top 5 albums of the last twenty years: the fav five

this post relates to monday, august, 4

alright, so it’s a week late. i know many of you need this post to get on with life. i know many of you have been waiting at home, not going to work, not playing, not eating, maybe not even sleeping, while you just sit at your computer hitting the refresh button over and over until the missing post came up for you to read. well, here it is. sadly, it will be a quick one, but it is not about quantity, it’s all about quantity. i have been wanting to do this post for quite some time, so i am excited about it and anxious to hear your comments on it.

first, let me recount some items of historical significance that occurred on 8/4/08, for instance, my sister-in-law, tami, had her wedding reception. yes, she had the reception before the actual wedding. it seemed to work, but maybe that was because i helped serve food at the reception. all in all, the reception was very nice. it was outdoors and the weather cooled down just enough to makes things very pleasant. always fun to see friends and family. excellent food.

ok, so on to the meat of the post. i love music. if i had more time, i would listen to music. if i could have gone to school for 8 years to become something, i would have done so to become a music critic. even better, i would be the guy that puts together soundtracks for movies and tv shows. instead, i took the cpa exam and the bar exam. fun stuff. my point is, because i am going to be something lame like an attorney or cpa, i can only pretend to be a critic and act as if my opinion actually matters.

so, in the spirit of being a poser, i decided to put together my own list of my top five albums of the last 20 years. this idea came to me when i finally broke down and purchased the smiths, the queen is dead cd. i have always loved this album, but never purchased it once i made the switch from cassettes to cds some years ago (mainly because i am cheap). as such, i really hadn’t listen to the songs off it a whole lot over the last decade or so until i got the cd about 2 months ago. man, i love that album. i love it so much that i decided it deserves to be considered a top 5 album. hence, my list.

a quick word: pretty much everyone who reads this list will have a different five than mine. to that i say, first, you are wrong and, secondly, tell me your fav five and i will let you know why you are wrong.

also, these albums are in no particular order... it’s too difficult to split hairs in that regard.

1. the stone roses self titled debut (for those of you who know me, this should come as no surprise. while i don’t listen to this album nearly as much as i used to, it was truly revolutionary for its time and will always hold a special place in my heart... besides is there anyone cooler than ian brown, john squire, reni and mani? not bloody likely)







2. the charlatans: it’s a tie between wonderland and tellin’ stories (i could have possibly thrown one or two more albums on here from these guys. very underrated group)





3. the smiths: the queen is dead. unbelievable stuff. nearly every song is a classic. makes me sad every time i listen to it that morrisssey and marr can’t work their stuff out and get back together)



4. radiohead: another tie between the bends and in rainbows (probably the most innovative band around. whatever they do seems to work. absolutely love their music)



5. this one is tough to fill in. i think i will take the easy way out and throw a few groups down here because i am too chicken to narrow it down. so, try this: the white stripes: de stijl, coldplay: a rush of blood to the head, blur: modern life is rubbish, interpol: antics, morrissey: bona drag.





honorable mention: the killers: hot fuss, los aterciopelados: el dorado, the smiths: self-titled debut, the charlatans: self-titled album, the ocean blue: see the ocean blue, sarah brightman: classics, the shins: oh, inverted world, u2: how to dismantle an atomic bomb, the white stripes: get behind me satan. i’ll stop there.