holy fuck it's christmas.

Just might be the best list thread since Urbans.

Believe me, it gets pretty predictable :D

Enjoy the links folks. Next load of albums coming up soonish...

...Stephen Colbert recently interview recently interview David Byrne. It was pretty funny/interesting.

David Byrne interviews are pretty much always something worth watching. He's a fairly eccentric/nerdy chap. This self-interview clip here's absolute gold (if you haven't seen it already);

On with the other 50 then...

50. Morcheeba - Big Calm (1998)
http://mp3passion.net/images/library/bigcalm.jpg
Something of a stylistic tour de force this. The second album from the bunch finds them expanding their sound from the trip-hop of their debut to letting the influences of reggae, film music, lounge and electronica into things. The results are absolutely fascinating; the fusions of the soundscapes created are held together nicely by Skye Edwards' wonderful voice, making for an end-to-end classic.
The best bits: Blindfold, Let Me See, Fear and Love

49. Hybrid - Wide Angle (1999)
http://www.slantmagazine.com/images/...widerangle.jpg
Of the surge of progressive trance towards the end of das 90s, you'd have a tough time finding any actual full-length LPs. This, seeing as it makes as much sense coming from your headphones as it does blaring out on the dance-floor, is one of those few. Packed with some great rhythms, almost cinematic grandeur and some collaborations with a certain Julee Cruise, this is among the cream of the crop when it comes to dance music.
The best bits: I Know, Dreaming Your Dreams, Snyper

48. The Kinks - Village Green Preservation Society (1968)
http://www.oldroads.org/images2007/kinks.jpg
I think this one's popped up in about every top albums list I've seen here (with good reason), so it's another pretty obvious pick. A gentle, melodic, nostalgic album, as English as Yorkshire pudding - it's a little treasure trove of lyrical and musical innovations.
The best bits: Do You Remember Walter?, Animal Farm, Phenomenal Cat

47. Gladys Knight & the Pips - Nitty Gritty (1969)
http://www.soulwalking.co.uk/%A5Arti...Gritty-Cvr.jpg
Granted, I don't have so many Motown full-length LPs as I'd like, but this is one of my favourites, and certainly my favourite 60s Motown album. Nitty Gritty finds them working with the funkier stylings of producer and songwriter Norman Whitfield, which gives them that much of a harder edge in places. On the whole it's as fine a collection of soul and r'n'b as you'll find outside of the countless comps you can pick up for about 50p or whatever on the high street.
The best bits: Cloud Nine, (I Know) I'm Losing You, Ain't No Sun Since You've Been Gone

Kudos for Morcheeba and what an almighty Kinks album too! I wouldn't mind the Hybrid album ;)

Certainly :thumb: PM on the way

I'm hella bored and trying to find an excuse not to do any work, so here's the next lot;

46. DJ Shadow - Endtroducing... (1996)
http://www.nefisa.co.uk/539j60ENDtroducing.jpg
A lot of you probably saw this one coming. Almost entirely comprised of samples from rare, nearly-forgotten vinyl, DJ Shadow uses hip-hop rhythms as the foundation for a piece of work which arguably transcends genre and creates a deep and almost hypnotic world of sonic textures and soundscapes. A real work of art, and one with an influence on electronica and pop which can still be felt today.
The best bits: The Number Song, What Does Your Soul Look Like Pt. 4, Midnight In a Perfect World

45. Joy Division - Closer (1980)
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__CgYGLkilw...n---closer.jpg
Another band you simply can't ignore when it comes to nice, drawn out lists like this. Where Unknown Pleasures presented Joy Division as a carefully focussed recording unit, Closer sees them branching out as they grow artistically. A lot of you reading this probably know all this already, but hell, I'll say it again. Forget what happened just after recording was wrapped up, and treat this as 'the second album - a masterclass of atmosphere, songwriting and production, and to me Joy Division's opus. In Twenty-Four Hours, the Eternal and Decades it boasts one of the best ending sequences of songs ever.
The best bits: Isolation, Twenty-Four Hours, Decades

44. Super Furry Animals - Guerilla (1999)
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...500_AA240_.jpg
Wow. Just wow. Alright, maybe this album deserves a bit more than that. Super Furry Animals are at their best when you just can't put your finger on what sort of sound they're peddling and, although their discography is littered with little gems, this for me is the album which functions the best as a unit in spite of its eclectic nature. Tropicalia as on Northern Lites, mutated punk rockers like Night Vision and techno like Wherever I Lay My Phone sit comfortably alongside pop songs like the Turning Tide (which even then do their best to f*ck about with generic conventions). It's a glorious freak of an album.
The best bits: Do Or Die, Northern Lites, Wherever I Lay My Phone (That's My Home)

43. Talking Heads - Remain In Light (1980)
http://images.musicip.com:8080/album...d85be723_1.jpg
The direction that the Talking Heads had been undertaking with Brian Eno sat in the producer's chair came to fruition here, with the wild eclecticism of the preceding Fear Of Music being reined-in somewhat. The result is an album that's quirky and fun as well as atmospheric and pensive at the same time. It's a classic album of two halves, side one being populated by funky grooves and catchy melodies, side two being dominated by the expansive nature of Eno's production and Byrne's writing, all the while being underpinned by the African rhythms the Heads had started to explore on Fear Of Music. Oh, and Once In a Lifetime was probably their best single too.
The best bits: Crosseyed and Painless, Seen and Not Seen, the Overload

Yay David Byrne! His new album is great. Good pick.