Board 8 > Rank the Albums Volume 3: Results

(+) Yeah! (+)

You can see previous results here:
https://board8.fandom.com/wiki/Rank_the_Albums

10 people submitted lists this time around, up one from Volume 2!
BlueCrystalTear
FoolFantastic
HBJDubs
Johnbobb
MetalmindStats
neonreaper
Raetsel_Lapin
Seanchan
Snake5555555555
VeryInsane

These are the albums being ranked, sorted by artist:
Avenged Sevenfold - Avenged Sevenfold
The Beatles - Rubber Soul
Black Marble - It's Immaterial
blink-182 - Enema of the State
Phil Collins - Face Value
The Cranberries - No Need to Argue
Dream Theater - Images and Words
Eagles - Hotel California
Faith No More - Angel Dust
Peter Gabriel - So
Guns n Roses - Appetite for Destruction
Japanese Breakfast - Jubilee
Linkin Park - Hybrid Theory
Love - Forever Changes
Metallica - Master of Puppets
Miracle Musical - Hawaii: Part II
Mos Def - Black on Both Sides
Opeth - Damnation
Portishead - Third
Sunspot - Singularity
Taylor Swift - Folklore
System of a Down - Toxicity
VAST - Visual Audio Sensory Theater
Jack White - Fear of the Dawn
The White Stripes - Elephant

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2E3KFj0pRc
25. Sunspot - Singularity (2009)
Win-Loss-Tie: 0-23-1 (Score: 0.5)
Average Rank: 17.46/25
Top Three Tracks: Tunguska, Uncanny Valley, Grand Guignol

Individual Rankings:
BlueCrystalTear: 2
Seanchan: 7
Raetsel_Lapin: 11
HBJDubs: 18
Johnbobb: 19/23
MetalmindStats: 20
FoolFantastic: 23
neonreaper: 23
VeryInsane: 24
Snake5555555555: 25

BlueCrystalTear: 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.)

Snake5555555555: 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.

Johnbobb: 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

Seanchan: Another of the big surprises from this cycle. Perhaps a little bit unpolished in parts but its a tiny band from the midwest that probably about 10K people have ever heard of! I enjoyed the pop-punkish bent to a lot of the songs, and yes, I do wish I had F U money. The biggest compliment I can give is if an album makes me want to listen to more from an artist, and Singularity passed that test with flying colors.

MetalmindStats: Sure, Singularity is highly inconsistent - only partly by design - and it never really reaches any great heights. But I find most of it endearing, even sort of enduring in its easy-breezy enjoyability anyways.

Tag as well, kupo.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKCb4t_gH0o
24. VAST - Visual Audio Sensory Theater (1998)
Win-Loss-Tie: 0-19-5 (Score: 2.5)
Average Rank: 16.61/25
Top Three Tracks: Dirty Hole, I'm Dying, You

Individual Rankings:
Johnbobb: 2/23
BlueCrystalTear: 8
HBJDubs: 8
Snake5555555555: 17
MetalmindStats: 19
Seanchan: 20
Raetsel_Lapin: 22
VeryInsane: 22
FoolFantastic: 24
neonreaper: 24

Snake5555555555: Though the tracks blend in with one another, the album has such a strong sound that I dont even mind.

Johnbobb: I still cannot believe someone that wasn't me nominated this album

Seanchan: I appreciate some of the artistry here but something about this just did not click with me.

MetalmindStats: Its singular soundscapes seem to soar against a sort of basement-dwelling milieu, or at least thats my best attempt at describing this album. The effect intrigues me at first, only to wear out much of its initial interest over time.

Wow, Singularity dead last by a good margin Kinda sucks to see but still super glad we got to listen to it.

Not surprised by VAST being down there.

oh damn was I the only one that didn't rank all 25

whoops

Also not super surprised VAST is so low but it still makes me sad

Singularity was alright just was kinda boring, had a post grunge vibe for me

VAST was cool at first then the last half was shaky

Oh huh, I guess you didn't write comments for at least some of these, Fool?

It's also interesting to see how even the lowest-ranked albums have their strong supporters. Seeing how they're simply outnumbered kind of makes me wonder if Third's days are numbered, for one thing...

MetalmindStats posted...

Oh huh, I guess you didn't write comments for at least some of these, Fool?

It's also interesting to see how even the lowest-ranked albums have their strong supporters. Seeing how they're simply outnumbered kind of makes me wonder if Third's days are numbered, for one thing...

Sorry, I've been exhausted from the artist poll I hosted on another forum. I wanted everything in the top 100 there to have a write-up, and I filled in the gaps so I am kind of burned out.

FoolFantastic posted...

Sorry, I've been exhausted from the artist poll I hosted on another forum. I wanted everything in the top 100 there to have a write-up, and I filled in the gaps so I am kind of burned out.

