Music Top Albums of 1992 Analysis & Discussion

[Keyser_Soze]

So the idea for this thread came about in another thread, here's the story roughly, basically I am checking out the top albums from 1992 list, going down the list and sharing my thoughts. You can go down the same list (THIS IS THE LIST!) and share your own thoughts or share your thoughts about my thoughts or just discuss / reminisce about the good albums and such ( @Bloodporne said he was down for something like that in any case). I'm going down the list, I'm not going to talk about every album, just the ones I have or ones I'm interested in. If you're interested in discussing an album I skipped feel free to bring it up. I'm also posting the list on my own website because, well why not?

Finally, I'm only going to do five albums at a time at a frequency of I don't know until I reach the bottom 400 I was looking at (again it's not every album in the 400) because it took so long to listen and think about what to say about each album and write it, etc. - Also note the number, corresponds to the rank on the RYM list.

In any case here is the list:

 

1. Aphex Twin – Selected Ambient Works 85-92

 

I got into Aphex Twin somewhat late into the game when I was heavy into IDM during college. Like many other people my first exposure to him was Come to Daddy a song that is mostly a misrepresentation of his music but an enjoyable little diddy for some. Personally I enjoyed it and the bonkers music video that accompanied it. But it wasn't till he released drukqs in 2001 that I really understood his music. Of course from there I would go on to explore his back catalog including this album, Selected Ambient Works 85-92. Aphex Twin has a varied sound so you rarely hear the same thing twice. Even on the same album songs seem to vary wildly and sounds that are otherwise abrasive end up being fun to listen to.

Which brings us to Selected Ambient Works 85-92 his first album with music that allegedly dates back to when he was 13 years old. Historically I couldn't tell you how innovative this album was at the time or what it brought to the table but it sounds like it was a big deal. I enjoy the music on here a great deal, however, a lot of it is not what I would call ambient music (in fact his second album, Selected Ambient Works Volume II, is a lot more ambient than this one. But such a distinction is only a problem if you're specifically looking for ambient music and you see the album title and pick the album up. The album is actually quite upbeat and rhythmic featuring songs with overlapping rhythms. The song Tha for instance has almost a club beat to the drums, but it has some other electronic elements piled on top, one that seems like a very ambient element. My favorite track on the album, Green Calx, is full of strange blips and peeps with some industrial roars thrown in for good measure.

But all of this is nice but can we say that this album is absolutely the number 1 album of 1992? Hard to say when you begin the list at number one. I would say it's a good album but there are other albums I would hold in higher regard. Up to this point on this list I would say it's the number one album so far!

 

 

2. Rage Against the Machine - Self Titled

 

I already made it clear in the other thread this was an album I enjoyed but just as easily was able to not enjoy at the same time. Upon revisiting it I can see why. The album has a handful of Rage's iconic songs: Killing in the Name, Freedom and Bombtrack, a couple of other good songs, Take the Power Back and Wake Up but after that nothing truly noteworthy. Dare I say a lot of filler tracks?

For me a to be an outstanding album and an overall 2nd best album of an entire year, you're gonna have to do a lot better than 5/10. One could argue that the best songs outweigh the not as good ones or that their message was so revolutionary that it propels the album into legendary status. For me, I don't think so. Also, one of the things that turned me off of this album in the past and still today upon re-listening is the "fuck you I won't do what you tell me" like 17 times. So, fuck you I don't think this album is number 2!

 

 

3. Alice in Chains - Dirt

 

Alice in Chains is a band I enjoy quite a lot and Dirt is an album I also enjoy very much. This album is arguably their best one. It has 5 of their most iconic songs (Them Bones, Down in a Hole, Rooster, Angry Chair, Would?) but the ones that didn't make the radio (Rain When I Die, Dam that River, Sickman, Hate to Feel) are great as well. This is an album with few weak spots, a lot of songs about heroin and one about Vietnam. What more could you ask for? A masterpiece for sure. Deserving of a top spot for 1992.

 

6. Tom Waits - Bone Machine

 

And now for something completely different. I feel like that is the theme of this album. Singer, songwriter, actor - Is there anything Tom Waits doesn't do? Normally a guy not on my regular rotation but I enjoyed Rain Dogs back in the day. Bone Machine is like his millionth [Editor's note: 10th album] album and has appearances from Les Claypool and Keith Richards among others. The album starts with Earth Died Screaming, a song featured on the 12 Monkeys so you know it's awesome.

I'd say this album doesn't have one cohesive sound to it. Some songs Tom is singing to some strange percussion maybe another time he'll be crooning over a steel guitar. There's something for everyone here! That being said it's strange music so probably not for everyone and possibly not for regular consumption. An interesting listen of course and you'll get hipster cred telling people it's in your top ten albums of 1992 but if it was my personal list I don't think it would hang.

