Wax Ecstatic: The 100 Greatest Albums of All Time Part #6

We're back with another van full of great records. Today, we're covering spots 50-41.

and

Sep 18, 2024

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Good morning!

Here’s an affectionate attempt at ranking their records with the understanding that placing things you love in a rigid hierarchy is objectively insane
~Elizabeth Nelson

Welcome to Part 6!

If you’d had asked me a few weeks ago if I could rattle off a Top 100 records list, my answer would've been something like, “Sure. That’s easy.” Today, my answer would still be yes, but it’s anything but easy. It’s taken every ounce of self-control not to tweak my list just one more time or insert a late add I’d somehow forgotten. Those have to wait for the recap post, I guess.

Anyway…

At first blush, it looks like our lists this week correlate closely with our respective ages. I know Sam is younger than I am, and while I have zero idea what it says on his license, I can kinda guess based on the year(s) some of these came out. The turn of the millennium appears to have been his formative years. Zooming out on my picks, you can definitely see that a lot of these dropped during my formative years. If I was 25 years younger, I might be able to get away with saying it’s GenX coded.

To me, seeing these trends/perspectives emerge is half the fun. I figured a few specific threads through modern music would reveal themselves here in time. We’ve seen glimpses of those a bit already, and as we march toward #1, I wonder how much more they’ll appear in each of our lists.

Poll results:

I’m also very curious to find the places where our respective tastes merge or if there are points where the lines cross and why. Will it be a specific artist? Maybe an artist on my list inspired a band on his or vice versa. Maybe I think too much. You tell me.

Last week, we asked all of you how much overlap you thought there might be. Thank you to everyone who voted!

Here’s what you said:

1-5 records: 26%
5-10 records- 44%
10 or more: -30%

We’ve already had a couple, but this week is the closest we’ve come to a bingo (the same artists/record in the same spot). What is it? Keep reading to find out!

Recap:

Lastly, Before we crack the top half of the list, here is a recap of the first 50:

100. 808 State-Gorgeous (1993)
99. The Church- The Blurred Crusade (1982)
98. Sterolab- Transient Random Noise Bursts w/Announcements (1993)
97. Pere Ubu-Cloudland (1989)
96. Velocity Girl- Copacetic (1993)
95. Guns and Roses- Appetite For Destruction (1987)
94. Janet Jackson-Control (1986)
93. Ralph Tresvant-S/T (1990)
92. The War On Drugs–Lost in the Dream (2014)
91. Luscious Jackson- Electric Honey (1999)
90. Bruce Hornsby and The Range- The Way It Is (1986)
89. Sade- Diamond Life (1984)
88. Cannonball Adderly- 74 Miles (1967)
87. Superchunk- Tossing Seeds (Singles 88-91) (1992)
86. The Flying Burrito Brothers- Gilded Palace of Sin (1969)
85. Liz Phair- Exile in Guyville (1993)
84. JJ Cale- 5 (1979)
83.B52s- S/T (1979)
82. Men At Work- Business As Usual (1981)
81. Wang Chung- To Live And Die In L.A. soundtrack (1985)
80. Boz Scaggs- Silk Degrees (1976)
79. JAMC-Barbed Wire Kisses (1988)
78. Garbage-S/T (1995)
77. Drop Nineteens-Delaware (1982)
76. The dB’s-Like This (1984)
75. Sweaty Nipples -What’s Your Funktion? (1989)
74. Texas is the Reason- Do You Know Who You Are? (1996)
73. Duran Duran-Rio (1982)
72. Meat Puppets- II (1984)
71. Bjork-Post (1995)
70. U2-The Unforgettable Fire (1984)
69. Van Halen- VH II (1979)
68. Paul Simon Graceland (1986)
67. Anita Baker-Rapture (1986)
66. Rickie Lee Jones- Pirates (1981)
65. LCD Soundsystem- Sound of Silver (2007)
64. Chemical Brothers-For That Beautiful Feeling (2023)
63. Bad Brains I Against I (1986)
62. Afghan Whigs-Black Love (1996)
61. The Go-Betweens- 16 Lovers Lane (1988)
60. Pretenders- S/T (1980)
59. Blondie- Parallel Lines (1978)
58. GBV- Alien Lanes (1995)
57. Cheatahs- S/T (2014)
56. Graham Parker- Squeezing Out Sparks (1979)
55. The New Pornographers- Twin Cinema (2005)
54. Dusty Springfield- Dusty in Memphis (1969)
53. ZZ Top- Tres Hombres (1973)
52. Wussy- Funeral Dress (2005)
51. Various Artists- Singles Soundtrack (1992)

Be sure to check out Sam’s piece for a recap of his first 50. You’re already subscribed to him, right? If not, you're missing out!

