With this grouping of ten albums, we get both albums from our first two-time artist, quite a few albums that crack my personal albums and quite a few disappointments.
470. R.E.M.-Document
When R.E.M. broke up last year, I realized the important impact the band had on the alternative genre, but with the exception of a few songs I really enjoyed, I had never listened to an entire R.E.M. album. It seems fitting that Document should be the first album from them I listen to, since it has the first song I think I recognized as a R.E.M. song, "It's The End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)", which while is probably the most fun song I've ever heard from R.E.M., hardly their best. This may be an odd criticism of R.E.M., but I like the band when they aren't as odd as they can be. When Michael Stipe deals with love, as he does with "The One I Love", I truly admire R.E.M. This isn't to say that I don't like R.E.M., on the contrary. I found myself enjoying Document, but with the exception of those two songs, easily the most popular off Document, I didn't find many tracks that would bring me back to Document. But I do have faith in future R.E.M. albums further on the list that will certainly make me a fan.
Suggested Track: "It's The End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)"
469. Public Image Ltd.-Metal Box
Public Image Ltd. is the first album I listened to that not only did I not have a copy of, but also couldn't find on Spotify. So in dedication to this list, I actually listened to the album track by track through YouTube, on my iPhone, while driving through D.C. traffic. Not the ideal listening experience, but wow did I enjoy Metal Box. I always enjoyed the sound of John Lydon, aka Johnny Rotten, with The Sex Pistols, and I always wanted to hear what it would sound like if he expanded his style a bit. Thankfully for that, there is Public Image Ltd. Music Box is experimental, dark, brooding and weird. But it's a phenomenal experiment. The style of Music Box I feel could be released today, with plenty of acclaim. It's such an odd sound, one that you can hear the influence of in many current bands, but Lydon boosts this album into something exciting and unusual and always interesting.
Suggested Track: "Albatross"
468. Elton John-Elton John
When I think back and try to figure out what is the first artist and song I can remember hearing in my life, I think it may be Elton John with "Crocodile Rock", a song that was utilized in a Mickey Mouse VHS tape I had. I've always admired John, partly in thanks to Disney, but also to my mother's insistence of playing him when I was growing up. Elton John starts us off at the beginning of John's career in America. Elton John is his second release, but his first in America. The first, and most popular track, "Your Song", shows the brilliance of John, his instrumentation and his impressive lyrical prowess. John has fun with his self-titled release and truly does show what a performer he would become. So much so that we'll be talking about him a little bit later as well....
Suggested Track: "Your Song"
467. Bob Dylan-Love And Theft
Let me be honest: I'm not a huge fan of Bob Dylan. I've always enjoyed him, but apart from a few songs, I've never truly loved Dylan. I've never been a fan of the Dylan that people parody, the one who sings a song with emphasis at the very end of every line. His songwriting is incredible, but even after listening to some of this most famous works, I never really got it as much as I should. I also am more likely to listen to an entire album of Dylan than just listen to a few tracks.
Now that I have my bases covered, I'll say I finally get Dylan. Albums like Love and Theft are exactly why I started listening to the albums on this list. Love and Theft defies my expectations, not only of later Dylan, but also of what Dylan can do. Dylan is so much fun here, messing with tempos, playing the dirty old man at times, but also creating some beautiful, touching songs as well. Dylan seems to still be experimenting with songs like "Honest With Me" and most notably in the constant changing speeds of "Cry A While". But then a song like "Sugar Baby" comes along that ends Love and Theft on a gorgeous, somber note. But most of all, I'm just glad that I know that there is a version of Dylan that I do actually truly love.
Suggested Track: "Cry A While"
466. Hole-Live Through This
In an odd realization of my past, when listening to Live Through This, I figured out that I may have been the only person to like Hole before I liked Nirvana. At this point, it is almost impossibly to talk about Live Through This without taking about Kurt, who died only a few days before the album's release. Possibly even odder is the fact that I'm more a fan of Celebrity Skin era Courtney Love. I love when Love shows her softer side, so I definitely had interest in Live Through This. Little did I know that none of that softness would make an appearance. At all.
Live Through This is Love at her angriest and loudest. Her topics here are dark, ranging from eating disorders to rape. Love is incredibly talented and it is a shame that who she is now is such a mess that it is unlikely what people remember about her is her music. Live Through This is probably the epitome of nineties angry girl rock, and it is fitting that Love is the leader of that group. I just prefer a softer side to my Love.
Suggested Track: "Doll Parts"
465. The Drifters-Golden Hits
The Drifters are another group that I grew up with. Stupidly though, I grouped them amongst beach music artists that I never enjoyed, thanks to songs like "Sand in My Shoes" and 'Under the Boardwalk", which beach music artists felt the need to cover constantly. To clarify, I'm not a fan of beach music. Bad beach music that is. Which also dominated my childhood.
But The Drifters are arguably one of the greatest doo-wop groups of all time and Golden Hits showcases the importance of the band with the best songs from their history, and some of the greatest songs of all time. And what an incredible collection it is. Golden Hits is filled with tracks still getting constant rotation on oldies stations like "There Goes My Baby", "Up On the Roof" and "On Broadway", just to name a few. The Drifters are legendary and Golden Hits is a great collection of the group's best.