 

 

8. Faith No More - Angel Dust

 

I'm a big fan of Faith No More and this album is one of their most popular ones, at least probably their highest rated. Personally I would take King for a Day or The Real Thing over this one but that doesn't diminish the quality of the album. I actually feel that 8 is kind of on the low end of things considering the albums that are ahead of it (besides Alice in Chains). A lot of great songs on here (Midlife Crisis, Caffeine, Be Aggressive, A Small Victory). Midlife Crisis is arguably a better radio song than Epic, but you rarely hear it. In fact it's an album maybe that doesn't get a lot of attention despite being one of the band's best. Maybe that's my fault (yes I take the blame for this album not being popular) for not propelling the album to the top of their discography. In conclusion: Oh well!

 

Skipped albums: Pavement - (4) Slanted and Enchanted, (5) REM - Automatic for the People, (7) Red House Painters - Down Colorful Hill

[GeneticBlueprint]

I don't want to click through 10 pages, but here are the albums I have opinions on from the first page.

 

Every song on Rage Against the Machine is a classic. I have never liked rap or hip hop unless Zack de la Rocha was doing it and some of his best flows and rhymes are on the lesser known tracks of this album ("Fistful of Steel" for example) and some of Tom Morello's best riffs as well ("Freedom", "Township Rebellion")

 

Also every song on Dirt is absolute gold. Probably the best grunge album.

 

A Blaze in the Northern Sky is a black metal staple. It's also 90% of what I hate about the genre.

 

The IVth Crusade still gets me hard.

 

Images & Words is considered top tier Dream Theater, but for me personally it's probably bottom 3 or 4. I still enjoy it though.

 

Somewhere Far Beyond is top tier power metal cheese. I actually bought a remaster that Nuclear Blast issued last year.

[Dre801]

So many awesome songs on "Dirt." I could listen to "Would" everyday.

[Bloodporne]

#9. Darkthrone - A Blaze In The Northern Sky

 

 

Darkthrone are one of my favorite Metal bands and while I'm a huge fan of A Blaze In the Northern Sky, it's not my favorite record by them. A friend at school who was into NYHC like Cro Mags and what not had apparently erroneously bought Panzerfaust by Darkthrone, which had just come out (I think?), gave it to me because he was disgusted by it. Long story short, I fucking loved it and proceeded to buy Under A Funeral Moon, Transylvanian Hunger and then A Blaze... in that order. 

 

It's a really important album for underground Metal in general and I absolutely love the sound and overall intent/attitude on this album. I like the weird, creative lyrics, the cowbell countoffs, the nasty vocals but that being said, I think the song writing and generally alien feeling is much stronger on Under A Funeral Moon, their best album and one of my favorite albums in general for my money. Half of the songs on A Blaze... are 10/10s and the other half, which are apparently clearly semi-leftovers from their previous style, aren't nearly as good. 

 

 

PS: This is a pretty fucking weird list. 

[Keyser_Soze]

You guys are flying through it! I'll address what you guys have to say, about the Darkthrone especially since it's next on the list.

[IdeaOfEvil]

It amazes me that Def Leppard's Andrenalize and Dr. Dre's The Chronic came out in the same year, lol

[Bloodporne]

10 hours ago, Dre801 said:

So many awesome songs on "Dirt." I could listen to "Would" everyday.

That album is incredibly heavy, half of the songs on it minimum can move me close to tears even after hearing them a thousand times. Would's lyrics always chill the shit out of me when I hear it and when he repeats that chorus the last time, he holds that note extra long and it cuts right through you.

 

@Keyser_Soze

Aphex Twin apparently encourages fans to do their own mixes etc. of his material and a popular thing is speed and pitch changes. There are some fantastic 'remixes' out there. I've listened to this version of Tha a lot since I discovered it. The beat sounds great at this speed and you end up understanding how musical it really is more.

 

 

[Keyser_Soze]

Sounds kinda like Trent Reznor. He puts up bandcamp files of all NIN music and you can play around with it.

 

Yeah and that version of Tha sound a lot more "ambient" at that speed.

[DPCyric]

On 4/29/2020 at 12:27 PM, GeneticBlueprint said:

Images & Words is considered top tier Dream Theater, but for me personally it's probably bottom 3 or 4. I still enjoy it though.

 

I think most people just put "Pull Me Under" on such a high platform they let it prop up the album but it's also in my bottom 3 (with The Astonishing at the bottom ). 

