Well none of them are dead on, I've just always found it impossible to explain what they're like. I hear all sorts of shit they sound nothing like in them for some reason, like Coco Rosie.

Good to see that we have now had two albums released since 2K on the chart.

yeah i don't hear any portishead, air or flaming lips in calexico.

they sound like the american southwest. take that for what its worth.






pulp's never really done a lot for me either. to be fair though, i definitely haven't heard enough of their stuff.

After 15 minutes of it, they yelled at me and made me turn it off at work 3 years ago.

Surely people can hear Portishead in Black Heart, at least.

#238.



Dungen - Ta Det Lugnt

Year: 2004

US Chart Position: #4 World

UK Chart Position: n/a

Acclaimed Music Ranking: #35 (year), #200 (decade), #1584 (all-time)

AMG Says: "Psychedelic rock has seen a number of revivals since its heyday in the late '60s. Often times, these bands sound like they're simply aping the influences they wear so prominently on their sleeves. Dungen, on the other hand, sound like they've somehow been directly transported from 1968 to the present. Maybe it's their vintage equipment, or maybe it's the fact that most listeners probably haven't heard much Swedish-language psychedelia for comparison, but this doesn't have the second- or third-generation rehashed flavor that so many modern psychsters can't avoid. There's a pungent aroma of, um, authenticity here that other bands haven't been able to match, from the wicked fuzz guitar to the organ and flute workouts. There are some great psych-pop moments throughout, and these melodies are likely to stick in your head even if Swedish isn't your language, but there are also detours into some pretty serious hard-psych territory as well as flute-led hippie free jazz and even some Swedish folk flavors (like the intro to "Du E För Fin För Mig"). There is little studio trickery beyond some simple tape echo, but the acid-colored vibes come through loud and clear. Gustav Ejstes (the one-man band behind Dungen) has an incredible knack for a great tune, an ear for production, and then the ability to perform all the parts and still sound like a band. Guitar ringer Reine Fiske has one of the gnarliest fuzz tones ever heard and contributes excellent raw lead guitar all over, particularly on the title cut and "Gjort Bort Sig" or when the acoustic guitar, fiddle, and Mellotron of "Du E För Fin För Mig" suddenly switch to a blistering electric coda. Ta Det Lugnt clearly evokes another time and headspace, but there's an underlying passion that keeps it sounding fresh (much like when the Bevis Frond appeared in the late '80s). Put on your ear-goggles and head back to the late '60s."

Ranked Highest By: Dano (#20)

Amazon Link

Speaking of Garbage how "Happy When It Rains" finished above "Milk" and "Stupid Girl" is a mystery.

Dungen album is at least 200 places too low. Pretty shocked to see it finish so low here seeing as this board is what hipped me to them.

considering that "ta det lunngt" is nothing but a collection of musical references to 60s-70s rock with only exception that it's sung in non english language, i think it's palcement is about right if not too high.

Most of the albums on this list or any list will clearly be inspired by other stuff. TDL is an awesome collection of past influences.

I heard the first half of it and liked it.

i keep going back to "Ta Det Lugnt." much more than a lot of other albums from the past 5 years.

i think it's unique, beautiful & catchy as hell....plus it rocks. like a lot of bands from the past 10 years, Dungen is BETTER than most of its influences, but apparently the superficial comparisons to older bands and the swedish thing are huge obstacles for people.

i should have voted it higher, because i now think it's one of the 10 best albums of the '00s.

yup. better than that droning piece of shit, Drum's Not Dead

i don't think there's much drone on that record. at least it sounds different from the most music that was released this year. but, whatever.

#237.



