Top Ten Lists: Music

Ok, so apparently in order to have a relevant posting on the internet, I have to come up with some top ten lists. I know the inevitable list of movies, music, books, and other things might send you on a fast track out of here and on to some better, more informed lists. But I'm not pretending that I'm not biased. Yes, this list is a subjective compilation operating under the assumption that 1) the best music was produced in either the USA or Britain and 2) that it was made after 1990. With that said, I present you with the albums that have made an impression on me most personally.

10. Santana: Supernatural, 1999

It's got cameo appearances by Cee-Lo, Lauryn Hill (who makes an appearance on this list), Dave Matthews, Everlast, and even Mexican rock titans Maná. Wade through this sea of radio-ready hits and you'll also find some surprising indigenous music from the band itself, and immaculate guitar tone courtesy of San Francisco's greatest living man to pick up the instrument.

9. Maná: Sueños Liquidos, 1997

If you know any Latin kids all you have to do is play the simple arpeggiated intro to the bucolic "En El Muelle de San Blas" and your party will turn into karaoke quicker than you can say Guadalajara. The Mexican band broke ground with this album and turned them into a well-deserved outfit comparable to U2 in terms of their international appeal. In addition to their signature sappy lament ballads, there are a few thoughtful cuts that showcase more than lead singer Pher's impressive pipes. All in all, this is one for your CD tower no matter your language comprehension. 

8. Bon Iver: Bon Iver, 2011

Yes, this is the most recent entry on this list and I'm no doubt getting some flak from you purists out there. Justin Vernon's second album scored big at the Grammy's, but what surprises most is the sheer range of talent that springs from the guy famous for locking himself in a cabin for a winter to crank out a set of bleak, haunting, and melodic tunes. Right off the bat, the sonic depth and layered approach springs to life in "Perth" and comes to crystal perfection in "Holocene." All JT impersonations aside, this album's bold blend of atmospherics, cryptic poetry, and impressive soundscapes make this one of the most consistent and powerful listens in recent memory. The surging heartache of "Calgary" is enough to win me over, but the 80s-tinged keyboards of "Beth/Rest" bring the whole collection to a fitting and breathtaking close. 

7. The National, Boxer, 2007

The National are the quintessential postmodern band of the 2000s. Singer Matt Beringer brings his deep baritone as the most immediately striking part of their sound, but Bryan Devendorf's drums are also consistently kept high in the mix. What we have when we put the band together is a collection of music fit for late night drives down lighted highways that blur together into the night. The brooding sound and restless pace of Boxer ranges from adult alienation to parlor fantasies, but can be affecting, and even catchy. I dare you to listen to "Slow Show" without wanting to play it on repeat, hands clapping all the way. 

6. U2: Achtung Baby, 1991

Of course the sound of the 1990s and even 2000s owes so much to the anthem-ready spiritualized rock of these Irish gods. Bono's soaring tenor and the Edge's trademark delay made their mark on the 1980s, but their subsequent fall from grace and tailspin while recovering from their skyrocket flight to fame almost drove the band apart. Watch the affecting rockumentary "From the Sky Down" for a look inside the process that birthed one of the greatest albums of all time. Some of their most famous songs are on here, including "One," whose lyrics can be read as a metaphor for the vulnerability experienced while the band wrestled through the summer in Berlin to record this. My favorites are still "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses," a production that never quite reaches its potential; "Until the End of the World," a telling song sung from the point of view of Judas Iscariot; and "Ultraviolet Light," probably the most 'U2-ish' song on the record. For the rest of the tracks, we're left with a set of harsh distortion, pulsating dancehall beats, and a picture into a mind clearly tormented by the themes of hypocrisy, celebrity, and expectation. 

5. Lauryn Hill: The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, 1998

The 1990s was clearly a golden age for more than just alternative rock music. Lauryn Hill took her opportunity at post-Fugees fame to compose and produce one of the greatest pieces of music of our time, breaking open the affecting beats and arrangements of her songs to a wide audience and earning some much-deserved acclaim. She swings from street-worthy rapping on "Doo-Wop (That Thing)" to earnest vocalizations on "To Zion." I'll never forget the first time I heard the beautiful climax of "Ex-Factor," and knew that R&B would always have a firm place in my heart. It is a shame that Hill couldn't stay in the limelight for long, and that her recent efforts seem to obscure her talent. For one bright moment, her story shone out like none other. 

