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Consensus Top 350 Albums of All-Time: 68. Automatic for the People – R.E.M. (237 Viewers)

127 (tie). Escape Journey (182 points)


@higgins #27
@BroncoFreak_2K3 #35
@Dwayne_Castro #36
@BrutalPenguin #40
@zamboni #53
@Idiot Boxer #61
@Yo Mama #63


Escape (stylized as E5C4P3 on the album cover) is the seventh studio album by American rock band Journey, released on July 20, 1981, by Columbia Records. It topped the US Billboard 200 chart and featured four hit Billboard Hot 100 singles – "Don't Stop Believin'" (No. 9), "Who's Crying Now" (No. 4), "Still They Ride" (No. 19) and "Open Arms" (No. 2) – plus rock radio staple "Stone in Love". In July 2021, it was certified Diamond by the Recording Industry of America (RIAA) for at least ten million sales in the US, making it the band's most successful studio album and second most successful album overall behind Greatest Hits. Escape was the fifth-highest selling album of 1981, just behind Bella Donna from Stevie Nicks.
I’ll go with “Stone in Love” for Journey’s Escape.
Added. I also think this is the best song on the album.
 
129 (tie). Fragile Yes (181 points)

@Yo Mama #3 :headbang:
@shuke #10 :headbang:
@zamboni #46
@Ghost Rider #57
@Pip's Invitation #62
@jwb #67


Fragile is the fourth studio album by the English progressive rock band Yes, released in the UK on 12 November 1971 and in the US on 4 January 1972 by Atlantic Records. It was the band's first album to feature keyboardist Rick Wakeman, who replaced Tony Kaye after the group had finished touring their breakthrough record, The Yes Album (1971).

The band entered rehearsals in London in August 1971, but Kaye's reluctance to play electronic keyboards led to his departure from the group. He was quickly replaced by Wakeman, whose virtuosity, compositional skills, and experience with the electric piano, organ, Mellotron, and Moog synthesiser expanded the band's sound. Due to budget and time constraints, four tracks on the album are group arrangements; the remaining five are short solo pieces by each band member. The opening track, "Roundabout", became a popular song. The artwork for the album was the band's first to be designed by Roger Dean, who would design many of their future covers.
Love, love, love this album. In my MAD Yes countdown, Fragile had 4 of my top 10 ranked songs, including my overall #1. There’s a little bit of filler on this album, but the high points are so good and so memorable, Fragile is one of my favorite albums ever. Here’s how I ranked the songs in my countdown:

1- Roundabout
4- Long Distance Runaround / The Fish
7- South Side of the Sky
9- Heart of the Sunrise

For the playlist, I’ll add South Side of the Sky. Such a killer song.

 
A 2nd with @Yo Mama AND @rockaction? :excited:

we have to go Aerials, right guys?
Aerials is good with me
Just quoteing you but it's really directed at anyone remotely interested. If you listen to this, which I really think is a wonderful song, so you should, this is maybe exemplifies songs that BP likes. Strong melody with good backing percussion. The lyrics and accompanying video are meaningful, though arguably superficial. I'm less of a lyrics guy and more of a beat guy. I like what SOUNDS good, at least to me.
 
129 (tie). Pretty Hate Machine Nine Inch Nails (181 points)

@BrutalPenguin #10 :headbang:
@Rand al Thor #23
@Long Ball Larry #24
@Nick Vermeil #55
@Idiot Boxer #62

Pretty Hate Machine is the debut studio album by the American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, released by TVT Records on October 20, 1989. Frontman Trent Reznor sang and performed most of the instruments, also producing the album alongside Keith LeBlanc, John Fryer and Flood, with a few other contributors.

The album features a heavily synthesizer-driven electronic sound blended with industrial and rock elements. Much like the band's later work, the album's lyrics contain themes of angst, betrayal, and lovesickness. The record was promoted with the singles "Down in It", "Head Like a Hole", and "Sin", as well as the accompanying tour. A remastered edition was released in 2010.
I wonder how many of my selected albums are debuts. Seems like a bunch. I’ll have to go back and figure that out.
 
A 2nd with @Yo Mama AND @rockaction? :excited:

we have to go Aerials, right guys?
Aerials is good with me
Just quoteing you but it's really directed at anyone remotely interested. If you listen to this, which I really think is a wonderful song, so you should, this is maybe exemplifies songs that BP likes. Strong melody with good backing percussion. The lyrics and accompanying video are meaningful, though arguably superficial. I'm less of a lyrics guy and more of a beat guy. I like what SOUNDS good, at least to me.
So I guess I didn’t get to that song when I listened to the album earlier today.

