I would say I'm disappointed to see Strangeways so low but it didn't make my top 100 anyway... conflicting emotions !!

if i didn't stick by the one album per artist rule then Strangeway would have been in my top 100.

Rock solid there with #482 and #481 and I'd probably nut all over #483 if I took the time to procure and listen to it. Good stuff.

lol and NIN and the strokes

antony above teenage fanclub really pisses me off.

Open Robe Waving By The Trailer






#480.




Stereolab - Emperor Tomato Ketchup
(482 Points, 4 Votes)

All Music Review: "The group certainly hasn't backed away from pop melodies on Emperor Tomato Ketchup, but just as their hooks are becoming catchier, they bring in more avant-garde and experimental influences, as well. Consequently, the album is Stereolab's most complex, multi-layered record. It lacks the raw, amateurish textures of their early singles, but the music is far more ambitious, melding electronic drones and singsong melodies with string sections, slight hip-hop and dub influences, and scores of interweaving counter melodies. Even when Stereolab appears to be creating a one-chord trance, there is a lot going on beneath the surface. Furthermore, the group's love for easy listening and pop melodies means that the music never feels cold or inaccessible." (5/5)

Previous Rank on SOMB 500 (2004): n/a

Ranked Highest By: just another noob (#15)






#479.




Naked Raygun - Throb Throb
(489 Points, 3 Votes)

All Music Review: "While not as furious as Hüsker Dü or as angry as the Misfits, Throb is no less vehement, and ever the more working-class. With comprehensible lyrics everyone can understand and chant, and a plethora of race-against-time guitar melodies, Throb is rare in that it appeals to academics as well as rednecks, straight-shooters as well as in-the-know punks. Borrowing from the big-guitar sound of English heavy metal bands like Iron Maiden and carving catchy melodies usually reserved for Top 40 pop songs into firebrands like "I Don't Know" and "Libido," Naked Raygun assures Throb's place as a classic that is forever ahead of its time, regardless of when it is heard." (4/5)

Previous Rank on SOMB 500 (2004): n/a

Ranked Highest By: felldownawell (#4)






#478.




Buffalo Tom - Let me Come Over
(489 Points, 3 Votes)

All Music Review: "And while Buffalo Tom was shouting less on Let Me Come Over, they seemed to have a lot more to say; there's a heart and soul to the lovelorn "Taillights Fade" and the yearning "Velvet Roof" that digs a good bit deeper than their previous work (and is also a lot easier to sort through), while even hard rockers such as "Stymied" and "Saving Grace" reflect a new maturity and seriousness of purpose. In fact, if Let Me Come Over has a flaw, it's that Buffalo Tom seems to display a bit less joie de vivre than one might have expected, though after gaining this much in the way of both skills and smarts, you can't blame them for wanting to show them off a bit." (4.5/5)

Previous Rank on SOMB 500 (2004): n/a

Ranked Highest By: bunk (#7)






#477.




Sparks - Kimono My House
(490 Points, 4 Votes)

All Music Review: "Arguably one of Sparks' best albums, 1974's Kimono My House finds the brothers Mael (Ron wrote most the songs and played keyboards, while Russell was the singing frontman) ingeniously playing their guitar- and keyboard-heavy pop mix on 12 consistently fine tracks. Adding a touch of bubblegum, and even some of Zappa's own song-centric experimentalism to the menu, the Maels spruce up a sleazy Sunset Strip with a bevy of Broadway-worthy performances here: as the band expertly revs up the glam rock-meets-Andrew Lloyd Webber backdrops, Russell sends things into space with his operatic vocals and ever-clever lyrics." (4.5/5)

Previous Rank on SOMB 500 (2004): n/a

Ranked Highest By: Eskimo kisses (#6)

Also Ranked By:




#476.




