Another 100 Best Albums of All Time List
Part 3: 80-71
Now that we’re on our third installment of this project, I’m realizing that there is effectively no point in forming uncompromising opinions about the quality of music. The correct aim is to approach music like an explorer: Perhaps there's something worthwhile here, I'll try to find out what it is. I’ve had a great time diving into Kevin’s top 100 albums and learning about the music that has resonated with him, and how his experiences contrast mine. I think about how growing up with radio vs. streaming and pre-social media vs. the digital age has influenced our exposure to music, and how it fits into the context of our everyday lives and the broader culture we find ourselves in.
This attitude doesn’t mean you have to like everything, but it is liberating to realize that your tastes are fluid, certain albums and artists can hit at different times, and all of this is subjective. More substantively, there’s just a lot of good music from basically every era and every genre, once you learn how to listen. (None of this applies to Imagine Dragons; I don’t know how anyone could expose themselves to that grating tryhard dogshit and find it enjoyable.)
This week’s installment won’t contain any longwinded meandering preamble because I’m on vacation and you’re here for our picks, so let’s get that bread. Below, you’ll find my Top 100 Albums (from 80-71) and the reason why I chose them, as well as Kevin’s picks and my response to them. For Kevin’s explanations of his albums and his reaction to my picks, check out his list below (and subscribe to On Repeat!).
My #80: Weezer (Blue Album) - Weezer (1994)
For whatever reason, in my middle school computer science class, every computer we used for typing lessons had the “Buddy Holly” music video pre-downloaded on it, and this was my introduction to Weezer. Maybe it was the collab with Happy Days or maybe it’s the retro-rock, but that song sounds more like early 10cc than any song the Crickets ever played. The Blue Album is the perfect synthesis of Nirvana, Cheap Trick, and the Beach Boys. It’s full of bubblegum pop while reclaiming the thrilling guitar solo from finger-tapping metal. While Rivers Cuomo is sketching vignettes of Dungeons & Dragons and Kiss posters, I’d be air-guitaring to “Only in Dreams” in my bedroom. It’s a definitive ‘90s rock album that was also a staple of my adolescence.
Highlights: My Name Is Jonas, Buddy Holly, Undone (The Sweater Song), Surf Wax America, Say It Ain’t So, Only In Dreams
Kevin’s #80: Silk Degrees - Boz Skaggs (1976)
My Take:
Admittedly, I only knew “Lowdown” and “Lido Shuffle” and those tunes slap, so I gave this one a spin. I owe Kevin a second major thank you for pushing me to listen to an awesome record that’s been on my periphery for quite a while. “What Can I Say” and “It’s Over” are other highlights, as Silk Degrees is a high watermark for white boy soul that has a sense of humor. This album is smooth, but at his core, Boz Scaggs is a pop rocker who wrote a collection of songs that’s a considerable amount of fun.
My #79: At Folsom Prison - Johnny Cash (1968)
One of the most powerful, heartfelt, and candid live albums I’ve heard—almost wants to make you go to prison just to get the full experience. It opens with, “Hello, I’m Johnny Cash,” followed by applause, and then dum dum dum duuum duuum duuum dum dum duuuuuuuuum, and it’s like I’m sitting with the inmates watching the show. It’s as punk as it is country. Not only is Cash an unparalleled storyteller, but he also has a heart for these prisoners.
Out of any live albums I’ve listened to, At Folsom Prison best utilizes its setting to give each song a deeper meaning: During “Folsom Prison Blues,” I love the part where Cash sings, “I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die” and then a convict hoots and hollers in support. The timing of each applause lets you know exactly what lyrics or licks best tickle the imprisoned listeners. The music rollicks along, but there are some chilling moments, like when normal prison affairs are announced over the PA system. Whenever I finish At Folsom Prison, I have mixed feelings: I go on with my life, but all those guys went back to their cells.
Highlights: Folsom Prison Blues, Dark as the Dungeon, Cocaine Blues, 25 Minutes to Go, The Long Black Veil, The Wall, Jackson, Greystone Chapel
Kevin’s #79: Barbed Wire Kisses - The Jesus and Mary Chain (1988)
Just about everyone I hung out with in Chicago was obsessed with the Jesus and Mary Chain, so I became acquainted with Psychocandy and Darklands by sheer proximity. I enjoy both those albums, and I learned that Barbed Wire Kisses is a compilation of singles, B-sides, and rare tracks released from that chapter of their career, so I gave this a try. Their covers of the Beach Boys’s “Surfin’ USA” and “Kill Surf City,” Bo Diddly’s “Who Do You Love” and “Bo Diddly is Jesus,” and Can’s “Mushroom” are equally nutty and menacing. Essentially, if you enjoy the Jesus and Mary Chain’s first two albums, you’ll dig this.
