Yes, it’s part three of my countdown and the gems keep coming! Are you getting mad yet? Seeing some old faves show up? Don’t forget you can see Part II here and Part I here.

300. Pavement – Brighten The Corners (1997)

This aptly named record also tightens the focus after the sprawl of Wowie Zowie while embracing instrumental coloration like mellotron on the wonderful “Transport is Arranged.” The songwriting is sharp and Malkmus is at his lyrical best on bon mots like “Starlings in the Slipstream” and “Stereo” which namechecks Rush’s Geddy Lee.

299. The Jayhawks – Tomorrow the Green Grass (1995)

Gary Louris and Mark Olsen were on the verge of splitting their partnership as The Jayhawks but they were able to release this, their best album before things took a turn for the worse. The songs are the best kind of classical, with the virtues of great craft married to stunning playing and soulful singing. It’s countrified but not country.

298. Danger Doom – The Mouse and the Mask (2005)
Commissioned by Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim programming block, this collaboration between MF Doom and Danger Mouse is way better than it’s commercial origins would suggest. Doom’s rapping is typically inventive and the production samples cleverly and liberally from such shows as Sealab 2021.

297. Jeff Buckley – Grace (1994)

Buckley was the son of folky Tim Buckley, and like his dad would die tragically young. Unlike his father though, his songwriting and performing ran the gamut from big widescreen ballads to atonal guitar rave-ups to florid confessionals all driven by his astounding vocal instrument.

296. Archers of Loaf – Icky Mettle (1994)

This is AOL’s most viscerally aggressive record, but it’s tuneful as well – like Pavement and Superchunk were crossbred. The songs tumble out like rough little gems from a  plastic bag. Addictively good.

295. My Bloody Valentine – Isn’t Anything (1988)

After a few records of strummy c-86 style indie these brits took a deep dive into pioneering the shoegaze aesthetic, signified by gauzy hazy vocals, a sometimes overwhelming squalls of guitars both electric and acoustic, and windtunnel drumming.  It sounds qway better than my description and along with Cocteau Twins this is the record that helped to kick it all off. While MBV would go on to add a ferocity to their sound that was more akin to Sonic Youth, there’s a welcome sensuality here that makes this eminently listenable.

294. The Kinks - Schoolboys in Disgrace (1975)

After a string of increasingly self-indulgent concept albums topped by the career nadir of Soap Opera, The Kinks and more specifically the brothers Davies pumped up the songs and the volume, though again in service of a theme. Ray Davies seems to benefit from nostalgia and does so here, spicing up many of his arrangements with 1950s style keyboards and flourishes. This also rocks harder than anything they had done for years, presaging their next shift into heavy arena rockers. More to the point, it was fun, a great pisstake on the British school tradition.

293. The Wrens – The Meadowlands (2003)

The Wrens clearly went through a lot of shit between the 1996 release of Secaucus and this record, and the mood is pensive and melancholy when not downright bitter. This is one of those great records that somehow avoids fusing those emotions into a sour ball of self-pity and instead creates a cathartic release. This is helped along by thoughtful arrangements and honed songcraft. Unjustly overlooked.

292. The Flaming Lips – The Soft Bulletin (1999)

Indie rockers turned one hit wonders turned art -proggers, Flaming Lips seemed destined to travel up their own wazoos. Instead they created a delicately stunning collection of full-bodied melodic treasures capturing the exhilaration of scientific progress. Cleverly though all the Manhattan Project stuff is a veneer under which lies frontman Wayne Coyne’s most nakedly personal lyrics to date.

291. Joni Mitchell – Court and Spark (1974)

Mitchell continues to add more jazz and r & b shadings to her songwriting bag of tricks on a sometimes playful set of songs about love and relationships. “Free Man in Paris” is notoriously about David Geffen and “Raised on Robbery” has a touch of the Andrews Sisters in it’s intro, showing how expansiave her subject matter and arrangements were becoming.

290. Gary Wilson – You Think You Really Know Me (1977)

Beck before there was a Beck, a big chunk of Midnite Vultures owes a debt to the obscure and idiosyncratic electro-funk confessionals on this record. Recorded in his parents basement, this was a throwaway self-pressed release and even the artist himself saw it as a one shot deal, going back to the wedding/bar mitzvah band circit he still plays on to this day. The album is full of burbling synths and sexual frustration that meld together into an amazing tight-assed cry for help and/or nookie. Has to be heard.

289. Killing Joke – Killing Joke (1980)

This band was endlessly mis-labelled  – heavy metal, new wave, goth. What they did was to pioneer the kind of crunching mechanical throb that would later power most of Ministry, Big Black, and countless other imitators a decade later. The debut is their ultimate statement, a cold war inspired slice of darkness that beeps, boops, guitar chugs, and most importantly glides it’s way to the apocalypse.

288. The Jam – Sound Affects! (1980)

Paul Weller took his neo-mods down a decidedly more Beatles-y route here – quite literally on “Start!” which borrows it’s bass riff from “Taxman.” It’s a great set of songs from “Pretty Green” to the stellar “That’s Entertainment” the band struts their scope.

287. Husker Du – New Day Rising (1985)

Loud and trebly, this can be a challenge to listen to but the melodies are there just waiting to emerge. Grant Hart and Bob Mould are approaching their peaks as songwriters here and the great stuff keeps coming in sharp pummels of noise.

286. Pulp – We Love Life (2001)
Hooking up with reclusive legend Scott Walker to produce their last album was an idea that was so crazy it might just work, and work it did though most of the British music scene had moved on at this point. a shame as this is one of Pulp leader Jarvis Cocker’s best. The songs are lusher (listen to the killer strings on “Trees”) darker, funnier (the nature as pervert narrative of “Birds” and the hilarious “Bad Cover Version” and it’s video which lyrically tweaks Walker).

285. Big Audio Dynamite – No. 10, Upping St. (1986)

For a band that had such a rancorous split, the Clash reunion was so low-key as to be almost unheralded to this day. This record, the second by Mick Jones’ post-Clash band, was co-produced by Joe Strummer, who also co-wrote 5 of the tracks. Not surprising then that this is B.A.D.’s best record, extending The Clash’s forays into hip-hop with aplomb and adding sampling to the mix, along with their best melodies and sharpest lyrics.

284. Beck – Midnite Vultures (1999)

This contains some of Beck’s best work but it’s also his most divisive, a big cum stained ode to Prince, R & B both retro and modern, and the wonders of polymorphous perversity. “Sexx Laws” is a Stax song on Viagra, all horny horns and an insinuating Steve Cropper-ish guitar lick that becomes a full blown banjo solo. “Nicotene and Gravy” is a slinky groove that degenerates into a “Day in The Life” -style breakdown. Will take years to be fully appreciated.

283. Camper Van Beethoven – Our Beloved Revolutionary Sweetheart (1988)

CVB and lead songwriter/singer David Lowery continued to temporize their eclectic middle eastern and asian informed leanings with more pop and out-and-out rock songs on this, their first record for Virgin. It’s a damn good set of songs that still maintains the quirk factor as well as the occasional Balkan ballad. One of the most accessible tunes seems to be about an Eastern Bloc love affair, and “Tania” is one of the most brilliant songs ever about Patty Hearst.

282. Negativland – Helter Stupid (1989)

Negativland were pressured to go on tour after the surprise (relative) success of Escape From Noise but they knew they would lose money on the proposition. To get out of it they sent out a press release claiming that due to a (actual) local murder that had been tied to their music, they were not allowed to leave the vicinity. This was a complete goof yet suddenly they found the music press calling for comment and before long tjhey began to attract attention from news outlets. In fitting with their deconstructionist approach the first song on the record starts off jauntily urgent before it becomes clear that it is in fact the theme for a local news program whose lead story is a poorly researched and sourced version of their fabrication.  The rest of the record veers into a parody that samples liberally from local person on the street interviews and 70s AM radio staples as they explore pre-packaged nostalgia. The idea that anyone would want the detritus of the 70s still seemed comically unlikely in 1989 but post-Tarantino the put on actually turns out to have been prescient.

281. Of Montreal – Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer? (2007)

Flamboyant singer songwriter Kevin Barnes and a cast of characters are Of Montreal, and he made several strong records before hitting a peak with this kaleidoscopic romp through his own failed marriage and the experience of living overseas in Norway unmoored from anything familiar. Where the impulse might be to go for dark dirges this  is full of bright shiny objects, glorious pop confections that recall Prince, Beck, New Order and even bubblegum like the productions of Max Martin. Barnes’ lyrical content is confessional to an unsettling extent however, which makes for a fascinating contrast.

280. Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks – Pig Lib (2003)

Former Pavement frontman Stephen Malkmus has the unenviable task of always being compared to his former band as a solo artist. He does have a very distinctive style which is on full display here – from clever and sometimes nonsensical lyrics to blazing guitar chops. He also steps out a bit from the shadow of past glories with a consistent set of songs and an almost psychedelic bent on tracks like “Do Not Feed The Oyster.” While his solo debut was buttoned down this is expansive and jammy.

279. Harry Nilsson with John Lennon – Pussy Cats (1974)
Lennon was on the west coast in ’74, estranged from Yoko Ono and behaving very badly indeed, usually with Nilsson in tow. Not wanting to stop the party Nilsson asked him to produce a record and when he ruptured a vocal chord, gamely kept going. You can practically hear the cocaine and brandy that fueled these sessions in the tracks – a hodgepodge of covers and a few Nilsson originals. Lennon joins and plays on most everything and the spirit is almost too tangible of desperate partying to stave off the darkness. Remarkable if you go in for this sort of thing, and I do.

278. Eminem – The Marshall Mathers LP (2000)
Eminem pissed off a lot of people with his first record and on this follow-up he decides to push both the confessionals and satire even farther – more akin to Lenny Bruce or George Carlin than Nelly. Naturally Dre provides a stellar set of beats and musical settings to further this. “Criminal” is the key track, closing out the able by exploring the differences between fact and fiction and then hilariously exploiting them.

277. New Order – Low-Life (1985)

New Order thoroughly defined post-punk’s embrace of electronics and texture as the band fully sloughed off their Joy Division past. Still until now their most galvanizing statements were on non-album singles but this album finally brings together their popcraft and their atmospheric skills to make an indelible statement of purpose.

276. Guided By Voices – Alien Lanes (1995)

GBV’s breakthrough with Bee Thousand felt like a one-time event and indeed the low-fi aesthetic gets precious over the course of a career. Bob Pollard still doesn’t polish things up on this follow-up but he lets many of the best melodies shine while showing what would become a characteristic unwillingness to edit with this sprawling 28 track opus. To be fair some of the songs are no longer than a half minute. The great ones here rank with his very best though, “As We Go Up, We Go Down”, “Motor Away” and “Striped White Jets” are just a few of the top notch ones here.

275. Helium – The Magic City (1997)

Mary Timony vastly expands the sound of her band, embracing proggy instruments like harpsichords and some distinctly new wave keyboard sounds including a synth on “Leon’s Space Song” that could be straight from a Cars record.
Her genius is that the song itself doesn’t feel like anyone else’s work, just a dramatic way to expand and deepen her sharp songwriting.

274. The Field – From Here We Go Sublime (2007)

This debut really did sound like nothing that had come before – minimalist tracks that almost sounded like a very smooth CD player skipping, little fragments that build and build until they are revealed to be micro-moments from other tracks – say “A Paw in My Face” which resolves unexpectedly into Lionel Richie’s “Hello.”

273. Allen Toussaint – Southern Nights (1975)

Toussaint is a fixture in the New Orleans music world, producing, songwriting, arranging and playing on records for decades for other artists and to a lesser extent his own solo forays. He was on a purple patch in the mid-70s as this album shows, extending and expanding his New Orleans r & b and funk into slow languid reveries as on the title track (later amped up and turned into a big country crossover hit by Glen Campbell) and hot burning tracks like “Last Train.”

272. Stereolab – Transient-Random Noise Bursts, With Announcements (1993)

The early 90s was a great period of revival for interest in German “Krautrock”, experimental rock from the 60s and 70s that included bands like Can, Kraftwerk and Faust. This was due in part to the championing of folks like Julian Cope but also to the incorporation of many of those bands sounds into the bag of tricks of bands like Stereolab. Thus the flooring 18 minutes of “Jenny Ondiolene” here among other tracks. But there was also 60s pop, shoegaze, new wave, and post-punk mixed into their stew on this, their most experimentally catchy record.

271. Girls - Album (2009)

Beautifully detailed bedroom pop doesn’t get much better than this. What’s original about these guys (primarily Christopher Owen’s songs fleshed out by JR White’s arranging and production) are the songcraft and melodic giftedness and willingness to juxtapose the bright and sunny with dark and grimy.

270. The Auteurs – After Murder Park (1996)

One of the least likely bands to call in Chicago noise master Steve Albini to helm the boards, Luke Haines and band serve up appropriately feisty songs and performances while still sounding very much like themselves. The subject matter is genuinely drak, a loose song cycle about murder, loss, childhood, and small town Britain.

269. Faust – Faust IV (1973)

Faust rein in some of their more experimental impulses for this, their final album as a working unit (they would re-unite down the line). You can hear the influence they had on everyone from Animal Collective to Public Image Ltd. to Pixies with the standout being the sublime “Jennifer.”

268. Lambchop – Is a Woman (2002)

This can feel like a strange woozy trip through a small town, with Kurt Wagner limning  little character studies for each song. There is a definite flow to Lambchop’s music that is defiantly down-tempo without being somnambulistic – a “Hey city fella, what’s the rush?” sensibility.

267. Elvis Costello and The Attractions - Imperial Bedroom (1982)

Costello aimed for the bleachers on this one, bringing in Beatles engineer Geoff Emerick to class up the joint with big bold arrangements. In return, EC turns in an impressively varied set of songs from torchy to tetchy. As the title suggests these are baroque confections wrapped around a trademarked sneer.

266. Black Francis – Bluefinger (2007)
Pixies main man Black Francis practiced under the name Frank Black up until 2007 when, following that bands revival on tour he reverted to his original stage name. His first album as Black Francis is also his most inspired and energetic in years, reaching back to the aggressiveness of his early work while retaining the songcraft and embrace of tradition that he explored during his solo years. A concept record about Dutch rocker Herman Brood, you don’t need to know the troubled history of it’s inspiration to appreciate its greatness and the one Brood cover “You Can’t Break a Heart and Have It” is outstanding.

265. Spoon – A Series of Sneaks (1998)

These taut guitar driven tracks were seen rightly as a big advance over this band’s early work but has since been overshadowed by the disastrous major label relationship it represented and the band’s artistic rebirth on Merge Records after being dropped after this one album. What’s been lost is what a tight driving slice of awesome the record is, subtly pointing the way to the band’s latter-day minimalism more than their immediate follow-up did.

264. The Mekons - I Heart Mekons (1993)

This list is chock full of records that make the argument that major labels were lumbering tasteless beasts that only served to push product through pipelines but stifled great music. Today plenty of artists have taken advantage of digital technology to bypass this and have suffered little given the paucity of physical retail locations but in the 80s and 90s few bands had this choice. The Mekons had already bounced from a bad situation at A & M and were newly signed to Warners subsidiary Loud, which rejected this, their brightest and most accessible record, as not being commercial enough. This was their fourth killer disc in a row and this time the subject was romance, their cynical and wry pens turning to the many facets of human relations.   

263. The Cars – Candy -O(1979)

The Cars were another band destined to live down a stellar debut but by any standard this, their second record, was an artistic and commercial success even if not on par with the first. Ocasek proves to be a songwriter to be reckoned with – “Let’s Go” and “Dangerous Type” joined the list of Cars classics. The title track strips things down to a punky urgency and “Double Life” is a should have been hit.

262. Paul McCartney – Ram (1971)

In the wake of the traumatic Beatles split it was Paul (and Yoko) who came in for the most opprobrium but time has proven out how evenly matched the talents of at least John, Paul and George really were. Ringo’s talent of course was being in the right place at the right time. This was Paul’s second solo disc and a big improvement on his slap-dash debut but still received scathing reviews. Now it seems like a pretty great record, with a command of melodies and songwriting skill that most artists would kill for. Yes Paul could get awfully silly or just plain treacly but not here – the soft stuff like “Heart of The Country” is great and simple, the tricky stuff like “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey” is earworm heaven and the hard stuff like “Smile Away” rips.

261. Suicide - Suicide (Alan Vega/Martin Rev)  (1980)

Issued both under their band names and credited to both of the seperately, Vega and Rev built on their groundbreaking electronic debut by enlisting Ric Ocasek though this never approaches The Cars level of pop. There is a fuller, more pronounced hookcraft here that is often disarmingly hummable, clearly inspiring every synth duo to follow in the 80s.

260. ..And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead – Source Tags and Codes (2002)

This album caught them at the midpoint between Sonic Youth and Mission of Burma styled indie rock and prog expansiveness more along the lines of Pink Floyd. Reviews were ecstatic included a coveted 10.0 from Pitchfork.com but this has proved a very hard record to live up to, especially given its nature as a transition piece. It truly is their best though.

259. R.E.M. - Lifes Rich Pageant (1986)

R.E.M. were disillusioned by the experience of making their third LP and were nothing if not a band always looking to build on their last record. As such they turned to much more direct songwriting for LP number four and recruited John Cougar Mellencamp’s producer Don Gehman to add sonic bite. Opener “Begin The Begin” ably blows out the cobwebs announcing this as their rocking-est record yet but then they follow up with the drop-dead gorgeous “Fall On Me” and suddenly these scrappy indie pioneers looked like contenders indeed. Stipe’s songs and singing were becoming clearer by the note, with more political content than they’d ever cared to include before, at a time when few others bothered.

258. Bob Dylan – Modern Times (2006)

Dylan is completely steeped in the americana he essentially helped codify with The Basement Tapes, sounding more relaxed and in charge in the 00s than he had since the mid 70s. It’s his best set of songs since then two, spread out over the decade and including this gimlet eyed gem. The songs are chock full of references that cut towards the past and the future, as much about the venality of today as of everyday. It’s a thrill when he sings about thinking of Alicia Keys because we want Dylan to be in the here and now and also as he does here, to be completely timeless.

257. Aerosmith – Toys in the Attic (1975)

This is the touchstone Aerosmith album, the band at the peak of their songwriting and recording powers (if not physical condition). Toxix Twins Joe Perry and Steve Tyler would fade after this, only to come back in the late 80s assisted by a phalanx of song doctors, as well as rehab technicians. This is the real deal though, a band finding out that their blues-based repertoire could lead them away from simply being Jagger/Richards clones.

