Board 8 > Rank the Albums Vol. 3: Ranking Thread (Deadline: September 16)

(+) Yeah! (+)

1. Guns n Roses - Appetite for Destruction: One of my favorite albums ever. Period. End of story. Every track is a banger and it's so fun every time.
2. Sunspot - Singularity: I nominated this for a reason. I'm glad many of you guys enjoyed it for what it is! (I still recommend you guys checking out "Weirdest Hits" if you liked this one.)
3. Phil Collins - Face Value: Also nominated this for a reason.
4. Eagles - Hotel California
5. Dream Theater - Images and Words
6. Japanese Breakfast - Jubilee: This one was the surprise. Love some quality bubbly pop!
7. The White Stripes - Elephant
8. VAST - Visual Audio Sensory Theater
9. Faith No More - Angel Dust: Would have been top 5 if not for a pair of tracks I really, really didn't like. But everything else was awesome.
10. Peter Gabriel - So: If the last two tracks weren't so bizarre to the point that they got rough on repeated listens, this would also have been several spots higher. The highs are pretty high!
11. Metallica - Master of Puppets: Instrumentation alone. The kickass riffs. I still remember the majesty of "Orion" alone. A couple parts of screaminess, but I don't remember minding it as much after a few listens. There's a reason Metallica are leaders in their genre.
12. blink-182 - Enema of the State
13. Taylor Swift - Folklore: Would be four spots higher had it been 2-3 songs shorter. It's A-okay to have a dark and introspective album but making it too long makes it tiring to listen to. (Best track: "This Is Me Trying" - one of my top 5 tracks from this batch)
14. Portishead - Third: One of the weirdest things I've ever listened to. I both love and hate it for that, but that's why I remember it.
15. The Beatles - Rubber Soul: The mid-60s problem of all tracks being 3 minutes or less is part of why this is so low. The Beatles really started to push the envelope with track length after this album and Revolver, but the shortness of each track in turn makes them forgettable when compiled. It's still the Beatles, though.
16. The Cranberries - No Need to Argue
17. Opeth - Damnation
18. Miracle Musical - Hawaii: Part II: Genre is very much "Other." Nothing can really describe this and its mood changes, not to mention the sdrawkcab gniklat track. That's a gimmick that's really only intriguing the first time, before you figure it out.
19. Black Marble - It's Immaterial: I remember this being one of those "It feels like one track" albums, and yet it being good despite that. However, nothing stands out in either direction. This is in my "mixed bag" tier because of its nature.
20. Avenged Sevenfold - Avenged Sevenfold: I remember one song that was really good (the country-rock "Dear God") and one song that was outright unlistenable ("Critical Acclaim"). I guess the average plays out to put it outside my bottom five.
21. Linkin Park - Hybrid Theory
22. Love - Forever Changes: Apparently I listened to this. I don't remember ANYTHING. Not even track names! Looking at the Wiki... I called them "a forgettable mid-tier bar band." I guess that really holds. They were so forgettable, I forgot to rank them after two listens!
23. Mos Def - Black on Both Sides: This is not my thing at all. Is it good? Sure. Is it something I can listen to? Not really. I tried.
24. System of a Down - Toxicity: Fuck. The. Screaming.
25. Jack White - Fear of the Dawn: Absolutely awful. Hated every second of this that I managed to get through.

Been running an all-time artist poll on another site, which turns out is a lot of work. 60 people have submitted lists for it with 50-250 artists ranked.

Good god! I hope you found a way to automate the win/lose matchup concept.

It's funny comparing the reactions to Portishead here and on the music-dedicated forum I frequent. There, we voted Third our #179 favorite album ever and the band itself #62 on the all-time artist poll I am currently hosting.

(Their debut, Dummy, sits at #35, which I maybe should have nominated instead as a more accessible work - but Third also dominated its vote that week despite only being my third choice, so I'm thinking there are plenty of Portishead fans here who simply aren't actually participating in these polls)

Youre not gonna like my ranking of it (but you probably already figured that)

Ive had my ranking done for a while but I wanted to do some spot listens just to confirm and jog my memory so I could write a sentence or two.

Yeah, I was including your inevitable last place vote in my statement.

It's especially weird to me here, on a video game forum, where people have probably had greater exposure to purely atmospheric music.

Yeah, I was including your inevitable last place vote in my statement.

It's especially weird to me here, on a video game forum, where people have probably had greater exposure to purely atmospheric music.

Yeah, I was including your inevitable last place vote in my statement.

but at any rate, I guess Johnbobb and VeryInsane will be the swing votes.