Ah ok, I imagine that must have been an awful lot of work. No need to apologize, and I in turn am sorry for potentially making you feel obligated or bad for missing them or any such thing. And thank you for hosting Rank the Albums too!

---

Anyways, something I didn't think to do last time but want to now: calculate everyone's outlier scores. I divided Johnbobb's rankings by 23, then multiplied them by the full 25 (and rounded to two decimal places) in order to render them equivalent to everyone else's.

Outlier Scores
BlueCrystalTear: 39
Johnbobb: 27.17
HBJDubs: 23
Seanchan: 22
Raetsel_Lapin: 16
MetalmindStats: 10
Snake5555555555: 7
VeryInsane: 3
FoolFantastic: 2
neonreaper: 2

I'd also like to calculate our compatibility scores, but that's obviously way more work, and I've lacked the time tonight.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=550Igkb5hmw
23. Black Marble - It's Immaterial (2016)
Win-Loss-Tie: 4-18-2 (Score: 5)
Average Rank: 16.8/25
Top Three Tracks: Self Guided Tours, A Million Billion Stars, It's Conditional

Individual Rankings:
Snake5555555555: 5
Raetsel_Lapin: 12
MetalmindStats: 13
HBJDubs: 15
BlueCrystalTear: 19
Seanchan: 19
VeryInsane: 19
neonreaper: 20
FoolFantastic: 21
Johnbobb: 23/23

BlueCrystalTear: 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.

Snake5555555555: 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.

Johnbobb: Ok enough, if not one I'd listen to more. Kinda feels like The Cure, but not quite as iconic.

Seanchan: Theres such a dreamy, almost ethereal quality to this album. Or maybe its that it feels like it was recorded on the other side of a thin wall and were getting only 80% of the soundl. I dont know. I feel like I was so close to really liking this but theres just some thing or element thats missing.

MetalmindStats: For some odd reason, I felt a wave of nostalgia coming from it. Is ita spirit? I sense the presence of spirits.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OU7SktlXfA

22. blink-182 - Enema of the State (1999)
Win-Loss-Tie: 2-16-6 (Score: 5)
Average Rank: 16.48/25
Top Three Tracks: What's My Age Again?, Adam's Song, Don't Leave Me

Individual Rankings:
Seanchan: 4
Snake5555555555: 7
BlueCrystalTear: 12
FoolFantastic: 16
HBJDubs: 16
Raetsel_Lapin: 19
neonreaper: 22
Johnbobb: 21/23
VeryInsane: 23
MetalmindStats: 23

Snake5555555555: 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.

Johnbobb: Probably the definition of memorable singles and a forgettable track list beyond that.

Seanchan: I was a big fan of blink during my 15-25 year old period, which also coincides with their heyday. Enema is just perfect pop-punk for me. Catchy, fun, sometimes juvenile and silly, but with enough heart that it manages to avoid being kitschy.

MetalmindStats: I originally found the repetitious refrain of I time bomb that ends Enema of the State ludicrous to the point of laughter. Now it feels more like the manifesto of a record thats often remarkably perceptive and personal, plus plain enjoyable in places - albeit permanently a product of its time. Its sophomoric, somewhat misogynistic surface still puts me off, but Ive come to realize that its smarts lie under that skin.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8IbI626k8Y

21. Jack White - Fear of the Dawn (2022)
Win-Loss-Tie: 3-17-4 (Score: 5)
Average Rank: 16.03/25
Top Three Tracks: Taking Me Back, The White Raven, Shedding My Velvet

Individual Rankings:
Raetsel_Lapin: 4
MetalmindStats: 9
Seanchan: 9
Johnbobb: 15/23
neonreaper: 16
VeryInsane: 16
FoolFantastic: 20
HBJDubs: 21
Snake5555555555: 24
BlueCrystalTear: 25

BlueCrystalTear: Absolutely awful. Hated every second of this that I managed to get through.

Snake5555555555: 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.

Johnbobb: 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.

Seanchan: I was worried about this one, as I wasnt a big fan of Elephant, the White Stripes album we covered that features Jack White. Imagine my shock when this was a very different, more edgy/hard/electronic sound that really appealed to me.

MetalmindStats: Whites voice as a singer-songwriter effectively unites sticky verses and persistent melodies with weighty guitar and even dashes of experimental electronica. The results, both viscerally satisfying and technically accomplished, turn that scattershot approach into a virtue. Somethings missing for me to truly embrace this album, though, and perhaps its a certain emotional connection, one that its apparently piecemeal philosophy impedes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkADj0TPrJA

20. Phil Collins - Face Value (1981)
Win-Loss-Tie: 5-16-3 (Score: 6.5)
Average Rank: 14.72/25
Top Three Tracks: In the Air Tonight, I Missed Again, Droned

Individual Rankings:
BlueCrystalTear: 3
Raetsel_Lapin: 8
neonreaper: 11
HBJDubs: 13
Johnbobb: 14/23
FoolFantastic: 15
VeryInsane: 17
Seanchan: 18
Snake5555555555: 23
MetalmindStats: 24

BlueCrystalTear: Also nominated this for a reason.