[Keyser_Soze]

9. Darkthrone - A Blaze in the Northern Sky

I didn't get into Black Metal until a bit later when it sort of became modernized. Dimmu Borgir was really my introduction to Black Metal and they had a pretty unique sound, using symphonic elements which I've grown to enjoy over the years in any type of music really. Darkthrone on the other hand were the pioneers of the genre and this album, A Blaze in the Northern Sky, came to define the stereotypical black metal sound, crappy production, kinda scratchy vocals, corpse paint. To some they would say, "evil sounding," but I'd say it just sounds like a bunch of lads having fun.

There's no better song to introduce someone to the band and their music than the opening track Kathaarian Life Code. It's very dark, got a creepy gremlin voice (which is kinda funny sounding) and then some funky toe tapping rhythms. I would say there are a lot of sounds that are rooted in modern black metal today but there are a lot of punk and thrash metal influences. Despite all this I still don't think it's got an appeal for everyone. It still has a very abrasive tone, there's a very sharp sound to it thanks to the lo-fi nature of the recording but at the same time maybe more accessible than than modern black metal. That being said I don't personally hold it in high regard (like @Bloodporne ) mainly due to it being before my time, but I can respect it's place in time and rank on the list. Something that I can give a whirl to every now and then.

10. Dr. Dre - The Chronic

Now this is an album I grew up with. I think my first exposure to it was during Beavis and Butthead. I'm also pretty sure I had never really heard rap up until that point. In fact I'd never even heard of NWA so later when I would go back and hear Snoop Dogg saying, "Eazy-E can eat a big fat dick," I could say, "Oh that's why!" (Come to think of it the whole track is a diss track) I'm also pretty sure I got this album through that BMG music thing where they send you like 8 CDs or something. Wild times!

The album is special as this G-Funk sound embodies the time it was created and really there weren't any other albums that sounded like this and even Dr. Dre's Chronic 2001 sounds nothing like it. When you play GTA and heard this song come on the radio you think, man I am in the 90s right now. I don't think it's a flawless album, however, it's certainly front loaded with great songs. The last half suffers from too many skits and well, weaker tracks. If you've never liked rap music I don't think this is an album that will make you suddenly like it, but for those that do like rap there is no denying this is an absolute classic.

11. Kyuss - Blues for the Red Sun

In case you didn't know Kyuss is the former band of Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age fame. Kyuss was a stoner metal band, heavy sounding music. Some bands like this choose heaviness over rhythm but Kyuss, this album in particular anyway chooses to be pretty catchy for the most part. Unfortunately for me this type of music is hit or miss with me and this album, while not a miss, doesn't do much for me. There are a handful of great songs on here (Green Machine, Allen's Wrench, Freedom Run) but there are a lot of instrumental songs (not that there is anything wrong with that) but it isn't the kind of thing that holds my interest.

17. Neurosis - Souls at Zero

Coming on the heels of a stoner metal band is a sludge metal band. A genre that walks a very fine line between the two. Usually I think labels and genre sanctioning is a bit ridiculous but in this case there is a distinction. Neruosis is a band I enjoy very much. I think I began listening to them beginning with The Eye of Every Storm, an album that people hold in high regard (in fact ranked 16 for the year 2004) but enough of that album. This album sounds a lot different than the things that would come after it. The opening track (To Crawl Under One's Skin) chaotic, full of wailing and distortion but totally awesome. The title track has got a hypnotic guitar riff accompanied by a piano, feels like it could be put in the soundtrack to a horror movie. The album is full of dynamics and atmosphere and unrelenting riffs and is by all accounts quite impressive. I feel like maybe among this list it should probably be moved up, before Kyuss at least.

 

I think you fellas who skipped this album on your personal lists should probably give this one a whirl.

 

18. Sade - Love Deluxe

I can enjoy me some Sade on occasion, I'm not afraid to say it. Though I don't listen to her often she does have some good songs, one of which are on this album. No Ordinary Love is one of her iconic songs. It even won a Grammy. I was usually under the impression that Sade had "relaxing" songs but a good number of songs on this album are quite heartbreaking. No Ordinary Love basically about a one sided relationship where the same love is not reciprocated. Like a Tattoo about soldier killing a man who has surrendered. Pearls is about a Somalian woman suffering and so on. Feel No Pain is another stand out track a little more upbeat despite the story of an impoverished family. The album is pretty solid throughout but it's the type of music that gets lost in the background if you don't stay engaged with it.

