Only on SOMB could Tripping Daisy and Carcass end up in the same sequence on a best-of list.

Man, Carcass on the SOMB 500! Board has changed a lot since I joined. (not suggesting me joining is in any way responsible for this, btw!)

Also, hopefully the best White Stripes record (Get behind me Satan), beats White blood cells.

Dang. Thought Heartwork might be higher. Rooting now for the fuckin' Doe.


And heh. Thought I'd voted for cLOUDDEAD, but apparently not. Must have vetoed it, by accident. Finger's been known to slip like that.

Pretty sure tha Doe aint coming for a good while yet, brah.

YAY! they made the list!!!!
well i know that my number two will be a bit higher since i know two other people shoulda voted for it

#465.




John Coltrane - Ascension
(500 Points, 1 Vote, One #1 Vote)

All Music Review: "Ascension is the single recording that placed John Coltrane firmly into the avant-garde. Whereas, prior to 1965, Coltrane could be heard playing in an avant vein with stretched out solos, atonality, and a seemingly free design to the beat, Ascension throws most rules right out the window with complete freedom from the groove and strikingly abrasive sheets of horn interplay. Recorded with three tenors (Trane, Pharoah Sanders, Archie Shepp), two altos (Marion Brown, John Tchicai), two trumpet players (Freddie Hubbard, Dewey Johnson), two bassists (Art Davis, Jimmy Garrison), the lone McCoy Tyner on piano, and Elvin Jones on the drums, this large group is both relentless and soulful simultaneously. While there are segments where the ensemble plays discordant and abrasive skronks, these are usually segues into intriguing blues-based solos from each member." (5/5)

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

Ranked Highest By: Taffy (#1)






#464.




Joe Walsh - But Seriously, Folks...
(500 Points, 1 Vote, One #1 Vote)

All Music Review: "The album's introspective outlook glides through rejuvenation ("Tomorrow," "Over and Over"), recapturing the simple pleasures of the past ("Indian Summer"), mid-career indecision ("At the Station," "Second Hand Store"), and a melancholy instrumental ("Theme From Boat Weirdos"). The disc's finale, "Life's Been Good," is a sarcastic and bittersweet ode to Walsh's "rock star-party guy" persona which reached the Top 10 on the pop charts and became a staple of FM rock radio. The only way But Seriously Folks could have been improved, was to include "In the City," essentially solo Walsh, which unfortunately ended up on The Long Run instead." (4.5/5)

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

Ranked Highest By: phill (#1)






#463.




Iggy Pop - Lust For Life
(500 Points, 3 Votes)

All Music Review: "Musically, Lust for Life is a more aggressive set than The Idiot, largely thanks to drummer Hunt Sales and his bassist brother Tony Sales. The Sales' proved they were a world class rhythm section, laying out power and spirit on the rollicking title cut, the tough groove of "Tonight," and the lean neo-punk assault of "Neighborhood Threat," and with guitarists Ricky Gardner and Carlos Alomar at their side, they made for a tough, wiry rock & roll band — a far cry from the primal stomp of the Stooges, but capable of kicking Iggy back into high gear." (5/5)

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

Ranked Highest By: Friend Catcher (#15)






#462.




The Charlatans - Wonderland
(500 Points, 1 Vote, One #1 Vote)

All Music Review: "They occasionally emphasize one side over another -- Us and Us Only played to the rock side of the fence, while Wonderland is very heavy on groove and texture, a move that's strangely emphasized by Tim Burgess' unexpected reliance on a falsetto. This can mean that the songs fade into the background, but that often seems like an intentional move, since it happens so frequently throughout a record where the surface remains stylish and sleek. Still, that means there's not a whole lot to hold onto, although certain songs start to emerge upon repeated listens -- "You're So Pretty - We're So Pretty" seduces with its minor-key swagger, "Love Is the Key" rocks convincingly, "I Just Can't Get Over Losing You" swings nicely. Even so, this winds up as simply a good, solid Charlatans record, despite the efforts to jazz things up with a heavier dancefloor quotient. That may seem like a slight, but a solid Charlatans record still satisfies, and can't quite be taken for granted just yet." (3/5)

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

Ranked Highest By: hibster (#1)






#461.