Need to get caught up? Check out Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. All of Sam’s are here.

We’ve also compiled a playlist of selected tracks from our picks. This is a living document, with new tracks added weekly as each post is rolled out. It is best enjoyed on shuffle.

And with that, let’s get into it!

Enjoy!

KA—

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50: Jason Isbell- Weathervanes (2023)

This was one of my records of the year in 2023, coming in at #4. It was also one of your favorites, landing at #3 in our annual On Repeat Readers Choice Poll.

In my review of the record, I wrote in part:

The weight of expectations can be tough. Between his time in Drive-By Truckers (and everything after), the recent documentary “Running With Our Eyes Closed,” and an on-point Twitter game, Jason Isbell has become the go-to pick for legions of cargo shorts wearing 35-55-year-old dudes.

But Isbell is a hell of a songwriter and makes light work of it, filling his records with stories about people who drink tall boys for an audience that drinks radlers.

His previous album, Reunions, felt like he was struggling with every ounce of that weight, and the result was a record that wasn’t his best. Weathervanes leaves it all on the table. In one of the documentary’s scenes, Isbell says, “I’m a man from Alabama, for Chrissakes,” and it informs the entire record.

At his angriest, he channels his inner Neil Young. Other times, he sounds like he attended the John Prine finishing school. One should probably name-drop Tom Petty here as well. You know, to cover all the bases.

Mostly, one gets the sense that Isbell just wanted to write a great song or two while avoiding the pitfalls that come with those high expectations. And while listening, it’s hard not to sense some relief on his part. The tracks have the observational feel of a diorama, where we look at snapshots of people just trying to make it through their complex, turbulent lives. It’s a world populated with reprobates, friends we’ve lost along the way, and ones not too far behind them—a universe of misfits and the everyman.

All of it makes for a good dose of bad decisions, with plenty of loss and lament, but his characters are telling compelling stories, and Isbell knows it, especially when the character in question is himself.

Listening again before writing this, I kept coming back to how observational it all feels. Few can paint as rich a picture with as few words as Isbell. It's an election year, and every channel is choked with political ads. One track on Weathervanes says more about today’s America than 100 of ‘em.

Sam’s pick & my take: Smashing Pumpkins-Siamese Dream (1993)

I loved the band’s debut, Gish, and my expectations were high when this came out. Both have incredible opening/closing tracks (“I Am One” & “Daydream” for Gish and “Cherub Rock” and “Luna” for this one). These alone take 4 spots in my top 10 tracks by the band.

That said, Siamese Dream took the best parts of Gish and leveled up. They’re still as hungry here as they were then, and Billy Corgan doesn’t yet come across as insufferable. There would be infighting, overwrought records, and whateverthefuck Cyr was, but in 1993, there was Siamese Dream, and it was incredible.

49: Consolidated- The Myth of Rock (1990)

The Portland of the late 80s and early ‘90s was not the twee stereotypes you see on Portlandia episodes. It was raw, seething with tension and electric. It was a place that always felt like it could explode at any time and sometimes did—especially when the Bush family would come to town. They hated the Rose City, referring to it as “Little Beirut.” We ate that up.

This is Consolidated—angry, anti-capitalist, anti-empire, anti-consumerism. A hybrid of industrial, hip-hop, and dance music, The Myth of Rock takes on everything from usurious credit card rates to leveraging the power of the collective (“This is a collective!”). No “ism” is safe here, and the trio takes no prisoners. The Myth of Rock is a call to action that brings the revolution to the club. The band’s preaching can feel sanctimonious or even condescending to some, and there are a few of those interstitial bits I moaned about earlier in this series. But for many of us in the streets back in the day, this was all music to our ears. It’s a harsh and unforgiving record, and that’s by design. No one puts on a Gil-Scott Heron or Public Enemy record expecting to relax or chill out. No one should do that here, either.

