Overall Chart

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751.

Only God Was Above Us

Vampire Weekend

"When Vampire Weekend reformed and released Father of the Bride in 2019 I was just glad that my favourite band in my teenage years could still produce fun and exciting music, even if the output was a bit less consistent in quality than the stuff I'd grown to love years earlier. Only God Was Above ...""When Vampire Weekend reformed and released Father of the Bride in 2019 I was just glad that my favourite band in my teenage years could still produce fun and exciting music, even if the output was a bit less consistent in quality than the stuff I'd grown to love years earlier. Only God Was Above Us is a different prospect altogether, we're back to a shorter 10 track structure with each of these brimming with ideas and none having the throwaway quality of some of FotB's worse tracks. There's something else though, I've always found something very warm and reassuring in the band's earliest records and I'm finding it here as well, the baroque pop of Capricorn or Connect feels like the natural next step from Don't Lie and Everlasting Arms. It's a tough quality to completely describe but there's an effortless feel to these tracks, as though they simply grew from the emotions of the band members and the city setting. Maybe losing the pressure of delivering for a big comeback album has helped the band out or maybe they've just fully adjusted to Rostam's departure, either way they really feel back to their full powers here. Through their early records, the improvements in the lyrics really charted the band's overall progress. The self-titled's sometimes anxious commentary on campus life gave way to something more emotionally resonant on Contra, before Modern Vampires of the City took the elaborate lyricism that the band were known for and twisted it into something strangely evocative and profound. Only God Was Above Us comes in at a similar level, there's lots of lines that I couldn't totally explain to you, but I could tell you how they made me feel. It's strong musically as well, the quirks in each of the tracks still hold close to the overall feel of a track and never feel like they were thrown in to try to make a song more interesting. None of the tracks stand out quite as much as Classical, where the multiple tracks of percussion, warm keys and wilder guitars & brass blend in this beautiful way. Ezra's vocals, reaching that mournful but not hopeless place he's so good at getting to, really wrap it all up as one of the band's best ever songs. There's no stand-out bad or even lacklustre tracks across the rest of the record, but it doesn't reach this level again. I'm also not always 100% sure about some of the more dissonant elements on some of these tracks, the final moments of Capricorn are especially guilty of this, as one of the better songs here starts to fall apart under the weight of the sound. Still, these are pretty minor points to make about an indie band which has had to adapt to so many changes in the musical landscape while either on hiatus or between albums. As a teenage Vampire Weekend obsessive I think I built myself up for the release of Modern Vampires of the City more than I have for any album before or since, I got a pleasant surprise with these subsequent two releases where I held much less of an interest in what was coming prior to their release, but with this I've really taken notice again and will be glad to be back on the VW hype train when it next rolls into the station." [+] Reply

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

Year of Release:

2024

Appears in:

325 charts

Rank Score:

2,295

Rank in 2024:

Rank in 2020s:

Overall Rank:

751

Average Rating:

80 (305 votes)

Comments:

752.

Ill Communication

Beastie Boys

"This is the best Beastie Boys album and one of the best hip-hop albums of all time. Even the instrumentals bring something to the rest" Reply

- moutardebaseball | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (2 helpful | 1 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

1994

Appears in:

415 charts

Rank Score:

2,295

Rank in 1994:

Rank in 1990s:

128

Overall Rank:

752

Average Rating:

78 (544 votes)

Comments:

753.

All Mod Cons

The Jam

"For me the best Jam album, Paul Weller's song writing really blossomed on this LP. Favourite tracks are A Bomb In Wardour Street and Down In The Tube Station At Midnight." Reply

Dankel | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (2 helpful | 1 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

1978

Appears in:

410 charts

Rank Score:

2,286

Rank in 1978:

Rank in 1970s:

165

Overall Rank:

753

Average Rating:

79 (492 votes)

Comments:

754.

New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84)

Simple Minds

"I don't understand why this album is not in the top 500 best ever albums. I can mention a few albums who in my opinion do not belong there (but that's taste). This is definitely one of the best albums of the 80's. GREAT ALBUM" Reply

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

Year of Release:

1982

Appears in:

312 charts

Rank Score:

2,285

Rank in 1982:

Rank in 1980s:

111

Overall Rank:

754

Average Rating:

77 (336 votes)

Comments:

755.

Larks' Tongues In Aspic

King Crimson

"I had seen them in 1971, had all of their albums (including Earthbound) and was excited when LTIA was announced. Bruford leaving Yes at their most successful? This ought to be exciting. It knocked me out. A friend complained that they were adjusting the volume controls on his stereo. I saw them t..." [+] Reply

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

Year of Release:

1973

Appears in:

409 charts

Rank Score:

2,283

Rank in 1973:

Rank in 1970s:

166

Overall Rank:

755

Average Rating:

81 (631 votes)

Comments:

756.

Vulnicura

Björk

"when im in that i-don't-know-what-to-listen-to idle mood i play black lake and wait for arca's beats to come in and i have a seizure" Reply

- xdxrovied | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +6 votes (6 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2015

Appears in:

433 charts

Rank Score:

2,282

Rank in 2015:

Rank in 2010s:

110

Overall Rank:

756

Average Rating:

78 (577 votes)

Comments:

757.

Enema Of The State

Blink-182

"Still not enough credit given here, although almost close. I think this should be in the top 300, but I don't know if it'll ever get to that spot just because they were such goofballs and drama queens. I also know most people won't agree with me, but that's OK. Blink was much more creative than p..." [+] Reply

- phillipunion | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

1999

Appears in:

369 charts

Rank Score:

2,279

Rank in 1999:

Rank in 1990s:

129

Overall Rank:

757

Average Rating:

71 (603 votes)

Comments:

758.

Michigan

Sufjan Stevens

"Different from Illinois. A stark, single image of a rust belt state in decay rather than a meta-historical narrative. With a neo-social realist perspective, Stevens depicts the squalor and strife that made an impact on his youth and his vain search for hope and progress. Best songs: "Flint", "Det..." [+] Reply

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

Year of Release:

2003

Appears in:

401 charts

Rank Score:

2,274

Rank in 2003:

Rank in 2000s:

120

Overall Rank:

758

Average Rating:

80 (538 votes)

Comments:

759.

Surf's Up

The Beach Boys

"Surf's up, the title track must be Brian's most moving work from the smile sessions. Several other gems are Long promised road, Feel flows, Disney girls and 'Til I die. Don Quijote on the cover fulfills the irony of the title. One of the first records which mentions environment caring!" Reply

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

Year of Release:

1971

Appears in:

385 charts

Rank Score:

2,274

Rank in 1971:

Rank in 1970s:

167

Overall Rank:

759

Average Rating:

79 (568 votes)

Comments:

760.

Microcastle

Deerhunter

"I want to love this album unconditionally...it's so fantastic in so many ways, it reaches probably farther than the band ever reached. Unfortunately, it sometimes languishes in the noisy abyss found by many shoegaze-alt bands of this sort. Amply corrected on the follow-up "Halcyon Digest", yet th..." [+] Reply

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

Year of Release:

2008

Appears in:

402 charts

Rank Score:

2,269

Rank in 2008:

Rank in 2000s:

121

Overall Rank:

760