Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by 
DriftingOrpheus 
Subject to change (often). These are my personal favorite records...not necessarily a reflection of an objective musical hierarchy. (Wow. These write-ups have grown like weeds, particularly as you descend through the list. Only the slightest bit proud. 😌)
- Chart updated: 04/09/2024 04:15
- (Created: 04/25/2020 20:18).
- Chart size: 100 albums.
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Where is the appropriate point of origin? How does one begin eloquently without bellowing out praise like a music-snobbed elitist hell-bent on hard-headedness of musical appreciation. OK Computer's coronation may send shivers down the spines of readers who watch it litter charts all across the platform, a sentiment felt by frontman Thom Yorke, who tries to downplay the record's place in music history in an effort of self-conscious humility. Never one to be put in a creative box, Yorke refuses to be defined by one album and he's surely not. This list is not one of objective knighting, but rather a reflection of the records that reside the deepest in my heart, regardless if many minds consider this to be the greatest album ever constructed. To this point, this listener wouldn't argue, but still, in the context of this chart, such clearly-defined praise would only cheapen the work. In most instances, I derive satisfaction from dissecting each of my favorite albums down to the bone marrow and the negative space between each line of prose. However, OK Computer escapes classification and remains without a need for any sort of justification. The record declares more than any aficionado could hope to. In many ways, OK Computer warns against the monotony of modern times and times to come, but still the album comes home every night, reliable as ever.
Plastered upon its face, an illustration of intersecting pavement in Hartford, Connecticut, far from the homes of the boys who formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire. For many, OK Computer is a road map, a canal en route to lovely musical landmarks that both influenced and took inspiration from the seminal album. For me, it's not OK Computer's futuristic motifs, slick guitar lines or harmonic prowess that take the cake. It's the intangible wonder of an album so meticulously crafted to the note and the product of a quintet so acutely dialed in to the very limit of human feasibility. The emotional response that wells up from within during each and every listening experience is paramount and the philosophical resonances never cease to astonish. In an age where resistance to a popular opinion is so prevalent, I'd have every reason in the world to dismiss OK Computer, to liken its listeners to a brand of entry-level beginners to the world of critically acclaimed music, and yet, the album dazzles each and every time. It's adorned in a luster than cannot be eroded by the years or a position on a slapdash, 'Buzzfeed' hot-take list. Despite its warnings that ring truer by the day, the album no longer "stands" for anything and concurrently "represents" nothing. Some like to erroneously place it within a gift-wrapped package labeled "1990's time capsule". They fail to realize that the album belongs to no period of history as its resonance would be seismic during any era. It isn't the champion of any aristocratic sub-culture, as masses of people from all walks of life can be heard singing Karma Police's chorus in physical and spiritual unison. OK Computer is native only to the air it occupies and to the millions it continually enchants. It sounds just as alien today as it did in 1997 while simultaneously swelling, softening and transmitting from some distant, undiscovered galaxy.
"This is my final fit, my final bellyache. With no alarms and no surprises..."
- No Surprises
Standout Tracks:
1. No Surprises
2. Let Down
3. Paranoid Android
102.7 [First added to this chart: 04/26/2020]
Plastered upon its face, an illustration of intersecting pavement in Hartford, Connecticut, far from the homes of the boys who formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire. For many, OK Computer is a road map, a canal en route to lovely musical landmarks that both influenced and took inspiration from the seminal album. For me, it's not OK Computer's futuristic motifs, slick guitar lines or harmonic prowess that take the cake. It's the intangible wonder of an album so meticulously crafted to the note and the product of a quintet so acutely dialed in to the very limit of human feasibility. The emotional response that wells up from within during each and every listening experience is paramount and the philosophical resonances never cease to astonish. In an age where resistance to a popular opinion is so prevalent, I'd have every reason in the world to dismiss OK Computer, to liken its listeners to a brand of entry-level beginners to the world of critically acclaimed music, and yet, the album dazzles each and every time. It's adorned in a luster than cannot be eroded by the years or a position on a slapdash, 'Buzzfeed' hot-take list. Despite its warnings that ring truer by the day, the album no longer "stands" for anything and concurrently "represents" nothing. Some like to erroneously place it within a gift-wrapped package labeled "1990's time capsule". They fail to realize that the album belongs to no period of history as its resonance would be seismic during any era. It isn't the champion of any aristocratic sub-culture, as masses of people from all walks of life can be heard singing Karma Police's chorus in physical and spiritual unison. OK Computer is native only to the air it occupies and to the millions it continually enchants. It sounds just as alien today as it did in 1997 while simultaneously swelling, softening and transmitting from some distant, undiscovered galaxy.
"This is my final fit, my final bellyache. With no alarms and no surprises..."
