Cross by Justice
Next generation's French house duo
Release: June 11th, 2007
Genre: Electro House
Favorite Tracks: Genesis, Waters of Nazareth, D.A.N.C.E
Why it missed the cut:
Yet another album I discovered during the making of my top 100 list, I heard Cross mentioned in many public forums as one of the best electronic releases in recent memory. My head chef at my job delivered the push I needed to finally hear this one for myself around the middle of last year, and I'm pleasantly surprised by what I heard. Proverbially taking the torch from all-time greats Daft Punk, Justice utilizes similar methods of looping and layering to build up monolithic machines that play out like a sonic adventure, embracing a poppier and bouncier tone than some of the deeper house Daft Punk was known for. Electronica has always been a weak point in my library, but especially throughout last year, I listened to so many iconic albums from the genre that I can't believe I hadn't heard before. Cross would have likely placed somewhere in the high 80's or low 70's on this list had it not been for my late arrival to the party.
Pure evil incarnate
Release: July 3rd, 1996
Genre: Death Metal
Favorite Tracks: Benedictive Convulsions, Slit Your Guts, Orgiastic Disembowelment
Why it missed the cut:
It should be no secret by now that my music tastes have a tendency to lean towards the extreme. Primarily during my early adulthood, I strongly gravitated around music that elicited an emotional response...generally violence. I wouldn't consider myself an aggressive person, but I do have a knack in letting out that feeling through music. I uncovered Cryptopsy in 2016 during an attempt to chronicle one song per day on Tumblr. I was recommended a blog that had posted an assortment of death metal songs to choose from, and the album cover for None So Vile certainly caught my attention. This album has everything you could possibly ask for from a death metal band: themes of grotesque bodily mutilation, chaotic blast beats, and wretched screams of horror from vocalist Lord Worm. I understand it's not everybody's cup of tea, which is likely the reasoning behind my eventual striking of this entry from the list. I thought it'd be best to highlight music on my top 100 list that people might...y'know, actually want to listen to. I have a feeling this one wouldn't have resonated very well, but None So Vile is still a personal favorite of mine all the same.
On the shoulders of giants
Release: August 8th, 2011
Genre: Hip-Hop
Favorite Tracks: Otis, Niggas in Paris, No Church in the Wild
Why it missed the cut:
2023 wasn't ideal for Ye's public image. Between a slew of antisemitic comments and bizarre public appearances, the media had a field day last year profiting off the disappointing behavior of Ye. It's such a tragedy to see one of this generation's most prolific musicians fall from grace, because his art had such widespread impact before his reputation was tarnished. Take Watch the Throne, one of my first and finer examples of modern hip-hop to find its way into my life. Initially a no-brainer for this list, I started having second thoughts on its inclusion at the start of the year when Ye stocks started to tank, and ultimately replaced it by the time I reached its entry in the high 80's. The circumstances at the time really forced my hand on this one, but I truthfully love Watch the Throne for its meeting of the minds between two of the biggest names in rap: Jay-Z and Kanye West. Jay-Z's emphatic and sophisticated flows perfectly contrast the tongue-in-cheek, out-of-pocket bars of Ye, all backed behind some of the most impressive beat samples I've heard, period. I feel Ye is the ultimate test in practicing the separation of art and artist, as the quality of his productions alongside the severity of his actions are both remarkably high. Some people aren't ready to have that conversation, so I found it best to put it aside for this list. Watch the Throne is certainly good enough for an honorable mention, though!
Anti-establishment anarchy
Release: March 30th, 1999
Genre: Ska Punk
Favorite Tracks: Crack Rock Steady, 500 Channels, Money
Why it missed the cut:
When compiling this list, I tried to make it reflect my musical tendencies as closely as possible in the albums represented. I listen to plenty of punk music, but the problem with the genre is that there are so few landmark releases that really stuck with me. I guess I should give an honorable-honorable mention to the eponymous debut albums of both Bad Brains and Suicidal Tendencies, as they were among two of the first records I purchased for my vinyl collection. Punk was a bit underrepresented on this list, but if I were to squeeze one more album on there, No Gods / No Managers would have probably been the one. Driven by the frantic and uplifting off-beat accents of ska music, the album's subject matter written by frontman Stza is some of the darkest, most off-putting material I've ever heard in punk music. With an obvious distaste for authority, many of the songs propagate for the complete removal of government and slaughtering of the police, all while the instruments cheerily skitter along in the background. This dichotomy fascinated me when I first listened to No Gods / No Managers back around 2015, but I'm even more absorbed by the fact that Choking Victim immediately broke up after the recording of this album, with some of the members then forming the equally notable punk group Leftöver Crack. There's something mystifying that surrounds this one-album wonder for me, and that reverence continues to keep it a favorite punk album of mine. As far as best of all-time...well, maybe not so much.
