Lurker > MaxGalactica

1. Vaudeville Villain
2. Saliva
3. Lickupon
4. Can I Watch?
5. A Dead Mouse
6. Change the Beat
7. A Modern Day Mugging
8. Never Dead
9. The Drop
10. Mr. Clean
11. G.M.C.
12. Raedawn
13. Popsnot
14. Lactose and Lecithin
15. Open Mic Nite, Pt. 1
16. Open Mic Nite, Pt. 2

This isn't quite as strong as other DOOM records I've heard, but this is still pretty great. The top 6 in my ranking have some really cool beats, and DOOM's flow is unmatched. I'm glad we got to cover this one.

I listened to 3 tracks from each album again, so here's my ranking based on those (wasn't sure what to do with the Polysics nom since it's not really an album, so I didn't include it in my ranking, but the posted videos were fun).

1. Bjrk - Homogenic (the best Bjrk album. The first four tracks are all some of my favorite songs in general)
2. Natalia Lafourcade - De todas las flores (really good songwriting all-around)
3. Fishmans - Uchu Nippon Setagaya (I listened to Long Season a few weeks ago, and I really liked it, and the tracks I heard from this one were good too. Really nice production and songwriting.)
4. KMFDM - Nihil (Electro-industrial rock scratches an itch I didn't know had to be scratched. Love the sound of this one.)
5. Enya - A Day Without Rain (Enya is always beautiful music.)

6. ABBA - Arrival
7. Blmchen - Jasmin
8. dEUS - The Ideal Crash
9. Nouvelle Vague - Nouvelle Vague (Cool cover of I Melt With You)
10. Sonata Arctica - Reckoning Night
11. Machinae Supremacy - A View from the End of the World
12. BABYMETAL - BABYMETAL
13. Lordi - The Arockalypse (yeah, the heavy/power metal noms were mostly not my thing, so they're all at the bottom. Sonata Arctica and Machinae Supremacy had some cool synth elements though, so they ranked higher.)

This is the only time I'll have a chance to post today, so I'll just quickly use up what I have and hope for the best. Good luck everyone.

Supports:
+ Genshin Impact | No Turning Back | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIOGWrZLqLo
+ Outer Wilds | 14.3 Billion Years | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOrygf_iLhw

Doubles:
+ Ragnarok Online II: The Gate of the World | Prontera Field | https://youtu.be/XNzPuKqC4Sc
+ Blue Reflection: Second Light | A Hopeful Astraea | https://youtu.be/-0ArjCS80gQ
+ Final Fantasy XIII-2 | New Bodhum ~ New Bodhum -Aggressive Mix- | https://youtu.be/LjFKWmKxKRM
+ Cytus II | Fight Another Day (Andy Tunstall Remix) | https://youtu.be/GyRSMCcz3W0

Next two supports.

+ No Man's Sky | Supermoon | https://youtu.be/fbATfutOISI?si=5gN3on2FtMoKySkZ
+ 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim | Seaside Vacation | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKdIhT3Feks

First double.

+ Romance of the Three Kingdoms | Yellow River ~ Yangtze River | https://youtu.be/jhSRjCSrqDw

Wasteland

Next two supports.

+ League of Legends | Everything Goes On | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izHyKdrSKvo
+ Genshin Impact | Across Dimming Asterisms | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvLZzUcyDWY

Second pair of supports from me.

+ Princess Connect! Re: Dive | Twinkling Wish | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODsMu4CgI_E
+ Tunic | Memories of Memories | https://youtu.be/c6lNAefHVsY?si=FUuXs3UALuIDFRdl

@Geckoeygecko Would you be willing to switch out the link for Everything Goes On to the full version (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YWX3mRQZ88)? I'll support it if it's the full version.

Here Comes the Sun
Hey Jude
Let it Be
Yesterday

1. Space Lion - This is one of my favorite songs of all time. The ambient intro with the gorgeous sax is incredible. Amazing melody, amazing chords, amazing soundscape, I love everything about this song.
2. Tank!
3. Piano Black
4. Rush
5. Too Good Too Bad
6. Bad Dog No Biscuits
7. The Egg and I
8. Rain
9. Waltz for Zizi
10. Car 24
11. Spokey Dokey
12. Memory
13. Cat Blues
14. Pot City
15. Cosmos
16. Felt Tip Pen
17. Digging My Potato

There are probably about 20 Kanno soundtracks that I have rated higher than this one (including Ragnarok Online II that we covered a couple of months ago), as it does have a few more filler tracks than I'd like. However the good tracks on here are really, really good and Space Lion is my overall favorite Kanno song which is saying a lot. There's a lot of variety genre-wise with the spaghetti western, big band jazz, blues, and other influences. If you enjoyed this soundtrack, definitely check out the second (Cowboy Bebop 2: No Disc) and third (Cowboy Bebop Blue) soundtracks as well as the Vitaminless EP. They're all quite varied and include more vocal songs if you felt those were missing from this soundtrack (The Real Folk Blues, Adieu, Call Me Call Me. Blue, Fantasie Sign, and Don't Bother None being highlights amongst them).