- No Surprises
Standout Tracks:
1. No Surprises
2. Let Down
3. Paranoid Android
102.7 [First added to this chart: 04/26/2020]
Year of Release:
1997
Appears in:
Rank Score:
76,742
Rank in 1997:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
841
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I've never found the old saying "Less is more" to be notably applicable when it came to appreciating music. Often, I've been drawn to a sonic strategy that incorporates a great deal of moving parts, riddled with crushing crescendos and soul-shaking moments of softness. After OK Computer, a sector of Radiohead fans were left a bit perplexed with mouths agape, palms firmly upturned to the sky as they found far "less" with 2000's Kid A. They were wrong.
It's true there are a startling lack of traditional instrumentation here, but the band has never upped the ante like this before or since. While the group had previously made stellar, conscious efforts to avoid being pigeonholed, Kid A marked the planting of a flag which flew colors of musical experimentation and encased Radiohead in the annals of music history as they stared down the barrel of studio pressures for a 'conventional' LP. What the band hand-delivered towards the end of 2000, as the shadow of an unfulfilled Y2K dissipated, was their vision of an approaching apocalypse that would be patient in temperament and self-inflicted.
A dystopian, shivering piece of art, depicting a future that has completely gone metallic, Kid A is the brain's answer to OK Computer's heart. It was here where the marriage of the band and synthesizer incorporation was fused as they devised chemical processes like crazed alchemists in order to weld tracks which could survive both boiling heat and glacial cold. The opening tones of Everything in its Right Place encapsulate a sound which would soon serve as an idiosyncratic anthem as Radiohead firmly shook the hand of the 21st century. The skittering, emergency siren of Idioteque snags a snapshot of a world on the brink of collapse, too preoccupied to sense impending armageddon. Finally, the faux comfort of better times evaporates during the final moments of Motion Picture Soundtrack, ending the album with metaphorical hands full of ash.
Radiohead didn't redefine the rock record with Kid A, for there is no all-encompassing definition. What the band truly managed, was the elusive task of redefining themselves, synchronously altering expectations for their subsequent work and thrusting headlong into an unbroken cycle of phoenix-like reincarnation and reinvention bedizened with staggering success.
"Stop sending letters
Letters always get burned
It's not like the movies
They fed us on little white lies"
-Motion Picture Soundtrack
Standout Tracks:
1. Idioteque
2. How to Disappear Completely
3. Everything in its Right Place
102.2 [First added to this chart: 04/26/2020]
It's true there are a startling lack of traditional instrumentation here, but the band has never upped the ante like this before or since. While the group had previously made stellar, conscious efforts to avoid being pigeonholed, Kid A marked the planting of a flag which flew colors of musical experimentation and encased Radiohead in the annals of music history as they stared down the barrel of studio pressures for a 'conventional' LP. What the band hand-delivered towards the end of 2000, as the shadow of an unfulfilled Y2K dissipated, was their vision of an approaching apocalypse that would be patient in temperament and self-inflicted.
A dystopian, shivering piece of art, depicting a future that has completely gone metallic, Kid A is the brain's answer to OK Computer's heart. It was here where the marriage of the band and synthesizer incorporation was fused as they devised chemical processes like crazed alchemists in order to weld tracks which could survive both boiling heat and glacial cold. The opening tones of Everything in its Right Place encapsulate a sound which would soon serve as an idiosyncratic anthem as Radiohead firmly shook the hand of the 21st century. The skittering, emergency siren of Idioteque snags a snapshot of a world on the brink of collapse, too preoccupied to sense impending armageddon. Finally, the faux comfort of better times evaporates during the final moments of Motion Picture Soundtrack, ending the album with metaphorical hands full of ash.
Radiohead didn't redefine the rock record with Kid A, for there is no all-encompassing definition. What the band truly managed, was the elusive task of redefining themselves, synchronously altering expectations for their subsequent work and thrusting headlong into an unbroken cycle of phoenix-like reincarnation and reinvention bedizened with staggering success.
"Stop sending letters
Letters always get burned
It's not like the movies
They fed us on little white lies"
-Motion Picture Soundtrack
Standout Tracks:
1. Idioteque
2. How to Disappear Completely
3. Everything in its Right Place
102.2 [First added to this chart: 04/26/2020]
Year of Release:
2000
Appears in:
Rank Score:
51,355
Rank in 2000:
Rank in 2000s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
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Film director Todd Haynes once made a wonderful film entitled I'm Not There (2007). In it, a fabled troubadour, storyteller, prophet, father, icon and outlaw all follow an intersecting, snaking path of existence. They all went by the name of Bob Dylan. "A song is something that walks by itself" said the poet. Todd Haynes knew there was no single way to personify music's resident Shakespeare, but this album may be the finest summation of the man himself.
Laying out themes of love, loss, ambition, desolation, desire and drug use, all of which could apply to Dylan during his finest creative years, Blonde on Blonde serves as the magnum opus for one of music's finest artists. He's never been more cheeky than with Rainy Day Women #12 and #35. He's never been more bashfully in love than with I Want You and he's never been more appreciative than with Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands. Dylan never more clearly presented his thoughts through music and we have the LP to prove it.