My #78: Tim (Let It Bleed Edition) - The Replacements (1985)
Helmed by famed Ramones engineer Ed Stasium, I didn’t want to believe the hype swirling around this remix, but the Let It Bleed Edition is jaw-dropping. No more muddy sound, no more tinny reverb, no more thin low-end masking the bass—every instrument is louder and closer, like I’m hearing them play live at a bar. This is the Mats at their apex, and Tim is one of the best albums ever recorded… ex post facto. It’s burnout punk that’s in love with the ornate elegance of pop music and the slick sound of ‘70s AM gold.
As diverse as it is dynamic, Tim is full of diamond-sharp songs about the mess of young love, loneliness, dead-end jobs, amphetamines, and alcohol. This was the soundtrack to my winters in Chicago, spent in my apartment as the snow dumps outside and we just stumbled home after last call. The Stasium mix ranks high amongst the most revelatory revisionist looks at an album—up there with Iggy Pop’s mix of Raw Power and the stripped-down version of Let it Be. It raises a crucial epistemological question, not just whether this is how Tim should’ve sounded all along, but whether this new remix should be considered the real and definitive version of Tim.
Highlights: Hold My Life, Dose of Thunder, Swingin Party, Bastards of Young, Lay it Down Clown, Left of the Dial, Little Mascara, Here Comes a Regular
Kevin’s #78: Garbage - Garbage (1995)
I remember listening to “Stupid Girl” and “Only Happy When It Rains” on the radio growing up as a *cringes* ‘90s kid. “Supervixen,” “Queer,” and “Vow” are also choice cuts. What stands out about Garbage as a ‘90s album is that it channeled the domineering angst into a perfect pop record. This album piles on thick layers of sonics that have been stripped down, torn apart, pasted back together, and then stripped down again until the end product is a dizzying soundscape.
My #77: 3 Feet High and Rising - De La Soul (1989)
Listening to this album for the first time in high school was a wondrous and weird experience. It reshaped my imagination of what hip-hop could be, and I could only assume it did the same for the broader culture back when it was released in 1989. It’s like the new wave of hip-hop to Public Enemy’s unflinching punk. 3 Feet is one of the most inventive, playful, and ultimately original hip-hop records you’ll ever listen to, full of kiddie consciousness, junk-culture arcana, and suburban in-jokes. Sampling artists as diverse as Johnny Cash, Hall & Oates, Steely Dan, and the Turtles, this album is the stylistic beginning of 1990s alternative hip-hop (especially jazz rap) and a stylistic counterbalance to the increasingly violent image of mainstream rap. It perfectly encapsulates being a goofy teenager, and I just grin every time I listen to it.
Highlights: The Magic Number, Eye Know, Potholes in My Lawn, Plug Tunin’ (Last Chance to Comprehend), Buddy, Me Myself and I, This is a Recording 4 Living in a Fulltime ERA (L.I.F.E.)
Kevin’s #77: Delaware - Drop Nineteens (1992)
My Take:
Kevin has another shoegaze/dream pop staple in his list, so I assume Cocteau Twins and My Bloody Valentine will make an appearance higher up in the rankings. Drop Nineteens is another band whose name I recognize but never listened to. I have to be in a specific mood to get into shoegaze, but I understand why this album is held in high regard. “Kick the Tragedy” is just a heavenly track.
My #76: Ágætis byrjun - Sigur Rós (1999)
I’ll never forget a few years back when my friend and I were sleeping in his car in a McDonald’s parking lot the night before Bonaroo, and he asked me if I heard of Sigur Rós, to which I replied, “No,” and he played Ágætis byrjun in its entirety. When I heard “Svefn-g-englar” for the first time—specifically the second half—the moment the drums kicked back in after the multitude of “tjús,” and goosebumps covered my whole body, all ripe with melodrama and head-locking me into transcendence. It was an otherworldly experience because this is a sound designed to overwhelm.
The rest of the album left me in awe, as it is thunderous and dreamy, soothing and stirring, melancholic and mostly major-key, surging and triumphal. Before Ágætis, post-rock was a niche sub-sub-genre. After Ágætis, the sound, which feels like being stuck inside a church bell, became a global phenomenon.
