Now I know this is a very hard subject because everyone has their own task in music. If you disagree with me on some of my picks you can just suck it up and piss off cause these are the top albums that mean the most to me. I was born in the mid 80s so I was really never exposed to anything unless it was released in Rock Band. Rock Band has shown me the true side of music ever since it came out in 2007. Amazing artists like Boston, Pearl Jam and Metallica were on my radar but I never truly appreciated them until they showed their spirit in Rock Band.
Now, I tried to keep this in scope of the full album. There are some case that one song can make the entire album great but I tried to keep it to multiple songs on the album as my judgement. If you are expecting songs by Brittany Spears, 50 Cent, or basically anything now-a-days, you are on the wrong top ten list. These are GOOD songs that speak for themselves and not about drugs, sex and violence. Some do have these notions but they speak in a language as a struggle against life; not the pain toward others. These songs have the most impact on me as a person and help shape my everyday life. Some of these songs actually help me through tough times especially when I’m depressed. They get me through it.
Now onto my Top Ten. (If you don’t like it you can go F**K yourself. Quoting Family Guy)
#10 – Throwing Copper by Live
These guys need no introduction. They came and went from an era of Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and Rage; which was absolutely awesome. Grunge was making its way into the lives of everyone; and even though these guys are not a grunge band they still fall in place with Pearl Jam which was an icon along with Nirvana in the early 90s. They were said to be the best party animals after and before a concert and to this day every fan of them wants them to return. I am talking of course about the band “Live.” Ed Kowalczyk, Chad Taylor, Patrick Dahlheimer and Chad Gracey were one of a kind. Formed in York, PA in 1988, Live didn’t see world-wide success until their 1993 album Throwing Copper, which is #10 on my top ten list. It is not currently in the Rock Band library currently and every hardcore Rock Band player alike has been begging Harmonix to make an appearance in the game since RB1. Please Harmonix, answer our prayers!!!!
#9 – Nevermind by Nirvana
I can’t have a list of favorite albums without mentioning probably the best grunge band of all time. Nirvana basically started grunge to what it was in the 90s, and when you think about 1991 was an amazing year for music. Nirvana’s best album, and most controversial album because of the album art, took a while to jump up the charts but once it hit the minds of the US and started getting popular it sky-rocketed way up to #1. Nirvana was also the first stopping ground for current Foo Fighters band leader Dave Grohl as Nirvana’s drummer. Probably the most iconic song on the album, Smells Like Teen Spirit, helped shape what Nirvana was up until Kurt Cobain’s tragic suicide in 1994 (thanks Courtney Love).
#8 – Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness by Smashing Pumpkins
The entire career of the Smashing Pumpkins has always been a struggle for them. Formed in Chicago in 1988 by Billy Corgan, the Smashing Pumpkins have battled breakups, member changes and even drug use caused the bands breakup in 2000. in 2006 however, Billy Corgan reconvene and release the new album Zeitgeist. Although a good album, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness to this day is what shot the band up the billboards to #1 in 1995. You can’t go wrong with listening to “Bullet with Butterfly Wings” ten times a day can you?
#7 – Dirt by Alice in Chains
Continuing on what seems to be a grunge fest of albums (that’s what i like), Alice in Chains makes an appearance in my list. It can be argued that Jar of Files is a better album but I prefer Dirt because of basically one song on the album,” Rooster.” I can listen to “Rooster” all day if I wanted too and it would never get old. Jar of Files just seems too short for me coming in 27 minutes shorter than Dirt. Alice in Chains has not gone anywhere since the 90s and has recently released a fantastic album, Black Gives Way to Blue. I definitely recommend checking that album out if you haven’t heard it yet and I recommend “Your Decision” off of it because it is VERY GOOD.
#6 – Boston by Boston
Switching genres, I have to give thanks to Boston. Even though it is a very short disc of only 7 songs, it to this day defined classic rock with it iconic tracks of “Peace of Mind,” “Foreplay/Long Time,” and “More Than a Feeling.” Many artist copied what Boston did with this debut album (COUGH!! Bon Jovi!!) which to this day was the second best album of all time in the US. Brad Delp could nail those high notes on vocals which in Rock Band are some of the hardest to hit if your not humming it. Formed in 1976 in (you guessed it) Boston, Boston was recorded only a year after lead guitarist Tom Scholz learned to play the guitar. Its stuff like this that just astounds me.