256. Wire – 154 (1979)

The culmination of a groundbreaking three album run, Wire’s third continued to shift the palette away from the ultra-short riff-bombs of their first album into a keyboard based experimental vein. The songs get stretched and icy, entering into Bowie in Berlin territory, but it always gets snapped back into sharp melodies and biting guitar work.

255. Rocket From the Crypt – Circa: Now! (1992)

A huge leap forward for an obscure bunch of punks, RFTC deploy a newly minted horn section and deeply detailed guitar textures to blow minds and open major label wallets in the post-Nirvana landscape. The songs are chugging roiling anthems that flirt with 50s and 60s party rock moves even as the guitars blaze.

254. Peter Gabriel – So (1986)

Gabriel’s most accessible and best known work still has time amidst the ersatz Stax groove of “Sledgehammer” and the tender Kate Bush duet “Don’t Give Up” to nod to his artier and worldier instincts, mixing in a collaboration with Laurie Anderson and Youssou N’ Dour. An integral part in the rise of “world music” craze in the 80s along with Paul Simon’s Graceland.

253. Parliament – Funketelechy vs. The Placebo Syndrome (1977)

Entire rap careers were made off of sampling this album, and the band Urge Overkill even took their name from one of the lyrics so – influential yes. Booty-shaking? Also, yes.

252. Arcade Fire – The Suburbs (2010)

For their third album these semi-Canucks open up their dense wall of sound to let it breathe, imbuing their loose concept of a post-apocalyptic suburban scene with a clarity and lightness that their other records only hinted at. It rocks harder too on tracks like “Month of May.”

251. Avalanches – Since I Left You (2000)

Sample-happy Antipodeans tune their stations to ten groovy stations at once  it seems, making seamless grooves out of the raw material of existing pop. The endless dance party is interrupted only by the astounding “Frontier Psychiatrist” one of the great cut-up artifacts of the last century in which John Water’s Polyster kicks off a crazy quilt of free association samples.

250. Slint – Tweez (1989)

You could definitely call a band with songs named after the members parents, mumbling in place of lyrics, and sharp angular guitars and weird time signatures an acquired taste. Once you get a yen for it though, like salty ice cream it can become an itch you need to scratch.

249. Built to Spill – There’s Nothing Wrong With Love (1994)

The small scale love angst of their second album made Built to Spill an underground sensation, even as it marked the end of  their slightly twee-ish indie phase as they became a more classic rock focused guitar juggernaut. Packed with sweet harmonies, strings, and funny call-outs this is more in line with Big Star than Crazy Horse.

248. M.I.A. – Arular (2005)

M.I.A. at her best pulls like a scavenger from the best little bits pieces and styles and smooshes it into a funky, catchy, naggingly ass moving treat. This debut record was an eye-opening stew from the Sanford & Son sampling “URAQT” to the slow rolling synth explosions of “Bingo” it announced a new kind of world music and a new star.

247. Lou Reed – New York (1989)

Reed sounds more vital and engaged than he had in years chronicling his city in the late 80s. Stripped down and to the point there is a warmth in the grooves and the lyrics of this fine set of songs. This is no more so on the heartbreaking “Halloween Parade” an elegy for the Village institution that was ravaged by AIDS over the preceding 10 years. His most human and humane record.\

246. Brian Eno & David Byrne – My Life in the Bush of Ghosts (1981)

During the recording of three Talking Heads albums Eno and Byrne were becoming joined at the hip to the extent that the other members of the band were beginning to feel uncomfortable. Finally the two men were able to be alone, and what they made together melded the global sounds they had followed with Talking Heads with the literal global sounds of various peoples recorded from radio and television, a Tower of Babel accompaniment.

245. Digital Underground – Sex Packets (1990)

Before gangstas hijacked George Clinton’s p-funk grooves at gunpoint, Digital Underground plundered the master of funk for this funny ribald romp. They also, crucially, updated Clinton’s taste for surreal humor (Humpty Hump has a pickle nose for crissakes!) and sex fixation (said pickle nose is said to “tickle your rear” in a 69). This is much more than just an excersize in plundering, it’s a party record par excellence with an intelligence behind the goofing.

244. Neutral Milk Hotel – In The Airplane Over The Sea (1998)
A huge inspiration to all sorts of acts from Arcade Fire to Bon Iver – a touchstone for how indie rock would sound in the decade that followed. Only few of Jeff Mangum’s followers could equal his songwriting skill or facility with different tempos and textures. The mystique around the record is only magnified by his continued disinterest in a follow-up record.

243. Pulp – Different Class (1995)

Jarvis Cocker and Pulp were unlikely exponents of Britain’s britpop revival having toiled in the indie underground since the mid 80s with little success. What no-one counted on was for Cocker to suddenly develop a sharp incisively sexy songwriting voice, finding it’s full flower here on the “Common People” single. There was plenty more though, like the seedy “Pencil Skirt” and the festival baiting of “Sorted for E’s and Whizz.”

242. Wu-Tang Clan – Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) (1993)
The Wu stormed into hip-hop consciousness with what is still one of the genre’s most impressive debuts, a fully formed collective of incredibly talented rappers all folded into the spare hard-hitting production by RZA. This is a real album despite the varied lyrical approach taken by each member, each track is tied together with samples from cheesy kung-fu flicks and builds on each other to create a masterpiece.

241. Sonic Youth – EVOL (1986)

Sonic Youth swapped out drummer Bob Bert three albums in for Steve Shelley and suddenly snapped into focus, their weird alternate tunings and experimental leanings buttressed by structure and an emerging fascination with pop culture embodied by standout ‘Expressway to Yr. Skull” also know as “Madonna, Sean and Me”. Everything they would do after would be informed by this first signpost.

240. Young Marble Giants – Colossal Youth (1980)

This is one of those utterly unique albums that could have been made yesterday as easily and credibly as 1980 when it was released. Spare mantra like songs that build tension that coils and coils, it’s a revelation of simple arrangements trumping all. Alison Statton’s semi-detached singing and wry lyrics were hugely influential but their sound has never been imitated as it’s impossible to get quite right without being a clear rip-off. Essential.

239. Harry Nilsson – Nilsson Schmilsson (1971)

A talented and troubled guy’s high-water mark in every way. Richard Perry does his best to rein the man in but for every “Without You” (meant here with tongue firmly on cheek, covered cluelessly ever since by the likes of Celine Dion) there is the blazing rock of “Jump Into The Fire” or the novelty of “Coconut.” Like an immersion into the best AM radio station of the early 70s.

238. Pavement – Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain (1994)

There were still a  surprising number of people who believed in the real possibility that Steve Malkmus could become the next Kurt Cobain at this point, another voice of a generation. And why not? Lyrics like the tennis drama “Stop Breathing” or the wanderlust ode “Range Life” were not as in love with wordplay for it’s own sake as later material would be. The band itself winked at comparisons between R.E.M.’s first and second records and their debut and this follow-up – leaving unspoken the career arc to stardom this implied. It wouldn’t work out that way though, as subsequent records increasingly focused on the existing cult without building a bigger audience. In retrospect it seems absurd that the literate to a fault lyrics, wonderfully ramshackle arrangements and bursts of noise and in-jokes were ever considered the stuff that mainstream success might have been made of.

237. Metallica – Master of Puppets (1986)
In tenth grade my friend Bob McCormick would play this while we hung out in his room listening to music. Bob had admirably eclectic taste that I was way too “cool” to appreciate at the time. I was punk rock man! So I was pretty dismissive of this, Devo, and the Aerosmith stuff he’d play me only to come back to it later and realize it was actually pretty good. In this case, more than good – amazing. With zero mainstream support Metallica sold millions of copies of this album, defining thrash metal’s distinct fusion of heavy Sabbath with fast and hard Black Flag pummel. While the “dark” lyrics of a Judas Priest or Iron Maiden seemed like the stuff that only a guy with a mullet and a jean jacket would take seriously, Hetfield’s bleak worldview makes this genuinely chilling and surprisingly impassioned.

236. The Amps – Pacer (1995)

Originally intended as material for the Breeders much awaited third album, the follow-up to their surprise million selling Last Splash, those plans were derailed by Kelley Deal’s drug bust and Kim Deal’s decision to scrap the original big budget recording sessions. Inspired by fellow Dayton resident Bob Pollard’s aggressively low-fi Guided By Voices, she re-recorded the tracks with an almost totally new band, renaming them after she and Kelley’s original pre-Pixies duo. The irony is that this is would be one of her strongest sets of material, far better than any subsequent Breeders album but the offhand nature of the recording and release plus the unfamiliar band name led it to be utterly buried and still underrated.

235. LCD Soundsystem – Sound of Silver (2007)

James Murphy gets (mostly) sincere on his second album as LCD Soundsystem, taking his song-heavy electronica to a level rarely achieved by his peers. There are at least three classic anthems here, “Someone Great”, the pulsing “All My Friends” and the NYC goes Disney of “New York I Love You.”

234. Bob Dylan – Love & Theft (2001)
At this late stage in Dylan’s career he could be excused for endlessly touring behind his considerable catalog but the man has longevity in mind. This was his best album in two decades, a tour de force through the history of American song as refracted through Dylan’s utterly timeless originals.

233. Bob Marley - Exodus (1977)
This is Marley at his slickest, a pop music machine cranking out indelible melodies. This has some of his biggest hits but even the lesser known tracks glide along on the liquidy groove even as he becomes a bit more focused on his own mortality in the wake of an attempt on his life.

232. The National – Alligator (2005)
The National finally perfect their melancholy sound on their third album but it still has a rockingness that would be mostly ironed out on future releases. Less perfectionist than they would become, they leave the door open for outright ravers like “Abel” but the songs are just as top-notch.

231. The Replacements – Hootenanny (1983)

Rolling Stone magazine released a new edition of their Record Guide the same year this came out and their entry on the band was typically dismissive, basically “another hardcore band, and who will care in a few years.” While the ‘Mats may never have crossed over to stardom their influence was huge and they were never really a hardcore band at their heart. Here is where they really start to branch out in their own ramshackle booze addled style, from mock cocktail jobs (with the personals read over them) to a Beatles filleting to some of Paul Westerberg’s best songs. “Within Your Reach”, “Color Me Impressed” and “Run It” all showed the glimmerings of the band’s future direction.

230. Talking Heads  – The Name of This Band is Talking Heads (1982)

The temptation is to put Stop Making Sense here as it too is an incredible life album but it has a film to accompany it (it’s technically a soundtrack) and the full experience is to watch the thing. This is just as revelatory and says more about the band and its material during a transition between their Eno years and their more outward facing commercial period. The first LP is the stripped down core band at various live dates playing their early material raw and urgent. This is what a hungry band sounds like and it’s transporting. Disc two than neatly slides the top of your head off, presenting the fully expanded version of the band with three backup singers, two percussionists, Busta Cherry Jones augmenting bass, P-Funk’s Bernie Worrell adding keyboard flavor, and the amazing Adrian Belew throwing in guitar leads. The power of this line-up is stunning and transforms some of the more insular material on albums like Fear Of Music into downright stompers. Sure this doesn’t have the stadium whomp of that other live album (compare “Once In A Lifetime” to see) but this pulls you in with intricate rhythms and grooves that no-one else was doing in quite the same way.

229. Brian Eno - Taking Tiger Mountain By Strategy (1974)

This was Eno’s second solo album and hinted at some of the more ambient sounds he would become consumed with in the near future. There still was a clear rock underpinning to these tracks though even as he moved away from the glammier aspects of his debut and his work with Roxy Music. “Third Uncle” is like someone taking Pink Floyd’s “Echoes” and beating the piss out of it in an alley, while “The True Wheel” prefigures some of what future collaborators in Talking Heads would be doing a few years later.

228. Bruce Springsteen - Born to Run (1975)

The album that made Springsteen what he is, and the one that he has to embrace or reject with every subsequent release. For those who find his affinity with Lou Reed and Patti Smith odd, it helps to remember that prog rock excess and fey singer/songwriter treacle were dominant in 1975 and Bruce’s embrace of early 60s notions like the Wall of Sound and populist anthems that drew from both Motown and the likes of Del Shannon were the kind of back to basics moves that led to punk. Though indie rockers read the big arrangements and committed performances as a bit corny a new generation such as Arcade Fire and The Hold Steady would look to this for inspiration.

227. The Slits - Cut (1979)

Though the three women in The Slits came out of the London punk scene their debut clearly incorporated their fascination with reggae, only skewed by their choppy angular playing and infectious group vocals. The songs are idiosyncratic and feminist, a point of view rarely heard in rock music up until then. They are also great fun, sharp and witty on originals like “Typical Girls” and their killer cover of “I Heard it Through The Grapevine.” Though they influenced everyone from Hole to Bikini Kill this still sounds completely unique.

226. Suicide – Suicide (1977)

Two guys and a synthesizer was not anyone’s idea of a band line-up in 1977 – 1982 maybe. But there was Alan Vega and Marty Rev at CBGB’s alienating audiences with a kind of automated take on rockabilly, punk and even ballads. Hugely influential and not just on other electronic artists (witness R.E.M.’s cover of “Ghost Rider”). Spare and thrilling.

225. Supergrass – In It For The Money (1997)

These Brit-poppers had an exuberantly energetic and fizzy debut but it’s in this follow-up that they deepened and broadened their musical approach with an incredibly varied set of material. This is even more true on the Limited Edition which appends an extra disc of even more great tracks. “Richard III” careens like Smashing Pumpkins with a groove transplant, “You Can See Me” has a killer riff and a lyric that comes on like crazy, and the title track soars.

224. X – Los Angeles (1980)

X came out of L.A.’s underground hardcore scene sure, but their choice of ex-Door’s keyboardist Ray Manzarek as producer was a tip-off that their ambitions were broader than many of their compatriots. Their literate hard-hitting songs put this debut album on the map, as did the sweet/sour guy/gal vocals of John Doe and his wife Exene Cervenka. As punk as they were, there were already clear hints of rockabilly and classic rock structure in the flashy guitar playing of Billy Zoom.

223. Wipers – is This Real? (1980)

One of the great lesser-known American punk albums, Greg Sage’s first album as The Wipers shows off his fiery guitar style and sharp grasp of melody and structure on a set of songs that capture the anomie and distance of adolescence as well as any album before or since.

222. Rod Stewart – Every Picture Tells a Story (1971)

Seriously, there really was a time when Rod Stewart was cool. Stop sniggering, for real. As the lead singer for the Faces he lead a down and dirty band that gave the Stones a run for their money and helped inspire bands like The Black Crowes, Georgia Sattelites, Supergrass, Primal Scream, Oasis and countless others. His early solo work was mostly an extension of his Faces records, with the band backing him up. He betrayed a curate’s eye for good songs to cover and matched them with originals like “Maggie May” that became classics in their own right. Think of him as that leering old perv turned showtune warbler? Check out how he and The Faces tear it up on “(I Know) I’m Losing You.”

221. Santigold – Santogold (2008)

Pegged rather unfairly as an M.I.A. clone, Santi White and her compatriots in Santogold do share some characteristics and the use of producers Diplo and Switch on various tracks. In general these tracks are far more open and lighthearted, gliding where M.I.A. pounds. There is a real gift for catchy tunes here in addition to solid beats on songs like “L.E.S. Artistes” and “I’m a Lady”, all put over with Santi’s winning vocals. Let’s hope that follow up is on it’s way.

220. PJ Harvey – Dry (1992)

PJ Harvey (which was a band name at this point) debuted with this album, which felt like a punch to the solar plexus. Emotional resonant, even brutal songs stripped down to bare riffs and hard motifs. It was striking, original and necessary back in ’92 and still so today. Polly Jean Harvey was undisputed at the center of her namesake band playing tough direct guitar, singing with a knowing detached sneer and writing with a surgeon-like efficiency.

219. Pink Floyd – Dark Side of the Moon (1973)

Not even an album anymore but a fact of life.

218. The Lemonheads – It’s a Shame About Ray (1992)

It’s easy to hate Evan Dando, with his heart-throbby good looks and himbo affect. There was more depth to him than that as was displayed on several of his bands early songs and a blazing cover of Suzanne Vega’s “Luka”, and the Gram Parson’s meets Johny Thunder’s eclecticism of his previous record Lovey. With an almost totally new band including supposed GF Juliana Hatfield on bass and backing vocals (and record cover) he found a distinct sound, 2 parts New Zealandy jangle pop to one part power punk with the acoustic guitars turned way up. It’s a terrific set of songs played with great verve but also point to his Achilles heel in the standout track “My Drug Buddy”, a poignant song about the joys of getting high with a pal.  Sadly the good reviews and sales this album garnered led Dando to have many, many more drug buddies and the effect was less than salutary for his career.

217. Can – Ege Bamyasi (1972)

Though Can would go on to make more good to great music over the following decade plus, this is their highwater mark as a band with the classic line-up (I am a diehard believer that Damo Suzuki is way way better than Malcolm Mooney as a vocalist) firing on all cylinders. First of all there is that crack rhythm section pounding out molten grooves that twist and turn. Then there are the songs like “Vitamin C” and the guitar driven “I’m So Green.” So much of art-rock and post-punk that would come later on in the decade starts here.

216. Superchunk – Here’s Where The Strings Comes In (1995)

Not all of their diehards appreciated it but the ‘Chunk tried to add some more complexity to their straightforward guitar driven punk rock with some trickier arrangements and varied tempos. Lyrically the disintegration of  Mac and Laura’s marriage can be felt here just as it was on the preceding record but this is very much the aftermath – a walk through a still-tender wasteland of easily bruised feelings and confusion. Powerful stuff.

215. Fountains of Wayne – Utopia Parkway (1999)

A concept album of sorts that brings to life the feeling of being a young adult in the bridge and tunnel environs of New York City, with characters flitting around Long Island and New Jersey and naturally into the city itself looking for lost loves or even catching a laser show at the long-defunct Hayden Planetarium. It can be surprisingly poignant, a nostalgic drive through the old neighborhood with a long lingering pass past the houses of ex-girlfriends.

214. The Fall – This Nation’s Saving Grace (1985)

Mark E. Smith really hit his stride in the mid 80s with this album representing the high-water mark of what feels like hundreds of releases since 1978. Is it a coincidence that this occurred during his improbable marriage to the delectable and  talented Brix Smith who plays her guitar like a freaking goddess sprung from the wrist of Hank Marvin. Her twang complements Mark’s nasal rants perfectly and the band even stretches into spacy synthy territory with the wonderful “L.A.” Get the reissue for an excellent disc of contemporaneous singles and other tracks.