Sonic Youth - Murray Street

Year: 2002

US Chart Position: #126

UK Chart Position: n/a

Charting Singles: n/a

Acclaimed Music Ranking: #25 (year), #153 (decade), #1243 (all-time)

AMG Says: "Virtually every album Sonic Youth has released since the underrated Goo has been hailed as a return to form. However, Murray Street, their second collaboration with Jim O'Rourke (and their first with him as a full member of the group), not only recalls their past glories but explores new territory. Freed from the trendy agendas that marred A Thousand Leaves and NYC Ghosts & Flowers, the group revisits the complex, transcendent guitar epics that made them underground rock heroes in the first place. But Murray Street doesn't just rehash the sound of their late-'80s heyday, either; for the most part, epics like the '60s-tinged "The Empty Page" and "Rain on Tin" -- which sounds a bit like a rural cousin to Television's "Marquee Moon" -- are built on surprisingly clean, crisp guitar tones that only explode into occasional noise-storms. Indeed, the guitar work on the album's first three tracks is both economical and sensual, a feast of textures and counterpoints that never sounds overdone. Murray Street's wonderfully natural yet intricate sound is O'Rourke's most distinctive contribution to the group; while his work with Smog and Wilco pushed those groups to be more experimental and eclectic, with Sonic Youth he seems to give those tendencies focus and balance. Even the hypnotic drones at the end of "Karen Revisited," the album's noisy, oddly romantic centerpiece, have a unique precision and clarity. Murray Street's first four songs rank among the most consistent, and consistently exciting, work in Sonic Youth's career, so much so that the album's shorter, more rock-oriented songs feel a bit anticlimactic. "Plastic Sun," a Kim Gordon-sung rant, feels particularly out of keeping with the rest of Murray Street's warm, expansive tone; "Radical Adults Lick Godhead Style" is a typical Sonic Youth rocker that suffers merely from not being as good as the first half of the album. Closing with the serenely sexy "Sympathy for the Strawberry," Murray Street reaffirms that at the group's best, Sonic Youth manages to sound fresh and timeless all at once."

Ranked Highest By: Elemeno P.T. (#39)

Amazon Link

It probably suffered from people forgetting it was an '04 release. I remember it getting a lot of '05 year end votes.

Yeah, that was the big reason it didn't make my list.

A fine album, no question.

No Flaming Lips comparison at all. But more of a southwestern style, yeah. A great soundtrack for sneaking across the border.

#236.



Sleater-Kinney - Call the Doctor

Year: 1995

US Chart Position: n/a

UK Chart Position: n/a

Charting Singles: n/a

Acclaimed Music Ranking: #26 (year), #278 (decade), #1437 (all-time)

AMG Says: "Sleater-Kinney's masterful sophomore effort Call the Doctor fulfills all the promise of the group's debut and more, forging taut melodicism and jaw-dropping sonic complexity out of barbed-wire emotional potency. The emergence of Carrie Brownstein as an equal shareholder in Corin Tucker's vision is the key -- her four contributions (particularly "Stay Where You Are" and "I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone") are stellar, while her harmonies complete Tucker's equally superb lead turns by reading between the lines to verbalize the naked aggression at the core of the songs' polemic power. Forget the riot grrrl implications inherent in the trio's music -- Call the Doctor is pure, undiluted punk, and it's brilliant."

Ranked Highest By: Jase (#9)

Amazon Link

#235.



Ulrich Schnauss - A Strangely Isolated Place

Year: 2003

US Chart Position: n/a

UK Chart Position: n/a

Charting Singles: "On My Own" (#21 Dance Sales US in '06)

Acclaimed Music Ranking: n/a

AMG Says: "Ulrich Schnauss' second record for City Centre Offices moves away from the early-'90s U.K. techno touches of Far Away Trains Passing By in order to hone in on another early-'90s U.K. phenomenon. Though it was plain to hear in the debut that Schnauss had an affinity for the likes of Chapterhouse and Slowdive, it didn't become the crux of his sound until his version of the latter's "Crazy for You," from Morr Music's 2002 Blue Skied an' Clear compilation. Schnauss' version of the song was so dead-on that it could've been released -- without any suspicion -- as a Chapterhouse remix of the original. Though it's just as reliant on the past, A Strangely Isolated Place is an even stronger record than the debut, with a wider range of moods, improved beat programming, unobtrusive vocals, and an overall effect that is less inhibited. "On My Own" could've been the most blissed-out and forward-looking song released on Too Pure in 1992, with a steady Neu!-like rhythmic thrust and sun-bleached guitars shooting equal amounts of blurry rays and fuzzy shards. "Clear Day" is another track that could double as a Chapterhouse remix of Slowdive, only with an outtake from the first singles sped up significantly and bolstered with an energetic hip-hop beat that comes close to being lost in a dense swirl of effects. Admittedly, Schnauss might still be a little too sweet and amiable for most "serious" electronic music followers. That's clearly their loss."