Suggested Tracks: "There Goes My Baby"
464. Jay-Z-The Blueprint
The Blueprint is Jay-Z at a very interesting point in his career. After Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac were murdered, Jay-Z unofficially took over the throne. With The Blueprint, Jay-Z proves why he deserves the crown. It's also quite an exciting album looking at where he is now. We hear Eminem, young and at the top of his game, Jay showing that he is the best while also showing respect to those who came before him. We also hear a younger Jay in conflict, especially towards Nas on "Takeover". It's also great with hindsight hearing Jay-Z saying he may never settle down with one girl. Now he's part of the first family of hip-hop. The Blueprint also features production by Kanye West. You can already hear the cockiness as he tries to jump into a few songs, but his production already shows a great young talent.
Jay-Z was the first hip-hop artist I truly liked after Notorious B.I.G., and my iTunes shows it since it states I have 490 tracks from Jay-Z. The Blueprint is one of Jay's best albums and shows the prince becoming the king with one of modern hip-hop's greatest albums.
Suggested Track: "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)"
463. Elton John-Tumbleweed Connection
Hey look who it is! We have our first artist to show up twice on the list so far. Tumbleweed Connection was John's self-titled album and is John's attempt at an Americana album. It's not that I didn't enjoy Tumbleweed Connection, and maybe it just over saturation, but I didn't get into this album as much as Elton John.
I'm not such a fan of John doing the whole concept album thing, but rather just showing his phenomenal songwriting and piano playing. Tumbleweed Connection is a short and sweet collection of John's love letter to America, but I would prefer just plain ol straightforward John, singing about love rather than tales of the west.
Suggested Track: "Amoreena"
462. Marvin Gaye-Here, My Dear
Listening to Here, My Dear is like listening to Marvin Gaye realize that love cannot conquer all, which isn't a coincidence. Gaye made the album after his divorce. Like several albums in this grouping of ten (and the next one as well), I don't dislike the album, but I'm just not a huge fan.
Like many of the artists that we've already listened to, such as Bob Dylan and Elton John, we are surely going to have more albums, higher ranking albums, from these artists. Gaye's album isn't a condemnation of love, but rather Gaye being disappointed with where love has taken him. Like I've said, it is not a bad album at all, but I just didn't connect to it the way I would have liked to.
Suggested Track: "When Did You Stop Loving Me, When Did I Stop Loving You"
461. Los Lobos-How Will the Wolf Survive?
Once again, I have another artist with Los Lobos' How Will the Wolf Survive? that I don't think of as a bad album, but one I don't connect with. With Los Lobos, I wonder if it has to once again do with what I grew up listening to. Santana's Supernatural album became an insanely huge album when I was growing up, which did somewhat sour me on the more Central American-based guitar rock. I didn't dislike Supernatural when I was growing up, but I also didn't love it. However Los Lonely Boys, a band who had a surprising success last decade, is a band I downright can't stand.
This is all unfortunate, but I also just don't really enjoy artists like Los Lobos. To me, there's really not much that kept me interested throughout How Will the Wolf Survive?, I just fall back on the idea that is not for me and just not a genre of music I really appreciate.
Suggested Track: "A Matter of Time"
Here are my personal rankings for the albums I've listened to so far (original chart rankings in parenthesis):
1. Coldplay-A Rush of Blood to the Head (473)
2. The Drifters-Golden Hits (465)
3. The Smashing Pumpkins-Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (487)
4. Funkadelic-Maggot Brain (486)
5. The Fugees-The Score (477)
6. Bob Dylan-Love and Theft (467)
7. Jay-Z-The Blueprint (464)
8. The Notorious B.I.G.-Life After Death (483)
9. Bruce Springsteen-Tunnel of Love (475)
10. Otis Redding-Live in Europe (474)
11. Echo & the Bunnymen-Heaven Up Here (471)
12. Kiss-Destroyer (496)
13. D'Angelo-Voodoo (488)
14. Earth, Wind and Fire-That's the Way of the World (493)
15. Public Image Ltd.-Metal Box (469)
16. Loretta Lynn-All Time Greatest Hits (485)
17. Public Enemy-Yo! Bum Rush the Show (497)
18. The Smiths-The Smiths (481)
19. Cyndi Lauper-She's So Unusual (494)
20. Elton John-Elton John (468)
21. Steve Earle-Guitar Town (489)
22. Gang of Four-Entertainment! (490)
23. R.E.M.-Document (470)
24. The Paul Butterfield Blues Band-The Paul Butterfield Blues Band (476)
25. Husker Du-New Day Rising (495)
26. Elton John-Tumbleweed Connection (463)
27. Hole-Live Through This (466)
28. Mott The Hoople-All the Young Dudes (491)
29. Merle Haggard-Branded Man (484)
30. Eurythmics-Touch (500)
31. Pearl Jam-Vitalogy (492)
32. George Michael-Faith (480)
33. Richard and Linda Thompson-I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight (479)
34. Elvis Costello & the Attractions-Armed Forces (482)
35. Def Leppard-Hysteria (472)
36. Marvin Gaye-Here, My Dear (462)
37. LL Cool J-Radio (478)
38. Albert King-Born Under a Bad Sign (499)
39. Los Lobos-How Will the Wolf Survive? (461)
40. ZZ Top-Tres Hombres (498)
Also if you'd like to follow along, here's my link for the Rolling Stone Top 500 Albums on Spotify.
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