Piss Me Off

Could i be a cheeky bastard and request an up for that Celibate Rifles album? That song was great (i'm currently on the 4th compilation and they've all been great).

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Bulldog

Haven't heard the new album yet. I remember liking the lead-off single (whatever that was called), so I should probably keep an eye peeled for it.

You can indeed PM on the way. Good to hear you're digging the comps too.

Bulldog

Because I've just got that much to do, I think I'll post eight today. Here goes;

42. XTC - Black Sea (1980)

Put mildly, I'm nuts about XTC, and from my experiences of people's musical preferences in the wide, offline world, the amount of people who haven't even heard of them is frankly appalling. Picking a favourite is a pretty mad task, but based on the amount of listens I've given it, this is probably my pick of the litter. It's jam-packed with typically tight and efficient band performances, meaningful lyrics and some of the best melodies I've ever heard committed to record (just try listening to Generals and Majors and not finding yourself whistling it for hours afterwards). This album is among the most consistently brilliant in XTC's back catalogue - it's just crammed full of end-to-end terrific pop-rock/post-punk.
The best bits: Living Through Another Cuba, Rocket From a Bottle, Burning With Optimism's Flames

41. The Saints - Eternally Yours (1978)

After kicking open the doors to the punk-rock scene with their debut (the superb (I'm) Stranded), the Saints steered further clear of the scene they'd kicked off themselves (with the help of Radio Birdman) in Australia with their second effort. This kind of move involved Bailey, Kuepper and company throwing horn sections, tempo-changes and r'n'b into proceedings, and putting them through the punk-rock mangle. What results is an album which serves as a middle-ground between their pop-smart 80s years and the ferocity of their debut, and basically an album which doesn't sound a whole lot like what their contemporaries in the scene were recording at the time. To me, it's the Saints (not the phony, post-Kuepper Saints) at their peak, incorporating a real variety of moods and textures to a great effect.
The best bits: Know Your Product, A Minor Aversion, This Perfect Day

40. The Damned - Machine Gun Etiquette (1979)

And speaking of the Saints, the Damned brought on their then-bassist Alastair Ward to help them record this, their masterpiece. While perhaps not quite as important as their debut, Damned Damned Damned, their third effort finds them rallying glam and new wave under the punk rock banner, resulting in the kind of album which stands head and shoulders above those of most of their contemporaries. It's a strutting, rowdy effort, full of classic anthems, and another one of the very best of British punk.
The best bits: Love Song, Noise Noise Noise, Smash It Up Pts 1&2

39. Thievery Corporation - The Mirror Conspiracy (2000)

More nocturnal trip-hop here, this time mixing atmospheric elements of Brazilian, Jamaican, French and Indian musical forms into their own breezy, chilled electronic soundscapes. Where it's not delivering elegant and easygoing grooves alone, it features the wonderful vocal contributions of Pam Bricker, Lou Lou, Ella Fitzgerald and the mighty Bebel Gilberto. Although these guys have made great records before and since (their latest effort, Radio Retaliation, is well worth a go if this is your thing), this album probably had the most immediate impact on me. Seeing as it got me started on trip-hop and a lot of contemporary electronica, it's also a very important album to my current musical taste as well.
The best bits: Focus On Sight, Shadows Of Ourselves, The Mirror Conspiracy

Next bunch coming up after I've had my dinner. Oh, here's the sixth mixtape too...

50-41.rar
1. The Saints - Know Your Product
2. The Kinks - Phenomenal Cat
3. Talking Heads - Crosseyed and Painless
4. Joy Division - Isolation
5. DJ Shadow - The Number Song
6. Gladys Knight & the Pips - (I Know) I'm Losing You
7. Morcheeba - Fear and Love
8. XTC - Rocket From a Bottle
9. Hybrid - Snyper
10. Super Furry Animals - Guerilla

Bulldog

And while I'm still hanging around...

