Through this journey, I sadly had to leave out some albums. I have to set some limits for myself ya know. I actually let myself go last week and stretched a supposed top 10 list to a top 15 with special exceptions. In this case, it will be a straight top 15 and a few notes about the album. Before I begin, let me name a few artists who did not make the list, or any lists I've made so far but I do have complete albums and truly enjoy: Gavin DeGraw, The Fugees, Sara Barellis, Talib Kweli, Will Smith, matchbox 20 and Gnarles Barkley. Perhaps in friPod posts to come, I'll shine some light on what I like about these artists and/or particular albums.
I'd consider those to be honorable mentions, but I didn't name their respective albums. I think it's safe to say that those artists are also on my trust list, that if they came out with an album tomorrow, I would buy it knowing I'd enjoy. It's always tough making these lists because I really have to consider what I really love about each album. Some of it is lyrical. Some of it is composition. Some is beats and production. Performance. Length. And of course, all of these together, it makes it difficult. But without further procrastination, here's my final list, last edited about 37 minutes ago according to my feelings towards them.
15. John Mayer--Continuum - I was never really a fan of this guy, but some struck a chord between his voice and lyrics and I became a follower. Plus he's from Connecticut so I gotta support.
14. Deitrick Haddon--Crossroads - It'd be criminal of me not to include at least one gospel album, and I almost went with Kirk Franklin. But over the years, I've come to listen to this guy a bit more also because of his voice, storytelling lyrics which are sometimes straight out of the Bible.
13. Daft Punk--Discovery - A musical journey through remixes, guitar riffs and computerized beats... and if you've seen the movie version, then you can see the music and it's brilliance. Is it safe to say they have a style all their own? And that I love it? I'll say it. I love it.
12. Panic! at the Disco--A Fever You Can't Sweat Out - I'll be honest, when I first heard this album, all the songs sounded the same. But after really listening, I was entranced by the lyrics and their energy. I still couldn't tell you the titles of the songs, but I know the song when I hear it.
11. The Roots--Rising Down - I started following The Roots a few years ago, and I still haven't heard everything they have done. I know they don't seem very high on my list, but I couldn't leave them out, and I really love this album for their hard hitting, painfully honest piece of work. Again, much love to production by ?uestlove and the genius rhymes of Black Thought (and friends).
10. Fall Out Boy--Infinity On High - I've recently been a converted fan, but these guys do play some great music. I may not understand what all the songs mean, but if it means having a good time, doesn't it really matter? Truly enjoyable music to listen to at high volume and on repeat.
9. Prince--Purple Rain - I mention Prince before, suggesting I'd be better off with a "best of" album but I don't have one that includes all my favorites, and this is the only album that seems to have most of them at once. Perhaps one day I'll list all my favorite Prince hits, but so far, this is one of the top albums and top musical movies... even if it wasn't that good of a movie.
8. Mos Def--Black on Both Sides - I really wanted to get Mos Def on this list, especially this album which I love listening to. Another dude with great wordplay and bringing on social awareness. What this album is, I wish so many more albums were like: full.
7. Raphael Saadiq--The Way I See It - Yeah, you already know. I won't repost the link again, but just know that this guy is also musically genius and this album has such an awesome retro style that it hurts. I mean that in a good way. Like when your face starts frowning up because it feels so good. Yeah, that's how I felt.
6. Joss Stone--Introducing... - One of my favorite soul singers on the planet. And both beautiful physically and vocally. Saadiq helped make this album as awesome as it is, but Joss brought it with her voice and lyrics. This also has a retro feel that I love. And Joss beat Saadiq because she's a girl and I like girls.
5. John Legend--Get Lifted - I love all John's albums, but I guess sometimes it's best to start with the first. I remember when I first heard this album, it gave me comfort that there were some people who actually still sang from the heart and had some real soul in their voice. Everyone sounded the same to me, then the Legend hit the radio waves and I'd like to think that things haven't been the same since.
4. Kanye West--Graduation - Just like John Legend, I enjoyed his previous albums. As much as I enjoyed the first album, I'd have to go with this one (which I explained in the last list).
3. OutKast--Speakerboxxx/The Love Below - More geniuses here. I had yet another hard time picking which album to list, so I applied the "island" rule: if you could only listen to one album forever on an album, which would it be? Well here is a double album. Overall, the best of both worlds and something different the world wasn't ready for.
