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491.

Pretty Hate Machine

Nine Inch Nails

"Pretty Hate Machine is Nine Inch Nail's first album, and it is awesome. Much dancier than any other NIN record, Pretty Hate Machine mixes synthpop with the industrial influences that would dominate the rest of his work. However, this album is not lacking in humanity, but incorporates it in the ly..." [+] Reply

souplipton | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +10 votes (10 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

1989

Appears in:

499 charts

Rank Score:

3,463

Rank in 1989:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

491

Average Rating:

79 (716 votes)

Comments:

492.

Antics

Interpol

"These days, Interpol are a three-piece unit. This is a reality that tends to correlate to their recent dip in critical applause. Their latest two records, El Pintor and Marauder, both feature the absence of longtime bassist Carlos Dengler. Dengler had departed Interpol due to dissension between h...""These days, Interpol are a three-piece unit. This is a reality that tends to correlate to their recent dip in critical applause. Their latest two records, El Pintor and Marauder, both feature the absence of longtime bassist Carlos Dengler. Dengler had departed Interpol due to dissension between he and the rest of the band after 2010's self-titled album was released. Despite this change leading to reformed spiritual harmony within the trio, the band lost a sizable fragment of their sonic identity. The ex-bassist's greatest contributions to Interpol come in the form of 2004's sophomore effort, Antics. The record was received favorably by the music press but (ludicrously) didn't obtain the same amount of fanfare as their debut record. Antics is punchier, bleaker and just as addictive as Turn on the Bright Lights. It exhibits an artist unburdened by a gaping hole in their lineup and a quintet feverishly relishing their collective creative prime. Antics begins by lighting a slow-burning fuse titled Next Exit. A somber, hypnotic opener introducing the listener, reluctantly, to the forthcoming tale of social turbulence. Vocalist Paul Banks remarks, "You've been building up steam, ignited by this fight, so do this thing with me instead of tying on a tight one tonight", calling for bravery in the face of a discouraging, drug-infused descent. The fuse then greets the explosive with second track, Evil. The track is powered by Dengler's intoxicating bassline that cradles the song throughout its duration. The jovial tinge of the track is diversified by Banks' lyrics that conjure the personas of infamous British serial killers Fred and Rosemary West. Spoken from the perspective of the former, Banks chants, "Rosemary, heaven restores you in life, you're coming with me, through the aging, the fearing, the strife." Fourth track, Take You on a Cruise, serves as the centerpiece, fading in slowly like a ship through a dense fog bank. Banks himself has described this as a slight departure from the pathos of the album. He claims, "It has a different tone to the rest of the record for that reason. It’s a tacky seduction story: this guy who may be worldly and well-educated but he’s trying to get laid with a cocktail waitress." The coalescence of the rhythm section in the second half of the track is as majestic as the maritime imagery Banks' poetry frames. This conglomerate plays wonderfully aside Banks chanting, "White Goddess, red Goddess, black Temptress of the sea, you treat me right," calling upon Greek mythology. The finale serves as one of the band's most overlooked cuts. A Time to Be So Small has sonic textures that fashion an appropriate ending for the album with Banks' baritone bathed in reverb as the track floats away. Fogarino's drum hits here have such a fascinating sense of weight that they can be felt within your chest cavity. The song itself is said to be written from the point of view of a crustacean watching a family squabble between a father and son. Go figure. However, aquatic anomaly aside, the lyrics convey a more sinister coloring. The LP ends with Banks proclaiming, "When the cadaverous mob saves its doors for the dead men, you cannot leave," sharpening the threat of death at sea. Unfortunately for the immensely gifted ensemble, Antics would serve as the band's final full-length classic. Here, the synthesis of emotional tonnage into harmonious elixir is strikingly effortless. Interpol would go on to produce four more above-average, but never legendary albums. As conversed earlier, a portion of it spawned from the crater left by their skillful bass player, but this came long after they'd pumped out their fourth outing. Others would potentially point out that the fracture left behind from the infighting did more damage to the psyche of the band rather than the group's sonic capabilities. Whatever it was, Interpol would never reach these heights again but with that said, not many artists have. A very small sector of the music-making landscape could brandish not one, but two classics to start a recording career. Interpol swam in the deepest of waters with the most fearsome of fauna and emerged remarkably relevant and intact. They've climbed back into their luxury liner with two first-class albums shoveling coal into their furnaces. Interpol has earned the right to go at their own pace now and anything they serve us in the future is a much obliged bonus. The timid, sharply dressed boys from the big city have nothing more to prove. "If time is my vessel, then learning to love Might be my way back to sea The flying, the metal, the turning above These are just ways to be seen" -Public Pervert Standout Tracks: 1. Take You on a Cruise 2. A Time to Be So Small 3. C'mere 95 " [+] Reply

