The Top Ten Best Albums

By Kayla Harper

 

If I had to choose the best thing about music, I would say that it’s an endless cycle of discovery.  It’s an ocean of genres, styles, and albums that is already so deep and vast, it’s impossible we could ever discover it all in one lifetime.  In my mind there is no such thing as bad music, it’s either for you, or it’s not, OR it’s not yet.  Additionally, it’s always being added to as well.  With that in mind, it’s really hard for me to narrow down what my favourite albums of all time are, especially as someone who likes a wide variety of genres.  My favourite albums often depend on the day, my current life situation, and are always changing as I discover new music.  My favourite album ever might not even be written yet, or maybe it is, but I haven’t heard it yet.  However, I have tried to choose my top ten favourite albums with a twist: they have to be from my record collection, and I have taken into consideration the album as a whole and how well it flows from the first track to the last, how many skips I might have and they way each song works together to create a cohesive body of work etc.  Of course this list changes and depends on the day, it’s really difficult to pick a list and stick with it when music is so dependent on your mood and always evolving.

10. Once Bitten by Great White

I had always been a fan of Great White’s hit “Rock Me” as my dad showed it to me when I was younger.  However, I had not gotten into the album Once Bitten as a whole until I worked at the record store.  I decided to put it on one day as I knew the song “Rock Me” was really good and figured the rest should be too.  Well, I was right. Once Bitten is a phenomenal album that flows front to back.  With wicked vocals, catchy melodies and a beat you can’t help, but rock along to.  However, what shines above it all is the guitars.  The guitars shine throughout the entire record, singing and leading every track.  I am so glad I added this to my collection this year.

Top Songs: 

1. “Rock Me”
2. “On The Edge”
3. “Lady Red Light”

9. Buckingham Nicks by Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks

If you know me, you probably already know I’m a big fan of Fleetwood Mac, but especially Stevie Nicks.  Buckingham Nicks is the album that Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks did together which ultimately got them discovered by Mick Fleetwood when he heard their track, “Frozen Love” from this album.  Buckingham Nicks lives up to, if not exceeds, Buckingham and Nicks work with Fleetwood Mac.  The album is cohesive and demonstrates their extraordinary talents.  If you’ve ever doubted that Buckingham is not one of the most talented guitarists from this era, just listen to “Stephanie”.  Additionally, Nicks angelic vocals captivate the listener, pulling them into the song as they feel every emotion she is singing with.  As a Stevie Nicks girl, I am obsessed with this album.

Top Songs: 

1. “Without A Leg To Stand On”
2. “Frozen Love”
3. “Races Are Run”

8. The Sound Of Madness by Shinedown

Despite not being the biggest band in the world, Shinedown holds the record of the most number one hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart, with a total of 19.  They’re the kind of band that most people don’t know of when I mention them by name, but as soon as I play “Second Chance” and other tracks from this record they know most of it word for word.  The Sound Of Madness is a radio-friendly, hard-rock album front-to-back, full of catchy songs with strong messages you can’t help singing along to. This album holds a lot of happy memories for my family and I over the years and I love the way it flows from front to back.  It is truly a skipless album!

Top Songs: 

1. “Sound Of Madness”
2. “Cyanide Sweet Tooth Suicide”
3. “What A Shame”

7. Ultraviolence by Lana Del Rey 

I’m lucky to be able to call myself a Lana Del Rey fan since the beginning of her career so, it’s hard to choose a favourite album, however, Ultraviolence is always one that’s stuck with me.  I think one of Del Rey’s many talents is making cohesive albums where each track effortlessly flows into the next, with lyrics that explore the deepest and most vulnerable parts of our emotions and experiences.  Ultraviolence takes this a step further, not only in its bluntly honest, poetic lyrics, but also in the production.  If it were just for the lyrics, it’d be a lot harder to separate it from the rest of her discography, but the use of electric guitars, the synthy-sounding piano, and drums employed on this record are what makes it stand out sonically in her discography.  Additionally, they match the energy and vibes of the lyrics really well.  Just listen to how the guitar sings in the outro of “Pretty When I Cry” or “Shades Of Cool”.

Top Songs: 

1. “Black Beauty”
2. “Sad Girl”
3. “Shades Of Cool”

6. Vol.3 The Subliminal Verses By Slipknot

Vol.3 The Subliminal Verses is the first album I recommend to anyone who says they don’t like heavy music, but are open-minded enough to try it.  Like most of Slipknot’s albums, but especially on this one, they demonstrate the purpose of heaviness in music, as the instrumentals are artistic and experimental in the way they flow throughout the album.  I think they way the softer, alternative sounding parts build up to the heavier, double-kicks and screaming makes it sound purposeful to people who usually don’t understand that genre of music.  Additionally, the way the album does this musically, is also achieved through the lyrics which creates a story that one can follow from front to beginning.  This included themes of overcoming one’s darker side, depression, etc.

Top Songs: 

1. “Circle”
2. “Vermillion”/”Vermillion Pt.2”
3. “The Nameless”  / “Duality”

5. Pulse By Pink Floyd

Nobody can make a top ten favourite albums list without including at least one Pink Floyd album, but the difficult part is choosing which Pink Floyd album.  For me, Dark Side Of The Moon, Wish You Were Here, The Wall, A Momentary Lapse Of Reason, Meddle  and Division Bell especially have all been really crucial to important times in my life, or turning points in my state of mind and being. I simply couldn’t choose just one.  However, Pink Floyd also have some incredible live albums such as Delicate Sound Of Thunder and Pulse which cleverly compile a lot of their best songs into one, cohesive and brilliant setlist, that is usually even greater than the individual songs as they contain extended guitar solos among other features.  I chose Pulse because it’s longer, has more songs, and personally I think it’s their best setlist ever. Pink Floyd writes the  kind of music that cannot be compared to any other band, it is its own genre and field entirely.  They can spiritually, melodically and just with their pure talent alone, outperform any other band that ever has and ever will exist.  I love their music most for the way it connects me to myself and makes me feel everyone I’ve ever been in every life I’ve ever had; the way it makes the mundane seem small and insignificant and the sky seem so much closer and easier to reach; the way it makes me feel like I am a part of something bigger…yes, I know, but I swear it’s the music and not the drugs (haha).

