Wow, this year was pretty huge. This is generally the music I listened to through junior and senior year of high school, and represent the beginnings of a lot of different paths for me musically. A lot of these mean a ton to me for reminiscence sake too- playing these in the car on the way home from school with all of the thoughts of someone getting towards the end of a huge part of my life make a lot of these mean a lot. As always, I'm sure that helped, but even without that, this was a fantastic year for music in my life, and this list was very hard to put in order and decide who got the lower half of the top 10 and who was a runner up.
Prodigy- The Fat Of The Land: This is pretty much the album that introduced me (and most of the world) to the joys of electronic music, mostly because it was pretty much just rock music played through synthesizers and drum machines. "Firestarter" hasn't aged well, but the rest sounds just as good today as it did then, and the true gems on this are the longer instrumental songs.
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones- Let's Face It: This is pretty much the album that introduced me (and most of the world) to the joys of ska, mostly because it was pretty much just rock music played with horns and scattered pieces of ska. "The Impression That I get" is one of the best alternative rock hits of the 90s, but this album is full of great, incredibly catchy songs.
Everclear- So Much For The Afterglow: Although it sags a bit at the end, this is Everclear's best album. From the Beach Boys-esque opener, the first 7 songs are pretty much flawless alternative rock, and "Father Of Mine" is one of the best hits of the 90s- melodic and meaningful, and very loud. They improved tremendously from Sparkle And Fade.
Elliott Smith- Either/Or: For personal reasons, I wanted to put this higher on the list, but the fact is, I only really LOVE 5 songs on this and the rest are good, but not as memorable. Those 5 songs though- those pretty much introduced me to the world of folk emo and the art of crafting a beautiful and sad song with just layered quiet vocals and acoustic guitars. The ride home may never have happened if not for this album, and I will forever cherish the moment when I gave my CD to a girl I liked at work and she told me I sounded like him.
Green Day- Nimrod: A lot of people freaked out when American Idiot came out, saying how surprised they were at how well Green Day had grown up- how well they wrote anthemic rock songs that were meaningful and powerful and not just snotty and fun like their early stuff. Apparently those people never heard this album, because this is where it all started. And "Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)"? Come on.
10. Ween- The Mollusk
My second favorite Ween album (after Chocolate And Cheese), The Mollusk is a pretty much perfect representation of Ween, oddly working perfectly in all its variety to conjure up images of the sea and pirates. Songs about mollusks, eels, and worm-like tips of tentacles expanding in my mind somehow are perfect next to "Waving My Dick In The Wind," the drunken sailor theme "The Blarney Stone," and still somehow work next to the beautiful and sad "It's Gonna Be (Alright)," and my original love of this album, their take on an English traditional "Cold Blows The Wind." This is Ween at their best, working comedy, melody and outright weirdness all together in an ocean-themed mess... kind of like the cover. I always think of walking up and down my driveway in winter, listening to this over and over again. Sadly, Ween called it a day last year. Hopefully they find each other again someday and record another album as awesome as this.
Best songs: "The Mollusk," "Mutilated Lips," "It's Gonna Be (Alright)," "The Golden Eel," "Cold Blows The Wind," "Buckingham Green," "Ocean Man"
9. Modest Mouse- The Lonesome Crowded West
My friend Matt got me into Modest Mouse in high school, and as soon as they started bending harmonics like sirens over the end rock of "Teeth Like God's Shoeshine," I knew I was a fan of Modest Mouse. This album is long, full of long songs, and full of variety the way only Modest Mouse can do it. While some of the songs venture into stuff I'm not too keen of, this is generally the most melodic of Modest Mouse albums, and that makes it my favorite. "Cowboy Dan" somehow turns from a minor note builder to a melancholy song in the middle, and "Trailer Trash" and "Bankrupt On Selling" are beautiful all the way through, but that was as close to emo as they got, even though they were often labelled that way. Although not perfect, this is a fantastic album to listen to from front to back, and the way-too-awesome beat that finally kicks in at the end of "Styrofoam Boots/It's All Nice On Ice, Alright" is the perfect end to a weird album full of indie rock, country, occasional screaming, folk, etc. They still pretty much only sound like themselves, and this is pretty much where they perfected that sound.
