My Top 666 Albums Ever Part 32

108) Lynyrd Skynyrd - Second Helping (1974)

Lynyrd Skynyrd's second album may not feature as many instantly recognisable tracks as their classic debut, but it remains the quintessential southern rock album. 'The Ballad Of Curtis Loew' is among Skynyrd's finest tunes.
Best Songs: Sweet Home Alabama; The Ballad Of Curtis Loew

107) Evanescence - Evanescence (2011)

The third album from Amy Lee and co. (this time consisting of Terry Balsamo, Will Hunt, Tim McCord and Troy McLawhorn). It's less adventurous than the 'The Open Door', but is far more successful (musically at least) than their debut. Evanescence now sound more similar to their less commercial European equivalents.
Best Songs: Made Of Stone; The Other Side; End Of The Dream

106) Smashing Pumpkins - American Gothic EP (2008)

A four track acoustic EP, consisting of tracks written during 'Zeitgeist' sessions but not included on that album.
Best Songs: The Rose March

105) Aerosmith - Aerosmith (1973)

Aerosmith's debut album was critically maligned when it was first released. Upon later inspection, though, it shows a young band with great things in their future. 'Dream On' and 'Mama Kin' are the strongest indicators of what was to come in the band's future.
Best Songs: Dream On; Mama Kin

104) Smashing Pumpkins - Teargarden By Kaleidyscope Volume 1: Songs For A Sailor (2010)

Towards the end of 2009, Billy Corgan announced alongside the departure of drummer Jimmy Chamberlin that the band would be releasing their next project one song at a time as a free download, with EP's being released every time four tracks have been issued. This idea proved to be short-lived, but while it lasted, it was an interesting experiment. A lot of people were left underwhelmed by the songs released, but as far as I'm concerned you've just got to leave behind any preconceptions about what the Pumpkins are supposed to be. Corgan (and the Pumpkins with him) have always defied pigeonholing into any one sound, with each album being vastly different to the last, and the one-track-at-a-time format of 'Teargarden By Kaleidyscope' provided the perfect opportunity for him to really push the boundaries of what the Smashing Pumpkins can be. Recruiting the young new drummer Mike Byrne, and the now-deceased Electric Prunes bass player Mark Tulin, 'Songs For A Sailor' is an eclectic mix of psychedelic rock tracks, with the highlight being the first song in the collection 'A Song For A Son', which features a guitar solo that once again shows that Billy Corgan is one of the most under-rated lead guitarists in the world.
Best Song: A Song For A Son

103) Metallica - Metallica (1991)

Metallica's self-titled 'Black Album' is the moment when Metallica first hit the big-time, and of course this resulted in early Metallica "fans" feeling alienated and beginning their incessant cries of "sell out" that can still be heard today.
Best Songs: Enter Sandman; The Unforgiven; Nothing Else Matters

102) Black Sabbath - Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (1973)

Black Sabbath's fifth studio album, in which they introduced keyboards and orchestral arrangements to their trademark sound.
Best Songs: Sabbath Bloody Sabbath; Killing Yourself To Live

101) Nirvana - In Utero (1993)

What would become Nirvana's final studio album returned the band to their raw roots, though kept the hooky-songwriting that made them stars creating a record that's kind of halfway between 'Bleach' and 'Nevermind'. It also shows Kurt Cobain at his emotionally lowest, with lyrics like "teenage angst has paid off well, now I'm bored and old", which in retrospect could sound like it should have been an indicator of what was to come. There's a lot of speculation about where Nirvana would go next (including that Kurt planned on firing Krist and Dave and forming a new line-up with R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe), but unfortunately, Kurt's suicide less than a year after the release of 'In Utero' means that we'll never know.
Best Songs: Heart-Shaped Box; Rape Me; All Apologies

100) Smashing Pumpkins - Adore (1998)

After the epic 'Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness', and the (temporary) firing of Jimmy Chamberlin, the Smashing Pumpkins took a 180 degree turn for this mostly acoustic album that strong features trip-hop influenced electronic beats and channels more than a little of the tone of The Cure's "Trilogy". 'Adore' is a divisive album, with many feeling it was the beginning of the end for the band, and others considering it the band's best album. I'm in neither camp myself, but as different as it is to the rest of the band's catalogue, I do enjoy it a lot.
Best Songs: To Sheila; Ava Adore; Perfect

99) Alice In Chains - Black Gives Way To Blue (2009)

