June 26: 1-100
by 
DommeDamian 
- Chart updated: 3 days ago
- (Created: 02/10/2026 12:57).
- Chart size: 100 albums.
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Just like a country album can have the atmosphere/mood/lifestyle/vibe of being on the countryside, with your friends or family in leather clothing, eating some barbecues or something - Dangerous describes an atmosphere to a lifestyle that I just cannot explain. It is the exact lifestyle that fits me or not only hits close to home but home, yet I can never explain nor metaphorically state the tone of it. Even my fellow Moonwalkers don’t understand it. Maybe the only thing so far that I can express about that atmosphere is its nocturnal (like noir but in a much more observant, lush yet devastating environment) - and even in my ages/years I was completely different from now plus don’t proudly look back at, one thing that I’ve always been is a nocturnal-esque human. The soul is mysterious so when something hits, strikes, let alone lives inside your soul, it's difficult to describe as opposed to when something hits your heart.
A small theory of mine (in a sea of small theories regarding this) is that on this album, and generally on his 90s albums, his inner traumatic and sheer frightening life experience came through, though hidden behind the brawls and tortured yet controlled chaotic scream-singing, as well as the cryptic yet dopamine-inducing grooves. Like his childhood longing and struggles (as he very often mentioned in interviews but mostly everyone turned a blind eye on) was metaphorically locked away in a cage deepened within his mind and heart because of adulthood. But just like you cannot hide the truth forever, you cannot hide pain forever, which is where the (imo) most musically potent cry ever captured on wax comes through in the songs, and it's like I am the only person hearing it despite it having sold over 20mio copies. In his 80s music, he was the greatest singer and greatest entertainer, but here he truly became the greatest musician and artist who have ever lived to me. And that is without going in any details about any particular song or part of a song (like a statement, a vocal performance, section within the composition etc) in the album.
But instead of spending the description for my very most special album on things I cannot explain, let’s do the opposite.
This is, hands down and cut off, the best album to dance to, front to back. Don’t overthink the album, feel it.
There’s not space enough to talk about every track, but lemme do mention some. So Lord forgive me for the sin I’m doing now, of not mentioning the other supreme masterpieces on here.
Jam (the destroyer of an opener)’s first sound is my all-time favorite drum (if I have to pick one out of thousands), then a thick glass-breaking sound (something that, even as a little, I find both scary and cool), but ultimately fascinatingly matching to the drum. It’s like when Bruce Springsteen described the beginning sound of Like A Rolling Stone (Highway 61 Revisited) as “a snare shot that sounded like somebody’d kicked open the door to your mind” … I’d say that for my description that the first two seconds of Jam [(Dangerous)], is a direct shot that feels like somebody’d broke the maxi-glass window to your mind. Within the count of four, I’ve been invaded, and the thieves of sound, knowledge and emotion take my breath away. By the title track, they are honing my mind, and my words are also stolen when they disappear into thin air on the last bobbly effect.
Out of those genres and topics, that Dangerous is expanded with, it contains pretty much favorites from every single one; it includes harmoniously sonorous atmospheric rock in Give In To Me and a personal high-point for singer-songwriter high point in Gone Too Soon, which poignantly addresses the realism of death as it was written to a late 18-year old Ryan. The album dives into contemporary R&B and New Jack Swing with tracks like the lo-fi Why You Wanna Trip On Me , In The Closet that balances otherworldly grooves and classical, the crushingly thrilling Cannot Let Her Get Away, and the curvingly supernatural Who Is It. The title track is a fearless, seven-minute dance odyssey. Both that and also the four minute impeccability She Drives Me Wild [that was my second most played song of 2023 after Billie Jean, heard it at least a thousand times that year no sarcasm at all] borders on Industrial Rock, predating The Downward Spiral's drums of viciousness by three years.
Dangerous also features (imo) Michael's most fervent world-changing anthem Heal The World, alongside the catchy classic on racism Black Or White, and the non-preachy, spiritual Keep The Faith. Having listened to everything from Neutral Milk Hotel to Phil Elverum, the Doors to Stevie Wonder, and Bob Dylan, I confidently say that Will You Be There is the most emotional and real recording I’ve ever felt. Songs, albums and musicians I am usually feeling a lot, but this definingly transcendent tune mind blows me every spin, a step even further.
I mean what should I say, how could I say anything? This feels very unlike the rest of my favorite records. I want to praise it with all my heart but…It’s like talking to the girl I’m completely in love with, as opposed to my latest great and my dearest closest friends: I cannot find the (right) words. Simultaneously, It’s like a one-two-three-four(…)-fourteen punch of godlike grooves, thunderous emotion, supreme musical mastery, and a voice that makes angels sound kitsch. Its definitively beautiful way of rising it to a level where majestic is an understatement. No doubt, Michael is the greatest thing, the world has produced, in terms of vocals/voice, and musical persona(lities), past, present and for the future; he is the almost the musical equivalent to Jesus Christ. And this statement only becomes clearer and clearer, the more deservedly time, Dangerous gets play. Seriously, I can take half a year to more than year long vacation, from Michael’s discography, and as soon as I get back (home) to that, they surpasses literally every body of work, I’ve listen to/studied/yni, throughout the vacation…by ‘they’ surpasses, I mean his others records too [if I go listen to him, it's so hard to listen to anything else, knowing nothing will reach it]. Virtually, atmospherically and emotionally unsurpassable. [First added to this chart: 02/10/2026]
A small theory of mine (in a sea of small theories regarding this) is that on this album, and generally on his 90s albums, his inner traumatic and sheer frightening life experience came through, though hidden behind the brawls and tortured yet controlled chaotic scream-singing, as well as the cryptic yet dopamine-inducing grooves. Like his childhood longing and struggles (as he very often mentioned in interviews but mostly everyone turned a blind eye on) was metaphorically locked away in a cage deepened within his mind and heart because of adulthood. But just like you cannot hide the truth forever, you cannot hide pain forever, which is where the (imo) most musically potent cry ever captured on wax comes through in the songs, and it's like I am the only person hearing it despite it having sold over 20mio copies. In his 80s music, he was the greatest singer and greatest entertainer, but here he truly became the greatest musician and artist who have ever lived to me. And that is without going in any details about any particular song or part of a song (like a statement, a vocal performance, section within the composition etc) in the album.
But instead of spending the description for my very most special album on things I cannot explain, let’s do the opposite.
This is, hands down and cut off, the best album to dance to, front to back. Don’t overthink the album, feel it.
There’s not space enough to talk about every track, but lemme do mention some. So Lord forgive me for the sin I’m doing now, of not mentioning the other supreme masterpieces on here.
Jam (the destroyer of an opener)’s first sound is my all-time favorite drum (if I have to pick one out of thousands), then a thick glass-breaking sound (something that, even as a little, I find both scary and cool), but ultimately fascinatingly matching to the drum. It’s like when Bruce Springsteen described the beginning sound of Like A Rolling Stone (Highway 61 Revisited) as “a snare shot that sounded like somebody’d kicked open the door to your mind” … I’d say that for my description that the first two seconds of Jam [(Dangerous)], is a direct shot that feels like somebody’d broke the maxi-glass window to your mind. Within the count of four, I’ve been invaded, and the thieves of sound, knowledge and emotion take my breath away. By the title track, they are honing my mind, and my words are also stolen when they disappear into thin air on the last bobbly effect.
Out of those genres and topics, that Dangerous is expanded with, it contains pretty much favorites from every single one; it includes harmoniously sonorous atmospheric rock in Give In To Me and a personal high-point for singer-songwriter high point in Gone Too Soon, which poignantly addresses the realism of death as it was written to a late 18-year old Ryan. The album dives into contemporary R&B and New Jack Swing with tracks like the lo-fi Why You Wanna Trip On Me , In The Closet that balances otherworldly grooves and classical, the crushingly thrilling Cannot Let Her Get Away, and the curvingly supernatural Who Is It. The title track is a fearless, seven-minute dance odyssey. Both that and also the four minute impeccability She Drives Me Wild [that was my second most played song of 2023 after Billie Jean, heard it at least a thousand times that year no sarcasm at all] borders on Industrial Rock, predating The Downward Spiral's drums of viciousness by three years.
Dangerous also features (imo) Michael's most fervent world-changing anthem Heal The World, alongside the catchy classic on racism Black Or White, and the non-preachy, spiritual Keep The Faith. Having listened to everything from Neutral Milk Hotel to Phil Elverum, the Doors to Stevie Wonder, and Bob Dylan, I confidently say that Will You Be There is the most emotional and real recording I’ve ever felt. Songs, albums and musicians I am usually feeling a lot, but this definingly transcendent tune mind blows me every spin, a step even further.
I mean what should I say, how could I say anything? This feels very unlike the rest of my favorite records. I want to praise it with all my heart but…It’s like talking to the girl I’m completely in love with, as opposed to my latest great and my dearest closest friends: I cannot find the (right) words. Simultaneously, It’s like a one-two-three-four(…)-fourteen punch of godlike grooves, thunderous emotion, supreme musical mastery, and a voice that makes angels sound kitsch. Its definitively beautiful way of rising it to a level where majestic is an understatement. No doubt, Michael is the greatest thing, the world has produced, in terms of vocals/voice, and musical persona(lities), past, present and for the future; he is the almost the musical equivalent to Jesus Christ. And this statement only becomes clearer and clearer, the more deservedly time, Dangerous gets play. Seriously, I can take half a year to more than year long vacation, from Michael’s discography, and as soon as I get back (home) to that, they surpasses literally every body of work, I’ve listen to/studied/yni, throughout the vacation…by ‘they’ surpasses, I mean his others records too [if I go listen to him, it's so hard to listen to anything else, knowing nothing will reach it]. Virtually, atmospherically and emotionally unsurpassable. [First added to this chart: 02/10/2026]
Year of Release:
1991
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,150
Rank in 1991:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
(This album embodies me. The imperfect folk and the spark noise, all analog and organic, careless and full of mournfulness)
What makes an album transformational and essential, is the unique amount of layers and qualities to discover per person. Hence the internet has hundreds of reviews of OK Computer and Citizen Kane, praising it for nearly completely different reasons. Or at least saying different things about it, while the common denominator is the rating. That typea philosophy was in me when ITAOTS came into my life. I was about to get Cornrows for the first time. When me and my mom got there, the barber had time in like 30 minutes. We then saw a mini-record store a few meters from the barbershop. Full of vinyl for sale, under some stacks, I found the 2005 reissue in a little box, collectively with other stacks of CDs I don’t care for. I pretty much felt the same way about In The Aeroplane Over The Sea, as babyblueSedan (in the first two lines of his second paragraph). I didn’t want to buy it, ‘cause I wasn’t sure enough yet. But A month later, when they had to redo my cornrows, during the process, I asked my mom to go get it - I detailed exactly where it was, because I remembered... After 10 minutes, she came back with the CD and a smile on her face. She explained that the seller had complimented my taste, saying the record is a masterpiece, and loads of layers, and lovabilities. I opened it up [fun fact: it was difficult to take it outta the slipcase], and there was no text anywhere on the outside (later, I found out, the UPC is written as white on the side) - that was something new, inspiring kind of. I then asked my mom to read the long text, and she gave up after 4 lines. I popped it in the player when we got home. I didn’t quite get it, besides Oh Comely (which is still one of my favorites, NR now my favorite song ever written). It even took me longer, to love the Lo-Fi cuts like Holland 1945 or that untitled joint. But the more I listened to it, the more I loved it.
