10) The Fugees: The Score (1995) Rap
Perfection. And the reason that I joined Vinyl Me Please back in the day-- the common pressing was absolute dogshit.
9) Gorillaz: Demon Days (2005) Hip-Hop, Electronic
Introduced countless American teenagers to the sound pallet of electronica AND a number of underground hip-hop's most important artists (setting the stage for a # of my college obsessions). Fifteen years later, there is still nothing that sounds quite like it.
8) Nine Inch Nails: The Fragile (1999) Alt-Rock, Industrial
The Downward Spiral and Pretty Hate Machine are both close to my heart and were definitely more important to the zeitgeist. But this is a list about favorites... and 20(ish) years later, I feel vindicated by the fact that countless sites have gone back and revised their initial score while admitting they were wrong (allmusic, Pitchfork). This album is the 90's "The Wall"-- a painstakingly ambitious double album whose brilliance became clear with time.
7) Grimes: Visions (2012) Pop, Indie Electronic
It's funny that
@Rip_City used the phrase "alien" when describing this album because when I first came across it, I described it to a friend as "an album so alien in its textures that I wondered if it was dropped here on a thumb drive by somebody from the future". Art Angels could have been here too-- Grimes changed my taste in music more than any artist of the 10's.
6) Talking Heads: Remain in Light (1980) New Wave, Art Rock
To quote Trent Reznor (who lists it as his favorite album): ". A strange, synthetic, polyrhythmical piece of art with African influences which confused me in every way... The great thing is that the record can still be approached from so many different directions without losing its puzzles.”
5) Radiohead: Amnesiac (2001) Alt-Rock, Electronic
Radiohead is my favorite band so I'm well aware there are people who will find this sac-religious... but this is the album that caused me to fall head over heels in love with the band, and I'd take it 10/10 times over Kid A. It got overshadowed by the fact that Kid A came first even though they were recorded at the same time. I also flirted with putting OK Computer and / or Hail to the Thief here.
4) Pink Floyd: Wish You Were Here (1975) Progressive Rock
Picking a favorite Pink Floyd album was almost as hard as picking a favorite Radiohead album. In the end, this is the one that I've listened to the most times.
3) Red Hot Chili Peppers: Blood Sugar Sex Magik (1991) Alt-Rock, Funk
I'm honestly baffled by the lack of Red Hot Chili Peppers on these lists. Fruciante is one of the best guitarists of all time; Flea is one of the most talented people to ever slap a bass. There was a clear evolution to their sound over the years and their discography is littered with iconic releases. All that said-- Blood Sugar Sex Magik is the easy pick even if Californication was the introduction for my middle school self.
2) Kendrick Lamar: To Pimp a Butterfly (2015) Hip-Hop
I think I listened to this album 50 times in the first two weeks of it's release. The fusion of avant garde jazz and G-funk took multiple listens to fully absorb, and the themes only grow more relevant with time.
1) Modest Mouse: The Lonesome Crowded West (1997) Indie Rock
I was introduced to Modest Mouse via my Unitarian Universalist youth group in early high school. A misfit group of stoners, punks and well-rounded nerds-- we all shared music religiously every Sunday. The Moon and Antarctica had just dropped at the time, and it's Floydian textures provided an easy pathway into the world of indie rock. That album would be at #8 on this list if I was allowing multiple entries per artist. However, the reason the Lonesome Crowded West sits at #1 is because a) the lyrics and b) it fully drowned me in the sounds of 90's indie rock that remain a touchstone of my musical tastes.
I can't really do justice to the brilliance of this album without spending more time articulating my thoughts so instead, I will post a link to the mini-documentary that Pitchfork did a couple years back. It's an awesome watch.
"Well all the Apostles-they're sitting in swings
Saying "I'd sell off my Savior for a set of new rings,
And some sandles with the style of straps that cling best to the era"
So all of the businessers in their unlimited
Hell where they buy and they sell and they sell all their
Trash to each other but they're sick of it all
And they're bankrupt on selling
And all of the angel
They'd sell off your soul for a set of new wings and anything gold
They remember
The people they loved their old friends
And I've seen through'em all seen through 'em all and seen through most everything
All the people you knew were the actors
All the people you knew were the actors
Well, I'll go to college and I'll learn some big words
And I'll talk real loud
Goddamn right I'll be heard
You'll remember all the guys that said all those big words he must've
Learned in college
And it took a long time
I came clean with myself
I come clean out of love with my lover
I still love her
Loved her more when she used to be sober and I was kinder"