Listed below are the overall rankings for the best albums in history as determined by their aggregate positions in over 59,000 different greatest album charts on BestEverAlbums.com! (Chart last updated: 4 hours ago).
"Heaven or Las Vegas introduced me to the idea of the voice being used as an instrument. I don't typically listen to dreamy pop music, but goddammit, if you don't appreciate this voice after one listen, you have no heart. Every song on this album is so perfect that I can completely ignore the fact...""Heaven or Las Vegas introduced me to the idea of the voice being used as an instrument. I don't typically listen to dreamy pop music, but goddammit, if you don't appreciate this voice after one listen, you have no heart. Every song on this album is so perfect that I can completely ignore the fact that the cover looks like a Windows 98 screensaver. "[+]Reply
"Australia's own Kevin Parker is one of modern music's preeminent figures and most forward-thinking creators. His creativity and artistic foresight has helped partially reinvigorate a stagnant rock industry which has seen itself surpassed by hip-hop in recent years. He burst on the scene with 2010...""Australia's own Kevin Parker is one of modern music's preeminent figures and most forward-thinking creators. His creativity and artistic foresight has helped partially reinvigorate a stagnant rock industry which has seen itself surpassed by hip-hop in recent years. He burst on the scene with 2010's Innerspeaker, a trippy, rainbow-colored interpretation of contemporary psychedelia. His layered, consummate sonic textures earned him widespread acclaim. He then upped the ante on 2012's Lonerism, a richer, more refined collection of the motifs found on Innerspeaker. His vocals channeled John Lennon on tracks like Sun's Coming Up and his guitar-propelled breakdowns were awe-inspiring on tracks like Keep on Lying. Lonerism was even more heavily lauded and alternative rock was ready to crown its newest talisman. Then Kevin did what every great artist does. He made a hard left turn. 2015 marked the arrival of his third studio album, Currents, a record bubbling with pop textures, emphasis on airy synth work and clearer production. He effortlessly repackaged his sound and reinvented his approach as an artist and the endgame resulted in his most luscious, vibrant record to date. Currents is a synth-pop symphony which made fellow genre mates look like neophytes noodling around with Casio keyboards in 6th grade music class.
The record begins emphatically with the anthemic, Let It Happen. The track buzzes into focus as synth walls hiss while fuzzed out beats linger behind. Parker concludes, "All this running around, trying to cover my shadow; an ocean growing inside, all the others seem shallow." The track reaches a midpoint climax where it undergoes stylized skips as string-like synth tones swell concurrently. Let It Happen is just as springy as it is languid, flowing out without any resistance, avoiding any sonic intrusion. It's a shot to the arm that kicks the album into gear and remains one of Parker's finest achievements. Brief interlude, Nangs, acts as a quasi-comedown but while also turning up the thematic dissatisfaction as Parker croons (faintly), "But is there something more than that?" The album resuscitates with third track, The Moment. The song carries more girth as the bass takes a more noticeable role in the fray. It's also marked by an uptick in the quality of its poetry. Parker accepts, "In the end, it's stronger than I know how to be and I can't just spend my whole lifetime wondering; I fell in love with the sound of my heels on the wooden floor; I don't want our footsteps to be silent anymore." The track moves at a breakneck pace despite lasting over four minutes. Another highlight of danceable vitality delivered with punchy intensity. Currents' second masterpiece is unveiled in the form of fourth track, Yes I'm Changing. The song unfurls with spectral delicacy, creating the illusion of lying face up on a raft, drifting down a boundless river. The percussion structure here is caressing but never overbearing and it galvanizes the song with a steady heartbeat. Parker's maturation is evident on the track as he declares, "And I can't always hide away, curse indulgence and despise the fame; there's a world out there and it's calling my name and it's calling yours too." Parker has shed the shackles of his pre-disposition to avoid incorporating new musical ideas and has opted to grow as an artist and a person. He's inviting you to grow with him. Yes I'm Changing then majestically twinkles out of your reach. A beautiful meditation.