The biggest discussion around the album that makes it divided is Jeff Mangum's all-round utterly wonderful and beautiful voice. It is not just that he is singing with all his heart and soul, but it is also that the singing itself is so engaged, so enraptured, so possessed by and lost in the moment, that it (seemingly spontaneously, or at least, "impulsively" / "suddenly"), at several points across the album, throws him straight INTO the emotion and even time frame (child, boyhood, adulthood, past or present) of the lyrical content he is singing about. Very very few albums feature vocal performances that are so completely consumed and integrated with their emotional content. For specifics, listen to the title track: he sounds both happy and sad simultaneously. His voice is in the register of an adult becoming a child again. But it is also a happiness that is childlike and naive, so it expresses a silly exuberance and naivete in the face of a tragedy that is hard to confront. Obviously, as in the whole album, the instrumentation takes on these qualities and characteristics too, here becoming increasingly dark and conflicted as the song progresses. Take Two-Headed Boy, and witness how his vocal performance alternates, by the changing momentum of phrase, between the register of a nostalgic, heartbroken adult to that of a screaming or yelling younger boy in a sudden emotional outburst. But, crucially, as in so much of the album, it is both happy AND sad simultaneously, transfixed in and confused by both the joy and happiness and nostalgia of childhood and by heavy realities of adult trauma -- with the silly, unabashed exuberance of a naive child, before returning to the adult register as it ends and the prospect of death becomes complete. Even The Fool, the instrumental it segues into, is both a "happy" dance waltz, while also ambiguously, a funeral march for the dead. Oh Comely is of course the zenith of this oscillation, this alternating emotion/theme as it progresses in stages or movements through different time periods freely and his voice is enlivened and dies over and over within them, between childhood and adulthood, grief and stupefied happiness. The whole work is struck by this incredible exuberance, vitality of feeling and being alive, while often simultaneously (or in other cases, just following, alternating, one with the other without warning ... suddenly, tragically, thrust upon...), an overwhelming tragedy and sadness and heartbreak. This sense of each toll of emotion being "thrust upon" him, unavoidable, outside of his emotional control, is incredibly powerful and permeates the whole work, lending the sheer audacity and "haphazardness" of the vocal performance a whole new sense of depth and purpose and meaning beyond its already considerable energy and power, not to mention the frequent "doubling"/ambiguity of the emotional meaning of its phrases giving it additional and tremendous psychological, emotional power and depth.
Aeroplane is very much like that friend you can tell everything to; you can; cry, laugh, cruise, write, hit, sit still, sleep, die, walk, run, eat, drink, vomit, take dumps, shower, get hype etc. to this record and it WON'T FALL/FEEL OUT OF PLACE. It's potentially the only album I could call both perfect and imperfect. Well, I have too many reasons why I love it. All in all, this is an album that’s built to last. Imma wrap up my little description by state a quote from the slipcase of the CD cover, that I fully agree with:
‘In The Aeroplane Over The Sea is one of the most completely inspiring rock records I’ve ever heard… every time I finish listening to it I feel like I’ve lived through something I’ll never quite understand, something really big — Richard Reed Parry, Arcade Fire'
btw how do most of my top spots contain lo-fi / indie-folk / singer-songwriter releases? Well, I have officially found my favorite genre :) [First added to this chart: 02/10/2026]
What makes an album transformational and essential, is the unique amount of layers and qualities to discover per person. Hence the internet has hundreds of reviews of OK Computer and Citizen Kane, praising it for nearly completely different reasons. Or at least saying different things about it, while the common denominator is the rating. That typea philosophy was in me when ITAOTS came into my life. I was about to get Cornrows for the first time. When me and my mom got there, the barber had time in like 30 minutes. We then saw a mini-record store a few meters from the barbershop. Full of vinyl for sale, under some stacks, I found the 2005 reissue in a little box, collectively with other stacks of CDs I don’t care for. I pretty much felt the same way about In The Aeroplane Over The Sea, as babyblueSedan (in the first two lines of his second paragraph). I didn’t want to buy it, ‘cause I wasn’t sure enough yet. But A month later, when they had to redo my cornrows, during the process, I asked my mom to go get it - I detailed exactly where it was, because I remembered... After 10 minutes, she came back with the CD and a smile on her face. She explained that the seller had complimented my taste, saying the record is a masterpiece, and loads of layers, and lovabilities. I opened it up [fun fact: it was difficult to take it outta the slipcase], and there was no text anywhere on the outside (later, I found out, the UPC is written as white on the side) - that was something new, inspiring kind of. I then asked my mom to read the long text, and she gave up after 4 lines. I popped it in the player when we got home. I didn’t quite get it, besides Oh Comely (which is still one of my favorites, NR now my favorite song ever written). It even took me longer, to love the Lo-Fi cuts like Holland 1945 or that untitled joint. But the more I listened to it, the more I loved it.
The biggest discussion around the album that makes it divided is Jeff Mangum's all-round utterly wonderful and beautiful voice. It is not just that he is singing with all his heart and soul, but it is also that the singing itself is so engaged, so enraptured, so possessed by and lost in the moment, that it (seemingly spontaneously, or at least, "impulsively" / "suddenly"), at several points across the album, throws him straight INTO the emotion and even time frame (child, boyhood, adulthood, past or present) of the lyrical content he is singing about. Very very few albums feature vocal performances that are so completely consumed and integrated with their emotional content. For specifics, listen to the title track: he sounds both happy and sad simultaneously. His voice is in the register of an adult becoming a child again. But it is also a happiness that is childlike and naive, so it expresses a silly exuberance and naivete in the face of a tragedy that is hard to confront. Obviously, as in the whole album, the instrumentation takes on these qualities and characteristics too, here becoming increasingly dark and conflicted as the song progresses. Take Two-Headed Boy, and witness how his vocal performance alternates, by the changing momentum of phrase, between the register of a nostalgic, heartbroken adult to that of a screaming or yelling younger boy in a sudden emotional outburst. But, crucially, as in so much of the album, it is both happy AND sad simultaneously, transfixed in and confused by both the joy and happiness and nostalgia of childhood and by heavy realities of adult trauma -- with the silly, unabashed exuberance of a naive child, before returning to the adult register as it ends and the prospect of death becomes complete. Even The Fool, the instrumental it segues into, is both a "happy" dance waltz, while also ambiguously, a funeral march for the dead. Oh Comely is of course the zenith of this oscillation, this alternating emotion/theme as it progresses in stages or movements through different time periods freely and his voice is enlivened and dies over and over within them, between childhood and adulthood, grief and stupefied happiness. The whole work is struck by this incredible exuberance, vitality of feeling and being alive, while often simultaneously (or in other cases, just following, alternating, one with the other without warning ... suddenly, tragically, thrust upon...), an overwhelming tragedy and sadness and heartbreak. This sense of each toll of emotion being "thrust upon" him, unavoidable, outside of his emotional control, is incredibly powerful and permeates the whole work, lending the sheer audacity and "haphazardness" of the vocal performance a whole new sense of depth and purpose and meaning beyond its already considerable energy and power, not to mention the frequent "doubling"/ambiguity of the emotional meaning of its phrases giving it additional and tremendous psychological, emotional power and depth.
Aeroplane is very much like that friend you can tell everything to; you can; cry, laugh, cruise, write, hit, sit still, sleep, die, walk, run, eat, drink, vomit, take dumps, shower, get hype etc. to this record and it WON'T FALL/FEEL OUT OF PLACE. It's potentially the only album I could call both perfect and imperfect. Well, I have too many reasons why I love it. All in all, this is an album that’s built to last. Imma wrap up my little description by state a quote from the slipcase of the CD cover, that I fully agree with:
‘In The Aeroplane Over The Sea is one of the most completely inspiring rock records I’ve ever heard… every time I finish listening to it I feel like I’ve lived through something I’ll never quite understand, something really big — Richard Reed Parry, Arcade Fire'
btw how do most of my top spots contain lo-fi / indie-folk / singer-songwriter releases? Well, I have officially found my favorite genre :) [First added to this chart: 02/10/2026]
Year of Release:
1998
Appears in:
Rank Score:
30,399
Rank in 1998:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Singlehandedly the most important record in my life. Yes, this is the only and I mean the ONLY album that, by high definition, changed me and my life. Up yours, if Hopsin is not the most poetic or lyrical or beat-worthy or whatever MC you'll ever know, his way of completely and utterly understanding me and that fact he has created an unbreakable, virtually unsurpassable reflection of my life and states of mind with Knock Madness, is more than what anyone has ever accomplished. Screw you circle jerks for having a strong opinion about me being a Hopsin fan, continued threatening and bullying me online isn’t gonna help your case.
KM started the ultimate butterfly effect. Before the album nollie tre flipped into my life, I was terribly suppressed and depressed, as a human and spirit, by the society around me, principally my family members. Everyone was pushing me to be as controlled, and normal as possible. And it largely worked, because I was taught that misery and genuine sadness were me overreacting and it was me that had to learn to adapt. If I got bullied or physically assaulted, I got punished for it. When I bought this album and started listening to it religiously, everything went sideways. Hopsin, by way of lyrical combat skills and musical engrossment, reinvented how I thought of myself and the world. The sheer confidence of expressing the skeleton in the closet in Hop's delivery boosted my own ability to speak my mind. My different [personality] traits got enhanced and I embraced it. It birthed my punk rock spirit, I rebelled against what was wrong in my life. The effect continued when my bluntness also resulted in depression coming out of its hiding place, yet helped me push away all the damaging folks. My mom helped to realize the toxicity under our roof, and for that, she's also grateful for what Hopsin has done.
Often, when people say an album changed their lives, they mean altered their music tastes. In that case, Knock Madness is highly credited to me as I quickly got into alternative music in general. Sonically, cause I instantly was more open to the beauty of imperfections, and aesthetically cause it became cool that everything was done by one person instead of a team. For nearly every cool album you see me praising, I wouldn't have loved, liked, or even checked out, had this album not kicked these locked doors open, and moved me away from muzak consumerism.
Over a decade later, the result is palpable. That individual described as open-minded, honest, authentic, mysterious, etc, is the one whose New Testament is Knock Madness. On top of all this, I have loads of nostalgia for it too. It takes me back to playing video games at home, early night walks in the city, and my spirit learning what authenticity and bravery are.
Trying to underestimate the influence of this album on me is like trying to sweep The Velvet Underground’s influence on rock music under the rug. Getting rid of Knock Madness’ permanent mark on me is like getting rid of autism, it’s a lost cause and shouldn’t happen. More 'bout the record now.
Hopsin’s two-sided mindset portrayed in his music is dopamine embodiment. Whether it would be extremely vigorous, superb Hip Hop Sinister or the rhythmic avalanche Rip Your Heart Out, he'd always express the aggressive, super energetic side of me. What makes last mentioned it a special tune, is that the instrumental is shaped to rap fast (and although it has weighed off me a lot, and I find 85% of it pointless and empty, this fire tune is 4 minutes of ripping out my lung capacity). Contrarily, Still Got Love For You is produced for the playful attitude of fast flow (as phenomenally showcased by Hop’s verses).