It is jarring to consider how much we now live in a world of small, soft drones, the “Lush Lofi” and “Ambient Chill” and “Ethereal Vibes” Spotify playlists, the Nissan commercials, and the “Planet Earth” documentaries constructing benign replicas of Sigur Rós songs. I saw them perform last year with the Wordless Music Orchestra, and it was a quasi-religious experience that nearly moved me to tears.
Highlights: Svefn-g-englar, Starálfur, Ny Batteri, Olsen olsen, Ágætis byrjun
Kevin’s #76: Like This - The dBs (1984)
My Take:
I’m not familiar with the dB’s, but this is a cool low-key ‘80s pop-rock album. “A Spy in the House of Love” is a fun tune.
My #75: Horses - Patti Smith (1975)
When beat poetry meets punk rock, Horses is groundbreaking on so many levels. Patti Smith is a transcending genius, and at the center of her brilliance is her androgyny, which does not reduce her to this album’s iconic cover art. Like Janis Joplin, she is a woman with enough determination and raw power to compete in a male-dominated genre, but these masculine traits never eclipsed her femininity.
The tough seductress of “Gloria” is also the tender mother of “Kimberly,” and these two versions of Patti never seem at odds with each other. Although Horses prophesized punk, in many ways her spirit was better compared to Jim Morrison, the Grateful Dead, the Who, etc. Her sound has a punk edge, but her heart is more in tune with 60s optimism than it is with late 70s nihilism: She sounds like she really believes rebellion will save the world. It’s nice to have that type of hope played out over Lenny Kaye’s rickety barre chords.
Maybe Patti Smith didn’t know what to do with her later years, but she never sold out, never reneged on her integrity, and never ceased to be a lovable kook. Given how many oldies of the rock era either become greedy pricks (Mick Jagger) or lost their damn minds (Van Morrison), I find this very reassuring.
Highlights: Gloria: In Excelsis Deo, Birdland, Kimberly, Land: Horses / Land of a Thousand Dances / La Mer(de)
Kevin’s #75: What's Your Funktion - Sweaty Nipples (1989)
My Take:
With a band name like Sweaty Nipples, I had no idea what I was getting myself into, but I could relate to it on a spiritual level. As the album title suggests, this is an aggressive funky punk rock experience and I am here for it. It feels like I’m just moshing at a DIY warehouse party.
My #74: Where Did Our Love Go - The Supremes (1964)
Not only does Where Did Our Love Go contain the Supreme’s first three number ones, but it also has a lot of the exquisite three-part harmonies of Diana, Mary, and Flo—and extremely prominent background vocals of the latter two. This was before Gordy really ramped up the push to make Diana a solo star, so the larger presence of the other two on this album makes it feel like a complete and cohesive group. While the Supremes were the second most popular musical act of the ‘60s, based on the number of hit singles, they aren’t as recognized as part of that era’s canon. They were mainly a singles band, sure, but Where Did Our Love Go is packed with groovy tunes that are emblematic of that time.
What makes The Supremes special is that they were the flagship act on Motown Records; it’s not that they sound like so many of the other Motown acts, it’s that so many of the other Motown acts sound like them. The Supremes also set the “template” for female groups in R&B, from The Three Degrees down to Destiny’s Child. Where Did Our Love Go can go toe-to-toe with most of the great pop albums of the ‘60s.
Highlights: Where Did Our Love Go, Run, Run, Run, Baby Love, When the Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes, Come See About Me, Long Gone Lover, A Breath Taking Guy, Your Kiss of Fire
Kevin’s #74: Do You Know Who You Are? - Texas is the Reason (1996)
My Take:
Back in my punk rock phase in high school, I discovered this album through listening to Box Car Racer, as singer Tom DeLonge listed Texas is the Reason as a major inspiration for his famed blink-182 side project. The one-two punch of the title track’s harmonic abyss and the melodic rush of “Back and to the Left” showcases the versatility of this album and is emblematic of why this is one of the standards for ‘90s emocore. “Do You Know Who You Are?” was the last thing said to John Lennon before he died, and this album is full of stark phrases about loneliness and the dissonance between friends and lovers. Texas is the Reason may not be as harsh as many of their hardcore predecessors, nor as technical as their contemporaries in Washington DC, nor as poppy as many of the emo bands to come, but they borrowed elements of each to provide a template for indie rock bands to produce a quality record.