That song would be more palatable for me. It’s a good song - but I’d probably not seek it out again necessarily. I can see why someone would like it.
 
161 (tie). Led Zeppelin III – Led Zeppelin (152 points)

@jwb #31
@turnjose7 #35
@Uruk-Hai #44
@Mt. Man #46
@shuke #52
@timschochet #66

Led Zeppelin III is the third studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released on 5 October 1970. It was recorded in three locations. Much of the work was done at Headley Grange, a country house, using the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio. Additional sessions were held at Island Studios and Olympic Studios in London. As with the prior album, the band eschewed the use of guest musicians, with all music performed by band members Robert Plant (vocals), Jimmy Page (guitars), John Paul Jones (bass, keyboards), and John Bonham (drums). The range of instruments played by the band was greatly enhanced on this album, with Jones especially emerging as a talented multi-instrumentalist, playing a wide range of keyboard and stringed instruments, including various synthesizers, mandolin and double bass, in addition to his usual bass guitar. As with prior albums, Page served as producer on the album, with mixing done by Andy Johns and Terry Manning.
:thumbup:
 
161 (tie). Led Zeppelin III – Led Zeppelin (152 points)

@jwb #31
@turnjose7 #35
@Uruk-Hai #44
@Mt. Man #46
@shuke #52
@timschochet #66

Led Zeppelin III is the third studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released on 5 October 1970. It was recorded in three locations. Much of the work was done at Headley Grange, a country house, using the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio. Additional sessions were held at Island Studios and Olympic Studios in London. As with the prior album, the band eschewed the use of guest musicians, with all music performed by band members Robert Plant (vocals), Jimmy Page (guitars), John Paul Jones (bass, keyboards), and John Bonham (drums). The range of instruments played by the band was greatly enhanced on this album, with Jones especially emerging as a talented multi-instrumentalist, playing a wide range of keyboard and stringed instruments, including various synthesizers, mandolin and double bass, in addition to his usual bass guitar. As with prior albums, Page served as producer on the album, with mixing done by Andy Johns and Terry Manning.
:thumbup:
We may see more.
 
127 (tie). Toxicity System Of A Down (182 points)

@BLOCKED_PUNT #8
@Dan Lambskin #20
@titusbramble #40
@Yo Mama #46
@rockaction #62

Toxicity is the second studio album by the Armenian-American heavy metal band System of a Down, released on September 4, 2001, by American Recordings and Columbia Records. Expanding on their 1998 eponymous debut album, Toxicity incorporates more melody, harmonies, and singing than the band's first album. Categorized primarily as alternative metal and nu metal, the album features elements of multiple genres, including folk, progressive rock, jazz, and Armenian and Greek music, including prominent use of instruments like the sitar, banjo, keyboards, and piano. It contains a wide array of political and non-political themes, such as mass incarceration, the CIA, the environment, police brutality, drug addiction, scientific reductionism, and groupies.
Masterpiece IMO.
Since Krista decided that deserved a laughing emoji…it’s a highly regarded album, especially in the the genre

Just because it’s not on some circle jerk list that rehashes all the same tired albums doesn’t mean it isn’t good

