Recommend Any Album

I know there have been other recommendation threads, but some are really old and some are very specific in the sense that a person wants the forum to recommend music for them. This thread isn't like that. This is a thread to just recommend any album ever released, and it doesn't matter what genre it is. I do this on forums sometimes because it's fun to see what people listen to. It's easy to just go out and find music, but it's also entertaining to see how people sell the music they listen to.

So for the sake of conversation, I suggest you say a little something about the album, like the genre, and say why you like it. Post up a song or two if you can. Don't just say, "I really like this album, check it out."

I'll be back later to do so, I just wanted to get the thread up and runnin'.

Signals from Mallory Knoxs is Good. Contains stuff like this:




I also this this - offering to the sukhavati

Cheers, thanks for participating. I listened to that Mallory Knox song: solid stuff. I looked them up and see they have a new album coming so now they're on my radar a bit.

I'll add a band from England to the conversation since we're on the topic of the UK.

So my recommendation for now is an album by Killing Joke called Democracy.

I love Killing Joke as a whole and prefer a couple of their albums over this one, but I chose Democracy because I've been on a kick of it recently. I enjoy how KJ often blends industrial rock/metal and post-punk together, along with their sometimes strange recording methods (like recording in caves for some albums).

The foundation of Democracy, and most Killing Joke albums, is groove. They put a lot of focus on bass and drums, which is something not a lot of bands actually do because guitar tends to be flashier. It's not that Democracy doesn't have good guitar riffs, but it's very easy to get lost in the grooves of the rhythm section.

On top of that, you have a variety of topics that Jaz Coleman sings about. He's able to go from incredibly angry about things like politics to spiritual in the most honest way from song to song.

Here's the song Lanterns from it.


Here's the full album to those interested:

Killing Joke is an IMMENSE band, but I have to be honest: I prefer their 80's stuff (like Night Time) a lot more. It blurs the line between the whole preppy new-wave/gloomy post-rock in a really cool way.

I'm going to recommend something almost completely different to the two albums above (which may be a bit too boring to a lot of people but w/e): Stereolab's Cobra & Phases Group Play Voltage in the Milky Night.

The sound's best described as spacey lounge music with serious political undertones. What's also cool is how lead vocalist Laetita Sadler sings in both English and French on the album.

In terms of specific tracks, my favourites are free-jazzesque opener Fuses, the slightly danceable Op Hop Detonation and one that showcases Stereolab's uncanny ability to change tempo in the middle of songs and get away with it.

I can't find the whole album on Youtube but here's a playlist.

No, that's perfect. I want it to be different. The albums I recommend will end up being a lot different than one another as well. It's awesome to get different genres going on up in this piece.

I've heard of Stereolab before but never actually listened so this gives me a reason to acquire the album and give it a shot.

Re: Killing Joke. I'm the opposite. I prefer their newer stuff for the most part, but I pretty much like all their albums. It's amazing to me how they can be like, 50 years old, and still have more energy and anger than a lot of younger bands. Night Time is a great album though and the best of the old stuff. Then I like Democracy and Pandemonium the most from the 90s. And then their last two albums from this decade. It's actually kind of weird now that I look at the order of their albums and I notice what I prefer. Kinda cool too.

M83 - Hurry up, we're dreaming.

"A Knight's Tale" soundtrack is one of my favorites because it has one of the best collection of songs I've ever listened to. I couldn't tell you what genres they belong to, though.

We Will Rock You - Queen
Low Rider - War
Takin' Care of Business - Bachman-Turner Overdrive
Golden Years - David Bowie
Crazy On You - Heart
Further On Up The Road -Eric Clapton
Get Ready - Rare Earth
I Want To Take You Higher - Sly & The Family Stone
The Boys Are Back In Town - Thin Lizzy
One Of Your Own (that's not a song, that's a speech from the actual movie)
We Are The Champion - Queen
Pieces - Dan Powell
Eye Conqueror - Third Eye Blind (used to listen to this all the time while playing the 2003 Hulk game)

Then there's the "Fallen" album by Evanescence that has some of her best work on it. Example She's constantly compared to Within Temptation, but Within Temptation is symphonic metal. Her music is more alternative rock.

Since you said you were a pro wrestling fan I also recommend "WWE Anthology" which covers the theme songs of three different eras of WWE: The Federation Years, Attitude Era, and the Ruthless Aggression era.

