The second album from Sixx:A.M. recording in between Nikki Sixx and Dj Ashba's extensive touring commitments with Motley Crue and Guns N' Roses respectively. If the original album showed that it was possible for someone from Motley Crue to write some good music, this proves that it wasn't a fluke in any way. As you'd expect, there's no reinventing the wheel here, but you don't need to all the time.
Best Songs: This Is Gonna Hurt; Are You With Me Now?
251) Foo Fighters - One By One (2002)
The fourth Foo Fighters album, recorded after Dave Grohl's first brief stint with Queens Of The Stone Age. The QOTSA influence is obvious on a lot of the heavier tracks, where they incorporate the same grimy sound. As always, Grohl's smooth voice prevents it from being a full-on assault, though. 'All My Life' has become one of the band's all-time classics.
Best Songs: All My Life; Halo
250) Nightwish - Once (2004)
Since the late 90's, the symphonic metal band Nightwish had been one of the Europe's biggest metal acts, headlining stadiums all over the continent, and even once representing Finland at the Eurovision Song Contest. Their previous album, 'Century Child' finally caught the attention of the English-speaking world, and this - their follow-up to that album - was the one in which worldwide success was finally achieved. For the first time, the orchestral arrangements were not played on synthesiser by band leader Tuomas Holopainen, but by the full London Philharmonic Orchestra. Whilst touring behind this album, relations between the band and singer Tarja Turunen and her new husband arose, and she was fired on the last night of the tour.
Best Songs: Nemo; Romanticide
249) Rammstein - Mutter (2001)
'Mutter' is the third, and best album from the German industrial metal band, best known for their pyrotechnic heavy live performances (including dildo-shaped flamethrowers, and the band literally on fire at points, while wearing fire-proof suits). Because of the style of the music, and the fact that all of their lyrics in German, they have often been accused of being Neo-Nazi's by conservative media outlets. Translation of their lyrics, though, reveals a left wing band with a dark sense of humour... not that that would please those media outlets any more.
Best Songs: Sonne; Mutter
248) Muse - The Resistance (2009)
Matt Bellamy and co's conspiracy theory-obsessed "space rock" goes even further into OTT territory than 'Black Holes And Revelations'. The highlight of the album comes in the form of 'Exogenesis', a three part "symphony" that closes the album. Even with some great songs, until last year's 'The 2nd Law', this was the least impressive of Muse's albums, though.
Best Songs: MK Ultra; Exogenesis: Symphony Part 2 (Cross-Pollination)
247) The Who - My Generation (1965)
The debut album from the legendary rock band. In future years, the band would become a lot more ambitious, but they'd never better this collection.
Best Songs: My Generation; The Kids Are Alright
246) The Offspring - Ixnay On The Hombre (1997)
The Offspring's fourth album turned out to be my favourite of their material, despite being told from all-comers that I should prefer 'Smash' to anything I've included in this list.
Best Songs: The Meaning Of Life; All I Want
245) The Heartbreakers - L.A.M.F. (1977)
After leaving the New York Dolls in 1975, Johnny Thunders and Jerry Nolan formed The Heartbreakers with guitarist Walter Lure and first Richard Hell (of Television) and then Billy Rath on bass. In 1977, L.A.M.F. - the band's only studio album - was released, and helped spearhead the first wave of New York punk rock. Pretty much any band with a punk rock sound since then has included The Heartbreakers as a big influence.
L.A.M.F. (which stands for Like A Motherfucker) has since somehow become associated with noted Johnny Thunders fan, and former Guns N' Roses bass player, Duff McKagan.
Best Songs: Baby Talk; Let Go
244) Tremonti - All I Was (2012)
The debut solo album from the Creed/Alter Bridge guitarist Mark Tremonti. As opposed to the "post-grunge" he plays with Creed, and the hard rock he plays with Alter Bridge, 'All I Was' is an album that draws most of its influences from heavy metal and speed metal. He's proven to be one of the world's most under-rated guitarists with this effort.