Fifth track, Eventually, journals a deteriorating relationship, characterized by peaks and valleys, both in metaphor and musicality. Eventually launches with authoritative guitar thwacks that contrast the more despondent moments of sound where Parker elegizes, "Wish I could turn you back into a stranger; 'cause if I was never in your life, you wouldn't have to change it." The back half is markedly wondrous as a fizzing synth alternates between both audio channels signifying a situation spiraling out of control. Parker's creative visions have never been more realized and clearly communicated. Sixth track, Gossip, splits the album in two as it transports the listener through osmosis with an aqueous production style. Shortly after, The Less I Know the Better gives us the most clearly-defined pop song on the record. Its tempo is consistent, carrying DNA from The Moment in terms of its percussive principles. Failing romantic relations once again take center stage as Parker laments his inclusion within a love triangle. He details, "I was doing fine without ya till I saw your face, now I can't erase; giving in to all his bullshit, is this what you want; is this who you are?" The song is reinforced by a boisterous guitar riff that forms a rib cage in which to encase the emotional synth chimes. It's both melancholic and madcap in equal measure. Past Life represents the only outright miss on the album, incorporating a distorted spoken word piece awash with Parker's epic, yet marooned synth explosions. Past Life seems more like an unpolished proposition rather than a finished track. It slightly disturbs the flow of the LP but what's shaky for Kevin Parker is another artist's treasure. Disciples starts as a short burst of lo-fi funk, a concept that calls back to the guitar-driven work of Innerspeaker. The song then clears, carving a path for Parker's crystalline vocals. The track is surely a microcosm for the artistic motivations presented on the album.
Ten spot, Cause I'm a Man, is a dissertation that outlines the deficiencies that plague the male sex. Kevin provides his strongest vocal outing on the track, howling apologetically as he slices through his electric ozone. He croons, "Cause I'm a man, woman; don't always think before I do; cause I'm a man, woman; that's the only answer I've got for you." It stands as one of the most implicit moments of humor on Currents. Reality in Motion follows and reclaims your attention harboring all things zealous. It's another example of Parker's gravitational pull to the percussive on the LP as an infectious drum texture spirals throughout. Love/Paranoia is another doleful anecdote à la Eventually. Conclusively, Parker pledges a return to form instead of flying the white flag as he did on Eventually. The second half of the track hovers with an icy synth backing reminiscent of early New Order. The swan song, New Person, Same Old Mistakes, is a bonafide belter as chest felt bass swaggers proudly. Parker seems to uncork the might of his arsenal on the track, as it represents the most ambitious cut since Let It Happen. Kevin celebrates, "Finally taking flight; I know you don't think it's right; I know that you think it's fake; maybe fake's what I like." At the finale, a synth bridge seems to progress inversely before the Aussie puts an end to it with the bombastic refrain. It's a sublime way to conclude the cosmic record.
With Currents, Kevin Parker didn't just craft top notch pop music, he rearranged its pieces in order to shape something superior altogether. Currents represents pop's future and all the things the genre could be if properly upheaved. The fledgeling genius knows that the only way to create change is from within, and he's certainly set a precedent with his third LP by looking within himself and pushing multiple boundaries. By transversing electronic soundscapes, turning over new leaves while reflecting on old ones, Parker has emphatically expanded his reach and influence. His much-awaited follow up, 2020's The Slow Rush is another feather in his cap but 2015's Currents is his chef-d'oeuvre. It's an LP that assuredly livens up any college party while simultaneously prompting its guests to contemplate their ever-murky futures.
"Man, I know that it's hard to digest,
But maybe your story ain't so different from the rest,
And I know it seems wrong to accept
But you've got your demons, and she's got her regrets."
-New Person/Same Old Mistakes
Standout Tracks:
1. Let It Happen
2. Yes I'm Changing
3. New Person/Same Old Mistakes
92.8"[+]Reply
"I think the reason why Pinkerton was panned when it was released was because the feelings it evokes are almost the exact opposite of those on the Blue Album. Even some of the darker songs from the Blue Album, like "The World Has Turned", were still fun to just sing along to, and you could play it...""I think the reason why Pinkerton was panned when it was released was because the feelings it evokes are almost the exact opposite of those on the Blue Album. Even some of the darker songs from the Blue Album, like "The World Has Turned", were still fun to just sing along to, and you could play it whenever you wanted. Pinkerton, on the other hand, is supposed to be shocking; Rivers licking a fan's envelope and imagining her masturbate to him is a lot weirder than his younger self pretending to have sex with his ex in bed.
With that said, people also didn't like Rivers' reactions to the rock life style. Many people would pay for all the sex he says he's tired of. They don't see why he's trying to get in his relationships, and their opinions are made even lower by the fact that he can't keep them. Of course, their's the aforementioned fan mail licking. What probably makes people's opinions of Pinkerton so low, though, is that Rivers, or at least the narrator of each song, has no confidence. Nobody likes someone who lacks confidence, and to most people it comes to no surprise that Rivers has all these failures in relationships.