Simultaneously the Marcus songs like the paramount goosebumper Caught In The Rain, the tremendous Old Friend, or the dystopian Dream Forever (roughly makes my heart skip a beat), he is describing a humane emotion, so magically thriving. This brilliant record always sounds exciting to me for every single track on there, while/well it IS more than very exciting every time I bump it.
One of the greatest, most astounding things about Hopsin, is that he always puts the music as a rare species into perspective, and takes hidden chances, rather than hiding his image behind samples. A shining example is (previously mentioned) both ‘radio-friendly’ and gleamingly elegant Still Got Love For You, where the chorus demonstrates balls by Hopsin singing falsely ON PURPOSE (with staggering effect), thus flipping the whistling bird to major labels and critics; he can do whatever he wants (sing off-key, speak his ill mind), and he does it exceptionally.
He was a hitherto resistance fighter against at-the-time hated rappers like Soulja Boy, and Lil Wayne. On lead single Hop Is Back, he takes another chance and goes up against the higher-beloved temporary icons like Kanye and Kendrick. The tune has to that extent received a mixed reception from different points of view. For me, with such a super infectious newschool-The Next Episode-typebeat and his animalistically carefree delivery (a spin-off of Eminem), it is an impossible task for my smiley face to withstand. Nollie Tré Flip, which is a true seasonal skater anthem for the ears, both for cold winter nights or the middle of the summer - it’s blazingly delivered.
There's of course also the combination of Marcus and Hopsin on songs like Good Guys Get Left Behind and I Need Help (a direct discourse between both alternate egos), formerly mentioned are some of the deep thoughts and feelings I've had with females in the past, but I never even dared to admit (just the) frames of those feelings, even for myself - as I was suppressed inside-out. So for Hop to have written those cuts that I heard at a very strange time in my life, it's unbelievable.
And then there are hooks. Anyone and everyone who listens to Knock Madness and makes bad remarks about the hooks is self-selected and jumped into the trap. Our character describes how the textual ‘quality’ of these newly applauded acts destroys the industry, and he feels it is a disaster. Commercialized hooks must be the least important element in a rap number, and Hopsin gets it daringly illustrated by satirizing it. Additionally, by their imperfections, making them more immaculate. That imho, is intelligence and art!
Everything about and around KM is fearless (most definitely, relatability-wise). When my life is over, I would still stand by my statement that it is one of my life's most clearly principal works, musically. Hopsin’s music enhanced not only my open-mindedness for all genres of music, but also my personality traits and roads of life.
And it’s all right there in Knock Madness. A winding and bloody horror cabinet of monster-cuts. A consistently fascinating record, with so many personal stories, humorous moments, and progressiveness, that it cannot fit my mind of mine sometimes. EVEN lovelier considering the fact that he has written, composed, and produced all of it in independence, by himself (minus the guests). And the guests add so much more character to the individual tracks: SwizZz on flamboyant and cinematic tribal belter Jungle Bash. Jarren Benton (with the sour voice) and Dizzy Wright (as an appealing stoner) on the grotesque horror core banger Who’s There. Previously mentioned Rip Your Heart Out gets Tech N9NE from Strange Music to spit the heat, teaming up with our main character. Finally, the two more unknown but cathartic (Passionate MC and G-Mo Skee) on the splendidly wavy and lyrical gratification Lunch Time Cypher, a throwback of sorts to good freestyle memories in the primary school days (“fuck all that Hollywood shit, let’s fucking rap man”).
Theres only so much room in this description (characters are running out now), but Imma finish by saying, Marcus, thank you. To anyone further wondering how much of my life has changed, feel free to contact me; I’m way better at explaining them in dialogue. To any viewer/reader, who says to me that Hopsin sucks nuts, I’ll jump-kick yo ass thru the glass o'de booth window. [First added to this chart: 02/10/2026]
KM started the ultimate butterfly effect. Before the album nollie tre flipped into my life, I was terribly suppressed and depressed, as a human and spirit, by the society around me, principally my family members. Everyone was pushing me to be as controlled, and normal as possible. And it largely worked, because I was taught that misery and genuine sadness were me overreacting and it was me that had to learn to adapt. If I got bullied or physically assaulted, I got punished for it. When I bought this album and started listening to it religiously, everything went sideways. Hopsin, by way of lyrical combat skills and musical engrossment, reinvented how I thought of myself and the world. The sheer confidence of expressing the skeleton in the closet in Hop's delivery boosted my own ability to speak my mind. My different [personality] traits got enhanced and I embraced it. It birthed my punk rock spirit, I rebelled against what was wrong in my life. The effect continued when my bluntness also resulted in depression coming out of its hiding place, yet helped me push away all the damaging folks. My mom helped to realize the toxicity under our roof, and for that, she's also grateful for what Hopsin has done.
Often, when people say an album changed their lives, they mean altered their music tastes. In that case, Knock Madness is highly credited to me as I quickly got into alternative music in general. Sonically, cause I instantly was more open to the beauty of imperfections, and aesthetically cause it became cool that everything was done by one person instead of a team. For nearly every cool album you see me praising, I wouldn't have loved, liked, or even checked out, had this album not kicked these locked doors open, and moved me away from muzak consumerism.
Over a decade later, the result is palpable. That individual described as open-minded, honest, authentic, mysterious, etc, is the one whose New Testament is Knock Madness. On top of all this, I have loads of nostalgia for it too. It takes me back to playing video games at home, early night walks in the city, and my spirit learning what authenticity and bravery are.
Trying to underestimate the influence of this album on me is like trying to sweep The Velvet Underground’s influence on rock music under the rug. Getting rid of Knock Madness’ permanent mark on me is like getting rid of autism, it’s a lost cause and shouldn’t happen. More 'bout the record now.
Hopsin’s two-sided mindset portrayed in his music is dopamine embodiment. Whether it would be extremely vigorous, superb Hip Hop Sinister or the rhythmic avalanche Rip Your Heart Out, he'd always express the aggressive, super energetic side of me. What makes last mentioned it a special tune, is that the instrumental is shaped to rap fast (and although it has weighed off me a lot, and I find 85% of it pointless and empty, this fire tune is 4 minutes of ripping out my lung capacity). Contrarily, Still Got Love For You is produced for the playful attitude of fast flow (as phenomenally showcased by Hop’s verses).
Simultaneously the Marcus songs like the paramount goosebumper Caught In The Rain, the tremendous Old Friend, or the dystopian Dream Forever (roughly makes my heart skip a beat), he is describing a humane emotion, so magically thriving. This brilliant record always sounds exciting to me for every single track on there, while/well it IS more than very exciting every time I bump it.
One of the greatest, most astounding things about Hopsin, is that he always puts the music as a rare species into perspective, and takes hidden chances, rather than hiding his image behind samples. A shining example is (previously mentioned) both ‘radio-friendly’ and gleamingly elegant Still Got Love For You, where the chorus demonstrates balls by Hopsin singing falsely ON PURPOSE (with staggering effect), thus flipping the whistling bird to major labels and critics; he can do whatever he wants (sing off-key, speak his ill mind), and he does it exceptionally.
He was a hitherto resistance fighter against at-the-time hated rappers like Soulja Boy, and Lil Wayne. On lead single Hop Is Back, he takes another chance and goes up against the higher-beloved temporary icons like Kanye and Kendrick. The tune has to that extent received a mixed reception from different points of view. For me, with such a super infectious newschool-The Next Episode-typebeat and his animalistically carefree delivery (a spin-off of Eminem), it is an impossible task for my smiley face to withstand. Nollie Tré Flip, which is a true seasonal skater anthem for the ears, both for cold winter nights or the middle of the summer - it’s blazingly delivered.
There's of course also the combination of Marcus and Hopsin on songs like Good Guys Get Left Behind and I Need Help (a direct discourse between both alternate egos), formerly mentioned are some of the deep thoughts and feelings I've had with females in the past, but I never even dared to admit (just the) frames of those feelings, even for myself - as I was suppressed inside-out. So for Hop to have written those cuts that I heard at a very strange time in my life, it's unbelievable.
And then there are hooks. Anyone and everyone who listens to Knock Madness and makes bad remarks about the hooks is self-selected and jumped into the trap. Our character describes how the textual ‘quality’ of these newly applauded acts destroys the industry, and he feels it is a disaster. Commercialized hooks must be the least important element in a rap number, and Hopsin gets it daringly illustrated by satirizing it. Additionally, by their imperfections, making them more immaculate. That imho, is intelligence and art!
Everything about and around KM is fearless (most definitely, relatability-wise). When my life is over, I would still stand by my statement that it is one of my life's most clearly principal works, musically. Hopsin’s music enhanced not only my open-mindedness for all genres of music, but also my personality traits and roads of life.
And it’s all right there in Knock Madness. A winding and bloody horror cabinet of monster-cuts. A consistently fascinating record, with so many personal stories, humorous moments, and progressiveness, that it cannot fit my mind of mine sometimes. EVEN lovelier considering the fact that he has written, composed, and produced all of it in independence, by himself (minus the guests). And the guests add so much more character to the individual tracks: SwizZz on flamboyant and cinematic tribal belter Jungle Bash. Jarren Benton (with the sour voice) and Dizzy Wright (as an appealing stoner) on the grotesque horror core banger Who’s There. Previously mentioned Rip Your Heart Out gets Tech N9NE from Strange Music to spit the heat, teaming up with our main character. Finally, the two more unknown but cathartic (Passionate MC and G-Mo Skee) on the splendidly wavy and lyrical gratification Lunch Time Cypher, a throwback of sorts to good freestyle memories in the primary school days (“fuck all that Hollywood shit, let’s fucking rap man”).
Theres only so much room in this description (characters are running out now), but Imma finish by saying, Marcus, thank you. To anyone further wondering how much of my life has changed, feel free to contact me; I’m way better at explaining them in dialogue. To any viewer/reader, who says to me that Hopsin sucks nuts, I’ll jump-kick yo ass thru the glass o'de booth window. [First added to this chart: 02/10/2026]
I hate that I sound like an adult movie star, but this 12-inch is soooo goooooooooddd…. But what the heck izz this? How can I put this into words? I simply do not know. My Pink Floyd description is already somebody else's review, so I'd visibly be hiding under the guise of incapability to write my own worded review if I use that method again here. It seems like Syd Barrett is an artist I find exceptionally hard to describe - and if I tried, it'd be even more pretentious than my other comments. Neither Piero Scaruffi nor RateYourMusic quite describe it accurately, nor have the same vision of Barrett as me. I will try my best to write something, but even if I cracked the code, it'll still fall short of this album's madlad brilliance. It's The Madcap Laughs, but more musical, catchier, with absolutely no shade of a shadow of slight inadequacy (or should I say, the absolute weakest moment on here, matches the highest high of the debut and is still infinitely superior to 99% of all musicians greatest works).
Already at the first song, Baby Lemonade, it's hard for me to quite tell why it sticks out. It's folky, but form-wise it's a little out there, the lyrics are so consistent yet consciously don't make sense. Musically, Syd's sophomore record is a big pile of precise sick magical psychedelic beauty. For any average music listener, Barrett is way too complex and maybe next to impossible to get. IC it S X-pression @ its finest. The probable drugs kept him from selling his soul.