#5 – Hybrid Theory by Linkin Park
Back in my high school days I have always been a huge Linkin Park fan since the bands entrance in 1996. The debut album Hybrid Theory makes my top ten because it ushered in a new era of nu-metal style genre with track like “Crawling” and “In the End.” Chester Bennington, lead vocalist, took such a beating with this album that he had to undergo throaght sergury and since then the band has re-organized its style with its latest album Minutes to Midnight. Linkin Park does have a new album which will surface in September of this year called A Thousand Suns. Linkin Park has appeared in Hollywood as well with hits “What I’ve Done” and “New Divide” in the Transformers movies. I’d expect a newer song by Linkin Park for Transformers 3 in the coming years.
#4 – Abbey Road by The Beatles
This one was an insanely tough one. The Beatles are an absolute god in the music industry and because of them have introduced technologies like stereo for god sakes. Choosing an album from them was the hardest thing I had to do because they are all amazing. From Please Please Me to Let It Be, The Beatles have shaped the way music was meant to be played and how it was meant to be listened too. Many spawns of The Beatles surfaced over the decades in an attempt to steal their thunder and none of them have come close. Abbey Road means the most to me in this respect. The setlist continues to this day be the best of all Beatles tracks and the melody, although being long, is awesome to listen too. I was very excited that Abbey Road was fully released on The Beatles: Rock Band. It’s only a shame that I have to play them within that game only.
#3 – Audioslave by Audioslave
Another tough one. Not because it is the best album by this band but because of what the band is made of. I was torn between Rage Against the Machine and Soundgarden because Chris Cornell’s voice is unmistakable but I love Tom Morello’s guitar. So I decided to pick the mixture between the two. Audioslave mixed everything that was good about Rage Against the Machine instrumentally and everything amazing about Chris Cornell’s vocals from Soundgarden. The self-titled album was amazing to listen too and I am actually listening to it now as I write this article. Audioslave definitely earns a spot on my list.
#2 – …And Justice for All by Metallica
You didn’t think I would forget about Metallica did you. The band has had many ups-and-downs over the years as far as good albums. Some were amazing, some were okay, and some where just a disappointment. Between the Dave Mustain debacle to the very bad St Anger album, …And Justice for All is most definitely my favorite. Tracks like “One,” “Blackened,” “Dyers Eve,” and “…And Justice for All” just make your spine tingle and make you want to listen to it over and over and over. It is nice to see Metallica tracks making their way into movies and other avenues of media cause for a while no one could play their music without being sued. Nice to see them finally lightening up. Metallica’s recent album, Death Magnetic, was a decent album. Some of the tracks are a continuation of the “Unforgiven” which most Metallica fans would wish just die already and some of the basis of what Metallica use to be way back when like “All Nightmare Long.” Definitely give this album a listen if you haven’t already.
#1 – Ten by Pearl Jam
With all this grunge style music in the mix you had to believe I wouldn’t forget about PJ did you. Ten to this day is the all time greatest album in my little world. It has driven me out of the deepest corners of my heart with tracks like “Release,” “Even Flow,” and “Garden.” It what I play on a daily basis on Rock Band and good thing they are digital on my iPod and Rock Band library cause they would be warped by now. The debut album by Pearl Jam to this day and every day in the future will never be touched. PJ made a great attempt with its latest Backspacer album but still Ten can’t be touched. Eddie Vedder just knows how to sell me within this album. Ten, along with Nirvana, launched the biggest grunge explosion in the early 90s that the world had ever seen. Ten is just too big of an icon. Every song on that track speaks a story of hardship and pain. It just speaks to the sole; it speaks to my sole.
And there you have it. My top ten favorite music albums of my entire existence here on Earth. Every album speaks to a different piece of my sole and personality. Each one is a tribute to something different and when in doubt, I look to these amazing album for a place a solitude and exclusion from my troubles. You may have different views on whats your favorite and you may disagree; but quite frankly I don’t give a damn. Everyone has there different taste in music. I speak for those that help shape how I am and help me out in time of need.