213. Cypress Hill – Cypress Hill (1991)

It’s easy to take these guys for granted now in the age of Snoop Dogg but when this debut came out their sheer allegiance  to weed was unusual, as was their hispanic and proud background. Their heavy beats, distorted samples and relaxed tempos all pioneered the West Coast blunted sound that Dr. Dre would take to the bank, and the in your face rapping of B. Real and crew also set the template for more unique voices and rhyme styles to emerge.

212. David Bowie – Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) (1980)

A great capstone to an astounding decade of work in which Bowie could lay claim to an artistic transformation equal to that of the Beatles in scope if not in stature. This sums up everything the guy could do in a very accessible way with “Ashes To Ashes” as the bridge back to the Bowie of “Space Oddity” by acting as its sequel. Robert Fripp’s guitar skitters and burns on tracks like the crushing “Fashion” and the cover of Tom Verlaine’s “Kingdom Come” is superlative. His last truly great record before slipping into a bad glossy patch.

211. Cheap Trick – In Color (1977)

Cheap Trick quickly followed up their debut with another terrific set of songs drawing on their years on the bar-band circuit in Illinois. This is power pop with the emphasis on power, a sound that put them at odds with most of what was getting radio and critical attention at the time. Now of course it sounds like everyone from Weezer to Fountains of Wayne to Foo Fighters but it took a long time indeed for this band to get it’s due. It’s hard to pick a single gem out of the batch but if I must, check out “Southern Girls” or the sublime “Oh Caroline” to hear how it’s done.

210. McLusky – McLusky Do Dallas (2002)

The debt to the Pixies is clear in the raving vocals and hook happy unhinged guitar riffing (not to mention the presence of Steve Albini behind the boards)  but these Scottish lads bring a unique lyric sensibility that can be gleaned from song titles like “The World Loves Us and is Our Bitch.” “Fuck This Band’ is especially funny in it’s offhanded dismissal of themselves – “they curse too much..” There is also tremendous joy and verve in the playing and arranging of each killer song – witness “Alan is a Cowboy Killer” and it’s nagging backing vocals. Brilliant.

209. Green Day – American Idiot (2004)

Really Green Day had no business making this record. On the decline commercially and artistically the Bay Area pop punkers repaired to the studio to make their new record only to have the hard drive stolen with their new batch of songs. Instead of re-recording songwriter and singer Billie Joe and the band worked up a much more personal and ambitious batch of songs that reflected their bewilderment and anger over the Bush administration’s response to 9/11 and invasion of Iraq. What came out was a complex concept record with the band’s best songs, and one of the greatest protest records of the era. Veering from intimate character sketches to polemical barnburners plus a set of interlinked suites, following an actual narrative is secondary to the emotional pull of the band’s anger and sadness embodied in teh title track and the incendiary “Holiday.” I was prepared to hate this thing when it came out but I appreciate it more with every year.

208. Eric B. & Rakim – Paid in Full (1987)

A stone classic, Rakim’s rhyming became the turning point from Run D.M.C’s call and response to more complex intricate one-man structures pioneering what every great MC would do subsequently. The production is spare in the best sense, suporting and pushing the rhymes and the flow. You MUST get the deluxe edition which appends essential remixes including the classic Coldcut 12″ version of the title track.

207. The Breeders – Last Splash (1993)

In the wake of the acrimonious split of the Pixies Black Francis (nee Frank Black) seemed well-positioned to leverage his songwriting and bandleading status in a solo career but for a variety of reason Kim Deal received most of the good will from fans. While Black struggled to stay relevant she was embraced by the indie world and with this, had a bigger hit than anything her band had done. With her twin sister Kelley in tow and a big single in the infectious “Cannonball” Deal was on top of the world, that is until drugs sent she and Kelley into a tailspin that took years to work through. Still this moment when they were America’s twin indie sweethearts with their guileless breathy vocals and grinding guitars was a damn sweet one.

206. Elvis Costello – My Aim Is True (1977)

Costello’s debut is where he sounds most like his mentor Nick Lowe, with sturdy pub rock songs amped up to the point of being able to pass for punk. In these pre-Attractions days he’s backed by Clover which is in fact Huey Lewis’ News, and they are nothing if not pros. What makes it come alive is Elvis the C’s extraordinary songwriting – It’s an amazing set of songs from “Alison” to reggae-fied closer “Watching The Detectives.”

205. Funkadelic - One Nation Under a Groove (1978)

With this record George Clinton made clear his intention that Funkadelic be much more than just a funk outfit – they were a rock band too with Eddie Hazel’s Hendrix influence as important as Bootsy’s bass playing. This is the best set of songs of any Clinton unit’s album, hands down and the playing is stellar. “Who Says a Funk Band Can’t Play Rock” spells it out pretty clearly but it’s all hot stuff.

204. Propellerheads – Decksnaddrumsandrockandroll (1998)
Unfairly compared to Chemical Brothers, this duo from Bath have but this single album to their name but what a record. Influenced as much by hip-hop and lounge as by John Barry (they even bring Shirley Bassey in to sing one track) this is big beat electronica at its best.

203. Mos Def – Black on Both Sides (1999)

A return to the sounds and styles of Native Tongue rap from the late 80s/ early 90s, but with a modern twist. Mos has his own style and flow, thoughtful, deconstructive and disarmingly casual. He’s not afraid to be smart and politically insightful, and the lush inventive music supports his cerebral intentions.

202. The Replacements – Tim (1985)

The ‘Mats sign to a major label and turn to Tommy (Ramone) Erdelyi to helm their first album on Sire. Erdelyi ends up drying out the production a tad too much but Westerberg delivers with a great set of songs. “Lay it Down Clown” and “Dose of Thunder” are clearly there to give Bob Stinson a chance to unleash his firehose guitar but “Swingin’ Party”, “Left of The Dial” and “Little Mascara” display a new maturity. Then there’s the pure pop sweetness of “On The Bus”, a shoulda been hit.

201. De La Soul – De La Soul is Dead (1991)

De La Soul’s debut was a breakthrough but aside form a handful of other hip-hop acts it would prove to have fleeting short-term influence, subsumed by the bigger sales of proto-gangstas like N.W.A. Well De La could play rough too, purposely ditching the “daisy age” talk of their debut and playing up the criticism of them being soft in their album title. That doesn’t mean they dropped what was so inventive – crazy quilt samples, mind-blowing rapping and intricate subject matter way beyond most other rap or rock groups. Unjustly overlooked.

Jim Morrison wants you to try the barbecue sauce trapped in his beard...

Welcome to the latest installment counting down my 500 favorite albums of the last 40 years, in celebration of my 40th birthday. Here’s Part I if you missed it, 500-401.

400. David Bowie – Station to Station (1976)

Bowie here was not the same Bowie as on Ziggy Stardust or Let’s Dance. Fueled by coke and amphetamines he’s halfway between the ersatz soul of his previous record and halfway towards the sonic ingenuity of his Berlin years. In fact the title track and “TVC-15″ feel very much indebted to what German bands like Kraftwerk and Can were up to.

399. Randy Newman – Good Old Boys (1974)

A deeply twisted yet compassionate foray into the all-too recent American south. Newman imagines himself as his characters and his utter lack of detachment when in character as a racist for instance led to much confusion as well as Newman’s outspoken defense of Eminem. A corrective to those who know him only from family-friendly soundtracks and the (very funny) Family Guy parody.

398. Destroyer – Streethawk, A Seduction (2001)

Dan Bejar’s music making moniker has given him cover to explore a wide range of sounds, as well as to play the enigmatic member of a supergroup that already includes fascinating chanteuse Neko Case (New Pornograpers). Whike his voice may be a bit too reedy for some tastes and can veer into preciousness hen unchecked, here the songs and sounds are varied and energized enough to put every song over.

397. The Roots – Phrenology (2002)

The Roots straddled many traditions, from old school hip-hop to R & B and beyond. Because they are a band and use live instrumentation, they have been more reliant on great songwriting to get ideas across and this album captures them at their most fertile and sprawling – literlly on “The Seed 2.0″ which recounts a sort of creation myth for rock and roll.

396. Supergrass – Supergrass (1999)

One of britpops most unappreciated lights, these guys cranked out album after album of insanely tuneful songs. This is their most relaxed sounding record which isn’t to see that it doesn’t kick ass. The songs just have a great flowing sense of hooks being woven together into a pretty fucking cool sweater. Influences like Bowie, Small faces, even Supertramp are there to be spotted but never swamp the sound of three lads having fun.

395. The Soft Boys – Underwater Moonlight (1980)

Before Robyn Hitchcock was a quirky solo artist he was in this quirky post-punk band with a guy named Kimberley Rew. The main difference is the aggression which adds a welcome edge to the whimsy especially charging out of the gate on the brilliant “I Wanna Destroy You” which includes the great couplet “A pox upon the media and everything you read…”

394. Yo La Tengo – Painful (1993)

Yo la Tengo stretch the fuck out on the album that cemented their status as indie darlings.  They manage to cover the spectrum between Bob Dylan and Sonic Youth (on one song, “From a Motel 6″) handily while heralding the post-modern emergence in the 90s of critic’s rock. As much as it’s fun to play spot the references though, the band has it’s own way of mixing their references, ingredients and past references into something new and delightful.

393. Lambchop – Nixon (2000)

Lambchop’s Kurt Wagner makes much of their Nashville hometown but there’s very little country in their sound, unless you count the lush crossover weirdness of countrypoltan outliers like Lee Hazlewood or prime 70s Glen Campbell. This is a big band with a full sound yet the songs never pound – in fact they are hushed. Wagner sings like a fat guy, think Lowell Goerge, even though he looks like Anthony Edwards. So, a band of contradictions adding up to a uniquely stately sound.

392. The Police - Outlandos D’Amour (1978)

The Police come on with punk aggression on this, their debut but they were poseurs at heart. Sting and Stewart Copeland were prog rockers who delved deep into jazz fusion that would make Glen Matlock puke and guitarist Andy Summers was a vet of the late 60s swinging London scene. Nevertheless they bought the songs to match the zeitgeist, fast clever and with more than a nod to reggae (something punks like The Clash and Stiff Little Fingers were doing as well). So these guys may have been phonies, but they sure weren’t faking it.

391. Nas -Illmatic (1994)

Even Jay-Z, who has an ongoing beef with Nas, disses him by saying he had one good album. This is that album. It’s great.

390. Urge Overkill – Saturation (1993)

Urge were the careerists of the Chicago indie scene, always more melodic and classic rock than their abrasive Touch and Go labelmates despite using Steve Albini to record their early albums. Their matching suits and painstaking iconography were ironic but had enough truth in them to cause grumbling. Sure enough they signed to Nirvana’s label and released their ultimate Cheap Trick mash note, a big chewy slice of pop rock with songs about soap stars, stalkers, spies, and a few lyrics like “Bottle of Fur” that defy interpretation. Drug problems derailed the road to superstardom and this proved their high water crossover mark but it was a hell of a shot.

389. Kraftwerk – Trans-Europe Express (1977)

Maybe the most influential of all the bands to emerge in a burst of creativity from Germany in the late 60s and early 70s and commonly lumped under the Krautrock moniker despite very different sounds and approaches. Kraftwerk discovered electronic soundscapes and by 1974 were creating whole albums of pulsing, burbling synth sounds that would influence the likes of Giorgio Moroder and disco, post-punk synth pop like Depeche Mode and New Order, and elctro-rap like Afrika Bambaataa. This is their most accessible work, with all their hallmarks undiluted but spiked with hooks and melody.

388. Traveling Wilburys – Vol. 1 (1988)

Yes this would have been more impressive in 1968, though everyone would have wondered why a guy from The Move and a teenager from Gainesville Florida were jamming with legends like Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, and George Harrison. Typically this kind of thing doesn’t come off but it’s utterly charming with some of Dylan’s best work since his 70s revival.

387. Magazine - Real Life (1978)

Howard Devoto was a co-founder of The Buzzcocks but took off when that band started to veer into their standard (and wonderful) short sharp pop punk, ie before their first album. He founded Magazine and though they recorded a few castoffs from the Buzzcocks era (the brilliants “Shot By Both Sides” for one) they began laying the post-punk foundation of heavier more melodic bass and increasingly prominent keyboards. Of course this is more than just a transitional moment caught on record, it’s a great album that pointed the way forward post-1977.

386. Wipers – Over The Edge (1983)

Portland’s Greg Sage didn’t care about fame or stardom, he just wanted to toy around with recording and playing. He didn’t much care for touring either. Yet the guy had a gift and over three records (of which this was the last) he created incredibly driving, emotional punk that prefigured everything from Nirvana to Weezer while barely making a dent on the charts or the overt landscape of the music world.

385. Japan – Adolescent Sex (1978)

Like Magazine and Public Image Ltd, Magazine couldn’t wait for the first blush of punk to end so they could usher in a more nuanced sound. The official rap on punk was that it was eradicating black music’s influence on rock, particularly the beat. This was a bit overstated but the next wave of bands looked to r & b and disco in ways that planted the seeds for future new wave/disco concoctions like Duran Duran. Japan was at the forefront, marrying punks driving spiky guitars with a rhythm section that could throb with the best of them.

384. Frank Black & The Catholics - Dog in the Sand (2001)

In the wake of the breakup of the Pixies, Frank Black (nee Black Francis) was nothing if not prolific even as his commercial prospects ebbed away and the scene his band helped birth moved on. The skill and love of music never abandoned him as he explored more traditional rock idioms before wending back to some of the his more archetypal songwriting on this record, his best with the band The Catholics. While still very different from his seminal work, his concentration on craft is spiked with a return to offbeat arrangements and a terrific set of songs from the extra-long rave-up opener of “Blast-Off” to the wending story-song of “St. Francis Dam Disaster” and the rousing “Hermaphroditos.”

383. Eels – Souljacker (2001)

Eels frontman E can be insufferable but also incredibly creative. The consensus is that  Electro-Shock Blues is his best work on the Eels moniker, a set of songs heavily influenced by the death of several people close to him. I’ll take this over that any day. Here E has grown a full Unabomber beard abetted by the parka and sunglasses et-up on the cover – inside the songs are harsh and squalling, burying his melodic gifts in sometimes ugly sounds and roughing up his prettier songs with nasty lyrics like “World of Shit.” It’s incredibly affecting and feels more emotional honest than a whole host of his other stuff, at least to me.

382. Linton Kwesi Johnson - Forces of Victory (1979)

LKJ was a dub point, a sharply intellectual critic of the rise of the right in British politics. Singing/speaking in heavy Jamaican dialect, Johnson comes on like Britain’s reggaefied answer to Gil Scott-Heron. What puts this over is the amazing work by Dennis Bovell and the Dub Band backing him up with tight playing and inventive songs.

381. Cake – Comfort Eagle (2001)
Every album that Cake does is essentially the same. The same tightly wound rhythm section, retro sounding horns, dash of new school production to spice things up, John McCrea exhorting the band with little asides here and there. Yet, this one rises above the pack on the strength of a hugely consistent set of songs, flawless arrangements, and a dark little undercurrent that lends gravitas that is so often absent from their other work.

380. Radiohead - Amnesiac (2001)

Even Radiohead’s leftovers are better than many artists fussed-over statements. These tracks were recorded at the same time as the groundbreaking Kid A and share a kinship with their electroified rock. There is a bit of grandeur added with the Pink Floyd in Pompeii prog of “Pyramid Song” and a bit of the ol’ songcraft on “Knives Out.” A placeholder but what a place to hold.

379. The Fiery Furnaces – Blueberry Boat (2004)
It’s hard to fathom but this actual brother/sister duo got reams of White Stripes comparisons when their debut hit. Those were easily dismissed with this follow-up which struck their best balance to date of accessibility and their ongoing wanderlust-cum-ADD. They do stretch out with a vengeance with several songs topping the 6 minute mark but a sense of song structure and melody pervades the record, not least on nuggets like “Bird Brain.”

378. Richard & Linda Thompson – Hokey Pokey (1975)

One of the married couples lightest and most rollicking albums, and their last one before an abrupt conversion by Richard Thompson to an ascetic form of Sufism which makes the religious tweaking of “Mole in a Hole” even curiouser.  A little ribald (see the title track) and  even raunchy (R. Thompson’s guitar playing, natch).

377. TV on the Radio – Dear Science (2008)

Here’s where these indie stars go all Talking Heads, marrying their experimental urges with a broader palette of beatsand sounds and a more expansive worldview. The sound is clear, the songs direct, and the combination makes for one of the band’s most powerful albums to date.

376. Tom Waits – Swordfishtrombones (1983)

Tom Waits completely blew up his life and career between 1980 and the release of this album, transforming from a wry piano balladeer to an avant-garde Kurt Weill on steroids. In some ways it was a sound and substance that harked back to primal Americana of the 20s – 50s, but roughed up and pulled to the very edges of the spectrum. Even his voice had undergone a major change, from smoky crooner to gravelly intonations. One of the great 180 degree turns in music.

375. PJ Harvey – Let England Shake (2011)

PJ Harvey appeared to have settled down into a career where fans would be shed but few new ones gained. Having sloughed off her rough and ready early work she had lately ventured into Kate Bush territory – never a good sign. Then this came out and suddenly she was a vital artist again with something to say and the songs to say it with. A song cycle about the horrors British soldiers faced during the first world war, Harvey sprinkles in plenty of signposts to todays conflicts and moods. The sound is revelatory, not as abrasive as her early work, there are clever borrowings and allusions throughout to songs such as “Summertime Blues” and even a sample of Niney’s reggae classic “Blood and Fire”. Stunning.

374. The Pharcyde – Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde (1992)

Kind of a West Coast take on the Zulu Nation sound that De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest popularized, this was a last shot at positivity before gangsta thoroughly took over hip-hop.

373. The Specials - The Specials (1979)

Coventry, England’s finest musical export were an unlikely interracial band that revived the songs and sounds of pre-reggae Jamaican Ska. Their spirit and tempo were derived straight from punk though with a British sneer. Though their sexual politics sometimes left something to be desired their very existence was a slap in the face to the revived National Front in British politics of the time.

372. The Shins – Chutes Too Narrow (2003)

Arguably just on the right side of twee, these gentle popsters were nearly ruined by their exposure in the Zach Braff sensitive-a-palooza-thon that was Garden State. Princess Amidala is right though, these are great songs even if they fall short of full on life-changing.

371. Schoolly D – Smoke Some Kill (1988)

Schooly D was at the forefront of gangsta rap, and was one of its very best practitioners. His view is a pitch dark noir streetwise lens. Naturally civic leaders were up in arms over his frank and salty raps. This isn’t a record that’s likely to be endorsed by NOW anytime soon but it’s grit is sold on his effortless rhymes and spare beats. Schooly would rather be feared than loved.