Top Songs: 

1. “Comfortably Numb”
2. “Coming Back To Life”
3. “Learning To Fly”  (I have lyrics to this one tattooed)!

(if “On The Turning Away” was on this album it would’ve been here).

4. Vessel By twenty øne piløts

It’s no secret that I love twenty øne piløts; they’re definitely my favourite alternative rock band and other than Taylor Swift, are probably the artists I’ve been a fan of the longest.  When I was young, my sister and I were obsessed with their music and have only become more obsessed with it as we’ve grown older and been able to understand it more.  By the time Vessel had rolled around, we were both old enough to understand lyrics and who twenty øne piløts were.  We would sing every song word for word and choreograph dancers to them, always asking mom and dad to play it again when it came on.  As I’ve gotten older this album has only become more meaningful to me as I’ve grown to understand the songs more.  Although I love every album tøp has put out, Vessel is extra special to me and one of my favourites for nostalgic purposes, but also that the tracklisting is so perfect.  Every single track into the next there is not a single song I skip.  I also love the story the album tells of overcoming ourselves and how it ends with “stay alive.”  Vessel reminds us there is more outside of ourselves, this life and what we are feeling in the current moment.  This life; our bodies are only a vessel and if we can remember that, we can overcome our depression, anxiety and darker moments, ultimately becoming happier, stronger and more spiritually connected.  In the darkest times, Vessel reminds me there’s light.

Top Songs: 

(I don’t know how to do this without saying like half the album).

1. “Ode To Sleep” / “Holding On To You” /  “Semi-Automatic” / “Trees” / “Screen” / “Fake You Out” / “Migraine”….I guess I should stop before I say all of them.

3. Good Riddance by Gracie Abrams

As someone who has been a fan of Gracie Abrams since the early days, before she’d even released minor, it’s truly incredible and makes me proud to see how much she’s grown and how successful she’s become.  People don’t say “who?” anymore when I tell them my favourite female artist is Gracie Abrams…it’s bittersweet.  I still remember the day Good Riddance came out.  I was in high school, but at this point had experienced a couple substantial losses as well as some heartbreaks too…some of which were my doing.  I had quite a long walk to and from school, but it was the perfect length to listen to Good Riddance in its entirety each time…and I did…until the end of the school year.  Good Riddance has a way of digging into your deepest suppressed feelings and clawing at them until you’re forced to confront them…even when it’s things you thought for sure you were over.  It’s emotional, blunt and raw.  Every track works so well together and it only seems to get more intense as you go on, until it all comes crashing down on the final track, “Right Now”.

Top Songs: 

1. “Best”
2. “Right now”
3. “This is what the drugs are for”

2. Clancy by twenty øne piløts

It shouldn’t surprise anyone that twenty øne piløts made this list twice…I love them so much I named my dog after them. Clancy is the Ohio-duo’s latest album and has somehow surpassed every other album they’ve put out for me.  Clancy is easily my album of the year for 2024.  Not only did it relate a lot to the point I am at in my life right now, but it has been getting me through a lot of the loss and depression that came along with it.  I think Clancy maintains what we are used to hearing from tøp, while demonstrating their musical and artists growth.  I love the way it continues the lore from where it left off in Scaled and Icy, to summarise this storyline is ultimately us vs. ourselves (it’s a lot more complicated than that, but that’s for another article).  Clancy is the kind of album where I can’t just listen to one song, I always end up putting the album on in its entirety, listening from “Overcompensate” to “Paladin Strait”.  One of the only things that seems to pick me up this year and make me feel hopeful and normal is when I’ve played this album front to back with my sister, with each song, the pain becomes less and less and by “Routines In The Night” it’s a full on dance party.

Top Songs: 

1. “Midwest Indigo”
2. “Next Semester”
3. “Oldies Station”

01.Come What(ever) May by Stone Sour

First place should be no surprise to anyone who’s been following my page for a while and it’s the one answer I am always certain about (although I think Clancy could share it’s place) when asked what my favourite album is, Come What(ever) May is always the answer (and my favourite song of all time is “30/30-150”).  Every song on this record is flawless, it has the perfect blend of radio-friendly hard rock songs such as “Through Glass”, “Socio” and “Zzyzx Rd.” and heavy, powerful anthems such as “30/30-150”, “Reborn” and “Your God”.  From the start to the end, we hear about battling and overcoming one’s own personal mental battles, as well as social and political criticism. It reflects Corey Taylor’s wide range of vocal abilities as he goes from screaming to singing, but most importantly his incredible writing abilities, he is easily one of the best lyricists and my favourite male vocalist.  This was another album I clung to during a difficult time in my life, it helped me find myself again and meet parts of myself I didn’t know.  I always find myself coming back to it when I need hope, or to reconnect with who I am again.  The biggest message I take away from this album is that I am in control of my emotions and life which is exactly what I need to be reminded of most of the time. Thank you thank you thank you Corey Taylor.

Top Songs: 

1. “30/30-150”
2. “Reborn”
3. “Sillyworld”

 

Thank you so much for reading!  As stated previously, I love way too many artists and albums for this list to ever be final, it’s ever-changing as I discover more music and also depending on the day and my mood! (Yes, I’m also surprised a single Taylor Swift album didn’t make it…I really love a lot of her albums too though)!