1. Metallica - Master of Puppets - Ive said my piece on it. Its probably my favorite album of all time.
2. Linkin Park - Hybrid Theory - Im not sure I can point to a single other album that shaped my musical taste as much as this one. I can probably sing and mime the instruments of this album front to back without even listening to it. Its a part of me. And it still sounds SO good.
3. System of a Down - Toxicity - I first heard Chop Suey in my dads car in 2002. I still listen to it 20 years later. I still listen to this whole fucking album front to back 20 years on. Its weird, its wonky, its hard-hitting, I still feel like theres very little like it to this day.
4. Avenged Sevenfold - Avenged Sevenfold - About as well-composed as a modern metal band can be. Avenged Sevenfold produces some of the catchiest songs this side of rock, with a sense of pure aggression, impressively progressive riffs and song structure, and a flair for the creative as seen on their magnum opus, Little Piece of Heaven.
5. Black Marble - Its Immaterial - Moody and packed to the brim with feeling, Black Marbles effort here is undeniable. Its a personal favorite choice - as judged by its lukewarm reactions in the topic I almost feel like its an album made specifically for me and my tastes alone. I know thats not true, but still, awash in its dreamy vocals and subdued synths, its an album I can close my eyes to at any time and get whisked away into a land of pure bliss and nostalgic sadness.
6. Guns n Roses - Appetite for Destruction - God damn how is this shit so good?
7. Blink-182 - Enema of the State - A truly amazing piece of pop songwriting here. I mean I have my own personal favorites I think are better of course, but can anyone objectively say pop punk has ever been done better than this right here? There are no skips, and honestly the lyrics can be pretty smart in a slacker suburban kid sort of way - like when a dumb friend says something profound on accident. Super fun.
8. Faith No More - Angel Dust - ITS PERFECT, YES, ITS TRUE.
9. Taylor Swift - Folklore - Some of the most emotionally beautiful tracks Swift has ever written. A huge leap in maturity though Folklore certainly suffers from a lack of catchiness and brattiness I so adore in her first few albums. I think Evermore struck a more comfortable balance but if someone were to call Folklore Swifts best album - I wouldnt necessarily argue. Its clearly the work of a masterful songwriter proving why shes the best and most fearless voice in pop music right now.
10. Miracle Musical - Hawaii: Part II - Im so fucking glad albums like this are nominated for this series. Love how it combines retro sounds with modern techniques and the themes of the album are just incredible.
11. Eagles - Hotel California - Yes it has its weak spots in the second half, but to kick off an album with THREE all-timers, well, this album is undeniable. The lyricism is amazing and the guitar and drum work is always tasty.
12. Portishead - Third - Man I wish I had time to rank this one at the time. Its beats feel anxious, its vocals horror inducing, and dissonant cut-ins are heart-pounding and shocking.
13. Japanese Breakfast - Jubilee - Be Sweet will never leave my head for as long as I live. Oh yeah, and the rest of the album is amazing too.
14. Opeth - Damnation - Not Opeths best, but the more accessible prog rock styling that usurped prog death creates a more intimate and depressing experience thats hard not to get sucked in by.
15. The Beatles - Rubber Soul - Yeah its The Beatles. Yeah, theyre amazing. This isnt a personal favorite Beatles album or anything, but this is still a solid catalog of songs nonetheless. Its not as flashy as later works, or as instantly catchy as prior works, but what is here is just a good batch of folk tunes you can listen to at practically any time.
16. Dream Theater - Images and Words - A solid, occasionally jaw-dropping, debut by one of the best progressive metal bands of all time. Theres no denying this bands musical proficiency and willingness to not be pigeonholed, but this is a band that would only get better from here.
17. VAST - Visual Audio Sensory Theater - Though the tracks blend in with one another, the album has such a strong sound that I dont even mind.
18. The Cranberries - No Need to Argue - An album absolutely deserving of being in the 90s alt rock definitive canon. ORiordans vocals are beautiful and even occasionally reach gothically haunting heights, while a harder edge from the rest of the band brings things full circle to something gorgeously profound throughout.
19. Love - Forever Changes - Its obviously a good album, but it doesnt feel as timeless as other 60s works. Thats okay as its swerving experimentation keeps things interesting throughout. Just loses out to other albums on here since this is a pretty solid collection of records after all.
20. The White Stripes - Elephant - The White Stripes is one of those bands I like putting on one song at a time and enjoying a good tune. As an album, it gets drowned out in itself. Really great singles though.
21. Peter Gabriel - So - Beautifully produced and meticulously arranged, though with no blemishes a full listen can feel sort of plain. Still, give me that Kate Bush feature any day of the week, and Sledgehammer will always be a fun one.
22. Mos Def - Black on Both Sides - It feels a little too long and the style gets grating for me personally, still theres some damn good lyricism to be found here and I do love some of the beats.
23. Phil Collins - Face Value - A pretty experimental record all things considered, and Phil Collins puts in solid effort as he does on all recordings. Its appropriately moody but feels occasionally lost in the sauce, a little directionless even if tracks like In The Air Tonight remind you why Phil Collins is a musical force to be reckoned with.
24. Jack White - Fear of the Dawn - Cant go wrong with some Jack White, if you want solid guitar work and good old fashioned rock, you can do worse. Still, what makes it stand out? Not much honestly.
25. Sunspot - Singularity - Feels like something that couldve been bigger in the 90s. Theres a bit of a local band quality to it - not trying to belittle it, because I do like some of the tracks on here, but rather its a little too safe and doesnt do anything to elevate to a next level, at least to me.