 

Skipped albums: The Pharcyde - Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde, Angelo Badalamenti - Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, London Sinfonietta - Symphony No. 3, Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth, Mecca and the Soul Brother, W.A.S.P. - The Crimson Idol

[Bloodporne]

@Keyser_Soze Funny thing about A Blaze... and even Under A Funeral Moon, which sounds way harsher, is that they were recorded in a very professional studio. What people perceive as lo-fi is pretty much exclusively the guitar sound and the EQ-ing choice on the vocals. The one after, Under A Funeral Moon, was actually engineered by a guy who ended up being recruited to do the sound engineering for the Olympics Norwegian television broadcast. In short, they're deliberate artistic choices which apparently were inspired by the members' love of experimental electronic music and ambient which often deliberately manipulated recording techniques to create a certain sound 'color' and atmosphere. It wasn't common in Metal at the time but I think it was a great idea as someone who also came from a background of Krautrock etc. growing up, I immediately identified with what I think of as a type of musical expressionism.

 

I'm rambling and you may know quite a bit of this shit but wanted to weigh in any way. That doesn't mean anyone should like that style just because xyz, but just explaining how I see it. That being said, A Blaze... feels more like the first step towards that and the next two albums went all in and are much better for it I think.

 

Regarding Kyuss, they're one of those bands where I like select songs a lot but their albums feel full of filler to me. I've never been able to make it through an entire LP and I even have Welcome to Sky Valley.

[Keyser_Soze]

6 hours ago, Bloodporne said:

@Keyser_Soze Funny thing about A Blaze... and even Under A Funeral Moon, which sounds way harsher, is that they were recorded in a very professional studio. What people perceive as lo-fi is pretty much exclusively the guitar sound and the EQ-ing choice on the vocals. The one after, Under A Funeral Moon, was actually engineered by a guy who ended up being recruited to do the sound engineering for the Olympics Norwegian television broadcast. In short, they're deliberate artistic choices which apparently were inspired by the members' love of experimental electronic music and ambient which often deliberately manipulated recording techniques to create a certain sound 'color' and atmosphere. It wasn't common in Metal at the time but I think it was a great idea as someone who also came from a background of Krautrock etc. growing up, I immediately identified with what I think of as a type of musical expressionism.

 

I'm rambling and you may know quite a bit of this shit but wanted to weigh in any way.

 

I actually didn't know the specifics. I was always in the camp of rumors that certain musicians recorded in a bathroom (Like I think this was a rumor about Ulver) so figured that's how a lot of bands got that sound, but I knew it was intentional.

 

And I feel the same way about Kyuss too. I'd like to know your feelings on that Neurosis album though. I thought it was excellent.

[Bloodporne]

49 minutes ago, Keyser_Soze said:

 

I actually didn't know the specifics. I was always in the camp of rumors that certain musicians recorded in a bathroom (Like I think this was a rumor about Ulver) so figured that's how a lot of bands got that sound, but I knew it was intentional.

 

And I feel the same way about Kyuss too. I'd like to know your feelings on that Neurosis album though. I thought it was excellent.

Some bands didn't of course but there's also the factor that some really underground bands went into pro studios with THAT material. You combine next to no budget with an engineer that mainly probably was mixing New Wave bands at the time...recipe for a weird sound.

 

I've somehow never heard Neurosis but the cover is cool. I'll listen to it during work tomorrow and see what I think. Going in 100% blind there.

 

Ulver actually is also recorded in a good studio but they chose to mix and EQ it that way. If you check out their first album, it's pretty clean. Also those guys are excellent musicians. Somehow that guitarist shreds his balls off on Nattens Madrigal on the leads.

[Bitgod]

88-93 is my favorite period for music.  I have a feeling that most of the stuff I like won't be on here or very high.

 

Twin Peaks FWWM: wouldn't have thought to put it on a list, but great sound track.  I'd say it's better than the actual Twin Peaks ST just because it has more variety.

 

Beastie Boys - Check Your Head:  Loved that album, played that a lot in my car.  Might be my fav from them.

 

PJ Harvey - Dry: This definitely would have been on my list, maybe near the top.  I love old PJ, she needed to get more appreciation than Liz Phair

 

Ministry - Psalm 69: Good album, had some great songs like NWO, Just One Fix, and Jesus Built My Hotrod.  Prefer Land of Rape and Honey and With Sympathy (yes, really) more.

 

Morrissey - Your Arsenal: Another great album.  Not sure if it's my fav of his, but I love You're Gonna Need Someone on Your Side

 

The Prodigy - Experience: Are you kiddin me bruv?

 

Catherine Wheel - Ferment: I actually like their next album better, but this had a few solid hits like Black Metallic and I Want to Touch You

 

Front Line Assembly - Tactical Neural Implant: Boom.  Wouldn't be at the top of my list, but this would be near there, this really got me more into that Electronic Industrial and away from Ministry's Metal Industrial

 

Jesus and Mary Chain - Honey's Dead: Just cuz I bought it, I liked JMC a lot.