From wiki

The album is listed on Blender's 500 CDs You Must Own.[55] MusicRadar held a public poll and Toxicity was ranked as the 28th greatest heavy metal album on its list of The 50 Greatest Heavy Metal Albums of All Time.[56]The album is ranked number 44 on Rolling Stone's 100 Best Albums of the Decade for 2000s[14] and 27th on the magazine's "100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time".[57] Toxicitywas voted the 27th best album of the year in The Village Voice's annual Pazz & Jop critics poll for 2001.[58] Spin named the album one of The 300 Best Albums Of The Past 30 Years, with Toxicity being one of the highest-listed heavy metal albums on the list.[59] Spin also named Toxicity the Album of the Year in 2001, and finally ranked it number 38 on its list of The 40 Greatest Metal Albums Of All Time.[60][61] Kludge ranked it number five on their list of best albums of 2001.[62] Alternative Pressranked it number nine on its 25 Best Albums of 2001.[46] Mojo ranked it number 93 on its 100 Modern Classics.[63] The album won a 2001 Metal Edge Readers' Choice Award for Album of the Year.[64] Loudwire listed the album at number one on its list of Top 11 Metal Albums of the 2000s, number two on the Top 100 Hard Rock + Metal Albums Of The 21st Century, and number 11 on its list of Top 50 Metal Albums of All Time.[65][66][67] NME listed the album at number six on its list of 20 Greatest Metal Albums Ever.[68] Metal Hammer declared Toxicity the best album of 2001.[69] The Observer ranked Toxicity as one of the Top 50 Albums Of The Decade, at number 34.[70] In 2007, The Guardian placed the album on its list of the 1000 Albums To Hear Before You Die.[71]Entertainment Weekly also put Toxicity on its list of the 100 Best Albums of the 1983–2008 Period, at number 90.[72] Revolver named Toxicity the eighth greatest metal album of all time on its list of the 69 Greatest Metal Albums Of All Time.[73] The album was included on The A.V. Club's list of the best metal records of the 2000s.[12] PopMatters ranked Toxicity at 62 on its Best Albums of the 2000s list.[74] "Chop Suey!" was nominated for Best Metal Performance at the 44th Grammy Awards in 2002 and "Aerials" was nominated for Best Hard Rock Performance at the 45th Grammy Awards the following year.[75] In 2020, the album was included at the 100 Best Albums of the 21st Century list of Stacker, being ranked at 85.[76]
 
125. Ramones – Ramones (186 points)

Jeb #6
@Nick Vermiel #17
@SayChowda #21
@timschochet #54

Ramones is the debut studio album by the American punk rock band Ramones, released on April 23, 1976, by Sire Records.

Violence, drug use, relationship issues, humor, and Nazism were prominent in the album's lyrics. The album opens with "Blitzkrieg Bop", which is among the band's most recognized songs. Most of the album's tracks are uptempo, with many songs measuring at well over 160 beats per minute. The songs are also rather short; at two-and-a-half minutes, "I Don't Wanna Go Down to the Basement" is the album's longest track. Ramones contains a cover of the Chris Montez song "Let's Dance".
 
124. Elephant – The White Stripes (186 points)


@Don Quixote #12
@Dan Lambskin #33
@Nick Vermeil #38
@Mt. Man #47
@KarmaPolice #58
@MAC_32 #60
@Scoresman #63
@Val Rannous #67

Elephant is the fourth studio album by the American rock duo The White Stripes, released on April 1, 2003, by V2, XL, and Third Man. The album was produced by the band's guitarist and lead vocalist Jack White, and mostly recorded at Maida Vale and Toe Rag Studios across two weeks in April 2002.

After the White Stripes achieved their mainstream breakthrough, they continued a "back-to-basics" approach seen in their previous album, White Blood Cells. This was reinforced by producing the album without computers, instead utilizing a duct-taped 8 track tape machine and gear no more recent than 1963. Musically, Elephant is a blues and garage rock record featuring lyrics and themes surrounding the "death of the sweetheart" in American and popular culture.
 
124. Elephant – The White Stripes (186 points)


@Don Quixote #12
@Dan Lambskin #33
@Nick Vermeil #38
@Mt. Man #47
@KarmaPolice #58
@MAC_32 #60
@Scoresman #63
@Val Rannous #67

Elephant is the fourth studio album by the American rock duo The White Stripes, released on April 1, 2003, by V2, XL, and Third Man. The album was produced by the band's guitarist and lead vocalist Jack White, and mostly recorded at Maida Vale and Toe Rag Studios across two weeks in April 2002.

After the White Stripes achieved their mainstream breakthrough, they continued a "back-to-basics" approach seen in their previous album, White Blood Cells. This was reinforced by producing the album without computers, instead utilizing a duct-taped 8 track tape machine and gear no more recent than 1963. Musically, Elephant is a blues and garage rock record featuring lyrics and themes surrounding the "death of the sweetheart" in American and popular culture.
our first 8 participant submission
 
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Great albums, but I have been surprised that for a bunch of old (mostly) dudes, the metal has been leaning to those late 90s/early 00s albums as much as it has. Toxicity is one I haven't thought of for a bit, but listened to a fair amount. That's been a surprise in the last couple days, as was Pretty Hate Machine over Downward Spiral.

ETA: not a complaint, I'd rather surprises vs. cookie cutter list.
 
