EarthBoundRules' Albums That Rule

[EarthBoundRules]

Hey guys! This diary will contain all of the songs that I rate 70/100 or higher. I rate on a scale from 0.5 - 5 in 0.5 increments, which translates to 10/100 up to 100/100 in 10/100 increments. Since I rate my albums relatively strictly, these albums are the best of the best for me.

Starting off with two albums:

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Radiohead - The Bends
1995; Alternative Rock
80/100

The first time I heard this album, believe it or not, I found it boring. Since then I've thrown out my sinful judgements in favour of high praise. The melodies here are fantastic, as are all the guitar parts on this guitar-heavy album. The sound is more generic-sounding than later Radiohead albums, but who says that that's a bad thing? In fact, I like the sound here better. My favourite track has to be 'High and Dry' - I mean, just listen to that heavenly chorus! There's not a single bad song on here, although some aren't my favourites ('Bones' and 'Sulk' come to mind) which keeps it from getting a perfect score. I highly recommend this to any Radiohead fan who hasn't heard the album before.

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System of a Down - Toxicity
2001; Alternative Metal
80/100

Ah, a blast from the past! I remember loving Mezmerize more than this as a teen, but listening now I have to say that this is better. I guess it's because this album is a lot less goofy and a lot harder. But the melodies are still as great as always, especially in the delicious 'Chop Suey', my favourite track, which does soft-loud at least as good as Pixies and Nirvana in my opinion. The second half is weaker than the first, in my opinion, with the only great songs on the second half being 'Toxicity' and 'Aerials'. This prevents it from getting a perfect score, but I still love the album. I recommend this to anybody who thinks they might like metal with a unique twist - this probably isn't on a serious metalhead's best-of list, but being a non-metalhead at the moment, it's on mine.

Leave your comments below - I read them all!

[dihansse]

Very interesting start! Do you rate your albums per song or per album.
In any case when you're already so enthusiastic on albums you rate 70/100 I'm curious to see what your albums with rating 80 or higher will be like. I agree with your rating on the Bends (the best Radiohead album to me) but the score seems rather low.

[EarthBoundRules]