Ranked Highest By: John the Cool Kid (#4)

Amazon Link

Yeah, not better than HTTT.

Yup, I'm playing catch up.


I know that feeling...


That album is 'Grown Men Don't Just Fall in the River Like That' and a lot of mediocrity.

Wow, I've never even heard of this record.

It's done well enough that I can overlook the retroness.

Also, silly comment given how unprogressive the high albums on this list are likely to be.

#234.



The Hives - Veni Vidi Vicious

Year: 2000

US Chart Position: #63 / #33 Independent

UK Chart Position: n/a

Charting Singles: "Hate to Say I Told You So" (#86 / #35 Mainstream Rock / #6 Modern Rock US, #23 UK), "Main Offender" (#24 UK)

Acclaimed Music Ranking: #23 (year), #151 (decade), #1228 (all-time)

AMG Says: "Rousing, stompin' garage rock from these Swedes, with plenty of mod and frantic punk energy to keep you grooving along. "Party Party!" they seem to be saying, and you just want to join. This is definite change-up from the usual hyperspeed pop-ska-punk dross offered on Epitaph. Perhaps this arises from the fact that these guys are only distributed on Epitaph and yet are actually on the Burning Heart imprint. Plenty of fuzzed, struttin', propulsive guitar work on this disc to assault your ears. Well worth your time to take a spin. More records like this need to exist."

Ranked Highest By: Kmac (#7)

Amazon Link

anyone else agree that Call the Doctor is the best S/K album?

i like this list thus far...i also have never heard of that #235 album.

There's a drought at the fountain of youth


#234.



Green Day - Nimrod

Year: 1997

US Chart Position: #10

UK Chart Position: #11

Charting Singles: "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" (#2 Modern Rock / #7 Mainstream Rock / #13 Top 40 US, #11 UK), "Hitchin' a Ride" (#5 Modern Rock / #9 Mainstream Rock US, #25 UK), "Redundant" (#16 Modern Rock US, #27 UK), "Nice Guys Finish Last" (#31 Modern Rock US)

Acclaimed Music Ranking: n/a

AMG Says: "Following the cool reception to Insomniac, Green Day retreated from the spotlight for a year to rest and spend time with their families. During that extended break, they decided to not worry about their supposedly lost street credibility and make an album according to their instincts, which meant more experimentation and less of their trademark punk-pop. Of course, speedy, catchy punk is at the core of the group's sound, so there are plenty of familiar moments on the resultant album, Nimrod, but there are also new details that make the record an invigorating, if occasionally frustrating, listen. Although punk-pop is Green Day's forte, they sound the most alive on Nimrod when they're breaking away from their formula, whether it's the shuffling "Hitchin' a Ride," the bitchy, tongue-in-cheek humor of "The Grouch," the surging surf instrumental "Last Ride In," the punchy, horn-driven drag-queen saga "King for a Day," or the acoustic, string-laced ballad "Good Riddance." It's only when the trio confines itself to three chords that it sounds tired, but Billie Joe has such a gift for hooky, instantly memorable melodies that even these moments are enjoyable, if unremarkable. Still, Nimrod suffers from being simply too much -- although it clocks in at under 50 minutes, the 18 tracks whip by at such a breakneck speed that it leaves you somewhat dazed. With a little editing, Green Day's growth would have been put in sharper relief, and Nimrod would have been the triumphant leap forward it set out to be. As it stands, it's a muddled but intermittently exciting record that is full of promise."