I can hardly categorize it - but that’s a compelling chunk. Even for that era's standards, it’s so heavenly atypical. Something you don’t anticipate on your average rock record and even on your typical great record period. This LP is just so full of colorful euphoria. Syd is effective, haunting, calming and raw - and then he has a trump card in his God-given (or drugs-given) ideas, along with his manic-friendly, soothing voice; a ticking bomb of sunny energy, and strange nature. Barrett invented a whole new concept of introvertedness, mothered in comprehensive psychedelic mastery.
"His luminous grin put her in a spin
Maisie lay in the hall with her emeralds
And her diamond brooch, beyond reproach
Bad luck - bride of a bull"
The stream-of-consciousness characterizes this insanity thru the most personal n fitting frame to his eminent, appealing instrumental work (from calm acoustic to reversed electric violin), apace with those unsteady balances of open percussions, all over the tracklisting. As said, his lyrics definitely lift this album up in the class of abnormal supreme legend with their bright renditions of an endless dream, soon turned reality, all about God knows what. Even when I try to look away from Barrett & the essential lyrics, all of the instrumentation, individually and collectively, is a rich lush personality itself, and that's not so often shown that well-executed in other f-(*swallows the word 'folk'*) albums. It's hard to explain since I haven't loved any album, or anything really, the same way I love Barrett.
I have come up with a theory that the amount and type of drugs, mixed with the mindset of Syd, has made him tap into another living dimension, that is both eternally beautiful and a mental deadzone for humans. But, like all of us, Syd was a human being which is why he wasn't able to take it. But, he has turned what he experienced in that universe into a little album, and it is my favorite psychedelic LP of all time. What this completely syrupy classic speaks to me that I also find super compelling, is that a lot of these tunes are reminiscent of dreamcore; this is stuff/music that was produced in my dreams when I wasn't looking. Either it is the weird dreams (Rats, Maisie, Effervescing Elephant) or the sentimental nostalgia (Baby Lemonade, Love Song, Dominoes, Wined And Dined), or the third. A unique skinless dispensing of the place your mind can take you, that at once is so scary and deeply fascinating. With every listen being a different experience than previous, Barrett is wanna the most original, authentically liberating, and wondrous things in my life, proto-life, and after-life, and legend says (aka Syd Barrett says) I still FULLY cannot find good enough things to say about it.
Also, seriously, for a psychedelic folk, could you please have chosen something more adventurous and colorful of artwork, instead of some bugs?! ...Well, maybe next time I'm getting stoned, I'll probably change my mind. [First added to this chart: 02/10/2026]
Already at the first song, Baby Lemonade, it's hard for me to quite tell why it sticks out. It's folky, but form-wise it's a little out there, the lyrics are so consistent yet consciously don't make sense. Musically, Syd's sophomore record is a big pile of precise sick magical psychedelic beauty. For any average music listener, Barrett is way too complex and maybe next to impossible to get. IC it S X-pression @ its finest. The probable drugs kept him from selling his soul.
I can hardly categorize it - but that’s a compelling chunk. Even for that era's standards, it’s so heavenly atypical. Something you don’t anticipate on your average rock record and even on your typical great record period. This LP is just so full of colorful euphoria. Syd is effective, haunting, calming and raw - and then he has a trump card in his God-given (or drugs-given) ideas, along with his manic-friendly, soothing voice; a ticking bomb of sunny energy, and strange nature. Barrett invented a whole new concept of introvertedness, mothered in comprehensive psychedelic mastery.
"His luminous grin put her in a spin
Maisie lay in the hall with her emeralds
And her diamond brooch, beyond reproach
Bad luck - bride of a bull"
The stream-of-consciousness characterizes this insanity thru the most personal n fitting frame to his eminent, appealing instrumental work (from calm acoustic to reversed electric violin), apace with those unsteady balances of open percussions, all over the tracklisting. As said, his lyrics definitely lift this album up in the class of abnormal supreme legend with their bright renditions of an endless dream, soon turned reality, all about God knows what. Even when I try to look away from Barrett & the essential lyrics, all of the instrumentation, individually and collectively, is a rich lush personality itself, and that's not so often shown that well-executed in other f-(*swallows the word 'folk'*) albums. It's hard to explain since I haven't loved any album, or anything really, the same way I love Barrett.
I have come up with a theory that the amount and type of drugs, mixed with the mindset of Syd, has made him tap into another living dimension, that is both eternally beautiful and a mental deadzone for humans. But, like all of us, Syd was a human being which is why he wasn't able to take it. But, he has turned what he experienced in that universe into a little album, and it is my favorite psychedelic LP of all time. What this completely syrupy classic speaks to me that I also find super compelling, is that a lot of these tunes are reminiscent of dreamcore; this is stuff/music that was produced in my dreams when I wasn't looking. Either it is the weird dreams (Rats, Maisie, Effervescing Elephant) or the sentimental nostalgia (Baby Lemonade, Love Song, Dominoes, Wined And Dined), or the third. A unique skinless dispensing of the place your mind can take you, that at once is so scary and deeply fascinating. With every listen being a different experience than previous, Barrett is wanna the most original, authentically liberating, and wondrous things in my life, proto-life, and after-life, and legend says (aka Syd Barrett says) I still FULLY cannot find good enough things to say about it.
Also, seriously, for a psychedelic folk, could you please have chosen something more adventurous and colorful of artwork, instead of some bugs?! ...Well, maybe next time I'm getting stoned, I'll probably change my mind. [First added to this chart: 02/10/2026]
Year of Release:
1970
Appears in:
Rank Score:
786
Rank in 1970:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
CA: approved (1. an elephant would never be in a pine forest, 2. this style of drawing dearly captures the loser-core of the record)
unfinished.)The quintessential lo-fi album. The most visceral album I've arguably ever heard. The first and the undoubtedly most deliberately delicate album-choice to get in my headphones, whenever I wanna take a long walk in a forest. Whenever I hear the album, I can feel Christ is on my side. It’s a reminder of how human I am, how emotional a being like me can be - or is, - how coldness is periodically a great thing, adding in how to be down-to-earth too. While a lot of essential albums are tending to be out-of-this-world and super abrasive, The Glow Pt.2 does the opposite of letting the listener know. While a lot of albums tend to strive for perfection, The Glow Pt.2 naturally achieves imperfection. While a lot of albums tend to use trends of the time, The Glow Pt.2 stays the same throughout every period, someone's listening. While a lot of artists' entire discographies are about not taking any breaks, musically, The Glow Pt.2 has spaces to breathe.
The word 'classic' would be perfectly justified and so would 'average' or an 'awful'. This project is just colossal in its polarizing figures while simultaneously is good at hiding it. You cannot really have a 100% correct opinion on this because its just so left-field, I don't believe there's a varied new-school tape like this out there. I think that this album is probably up there with the other greatest of its generations, even of all time, perhaps superior just because of how free and abrasive and open it is, and I have no doubt this will be a classic fuh me.
Imperfection for life!
Also, for the people who think I am a straight Fantano hater or something, here is a (imho) great review of my favorite album. It's so great indeed, that he took a lot of words outta my mouth with this one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfHWgzkRtUs&t= [First added to this chart: 02/10/2026]
unfinished.)The quintessential lo-fi album. The most visceral album I've arguably ever heard. The first and the undoubtedly most deliberately delicate album-choice to get in my headphones, whenever I wanna take a long walk in a forest. Whenever I hear the album, I can feel Christ is on my side. It’s a reminder of how human I am, how emotional a being like me can be - or is, - how coldness is periodically a great thing, adding in how to be down-to-earth too. While a lot of essential albums are tending to be out-of-this-world and super abrasive, The Glow Pt.2 does the opposite of letting the listener know. While a lot of albums tend to strive for perfection, The Glow Pt.2 naturally achieves imperfection. While a lot of albums tend to use trends of the time, The Glow Pt.2 stays the same throughout every period, someone's listening. While a lot of artists' entire discographies are about not taking any breaks, musically, The Glow Pt.2 has spaces to breathe.
The word 'classic' would be perfectly justified and so would 'average' or an 'awful'. This project is just colossal in its polarizing figures while simultaneously is good at hiding it. You cannot really have a 100% correct opinion on this because its just so left-field, I don't believe there's a varied new-school tape like this out there. I think that this album is probably up there with the other greatest of its generations, even of all time, perhaps superior just because of how free and abrasive and open it is, and I have no doubt this will be a classic fuh me.
Imperfection for life!
Also, for the people who think I am a straight Fantano hater or something, here is a (imho) great review of my favorite album. It's so great indeed, that he took a lot of words outta my mouth with this one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfHWgzkRtUs&t= [First added to this chart: 02/10/2026]
Year of Release:
2001
Appears in:
Rank Score:
7,282
Rank in 2001:
Rank in 2000s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
It is kind of lonely for the few select rap albums on my chart, when the diminishing enjoyment of my rap music as opposed to singer-songwriter stuff. But when I think of those who have stayed, like this, Illmatic etc, it's no wonder that their exceptional brilliance earns their crowns.
Ultimately, a large portion of why rap has lost its appeal to me is that I am very tired of the same performative way of expressing. NWA started it with Niggaz4Life, and then it worsened to the wack-ass rappers that people hype up. It's all performative and theater, instead of being real. "Well Eminem is peak performative yet you love him to bits and bits, isn't that very hypocritical of you DD"? I'm glad you asked. The magnificent genius of Eminem is that 1) he and we know it is a performance, and his bluntness states it several times, 2) his performative expression still shows a lot more unique acuity and personality than all of the real folks around. Both regarding how the Slim Shady character is written and how Marshall Mathers comes into play (no pun intended). He makes sure to hit the perfect emotions of the listener to maximum effect, precisely where it's supposed to be, whether it's shock, depression, anger, or humor, 3) he is creating something new, a new character with new perspectives and uttering, whereas most performative music is just to pander to stereotypes about the artists' culture they are a part of, 4) most importantly, it's pretty much the most seriously intelligent study and parody of performative art itself. Eminem satirically slits all the veins of it, by destroying it from the inside. As opposed to every single artform being reduced to commercial product, Em starts from the general appeal and sabotages it with attitude, artistic brilliance, and exposure. He is a calculating pop phenomenon (songs alternate with brief spoken interludes of people commenting on Eminem's attitude, of he having oral sex with two guys, etc, the ultimate form of self-glorification) that viscerally exposes calculating pop phenomena.
"I'm like a head trip to listen to 'cause I'm only givin' you/things you joke about with your friends inside your livin' room/the only difference is I got the balls to say it in front of y'all/and I don't gotta be false/or sugarcoat it at all", on the most commercially appealing song that sounds like he is shitting on commercially appealing songs.
(For some, the references could be dated, but I grew up with boybands like NSYNC and Backstreet Boys being some of my first exposure to my love for music, and I still listen to them, so for me, it's de facto not outta date. And it is so wholly effective that when it's on, I'm like yeah "fuck everybody else" too.)
