My top 100 albums of all time

All right, after a little wrangling, I’ve got a list. The rankings are very rough–if I did this again tomorrow, the specifics would be different, although it’s very unlikely that any album would move much more than five places. I will stand by the collection of albums (and one compilation, and one EP) listed here.

  1. Emperor, Prometheus: The Discipline of Fire and Demise
  2. Opeth, Morningrise
  3. Opeth, Damnation
  4. Therion, Theli
  5. Emperor, Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk
  6. Symphony X, V: The New Mythology Suite
  7. Arcturus, La Masquerade Infernale
  8. Arcturus, The Sham Mirrors
  9. Into Eternity, Dead or Dreaming
  10. Within Temptation, Mother Earth
  11. Vintersorg, Cosmic Genesis
  12. Nightwish, Oceanborn
  13. Rhapsody, Power of the Dragonflame
  14. Opeth, Blackwater Park
  15. Blind Guardian, A Night at the Opera
  16. Dream Theater, Images & Words
  17. Green Carnation, Light Of Day, Day Of Darkness
  18. Savatage, Poets and Madmen
  19. Therion, Vovin
  20. Therion, Secret of the Runes
  21. Nine Inch Nails, The Downward Spiral
  22. Nirvana, Nevermind
  23. Lacuna Coil, Comalies
  24. Queen Adreena, Taxidermy
  25. Rain Fell Within, Refuge
  26. Rhapsody, Dawn of Victory
  27. Leah Andreone, Veiled
  28. Metallica, Ride the Lightning
  29. No Doubt, No Doubt
  30. Morbid Angel, Covenant
  31. Nightwish, Wishmaster
  32. Nile, In Their Darkened Shrines
  33. No Doubt, The Beacon Street Collection
  34. Squirrel Nut Zippers, Hot
  35. Tool, Ænima
  36. Trail Of Tears, A New Dimension Of Might
  37. Tapping The Vein, The Damage
  38. Sneaker Pimps, Becoming X
  39. Sinergy, To Hell and Back
  40. Symphony X, The Divine Wings of Tragedy
  41. In Extremo, Sünder Ohne Zügel
  42. Dream Theater, Train of Thought
  43. Cradle of Filth, Cruelty and the Beast
  44. Agalloch, The Mantle
  45. After Forever, Decipher
  46. Anathema, A Fine Day To Exit
  47. Falkenbach, Magni Blandinn ok Megintiri
  48. And Oceans, The Dynamic Gallery of Thoughts
  49. Alchemist, Organasm
  50. Adagio, Sanctis Ignis
  51. Amorphis, Elegy
  52. They Might Be Giants, Flood
  53. Nine Inch Nails, Broken
  54. Republica, Republica
  55. King Diamond, The Puppet Master
  56. Pink Floyd, Dark Side of the Moon
  57. Natalie Imbruglia, Left of the Middle
  58. No Doubt, Tragic Kingdom
  59. Opera IX, The Black Opera
  60. Marilyn Manson, Antichrist Superstar
  61. Old Man’s Child, Ill-Natured Spiritual Invasion
  62. Led Zeppelin, IV
  63. Uriah Heep, Demons & Wizards
  64. Evanescence, Fallen
  65. Jack Off Jill, Sexless Demons and Scars
  66. Garbage, Beautiful Garbage
  67. Dimmu Borgir, Puritanical Misanthropic Euphoria
  68. Black Sabbath, Paranoid
  69. Collide, Chasing The Ghost
  70. Borknagar, Empiricism
  71. Clutch, Pure Rock Fury
  72. Squirrel Nut Zippers, The Inevitable
  73. Megadeth, Cryptic Writings
  74. Thyrane, Hypnotic
  75. Theatre of Tragedy, Velvet Darkness They Fear
  76. Therion, Deggial
  77. Garbage, Garbage
  78. Darling Violetta, Parlour
  79. Joydrop, Metasexual
  80. Alice Cooper, Brutal Planet
  81. Anthrax, Among the Living
  82. Metallica, Metallica
  83. Pantera, Cowboys from Hell
  84. Pink Floyd, The Wall
  85. Tatu, 200 km/h in the Wrong Lane
  86. Tool, Undertow
  87. Garbage, Version 2.0
  88. Jethro Tull, Aqualung
  89. From Zero, One Nation Under
  90. Nicodemus, The Supernatural Omnibus
  91. Queensrÿche, Empire
  92. Clare Quilty, Strong
  93. Boston, Boston
  94. Drain STH, Freaks of Nature
  95. Styx, Greatest Hits
  96. Sublime, Sublime
  97. Slayer, Reign in Blood
  98. Ozzy Osbourne, Diary of a Madman
  99. White Zombie, Astro Creep: 2000
  100. Korn, Korn

Well I don’t know what it says about me, but I own a good 600 CDs and have all of 13 of the listed albums. Nine of those come from Ultrafilter. I should do my own list just to see what it would look like.

Great lists. Definitely going to make me go out and make some purchases.

I don’t have nearly the time or energy to come up with my top 100, but here are my top 6 or so:

  • Beatles, Revolver
  • Big Star - #1 Record/Radio City
  • Marvin Gaye - What’s Going On
  • Bowie - Ziggy Stardust
  • Prince - Sign o’ the Times
  • Rolling Stones - Sticky Fingers
  • AC/DC - Highway to Hell
  • Jeff Beck Group - Truth

Tons of punk, blues, jazz and indie, too, but too much to sort through…

So then. Whats the verdict?

Good stuff, undecided or last music recommendation you take from me?