Ranked Highest By: Paul (#4)

Amazon Link

man that thing spawned the worst Green Day singles ever.

at least until American Idiot.

It's my favorite, although I'm not sure if it's because it was my introduction to their music, or because the later albums, although great, didn't seem quite as firey or passionate.

Yeah that post pretty much sums it up for me too.

yah....if this makes the list and Insomniac does not, i will be bummed

#232.



Tom Waits - Alice

Year: 2002

US Chart Position: #33 / #3 Independent

UK Chart Position: #20

Charting Singles: n/a

Acclaimed Music Ranking: #37 (year), #266 (decade), #2094 (all-time)

AMG Says: "It's been long time since Tom Waits recorded an album as saturated with tenderness as this one. The carny-barker noise merchant who has immersed himself in brokenness and reportage from life's seamy, even hideous underbelly for decades has created, along with songwriting and life partner Kathleen Brennan, a love song cycle so moving and poetic that it's almost unbearable to take in one sitting. Alice is alleged to be the "great lost Waits masterpiece." Waits and Brennan collaborated with Robert Wilson on a stage production loosely based on Alice Liddell, the young girl who was the obsession and muse of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland books. The show ran in Europe for a time and the production's 15 songs were left unrecorded until now. Alice forgoes the usual nightmare lyric sequences, warped, circus-like melodies, and sonic darknesses that have been part and parcel of Waits' work since Swordfishtrombones. Instead, this song cycle is, for the most part, steeped in jazz ballads, old waltzes, European folk songs, theatrical love paeans, and music not so easily identified [...] The melodies on Alice are easily the most direct Waits has written since Blue Valentine, but are more elegant than even those found on Foreign Affairs or Black Rider. Alice is no step back, but a further step toward oblivion -- the place where the sound of desolation, the melody of loneliness, and the confused darkness at the root of the human heart come together and speak as one in a nursery rhyme for adults."

Ranked Highest By: The Eyes (#8)

Amazon Link

I heard Alice and it sounds like he's phoning it in.

#231.



Opeth - Blackwater Park

Year: 2001

US Chart Position: n/a

UK Chart Position: n/a

Charting SIngles: n/a

Acclaimed Music Ranking: n/a

AMG Says: "Not since the release of Tiamat's groundbreaking masterpiece Wildhoney in 1994 had the extreme metal scene witnessed such an overwhelming show of fan enthusiasm and uniform critical praise as that bestowed upon Blackwater Park, the astounding fifth effort from Swedish metal titans Opeth. A work of breathtaking creative breadth, Blackwater Park (named after an obscure German progressive rock outfit from the 1970s) keeps with Opeth's tradition by transcending the limits of death/black metal and repeatedly shattering the foundations of conventional songwriting, to boot. Rarely does a band manage to break new ground without losing touch with its roots, but Opeth has made a career of it -- perhaps never as effortlessly as on this occasion. But the biggest difference between Blackwater Park and previous offerings lies not in the remarkably high songwriting standards achieved by main man Mikael Åkerfeldt (that's a given with him), but in the first-time involvement of Porcupine Tree leader Steve Wilson, whose contributions as producer lend an unprecedented fluidity to Opeth's restlessly inventive arrangements. Like all Opeth LPs, Blackwater Park is divided not so much into songs as "movements," as the band likes to call them. Tracks start and finish in seemingly arbitrary fashion, usually traversing ample musical terrain, including acoustic guitar and solo piano passages, ambient soundscapes, stoner rock grooves, and Eastern-tinged melodies -- any of which are subject to savage punctuations of death metal fury at any given moment. Likewise, Åkerfeldt's vocals run the gamut from bowel-churning grunts to melodies of chilling beauty -- depending on each movement section's mood. With all this in mind, singling out specific highlights is pretty much a futile exercise; but for the benefit of first-time listeners, why not start out with the colossal, Arabian-flavored riffs of "Bleak," the memorable chorus of "The Drapery Falls," the surprisingly gentle intro of "Dirge for November," and, finally, the all-encompassing title track. Then, with patience (Opeth's music is everything but immediate), the rest of Blackwater Park's grand scheme will be revealed. As for more experienced Opeth disciples, few will disagree with the fact that, even compared to lofty prior achievements, Blackwater Park is surely the band's coming-of-age album, and therefore, an ideal introduction to its remarkable body of work."