129 (tie). Pretty Hate Machine Nine Inch Nails (181 points)

@BrutalPenguin #10 :headbang:
@Rand al Thor #23
@Long Ball Larry #24
@Nick Vermeil #55
@Idiot Boxer #62

Pretty Hate Machine is the debut studio album by the American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, released by TVT Records on October 20, 1989. Frontman Trent Reznor sang and performed most of the instruments, also producing the album alongside Keith LeBlanc, John Fryer and Flood, with a few other contributors.

The album features a heavily synthesizer-driven electronic sound blended with industrial and rock elements. Much like the band's later work, the album's lyrics contain themes of angst, betrayal, and lovesickness. The record was promoted with the singles "Down in It", "Head Like a Hole", and "Sin", as well as the accompanying tour. A remastered edition was released in 2010.
This is another album that was a staple at parties I went to in the early to mid 90s.
The level of blunt sincerity and extreme vulnerability offset by pure rage leads to some really powerful songs.

This album is likely responsible for a lot of the tinnitus I have today.

My favorites are Terrible Lie, Sin, and Head Like a Hole. Ringfinger too. They're all good.
I've got about 10 albums downloaded to my phone so I can listen to them on the plane or wherever I don't have wifi. This is one of them. Terrible Lie is a good one, but if you're going to pick a song to appeal to the masses, I'd think Head Like a Hole is the obvious choice.
 
127 (tie). Escape Journey (182 points)


@higgins #27
@BroncoFreak_2K3 #35
@Dwayne_Castro #36
@BrutalPenguin #40
@zamboni #53
@Idiot Boxer #61
@Yo Mama #63


Escape (stylized as E5C4P3 on the album cover) is the seventh studio album by American rock band Journey, released on July 20, 1981, by Columbia Records. It topped the US Billboard 200 chart and featured four hit Billboard Hot 100 singles – "Don't Stop Believin'" (No. 9), "Who's Crying Now" (No. 4), "Still They Ride" (No. 19) and "Open Arms" (No. 2) – plus rock radio staple "Stone in Love". In July 2021, it was certified Diamond by the Recording Industry of America (RIAA) for at least ten million sales in the US, making it the band's most successful studio album and second most successful album overall behind Greatest Hits. Escape was the fifth-highest selling album of 1981, just behind Bella Donna from Stevie Nicks.
I’ll go with “Stone in Love” for Journey’s Escape.
Love that choice! Would have been mine, too.
 
129 (tie). Pretty Hate Machine Nine Inch Nails (181 points)

@BrutalPenguin #10 :headbang:
@Rand al Thor #23
@Long Ball Larry #24
@Nick Vermeil #55
@Idiot Boxer #62

Pretty Hate Machine is the debut studio album by the American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, released by TVT Records on October 20, 1989. Frontman Trent Reznor sang and performed most of the instruments, also producing the album alongside Keith LeBlanc, John Fryer and Flood, with a few other contributors.

The album features a heavily synthesizer-driven electronic sound blended with industrial and rock elements. Much like the band's later work, the album's lyrics contain themes of angst, betrayal, and lovesickness. The record was promoted with the singles "Down in It", "Head Like a Hole", and "Sin", as well as the accompanying tour. A remastered edition was released in 2010.
This is another album that was a staple at parties I went to in the early to mid 90s.
The level of blunt sincerity and extreme vulnerability offset by pure rage leads to some really powerful songs.

This album is likely responsible for a lot of the tinnitus I have today.

My favorites are Terrible Lie, Sin, and Head Like a Hole. Ringfinger too. They're all good.
I've got about 10 albums downloaded to my phone so I can listen to them on the plane or wherever I don't have wifi. This is one of them. Terrible Lie is a good one, but if you're going to pick a song to appeal to the masses, I'd think Head Like a Hole is the obvious choice.
Head Like a Hole it is.
 
127 (tie). Escape Journey (182 points)


@higgins #27
@BroncoFreak_2K3 #35
@Dwayne_Castro #36
@BrutalPenguin #40
@zamboni #53
@Idiot Boxer #61
@Yo Mama #63


Escape (stylized as E5C4P3 on the album cover) is the seventh studio album by American rock band Journey, released on July 20, 1981, by Columbia Records. It topped the US Billboard 200 chart and featured four hit Billboard Hot 100 singles – "Don't Stop Believin'" (No. 9), "Who's Crying Now" (No. 4), "Still They Ride" (No. 19) and "Open Arms" (No. 2) – plus rock radio staple "Stone in Love". In July 2021, it was certified Diamond by the Recording Industry of America (RIAA) for at least ten million sales in the US, making it the band's most successful studio album and second most successful album overall behind Greatest Hits. Escape was the fifth-highest selling album of 1981, just behind Bella Donna from Stevie Nicks.
our first 7 participant submission.
I have 2 Journey albums, but not this one. Seeing this one show up first makes me think we might not see others.
 