Best Songs: Wish You Well; All I Was
243) Manic Street Preachers - Everything Must Go (1996)
The moment in which the Manic Street Preachers' popularity increased was after the release of this album, which shifts away from the doom-laded punk and hard rock of their early albums in favour of fully-fledged anthemic stadium rock. You wouldn't expect the first time the band sounded so optimisitic in their entire career to be after the disapperance of the still missing guitarist Richey Edwards, but I suppose that was a deliberate move to cope with the loss. Unfortunately, this would also be their last album before heading into a creative slump which led to increasingly bad albums for the next decade.
Best Songs: A Design For Life; Everything Must Go
242) Dropkick Murphys - Signed And Sealed In Blood (2013)
The Boston punks' latest album.
Best Songs: The Boys Are Back; The Battle Rages On
241) Mick Jagger - Goddess In The Doorway (2001)
Mick Jaggers gets a lot of hassle from people for the quality of his studio albums. 'Goddess In The Doorway' is the only one of them I've actually heard, but if they're all like this, I really don't know why. It may not be as great as the best Stones albums, but very few things are, and it's certainly better than the average-to-worst Stones albums.
Best Songs: Visions Of Paradise; Gun
240) Korn - Korn (1994)
In October 1994, the world was still reeling from the suicide of Kurt Cobain, and the stage was set for the next big thing. In fact three "next big things" came along at once, all with disctinctly different styles, and among these was Korn. With the down-tuned guitars of Munky and Head, the hip-hop influenced bass of Fieldy, and the just plain weird vocals of Jonathan Davis, who could go from the creepiest of whispers, to the most blood-curdling of howls at the drop of a hat, the world had never heard anything like it before. In fact it was so new, that the media had to find a label for it, and after the hilarious description of "sports metal" - because they wore tracksuits - they eventually settled on "nu-metal" a few years later. Nowadays the term nu-metal is met with ridicule and derision, but there's no denying that Korn were onto something... and out of all of the band's of that style that came along, it's only them and Deftones that have really managed to keep up and survive after the so-called death of the genre.
Best Songs: Blind; Shoots And Ladders
239) Dropkick Murphys - Going Out In Style (2011)
If there's one traditional Irish song that everyone knows, it's 'The Irish Rover'. This album from Dropkick Murphys is worth a listen just to hear their rendition of that. It helps, though, that the original material is also among the best that the band have ever produced. If only 'I'm Shipping Up To Boston' were on here, and not an album that didn't impress as much.
Best Songs: Going Out In Style; The Irish Rover
238) Nas/Damian Marley - Distant Relatives (2010)
A fusion of hip hop and reggae from two of the best modern artists from their respective genres. The title deals with the theory that all human life began in Africa, and lyrically the songs deal with the current social and political situation on that continent. One of the better, and most surprising albums from this decade so far.
Best Songs: Tribes At War; My Generation
237) Marilyn Manson - Born Villain (2012)
Marilyn Manson's latest album is a return to form for the industrial metal star. He may not be as shocking as he once was, but at least he's now proven that he still has it in him.
Best Songs: No Reflection; The Flowers Of Evil
236) Black Stone Cherry - Black Stone Cherry (2006)
Kentucky's Black Stone Cherry announced their presence to the world with style on this debut album. Fusing the Southern rock of bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd with a far more aggressive hard rock sound, they have proven to be one of the most promising bands in rock music currently.
Best Songs: Rain Wizard; Lonely Train
235) Alter Bridge - Blackbird (2007)
Alter Bridge's second album and so far, their best. Myles Kennedy is now fully integrated into the band, after the debut which was mostly written before Kennedy had joined them, and on the whole the record has a much harder sound than previously. 'Rise Today' has become probably the band's most popular song, with Kennedy currently singing it on the Slash tour as well.
Best Songs: Ties That Bind; Rise Today
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