Sam’s pick & my take: The Beatles- The White Album (1968)

So many ideas that it took two records to house ‘em all. Flashes of brilliance (“Back in the USSR— As far as I know also the sole time the word “balalaikas” has been worked into a pop song— “Dear Prudence,” “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”), flashes of madness (“Revolution 9”), and a few things that might’ve been better left on the studio floor (“The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill”).

Still, it's a record that's hard not to love and one that people often liken to a religious experience. It's a shame that this signals the beginning of the end for the Fab Four. Only guessing, but I think this would’ve been higher if Sam was Generation X. Being a Boomer would've been good for at least a 20-spot jump.

48: Throwing Muses- Hunkpapa (1990)

Proximity can make for strange bedfellows. Being label mates with New Order is the only way to explain why Throwing Muses found themselves on tour supporting New Order.

But I’m sure glad they were. I knew what I was getting with New Order when I bought tickets but had never heard of the opener. Sometimes a band comes along with a sound that rearranges your mind.

I found myself mesmerized as Kristen Hersh belted out her stream-of-consciousness lyrics (“Nothing ever happens here, I said, I just wait” is a favorite on an album chock full of great lines).

Who was this band? Why didn’t the drummer have any cymbals?

This band was like nothing I’d ever heard before. In a lot of ways they still are. Writing this, I’ve struggled to pin down an easy genre tag or a way to describe the sound. Some of it feels like the sun's surface (literally, in the case of “Dizzy”), and some of it reminds me of fall. I don’t know how best to describe this record besides saying, “Just go play it!” What I do know is that in the 30+ years (yikes!) since that show, this record has never drifted too far from my playlists.

Sam’s pick & my take: Outkast-Stankonia (2000)

Outkast has always felt like they had something to prove, whether as MCs or as ambassadors of the Dirty South. Big Boi and Andre 3000 spent several albums showing the world what they could do, and by the time we got to 2000, it felt like there weren't any boundaries left for them to push. It would’ve been easy for them to mail something in, call it good, and spend the next few months noodling away in their studio (also called Stankonia). Given his love of Kate Bush, it's not hard to imagine Big Boi wiling away his days trying to figure out how to build something using a little 808, some funk, and a sample from Bush’s The Big Sky.

Instead we got Stankonia, a record that hits on all levels. Want an earworm? How about 2 (“Ms. Jackson,” “So Fresh, So Clean”)? Something explicit? They got you (“We Love Deez Hoez”). Something…all together different? Let me introduce you to “Bombs Over Baghdad.”

Whatever your tastes, you can be sure it comes with a big side of lightning-fast bars and trunk-rattling beats. Plenty of guests are on the record, including B-real and Erykah Badu (more on her below).

The usual adjectives like “expansive” don't do it justice. Groundbreaking barely covers it. There is a LOT going on on this record, and all of it works, even when you're sure it won’t.

47: Sugar-Copper Blue (1992)

Sugar frontman Bob Mould was a legend long before the alternative boom in the early 90s, fronting punk legends Husker Du. Like all good things, that band broke up too early, and Mould pivoted to a (relatively) softer, more acoustic sound, releasing solo records, Workbook, and Black Sheets of Rain. Both are solid records, but Mould is at his best plugged into an amp turned up to 11. It was time to pivot again, and pairing up with drummer Malcolm Travis and bassist Dave Barbe, Sugar was born.

Copper Blue is not a punk album, not in the slightest. Mould was bent on making a pop record—and he did— but old habits die hard, and his version of pop involved crunching riffs, piledriving beats, and some pretty dark lyrics. It all makes for a beautiful contrast.