Ranked Highest By: Raumschwein (#2) (also ranked #4 by Diesel)

Amazon Link

#230.



Tortoise - TNT

Year: 1998

US Chart Position: #25 Heatseeker

UK Chart Position: n/a

Charting Singles: n/a

AMG Says: "Expected by many to continue leading the post-rock brigade into a new fusion with dub and electronics, Tortoise instead turned yet another corner with their third album, TNT. Adding guitarist Jeff Parker to cement their musicianship as well as their connections to Chicago's fertile jazz/avant-garde scene, the band returned with a record of post-modern cool jazz, only slightly informed by the dub, Krautrock, and electronics of Millions Now Living Will Never Die. It shows from the first few seconds -- a lazy, slightly free drum solo frames a few tentative guitar chords and some teased effects, before the band kicks in with a holds-barred jam that encompasses a tremulous solo from trumpeter Rob Mazurek. With engineer/mixer/drummer John McEntire and company adding only a few post-production frills to the mix -- and those so complementary and subdued that they rarely even sound like effects -- TNT comes off as a surprisingly organic record. The evocative Spanish-style guitar on "I Set My Face to the Hillside" plays over an assortment of playground sounds, while "The Suspension Bridge at Iguazú Falls" deconstructs a classically angular Tortoise groove and re-emerges with an evocative, deeply affecting groove over shimmering vibes and precision guitar lines. There are plenty of nods to post-rock touchstones like Krautrock ("Swing From the Gutters"), dub, and minimalism ("Ten-Day Interval"), but Tortoise hardly sounds like a difficult band here. Instead of forcing studio experimentation to become an end to itself, the band mastered -- with a single, deft statement -- the far more difficult lesson of making technology work for the music."

Ranked Highest By: Undo (#7)

Amazon Link

Everybody wants to go
Up into the blue
But there's a ten year queue


#229.



Blur - The Great Escape

Year: 1995

US Chart Position: #150

UK Chart Position: #1

Charting Singles: "Country House" (#1 UK), "Charmless Man" (#5 UK), "The Universal" (#5 UK), "Stereoptypes" (#7 UK)

Acclaimed Music Ranking: #36 (year), #297 (decade), #1533 (all-time)

AMG Says: "In the simplest terms, The Great Escape is the flip side of Parklife. Where Blur's breakthrough album was a celebration of the working class, drawing on British pop from the '60s and reaching through the '80s, The Great Escape concentrates on the suburbs, featuring a cast of characters all trying to cope with the numbing pressures of modern life. Consequently, it's darker than Parklife, even if the melancholia is hidden underneath the crisp production and catchy melodies. Even the bright, infectious numbers on The Great Escape have gloomy subtexts, whether it's the disillusioned millionaire of "Country House" and the sycophant of "Charmless Man" or the bleak loneliness of "Globe Alone" and "Entertain Me." Naturally, the slower numbers are even more despairing, with the acoustic "Best Days," the lush, sweeping strings of "The Universal," and the stark, moving electronic ballad "Yuko & Hiro" ranking as the most affecting work Blur has ever recorded. However, none of this makes The Great Escape a burden or a difficult album. The music bristles with invention throughout, as Blur delves deeper into experimentation with synthesizers, horns, and strings; guitarist Graham Coxon twists out unusual chords and lead lines, and Damon Albarn spits out unexpected lyrical couplets filled with wit and venomous intelligence in each song. But Blur's most remarkable accomplishment is that it can reference the past -- the Scott Walker homage of "The Universal," the Terry Hall/Fun Boy Three cop on "Top Man," the skittish, XTC-flavored pop of "It Could Be You," and Albarn's devotion to Ray Davies -- while still moving forward, creating a vibrant, invigorating record."

