Top 20 Double Albums

Throughout music history, nothing is more dreaded than the double album. Back in the days, when you could only listen to records all the way through, records were roughly 40 minutes in length. But when a band released two records in one, you had about 70 minutes. And, of course, filling all that up is not easy, so your bound to find a lot of filler to fill that up. Imagine listening to 70 minutes of music consistently with a lot of crappy songs in between. But, for the few records that get it down, we are honoring you. These records are not based on their music but rather how well they fill up their whole record.

[Note: Not all of these records are on two discs, so any record qualifies that is over 70 minutes in length.]

20. Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me by The Cure

19. The Beatles by The Beatles

18. Physical Graffiti by Led Zeppelin

17. The Wall by Pink Floyd

16. Blonde on Blonde by Bob Dylan

15. Tusk by Fleetwood Mac

14. Songs in the Key of Life by Stevie Wonder

13. All Eyez On Me by 2Pac

12. Wheels of Fire by Cream

11. Life After Death by The Notorious B.I.G.

10. 1999 by Prince

9. Zen Arcade by Husker Du

8. Blood Sugar Sex Magik by Red Hot Chili Peppers

7. The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway by Genesis

6. Electric Ladyland by The Jimi Hendrix Experience

5. Daydream Nation by Sonic Youth

4. Exile On Main Street by The Rolling Stones

3. Sign O' the Times by Prince

2. Quadrophenia by The Who

1. London Calling by The Clash

List Break - Wussy Bands

I'm going to discuss three bands that I've seen get the same label from other online nerds. These are known as the wussy bands. I'm going to dissect whether or not they deserve the label, and if they do, are they a bad group?

The first of those three bands is Weezer. Now, I don't keep a secret that I grew up on Weezer, but that was probably due to my nerdiness and insecurity as a teenager. So, I've already declared the group is good. Are Rivers Cuomo and company wussies though? Not exactly. I think that they bill themselves as wussies, but not in a sappy way. In more of a nerdy-teenager way. Pinkerton largely focuses on insecurity in relationships (and yes, that is kind of emo), which is something that a teenager is always thinking about. I think Pitchfork put it perfectly when they said "We get older, Rivers Cuomo stays 13."

The second group is Coldplay. I decided to finally listen to Coldplay when I started the best of 00's list. I decided that due to its critical and commercial success and strength as a song, there was no reason to keep "Yellow" from the status so many people seem to put it at, which was the No. 4 spot. But, I was still unsure whether or not they were right. I listened to two Coldplay records while reading the reviews of the two records. The positive reviews stated that it was confessional, deep, and well structured. They were right. The negative reviews said they were earnest, repetitive, and left little impression. They were also right. I guess Coldplay wussy status depends whether or not you look at them in a positive and negative way. While I found the music to very wussified, I didn't find it unbearable. Overall, I'm not uncomfortable with putting them on the list, but I felt it was overrated. As for personal opinions. I really don't get the appeal of the group, but I don't dislike it.

The last of those three were Goo Goo Dolls. Well this is easy. Weezer were not wussies and good. Coldplay were on-again-off-again wussies and debatable. Goo Goo Dolls are the definition of wussies, And they suck! I mean c'mon, there's overly sentimental and then there's this. I once heard that the estrogen levels in a male body would rise every time he heard the song "Iris." Well, if you are unfortunate enough to listen to an entire record of these guys, I think something will fall off. It's hard to believe that these guys were influenced by The Replacements, one of my favorite rock groups, with a great college rock edge to them. Goo Goo Dolls seem to hammer out any edge they can find in their trite, cheesy, and commercially friendly musical approach. If you don't believe me, try listening to one of their songs. But, after you do, watch a boxing match, play Halo, learn Chuck Norris facts, and listen to Samuel L. Jackson's speech from the end of Pulp Fiction.

My Favorite Records

These are my personal favorite records. They aren't really in order, but I favor albums closer to the top over albums at the bottom.

* This appears next to albums that I probably shouldn't like, but I discovered them when I was a pissed off teenager, so that makes it okay.

Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd

London Calling by The Clash

The Untitled Album by Led Zeppelin

Quadrophenia by The Who

Let It Be by The Replacements

Closer by Joy Division

Speaking In Tongues by Talking Heads

Nevermind by Nirvana

Moving Pictures by Rush

This Year's Model by Elvis Costello & The Attractions

Ride the Lightning by Metallica

Powerslave by Iron Maiden

Disintegration by The Cure

Fear of a Black Planet by Public Enemy

Zen Arcade by Husker Du

Marquee Moon by Television

Surfer Rosa by The Pixies

Hunky Dory by David Bowie

Damaged by Black Flag

White Light/White Heat by The Velvet Underground

Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables by Dead Kennedys

Rubber Soul by The Beatles

Electric Ladyland by The Jimi Hendrix Experience

Automatic for the People by R.E.M.