DriftingOrpheus | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +4 votes (4 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2004

Appears in:

514 charts

Rank Score:

3,463

Rank in 2004:

Rank in 2000s:

Overall Rank:

492

Average Rating:

79 (763 votes)

Comments:

493.

The Seer

Swans

"In the future filmakers who make war movies are totally going to use these songs for their soundtracks. Haunting, rough, and downright scary, this is definitely the best art rock album to emerge from 2012." Reply

- VanillaBean | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +8 votes (8 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2012

Appears in:

493 charts

Rank Score:

3,460

Rank in 2012:

Rank in 2010s:

Overall Rank:

493

Average Rating:

81 (666 votes)

Comments:

494.

Voodoo

D'Angelo

"no comments at all on this album? makes sense, people were probably listening to it, ready to comment, then suddenly found themselves in a steamy, salty, nine-hour sex marathon. IT HAPPENS WHEN YOU LISTEN TO VOODOO." Reply

- weedygonsalez | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +22 votes (23 helpful | 1 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2000

Appears in:

410 charts

Rank Score:

3,441

Rank in 2000:

Rank in 2000s:

Overall Rank:

494

Average Rating:

80 (448 votes)

Comments:

495.

The Who Sell Out

The Who

"This album is an interesting case. Individually, I'm not a huge fan of any of the songs, but as a whole, it's an amazing listen." Reply

Fischman | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +5 votes (6 helpful | 1 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

1967

Appears in:

635 charts

Rank Score:

3,438

Rank in 1967:

Rank in 1960s:

Overall Rank:

495

Average Rating:

80 (873 votes)

Comments:

496.

The Times They Are A-Changin'

