Best Rock Album Ever

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Billy Corgan reaches for the heavens, pouring all of his guitar virtuosity and studio wizardry into a richly detailed album that still reveals new subtleties over two decades later. The wonder is that Siamese Dream’s songs, including hunting gems like “Today” and “Mayonaise,” don’t get lost in the mix. 97: Frank Zappa – Apostrophe Another classic band whose albums never score as highly in polls like this as you might think, The Who are possibly best loved for their extraordinary run of 60s singles than for their long-players. Which is odd, because a) they have made some classic albums and b) Pete Townshend is a man full of big ideas. Every album from the first volume to The Best Club Anthems 2003 was digitally mixed. Starting with The Very Best Club Anthems ...Ever!, The songs were unmixed.

Ys’s pleasures are not simple or immediate. Newsom’s unusual song structures, with their fragmented melodies, and strange and beautiful orchestral arrangements by 63-year-old Van Dyke Parks, take time to work their magic. But once you’re bewitched, Ys’s spell never wears off. CH The Best Air Guitar Album in the World...Ever!, referred to in retrospect as Air Guitar I, released 5 November 2001, was compiled by Brian May. A sequel was released in November 2002 and another in November 2003, the latter proclaiming itself to be the last Air Guitar Album in the World...Ever!. Both sequels were again compiled by Brian May. In 2005, a 3CD The Best of the Best Air Guitar Album in the World...Ever! was released. Whilst Air Guitar III proclaimed to be the final volume, the liner notes written by May in The Best of the Best start with "OK, we lied." With Is This It?, The Strokes delivered New York punk for a new era, taking the best from the past – mainly the Cars, Stooges, and Velvets – and channeling them into songs that are invariably short and tasty (all under four minutes) and never quite linear. Originally catching on in late 2001, it became a welcome reminder that New York was never going to lose its attitude. 61: Motörhead– Ace of Spades Take Arctic Monkeys away from the nightclub scene, and what do you get? An even better and more thoughtful band, one that can embrace electronica and textured pop without losing the raw edge. AM marked a personal turn in Alex Turner’s writing; it also gave a long-deserved payoff to the band’s mentor, street poet John Cooper Clarke, who gets a song covered. 65: Betty Davis – They Say I’m Different Pink Floyd were kings of the thematic album between 1973-80, releasing four conceptual classics albums in a row. This one gets special resonance from the spiritual presence of group founder Syd Barrett, who turned up in the flesh during the sessions. They even get funky, and funny, on “Have a Cigar.” 4: Gentle Giant: The Power and the Glory

Its sonic appeal has a lot to do with the lo-fi production and warm instrumentation, often comprised of a low thrumming bass, tight snares and doo-wop harmonies. But Hill’s reggae influences are what drive the album’s spirit: preaching love and peace but also speaking out against unrighteous oppression. Even today, it’s one of the most uplifting and inspiring records around. RO

The third album by Van Der Graaf Generator won over prog fans by featuring King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp. But Pawn Hearts turned out to be a confusingly heady trip for even the most attentive listeners. On "Man-Eng," singer/idea machine Peter Hammill showed off his operatic chops over processional keyboards and rollercoaster drums, then yowled, "How I can be free!" during a stampeding middle section that evolves into six minutes of kiting sax and keyboard abstraction. And the 23-minute "A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers (Medley)" makes King Crimson sound like the Ramones, with its gaping, spacey interludes, freeblown solos, jarring shifts, and lyrics like, "When you see the skeletons of sailing-ship spars sinking low/You'll begin to wonder if the points of all the ancient myths are solemnly directed straight at you." These guys tried to channel all the myths at once, making for music that was pure prog id, minus any cohesion or concision to hamstring the majesty. J.D. Proof that a woman could satisfy her unique artistic vision and top the charts without kowtowing to industry expectations, Kate Bush’s self-produced masterpiece explored the extreme range of her oceanic emotions from the seclusion of a cutting-edge studio built in the garden of her 17th-century farmhouse. The human vulnerability of her voice and traditional instruments are given an electrical charge by her pioneering use of synthesisers. Thrilling and immersive. HB your albums, find which are your favorite songs and create your own selection, I'm sure you'll enjoy it much more.This edition of Caravan had the same jazz leanings as their Canterbury mates the Soft Machine, but singer/writers Pye Hastings and Richard Sinclair also brought in some pop mastery to In the Land of Grey and Pink. The side-long “Nine Feet Underground” is a seamless mix of stretched-out playing and sublime melodies. And if you also want some quirky British humor, “Golf Girl” adds that to the mix. 12: Emerson, Lake & Palmer: Tarkus This volume features repeats of songs featured in previous volumes from the series; The Stone Roses' "What The World Is Waiting For" featured on Volume 3, and Mansun's "Wide Open Space" featured on Volume 5, although the version of "Wide Open Space" here is a remix by Paul Oakenfold. pretentious and brash as it sounds. Just ignore the title as it would be aimed more at the casual prog With the sketches of melody only written down hours before recording, the world’s best-selling jazz record still feels spontaneous and unpredictable. Davis’s friend George Russell once explained that the secret of its tonal jazz was to use every note in a scale “without having to meet the deadline of a particular chord”. Kind of Blue is unrepeatably cool. HB