370. Yo La Tengo – Electr-O-Pura (1995)
Yo La Tengo got back to eclecticism with this follow-up to Painful. They also serve up one of their most indelible songs with the chiming grind of “Tom Courtenay” which is set off by the horns and noise jams elsewhere.

369. Wilco – Sky Blue Sky (2007)

Seemingly a return to straight-ahead song forms after the willful experimentation of their previous two records, this is actually subtle stuff that sneaks its left turns into the classic rock structures. The guitar work is phenomenal and the arrangements are never less than top notch making this sound like a lost classic from the early 70s.

368. Swell Maps – Jane From Occupied Europe(1980)

These guys were blissfully indifferent to typical rules of songwriting and arranging. The upside of this are incredible soundscapes that are just anchored enough in melody and structure to feel utterly transcendent.

367. Blondie – Plastic Letters (1977)

Before Blondie were huge stars they were the novelty band of New York’s CBGBs scene. More than their peers, they were open to some of the poppier sounds of the 60s from girl group pastiches to Beatles-like arrangements and melodies. While their first record played the goofy throwback piece up this sophomore release found them emphasizing their range in advance of their blockbuster third album from the punked-up surf of “Youth Nabbed as Sniper” to the proggy “Cautious Lip.”

366. X-Ray Spex- Germ Free Adolescents (1978)

Though it was viewed at the time as a too-late collection of songs following their 1977 set of incendiary singles, this record has aged incredibly well – cementing Poly Styrene as one of UK punk’s leading artists. The long lag time between the early singles also featured here and the rest of the album tracks helps create a varied sound unified by Styrene’s railing against consumerism and the plastic nature of modern life.

365. The Unicorns – Who Will Cut Our Hair When We’re Dead? (2003)

These guys were aptly named given their short lifespan as a group and their uniquely skewed approach. This is indie that flirts with lo-fi, twee, punk, and drone but never fully embraces anything but their own worldview. From child stars to sea chanties the subject matter is encyclopedic yet somehow feels almost painfully personal and shot through with humor.

364. Steinski – What Does it All Mean (2008)

So yeah, this is cheating a little as technically this is a compilation and not a stand-alone album but it’s my damn list and this is essential listening. Steinski is a hero to any fat Jewish guy working at an ad agency (ie me) with a bent towards creativity. In 1983 he entered a contest sponsored by Tommy Boy records to remix one of their singles and won handily by making a smorgasbord of beats and samples from songs, TV shows and movies that was ass-shaking and hilarious. Only the “sampling” one could do back in 1983 wasn’t with a computer, it was with a razor and reel-to-real tape. The fact that it was a pudgy white dude on the cusp of his 30s was a shock to them. He became an underground sensation with his cut-up collages, none of which could be released on a wide basis because of the many unauthorized lifts. Albums like De La Soul’s 3 Feet High and Rising, The Beastie Boys’ Paul’s Boutique and Beck’s Odelay are impossible to imagine without him, as is the work of folks like Prince Paul, The Dust Brothers, RJD2, DJ Shadow, Girl Talk, and scores of others.

363. Hole – Celebrity Skin (1998)

Slick and even sunny, this is not the anguished grunge queen that graced the classic Live Through This, which in turn led many to dismiss this record as candyfloss. It’s not that exactly. It’s a classic California record as created by Love and abetted by Billy Corgan who co-wrote a chunk of this and it shows.

362. Santigold/Diplo – Top Ranking (2008)

Santigold collaborates with M.I.A.’s producer, a tip of the hat to the artist she’s most often compared to. Here though they cut loose and have some quasi-legal fun, radically remixing and re-imagining some of her songs and covering The Clash’s “Guns of Brixton” as “Guns of Brooklyn” and delving into “Iko Iko.” Like a proper DJ mix it all runs together gloriously.

361. The Hold Steady – Boys and Girls in America (2006)

Here’s where these guys move past joke band with a hectoring frontman and sub-Springsteen arrangements status to a real comer of a band. They are still writing about townies and sing-speaking but the songs are real songs now, the anthems have the requisite lift and the sonic palette is finally broad enough to support the band’s aspirations.

360. Cheap Trick – At Budokan (1979)

This is what a live album should be – all the great ones but tighter, faster, more primal. Cheap Trick never fit cleanly in any genre – they’ve been embraced by power-poppers, hair-mettelers, Grungistas and classic rockers. Here they fall into almost a power punk groove. Spurge for the expanded double-disc.

359. Run-D.M.C.  – Run-D.M.C. (1984)
Run-D.M.C. transformed hip-hop by stripping the form down to the key elements of beats and rhymes, and sliding it away from it’s orientation towards disco and into a tougher more rock inflected place. They purposely spoke to an audience beyond a neighborhood or even a city or coast and had the raw talent to become the first true stars of the genre. Later rappers may have found it corny but this was the hard stuff at the time, the unrelenting cutting edge.

358. Tom Waits – Rain Dogs (1985)

Waits builds on his experimental volte face and deepens it with classic songs like “Downtown Train” and “Hang Down Your Head” as sweeteners.

357. Roxy Music – For Your Pleasure (1973)
Eno’s swansong with Roxy ushers him out with a sleekly honed distillation of his experimental urges and frontman Bryan Ferry’s more formalist leanings. It stomps all over most other bands of the time by simply being more aggressive as well as more aggressively “out there” than the average band.

356. The Fall – Grotesque (After the Gramme) (1980)

Even this early into this band’s voluminous discography (which still continues) it’s clear that you either tolerate or even enjoy Mark E. Smith’s distinctive yelp or it’s like nails on a blackboard. Here is where the band’s sound jells into a sort of demented rockabilly augmented by Smith’s stream-of-consciousness laundry lists. I love it but hey, that’s me.

355. The Specials - More Specials (1980)

The album title promises more of the same from the band who kicked off the British ska revival and to some extent that’s true. However the band stretches out past the punky attack of the first record with the Morricone-derived centerpiece of “Stereotypes” and the songwriting deepens to become part of that great stream of britpop that’s trenchant with observations on modern life, connecting them to Ray Davies work with The Kinks and forward to Damon Albarn and Blur.

354. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Show Your Bones (2006)

Karen O. and co. take the hard way out by choosing to shake up the sound they depolyed so well on their debut album. This is a more produced and layered record, as well as a great break-up album. Granted some fans were put off by the slower tempos and somewhat glossier textures but the songs are top-notch.

353. They Might Be Giants – Lincoln (1988)

This is the quirky New York duo’s best midpoint between pop smarts and weird novelty, anchored by the brilliant “Ana Ng,” the ultimate in long-distance relationship songs.

352. The Jesus and Mary Chain - Darklands (1987)

The brothers Reid bravely stripped back the squalling feedback of their debut to reveal the songs lurking underneath on their second album. While this made them sound more conventional it also highlighted the stepped-up craft involved and the fact that, yes, there WERE songs beneath the squalling feedback. Damn good ones too.

351. AC/DC – Back in Black (1980)

Few bands could roar back from the death of a beloved frontman with their biggest and best album even but these Aussie lads managed to do just that. Bon Scott’s death would see to have shut the door given how distinctive his gargled-with-glass vocals were. Somehow the band found a ringer, Brian Johnson,  with arguably an even better voice. This is the classic rock party album to have, chock full of anthems and crunchy power chords.

350. Rolling Stones – Tattoo You (1981)

The Stones already had spent most of the last decade assembling albums from a new session here, and odds and ends left over from old sessions there. Still this was their first album exclusively stitched together from castoffs on the cutting room floor though cunningly assembled in such a way that most fans had no clue that these were warmed-over leftovers that dated as far back as the sessions for Goat’s Head Soup in 1973.  It’s no wonder given that there are a clutch of classics here including “Start Me Up”, “Waiting on a Friend” and Keith’s “Little T & A.”

349. Outkast – Stankonia (2000)

Atlanta’s hip-hop heroes were on a hot streak even before they dropped this one, but the sheer scope and range of these tracks and the phenomenal rapping of Dre and Big Boi sent this into the stratosphere. “Ms. Jackson” was the big hit and rightfully so but “So Fresh, So Clean” is a great way to describe their boundary pushing beats and electronic sonics, while “B.O.B.” is  a straight-out monster of a track.

348. Justice – Cross (2007)

This French duo are true musical omnivores, reviving electronica by casting a wide net that reels in all kinds of weird and wonderful goodies. Each track feels like a new discovery, and the record never devolves into samey beats-a-thons like many of their contemporaries. Fun AND rewarding.

347. Peter Gabriel – Peter Gabriel (car) (1977)

After leaving Genesis, flamboyant frontman Peter Gabriel delivered a very song-oriented first solo record, though it was his former band that would go on to be the real commercial powerhouse. At this point though one would have been well within their rights to expect Gabriel to be the one with the brightest future based on this canny mix of art-rock and pop with hooks. The key is “Solsbury Hill” a gorgeous ballad universal in it’s theme of self-actualization, and with a tribal drum coda that points the way to Gabriel’s later embrace of world music.

346. The Cars – Heartbeat City (1984)

The Cars took some time off but came back with producer Mutt Lange in tow to create a glossy, glassy album that became a huge honking hit. I remember being blown away by “Drive” as a 13 year old, amazed that the entire song was programmed with keyboard sounds. In it’s way, hugely influential on all the dance-punks that view those 80s sounds as touchstones. I also remember a summer utterly dominated by “Magic.”

345. Shuggie Otis – Inspiration Information (1974)

Son of legendary R & B bluesman Johnny Otis, Shuggie was a guitar whiz and introspectively gifted songwriter whose biggest hit came via The Brothers Johnson’s brilliant rearranged cover of his “Strawberry Letter 23.”  On is own his funky soul was too idiosyncratic to connect to a mainstream audience and he was only re-appraised in the 00s on a consistent basis as a hugely undersung 70s talent.

344. Quasi - The Sword of God (2001)

Lighter in spirit and looser than their first few albums, the married duo behind Quasi had also honed some pretty serious chops – in particular drummer Janet Weiss who kicks like a mule. This makes for a hugely enjoyable record that’s much more varied than a two person lineup might suggest.

343. Massive Attack – Blue Lines (1991)

At the same time that Nirvana was bringing grunge to the mainstream, Massive Attack’s debut was inventing a new genre in England that would take on the moniker “trip-hop.” As the name implies this was hip-hop inspired by woozy and trippy, related to some of the neo-soul that Soul II Soul had laid down a few years before and the so-called acid jazz scene. This ended up influencing everyone from Portishead to Amy Winehouse’s collaborations with Mark Ronson.

342. Frank Black – Frank Black (1993)

After dissolving Pixies,  Black Francis flipped his alias around and became Frank Black and recorded his first solo album which aply staked out ground he’d plow for the rest of his career. Pixies noise and chaos is represented along with his sci-fi fixation but are augmented by some more traditional rock and poppier hooks. There are also more keyboards than he would use before or since, perhaps due to the influence of producer and Pere Ubu keysman Eric Drew Feldman.

341. LCD Soundsystem – This is Happening(2010)

James Murphy announced the retirement of his LCD Soundsystem moniker shortly after this album came out, and if it was pro forma (he is the band after all) it still closed the chapter on a handful of great albums. This is critics music you can shake your ass too with Murphy as the pin-up for aging hipsters the world over who want to stay relevant but also know that they must play on the idea of staying relevant. Murphy goes back to the rosetta stone of shape-shifting musicians, Bowie, as much of this is informed by the sound of his late 70s work through Scary Monsters – no bad thing.

340. Built to Spill – Perfect From Now On (1997)

Built to Spill celebrated their ascension to Warner Bros. by releasing a impossible to promote record full of lengthy digressive songs. Stick it to the man! Predictably it stiffed but the songs are an excellent new direction for the formerly pithy (even twee) band. They had never hinted at a love for Crazy Horse at it’s sprawling best, and they carry it off with Doug Martsch leading the fellows into tricky step-ups and spiraling tunes that somehow still have hooks all over the place.

339. Belle and Sebastian – If You’re Feeling Sinister (1996)

Stuart Murdoch and his shifting gang are resolutely not music for everybody, despite being enamored of tunefulness and gifted melodically. Precious is the word to use here, and they tend towards it even if they would toughen up their sound somewhat later on.This was most peoples intro to the band and it caused a bit of a sensation upon release, a slap in the face to grunge (which was tottering over into the glop of nu-metal anyhow) with it’s gentle pastoral sound and nods to folk and 70s singer songwriters. The songs have the goods though, often knowingly wry and sometimes even poignant.

338. The National – Boxer (2007)

The National conjure a detailed, lush sonic bed for this record, auguring a shift away from the straight-ahead indie rock they started with into sonic territory more akin to Wilco or Radiohead at their most tuneful. Strings and brass add weight to an album that lays bear urban ennui and life in the 00s.

337. Lou Reed – The Blue Mask (1982)

Reed seemed a bit lost in the late 70s, eclipsed by his student Bowie and the punk scene he had inspired. This seems to have pressed him to strip back the artifice and get down to basics with guitarist Robert Quine in tow. The songwriting is more direct which puts this album over with a vitality that is still palpable.

336. The Police – Synchronicity (1983)
This was the big one – the album that launched the bleached blonde trio into the stratosphere. That’s only fitting since the (count ‘em) five hit singles rank as some of the best work the band ever did – and the brilliant “Every Breath You Take” is one of the best rock songs ever. Sadly the tension in the band was exacerbated by the long tour for the record and the band went their separate waysrather than consolidating their success.

335. Al Green – Call Me (1973)

With the help of the amazing production of Willie Mitchell, Al Green pulled gutbucket southern soul into the smooth seventies. His stunning voice and finely calibrated delivery was certainly a huge part of this, as was a canny ear for how to arrange both originals and covers (his take on Hank Williams here is unbelievable). The drums snap, the strings seduce, the horns wink, and Al just lays it down.

334.Iggy Pop – New Values (1979)

This was the last in the trio of albums that re-introduced Iggy to a world that had finally caught up with him, and it shows him taking some small steps into synthesized textures on songs like “Endless Sea” that actually work quite well. Never fear though, “5 Foot 1″ and it’s ilk still had the old crunch.

333. Dexy’s Midnight Runners – Searching For The Young Soul Rebels (1980)

Americans know these guys for one song and one song only and it ain’t here. Brits however recognized a good thing when they heard it, abunch of snot-nosed young bastards slagging off new wave and punk as garbage and proposing that the real sound of England’s disenfranchised youth should be…soul? Here they are though, coming on like Van Morison’s kids with a hot as shit band and Kevin Rowland singing more like Joe Strummer than Otis Redding. Which is half the charm, along with the very clever song titles. No wonder Belle and Sebastiannicked their sleeve design from these lads.

332. The White Stripes – Icky Thump (2007)

Jack and Meg dig deeper int0 blues on this and actually come out sounding more classic rock than ever. Partly this is Jack’s tone and style which distinctly echoes Jimmy Page, and the broader brighter production palette. This may also have been a symptom of his wandering eye, specifically his tenure in the more explicitly rock-oriented Raconteurs. Either way this nwould prove to be their final studio album, and a fitting send-off.

331. Jorge Ben – Africa Brasil (1976)

This whole album is on par with the best funk James Brown could dish up, and that’s really saying something. Ben was one of the leading lights in fusing Brazil’s samba with American and African beats and textures creating a wild funky hybrid. Every track here simply burns through the grooves. A must-hear classic.

330. Van Halen – 1984 (1984)

I’ll admit that most metal music leaves me cold. It might be the stiffness of the rhythm sections in many of the bands or simply my own snobbery. Yet this is a truly undeniable record – especially if you were male and 13 when it came out. The videos alone were pitched at the right level of boobs and booze that set the adolescent brain alight. The timing was perfect for David Lee Roth and Eddie Van Halen to become megastars driven by MTV and the crossover hit “Jump.” Of course people grow up, lead singers get kicked out (and return and get kicked out…) but 1984 still exists in the notes of these songs.

329. Rocket From the Crypt – Scream, Dracula, Scream! (1995)

Impossible to pigeonhole, these guys upped the singalong factor for their major-label coming out but the mix of 50s style rock arrangements and super hot blazing guitar runs along with a permanent horn section and driving chanted vocals made them very hard to promote indeed. It’s a shame as this was ten times more fun than most bands could ever have.

328. Tom Verlaine – Dreamtime (1981)

Verlaine was one of the leading lights behind the band Television and was much admired by the likes of David Bowie as a solo artist. His guitar playing is legendary and his reedy vocals would give many a geeky bedroom dreamer courage to sing. Though he never found much commercial success this record is his most consistently winning with “Without a Word” coming closest to the gorgeous glories of his old band.

327. Beck - Guero (2005)

Guero is the sound of Beck the innovator turning pro and if it’s not as knock-your-socks-off surprising as some of his earlier records it consolidates the advances of each one to make an impressive whole out of what could seem like a zig-zagging aesthetic. It helps that these are some of his best songs and that the Dust Brothers nod to their earlier work with him without trying to replicate it.

326. The Psychedelic Furs – The Psychedelic Furs (1980)

The Butler brothers and guitarist John Ashton crafted something special out of some very au courant sounds with this debut – a bit of Roxy Music here (especially their embrace of the sax) , a dash of Bowie, Richard Butler’s sandpaper croon which sounded like Johnny Rotten had taken singing lessons without losing the sneer. It works because the songs and playing are utterly without fat, with Steve Lillywhite providing an alluring atmosphere, and because they put it all over with a sense of humor to leaven what would be pretentious in the wrong hands. Brilliant.

325. Misfits - Walk Among Us (1982)

If the Ramones had subsisted on a steady diet of b-movie horror flicks they very well may have ended up as the Misfits. These guys have a lot to answer for (goth for one) but their debut is fast and punky and quite funny.

324. Big Black - Atomizer (1986)

Steve Albini’s first Big Black album sets the template and the story – pummeling Roland beats, molten guitars, and lyrics that live on the very far side from poltical correctness. In addition “Kerosene” may be their best song and it’s right smack in the middle of the album. Caustic.

323. Sebadoh – Smash Your Head on the Punk Rock (1992)

After being booted from Dinosaur Jr. by J. Mascis, Lou Barlow licked his wounds by starting his own band and, when he recruited musicians, giving them (perhaps too much) free reign that he had been denied. What makes this my preferred of their albums is that it’s heavy on Lou songs as it should be. Taken from two European EPs and mushed together, this was their most electric foray and the one that most shows Barlow’s emerging skills as a writer and performer. As an interpreter too, with brillaint renditions of Nick Drake and Buffalo Springfield scuzzed up.

