My Top 5 Favorite Albums of All Time, Circa 2001
JESUS this was supposed to be a brief posting, I’m beginning to think that is an impossible task for me. Anyway, this list is really in no particular order, but I’ll rank them for the sake of hierarchy.
1. Deadsy, “Commencement”
Yes I am heavily biased, but this was my favorite album for a long time, well before I worked for them. It has it all, highs, lows, ballads, dance songs, fucking insane brutality, and an epic song or two. All the songs are epic, really, and that cover just says it all: a cartoon picture of a prep school with ominous, dripping blood. Anyway, this album was way ahead of its time and it went over most peoples heads. It’s sad because it was really just too much for people to process, the whole band was. At least we will forever have this incredible record to remember what once was.
2. Michael Jackson, “Thriller”
I could have put “Off The Wall” up here, or even “Bad”, both hold equal claim to any greatest albums list, but Thriller gets the nod for not only its historical significance, but for being the album with both “Beat It” and the beautiful, dreamlike “Human Nature”. Beat It was of particular significance to me personally, it was the first video I remember ever seeing and I think it’s safe to say that it was the one that just knocked my 6-year old ass on the ground and then continued to kick my ass into submission. It’s responsible for making me fall in love with music, and setting me on course to be a part of the music industry at a high level. That Eddie Van Halen guitar riff, the imagery with the gangs fighting (they used real gang members as extras!), Michael’s red leather jacket and the elaborate choreographed dance sequence finale… DAMN. The rest of the album is incredible, with stellar production from Quincy Jones, the artistic conflict between them ultimately created such a powerful record that ended up being the biggest seller of all-time. Not that sales equal quality, but in this case the sales are definitely reflective of its power. Michael is the greatest performer of all time as far as I’m concerned, and he will greatly be missed.
Usually considered the greatest hip-hop album of all time, and I’d wholeheartedly agree. It is by FAR that, and it probably belongs in the top 20 albums EVER on ANYONE’s list, although those outside of old school rap heads probably aren’t even aware of its greatness. Nas’ popularity peaked many years later, and it took 7 years for this album to go platinum. That’s a damn shame considering its FLAWLESS from beginning to end, and what I would call the ultimate rap album. Every lyric, every beat, every hook, it is all perfect. The sample used on the intro alone is one of the sickest beats I’ve ever heard and they don’t even make use out of it, they just talk a bunch of shit on top of it. Almost a waste, but even that is classic. The album is almost entirely Nas alone, with only one real guest appearance, that being from AZ on “Life’s a Bitch”. Nas’ father Olu Dara also plays cornet on the track, and Q-Tip does the hook on the song that he produced for the album, “One Love”.
As for the other songs on the record, we could fill up a few days discussing them. The imagery he paints on the DJ Premier produced “NY State of Mind” is just insane, when I listen to it it makes me feel like I’m actually in the Queensbridge projects that he grew up in. Then there’s the production, handled entirely by an all-star cast of some of the genre’s finest, all providing some of their best work. When I first got this CD I freaked out when it ended, it was only 10 songs long, and one of them the intro track. I wanted more, damnit! But I’ve come to realize it’s perfect, and it does what most artists only dream of, it leaves you wanting, BEGGING for more. You can’t complain about a perfect album, no matter how long it is, and this album is most certainly perfect. I haven’t researched anything while writing this, this is all just my own ‘off the top’ thoughts, but as I quickly browse the Wikipedia entry of the record it’s clear that many others share almost my exact same thoughts. See for yourself.
4. David Bowie, “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars”
Here’s another one where you could name a few of his albums that are worthy of spots on all-time greatest lists. I’m going with “Ziggy Stardust” because it is also flawless from beginning to end, and it also has quite a bit of historical significance. It charts highly on many “greatest records of all-time” lists, and has served as a huge inspiration for many great artists that followed. While some may argue over which is the greatest Bowie record musically, I don’t think anyone disagrees that this is THE quintessential Bowie record, and the one most closely associated with his name.
5. Slayer, “Reign in Blood”
This album is PURE thrash. When I say PURE, I actually mean that. The sound of the album sounds almost pure and pristine, considering its a thrash metal record with mostly satanic subject matter. The sound quality can be attributed to the great Rick Rubin who solidified himself as an incredibly skilled and versatile producer and took the band to an entirely new level on this record. While Rubin was known as mostly a hip-hop producer prior, this wasn’t actually the first rock album he worked on, but it definitely has gone on to have the greatest legacy. As for Slayer’s contribution to the album, they are definitely at their best here, sounding extremely raw and turbocharged. Kind of like a faster and extremely heavier version of The Stooges “Raw Power”. Again, this album is held in high regard across the critical spectrum. It is usually referred to as the heaviest album of all-time, the best “thrash metal” album of all time, the essential “death metal” album, and it is even considered the best metal album, EVER. All I will say is that it pounds the shit out of anything that has come since, and still sounds as fresh and groundbreaking today as it was back then. It’s a genre-defying record that still gets me off. Years after I have put most of my metal cd’s away, this one is still around and gets frequent spins. I absolutely love it.
So there’s my list. As the title states, I came up with this list in 2001 after watching High Fidelity. I think it stands up even today as a pretty solid list, with a good objective sampling of the best in the overall history of recorded music. I think most people would look at it and complain first about the inclusion of “Commencement”, a virtually unknown album among the masses, and then about the lack of older “classic” albums; I have nothing from the 60’s, and Ziggy Stardust is the only album on here that predates 1982. Most people consider pre-1980 as the golden years of commercial music, but I think the artists of the 60’s and 70’s get way too much credit. I’m not saying their music wasn’t great, but it has so much nostalgic perspective attached to it. Another factor is people aren’t as eager to put newer records on these lists because not as much time has passed since their release, and therefore there is some uncertainty about how they’ll hold up in the grand scheme of musical history. Nonetheless, I stand by these choices and even now, if I put together an updated list, it wouldn’t have more than 2 made before 1980.
I hope you check these albums out if you haven’t already. I have tried to make it easy to purchase them (click on the album pictures) and to learn more about them (click the album title), as well as the artists that made them (click on… you guessed it). I think I’ll probably do an update soon, I believe that you can never do a true “top 5 albums of all time” that exists across a continuum, you can only put together a list like this that is right for a particular moment in time.
If you think you have a worthy list, please send it in to and depending on if it’s good or bad, I may repost it with commentary.