A stunning collection of emotional highs and lows, one can't help but marvel at Dylan's wordplay and pension for lyrical brainstorm. Through all this, Dylan stayed tight-lipped while contemporaries such as the Fab Four themselves gawked at his greatness. The bard stayed playfully humble or ostentatiously coy for the entire duration. I suppose the truth comes down to how you view the man, or maybe more astutely, his music.
"Mona tried to tell me
To stay away from the train line
She said that all the railroad men
Just drink up your blood like wine
An' I said, "Oh, I didn't know that
But then again, there's only one I've met
An' he just smoked my eyelids
An' punched my cigarette"
- Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again
Standout Tracks:
1. I Want You
2. Just Like a Woman
3. One of Us Must Know (Sooner or Later)
101.5 [First added to this chart: 04/26/2020]
Laying out themes of love, loss, ambition, desolation, desire and drug use, all of which could apply to Dylan during his finest creative years, Blonde on Blonde serves as the magnum opus for one of music's finest artists. He's never been more cheeky than with Rainy Day Women #12 and #35. He's never been more bashfully in love than with I Want You and he's never been more appreciative than with Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands. Dylan never more clearly presented his thoughts through music and we have the LP to prove it.
A stunning collection of emotional highs and lows, one can't help but marvel at Dylan's wordplay and pension for lyrical brainstorm. Through all this, Dylan stayed tight-lipped while contemporaries such as the Fab Four themselves gawked at his greatness. The bard stayed playfully humble or ostentatiously coy for the entire duration. I suppose the truth comes down to how you view the man, or maybe more astutely, his music.
"Mona tried to tell me
To stay away from the train line
She said that all the railroad men
Just drink up your blood like wine
An' I said, "Oh, I didn't know that
But then again, there's only one I've met
An' he just smoked my eyelids
An' punched my cigarette"
- Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again
Standout Tracks:
1. I Want You
2. Just Like a Woman
3. One of Us Must Know (Sooner or Later)
101.5 [First added to this chart: 04/26/2020]
Year of Release:
1966
Appears in:
Rank Score:
27,782
Rank in 1966:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
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In the Aeroplane Over the Sea is often a simple album, filled with simple chord progressions and hooks. It's fuzzed out production creates the illusion that it was recorded in a damp basement, waterlogged after a thunderstorm and packed to the brim with insulation subbing for soundproofing. These are all misconceptions, most of all the simplicity. Jeff Mangum subverts the idea of simplicity with his rollicking, depressing, life-affirming piece of indie rock. His lyricism cuts through the haze of intentionally wooly production illustrating an observation of both the beauty of ordinary life and the daunting nature of philosophical thought.
The album's crown jewel, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, layers striking metaphorical proclamations in rapid succession, partnering that with dizzying singing saw, creating an indie masterpiece confined within an alien biodome. Communist Daughter eases down the tempo but not the whimsy, as it oozes beauty almost in a whisper as it flutters into Oh Comely. The album closes with the hauntingly reflective Two Headed Boy, Pt. 2 as it whirrs into Mangum’s words. He declares, "God is a place where some holy spectacle lies", endlessly waiting for divine intervention, even if he questions its existence in a world that can be so cold.
In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, is partly a horror story of the Nazi Regime, a love letter to the courage of Anne Frank, but mostly its an examination of life's smallest moments and whether it's worth going forward or not. Whatever it is to you, however, is likely the most fitting description. Mangum’s poetry on the LP is indicative of a higher consciousness and it's partnered with a cornucopia of musical ingenuity to form one of the finest, most earnest albums ever pressed.
"Now how I remember you,
How I would push my fingers through,
Your mouth to make those muscles move,
That made your voice so smooth and sweet."
-In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
Standout Tracks:
1. In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
2. Two Headed Boy, Pt. 2
3. Oh Comely
100.8 [First added to this chart: 04/26/2020]
The album's crown jewel, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, layers striking metaphorical proclamations in rapid succession, partnering that with dizzying singing saw, creating an indie masterpiece confined within an alien biodome. Communist Daughter eases down the tempo but not the whimsy, as it oozes beauty almost in a whisper as it flutters into Oh Comely. The album closes with the hauntingly reflective Two Headed Boy, Pt. 2 as it whirrs into Mangum’s words. He declares, "God is a place where some holy spectacle lies", endlessly waiting for divine intervention, even if he questions its existence in a world that can be so cold.
In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, is partly a horror story of the Nazi Regime, a love letter to the courage of Anne Frank, but mostly its an examination of life's smallest moments and whether it's worth going forward or not. Whatever it is to you, however, is likely the most fitting description. Mangum’s poetry on the LP is indicative of a higher consciousness and it's partnered with a cornucopia of musical ingenuity to form one of the finest, most earnest albums ever pressed.
"Now how I remember you,
How I would push my fingers through,
Your mouth to make those muscles move,
That made your voice so smooth and sweet."