322. Funkadelic – Standing on the Verge of Getting it On (1974)

George Clinton and his crew hit their stride with their mix of funk, R & B  and rock with some of their best songs. “I’ll Stay” is a killer ballad while “Sexy Ways” is like a winking Isley’s outtake, showing the range of the mothership expanding exponentially.

321. Morphine - Cure  For Pain (1993)

Mark Sandman’s 2-stringed slide bass was one of the unlikeliest lead instruments in rock. Dana Colley’s bluesy sax and Sandman’s smoky voice combine into a late night treat on this, their second album. The material here is head and shoulders above the debut, with new drummer Billy Conway adding both drive and swing. Totally unique and incredibly cool.

320. Sugar - Copper Blue (1992)

Post-Husker Du, Bob Mould spread his wings as a solo artist before forming a new band that built on both the advances of his old one but also on the moves of bands like Pixies. “Helpless” could be right off of Flip Your Wig but “Hoover Dam” shows the sophistication taht Mould was at pains to show on his quieter solo work could be put in service of a band context as well.

319. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Let Love In (1994)

Cave and his Bad Seeds began adding lighter elements, more intricate arrangements and varied sounds in the early 90s but it’s here that his old rip-snorting aggression and new found subtlety find their best blend with a terrific set of songs. It’s not a shock that Cave’s love is a violent, twisted, beautiful thing.

318. The Magnetic Fields – 69 Love Songs (1999)

If you are going to blow your wad, there are worse ways than filling three discs in a  boxed set of brilliants, detailed, funny, varied love songs.

317. The Hold Steady – Stay Positive (2008)

Some fans decried the polish and craft on this record compared to their ramshackle early work but I say they finally sloughed off the Springsteen-isms and became their own band here. The music in jokes are payed off with smart arrangements and even harpsichord is employed on Craig Finn’s epically bleak “One For The Cutters.” “Joke About Jamaica” goes beyond the Led Zep japes to dig deeper, with Finn’s lyrics about scenes living and dying adding even more resonance. A great record.

316. Basehead – Play With Toys (1992)

This is still radically out of step with hip-hop orthodoxy but it was even more so back in 1992. Michael Ivey’s raps are so laid-back he’s practically asleep and the acoustic instrumentation almost veers into G. Love territory but then he pulls a change up on you. The songs are hilarious and sad at the same time, topped by the gutbusting “Outro”.

315. Mission of Burma - Vs. (1982)

These guys were doing things like no other band in America – the closest equivalent was the UK’s Swell Maps but Burma had more ealty tos ong structure and form, as well as sheer volume. These songs run the gamut from straight-up punk to the unclassifiable something else, with big slabs of guitar and rolling drums signaling tempo and mood shifts even within the tracks. Eye opening in the best way.

314. Arcade Fire – Neon Bible (2007)

After their widely praised debut these Canadian indie rockers took their time with the follow-up, presenting a bleaker and darker album that still captured some of the magic of the first record but clearly suffused with the ennui that a global war on terror visited on so many. The arrangements rage from hushed to big and bold and the songwriting lassoes everything from George W. Bush to Joe Simpson.

313. Steely Dan - Aja (1977)

Butter wouldn’t melt in this record’s mouth. For those who hate the Dan, this is exhibit A – music to be an asshole by. Get lost in the shiny sonics and jazzy licks though and you can appreciate Fagan and Becker’s intricate arrangements and how they comment on their own seeming vacuousness.Definitely a peak of sorts.

312. The Black Keys – Brothers (2010)

This duo were another band who were hard to imagine emerging without The White Stripes showing the way.  The crucial difference in their evolution is that Jack White embraced classic rock while these guys have over the years let more of a classic soul and R & B influence their sound. This album is the apogee of their exploration into new sounds, with Danger Mouse guiding them into a self-produced combo of snap crackle beats and intricate arrangements worthy of Willie Mitchell. Dan Auerbach’s voice is the clincher, revealing hidden depths as the songwriting skill of he and Patrick Carney keep impressing. A modern classic.

311. Modest Mouse – The Moon and Antarctica (2000)

Modest Mouse took a big leap into a thematically linked album for their major label debut, with the quite modest aim of portraying life on earth as a human. What should be unbearably pretentious is smart, savvy and arresting and in it’s ambition is unlike anything else in the band’s catalog.

310. Silver Jews - Tanglewood Numbers (2005)

David Berman comes back after a harrowing 4 year layoff due to crippling drug problems and here lays it all bare along with new band member, his wife Cassie. It’s a high energy affair for the usually laid-back guy and it works remarkably, giving the frankness in his songs just the right desperate edge.  “There is a Place” is where he hits bottom and it’s chilling.

309. East River Pipe – Shining Hours in a Can (1994)

FM Cornog occupies a musical perch akin to the film Midnight Cowboy, a celebration of losers, users and the misbegotten. Like Joe Buck, his melodies sure are purty, even recorded as they were at home on a Tascam. The shimmering “Make a Deal With the City” and the liftoff of “Helmet On” are career highlights.

308. The Doors – L. A. Woman (1971)

Jim Morrison’s last stand, this is the band digging deep into blues with tracks like “Roadhouse Blues” alongside the brilliant title track.

307. X – Under The Big Black Sun (1982)

Exene Cervenka’s sister Mary was killed by a drunk driver while the band began to work on this album and the whole record is suffused with a dark feeling of sorrow, anger and regret. These layers make “Come Back to Me” and “Riding With Mary” indelible and the driving “Blue Spark” burn even brighter. Even without the back story this is a gritty driving album that cemented X as one of America’s best bands.

306. Beck – Sea Change (2002)

This is ostensibly Beck’s “personal” album, a confessional lament for his ending relationship and a major shift from an artist more accustomed to roleplaying. The sound harks back to Mutations which shares Nigel Godrich as a producer but the sound is a bit tougher. The songs are tight and masterful, with “Lonesome Tears” building to a rousing string-driven crescendo and “Paper Tiger”‘s rubbery bass adding distinctive accents.

305. The Decemberists - Picaresque (2005)

Bigger and bolder than their previous outings, this is twee on steroids. Colin Meloy’s  songs roll on like sea chanteys, bold and brassy and confident as hell.

304. Liz Phair – Exile in Guyville (1993)

Though Phair played up her debut album’s supposed answer to the Stones Exile on Main Street in reality it was a rebuke to the wayward and shifty men in bands and beds who she encountered living in Chicago.  These are 18 great songs all with distinct arrangements and a widely varied approach from bar band to art rock. It’s a brilliance she would never equal.

303. Neil Young & Crazy Horse – Sleeps With Angels (1994)

When Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain killed himself he quoted from Neil Young’s “Rust Never Sleeps” in the suicide note. Not surprisingly this had a haunting effect on Young who recorded this album as a response. It’s incredibly sad, elegiac, even hopeful at times as he looks at a crumbling world through the eyes of a young man who should have everything to live for. Sometimes songs like the lengthy “Change Your Mind” blur the lines between a love song and a lament to a talent that can never be bought back.

302. Neko Case – Blacklisted (2002)

It’s all too easy to fall in love with Neko Case, her beauty is matched by a voice of incredible power and charisma. On this, her third album, her songwriting finally comes into it’s own and she begins to stake out her own patch of Americana with a dark noir underpinning. It sounds timeless while not sounding like anything else exactly. Stunning.

301. Randy Newman – Sail Away (1972)

I know it’s hard to believe what with the Disney soundtracks but there was a time when Newman was among the most provocative of American songwriters. This one alone features the bawdy ‘You Can Leave Your Hat On” the amazing “Sail Away” which could form a great fucked up slaver trilogy along with The Stones’ “Brown Sugar” and The Mekons “Amnesia.” Whether questioning religion or welcoming World War III this set the template for a legion of smart-asses to come like Elvis Costello and Nellie McKay.

Welcome to the first installment of the 500 Best Albums of the Last 40 Years. An insane list but on the cusp of my 40th birthday, one I've given a lot of thought to. The rankings are somewhat arbitrary but it would be fair to infer that I'm not sure that number 500 (Spoon - Girls Can Tell) is a worse record than 475 (The Beach Boys - Surf's Up), but that I do think number 235  (Helium - The Magic City) is a better record. Really this is a statement of the music that has mattered to me and that I look at as yardsticks when I listen to other albums. But there are rules.

Only albums released between January 1, 1971 and publication are eligible. No greatest hits collections or retrospective compilations. The only exception I've made is for collections of artists releases that were singles only and were being released as an album for the first time. Without further ado, here is the first set records, 500-401. Stay tuned for 400-301 etc.!

500. Spoon - Girls Can Tell (2001)

After Spoon's disastrous experience with Elektra records it seemed like they would be one of many indie rockers who put out a few good Pixies-ish records in the mid-90s before skulking away to day jobs. Instead Britt Daniels went to Merge Records and embraced a sort of pop classicism, an embrace of great songwriting and arrangements that hint at but don't yet embody his later stripped-down ethos. While the vinyl on the album cover echoes the backwards looking nostalgia inherent in songs that "...long for the days when people used to say Sir and Yes Ma'am..." this record represented a new future for Spoon.

499. The Kinks - Sleepwalker (1977)

The 70s is considered an age of decline for the Kinks and certainly the band had moved on from the brit-pop classics of the 1960s that define their canon. Still there were many pleasures to be found even in their arena rock incarnation. Ray and Dave Davies may have coarsened and broadened their attack for endless stadium tours of America but the brothers were still capable of subtlety and wit on this paen to sleepless nights and werewolf-like transformations, not unlike the one their band had undergone.

498. Poundcake - Aloha Via Satellite (1996)

Talk about obscure. Part of the same Boston 90s scene that included Jen Trynin, these guys spit out just the one album before disbanding but it's a marvel of crunchy power pop with clever lyrics about the suckiness of western Mass, the way the record industry packages female rebellion (this was at the time that Riot Grrls were giving way to Alanis Morisette) and science.

497. Supergrass - I Should Coco (1995)

This exuberant debut came on like the second coming of the Faces, both Small and otherwise. This was the kid brother band of Britpop, getting caught by the fuzz but still feeling alright. Nagging back-up vocals, spring-loaded hooks and melodies galore.

496. Archers of Loaf - VeeVee (1995)

After their pounding debut, VeeVee feels like a band slammed sideways until everything is slightly off-kilter. There are times when it feels like they may have lost the ability to play but they're fucking with you, teasing out the dynamics on songs like "The Greatest of All Time" in which the frontman of the world's best/worst rock and roll band meets untimely death in a variety of ways. There's also "Harnessed in Slums" which might just be AOL's mightiest song and "Floating Friends" which is like a sadder, chaste version of Jontahan Richman's "Astral Plane."

495. MF Doom - Mmm Food (2004)

Doom proliferates in side projects, alter-egos, mixtapes and the like to the point sometimes of diminishing returns but here he's laid back and downright frisky. On a surface level he celebrates eating everything from MC's to hoe-cakes but consumption is consumption, and there's a sly wink to consumerism embedded in many of these tracks. The rhymes are top-notch as are the samples, many of which reference his Marvel-sourced character from old comic book LPs.

494. Sinead O'Connor - I Do Not Want What I Have Not Got (1990)

Most Americans got their first glimpse of the Irish lass' face in the video for "Nothing Comapres 2 U", an obscure Prince song that she sang into the camera with tears rolling down her cheeks. Even without the video accompaniment this is a powerful album, as contradictory as its star as it dabbles in breakbeats, stately ballads,and new wave crunchers.

493. The Clash - Give 'Em Enough Rope (1978)

Almost all the UK punks had a hell of a time following up their debuts. How dare you try to build a career! All the young punks with their new boots and contracts were expected to flop on record number 2 and go back to the dole line. Even worse was what the Clash did, bringing in American (!) record producer Sandy Pearlman to polish up their sound to a fine roaring sheen. Still this suffers in comparison only to the rest of their body of work.

492. The Auteurs - New Wave (1993)

Coming in on a sneer and a guitar flourish, The Auteurs found their own way into the mid 90s Britpop explosion. As literate as their name implied, Luke Haines and co. spun out stores of showgirl brides, show biz disappointments, and lessons learned the hard way all backed with tasty riffs and a knowing world-weariness that belied the debut status of the album.

491. The Cardigans - Gran Turismo (1998)

The Cardigans gimmick was happy sounding pop songs that were actually about pretty dark stuff, so when they went against the grain on this record and wrote music that was nearly as dark as an even deeper more troubling set of lyrics fans and critics revolted. There has been no reappraisal of this record but for me this is their most interesting work, influenced just a touch by trip hop. Of course it's really hearing icily pretty Scandinavian blonde Nina Persson sing about how desperately fucked up she is that makes this so compelling. "Do you believe that love will save the world?", she asks. "I really don't think so," she intones back to herself as much as to the listener.

490. Blur - Blur (1997)

Considered their "American" album, Blur spiked their obvious British influences like Bowie and The Kinks with a heavy dose of indie rock style dissonance and attitude. For their trouble they got a genuine stadium anthem with "Song 2" (the one that goes "Wooo-hooo") and a wonderfully varied set of textures and moods without really cracking the US music market (frontman Damon Albarn would have far more success later with the hip-hop influenced Gorillaz). "Beetlebum" is one of the best songs ever about being a lazy sod.

489. The dB's - Repercussion (1982)

This could be the ne plus ultra of jangle pop, all adenoidal energy and nervous arrangements marking the bridge from Jonathan Richman's nerd blues to R.E.M.'s arty abstract Americana.

488. Marvin Gaye - Here, My Dear (1978)

Album premises don't get much more screwed up than this: Marvin Gaye was stuck in a divorce battle with his soon-to-be ex (who also happened to be Motown founder Berry Gordy's sister). As part of the settlement he pledged the entirety of the royalties of his next album to her. Instead of giving into the temptation to hurt his own brand by recording, say, an all-flugelhorn cover version of Lou Reed's Metal Machine Music Gaye poured all of his pain into a concept album about the divorce itself. An eminently listenable and fascinating middle finger.

487. Broadcast - HaHa Sound (2003)

Broadcast took a lot of familiar ingredients like Krautrock, trip-hop, and 50s hi-fi sounds and mashed them into something wholly their own. While the result could have been arch and distanced it is instead warm, personal, enveloping, particularly on this album.

486. Slick Rick - The Great Adventures of Slick Rick(1988)

Not shy and certainly not unassuming, Slick Rick is one of rap's great storytellers.Detailed, funny, raunchy and all delivered in a jaunty half-British inflection, the man's flow is supreme on this debut. His attitude towards women is antediluvian, which can be a hurdle for the listener but these are the kinds of stories guys tell each other on the corner or in the locker room - tall tales to crack each other up.

485. Roxy Music - Country Life (1974)

The cover is notorious of course but the contents deliver up the goods as far as prime Bryan Ferry led Rpxy is concerned. Suave, smooth and thrilling.

484. The Who - Quadrophenia (1973)

The last great gasp of prime Who on record - they'd do some more fine songs but were never able to string another disc (let alone two) together as consistent as this. Another concept album, Townshend this time looks back to the 60s London mod scene which birthed the band ans also prefigured the soon to boom punk movement. While it doesn't all come off and the story is a convoluted mess the music is mostly magnificent.

483. Hot Chocolate - Cicero Park (1974)

A British band with a a knack for soul and funk and a weakness for fuzz guitars, Hot Chocolate would have bigger hits but this, their debut, is one of the lost gems of the era. From "Emma", a slow burner that Urge Overkill would cover in the 90s to the original, superior "Brother Louie" which Stories would take to the top of the charts. this is full of great songs that are subtle in their genre straddling.

482. Amy Winehouse - Back to Black (2006)

Ah, La Winehouse - alive when I started this list, dead by the time it ended. It's too much to credit her as a pioneer or innovator. It's equally unfair to judge her as an imitator. With the hep of Mick Ronson as a producer she transmute old soul tropes into something modern and distinctly her own and her voice was a clarion call. Sadly she leaves too short a legacy to deduce the impact on the future.

481. Happy Mondays - Pills 'n' Thrills 'n' Bellyaches (1990)

I saw these guys open for Pixies shortly before this came out and they seemed like a bunch of wankers onstage at Irving Plaza. A set of guys from Manchester with shades standing still, one guy shaking maracas like a moron, and 25 other boyos all smoking cigarettes as if to create a homemade dry ice effect. Their dance oriented sound was so out-of-step with the American college rock sound as to seem hostile. They were unknown in the States until this, their second LP, was released. The sinuous grooves and dancefloor cool moved the advances of The Stone Roses on into a full blown "baggy pants" sound that would find echoes in U2's new continental sounds the following year. Sadly the band themselves spiraled into  a drug fuelled abyss that blunted follow ups and follow through.

480. Deerhoof - Milk Man (2004)

Deerhoof worked their creepy charm to full effect on this record, which took their noise rock into more melodic territory. Though they would become even more accessible there is something about the teetering on the knife edge of chaos that makes this the most interesting record in their oeuvre. While the vocals can be off-putting in their girlishness, the childlike nature of Satomi Matsuzaki's   delivery is uniquely suited to the unsettling songs inside.

479. Ween - La Cucaracha (2007)

Ween are known for their juvenile sense of humor and their lack of fidelity to any particular style or song structure (or indeed to style or structure.) While that can make them seem indifferent and uninviting but the sheer exuberance of the arrangements and the depth of the depravity on this record make it utterly engrossing, even hilarious.

478. Deltron 3030 - Deltron 3030 (2000)

A dry run for Damon Albarn's Gorillaz project, this was a supergroup consisting of he, Del Tha Funky Homosapien,  Dan the Automater, Kid Koala and luminaries such as Prince Paul and Sean Lennon  lending a hand. Del's career was revived by the cool future-set rhymescapes, which were abetted by a lush cinematic sound design that makes this a uniquely fascinating hip-hop album.

477. Deerhunter - Halcyon Digest (2010)

In typical new millennium fashion Deerhunter skirt and flirt with multiple genres within indie rockdom, with a little lo-fi here matched with a pinch of punk there and a seasoning of noise rock. What makes this their best to date is the full-fledged embrace of great songs, arranged for maximum impact.

476. Spacemen 3 - Recurring (1991)

Another band that mined the past to pioneer the future, these guys started out as one of Britain’s vanguard psychedelic revivalists in the mid-80s but ended up prefiguring both the baggy pants scene and the electronica tinged 90s. Before going off to form the better-known Spiritualized, Jason Pierce begrudgingly fused his songs to partner Sonic Boom’s set to create essentially two solo EPs and the band’s last outing. While this obviously sounds like a disjointed way to go out its actually my favorite of their records, mind blowing and valedictory all at once.

