Best Ever Albums

Re: Get To Know A Top 10: December 2021 Thread - Anti

baystateoftheart — Thu, 16 Dec 2021 23:05:02 GMT

Author: baystateoftheart

Posted: 12/17/2021 04:05

Thumbnail. Click to enlarge.

Sunbather by Deafheaven

I like this one about as much as Ordinary Corrupt Human Love (the only other of theirs I've heard). The biggest positive is the instrumental heaviness. I love the sound of shoegaze, so that carries over into enjoying blackgaze too. I actually wished there were fewer diversions breaking up the heaviness. The biggest negative is the vocals. Aesthetically I just don't like this sort of screamed vocals, and find them distractingly abrasive. Overall though, Sunbather is still a pretty good record and gets a 3/5 from me. But when it comes to blackgaze, I'd sooner listen to some Alcest.

Thumbnail. Click to enlarge.

Dopethrone by Electric Wizard

Dopethrone, on the other hand, is much more of what I'm looking for in metal. It has a very satisfying heaviness - deeper and more relentless, with good riffs too. It's a great sound to sink into and space out to, even if no weed is involved. The most important contrast with Deafheaven is the vocals aren't an anchor weighing down the music. I've only listened to a few stoner metal albums, but this is definitely the best so far. Quite a good album, and I'm glad this list made me try it. 3.5/5.

-----

Ultimately, none of these albums have toppled Loveless as my favorite, but realistically that was not going to happen. No true duds in the bunch, and plenty of gems.

Re: Get To Know A Top 10: December 2021 Thread - Anti

LedZep — Sun, 12 Dec 2021 13:16:02 GMT

Author: LedZep

Posted: 12/12/2021 18:16

Edit: Seems I've accidentally double posted lol, sorry.

Re: Get To Know A Top 10: December 2021 Thread - Anti

LedZep — Sun, 12 Dec 2021 13:15:37 GMT

Author: LedZep

Posted: 12/12/2021 18:15

Dots & Loops
This was excellent and easily the best thing by Stereolab I've heard. Much more fun, jazz-infused, electronic and trippy. Their long jams usually don't do much for me, but here the 17-minute Reflections in a Plastic Pulse might be the best song on the album.

Sunbather
Nothing new to report, I still think it's an absolutely fantastic record with a much stronger first side. Dream House is near perfect, the title track is exceptional as well, Vertigo and especially Pecan Tree are both great, but lose me at times due to length and not being as transcendental as the first half of the album. And boy do I love when the interludes aren't just random filler, but actually contribute to the album in a meaningful way. Windows is so good, explores many ideas and sounds which aren't present on the rest of the record.

Feels
MIA (most improved album). It's funny, I've heard Feels so many times, but it still manages to get better on every listen. Maybe because I've not heard it in some time. Bumped it 20-ish places on the decade chart. Banshee Beat - Daffy Duck - Loch Raven - Turn Into Something run is A+.

From Here We Go Sublime
Mostly as good as I remember. Another one which loses me a little in the second half, but ultimately it doesn't matter. Still a favourite.

Stratosphere
Best "new" album (not quite new since I've heard it once before, but whatever). Sad vacuum noises is my favourite genre.

Deathconsciousness
Parts of it are spectacular, good portions are ok-ish and sound cool, some of it is downright boring to me. Still not clicking fully, the length doesn't help either, I guess. Somewhere between ok and good-ish album.

The Tired Sounds of Stars of the Lid
Quite wonderful. Droney guitars and horns were especially fantastic, such a comforting sound. It's an easy ambient album to get into and even though it's 2h long, it doesn't feel too long. Likely to become a favourite after a few more listens.

Loveless
I'm on Mercury's side here, not that many shoegaze albums are favourites, but this is certainly one of the finest examples of the genre. Legendary status, 99% deserved imo, and it's easy to see why it's at number 1.

Dopesmoker
A full-blown classic, still doesn't quite reach top tier metal rank for me, but it hardly matters. The first several minutes of Funerapolis are such a powerful opening segment. Good rec for someone getting into stoner or doom metal.

The Glow Pt. 2
Not a good idea to listen to this Saturday morning. I still believe it's my favourite here, even though I wasn't in the mood and didn't enjoy this particular listen much.

Really nice batch of albums. It makes sense listening to them one after the other (in any order), which is another big plus in this kind of game.

