90: Eagles of Death Metal - Heart On (2008)
While the title may come off as poor taste there is a meaning to it - they're talking about boners. But seriously there is something deeper there. Eagles of Death Metal have always been about old school Chuck Berry rock you can shake your booty to. However on last year's Heart On front man Jesse "The Devil" Hughes decided to expertly blend his knack for groove along with his new found gift to write songs about himself as well. Gotta love a retrospective man with a handle bar mustache. Top Tunes: (Now I'm A Fool, Anything 'Cept The Truth, High Voltage)
89:Radiohead - Amnesiac (2001)
Released just 8 months after the world changing Kid A, Radiohead continued their exploration into electronic fuzz rock with solid results. Some critics tore this album apart or simply wrote it off as experimental for the sake of being experimental however I think time has been good to Amnesiac. A sequel rarely performs better than its predecessor. Maybe I'm just giving the record the benefit of the doubt. Or maybe it really is that good. Top Tunes: (Pyramid Song, You And Whose Army?, Knives Out)
88: Everclear - Songs From An American Movie Vol. 2: Good Time For A Bad Attitude (2000)
Art Alexakis of Everclear has always been older than his post grunge rock peers. He was 35 when the band struck it big in 1995 with "Santa Monica". Just 5 years later he was still growing up when Everclear released two albums in 2000. While SFAAMV1: Learning How to Smile may have more radio friendly tunes like "Wonderful", GTFABA has the crunchy guitars, tongue and cheek songwriting and catchy pop hooks that made the band famous to begin with. Top Tunes: (When It All Goes Wrong Again, Overwhelming, Misery Whip)
87: John Mellencamp - Life Death Love & Freedom (2008)
The man sure was optimistic in 2001 when he released "Peaceful World" - but that was before two terms of Bush. Jack and Diane got laid off from the factory and the Tasty Freeze closed up a long time ago. Mellencamp turns older and ever the more bitter with each passing song. While not the album to pull you out of a depression, it's one of the best portraits of America gone awry in a haze of conservatism. Meet Normal Rockwell with a guitar. Top Tunes: (Longest Days, Troubled Land, Don't Need This Body)
86: Bob Dylan - Together Trough Life (2009)
If you happened to be driving a dusty road to nowhere and wanted to stop at the watering hole for your fill of suds, you might just find Bob Dylan playing with the hottest house band you have ever heard. Dylan remains the master of verse and paints an ugly picture of outlaws and renegades living in an uncivilized world. Not all is bleak on the album. The final two songs help you heal from your hangover the next morning. Top Tunes: (I Feel A Change Comin' On, Beyond Here Lies Nothin', If You Ever Go To Houston)
85: Madvillain - Madvillainy (2004)
Hip-Hop thinking outside the box. Madvillain is a rap duo consisting of MF Doom and Madlib who made one of the most unconventional albums of all time in 2004. With 22 songs running a mere 46 minutes. Each track rolls directly into the next with many songs having their own separate movements. So basically it's a giant song made up of 22 songs made up of several other songs. Sure it might be hard to grasp. But give Madvilliany a few chances and you might be surprised. Top Tunes: (Accordion, America's Most Blunted, Rainbows)
84: Mastodon - Crack The Skye (2009)
Each of Mastodon's 4 albums deals with a different element. Fire, water and earth having been covered it was time for these Atlanta heavy metal kings to conquer the sky (or "ether" as the band calls it). Crack The Skye is by far the band's most accessible work. Mastodon make a conscious effort to build melodies yet still keep the tenacity of their earlier work. They even try to appease the prog rock fans in their base be writing a 2 song 24 minute suite set in Pre-Communist Russia including Czars and Rasputin. Top Tunes: (Divinations, The Czar, Oblivion)
83: Arctic Monkeys - Humbug (2009)
These young Brits took the homeland by storm when they burst on the scene in 2006. But when the Monkeys wanted to record an album stateside, they turned to riffmeister Josh Homme who obliged the boys by giving them a tour of the California desert and a lesson or two on how to build a sexy and seductive set of songs that perfectly fit into any Tarintino film. Look for them in the Kill Bill 3 soundtrack. Top Tunes: (Secret Door, Fire And The Thud, Crying Lightning)
82: - Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Show Your Bones (2006)
Karen O refuses to be put on a leash by anyone other than herself. While their garage fuzz debut, Fever To Tell felt like it could become unhinged at any moment, Show Your Bones is more contained and less abrasive. Karen shows off her vocal abilities as she weaves her voice through mellow tunes that find her a bit more melancholy than usual. The man to whom she wrote "Maps" has left leaving Miss O stuck holding the baggage. I know the feeling well. Top Tunes: (Cheated Hearts, Turn Into, Gold Lion)
81: Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank (2007)
Originally intended as a concept album involving ship wrecks and disaster, We Were Dead is Mondest Mouse's first album with The Smith's Johnny Marr joining in on the fun. Isaac Brock's great help is still in tact and chaotic songwriting the band has been experimenting with their entire career hits a fever pitch. You might think it will give you a head ache. You might think listening to it will turn you into the cool hip "indie" kid. I think it's the 81st best album of the last ten years. Top Tunes: (Little Motel, Dashboard, Spitting Venom)
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