Originally Posted by music_phantom13 Yeah, his instrumental stuff is really cool; Muted was great and I liked All Things Fixable a lot too. I just really like the dark sounding hip hop he writes, and it's a really interesting album to listen to lyrically. Probably because I really like underground hip-hop and rap that does something new; you'll definitely notice that through the course of this list.

Originally Posted by sweet_nothing Glad seeing the Misfits get some love around here.

92. Relationship of Command – At the Drive-In



Relationship of Command is the perfect post-hardcore album, in my opinion. They take every aspect of the genre and simply do it right. I love the melodramatic, howling singing, the intense, wailing guitars, the electronic aspect they infused into their sound… no other band in the genre can approach these guys. I wasn’t big on Sparta, nor am I a big fan of The Mars Volta, but damn this stuff is good. Iggy Pop even appears singing backup on Rolodex Propaganda! I’m not a big fan of producer Ross Robinson (who produced stuff by Korn and Slipknot…) but even he couldn’t slow the raw, driving, angst of At the Drive-In right before their break up. Also, how many hardcore bands actually leave the stage and insult their fans when they start slam dancing too violently? (They played a concert in Australia and left the stage shortly after starting because the moshing was too violent, and later in the day a girl actually suffocated while Limp Bizkit was playing… can’t remember the name of the concert though)

Best Songs: Arcarsenal, Sleepwalk Capsules, Mannequin Republic, Rolodex Propaganda

91. Holes – Melpo Mene



I’m assuming this’ll surprise a decent amount of people, but I’m kind of a sucker for the whole Swedish indie pop thing… in fact, you’ll probably even see another album in the same vein as this later in the list. I just love the melodic, simple single note, upbeat acoustic guitar sound, the background strings holding down the rhythym, the occasional flute, and the simple non-invasive drumming; but it goes beyond that. What puts this album above a bunch of other things that might sound similar, though, is the diversity of the songs and the lyrics. The verses cover a huge variety of music. The verses of Lady sounds very much like The Decemberists, while Dream About Me, Tropical Island, and Don’t Save Me are essentially upbeat jazz songs, with bongos and everything, and a Melpo Mene style indie chorus. These are the songs that really do it for me soundwise; I love music that combines jazz with other styles. Lyrically, the songs are great too – “I’ve got holes in my jeans, but what’s worse, they’re in my head too” hehe.

Best Songs: Holes, To Be Someone, Dream About Me, Tropical Island

90. Night of the Porch People – The Recipes



Every couple months, I’ll go to the used book and cd store, and just pick out a couple of used cds by bands I’ve never heard of based solely on the cover. I actually always seem to have really good luck with this; it’s how I found Alias and this album. I think that the best way to describe this is to just say look at the cover. It pretty much sums it up perfectly. This is, essentially, Grateful Dead type jam rock combined with an Allman Brothers Band type southern rock sound performed by a backwoods bluegrass jam band heavy on fiddle. But it’s even more than that. It’s simply all over the place; with moments of funk, bluegrass, alternative rock, and blues, and probably some other stuff I missed. The female vocalist sounds like she could be a distant relative of Janis Joplin at times, with a low powerful blues voice, but she also has an incredible range. The lyrics are also quite interesting; with songs about alien abductions, country living, the beauty of nature, and good old fashioned hoe down songs (haha) among other topics, this album simply covers everything. A winner in my book; if you like jam music at all check it out.

Best Songs: Affected Specimen, Luna Parade, Bonemeal, World Swirl

89. Chutes Too Narrow – The Shins



I had a really hard time choosing a Shins album to include here. I really like all three albums, but it came down to Chutes and Oh, Inverted World. In the end, I picked Chutes because I love the more straightforward rock sound that focuses more on the guitars than keyboards. There is one song, A Call to Apathy, that has that god awful steel slide guitar sound that I can’t stand, but it’s the only song on the album that I really don’t like, and it’s honestly the main thing that keeps this album from a spot in my top 10 (and it sounds totally out of place, so I don’t feel bad skipping it). Also, this album has Young Pilgrims, my favorite Shins song in terms of lyrics because I feel like they’re describing me. I also think that lyrically, their second album is more simplistic but more meaningful than their debut. Mercer’s voice rings out clear and true over some marvelous guitar, and while the album doesn’t have the seem sort of experimental feel that could be found on their debut, it still maintains the jangly pop sound, and all of the instruments work perfectly together, creating an awesome busy yet light feel. Chutes is also more of an upbeat album than their debut, and sometimes honestly reminds me of the Beach Boys in some ways? I know that’s weird, but on songs like Turn a Square, before the singing starts I feel like I could be listening to a present day Beach Boys album. It’s a lot better than the Beach Boys though.

Best Songs: Kissing the Lipless, Young Pilgrims, Fighting in a Sack, Turn a Square

Originally Posted by music_phantom13 92. Relationship of Command – At the Drive-In 89. Chutes Too Narrow – The Shins