127 (tie). Escape Journey (182 points)


@higgins #27
@BroncoFreak_2K3 #35
@Dwayne_Castro #36
@BrutalPenguin #40
@zamboni #53
@Idiot Boxer #61
@Yo Mama #63


Escape (stylized as E5C4P3 on the album cover) is the seventh studio album by American rock band Journey, released on July 20, 1981, by Columbia Records. It topped the US Billboard 200 chart and featured four hit Billboard Hot 100 singles – "Don't Stop Believin'" (No. 9), "Who's Crying Now" (No. 4), "Still They Ride" (No. 19) and "Open Arms" (No. 2) – plus rock radio staple "Stone in Love". In July 2021, it was certified Diamond by the Recording Industry of America (RIAA) for at least ten million sales in the US, making it the band's most successful studio album and second most successful album overall behind Greatest Hits. Escape was the fifth-highest selling album of 1981, just behind Bella Donna from Stevie Nicks.
our first 7 participant submission.
And yet not KP, who did them for a MAD countdown. I know he prefers their ‘70s stuff.
Yup. I had to cut it off at 2 for artists not named Radiohead and Opeth. I have 2 from the 70s and this probably would have been #3.
 
127 (tie). Toxicity System Of A Down (182 points)

@BLOCKED_PUNT #8 :headbang:
@Dan Lambskin #20
@titusbramble #40
@Yo Mama #46
@rockaction #62

Toxicity is the second studio album by the Armenian-American heavy metal band System of a Down, released on September 4, 2001, by American Recordings and Columbia Records. Expanding on their 1998 eponymous debut album, Toxicity incorporates more melody, harmonies, and singing than the band's first album. Categorized primarily as alternative metal and nu metal, the album features elements of multiple genres, including folk, progressive rock, jazz, and Armenian and Greek music, including prominent use of instruments like the sitar, banjo, keyboards, and piano. It contains a wide array of political and non-political themes, such as mass incarceration, the CIA, the environment, police brutality, drug addiction, scientific reductionism, and groupies.
I figured I was throwing away with a System vote and am thrilled to be wrong even if it wasn't the album I chose. Unpopular opinion, but I think Needles is this album's peak.
 
124. Elephant – The White Stripes (186 points)


@Don Quixote #12
@Dan Lambskin #33
@Nick Vermeil #38
@Mt. Man #47
@KarmaPolice #58
@MAC_32 #60
@Scoresman #63
@Val Rannous #67

Elephant is the fourth studio album by the American rock duo The White Stripes, released on April 1, 2003, by V2, XL, and Third Man. The album was produced by the band's guitarist and lead vocalist Jack White, and mostly recorded at Maida Vale and Toe Rag Studios across two weeks in April 2002.

After the White Stripes achieved their mainstream breakthrough, they continued a "back-to-basics" approach seen in their previous album, White Blood Cells. This was reinforced by producing the album without computers, instead utilizing a duct-taped 8 track tape machine and gear no more recent than 1963. Musically, Elephant is a blues and garage rock record featuring lyrics and themes surrounding the "death of the sweetheart" in American and popular culture.
I have a higher ranked White Stripes album that probably didn't make it, but their two best can be found here- Ball & Biscuit and The Hardest Button To Button- and obviously there's much MUCH more
 
Great albums, but I have been surprised that for a bunch of old (mostly) dudes, the metal has been leaning to those late 90s/early 00s albums as much as it has. Toxicity is one I haven't thought of for a bit, but listened to a fair amount. That's been a surprise in the last couple days, as was Pretty Hate Machine over Downward Spiral.

ETA: not a complaint, I'd rather surprises vs. cookie cutter list.
I was an angsty teen during nu metals rise. It was right in my wheelhouse. That and hardcore gansta rap. And anything psychedelic
 
124. Elephant – The White Stripes (186 points)


@Don Quixote #12
@Dan Lambskin #33
@Nick Vermeil #38
@Mt. Man #47
@KarmaPolice #58
@MAC_32 #60
@Scoresman #63
@Val Rannous #67

Elephant is the fourth studio album by the American rock duo The White Stripes, released on April 1, 2003, by V2, XL, and Third Man. The album was produced by the band's guitarist and lead vocalist Jack White, and mostly recorded at Maida Vale and Toe Rag Studios across two weeks in April 2002.