Brendan Benson - Lapalco
(500 Points, 2 Votes)

All Music Review: "But it's on Lapalco that Benson really hones his jangly melodicism and crunchy bubblegum riffs, fusing influences like the Kinks, T. Rex, the Beatles, and Paul McCartney's solo work into something more meditative than his debut. The album begins with the electronic keyboard gurgle of "Tiny Spark," an instant single that sounds upon first listen like you've heard it a thousand times before. And that's not all Benson can do. "Metarie" is wistfully repetitive. "Life in the D" plays John Lennon's solo career through Big Star's Third/Sister Lovers, and you half expect Benson to break into, "I'm just sittin' here watching the wheels go round and round...." The album has its moments of cringing goofiness, too, like, "I've been a little bit down on my luck, I think you know where I'm coming from. I need a pickup and I don't mean truck, I think you know where to get some" ("You're Quiet"). But, it's forgivable, especially with the last three tracks, "Pleasure Seeker," "Just Like Me," and "Jet Lag," where Benson stakes claim on a sound all his own -- bittersweet, down-tempo, semi-acoustic, melancholy with a sense of humor and just a little bit psychedelic." (4.5/5)

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

Ranked Highest By: no magnets (#8)

this was so so close to being on my list.

Awesome.

Lust for Life seems kinda low. Not saying that's a good or bad thing, just would have expected it higher.

Joe Walsh? For realz? Laughing my ass off at y'all from now on. God, that record is maybe half of a listenable album. Maybe.

By "y'all", you mean "one person", right?

Metal Up Your Ass









#460.




The Beach Boys - Surf's Up
(500 Points, 4 Votes)

All Music Review: "Those songs are enjoyable enough, but the last three tracks are what make Surf's Up such a masterpiece. The first, "A Day in the Life of a Tree," is simultaneously one of Brian's most deeply touching and bizarre compositions; he is the narrator and object of the song (though not the vocalist; co-writer Jack Rieley lends a hand), lamenting his long life amid the pollution and grime of a city park while the somber tones of a pipe organ build atmosphere. The second, "'Til I Die," isn't the love song the title suggests; it's a haunting, fatalistic piece of pop surrealism that appeared to signal Brian's retirement from active life. The album closer, "Surf's Up," is a masterpiece of baroque psychedelia, probably the most compelling track from the Smile period. Carl gives a soulful performance despite the surreal wordplay, and Brian's coda is one of the most stirring moments in his catalog. Wrapped up in a mess of contradictions, Surf's Up defined the Beach Boys' tumultuous career better than any other album." (4/5)

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

Ranked Highest By: vurt (#2)






#459.



Arvo Pärt - De Profundis
(500 Points, 1 Vote, One #1 Vote)

All Music Review: "Dedicated to Gottfried von Einem, this 1980 work for four male voices, organ and percussion is a setting of Psalm 130:

Out of the depths have I cried unto thee,

O Lord…If thou, Lord, shouldst mark iniquities,

O Lord, who shall stand?

Suitably, the music begins in the lower register of the voices, gradually growing in intensity, only to diminish towards the end. The organ provides a very slow ostinato pattern in its deep register."

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

Ranked Highest By: Bruegel (#1)






#458.




Stars of the Lid - Stars of the Lid and Their Refinement of the Decline
(501 Points, 5 Votes)

All Music Review: "Everything here is rounded. There are no edges on either disc, it's all fuzzy and yet brilliant to hear at the same time. It's music of such quiet and devastating power it can silence a room in five minutes without the volume knob on the stereo being manipulated. There are detractors -- or better yet, cynics -- who wonder why, and how, music like this, music that simply is, that evolves and returns to silence over and over again, is even necessary. The answer is simple: because the sound on And Their Refinement of the Decline is the sound of everything already after it has fallen apart. It is not a sound that dares to rebuild anything, speak anything, or declare anything. It simply wants to document what happens when it all goes to hell, and in that space, that quiet space, Stars of the Lid emerges with a sound that is as hopeful as it is funereal. It is simply the sound of "is-ness," something that becomes nothing, only to become something again. And Their Refinement of the Decline is deeply moving. Stars of the Lid doesn't give a damn about any experimental "indie" scene nonsense either. This will appeal to fans of Eno's ambient work (though it speaks volumes louder and yet is gentler), Philip Glass, Morton Feldman, Bryars, Steve Reich and Charlemagne Palestine, but is completely its own bag of sonic tricks. It's an awesome thing, this album, and anyone, virtually anyone who encounters it will be in some way moved by the impure music it contains." (4.5/5)