Despite Mould’s insistence on a clean break (“we’re not gonna play any Husker songs!” he told us at the show I was at), Sugar feels like Husker Du if you turn up the pop dial and down the screaming. It hits as hard as anything they put out, but it’s sunnier, more refined, and almost anthemic. Mold is on record as loving MBV’s Loveless and, upon hearing it, recognized the need to add more dimensions to his sound. Mission accomplished, but it never gets too complex. The album is track after track of pop rock that goes 100 mph. The only real pause you get is on “If I Can't Change Your Mind,” a lovely respite and a highlight on the record. Copper Blue is a record that holds up a lot better than much of what came out in the fall of ‘92. You can hear vestigial traces of it in 100s of records that have come in the years since, including Mould’s more recent solo work.

That show I mentioned earlier? It’s still the loudest concert I’ve ever been to.

Sam’s pick & my take: Sade- Love Deluxe (1992)

I don’t think it’s a particularly spicy take to say that this is one of the best R&B records of the last 40 years. Sade’s voice is without compare, but the rest of the band also brings their A-game. Most people will recognize the song “No Ordinary Love” (and if I had to nitpick, it would be that at almost 8 minutes, it’s a little too long, but even that is a stretch), but the rest of the record is a goldmine just waiting to be discovered. It’s chill. It’s a quiet storm. It’s jazz. It’s about love and all the strange ways it can take shape. It’s 11/10.

46: Pavement- Slanted & Enchanted (1992)

Let’s get the usual descriptors out of the way early: this record is an indie masterpiece—a critic’s darling. The comparisons to The Fall are simultaneously reductive and accurate. I also promised myself I’d avoid the term “lo-fi” at all costs. We’ll see how that goes.

In an era of sampling and Autotune, this record’s stripped-down production feels particularly refreshing, but even in 1992, it went against the grain. Plenty of records felt like they intentionally lacked production, but on Slanted and Enchanted, that feels like a feature, not a bug. Other bands were going out of their way to project a DIY ethos. Pavement just worked with what they had available. It was made in a home studio, after all. It sounds like it was recorded straight to cassette. Even if you wound up with a copy of a copy, there wasn’t much loss of fidelity.

It’s hard not to sing along to a track like “Perfume V,” even when the lyrics are piped in straight Stepehn Malkmus’ stream of consciousness (“She's got the radioactive/and it makes me feel okay/I don't feel okay”).

Perhaps the band’s superpower is pulling melodies out of the splintered pieces. Despite it all, Pavement are impressive songwriters, and there are hooks and melodies in the least likely places. It’s not a leap to say that absent those, this record would be a disordered mess.

The entire LP feels built on a shaky foundation that could crumble if even an extra note is piled on. There was no one special behind the boards, no papering over anything with extra production or splicing of tapes. In a lot of ways, this felt like music that your friends were making in their garage. It felt like anything was possible.

Sam’s pick & my take: PJ Harvey- Rid of Me (1993)

See below!

45: PJ Harvey- Rid of Me (1993)

“…I write about people’s relationships to each other. I’m fascinated with things that might be considered repulsive or embarrassing. I like feeling unsettled, unsure.”

~PJ Harvey

If Harvey likes that, she must’ve had a field day up in Minnesota recording this. Rid Of Me is jittery, disjointed, jarring—and it rocks. Steve Albini produced Harvey’s sophomore album, and his style is reflected in the much more raw/frenetic sound of “Rid of Me” compared to Harvey’s debut record. This was also the last album her eponymously-titled trio did before disbanding.

The odd tempos and structures give the record an almost performance art feel rather than “just a record.” Minnesota is a hockey country, and the phrase “leave it all on the ice” is often used. It means to give it all you got and leave no ounce of energy unspent. Thirty-one years ago, Harvey came to the land of 10,000 lakes, walked into Pachyderm Studios, and did exactly that.

Sam’s pick & my take: A Tribe Called Quest- The Low-End Theory (1991)

The Low-End Theory is a record of bridges. It bridged the gap between alternative and hip-hop. Between jazz and rap. Between Busta Rhymes and the rest of us. It’s a landmark record whose echoes you can still hear across several genres today. “Scenario” is an all-timer, but “Buggin’ Out” might be the most underrated track from the era. Incredible bass, a bangin’ beat, and next-level bars from Phife (RIP) and Q-Tip. This record dares you to try not to nod your head.