Best songs: "Teeth Like God's Shoeshine," "Lounge (Closing Time)," "Cowboy Dan," "Trailer Trash," "Shit Luck," "Bankrupt On Selling," "Styrofoam Boots/It's All Nice On Ice, Alright"
8. Incubus- S.C.I.E.N.C.E.
I still like Incubus, but they've definitely declined over the years, becoming a very radio-friendly band of aging hippies playing alternative rock with stoner tendencies. Sadly, a lot of their stupid fans don't know where they came from, and this album showcases that. Sure, they had stuff before this, but it was overly funky, and it just didn't work as well. This one had everything- the Incubus hooks, Brandon Boyd's perfect voice, the DJ doing more than playing "soundscapes," nu metal-esque rock, funk, hip hop beats, etc. It had everything. This is the sound of an incredibly creative band showing up in the world of nu metal and showing up a lot of their friends in both musicianship, creativity, and especially songwriting. Most of this is alternative rock/nu metal ragers, but funky DJ tracks like "Magic Medicine" work fantastically with the flow of the album, just as well as the ballad/sounds-like-it-belongs-in-a-porn-movie song "Summer Romance (Anti-Gravity Love Song)." (Fun Fact- I used this song in a short film made for English class, where a girl unzips her jacket and climbs on top of me as I sat at a teacher's desk, creating essentially an extremely softcore porn scene. It worked very well, and I'm still proud of having that scene in a school project.) Whatever the hell was going on in their minds with the hidden track I named "Hidden Mess" in my itunes- they should find that again. This is easily my favorite Incubus album. If you haven't heard it and think you know Incubus, it's time to listen to this.
Best songs: "Redefine," "Vitamin," "New Skin," "A Certain Shade Of Green," "Summer Romance (Anti-Gravity Love Song)," "Nebula"
7. Limp Bizkit- Three Dollar Bill, Y'all
I was already into Korn and Rage Against The Machine and without really looking, hoping more bands would come out that sounded like them. I can still remember the day when Murphy and Meintel (future members of our awful nu metal/rapcore band Chewtoy) told me I needed to listen to something, bringing me into the art room (the only room in high school where we knew there was a tape player). They put this in, and my jaw pretty much dropped to the floor. Horrible sounding guitars produced by the king of horrible sounding guitars Ross Robinson, disgusting screams, huge nu metal riffs, a great drummer and bassist, and just fury and digusting metal all mixed with rap coming from a crazed lunatic. It was like Rage, but messier, angrier- like Rage meeting Korn. And I was in love. Sure, Limp Bizkit quickly went downhill (although their most recent album Gold Cobra was surprisingly decent), Fred Durst became the most mocked laughing stock of music (and it was mostly deserved), and people generally decided that Limp Bizkit was the worst thing to ever happen to music (I love telling people who think I have good taste in music and music discovery that this is one of my favorite albums), but this album stands the test of time and still rocks just as hard as it did back then. Over the years, my favorite song has changed a hundred times, finally landing on the absolutely disgusting and sloppy "Clunk," solely for the Funkdoobiest-esque rap buildup and end incredibly heavy, odd timed breakdown. It's soooo awesome. Fun Fact- in high school, we had a week of small events culminating in a class vs. class series of competitions, both mental and physical. One of these was a lip-synch performance. After my class completely gave up on a horribly lame cover of Beastie Boys' "Girls," I went up with 1 classmate and 2 underclassmen, performing "Faith" with barely any warning. I stage dived onto a table and underclassmen, people played brooms, etc. It was absolutely horrible and insanely awesome. We, of course, won. It remains one of the better moments of my life.