One could argue the mood of the album changes entirely once "The Good Life" starts playing. Yes, Rivers still has his girl troubles, but he approaches relationships with much more confidence than before; the pain he might get from a bad or broken relationship doesn't faze him. He then finally gets the girl in "Falling For You", but loses her just as quick as he got her in "Butterfly". All he can say is that he's sorry for being this guy who wants a girl's love but can't give it back, for being selfish. This song sums up the message of the album: If you're looking for true love, you can't just fantasize about it; you have to go out, find it, and give it to someone.
The songs reflect the character of each half of the album. The first half is noticeably more dark than the second and the tracks are harder to get into. Even long=time listeners may not be at ease when those songs are playing. Still, this half of the album is great because Rivers managed to pull off this unsettling mood perfectly. The second half takes its character from Rivers' new found confidence, and thus it makes perfect sense that all the singles are on this side. People who listen to Pinkerton for the first time will, almost certainly, connect with this half better than the first. Personally, I'd argue this stretch of songs is the best that Rivers has ever written.
I think what makes Pinkerton so amazing is that it does so many different things so well. It catches the listener off guard and talks about the keys to finding love while still having those great hooks and riffs that Weezer is known for. You can't go wrong with the pure fun of "El Scorcho", one of the best rock choruses ever in "The Good Life", the epic finale of "Falling for You", the acoustic beauty of "Butterfly", the sheer despair of "Across the Sea", the pure pop of "Why Bother?", along with whatever else these tracks have to offer.
On a final note, after listening to Pinkerton I can understand why Rivers doesn't make music as good as he used to: he doesn't want to make another album about him being unable to deal with fame. You can tell by just reading his lyrics that making this album was emotionally taxing. He just wants to make his album and tour, then go back to his family. As long as I have the Blue Album, Pinkerton, and the occasional good Weezer song like "Pork and Beans", I'm okay with that."[+]Reply
"There's always been something of the urban hipster in Lou Reed's aesthetic, and as a result I've always felt there was something about his musical style that misaligns with my tastes. That said, I've always found a way to like him nonetheless. I first came to appreciate him in high school when I ...""There's always been something of the urban hipster in Lou Reed's aesthetic, and as a result I've always felt there was something about his musical style that misaligns with my tastes. That said, I've always found a way to like him nonetheless. I first came to appreciate him in high school when I first heard his aptly named live album Rock 'n' Roll Animal, but it's Transformer that has emerged as my favorite Lou Reed album. The great "Walk on the Wild Side" is here, of course, but for me it's songs such "Satellite of Love" and "Perfect Day" that beautifully encapsulate Lou Reed's gifts as a lyricist as well as his skill as a musical artist. That "Satellite of Love" has been covered by a bunch as eclectic as Morrissey, U2, Porno for Pyros, Leo Sayer, and Milla Jovovich is testimony to its wide-ranging influence. "[+]Reply
"Last summer, LeBron James famously "took talents to South Beach" to form a basketball superpower. Twelve short months later, the mighty Miami Heat suffered defeat to the underrated Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals. A lesson was learned: sometimes it doesn't matter if you go all Voltron, you can...""Last summer, LeBron James famously "took [his] talents to South Beach" to form a basketball superpower. Twelve short months later, the mighty Miami Heat suffered defeat to the underrated Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals. A lesson was learned: sometimes it doesn't matter if you go all Voltron, you can still be had by one giant superstar with a cast of savvy, well-worn, hungry veterans. Which brings me to Demon Days. Damon Albarn took a supporting cast of musical upcomers and also-rans and made one of the most magical albums of the 21st century. Damon was the first major artist to hire Danger Mouse to handle production efforts, a stroke of genius. Damon and Danger were the ones to introduce me to MF DOOM, not Madlib. He used De La Soul and Shaun Ryder (of Happy Mondays) to create two of the most brilliant pop songs in history. He captured lightning in a bottle to get Ike Turner to lay down a piano track and to get Dennis Hopper to narrate a track. Both have now tragically passed on, with most of Gorillaz' fans probably knowing one for his infamous shoe and the other for being the bad guy in Speed. This album invokes shades of Pink Floyd, Primal Scream, and Portishead among others and is so diverse that trying to classify it under one genre has been proven impossible with tracks jumping back and forth between Hip Hop, Dance, Trip Hop, Alternative, and Gospel. Demon Days is more than an album, it is a collaborative work of art not meant to be duplicated, even though it was tried with mixed results. Plastic Beach was not a bad effort, it was just too clean, too polished, too driven with star-power. Plastic Beach was the Miami Heat, which only served to prove how unique and ridiculously awesome the wonderfully dark and brooding Demon Days truly is."[+]Reply