Licensed to Ill by The Beastie Boys

Goo by Sonic Youth

Stankonia by Outkast

Peace Sells... But Who's Buying by Megadeth

In The Aeroplane Over the Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel

The Queen Is Dead by The Smiths

Blood Sugar Sex Magik by Red Hot Chili Peppers

Van Halen by Van Halen

Purple Rain by Prince & The Revolution

Turn on the Bright Lights by Interpol

Slanted & Enchanted by Pavement

The Blue Album by Weezer*

Funeral by The Arcade Fire

Siamese Dream by The Smashing Pumpkins

Smash by The Offspring

Dookie by Green Day*

British Steel by Judas Priest

The Cars by The Cars

BadMotorFinger by Soundgarden

Let There Be Rock by AC/DC

Songs for the Deaf by Queens of the Stone Age

List Break - Diva/Rap Songs

So, people told me that one great song I left out of the decades list. The song was Umbrella by Rihanna and Jay Z. I remember that it was a big hit, I remember being impressed by the video, but I forgot the song. It was a pretty good song, but there was one thing that I didn't get. Why is Jay Z in it? I love Jay Z but his placement seemed to be a bit random. He's just rapping like normal and then the song just goes into a Rihanna song completely out of nowhere. It was like the song decided that it didn't want Jay Z so the mic just ditched him in the recording studio. Why are there so many songs like this? There's always the song that becomes a huge hit that has some famous rapper with a popular female singer. It's a good idea but the two just don't go together very well. Besides this trend of rapper/diva songs also launched the way overdone Whitney Houston/Bobby Brown relationship. I think that by the time she divorced him we were sick of hearing about it already. Just thought I'd mention that.

List Break - Pop Music

Many people have been saying that my blog is focused too much on rock music, and occasionally diverging into rap music, with no mainstream pop music. First of all, rock and rap music are the only two successful genres other than straight forward pop. There are other genres, but they are a bit too underground for people to know about, and thus, have not left the same impression on music. As for less rap than rock, that's simple: Rap music is a much younger genre. But why is it that never give any nod to pop music. I was very cruel to pop artists in my first essay. Let me explain.

Pop music is referred to any genre of music that fits in with popular selling music. Usually, this music is created by record companies to suit modern demands, and ask their recording artists to fill certain demographics. This was constant until the 60's, when The Beatles came around. The Beatles are one of those groups that younger people look back on and go, "What's so special?" but if you try to put yourself in the time zone, you get it. Even though The Beatles are the best selling recording artists of all time, their success was viewed as horrible for record companies. Why? They were the first group to obtain worldwide success while writing all their own songs, and playing all their own instruments, with practically no influence from the record companies. With this new idea of being artsy and popular, the record companies invented a slicker sense of pop music, that was aimed towards teenagers, which came to be known as bubblegum. Throughout the years, rock music (and eventually rap music) have battled pop music for dominant control of the market. The artists vs. the hitmakers.

Now that you understand the history, I'll put it like I believe. My website is designed to find the best music out there. The term "best music" is used lightly, because preference of music is mere opinion. I started this saying that I'm not going to just state my favorite songs and opinions. But, music critiquing is subjective. So here's my system. I'm going to use my opinions to critically decided the stronger music by my own parameters of what defines good music. Yes it is my opinion, but I argue it very well.

As for the disdain for pop music, there is none. True I have ripped on pop music in the past, but that doesn't mean I thought any band in that category sucked. Michael Jackson nearly topped the greatest of the 80's list after all. But, that isn't really a good example. Let's look at music the same way we look at movies. When you here critics like Roger Ebert or the late Gene Siskel talk about movies, they will often use the term "pop movies" to describe blockbuster movies. Pop movies are like pop music, because they are made with heavy influence from studios to make sure the movie (album) makes a profit. These movies are not aimed to be good, as much as they are to provide a good time. You don't listen to pop music because you want to analyze it to death. I enjoy "good" movies, more than I enjoy pop movies, but I still like to go to the theater to enjoy a good time seeing some poorly made Independence Day-esque movie. Independence day was not a "good" movie, but it was an enjoyable time, that left me feeling great. When I watch a movie like The Godfather, I just love watching Marlon Brando's performance and Al Pacino's icy glare, because it provides a chilling, well made experience. I do this same thing in music. I enjoy Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" because I think it is an incredible display of art and performance, but I also like to turn on the occasional Beyonce single, or the overproduced pop metal of Def Leppard's "Hysteria. But, would you see a Beyonce or Def Leppard record on list of greatest records ever? Of course not! It's enjoyable, but it isn't a fantastic piece of art. Every now and than there comes a pop musician that actually makes intelligent and artsy music, like Tom Petty. Full Moon Fever is the Dark Knight of music. A great, intelligent, well made piece of enjoyable pop.