Snake5555555555: 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.

Johnbobb: 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.

Seanchan: I dont have any particularly strong feelings about this one. As an album, I enjoyed this more than So, even if it doesnt have as good of singles. Its mostly just a pleasant, fine listen, other than the bizarre Beatles cover that ends the album. That ones just a big miss for me.

MetalmindStats: The rest of this record is fine enough but feels conventional to a fault in spite of its solid components. I guess its a kind of talent to be able to conceal so many layers of vulnerability under such a middlebrow surface, but in this case, it doesnt leave me any less apathetic.

BOOO at blink so low! You guys hate fun ;)

Surprised that So beat Face Value. I guess it does have the better singles...

MetalmindStats posted...

I'd also like to calculate our compatibility scores, but that's obviously way more work, and I've lacked the time tonight.

Would like to see this if you get an opportunity. The outlier probably gets roughly at the same thing?

I just like Gabriel more, Genesis and solo

Seanchan posted...

BOOO at blink so low! You guys hate fun ;)

What can I say, this was a real tough cohort to merely be decent in. I surprised even myself by enjoying and getting enough out of my time that I could put forth such a positive write-up, not to mention being much closer to outright liking it than outright disliking it.

And hmm, I wonder if the next album will have a major points advantage over Face Value.

---

Outlier Scores as of Rank 20
BlueCrystalTear: 74
Raetsel_Lapin: 59
Seanchan: 58
Snake5555555555: 46
HBJDubs: 44
Johnbobb: 39.47
MetalmindStats: 37
neonreaper: 19
VeryInsane: 16
FoolFantastic: 16

My calculations got interrupted halfway through, so hopefully the above is correct. Also, I'm unfortunately still too busy to provide our compatibility scores at the moment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ejga4kJUts

19. The Cranberries - No Need to Argue (1994)
Win-Loss-Tie: 5-13-6 (Score: 8)
Average Rank: 14.71/25
Top Three Tracks: Zombie, Ode to My Family, Yeat's Grave

Individual Rankings:
MetalmindStats: 5
neonreaper: 9
Raetsel_Lapin: 9
Johnbobb: 13/23
VeryInsane: 14
BlueCrystalTear: 16
Snake5555555555: 18
FoolFantastic: 19
HBJDubs: 20
Seanchan: 23

Snake5555555555: 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.

Johnbobb: Zombie alone is probably enough to put this high-ish but beyond that it's just a really, really cool album.

Seanchan: Another album I dont have particularly strong feelings about. Its fine enough but it doesnt thrill me, which isnt really a fair criticism because this isnt the type of album thats trying to thrill. But thats just the way it goes sometimes.

MetalmindStats: ORiordans delivery drags out all the emotional energy of an exorcism on a record that gives me the impression all involved, ORiordan especially, needed to make it. Her figurative authorial voice features to its fullest too, with results that feel tightly bound around their central conceit and which render repetition crucial, both musically and lyrically. Some songs feel hollowed-out in the best way possible, while others could come off as being a bit histrionic in lesser hands, all in their consistent way helping make for a haunted yet wistful whole.

Darn, this isn't really surprising, but I was still hoping No Need to Argue could last at least a bit longer. At least we generally seemed to like it, though that's probably true of all the albums past this point too.

---

Outlier Scores as of Rank 19
BlueCrystalTear: 77
Raetsel_Lapin: 69
Seanchan: 62
MetalmindStats: 51
Snake5555555555: 47
HBJDubs: 45
Johnbobb: 44.34
neonreaper: 29
VeryInsane: 21
FoolFantastic: 16

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPbNpIG8x_s

18. Love - Forever Changes (1967)
Win-Loss-Tie: 8-16-0 (Score: 8)
Average Rank: 14.67/25
Top Three Tracks: Alone Again Or, You Set the Scene, A House is Not a Motel

Individual Rankings:
FoolFantastic: 1
VeryInsane: 4
neonreaper: 10
Seanchan: 14
MetalmindStats: 15
Snake5555555555: 19
BlueCrystalTear: 22
Raetsel_Lapin: 23
HBJDubs: 24

BlueCrystalTear: 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!

Snake5555555555: 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.

Seanchan: Its not The Beatles but its still pretty good for 60s rock. Its an easy album to forget about, but when you listen its yeah, theres some decent stuff here.