1. Mos Def - Black on Both Sides - A couple years ago, I realized I didn't know much from the 90s rap scene (largely due to growing up white and suburban with a dad that loved jazz & country and a mom that loved 70s music) and made the effort to go through and listen through like 30 of the most iconic albums of the era. My absolute favorite of the bunch was Enter the Wu-Tang (which I nominated what has to be a year ago now), but Mos Def was a very close second, and was probably the best straight lyricist of the bunch.
2. VAST - Visual Audio Sensory Theater - I still cannot believe someone that wasn't me nominated this album
3. Miracle Musical - Hawaii: Part II - Being the weirdest album by a mile in this grouping really elevated its status here imo
4. Dream Theater - Images and Words - Ok yes it's great now give me Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From a Memory to really steal that top spot
5. Metallica - Master of Puppets - This is the only album of this contest that I have on a t-shirt so I guess I'm kinda obligated to rank it in at least the top 10 huh
6. System of a Down - Toxicity - see my write-ups for Avenged Sevenfold and Linkin Park because this is basically the same, yeah
7. Linkin Park - Hybrid Theory - Would've absolutely been a contender for #1 when I was in high school.
8. Avenged Sevenfold - Avenged Sevenfold - Might've been a contender for #1 when I was in high school.
9. Japanese Breakfast - Jubilee - Maybe this will go down over time but I am still currently so head over heels for the first two tracks
10. Portishead - Third - I forgot what this was upon looking at the name but then I listened to a single track off of it and it all clicked again. Great album. Kind of what I wanted Black Marble to be.
11. The White Stripes - Elephant - There are so many albums in this section that I liked but where I liked other albums by the same band more than the one nominated (see: Phil Collins, Dream Theater, The Beatles... ok maybe it's not that many but 4 in 25 still feels significant)
12. Guns n Roses - Appetite for Destruction - I'm really not a fan of hair metal in general, with only a few exceptions. Guns N Roses is absolutely one of those exceptions, and I'm really sad I didn't get in a track ranking for this.
13. The Cranberries - No Need to Argue - Zombie alone is probably enough to put this high-ish but beyond that it's just a really, really cool album.
14. Phil Collins - Face Value - I mean, it's not No Jacket Required, and it's certainly not Invisible Touch, but it's still Phil Collins and his beautiful voice.
15. Jack White - Fear of the Dawn - Very pleasant surprise, mostly because I loved The White Stripes and didn't care at all for Lazarus. Good to see Jack White find his solo niche.
16. Peter Gabriel - So - Didn't get to participate in the ranking itself despite listening through it, but I'm absolutely going to try and contribute here and ensure Peter Gabriel stays below Phil Collins, on principle.
17. Opeth - Damnation - Entirely good, but not particularly memorable
18. The Beatles - Rubber Soul - Of all the potential Beatles albums, I truly don't understand how this was the 2nd one picked after Abbey Road. Sgt. Pepper was right there.
19. Sunspot - Singularity - It's an alright album that I can't think to say much about except that Trashy Hot is still the worst song by far
20. Eagles - Hotel California - This is an album I bet my mom really likes
21. blink-182 - Enema of the State - Probably the definition of memorable singles and a forgettable track list beyond that.
22. Taylor Swift - Folklore - It was way better than Speak Now but Speak Now was probably my least favorite album of the first 75 so take that how you will.
23. Black Marble - It's Immaterial - Ok enough, if not one I'd listen to more. Kinda feels like The Cure, but not quite as iconic.

I would like one until the 18th if possible