 

White Zombie - La Sexorcisto: Yee haw

 

Sublime - 40oz to Freedom: I didn't own it, and no one likes to admit it, but cmon, that album got so much play from a few of their songs.

 

Curve - Doppelganger: There we go, I knew I was gonna find something to beat out PJ if I kept going.  Curve is one of my all-time favorite bands.  This is their first true album after releasing several EPs

 

Inspiral Carpets - Revenge of the Goldfish: Oh, another one of my all-time favorite albums.  The carpets were my favorite of the Madchester groups.

 

Recoil - Bloodline: OMG, so underrated.  Good electronic, trip-hoppish album from Alan Wilder

 

Stan Bush....ok, not really.  If only this was the album that had The Touch on it.

 

Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine 1992: Not really, I just love their name.  I liked their 1991 album more, had a few great songs.

 

Stereo MC's - Connected:  No, really.  One of my favorite albums, it's groovy.

 

EMF - Stigma: NO, REALLY.  This was their follow-up to Schubert Dip, which had Unbelievable on it.  This album showed more depth to me, but people had moved on by the time it came out.

 

Peter Murphy - Holy Smoke: Just when I think I can stop going through the list, this is on the 2nd to last page.  Loved this album more than other Murphy fans, I just though it had interesting sounds.

 

Damnit, I knew it, got to the last page and I see 3 more albums of note for me...

 

Shamen - Boss Drum:  Not great, but it had a couple of catchy, dance-y tunes that I liked

 

My Life with the Thrill Kill Cult - Sexplosion!: Another "not that great, but had some catchy things on it" album.

 

Pop Will Eat Itself - The Looks or the Lifestyle: This kills me that I can't rank this higher, cuz I was a big Poppie fan, but their previous 2 albums were better.

 

Ugh, I was gonna rank a top 5, but I'd spend too much time trying to decide.

[Bloodporne]

21 hours ago, Bitgod said:

88-93 is my favorite period for music.  I have a feeling that most of the stuff I like won't be on here or very high.

 

Twin Peaks FWWM: wouldn't have thought to put it on a list, but great sound track.  I'd say it's better than the actual Twin Peaks ST just because it has more variety.

 

Beastie Boys - Check Your Head:  Loved that album, played that a lot in my car.  Might be my fav from them.

 

PJ Harvey - Dry: This definitely would have been on my list, maybe near the top.  I love old PJ, she needed to get more appreciation than Liz Phair

 

Ministry - Psalm 69: Good album, had some great songs like NWO, Just One Fix, and Jesus Built My Hotrod.  Prefer Land of Rape and Honey and With Sympathy (yes, really) more.

 

Morrissey - Your Arsenal: Another great album.  Not sure if it's my fav of his, but I love You're Gonna Need Someone on Your Side

 

The Prodigy - Experience: Are you kiddin me bruv?

 

Catherine Wheel - Ferment: I actually like their next album better, but this had a few solid hits like Black Metallic and I Want to Touch You

 

Front Line Assembly - Tactical Neural Implant: Boom.  Wouldn't be at the top of my list, but this would be near there, this really got me more into that Electronic Industrial and away from Ministry's Metal Industrial

 

Jesus and Mary Chain - Honey's Dead: Just cuz I bought it, I liked JMC a lot.

 

White Zombie - La Sexorcisto: Yee haw

 

Sublime - 40oz to Freedom: I didn't own it, and no one likes to admit it, but cmon, that album got so much play from a few of their songs.

 

Curve - Doppelganger: There we go, I knew I was gonna find something to beat out PJ if I kept going.  Curve is one of my all-time favorite bands.  This is their first true album after releasing several EPs

 

Inspiral Carpets - Revenge of the Goldfish: Oh, another one of my all-time favorite albums.  The carpets were my favorite of the Madchester groups.

 

Recoil - Bloodline: OMG, so underrated.  Good electronic, trip-hoppish album from Alan Wilder

 

Stan Bush....ok, not really.  If only this was the album that had The Touch on it.

 

Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine 1992: Not really, I just love their name.  I liked their 1991 album more, had a few great songs.

 

Stereo MC's - Connected:  No, really.  One of my favorite albums, it's groovy.

 

EMF - Stigma: NO, REALLY.  This was their follow-up to Schubert Dip, which had Unbelievable on it.  This album showed more depth to me, but people had moved on by the time it came out.