Best songs: Pollution," "Counterfeit," "Stuck," "Nobody Loves Me," "Sour," "Stalemate," "Clunk," "Faith," "Indigo Flow"
6. Deftones- Around The Fur
I had heard their name before, but I didn't really check them out until after Limp Bizkit, when I caught the video for "My Own Summer (Shove It)" on MTV's 120 Minutes. I was instantly very impressed and bought this before a long roadtrip with my parents. What an awesome sound Deftones have: super metal guitar, perfectly produced drums, and minor note, creepy melodies turned into throat shredding screams, all while maintaining a strong sense of melody, and at times, absolute beauty. These guys perfected the whole "sad beautiful song sent through metal filters" sound long before the hundreds of bands that would follow. I tend to like Adrenaline more, but I usually change my mind whenever I put this or White Pony on- they're all so solid. This has three of my all time favorite Deftones songs too- the beautiful and powerful "Be Quiet And Drive (Far Away)" and the driving turned absolutely brutal "Around The Fur" (also featuring one of my favorite drum beats ever AND the first one I learned to play), and the full on metal-fest of "Headup," featuring Max Cavalera. I understand their need to constantly change, but this album was the sound of a band perfecting a sound they created and I wish they'd just have this sound again- this may have been the best frontman Chino Moreno ever sounded too.
Best songs: "My Own Summer (Shove It)," "Lhabia," "Mascara," "Around The Fur," "Be Quiet And Drive (Far Away)," "Headup"
5. Built To Spill- Perfect From Now On
My favorite Built To Spill Album by far, this was originally higher on the list, but Foo Fighters just lasted more and became more legendary over time. This was the first I had heard Built To Spill, and I remember my friend Matt (yes, the same one) playing it for me in his car for a few minutes, then later hearing random songs on mixtapes friends would pass to each other (each adding a different song- I loved that). This is the best Built To Spill album for me for three main reasons- 1. The production and sound of Doug Martsch's voice have never sounded better, 2. The songwriting was the perfect mix of Built To Spill's incredible pop rock songwriting mixed with their need to solo and build layer upon layer of guitar live, and 3. this featured a cello-heavy string section over the whole album. Whether it was a beat-heavy catchy rock song ("I Would Hurt A Fly"), a beautiful building mood song ("Velvet Waltz"), a sunny, ever shifting head-bobber ("Kicked It In The Sun"), or a darker rocker about God ("Untrustable Part 2 (About Someone Else)"), the strings and musicianship were all perfect on this album. On a personal level, this album always makes me think of my friends Matt and Colin and high school in general, from singing along to the songs together or listening to this on mixtapes or on the way to school, to the biggest of them all- listening to "Velvet Waltz" on the drive to graduation. I always felt like it sounded like a marching song and the end of something, and it fit the mood perfectly when I timed it so I'd hear it as we drove up the hill to school. On a strictly musical level, every song is long and epic in the good way- the songs shift drastically while repeating little, and still maintain a perfect feel of completion. Every song is a journey, and the album as a whole is a masterpiece. More people should know the wonder of this album.
Best songs: "I woudl Hurt A Fly," "Velvet Waltz," "Out Of Sight," "Kicked It In The Sun," "Untrustable Part 2 (About Someone Else)"
4. Foo Fighters- The Colour And The Shape
At first, I wasn't in love with this album. It had a feel, the songs were catchy and good, but it didn't rock like the self-titled before it. Over time, I grew to love the overall flow of it. I began to realize that yes, it wasn't a joke- "Monkey Wrench" is one of the most perfect rock songs ever written (I've said it a million times and won't stop). I began to see that "Everlong" truly was one of the best songs of the 90s, and yes, through all of the different moods and sounds, there truly wasn't a bad song on here. Probably the least memorable song "February Stars" still hits home. I have a very specific memory of this album being put on late at a party with all my closest friends. It was a moment when I was like "ok, I like this album, I'm fine with this" and then I slowly realized that although it had been years since I'd listened, I knew every song, all my friends knew every song, and we were all happy to sing along and play air guitar to it. It starts slow and pretty with the intro song "Doll," flows through rockers and ballads, and ends with a personal favorite of mine, "New Way Home," and it's great all the way through. This has not only become the best Foo Fighters album in my opinion, but one of the best albums of the 90s. And nearly all of it was written and half of it recorded by one person. God Bless you, Dave Grohl (even though you essentially kicked out the drummer when you re-recorded all his takes).
