice change of pace. "Lies" is decent, but by this point in the album I get kind of bored and everything starts sounding the same. "Helmet In the Bush" couldn't possibly be about sex, could it? Ha. Good solid tune. "Daddy" closes the album on a creepy disturbing note. It's a really good song, but... Damn is it creepy. I guess, for me, waiting and giving this album a second chance was worth it. I know a lot of people like a lot of their albums a lot more, but for me, this one's the best. Good shit.
5 Best Songs:
5. "Ball Tongue"


4. "Need To"


3. "Clown"


2. "Blind"


1. "Shoots and Ladders"


77. Lawn Boy by Phish (1991)

On the other end of the spectrum, you have this album. Wow does this bring back my stoner days. "The Squirming Coil" starts it off, a very mellow tune. Love to just sit and listen to a thunderstorm with this one on. "Reba" is a bit over 12 minutes long, incorporating the jam sessions Phish are known for. Never in that 12 minutes does it get boring. Great tune. "My Sweet One", by contrast, is just over two minutes, a very fast paced song, and one of the best on the album. "Split Open and Melt" is the only song that keeps this album from being top 50. It's just such a crap song. "The Oh Kee Pa Ceremony" is a quick little instrumental, just under two minutes. Fun little song. "Bathtub Gin" is a pretty funny song about, well, making some kind of drink in the bathtub. Pretty good. "Run Like an Antelope" clocks in just shy of 10 minutes. It's almost all instrumental, and is a seriously awesome song. Just outstanding. "Lawn Boy" is the song I always forget about, and I'm always pleasantly surprised when it comes on. Nice mellow jazzy number, very good song. The closer is "Bouncing Around the Room", my absolute favorite Phish song ever. I can just listen to this song over and over, it's just awesome. This is easily my favorite Phish album. For a while there I liked Rift as much, if not more, but this one has become the one I judge all the rest of their music by. Great album.
5 Best Songs:
5. "My Sweet One"


4. "Reba"


3. "Lawn Boy"


2. "Run Like an Antelope"


1. "Bouncing Around the Room"

Favorite Albums: 80 - 79

Alrighty then. Finally got the fussy little man to sleep, now back to work.
I was having some YouTube issues while getting the videos, so leave a comment below if they are messed up and I'll put different ones up.

80. The Best Of O.M.D. by O.M.D. (1988)

This is one of the greatest "Best Of" albums ever, hands down. While most people only know one, maybe two songs by OMD, they were one of the best synth pop bands of the '80s, and this is a perfect compilation of their career. Nothing here that shouldn't be and, more importantly, nothing missing. "Electricity" is the first song, a super catchy addictive tune. Very good for a debut single. Next is "Messages", a bit slower, but a bit better than "Electricity". It's the first song where they truly show off their vocal range. "Enola Gay" almost sounds like a mixture of the previous two songs, but not like a copy. Something that pretty much defines this album and their career, really. They never stray too wildly from their comfort zone, just hammering out great, consistent music. "Souvenir" is the first of several straight slower ballad-type songs, although none are actually ballads. It's a really pretty song, though. "Joan Of Arc" is bad ass, just a great song. "Maid Of Orleans" is almost a sequel, still singing about Joan Of Arc, and is also pretty kick ass. "Tesla Girls" gets back to the upbeat music, a pretty good tune as well. "Locomotion" is probably the weakest song here, I think, but it's at least tolerable. "Talking Loud and Clear" is another slower pretty song, great mix of soft vocals and somewhat subdued yet aggressive music. Hard to explain. "Secret" is an amazing song. I'd never heard it before I got this album, and I've loved it since the first time I listened to it. Just a great tune. "If You Leave" is next, and I know you all know how great that song is. Classic. "(Forever) Live and Die" follows, and this song should really have been a hit for these guys. Love this one, too. Next is the other song you've probably heard by them, "Dreaming". You'll remember it when you hear it in a minute or two. "We Love You (12" Version)" and the final song, "La Femme Accident (12"Version)" are remixes of earlier singles, both pretty popular in dance clubs at the time, and both of these versions reflect that dance club vibe. Overall, in case I haven't clarified, I love this album. I'll never get sick of it, and can't imagine a time when I won't own it. Love it.
5 Best Songs:
5. "Dreaming"


4. "Enola Gay"


3. "If You Leave"


2. "(Forever) Live and Die"


1. "Secret"


