I figure with as many songs as I've listened to, it'd be impossible to really say what my top 10 favorite songs are, or even top 100. So, I figured the top 10 albums would be the easiest. I would like to see everyone else's, and if possible, link to your favorite songs or songs you think really stand out in each album.

#10 Runaway Boys: A Retrospective '81-'92 (Stray Cats)


This album was gem for me, and as a fan of The Living End (despite their lack of being on this list), I checked out the Stray Cats because they were a major influence on TLE. What I found was classic rock and roll, or the coined term, rockabilly. What made this album stick out to me is the style that the Stray Cats held on to, despite the times. In the 80s, it was the growth of thrash metal and the explosion of the glam/hair days. Motley Crue and bands like them took center stage, but the Stray Cats were able to become a popular band in this time period despite the trends. Remember Rock This Town? Written by these guys and it's still a classic. I thought this was written in the 60s or early 70s, but to my surprise it was done in the early 80s. Anyway, this album is just basic, old school rock, and I really enjoy listening to nearly every song on the album. Stand out songs (in my opinion) are Rock This Town, Stray Cat Strut, Lonely Summer Nights, 18 Miles to Memphis, I Fought the Law, and Gene and Eddie.

#9 Black Sabbath (Black Sabbath)


The reason this makes my number 9 slot is because it's so original. They were the first band (to my knowledge and most people's) to detune the guitars down to a C# or C standard due to Iommi's accident at his job where he sliced the pads off his fingers and detuned his guitar to make playing easier on himself. This was also the heaviest album to date, and what every considers the grandfather of metal (despite it's non-metalness). It paved the way for what metal later became, which is why it gets so much credit. It is a dark album in some parts and a bit more bluesy in others. It was the heaviest album of its time (1970), and played on darker themes, such as Lucifer/Satan, as well as fantasy and horror. The song Thw Wizard is said to be inspired Gandalf from the Lord of the Rings. I read that on wikipedia, so I can't really say for sure if this is the case. This is, and the 5 succeeding albums, were when Ozzy Osbourne (real name is John) was part of the band. When I want to listen to Black Sabbath, this album is the one I go to. It was a masterpiece in rock when it came out. Songs that make this album, I think, are Black Sabbath, The Wizard, N.I.B., and Wicked World.

#8 Mothership (Led Zeppelin)



Led Zep was a rock monster in their time in the 60s and 70s, but started disappearing in the 80s due to the shift in style popularity. Anybody who listened to anything rock knows Zeppelin, as pretty much every rock/metal musician credits Zeppelin as an influence. The vocals of Robert Plant were something new and original to the rock scene, and Page's guitar playing was majestic. Bonham was the swift footed drummer who could play at speeds many drummers who kicked the bass with one foot couldn't do. He was a drummer many were influenced by in the earlier years. Zeppelin has written so many tunes that people recognize and remember, from radio play to even some modern commercials. Everyone knows Stairway to Heaven as it is probably the most popular song in the entire world (and a song many guitarists start off playing). While an amazing song from the vocals to the guitar, it isn't their best song in my opinion. I can't name a song that's better in my opinion at the moment, but there's a song or two that can stake claim at being better. Anyway, all of these songs are good as the album is a compilation of their best songs, and I love them all. I'd have to say look up the track list for this album and check out the songs on youtube. Sorry I can't make you guys lazier.

#7 Stained Class (Judas Priest)


This is the first of two Judas Priest albums that made my list, and believe me, there's two more that could have made the list, so choosing was hard. I picked this one because for the time it came out, it was possibly the fastest album to date (1978). This album is what many consider the first album in the Thrash genre. The most blistering track on the album would probably have to be Exciter or the title track, Stained Class. This album was the first to showcase new drummer Les Binks who was noted to be one of the first drummer to use two bass pedals instead of one. He was extremely talented and very technical with his drumming, which was dumbed down in succeeding album, Hell Bent for Leather, and after the following "live" album, Unleashed in the East, Binks left the band due to the more pop approach Judas Priest wanted to go. This is debated to be the best album in Judas Priest's catalog along with their 1990 release, Painkiller. I say it's the second best, but very close to being the best. The thing I love about this album are the vocals of Halford and how well he captures the feeling for each song, especially on the best song on the album, and one of their best songs ever, Beyond the Realms of Death. Plus the vocal range he uses for this album on most songs is pretty crazy, especially with how well he controls it. The twin guitar attack of Tipton and Downing is great, especially the tradeoffs on solos and the harmonies. I love all the other song, but I really love Heroes End. Other songs you'll easily find on youtube.

#6 Avenged Sevenfold (Avenged Sevenfold)


I know anybody that listens to heavy metal or hard rock is probably going to question why I even like this album or this band. This is a band that has a strong love/hate reaction from people for whatever reason. I personally like this album over all of their other previous ones because the music is much tighter than it had been previously, and despite it's slightly more poppy element, they hold true to who they are as musicians. I say they're one of the best in the mainstream rock market in the U.S. I think they do well at what they need to to attract many people to them. Anyway, the thing I love about this album is the different styles they incorporate into each song. None of the songs will really sound the same, well, after the first 3. I think this album truly shows how well versed they are in other genres of music and aren't afraid to try it. They have a country song in Dear God, a more orchestrated, horror movie type of song in A Little Piece of Heaven and a more groove type of song in Scream. I couldn't typify all the songs, but most of them sound different, with another good example being Unbound (The Wild Ride). I remember when I first got the album, I listened to it constantly for about 2 months before I moved on over to other music for a little while, but then came back to them not too long after my break. I'm now ready for the next album, Nightmare, which comes out on the 27th of this month. Other good songs I like on the album are Afterlife and Gunslinger, probably because of that western feel and the solo.