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

Ranked Highest By: avec (#11)






#457.




Melvins - Houdini
(503 Points, 6 Votes)

All Music Review: "Houdini is about as close as one gets to a representative Melvins album, and it vividly captures the band's unreconstructed power, vision, and musical strangeness. During the early-'90s purge of hair rock and candy-footed funk metal, the Melvins, as with many other acts, seemed fair game for a major label in search of another post-Nirvana gold mine. With Kurt Cobain's assistance, the band was snatched up -- and summarily dropped (after three brilliant albums, this being the first) -- by Atlantic. Though Houdini's immediate predecessors, Eggnog and Bullhead, pried open a few screwball chasms in the Melvins' syrupy distillation of Sabbath riffage and Flipper's noisy anti-punk, it was this album that displayed the full fruition of the outfit's sonic breadth, from the cough-syrup river drag of "Night Goat" to the revved-up "Honey Bucket," and from the creepy "Joan of Arc" to the glue-damaged "Sky Pup."" (4.5/5)

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

Ranked Highest By: raumschwein (#11)






#456.




Metallica - Kill 'Em All
(504 Points, 3 Votes)

All Music Review: "The true birth of thrash. On Kill 'Em All, Metallica fuses the intricate riffing of New Wave of British Heavy Metal bands like Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, and Diamond Head with the velocity of Motörhead and hardcore punk. James Hetfield's highly technical rhythm guitar style drives most of the album, setting new standards of power, precision, and stamina. But really, the rest of the band is just as dexterous, playing with tightly controlled fury even at the most ridiculously fast tempos. There are already several extended, multi-sectioned compositions foreshadowing the band's later progressive epics, though these are driven by adrenaline, not texture. A few tributes to heavy metal itself are a bit dated lyrically; like Diamond Head, the band's biggest influence, Kill 'Em All's most effective tone is one of supernatural malevolence — as pure sound, the record is already straight from the pits of hell." (5/5)

Previous Rank on SOMB 500 (2004): #287

Ranked Highest By: raumschwein (#2)

i don't think i saw any vote for the Idiot. which is a shame.

yeah, that's a great album. I prefer it to LfL myself.

I voted for the idiot, dunno about anyone else.

Need to check that Arvo album out, Bruegs #1 album ever is quite the rec.

yeah, it looks like several people voted for it. Maybe it'll place.

just as many people also voted for "American Idiot" as I discovered...

Ban Phill.

Totally.

If only because who the hell spells Phil with two L's?

phill
Joined: 7-September 06
Posts: 0

So, I've never heard this album, but I've been getting 'Life's Been Good to Me' stuck in my head for years despite never having heard it, as a marching band version of the song is used as Jimmy James' campaign song when he runs for president on 'NewsRadio'

There's something so clueless about a Joe Walsh pick at #1 that it's almost endearing. Either that or it's trolling.

suspect.gif

Yeah, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend De Profundis as the best introduction to his stuff. I could have plumped for Fratres, Tabula Rasa, Da Pacem, Litany or Alina but Psalm 129 is pretty much my favourite piece of music so I chose De Profundis to represent the whole body of work.

such a beautiful record

Depending on the region of the South, "y'all" can be used as a singular or plural. In this case, it's a singular.

Ignorant yank alert:

I've heard "all y'all" is the plural of "y'all." Is my source full of crap?

No.

Disgustingly low placement for WBCn hope that if Elephant does beat it, it is soon.

Really hope that everyone that voted for Pet Sounds has at least heard Surf's Up. Fine record.