Riding on wings of steel
Release: July 1982
Genre: Heavy Metal
Favorite Tracks: Electric Eye, Screaming For Vengeance, You've Got Another Thing Coming
Why it missed the cut:
It hurts me to leave off an album within my fabled yard sale CD stack, especially given how much mileage I got out of Screaming For Vengeance throughout high school. As soon as I began ingesting a strict diet of classic rock in 2007, Judas Priest was a name I heard come up consistently in discussion as one of the greatest acts of the era. When I had the opportunity to purchase an album of theirs for myself, I didn't hesitate to grab it and see what all the fuss was about. I can safely say Screaming For Vengeance is the best this group has to offer, with dazzling performances by the tandem guitars of K.K. Downing and Glenn Tipton. Of course, I'd be remiss not to acknowledge the soaring vocal range of the legendary Rob Halford, second only to that of Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickenson. His staggering falsetto provides a powerful edge to the music that many metal bands at the time either lacked the prowess or were afraid to replicate. While Screaming For Vengeance is a monumental album in my life, it's definitely lost its luster for me a bit in comparison to other choices within my top 100. That stack of CDs though...I can't help but be sentimental for the music that shaped my teenage years.
Release: April 1st, 1999
Genre: Noise Rock
Favorite Tracks: Zone, Murk Hike, Fleeing The Valley Of Whirling Knives
Why it missed the cut:
By far, this album is the one I am most upset at my inability to include within my top 100. For one, the last two songs of the album are inexplicably missing from Spotify's database. It's probably for the better though, which leads me to my second point: Lightning Bolt is...barely music. It very well might not be considered music at all during some portions. This record is about as raw and unfiltered as it gets, intentionally aiming for the trashiest production possible to accompany Lightning Bolt's primitive demo tapes. The climax of the album occurs at Zone, a 30-plus minute monstrosity that desensitizes the listener into madness with fragmented riffs that are intermittently interrupted by the penetrating squeals of the amp feedback, with only the unintelligible shouts of Brian Chippendale to serve as respite. I've contemplated the musical ramifications of Lightning Bolt across dozens of run-throughs, and the best analogy I can give is that it sounds like if music had an abortion; denied any right to fully develop and forcefully extracted in its unfinished state. I know that doesn't sell this album at all, so how could I possibly justify putting it in the top 20 like I feel it deserves to be? Personally, I could write a doctoral thesis on the sheer genius behind the album, but in no way does that mean I look down upon others who don't agree with that opinion. In fact, I wouldn't take offense if someone chose never to speak with me again after recommending this album. It's just not for everybody. Fortunately, Lightning Bolt had plenty of releases to choose from with much more musical integrity to include in my top 100. Unsurprisingly, my indecisiveness led to plenty of last-minute switch-ups on this list for artists where I enjoy multiple selections from their catalog. As a bonus lightning round (see what I did there?), let's run through a handful of albums from artists that did make the cut, just with a different entry.
Release: September 12th, 1975
Genre: Prog Rock
Favorite Tracks: Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Pts. 1-5), Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Pts. 6-9), Welcome to the Machine
Succeeded By: The Dark Side of the Moon (#6)
Release: July 25th, 1989
Genre: Hip-Hop
Favorite Tracks: Hey Ladies, Shake Your Rump, Egg Man
Succeeded By: Licensed to Ill (#23)
Release: October 30th, 2007
Genre: Metal
Favorite Tracks: Afterlife, Almost Easy, Scream
Succeeded By: City of Evil (#73)
Release: July 30th, 1996
Genre: Ska Punk
Favorite Tracks: What I Got, Doin' Time, Santeria
Succeeded By: 40oz. to Freedom (#67)
Release: November 12th, 1971
Genre: Prog Rock
Favorite Tracks: Roundabout, Heart of the Sunrise, South Side of the Sky
Succeeded By: Close To the Edge (#55)
Release: September 19th, 1986
Genre: Thrash Metal
Favorite Tracks: Wake Up Dead, Good Mourning/Black Friday, Peace Sells
Succeeded By: Rust In Peace (#15)
Release: September 24th, 1991
Genre: Grunge
Favorite Tracks: Endless, Nameless, In Bloom, Drain You
Succeeded By: MTV Unplugged in New York (#22)
Release: June 8th, 1998
Genre: Post-Rock
Favorite Tracks: The Dead Flag Blues, East Hastings, Providence
Succeeded By: Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven (#53)
Release: July 25th, 1980
Genre: Hard Rock
Favorite Tracks: Shoot to Thrill, What Do You Do for Money Honey, Hells Bells
Succeeded By: High Voltage (#54)
Release: June 16th, 2023
Genre: Thrash Metal
Favorite Tracks: Motor Spirit, Supercell, Gila Monster
Succeeded By: Nonagon Infinity (#4)
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And that's just about it! I had to impose a limit on myself, otherwise I could be here for multiple parts going on and on about some of my other favorite albums. However, that isn't what this list is about, and there's still one entry left to cover before this list comes to a close. Honestly, one of the biggest reasons it's taken me so long to finish the top ten is because I don't want this journey to end. It's been exciting to build up my own anticipation for the music I consider to be my favorite of all-time, and it was a great trip down memory lane reviewing a few entries that fell just short of the mark. My next task will be much more daunting: drafting up the words to describe my favorite album ever. There aren't enough words in the dictionary to properly pay homage to such a significant piece of art...but here I go, attempting to do just that. Thanks for reading, and stay tuned, because number one is coming very soon! Wish me luck, and I'll see you on the other side!!
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