Meat Puppets - Huevos
(490 Points, 2 Votes)

All Music Review: "The band (guitarist/singer Curt Kirkwood in particular) had always voiced their admiration of ZZ Top, and Huevos contained Billy Gibbons & Co.'s influence more than any other Puppets release. But don't be misled -- it wasn't a ripoff, the trio simply incorporated ZZ's sound into their energetic, unpredictable rock. It also didn't hurt that Huevos contained the band's best set of songs since 1985's classic Up on the Sun, comprised almost entirely of heavy rockers ("Paradise," "Look at the Rain," "Crazy," "Fruit," "Automatic Mojo," "Dry Rain," etc.). Another major improvement of Huevos over Mirage was that Derrick Bostrom's drums no longer sounded metronome-perfect and robotic, giving the performances a much livelier edge." (4/5)

Previous Rank on SOMB 500 (2004): n/a

Ranked Highest By: blake (#5)

That's quite a plummet for Public Enemy.

Throb Throb would have made like, my top 150.

Killer album.

Pleased to see Kimono my house sneak in, every song on that record is just a killer pop song. Says something that a song as great as Lost & found didn't make the cut on it.

Aaahh Freak out!






#475.




Iron Maiden - Live After Death
(490 Points, 3 Votes)

All Music Review: "The album is essentially a best-of of sorts, since most of their singles released up to this point are featured in all of their high-decibel glory: "Aces High," "2 Minutes to Midnight," "The Trooper," "Flight of Icarus," "The Number of the Beast," "Run to the Hills," and "Running Free." Also included are such strong album tracks as "Wrathchild," "22 Acacia Avenue," "Children of the Damned," "Phantom of the Opera," "Hallowed Be Thy Name," "Iron Maiden," plus their two epics, "Powerslave" and "Rime of the Ancient Mariner," making it a near-complete overview. Live After Death is easily one of heavy metal's best live albums." (4.5/5)

Previous Rank on SOMB 500 (2004): #188

Ranked Highest By: Saskadelphia (#6)






#474.




Chic - C'est Chic
(490 Points, 3 Votes)

All Music Review: "Essentially, C'est Chic does everything its predecessor did, except it does so masterfully: each side similarly gets its timeless floor-filler ("Le Freak," "I Want Your Love"), quiet storm come-down ("Savoir Faire," "At Last I Am Free"), feel-good album track ("Happy Man," "Sometimes You Win"), and moody album capper ("Chic Cheer," "[Funny] Bone"). Producers Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers were quite a savvy pair and knew that disco was as much a formula as anything. As evidenced here, they definitely had their fingers on the pulse of the moment, and used their perceptive touch to craft one of the few truly great disco albums. In fact, you could even argue that C'est Chic very well may be the definitive disco album." (4.5/5)

Previous Rank on SOMB 500 (2004): n/a

Ranked Highest By: blaze (#3)






#473.




Pixies - Trompe le Monde
(492 Points, 3 Votes)

All Music Review: "Musically, "Trompe le Monde"'s psychedelic sheen and "Alec Eiffel"'s atmospheric keyboards prove that the Pixies' sound wasn't defined by Steve Albini-style rawness. There's also more emotional depth: "The Sad Punk" features the strangely poignant bridge "And evolving from the sea/Would not be too much time for me/To walk beside you in the sun," and "Letter to Memphis" is a heartfelt, if cryptic, love song. Though Trompe le Monde doesn't sound quite like the Pixies' other work, Come on Pilgrim's spooky beginnings, Surfer Rosa's abrasive assault, Doolittle's deceptively accessible punk-pop, and Bossanova's spacy sonics helped make Trompe le Monde a rousing swan song and a precursor to alternative rock's imminent success. Whether that means their music remained pure or they missed their chance to cash in is debatable; either way, the Pixies are one of America's greatest, most influential bands." (4/5)

Previous Rank on SOMB 500 (2004): #274

Ranked Highest By: felldownawell (#3)






#472.




