Debut album from the Pennsylvania rock band that look to be destined for big things if their career so far is anything to go by. Lzzy Hale really has some lungs on her.
Best Songs: It's Not You; I Get Off
413) Queen - Queen II (1974)
Their debut album was a bit of a mess, but the creases were ironed out for this classic album. Not only that, but in 'Seven Seas Of Rhye', it provided the band with their first hit single.
Best Songs: Ogre Battle; Seven Seas Of Rhye
412) Kanye West - Late Registration (2005)
The second album from the egomaniac took the formula that made his previous album such a success, and added an extra bit of commercial sheen, as seen in the massive hit, 'Gold Digger', featuring Jamie Foxx in his Ray Charles mode. Whilst not as strong as 'The College Dropout', it did prove that Kanye was here to stay... for better or worse.
Best Songs: Gold Digger; Diamonds From Sierra Leone
411) Aerosmith - Nine Lives (1997)
Amongst purists, this is one of Aerosmith's least loved albums, taking the commercial sound they'd been playing with since 1987 to what at the time seemed like the most extreme ('Just Push Play', released a few years later would show that they could get even more commercial)... especially when the special edition was released with 'I Don't Want To Miss A Thing' from Armageddon added to the tracklist. It's hated by a lot of people, but that song was actually the one that reignited my passion for music one summer afternoon when I sat down to watch The Pepsi Chart on Channel 5 and saw the video for the first time. Everything that came after was thanks to this song... including the list I'm boring you with right now.
Best Songs: Nine Lives; Pink
410) Ray Charles - Ray Charles (1957)
In this day and age, it's hard to imagine that there was a time when a musician could be having hits for years before they even released an album. In 1957, the concept of the album was still a relatively new idea, so Ray Charles' released his debut a full eight years after the release of his first single. This album features 'I Got A Woman', the song that was adapted by Jamie Foxx in the aforementioned 'Gold Digger'. The song is actually about how great his woman is.
Best Songs: Hallelujah I Love Her So; I Got A Woman
409) The Jane Austen Argument - Plan Behind (The Beautiful Mess We Made) (2011)
I don't usually take live recordings into account for things like this, but this live EP from The Jane Austen Argument (released just a few months after 'The Birthing Pyre') consisted entirely of songs that had not been previously released, so I made an exception. Recorded at a special show after Tom Dickins had decided to quit his day job and concentrate on music full time, regardless of the consequences, this record shows that the band has a sense of humour as well as a sense of melancholy. The finest example being the track 'Staying Single' featuring a unique piece of audience participation (they were all given pieces of paper to write their break-up stories on, and Tom read them out as part of the song as reasons for him staying single).
Best Song: Staying Single
408) Nazareth - Razamanaz (1973)
The third album from the Scottish hard rock band. As far as I recall, this is the only album of theirs that I've liked.
Best Songs: Razamanaz; Vigilante Man
407) The Faces - Long Player (1971)
It's hard to believe now, but there was a time when Rod Stewart wasn't just a caricature singing awful songs like 'If You Think I'm Sexy'. This second album from his second band features some of the best blues rock of the era.
Best Songs: Bad 'n' Ruin; Sweet Lady Mary
406) The Rolling Stones - Steel Wheels (1989)
The last album featuring bassist Bill Wyman, and coincidentally the last album with enough strong material on it to warrant a place here. 'A Bigger Bang' got close to returning the band to its former glory, but fell just short, whilst the two albums that appeared previously were just bad. This album saw the band return to a more classic sound, as well patched up the long-running feud between Keith Richards and Mick Jagger (for the time being at least).
Best Songs: Mixed Emotions; Continental Drift
405) Rodrigo y Gabriela - Area 52 (2012)
Rodrigo y Gabriela collaborate with the Cuban orchestra known as C.U.B.A. to reinterpret songs from their first two albums. The result is a lot better than I'd expected.
Best Songs: Santo Domingo; Diablo Rojo
404) Thin Lizzy - Chinatown (1980)
The tenth album from the Irish legends introduces Snowy White as guitarist, replacing Gary Moore, and Darren Wharton on keyboards. The first half is far superior to the second.
Best Songs: Chinatown; Killer On The Loose
403) Tom Dickins - Majesty And Misery (2007)
Befor forming The Jane Austen Argument with Jennifer Kingwell, Tom Dickins was an independent solo artist. This was originally released in 2007 as an exclusive download on Myspace, but has since been made available on Bandcamp (where all of The Jane Austen Argument's catalogue is also available to listen to/download).
Best Song: Green Wings
402) Blink-182 - Enema Of The State (1999)
Another one of those albums that you couldn't have avoided if you were a teenager at the time of its release. I've never been a huge fan of the band, but most of the tracks from this album still manage to make me happy whenever I hear them.
Best Songs: What's My Age Again?; All The Small Things
401) Tom Dickins - Peter Pan, 6 Years On (2011)
Another solo record from the male half of The Jane Austen Argument. 2011 was definitely a productive year for him. The title of this album comes from the fact that he played Peter Pan in the University Of Montana's production of the play six years previously, and found himself in Montana once again to record a video for The Jane Austen Argument.
Best Song: The Crossfire
400) Alter Bridge - One Day Remains (2004)
The debut album from the talented members of Creed, and singer Myles Kennedy.
Best Songs: Find The Real; Broken Wings
399) Inside Out - No Spiritual Surrender (1990)
An EP of hardcore punk featuring a pre-Rage Against The Machine Zack de la Rocha.
Best Song: Burning Fight
398) Bobot Adrenaline - Unfurled EP (2008)
The first EP from the California punks, produced by Tommy Stinson of The Replacements, Guns N' Roses and Soul Asylum, and Joey Santiago of the Pixies.
Best Song: Radio Tikrit
397) Avenged Sevenfold - Waking The Fallen (2003)
For their second album, Avenged Sevenfold began to build their sound past the samey "screamo" they'd been producing before, and include more melodic elements, as well as a distinct Metallica album. The transformation would fully come to fruition in their next album, but this was a good step in the right direction.
Best Songs: I Won't See You Tonight (Part 1); And All Things Will End
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