2. Lauryn Hill--The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill - I knew without a doubt that she needed to be on this list. It just made sense that she be #2, but besides the number, she is just awesome. Both a singer and a rapper, with great messages in her songs and some really great wordplay, I just hope she takes the world by storm again soon. Only she can followup greatness with more greatness.
1. Sam Cooke--One Night Stand! - Who else did you think would get my #1 spot?
I ran into this album for a couple reasons--a friend of mine posted a video, DVNO and it eventually led me to D.A.N.C.E. Before long, I just took a chance and ordered the album. With these guys being fans of both Michael Jackson and Daft Punk, could I really go wrong? The album has been a fixture for my office work life, not only for me, but my mom too. And it's interesting to pick out Justice's songs from TV commercials. It's a great album to get the energies moving, and a great album to drive too... which is probably why it's used for commercials. This is an album that's meant to be played beginning to end, it fades into the next track. It's bittersweet when sometimes all you really wanna hear is DVNO and you are used to the song playing before it. Meshes so nicely.
I won never really a huge Keys fan, but I loved her talent and I was always a bit attracted to her. And then, she stopped the corn rows and started showing some skin! But this is about her music and this album in particular. What turned me on to it was reading an article (I forget where) about the making of this album, and how personal it was, and is, to her. Once I read about that and got to hear it for myself, I could truly feel the passion she felt in many of the songs. I'm sure everyone got tired of No One real quick, unless you didn't listen to the radio like me. But I'm sure after a year or so, you can remember why it was such a hit. This is one of those songs you felt the passion. But it was also the beat. Other passionate songs I really felt: Lesson Learned, Tell You Something, Superwoman and although not as passionate I Need You and Where Do We Go From Here which are just fun songs I really like.
This was going to be a "double album" including Songs About Jane, but I had to be honest with myself... After the newer album, I didn't listen to Jane as much. Oh, I still did listen to it and I think it's proven to be a Heavy Rotator. But let's just say starting this year, they have been getting equal time so far. What I liked about Before Long was that it felt different, but yet the same. If that makes any sense. Every so often, I just crave something new and unique-sounding, and fortunately, I stumbled upon this album just in time. Unfortunately, I get a bit upset when certain songs feel a bit too short. A Little Of Your Time for example. I mean, maybe that's the point, for it to be a short song, and only taking a little of your time to hear it. I did like the entire album and I don't want to go through picking each one. But Infatuation stuck with me the most. It might not be on all the albums, but it was on mine and I'm infatuated with it.
So this would be the first double album pick. As you can see, I skipped a number. This is an example of having both albums of the same artists and just letting them run into each other on the playlist, getting used to it and liking it. I know I listened to Fever a lot more that Pretty. Odd. but when it comes to last year? I think I wore them out pretty equally. I love their style. I like Urie's voice. And I love the lyrics. And yes, I'm even a fan of the titles on the first album. In case you didn't know, they came from movie/book quotes from Closer, Fight Club, and I think Choke... just to name a few. I don't know, use Wikipedia. Anyway, since I'm naming both albums, I don't think I can pick any particular track I really like. The singles, those are givens. It's probably why they are the singles. And I'll be honest with you, I don't know any of the songs on the first album by their titles, HOWEVER, I do have an understanding as to what each title means knowing where they got the title from. But since Pretty. Odd. is the newer album, I'll pick two non-singles: Folkin' Around and She Had The World. Both are great songs with beautiful lyrics that inspired poetry of my own. Both album are unique all their own too. I guess you either love it or just don't care.
Wow, my man Common has been doing big things. I don't know how many movies he's done (I do, I'm just making a point) and his music has grown to new heights and even Grammy status levels! Now I'll say this now, I haven't heard his newest effort. Honestly, I haven't heard a lot about it other than it not being his best work, possibly due to his verses not being as socially conscious... but who knows? I'm all for artists trying out new styles, new music. This album, however, was a great follow up to Be. I would've made it a double album, but for me, that album didn't quite pass the listenability test. Don't get me wrong, it's a hot album. Both of them are. But I tend to find myself skipping to the songs I like better. Unlike Finding Forever, I'm just enjoying the current track, itching for the next one. Each song brought me somewhere different. But I think one of the tracks I liked the most was Southside with Kanye West. I love when rappers trade verses like they do in this song. And even in the chorus, it's good to have a friend to sing with because one person takes "south" and the other takes "side" until the next verse start. You have to hear it to understand. Anyway, besides the wordplay, one thing I love about Common and this album, is the storytelling. And honest storytelling at that. Too many titles to choose from, but how about Drivin' Me Wild? No really, drive me wild. I jest.