Best songs: "Monkey Wrench," "Up In Arms," "My Hero," "Everlong," "New Way Home"
3. Blink 182- Dude Ranch
I'm one of very few people I've known who was a Blink fan before this album. This was their introduction to most of the world, with the instantly memorable "Dammit (Growing Up)," and it was right away a better album than Cheshire Cat: better production by a mile, catchier hooks, better vocals, etc. The songs suffer a bit from they-all-sound-the-same-itis, drummer Scott Raynor's fast but limited drumming (this would be his last album before the light years better Travis Barker joined), and it's still full of immature stupidity like the way-too-long joke that ends the album of a dog drinking a toilet full of pee. But the album has a feel through the whole thing, and although some are much better than others, there isn't a bad song on it. This was a constant in the car, and I have a very specific memory of listening to it on the way back from a tennis match (I'm so punk rock), when it fully hit me how much I loved it. This was the album that showed Blink's beginnings in straying from run-of-the-mill pop punk, from the sad, slower paced "Dick Lips," the surprisingly complicated "Enthused," the very pretty "Emo"(fun fact: I didn't know what "emo" was before this, and pronounced it like ehm-o), the beautiful and driving ender "I'm Sorry," and easily the best song on the album and instant Blink classic, "Josie." They showed they were immature and punk, but they could write beautiful melodies. And when driving, rocking songs hid beautiful melodies and lyrics about growing up all over the album, I stood no chance- this would instantly become a classic in my book. Ahh... high school.
Best songs: "Pathetic," "Dammit," "Dick Lips," "Enthused," "Untitled," "Emo," "Josie," "I'm Sorry"
2. Radiohead- OK Computer
I can remember the first time I heard this album- it was on the way home from my first real concert (Tha Alkaholiks, Blink-182 and Primus), in the car of my friend Kagan (he's Turkish). It was very late, we were driving a stretch of road I had never been on, and he decided to put this in. Neither of us were ready for what was about to play. Essentially, this is the beginnings of Radiohead being a weird band who could get away with anything (which has hurt their career in my opinion), but at the same time, it's just a collection of songs- many of them sad and beautiful. It only has a little bit of the spacey, weird computer stuff. The lyrics are all over the place, and there's a few songs that I didn't really care about then ("Airbag," "Electioneering"). But it has just enough of those factors added onto absolutely amazing songs that were at times oddly haunting (the middle of "Paranoid Android"), creepy and incredibly weird ("Fitter Happier" which I hated then and absolutely love now), and at times just flat out beautifully sad ("Let Down," "No Surprises"). It took us into a weird world and a weird feeling that I still get just looking at the album cover. Radiohead did a phenomenal job of branding themselves with this album- from the full-of-computer-gibberish layout to their website, which was incredibly easy to get lost in, and hours later, still not have a clue what you had just looked at. In college, I re-fell in love with this album, when my friend Dustin told me how much he was obsessed with it and we both spent way too much time on the website, writing to each other over AIM. I learned things that changed my feeling of some songs too- like the scream in the background of "Climbing Up The Walls," and the fact that that was recorded in a huge thunderstorm and Thom Yorke was apparently terrified during the recording (not gonna look up to see if that's actually true). This album has aged fantastically and still remains Radiohead's absolute greatest album (and their last as a rock band, which makes me sad). It's produced perfectly, has a perfect alienated, creepy, sad mood through the whole thing and contains pretty much every one of my favorite radiohead songs (except for the 3 gems on The Bends). A true classic on pretty much everyone's best-of lists for this year, or even the entire 90s. I miss you, Radiohead. Please come home.
Best songs: "Paranoid Android," "Exit Music (For A Film)," "Let Down," "Karma Police," "Climbing Up The Walls," "No Surprises,""Lucky,"
1. Third Eye Blind- Self Titled
It's hard to put anything above OK Computer, and I wrestled with this decision a lot more than someone should on a blog that 4 people will read, but in the end, I had to give the number 1 spot to Third Eye Blind's debut. This album has, without a doubt, meant more to me than anything else in 1997, and features what I am proud to say is my favorite song ever. More on that later.
