CHUD's 100 must-have albums - Page 3

This. There's nothing wrong with debate. It's what we're here for, is it not?

So, who wants to be John Cusack, Jack Black, and Todd Louiso?

Running with the idea that Louris put forth: what's the criteria? Can the album selected crack the Billboard Top 50? Can it be certified Gold? Just curious.

Aye, there it is.

I'm only partially joking when I say: If your mom has heard of it, it doesn't make the cut.

I wouldn't expect people to look up sales charts. Use your own judgment but try to introduce people to something they might otherwise have overlooked.

Considering my mom is probably younger than some of the people in this thread that's probably not the greatest criteria.

We absolutely shouldn't rule out overlooked gems from our parents' generations.

This is like watching a group of NASA engineers trying to build an Estes rocket.

Let's just list what we like and bitch about the selections, huh?

Well, I don't literally mean your mom. I just mean your average ordinary person who doesn't go out of their way to find out about music beyond what they hear on corporate radio, American Idol, or as a musical guest on SNL. Even though Rainbow, The Replacements, Gram Parsons, Camera Obscura, etc. might not exactly be obscure acts, your average Jay Leno man-on-the-street individual has never heard of them. They have heard of Radiohead, Clapton, Neil Young, etc. and that is the stuff I personally would leave off.

A good point I hadn't thought of. Springsteen is huge, but your average Born in the USA fan has probably never heard a single song off Nebraska.

100. The Decemberists - The Hazards of Love


Done.

On to the underrated!

Seconded.

I nominate Louris to open the thread.

Well, I wasn't arguing either, really: it was just an example of how there was nothing in place to produce anything in the nature of consensus, which the thread title had seemed to me to imply.

Congratulations, it took you guys less than a page to ruin this. Hackers? Give me a goddamn break.

1. Black Love - The Afghan Whigs (1996)
2. Permutations - Amon Tobin (1998)
3. Some Girls - The Rolling Stones (1978)
4. Ten - Pearl Jam (1991)
5. Dulcinea - Toad The Wet Sprocket (1994)
6. Willie & the Family Live (Expanded Edition) - Willie Nelson (1978)
7. Whip-Smart - Liz Phair (1994)
8. Slippery When Wet - Bon Jovi (1986)
9. Little Earthquakes - Tori Amos (1992)
10. Appetite for Destruction - Guns N' Roses (1987)
11. The Private Press - DJ Shadow(1997)
12. Born to Run - Bruce Springsteen (1975)
13. American IV - Johnny Cash (2002)
14. Never Mind the Bollocks Here's the Sex Pistols - The Sex Pistols (1977)
15. Blackwater Park - Opeth (2001)
16. The Edges of Twilight - The Tea Party (1995)
17. Travels - The Pat Metheny Group (1983)
18. Hackers - Soundtrack
19. Achtung Baby - U2 (1991)
20. Joe's Garage - Frank Zappa
21. Against the Grain - Bad Religion (1990)
22. It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back - Public Enemy (1988)
23. Cake - Fashion Nugget (1996)
24. Hot Shots II - Beta Band (2001)

Some people know the Beta Band from High Fidelity and if that is all you know - shame on you. The perfect album for groovin' mid-tempo style. On their second full length album, the Beta Band take the psychedelics down a notch and focus a bit more on songwriting. Don't worry potheads, you probably won't find a better album to get high to. Beats, bass grooves, electronic sprinkles, and just the right bit of Townshendesque guitar splattering, all masterfully produced to make this one of the best albums of all time.

Oh yeah. Some Girls is the shit. I've probably listened to it more than any other Stones album over the years.

By the way, Lisa! Am I missing something or did you disappear from CHUD for a long time? Glad you're back. Well, I'm actually not here much anymore. But still, good to see ya around.

1. Black Love - The Afghan Whigs (1996)
2. Permutations - Amon Tobin (1998)
3. Some Girls - The Rolling Stones (1978)
4. Ten - Pearl Jam (1991)
5. Dulcinea - Toad The Wet Sprocket (1994)
6. Willie & the Family Live (Expanded Edition) - Willie Nelson (1978)
7. Whip-Smart - Liz Phair (1994)
8. Slippery When Wet - Bon Jovi (1986)
9. Little Earthquakes - Tori Amos (1992)
10. Appetite for Destruction - Guns N' Roses (1987)
11. The Private Press - DJ Shadow(1997)
12. Born to Run - Bruce Springsteen (1975)
13. American IV - Johnny Cash (2002)
14. Never Mind the Bollocks Here's the Sex Pistols - The Sex Pistols (1977)
15. Blackwater Park - Opeth (2001)
16. The Edges of Twilight - The Tea Party (1995)
17. Travels - The Pat Metheny Group (1983)
18. Hackers - Soundtrack
19. Achtung Baby - U2 (1991)
20. Joe's Garage - Frank Zappa
21. Against the Grain - Bad Religion (1990)
22. It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back - Public Enemy (1988)
23. Cake - Fashion Nugget (1996)
24. Hot Shots II - Beta Band (2001)
25. The Downward Spiral - Nine Inch Nails (1994)

I used to recommend The Downward Spiral to everyone when I was younger. However, over the last few years, a lot of 90s music has gotten a bad rap for being depressing, full of self pity and generally bumming everyone out. And lets be clear, this is a pretty bleak record. As a "lost on a desert island" record, it's the one you listen to just before you give up all hope of being rescued and kill yourself. So with that in mind, I hesitated putting it on the must have list.