475. Beach Boys - Surf's Up (1971)

The Beach Boys get knocked for being square and boring but that simply overlooks how deeply weird the band could truly be. They do have a Charles Manson co-writing credit in their catalog, remember. Released well after Brain Wilson’s mental meltdown this is a hodgepodge including at least one revelatory outtake from the legendary 1966 Smile sessions with the title track. This is very strange soft rock, fascinating stuff.

474. Public Enemy - Yo! Bum Rush The Show (1987)

This is the mighty PE still becoming a force to be reckoned with, but it’s mightily impressive nonetheless. Chuck D. and Flavor Flav already have their tag-team style locked down and the rhymes are fast and furious. The main difference between this debut and their later classics is how much sway Def Jam house producer Rick Rubin had over the overall sound, which makes this that much more interesting in contrast to the full-bore aural assault to come.

473. Cibo Matto - Viva! La Woman (1996)

Two Japanese women transplanted into New York’s downtown scene came up with the art-rock grooves that make this record so great. The underlying theme is very much about eating, food prep, shopping for ingredients and any underlying meaning you want to derive from this song and rapped over shimmering immersive electronica. Shut up and eat!

472. Primal Scream - XTRMNTR (2000)

An absolute monster of an album from a band that shed sounds and POV like a chameleon in love with David Bowie. This is far removed from their ecstasy infused early 90s sound but it also is indebted to electronica. This time though it's roughed up with clattering beats, overdriven guitars and keyboards and menacing lyrics, with the exception of the gorgeous "Keep Your Dreams." It's appropriate that My Bloody Valentine's reclusive noise genius Kevin Shields is on board for this even though none of this really sounds like that band (despite the title "MBV Arkestra" referencing both them and Sun Ra).

471. U2 - Zooropa (1993)

What? Zooropa? I might as well go ahead and reveal (spoiler alert!) that the album that this is spun-off of, Achtung Baby, is nowhere to be found on this list. Blasphemy! And that's exactly the point. While I've always had a grudging regard for U2 their own sense of self-importance and tendency towards bombast makes them a band low on my repeat plays list. What makes this refreshing is it's tossed off nature, merely meant as a little something to tie in to their massive Zoo TV tour that trod the globe in the wake of Achtung's massive success. As such the band drop their guard, allowing more humor and light to infiltrate. The lead single is sung by the guitarist for chrissake!

470. Funkadelic - The Electric Spanking of War Babies (1981)

This was Funkadelic's last gasp- George Clinton would also put Parliament out to pasture in the 80s preferring instead to travel under his own name. It's a great way to retire the Mothership though, with hints of reggae spiked throughout the funk jams and the hilarious "Icka Prick" satirizing the workout craze in the most scatalogical ways possible, complete with a female chorus singing rounds of "That's disgusting..."

469. The Decemberists - The Crane Wife (2006)

This is where Colin Meloy and his band get the major-label budget to explore and indulge, for better or worse but mostly better. While "Yankee Bayonet" is the kind of classic literate folk infused indie rock that is their stock in trade, along comes a song like "The Perfect Crime" to slither and pose like an amped-up cousin to the Eagles' "One of These Nights." Which sounds like it would be awful but it isn't.

468. Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - Xtra-Acme USA (1999)

Intended as a leftovers and remixes collection tied to their fine 1998 album Acme, in many ways this is the more compelling listen stocked as it is with superior versions of songs on the original (such as the Dan the Automater remix of  "Lovin' Machine") that in some cases paradoxically strip back some of the hip-hop influence. Wonderfully eclectic.

467. The Coolies - Doug (1988)

Fatally ahead of their time in their knowingly postmodern take on music, The Coolies reached their apex with this concept album (or is it a spoof of concept albums?) about a skinhead who steals a transvestite chef's recipes, becomes famous for them, and loses it all. Is this any less ridiculous than the premise of Tommy? The band's songs expertly suggest without outright imitating such standard bearers as The Who and John Lennon while also working in a variety of genres from rock ballads to rap. It works because they never condescend to the material, the story, or the listener and teh hooks are there every time.

466. Elliott Smith - Figure 8 (2000)

Elliott Smith made some surprising stylistic shifts during his too short career, from indie punk member of the band Heatmiser to folkie punk solo artist to the lush classic rock arrangements found here. What underpins them all are his songwriting chops, his sincerity and an all too melancholic worldview. Engrossing.

465. Giant Sand - Center of the Universe (1992)
Somewhere between Neil Young and Dinosaur Jr. lies Howe Gelb and his Giant Sand nom de band, and if that suggests that he sings in a warbly croak so be it. But here he's augmented by Victoria Williams, Susan Cowsill and Vicki Petersen to sweeten the vocals. The songs come on like molten lava country rock with off-beat tangents into earthquake country, small town sartorial values, and the creation of the Universe which Gelb imagines as more of a big sneeze than a bang. Giant Sand has released many albums since 1985 but this is their most winningly consistent.

464. Islands - Return to the Sea (2006)
After the idiosyncratic Unicorns broke up after a sole album co-leader Nick Diamonds took the drummer with him and founded Islands. This debut proved them to be just as unique, but with an even broader palette (steel drums! rapping!) and a slyer sense of humor. Sadly subsequent albums have paled against the exuberant performances and arrangements on display here, not to mention the consistently clever lyrics.

463. Gorillaz - Gorillaz (2001)

Damon Albarn engineered a pretty nifty post-Blur career with what started out as a side project spun out of the Deltron 3030 core band. Dan the Automator and Del are carried over but a whole visual component was added with Tank Girl creator Jamie Hewlitt designing alter egos for the principals which also included Miho Hatori from Cibo Matto. This precise lineup only existed for this first album but it's also their best, a surprise hit based on the genius cross-splicing of brit pop tunefulness and hip-hop beats.

462. Alex Chilton - Like Flies on Sherbert (1979)
An album to make perfectionists twitch, this is Alex Chilton at his most shambolic and unhinged which to some of us is beautiful. Chilton made this in part to disavow the songcraft of his recently passed Big Star years, and would similarly disavow the off-the-cuff nature of this in his next incarnation. Still we have this document full of false starts, off-kilter tunes, incredible droning slabs of awesome like "My Rival" and "Rock Hard." Not for everybody but if it's for you, it'll keep for life.

461. Sly & The Family Stone - Small Talk (1974)

Underrated late(er) Sly still better than the competition. Though it's not as revered as some of his other releases the likes of "Loose Booty", "Time For Livin'" and "Say You Will" became sample touchstones for 80s and 90s hip-hop. Not just for the crate diggers.

460. Wale - The Mixtape About Nothing (2008)
D.C. based rapper Wale turned out one of the freshest and cleverest mixtapes in a decade defined by the label-less release. Here he spills clever couplets riffing off of and interspersed with episodes of Seinfeld. The conceit works not just because Wale is an obvious fan but because he has something to say beyond simply refrencing the show. The peak is on "The Kramer" which samples and deconstructs the meanings layered in actor Michael Richards' infamous racist tirade at a comedy club.

459. The Raincoats - The Raincoats (1979)

Beloved of Kurt Cobain who convinced his label to re-release the band's entire catalog despite negligible commercial prospects. Though they rose out of punk their sound was fairly unique, incorporating elements of middle eastern drone and even folk. Led by Gina Birch and Ane DeSilva they were not shy about weaving feminist themes into this debut but they were rarely dogmatic. A great exampe is their brillaint cover of The Kink's "Lola" which gains a whole extra layer of gender-fuckery simply by keeping the original pronouns.

458. Yo La Tengo - I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One (1997)

A ridiculously accomplished gem from the premier 90s critic's band. The range here is so broad, from krautrock to Velvet's  strum to shoegazy gauze, that it functions as a delightful grab bag survey of all the stuff that made indie rock geek's hearts go pitter-patter as the last century began to draw to a close.

457. Throwing Muses - The Real Ramona (1991)

Throwing Muses came out of the same Boston scene as Pixies and in many places they paved the way for the other band, most significantly by signing to Britain's 4AD label and using Gil Norton as a producer. While Pixies are now a much bigger band than they ever were during their first go-round the Muses are still relatively overlooked. This record was their best balance of pop hooks and jagged edges and should have made them stars. Stepsisters Kristin Hersh and Tanya Donnely knew their way around a gripping song as well as a good riff.

456. Spoon - Ga, Ga, Ga, Ga, Ga (2007)

At this point Britt Daniel and co. had defined the sound of their band which means it felt like less of a great leap than previous albums and more of a refinement. The ethos of Spoon is very much based on editing and paring down songs to their core, giving an off the cuff yet meticulously arranged feel to the entire album. The songs themselves are great with the acoustic guitar and horn driven strum of "The Underdog" giving the band their first significant radio play.

455. Galaxie 500 - This is Our Music (1990)

The swansong for a band that looms large in retrospect but had only a dedicated cult during their lifetime. This isn't terribly different than their other releases, perhaps more refined in their American take on the kind of dream-pop more associated with Britain's shoegazer bands. The approach may share their slabs of guitar and detached vocal style but Galaxie came armed with a better batch of songs and cleverer covers than most bands.

454. Cat Power - You Are Free (2003)

Cat Power, AKA Chan Marshall, morphed from an avant indie rocker to a darling of AAA Radio but this record captured her in mid-shift, and it's her best for splitting the difference. Her voice shines in all it's vulnerable cool-chick timbre but the songs have real bite and unusual, even dissonant arrangements. These are mixed in with outright country and even blues shadings without ever really landing in a particular genre. The lyrics are by turns gripping, sad, even spiritual, and the sense of the enterprise being hard fought and wrung out is only heightened by the five year span between this and the preceding LP and her well-known stage fright.

453. Paul Simon - There Goes Rhymin' Simon (1973)

When Paul Simon broke from his partnership with Garfunkel it seems to have freed him up to explore the power of rhythm, as he does to great effect on this, his second solo record. The Dixie Hummingbirds are along to augment the R & B feel Simon aims for and succeeds at reaching, though there are also wonderful ballads and the brilliant single "Kodachrome."

452. Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral (1994)

The insular world of industrial music was always a bit harsh on Trent Reznor - his songs and his face were just too pretty to be genuine and compared to Skinny Puppy or Ministry he was a Johnny Come Lately. Still this album took a subgenre into the realm of the multi-platinum and it did so because it's that damn good. You have to be to get a chorus like "I want to fuck you like an animal" major radio play, even if the offending word is dropped out. The songs are expertly arranged and produced with a great deal of variety in tempo texture and feel, making it eminently listenable and yes, making the abrasive bits easier to swallow.

451. MGMT - Oracular Spectacular (2008)

Their interest in psych-rock and use of Producer Dave Fridmann led some to tag these guys as knockoffs of The Flaming Lips but their sensibility is quite different as is their palette. "Electric Eel" could be right out of 1984 with a vibe that suggests Quincy Jones' work with Michael Jackson while "Time to Pretend" is an expert evocation of kids in a band fantasizing about fame Duran Duran style.

450. Eminem - The Eminem Show (2002)

The last in a stunning trilogy that began with his debut, this is the record where Eminem is all about the perils of his own fame, which ought to be a bore and would be if he wasn't such a  great rapper and Dre a top-notch producer. Eminem also deserves credit for excoriating the Bush admionistration much earlier than most other artists, certainly none as major as he was in 2002, on the brilliant "Square Dance" among other songs.

449. Butterglory - Are You Building a Temple in Heaven (1996)

Seemingly brimming over with hooks and tunes, Matt Suggs and band knock it out of the park on their second album. Their closest sound-alike might be Yo La Tengo but these guys are simpler and less obtuse, let alone unlikely to break into a ten minute guitar workout. Just a top-notch batch of instantly hummable indie rock that will lodge in your head for years.

448. Big Black - Songs About Fucking (1987)

Big Black was the bastard baby of Steve Albini, a guy who would be more revered in rock circles for his brilliantly sharp production (though he prefers to term it recordings) of others work such as Pixies, The Auteurs, PJ Harvey, The Breeders, and Nirvana. His two albums with his own band are where he developed his audio ethos - clear unfettered sound with the drums at the fore, yet without the signature 80s "boom".  Albini is aggressively politically incorrect (just look at the title and cover art) which can be alienating and which is likely the point, but get past this and into the angular driving pummel of the band and it all makes sense.

447. World Party - Goodbye Jumbo (1990)

Ex-Waterboy Karl Wallinger became known for holing himself up in the studio and trying to recreate classic albums to see how they were done. Thankfully he was canny enough to recombine his influences on his own albums as World Party, so that the Stones and Prince and George Harrison borrowings fuse into something new and distinct. The "woo-woos" in "Way Down Now" for instance are clearly cousins to "Sympathy For The Devil" but the songs is entirely different, and great.

446. Unrest - Perfect Teeth (1993)

While their previous album was a revelation, this is a consolidation of the distinct and unusual sound this former hardcore band from D.C. had forged. Both tighter and bigger sounding, these songs run the gamut of what the band could do with their new found pop skills and fast-strummed style and they get deeper into their tongue in cheek obsessions with sex, the cultishly famous, and all things sensual.

445. Ice Cube - Death Certificate (1991)

Ice Cube's second solo disc proved that he was even more incendiary apart from N.W.A. It's a bruising album that leaves no stone unturned and no prejudice unindulged most notoriously on "Black Korea". The template of songs about slinging drugs and getting laid would get tiresome real fast - within a few months it became the default in hip-hop pushing aside the Native Tongue sounds emanating from the east coast. Ice earns his stripes though with his superior delivery and story-telling skills. The irony is that most of his fans were white kids, propelling the record to multi-million sales.

444. Black Sabbath - Master of Reality (1971)

It's hard now to fathom how alienating Ozzy Osbourne and his crew were when Black Sabbath first started to gain notice. Like Ice Cube he has become such a safe emasculated figure that the sheer shock of hearing music like this is difficult to recapture. In addition the deep sludgy narcotized grooves have been subsumed by metal, grunge and even indie rock to such an extent that the outrage over the anti-musicianship their sound seemed to represent is quaint. Like punk, Sabbath was in part a reaction to the professionalism overtaking rock at the end of the 60s and beginning of the 70s, and represented by progressive acts like Yes and Emerson Lake and Palmer. A song like the marvelous  "Sweat Leaf" simply anti-intellectualizes any higher thinking right out of you.

443. Gravediggaz - 6 Feet Deep (1994)

Horrorcore was the short-lived hip-hop genre that Gravediggaz pretty much created and it was seen by some as a further degradation of the music from the pimps and hos and drug dealing into outright mayhem. Really these guys were smart enough to know they were actually sending up gangsta rap by pushing the boundaries to incredibly absurd heights while also pointing out subtly the difference between the way society branded white murderers as aberrant serial killers while blacks were gang bangers. In fact the core of Gravediggaz is Wu-Tang mastermind RZA along with De La Soul producer Prince Paul so tongues are lodged firmly in cheeks. As would be expected from those two part of the fun is the varied and creative production and samples.

442. RJD2 - Dead Ringer (2002)

Engrossingly brilliant electronica with a heavy bent towards hip-hop. RJD2 in fact was signed to underground rap label Definitive Jux, an unusual status for a white producer/DJ. This record brims with inventive noir-ish textures and clever transitions making it one of the few records of this type to move out of the heavy shadow cast by the aptly named DJ Shadow.

441. Dinosaur Jr. - Green Mind (1991)

A band record in name only, J. Mascis here sets out to fully get past the loss of Lou Barlow and barely uses regular drummer Murph at all and yet it's still a terrific record. Anchored by Mascis' strong songs, molten guitar slinging and uber slacker vocals Green Mind was a small step towards  more mainstream acceptance and repped the first Dinosaur album on a major label.

440. Sleigh Bells - Treats (2010)

Duo Alexis Krauss and Derek Miller crafted a debut that practically bursts at the sonic seams, all over-amped and distorted yet with a chewy pop center. It's incredibly arresting stuff - witness "Crown on the Ground," a song that feels like an escalating series of climaxes built on a killer beat, Miller's cock-rock guitar and Krauss' ultra-girly singing.

439. Black Flag - Damaged (1981)

Probably the ultimate hardcore punk album, fast furious and from California. The reaction of parents and other authority figures to the music in general and Black Flag in particular only made the funny songs funnier and the angry songs angrier - Henry Rollins spits venom and guitarist Greg Ginn wrote the best set of songs this band ever had.

438. The Wrens - Secaucus (1996)

The Wrens were about as star-crossed as a band could get. This, their second album, was a huge improvement on their debut presenting a wonderfully off-center take on the niceties of mid 90s indie rock. Sadly problems with their label and the pull of day jobs kept them from capitalizing on the good vibes and the follow-up would take seven years to come out.

437. Juliana Hatfield - Bed (1998)

Juliana Hatfield took her spunky sass and gruff guitar work solo after the Blake Babies split in the early 90s, becoming a college rock favorite and linked to Lemonhead's leader Evan Dando despite her claims to still be a virgin. By 1998 it had all imploded, a major label deal had been left behind and college rock had moved on to nu-metal. Bed finds her alternately depressed and debauched, as befits the title and the many reasons to stay there.  While that may sound glum it's  instead gripping and alluring, a document of someones wrong choices marathon set to glazed riff rock.

436. Television Personalities - And Don't The Kids Just Love It (1980)

Ridiculously ahead of its time, the first full-length from Dan Treacy's band is a delightful gathering of conversational songs about everyday life for a shy depressed British guy. In sound he neatly prefigures a whole slew of folks from The Smiths to Guided by Voices and the recording and playing is casual if not completely amateurish. What puts it over are terrific songs and a distinct point of view.

435. Franz Ferdinand - You Could Have it So Much Better (2005)

Following up a widely praised and distinctive debut is really hard and this second offering from Glasgow's finest deviates only somewhat from the template they started from. But it's a great template: cracking rhythm section, arch vocals, springy Wire-like guitars.

434. Jonathan Richman - Jonathan Sings! (1983)

For Richman, this is a relatively adult album with kiddie songs for actual kiddies and love songs for grown up women - wives even! That doesn't stop the title track from flirting with a little extra-marital flirtation, nicely mirrored by a revamped band that features female backing vocals to bolster and sometimes undercut Richman's nasal verses.