79. X by INXS (1990)

This one kicks off with the two big singles. "Suicide Blonde" is first, and includes one of the most awesome harmonica parts ever. "Disappear" is next, the far superior single. Excellent song. "The Stairs" should have been a single, plain and simple. This was one of the best INXS songs ever, and it's baffling why they didn't release it. "Faith In Each Other" on the other hand is pretty bland. Just sounds kind of generic. "By My Side" is awesome also. Take what I said for "The Stairs" and apply it here. From here on out, the album just gets kind of average, the only reason it's not higher. "Lately" sounds like they were trying to write another song around the guitar riff from "Devil Inside" on Kick. "Who Pays the Price" and "Know the Difference" are both decent, but too similar to really be notable. "Bitter Tears" is pretty good, saving the last half of the album from total mediocrity. "On My Way" sounds like "Faith In Each Other", almost like they're the same song with slightly altered words. The final song, "Hear That Sound", is better than most of the songs on the tail end of the album, but still not great. Basically, coming off the success of Kick, this album just feels a tad too rushed, like they wanted to keep their name out there while people were still talking about them. The thing is, though, there were three years between the two albums, the longest between any INXS albums to that point. They really should have tried to broaden their sound a bit more. Nothing too excessive that would drive away the new fans they'd earned, just enough to keep things interesting and keep X from sounding like a poor man's Kick.
5 Best Songs:
5. "Suicide Blonde"


4. "Bitter Tears"


3. "Disappear"


2. "By My Side"


1. "The Stairs"

Favorite Albums: 82 - 81

Sorry, I started this yesterday, but the baby didn't sleep long, and once he woke up I had a lot of rushing around to do because we had like 3 different places to go last night, and I had to get all his junk together and get him to the sitters. But that's not what you're here for, so I'll shut up.

82. Seventh Dream Of Teenage Heaven by Love and Rockets (1985)

Apparently, 1985 was a decent year for music. This is the third album out of the last five that came out that year. Anyway... This was the debut album by Love and Rockets, which was comprised of 3 of the 4 members of Bauhaus. (Everyone except Peter Murphy.) Also, it would appear that the cassette version I have is some sort of bastardized version, because there is one song missing (their cover of "Ball Of Confusion" that kicked ass), one added, and the rest of the tracks are in a different order than any list I could find on any site. Curious. It starts off with "God and Mr. Smith", a mostly instrumental song which has elements from many of the other songs on the album. On every site I've seen this album on, this is the last track, yet on mine it's the first. Weird. "A Private Future" is next, a mostly mellow song that sounds somewhat like "Slice Of Life" by Bauhaus. Very good tune. "Dog-End Of a Day Gone By" is a great song, another one that should have been on my favorite songs list. I guess I should have done this one first, then the songs, eh? "The Game" is a nifty song, kind of sounds... well... I can't really describe it, so I'll steal a line from one of the web sites I use: chilling nursery rhyme pendulum. Sounds about right. "If There's a Heaven Above" is also pretty bad ass, listed as the opening song on every site I looked at. "Inside the Outside" is a pretty chaotic song, almost, but not quite, out of place with the mellowness of most of the rest of the album. This is the one that replaced "Ball Of Confusion" on the copy I have. "Seventh Dream Of Teenage Heaven" seeps sexuality, with the pulsing beats and moaning guitars. Stellar. "Haunted When the Minutes Drag" is phenomenal, just an outstanding song. I can listen to it repeatedly for hours and not get sick of it. The final song (on my weird version, anyway) is the instrumental "Saudade". Absolutely beautiful song. In all, I would absolutely recommend this album to anyone. It has no weak spots, in my opinion, just very solid from start to finish. Love it.
5 Best Songs:
5. "Seventh Dream Of Teenage Heaven"


4. "The Game"


3. "Saudade"


2. "Dog-End Of a Day Gone By"


1. "Haunted When the Minutes Drag"


81. Dookie by Green Day (1994)

Contrary to popular belief, this is actually Green Day's third album. It's just the first one that was worth a damn. "Burnout" starts the album off with a bang, a very solid opening track. (P.S. - I think that's going to be my next list - favorite album opening songs.) "Having a Blast" is a very underrated song, I think. It never gets any mention for being how good it actually is. "Chump" is decent, but kind of just feels like filler. "Longview" is the first of the five singles from this album to appear, and is really the weakest of the five. Never really been a fan of this song. "Welcome To Paradise" on the other hand is a pretty good song. Not outstanding, really, but good. "Pulling Teeth" sounds like a Beatles song, really. Just heavier. But the music and harmonies are very Beatles inspired. "Basket Case" rules, flat out. Just a killer tune. "She" is a great song, one I never get tired of. "Sassafras Roots" keeps the streak of awesome songs going, a song that really should have been a single. "When I Come Around" is the last of the singles, and actually the most musically solid of the five. Almost great, but not quite. "Coming Clean" is the first of three straight songs under two minutes. Not really anything else notable about it. "Emenius Sleepus"? Same thing. Nothing special. "In the End" breaks the crap streak, luckily. Pretty decent tune. The final song is the hidden track "F.O.D.", aka "The Bert and Ernie Song". ("I was alone. I was all by myself.") Such a frigging great song. Love it. This was just a bad ass album, as a whole. It has some weak points, but when all together, it's really good. You own it, don't lie. And if you don't, you at least used to.
5 Best Songs:
5. "Pulling Teeth"


4. "Having a Blast"


3. "Basket Case"


2. "She"


1. "Sassafras Roots"