44: Depeche Mode- Violator (1990)

Record reviews are supposed to be objective. I know, I get it. But I’ll be honest; for years, I didn't like this record for the completely normal, not at all subjective reason that a guy on my block dated an annoying girl, and she was obsessed with this album. We couldn't go 10 minutes without her playing it. It took me years to stop associating it with her. While she might’ve gone overboard, the truth is the band gave her a reason to. Violator is the band at their peak. They wouldn't do anything that could touch this until 2023’s Momento Mori. “Enjoy the Silence” is synth-pop perfection. “Personal Jesus” is impossibly catchy, as is “World In My Eyes.” Even deep cuts like “Sweetest Perfection” and “Blue Dress” are no skips. In a Venn diagram of new wave, synth-pop, and mainstream pop. Violator sits right in the middle.

All of us went to see the band on this tour. Walking through the mezzanine on the way to our seats, you could see goths hoping to hear some stuff from Construction Time Again, new fans, kids with their parents, and everyone in between. They had a large following before, but Violator put them into the rarified air of pop stardom. It was indeed music for the masses (sorrynotsorry).

Sam’s pick and my take: Erykah Badu-Mama’s Gun (2000)

Before this week, the only songs of Badu’s I knew were “Tyrone” and “On and On,” neither of which are on Mama’s Gun. It’s a rich, soulful, immersive experience. Badu had split from Outkast’s Andre3000 the year before, and “his” record Stankonia (see above) is the polar opposite. I wonder what would’ve happened had they stayed together? Either way, this might’ve been my first time hearing this record; it won’t be the last.

43: Bob Marley- Exodus (1977)

Marley’s Legend record is sui genris of Greatest Hits. If you ask most people about reggae, this is the first record they think of. It’s not just his bestselling record; for better or worse, it defines the genre. Never mind that Marley had over a dozen studio records to his name at the time of his death.

In December 1976, Marley was already a star and getting ready to play the Smile Jamaica benefit concert when gunmen stormed his home, wounding him and his wife, Rita. Both survived, and he even played the show just a few days later.

So after, Marley and co. fled to England and made Exodus. It’s not a greatest hits record, but many of the tracks on Legend first appeared here, such as “Jamming,” “Waiting in Vain,” “One Love,” and, of course, the track a lot of people think is called Every Little Thing is Gonna Be Alright, “Three Little Birds.”

This is very much a Bob Marley record, but it’s worth noting how in the pocket the rhythm section is. Brothers Carlton and Aston “family man” Barrett hold everything down incredibly well. The themes here cover a lot of the usual bases: peace, love, and sex while avoiding some of the more overtly political issues that nearly got him killed.

Legend might be the soundtrack to a million blunt rotations and/or hazy drives to the beach, but Exodus is Marley’s finest hour. It’s a classic in the purest sense of the word.

Sam’s pick and my take: The Smiths- The Queen Is Dead (1986)

Damn, this is a good record. This and Louder Than Bombs were the soundtrack to most of my 8th-grade year. I wore through copies of both.

The intro to the title track feels like that moment on a rollercoaster right before the first drop. It’s a rush. And can we talk for a second about Andy Rourke? For my money, he’s one of the most underrated bassists from the era. Morrissey and Marr might’ve grabbed the spotlight, but this record isn’t half of what it is without him.

For my money, the best Smiths songs are the fast Smiths songs. The title track, “Cemetary Gates,” and “Bigmouth Strikes Again, are highlights. For those that prefer torch songs, “I Know It’s Over” is an all-timer, and of course, “There Is A Light That Never Goes Out” is a little from column A and a little from column B.

42: Elvis Costello- This Year’s Model (1978)

What a difference a backing band makes. Elvis Costello swapped out backing bands for his sophomore record, replacing Clover—who would become The News and back up Huey Lewis soon enough—with The Attractions. Costello’s second album feels like where he first found his footing, largely swapping out his guitar for keyboards. That’s not to say there isn’t any on here. “Pump It Up,” for example, has an iconic riff. But there are also keys rounding out the sound. Look, I’m not that big of an organ fan, but Steve Nieve’s playing here is pure pleasure.