Ranked Highest By: Suckeredyou (#17)

Amazon Link

#1533 of all time makes me not want to check that album out, considering how jacked-off-upon that band is. Parklife and Rubbish are good though.

I want to say how much I like that Blur album, but I don't want to draw out the haters. So instead I'll say that I'm glad Tortoise placed at all, and that anyone curious about the band should check out TNT. It's a good album.

#228.



Sparklehorse - It's a Wonderful Life

Year: 2001

US Chart Position: #34 Heatseeker

UK Chart Position: n/a

Charting Singles: n/a

Acclaimed Music Ranking: #36 (year), #234 (decade), #1830 (all-time)

AMG Says: "Along with the Flaming Lips and Mercury Rev, Sparklehorse crafts strangely beautiful -- and beautifully strange -- music inspired by down-to-earth sounds as well as spacey experimentalism. But where the Lips are lovably loopy and Mercury Rev is arty and wry, Sparklehorse wraps deep-seated, often uncomfortable emotions in layers of metaphors and static. However, the group's third album, It's a Wonderful Life, is its most open and direct work yet. Whether this has anything to do with the fact that this is reportedly singer/songwriter Mark Linkous' first substance-free work is arguable, but regardless, it's a noticeably more focused effort. Though it lacks Good Morning Spider's sprawling brilliance, it's possibly Linkous' most effective, and affecting, collection of songs. It's also his most collaborative album, with co-producer and Mercury Rev alum David Fridmann adding just the right amount of warmth and weirdness and the Cardigans' Nina Persson and PJ Harvey contributing backing vocals that rival their work on Gran Turismo and Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea. Persson's sweetly empathetic voice shines on "Gold Day" and "Little Fat Baby," while Harvey's passionate style fits "Piano Fire" and the brooding ballad "Eyepennies" perfectly. Driven by burbling keyboards, drum machines, acoustic guitar, and piano, and populated with spooky, homespun images of babies, teeth, nails, and horses, most of the album consists of gently unsettling ballads like the title track and "Apple Bed." Edgier, poppier songs like "King of Nails" and "Comfort Me" don't sound out of place, but the stomping, clunky, Tom Waits-lite of "Dog Door," which actually features Waits on lead vocals, is a distraction. The album's sweet, yet too strange to be conventionally uplifting songs like "More Yellow Birds" and "Babies on the Sun" convey It's a Wonderful Life's message best: Even at its weirdest, just being alive is pretty wonderful. Needless to say, so is the album."

Ranked Highest By: Norton (#1)

It's a Wonderful Life

I really wonder if I should check out Sparklehorse. He's (they've?) been on my list for about ten years, and I've just never brought myself to hear any of their stuff.

#227.



Andrew W.K. - I Get Wet

Year: 2001

US Chart Position: #84

UK Chart Position: n/a

Charting Singles: "Party Hard" (#19 UK), "She is Beautiful" (#55 UK)

Acclaimed Music Ranking: n/a

Rank on Our All-Time Albums List: #325

AMG Says: "Throwing the doors wide open on the musical guilty pleasures of twenty-somethings, I Get Wet turns hair metal hedonism, punk energy, and pop melodies into an instant, insistent blast of fun with all the power of a beer commercial. From the opening anthem, "It's Time to Party," to the excellently named finale, "Don't Stop Living in the Red," the album is all climax -- the blasting guitars, blaring keyboards, and Andrew W.K. himself are all turned up to 11 throughout. W.K. is a one-man manifesto, dedicated to spreading the way of the party with songs like "Party Hard" ("We do what we like and we like what we do!" could be "Dirty deeds done dirt cheap" several generations down the road), "Party Til You Puke," and "I Get Wet," and the fact that he looks like the stoner bully from high school only adds to his cred. Guessing whether or not Andrew W.K. is a big joke or not is almost beside the point; he comes on so strong that he either really means it, maaan, or he's got his tongue stuck firmly in his bloodied cheek. Either way, there's not much fence-sitting with his music -- you'll think the big, dumb, cartoonish "Girls Own Love" and "Ready to Die" are the stupidest songs you've ever heard, or you'll love them because they're the stupidest songs you've ever heard. Even I Get Wet's sensitive "She Is Beautiful," which is about being too shy to talk to a pretty girl, is about as subtle as a high schooler's after-shave...and just as awkwardly charming. While the album has a certain sameness due to the frenetic beat that drives nearly track, it's the perfect complement to W.K.'s party-centric vision. Refreshingly simple and cleverly stupid, I Get Wet makes indoctrination fun again."