"It's probably difficult to find a lead singer with such a deep, bass voice with songs this consistently good, able to vary up his vocal delivery enough to keep it all interesting. (See crash test dummies for an opposite example.) They're sort of an understated, inward-indie version of The Hold St...""It's probably difficult to find a lead singer with such a deep, bass voice with songs this consistently good, able to vary up his vocal delivery enough to keep it all interesting. (See crash test dummies for an opposite example.) They're sort of an understated, inward-indie version of The Hold Steady, with jams that rock, just not in a customary ROCK way. Tough for me to pick a favorite on this album. "fake empire" is the full boxer introduction, with subtly paranoid lyrics ("Tiptoe through our shiny city / With our diamond slippers on / Do our gay ballet on ice / Bluebirds on our shoulders") and a building of horns and piano to the end which is quite engaging. "mistaken for strangers" is where the lower-case rawk starts, with the pounding drums and clanging guitars setting up mr invisible ("Oh, you wouldn't want an angel watching over / Surprise, surprise, they wouldn't wanna watch / Another un-innocent, elegant fall / Into the un-magnificent lives of adults"). In love with a smart woman in "brainy", the guitars are more intricate and atmospheric but the drums are still energetic as the song seems like a lazy stalker song with a chorus of "You might need me more / Than you think you will / Come home in the car you love / Brainy, brainy, brainy" (but i think they're already in a relationship). Love the drums on "squalor victoria" too, with a string section that adds some spooky tension, giving way to piano and lines like "Out of my league, I have birds in my sleeves / And I wanna rush in with the fools". "slow show" wants to "get my shit together", almost seductive in a nerd/oaf way singing "I wanna hurry home to you / put on a slow, dumb show for you / and crack you up". There's a urge to hole up inside with a loved one in "apartment story" ("We?ll stay inside till somebody finds us / Do whatever the TV tells us / Stay inside our rosy-minded fuzz for days")."[+]Reply
"I like Homogenic, but it never made me feel other-worldly and in a sort of ice-dream reverie like Vespertine manages to do for me. Great albums take you somewhere else, on a journey or to a place of comfort. This is why it is her best album. I was a bit surprised to see Homogenic rated higher..."Reply
"Green Day should've stopped here. Go big, take yourselves too seriously, and reach for messages you've avoided before. It is a grand album, with some grand tracks, but convinced Green Day they were something they weren't - U2."Reply
"Does anyone else realise that this is the first studio album by the Kinks that never made the album charts in the UK, and none of their subsequent albums did either. After Something Else - which only reached No 32 in 1967, only compilation LP's made the charts. I find this absolutely staggering, ...""Does anyone else realise that this is the first studio album by the Kinks that never made the album charts in the UK, and none of their subsequent albums did either. After Something Else - which only reached No 32 in 1967, only compilation LP's made the charts. I find this absolutely staggering, just what were the British public buying from 1967 onwards. Classics like this, Arthur, Muswell Hillbillies, Lola & Preservation Act's one & two seem to have been completely ignored at the time. I wonder how many copies these albums actually sold. I can't think of another band as huge as this that stopped making the charts at the height of their career. Does anyone have an explanation for this ?"[+]Reply
"I remember when this came out in 1970 just after the Beatles broke up, which was an emotional experience in and of itself...but when he sings "I don't believe in Beatles" in "God"(Which IMO is one of the greatest songs), I just didn't want to hear it..it was a bad year for pop music, the Beatles ...""I remember when this came out in 1970 just after the Beatles broke up, which was an emotional experience in and of itself...but when he sings "I don't believe in Beatles" in "God"(Which IMO is one of the greatest songs), I just didn't want to hear it..it was a bad year for pop music, the Beatles broke up, Simon and Garfunkel broke up, Jimi hendrix, Jim Morrison and Janis Joplin died...very sad."[+]Reply
louisjwyatt | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +15 votes (15 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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DriftingOrpheus | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +4 votes (4 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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Happy | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +23 votes (23 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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buzzdainer | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +4 votes (4 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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ShaneSpear | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +18 votes (18 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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paladisiac | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +5 votes (5 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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Strangel | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +9 votes (9 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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junodog4 | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +12 votes (12 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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ffudnebbuh | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +6 votes (6 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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