433. Nirvana - MTV Unplugged in New York (1994)

This is Nirvana's last will and testament, a re-affirmation that the late Kurt Cobain was a brilliant songwriter and gripping performer. Cobain was also a big-time promoter for other bands and lends a hand to Leadbelly, The Vaselines and Meat Puppets with terrific covers. Though the original songs in most cases are superior the renditions of "All Apologies and "Something in the Way" are incredible. Supposedly Cobain had talked about Nirvana heading towards a more acoustic pastoral path with R.E.M. producer Scott Litt, which this album would have previewed. Instead he struggled with his heroin addiction, almost dying in Rome of an overdose before taking his own life shortly after this performance was recorded.

432. Royal Trux - Thank You (1995)

The breakup of skuzz-noise rockers Pussy Galore led to two arguably more interesting bands - this and Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. Where Spencer stripped things down to their elements Trux kept the dirt and grime under the stewardship of Neil Hagerty and Jennifer Herrema. As time went on the couple began to incorporate elements of 70s boogie (think Canned Heat or even Grand Funk Railroad) into the guitar fueled murk. While this added professionalism rubbed some fans the wrong way it allowed Royal Trux to develop some actual songwriting chops, in full evidence here. Propulsive and down and dirty.

431. Grizzly Bear - Veckatimist (2009)

Who knew that the Beach Boys would become a primary influence over so much indie rock in the new millennium? At one extreme was Animal Collective which  made a sound that approximated the Manson family taking charge of the California popsters. Grizzly Bear still love the popness inherent in the best of Brain Wilson and the gang but they bring their own jazzy shadings to their material. The arrangements are superb, beyond even the vocals. The music itself is actually quite distinct, suggesting the softer sounds of 60s and 70s forebears but executing it in a very postmodern baroque manner. An album to curl up and get lost in.

430. Bob Dylan - Street Legal (1978)

This is one of those albums in a long-lived artists' catalog that separates the casual listener from the fan. Some Dylanites hate this but those who love it, love it. Few fans are indifferent. This is his last  album before becoming a born-again Christian and you can feel the turmoil all over the hard rock and r&b grooves. In fact it was his affair with one of the backup singers on this that led him down the path to religion, as he was still adrift in the wake of the breakup of his marriage to Sara Lowndes.

429. Naked Raygun - All Rise (1986)

Part of the bruising Chicago hardcore scene, these guys hid their pop hooks behind sheer walls of guitar and pummeling breakneck drums. By the time album three rolled around they were ready to drop their guard a bit with aching yelps like "I Remember" upping the emotional ante while the band still stopped and started on a dime. A lesser-known influence on a host of 90s rockers ranging from practically everyone on Touch and Go records to math rockers like Polvo and Helmet.

428. Morrissey - Bona Drag (1990)

Morrissey's old band The Smiths saved many of their best songs for singles only releases and so he followed suit in teh early years of solo-dom. While I've stayed away from compilations from the most pat, this is an excellent collection of non-album tracks that happens to be the guy's best album outside of the aforementioned band.  Though some scoffed at the thought of Morrissey without songwriting partner Johnny Marr he more than holds his own on this collection.

427. Jason Forrest - Shamelessly Exciting (2005)

It should come as no surprise that the digital age would proliferate the postmodern music concrete sound that had already been established by sampling kings like Steinski, Prince Paul, Negativland and their ilk. Among the best practitioners is Jason Forrest, who gleefully creates new songs by slicing and dicing old content whether it's lite FM staples of the 70s or his 36 favorite punk tunes.

426. Radiohead - In Rainbows (2008)
After pushing the envelope for several releases Radiohead instead pushed their business envelope with a  pay-what-you-want download model for their first album away from EMI. Musically this is a consolidation of everything Radiohead can do, akin to The Rolling Stones' Sticky Fingers. Like that classic, top-notch songwriting and production makes this eminently accessible without being shallow.

425. Quasi - Hot Shit (2003)

A pretty balls out protest record, Quasi don't bother with the niceties of Green Days rock opera American Idiot. Instead they literally say "Fuck You" to the likes of Don Rumsfeld in song in "White Devil's Dream". This is not to say they are devoid of subtlety - check out the searing ballad "No One" that comes on like an update of "Every Breath You Take", an abusive person or leader who cannot help but control.

424. Helium - The Dirt of Luck (1995)

Mary Timony led Helium into a tightly sprung sound for this, their first full length. Her singing makes the most of her affectless delivery, making even her nastiest diversions sound offhand which adds to their power. The arrangements in retrospect lay the groundwork for the punk/prog new wave hybrid sound to come - here it's more striped-down and feral. Powerful stuff.

423. Public Image Limited - Album/CD/Cassette (1986)

The man who was asked to audition for the Sex Pistols because he wore a Pink Floyd t-shirt with the words "I Hate" crudely scrawled across it here teams up Cream's Ginger Baker, metal guitarist Steve Vai, Ryuchi Sakamoto, and Material mastermind Bill Laswell who also produced. It's a big sounding record full of detail and not a bit of gloss with a distinct prog feel that betrays John Lydon's interest in Krautrock. Fans were outraged but these songs are fascinating and "Rise" is one of his very best songs.

422. Baby Huey - The Baby Huey Story: The Living Legend (1971)

Baby Huey was dead before his one and only album even came out on Curtis Mayfield's label. Curtis also produced, lending a  sympathetic  ear to Huey's terrific voice and his shit-hot backing band The Babysitters. Had the 400-pound perfomer lived he would have been a force to be reckoned with in 70s soul, a mix of Mayfield's songwriting gifts and social conscience, a pinch of Sly's funk, and big chunk of Otis' soulfullness.

421. Negativland - Escape From Noise (1987)

This was one of my first experiences with cut-up samples and musique concrete, having bought this when it came out. It rocked my teenage world with it's combination of highly skewed songs (the folk balled "Nesbitt's Lime Soda", the proto-industrial sample driven "Christianity is Stupid" and conceptual tracks like "Time Zones" which splices up a right-wing radio talk show host and his caller into the trippiest, most ominous circular conversation ever.

420. Kool Keith - Black Elvis/ Lost in Space (1999)

To describe Kool Keith as a character doesn't even begin to do him justice. An eighties fixture from his stint in Ultramagnetic MCs, Keith's distinctive flow and lyrics allowed him to reinvent himself as a more edgy indie rapper as Dr. Octagon and then build upon that with this album under his own name. While mainstream rappers were aggrandizing over their Bentleys, Keith decided to play the part of Black Elvis, ultra successful businessman. What's funny is how he externalizes what a Jay-Z mostly keeps internal but for Keith rapping about Dow Jones and secretaries is strictly fantasy.

419. Bjork - Post (1995)

Bjork's second post-Sugarcubes album strikes what's still her best balance between experimental quirkiness and accessibility. The palette of electronic sounds and sometimes abstract beats is downright gorgeous on tracks like "Isobel", augmented by strings and even a sock-it-to-them orchestration on showstopper "It's Oh So Quiet." A textbook case of how to fit experimentation into a pop template.

418. The Mekons - So Good it Hurts (1988)
The Mekons were a distinct oddity by the time this album came out. Starting out as a post-punk sister band to Gang of Four they slipped quickly into obscurity only to emerge in the mid 80s with a ragged Hank Williams influenced sound. The band by this point still included mainstays Jon Langford and Tom Greenhalgh but had expanded to include the golden voice of Sally Timms. This can be seen as a dry run for their purple patch of records that span into the early 90s but I'd argue this ought to be included as it shows the bands songwriting beginning to hit it's stride on new wavers like "Ghosts of American Astronauts", country tinged punk like the title track, the dub tinged "Johnny Miner"  and a scathing femme cover of the Rolling Stones' "Heart of Stone."

417. Devo -Q. Are We Not Men?A. We Are Devo (1978)

"God made man, but he used a monkey to do it.." sang this band that managed to out art-damage all other new wave bands with this skewed conceptual release. Devo posits that man is "de-evolving" and they for one welcome the change. They are mostly joking but the 10% that isn't likely comes from the experience of witnessing the National Guard fatally fire on students at Ohio's Kent State. So conformity is twisted inside out on "Jocko Homo" and non-conformity is goosed on their complete redefinition of the Rolling Stones' "Satisfaction", one of the greatest covers of all time.

416. Elliott Smith - Elliot Smith (1995)

Elliott Smith first came to attention for most folks for this, his second solo set. Acoustic, wavery, seemingly slight these songs have a strong impact over time. Anything but easy listening.

415. Supertramp - Breakfast in America (1979)

My wife absolutely hates this record and I understand. A bunch of fairy-voiced Brits singing about the hardships of being rock stars. You know, on the road, a different groupie every night, dealing with hippie haters (in 1979!) Maybe it's because I remember this in heavy rotation on my sibling's hi-fi's as an 8-year but I love every soft-rock lick and electric piano burble on this album.

414. No Age - Everything In Between (2010)

No Age was lumped into a lo-fi punk bucket but they increasingly showed a fondness for more nuanced strains of indie rock and pop culminating in this glorious record. The catch is that it all happens with  just two people, vocals drums and guitar. Yet the variety of textures, moods and sounds thay are able to get out of that limited palette are heartening.

413. Galaxie 500 - On Fire (1989)

In some ways these guys were the American answer to Britain's Spacemen 3, a group that built something new out of the framework of 60s psych-rock. In this case there are elements of the Velvet's drone and aspects of folk thrown in. This is a great collection of songs that showcased a band on the very outskirts of indie rock orthodoxy (ie not remotely punk or new wave) creating another touchstone that others would build on in the following decades.

412. Sparks - Kimono My House (1974)

The Mael brothers are expert opinion-dividers. There are as hated (especially influential by Trouser Press editor Ira Robbins) as they are revered. They were certainly doing things ahead of their time, employing some of the same moves as similar trailblazers Roxy Music though replacing Bryan Ferry's louche loverman routine with a kinetically arch humor. It's no surprise that these Los Angeles natives would find more success on the other side of the world given the success UK acts in a similar vein (10cc comes to mind in addition to Roxy). This is one of their most song-centric albums, as well as being theatrical in a very glam rock way.

411. The Jesus Lizard - Liar (1992)

Pummeling. Tuneful, yet pummeling.

410. Depeche Mode - Music For The Masses (1987)

Man I hated these guys in high school. All the girls liked them but I liked bands with guitars and weird songs like Meat Puppets, Sonic Youth, Pixies. This stuff? Of course as I grew older I reminded myself to be open and to listen to songs, as George Michael might say, without prejudice. And this band has some incredible songs spread throughout their catalog. This is where the highest percentage of them reside (other than on singles collections). The album sounds big and bold - perfect to vault them into arenas, but the textures were their most varied yet. A breakthrough for them and for synth pop.

409. Girl Talk - Feed The Animals (2008)

Did I mention I liked cut and paste compositions? That's all that Greg Gillis does here, splicing together his favorites bits of hundreds of songs across genre (but lots of rap, classic rock, and indie) adding beats and creating an endless playlist of highlights.

408. Superchunk - Indoor Living (1997)

Superchunk do the mature thing on this record, broadly expanding the palette of their sound (keep in mind that their publishing company was called All The Songs Sound The Same) and their subject matter. Martinis, dead jazz musicians, and sweet, sweet infatuation on the soaring "Marquee" all figure in this time.

407. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavillion (2009)

Typically these guys have fascinated me more than compelled me. I love what they do but I'm rarely in the frame of mind to want to listen to it. That is until this record which unearthed just enough structure and melodic sense to make the experimentation and sound explorations feel like a discernible path instead of a diversion. Oddly enough this may be there least formally structure set of songs but the repeated sections and hooks work to suck you in and the vocals add the final bit of payoff.

406. Pretenders - Pretenders II (1981)

Pretenders had the unenviable task of following up their instant classic debut and predictably critics were less kind the second time around. The formula is reprised including covering one of her then-husband's obscure Kink's nuggets. Nevertheless the album is a great one and Hyde's songwriting is top notch, as is the playing of the band's classic ill-fated lineup.

405. Dr. Dre - The Chronic (1992)

This is THE gangsta rap album, for better or worse. Mostly for worse as few imitators lacked the style, production chops, a guest like Snoop Dogg or the talent and brains to make entertainment out of the acceptance of life's horrors. It's a major shift from Public Enemy's in-your-face bravado to Dre and Snoop's blunted "that's life."

404. Air - Moon Safari (1998)

Incredibly influential, these Frenchmen smashed a bunch of traditions together, from chanson to folk, to pop to electronic experimentation and dance music and out came this classic. At times it threatens to devolve into wallpaper but the arrangements and varied tempos keeps it fizzy.

403. Game Theory - Lolita Nation (1987)

Just as Sonic Youth would do a year later, the lesser-known band Game Theory puts their fingers on the national pulse. This is a big sprawling statement of an album, dense with hooks and melody but also, as befits a double-album, byways and the occasional  dead end. Undeservedly obscure.

402. The Strokes - Room on Fire (2003)

As you may have seen elsewhere on this list, I'm a fan of the underrated follow-up record which this is a prime example of. The Strokes debut unleashed a swarm of guitar bands eager to rawk owt in the same New York style. Here they trim some of the bright edges off their sound and float in guitar tracks on top of stop-start beats like a dub track, or imitate keyboards. The first album was lo-fi but it was like a coat of dust on chrome polished songs, on this record it's more like a coat of rust.

401. King Geedorah - Take Me To Your Leader (2003)

One of Doom's many side projects but easily my favorite. The rhyming is top notch and the choice of samples is particularly clever - ranging from the Japanese monster films that gave this project its moniker to the incidental music from cult 70s Japanime Battle of The Planets.

Look into your heart!

Was 1990 really the 90s, or was it just the hangover from the 80s? While you ponder that, consider that Nirvana and Tarantino were still a year away and a little show called Seinfeld was confusing a tiny audience before supplanting Cheers as NBC’s big sitcom property. There was also the little matter of Gulf War I, which bears the same relationship to Gulf War II as Caddyshack, Airplane!, Chinatown do to their respective sequels.

So, cast your mind back 20 years – here are the Best Movies of 1990:

25. Dick Tracy

Flawed? Absolutely… but like almost everything else Warren Beatty is involved with (Town and Country notwithstanding) there are fascinating bits to be found. Part of the first wave of comic book films in the wake of Tim Burton’s Batman, Dick Tracy takes it’s color scheme straight from the comics. The set design is mesmerizing, with scenes that seem as much from the paintings of Charles Sheeler as from Chester Gould’s classic strip. Then there are the plethora of heavily made-up star cameos by the likes of Pacino and DeNiro. Madonna is heavily made-up too but unfortunately it’s no cameo and not much of a performance. Yet it’s not enough to sink a diverting film. Don’t let the atrocious trailer (below) put you off:

24. Die Hard 2: Die Harder

Not a patch on the original, this sequel has it’s own charms as a sort of Airport ’90 on roids. Willis is back in smirking form as New York cop John McClane and this time he’s fighting terrorists in a pre-9/11 airport. One plus is a bigger role for Bonnie Bedelia as McClane’s wife Holly, and some pretty gnarly plane crashes. Director Renny Harlin rode this film to next-big-thing status despite following it up with Andrew “Dice” Clay’s debut Ford Fairlane, and went on to a brief marriage to Gena Davis. Here’s Bruce Willis fighting the dad from TV’s Good Times:

23. The Witches

Nicolas Roeg’s adaptation of  Roald Dahl’s book captures the macabre grotesquerie at the heart of most of the best children’s tales from the likes of the Brothers Grimm. Anjelica Huston is majestically wicked as the head witch presiding over a witches convention at a nondescript hotel which two boys have the distinct misfortune of stumbling into.

22. Days of Being Wild

Hong Kong director Wong Kar-Wai took viewers back thirty years to 1960 for a tumultuous film that explores the ennui of a guy named Yuddy who is too preoccupied with searching for his mother to choose between the two women in is life, one a glamourpuss and the other more shy and down to earth.

21. Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!

Almodovar was still in his shock and awe period with this one, a film that asks the question “Who’s hotter?” Victoria Abril or Antonio Banderas? By any normal standards Banderas is a nutball stalker yet Almodovar works the audiences and Abril’s sympathy until it seems perfectly reasonable that she should fall for the man holding her captive.

20. Total Recall

Philip K. Dick likely never imagined that his highly cerebral sci-fi would  become re-purposed after his death as a slew of Hollywood action flicks but that’s exactly what happened. While this isn’t the best of the bunch it’s hardly the worst, with the mind-bending plot mostly left intact and augmented by Gov. Ah-nuld’s spectacular sparring with up-and-coming Sharon Stone.  Paul Verhoeven is in the directors chair for this one, but it’s rather tame considering what he gets away with in Robocop and Starship Troopers (not to mention Showgirls). Even so he manages to sneak in enough subversion and winks to make for an entertaining popcorn ride.

19. White Hunter, Black Heart

Typically maligned by critics, this film dates from a period in which Clint Eastwood’s directorial efforts were seen as an actor’s indulgence rather than a career in itself. What makes this so interesting is the fact that Eastwood tips his hand to a director and type of film he admired – John Huston – going so far as to play the Huston-based character. Yet as a director his one-take philosophy would seem at odds with Huston’s seeming nonchalance towards schedules and the orderly process of a shoot. Set around the filming of an African Queen-like epic Eastwood amiably chews the scenery and delivers more dialogue in each scene than in his entire spaghetti western career. This also previewed Eastwood’s coming interest in the underbelly of tough guy types like Huston, as the realities of Africa intrude on his fantasy of big game hunting. Here Clint and Lost’s Lapidus discuss the war with a not very nice lady:

18. Tremors

A superior b-movie if there ever was one, Tremors advances tongue in cheek across a desert landscape populated by tough, sometimes dim, but always determined characters who – as it turns out – may be wormfood for giant carnivorous slimies. This clever take on the cycle of life has great performances all around from Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward and Family Ties dad Michael Gross cast brilliantly against type as a survivalist. The special effects are on the right side of cheesy and assured directing by Ron Underwood keeps things tense and lively.

17. Blue Steel

Way before she became the first woman director to win an Oscar Kathryn Bigelow cut her teeth on clever thrillers like this and Near Dark. Jamie Lee Curtis has one of her best dramatic roles as a rookie cop who has to use her weapon on day one and pays a strange and twisted price for it at the hands of loony Ron Silver.

16. Wild at Heart

A letdown perhaps after Blue Velvet but Nicholas Cage’s overacting finds a willing partner in David Lynch’s embrace of the strange. Mixed in are Laura Dern and her mom, Harry Dean Stanton, Elvis, and the creepiest Willem Dafoe performance ever. And that’s saying something. Also, Jack Nance discourses on dogs.