Joking or serious, he continues to offend and provoke effortlessly and satisfyingly, throughout. And increased by his utterly prodigous, unique and definingly effective Idgaf-attitude, he paints a picture of a violent, unfair, and absurd America - the America, he is a product of. Eminem’s unfiltered honesty and willingness to voice what others only joke about privately highlight society's issues. However, he does not claim to be the perfect remedy for these societal ills. Instead, his lyrics, scattered throughout the album, speak volumes. He candidly exposes the flaws and hypocrisies in society, as seen in his pointed critiques about parental guidance and societal norms. And for anyone that has accused me of being hypocritical for having this as one of my favorite pieces of art ever made as a Christian, then tell any American pro-gunner the same too, and make them quit the action of gun control. Then, I will reconsider. Until then, upon approaching me like that, you have just kissed my gash. Eminem’s topclass skills of balancing clever humor, sarcasm, and seriousness is as unique, creative and entertaining as freaking possible. Hip Hop KO's like Kill You, and The Real Slim Shady are definitive torture for the laughter muscles. In contrast, classic heartwrenchers like Stan and The Way I Am illustrates an Em, who's giving a true outlet for his emotions with convictions and strengths, so wondrously and aggressively poetic. We've never got to experience it before or even after.
It all culminates on The Marshall Mathers LP, arguably the most fearless album of our kind, my go-to motivational record, as well. I love this album so much, it physically hurts. It's unreal that it both exists because of its infinite qualities, and how it managed to get so fucking huge. He skillfully brought raw, unfiltered emotion into the mainstream, subverting and perverting youthful minds with powerful artistry. During a critical three-album span, with this as the pinnacle, Em transcended mere marketability by combining profound messages with genuine musical skill. His lyrics were densely packed and scrupulously crafted into a piece of art, rarely containing throwaway lines. Unlike many great MCs who occasionally include random, meaningless phrases, Eminem maintained a consistent standard of quality throughout his rhymes. They are only a few albums (probably less than ten) that I would consider "perfect" - because even though a lot of them are flawless in theory, they still have a lot of emotional grasp or sonic texture that could have been done better. Well, safe to say, MMLP is one of those records I would consider perfect. The flaws, somehow, is preferring to the thoughts of making it better (like The Glow Pt.2). With the overdope beats, essential lyrics, memorable hooks and rawest personality, this album will never grow old, and will always be one of my ABSOLUTE favorites of favorites. Classic in every sense of the word. Still remains that after 2 decades, an untouchable milestone. We're greatly into the 21st century and have greatly proven there'll never be a record like this ever. [First added to this chart: 02/10/2026]
Ultimately, a large portion of why rap has lost its appeal to me is that I am very tired of the same performative way of expressing. NWA started it with Niggaz4Life, and then it worsened to the wack-ass rappers that people hype up. It's all performative and theater, instead of being real. "Well Eminem is peak performative yet you love him to bits and bits, isn't that very hypocritical of you DD"? I'm glad you asked. The magnificent genius of Eminem is that 1) he and we know it is a performance, and his bluntness states it several times, 2) his performative expression still shows a lot more unique acuity and personality than all of the real folks around. Both regarding how the Slim Shady character is written and how Marshall Mathers comes into play (no pun intended). He makes sure to hit the perfect emotions of the listener to maximum effect, precisely where it's supposed to be, whether it's shock, depression, anger, or humor, 3) he is creating something new, a new character with new perspectives and uttering, whereas most performative music is just to pander to stereotypes about the artists' culture they are a part of, 4) most importantly, it's pretty much the most seriously intelligent study and parody of performative art itself. Eminem satirically slits all the veins of it, by destroying it from the inside. As opposed to every single artform being reduced to commercial product, Em starts from the general appeal and sabotages it with attitude, artistic brilliance, and exposure. He is a calculating pop phenomenon (songs alternate with brief spoken interludes of people commenting on Eminem's attitude, of he having oral sex with two guys, etc, the ultimate form of self-glorification) that viscerally exposes calculating pop phenomena.
"I'm like a head trip to listen to 'cause I'm only givin' you/things you joke about with your friends inside your livin' room/the only difference is I got the balls to say it in front of y'all/and I don't gotta be false/or sugarcoat it at all", on the most commercially appealing song that sounds like he is shitting on commercially appealing songs.
(For some, the references could be dated, but I grew up with boybands like NSYNC and Backstreet Boys being some of my first exposure to my love for music, and I still listen to them, so for me, it's de facto not outta date. And it is so wholly effective that when it's on, I'm like yeah "fuck everybody else" too.)
Joking or serious, he continues to offend and provoke effortlessly and satisfyingly, throughout. And increased by his utterly prodigous, unique and definingly effective Idgaf-attitude, he paints a picture of a violent, unfair, and absurd America - the America, he is a product of. Eminem’s unfiltered honesty and willingness to voice what others only joke about privately highlight society's issues. However, he does not claim to be the perfect remedy for these societal ills. Instead, his lyrics, scattered throughout the album, speak volumes. He candidly exposes the flaws and hypocrisies in society, as seen in his pointed critiques about parental guidance and societal norms. And for anyone that has accused me of being hypocritical for having this as one of my favorite pieces of art ever made as a Christian, then tell any American pro-gunner the same too, and make them quit the action of gun control. Then, I will reconsider. Until then, upon approaching me like that, you have just kissed my gash. Eminem’s topclass skills of balancing clever humor, sarcasm, and seriousness is as unique, creative and entertaining as freaking possible. Hip Hop KO's like Kill You, and The Real Slim Shady are definitive torture for the laughter muscles. In contrast, classic heartwrenchers like Stan and The Way I Am illustrates an Em, who's giving a true outlet for his emotions with convictions and strengths, so wondrously and aggressively poetic. We've never got to experience it before or even after.
It all culminates on The Marshall Mathers LP, arguably the most fearless album of our kind, my go-to motivational record, as well. I love this album so much, it physically hurts. It's unreal that it both exists because of its infinite qualities, and how it managed to get so fucking huge. He skillfully brought raw, unfiltered emotion into the mainstream, subverting and perverting youthful minds with powerful artistry. During a critical three-album span, with this as the pinnacle, Em transcended mere marketability by combining profound messages with genuine musical skill. His lyrics were densely packed and scrupulously crafted into a piece of art, rarely containing throwaway lines. Unlike many great MCs who occasionally include random, meaningless phrases, Eminem maintained a consistent standard of quality throughout his rhymes. They are only a few albums (probably less than ten) that I would consider "perfect" - because even though a lot of them are flawless in theory, they still have a lot of emotional grasp or sonic texture that could have been done better. Well, safe to say, MMLP is one of those records I would consider perfect. The flaws, somehow, is preferring to the thoughts of making it better (like The Glow Pt.2). With the overdope beats, essential lyrics, memorable hooks and rawest personality, this album will never grow old, and will always be one of my ABSOLUTE favorites of favorites. Classic in every sense of the word. Still remains that after 2 decades, an untouchable milestone. We're greatly into the 21st century and have greatly proven there'll never be a record like this ever. [First added to this chart: 02/10/2026]
Year of Release:
2000
Appears in:
Rank Score:
5,213
Rank in 2000:
Rank in 2000s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
If we're basing the "good things happen on your birthday if you have been good the past year"-verb as real talk, I am factually the worst human being of this generation living. Ask any of my peers around the world and they'll agree. There is very simply no way around it. As awful as many people are right now, nobody could dare top me. Well, it's because, the day of pandemic/lockdown's beginning - March 11th 2020 - marked my 19th birthday.
But what has this to do with Damien Rice's O? It has, because in terms of the past year of 2020, this album - mostly musically - represents the mental labyrinths and emotions I've had (9 most certainly as well). At times, O can make me bored with life, or the most emotional gut-punch I could ask for. Exactly like 2020 - and that kind of beauty makes it worthwhile!
Damien Rice's brilliant harmony of 60's John Fahey-guitar, jazzy drums, poetry shaped as if Shakespeare had a modern mind, a voice of soul-searching sorrow, and beautiful melodies really make his work special. Rice isn't a singer, he is a human being. On April 22nd, my dearest cat died, nearly 15 years old. She's been with me through primary school, high school, beginning of university and everything in between - and ask anyone in my circle, they will all say she was the most singular amazing and sweetest pet they've ever met. She never bid, never was aggressive, always poured when you even came near her, never judged, perhaps the closest thing my life has come to real life Jesus. The day she died, I sat on my chair for hours, and dinner didn't feel right. I started playing this album O, and it was the perfect album - both in terms of miss, sorrow, tragedy, and the song Amie (which is a supreme masterpiece). The next day, I buried her in my frontyard, playing 9 in my headphones.
The album's atmosphere also has a moving concept of being chased by the worst kind of demons, especially Prague, and the I Remember, a genius tear-weeper and progressive folk/noise masterpiece. The Blower's Daughter reflects on how I didn't leave my cat, the last hour of her earth-time. Delicate is like in the middle of barganing & depression. Simultaneously, Older Chests is kind of acceptance, but with a little permanent piece of depression. Looking at these pieces of songs, Lisa Hannigan is Damien's guardian angel, whose initial God abandoned him, and they only have each other to exchange emotional bondage.
O itself, wakes feelings. It's one of those albums, that are perfectly fitting, when somberness is taking over the tone of my mind or mood. And even though, many ppl have said many things about it, words still are pretty hard to form my thoughts around it. Maybe it's because it rather speaks to my heart and soul. On the surface it is, like, the eerie comforting of a "it's okay to fear, it's okay to cry, but I'm here to light and guide you"-emotion... but in the most dense and intense way possible. O’ll comfort some lonely emotions, give you inspiration like the way you hold water to drink from your hands, and on top of that, please another layer of compassion in your coffee. An underrated aspect of this album though is how dream-like the overall flow of it is. particularly fond of the transition between Amie and Cheers Darlin' where the strings of the former just all of a sudden piss off in an instant and immediately cut to the clarinet noodling and ambient glass clinking of the latter. I think it's part of what makes the album resonate with me subconsciously. Not to mention, the way the piano is humbly played in Cold Water, the transition from calm to apocalyptic in I Remember as well as the absolutely terrifying nightmarish emotions rushing through me when I listen to Prague.
Just so as some of these tracks end with an imaginative taste of neo-classical, each different. The previously mentioned favorite Amie has an awakening string, Eskimo has operatic singing, Cheers Darlin' has classical piano, and Cold Water has deep vocal-choir. That tune was originally written about Jesus walking on the water, but in my view, it also includes an entendre of your ashes being spread out in the cold ocean, and your lost spirit is reaching out to God. Volcano contains one of singer-songwriter's greatest choruses (just like Rootless Tree contains one of its best hooks), and the violin/string is very rhythmic, kind of hip hop-ish. Ed Sheeran has cited Cannonball as the inspiration that helped him start writing. Plus there's something very profound and sarcastic-sounding in Cheers Darlin', an atypical take on being the fool in past relationships. Witness how the melody almost collapses with his emotional cool; the melancholia is too powerful to handle. That song sometimes for me becomes too bearing with relatability.
The beautiful closer Eskimo features 2 extravagant hidden tracks; other than the extremely thriving Prague, it ends with the interpolation of Silent Night, now as a cryptic lullaby. It is ear-hanging, it's eerie, and can both keep you awake and launder you to sleep. When my loss came to me, this of all albums was there to soundtrack it. Me and him definitely has something unique in common, other than name. Listening to Damien Rice's records doesn't make me hate life less, but it exquisitely makes me feel very potent to be alive. [First added to this chart: 02/10/2026]
But what has this to do with Damien Rice's O? It has, because in terms of the past year of 2020, this album - mostly musically - represents the mental labyrinths and emotions I've had (9 most certainly as well). At times, O can make me bored with life, or the most emotional gut-punch I could ask for. Exactly like 2020 - and that kind of beauty makes it worthwhile!