-In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
Standout Tracks:
1. In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
2. Two Headed Boy, Pt. 2
3. Oh Comely
100.8 [First added to this chart: 04/26/2020]
Year of Release:
1998
Appears in:
Rank Score:
39,454
Rank in 1998:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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Throughout their extensive history, alternative rock pioneers Swans have made a habit of metamorphosing, trading in bone-crushing no-wave anthems for folk-inspired, religiously-tinged ballads. In 2010, Swans emerged once more with My Father will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky, another drastic change in form and direction, prioritizing prolonged excursions drenched in post-rock fueled repetition. This formula was the basis for 2014's To Be Kind, an album that championed the creative advantages of welding moments of ear-splitting fortissimo and hair-raising delicacy. Take A Little God in My Hands for example. Even the most well-traveled listeners have to be taken back by the atomic force of the horn-powered flurry that kicks off the middle of the track. To Be Kind showcases Swans not merely dabbling in a musical style unseen in their discography, but perfecting it.
The centerpiece is the 34 minute odyssey, Bring the Sun/Toussaint L'Ouverture. A track detailing a Haitian slave revolt with all the ferocity one could imagine. It carries guitar hits that resemble facial punches that only cease once the skull has caved in. Incorporating horse whinnies and tribal chanting, the track dares one to ponder the music's inspiration, or even the headspace of the men crafting it. The most "straight-forward" rocker on the album is Oxygen, a song detailing an asthma attack with inertia that never ceases until the horn-soaked climax.
Rarely has an album embodied both a densely visceral and well-realized existence. The frightening aspect behind it all is that it seems to flow through the band so effortlessly, almost as vessels for transcendent music powered by an unseen force. While it's not a record for the conventional listener, you'd be hard-pressed to find an audiophile not displaced by To Be Kind's translucent beauty, or not horrified by its unfettered explicity.
"May planets crash, may god rain ash, to sear our skin, to fold us in
Kneeling close, seeking hands, our blood is warm, but what comes next?"
-Kirsten Supine
Standout Tracks:
1. Oxygen
2. She Loves Us!
3. Bring the Sun/Toussaint L’Ouverture
100.4 [First added to this chart: 04/26/2020]
The centerpiece is the 34 minute odyssey, Bring the Sun/Toussaint L'Ouverture. A track detailing a Haitian slave revolt with all the ferocity one could imagine. It carries guitar hits that resemble facial punches that only cease once the skull has caved in. Incorporating horse whinnies and tribal chanting, the track dares one to ponder the music's inspiration, or even the headspace of the men crafting it. The most "straight-forward" rocker on the album is Oxygen, a song detailing an asthma attack with inertia that never ceases until the horn-soaked climax.
Rarely has an album embodied both a densely visceral and well-realized existence. The frightening aspect behind it all is that it seems to flow through the band so effortlessly, almost as vessels for transcendent music powered by an unseen force. While it's not a record for the conventional listener, you'd be hard-pressed to find an audiophile not displaced by To Be Kind's translucent beauty, or not horrified by its unfettered explicity.
"May planets crash, may god rain ash, to sear our skin, to fold us in
Kneeling close, seeking hands, our blood is warm, but what comes next?"
-Kirsten Supine
Standout Tracks:
1. Oxygen
2. She Loves Us!
3. Bring the Sun/Toussaint L’Ouverture
100.4 [First added to this chart: 04/26/2020]
Year of Release:
2014
Appears in:
Rank Score:
7,136
Rank in 2014:
Rank in 2010s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
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Acid Bath were an outfit from the swamps of Louisiana, likely the only place where music of this ilk could be spawned. The sludge metal group only produced two studio albums with a lifespan abridged by the sudden death of bassist Audie Pitre. The introduction to their brief discography is nothing less than a masterwork in the metal genre, an album of intense hate coupled with stunning musical proficiency that many have overlooked, or more likely, have never experienced. The guitar work is polarizing, often resembling a slithering eel bathing in distortion and feedback. Honestly, what else could suffice for a record that brandishes track titles such as "Cassie Eats Cockroaches", "Dr. Seuss is Dead" and the penultimate "The Bones of Baby Dolls". As horn-rimmed glasses wearing, toffee-nosed onlookers may categorize its content as a slobbering collection of shock rock, the truth is far more personal.
Lead vocalist Dax Riggs likens tracks Tranquilized and Cheap Vodka to drug-triggered, personal anecdotes. The bluesy restraint of Scream of the Butterfly harkens back to the regret of an abortion and the distinctive sound of the woman's grief over said act. Toubabo Koomi is cajun french for Land of the White Cannibals and takes aim at the savagery of the governmental system. Finally, The Bones of Baby Dolls details the unvarnished evil of a child molester. All in all, When the Kite String Pops is not for the faint of heart.
With John Wayne Gacy plastered on the cover, few would gaze upon the album and foresee the intense, brilliant musicianship buried within the catacombs of this striking record. This is partly the appeal. Sometimes it seems like this is something we shouldn't be listening to, like a suicide caught on tape. The dichotomy of the vulgarity and poetry on the album makes it the best kind of rarity. It's a shame that it will likely be restricted to residing in dusty attics, at the bottom of garage sale bins and quiet corners of failing record shops. Listening to When the Kite String Pops is the musical equivalent of watching The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974). A brilliant film no doubt, but one of immense depravity. When the Kite String Pops makes you want to shower once it's over, but you are helpless to the notion of starting it all over again, bathing in its magnificent grime.