After the White Stripes achieved their mainstream breakthrough, they continued a "back-to-basics" approach seen in their previous album, White Blood Cells. This was reinforced by producing the album without computers, instead utilizing a duct-taped 8 track tape machine and gear no more recent than 1963. Musically, Elephant is a blues and garage rock record featuring lyrics and themes surrounding the "death of the sweetheart" in American and popular culture.
I know others have said some other albums higher than this one, but this one was the first that I bought and my introduction to them. When I bought it, I think all that I knew was “Seven Nation Army.” Rest of the album blew me away when I listened to it, and then went out and immediately bought all their prior albums. Maybe would have White Blood Cells higher if I heard that one first, but this one holds that spot.

For the playlist, I enjoy Seven Nation Army, but just turn on a sporting event if you want to hear it. The Hardest Button to Button is a top-tier White Stripes song too, but watch the music video if you haven’t. Instead, let’s have a ball, and take our sweet little time about it…

 
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124. Elephant – The White Stripes (186 points)


@Don Quixote #12
@Dan Lambskin #33
@Nick Vermeil #38
@Mt. Man #47
@KarmaPolice #58
@MAC_32 #60
@Scoresman #63
@Val Rannous #67

Elephant is the fourth studio album by the American rock duo The White Stripes, released on April 1, 2003, by V2, XL, and Third Man. The album was produced by the band's guitarist and lead vocalist Jack White, and mostly recorded at Maida Vale and Toe Rag Studios across two weeks in April 2002.

After the White Stripes achieved their mainstream breakthrough, they continued a "back-to-basics" approach seen in their previous album, White Blood Cells. This was reinforced by producing the album without computers, instead utilizing a duct-taped 8 track tape machine and gear no more recent than 1963. Musically, Elephant is a blues and garage rock record featuring lyrics and themes surrounding the "death of the sweetheart" in American and popular culture.

I feel like if I listened to this as an album start to finish, I would have ranked it. It suffers from the "I don't listen to albums as a whole anymore" problem. Jack White is brilliant and deserves high rankings all around.
 
125. Ramones – Ramones (186 points)

Jeb #6
@Nick Vermiel #17
@SayChowda #21
@timschochet #54

Ramones is the debut studio album by the American punk rock band Ramones, released on April 23, 1976, by Sire Records.

Violence, drug use, relationship issues, humor, and Nazism were prominent in the album's lyrics. The album opens with "Blitzkrieg Bop", which is among the band's most recognized songs. Most of the album's tracks are uptempo, with many songs measuring at well over 160 beats per minute. The songs are also rather short; at two-and-a-half minutes, "I Don't Wanna Go Down to the Basement" is the album's longest track. Ramones contains a cover of the Chris Montez song "Let's Dance".

Rocket to Russia was my pick and given that I did the one-record-per-artist thing I'll probably not get to write them up, which will honestly save the people on their phones tons of scrolling (or not, it turns out). This is an album that sold few records and barely made a dent at first but gave birth (in the immediate sense) to punk rock all over the world—especially in Britain where both the Ramones and punk took off like a Palisades wildfire* on their first tour, inspiring future punk luminaries like Captain Sensible of the Damned, Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols, and Joe Strummer of the Clash to either start a band or reconsider bringing one into the punk milieu.

From the opening strains of "The Blitzkrieg Bop" through the closer (and probably my favorite) "Today Your Love, Tomorrow The World," it was twenty-nine minutes of rapid-fire three-chord downstrokes, cartoonish lyrics delivered in a beautiful voice from Queens, the occasional backing vocal of "ooooh," and a fifties rock n' roll sensibility that announced the second verse was same as the first—which showed a musical and critical sensibility few could ever match. They were bubblegum for hardened city kids and the artistic set, introducing everyone to "Judy," "Sheena," "Jackie," and a whole host of misfit characters. As at home with the glue sniffers as with the transcendental visual artists who happened to be in their at-will employ, they were a catalyst and party favor as much as they were a band.