My #73: After the Gold Rush - Neil Young (1970)
After the Gold Rush is basically unassailable. It sounds like a bit of an overview of the Great American Songbook, except it’s one guy writing all the songs. Each track is hypnotically stoned but has sneakily intense grooves. Neil Young’s gift as a writer of extraordinarily beautiful melodies is in full bloom here: He can craft a simple country-folk love song over a chord change that hollows you out completely. Its dark yet hopeful tone matched the tenor of the 1970s, making it one of the definitive singer/songwriter albums of all time.
Highlights: Tell Me Why, After the Gold Rush, Only Love Can Break Your Heart, Southern Man, When You Dance I Can Really Love
Kevin’s #73: Rio - Duran Duran (1982)
My Take:
Rio is probably in my top five most-played albums while I was in grad school in LA: Pre-games at the apartment, cruising down Sunset Boulevard, bench pressing at The Mecca, and biking to Zuma Beach. I wasn’t alive in the ‘80s, but I assume a lot of cocaine was snorted while the title track blasted in the background. It’s a seminal ‘80s record, a flawless mix of rock, disco, and heartthrob pop. Their sonic approach of blazing electric guitars blended with moody synthesizers became the dominant template for mainstream ‘80s rock. Rio is an all-timer.
My #72: Ella & Louis - Ella Fitzgerald (1956)
Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong are opposites in how they sing, but the gruffness of Armstrong’s voice blends magically with Fitzgeral’s stunningly silky delivery. While this album is the pinnacle of popular singing, the backing quartet of Oscar Peterson (piano), Suddy Rich (drums), Herb Ellis (guitar), and Ray Brown (bass) are equally inspired. Vocal jazz isn't everyone’s cup of tea, but for my money, Ella and Louis is as good, or better, of an intro to jazz than Kind of Blue or many of the other albums that get recommended to every new listener. This album is magical and essential for anyone with a turntable.
Highlights: Can’t We Be Friends, Isn’t This a Lovely Day?, Moonlight in Vermont, They Can’t Take That Away From Me, Stars Fell on Alabama, Cheek to Cheek
Kevin’s #72: II - Meat Puppets (1984)
My Take:
I listened to Meat Puppets a bunch in middle school whenever I visited my cousin, as we discovered this album thanks to Nirvana’s covers of “Plateau” and “Lake of Fire” on their MTV Unplugged. I haven’t given this a spin since then, and Kevin’s pick motivated me to give it another listen this past week. I’m so glad I was able to reconnect with this album because I forgot how much I loved this sun-baked, country-fried, acid-addled piece of calmly demented cowpunk. Meat Puppets blend head-banging with the Byrds/Hendrix-style guitar and Blonde on Blonde-style wordsmithing. This is a top-tier ‘80s alt-rock album.
My #71: Richard D. James Album - Aphex Twin (1996)
Selected Ambient Works 85-92 is the safe Aphex Twin pick for a list like this, but Richard D. James Album is 43.5 minutes of pure electronic genius and kicked off a run of albums and EPs (Come to Daddy, Windowlicker, and Druqks) that produced some of the most daring and danceable music of his career. Just when your brain starts to comprehend a rhythmic pattern, the beat shifts, turns left, and contorts your brain. Aphex Twin coaxes great resonance from his machines to combine jolting sounds, pristine melodic fragments, and random noises into this elegant—and at times unnerving—futuristic/magical pop record. Richard has such an insane ear for melodies; he will use the most fucked sounds and make something beautiful with them. With all that being said, I can’t believe Aphex Twin ripped off Radiohead’s Kid A BEFORE that album came out…
Highlights: 4, Fingerbib, To Cure a Weakling Child, Girl/Boy Song
Kevin’s #71: Post - Björk (1995)
My Take:
This was one of the first Björk albums I’ve listened to, and it remains one of my favorites from her. She has an almost extraterrestrial voice echoing around in a sonic toybox, delivered with a wacky and mind-altered conviction and assuring hooks. Post contains a bizarre combination of diverse genres, eccentric instrumentation, and electronic timbres. But when Post comes to an end, it feels like coming home from a relaxing vacation. There’s at least three or four Björk records that could make a list like this, and this is a great pick.
Kevin and I also created a Spotify playlist of one song from each of our album picks upon request. Check it out!
Our 90-81:
Our 70-61:
 | A guest post by
|