 

Peter Murphy - Holy Smoke: Just when I think I can stop going through the list, this is on the 2nd to last page.  Loved this album more than other Murphy fans, I just though it had interesting sounds.

 

Damnit, I knew it, got to the last page and I see 3 more albums of note for me...

 

Shamen - Boss Drum:  Not great, but it had a couple of catchy, dance-y tunes that I liked

 

My Life with the Thrill Kill Cult - Sexplosion!: Another "not that great, but had some catchy things on it" album.

 

Pop Will Eat Itself - The Looks or the Lifestyle: This kills me that I can't rank this higher, cuz I was a big Poppie fan, but their previous 2 albums were better.

 

Ugh, I was gonna rank a top 5, but I'd spend too much time trying to decide.

Have you heard PJ Harvey's Let England Shake album? It came out sometime in the 2010's, I forgot, but it's actually my favorite album of hers.

[Bloodporne]

 

This was technically reissued in 1992 and it's one of my favorite albums of all time so fuck it. I'm adding it since the thread is dead anyway.

[Keyser_Soze]

9 hours ago, Bloodporne said:

This was technically reissued in 1992 and it's one of my favorite albums of all time so fuck it. I'm adding it since the thread is dead anyway.

 

Hey man, this thread isn't dead I've just been doing things that I can't devote my undivided attention to this. I'll have something soonish.

 

Besides weren't you supposed to be listening to that Neurosis album?

[Bloodporne]

22 minutes ago, Keyser_Soze said:

 

Hey man, this thread isn't dead I've just been doing things that I can't devote my undivided attention to this. I'll have something soonish.

 

Besides weren't you supposed to be listening to that Neurosis album?

....Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

 

Tomorrow hopefully!

[Keyser_Soze]

19. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Henry's Dream

Nick Cave is the embodiment of the term "singer songwriter," and this album is an exemplary way to showcase that. Cave instantly paints a picture with the opening track about murder, death, and a pretty rough and tumble town. Maybe a lot of musings about heaven and saints. The songwriting is great, but also easy to understand and follow. Some albums have deep stories but they are cryptic. Cave also has a very unique voice, the way he bellows the tale is quite captivating. A cool album by an artist who regularly makes cool albums.

20. Dream Theater - Images and Words

This is probably my favorite Dream Theater album. Many have come after but this one has their best and most focused songs, least annoying LeBrie vocals and one song was good enough to spawn a whole album out of. It's got some jazzy horns and the only Dream Theater album to have Chuck D on it. I don't know what to say beyond this. If there's ever a Dream Theater album I just want to pick up and listen to this one is always at the top of the list. (Basically @DPCyric and @GeneticBlueprint are wrong! (GB as usual of course))

 

24. Sleep - Sleep's Holy Mountain

I like Sleep or at least I thought I did. I enjoyed their album Dopesmoker. I like Matt Pike and his other band High on Fire. All of these things came after this album, however. This is more "stoner metal" like Kyuss and I'm still not sure I'm fully on board. The record is very raw sounding (even more than that Darkthrone album) and it sounds a lot like a Black Sabbath jam band. I feel this is a band that got more dynamic sounding as time went on and maybe this was innovative for the time but it doesn't do much for me.

33. Gang Starr - Daily Operation

This is generally considered a hip-hop classic and it is. Comprised of MC Guru and DJ Premier, back in the day when an MC had their own DJ. They were, in the words of Guru, "Masters of streetwise poetry and turntable wizardry." A combination of awesome samples and not only excellent storytelling but lyricism as well. Compared to something like Dr. Dre, filled with songs about murder, weed (this album has weed songs too but they are more "artistic") and full of cursing, I feel like the songs on this album are very personal, like Guru rapping about ex girlfriends to uniting people of all religions (2 Deep). It's the type of album that could be universally accepted even if maybe you don't like rap music.

36. Redman - Whut? Thee Album

So a long time ago I saw this guy's profile on last.fm where this guy listened to Redman, specifically the album Muddy Waters, nearly non stop. He's probably the top listener of Redman (though it's hard to find top listeners like that on that site anymore). So I thought, "man, I'm going to have to start listening to Redman if he's this good!" So I did and… well let's say I wasn't blown away, at least not listening to him every second of the day blown away. To me he's a guy with some fun songs here and there and an overarching theme of "Soopaman Luva."

That being said this album is not too bad. You've heard of stoner metal, I feel like this is stoner rap. Mostly care free, lots of talk about partying and not much of an overlying message except that he hopes you have a good time and catch a chuckle. Also, a lot of skits.

