Music Reviews

So yeah, here we are, my picks for my absolute favorite albums of all time. Currently there are only 11 albums I truly consider to be a quote on quote „10/10“. I will also be doing a ranking of sorts rather than from „worst“ to best I’d say „from great to greatest“ (also a trigger warning beofre we start: THIS IS ALL JUST MY OPINNION). So no more beating around the bush, let’s kick of the list with…

11.) (2021) Injury Reserve – By the Time I Get to Phoenix (Light 10)

-genre: Experimental Hip-Hop, Glitch-Hop

I actually have a full review on this one on my main page, where I go a little more in-depth why I think this is a 10, so feel free to check that out – it’s also the only 10 I gave out this year and actually also in the last 3 years. The reason why this is my „least favorite“ favorite album is simply because the record didn’t have much time to sit with me yet, so keep in mind this one is the most likely one to change in the future, however I feel like this album sets a big milestone in what experimental music can even be – no album has pushed he boundaries of the experimental hip-hop scene so drasically since I think „The Money Store“ in 2012. Speaking of which…

10.) (2012) Death Grips – The Money Store (Light 10)

-genre: Experimental Hip-Hop, Hardcore Hip-Hop

Yeah, this album honestly aged like fine wine – everytime I listen to this album it STILL give me headaches but I ain’t even mad, because it sounds so god-damn good. This album really marks the start of the „soundcloud rappers screaming their brains out“ era of music which we currently find ourselves in, but no artist has EVER even come close to the briliance of this record right here. Yeah, it’s a pretty basic pick and it’s a cliche at this point to call this a 10, but it’s a cliche for a good damn reason – the album is that universally praised, because it’s just that good.

9.) (2013) Deafheaven – Sunbather (Light 10)

-genre: Blackgaze, Melodic Black Metal

Haven’t heard this album in a while, but this is my go-to album when I’m feeeling depressed, because the way this album makes you FEEL while listening to it, is like no album I’ve ever heard – I listened to this album at a pretty rough point in my life for the first time and it honestly put me back on the right track in life, it was like a wake up call. I never felt such intense emotion in ANY media, not only music, this album truly justifies it’s placement here.

8.) (1997) Radiohead – OK Computer (Decent 10)

-genre: Alternative Rock, Art Rock

Yeah yeah, call me basic all you want, but there is a good reason that this album currently sits at „legendary status“ as I like to call it. Many people even goa as far as to call this the greatest album to ever be recorded, which I don’t find to be the case (after all there is still even one album from Radiohead themselves that I believe surpasses this one, even if it’s by just a little bit), but anyone who has heard this record can’t deny the cultural importance that it had on rock music as a whole. I ASCEND every time I put this album on, like this is a must listen for any fan of music.

7.) (2014) Swans – To Be Kind (Decent 10)

-genre: Post-Rock, Experimental Rock, Noise Rock

Checking of another Fantano-core album of the list, we have what’s in my opinnion the pinacle of rock music last decade, which is „To Be Kind“ by the legendary post-rock collective Swans. If OK Computer influenced the rock music of the 2000’s, then this album definetly is the OK Computer of the last decade, even though it came out basically after half of decade was already over, but that’s how good this record is – I just love how primal and at the core of things simple this album is, but it just keeps building and building different instrumentals on top of each other and before you know it you have a 2 hour long post-rock masterpiece that honestly doesn’t feel that long at all.

6.) (2007) Radiohead – In Rainbows (Decent 10)

-genre: Alternative Rock, Art Rock

Ah yes, Radiohead, the only musical outfit to make an appearance TWICE on a list like this – and yes, you may call me a bit biased, but hear me out here. This record has a spot here for completely different reason, then OK Computer does – it wasn’t super influential, nor was it that ground-breaking. This album proves 2 things though – firstly, that Radiohead still fricking got it, and secondly, that you don’t need to make a super experimental revolutionary album to make a masterpiece – quite the opposite in fact. This record is the most down-to-earth, stripped back and HUMAN album Radiohead has EVER put out. And that’s why I like it so much – the album cover perfectly represents the feeling this album conveys, it’s simple, but that’s where the magic happens, in the little simple things that together create something magical.

5.) (1991) My Bloody Valentine – Loveless (Decent 10)

-genre: Shoegaze, Noise Pop, Dream Pop

Now cracking at the top 5 of my favorite albums of all time here we have another example of an artist completely remaking an entire genre of music. The 1991 shoegaze classic „Loveless“ is nothing short of a masterpiece – this is the closest thing to doing drugs without actually doing drugs (though this album on drugs must be something else). I don’t even have anything else to say about this album, please just listen to it if you still haven’t.

4.) (2000) Godspeed You! Black Emperor – Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven (Strong 10)

-genre: Post Rock

Honestly, I might have lied previously about no album making me feel like Deafheaven’s „SUNBATHER“, because this album just takes me to a place that no album ever had taken me before. This album for some reason just resonates with my personal taste SO MUCH, I can’t even explain it – every note played, every single second of music on this hour and half long record just clicks. This is completely just a case of an album clicking with my personal preferences in music, there isn’t anything else to it – the album is like objectively amazing I think, but for me, it just does something to me man. Though there still are 3 albums left that I would consider even better than that. And those are…

3.) (2015) Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp A Butterfly (Strong 10)

-genre: Conscious Hip-Hop, Jazz Rap, West Coast Hip-Hop

I mean… What did you expect. Talking about objectively amazing albums, this one is a no-brainer – I can’t say anything that already hasn’t been said about this album a million times before. It’s a cultural milestone not only in music, but in the society we live in as a whole – this is the album that people bring up when they talk about the importance of music in our lives. And yeah, the album has a deep message and all that, but the music to go along with it is evenly good. I’m honestly at a loss for words with this record, the only two records that I consider better than this are entirely based around personal preference, but THIS is the definite strongest 10 of this whole list.

2.) (2018) Daughters – You Won’t Get What You Want (Strong 10)

-genre: Noise Rock, Industrial Rock

You’re right, I didn’t get what I wanted – I wanted a great noise-rock comeback album from a band that hasn’t been active in well over a decade, instead, I got one of the most horrifying and frightening expiriences I had with music PERIODT. This album broke me – the musical equivalent of terror, audio torture, whatever you wanna call this thing, one thing is for certain – before you listen to this thing, you really wanna make sure you are ready for some sleepless nights, because this album IS HAUNTED. So yeah, 10/10, some really good wholesome christian music and fun for the whole family :)).

and finally, drumroll please… My number one favorite album OF ALL TIME is…

1.) My Chemical Romance – The Black Parade (Strong 10)

-genre: Pop Punk, Rock Opera, Alternative Rock

This. This is the pinacle of music. It doesn’t really get better than this with concept albums, at least from where I see it. There is SO MUCH hidden beneath the surface with this record that the common listener may just completely miss – the lyrics and themes are dark and incredibly morbid, the concept is tragic and really well executed and the sound play is top-notch, the instrumentals sound great, there is not a single song on this record that isn’t brough to absolute perfection and if all of that isn’t enough for you, then last but not least, Gerard Way’s heartwrenching vocal performance throughout this whole project is honestly what should sell you on this album. If that STILL isn’t enough for you, then I don’t know what to tell you, I just feel sorry for you for not seeing this album as the masterpiece that it truly and honestly is. Labeling this just „emo“ is an insult to this album, because it’s really just so much more than that and I wish more people would see that.