"I feel the wetness of her tongue that slides across my skin
The viruses crawl over me and feel for some way in."
-Cassie Eats Cockroaches
Standout Tracks:
1. The Bones of Baby Dolls
2. The Blue
3. Dr. Seuss is Dead
98.4 [First added to this chart: 04/26/2020]
Lead vocalist Dax Riggs likens tracks Tranquilized and Cheap Vodka to drug-triggered, personal anecdotes. The bluesy restraint of Scream of the Butterfly harkens back to the regret of an abortion and the distinctive sound of the woman's grief over said act. Toubabo Koomi is cajun french for Land of the White Cannibals and takes aim at the savagery of the governmental system. Finally, The Bones of Baby Dolls details the unvarnished evil of a child molester. All in all, When the Kite String Pops is not for the faint of heart.
With John Wayne Gacy plastered on the cover, few would gaze upon the album and foresee the intense, brilliant musicianship buried within the catacombs of this striking record. This is partly the appeal. Sometimes it seems like this is something we shouldn't be listening to, like a suicide caught on tape. The dichotomy of the vulgarity and poetry on the album makes it the best kind of rarity. It's a shame that it will likely be restricted to residing in dusty attics, at the bottom of garage sale bins and quiet corners of failing record shops. Listening to When the Kite String Pops is the musical equivalent of watching The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974). A brilliant film no doubt, but one of immense depravity. When the Kite String Pops makes you want to shower once it's over, but you are helpless to the notion of starting it all over again, bathing in its magnificent grime.
"I feel the wetness of her tongue that slides across my skin
The viruses crawl over me and feel for some way in."
-Cassie Eats Cockroaches
Standout Tracks:
1. The Bones of Baby Dolls
2. The Blue
3. Dr. Seuss is Dead
98.4 [First added to this chart: 04/26/2020]
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2016's The Glowing Man was intended to be the final stop for post-rock icons Swans. Even though it was not their final record, in many ways it feels like an ending, musically embodying a purifying crescendo. It's no secret that the band played their hand in a few false finishes in the past. 1996's Soundtracks for the Blind was a haunting, alluring attempt to combine Swans' music with a score to a film that did not exist. This also was planned to be the band's final musical epitaph. 2010 brought a new sound and a new Swans lineup and The Glowing Man was seen to be the concluding artistic flourish and what a flourish it turned out to be.
While the previous record, 2014's To Be Kind conveyed a seething, scathing critique of human indecency, The Glowing Man is a far more reflective and anguished experience, almost communicating that the emotional toll of the journey that this era of the band went through was a soul-altering odyssey. Take second track Cloud of Unknowing for instance, a 25 minute, bone-rattling lead up to a midpoint climax that I have yet to see duplicated. After the storm passes, the track slinks back into the bowels of darkness from which it was conceived, hissing chants of "Monster eater" and "Jesus feeler". The second half of the record commences with the towering Frankie M, a 20 minute pulse-pounding journey dedicated to a battle lost to drug addiction. An abridged version was featured in Swans' live sets as early as 2014 but the final form of the song serves as a moment of tempestuous strength and intense catharsis on the album. When Will I Return? details a horrifying rape-attempt that befell Michael Gira's wife Jennifer. Possibly the album's most gentile track, Jennifer claims to "Still kill him in her sleep". The penultimate track here is the title track, The Glowing Man. The most extensive cut on the album, clocking in at nearly 30 minutes, is the most chameleonic, beginning as an avalanche of bruising guitar hits. The track then simmers before swelling again into a furiously paced proclamation of bodily manifestation. Vocalist Michael Gira cries, "Joseph is moving his tongue in my neck, Joseph is riding a vein in my head, Joseph is cutting my arm on his bed, Joseph is making my body fly". After having listened to it, you'd be liable to admit to an out-of-body experience.
The Glowing Man only consists of eight tracks, eight tracks spanning nearly two hours with enough vexation, desperation and despair to rival a lifetime of alcoholic's anonymous meetings. I've stated in earlier write-ups that the band incorporates their music with a staunch focus on the dichotomy of sound decibles. The Glowing Man seems to consummate this idea with the concept of emotional contrast. Moments of exhilaration lap on the shores of severe hysteria and dejection. Additionally, It shines through in practice as well as from the listeners point of view. At times the album ceases to be organized sound, but instead formulates as a raw force of nature. Put simply, it sounds like a human soul crying out for liberation.
"I beat him on his face
And I stab with all my strength
And I scream until he goes
I scream until he's gone
Then I crawl across the road"
-When Will I Return?