Writing up the record for his (never miss) That Fatal Mailing list newsletter, Friend of On Repeat, and expert on all things Costello Matt Springer wrote:

This is a Big Deal. The Attractions are today considered one of the greatest rock bands ever to take the stage. This is their origin story.
Ultimately, what the Attractions brought to EC’s music is the same thing they brought to the punk and new wave movement at large. They showed that raw instinctive musicianship could be applied with the same incisive anger that drove other contemporary bands to pick up guitars and grind out songs before they were even sure what chords they were playing. Three chords and the truth are all well and good, but it’s even better when you have a guy trained by the Royal Academy of Music to throw in the occasional seventh or relative minor.
On Model, the Attractions are bound up inextricably in these songs. Part of what makes them such a great band is that they are always so instinctively sympathetic to Costello’s writing; whatever churn may happen as they work out songs in the studio, they are fully locked in once the final arrangement is in place. They’re there to serve the music.

Distilled down, this says a lot about what makes the record what it is. Backing bands and artists are rarely this in sync. With apologies to ~~Clover~~ The News, this was the right pairing at the right time.

“Pump It Up’s” chorus reads Pump it up when you don’t really need it,”and you should definitely do that with This year’s Model. Really, you should do it anytime.

Sam’s pick & my take: The Avalanches-Since I Left You (2000)

Let’s talk numbers: The Opener on Sam’s 42nd pick samples 19 songs alone(!). Some sources say the record itself has over 3000, while others have rolled that back to closer to 900. Nevertheless…

The Avalanches’ first record came out 24 years ago, in 2000. Stitching all those samples into beautiful blankets of sound must’ve been quite an undertaking. Lucky for us, they had it in them. What a treat this was.

41: Warren Zevon-Excitable Boy (1978)

The real question isn’t whether or not Warren Zevon is a fantastic songwriter. It’s whether or not he sees himself in the characters he writes about or whether he’s in on the joke. This record is home to his biggest hit, “Werewolves of London,” and one of the greatest songs ever (“Lawyers Guns and Money.”) The former often gets him lumped in with one-hit wonders and on Halloween playlists. Shame, really- did Bobby “Boris” Pickett name-check Trader Vics or have Fleetwood Mac’s rhythm section backing him up on “Monster Mash?” I think not.

The latter is a great example of why so many people keep coming back for more. If you ever want to write a great opening line, write out, “I went home with the waitress/ the way I always do,” and stick it to the side of your computer. Good luck. This is the sort of lyric you could base an entire novel on. Maybe that’s what Carl Hiaasen did.

The title track is field trip through any number of psychoses. “Nighttime in the Switching Yard” is Zevon’s attempt at a bit of funk, and it works well. Turns out he can get down with the best of ‘em. “Accidentally Like a Martyr” closes out the first side. I’ll be damned if I know what that means, but it does well to show his more serious, romantic side. It can’t all be wild adventures and cages with bones.

I mentioned Fleetwood Mac earlier, but the rest of the roster reads like a who’s who of the late '70s SoCal scene; Linda Ronstadt and Jennifer Warnes sing backup on “Excitable Boy.” JD Souther makes an appearance. Waddy Wachtel is on here, because of course he is. There’s at least one Pocaro brother in the mix.

Zevon would go on to make many records after with various levels of commercial and critical success, but for my money, nothing afterward quite captures the same lightning in a bottle as this album does.

Sam’s pick & my take: Sufjan Stevens- Illinois (2005)

Confession time: going into this, the only things I knew about this specific record were that A:

Glenn Cook

’s son starred in the Broadway production of “Illinois” based on this record and that B: I think I might be the only person who hadn't heard this. Like, not even a note.

For some reason, I expected this to be much more introspective and maybe even a little down. This, of course, makes no sense—no one goes to the theater for a lament—but still.

I was pleasantly surprised at how “up” some of the tracks on here are. This isn’t my usual fare, and I’m not sure how much I’ll play it, but it’s more fun than I was expecting and a bit underrated—kinda like Illinois itself.

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That’s it for Round 6! Be sure to share your thoughts in the comments, check out Sam’s thoughts on his picks, and stay tuned for Part 7 as we continue our march towards #1!

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