Martedì 31 Ago 2010, 20:22

In all the time I've spent listening to music, there have only been a few albums in particular that I can always go back, listen to, and think to myself, "Damn, that is a great album."

With most albums, there are a few songs I like, and the rest are just okay. With these albums, every track is absolutely worth listening to and appreciating, all the time. Now, your mileage may vary, obviously, depending on your taste in music, but for what it's worth, I do have a pretty varied choice in likes. In no particular order:

Imogen Heap - Speak For Yourself
I've listened to this album at three varying points of my existence, and every time I've sat down and listened to the album, every track resonates with something. There is a full spectrum of emotion and expression within the content of the album, and Immi's just a talented artist, as a whole. This is probably the only album I've ever called a masterpiece.

The Bravery - The Bravery
I didn't know what to think of The Bravery when I first heard them. However, I liked An Honest Mistake, and so I bought the album, fully expecting to only like the one song. What I didn't expect was a rush of energy and nostalgia with a retro sound. In particular, I love Unconditional and No Brakes, though the entire album is really quite exceptional.

Avenged Sevenfold - Nightmare
There is something to be said of a band that takes what was quite possibly the worst thing to happen to them and make something absolutely immense of it. In the case of Avenged Sevenfold, they took the loss of their drummer, The Rev, and it completely changed their album. Musically, every track is experimental, emotional, and in the track Fiction in particular, you can really see how all of the events leading up to the release of the album affected the creation of the work as a whole.

Fleetwood Mac - Rumours
I don't know what there is to be said of this album that hasn't been said in the 33 years since its release, but let me try my best to sum things up in case you're not familiar with the circumstances of the album. By the point this album was released, there were five members of the band, two were divorced and two had reached the end of their relationship…and basically they were all sleeping with one another, and this album is the culmination of all this, when they all come to realize what's been going on. Most of Fleetwood Mac's signature tracks come from this album, and it is one of the top-selling albums of all time for a reason.

Lostprophets - Start Something
One of the things that really, truly impresses me about this album is how integrated it is. Each song has its own function and meaning unrelated to the tracks around it, but every track is designed to lead into the next one, acoustically weaved together. Beyond that, every track is powerful in its own respect, lyrics and sonics functioning in tandem magnificently, until the long and gradual fade-out that is the end of Sway. Listening to this one in one sitting is an experience all its own, and that's what makes it worth it. If you're not interested in the whole album, though, my favorite is I Don't Know.

There are more albums than this that I am forgetting, but I will expand on this later, because there are a lot of albums to go.