Todd Rundgren - Something/Anything?
(493 Points, 4 Votes)

All Music Review: "Others had recorded one-man albums before Todd Rundgren, most notably Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney, but with Something/Anything? he captured the homemade ambience of McCartney with the visionary feel of Music of My Mind, adding an encyclopedic knowledge of pop music from Gilbert & Sullivan through Jimi Hendrix, plus the crazed zeal of a pioneer. Listening to Something/Anything? is a mind-altering trip in itself, no matter how many shamelessly accessible pop songs are scattered throughout the album, since each side of the double-record is a concept unto itself. The first is "a bouquet of ear-catching melodies"; side two is "the cerebral side"; on side three "the kid gets heavy"; side four is his mock pop operetta, recorded with a full band including the Sales Brothers." (5/5)

Previous Rank on SOMB 500 (2004): n/a

Ranked Highest By: The Truth (#5)






#471.




Peter Gabriel - So
(493 Points, 5 Votes)

All Music Review: "Apart from these singles, plus the urgent "That Voice Again," the rest of the record is as quiet as the album tracks of Security. The difference is, the singles on that record were part of the overall fabric; here, the singles are the fabric, which can make the album seem top-heavy (a fault of many blockbuster albums, particularly those of the mid-'80s). Even so, those songs are so strong, finding Gabriel in a newfound confidence and accessibility, that it's hard not to be won over by them, even if So doesn't develop the unity of its two predecessors." (4/5)

Previous Rank on SOMB 500 (2004): #102

Ranked Highest By: ghostfromthepast (#14)

Good work, Blaze. C'est Chic was on the first draft of my 100 and then I guess I was just feeling stupider a few weeks later.

should be ten spots higher imo

Unbelievably fine run starting at #480--not a clunker in the bunch.

Great album.

^ Recorded in one session, after two bottles of wine [certificate requested]

This makes me sad

Still, great work, Paul! You are really awesome for an internet person.

Excited to see Massey Hall so high. Was number 12 or some shit for me.

I'm really disappointed about the lack of assholery over this restart business.

I guess I just have a kick me sign on my back.

good work on all of this Paul.

Fuck you, mods, I'm funny.

I quite like that album. Should be much higher.

Wow. Quite the drop in half a decade.

It's not his best album.
I'm kicking myself for not submitting a list.

I was surprised there weren't more comparisons to your thread

maybe no one saw your thread

Quality in this first chunk of the list. I expect that to continue throughout.

Bummer that OTC (seemingly) got bumped. Diesel, you're a jerk.

Actually it's just that everyone hates me and I can't get any respect.

I produced that album. True story.

There is an astonishing amount of self-importance in this post.

Yeah Paul messed up a good idea, Theremin messed up a bad one. Obvs more forgiving with a good idea which involves a far greater workload.

Theremins thread also restarted like 10 times.

Ah,it's a shitty album anyway. Outside of Red Rain and Sledgehammer(and occasionally In Your Eyes)there really isn't much here that's worth revisiting. Melt is way better(Even though I'm not a fan of that one either.).

I'm really digging this listing.So many records I've never heard and it is quite interesting to see the tastes of the board.Thanks Paul.

it's just been re-released as well, maybe it would have done better if the poll was in a month or two's time after all the press for that reminding everyone about it

sleeve works better on low life

thanks for upping this eden, this is a really good album of stuff i wouldnt expect fromn such a horrible cover.
well, i guess books and covers and judging and such...

Bandwagonesque is fantastic and the only vote of mine to show so far. I like others, am sad to see a few albums that were in contnetion for my 100 fall so early but what you going to.

im pretty sure my number 1 and 2 wont make the list

looking at what votes the lower entries to the charts have had, everyones number 1 will make the list, even if that is the only vote they get (see my no 1 - wonderland by the charlatans)

Remind me to buy you a beer sometime.


What, the album slipping, or me not voting?

It didn't do well because the list is voted on primarily by 17 year old kids from Atease who maybe own about 30 or so records.

likewise, only one of mine.
did very well in the end of year polls in the uk when it was released iirc

serious lols

John Prine and The Who Sellout are my only 2 entries so far... probably should have voted both higher though. Great albums.

Don't read it then, better yet don't post.

A great album, the band's best imo, just had at least a hundred more I wanted to vote for.

i figured you would have had a Who album on your list.

You forgot the part about them never having met any girls.