They're all deceased, but they live on everywhere**—their music plays in dormitories; out of the windows of brownstone walk-ups; on the street; atop penthouses; and through today's unwired headphones for personal use or through the loudspeakers at sporting events with a hundred thousand in attendance. Their strikingly designed seal*** was worn by so many and was so de rigueur that it was in danger of being passé and considered less-than-cool, having been sold at suburban five-and-dime-store reincarnations like Target™, Old Navy™, and other preposterously distributive stores whose affordability is unquestioned and reach nearly everywhere by location or mail order. It is even available emblazoned upon baby onesies, gently swaddling the infant in Ramones "mania," the eagle seal placed lovingly over his or her heartbeat. The Ramones, once freakish outsiders, are completely and fully an American band.

eta* punk exploded and then immolated like a building demolition in Queens

eta2** Their lives were born of the band as much as they were lived apart—the core of Joey, Johnny, and Dee Dee all copped the same surname for the stage and from then on were rarely known by their real ones: Cummings, Hyman, and Colvin, respectively. They became one big, ****ed-up, constantly barnstorming family—a congregation all gone within three years of one another.

eta3***The seal is an eagle holding a baseball bat in its left talon while arrows protrude and ascend out of its back with an olive branch affixed and grasped in the other talon. Encircling the eagle is each band member's first name in between two concentric circles encasing the circle of names. This seal was famously and impeccably drawn and conceived by one Arturo Vega, graphic artist extraordinaire to the Ramones for their entire careers—he attended all but a handful of their two thousand concerts.
 
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Ramones first album would have been higher if OH had participated. Actually he could have had many Ramones on there. And of course, the Ramones also took their name from "boy band" The Beatles, so that's cool.

If you think you're pissed about The Beatles' "boy band" designation, you should see the tension in the Reddit punk rock threads when Lydon praises or doesn't hate on President Trump and the punk rockers go batshit and say he was always a part of Malcolm McLaren's "boy band," and then the rest of the punks go apeshit and there's a good old fight about it.

Okay, I exaggerate. The punks all nod in get in line because the trump card gets played from the deck, but otherwise they get furious when you call the Pistols the dreaded equivalent of "Backstreet's back all right!" and throw the troll bomb like that. What has to be understood by the other punks is that it's really a sign of respect and the detonation is a Streisand detonation that only hurts if you're trying to smother the grenade.
 
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127 (tie). Escape Journey (182 points)


@higgins #27
@BroncoFreak_2K3 #35
@Dwayne_Castro #36
@BrutalPenguin #40
@zamboni #53
@Idiot Boxer #61
@Yo Mama #63


Escape (stylized as E5C4P3 on the album cover) is the seventh studio album by American rock band Journey, released on July 20, 1981, by Columbia Records. It topped the US Billboard 200 chart and featured four hit Billboard Hot 100 singles – "Don't Stop Believin'" (No. 9), "Who's Crying Now" (No. 4), "Still They Ride" (No. 19) and "Open Arms" (No. 2) – plus rock radio staple "Stone in Love". In July 2021, it was certified Diamond by the Recording Industry of America (RIAA) for at least ten million sales in the US, making it the band's most successful studio album and second most successful album overall behind Greatest Hits. Escape was the fifth-highest selling album of 1981, just behind Bella Donna from Stevie Nicks.
I’ll go with “Stone in Love” for Journey’s Escape.
Love that choice! Would have been mine, too.
Awesome choice @higgins
 
Song selection for Joni Mitchell's Court and Spark is Raised on Robbery. It was a 10-way tie until I realized I could smuggle Robbie Robertson into the ride as well. Could someone please add to playlist, thank you.

Here's a live version with all-world session guitar player Michael Landau. It smokes.

 
Song selection for Joni Mitchell's Court and Spark is Raised on Robbery. It was a 10-way tie until I realized I could smuggle Robbie Robertson into the ride as well. Could someone please add to playlist, thank you.

Here's a live version with all-world session guitar player Michael Landau. It smokes.

I added this one to it.

I could not read the white text that I see now when I click to reply, but noticed not in the playlist.
 
What do you think of Toxicity? What does it for you? Just rocks? (It does.)
It's good but clearly behind Chop Suey and Aerials.

The album. Italicized is the way to denote the album. "Toxicity" in quotes is the song, bro. I was just curious what you liked about the album. How it might have made you feel, what it reminds you of, anything really. No pressure. Just curious. Thought maybe if you had a memory or a part that you loved we could go from there . . . just trying for some conversation.

No big deal about anything, man. I should have said. "What do you like about the album?" Stupid way to phrase it on my end.
 
I'm miles behind, but I'm going to try to catch up a little. Probably with shorter stuff.