Re: Get To Know A Top 10: December 2021 Thread - Anti

baystateoftheart — Sat, 11 Dec 2021 13:46:04 GMT

Author: baystateoftheart

Posted: 12/11/2021 18:46

Okay, now I've re-listened to Stratosphere and From Here We Go Sublime. Both are great records that grew on me a little the second time around, the former largely because there wasn't a disconnect between expectations and reality like on my first listen (I thought it would be more outside the box). Duster's debut is a beautiful, atmospheric slowcore album with plenty of instrumental subtlety. While strong, it's not one of my favorites of the genre. Meanwhile, From Here We Go Sublime is hypnotic in the best way, impeccably produced with outstanding vocal samples (even a Flamingos cameo on the title track). In particular, Everyday is transcendent. My one quibble is that almost all of it follows the same basic template.

Onward to the metal!

Re: Get To Know A Top 10: December 2021 Thread - Anti

Fischman — Fri, 10 Dec 2021 22:16:49 GMT

Author: Fischman

Posted: 12/11/2021 03:16

So here's the irony for the day:

This is far from my favorite list in the series...
... and yet, this is the first list in which the album I though would win out for me was displaced by a new to me entry from a genre I generally don't listen to. What's more, my favorite going in fell not just to second place, but to third.

Gold: Dots And Loops - Stereolab
Silver: The Tired Sounds Of Stars Of The Lid - Stars Of The Lid
Bronze: Dopethrone - Electric Wizard

Re: Get To Know A Top 10: December 2021 Thread - Anti

Fischman — Fri, 10 Dec 2021 21:38:16 GMT

Author: Fischman

Posted: 12/11/2021 02:38

Deathconsciousness by Have A Nice Life
Still seems long on atmosphere but short on music. Once again, the vocals don't help.

Dopethrone by Electric Wizard
I was pretty happy with this when I first heard it. That ultra-heavy sound was right up my alley. Like the heaviest riffs in the history of Black Sabbath made even more sludgy and absolutely compelling. Since then, I have grown less tolerant of the overly processed vocals.

Feels by Animal Collective
A little more variety than the rest of the list, but still nothing to really grab me.

From Here We Go Sublime by The Field
This sounds to me like good background music for cleaning house. Not something I'd turn to for actual active listening.

The Tired Sounds Of Stars Of The Lid by Stars Of The Lid
This was another pleasant surprise. Ironically, the most minimalist songs on in the entire list, but these feel like they modulate in interesting ways Despite having some of the most subdued music in the 10, this really held my interest.

Re: Get To Know A Top 10: December 2021 Thread - Anti

Anti — Thu, 9 Dec 2021 22:26:11 GMT

Author: Anti

Posted: 12/10/2021 03:26

Luigii wrote:

Anti wrote:

Luigii wrote:

Man, I need to revisit Sunbather again. Wonderful album. But like everyone has said, Anti's list is really varied and tends to have dope albums. There is only a few that I need to listen to at some point like Stratosphere, Deathconsciousness and Feels. As well as really enjoying the rest of these albums. Oddly with Dots and Loops, that is an album that while is really well made, the feeling oddly shrinks on me for some reason. And I can't explain why. Lastly, Everyday from The Field's debut is awesome. The way that track flips Fleetwood Mac's Everywhere is so good. Though I'd argue that isn't my favorite track from them or my favorite album.

Also bay, it has been at least three years since Geogaddi and Velocity Design Comfort have been selected for this list. Then again that list has been update since then.

Thank you, thank you! It might have been your recommendation that got me really hooked onto the Field, so thank you for that!

Wait, I recommended The Field to you? Because I don't remember that at all. Then again it has been some time from that. Like I remembering giving you a push for Campfire Headphase and you really adore that album.

Hmmm perhaps I remembered incorrectly. But yes, I do remember you recommending the Campfire Phase. I had lukewarm thoughts towards BoC before listening to that record and now they are one of my favorite artists. So I do have to thank you for that rec because I might not even had listened to it!

Re: Get To Know A Top 10: December 2021 Thread - Anti

Anti — Thu, 9 Dec 2021 22:24:11 GMT

Author: Anti

Posted: 12/10/2021 03:24

baystateoftheart wrote:

A great group of albums! Loveless and Dots And Loops are on my own overall right now, and I also love The Glow Pt. 2. Deathconsciousness, Feels, and The Tired Sounds Of Stars Of The Lid are all very good. I've only heard Stratosphere and From Here We Go Sublime once (impressed by both), so I'll revisit those two. Sunbather and Dopethrone will be brand-new listens.

