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10. Nina Nastasia - Dogs (2000)
This album was such an astonishing accomplishment to hear for me. It grew on me over the last few months as a work so sonically beautiful. Her gorgeous voice draws out the layered feel of the haunting album.

9. Dog Fashion Disco - The Embryo's In Bloom (2000)
Friends of mine from Baltimore introduced me to this band a few years ago. Despite having since broken up, their material was always so fresh and they commanded an enormous presence onstage. They never really completed an apocalyptic album, but this one just has all of my favorites and none of the filler. They represent to me an enormous contribution to metal.

8. Dälek - Absence (2004)
Other than Liquid Swords, this was my first "great" rap album, and unlike others, this one drew me to listen to the fantastic emceeing skills. It remains one of my favorite hip-hop albums and a great listen.

7. Miles Davis - Sketches of Spain (1963)
Do you remember the first album of a different genre that you really enjoyed? This was it for me -- Sketches of Spain was Miles Davis' Kid A, and was far beyond the realm of cool jazz. Though most of my collection of jazz is free jazz, this will always stand out as one of my favorites, despite how pedestrian its structure may be.

6. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago (2007)
One of the few good albums I discovered through Metacritic, it helped me through a hard time last year. It is simple and yet epic; the few instruments which Vernon used were performed admirably. A stunning album, for sure.

5. Funkadelic - One Nation Under a Groove (1977)
Others might prefer an era when George Clinton wasn't as motivated by money, but to me, this album was his finest. At the height of their popularity, Funkadelic came out and made an impressive album, and really showed how versatile their skills were.

4. Queens of the Stone Age - Rated R (2000)
"C-C-C-COCAINE!"
In an era when all I ever listened to on the radio was alternative rock, this remains one of the gems that I discovered and love to this day. Ironically, the track which drove me to love QOTSA ("In the Fade") sounds nothing like the rest of the album. There are so many favorites of mine from this album that it's hard for me to put it down: Feel Good Hit, Auto Pilot, Better Living Through Chemistry, I Think I Lost My Headache...

3. Jimmy Smith and Wes Montgomery - Jimmy and Wes: The Dynamic Duo (1960)
This may not be my favorite jazz album, but it sure opened me up to the sonic appeal of jazz collaborations. While Jimmy wails away on the keys, Wes just drives home an eclectic accompanient on his guitar. Jazz is hard to get right, and nearly impossible for more than one soloist to pull off, but when it's done well, it sounds fantastic, and that's just what the album represents to me.

2. Yu Miyake et al. - Katamari Fortissimo Damacy (2004)
I laughed my ass off when I first saw the video game Katamari Damacy, which was probably a good thing. So when I discovered the soundtrack, I had get it, thinking I could make my roommate laugh or something. I never realized how fantastic the soundtrack really was: an amalgamtion of J-Pop, jazz, electronic and about fifty other genres, and all done very well. Yu Miyake really shows off his compositional abilities on this thing.

1. Pink Floyd - Meddle (1971)
People may disagree with me, but I think this is hands-down the BEST Pink Floyd record ever. It opens with apocalyptic growls from Nick Mason and grows strongly. A handful of memorable licks from Dave Gilmour and some acoustic and folk elements integrated with superb keyboard lines by Rick Wright really show how beatiful Pink Floyd's music could be. Not to mention this is one of the only albums which showcased all their talents effectively, and concludes with a great progressive opus:
Faaaaantastic.

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