Calling bullshit on Phill. He's welcome to come defend himself in here though.

Another big drop, but perhaps one of the first real SOMB-representative album on the list. Six votes, so a chunk of people liked it, but was ranked highest at #30, so it was no one's favorite album by far.

Oh, yeah. Hey, Rufus or Slack?

PIN. THIS. THREAD.

I get it. But at the same time, the album placed in the #460's. If this was something to vault it into the top 100 or something, it may be more suspect.

Life's Been Good > the entire White Stripes discography.



And look at the dude. Fuckin cool. Can you imagine the creaming that would go on if someone released a rock song as good as this in 2009? The hype would be extraordinary. Of course the Ateasers which dominate SOMB lists will have nothing to do with any kind of humor in their music.

Dude. That's one song! One great song on a record filled with some of Walsh's most mediocre, Southern California countrified cocaine cowboy bullshit. There Goes the Neighborhood was a better record. Fuck, The Confessor was a better record. One great song does not a classic album make.

Actually, there's a few songs on that album that are better than Life's Been Good, but


this is stupid

This is stupid.

Perhaps the worst song of all time.

Fine, fine record. Surf's Up does things to me that few records do. Final three-song run is probably the most perfect climax to an album ever.

So how come a whole bunch of albums that got #1 votes by one user made it, while the majority did not? Is there some other biasing factor at work?

yeah, other people voting

Maybe the other albums that you think only got #1 votes by one user actually got more votes than that and will be on here later. Only explanation I can think of. I don't know - have you seen all the lists?

i don't think i saw anyone else vote for Hum, and that was my #1... so, who knows. maybe my opinion wasn't that important...

Dude, I'm coming up on 5k posts and my opinion isn't important. And poor Montana's closer to 10k and no one cares what he thinks.

Oh, wait, I got that wrong. No one thinks Monty's opinions are relevant.

Not the same.

Seems low but at least it made an appearance. Better than any Stooges output except Funhouse.

I had You'd Prefer an Astronaut in my top ten, so it is probably still to come.


Downward is Heavenward was somewhere in my top 100 too.

Everything else that received a #1 vote also received at least one more vote which would boost it above the "500 point" level.

"King Kong ain't got shit on me!"







#455.




The Mars Volta - De-Loused in the Comatorium
(504 Points, 3 Votes)

All Music Review: "A concept album of sorts, Comatorium is a swirling ten-song cycle inspired by Julio Venegas, a childhood friend of the band who followed his fearlessness to a self-inflicted end. While the storyline is bewilderingly obtuse, it nevertheless unifies the album's wildly shifting sounds. Thrumming, Led Zeppelin-inspired pounding gives way to the thump of a free jazz bass punctuated with blasts of guitar squelch in "Drunkship of Lanterns." Meanwhile, the windswept landscape of "Roulette Dares (The Haunt Of)" unfolds over seven minutes, revealing remnants of ATDI, fissures of glittering, confessional pop, and layer upon sedimentary layer of a shrieking Bixler-Zavala, harmonizing with himself over vintage 1970s organ. All of this gives way to a gentle landslide of an outro, where an expressive guitar solo that would make Carlos Santana scratch his head threads its way between brooding bass." (4.5/5)

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

Ranked Highest By: throughsilver (#12)







#454.




Queen - A Night At The Opera
(505 Points, 3 Votes)

All Music Review: "Queen were straining at the boundaries of hard rock and heavy metal on Sheer Heart Attack, but they broke down all the barricades on A Night at the Opera, a self-consciously ridiculous and overblown hard rock masterpiece. Using the multi-layered guitars of its predecessor as a foundation, A Night at the Opera encompasses metal ("Death on Two Legs," "Sweet Lady"), pop (the lovely, shimmering "You're My Best Friend"), campy British music hall ("Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon," "Seaside Rendezvous"), and mystical prog rock ("'39," "The Prophet's Song"), eventually bringing it all together on the pseudo-operatic "Bohemian Rhapsody." In short, it's a lot like Queen's own version of Led Zeppelin IV, but where Zep find dark menace in bombast, Queen celebrate their own pomposity. No one in the band takes anything too seriously, otherwise the arrangements wouldn't be as ludicrously exaggerated as they are. But the appeal — and the influence — of A Night at the Opera is in its detailed, meticulous productions." (5/5)

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

Ranked Highest By: Soundscape (#7)







#453.