Thank you! Coincidentally, I first listened to both of those albums one after the other and they both immediately fell on my loved list. I kind of grouped those two albums together ever since haha. Needless to say, the Wall of Sound is what hooked me onto Sunbather. It's just an excellent example of how metal can be beautiful. I love the song progressions and the bright tones to the guitars. Everything is executed and designed so well.

Regarding Dopethrone, it's easily the noise and the album's heaviness. The noise in particular makes this album mildly psychedelic and hypnotic. I really should find more noisy doom metal like this.

Re: Get To Know A Top 10: December 2021 Thread - Anti

Anti — Thu, 9 Dec 2021 22:14:44 GMT

Author: Anti

Posted: 12/10/2021 03:14

Lowkey wrote:

Anti is genuinely the GOAT

Fantastic chart, seeing Anti's taste evolve over the past decade has been so fun.

Sunbather is my favorite album here, but they're all super solid.

Appreciate it my man. I wouldn't have discovered a lot of my favorites without you paving the way, especially during your esoteric phase lol.

Re: Get To Know A Top 10: December 2021 Thread - Anti

Anti — Thu, 9 Dec 2021 22:13:46 GMT

Author: Anti

Posted: 12/10/2021 03:13

DommeDamian wrote:

yeah got to agree with a lot of you. I really like how it's focused around the ambitious atmospheric and dreamy sound a lot of the time, with shoegaze and lo-fi folk as the mains.

before I even checked out and heard all the 10 albums, I knew what was going to be my favorite.

Thank you! Even from the very start of this hobby one thing is for certain, I love noise and fuzz. It's a lusciousness I can't get enough off.

Re: Get To Know A Top 10: December 2021 Thread - Anti

Anti — Thu, 9 Dec 2021 22:09:49 GMT

Author: Anti

Posted: 12/10/2021 03:09

EyeKanFly wrote:

Great chart Anti, I think my only ONLY critique is the recency bias and/or narrow date range of the majority of the albums. The top 12 are from a 14-year period, and the vast majority of the chart is from post-1991. This is minor though, as it just makes me think about my own chart, and I have a similar bias but AWAY from the 90s, subconsciously or unintentionally as it may be.

Oh and the comments are great, still need to read through them but I'll plan to read through each as I listen to the album.

Thank you! Yeah that recency bias is something I am aware of and have been wanting to fix for some time. The 80s is easily my least explored decade in (in modern music history [and by modern music, I mean 60s-now]), but I've been on a slight 80s binge so hopefully we can get a nice push of 80s albums in there soon.

Re: Get To Know A Top 10: December 2021 Thread - Anti

EyeKanFly — Mon, 6 Dec 2021 15:55:31 GMT

Author: EyeKanFly

Posted: 12/06/2021 20:55

Anti wrote:

Hayden wrote:

Hi-fi headphone core.

Well familiar with all of these, but I think I've only heard Stratosphere once (somewhat recently, maybe last year). I get the collective. Big ideas, big sounds, oceans. Can't fire shots at oceans.

Think I'll give The Tired Sounds Of Stars Of The Lid another spin during all this. Probably the one I haven't heard in the longest. (Probably because of length, but it's a super easy listen regardless).

Strong bunch. Varied, modern, complex. Thumbs up.

Thank you! Needless to say a lot of factors are considered when I enjoy an album. But I think if I had to take away the most common denominator here it's that I love when albums create worlds of their own or simply have incredibly immersive sound.

Agree with Hayden and while he tends to be incredible at describing music in ways I wouldn't have thought of, Anti you couldn't have put it better yourself. I'm still working my way through the list but every album here truly creates a world of their own (as do the next few albums to round out the ones I've heard in your top 20).

I'm working my way through the albums but I'll provide some thoughts on a few:

1. Loveless by My Bloody Valentine is one of my all time favorites as well. Easy to see how it could be a #1 for anyone, and particularly for you Anti seeing the albums that follow. Sometimes I can listen to music in the background of doing work, but albums like this demand full attention, and really wrap you in.

2. Sunbather by Deafheaven has maybe one of the most deceivingly juxtaposed title/artwork and music among any albums I've ever listened to (other than intentionally misleading titles like 20 Jazz Funk Greats by Throbbing Gristle). I did NOT get what I signed up for when I first pressed play on this album, but that's not to say I didn't enjoy it. Just wish I knew and realized what "blackgaze" was when I first listened. Subsequent re-listens, it even still comes back to surprise me a bit.

3. I've always been underwhelmed by The Glow Pt. 2 by The Microphones. I haven't re-listened recently but I should. It's been a few years and I think this style of music has grown on me. I recently highly rated Mount Erie, stands to reason I would now like this one too.