First two supports from me.

+ beatmania IIDX 29 CastHour | Nocturnal 2097 (Long Version) | https://youtu.be/aE6ks8ny-w0
+ Xenoblade Chronicles X | CODENAMEZ | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5w4bOYDNypc

Those are in the third Bebop soundtrack. https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/seatbelts/cowboy-bebop-blue/

Nominate: Natalia Lafourcade - De todas las flores

Since we recently did a Portuguese-speaking album with Clube da esquina, I figured it'd also be cool to cover a Spanish-speaking album. It's a really cool modern take on Mexican folk music. Some really good songwriting and Lafourcade's voice is fantastic.

Sample track: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nx5CZ83o1Z8

+ Xenoblade Chronicles X | Black tar | https://youtu.be/UM0qbHq8Tvg
+ Murasaki Tsurugi | Fairytale Poison and Solitude | https://youtu.be/jYOeWL-GScY
+ Uncharted Waters II | MAST IN THE MIST ~Misty Harbour~ | https://youtu.be/fgZuWK16DwM
+ Cytus II | Fight Another Day (Andy Tunstall Remix) | https://youtu.be/GyRSMCcz3W0
+ DEEMO II | Unravelling | https://youtu.be/EGKwpO_v9UY

I read the theme and was like Oh nice! This is the perfect opportunity to nom Homogenic! then I see its already been nommed so thats nice. Ill have to think a bit more on what to nom then.

+ Romance of the Three Kingdoms | Yellow River ~ Yangtze River | https://youtu.be/jhSRjCSrqDw
+ Blue Reflection: Second Light | A Hopeful Astraea | https://youtu.be/-0ArjCS80gQ
+ Ragnarok Online II: The Gate of the World | Prontera Field | https://youtu.be/XNzPuKqC4Sc
+ Xenoblade Chronicles | Mechonis Field | https://youtu.be/rLaKBotgQVw
+ Final Fantasy XIII-2 | New Bodhum ~ New Bodhum -Aggressive Mix- | https://youtu.be/LjFKWmKxKRM

NFUN posted...

have you heard their first album?

Yes. That one's kinda different from the rest too. I like Window Shop and Like a Storm a lot from it.

1. I'm the President
2. Do Hot Girls Like Chords?
3. Real Nice Moment
4. Nightmare
5. The Abyss
6. It Will Get Real
7. Ride That Dolphin
8. It's All Nothing Until It's Everything
9. Crash the Car
10. Same Smile, Different Face
11. Knower Forever

KNOWER FOREVER is a pretty significant departure from their previous electropop/glitch pop style with a major focus on more orchestral sounds paired with funk and a heavy emphasis on crazy solos. Oftentimes a departure like this for an artist leads to a weak entry in a style that's outside of their comfort zone. In KNOWER's case, they created the best album they've made to date. Every track is engaging, the solos are wild, the production is top-notch, and the sheer technical prowess on display is admirable (Louis Cole's drum-playing is out of this world). The only thing that keeps me from rating it higher is that Genevieve Artadi doesn't exactly have my favorite voice out there, but I guess it works well enough to not detract from the overall experience too much. Great album all in all.

1989 is still by far my favorite Taylor Swift album, although her last three albums have been pretty decent to good (folklore, evermore, and Midnights). Red is alright, and the rest aren't great imo. She has a new album releasing on Friday that'll be interesting to hear.

1. Higher Ground
2. Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing
3. Living for the City
4. Golden Lady
5. He's Misstra Know-It-All
6. Jesus Children of America
7. Too High
8. All in Love is Fair
9. Visions

This album is simply fabulous. While not as strong as Songs in the Key of Life, this album is full of some real heavy-hitters, namely Living for the City, Higher Ground, and Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing. Living for the City is funky, energetic, and full of raw emotion. Higher Ground has got an awesome clavinet riff and melody. And Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing is one of Wonder's most memorable songs along with Superstition. The rest of the album is great too, there's not a single track I dislike here. An essential album that I'm glad we got to cover. If you enjoyed this album, then Songs in the Key of Life is pretty much required listening.

rwlh posted...

10/230
@MaxGalactica
ICO - Castle in the Mist
Michiru Oshima
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mW23zyx28OQ

Here is the other 9+ Id heard before. Castle in the Mist is an acoustic guitar-driven track (or at least e-guitar) thats so richly evocative. Its a masterpiece of minimal sound design. It conveys a sense of emptiness as well as a palpable feeling of loss. Despite having a 10 and now this, I dont really know much about this game, but this assessment seems to strike at the core of its presentation. I honestly struggle to imagine a part in gameplay where this could logically play, so Im guessing its cutscene music of some kind? Either way, very powerful song.