MetalmindStats: From my too-modern perspective: very pleasant, very accessible - maybe a little too quiet and inclined to fade into the background, but it clearly has more going on under that surface.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0J2QdDbelmY

17. The White Stripes - Elephant (2003)
Win-Loss-Tie: 7-14-3 (Score: 8.5)
Average Rank: 14.39/25
Top Three Tracks: Seven Nation Army, Ball and Biscuit, Girl You Have No Faith in Medicine

Individual Rankings:
FoolFantastic: 4
BlueCrystalTear: 7
VeryInsane: 9
Johnbobb: 11/23
Raetsel_Lapin: 16
MetalmindStats: 17
neonreaper: 17
Seanchan: 17
Snake5555555555: 20
HBJDubs: 25

Snake5555555555: 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.

Johnbobb: 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)

Seanchan: Im just so ambivalent on this album. Its listenable but not something Id seek out to listen to. Its the same way Ive felt about all those White Stripes singles over the years, so I guess its no surprise Ive the same feeling about a full length album.

MetalmindStats: Plays like an affectionate yet knowing deconstruction of the 90s indie alt-rock wave that wears its 60s rock inspirations - restricted toolkit included - on its sleeve. However, the catchy, punchy, technically accomplished outcome is characteristic of something altogether novel. Elephant isnt quite consistently memorable, and it sometimes seems to slip into a sort of smug, self-congratulatory tone, but at least its simultaneously classy and rollicking big single (which I previously underrated) justifies that type of hype.

I was definitely expecting Elephant to drop any time now, yup. Forever Changes isn't surprising, either, even if I'm probably permanently giving it short shrift here - for example, it's also one of the few albums in this ranking I've listened to less than four times, alongside Appetite for Destruction and Face Value. It's also the first top spot to drop, ouch; most of the rest should be in good stead pretty much up to our top ten at least, except Black on Both Sides and Third, which are both already on watch in my estimation.

On another note, there's eight metal-adjacent albums here by my count (factoring in Opeth's history), none of which have dropped yet. That's about one third, and we've already lost a full majority of the other two thirds a similar third of the way through the ranking. That's in addition to the participation boosts six of those eight produced in their respective Rank the Tracks weeks - mostly from non-regulars, but it's interesting and maybe even instructive to see us regulars reaffirming those sentiments right here.

With all that in mind, I don't even see an obvious contender for top spot among all the other genres, and conversely, I also don't see any obvious metal-adjacent choice to drop right about now. I'd certainly expect to find one or two of the latter outside our top ten - maybe Avenged Sevenfold and Toxicity? - but probably no more than that at this point.

---

Outlier Scores as of Rank 17 (ranked according to average scores per ranking)
BlueCrystalTear: 91 (from 9 rankings)
Raetsel_Lapin: 75 (from 9 rankings)
Seanchan: 66 (from 9 rankings)
HBJDubs: 59 (from 9 rankings)
Johnbobb: 49.08 (from 8 rankings)
MetalmindStats: 54 (from 9 rankings)
Snake5555555555: 51 (from 9 rankings)
FoolFantastic: 46 (from 9 rankings)
VeryInsane: 43 (from 9 rankings)
neonreaper: 37 (from 9 rankings)

I should finally be able to compile our compatibility scores later tonight.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdAzl3sOwmY

16. Miracle Musical - Hawaii: Part II (2012)
Win-Loss-Tie: 4-10-10 (Score: 9)
Average Rank: 14.12/25
Top Three Tracks: Labyrinth, The Mind Electric, Isle Unto Thyself

Individual Rankings:
Johnbobb: 3/23
MetalmindStats: 4
Snake5555555555: 10
Seanchan: 11
Raetsel_Lapin: 15
VeryInsane: 15
BlueCrystalTear: 18
neonreaper: 21
FoolFantastic: 22
HBJDubs: 22

BlueCrystalTear: 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.

Snake5555555555: 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.

Johnbobb: Being the weirdest album by a mile in this grouping really elevated its status here imo

Seanchan: This has to be the oddest album we covered this cycle. But because of that, it stands out and is memorable, much the same way Rain Dogs was in the last ranking cycle.

MetalmindStats: A spectacularly melodic show of an album, one that whizzes dandily along in a retrofuturistic-feeling potpourri of distinct pieces, and that nonetheless turns totally coherent in context, notably finishing right where it starts. The end result entirely sweeps me along with its contributors effervescent energy and evident enthusiasm, transporting me to a resonant if fleeting place in headspace, one which I wish to revisit over and over again.

aw man was hoping to see that make the top 10

Johnbobb posted...

aw man was hoping to see that make the top 10

Same, though I always figured it was highly unlikely. Look at all those ties, though!

...Honestly, maybe the biggest reason - and certainly the most 'me' reason - I've come to cherish that album is how subtly well I feel it encapsulates the American conception of holiday spirit, which I am a sucker for.