4. I listened to Stratosphere by Duster this morning for the first time, though it had been on my to-do list at one point and somehow fallen off. Unlike Sunbather, this is an album whose title and artwork DEFINITELY match the vibe of the music haha. Minimalism is usually hit or miss for me, though this one falls sort of in the middle, maybe with a slight lean towards miss, unfortunately.

5. Dots and Loops by Stereolab is a dope album. Personally I prefer Transient Random-Noise Bursts with Announcements, which could easily be in my top 100 whenever I next decide to edit it.

7. I should also re-listen to Deathconsciousness by Have a Nice Life. I gave this a pretty high rating but am having trouble remembering all but a few tracks.

8. Dopethrone by Electric Wizard is stoner metal at its best! A genre I'm not super turned on by yet, this album is a true gateway drug.

9. Feels by Animal Collective is not my favorite of their albums, but I suppose it's quite close with Sung Tongs and Merriweather Post Pavilion. Totally different vibe than the latter though. Also my favorite album artwork they've ever had.

11. & 12. I haven't listened to either From Here We Go Sublime by the Field and The Tired Sounds of Stars of the Lid by Stars of the Lid, but I will plan to listen to both in the next few days and post back here when I have. I'm super impressed by this list overall, and I'm looking forward to these 2 I haven't heard (one of which I haven't even heard OF).

Great chart Anti, I think my only ONLY critique is the recency bias and/or narrow date range of the majority of the albums. The top 12 are from a 14-year period, and the vast majority of the chart is from post-1991. This is minor though, as it just makes me think about my own chart, and I have a similar bias but AWAY from the 90s, subconsciously or unintentionally as it may be.

Oh and the comments are great, still need to read through them but I'll plan to read through each as I listen to the album.

Re: Get To Know A Top 10: December 2021 Thread - Anti

Mercury — Mon, 6 Dec 2021 14:39:31 GMT

Author: Mercury

Posted: 12/06/2021 19:39

This is fascinating because honestly none of these albums are remotely my jam. There is an interesting taste presented here, a unique perspective which I can respect and, indeed, do respect. But I don't like shoegaze too much, nor electronic dance music, nor blackgaze, nor somewhat imprecise freak-folk stuff, nor slowcore.... so that kind of makes it so the album I like the most here is Dopethrone but even amongst metal genres and aesthetics that slow, heavy as fuck, almost drone sound is probably at the end or toward the end of my arbitrary rankings (ahead of Power Metal of course). Loveless is special too, despite not really liking nor ever fully understanding the intense appeal of the genre and aesthetic amongst music nerds (I think there is an interesting tendency of music fans toward the more gauzy, indistinct, dreamy, slower, more subtle side of indie music and sounds.) I think that 1991 classic has earned its love.

I suppose I prefer music that is clear, cutting, jagged, fomulated, and maybe i'm a bit more attracted to tradition or clarity of melody. That may explain why when I see 7-9 of these 10 albums steer clear of this bundle of traits I just described, I am left amazed at the incredible variety of opinion music fans have.

I am going through an Animal Collective Hatred phase at the moment, so the one that is my LEAST fave is clear here. The best or my fave of these is Loveless or Dopethrone with neither being something I love or really REALLY like.

--------------

sounds like I'm ragging on this chart and top 10... so let me say, this is cool. I am actually impressed that this has a disticnt vibe, a very Anti feel, and it .... fits together. And I am amazed that, against all odds and surely some shared or overlapping tastes in music, not a single one of your TOP TOP TOP albums ever I even feel a little love for. The odds are slim but you did it.

Re: Get To Know A Top 10: December 2021 Thread - Anti

Fischman — Sun, 5 Dec 2021 22:37:07 GMT

Author: Fischman

Posted: 12/06/2021 03:37

So I'm halfway through the list and it's not really clicking with me for the most part.

Loveless - My Bloody Valentine
I remember when this first came out. I was introduced to it by my niece and my initial impression was that I was excited to find a current band that was new and fresh on one hand and something I could enjoy listening to on the other hand. However, over time, the sound lost me, largely due to my dislike for those not-so-engaging vocals. This latest listen was pretty lukewarm.

Sunbather - Deafheaven
Okay, so this is heavy.... cool.
But then.... again, those vocals! I grew up with heavy metal, and to this day listen to a good deal of speed metal, industrial, and thrash, so I have no problem with harsh vocals. But they do need to be at least somewhat intelligible, and please, a least little melody. This was also not my thing.

