A break before the final 2: My Personal Top 100, 100-81

 


Like many music dorks my age, I've always been captivated by lists.  I mean, obviously, I'm doing this project, which is just my takes on someone else's lists.  From time to time, I've compiled my own lists of my favorite music in some form or another, but I have never undetaken the daunting task of figuring out my favorite 100 albums and then putting them into order from 1 to 100.  It's an inherently transitory task, as it represents my feelings about these albums at this particular date in history.  Nevertheless, the top 20 at least is very, very similar to a top 20 list I made about 15 years ago, so it's not all out of left field.

Brief comments on some of the albums, as warranted.

100. New Order, Low-Life

Kind of a forgotten New Order album, but the first one I bought, way back as a youth.  I still remember the tracing paper sleeve that let you slide band members photos in and out so you could have whoever you wanted on the cover.  Best known probably for "The Perfect Kiss," and that song still slaps.  Something had to be number 100.

99. Spiritualized, Ladies and Gentlemen, We Are Floating in Space

98. Archers of Loaf, Vee Vee

Archers of Loaf kind of got lost in the 90s shuffle but put out a few great albums.  This one has "Harnessed in Slums," which got a lot of college radio airplay.  They reunited and put out an album last year!  I have not listened to it yet.

97. The Streets, Original Pirate Material

So glad I got to see Mike at the Treasure Island festival in 2009.

96. The Cure, Head on the Door

95. Elvis Costello, Punch the Clock

Oddball choice, I know, but there are 2 more Elvis Costello records on here.

94. Dr. Dre, The Chronic

93. Waxahachee, Ivy Tripp

92. Led Zeppelin, IV

91. Taylor Swift, folklore

This, I think, will always be my Pandemic Album, in that I will never be able to listen to it without thinking about those strange, endless days of 2020.

90. The Kinks, The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society


89. The Kingsbury Manx, The Fast Rise and Fall of the South

I remember seeing these indie darlings open for Wilco in Austin in 2005 and when they came out the lead singer said "We're the Kingsbury Manx, and we're a complete mystery," which is probably still true.

88. Big Star, Third

87. Stone Temple Pilots, Purple

Is there any band that has grown more in retrospective estimation than STP?  At the time, they were regarded as Pearl Jam kncokoffs; now they're thought of in many circles as Pearl Jam's superiors.  This album includes "Interstate Love Song," one of the best songs of the grunge era, or any era, really.

86. Valley Girl, Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Plimsouls!  Sparks!  Psychedelic Furs!  This wildly underrated movie's soundtrack is loaded with 80s songs that are still perfect to this day.

85. Fleetwood Mac, Rumours

84. Smiths, The Queen Is Dead

Number 1 album of all time, according to NME's 2013 list; only 84th on mine.

83. Jason and the Scorchers, Fervor

82. Elliott Smith, Either/Or

81. Bob Marley, Legend

[OK, so the RS number 2 will be on Monday, or even maybe Tuesday, it's taking me forever to get through.  In the meantime, feel free to roast me in the comments.]

Comments

  1. GGFebruary 3, 2023 at 10:38 AM

    "Punch the Clock" is fine as long as the other two are "Armed Forces" and "This Year's Model"

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousFebruary 4, 2023 at 9:42 AM

    Curious if this exercise made you rethink your list, whether it’s by addition given exposure to the RS list or reconsideration(e.g. Abbey Road)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. TKFebruary 4, 2023 at 2:28 PM

      Great question, absolutely it did. I didn't add any albums I'd only heard for the first time by doing this project, but I think some albums' ratings were definitely affected by doing this.

      Delete

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