Top 15 Albums

I was recently challenged to name my Top 15 Albums of all time. Something like this is much harder for me to put into place than films. The reasoning behind it is that there are certain albums that are so personal that it's hard to even describe how they've affectived your life emotionally. Also, it's pretty hard for me just to give a list without some kind of explanation or personal insight for each one.

So, without further adu, my Top 15 Albums:

1. Ten : Pearl Jam

The quintessential album of the 1990s. I can't even remember the first time I heard this album, but it soon embodied what everything was about high school and how this specific genre of music, known as grunge, seemed to speak to my generation. Pearl Jam has yet to ever trap lightening in a bottle again as they did with this recording, although their sophmore follow-up, Vs. was pretty close.

2. OK Computer : Radiohead

I didn't really care for Radiohead when they first hit the music scene with their single "Creep." It wasn't until about three years after this album released that I was re-introduced to them by my new co-worker and friend Dave Nelson. I bought the CD, popped it into my deck as I drove home and didn't really care for it. But then something happened. I kept listening to it over and over again. Before I knew it, I had to force myself to listen to something else. This was, in my honest opinion, the perfect example of Alternative Rock.

3. In Loving Memory Of... : Big Wreck

Sometimes the best finds are the ones you get for free. My friend Brandon gave me a copy of this CD when I was working with him several years ago. He told me it was one of the best produced albums he had heard recently (like I really knew or understood what that meant at the time). Since it's introduction to my collection (with a legitimate copy, I might add), I still find the album thoroughly refreshing. Too bad the Canadian band didn't get much air play down here in the states before they broke up.

4. Achtung Baby : U2

This was, if memory serves me correctly, the first Compact Disc I ever bought. It was when they were still packaging them in the long cardboard covers used as some kind of theft deterrent. U2 seemed to be one of only a few music artists of their time that were capable of reinventing themselves, and they did just that with album. It was such a diversion from what they had done in the past, it was nothing that I had ever heard before. I was taken by it almost immediately.

5. Train of Thought : Dream Theater

Dream Theater was another band that took some time before I actually enjoyed listening to them. I recognized their talent almost immediately, but wasn't familiar nor comfortable with their style just yet. It took several years and many re-visits to certain CDs to appreciate them. This album, however, spoke to me immediately and I feel it is their most accomplished set.

6. Crash : Dave Matthews Band

I was never on the inside track when indie and college campus artists were starting to hit the scene. I knew a few friends who enjoyed Dave Matthews Band who loved them before they were all over mainstream radio. However, once they broke through, I couldn't get enough and this, to me, is their best recording, while Under the Table and Dreaming is a close second. I also gained a new admiration of this album when I started dating my wife.

7. The Bends : Radiohead

I purchased this album along with OK Computer. Both albums had the same affect upon their first playing. I didn't like it. But it eventually grew on me and now I can't imagine ever being without this CD in my collection. Either Radiohead was ahead of it's time musically or it took some time before I matured in my musical appreciation.

8. American Idiot : Green Day

Political themes aside, I was blown away the first time I listened to this album from beginning to end. I had been a Green Day fan for close to a decade when they release this back in 2004. It made me realize how much Billie Joe Armstrong had matured as lyricist as well as a musician. While most believe that Dookie is their unsung masterpiece, I will always point to this album first.

9. The Dark Side Of The Moon : Pink Floyd

My best friend Ryan started listening to Pink Floyd soon after high school, but I wasn't having any part of it. It wouldn't be until much later that I learned to appreciate the brilliance of David Gilmour and Roger Waters. I still have a hard time connecting with anything involving Syd Barrett. I am sorry to admit, however, that I have yet to play this album simultaneously while watching The Wizard Of Oz.

10. Abby Road : The Beatles

My good buddy Travis turned me on to listening to The Beatles, and while I greatly enjoyed the brilliance of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, I really connected with Abby Road. Each song plays like a mini masterpiece, showing how much depth and range each member had and what they brought to the table contributed to the uniqueness of each track.

11. Third Eye Blind : Third Eye Blind

I almost gave this CD away upon it's first listening to a co-worker. Fortunately for me, I never got around to bringing it in to work and it eventually found it's way back into my CD player a few years later. I was never an angst-ridden teen, but if I had been at that time, this album would have spoken to me in so many ways. Instead I just appreciated the way Stephan Jenkins could take themes like teen suicide made them so personal without sounding heavy-handed.

12. Rage Against The Machine : Rage Against The Machine

When I was driving to work back in 1992, "Killing In The Name" played on the radio and suddenly rock music never sounded the same again. This was the first CD I had ever purchased that had the "Parental Advisory" sticker on the front (this was also before they forced retailers to check IDs). As if the album cover wasn't shocking enough (click here if I've peaked your interest) the pure and unfiltered rawness of Tom Morello's guitar mixed with Zack de la Rocha's vocals was something I had never heard before. It changed how I looked at life and my country (to a degree). The album isn't vulgar, but be aware of the "Explicit Content" as Zack drops the f-bomb throughout the entire album, except for the last track, which is rather odd.

13. Empire : Queensrÿche

I think I wore the tape out on this album, only skipping past the overplayed "Silent Lucidity" that plagued MTV in 1990 (when MTV used to play music videos). Queensrÿche had the ability to walk the the thin line between rock and heavy metal, making Empire very accessible to the general public without bashing your head into the wall. They also seemed like the first "hair metal band" that had a leader singer who actually had a decent voice and knew how to use it.

14. The Joshua Tree : U2

I was familiar with U2 for several years. My sister had followed them throughout most of the 1980s, but I never really dug into their back catalog until after graduating high school and came across this gem. Everyone had said it was a fantastic album, probably their best, but as much as I enjoyed the singles from that record, I never learned to appreciate it until much later.

15. Mer de Noms : A Perfect Circle

What do you get when you remove the wierd tendancies from Tool, but keep the haunting vocals of Maynard James Keenan and add their former guitar tech into the mix? A Perfect Circle. When I first heard the single "Judith" on the radio, I was wondering when the new Tool CD was going to be released. Maynard's voice is unmistakable, but the sound was rather different. Once I discovered the album, I couldn't stop playing it. It's production value was so clean and crisp without the strange eight-minute sound effect tracks that usually came with most Tool releases.