161 (tie). Led Zeppelin III – Led Zeppelin (152 points)

I didn’t restrict myself to 1 album per band, but I stopped at 2. LZ is definitely one of the bands that suffered from that choice, as otherwise 4-5 selections might have made it. So this isn’t the album I ranked the highest, but I’m positive that we’ll get to that one later.

Top to bottom this is a super strong album. I guess “Immigrant Song” and “Gallows Pole” are the biggest ones, though I enjoy it throughout. “Friends”, “Since I’ve Been Loving You”, and I’ve got to give a shoutout to “Bron-Y-Aur Stomp”.
 
159 (tie). Sea Change - Beck (155 points)

Not atypical for Beck, “Sea Change” has a lot of slow, thoughtful, ethereal songs. It’s definitely music for specific kinds of moods. Winding down from the day. Playing slow-paced games. Or just when you want lo-fi beats to study and/or relax to.

Like a lot of my selections, I’d have difficulty finding anything to skip here. The “Hits” are “Guess I’m Doing Fine” and “Lost Cause”, both of which I have something of a soft spot for. I could probably gush a little about all the tracks here, but I’ll spare you. I should mention that “It’s All in Your Mind” was just #1 on the M-AD countdown (if partially because the top few was also a ranking of Beck albums), and it’s hard to argue much against that. "Already Dead" is another strong choice, though again it's hard to go wrong here.
 
124. Elephant – The White Stripes (186 points)


@Don Quixote #12
@Dan Lambskin #33
@Nick Vermeil #38
@Mt. Man #47
@KarmaPolice #58
@MAC_32 #60
@Scoresman #63
@Val Rannous #67

Elephant is the fourth studio album by the American rock duo The White Stripes, released on April 1, 2003, by V2, XL, and Third Man. The album was produced by the band's guitarist and lead vocalist Jack White, and mostly recorded at Maida Vale and Toe Rag Studios across two weeks in April 2002.

After the White Stripes achieved their mainstream breakthrough, they continued a "back-to-basics" approach seen in their previous album, White Blood Cells. This was reinforced by producing the album without computers, instead utilizing a duct-taped 8 track tape machine and gear no more recent than 1963. Musically, Elephant is a blues and garage rock record featuring lyrics and themes surrounding the "death of the sweetheart" in American and popular culture.
Like White Blood Cells, I listened to this a ton — the whole album, not just its ubiquitous song — in the early 00s. Major oversight on my part not to have either.
 
124. Elephant – The White Stripes (186 points)


@Don Quixote #12
@Dan Lambskin #33
@Nick Vermeil #38
@Mt. Man #47
@KarmaPolice #58
@MAC_32 #60
@Scoresman #63
@Val Rannous #67

Elephant is the fourth studio album by the American rock duo The White Stripes, released on April 1, 2003, by V2, XL, and Third Man. The album was produced by the band's guitarist and lead vocalist Jack White, and mostly recorded at Maida Vale and Toe Rag Studios across two weeks in April 2002.

After the White Stripes achieved their mainstream breakthrough, they continued a "back-to-basics" approach seen in their previous album, White Blood Cells. This was reinforced by producing the album without computers, instead utilizing a duct-taped 8 track tape machine and gear no more recent than 1963. Musically, Elephant is a blues and garage rock record featuring lyrics and themes surrounding the "death of the sweetheart" in American and popular culture.
I know others have said some other albums higher than this one, but this one was the first that I bought and my introduction to them. When I bought it, I think all that I knew was “Seven Nation Army.” Rest of the album blew me away when I listened to it, and then went out and immediately bought all their prior albums. Maybe would have White Blood Cells higher if I heard that one first, but this one holds that spot.

For the playlist, I enjoy Seven Nation Army, but just turn on a sporting event if you want to hear it. The Hardest Button to Button is a top-tier White Stripes song too, but watch the music video if you haven’t. Instead, let’s have a ball, and take our sweet little time about it…

B&B is my favorite song from this album and witnessing it live on the tour for it was a highlight of my concertgoing days.
 
Song selection for Joni Mitchell's Court and Spark is Raised on Robbery. It was a 10-way tie until I realized I could smuggle Robbie Robertson into the ride as well. Could someone please add to playlist, thank you.

Here's a live version with all-world session guitar player Michael Landau. It smokes.

One of the most pleasant surprises of Neil Young’s Archives Vol. 2 was the inclusion of a 1973 session where Joni showed up to the studio where Neil and the transitional version of Crazy Horse were recording Tonight’s the Night and they cut a take of Raised on Robbery.

 

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