Damien Rice's brilliant harmony of 60's John Fahey-guitar, jazzy drums, poetry shaped as if Shakespeare had a modern mind, a voice of soul-searching sorrow, and beautiful melodies really make his work special. Rice isn't a singer, he is a human being. On April 22nd, my dearest cat died, nearly 15 years old. She's been with me through primary school, high school, beginning of university and everything in between - and ask anyone in my circle, they will all say she was the most singular amazing and sweetest pet they've ever met. She never bid, never was aggressive, always poured when you even came near her, never judged, perhaps the closest thing my life has come to real life Jesus. The day she died, I sat on my chair for hours, and dinner didn't feel right. I started playing this album O, and it was the perfect album - both in terms of miss, sorrow, tragedy, and the song Amie (which is a supreme masterpiece). The next day, I buried her in my frontyard, playing 9 in my headphones.
The album's atmosphere also has a moving concept of being chased by the worst kind of demons, especially Prague, and the I Remember, a genius tear-weeper and progressive folk/noise masterpiece. The Blower's Daughter reflects on how I didn't leave my cat, the last hour of her earth-time. Delicate is like in the middle of barganing & depression. Simultaneously, Older Chests is kind of acceptance, but with a little permanent piece of depression. Looking at these pieces of songs, Lisa Hannigan is Damien's guardian angel, whose initial God abandoned him, and they only have each other to exchange emotional bondage.
O itself, wakes feelings. It's one of those albums, that are perfectly fitting, when somberness is taking over the tone of my mind or mood. And even though, many ppl have said many things about it, words still are pretty hard to form my thoughts around it. Maybe it's because it rather speaks to my heart and soul. On the surface it is, like, the eerie comforting of a "it's okay to fear, it's okay to cry, but I'm here to light and guide you"-emotion... but in the most dense and intense way possible. O’ll comfort some lonely emotions, give you inspiration like the way you hold water to drink from your hands, and on top of that, please another layer of compassion in your coffee. An underrated aspect of this album though is how dream-like the overall flow of it is. particularly fond of the transition between Amie and Cheers Darlin' where the strings of the former just all of a sudden piss off in an instant and immediately cut to the clarinet noodling and ambient glass clinking of the latter. I think it's part of what makes the album resonate with me subconsciously. Not to mention, the way the piano is humbly played in Cold Water, the transition from calm to apocalyptic in I Remember as well as the absolutely terrifying nightmarish emotions rushing through me when I listen to Prague.
Just so as some of these tracks end with an imaginative taste of neo-classical, each different. The previously mentioned favorite Amie has an awakening string, Eskimo has operatic singing, Cheers Darlin' has classical piano, and Cold Water has deep vocal-choir. That tune was originally written about Jesus walking on the water, but in my view, it also includes an entendre of your ashes being spread out in the cold ocean, and your lost spirit is reaching out to God. Volcano contains one of singer-songwriter's greatest choruses (just like Rootless Tree contains one of its best hooks), and the violin/string is very rhythmic, kind of hip hop-ish. Ed Sheeran has cited Cannonball as the inspiration that helped him start writing. Plus there's something very profound and sarcastic-sounding in Cheers Darlin', an atypical take on being the fool in past relationships. Witness how the melody almost collapses with his emotional cool; the melancholia is too powerful to handle. That song sometimes for me becomes too bearing with relatability.
The beautiful closer Eskimo features 2 extravagant hidden tracks; other than the extremely thriving Prague, it ends with the interpolation of Silent Night, now as a cryptic lullaby. It is ear-hanging, it's eerie, and can both keep you awake and launder you to sleep. When my loss came to me, this of all albums was there to soundtrack it. Me and him definitely has something unique in common, other than name. Listening to Damien Rice's records doesn't make me hate life less, but it exquisitely makes me feel very potent to be alive. [First added to this chart: 02/10/2026]
Year of Release:
2002
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,774
Rank in 2002:
Rank in 2000s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"Buckley's three greatest masterpieces will probably get you there faster [out of this 3rd dimension world, outta the Matrix, closer to the mystic] than any pill" - AfterHours. And for the record, I hate this description, but I can never do Lorca justice, it mentally spins me around so this is as good as it gets.
Tim lived outside the box. He was an individual with a free spirit. The leaders of this matrix of a world don’t want that, so they took his life away and tried greatly to hide his discography from the surface of mainstream cultures and music lovers. Luckily, I came across his albums and truly have been blessed. Shortly said, Tim Buckley is one of the few few few musicians who can still take me away, rather than me trying to experience the music as if I made it myself in order to preemptively impress someone. And although I love Happy Sad as much, Lorca is my yardstick for piece of art in music.
Ever since my ears witnessed this legendary piece of music, I always bring this album up when I think of authentic artistic expression. Bearing in mind how many Scaruffi references I have made on this chart and continue to make in real life, this is the greatest album I discovered through him*. Now, Lorca consists of five monumental compositions that together makes forty minutes. When listening, it sounds much longer, and for that the better, cause I want it to go on forever. It keeps unfolding, especially with the colossal vocal demonstration from Tim; he awes me, challenges me, fucks with me, and confuses me with layers of lure (Lureca).
The title track is hard to explain, it is a ten-minute vertigo of a masterpiece. By the first chord of the pipe organ, I am already lost. A black mass in psychedelic folk, this song features musicianship that doesn't sound like musicianship as the music is beyond atmospheric. The organ in the second half of the song assumes the form of an imploding star, growing more profusely grotesque and ethereal as the electric piano creates a crumbling series of small glissandos. The climax of the song is demarcated by the furious strumming of Buckley’s guitar and a final, uproarious scream, as if Buckley’s soul has left his body permanently in a rapturous exorcism. "The imperceptible cry of a walled phantom for eternity inside a cold star." Goosebump-inducing vibratos along the nervous tingling piano, the track unleashes a permanent velvet feeling on me.
Rhythm is abandoned on Anonymous Proposition, the greatest free-formed song or my favorite one. It becomes more and more oracular when nothing is bound to a gratifying tempo, and it not just flows, it attains the soul by the second. It goes psychological places in my mind, spirit, and soul that are pretty much reserved for that, loneliness and narcissistic abuse only. Bass and guitar descend for every line or strophe that Tim comes through with. He doesn't understand what he sings, he redefines it. There's a cerebral sense of both freedom and powerlessness, completely immersive and desolate. Lyrics of stream-of-consciousness has never lived up to its first name of flowing so unclutteredly.
The most easy-going track, "accessible" I guess you could say is I Had A Talk With My Woman. Despite sounding uplifting and marking a bit back to Happy Sad and Blue Afternoon, it stays lingering in other dimensions. There's some religious ingredients in the lyricism, mixed with both buoyancy ("She's this dream that I always hold to believe") with the nihilism ("All alone in this cold world"). This is vocal jazz folk from the afterlife.
Driftin' has the most mind-bending guitar riff I have heard in my life. It's level of utter surrealistic psychology makes it pure dream-core. And this comes after a legitimately ethereal intro. When he sings "I've been driftin' like a dream out on the sea", nothing matters in this world since I am no longer in the world. This is the epitome of stretching musical watercolors into something unimaginable. "The music floats in immense spaces, without boundaries and without form: a nebula of notes that addresses without end in an infinite void." Buckley starts with understandable words, but becomes more and more distant to where his marvelous voice is just audio bliss. He is just as hypnotized by the music as I am, and he tries to escape by this upper echelon of humming near the end.
Nobody Walkin' continues the mythical, mystical and magical revelry of Gypsy Woman, this time it sounds a bit fuller, because the character of the electric piano and present guitar. This tribal closer is not as directly sexual or contagious, however it's not weaker considering Buckley's more swirling vocal vertigo is to feel like the wind in a high-stormed autumn. As it finishes, I am just confused on what I have just listened to, because how much my mind is messed up with genius.
The time I enjoyed it the least was my listening when I wrote this description as I was less plunged into it all. And it was still standing tall as an eminent experience. When you consider that Lorca the album is an ode to emptiness, the cryptic nature is inescapable. Bewilderingly enough, there ain't many albums I can think of that made me feel less empty than this. And that handful that do, are not as singular.
*Also, I translated his text of him: https://www.scaruffi.com/vol1/buckley.html [First added to this chart: 02/10/2026]
Tim lived outside the box. He was an individual with a free spirit. The leaders of this matrix of a world don’t want that, so they took his life away and tried greatly to hide his discography from the surface of mainstream cultures and music lovers. Luckily, I came across his albums and truly have been blessed. Shortly said, Tim Buckley is one of the few few few musicians who can still take me away, rather than me trying to experience the music as if I made it myself in order to preemptively impress someone. And although I love Happy Sad as much, Lorca is my yardstick for piece of art in music.
Ever since my ears witnessed this legendary piece of music, I always bring this album up when I think of authentic artistic expression. Bearing in mind how many Scaruffi references I have made on this chart and continue to make in real life, this is the greatest album I discovered through him*. Now, Lorca consists of five monumental compositions that together makes forty minutes. When listening, it sounds much longer, and for that the better, cause I want it to go on forever. It keeps unfolding, especially with the colossal vocal demonstration from Tim; he awes me, challenges me, fucks with me, and confuses me with layers of lure (Lureca).
The title track is hard to explain, it is a ten-minute vertigo of a masterpiece. By the first chord of the pipe organ, I am already lost. A black mass in psychedelic folk, this song features musicianship that doesn't sound like musicianship as the music is beyond atmospheric. The organ in the second half of the song assumes the form of an imploding star, growing more profusely grotesque and ethereal as the electric piano creates a crumbling series of small glissandos. The climax of the song is demarcated by the furious strumming of Buckley’s guitar and a final, uproarious scream, as if Buckley’s soul has left his body permanently in a rapturous exorcism. "The imperceptible cry of a walled phantom for eternity inside a cold star." Goosebump-inducing vibratos along the nervous tingling piano, the track unleashes a permanent velvet feeling on me.
Rhythm is abandoned on Anonymous Proposition, the greatest free-formed song or my favorite one. It becomes more and more oracular when nothing is bound to a gratifying tempo, and it not just flows, it attains the soul by the second. It goes psychological places in my mind, spirit, and soul that are pretty much reserved for that, loneliness and narcissistic abuse only. Bass and guitar descend for every line or strophe that Tim comes through with. He doesn't understand what he sings, he redefines it. There's a cerebral sense of both freedom and powerlessness, completely immersive and desolate. Lyrics of stream-of-consciousness has never lived up to its first name of flowing so unclutteredly.
The most easy-going track, "accessible" I guess you could say is I Had A Talk With My Woman. Despite sounding uplifting and marking a bit back to Happy Sad and Blue Afternoon, it stays lingering in other dimensions. There's some religious ingredients in the lyricism, mixed with both buoyancy ("She's this dream that I always hold to believe") with the nihilism ("All alone in this cold world"). This is vocal jazz folk from the afterlife.
