Bulldog

Everyone else seems to be doing album lists, so why let them have all the fun eh. Plus I need something to occupy my time whenever I've run out of interesting things to contribute to the boards (or whenever I don't really feel like writing about Elvis Costello), so here it is. A few things worth mentioning;

1. To make things a bit different, every 10 albums I'll post a link to a mixtape consisting of songs from those 10 for any curious readers.
2. There are a lot of albums I don't have, so there's the explanation for any classics that don't make the list. Either that or I don't really get all the fuss over them.
3. I figured this forum was the best place to put this thing. If any of you mods feel it's more suited to General Music, feel free to move the thread.
4. These are in no order. Well, not 'til the top 30 anyway. Oh, and it's one album per artist too.

I'll be keeping these short and sweet for now. Anyway, enough of my waffling - here goes;

100. The Triffids - Born Sandy Devotional (1986)

This is, for me, easily the best album from Perth's finest alternative band, providing a very intriguing blend of darkly introspective lyrics, Australian folk and elements of psychedelia. Stands as a shining example of the often-overlooked songwriting talents of one David McComb (RIP).
The best bits: The Seabirds, Tarrilup Bridge, Stolen Property

99. Bruce Springsteen - Nebraska (1982)

Unfortunately the majority of people I know associate the Boss with the swaggering 80s-ness of Born In the USA (I'll admit it's how I once thought of the bloke), often leading to his perfectly good earlier works getting overlooked. Obviously, this falls into that category. Even for someone like me (no huge Springsteen fan), it's hard to see this as anything but one of the best lo-fi folk albums of all-time.
The best bits: Atlantic City, Mansion On the Hill, Johnny 99

98. Gomez - Bring It On (1998)

Gomez's debut will always be a shining example to me of indie as indie should be. For a start it was actually released by an independant label and it sounds nothing like anything the media are willing to slap the indie-rock tag on today, sounding in a lot of places like a modern (alright, 90s) form of psychedelic folk. That and the fact it's a genuinely kick-arse album (boasting one of the best singles of the 90s) helps its case as well.
The best bits: Whippin' Picadilly, Make No Sound, Get Myself Arrested

97. Gram Parsons - GP (1973)

Now, I'm no huge country fan (I only have 5 or 6 such albums), but if you've thought about giving the genre a try, this is one of the first albums you should look to. Of the two albums released before his tragic death at 26, his debut is probably the one I'd recommend highest, boasting the finest, laid-back qualities of relatively upbeat country rock and arguably being the album which pioneered the genre. Not quite the best country album ever (that's a bit higher in the list), but definitely one of the essentials.
The best bits: Still Feeling Blue, We'll Sweep Out the Ashes In the Morning, Streets Of Baltimore

If anyone wants a link, just ask - if I'm in a good mood I might just upload one for you.

jackhammer

Solid album and very unique in that (to my ears) it doesn't sound British at all. Looking forward to this and I can hazard a guess as to some of your inclusions!

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FireInCairo

Woah man good start
Ill be keeping an eye on this...
and probably pestering you for Pm's all the time haha




btw
100. 98. & 97 pretty please?

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O G MUDBONE: Only You can prevent forest fires.

4ZZZ

Under appreciated.

Bulldog

Cheers for the feedback fellas. I'll post the next four a bit later.

Certainly Expect a PM this evening (GMT).

Bulldog

On with this thing then...

96. Third World - 96 Degrees In the Shade (1977)

I was looking for a little bit of info on this album earlier today and amazed to see how little there was. In fact, allmusic summed this album up in one sentence; 'the album that cemented their stateside popularity'. Hardly does this album justice really. Alright I can't really be arsed to do much better, but it's still a shame this album's so obscure. This, the Jamaican reggae outfit's second album, is their best effort to me, being one of the finest roots reggae albums I've ever heard, merging the rhythms of Big Youth with the intense, thought-provoking lyrics of Burning Spear, producing some pretty damn fine results too. The production is wonderful too; it's clean, polished sound paving the way for bands like the mighty mighty Steel Pulse. Oh, and Human Marketplace is an absolute gem of classic reggae too.
The best bits: Feel a Little Better, Human Marketplace, 1865

95. Frank Zappa - Jazz From Hell (1986)

It's hard to pick a favourite Zappa album among not only such a huge discography but also such a musically varied and, of course, brilliant one. As much as I love Absolutely Free, Freak Out!, Sheik Yerbouti and so on, if I had to pick one album it'd probably be this. Seven instrumentals composed (and performed) entirely on the Synclavier DMS synthesizer and one blissful, 6 1/2 minute-long guitar solo really struck a chord with me the way the others have yet to do. No doubt I'll wake up tomorrow morning, look at this post and regret not choosing another album, but f*ck it. Jazz From Hell; terrific album, aptly titled too.
The best bits: Night School, While You Were Art II, St. Etiene

94. Souad Massi - Deb (2003)

I won't claim to know much about French music, but I bought this album when I was going on a world music spree when I was teenager. Combining elements of modern chanson, soft jazz and good old folk rock, this is one of the standouts of the many such albums I blew my hard-earned cash on. One of the features of truly great, non-English-speaking (for want of a better phrase) music is that the music is strong to render the vocals as another instrument in itself, and in this case Souad Massi's wonderful voice becomes as such. I only know how to say hello, goodbye and one, two, three in French, but I still love this album. She's a lot better than Edith bleedin' Piaf as well.
The best bits: Le Bien et le Mal, Deb, Bel el Mahdi

93. Ohio Players - Skin Tight (1974)

The seventh Ohio Players album delivers six tracks of sheer energy and passion. When it's not delivering the funk, the whole funk and nothing but the funk (like on the terrific Jive Turkey) it conjures some pretty convincing soul ballads (Heaven Must Be Like This). A pretty damn sexy album.
The best bits: Skin Tight, Jive Turkey, Is Anybody Gonna Be Saved?

jackhammer

I have an Ohio Players album - 'Honey' which I love and I am pleasantly surprised that you know of them too! The last four picks demonstrates the sheer eclectism and non commercialism of some MB members and that is to be applauded. Excellent list that has already given me a few new names to listen to.

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Bulldog

It'll get more predictable when I get to the top 30, believe me I think my favourite album of all-time will surprise a few people though.

Don't forget, if you're after any links, just drop us a PM and I'll sort you something when I can.

lucifer_sam

I'm familiar with about three artists on this list so far. Can't wait to check out the rest, dude. Keep 'em coming.

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Demonoid

Lists, lists and lists! I'll slowly catch up with this since I'm so damn busy atm. Think I'll get that Triffids release first...been in my 'listen to' list for ages.