The lead instrument is actually a bouzouki, a Greek plucked string instrument. It's one of my favorite plucked instruments. Glad you liked it!

Fluttershy_Pony posted...

This is off-topic, but if we're already discussing other Stevie Wonder albums, are there any thoughts on "Where I'm Coming From"? It has one of my favorite songs of all time (If You Really Love Me) so I've been half interested in checking out its source album, but since it's no one's top choice, I'm guessing it's not great?

I just listened to it, it definitely has a much more raw sound than Wonder's subsequent releases, but it has a few songs that stand out (namely Do Yourself A Favor and If You Really Love Me. Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer is pretty good too). I'd consider it a good album, but his next five albums are where Stevie Wonder becomes truly great.

1. Everlong
2. My Hero
3. Monkey Wrench
4. Up In Arms
5. New Way Home
6. See You
7. Hey, Johnny Park!
8. February Stars
9. Walking After You
10. My Poor Brain
11. Enough Space
12. Doll
13. Wind Up
14. The Colour and the Shape

I have very mixed feelings about this album. The big three songs from this album are all fantastic, particularly Everlong that's probably one of my top 50 songs of all time. The rest of the album is just kinda there to me and doesn't do anything to stand out or make me want to revisit it. I'll be satisfied keeping Everlong, My Hero, and Monkey Wrench on my regular rotation while ignoring the rest.

Illinois definitely did a lot better than I expected, considering how much negative feedback it got during its original topic. Chicago is my song of the cycle, although Map of the Problematique and City of Delusion aren't too far behind it. Pretty satisfied with the results, all things considered. Thanks for running this again, Sean!

1. The Becoming
2. Closer
3. Hurt
4. Ruiner
5. March of the Pigs
6. Heresy
7. Reptile
8. Mr. Self Destruct
9. Eraser
10. I Do Not Want This
11. Piggy
12. The Downward Spiral
13. A Warm Place
14. Big Man With a Gun

Incredible album. The synth production in particular feels way ahead of its time. I love how brutally aggressive Trent Reznor's vocals and the instrumentals are. The bottom three in my ranking (The Downward Spiral, A Warm Place, and Big Man With a Gun) are the only tracks I think aren't stellar. Very glad we got to cover this.

Also worth mentioning that this album coming up is what finally motivated me to start going through the rest of NIN's discography, since this album was the only one I was already familiar with. I still have 6 albums left to go through, but The Fragile in particular was awesome. Pretty Hate Machine was good for the most part, but felt pretty raw and a lot less developed than Trent's future projects.

Black Sabbath - Paranoid
Metallica - Master of Puppets
Iron Maiden - The Number of the Beast
Judas Priest - Painkiller

Ok, its actually wild that four of these are my top four albums, and the other one is my ninth ranked album. Definitely couldnt ask for better results than that.

I suppose I can do a full prediction of the top 10 too:

1. Black Holes & Revelations
2. Siamese Dream
3. That! Feels Good!
4. The Suburbs
5. Disintegration
6. Automatic for the People
7. Franz Ferdinand
8. Illinois
9. Born in the U.S.A.
10. Follow Slowly

Pretty cool seeing all of my top 5 making the top 10. I imagine Follow Slowly, Born in the USA, and maybe Illinois will be the next ones to drop.

Rip, Blue was in the top 5 till the last few voters dropped it out. Happy Innervisions and Bebop made it tho.

1. Take My Breath
2. Sacrifice
3. How Do I Make You Love Me?
4. Less Than Zero
5. Gasoline
6. Is There Someone Else?
7. Don't Break My Heart
8. Out of Time
9. Starry Eyes
10. I Heard You're Married
11. Dawn FM
12. Here We Go...Again
13. Phantom Regret by Jim
14. Every Angel is Terrifying
15. A Tale by Quincy
16. Best Friends

Not sure if this is my favorite album by The Weeknd, but it's up there. It's Abel's most consistent album and the immersion with the radio station setting is done really well. It is a bit front-loaded, but there are a handful of great tracks in the second half as well. Take My Breath, Sacrifice, How Do I Make You Love Me?, Less Than Zero, and Gasoline were all big highlights for me. Great album overall.

sad day and cellophane both got extremely close to cracking my SotC.

@Seanchan Just so you know, I ranked Crash Kings at 10, not 20. So it should rank higher overall.

rwlh posted...

I only got halfway through Djesse and Safe Travels once it became apparent that neither would be cracking the top five, and No Fences still isn't available for streaming. Other than that, I listened to everything!

Tfw those two albums are my favorite and my favorite discovery of the set...

Lots of really good picks out of these 13 albums. Ranking these was a bit tough.

