97. Arthur or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire - The Kinks
This is not the album people usually cite as their favorite Kinks album. Though I think I know the reason. Ah the concept album, so many people hate them, but as a lover of all things pomp, I can't get enough of them. Concept albums were the norm in the 60s and 70s for psychedelic and prog bands, and like their british invasion peers The Who, The Kinks also took a whack at this rock opera thing, though in a much less obvious way. Arthur is about broken dreams in post war England. But unlike most concept albums, this is still very much a song album, everything's in good form here, from the quirky pop of Australia to the bleak lonliness of Shangri-La.
Favorite tracks: Victoria, Drivin', Australia, Shangri-la.
96. The Shape of Jazz to Come - Ornette Coleman
My interest in jazz is something I rarely bring up, for the sake of not seeming like a pretentious c*nt of course. Free jazz is considered the most inaccessible of jazz, but personally I think that's not the case. There's more to jazz than just chops, and what makes this album great is that feel of decadence and appocalypse, it's the same kind of recklessness you'd get from punk rock, there's a bit of sleaze and a lot of adrenaline. And personally, I think this is more punk than anything The Sex Pistols ever did.
Favorite tracks: Lonely Woman, Peace, Focus on Sanity, Chronology.
95. Synchronicity - The Police
I guess I just have a horrible habit of citing bands so called sellout albums as my personal favorites. And you know, you can rant about how big of a pretentious dope Sting is and how much his solo music sucks. But man I love The Police. Sting has quite a talent for telling these really dark character stories and mating them with such mystical and eerie sounds. The chemestry between Sting, Summers and Copeland is top notch, easly one of the best rock ensembles out there. I love that The Police adopted a more diverse sound with this album, expanding on more than just reggae and punk influences to create a much richer sound. Bloody shame this was their last album, no seriously it's a bloody shame, goddammit Sting, stop it with this whole solo career thing.
Favorite tracks: O My God, Synchronicity II, Tea in the Sahara, Murder by Numbers.
94. De-Loused In The Comatorium - The Mars Volta
Ok hipster kids, don't get too comfortable now just because I already name dropped Wilco and Neutral Milk Hotel, of course I like The Mars Volta. I mean sure their music is nearly structureless, is full of plain random weirdness and their lyrics make little to no sense, oh wait, that's obviously right up my alley. De-Loused is their only album where I actually understand the theme, which makes me enjoy the music more as well. I'm a big fan of surrealism and that's pretty much what I get out of this music, it's so deliciously disorienting, intoxicating and inorganic.
Favorite tracks: Roulette Dares (The Haunt Of), Drunkship Of Lanterns, Eria Tarka, This Apparatus Must Be Unearthed.