Driftin' has the most mind-bending guitar riff I have heard in my life. It's level of utter surrealistic psychology makes it pure dream-core. And this comes after a legitimately ethereal intro. When he sings "I've been driftin' like a dream out on the sea", nothing matters in this world since I am no longer in the world. This is the epitome of stretching musical watercolors into something unimaginable. "The music floats in immense spaces, without boundaries and without form: a nebula of notes that addresses without end in an infinite void." Buckley starts with understandable words, but becomes more and more distant to where his marvelous voice is just audio bliss. He is just as hypnotized by the music as I am, and he tries to escape by this upper echelon of humming near the end.
Nobody Walkin' continues the mythical, mystical and magical revelry of Gypsy Woman, this time it sounds a bit fuller, because the character of the electric piano and present guitar. This tribal closer is not as directly sexual or contagious, however it's not weaker considering Buckley's more swirling vocal vertigo is to feel like the wind in a high-stormed autumn. As it finishes, I am just confused on what I have just listened to, because how much my mind is messed up with genius.
The time I enjoyed it the least was my listening when I wrote this description as I was less plunged into it all. And it was still standing tall as an eminent experience. When you consider that Lorca the album is an ode to emptiness, the cryptic nature is inescapable. Bewilderingly enough, there ain't many albums I can think of that made me feel less empty than this. And that handful that do, are not as singular.
*Also, I translated his text of him: https://www.scaruffi.com/vol1/buckley.html [First added to this chart: 02/10/2026]
Year of Release:
1970
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,096
Rank in 1970:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
This’s one of the generation's most necessary albums. It’s important and dominant. Definitely lyrically. But, even without the song-writing matter, the music itself is, like beautiful on a platinum level, not just gold. FJM’s charismatic voice is more pleasureful, and has vaaaastly improved since I Love You, Honeybear, his previous critically acclaimed opus, which I do like but in interest find inferior to this. He took the style he created on that project, and fulfilled its substance as a sub-genre, by extending it to the song-writing sessions of political and philosophical issues, and after multiple thoughts of a few listens, there’s really no shortcuts. Even though it’s seriously longer than ILYH, its timelessness, I cannot underestimate it. Yea, it may sound boring, at first listen, but once you dig into the lyrical theme (which has a very very nice variation without combing over), its longevity and power can keep you stunning. Either gladly, ‘cause somebody finally spoke this spectrum of truth, or scared, because of the truth. I feel woke when I listen to it. But it doesn’t overstate its essential messages, in the scheme of shoving it down your throat, screaming it in your face, nor hard pushing you into a murky pool of it. Instead, it lets you in, comfortably, like a lantern in hand, ghostly walking through the night of grandiose points, getting you to know its point of view, before your point of judgment. That I guess the title, comes from somewhere, near the prediction to the criticism of the LP. And some people, who cannot take it to a deeper status, might just find this “comical”. I do take it to a deeper status, and it fully works for me. This is a futuristic take on this world gone mad, falling apart, but brought up to 2017. This was made by an American, to America, and yet it also applies to Denmark (the self-claimed happiest people on Earth, eww). Even now when I am listening to it, it lyrically resonates with my Christianity. This is, quite literally, my musical reality check.
Anyway, I have not heard it nearly as much as the other 1s, so at the time of writing, not so much can be said other than it’s brilliant enough to get a solid place on my all-time favorites. I've remembered this album with great love and I’m gonna remember this, for years and years 2 come, and I hope I can take you with me. If you’re quick to judge it as preachy, then I can be quick and state you as egotistic and ignorant. So yeah, socially satirical LP, full of heartful balladry.
Edit: I've heard it over fifteen times, and it only gets greater. And for the record, when I was on my 10-month challenge, this album came in November of 2018 (in the 70-60 period), and, the album meant a lot to me. This, viscerally, was a very gloomy and thematic time in my life for multiple reasons. Pure Comedy was there to give me a representation through its message. It was also the time when I developed emetophobia, and just the music of this thing calmed me down while the lyrics kept me awake and conscious but in the best way.
Also I've seen a few fascinating theories about the very ending:
Within the last thirty seconds of the song, all the orchestration quiets for a final time and we hear a series of three strikes on a bell and a fourth that is cut off mid-ring.
The choice to cut the album mid-ring ring (as opposed to letting it quiet into silence) is obviously open for interpretation. It could represent the human race ending abruptly as the song prophesizes. It could represent Father John Misty’s busy thoughts and worries quieting as he realizes there’s nothing to fear. It could also be symbolic that we as the listener were hanging on the song’s every word. It could just be a middle finger to the listener, not giving them the satisfaction of a “complete” ending.
The bells are also very similar in sound (if not exactly the same) to the ones used in zen buddhist meditation practices to signal time passage during meditation practice. In some traditions, the practice is to sound one ring of the bell to signal the start, two at the midpoint, and then four rings to signal the ending of the meditation.
A possible interpretation is that, by having four rings and by cutting off the last one before it ends, FJM is both saying “this was meant as some kind of meditation” and “it doesn’t necessarily need to end”.
--- Genius
I have not but what i first suspected was it was like some kind of hypnosis or meditation thing. So for me the album "took my on a journey of my life's handiwork" in that it revealed a lot of my darker thoughts and problems in poetic verses. It felt like therapy to me. And at the end of the album he's either proclaiming "there's nothing to fear" or repeating it to maybe try to convince himself of what he's saying. Either way these bells chime in and it was reminiscent of guided meditations I've listened to.
So I thought the album as a while let me clear out and analyze a lot of my demons and then it ends by telling me to go out and live a life without fear cuz it doesn't really matter anyway right? The bells chime and I'm like, "sheesh I feel better! Time to get out there and start living. I'm "grateful to be alive, just one more time!"
And for me "pure comedy" starts back up again so it goes back to those tv and voiceover sounds that are synthetic and it's like, alright we're back in the thick of it again. Over the course of the album I would argue the effects start to become more organic and natural. Much like his essay on the album about returning to nature and being afraid of "bears man." Mind you I have no musical training but it seems like this maybe be loosely relevant.
/
FJM mentions in interviews and in some of his music that he believes we (including himself) all need to wake-up from our somnambulence of our materialistic/entertainment apathy. (Mentioned in the Beats1 Zane Lowe interview in particular and in the Xponential Rant).
Maybe the bells are now "tolling" for us. In one sense - a signal of death and finality; in another sense - when you are in a meditative state, the ringing of the bells is often a signal for you to "come back" from your waking dream or your meditative state and be amongst people and the world again.
--- reddit [First added to this chart: 02/10/2026]
Anyway, I have not heard it nearly as much as the other 1s, so at the time of writing, not so much can be said other than it’s brilliant enough to get a solid place on my all-time favorites. I've remembered this album with great love and I’m gonna remember this, for years and years 2 come, and I hope I can take you with me. If you’re quick to judge it as preachy, then I can be quick and state you as egotistic and ignorant. So yeah, socially satirical LP, full of heartful balladry.
Edit: I've heard it over fifteen times, and it only gets greater. And for the record, when I was on my 10-month challenge, this album came in November of 2018 (in the 70-60 period), and, the album meant a lot to me. This, viscerally, was a very gloomy and thematic time in my life for multiple reasons. Pure Comedy was there to give me a representation through its message. It was also the time when I developed emetophobia, and just the music of this thing calmed me down while the lyrics kept me awake and conscious but in the best way.
Also I've seen a few fascinating theories about the very ending:
Within the last thirty seconds of the song, all the orchestration quiets for a final time and we hear a series of three strikes on a bell and a fourth that is cut off mid-ring.
The choice to cut the album mid-ring ring (as opposed to letting it quiet into silence) is obviously open for interpretation. It could represent the human race ending abruptly as the song prophesizes. It could represent Father John Misty’s busy thoughts and worries quieting as he realizes there’s nothing to fear. It could also be symbolic that we as the listener were hanging on the song’s every word. It could just be a middle finger to the listener, not giving them the satisfaction of a “complete” ending.
The bells are also very similar in sound (if not exactly the same) to the ones used in zen buddhist meditation practices to signal time passage during meditation practice. In some traditions, the practice is to sound one ring of the bell to signal the start, two at the midpoint, and then four rings to signal the ending of the meditation.
A possible interpretation is that, by having four rings and by cutting off the last one before it ends, FJM is both saying “this was meant as some kind of meditation” and “it doesn’t necessarily need to end”.
--- Genius
I have not but what i first suspected was it was like some kind of hypnosis or meditation thing. So for me the album "took my on a journey of my life's handiwork" in that it revealed a lot of my darker thoughts and problems in poetic verses. It felt like therapy to me. And at the end of the album he's either proclaiming "there's nothing to fear" or repeating it to maybe try to convince himself of what he's saying. Either way these bells chime in and it was reminiscent of guided meditations I've listened to.
So I thought the album as a while let me clear out and analyze a lot of my demons and then it ends by telling me to go out and live a life without fear cuz it doesn't really matter anyway right? The bells chime and I'm like, "sheesh I feel better! Time to get out there and start living. I'm "grateful to be alive, just one more time!"
And for me "pure comedy" starts back up again so it goes back to those tv and voiceover sounds that are synthetic and it's like, alright we're back in the thick of it again. Over the course of the album I would argue the effects start to become more organic and natural. Much like his essay on the album about returning to nature and being afraid of "bears man." Mind you I have no musical training but it seems like this maybe be loosely relevant.
/
FJM mentions in interviews and in some of his music that he believes we (including himself) all need to wake-up from our somnambulence of our materialistic/entertainment apathy. (Mentioned in the Beats1 Zane Lowe interview in particular and in the Xponential Rant).
Maybe the bells are now "tolling" for us. In one sense - a signal of death and finality; in another sense - when you are in a meditative state, the ringing of the bells is often a signal for you to "come back" from your waking dream or your meditative state and be amongst people and the world again.
--- reddit [First added to this chart: 02/10/2026]
Year of Release:
2017
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,536
Rank in 2017:
Rank in 2010s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
I hate you Townes Van Zandt. Like, I met you around 2019, and you didn't really jump out on me with creativity, you were laid back and gave room for all the other records I dug at the time. However, when I discovered SellMeAGod and saw his soft spot for you (counting in Repo as well), I should've seen that as a red flag. Because then, I gave you a listen with much more psychological attention. What a great mistake, as of how much you took away the time I could've jammed many other albums including my conventional favorites, because you just got me addicted to your ten songs. But that's not even the worst part. You made not only most of the normal music that caught my ear, but even the majority of my core favorite, sound pale, dry, uninteresting. How dare you, self-titled? How could you? You just had to reinvent a way of unfilteredness, mixed with soul-crushing lyrical elegance and direct honest delivery, that makes most of my listened music look too polished, and focused. Have a bit of mercy.
But at the same time, I love you Townes Van Zandt. Very dearly indeed. Even if you are too internally beaten to care, you saved me from stagnation. Sharing waters like Jesus in a desert, the sonic and psychic captivation you gave me was unique and profound in comparison with so many pasts of memories supreme. You filled unknown desires, when I least knew I needed them, you even redefined my love for musical listening freedom. My poignant melancholic soul let her guard down, cause you understood and taught more than most could achieve. On top of that, you are an independent phantom: you wrote and played everything on here, and it's highly personal, one of the best displays of using music as a creative way of expressing and conveying your inner dark emotions, ever written.