1 - Jacob Collier - Djesse Vol. 4
2 - Seatbelts - Cowboy Bebop (Space Lion is one of my favorite songs of all time)
3 - Stevie Wonder - Innervisions
4 - Joni Mitchell - Blue
5 - Jukebox the Ghost - Safe Travels

And here's a ranking of the rest just for fun:

6 - Knower - Knower Forever
7 - Viktor Vaughn - Vaudeville Villain
8 - Tegan and Sara - Heartthrob (I really enjoyed Closer)
9 - Foo Fighters - The Colour and the Shape (this one's a weird one because if I based it just off the 3 most popular songs, it'd be one of my top picks, but I really don't like the rest of the album)
10 - Red Hot Chili Peppers - Californication (RHCP albums have this thing where they have exactly one really good song and the rest is just kinda whatever)
11 - Garbage - Version 2.0
12 - Was (Not Was) - What Up, Dog?
13 - Garth Brooks - No Fences (Sorry, it's alright, but definitely not my style of country)

This one's the first unfortunate drop of the ranking. Really, really enjoyed it all the way through. Lots of great tracks with great instrumentation, rhythms, and vocals.

Gonna try listening to three songs (most streamed on Spotify unless the recommendations indicate otherwise) from each album before submitting a ranking.

1. Dorset Perception
2. Around the World in a Tea Daze
3. My Head Feels Like a Frisbee
4. A New Way to Say 'Hooray!'
5. StarShpongled Banner
6. Shpongleyes
7. Flute Fruit
8. Room 2
9. Once Upon the Sea of Blissful Awareness

Yeah, this album's pretty awesome. Only one song felt like it dragged too long, and the rest felt like fountains of creativity exploring all sorts of different sounds. I especially loved the incorporation of flute with all of the unique synths used. Dorset Perception was a clear standout to me, but I really liked nearly every song on the album. Great pick for this week.

No Fences is on Amazon Music if anyone has that.

https://music.amazon.com/albums/B01LYCHD0R

Glad someone else picked Jet Lag for SotC, because that was one of my last cuts to get to 25.

2Pac
Eminem
Kanye
Kendrick Lamar

Yeah, I definitely would like to see more hip hop get covered here. Theres a lot of good stuff both pre and post-2000, Raising Hell is just one that didnt age very well.

Wow, my 23-25 being the first three to drop is certainly a nice surprise.

I initially had 90 songs selected for my songs of the cycle, so cutting it down to just 25 was pretty painful. Like a Tattoo and Mermaid from Love Deluxe both got close to my top 25.

Just sent mine.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/3/3fc0b259.jpg

Finished my last relisten. Will need a bit of time to finalize my ranking and my list of 25 songs, but I'll get my submission in by the end of the day tomorrow (Sunday).

Seanchan posted...

Honestly, I'm just kind of sick of all the fucking instrumental, ambient, moody, "artsy" shit at this point. Not that all those (or sometimes any...) apply to every album this cycle, but lets just say it's not been a good last 4-5 weeks for my listening tastes. There's also the compounding factor of me listening to the bottom half dozen of Rank the Albums 6 in the past few days. So yeah, just venting a little; I know there's certainly people who feel the exact opposite of me on this stuff.

The next two albums are definitely a departure from that.

Nominate Jacob Collier - Djesse Vol. 4

This has been my most anticipated album over the past 4 years since Vol. 3 released, and it finally released a week ago. And it lived up to my expectations and more, which was a pleasant surprise. It's Collier's most cohesive and accessible album, while sticking to his roots in complex harmonies, rhythms, and genre exploration and variety. It includes elements of synthpop, symphonic, djent, hyperpop, soul, gospel, rock, house, folk, R&B, yacht rock and much more. His songwriting abilities and production quality are at their best in this album. There's also a lot of cool features throughout including Arch Echo, Lawrence, Michael McDonald, Kirk Franklin, Lizzy McAlpine, John Mayer, Chris Martin, aespa, Tori Kelly, and others. I'll only post one sample, but if you have time to check out a couple of others, I'd recommend 100,000 Voices and Wherever I Go.

https://youtu.be/IzGXQraNoLc

I would go with 5 songs from 2025 for my third set, but there aren't any of those yet, so I'll go back to 2022 for this set.

MUNA | What I Want (4:03)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0oomndUC2Bo
@MaxGalactica

Beyonc | VIRGO'S GROOVE (6:08)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCMEvXPmfP4
@MaxGalactica

Arctic Monkeys | There'd Better Be a Mirrorball (4:25)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-CKookVyhA
@MaxGalactica

Natalia Lafourcade | De todas las flores (5:22)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nx5CZ83o1Z8
@MaxGalactica

The 1975 | The 1975 (4:10)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LG83fGCKNv4
@MaxGalactica