Bob Dylan

"1964 was a turbulent year for the United States of America. Injustice violated the air with a stench that, at its best, resembled cigar smoke caked into waterlogged, whiskey-stained clothing. At its worst, it conjured the fragrance of rotting corpses piled into black plague mass graves. A societa...""1964 was a turbulent year for the United States of America. Injustice violated the air with a stench that, at its best, resembled cigar smoke caked into waterlogged, whiskey-stained clothing. At its worst, it conjured the fragrance of rotting corpses piled into black plague mass graves. A societal powder keg was ready to burst, sending shrapnel in the form of violence and revolution across the land. Chronicles of this time in history are aplenty, but Bob Dylan's 'The Times They are A-Changin' occupies a place of poignance and societal relevance as our newest decade commences. The greatest art tends to come rocket-strapped with perennial staying power and universal application. Bob Dylan's third LP effort slides comfortably into those categories and classifications. It touches upon righteous, homely, American ethnocentrism, the painful ineffectiveness of the justice system and selective poverty. Despite Dylan rejecting the label of "Protest Songs", journalists flocked to confine his writing to an ideological box that they could present to the curious and quick-to-judge public. Dylan coyly sat on the fence during interviews which felt more like police interrogations, never confirming or denying anything. Still, the lyricism said more than Dylan ever could, surely illuminating the fact that the poet staunchly sympathized with the plight of the racially suppressed and disenfranchised. The inner shade of Dylan's heart was never in doubt with his position usually reserved for artists of color, those with intentions of questioning the status quo when it came to inequality in the United States. To hear a mid-western, white youth comment on the hypocrisy of American military conquest, the hideousness of white nationalism and imbalanced nature of wealth distribution was refreshing to millions and for thousands more fortunate, feather ruffling. 'The Times They are A-Changin' is concurrently a pinpoint, flaming arrow aimed at the controversial topics of the 1960's and a philosophical thought cloud of ideas and wisdom. All this from a scrawny, Minnesota-born New Yorker who could seemingly wear both hats and walk in all kinds of shoes. The record greets us with the eternal strums of an acoustic guitar as Dylan's voice, strained and imperfect, a survivor of house fire, arrives with its own visage. The seminal opener chugs along at a fixed tempo, adorned with harmonica bursts that enliven the docile guitar tones. The harmonica, a humble and inexpensive instrument that acted as a trusted companion for many, was Dylan's weapon of choice during his early years. He declares, "Come mothers and fathers throughout the land and don't criticize what you can't understand." His prophetic and anthemic rallying cry has endured for nearly 60 years since it first graced ears. The album turns to a significantly grimmer beast with the introduction of second track, 'Ballad of Hollis Brown', a look at a poverty-stricken farmer in rural South Dakota. Dylan takes his tale of desperation and uses it as an allegory for those struggling with destitution. The metaphors are intentionally fatalistic, but many could view them as exaggerated. Here, Dylan's goal is to establish perspective, not provide a factual retelling. It's merely a painting of despair to be learned from. Dylan sings, "Your brain is a-bleedin' and your legs can’t seem to stand; Your eyes fix on the shotgun that you’re holding in your hand." The expanding wage distribution, in Dylan's estimation, provides a slow death with one alternative. One of Dylan's darkest, yet powerful statements. Next, he confronts an extremely prevalent bias during the middle of the 20th century in the United States. 'With God on Our Side' creates an image of an elitist America, one that can do no wrong and is justified, no matter the bloodshed. Dylan sees toxic patriotism acting as a slow, indoctrinating cancer (another contemporary issue). He wails, "The First World War, boys, it came and it went; The reason for fightin' I never did get but I learned to accept it, accept it with pride; For you don’t count the dead when God’s on your side." The arrogance needed to assume God identifies with a specific country's crusade is elephantine, however, it's a belief typified by the Pledge of Allegiance and by swearing upon a bible. Dylan's character comes to the realization that God's love is reserved for people and not places and that a country is just a plot of land and nothing more. Sadly, it's usually the prize for which fighting is done. The Vietnam War enveloped the decade and Dylan's parable is forever an unheeded warning. The second half of the record begins with 'Only a Pawn in Their Game', another narration confronting hatred and prejudice, this time by way of propaganda and inculcation. The track examines lower-income, white southerners who are brainwashed into hating their black neighbors with an end goal of sustained oppression. Dylan illustrates this with syntax, "A South politician preaches to the poor white man “You got more than the blacks, don’t complain; You’re better than them, you been born with white skin." The simple instrumentation of 'Pawn' and the stressed rhyme repetition make sure that the message doesn't get clouded beneath the music. However, Dylan doesn't refuse the chance to include a romantic ballad on the LP. 'Boots of Spanish Leather' is a letter-exchanged anecdote of longing and gradual realization. The song is tinted by delicately plucked strings and alternating perspectives that create a gloomy overtone that comes to fruition when the narrator surmises the final fate of his crumbling union across a vast ocean. "I’m sure your mind is a-roamin'; I’m sure your thoughts are not with me but with the country to where you’re goin." The record arrives at an uptick in morale with 'When the Ship Comes In', an affirmative, inspirational testification that the future holds brighter days and that those who engage in tyranny and bigotry will eventually be overcome. Finally, LP centerpiece, 'The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll', draws inspiration from the murder of an African-American barmaid by the wealthy William Zantzinger. The track directs scrutiny at the murderer for devaluing the life of a woman he deemed "lesser than" and the justice system for (mostly) turning a blind eye. Dylan delivers the verdict, "And handed out strongly, for penalty and repentance, William Zanzinger with a six-month sentence." The track is a microcosm of the record's major themes and an unsettling reminder that justice remains imbalanced. Dylan was just 23 years of age when 'Times' was first pressed, but his incredible perception was decades his senior. The clairvoyance of his prose is even parts astonishing and tragic given that little has changed since his pen first hit the paper. The poetry of these 10 tracks easily sit amongst the scribe's most visceral compositions. The album presents Dylan at perhaps his most uncompromising and forthright, functioning as his final, unabashed protest record. Oddly, the LP is often shunned from the 1960's landmark music rolodex with albums such as 'Highway 61 Revisited', 'Bringing It All Back Home' and even 'The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan' achieving a higher sense of reverence. Strangely enough, its content makes it a contender for his most topical, underrated and pertinent enterprise, both in 1964 and 2021. Dylan's uncanny ability to find the pulse of the given zeitgeist has never been in doubt, as he's strung together lyrical encapsulations at will for 60 years. Here, he weaves sorrow and hope into a homogeneous, digestible whole the likes of which none could reproduce. The power of 'Times' does not lie in division, but in a belief that human morality will win out. It's a beautiful sentiment and an eternal principle. In some ways, we're still waiting. "And we’ll shout from the bow your days are numbered And like Pharoah’s tribe they’ll be drowdned in the tide and like Goliath, they’ll be conquered." -When the Ship Comes In Standout Tracks: 1. The Times They are A-Changin' 2. The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll 3. When the Ship Comes In 94.4" [+] Reply