#5 Jason Becker Collection (Jason Becker and Various artists)


Jason Becker was a guitar virtuoso in the 80s who started playing at 4 and by 16, started the band Cacophony with Marty Friedman (of Megadeth fame). Jason Becker was a person who could learn music and techniques at a level most guitarists of the time could only dream of. After completing two albums in Cacophony, he and Marty parted ways, with Friedman going to Megadeth and Becker joining David Lee Roth (of Van Halen fame). During his time with Roth, he was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or more commonly referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease). He eventually lost all ability to move and now must breathe through a tube and can only move his eyes and his mouth slightly. Even with this disease and inability to move around, he still composes music. The Jason Becker Collection is a collection of songs from his two previous solo albums, Perpetual Burn and Perspective, as well as a couple of new songs. I would say Becker is an outstanding composer of music, and many of his peers consider him a modern day Beethoven or Bach. Not all of Beckers tracks are guitar filled. This is shown in the track Serrana. His most popular track is End of the Beginning, which I cannot find the full 11:45 track on youtube. Two of my absolute favorite tracks on the album are River of Longing, which features Steve Hunter at the beginning, and then Greg Howe (I have a couple of his albums) for the upbeat portion of the song, and the other being River of Longing (Reprise), which features Steve Vai from 0:00-2:29 and then Marty Friedman from then on. Everything else is still good, but those are two songs I just love. I would recommend this to everyone and if possible buy it. Man can't make money touring and deserves this at least.

That's half of them for right now. I'll get to the others later. I hope other will do this, too.

Well, I hate ordering albums, but here are 10 of my favorite (in no specific order):

Everything Goes Numb (Streetlight Manifesto)



Song to listen to: A Better Place, A Better Time

As much as I love other songs from different albums, I have to say that this album is one of their best. It's unpolished, contains tons of great songs, and is full of energy. So, while their Keasby Nights album has As the Footsteps Die Out Forever and Somewhere in the Between has Would You Be Impressed?, EWN simply wins for its unpolished power in all the songs.



Farewells and Fantasies (Phil Ochs)



Song to listen to: Pleasures of the Harbor

I only chose Farewells and Fantasies because it's a 3-disc album, so it contains the greatest number of Phil Ochs songs. I don't want to spam this with links to all of his great songs, because I'd just be linking to almost every song he wrote. Pleasures of the Harbor was only chosen because it was the last song of his I had listened to, so it was the first that came to mind.



8 Teeth to Eat You (Cursive)



Song to listen to: Excerpts from Various Notes Strewn Around The Bedroom of April Connolly

As I usually listen to all of Cursive's music straight through (6 albums and 6 EPs), so it was hard to pin down my favorite album/song of theirs. The thing that made "Excerpts" the one to listen to is the amazing cello part.



So Rock (Tim Minchin)



Song to listen to: Canvas Bags

Though this song hurts to listen to, you need to also listen to F Sharp from this album. He has a bunch of other great songs, and they're all great for a laugh. Instead of linking to every great song of his, just check out all of this songs. He's like the Phil Ochs of comedy songs.



The Best of Andrea Bocelli: Vivere (Andrea Bocelli)



Song to listen to: Vivo Per Lei

Even though I don't know any Italian, I still love listening to Andrea Bocelli. He's got an amazing voice, and it's almost enchanting to listen to. Time To Say Goodbye is currently tied with Vivo Per Lei as my favorite song, but I assumed that more people had heard Time To Say Goodbye than Vivo Per Lei, which is what bumped it up.



Veckatimest (Grizzly Bear)



Song to listen to: Two Weeks

Really, there is no weak song on this album. It was near impossible to choose which of the songs to highlight. And though this is a cover of a Crystals song, He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss) is one of favorite songs of theirs.



Nothing But The Best (Frank Sinatra)



Song to listen to: Girl From Ipanema

It was probably really silly to include Sinatra on this list, because everyone (should) know of him. A ton of my favorites on this album, most notably Luck Be A Lady Tonight and the highlighted song above. But, of course, it is almost impossible to select a favorite from all of Sinatra's music.



Fashion Nugget (Cake)



Song to listen to: Frank Sinatra

Again, it was near impossible for me to pick which song to highlight. I love every song on this album.



In With The Out Crowd (Less Than Jake0



Song to listen to: The Rest Of My Life

While a lot of people say this is one of Less Than Jake's worst albums, I have to disagree. They did tone down the horn section, cutting it to only a few songs, but the lyrics more than make up for it. The Science Of Selling Yourself Short has to be my favorite LTJ song, but the album it comes from, Anthem, is pretty hit or miss with its songs, even though it has more of the "authentic" LTJ style.



Old Crow Medicine Show (Old Crow Medicine Show)



Song to listen to: Big Time In The Jungle

OCMS is one of my favorite bands, and they have some amazing songs. Tell It To Me was the first songs of theirs that I heard, and is a great, upbeat song (and bonus: it's about cocaine). One of their other songs, Wagon Wheel, was written by Bob Dylan, so if you like Bob Dylan, you should really check it out. Also, if you live in the South, you should totally go to a show for me, because they never get far enough North for me to see them. D=


Man, this was really hard to do. There are so many albums I love to listen to!