wrx20l's Favorite 10 Albums of All Time
1.
The Jimi Hendrix Experience
The first time I heard Jimi Hendrix and really understood what was stimulating my auditory nerve, I knew that I had found some magical portal to a new world of sound and possibilities. I was primarily focused on hip-hop at the time, but Jimi's guitar singlehandedly brought me back around to the world of rock, which I had all but abandoned as adolescence set in during the early-90s.
Overall Rank: 34
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2.
Tool
Nearly 15 years on and I still find this CD in my regular rotation of mp3s. This is Tool at their grinding, methodical, cerebral best. It is not pretty, it would not be deemed worthy of a "best of" by most peoples' standards, but in the context of my life at the time, this album made total sense. I still find myself wondering, "WTF is Mother Nature waiting for" every time I give AEnema a listen.
Overall Rank: 128
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3.
The Doors
The Lizard King explored the dark and seedy side in a way only angst-ridden, drug-addled, Caucasian suburbanites can. From start to finish, this is my favorite Doors LP. They were not yet at the peak of their musical power, but what they lacked in polish, they made up for in youthful exuberance and imagination. This album plays in darkness and mystery, making magic in the process.
Overall Rank: 57
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4.
Nirvana
Probably the definitive album of my teenage years. It hit around the time I entered high school and made being an outsider cool. Unfortunately, there was no help for those of us suffering the ills of social retardation, but the sound of songs like "In Bloom", "Come As You Are", and "Something in the Way" made alienation a bit more bearable. For a kid on the outside looking in, this was sanctuary.
Overall Rank: 15
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5.
Marvin Gaye
Marvin Gaye had one of the greatest voices I have ever heard. Normally, I would have nothing to do with R&B, but this album is undeniably full of masterpieces that transcend the vacuousness typically found in the genre. From the first few notes of "What's Going On" through the final echoes of "Inner City Blues", this is one CD I cannot ever seem to get enough of.
Overall Rank: 81
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6.
Alice in Chains
Alice in Chains are as famous for Layne Staley's battles with heroine addiction as they are for the music centered around their collective addictions. Unplugged is probably AIC's most honest and essential live performance. Layne looked like an 80lb. ghost in sunglasses and the band hadn't performed together live in 3 years, yet they made suffering sound beautiful, essentially for the final time.
Overall Rank: 99
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7.
Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan entered my life right around the time hip-hop was being fully taken over by West Coast funk. The first time I heard CREAM, I could not put its hook out of my mind. This CD, along with Outkast's debut, served as the soundtrack for the next two years of my life. Rap came back home and Wu-Tang would go on to become one of the most powerful acts in the business.
Overall Rank: 74
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8.
Guns N' Roses
I was 9.5 years on this Earth when G-n-R's Appetite for Destruction hit the airwaves. For me, this CD and Master of Puppets are the 1980s. Axl may have turned into farce incarnate and the rest of the band may have gone on to relative mediocrity, but in 1987, no one was making rock music like GnR made rock music. Dirty, corrupt, and offensive, AfD still defines the 80s, as far as I am concerned.
Overall Rank: 8
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9.
Metallica
Master of Puppets was probably the first "metal" album I ever heard. A friend of mine picked up the tape somewhere, and as 8 year olds, we had no idea what he had in his hand. Over 20 years later, I still find myself coming back to Metallica's finest when I am in need of a fix of vintage, white trash, metal magic.
Overall Rank: 21
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10.
Pearl Jam
I'm a sucker for debut albums and the "grunge" era consumed my teenage years, so it is probably inevitable that Pearl Jam would make an appearance on my list. They were not necessarily as angst-laden as Nirvana, but the songs on this CD were integral parts of life's soundtrack. I wouldn't have necessarily listed it then, but this CD has stuck with me through the years while others have fallen away
Overall Rank: 7
Last updated by wrx20l on Apr 15, 2008 10:54 AM
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Good times. You might be pleasantly surprised, or you might think it is total shit. lol In my experience, peoples' responses to Tool tend to be fairly polarized.
I just snagged Undertow, Aenima, Lateralus and 10,000 Days from a friend, so I'll let you know in a few.
You were lucky to have that 6 CD changer! I was making do with a Discman and a single disc boom box at the time. In 1993, Florida was every bit the cultural, spiritual, and musical wasteland it is today, so finding bands like the Wu took serious effort. I can't remember where my buddy picked up the CD, but we knew we had struck gold within the first 10 minutes. Of the hundreds of CDs I bought between then and now, that is still probably the most excited I have ever been hearing a new band. Good times...
Illmatic was Nas at his best. Did you pick up the 10th anniversary edition? Nothing too special, but a couple of nice remixes there. I more or less lost interest in his stuff through the late 90s, but Illmatic is still required listening.
Illmatic was Nas at his best. Did you pick up the 10th anniversary edition? Nothing too special, but a couple of nice remixes there. I more or less lost interest in his stuff through the late 90s, but Illmatic is still required listening.
my roommate from college was from Shaolin (that's staten island for the rest of you) and for some reason he hated Wu Tang (go figure) so I never got into them until late in the game. In any case, I didn't have much room in my state of the art 6 CD changer as I was rocking Illmatic for 2 more years.
flash - I hear Jimi, believe me, and I'm pretty sure I could whip Woody Harrelson's gravity-laden ass at basketball. :) As for Tool, you're going to need to set aside a few hours! I'd be curious to hear what you think of Maynard and the boys. My recommendation is to listen in chronological order, since their sound progresses from album to album. The releases layout like this: Opiate (EP)-> Undertow-> Aenima->Salival(a filler release of live tracks and covers)-> Lateralus-> 10,000 Days. I saw them live at the Sundome and they sound massive live. Let me know if you ever get a chance to give them a listen.
vin - Wu's first CD was a revelation in its time. The best part of that CD was that a friend and I discovered them by accident the first week of release and were listening to 36 Chambers for nearly a year before it really took off down here (Florida). So we had a chance to enjoy something new and obviously huge for a while before every trend conscious kid in high school(yes, I'm old) was wearing a Wu-Tang shirt. Those were the days...
vin - Wu's first CD was a revelation in its time. The best part of that CD was that a friend and I discovered them by accident the first week of release and were listening to 36 Chambers for nearly a year before it really took off down here (Florida). So we had a chance to enjoy something new and obviously huge for a while before every trend conscious kid in high school(yes, I'm old) was wearing a Wu-Tang shirt. Those were the days...
Gotta love the inclusion of Wu Tang.
oh and speaking of Jimi: http://WWimg.sv.publicus.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=WW&Date=20080327&Category=ARTS&ArtNo=589998532&Ref=AR&Profile=1001&MaxW=580&title=1
Although I have to wonder, with photoshop, is this that impressive? I mean, you take a photo, blow it up and mosaic it using the PS filter and then you just find cards that match.
oh and speaking of Jimi: http://WWimg.sv.publicus.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=WW&Date=20080327&Category=ARTS&ArtNo=589998532&Ref=AR&Profile=1001&MaxW=580&title=1
Although I have to wonder, with photoshop, is this that impressive? I mean, you take a photo, blow it up and mosaic it using the PS filter and then you just find cards that match.
You can listen to Jimi but do you HEAR Jimi? :) I'm gonna have to listen to a helping of Tool soon. I've never really put forth the effort.
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