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.