Albums 40 thru 31

40. Brian Jonestown Massacre – “Tepid Peppermint Wonderland” I first heard this band after watching the documentary film, “Dig!” which followed their band as well as The Dandy Warhol’s. The Story about this band is quite interesting, but their music is just as good. This album is a retrospective look at their catalog. They try to harness the felling of The Beatles, but end up with their own sound. I would agree with the film this is defiantly the best band not to make, I don’t say this lightly.

Key Tracks - “Swallowtail”, “When Joker’s Attack”, “Open Heart Surgery”, “Nevertheless” and “Hide And Seek”

39. The Killers – “Hot Fuss” What can I say about this album? It’s just a great pop rock album for our time. For their first album they come as close as you can to perfection. They use the synthesizer as good as any other band from this decade.



Key Tracks –“Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine”, “Smile Like You Mean it” and “Mr. Brightside”

38. Jimmy Eat World – “Bleed America” This album came out right around the time Marie and I started dating and it reminds me a lot of our senior year. “The Middle” is one of those songs that will be a timeless song that we all love. But this album is much more than a one hit wonder. The album’s blend from one song to the next seems effortless.

Key Tracks – “The Middle”, “Your House”, “Bleed America” and “Sweetness”

37. Vampire Weekend – “Vampire Weekend” For me, the year 2008 belongs to Vampire Weekend. I don’t think I listened to any other album more than this one. Their sound is very African (think Paul Simon’s “Graceland” but with deeper base lines). I know they look like a bunch of hipsters, but if you can get past that the music is outstanding.

Key Tracks – “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa”, “The Kids Don’t Stand A Chance”, “I Stand Corrected”, “Walcott” and “A-Punk”

36. Eminem – “The Marshall Mathers LP” This album is similar to “Taxi Driver” because they’re both vulgar stories about a mad man. I don’t think Em is as bad as people think he is. Eminem is a great storyteller the way Martin Scorsese is a great director. This album shows off his lyrical supremacy. He will never be my favorite rapper just like 2pac or Biggie will never be my favorite rapper. I leave them to be called the best by casual hip-hop fans.

Key Tracks – “Kill You”, “Stan” and “Marshall Mathers”

35. Kings Of Leon – “Youth And Young Manhood” The first album from the Kings is in the fashion of garage rock like The Hives or The Strokes. What differs them is the raspy voice of lead singer Caleb Followill. The amazing thing about this band is their growth from a fad to a rock & roll band.

Key Tracks – “Molly Chambers”, “Genius”, “Wasted Time” and “Holy Roller Novocain”

34. The Strokes – “Is This It” Yeah this was one of the over hyped bands from NYC in the early 2000’s, but this album really held up to the hype. I received my first copy of this album from my good friend; Isaiah and I loved it front to back. It will always remind me of senior year summer before boot camp.

Key Tracks – “Soma”, “Someday” and “Last Night”

33. Lauryn Hill – “MTV Unplugged 2.0” Ms. Hill delved deep into her psyche making this album. It’s just her, her guitar, and deep lyrics. The sad thing about this album is I see it on a lot of “worst albums ever” lists- that is bogus. You well never come closer to a musician then when you listen to this album. It’s a very spiritual album!

Key Tracks – “Adam Lives In Theory”, “Mystery Of Iniquity”, “So Much To Say” and “Mr. Intentional”

32. LCD Soundsystem – “Sound Of Silver” LCD Soundsystem were the opening act for Arcade Fire and I had only kind of known their work. Little did I know that I was about to see the best show ever. I didn’t know what to expect with LCD because they were considered dance/electronic. They played one of the best sets I’ve ever seen (only to be out done by Arcade Fire, of course). One of the most memorial moments of the night was when they played “All My Friends” which has a constant piano rhythm and throughout the whole seven-minute song one of the guys from Arcade Fire came out and played along. Don’t let the label “dance/electronic” scare you- these guy are so much more than that!

Key Tracks – “Someone Great”, “All My Friends”, “Us V Them” and “Get Innocuous!”

31. OutKast – “Stankonia” You know you are a mold-breaking artist when as a rap artist can be played in a middle-aged, white woman’s car. I found this CD in a friend’s mom’s car. “Ms. Jackson” was the song that turned OutKast into the mainstream rap super group they are today. Ever since their second album I’ve been a fan. This album was much more than “Ms. Jackson”. It proved that you could never anticipate what OutKast was going to do next. They are one of only a few acts in music that change with every album.

Key Tracks – “B.O.B.”, “Ms. Jackson”, “So Fresh, So Clean” and “I’ll Call Before I Come”