50 Greatest Albums Of All Time - Part 1 of 10

So yeah, I have finally broken down and decided to do this. I know I know, there are millions of these stupid lists out there, but I have problems with every single one of them. Most are comprised of bands that A, have not been around for 30 years, B, include bands that I absolutely despise, C, only judge bands based on Grammy Awards and sales, and D, don't include Radiohead. So I guess you could say this is basically my favorite 100 albums of all time, and not necessarily the greatest (spoiler alert! I am not going to start my list with Sgt. Pepper). It will include none of the following; Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Michael Jackson, Prince, and no mother-fucking Nirvana. Sure, they all might have had good albums, but I don't listen to them on a regular basis. If you don't like my taste in music, comment and tell me, but don't tell me I shouldn't include bands from the 90s and 00s because not enough time has passed. Remember, I was born in 1989 asshole! I didn't grow up listening to fucking Joni Mitchell and Boston, so keep your trap shut.

Also, these are in on particular order.

Shall we begin?

1. Refused - The Shape of Punk to Come
Saw that coming didn't you? Yeah, anyone who has known me for a while knows that in my eyes, no band will ever compare to Refused. This album changed the face of modern hardcore music. It can be argued that it wasn't the first of its kind, but it sure as hell is one of the best known. It blends the chaos of hardcore-punk with metal riffs perfectly, creating something that other artists can only dream of accomplishing. This album turned me on to hardcore.

2. Radiohead - Ok Computer, Kid A, Amnesiac, Hail To The Thief, In Rainbows
I figured I wouldn't waste space on this list by listing all these albums seperately. You already knew this was coming at some point, and if you didn't, well then you obviously did not read my intro. I did not include all the Radiohead albums for a reason; Pablo Honey and The Bends were decent albums, but they were not game-changers. Once Ok Computer came out, the whole world of alternative music changed for good. From then on, Radiohead continually has made breath-taking albums, each one incredibly unique and unlike the last. I am always suprised that Kid A and Amnesiac were recorded at the same time, as they are both so very different. Without these albums, we would be missing a whole genre (Chris Martin {front man for Coldplay} credits Radiohead for making it possible to play the music he plays).

3. KMD - Mr. Hood
Whether you like it or not, KMD is monumental (Before bashing me for putting this before Wu-Tang or N.W.A. remember, this list is in no particular order). KMD effectively introduced us to MF Doom (aka DOOM, Viktor Vaughn, Daniel Dumile, etc.), who would later become, and still is, one of the greatest hip-hop artists of all time. It really is a shame that this band's career was cut so short (I won't go into all that here, just wikipedia it).

4. Madvillain - Madvillainy
I couldn't mention KMD without immediately mentioning Madvillain. Madvillain is the genius collaboration of MF Doom and Madlib. This album in the greatest hip-hop album of all time (if you disagree you can go fuck yourself). Hailed by Thom Yorke as one of his biggest lyrical inspirations in recent time, it changed my views of hip-hop. From Meatgrinder all the way to Americas Most Blunted, Madvillainy suprises at every turn.

5. Thrice - Vehissu
Okay yes, this is not Thrice's best album ever, but it did prove once and for all that the whole "emo-core" generation could play music other than sad sappy shit. Dustin Kensrue has one of the most beautiful voices on the planet, a voice that until this album was never fully heard or used to its full potential. This album also marked a change in Thrice's career, and prepared us for what was to come. If you forget that this album was ever made and listen to The Artist in the Ambulance, and then listen to any of the four Alchemy Indexes, you can not even tell it is the same band. It is almost like this was a coming of age for the members in the band. You can tell that each memeber threw in every little bit of talent they possessed into this thing. Simply amazing.

Well, thats it for now. I hope to post one of these every day for the next 10 days. Hopefully after that I will be used to updating this thing daily again, and we won't see another 2 week break like before.

-Duke-