---

Outlier Scores as of Rank 16 (ranked according to average scores per ranking)
BlueCrystalTear: 93 (from 10 rankings)
Raetsel_Lapin: 76 (from 10 rankings)
Seanchan: 71 (from 10 rankings)
Johnbobb: 61.82 (from 9 rankings)
MetalmindStats: 66 (from 10 rankings)
HBJDubs: 65 (from 10 rankings)
Snake5555555555: 57 (from 10 rankings)
FoolFantastic: 52 (from 10 rankings)
VeryInsane: 44 (from 10 rankings)
neonreaper: 42 (from 10 rankings)

It clearly would be unwise to make any more compatibility score-related promises, so I'll just present them once they're done.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01yUzXQctcM

15. Mos Def - Black on Both Sides (1999)
Win-Loss-Tie: 6-11-7 (Score: 9.5)
Average Rank: 13.9/25
Top Three Tracks: Ms. Fat Booty, Mathematics, UMI Says

Individual Rankings:
Johnbobb: 1/23
VeryInsane: 5
FoolFantastic: 8
Seanchan: 12
MetalmindStats: 14
HBJDubs: 18
neonreaper: 18
Raetsel_Lapin: 18
Snake5555555555: 22
BlueCrystalTear: 23

BlueCrystalTear: This is not my thing at all. Is it good? Sure. Is it something I can listen to? Not really. I tried.

Snake5555555555: 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.

Johnbobb: 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.

Seanchan: Im not big on rap, but this was better than I expected. Theres some good lyricism and a lot of catchy beats. The sheer variety on display here also helps mask the length of the album.

MetalmindStats: A quite consistently (but for me, not quite spectacularly) compelling record with segments of standout songwriting embedded within the strong rhythmic + narrative flow it sustains at length.

ok THAT ONE hurts

pretty sure my top 3 has all dropped already now

I should be more disappointed in Love landing so low but I did not expect it to be a hit here - I'm just happy someone other than me got perhaps the most obscure album in my personal top 20 into this! Now, if only Giggsalot voted in this...

Still waiting on my bottom album

Love and mos Def were both great though that I often dont think much about heading into this

Outlier Scores as of Rank 15 (ranked according to average scores per ranking)
BlueCrystalTear: 101 (from 11 rankings)
Johnbobb: 75.73 (from 10 rankings)
Raetsel_Lapin: 79 (from 11 rankings)
Seanchan: 74 (from 11 rankings)
HBJDubs: 68 (from 11 rankings)
MetalmindStats: 67 (from 11 rankings)
Snake5555555555: 64 (from 11 rankings)
FoolFantastic: 59 (from 11 rankings)
VeryInsane: 54 (from 11 rankings)
neonreaper: 45 (from 11 rankings)

All that, and BCT's lead still looks unimpeachable!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-iepu3EtyE

14. System of a Down - Toxicity (2001)
Win-Loss-Tie: 6-11-7 (Score: 9.5)
Average Rank: 13.85/25
Top Three Tracks: Aerials, Chop Suey!, Toxicity

Individual Rankings:
Snake5555555555: 3
HBJDubs: 6
Johnbobb: 6
neonreaper: 7
VeryInsane: 12
FoolFantastic: 13
MetalmindStats: 21
Seanchan: 21
BlueCrystalTear: 24
Raetsel_Lapin: 25

BlueCrystalTear: Fuck. The. Screaming.

Snake5555555555: 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.

Johnbobb: see my write-ups for Avenged Sevenfold and Linkin Park because this is basically the same, yeah

Seanchan: I said this at track ranking time and Ill say it again, this is just a sound that no longer appeals to me. I enjoyed it, and System of a Down in general, when I was in college but its hard for me to revisit.

MetalmindStats: I struggle to take this album seriously, yet that actually strengthens its fun factor much of the time. A structure built on short bursts of sound that bounce between disparate subjects serves it well as such, but with fourteen of those songs, excessive repetition still leads me down the path of diminishing returns.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BciS5krYL80

13. Eagles - Hotel California (1976)
Win-Loss-Tie: 7-10-7 (Score: 10.5)
Average Rank: 13.57/25
Top Three Tracks: Hotel California, Life in the Fast Lane, Wasted Time

Individual Rankings:
BlueCrystalTear: 4
neonreaper: 8
FoolFantastic: 11
Snake5555555555: 11
Seanchan: 13
HBJDubs: 14
Raetsel_Lapin: 14
MetalmindStats: 18
Johnbobb: 20/23
VeryInsane: 21

Snake5555555555: 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.

Johnbobb: This is an album I bet my mom really likes

Seanchan: Its(more than) a bit reductive to say that its the title track and then everything else butits kind of true for me? Hotel California is a tremendous single that casts a monstrous shadow over the rest of the album, and does the bulk of the work on carrying this album up my rankings.