Standout Tracks:
1. The Glowing Man
2. Cloud of Unknowing
3. Frankie M
97.8 [First added to this chart: 04/26/2020]
While the previous record, 2014's To Be Kind conveyed a seething, scathing critique of human indecency, The Glowing Man is a far more reflective and anguished experience, almost communicating that the emotional toll of the journey that this era of the band went through was a soul-altering odyssey. Take second track Cloud of Unknowing for instance, a 25 minute, bone-rattling lead up to a midpoint climax that I have yet to see duplicated. After the storm passes, the track slinks back into the bowels of darkness from which it was conceived, hissing chants of "Monster eater" and "Jesus feeler". The second half of the record commences with the towering Frankie M, a 20 minute pulse-pounding journey dedicated to a battle lost to drug addiction. An abridged version was featured in Swans' live sets as early as 2014 but the final form of the song serves as a moment of tempestuous strength and intense catharsis on the album. When Will I Return? details a horrifying rape-attempt that befell Michael Gira's wife Jennifer. Possibly the album's most gentile track, Jennifer claims to "Still kill him in her sleep". The penultimate track here is the title track, The Glowing Man. The most extensive cut on the album, clocking in at nearly 30 minutes, is the most chameleonic, beginning as an avalanche of bruising guitar hits. The track then simmers before swelling again into a furiously paced proclamation of bodily manifestation. Vocalist Michael Gira cries, "Joseph is moving his tongue in my neck, Joseph is riding a vein in my head, Joseph is cutting my arm on his bed, Joseph is making my body fly". After having listened to it, you'd be liable to admit to an out-of-body experience.
The Glowing Man only consists of eight tracks, eight tracks spanning nearly two hours with enough vexation, desperation and despair to rival a lifetime of alcoholic's anonymous meetings. I've stated in earlier write-ups that the band incorporates their music with a staunch focus on the dichotomy of sound decibles. The Glowing Man seems to consummate this idea with the concept of emotional contrast. Moments of exhilaration lap on the shores of severe hysteria and dejection. Additionally, It shines through in practice as well as from the listeners point of view. At times the album ceases to be organized sound, but instead formulates as a raw force of nature. Put simply, it sounds like a human soul crying out for liberation.
"I beat him on his face
And I stab with all my strength
And I scream until he goes
I scream until he's gone
Then I crawl across the road"
-When Will I Return?
Standout Tracks:
1. The Glowing Man
2. Cloud of Unknowing
3. Frankie M
97.8 [First added to this chart: 04/26/2020]
Year of Release:
2016
Appears in:
Rank Score:
966
Rank in 2016:
Rank in 2010s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
97.3
[First added to this chart: 05/28/2022]
Year of Release:
2018
Appears in:
Rank Score:
969
Rank in 2018:
Rank in 2010s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
The halls of Columbia University birthed Vampire Weekend, a baroque pop outfit with a pension for utilizing world music. They were critically lauded soon after, but in the eyes of those who equate surroundings to people, they were little more than privileged rich boys who gained the favor of those with power in the industry. The band shrugged such ridiculous claims off and just kept on keeping on. In other words, they kept making some of the best pop music of the decade. Nevermore was their genius more validated than with 2013's Modern Vampires of the City. Sporting a crystalline sheen and drastically more sinister tone, Vampire Weekend concocted its best collection of tracks to date.
Seemingly alternating between uptempo, positively-charged romps and sentimental, breezy ballads, Modern Vampires of the City prioritizes balance far more than the band's prior work. The first landmark comes in the form of third track Step, which twinkles triumphantly leaving Rostam Batmanglij's production as the hallmark of the sweepingly gorgeous cut. The album soon receives an adrenaline shot in the form of Diane Young, a full-gear stomper which emphasizes a desire to live life at its fullest, with no regrets about being rebellious or young for that matter. One of the album's most audacious excursions comes in the form of tenth track Ya Hey. Frontman Ezra Koenig's vocal delivery is in stark contrast to the rest of the album, invoking religious fervor at a subdued pace.
As convention would have it, Modern Vampires of the City is indeed a pop record. It's one that takes risks, nudges away stereotypical classification and entrenches Vampire Weekend as a prominent force in modern music. Provocatively written, skillful executed and exquisitely produced, the album is a testament to the blossoming creativity of a young group on the rise, with much success predicted to follow. The album has a warm quality and has effectively become a comfort piece for me, calling back to better times. It's a record for those with youthful flesh and minds with temperaments far beyond their years.
"Ancestors told me that their girl was better
She's richer than Croesus, she's tougher than leather
I just ignored all the tales of a past life
Stale conversation deserves but a bread knife"
-Step
Standout Tracks:
1. Step
2. Finger Back
3. Don't Lie
96.8 [First added to this chart: 04/26/2020]
Seemingly alternating between uptempo, positively-charged romps and sentimental, breezy ballads, Modern Vampires of the City prioritizes balance far more than the band's prior work. The first landmark comes in the form of third track Step, which twinkles triumphantly leaving Rostam Batmanglij's production as the hallmark of the sweepingly gorgeous cut. The album soon receives an adrenaline shot in the form of Diane Young, a full-gear stomper which emphasizes a desire to live life at its fullest, with no regrets about being rebellious or young for that matter. One of the album's most audacious excursions comes in the form of tenth track Ya Hey. Frontman Ezra Koenig's vocal delivery is in stark contrast to the rest of the album, invoking religious fervor at a subdued pace.