DriftingOrpheus | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +5 votes (5 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

1964

Appears in:

596 charts

Rank Score:

3,435

Rank in 1964:

Rank in 1960s:

Overall Rank:

496

Average Rating:

80 (953 votes)

Comments:

497.

Parsley, Sage, Rosemary And Thyme

Simon & Garfunkel

"Their best album. Gorgeous. Gorgeous. Gorgeous. On this one Simon has finally reached his peak as an arranger and composer (maybe not as a lyricist, but not a big problem) and Garfunkel and him sing these songs with pastoral youthful emotion. There's an emotional arc to almost every song, and the..." [+] Reply

- Lacobra | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

1966

Appears in:

586 charts

Rank Score:

3,435

Rank in 1966:

Rank in 1960s:

Overall Rank:

497

Average Rating:

80 (662 votes)

Comments:

498.

Avalon

Roxy Music

"It took me a bit to get into this sound, but this really grew on me. Even though I didn't love it at first, this is undoubtedly one of the prettiest collection of songs I've ever heard." Reply

HoldenM | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +7 votes (7 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

1982

Appears in:

501 charts

Rank Score:

3,434

Rank in 1982:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

498

Average Rating:

79 (654 votes)

Comments:

499.

Computerwelt

Kraftwerk

"There's a brilliant hook in every track with the most famous one being the one in "Computer Love" thanks to Coldplay. Ironic how an album aiming for something very futuristic ends up sounding this nostalgic. A compliment, not a complaint!" Reply

Mother Nature's Son | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +5 votes (5 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

1981

Appears in:

493 charts

Rank Score:

3,434

Rank in 1981:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

499

Average Rating:

80 (555 votes)

Comments:

500.

Songs Of Love And Hate

Leonard Cohen

"More hate than love, so that we can love it better..." Reply

apeiron | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +5 votes (5 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

1971

Appears in:

538 charts

Rank Score:

3,423

Rank in 1971:

Rank in 1970s:

111

Overall Rank:

500

Average Rating:

83 (626 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 10,000. Page 50 of 1,000

Overall Chart composition

Decade	Albums	%

1930s	2	0%
1940s	37	0%
1950s	303	3%
1960s	720	7%
1970s	1,436	14%
1980s	1,431	14%
1990s	1,612	16%
2000s	1,735	17%
2010s	1,993	20%
2020s	731	7%

Artist	Albums	%

Bob Dylan	37	0%
The Rolling Stones	35	0%
David Bowie	32	0%
The Beatles	29	0%
Miles Davis	27	0%
Neil Young	26	0%
Various Artists	25	0%
Show all

Country	Albums	%

	5,010	50%
	2,663	27%
	431	4%
	318	3%
	222	2%
	159	2%
	136	1%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	9,725	97%
Yes	275	3%

Live?	Albums	%
No	9,729	97%
Yes	271	3%

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	9,885	99%
Yes	115	1%

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