The Glow Pt. 2 - The Microphones
Some interesting acoustic work here, but the music is just too plodding and the vocals too subdued for my tastes.

Stratosphere - Duster
The music, like the album cover, seems a sort of pseudo-minimalism with some potentially interesting modulations to be heard along the way. There were some songs I could really sink my musical teeth into, but there were too many with those plodding, droning, repetitious eighth or quarter notes going on and on and on. A real mixed bag here.

Dots And Loops - Stereolab
Okay, now we're talkin'!. Here's the big happy surprise of the first half. I was really enjoying the music sans vocals for a while, but then here we go again... in comes the weak vocalist dragging down potentially great music again... but wait! Now we've got some female vocals to.... with a good voice... and most importantly providing some intricate counterpoint to the primary vocal. Now that I think about it, there are intricate arrangements throughout the music. Lots to pique my interest here. What's more, subsequent listens illuminated even more wonders. This is easily my top choice in the group so far.

1. Dots And Loops - Stereolab
2. Stratosphere - Duster
3. Loveless - My Bloody Valentine
4. The Glow Pt. 2 - The Microphones
5. Sunbather - Deafheaven

Re: Get To Know A Top 10: December 2021 Thread - Anti

indieshins — Sun, 5 Dec 2021 22:05:14 GMT

Author: indieshins

Posted: 12/06/2021 03:05

So far I've listened to The Glow pt 2., Sunbather and Dopethrone, all once each. Liked them all. It was great listening to Sunbather again, because when I listened to it initially, I had very little experience with heavier music, including shoegaze. I don't think I'd even heard Loveless at that stage. Now with more grounding in both metal and shoegaze, I had more appreciation for what they were doing.

The other two I hadn't heard before. Loved the heavy, deep, doomy sludge of Dopethrone, definitely giving that another listen. And The Glow pt 2 had a really interesting sprawling eclecticism to it, which fit with the lo-fi production to give it this endearingly ragged feeling.

Re: Get To Know A Top 10: December 2021 Thread - Anti

Luigii — Sat, 4 Dec 2021 19:00:57 GMT

Author: Luigii

Posted: 12/05/2021 00:00

Anti wrote:

Luigii wrote:

Thank you, thank you! It might have been your recommendation that got me really hooked onto the Field, so thank you for that!

Re: Get To Know A Top 10: December 2021 Thread - Anti

baystateoftheart — Sat, 4 Dec 2021 11:42:19 GMT

Author: baystateoftheart

Posted: 12/04/2021 16:42

A great group of albums! Loveless and Dots And Loops are on my own overall right now, and I also love The Glow Pt. 2. Deathconsciousness, Feels, and The Tired Sounds Of Stars Of The Lid are all very good. I've only heard Stratosphere and From Here We Go Sublime once (impressed by both), so I'll revisit those two. Sunbather and Dopethrone will be brand-new listens.

Re: Get To Know A Top 10: December 2021 Thread - Anti

Lowkey — Sat, 4 Dec 2021 11:03:49 GMT

Author: Lowkey

Posted: 12/04/2021 16:03

Anti is genuinely the GOAT

Fantastic chart, seeing Anti's taste evolve over the past decade has been so fun.

Sunbather is my favorite album here, but they're all super solid.

Re: Get To Know A Top 10: December 2021 Thread - Anti

DommeDamian — Fri, 3 Dec 2021 01:58:33 GMT

Author: DommeDamian

Posted: 12/03/2021 06:58

yeah got to agree with a lot of you. I really like how it's focused around the ambitious atmospheric and dreamy sound a lot of the time, with shoegaze and lo-fi folk as the mains.

before I even checked out and heard all the 10 albums, I knew what was going to be my favorite.

Re: Get To Know A Top 10: December 2021 Thread - Anti

Anti — Thu, 2 Dec 2021 21:14:35 GMT

Author: Anti

Posted: 12/03/2021 02:14

indieshins wrote:

Cool list! I've heard about half of these, but with the exception of Loveless, only about once each, or so long ago that I don't remember. Looking forward to listening. I'll see how many I can get through, as my job requires me to listen to stuff for hours and I have autism-related hyperacusis, so sometimes I just don't have it in me. But the weekend's coming up, so I'll have a bit of time. Probably start with The Microphones because that's one I haven't heard but I like folky stuff and obviously it's very highly regarded.

Sweet! I hope you enjoy! I think The Glow Part 2 has my favorite 3 track opener ever.