As convention would have it, Modern Vampires of the City is indeed a pop record. It's one that takes risks, nudges away stereotypical classification and entrenches Vampire Weekend as a prominent force in modern music. Provocatively written, skillful executed and exquisitely produced, the album is a testament to the blossoming creativity of a young group on the rise, with much success predicted to follow. The album has a warm quality and has effectively become a comfort piece for me, calling back to better times. It's a record for those with youthful flesh and minds with temperaments far beyond their years.
"Ancestors told me that their girl was better
She's richer than Croesus, she's tougher than leather
I just ignored all the tales of a past life
Stale conversation deserves but a bread knife"
-Step
Standout Tracks:
1. Step
2. Finger Back
3. Don't Lie
96.8 [First added to this chart: 04/26/2020]
Year of Release:
2013
Appears in:
Rank Score:
12,097
Rank in 2013:
Rank in 2010s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
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For many, In Rainbows is the definitive record for the prodigal sons from Abingdon, Oxfordshire. It's certainly the most earthly and naturalistic of the lot. More importantly, it's the most human from a band that's consistently alien. The warm embrace that In Rainbows provides is a welcomed outlier amidst a catalogue fearful of the outside world and entrenched in emotional isolation. On the album, Radiohead don't create panic over climate change like on Kid A. They don't warn of a technology-driven future due to human complacency and they don't protest the political direction of world powers like on Hail to the Thief. They simply reflect, ponder human vanity, recall drunken evenings and most of all, have fun.
The band collectively "letting their hair down" has led to an undeniably earnest entry in the Radiohead canon. Emerging with the bouncy, yet refined 15 Step, it's easy to admire Phil Selway's percussion on the track. The 5/4 time signature creates the illusion of a mutated pop song, awash in sarcastic wit. Bodysnatchers seems to rekindle the band's love for guitar rock as Jonny Greenwood and Ed O'Brien imprint their likenesses all over the thundering track. Nude, track three, could easily take the cake for Radiohead's pinnacle of aesthetic beauty, a song that unfurls slowly and fades into the ether ever so softly. Yorke's vocals on this cut are among the finest he's ever produced. It's very apropos that a song about physical vanity ends up being so tangibly gorgeous.
Late album entries such as Reckoner, Jigsaw Falling Into Place and the heartbreaking Videotape, bookend an album submerged in consistency. Still, there is no grand memorandum, no life-lesson other than what it means to be human, whether fallible, physically self-conscious or devoid of direction. Radiohead have made a name for themselves by zigging and subsequently zagging, but In Rainbows resides on the straightest of lines. A line that is neither accessible nor challenging, existential nor nihilistic. Ten tracks of simply being, at the heights of exuberance and the base of sorrow. A full spectrum of emotion, paralleled by the spectrum of light that dons the album cover.
"No matter what happens now
You shouldn't be afraid
Because I know today has been
The most perfect day I've ever seen."
-Videotape
Standout Tracks:
1. Nude
2. Videotape
3. Jigsaw Falling Into Place
95.9 [First added to this chart: 04/26/2020]
The band collectively "letting their hair down" has led to an undeniably earnest entry in the Radiohead canon. Emerging with the bouncy, yet refined 15 Step, it's easy to admire Phil Selway's percussion on the track. The 5/4 time signature creates the illusion of a mutated pop song, awash in sarcastic wit. Bodysnatchers seems to rekindle the band's love for guitar rock as Jonny Greenwood and Ed O'Brien imprint their likenesses all over the thundering track. Nude, track three, could easily take the cake for Radiohead's pinnacle of aesthetic beauty, a song that unfurls slowly and fades into the ether ever so softly. Yorke's vocals on this cut are among the finest he's ever produced. It's very apropos that a song about physical vanity ends up being so tangibly gorgeous.
Late album entries such as Reckoner, Jigsaw Falling Into Place and the heartbreaking Videotape, bookend an album submerged in consistency. Still, there is no grand memorandum, no life-lesson other than what it means to be human, whether fallible, physically self-conscious or devoid of direction. Radiohead have made a name for themselves by zigging and subsequently zagging, but In Rainbows resides on the straightest of lines. A line that is neither accessible nor challenging, existential nor nihilistic. Ten tracks of simply being, at the heights of exuberance and the base of sorrow. A full spectrum of emotion, paralleled by the spectrum of light that dons the album cover.
"No matter what happens now
You shouldn't be afraid
Because I know today has been
The most perfect day I've ever seen."