Awww, that must be so hard for you. Since this forum is apparently overrun with us damn kids, maybe you should go where your tastes are more appreciated.

the other voter for this was me

Yeah, I think this was somewhere in the 120s for me. Awesome stuff, and I'm glad it made the top 500. I'll have to pick up the reissue...

#470.




Carcass - Heartwork
(494 Points, 4 Votes)

All Music Review: "It's also the pioneering grindcore outfit's breakthrough release, successfully grafting melody onto the existing muscle of Carcass' punishing antimusic. After a blistering opening salvo, the title track decelerates into a mid-tempo guitar lead, only to shift gears into a meaty verse that suggests the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. "Carnal Forge" and "Arbeit Macht Fleisch" are compacted with intricate, overlapping riffs that are relentless in their move forward, and yet there's still a sense of structure and melody, buried somewhere amid the carnage." (4.5/5)

Previous Rank on SOMB 500 (2004): n/a

Ranked Highest By: blaze (#19)






#469.




Tears For Fears - Songs From The Big Chair
(497 Points, 3 Votes)

All Music Review: "If The Hurting was mental anguish, Songs from the Big Chair marks the progression towards emotional healing, a particularly bold sort of catharsis culled from Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith's shared attraction to primal scream therapy. The album also heralded a dramatic maturation in the band's music, away from the synth-pop brand with which it was (unjustly) seared following the debut, and towards a complex, enveloping pop sophistication. The songwriting of Orzabal, Smith, and keyboardist Ian Stanley took a huge leap forward, drawing on reserves of palpable emotion and lovely, protracted melodies that draw just as much on soul and R&B music as they do on immediate pop hooks." (4.5/5)

Previous Rank on SOMB 500 (2004): n/a

Ranked Highest By: Tracy Jacks (#4)






#468.




The White Stripes - White Blood Cells
(498 Points, 6 Votes)

All Music Review: "Admittedly, White Blood Cells lacks some of the White Stripes' blues influence and urgency, but it perfects the pop skills the duo honed on De Stijl and expands on them. The country-tinged "Hotel Yorba" and immediate, crazed garage pop of "Fell in Love With a Girl" define the album's immediacy, along with the folky, McCartney-esque "We're Going to Be Friends," a charming, school-days love song that's among Jack White's finest work. However, White's growth as a songwriter shines through on virtually every track, from the cocky opener "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground" to vicious indictments like "The Union Forever" and "I Think I Smell a Rat." "Same Boy You've Always Known" and "Offend in Every Way" are two more quintessential tracks, offering up more of the group's stomping riffs and rhythms and us-against-the-world attitude. Few garage rock groups would name one of their most driving numbers "I'm Finding It Harder to Be a Gentleman," and fewer still would pen lyrics like "I'm so tired of acting tough/I'm gonna do what I please/Let's get married," but it's precisely this mix of strength and sweetness, among other contrasts, that makes the White Stripes so intriguing." (4.5/5)

Previous Rank on SOMB 500 (2004): #194

Ranked Highest By: wh1tep0ny (#30)






#467.




Tripping Daisy - Jesus Hits Like The Atom Bomb
(500 Points, 1 Vote, One #1 Vote)

All Music Review: "The band has made a big stylistic breakthrough, enhancing the psychedelic subtext that ran through their first two records, retaining their melodic sensibility and jacking up their weirdness quotient, thanks to Feldman. Although there are a few times where their ambitions outweigh their achievements, the entire result is an impressive record that balances punk-pop with art-rock. It's a smart, ambitious and successful album that may come as a surprise, not only for the doubters but for hardcore fans, since nothing they've done before suggests the power of Jesus Hits Like the Atom Bomb." (4.5/5)

Previous Rank on SOMB 500 (2004): n/a

Ranked Highest By: b*derty (#1)






#466.




Marillion - Brave
(500 Points, 1 Vote, One #1 Vote)

All Music Review: "" (/5)

Previous Rank on SOMB 500 (2004): n/a

Ranked Highest By: Soundscape (#1)

Bets on how many single #1 vote albums we're getting.