In April 2002, Alice In Chains vocalist Layne Staley was found dead in his apartment where he lived alone with no contact with the outside world except for his drug dealer. His heroin needle was still in his arm, and it was estimated that he had been dead for two weeks. Transcripts of his final interview are some of the most heartbreaking things I have ever read, and it baffles me that anyone could read them and still do heroin.
It was thought to be the end of any chance of a return for Alice In Chains, and for good reason. In 2005, however, Jerry Cantrell, Mike Inez and Sean Kinney played together as Alice In Chains for the first time in nine years, with vocals handled alternately by Pat Lachman (Damageplan), Ann Wilson (Heart), and Maynard James Keenan (Tool), and the following year a permanent singer was found in William DuVall of Comes With The Fall.
Extensive touring followed, including an opening slot for Velvet Revolver, and in 2008 it was finally decided that the band would enter the studio to record a new album. Reaction to all of this was mixed, with many considering Layne Staley's legacy as sacred, and not feeling that it would really be Alice In Chains without him.
I admit, I was of that opinion myself, until the first music by the reconstituted Alice In Chains was finally released. To put it simply, I have no idea what myself and all of these other people were worried about. 'Black Gives Way To Blue' is an absolutely brilliant album that absolutely deserves to be released under the Alice In Chains name. William DuVall was the perfect choice to fill Staley's shoes, as the vocal interplay between him and Jerry Cantrell is every bit as great as it was between Jerry and Layne. I am now eagerly anticipating the just announced new album, 'The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here', due for release in May.
Best Songs: Check My Brain; Last Of My Kind

98) Deep Purple - In Rock (1970)

Before 'In Rock', Deep Purple were an awful band. I'm not putting it too bluntly, there was just not a single good thing about their first three albums which were a mess of ideas executed better by practically every other psychedelic rock band around. But exit Rod Evans and Nick Simper, to be replaced by Ian Gillan and Roger Glover, and suddenly Deep Purple were one of the greatest hard rock band's of their generation.
Best Song: Speed King

97) Green Day - Dookie (1994)

With both 'The Downward Spiral' by Nine Inch Nails, and Korn's self-titled debut album I mentioned that they were one of three albums to be released in the year of Kurt Cobain's death that took different aspects of Nirvana's sound and between them became the "new" voice of the generation. 'Dookie', with it's poppy hooks, and punky sound was the third of those albums. It introduced Green Day to a whole new audience, and added a much sense of humour to modern rock music that had been missing for a while. Pop-punk had finally hit the mainstream. It was probably difficult to imagine Green Day ever becoming bigger than this after this album was successful at the time.
Best Songs: Longview; Basket Case; When I Come Around

96) Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath (1970)

Down-tuned guitar, with blues influences. Dark, gothic atmospherics. The haunting and unique voice of Ozzy Osbourne. 'Black Sabbath' is the album, the song and the band that set the tone for what would become known as heavy metal. The title track was possibly the eeriest opening to any album released until that point.
Best Songs: Black Sabbath; Evil Woman (Don't You Play Your Games With Me)

95) Elton John - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1973)

The crowning achievement in Elton John's extensive discography, 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road' is seventeen tracks of rock and pop perfection... or close to it. Kicking off with the epic 'Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding', John rarely stops to come up for air before delivering another classic track.
Best Songs: Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding; Candle In The Wind; Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

94) Filter - The Trouble With Angels (2010)

The latest album from Richard Patrick's band, which this time also features drummer Mika Fineo, guitarist Mitchell Marlow, and bassist John Spiker. I really didn't expect an album that I liked this much when I first heard this.
Best Songs: The Inevitable Relapse; The Trouble With Angels

93) Weezer - Weezer (1994)

The first of three self-titled albums by Weezer, this - their debut album - introduced the world to the songwriting talents of Rivers Cuomo. His expert touch with a hook turned what would otherwise have been another generic pop-rock album into something far better.
Best Albums: My Name Is Jonas; Only In Dreams

92) Oasis (What's The Story) Morning Glory? (1995)

The second album by Oasis was a record that was everywhere when I was a kid. And with good reason... pretty much every track is great. It's a shame that despite moments of greatness, they never again recorded an entire album that was as worthy of praise as 'Morning Glory' is.
Best Songs: Hello; Morning Glory; Champagne Supernova

91) Queen - A Day At The Races (1976)

This album, and the previous year's 'A Night At The Opera' are often grouped together. For some reason, the latter is the one that's most often placed on a pedestal, though, despite this album being vastly superior in almost every way. Is it because 'Opera' has 'Bohemian Rhapsody' on it? Because I can't think of any other reason, despite the fact that I am also a fan of that record. 'A Day At The Races' is one of the crowning moments of 70's rock music.
Best Songs: Tie Your Mother Down; Somebody To Love