To anyone who dislikes country for the tiresome stereotypes and modern garbage it's buried under, show 'em this album and it'll pull the rug underneath the stiffest of legs. One could argue that it's basically folk-singer songwriter stuff with a country accent, but Townes surely composes traditional country structures, reserves those melodic refrains to maximum impact, purpose, and emotion, as well as keeps it to the core of the genre: three chords and the truth. Every song features a few instruments more than the honest singer and superbly charismatic guitar, and they add more color, atmosphere, and memorability than what it intends, as well as what the listener notices, myself included.
Somebody once said to me many summers ago that a classic, whether a song, film, painting etc, should appeal to any age. And even though I really disagree with that, if that was the case, this album would still be by definition a classic. A newborn, a toddler, my teenage self, a mid-life person, and an elderly person would have it easy to fall in love with the blood-shedded songs here.
His self-titled opens with For The Sake of The Song, which contains a super duper hypnotic guitar progression (almost as if it's sampled from a Spanish classical piece) and Townes singing about his dilemma of breaking up but simultaneously being empathetic towards his girlfriend's emotional distress. Honestly, it's up there with wanna thee most mature country songs. What's phenomenal is that I don't know who he is singing about, yet I absolutely do. Because after all, we all sing, for the sake of the song, living for the sake of life - and there it lies: he does it himself. However, this collection of emotionally and potently unmatched masterpieces is the closest we get to somebody singing for more than just the songs themselves.
Waiting Around To Die is a prime example of how I feel life is a waiting line for death, some cheat by suicide. Considered wanna the darkest pieces of truths that Zandt spills, it's a crippling story that is as tragic by the verse as it's wavy. And it continues effortlessly on Don't Take It Too Bad, culminating in the intervention of "A man needs a woman, to stand by his side, and whisper sweet words / In his ears about daydreams, and roses and playthings, and the sweetness of springtime, and the sound of the rain".
I used to think Fare Thee Well Ms Carousel was overrated, but now I see that this is actually an exceptional stroke of real genius. A song dealing with toxic relationships, and witness that in the verses he tries to break free but every time the chorus comes along, he's giving in to giving it another chance. Perhaps the ultimate precise depiction of how emotionally attached we are to a lot of things that realistically don't want the best of us, an evil cycle. I wouldn't call this song Stockholm Syndrome because Townes is very aware of the situation and is making an effort to exit. On top of that, the simplicity in all of the instruments and even the melody is extraordinary as much relative to the concept as in itself, in every way.
The self-awareness plants another tree in the one true buoyant and true blue acoustic track here, I'll Be Here In The Morning. Because when people use the point of music being like a friend or there for you, this song literally states it to the listener, like a parent singing and protecting their child. The least minimalistic short song is the bluesy Lungs, which rhythmically, instrumentally and impressionistically thrives on like speedway wheels on a thick gravel road.
There is the God-gift penultimate Quicksilver Daydreams of Maria, a musical apotheosis. The metaphysically aquatic melody unfolds inventive colorful landscapes, TVZ's naked crooning wind gravitates to new grounds of authentic bliss, every single strophe contenders for a favorite poetic piece in music, and the supreme tenderness lying in the combining sensory makes awe-inspiring seem pale. A few of the songs here, including this, are renewed acoustic versions of earlier ones already released, but they never dared to have a newfound pristineness that they embody here. Especially with this, comparing it with the 1968 version is like a light flower in a small line of grass, to a bed of staggering ever-blooming flowers in the silkiest garden in Heaven.
If we take Quicksilver Daydreams of Maria as the artistic closer to the record, Townes musically answers the question of what happens when you are done expressing yourself inside out, what are you left with? His answer is the closer: None But The Rain, a song with true magic in its simple nature. Cause making great art about the bad stuff isn't gonna spare the pain, so when you are done, the depressive nature still carries on. And as rain is the go-to symbol for sadness, Townes writes arguably the best song about it, alongside Bob Dylan's Buckets of Rain that closes Blood On The Tracks out.
In a kitsch-driven world where most beloved stuff falls apart too easily, and where sincerity loses meaning throughout time, albums like the self-titled Townes Van Zandt seem too good to be true. But it's also direct evidence to how immersion into utter beauty, melancholy, and melodic poetry is peaking. And in an age where too much mediocre music is being released, since it is virtually free to drop whatever you record and compose, it is indescribable how life-affirming it is to have this album to remind me what truly special music actually embodies and what it actually feels to capture the heart, the spirit, and soul. [First added to this chart: 02/10/2026]
But at the same time, I love you Townes Van Zandt. Very dearly indeed. Even if you are too internally beaten to care, you saved me from stagnation. Sharing waters like Jesus in a desert, the sonic and psychic captivation you gave me was unique and profound in comparison with so many pasts of memories supreme. You filled unknown desires, when I least knew I needed them, you even redefined my love for musical listening freedom. My poignant melancholic soul let her guard down, cause you understood and taught more than most could achieve. On top of that, you are an independent phantom: you wrote and played everything on here, and it's highly personal, one of the best displays of using music as a creative way of expressing and conveying your inner dark emotions, ever written.
To anyone who dislikes country for the tiresome stereotypes and modern garbage it's buried under, show 'em this album and it'll pull the rug underneath the stiffest of legs. One could argue that it's basically folk-singer songwriter stuff with a country accent, but Townes surely composes traditional country structures, reserves those melodic refrains to maximum impact, purpose, and emotion, as well as keeps it to the core of the genre: three chords and the truth. Every song features a few instruments more than the honest singer and superbly charismatic guitar, and they add more color, atmosphere, and memorability than what it intends, as well as what the listener notices, myself included.
Somebody once said to me many summers ago that a classic, whether a song, film, painting etc, should appeal to any age. And even though I really disagree with that, if that was the case, this album would still be by definition a classic. A newborn, a toddler, my teenage self, a mid-life person, and an elderly person would have it easy to fall in love with the blood-shedded songs here.
His self-titled opens with For The Sake of The Song, which contains a super duper hypnotic guitar progression (almost as if it's sampled from a Spanish classical piece) and Townes singing about his dilemma of breaking up but simultaneously being empathetic towards his girlfriend's emotional distress. Honestly, it's up there with wanna thee most mature country songs. What's phenomenal is that I don't know who he is singing about, yet I absolutely do. Because after all, we all sing, for the sake of the song, living for the sake of life - and there it lies: he does it himself. However, this collection of emotionally and potently unmatched masterpieces is the closest we get to somebody singing for more than just the songs themselves.
Waiting Around To Die is a prime example of how I feel life is a waiting line for death, some cheat by suicide. Considered wanna the darkest pieces of truths that Zandt spills, it's a crippling story that is as tragic by the verse as it's wavy. And it continues effortlessly on Don't Take It Too Bad, culminating in the intervention of "A man needs a woman, to stand by his side, and whisper sweet words / In his ears about daydreams, and roses and playthings, and the sweetness of springtime, and the sound of the rain".
I used to think Fare Thee Well Ms Carousel was overrated, but now I see that this is actually an exceptional stroke of real genius. A song dealing with toxic relationships, and witness that in the verses he tries to break free but every time the chorus comes along, he's giving in to giving it another chance. Perhaps the ultimate precise depiction of how emotionally attached we are to a lot of things that realistically don't want the best of us, an evil cycle. I wouldn't call this song Stockholm Syndrome because Townes is very aware of the situation and is making an effort to exit. On top of that, the simplicity in all of the instruments and even the melody is extraordinary as much relative to the concept as in itself, in every way.
The self-awareness plants another tree in the one true buoyant and true blue acoustic track here, I'll Be Here In The Morning. Because when people use the point of music being like a friend or there for you, this song literally states it to the listener, like a parent singing and protecting their child. The least minimalistic short song is the bluesy Lungs, which rhythmically, instrumentally and impressionistically thrives on like speedway wheels on a thick gravel road.
There is the God-gift penultimate Quicksilver Daydreams of Maria, a musical apotheosis. The metaphysically aquatic melody unfolds inventive colorful landscapes, TVZ's naked crooning wind gravitates to new grounds of authentic bliss, every single strophe contenders for a favorite poetic piece in music, and the supreme tenderness lying in the combining sensory makes awe-inspiring seem pale. A few of the songs here, including this, are renewed acoustic versions of earlier ones already released, but they never dared to have a newfound pristineness that they embody here. Especially with this, comparing it with the 1968 version is like a light flower in a small line of grass, to a bed of staggering ever-blooming flowers in the silkiest garden in Heaven.
If we take Quicksilver Daydreams of Maria as the artistic closer to the record, Townes musically answers the question of what happens when you are done expressing yourself inside out, what are you left with? His answer is the closer: None But The Rain, a song with true magic in its simple nature. Cause making great art about the bad stuff isn't gonna spare the pain, so when you are done, the depressive nature still carries on. And as rain is the go-to symbol for sadness, Townes writes arguably the best song about it, alongside Bob Dylan's Buckets of Rain that closes Blood On The Tracks out.
In a kitsch-driven world where most beloved stuff falls apart too easily, and where sincerity loses meaning throughout time, albums like the self-titled Townes Van Zandt seem too good to be true. But it's also direct evidence to how immersion into utter beauty, melancholy, and melodic poetry is peaking. And in an age where too much mediocre music is being released, since it is virtually free to drop whatever you record and compose, it is indescribable how life-affirming it is to have this album to remind me what truly special music actually embodies and what it actually feels to capture the heart, the spirit, and soul. [First added to this chart: 02/10/2026]
Year of Release:
1969
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,416
Rank in 1969:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 100. Page 1 of 10
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June 26: 1-100 composition
| Decade | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1930s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1940s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1950s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1960s | 19 | 19% | |
| 1970s | 18 | 18% | |
| 1980s | 7 | 7% | |
| 1990s | 23 | 23% | |
| 2000s | 22 | 22% | |
| 2010s | 10 | 10% | |
| 2020s | 1 | 1% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
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| Bob Dylan | 4 | 4% | |
| Pink Floyd | 3 | 3% | |
| Michael Jackson | 3 | 3% | |
| XXXTentacion | 2 | 2% | |
| Damien Rice | 2 | 2% | |
| Tim Buckley | 2 | 2% | |
| Blur | 2 | 2% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
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 |
65 | 65% | |
 |
20 | 20% | |
 |
3 | 3% | |
| |
2 | 2% | |
 |
2 | 2% | |
 |
2 | 2% | |
 |
1 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
June 26: 1-100 chart changes
| Biggest climbers |
|---|
| Up 17 from 34th to 17thIllmatic by Nas |
| Up 16 from 52nd to 36thRed House Painters (Rollercoaster) by Red House Painters |
| Up 12 from 93rd to 81st? (Question Mark) by XXXTentacion |
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
| Down 16 from 33rd to 49thThe Notorious Byrd Brothers by The Byrds |
| Down 14 from 24th to 38thBlood On The Tracks by Bob Dylan |
| Down 12 from 88th to 100thTrout Mask Replica by Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band |
| New entries |
|---|
| Thriller by Michael Jackson |
| Wonderful Life by Black |
| Dans Med Døden by Clemens |
| The Last Of Us by Gustavo Santaolalla |
| Spiderland by Slint |
| Tonight's The Night by Neil Young |
| Nevermind by Nirvana |
June 26: 1-100 similarity to your chart(s)
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June 26: 1-100 ratings
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June 26: 1-100 comments
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