4. Radiohead: In Rainbows, 2008

Most people remember this record for the fact that they probably paid little if anything to download it. The band broke new ground when they released the record themselves, paving the way for a new era of free downloads and risky ventures that leave more and more new artists at a loss for the best way to market their sound. But this is Radiohead, the band that reinvented rock music, and they can do what they damn-well please. What people forget is that In Rainbows is the most consistent and powerful set of music that the band had released since 2000's Kid A, and even their magnum opus OK Computer. Jonny Greenwood returns to his dizzying creativity on the guitar on tracks like "Bodysnatchers" and "Weird Fishes/Arpeggi," while Thom Yorke showcases his haunting abstraction with songs like "Nude" and "Videotape." For an even trippier experience, the album can be synched with OK Computer for a truly magical listening experience. Still, the songs stand up on their own, and provide a welcome respite for those less inclined to crank their more abstract and electronic output of late. 

3. The Beatles: Abbey Road, 1969

As the only album on this list old enough to drink (aside from U2), I had to include this one simply for the fact that the Beatles gave me a standard of songwriting that included the whole band. Sure, as a 13 year old I couldn't get enough of Led Zeppelin and Guns N'Roses for their guitar heroics, and now I'm inclined to spin tracks from the XX and Beach House to stroke my electronic itch. But this album sets the gold standard for the finest collection of songs which, woven together, form into a masterpiece. Seriously, you can't take a single one of these songs out of the album without making it feel somehow less. I cannot say the same for any other Beatles record, and even The White Album suffers from filler (gasp, I know). Radio stations still savvy enough to play the second half of this album always have my respect. And lads from Liverpool, you'll always have my heart. 

2. Sigur Ros: Takk, 2005

I remember the first time I heard about "the one band where the guy plays his guitar with a bow" and couldn't get past the gimmick. This was until I turned on the epic catharsis of "Glosoli," which blew my mind in ways that I didn't know were possible. I spent many hours on my bed as a freshman in college with this album on. While listening from beginning to end, the Icelandic quartet can paint landscapes and emotions from mournful ("Svo Hljott", "Heysatan") to joyful ("Hoppipolla"). Yes, the bowed guitar is epic, and works to add sinister moods and tension to songs like "Saeglopur," but singer Jonsi's voice is the real star here. His soaring falsetto is haunting, captivating, and volcanic. I had the pleasure of seeing these guys a few weeks ago in concert. Apart from almost coming to tears in the wake of their excellence, I was happy to see how many of these songs remained in their setlist, nearly 8 years later. For a real experience of their sound, I recommend the spare live album Inni and their beautiful film Heima, which features the best of Iceland's beauty with some rare footage of the band playing in their natural habitat.

1. Radiohead: OK Computer, 1997

I cannot write about this album without adding to the mountain of praise already heaped upon this album. Apart from practically reinventing the genre of music, we owe Radiohead for the titanic influence they had on modern music. Everyone from Coldplay to Kanye West owe their sound to these guys, and this album demands multiple listens. I can't pinpoint an exact favorite. Should I talk about the guitar wonders of "Paranoid Android," which may have the greatest set of guitar solos this side of Stairway to Heaven? I can't go on without mentioning the surging symphonics of "Let Down," which plays like a postmodern opera piece. "Subterranean Homesick Alien" shows how the band can operate on a tight scale yet seem to expand the space of music itself. Colin Greenwood's staccato bass fingering lends an urgency to the album that is terrifyingly suspended in the face of the languishing songs on the second half of the album. Overall, knife-sharp guitars, abstract lyrics, and syncopated percussion make for a miracle in music. And I'm so glad to have it for keeps. 

Honorable Mention: 

Third Eye Blind, Third Eye Blind, 1997; Modest Mouse: Good News for People Who Love Bad News, 2003; Death Cab for Cutie: Plans, 2004; Fleet Foxes: Fleet Foxes, 2006; The Mars Volta: Frances the Mute, 2005, Radiohead, Kid A, 2000.

After looking at all this, I could easily make a whole other set of lists for the 1990s and 2000s themselves, come to think of it. Perhaps that will be for another day.