So yeah, there's my motto. You don't have to feel guilty about the pop music you listen to. The artist made it so that you could enjoy it. So do that! But remember, it isn't going to be remembered 20 years later as much as it's political rap side partner.

Top 45 Songs of the 00's

This is the list to remember. This is my first decade list that is not affected by any other list, and draws no inspiration from critics over the years. It's all here and know. This will also be the last decade list I make for the next 10 years. The first decade of this millennium will end in a matter of weeks, and I'm closing it with the greatest songs of this past decade, and so far, of the millennium. Hope you enjoy.

45. Soul Meets Body by Death Cab for Cutie

44. Sex on Fire by Kings of Leon

43. Use It by The New Pornographers

42. Kids by MGMT

41. Banquet by Bloc Party

40. Drive by Incubus

39. 1901 by Phoenix

38. A-Punk by Vampire Weekend

37. Fireworks by Animal Collective

36. Down With the Sickness by Disturbed

35. Are You Gonna Be My Girl by JET

34. Brianstorm by The Arctic Monkeys

33. Take Me Out by Franz Ferdinand

32. Futures by Jimmy Eat World

31. Panic Switch by Silversun Pickups

30. Gasoline by Audioslave

29. Hate To Say I Told You So by The Hives

28. E-Pro by Beck

27. Blood & Thunder by Mastodon

26. Schism by Tool

25. Can't Stop by Red Hot Chili Peppers

24. Neighborhood #3 (Power Out) by The Arcade Fire

23. Mr. Brightside by The Killers

22. In The End by Linkin Park

21. Jesus Walks by Kanye West

20. Idioteque by Radiohead

19. Crazy In Love by Beyonce

18. Little Sister by Queens of the Stone Age

17. Wolf Like Me by TV on the Radio

16. 99 Problems by Jay-Z

15. I Miss You by Blink 182

14. Beautiful Day by U2

13. Float On by Modest Mouse

12. Paper Planes by M.I.A.

11. Hysteria by Muse

10. Hurt by Johnny Cash

9. Evil by Interpol

8. Chop Suey by System of a Down

7. Jesus of Suburbia by Green Day

6. Last Nite by The Strokes

5. Maps by Yeah Yeah Yeahs

4. Yellow by Coldplay

3. Lose Yourself by Eminem

2. Icky Thump by The White Stripes

1. B.O.B. (Bombs Over Baghdad) by Outkast

Top 25 Worst Cover Songs

What's more painful than listening to the worst songs ever? How about listening to you favorite songs get sonically raped by other artists. These are the worst cover songs ever. They are rated by how tough it is to listen to the original after hearing them. The original artist is in on the side.

25. Big Yellow Taxi by Counting Crows (Joni Mitchell)

24. Anarchy In The UK by Motley Crue (The Sex Pistols)

23. Our Lips Are Sealed by Hilary & Haley Duff (The Go-Go's)

22. Sweet Child O' Mine by Sheryl Crow (Guns N' Roses)

21. Another Brick In The Wall by Korn (Pink Floyd)

20. Feel Like Making Love by Kid Rock (Bad Company)

19. Knockin' On Heaven's Door by Guns N' Roses (Bob Dylan)

18. American Pie by Madonna (Don McLean)

17. Purple Haze by Winger (Jimi Hendrix)

16. Take On Me by The Jonas Brothers (Aha)

15. Comfortably Numb by Scissor Sisters (Pink Floyd)

14. 911 Is A Joke by Duran Duran (Public Enemy)

13. Back In Black by Shakira (AC/DC)

12. Sad But True by Snoop Dogg (Metallica)

11. Faith by Limp Bizkit (George Michael)

10. (Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay by Michael Bolton (Otis Redding)

9. My Generation by Hilary Duff (The Who)

8. Crazy Train by Pat Boone (Ozzy Osbourne)

7. Behind Blue Eyes by Limp Bizkit (The Who)

6. (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction by Britney Spears (The Rolling Stones)

5. You Shook Me All Night Long by Celine Dion (AC/DC)

4. Enter Sandman by Pat Boone (Metallica)

3. Fight the Power by Vanilla Ice (Public Enemy)

2. Chopy Suey by Avril Lavigne (System of a Down)

1. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds by William Shatner (The Beatles)