MetalmindStats: It starts and finishes in fine style, to say the least - too bad about the muddled middle. The resulting record is often compelling, but for me, it fails to live up to its towering critical and popular stature or to Henleys sweeping concept-album ambitions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osdoLjUNFnA

12. Taylor Swift - Folklore (2020)
Win-Loss-Tie: 10-9-5 (Score: 12.5)
Average Rank: 12.59/25
Top Three Tracks: Exile, Cardigan, The Last Great American Dynasty

Individual Rankings:
MetalmindStats: 3
Raetsel_Lapin: 6
VeryInsane: 8
FoolFantastic: 9
Snake5555555555: 9
BlueCrystalTear: 13
neonreaper: 15
Seanchan: 16
HBJDubs: 23
Johnbobb: 22/23

BlueCrystalTear: 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)

Snake5555555555: 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.

Johnbobb: 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.

Seanchan: Its too long but this one did grow on me a bit in subsequent listens. Of note, Ive continued to enjoy the song Exile, and have found myself going back to that particular track many times since we ranked this album.

MetalmindStats: I had originally intended to comment on my most recent folklore listen and all my accumulated thoughts about its various aspects, but I failed to fashion said sentiments into coherent sentences every time I tried. Only what I had hoped would simply be my closing statement made it out of that mess, so here it is: Much like a traditional folklorists tales, I might find the specifics of the stories Swift and her team tell here sort of ephemeral, but I think Ill never forget the feelings this latest telling of them evoked in me and that alone makes me want to adore folklore forevermore.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJWJE0x7T4Q

11. Peter Gabriel - So (1986)
Win-Loss-Tie: 12-8-4 (Score: 14)
Average Rank: 11.74/25
Top Three Tracks: Sledgehammer, In Your Eyes, Red Rain

Individual Rankings:
MetalmindStats: 2
Raetsel_Lapin: 2
HBJDubs: 9
BlueCrystalTear: 10
FoolFantastic: 10
VeryInsane: 11
neonreaper: 13
Johnbobb: 16/23
Snake5555555555: 21
Seanchan: 22

BlueCrystalTear: 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!

Snake5555555555: 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.

Johnbobb: 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.

Seanchan: EIGHTIES!!!!! This album is so screamingly 1980s its ridiculous. Its also an album with a pretty strong split between songs I like, songs I think are okay, and songs that I did not like. The singles, such as Sledgehammer and In Your Eyes are great but the bottom tier is so bizarre that it really brings the album down for me.

MetalmindStats: What makes this patchwork of pretty yet disparate pieces sing to me as a coherent record is also its central genius: the way it unifies the 80s mainstream Western, world, and art music movements, distilling them all into a paragon of their individual parts. Meanwhile, Sos soul is found in Gabriels musical and lyrical craftsmanship. It all adds up to an album of phenomenal ambition delivered on in a way indicative of a mature, accomplished artist, simultaneously comfortingly familiar and creatively abstract.

Very pleasantly surprised to see So finish that high - and well, I guess we've answered the question of it versus Face Value! On the other hand, I was hopeful folklore could reach the top ten, though it's understandable; I was probably the most predisposed towards it in the first place. Now watch as Third completes the conga line of my favorites first thing tomorrow, and then perhaps Avenged Sevenfold will drop right after >_>

...Anyways, it should be interesting to see whether neonreaper or HBJDubs keeps their entire top five in the running longer.

---

Outlier Scores as of Rank 11 (ranked according to average scores per ranking)
BlueCrystalTear: 122 (from 15 rankings)
Johnbobb: 110.25 (from 14 rankings)
Raetsel_Lapin: 106 (from 15 rankings)
MetalmindStats: 97 (from 15 rankings)
Seanchan: 95 (from 15 rankings)
HBJDubs: 90 (from 15 rankings)
Snake5555555555: 90 (from 15 rankings)
VeryInsane: 68 (from 15 rankings)
FoolFantastic: 66 (from 15 rankings)
neonreaper: 62 (from 15 rankings)

I thought Hotel California would be the last album to drop tonight and so waited, whoops.

Also, you can find our compatibility scores here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1rwCnoOWgY4Kb-D6h83qxvuSktyN4aav0yKup37QUbq8/edit?usp=sharing

It's simply a much more conducive format to presenting them, I feel. Click on your own tab if you're after your own compatibility scores or click all the way through if you want to see it all. Also, please tell me if you'd prefer a different short version of your username. I'll keep updating and posting this with the outliers and citing some notable data points, though.

Speaking of which, the current most compatible pair is FoolFantastic and VeryInsane - no surprise there - with a mere 3.6-rank average difference, while the current least compatible pair is Johnbobb and Raetsel_Lapin, with an 11.66-rank average difference. Meanwhile, neonreaper's average deviation is the lowest at the moment, whereas BlueCrystalTear's average deviation is presently the highest.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbJeiWYFrio

10. Portishead - Third (2008)
Win-Loss-Tie: 12-6-6 (Score: 15)
Average Rank: 12.18/25
Top Three Tracks: Machine Gun, The Rip, We Carry On

Individual Rankings:
MetalmindStats: 1
FoolFantastic: 3
VeryInsane: 3
HBJDubs: 7
Johnbobb: 10
Snake5555555555: 12
BlueCrystalTear: 14
Raetsel_Lapin: 21
neonreaper: 25
Seanchan: 25

BlueCrystalTear: 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.