-Videotape
Standout Tracks:
1. Nude
2. Videotape
3. Jigsaw Falling Into Place
95.9 [First added to this chart: 04/26/2020]
Year of Release:
2007
Appears in:
Rank Score:
51,117
Rank in 2007:
Rank in 2000s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 93. Page 1 of 10
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums composition
| Decade | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
 |
|
|
| 1930s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1940s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1950s | 3 | 3% | |
| 1960s | 16 | 16% | |
| 1970s | 12 | 12% | |
| 1980s | 7 | 7% | |
| 1990s | 20 | 20% | |
| 2000s | 20 | 20% | |
| 2010s | 20 | 20% | |
| 2020s | 2 | 2% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
 |
|
|
| フィッシュマンズ [Fishmans] | 10 | 10% | |
| Radiohead | 7 | 7% | |
| Bob Dylan | 5 | 5% | |
| Swans | 5 | 5% | |
| Vampire Weekend | 4 | 4% | |
| Charles Mingus | 4 | 4% | |
| Cancerslug | 3 | 3% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
56 | 56% | |
 |
22 | 22% | |
 |
10 | 10% | |
 |
4 | 4% | |
 |
3 | 3% | |
 |
2 | 2% | |
 |
1 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes
| Biggest climbers |
|---|
| Up 2 from 94th to 92nd Only God Was Above Us by Vampire Weekend |
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
| Down 1 from 92nd to 93rd Strawberry Jam by Animal Collective |
| Down 1 from 93rd to 94th Currents by Tame Impala |
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums ratings
88/100 (from 32 votes)
where:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.
Showing latest 5 ratings for this chart. | Show all 32 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 70/100  | 06/23/2023 05:13 |  Applerill | | 75/100 |
| 85/100 | 03/27/2023 17:55 | Johnnyo | | 80/100 |
| 85/100 | 03/27/2023 00:15 | Moondance | | 84/100 |
| 80/100 | 03/26/2023 12:00 |  Tamthebam | | 85/100 |
| 90/100 | 09/17/2022 23:03 | Rm12398 | | 89/100 |
Rating metrics:
Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some charts can have several thousand ratings)
This chart is rated in the top 9% of all charts on BestEverAlbums.com. This chart has a Bayesian average rating of 88.2/100, a mean average of 88.9/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 88.9/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 11.6.
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments
Showing all 9 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Maximum Rated First |
Longest Comments First
(Only showing comments with -2 votes or higher. You can alter this threshold from your profile page. Manage Profile)
85/100
From Johnnyo 03/27/2023 17:55
Exceeding chart and a great read.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
85/100
From Moondance 12/08/2022 00:11
We are 2 generations apart, so no surprise that our musical tastes/album preferences are not going to align. Totally respect your selections and appreciate your commentary - this chart is a definite labour of love. BTW - our one common album ~ Dark Side Of The Moon. BTW2 - thank you for introducing me to Night Beds' Country Sleep album - a future inclusion in my 2013 year chart.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
95/100
From 
Larcx13 07/20/2021 15:00
Larcx13 07/20/2021 15:00
I guess youre a fan of radiohead.
Hard work on the descriptions good stuff.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From DriftingOrpheus 04/27/2021 22:55
DriftingOrpheus 04/27/2021 22:55
@StreakyNuno: Your statement is demeaning to every individual who's ever experienced an inkling of an original thought...
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
60/100
From StreakyNuno 04/27/2021 19:23
This comment is beneath your viewing threshold.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | -5 votes (0 helpful | 5 unhelpful)
100/100
From 
DommeDamian 04/27/2021 13:50
DommeDamian 04/27/2021 13:50
*shocked emoji* this is ridiculously great.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
90/100
From leniad 10/21/2020 23:28
Like your taste
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
95/100
From 
Strangel 06/17/2020 10:18
Strangel 06/17/2020 10:18
Saw your comments on Syro which intrigued me enough to wander over here and read a bit more. I’ve always rated charts that offer explanations for each choice. So far you have gone above and beyond, plus I tend to agree with your love for many of these albums (Smiths aside). Look forward to seeing the finished version!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
55/100
From mianfei 05/14/2020 02:18
Even with very many “stereotypical” choices, this is not that bad a list.
Although I have never heard their music, Acid Bath is a wonderful surprise, as is the Misfits. I heard of both bands in the middle 2000s from one writer on Amazon.com called “janitor-x”, whose musical taste I cannot relate to but whose virulent criticism of ‘Rolling Stone’ I have never doubted nor seen refuted.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (0 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
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We work very hard to ensure our site is as fast (and FREE!) as possible, and we respect your privacy.
| Best Artists of 1960 | |
|---|---|
| 1. John Coltrane | |
| 2. Miles Davis | |
| 3. Etta James | |
| 4. Charles Mingus | |
| 5. Elvis Presley | |
| 6. Joan Baez | |
| 7. Max Roach | |
| 8. The Everly Brothers | |
| 9. Muddy Waters | |
| 10. Wes Montgomery | |
| 11. Hank Mobley | |
| 12. Bill Evans | |
| 13. Bill Evans Trio | |
| 14. Ella Fitzgerald | |
| 15. Johnny Cash | |
| 16. John Lee Hooker | |
| 17. Eddie Cochran | |
| 18. Miriam Makeba | |
| 19. Bo Diddley | |
| 20. Olatunji |