Numbers 29 - 20 of My Top 100 All-Time Favorite Albums

Numbers 29 - 20 of My Top 100 

All-Time Favorite Albums

* means I bought the album right when it was released or at the latest a few months

# means I discovered it later 

29 - Agnostic Front (1984, Rat Cage)- Agnostic Front wasn't included on my list of best punk/hardcore releases here because that was for more overlooked releases that don't get as much attention as they deserve. I do consider Victim in Pain to be the best hardcore album of all time. Eleven short, fast, urgent songs, and one slower one, in just fifteen minutes. All of them crammed with good lyrics about unity within the musical scenes, getting stabbed in the back, and the usual hardcore subjects. Agnostic Front would take a real turn towards metal on their next album never really returning to the fast hardcore style but live you can safely assume they will play all the songs from Victim in Pain. (The cover shown is the Combat Records cover because I never really liked the original) (#)

28) The Wedding Present - Seamonsters (1991,

RCA) - On Seamonsters, The Wedding Present took a darker sound than on their last few albums with much shorter song titles too. They also added tidal waves of still melodic guitars framing singer/guitarist David Gedges thick Leeds accent resulting in a lot of seriously intensive moments. Seamonsters is also hands down one of the most perfectly recorded albums. Every instrument can be heard perfectly. Just like he did on The Jesus Lizard's Goat album earlier on this list, Steve Albini's production brings the album louder and quieter in just the right moments so you don't have to. (*)

27) Killdozer - 12 Point Buck (1989, Touch and Go) - In the Twilight Zone episode "Time Enough at Last" where banker Henry Bemis reads in the bank vault only to come out and find the world has been wiped out by nuclear war. I always thought Killdozer's loud heavy sludgy music would have been the perfect soundtrack for the smoldering world Henry finds as he walks around exploring the damage. Add Micheal Gerald's growly singing stories of pop culture and local twisted events which occurred in their hometown of Madison, Wisconsin makes up one of the most perfect albums out there. Hearing this album was also the reason Billy Corgin and Kurt Cobain picked Butch Vig, who recorded most of Killdozer's work, to produce their upcoming albums Gish and Nevermind. (*)

26) Subhumans - Incorrect Thoughts

(1980,Friends/CD Presents) - The Canadian band, not the British one of the same name. I posted a whole entry on this album here so I am not going to into it. Let's just say these guys were one of the first bands which showed punk rock can also be filled with tons of driving melodic guitars and hooks. If you check it out make sure its the CD Presents version which includes one probably my third or fourth all-time favorite song ( a list too hard to make) "Behind My Smile", which wasn't included on the original Friends Records release.(#)

25) Suicidal Tendencies - S/T (1983, Frontier) - This is another album I won't get to into because I wrote about it here. However I have to add it was an album that changed my life when someone gave me a third-generation tape of it sometime in 7th grade. Hardcore punk rock but with metal guitars here and production greater than almost any other album of its genre. It's also the only real punk album the band released. Like Agnostic Front and so many other bands of the time, they moved a more metal sound after this. I also have to add while I write this I am drinking a Pepsi. (#)


24) The Clash - London Calling (1979, CBS) - May make some enemies but I consider The Clash our generations Beatles and  London Calling our Sgt Pepper. Up until this point The Clash had released some awesome albums filled angry punk rock albums before exploring other types of music on London Calling, just like The Beatles did with timeless rock and roll albums before they recorded their masterpiece. Whether it the band's originals or songs they are covering, every note on every song is perfect and in just the right order for the London Calling to always be listened to straight through. The iconic cover photo seals the deal.(#)

23) The Replacements - Let it be (1984, Twin

Tone) - Whereas London Calling is our generations Sgt Pepper,

The Replacement's Let it Be would be our Exile On Main Street. Like the Rolling Stone's masterpiece, Let it Be is where The 'Mats perfected their sound but still kept the songs varied and gritty before cleaning them up on their next album, the almost equally as great Tim. The cover photo of the band sitting on the roof of guitarists and bassist brothers Bob and Tommy Stinson's mother's house has become almost as iconic as the one of Paul Simonon smashing his bass on the cover of London Calling. (#)

22) Fugazi - In On The Kill Taker (1993, Dischord) - 1990's Repeater would normally be in this slot but since I wrote about it here I'll add my second favorite Fugazi album. In On The Kill Taker is the last album that still contained a few anthems Fugazi was known for before moving in more of an experimental phase which was hinted on their previous album Steady Diet of Nothing and will go full force on the follow-up Red Medicine, my least favorite Fugazi album. In On the Kill Taker was produced by Ted Nicely, who had previously worked with the band, but it was originally recorded by Steve Albini. Those recordings were shelved because both the band and Steve were not thrilled with the outcome. A few of those mixes can be heard on Youtube. (*)

21) The Cure - The Head on the Door (1985,

Fiction)  - I would probably include the 1980 "album" Boys Don't Cry as my favorite release because it includes so many of my favorite songs but technically it is a compilation of singles not available in the States at the time. Instead The Head on the Door takes the place. Just like U2's Unforgettable Fire this was the ultimate Cure album. From the poppy opening track "Inbetween Days" to the closing darker  "Sinking" at the end, this is what I feel The Cure was supposed to sound like. This also pertains to an album by another band that will be appearing about ten more down the list. (*)

20) The Descendents - Milo Goes to College (1982, New Alliance) - The Descendents (and ALL) are my all-time favorite band(s) and I like almost all their albums equally. As far as a favorite though I have to go with the debut. Each song on the album shows the individual musical personality of each band member who wrote them, The album also includes so many of their awesome classics in "Hope", Bikeage", and "Suburban Home" but also has a few that have been forgotten over the years like "M-16", "Parents", "Statue of Liberty", and "Marriage".(#)

Next Up

19-10