15. Edward Scissorhands

A gothic fish out of water tale that set the “Tim Burton” tone to follow and established Johnny Depp as a rising star beyond being a 21 Jump Street pinup. A surprisingly touching story about a mechanical boy who finds himself in a plastic fantasyland suburb, taken in by a family that loves him even as they are baffled by him. The part of the film that works less well is the love subplot – Winona Ryder and Depp have good chemistry but her blond hair is a distraction, as is a newly muscled Anthony Michael Hall as her lout of a boyfriend. Still the set design and imagination is amazing and Vincent Price is magnificent in his last role as Edward’s father/inventor.

14. The Freshman

Andrew Bergman’s The Freshman is a movie-lover’s comedy, the centerpiece being Marlon Brando’s delicious send-up of his own iconic performance in the Godfather. Along for the ride are Bruno Kirby in excellent form and Matthew Broderick, before his fussy naif routine became ossified on Broadway.

13. Ghost

Is this the least likely film for one of Airplane!’s directors to have been involved with? A genuinely romantic delight, Demi Moore is at her most luminously beautiful as Patrick Swayze’s widow. Swayze makes good use of his sensitive brand of masculinity while Tony Goldwyn corners the market on best friends who bear watching. Even so the movie is nearly stolen by Whoopi Goldberg as the fake medium who discovers a very real ability to see dead folks.

12. House Party

The Hudlin brothers created a warm, funny slice of life with House Party which was a surprise Sundance discovery and box office hit.  Though it could be seen as a late entry in the 80s teen movie cycle, it also foreshadowed goofy fare like the Harold & Kumar series that sandwich a dollop of social commentary in between the good times and gags. Neither stars Kid, nor indeed Play, would find much success later on but Robin Harris, Martin Lawrence, Tisha Campbell and the Hudlins would all go on to bigger and better in the subsequent decade.

11. Reversal of Fortune

Not to be confused with the Bette Midler/Shelley Long epic Outrageous Fortune , this tells the true story of Klaus and Sunny Von Bulow who, if you lived in New York in the 80s like me, were all the rage. Specifically, did Klaus murder Sunny? Jeremy Irons gives a deliciously icy performance that’s expertly matched by Glenn Close and Hollywood conservative Ron Silver shows what ac-TING! is all about by playing lefty lawyer Alan Deshowitz to the hilt.

10. Cry-Baby

There is no question that John Waters began to mainstream his most outlaw ideas by the late 80s, yet his subversive kinkiness still gave a kick to more supposedly “friendly” fare like Hairspray and this film, which along with Edward Scissorhands helped to established Johnny Depp as a young actor willing to take chances. The film itself is a loving send-up of 50s rebel flicks – in some ways it’s a much more successful and less spoofy take on Top Secret! complete with great musical numbers – could a Broadway musical version be far behind?

9. Internal Affairs

Not to be confused with Hong Kong classic Infernal Affairs, this too is a cop drama thriller but it features top notch performances by Andy Garcia and Richard Gere at his scuzziest. The bonus is a Baldwin brother and Roseanne’s sister in meaty supporting roles, and a top notch script aided by atmospheric direction from Mike Figgis.

8. Miami Blues

George Armitage has never attained the renown of fellow Roger Corman alums such as Jonathan Demme, but then he only has a handful of films to his credit of which this and Grosse Point Blank are easily the best. This is also one of Alec Baldwin’s best films, an underrated piece of work that harks back to 70s genre-bending pulp. Baldwin a charming violence-prone con man, Jennifer Jason Leigh is the sweet woman who loves him, and Fred Ward is the grizzled cop on his trail. Funny, fast-paced and surprising, this is an often overlooked gem.

7. King of New York

Could there be a more perfect combination of sensibilities than Abel Ferrara and Christopher Walken? This movie finds them both in peak form, with Walken playing a drug dealer just out of the pen and looking to reestablish himself. Lawrence Fishburne is terrific as his pal, and David Caruso reminds us why he was once considered an actor.

6. Pump Up the Volume

Oh Samantha Mathis, what happened? Christian Slater builds on his superior Heathers cred with the now-quaint tale of a teen with a pirate radio station. I can confirm that the soundtrack was standard equipment in many a freshman college dorm room even if the movie is a bit too much Footloose for it’s own good. Fun either way and Samantha Mathis, come back!

5. The Grifters

This is pitch black neo-noir with a great Oscar-nominated cast including Angelica Huston and Annette Benning along with John Cusack. Psychologically acute and satisfyingly twisty, this is one of Stephen Frears’ very best films and a great pulp classic. True to the feel of the Jim Thompson book on which is based, it also has a compelling sense of existing outside of time.

4. Europa Europa

A true story-based Holocaust film that is riveting and unforgettable – much more so than The Piano in my opinion. Much of this is due to a great performance by Marco Hofschneider as a young Jewish boy who so thoroughly hides his identity that he becomes a Hitler Youth member and is held up as a paragon of Aryan virtue. Julie Delpy is simply fantastic as the young woman who wants to fool around for the Fuhrer.

3. La Femme Nikita

At this point it’s hard to get past the endless strip mining of this material (a lousy American remake starring Bridget Fonda, not one but two TV shows) and director Luc Besson’s current status as the French Jerry Bruckheimer. Yet this film was a riveting blast of smart action upon release, prefiguring Tarantino’s work just a year later in it’s artfully staged violence, clever plotting, and woman as-action-hero stance.

2. Miller’s Crossing

The Coen Brothers followed the freneticism of their first two films with the more subdued but equally impressive gangster drama that is Miller’s Crossing. Stylistically audacious, this is the first cinematic taste of their thirties fetish with dialogue that crackles like His Girl Friday. Still the issues of allegiance and identity are explored through modern prisms of sexuality and creed. Gabriel Byrne is at the top of his game as a consigliere who has to think 5 steps ahead. Albert Finney and Jon Polito are evenly matched as rival gang bosses, Marcia Gay Harden is the moll who’s steppin’ out and John Turturro is her conniving weasel of a brother.

1. Goodfellas

The last out and out classic Scorsese flick? It’s beginning to seem that way. Goodfellas is in the top rank of the man’s work, a true story that is alive with vibrancy. As stylized in it’s own way as the Coen Brothers’ Miller’s Crossing buy visceral where the Coen’s go cerebral. You can smell the red sauce, the blood, the clean tablecloths. There are so many scene’s of sheer mastery from the tracking shot intro of the mobsters hanging out in the restaurant (“This is Johnny two-times ’cause he said everything two times…” ) to Pesci’s classic “Why am I funny?” to Ray Liotta getting trailed by a chopper. DeNiro does some of his most subtle work here and the control of the material, which span some 25 years, is unerring.

Children of Men

The decade that’s ending has the ignominy of following the 1990′s, an era that will be looked back on as a creative peak rivaling the 1970′s for cinema. This is not to say the 00′s sucked as there were some great films and wonderful talents that emerged all over the world.

Pixar proved that the Toy Story movies were merely the tip of the iceberg when it came to animation that was artistic and commercially successful. Judd Apatow may have faltered of late but he also found a way to freshen the comedy genre and inject a sometimes Cassavettes-like realism into broad can-you-top-this flicks. Superhero films were abundant but Sam Raimi with Spider-Man and especially Chris Nolan’s two Batman films showed a new level of complexity within an often two-dimensional genre.

Then there was the aftermath of 9/11 and the ongoing nightmare of the Bush presidency. The films that grappled with this best were the ones that did so obliquely, even sub-texturally. The Dark Knight comes to mind here as well with a Wall Street Journal editorial even claiming to see a vindication of Bush in the film’s vision of Batman as over-surveilling rule-breaking vigilante against an amoral enemy. Or consider the TV in the background of one of Sideways most discomfiting, riotous scenes as Paul Giamatti sneaks into the bedroom of an amorous, thieving couple while Donald Rumsfeld talks on the screen behind them.

While undoubtedly I missed a few trends here are the 100 films that I truly enjoyed this decade, in rough order of release. Let the arguing commence!

Aardman's Chicken Run skewered WWII escape dramas

1. Chicken Run


You Can Count on Me didn't let us down

2. You Can Count on Me


Best in Show was no dog

3. Best in Show


High Fidelity celebrated a lost world...and lists like this one

4. High Fidelity


Cameron Crowe's autobiographical Almost Famous put a band-aid on it

5. Almost Famous


Wonder Boys brilliantly adapted Chabon

6. Wonder Boys


Gladiator asked if we were not amused...

7. Gladiator


Harron's American Psycho taught us about business cards... and plastic tarp

8. American Psycho


Memento fractured and reversed narrative ... what was I saying?

9. Memento


Peter Jackson's Tolkein trilogy ruled them all, bringing the epic to new heights

10. The Lord of the Rings: Trilogy


Ghost World made the planet safe for nerd girls and the Buscemis who love them

11. Ghost World


Shrek was Eddie Murphy's best performance of the decade (yes, including Dreamgirls)

12. Shrek


The Closet was workplace farce at it's best

13. The Closet


Donnie Darko proved impossible for Richard Kelly to follow-up (though he keeps trying)

14. Donnie Darko


The Royal Tenenbaums was Wes Anderson's ode to family

15. The Royal Tenenbaums


Waking Life had us flipping light switches to make sure we were awake

16. Waking Life


Moulin Rouge mashed up styles of music and cinema into a sumptuous treat

17. Moulin Rouge


Spirited Away was a modern Through The Looking Glass

18. Spirited Away


Ripley's game suggested that Matt Damon might age to resemble John Malkovich

19. Ripley’s Game


About a Boy proved that Hugh Grant is best as a (lovable) cad

20. About a Boy


Talk To Her showed that Almodovar could combine a new maturity with a Volkswagen-sized vulva

21. Talk to Her


Adaptation had Cage's two best performances of the decade

22. Adaptation


The Kid Stays in the Picture made us feel bad for losing Ali MacGraw to that McQueen guy

23. The Kid Stays in the Picture


Spider-Man wasn't related to Morris Spiderman D.D.S.

24. Spider-Man


About Schmidt gave us a vulnerable Nicholson

25. About Schmidt


24 Hour Party People took us to Madchester with the brilliant Steve Coogan as ringmaster

26. 24 Hour Party People


The Bourne Identity proved action movies didn't have to be edited by a Benihana's chef

27. The Bourne Identity


Y Tu Mama Tambien was some sad, sexy, slyly political stuff

28. Y Tu Mama Tambien


Rivers and Tides let us into the genius of artist Andy Goldsworthy

29. Andy Goldsworthy – Rivers and Tides: Working With Time


Finding Nemo immersed us in an undersea world

30. Finding Nemo


Errol Morris' Fog of War lifted the veil on Robert McNamara

31. The Fog of War


Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation whispered in our ear and introduced us to Suntory time

32. Lost in Translation


Infernal Affairs was good enough for a Scorsese-helmed remake

33. Infernal Affairs


American Splendor bought multi-dimensional Harvey Pekars to life

34. American Splendor


The Triplets of Belleville pedalled us across the Atlantic

35. The Triplets of Belleville


My architect looked at the professional and very personal legacy of architect Louis Kahn

36. My Architect: A Son’s Journey


The Weather Underground supplied talking points for the Republican campaigns of '08

37. The Weather Underground


Whale Rider showed us how to make our warrior face

38. Whale Rider


28 Days Later showed us where monkey rage leads

39. 28 Days Later


The Kill Bill films kicked our asses in a tracksuit

40. Kill Bill Vol. 1 and Kill Bill Vol. 2


Brad Bird's The Incredibles was the American Beauty of the animated world. Think about it.

41. The Incredibles


Alexander Payne's Sideways burrowed into the heart of male middle-aged ennui

42. Sideways


End of The Century showed us the broken hearts of The Ramones and broke our hearts at the loss

43. End of the Century: The Story of the Ramones


Gondry and Kauffman's Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind taught us the difference between Pope Alexander and Alexander Pope

44. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind


Vera Drake showed that bravery doesn't always announce itself

45. Vera Drake


Shaun of the Dead introduced us to pale, lumbering Brits and the zombies who want to eat them

46. Shaun of the Dead


Who better than Alfonso Cuaron to introduce hormones into the Harry Potter universe in the best film of the series so far.

47. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban


Dig made The Dandy Warhols and Brian Jonestown Masacre actually seem like interesting bands

48. DIG!


Tom Dowd and the Language of Music allowed us to hear classic soul and rock with new ears

49. Tom Dowd and the Language of Music


Team America introduced us to full-on puppet nookie- with strings attached

50. Team America: World Police


Wallace and Gromit get a full-length film worthy of their legacy

51. Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit


Good Night and Good Luck made us mourn for journalism while marveling at Straitharn's masterful performace as Murrow

52. Good Night. And, Good Luck


Grizzly Man made us hope that Werner Herzog would steer clear of narrating our life story. Oh, and avoid bears.

53. Grizzly Man


After Innocence was a devastating look at the American judicial system

54. After Innocence


Kung Fu Hustle put the slap back into slapstick, and a few kicks too

55. Kung Fu Hustle


We couldn't quit Brokeback Mountain

56. Brokeback Mountain


World, Amy Adams. Amy Adams, meet world. Now play nice...

57. Junebug


A History of Violence repped a new era for Cronenberg

58. A History of Violence


Apatow's 40-Year-Old Virgin ushered in the Apatowization of American film comedy

59. The 40-Year-Old Virgin


Batman Begins was origin story as high adventure

60. Batman Begins


Kiss Kiss Bang Bang bought us our Robert Downey Jr. back, and Shane Black's cool factor

61. Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang


Walk the Line was the best in a slew of music biopics

62. Walk the Line


Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room was a preview of coming attractions for the nation's Bush-era economy

63. Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room


Pan's Labyrinth made fascism really, really scary

64. Pan’s Labyrinth


Casino Royale emerged from the surf, dripping wet, as the best Bond movie since the 1960s

65. Casino Royale


The Lives of Others eavesdropped on the menaing of art and surveillance

66. The Lives of Others


A Scanner Darkly had Keanu Reeves' most animated performance in the most faithful Philip K. Dick adaptation ever

67. A Scanner Darkly


The Departed was grand guignol drama from Scorsese

68. The Departed


Children of Men took us into a bleak future

69. Children of Men


Block Party took Chapelle to my old neighborhood to put on a star-studded show

70. Dave Chappelle’s Block Party


Borat showed us that Sascha Baron Cohen may not have the balls of co-star Ken Davitian

71. Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan


Greengrass staged United 93 as a straightahead pseudo-doc - and it worked

72. United 93


Little Miss Sunshine showed us the clutchless running van start

73. Little Miss Sunshine


Tristram Shandy hilariously adapted the "unadaptable" post-modern classic

74. Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story


Half Nelson was all good with a great performance by Ryan Gosling

75. Half Nelson


Ratatouille made the kitchen an acceptable place for vermin

76. Ratatouille


Persepolis told Marjane Satrapi's life with indelible imagery

77. Persepolis


The Coen Brothers' No Country for Old Men flipped a coin to decide our fate

78. No Country for Old Men


The Bourne Ultimatum was a series best

79. The Bourne Ultimatum


Juno taught us that in China they shoot babies out of t-shirt guns

80. Juno


The Diving Bell and the Butterfly could read our blinks

81. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly


There Will be Blood drank our milkshake

82. There Will Be Blood


Knocked Up suggested we consider a smashbortion

83. Knocked Up


Michael Clayton was just a janitor - a dreamy George Clooney janitor

84. Michael Clayton


Fincher's Zodiac nurtured a deep consuming obsession

85. Zodiac


3:10 To Yuma was a rare remake that bested the source

86. 3:10 to Yuma


Eastern Promises totally kicked our ass, naked

87. Eastern Promises


2 Days in Paris showed their family a compromising picture of us with a balloon

88. 2 Days In Paris


We were strung along by Man on Wire

89. Man On Wire


WALL-E was the sweetest post-apocalyptic movie ever

90. WALL-E


The Dark Knight asked why so serious?

91. The Dark Knight


Milk was here to recruit us

92. Milk


Iron Man needed a scotch

93. Iron Man


Happy-Go-Lucky taught us to drive

94. Happy-Go-Lucky


Synecdoche, New York created a smaller version of our lives in a warehouse

95. Synechdoche, New York


Inglorius Basterds demanded it's Nazi scalps!

96. Inglorious Basterds


Up broke our hearts in the first 15 minutes and named us Kevin

97. Up


In The Loop found new and creative ways to curse us out

98. In the Loop


The Hurt Locker defused our bomb

99. The Hurt Locker


Spike Jonze's adaptation of Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are began the wild rumpus

100. Where The Wild Things Are

One of these men is this year's Sexiest Man Dead

People Magazine just named their Sexiest Man Alive for 2009 (it’s Johnny Depp – so 2006!) which means it’s time in the name of all that’s symmetrical for us to announce our annual Sexiest Man Dead award for 2009. You can click here to see our previous winners.

It was a tough year with a lot of great, lifeless competitors on the filed but in the end only one moldering corpse can be the winner.  Sorry Twilight fans, Robert Pattinson is still not eligible as he only plays dead and is in fact very much alive in real life.

Here he is, this year’s Sexiest Man Dead, Marlon Brando:

Bringing the fun with him wherever he went – whether it’s onscreen in fizzy roles like Paul in Last Tango in Paris or at home with his family on their private Tahitian island is just one reason why Brando has joined this most elite of clubs.

He was  Hollywood’s most irresistible iconoclast; as one-of-a-kind as his beloved 15-year-old boots and as smoldering as his favorite Cuban cigars.

“Marlon Brando has magical powers. He’s unlike anyone else,” said actress Natalie Wood, who was married to Robert Wagener.  “He’s funny, generous and clever. It’s just a shame he’s so hard on the eyes.”

Our continued Flashbacks through pop culture history finds us landing in 1979, deep into the Carter malaise years of stagflation and diminished expectations. Here are  the best movies of 1979:

1. Apocalypse Now

It’s strange to put a film on a best of list when the last quarter of it is frankly lousy. Windy and pretentious, the climax the rest of the story builds to is more of an anticlimax, dominated by the lumbering, hammy hulk that was was once Marlon Brando. He is his own metaphor for the film’s Vietnam parable, like the United States a paragon of youthful vitality laid low by bloat and a clear loss of purpose. Thankfully the first three quarters are brilliant with highlights like Larry Fishbourne’s firefight acid trip and Robert Duvall’s near heist of the entire film as a surfing obsessed officer, the inspiration for The Clash’s “Charlie Don’t Surf.” Francis Ford Copolla had his own ‘Nam like experience making the picture for three years starting in 1977 but for the most part the results are onscreen. Pity about the ending. Avoid the director’s cut which adds superflous footage that does little to mitigate the inevitable letdown.