Good stuff, really fucked up, I like it. I’ve only got two listens under my belt though-- for now, been really busy – so it hasn’t really sunken in, yet, but “Aqua-Magnetic” just slays. I love the fact that the bass is the lead instrument, as you mentioned in your description, pretty unusual. I can’t believe I’ve never heard of them before, it’s been a while since a band has snuck up on me like that, kind of refreshing in a way. But I have to admit that I was worried when I saw Rammstein listed under ‘Related Artists’ on AMG.

Ugh, I noticed another glaring mistake on my list, Wire’s ‘Chairs Missing’ (like ‘Lust For Life’) is mentioned twice, the second time at spot 67 is actually supposed to be the severely under appreciated ‘154,’ which I’m having a love affair with at the moment.

I really hate my list right now, so many albums that I forgot. These hurt the most:

The Chameleons - Script of The Bridge
Cocteau Twins - Treasure
The Jam - All Mod Cons
Nation of Ulysses - Plays Pretty For Baby
Slayer - Reign In Blood (yes)

Some of my top 100 of all time:

London Calling- The Clash
August and Everything After- Counting Crows
The Marshall Mathers LP- Eminem
Sebastopol- Jay Farrar
Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots- The Flaming Lips
Up- Peter Gabriel
Dave Matthews- Some Devil
Radiohead- OK Computer
UP- R.E.M.
Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness- The Smashing Pumpkins
Abbey Road- The Beatles
Girlfriend- Matthew Sweet
Aenima- Tool
Fear- Toad the Wet Sprocket
Being There- Wilco
English Settlement- XTC
A Rush of Blood to the Head- Coldplay

That’s all I can think of for now.

Okay, I’ll play: I was bored enough this evening to try to come up with a top 100 list of my own. At the risk of revealing myself to be really weird, here it is—Great Albums, Sentimental Favorites, Guilty Pleasures, and all—100 albums I’m rather fond of at this point in time:

ABC: The Lexicon of Love
Adam Again: Dig
The Bangles: Different Light
The Beach Boys: Pet Sounds
The Beach Boys: Wild Honey
The Beatles: Rubber Soul
The Beatles: Revolver
The Beatles: Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
The Beatles: Abbey Road
Adrian Belew: Inner Revolution
David Bowie: The Rise & Fall of Ziggy Stardust & the Spiders from Mars
The Call: Red Moon
Chagall Guevara
The Choir: Speckled Bird
Collective Soul
Elvis Costello and the Attractions: Imperial Bedroom
Elvis Costello and the Attractions: Punch the Clock
Marshall Crenshaw
Daniel Amos: Shotgun Angel
Daniel Amos: Vox Humana
Daniel Amos: Darn Floor–Big Bite
Daniel Amos: Motor Cycle
Daniel Amos: Songs of the Heart
The Dream Academy
Jeff Elbel + Ping: No Outlet
Electric Light Orchestra: El Dorado
Fleetwood Mac: Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac: Rumours
Fleming and John: The Way We Are
Fountains of Wayne: Utopia Parkway
General Public: Hand to Mouth
Eddy Grant: Going For Broke
John Wesley Harding: The Name Above The Title
George Harrison: All Things Must Pass
Mark Heard: Dry Bones Dance
Richard X. Heyman: Living Room !!
The Honeydogs: Seen a Ghost
Billy Joel: An Innocent Man
Phil Keaggy: Find Me In These Fields
The Kinks: Face To Face
The Kinks: The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society
The Kinks: Arthur or The Decline And Fall Of The British Empire
The Kinks: Lola versus Powerman and the Moneygoround * Part One
The Kinks: Schoolboys in Disgrace
The Kinks: State Of Confusion
Led Zeppelin: IV
Lost Dogs: Little Red Riding Hood
Lost Dogs: The Green Room Serenade
Madness: One Step Beyond…
Madness
Madness: Keep Moving
Chris Mars: Horseshoes and Hand Grenades
Paul and Linda McCartney: Ram
Paul McCartney: Tug of War
Julie Miller: Orphans and Angels
The Moody Blues: In Search Of The Lost Chord
The Moody Blues: On The Threshold Of A Dream
The Moody Blues: A Question of Balance
The Moody Blues: To Our Children’s Children’s Children
The Moody Blues: Seventh Sojourn
The Moody Blues: Long Distance Voyager
The Moody Blues: The Present
Owsley
The Alan Parsons Project: Ammonia Avenue
Sam Phillips: Martinis and Bikinis
Poi Dog Pondering: Volo Volo
The Police: Synchronicity
Prefab Sprout: Jordan: The Comeback
Queen: A Night at the Opera
Todd Rundgren: Something/Anything?
Semisonic: The Great Divide
The 77s: Sticks and Stones
Simon and Garfunkel: Bridge Over Troubled Water
Paul Simon: Graceland
The Smithereens: Green Thoughts
Something Fierce: Gone All Wobbly
Something Fierce: Completely Unglued
Something Fierce: Franklin Pierce
Something Fierce: Sound for Sore Ears
Randy Stonehill: Wonderama
The Swirling Eddies: Outdoor Elvis
Terry Scott Taylor: John Wayne
They Might Be Giants: They Might Be Giants
They Might Be Giants: Lincoln
They Might Be Giants: Flood
They Might Be Giants: Apollo 18
Trip Shakespeare: Are You Shakesperienced?
Trip Shakespeare: Across the Universe
Trip Shakespeare: Lulu
Utopia: Swing to the Right
Brian Wilson: Brian Wilson
Stevie Wonder: Innervisions
Stevie Wonder: Fulfillingness’ First Finale
Stevie Wonder: Songs in the Key of Life
XTC: Skylarking
XTC: Oranges and Lemons
XTC: Nonsuch
XTC: Apple Venus Volume One
XTC: Wasp Star (Apple Venus Volume 2)
Weird Al Yankovic: Dare To Be Stupid