Snake5555555555: 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.

Johnbobb: 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.

Seanchan: Third is an enormously moody and atmospheric album. Its also slow and depressing, the exact antithesis of the generally upbeat and energetic albums that form the top of my rankings. In short, this album was a huge bummer for me that felt like it was sucking my energy away. Easily my least favorite album of this cycle.

MetalmindStats: Comprised of challenging, complex compositions and often overwhelming soundscapes to occupy the mind juxtaposed against Gibbons phenomenally direct vocals and achingly personal lyrics in variable proportions, with results that to me both are instantly enthralling and reward repeated exploration. Spectacularly successful at coalescing into a congruent whole, one thats never anything less than completely indescribable, completely itself and completely considered in all its absolute anomalousness and anomie alike. Yet all those words feel entirely like folly, because how could they ever encompass any significant amount of Thirds essence?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=razzBeBLDG4

9. Opeth - Damnation (2003)
Win-Loss-Tie: 14-8-2 (Score: 15)
Average Rank: 11.94/25
Top Three Tracks: In My Time of Need, Windowpane, To Rid the Disease

Individual Rankings:
neonreaper: 2
VeryInsane: 7
MetalmindStats: 8
Seanchan: 8
HBJDubs: 10
Snake5555555555: 14
BlueCrystalTear: 17
Johnbobb: 17
Raetsel_Lapin: 17
FoolFantastic: 18

Snake5555555555: 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.

Johnbobb: Entirely good, but not particularly memorable

Seanchan: That statement earlier about metal finds the natural exception here, with this being just a like from me. I always knew Opeth as an unclean vocal death metal band, and so though Id heard a song or two, it wasnt a sound I particularly cared for. Damnation then was a real left turn, with clean vocals and a much more mellow, melodic sound. I could say its maybe a little bit one note, but when its played this well that doesnt matter. Also, its a short album that doesnt overstay its welcome.

MetalmindStats: For mature melancholy, look no further - and like most people, sometimes I need to hear some sounds that recognize the pain in me. Here, that seems steeped in a subtle sort of solemnity, one which its compositions and kerfeldts delivery alike almost always honor. Otherwise, its difficult to describe what draws me to Damnation, though its consistent sound and the emotions it evokes make it a kind of contemplative counterpart to Hybrid Theory.

MetalmindStats posted...

Also, you can find our compatibility scores here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1rwCnoOWgY4Kb-D6h83qxvuSktyN4aav0yKup37QUbq8/edit?usp=sharing

Thanks for doing this, it's cool to see!

Portishead was definitely one of the most pleasant surprises of this volume

also I just realized that next week's album is Vol. 3: The Subliminal Verses and now I'm really sad it didn't get voted in one cycle sooner

Cant wait for the compatibility to fall even further when Avenged Sevenfold finally hits

Snake5555555555 posted...

Thanks for doing this, it's cool to see!

I just like data too much (and have too much free time), idk. Speaking of which,

Outlier Scores as of Rank 9 (ranked according to average scores per ranking)
BlueCrystalTear: 134 (from 17 rankings)
Johnbobb: 120.6 (from 16 rankings)
Raetsel_Lapin: 125 (from 17 rankings)
Seanchan: 111 (from 17 rankings)
MetalmindStats: 107 (from 17 rankings)
Snake5555555555: 97 (from 17 rankings)
HBJDubs: 94 (from 17 rankings)
FoolFantastic: 82 (from 17 rankings)
neonreaper: 84 (from 17 rankings)
VeryInsane: 77 (from 17 rankings)

I also forgot to mention last night that Hotel California -> folklore marked a very sudden shift between albums with losing track records and albums with winning track records.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBcdt6DsLQA

8. The Beatles - Rubber Soul (1965)
Win-Loss-Tie: 15-5-4 (Score: 17)
Average Rank: 10.95/25
Top Three Tracks: In My Life, Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown), Nowhere Man

Individual Rankings:
Raetsel_Lapin: 1
FoolFantastic: 6
Seanchan: 6
VeryInsane: 6
MetalmindStats: 12
neonreaper: 12
BlueCrystalTear: 15
Snake5555555555: 15
HBJDubs: 17
Johnbobb: 18

BlueCrystalTear: 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.

Snake5555555555: 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.

Johnbobb: 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.

Seanchan: I mean, its The Beatles, so its hard to go wrong. Its no Abbey Road, but what is? An album of songs that have been seared into my brain. So much so that I had a hard time ranking this, as it was often hard to say really, your ranking this ABOVE the frickin Beatles?!?.

