The third and final album by The Jimi Hendrix Experience, 'Electric Ladyland' features some of the most recognisable tracks in the Hendrix catalogue. If anyone hears the opening of 'Voodoo Child (Slight Return)' without knowing instantly what it is, I'd definitely be worried about that person. Meanwhile, the cover of Bob Dylan's 'All Along The Watchtower' is so good that Dylan himself started using the arrangement from this version instead of his own in live performances.
Best Songs: All Along The Watchtower; Voodoo Child (Slight Return)
467) Dinosaur Jr. - Farm (2009)
The second post-reunion album from the alt. rock legends.
Best Songs: Pieces; Over It
466) Scott Weiland - 12 Bar Blues (1998)
Kicked out of Stone Temple Pilots due to his drug issues (for the first time), Scott Weiland recorded this psychedelic little oddity that surely would have confused most fans of his band at the time. It's definitely not an easy album to get into, but once you do you really start to appreciate the songs on display here.
Best Songs: Barbarella; Lady, Your Roof Brings Me Down
465) Jay-Z - The Blueprint (2001)
The original Blueprint, and the best of the three. It doesn't feature collaborations with female R&B singers that became highlights of his later albums, but it does feature the producing talents of a pre-solo artist Kanye West.
Best Songs: Takover; Renegade
464) Jerry Cantrell - Boggy Depot (1998)
By 1996, Alice In Chains had become all but dormant due to various issues, not least of which was singer Layne Staley's crippling heroin addiction that would eventually take his life in 2002. Shows had become sporadic, with only a one-off performance for MTV Unplugged, and a brief stint opening for Kiss to their name in recent memory. So, guitarist/primary songwriter/co-vocalist Jerry Cantrell instead began work on what would become his first solo album. 'Boggy Depot' was quite a departure from Alice In Chains featuring a more Southern rock/country sound no doubt inspired by Cantrell's native Texas.
Best Songs: Dickeye; Hurt A Long Time
463) The Offspring - Conspiracy Of One (2000)
If you were a teenager in the year 2000 that had any interest in rock music, I'm pretty sure there's no way that you could have avoided this album. It became The Offspring's biggest album to date.
Best Songs: Want You Bad; Dammit, I Changed Again
462) Faith No More - Album Of The Year (1997)
Faith No More's final album is the most underrated of their catalogue. Even the band themselves don't rate it as highly as I think they should (hence the ironic title).
Best Songs: Collision; Last Cup Of Sorrow
461) Linkin Park - Meteora (2003)
Linkin Park's second album perfected their blend of angsty metal, rap and catchy choruses. I know they're often used as an example of music that all sounded alike in the early part of the century, but I have still yet to find a band that sounds like Linkin Park. Nowadays, even Linkin Park don't sound like Linkin Park.
Best Songs: Faint; Numb
460) Black Stone Cherry - Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea (2011)
Southern metal from the young Kentuckian band. This is their third album that whilst not as strong as their previous to, manages to hold your attention. 'White Trash Millionaire' is exactly what we've grown to expect from Black Stone Cherry, and two songs feature vocals from Halestorm's Lzzy Hale.
Best Songs: White Trash Millionaire; Such A Shame
459) Sirens Sister - Echoes From The Ocean Floor (2006)
A Seattle band formed from the remnants of Vendetta Red. The bass player on this album is one of the best and most underrated rock bassists in the world (as well as a nice guy), Jeff Rouse of Alien Crime Syndicate and Duff McKagan's Loaded.
Best Songs: Womb Dreams From The Ether; Faultline
458) Florence + The Machine - Ceremonials (2011)
Flame-haired Florence Welch's follow-up to her hugely successful debut album.
Best Songs: What The Water Gave Me; No Light, No Light
457) Stevie Wonder - Signed, Sealed, & Delivered (1970)
At this point there's not much more I can say about Mr. Wonder. Other than this album features another of his best-known tracks.
Best Songs: Never Had A Dream Come True; Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours
456) The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Axis: Bold As Love (1967)
The second album by The Jimi Hendrix Experience is often overlooked as most people talk about 'Electric Ladyland' and 'Are You Experienced?'. Which is a shame, because it's ever so slightly better than 'Ladyland'.
Best Songs: Little Wing; Castles Made Of Sand
455) Queen - A Night At The Opera (1975)
This album has 'Bohemian Rhapsody' on it. If you've ever seen Wayne's World, that should be all you need to know...
Best Songs: You're My Best Friend; Bohemian Rhapsody
454) Bobot Adrenaline - Dumb Bomb (2010)
California punk rockers with their debut full length album. Although if you'd played Tony Hawk skateboarding game, there's a good chance you'd heard 'Penalty Box' years before the release of this album without even realising it.
Best Songs: Bombastic!; Penalty Box
453) Amanda Palmer - Goes Down Under (2011)
Palmer continues to celebrate her freedom with this ode to her favourite country. A combination of live tracks from an Australian tour, and new studio recordings of covers of Australian artists. The tracklist runs the gamut of Australian music from 'The Vegemite Song' from the commercials to 'The Ship Song' by Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds. Oh... and there's also an original track called 'Map Of Tasmania' which is about the joys of pubic hair. This and the Radiohead covers album were really just stop-gap recordings before her next big project which came last year...
Best Songs: In My Mind; The Ship Song
452) Pearl Jam - Vs. (1993)
Pearl Jam's follow-up one of the most influential albums of the last 30 years with 'Vs.'. It shows the least change in the band's sound of any of their albums in the 90's to early 00's. Apparently, after this album fame took over their lives so much that they deliberately started making less commercial music in order to escape from it.
Best Songs: Dissident; Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town
451) Deep Purple - The House Of Blue Light (1987)
The second album since the reformation of "Mark II" Deep Purple - the most famous line-up featuring Ian Gillan, Ritchie Blackmore, Roger Glover, Jon Lord and Ian Paice.
Best Songs: Bad Attitude; Call Of The Wild
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