Ranked Highest By: Diesel (#7)

Amazon Link

Holy shit that's low. Easily his best work too. Not much love for Americana or psychedelia here.

Edit: Andrew K beats this?

mwahahahaha

mwahahahahahhahahahaa




That album is brilliant. Grab it.

Whoa, I knew we have Opeth fans on this board (yours truly included), but I wasn't expecting to see the band crack 250.

You have the most incredible persecution complex I've ever seen of anyone on the internet.

The SOMB doesn't love psychedelia? Do you really believe what you're saying?

The board likes Americana too, though maybe not in the same, specific/traditional way you do.

Here, can you handle this?


#226.



Alanis Morissette - Jagged Little Pill

Year: 1995

US Chart Position: #1

UK Chart Position: #1

Charting Singles: "Ironic" (#4 / #1 Top 40 / #1 Modern Rock US, #11 UK), "You Learn" (#6 / #1 Top 40 US, #24 UK), "You Oughta Know" (#1 Modern Rock US, #22 UK), "Hand in My Pocket" (#1 Modern Rock US, #26 UK), "Head Over Feet" (#1 Top 40 US, #7 UK), "All I Really Want" (#14 Modern Rock US)

Acclaimed Music Ranking: #9 (year), #66 (decade), #358 (all-time)

AMG Says: "It's remarkable that Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill struck a sympathetic chord with millions of listeners, because it's so doggedly, determinedly insular. This, after all, plays like an emotional purging, prompted by a bitter relationship -- and, according to all the lyrical hints, that's likely a record executive who took advantage of a young Alanis. She never disguises her outright rage and disgust, whether it's the vengeful wrath of "You Oughta Know" or asking him "you scan the credits for your name and wonder why it's not there." This is such insider information that it's hard to believe that millions of listeners not just bought it, but embraced it, turning Alanis Morisette into a mid-'90s phenomenon. Perhaps it was the individuality that made it appealing, since its specificity lent it genuineness -- and, even if this is clearly an attempt to embrace the "women in rock" movement in alterna-rock, Morissette's intentions are genuine. Often, it seems like Glen Ballard's pop inclinations fight against Alanis' exorcisms, as her bitter diary entries are given a pop gloss that gives them entry to the pop charts. What's all the more remarkable is that Alanis isn't a particularly good singer, stretching the limits of pitch and credibility with her octave-skipping caterwauling. At its core, this is the work of an ambitious but sophomoric 19-year-old, once burned by love, but still willing to open her heart a second time. All of this adds up to a record that's surprisingly effective, an utterly fascinating exploration of a young woman's psyche. As slick as the music is, the lyrics are unvarnished and Morissette unflinchingly explores emotions so common, most people would be ashamed to articulate them. This doesn't make Jagged Little Pill great, but it does make it a fascinating record, a phenomenon that's intensely personal."

Ranked Highest By: Midnite Vulture (#2)

Amazon Link

nah.

Psychedelia and Americana are not well represented on the lists.

It's pretty much brit pop. Blur, Oasis, Radiohead, Pulp, etc.

Did Jefferson Airplane's psychedelic classic even make the top albums list for it's decade?

Pretty much Brit Pop, lol. They'll be plenty of that on a 1995-2004 album list won't there. Look out for those Bluetones albums people.