Albums 20 thru 11

20. Kanye West – “Late Registration” I was in Baltimore the first time I heard “Gold Digger” and it blew me away. West brought it to the mainstream with that song and wrote his name in the music history books. But that was just the start and that’s not even one of my favorite songs off of the album. This album still gives me goose bump every time I hear “Heard ‘Em Say”. I wish Kanye would just let his music speak for itself. The music walks the line between pro-black social conciseness and pop music. But you mention his name in any casual conversation and he is regarded as an arrogant a-hole. I will say this: I’ve never seen a more sincere apology than the one he gave on Jay Leno’s show for his Swift stint. And for any one that says West is just a producer rapper, listen to “Gone”. It’s a soulful Sam Cooke sample where he spits his illest lyrics.

Key Tracks – “Heard Em’ Say”, “Touch The Sky”, “Gone”, “Gold Digger”, “Diamonds From Sierra Leone” and “Drive Slow”

19. Nas – “Stillmatic” For my thirteenth birthday I received my first two CDs: Pearl Jam’s “Vs” and Nas’ “It Was Written". Ever since I have been a fan of both artists. “Stillmatic” was Nas’ last chance to make a comeback after dropping some of his weakest albums and he had to bring his best after being dissed by Jay-Z. He did by making this his best album since "Illmatic". “Stillmatic” reaffirmed him as one of the greatest MCs. Just listen to the story he weaves backwards on “Rewind”. If it was a movie it would be “Pulp Fiction”.

Key Track – “One Mic”, “Either”, “Rule” and “Rewind”

18. Arcade Fire – “Neon Bible” To understand why these guys are so good one needs to listen to “Intervention”. Their energy pours out of their souls. This band is one of only a few from this decade that really feels original. Arcade Fire are true musicians in a time that lacks true musicianship. What other rock band uses a pipe organ on tour? I can’t wait to see where they take us next!

Key Tracks – “Intervention”, “Keep The Car Running”, “No Cars Go” and “(Antichrist Television Blues)”

17. Wilco – “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” I didn’t come across this album until I saw it on Rolling Stones top 500 albums of rock & roll in 2006. I bought it at the first chance I got and for about a year it was my favorite album. It doesn’t really sound like a lot of Wilco’s other albums, it’s an eerie foreshadowing of 9/11. Just listen to “Ashes Of An American Flag” or “Jesus, Etc.”

Key Tracks – “Jesus, Etc.”, “War On War”, “Ashes Of An American Flag”, “Heavy Metal Drummer”, “Kamera” and “I’m Trying To Brake Your Heart”

16. Common – “Like Water For Chocolate” I will never forget the place I was the first time I heard this album in its entirety. I was at the youth center on the Bangor navy base where we would play pickup basketball with other Navy brats. I remember if Jeremy and I didn’t have a ride we would take the bus and the Saturday that I bought this album me and Jeremy took the bus to the youth center. This album has the two of my all time favorite songs of all time. First you have “The Light” which is the greatest hip-hop love song ever. (This is Marie’s and my “song”.) Then you have “The 6th Sense” produced by DJ Premier, straight hip-hop. This song is why people find hip-hop inspiring, because it touches you on a spiritual level. “More then money saved /I wanta save children” THIS IS HIP-HOP!!!

Key Tracks – “The 6th Sense”, “The Light” and “Thelonius”

15. Girl Talk – “Feed The Animals” I don’t know how many miles I’ve ran to this album, but it has to be in the hundreds. If you have never listened to Girl Talk, he is an artist that mixes, or mashes-up other artists from the last 30 years into modern day masterpiece of music. On the closing track “Play Your Part (Pt. 2)” he mixes artist like Lil’ Wayne, The Chili Peppers, Heuy (A cheesy ring tone rapper) and Journey and it comes out as it’s own song. This is why I think he is more than just a DJ or mash-up artist. He puts in probably hundreds of hours to make up on of his albums. And his live show is bananas. I saw him in Seattle and it was like nothing I’ve ever experienced. People were literally going crazy. If you want to buy this album you won’t find it in a chain store or on iTunes. (I think they’re afraid they will be sued for copyright laws.) So you have to go to a real music store or online to buy this masterpiece.

Key Tracks - You have to experience the album as a whole!

14. Death Cab For Cutie – “Plans” It always cool when you can say someone famous or cool came from the same town as you. Ben Gibbard, the lead singer of Death Cab, graduated from a high school right down the road from where I grew up. Friends were always talking about how good they were, but I never got around to buying one of their albums. When I heard they where releasing a new album I gave them a chance and was not disappointed- I was blown away. Ben Gibbard’s songwriting was as original as the name of his band.

Key Tracks – “Summer Skin”, “Brothers On A Hotel Bed”, “I Will Follow You In To The Dark” and “Crooked Teeth”

13. Coldplay – “A Rush Of Blood To The Head” “You know how I know you’re gay? You listen to Coldplay.” This was the funniest line from”40 Year Old Virgin”. Nevertheless, I still think Coldplay released a very good album. I don’t think I played another album as much as this one in 2002. I am pretty sure everyone went through a Coldplay stage and if you say you didn’t you need to quit frontin’.

Key Tracks- “A Rush Of Blood To The Head”, “Politik”, “The Scientist”, “Clocks” and “In My Place”

12. Radiohead – “Kid A” Before Marie left for college and I left for boot camp I made her a collection of CDs for her to remind her of me. “Kid A” was one of them. From that point on Marie refers Radiohead’s “Kid A” as the CD “With the aliens on it”. Its kind of true because this album has an out of this world sound. But it’s rock & roll that is way ahead of it time.

Key Tracks - “Idioteque”, “Everything In It Right Place”, “Kid A” and “The National Anthem”

11. Dead Prez – “Let’s Get Free” Everyone will know the song “Hip-Hop” because it was played at the beginning of “Chappelle’s Show”, but for me it started in 10th grade. After hearing this album I realized that hip-hop is a deeper music than Puff Daddy and Master-P would want you to believe. “Let’s Get Free” is like a chapter of Howard Zinn’s “A Peoples History Of The United States” set to hip-hop beats.

Key Tracks – “Hip-Hop”, “Propaganda”, “Happiness”, and ”“They” Schools”