But ... screw that. This is a great album.

It blew my mind when I first discovered it. There's guitars, but it's not a traditional four piece. It's electronic, but it's not the repetitive loops of techno. It's 'Industrial' but it's listenable, catchy and even danceable. It's angsty, but not quite as lyrically embarressing as a few later NIN albums.

In conclusion, everyone should own a copy and give it at least one good listen with headphones on.

Just got through all the previous entries and noticed I was trumped in the Reznor stakes by Johnny Cash at 13. I'll also second the nomination for the Tea Party. Edges of Twilight and Transmission are two solid albums.

I skipped all the bickering so don't really know what that's about, but since I'm all for staying on topic in threads:

26. Check Your Head- Beastie Boys

There's a case to be made about Paul's Boutique in its place, but as groundbreaking as that was (and how much I love that one too!), I think CYH has more spirit to it, as opposed to the technical marvel that is PB. When I first heard it, it blew my world right open. Being a teenager in the nineties still meant picking a genre you identified with, and keeping all your other tastes on the downlow. CYH said 'fuck it' to that, and showed me that if you want to do hiphop, rock, funk and hardcore all in one band, you should just do it. Around that period the BB started treating all cool (geek) culture like that- hence 'Grand Royal'. You wanna dig Richard Pryor, Raymond Burr, Japanese monster movies, Carl Sagan, video games ànd buddhism all at the same time? Go for it!
Seriously, my karma implores me to include CYH.

SOMEBODY ELSE HEARD FROM THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And yeah, Transmission is so fucking different from Splendor Solis and Edges, yet has a magnetic appeal to it that I can't shake off.

I'm counting on Martin to personally lead the effort to get The Tea Party to reform. Come on, Martin...you can do it.

That's what the album of the month is for!

If anyone picks it before me, I'm shanking him.

1. Black Love - The Afghan Whigs (1996)
2. Permutations - Amon Tobin (1998)
3. Some Girls - The Rolling Stones (1978)
4. Ten - Pearl Jam (1991)
5. Dulcinea - Toad The Wet Sprocket (1994)
6. Willie & the Family Live (Expanded Edition) - Willie Nelson (1978)
7. Whip-Smart - Liz Phair (1994)
8. Slippery When Wet - Bon Jovi (1986)
9. Little Earthquakes - Tori Amos (1992)
10. Appetite for Destruction - Guns N' Roses (1987)
11. The Private Press - DJ Shadow(1997)
12. Born to Run - Bruce Springsteen (1975)
13. American IV - Johnny Cash (2002)
14. Never Mind the Bollocks Here's the Sex Pistols - The Sex Pistols (1977)
15. Blackwater Park - Opeth (2001)
16. The Edges of Twilight - The Tea Party (1995)
17. Travels - The Pat Metheny Group (1983)
18. Hackers - Soundtrack
19. Achtung Baby - U2 (1991)
20. Joe's Garage - Frank Zappa
21. Against the Grain - Bad Religion (1990)
22. It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back - Public Enemy (1988)
23. Cake - Fashion Nugget (1996)
24. Hot Shots II - Beta Band (2001)
25. The Downward Spiral - Nine Inch Nails (1994)
26. Check Your Head - Beastie Boys (1992)
27. Cure For Pain - Morphine (1993)

My intro to Morphine was "All Wrong" from Cure For Pain which is widely (and accurately) considered the band's best album. I quickly snatched up the entire album and was deeply impressed with their blues-jazz-rock originality and how much this guitarless trio could do with so little. Morphine's core consisted of singer Mark Sandman's baritone beat-inspired croon along with his (three and later two-stringed) slide bass and Dana Colley's array of saxophones filling the spaces guitars happen in other groups. Sandman's dark, sometimes profoundly direct lyrics, hipster delivery, and innovative spirit brought to mind Tom Waits, but typically with a groovier backbeat.

I was hooked by these guys 'til the end and they never really got old to me, even if being a guitarless trio might've proved to be an apparent limitation at times. The end came, by the way, in 1999 when Mark had a fatal heart attack onstage somewhere in Italy, I believe. I saw Morphine in concert twice at a club in Atlanta, and they were some of the most intimate and entertaining live shows I've ever attended. Some of Cure For Pain's highlights include "Buena", "I'm Free Now", and "Thursday". Definitely one of my very favorite albums from the '90s and I'd call Morphine underrated, but I'm too thankful their music was never ruined by over-popularity to do so. Oh, and this album was the soundtrack to SPANKING THE MONKEY. Now there's a movie you'll likely never forget after a single viewing.