Def Leppard - Pyromania
(505 Points, 3 Votes)

All Music Review: "While Def Leppard had obviously wanted to write big-sounding anthems on their previous records, Pyromania was where the band's vision coalesced and gelled into something more. More than ever before, the band's songs on Pyromania are driven by catchy, shiny melodic hooks instead of heavy guitar riffs, although the latter do pop up once in a while. But it wasn't just this newly intensified focus on melody and consistent songwriting (and heavy MTV exposure) that made Pyromania a massive success -- and the catalyst for the '80s pop-metal movement." (5/5)

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

Ranked Highest By: Diesel (#16)







#452.




Scott Walker - Tilt
(510 Points, 2 Votes)

All Music Review: "Seemingly undecided whether he's recording an opera or simply haunting one, Walker doesn't so much perform as project his lyrics, hurling them into the alternating maelstroms and moods that careen behind him. The effect is unsettling, to put it mildly. At the time of its release, reviews were undecided whether to praise or pillory Walker for making an album so utterly divorced from even the outer limits of rock reality, an indecision only compounded by its occasional (and bloody-mindedly deceptive) lurches towards modern sensibilities. "The Cockfighter" is underpinned by an intensity that is almost industrial in its range and raucousness, while "Bouncer See Bouncer" would have quite a catchy chorus if anybody else had gotten their hands on it. Here, however, it is highlighted by an Eno-esque esotericism and the chatter of tiny locusts. The crowning irony, however, is "The Patriot (A Single)," seven minutes of unrelenting funeral dirge over which Walker infuses even the most innocuous lyric ("I brought nylons from New York") with indescribable pain and suffering. Tilt is not an easy album to love; it's not even that easy to listen to. First impressions place it on a plateau somewhere between Nico's Marble Index and Lou Reed's Metal Machine Music -- before long, familiarity and the elitist chattering of so many well-heeled admirers rendered both albums mere forerunners to some future shift in mainstream taste. And maybe that is the fate awaiting Tilt, although one does wonder precisely what monsters could rise from soil so belligerently barren. Even Metal Machine Music could be whistled, after all." (4.5/5)

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

Ranked Highest By: Eskimo kisses (#2)







#451.




The Mothers of Invention - Uncle Meat
(510 Points, 2 Votes)

All Music Review: "It's essentially a transitional work, but it's a fascinating one, showcasing Frank Zappa's ever-increasing compositional dexterity and the Mothers' emerging instrumental prowess. It was potentially easy to overlook Zappa's melodic gifts on albums past, but on Uncle Meat, he thrusts them firmly into the spotlight; what few lyrics there are, Zappa says in the liner notes, are in-jokes relevant only to the band. Thus, Uncle Meat became the point at which Zappa began to establish himself as a composer and he would return to many of these pieces repeatedly over the course of his career. Taken as a whole, Uncle Meat comes off as a hodgepodge, with centerpieces scattered between variations on previous pieces, short concert excerpts, less-realized experiments, doo wop tunes, and comedy bits; the programming often feels as random as the abrupt transitions and tape experiments held over from Zappa's last few projects. But despite the absence of a conceptual framework, the unfocused sprawl of Uncle Meat is actually a big part of its appeal. It's exciting to hear one of the most creatively fertile minds in rock pushing restlessly into new territory, even if he isn't always quite sure where he's going." (4.5/5)

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

Ranked Highest By: Sid Hartha (#3)

That A Night At the Opera placement is wtf?!? worthy, but I won't complain because I think I forgot to vote for it.

i've got to hear [i]Tilt/i], I've only heard great things about it, and it seems that so few people have really heard it.

its because that album and The Drift are absolutely terrible

this song kind of over stays its welcome at around the 4:30 mark.

Wrong. Very wrong.