To me, she needs no introduction. Excuse me a moment whilst I drool. I apologize, I just enjoy a great looking woman with a great voice. Truth be told, I fell in love with her voice first. But let's move on to the album. I sprung for the deluxe version and got a DVD with a music video and other nifty things. I do listen to the entire album, but I'm usually stuck on a couple songs like Baby, Baby, Baby because I think I'm in love with the drums on that track (along with her voice). Put Your Hands Me is also a treasure. And so is Arms Of My Baby. You know what? I think it's all because of the drums and just the funky-ness of the music. I admire the singer-songwriters, like Joss, and the producer Raphael Saadiq. She does make an appearance on his album, just like he's all over this one. Lauryn Hill is here too, sharing a love affair with Music. Common is on this too with probably my other favorite track called Tell Me What We're Gonna Do Now.
Another double album here. I think to fully appreciate Alive 2007, you need to hear all their albums. From Homework to Human After All. The live album mixes all their songs beautifully together. And I saw some YouTube videos about this. It looked fun. Very effing fun. I wanted to be there. Now I will say this about the live album, spring for the deluxe edition or whatever version has the encore. It's worth it. But again, to fully enjoy an album like that, you need to go back to the roots. My favorite Daft Punk album is probably Discovery. I say probably because I don't actually own the other two... yet. But what I liked on Discovery are tracks like Face to Face and Digital Love. And I have no problem admitting, the reason I got into Daft Punk is because of Kanye West's Stronger. And the original is just as good as well. Now if you dig Discovery, then I suggest you look into the movie version of the album. As I mentioned early, these guys influenced Justice, so this is why these two albums also can be played from beginning to end. They do have moments to breathe, that's always nice.
Yep, another double album. I kept hearing about this band Fall Out Boy for a while but never got around to taking a listen. Then I caught a remixed track from Mr. West for the song This Ain't A Scene, It's An Arms Race and grew interested. I told my friend Dearest about it and she gave me a few songs to which I ended up buying Infinity on High and liking it so much more. This time yet again, there are too many songs for me to name that I really really like. And again, the titles I looked up on Wikipedia to get a better understanding. And some of the lyrics are still confusing to me... but they are still beautiful to my ear. And the sound of the music? Awesome. They've come a long way. I included their newest album which was the second to last album I bought last year. I love it just as much if not a wee bit more. Again, too many songs too name. This is a very good thing because it's exactly what I want when I but an album. I don't want to skip any songs if I can help it. If anything, I'll skip a song just to get to another on the playlist faster, then go back and listen to the ones I've skipped! I'm odd. But these two albums are great.
This almost made it as a double album. But golly... which album would I choose? To narrow the list, it'd be a fight between The Tipping Point and Rising Down which was the last album I bought last year. It didn't make the list because I didn't start listening to it until a couple days before the year is out. But hey! It's a great contender for this year. Anyway, Game Theory isn't full of happy songs by no means. Then again, when I think of The Roots, "happy" isn't a word that comes up anyway. "Lyrical" and "genius" are more likely. This album, where do I start? They say it's one of the darker albums (with Rising Down being the darkest), and dark means that it's deep with social commentary and how bad the world is. I'm not really giving it justice, but then again, that's one of the points... the justice system not working correctly. But Black Thought's words are... wow. And ?uestlove's beats and production? Outstanding. A song that keeps popping up that I love is called Here I Come. Oh, let me also throw in that their albums are also built in such a way, that it's meant to be listened to beginning to end. I mean all their album track numbers continue from the previous album. I won't get into that right now though. But the first three songs are awesome, False Media, Game Theory, and Don't Feel Right. I'll also admit, listening to this album for too long might cause dread that something bad is going to happen, but it also wakes you up that not everything is as good as it looks. Again, great album with little to no skipping.
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