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: 5 hours ago).
"One of the best albums to bridge the gap between classic outlaw country and modern electric-guitar flavored edgy country pop, absolute beast of an opener and consistient, propulsive steeliness makes this one of the more explosive breakthroughs of the new millenium, Lambert is definitely a special...""One of the best albums to bridge the gap between classic outlaw country and modern electric-guitar flavored edgy country pop, absolute beast of an opener and consistient, propulsive steeliness makes this one of the more explosive breakthroughs of the new millenium, Lambert is definitely a special talent"[+]Reply
"The idea of Wilco's return to alt country stylings is welcome, but...A few too many plodding numbers and an unfortunate dearth of classic Wilco weirdness and experimentation leave this sprawling release wading in the shallow waters of their career. That's not to say there's nothing worth listenin...""The idea of Wilco's return to alt country stylings is welcome, but...A few too many plodding numbers and an unfortunate dearth of classic Wilco weirdness and experimentation leave this sprawling release wading in the shallow waters of their career.
That's not to say there's nothing worth listening to. The opening duo of "I Am My Mother" and "Cruel Country" drip with Americana-style angst, "Tired of Taking It Out on You" and "Falling Apart (Right Now)" serve as poignant reminders of how we (still) only hurt the ones we love, and "Many Worlds" would feel right at home on Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (seriously). The album has plenty of quality moments, but I can't help but feel that all this pent-up country aggression would have been better served as a single album of the best stuff and not a 21-track attempt at a magnum opus double LP.
This is literally the first day the album is available for listening, and I'm writing this as the closing notes of The Plains fade away into ambient white noise on my second listen. It could grow on me. It's Wilco, so it probably will. But right now...I'm just a little underwhelmed."[+]Reply
"While this is in fact their second album, this is the first (of many) great album by Sloan in my mind. "Smeared" had a few great songs, but I don't think it was as good as a whole as this one. Sloan is an amazing band and the way each song correlates with the others, from one songwriter to anothe...""While this is in fact their second album, this is the first (of many) great album by Sloan in my mind. "Smeared" had a few great songs, but I don't think it was as good as a whole as this one. Sloan is an amazing band and the way each song correlates with the others, from one songwriter to another, has always impressed me so much. And you can definitely hear the cohesiveness of this band on "Twice Removed".
There are many standout tracks in here (Penpals, People Of The Sky, Coax Me, Shame Shame, Snowsuit Sound, Before I Do), but what's even more impressive is that the tracks that might be a little less shining on their own all fit well within the flow of the album. And that, my friends, is the sign of a great album."[+]Reply
"PSYCHODRAMA is the first album to completely deliver on the promise UK hip hop has shown in the past few years. There's been some good records in the grime scene, most prominently Skepta's 'Konnichiwa' and Wiley's 'Godfather', but for the most part even the best of these feel like a modern update...""PSYCHODRAMA is the first album to completely deliver on the promise UK hip hop has shown in the past few years. There's been some good records in the grime scene, most prominently Skepta's 'Konnichiwa' and Wiley's 'Godfather', but for the most part even the best of these feel like a modern update of a subgenre that was better 15 years ago. UK hip hop that doesn't fall under grime has provided some great singles but only Kojey Radical's 'In God's Body' really came together as an album. Dave has been one of those rappers who puts out hit and miss singles and there's been a pretty clear pattern of the serious tracks being great and the party tracks being forgettable.
Fortunately of the last two singles Dave released it's 'Black' that makes it onto PSYCHODRAMA, not 'Funky Friday'. 'Black' is an excellent political track that tackles institutional racism and is so necessary right now. There's no shortage of brilliant music from the US discussing race but it's staggering how little this conversation comes up in the UK where a post-racial myth has gone largely unchallenged by both sides of the political divide.
Other highlights on the album include 'Psycho' an uncomfortable but powerful expression of mental health and the circumstances surrounding it. J-Hus featuring 'Disaster' sees the two rappers go back and forth detailing the ways in which fame has changed their lives. Closing track 'Drama' is even more expressive and honest than 'Psycho' and is the perfect way to finish the project offering as much positivity and closure as you can get on an album this grim.
As good as these tracks are they pale in comparison to centrepiece 'Lesley'. It's one of the very best storytelling tracks I've heard in years and its success comes down to a combination of emotional connection and its necessary but overlooked subject matter. Changes in perspective also allow Dave to discuss the pain caused to several groups of people as a result of the track's subject. I won't go into the subject matter of the track here because the best way to get the full impact of the track is to just hear it instead of seeing it described first.
There are a couple of drawbacks. 'Purple Heart' is a pathetically corny track featuring some of the least sexy lines I've heard in a while. The star sign puns are also on another level of painful. 'Location' is nowhere near as bad but lags way behind the quality of surrounding tracks and becomes completely forgettable.
In spite of a few missteps PSYCHODRAMA is a fantastic album which shows Dave reaching new heights (worth keeping in mind that he's only 20). His gloomy delivery and subject matters are so reflecting of modern Britain and its multitudes of problems and injustices. The personal core of this record is particularly strong and really sets Dave apart from his peers, he's got a real talent at building an emotional connection to his more serious tracks. 'Lesley' in particular shows a talent that very few in the music scene have. All 11 minutes of it are viscerally written and emotionally draining. As depressing as a lot of PSYCHODRAMA is there's still an overwhelming feeling that when these subjects are expressed so competently it can start the conversations in society to help us do better."[+]Reply
"Eskimo is great if you listen to it as an audio-story. In my opinion is the story of a community of Eskimos who live in the Arctics. Then come the American colonizers, with their machines and their capitalism. After violent brainwashing manipulations (in tracks 4 and 5) eventually the Eskimos are...""Eskimo is great if you listen to it as an audio-story.
In my opinion is the story of a community of Eskimos who live in the Arctics. Then come the American colonizers, with their machines and their capitalism. After violent brainwashing manipulations (in tracks 4 and 5) eventually the Eskimos are converted to the capitalist religion (with the prayer "CO-CA COLA IS LIFE!")
The story is acted (not simply told) like you are a curious voyeurist, and you can understand it through symbolic sounds (the cry of a baby could be the purity, then there are the american machines in tracks 3 and 4). Every sound has a role in the story, so that when you listen to the machines, the power of their symbolic meaning hits you more than 1000 words)
Of course this is just my interpretation, but it works. This is art, and art is open to interpretations. I just care about the fact that if I listen to Eskimo this way..the effect is really powerful, envolving, vivid, like a movie made of sounds!
Musically is really appreciating their use of "wind" and other natural sounds, it's at the same time one of the early ambient albums, an art performance, kind of tribal music, a fake documentary, a work of field recordings...!
I admit that some parts in tracks 3 4 and 5 are not that vivid, and the album is a bit boring there. That's why my vote is "only" 8,5"[+]Reply
"In my opinion, this - along with Vai's two albums with David Lee Roth's supergroup - the Van Halen-ish "Eat 'em and Smile" and the very Vai "Skyscraper"- are his best in the popular idiom. Vai's latest release, "The Story of Light," is also very good. "Flexable" is a must-own for "Eat 'em and Smi...""In my opinion, this - along with Vai's two albums with David Lee Roth's supergroup - the Van Halen-ish "Eat 'em and Smile" and the very Vai "Skyscraper"- are his best in the popular idiom.
Vai's latest release, "The Story of Light," is also very good. "Flexable" is a must-own for "Eat 'em and Smile" group fans."[+]Reply
"Classic folk album from Pentangle. Half live, half studio, it's an excellent document of one of the genres top groups. After, Basket of light, it's Pentangle's most essential album."Reply