38. Massive Attack - Blue Lines (1991)

To put the lid on all the trip-hop on this list is the one which started the whole thing (even if the term didn't actually come into use 'til a few years later). Here lies the first album to filter American hip-hop through the British clubbing subculture. Add a dash of dub here and there, shake it up and you've got the musical cocktail that is Blue Lines. I could easily have included the equally brilliant Mezzanine here (and, indeed, was going to 'til about ten minutes ago), but in terms of the sweeping influence it had on dance and pop music, as well as the Unfinished Sympathy factor, this is the album I'd stick in a top albums list such as this.
The best bits: Be Thankful For What You've Got, Unfinished Sypathy, Daydreaming

37. Faith No More - King For a Day, Fool For a Lifetime (1995)

I'm probably in the minority on Faith No More fans who actually prefers their last three albums to the Real Thing and Introduce Yourself, but hey. Of the last three, Angel Dust takes some beating, and I'm a big fan of Album Of the Year too but, mostly for nostalgic reasons (my dog-eared copy of this album's been in my possession for a good 6 or 7 years) this is the one I'd pick. While nowhere near as much of a headf*ck as Angel Dust was, King For a Day... finds FNM making their most musically straightforward release, while containing a dazzling blend of moods, textures and generic blends, from the smooth jazz-funk of Evidence to the bossa nova of Caralho Voador to the heavy metal of Ugly In the Morning and so forth. A sublime album, and frankly bollocks to the popular opinion of it.
The best bits: Ricochet, Cuckoo For a Caca, What a Day

36. Tom Waits - Mule Variations (1999)

Tom Waits' discography is one I've merely skimmed the surface of. While I have a massive amount of respect for him as an artist (having just voted for him in the Hall Of Fame and all), I'm yet to grow into the fully obsessed fan that I've been threatening to become for some time now. 'til then, this would be my favourite work of his. Being probably the lightest and most instantly-accessible item in his back catalogue (certainly from what I've heard anyway), it's as good a starting point as any for curious listeners out there. As for the music itself, it's hard to pin down, which is the beauty of Tom Waits' work. While still being a fairly dark and somber body of work, Mule Variations is certainly a lot less abrasive and light than his other works. For a beginner like me this is, of course, a good thing, and one which makes for one of my favourite ever albums.
The best bits: Get Behind the Mule, What's He Building?, Chocolate Jesus

35. Transglobal Underground - Impossible Broadcasting (2004)

I got three of these guys' albums at once and of all of them, needless to say, this is the one made the most immediate impact. Another one the more overlooked groups out there, Transglobal Underground deliver a breathtaking mish-mash of Indian atmospherics, dub rhythms, ragga vocals, rock guitar riffs and some killer, danceable rhythms (sometimes all in the same tune), which is fully realised with this, their artistic peak (to me).
The best bits: Drinking In Gomorrah, Isis K, Take the Tram

Piss Me Off

What's He Building? is one of your fave tracks? You're more of a man than me, terrifies the hell out of me.

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Urban Hat€monger ?

And Lemmy if you have the expanded version.

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jackhammer

This was the first Thievery Corporation I bought too although I prefer The Richest Man in Babylon as my favourite TC album. I have to say that I was very dissapointed with Radio Retaliation. Have you heard TC DJ Kicks mix? It's what got me into them in the first place and stops off at every continent in the world- it is one of my very favourite mix albums.

I think Mezzanine is far superior by Massive Attack. Blue Lines is a great album but it's dated badly i think.

Glad you liked the Transglobal Underground albums I agree that Impossible Broadcasting is probably their best.

Some great choices as ever.

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NSW

Good pick! I also thought this was the best album of the lot...Isis K was a highlight.

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JukeBoxHero

All great albums, my favorites of those 10 are the Talking Heads and X-Tay-Say(XTC)!

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Bulldog

Yeah, same here Fantastic piece of work though - it's a screenplay just waiting to be written.

That's on Ballroom Blitz isn't it? One of my favourite cover songs that. I'd have dropped a mention in my bit about it, but I don't think it was part of the album sessions was it?

I loved Radio Retaliation myself - Vampires is a killer track. I've heard of a TC remix album, can't remember what it was called though; it's probably what you mentioned. As for Babylon, as much as I love TC I've only got three of their albums (the other one being the good-but-not-great Cosmic Game). Should probably hunt down the rest of their discography sometime.

As for Blue Lines, I agree it has dated, but that adds to its charm for me. And any album with Unfinished Sympathy on it deserves a mention I reckon.

Great track that, fabulous album too. Dunno about anyone else who's heard it, but the one which really grabbed my attention on the first listen was Drinking In Gomorrah - can't get enough of that tune.

I like you already Welcome to the boards pal.