This album really was something special- it's a super pop rock album with insanely catchy songs, but all with a weird indie rock vibe to it. "Losing A Whole Year" is a very odd way to start an album. The format of "Narcolepsy" is not like anything that was on the radio then. The fact that it started with 2 fairly melodic and sad songs and ended with 3 incredibly sad songs was kind of weird too- and that's what I loved about it. Generally, the middle of this album is fairly forgettable ("Good For You" and "London" in particular- "London" is one of the stupidest songs ever in history"), but the first 7 songs on this flow so well and are absolutely perfect. It's like a greatest hits album. The legit hits were massive and deserved it, especially "Semi- Charmed Life," a song I have probably heard a billion times and I still don't skip when I listen to this album. I love it- it's a perfect pop song even though I still only know half the words.
What really gets to me about this album though, is the last 3 songs. I love a good sad song or love ballad. They're my absolute favorite songs, and these 3 are fantastic. At one point, each one was my favorite song on the album. "The Background" is a perfect builder that explodes into distortion at the end and it always hit me on the many car rides into school when I listened to my super-emo-and-ahead-of-the-curve mixtapes "slow and pretty mixes, volumes 1-3." It always made me think of a girl I liked, who, sometimes, perfectly to the level of feeling like I was in a movie, was getting out of her car right when we got to school, with this song playing.
"God Of Wine" was my favorite for awhile. It was (and still is) one of the best late night drive home songs, again, with my best friend driving, and a billion high school thoughts in my head, mostly about girls. I'm sure the fact that this came out at the end of 11th grade for me (and I listened all through senior year) helped a lot (in fact, the exact moment I realized how much I loved "Graduate" was when my high school blasted it right at the end of the day on my last day of high school). I'm sure the fact that the second biggest crush/infatuation with a girl I never got was going on at this time. I had a LOT to think about, and these 3 songs always got to me. And they still make me think of high school. This is also one of the best last songs on an album I know.
But the true gem of this, which, if this album was nothing but duds other than it would still land it somewhere on this list, my favorite song of all time, is "Motorcycle Drive By." This is the most perfect sad song I know of. Starting with beautifully meandering finger picking, and slowing building to a huge ending, then getting as loud as possible and going back to the quiet part at the end... It's pretty much a format of all my favorite sad songs, and I've ripped the idea off several times myself. In fact, I accidentally ripped off the opening part of this in one of the first songs I ever wrote (but still haven't recorded). The lyrics of this are perfect too- just a girl lost and a guy remembering her leaving, with images of her, him paddling out to the coast and thinking about her, feeling alone etc. And it really doesn't even have a chorus- I mean, there's a repeating line, but it's nowhere near a conventional chorus. And it's one of my favorite lyrics ever, which of course I put on my yearbook page: "I've never been so alone, and I've never been so alive." It would literally take me several pages to explain how much that line has meant to me and my love and always evolving appreciation of sad music in my life, so I won't bother. Simply enough, this song always makes me think of my first ever love/crush/infatuation (which would also take several pages to explain the importance of), and of course I saw her for the first time in years one summer- the summer that I wrote that song that accidentally ripped this off. Since then, the song has meant more to me than any other song I can think of, and will always remain an absolute perfect song to me.
So yea. An album flooded with hooks, great melodies, super catchy guitar lines, perfect production, an awesome singer (I've always loved his voice) that starts and ends with pretty songs and other than a few duds in the center, is fairly perfect all the way through, that not only contains one of the top 5 best singles of the 90s ("Semi-Charmed Life") but also my favorite song ever, that I listened to throughout my senior year of high school? Yea. That's the best album that came out that year, and is easily in my top 5 of all time. Which is pretty much why I just wrote 80 pages talking about it.
Best songs: "Narcolepsy," "Semi-Charmed Life," "Jumper," "Graduate," "How's It Going To Be," "The Background," "Motorcycle Drive By," "God Of Wine"