MetalmindStats: Its the Beatles, which breeds built-in expectations. In this case, as masterful musicians, the Fab Four enliven simplistic subjects and structures into ditties fun via familiarity, helping form the foundation of decades of future pop in the process.

It's still the Beatles, though.

Yeah its The Beatles.

I mean, its The Beatles

Its the Beatles

nice

Also, I guess that confirms Jubilee as the winner of the non-metal potluck this time around!

---

Outlier Scores as of Rank 8 (ranked according to average scores per ranking)
Johnbobb: 140.17 (from 17 rankings)
BlueCrystalTear: 141 (from 18 rankings)
Raetsel_Lapin: 132 (from 18 rankings)
Seanchan: 113 (from 18 rankings)
MetalmindStats: 111 (from 18 rankings)
Snake5555555555: 104 (from 18 rankings)
HBJDubs: 103 (from 18 rankings)
neonreaper: 88 (from 18 rankings)
FoolFantastic: 84 (from 18 rankings)
VeryInsane: 79 (from 18 rankings)
--

In compatibility score news, Raetsel and I have diverged quite a bit due to today's drops, whereas Fool and VI remain closely tied together. The rest are all here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1rwCnoOWgY4Kb-D6h83qxvuSktyN4aav0yKup37QUbq8/edit?usp=sharing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIRNdveLnJI

7. Avenged Sevenfold - Avenged Sevenfold (2007)
Win-Loss-Tie: 15-3-6 (Score: 18)
Average Rank: 11.16/25
Top Three Tracks: Afterlife, A Little Piece of Heaven, Almost Easy

Individual Rankings:
HBJDubs: 3
Raetsel_Lapin: 3
Seanchan: 3
Snake5555555555: 4
MetalmindStats: 6
Johnbobb: 8
neonreaper: 14
BlueCrystalTear: 20
FoolFantastic: 25
VeryInsane: 25

BlueCrystalTear: 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.

Snake5555555555: 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.

Johnbobb: Might've been a contender for #1 when I was in high school.

Seanchan: Metal is such an odd bird for me with these rankings. Its seemingly either love (Master of Puppets, Powerslave) or hate (Crack the Skye, Palimpsest (spoilers for next ranking...)). This self-titled album was one of the big surprises for me of this cycle. Much like Powerslave, this was another case of why the hell didnt I know about this?!?. Its as catchy as metal can get, with fun riffs, good singing, and some sometimes goofy lyrics. Hell, even the more slow/country songs are good! Metal sometimes has a problem of songs sounding kind of same-y but thats not the case here.

MetalmindStats: I mean yes, the singings distinctive aspect is admittedly Shadows divisive raspiness, the songwritings distinctive aspect is admittedly its failure to be about anything much in practice, and the admittedly effective sonics distinctive aspects are missing. That makes it a sort of hollow experience, yes, but a highly enjoyable one for me, and not even emotionally empty, either. In a flippant sentence, popcorn cinema can be pretty phenomenal too, and this album feels a lot like metals equivalent thereof.

Im sure Fools more dedicated music board crew would go nuts at Avenged Sevenfold beating The Beatles!

Theyre like a heavy metal version of Meat Loaf

I can see why it ranked high but it just felt too cheesy for me

LiquidOshawott posted...

Theyre like a heavy metal version of Meat Loaf

I can see why it ranked high but it just felt too cheesy for me

Oh fuck! Well that explains a lot for me, lol! Bat out of Hell is an all timer for me. Love the cheese!

Hell yeah Avenged Sevenfold and Linkin Park beating the Beatles is exactly what I needed in my life

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqqRx77T4Vo

6. Dream Theater - Images and Words (1992)
Win-Loss-Tie: 15-3-6 (Score: 18)
Average Rank: 10.63/25
Top Three Tracks: Metropolis - Part 1, Learning to Live, Surrounded

Individual Rankings:
HBJDubs: 1
Johnbobb: 4
BlueCrystalTear: 5
neonreaper: 5
Seanchan: 5
FoolFantastic: 14
MetalmindStats: 16
Snake5555555555: 16
Raetsel_Lapin: 20
VeryInsane: 20

Snake5555555555: 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.

Johnbobb: Ok yes it's great now give me Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From a Memory to really steal that top spot

Seanchan: Id listened to some random Dream Theater songs back in college but for whatever reason never really got into them, despite liking a lot of artists of a similar prog metal sound. So this one wasnt a surprise as much as it was a head slap. Dream Theaters got a great singer that really matches the big, epic, almost operatic tone of this album. And I know that this isnt even considered their best!

MetalmindStats: Its sonic bombast, self-serious lyrical sweep, and simply its songs length all render it fittingly larger than life. The effect is very performative, and its a performance its performers clearly believe in wholeheartedly, but that and its technical prowess typically substitute for more than add to my emotional engagement.