Skipped Albums: 21, 22, 23,25, 26, 27, 29, 30, 31, 32, 34, 35

[Bitgod]

On 5/10/2020 at 5:47 PM, Bloodporne said:

Have you heard PJ Harvey's Let England Shake album? It came out sometime in the 2010's, I forgot, but it's actually my favorite album of hers.

A bit, don't think her newer stuff grabs me as much.  I did snag a copy of her playing at Glastonbury a few years ago, that was nice.  Though ELO at Glastonbury was even better.

[Bloodporne]

18 hours ago, Keyser_Soze said:

 

Hey man, this thread isn't dead I've just been doing things that I can't devote my undivided attention to this. I'll have something soonish.

 

Besides weren't you supposed to be listening to that Neurosis album?

So I gave that Neurosis album about four songs total and I can see why this is very influential and why people love it but it's 100% a style I can't stand and I was never aware they probably started that. It's entirely too 'modern Metal' sounding for me, all those harmonics on the guitar, the vocals. Not into it at all and I tried...because the cover is killer!

 

Regarding Sleep, they bore me to death and sound like they forgot to write songs in their eternal weed haze. It's like Black Sabbath without the song writing.

[SimpleG]

11 hours ago, Keyser_Soze said:

The record is very raw sounding (even more than that Darkthrone album) and it sounds a lot like a Black Sabbath jam band.

Its very raw, they record label used the demos the band sent in to do the recording.The structuring of the songs are very loose and they just straight up snagged riffs from BS, its stoner metal meets the Dead .

[Bloodporne]

3 minutes ago, SimpleG said:

 its stoner metal meets the Dead .

[SimpleG]

Just now, Bloodporne said:

Its by far their worst album

[Bloodporne]

1 minute ago, SimpleG said:

Its by far their worst album

Also, I take my Sabbath analogy. Sabbath even without songs would be twenty million times cooler than this snoozefest of an album. I heard Dopesmoker ages ago but felt equally as 'god please just put on Sabbath instead and get it over with' about it.

[Keyser_Soze]

2 hours ago, Bloodporne said:

I heard Dopesmoker ages ago but felt equally as 'god please just put on Sabbath instead and get it over with' about it.

 

Drop out of life with a bong in your hand

[Keyser_Soze]

3 hours ago, Bloodporne said:

So I gave that Neurosis album about four songs total and I can see why this is very influential and why people love it but it's 100% a style I can't stand and I was never aware they probably started that. It's entirely too 'modern Metal' sounding for me, all those harmonics on the guitar, the vocals. Not into it at all and I tried...because the cover is killer!

 

Yeah, but the rest of their albums sound nothing like that one, so I thought because it was different you'd enjoy it. 🤷

[Bloodporne]

45 minutes ago, Keyser_Soze said:

 

Drop out of life with a bong in your hand

Oh I like weed, just not boring music haha.

[Keyser_Soze]

37. PJ Harvey - Dry

Gonna be honest, my only experience with PJ Harvey is her song that was on the Batman Forever soundtrack. Interesting that that song, One Time Too Many, isn't even an album cut (though it did appear as a b-side on another album). That song isn't much of an indication of what this album would be, however. She's a rock chick, makes rock music but I think what makes it work is she's herself and not trying to be like someone else who makes rock music. You know like a female trying to emulate how a guy would do music, trying to be badass or something. Instead he just is able to be badass by doing her own thing. Overall, a pretty ok album that definitely sounds like a product of the time.

41. Megadeth - Countdown to Extinction

I enjoy some Megadeth. In fact my introduction to them was probably in the '90s. When MTV always played that riff from Peace Sells, I had no idea it was from Peace Sells! Obviously I have visited their back catalog since then. While not as good as Peace Sells or Rust in Peace, it's still one of their top albums. I personally checked out of this band after United Abominations but Megadeth will always hold a place in my heart. Songs like Symphony of Destruction, Foreclosure of a Dream, Sweating Bullets, and Ashes in Your Mouth are the standout tracks but the rest is pretty solid as well. If you were going to sit down and listen to Megadeth you wouldn't be doing wrong if it was with this album.

43. Ministry - Psalm 69

Ministry was another band I discovered by watching Beavis and Butthead. N.W.O. is some good fun even if I always thought he was saying, "New World Alert" which made no sense considering the title of the song. For a long time I always thought Psalm 69 was the best this band got, without having heard any of their other albums. Truth be told The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste is their masterpiece. By comparison this album is a bit of a disappointment. It has great songs on it but it also kind of falls off towards the end. But I'll always hold it in high regard because the first two tracks are pretty awesome and of course Jesus Built My Hotrod. (OK I lied Hero is pretty good too). As for being in the top 50 of 1992, I wouldn't argue against it.

45. Pantera - Vulgar Display of Power

It's unfortunate that Pantera have only released five albums. That's right, they only have five, they've never done anything before Cowboys From Hell. This album in particular probably regarded as their best album. Pantera has a particular iconic sound that has never been emulated. Some say so, but nothing comes close to these buzzsaw sounding riffs to my ears. The album comes out swinging (literally if you look at the album cover) with awesome hard hitting metal. In retrospect it's somewhat amazing that several of these songs go radio play. Pantera was a band that defined an era and this album is a hallmark of the '90s metal scene.

56. At the Gates - The Red in the Sky Is Ours

At the Gates were one of the innovators of the Gothenburg melodic death metal sound but my first exposure to said genre wasn't through this band. I did see the name in Century Media catalogs before but Dark Tranquillity was probably my first exposure to this type of music and they are also one of my favorite bands. As for At the Gates I tried getting into them in the past several years and though they make solid music there's just something about what they do that doesn't quite stick to me.

 

The Red in the Sky Is Ours is their debut album and much like a lot of the bands of this era, their first couple of records sound very raw, this album included. I don't have much to say about this album except things I've said about similar albums. Maybe something innovative for it's time but somewhat boring to listen to these days but then again, like I've said previously, this band never really did anything for me unfortunately. That being said, I do enjoy their next few albums (Slaughter of the Soul and Terminal Spirit Disease) more than this one.

Skipped albums: 38, 39, 40, 42, 44, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55

[GeneticBlueprint]

4 hours ago, Keyser_Soze said:

45. Pantera - Vulgar Display of Power

It's unfortunate that Pantera have only released four albums. That's right, they only have four, they've never done anything before Cowboys From Hell.

 

 

So which album are you not counting?

[Keyser_Soze]

6 minutes ago, GeneticBlueprint said:

 

So which album are you not counting?

 

Power Metal, Metal Magic and all that crappy crap from the 80s

 

Well I wouldn't know if it was crap honestly because I've never heard it. The cover art is a big enough turn off.

 

 

Edit: I guess it was a failed joke because 5 albums technically. I will edit after you made me look bad now!

[GeneticBlueprint]

Just now, Keyser_Soze said:

 

Power Metal, Metal Magic and all that crappy crap from the 80s

 

Well I wouldn't know if it was crap honestly because I've never heard it. The cover art is a big enough turn off.

 

 

I'm talking about CFH and beyond: Cowboys From Hell, Vulgar Display of Power, Far Beyond Driven, The Great Southern Trendkill, and Reinventing the Steel

[Keyser_Soze]

4 minutes ago, GeneticBlueprint said:

 

I'm talking about CFH and beyond: Cowboys From Hell, Vulgar Display of Power, Far Beyond Driven, The Great Southern Trendkill, and Reinventing the Steel

 

I edited it, you are too quick of a replier.

 

Ironically I think the album I forgot to count was Vulgar Display of Power.

[GeneticBlueprint]

10 minutes ago, Keyser_Soze said:

 

I edited it, you are too quick of a replier.

 

Ironically I think the album I forgot to count was Vulgar Display of Power.

 

[Bloodporne]

5 hours ago, Keyser_Soze said:

43. Ministry - Psalm 69

Ministry was another band I discovered by watching Beavis and Butthead. N.W.O. is some good fun even if I always thought he was saying, "New World Alert" which made no sense considering the title of the song. For a long time I always thought Psalm 69 was the best this band got, without having heard any of their other albums. Truth be told The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste is their masterpiece. By comparison this album is a bit of a disappointment. It has great songs on it but it also kind of falls off towards the end. But I'll always hold it in high regard because the first two tracks are pretty awesome and of course Jesus Built My Hotrod. (OK I lied Hero is pretty good too). As for being in the top 50 of 1992, I wouldn't argue against it.

 

My favorite Ministry is probably In Case You Didn't Feel Like Showing Up just because I love live albums and the song list on that one is great. That being said, I have massive nostalgia for Psalm 69, still listen to it now and then and think it's great overall. Also, TV II is the first time I heard really, really fast shit, or a blast beat specifically  like that. I still like how negative and mean-spirited Ministry sounded on this, and the previous couple, albums.

 

Regarding PJ Harvey, give Let England Shake a listen if you feel like it and let me know what you think. That's a really memorable album of the 2010s for me. It's an antiwar album with extremely potent, uncliched lyrics. There's also a series of really great music videos for most (if not the whole) of the album. I recommended it before, not to you, but I'll say it again in response to PJ Harvey just because I think it's a unique and truly great album.

 

My favorite Megadeth album is probably Rust In Peace, never really listened to Countdown.