I think the three albums I ever listen to are:

Cruel Summer by Ace of Base
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Discovery by Daft Punk
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and Demon Days by Gorillaz
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The reason I choose these three is not because they all contain really great music but because every song on the album really works well with each other. Each song builds into the next on a thematic level and their is a great synergy of the whole album. I seriously have a hard time listening to just one track from each of these albums and not just stop what I'm doing and listen to the whole album. :cool:

I'll just list four that's been on my mind/been listening to a lot lately.
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Mechanical Animals - Marilyn Manson: Wait, hear me out. I am mainly speaking to people who never really gave this band a shot because of the dark imagery or harsher sound. Mechanical Animals is a very unique and ballsy album. Coming scorching hot off the success of Antichrist Superstar, Manson could have easily made another dark and spooky album and called it a day. Instead, we got an album that ran the complete opposite direction. Popular hits such as "The Dope Show" and "Rock is Dead" originated from this album, but Mechanical Animals more sides to it then those glam rock inspired songs. In fact, those kinds of songs are literally half the album, as other tracks are far more emotionally driven and melodic. Seriously, give "Come White" or "Great Big White World" a listen.

http://youtu.be/tb33pEpsYR8


The Parallax II: Future Sequence - Between the Buried and Me: A good friend of mine introduced me to Between the Buried and Me when their amazing album Colors was released. Though I have listened to metal for many years, I'll admit it took me a bit to fully appreciate and understand how BTBAM's style works (lots of timing changes and very harsh sections of songs). However, he knew that I a huge fan of prog rock, and that album was around the time where BTBAM dove deep into their progressive sound. Colors was my favorite album of theirs, but that all changed when The Future Sequence was released. BTBAM seriously raised the bar here, and I enjoyed every second of it.

http://youtu.be/fYLl_s0_Erk (could not find full album link, but these two songs do a good job at showing how this band takes their music in a lot of places)


The Black Chord - Astra: Alright, so maybe you like prog, but not so much of the heavier stuff. Or maybe you just prefer the prog sound of the 70s. Well, Astra has you covered! Released in 2012, I am still convinced that this band has time traveled from the period when you couldn't get away from prog rock if you wanted to. Despite having a familiar style, The Black Chord does a fantastic job of establishing its own identity. If you like the more "Space Rock" aspect of the genre, definitely give this a listen.

http://youtu.be/0oU3Kgo-NWs


Disintigration - The Cure: Back in a very early episode of South Park when The Cure's frontman, Robert Smith, saved the day from Mecha Streisand one of the kids yelled as he was walking away, "Disintegration is the best album ever!" As much as South Park likes to joke around, I assure you that line was meant to be taken seriously. While I am sure you have heard many hits from this album on the radio many, many times, the entire album is worth exploring. My personal favorite is the title track, which is a soul wrenching song both lyrically and musically.

http://youtu.be/LeWhUL7kS80

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0fBh13UL0I

I really like this more recent album from Depeche Mode, Delta Machine. I think it's their most recent actually?? I'm not sure. It's worth a listen.

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Originally Posted by deepdoop

Re: Killing Joke. I'm the opposite. I prefer their newer stuff for the most part, but I pretty much like all their albums. It's amazing to me how they can be like, 50 years old, and still have more energy and anger than a lot of younger bands. Night Time is a great album though and the best of the old stuff. Then I like Democracy and Pandemonium the most from the 90s. And then their last two albums from this decade. It's actually kind of weird now that I look at the order of their albums and I notice what I prefer. Kinda cool too.

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Oh, that's fair enough that you like their more recent stuff. It's always interesting to see how peoples' music taste can differ - you could write a thesis on this kinda thing.

Some good stuff in here, all of you, thanks for keeping the thread going. It's nice to see people recommending shiz because in the past when I've done this, it's been mostly me and that gets boring.

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Originally Posted by Sephex

I'll just list four that's been on my mind/been listening to a lot lately.
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Mechanical Animals - Marilyn Manson:
The Parallax II: Future Sequence - Between the Buried and Me:
Disintigration - The Cure:

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These are magnificent. Well, I've never actually listened to The Parallax 2 because I haven't gotten around to it, but Between the Buried and Me are magnificent so I have no doubt that album is too.

Also, for the record; it's true that people don't really give Marilyn Manson enough credit, because his first 3 albums are awesome. Really was something special... he was provocative but had a nice satirical bent to everything he did. People didn't want to see the meaning behind his words because they'd rather just look at the "freak" and criticize/judge him.

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Originally Posted by Yellow_Magic

Quote:

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Originally Posted by deepdoop

Re: Killing Joke. I'm the opposite. I prefer their newer stuff for the most part, but I pretty much like all their albums. It's amazing to me how they can be like, 50 years old, and still have more energy and anger than a lot of younger bands. Night Time is a great album though and the best of the old stuff. Then I like Democracy and Pandemonium the most from the 90s. And then their last two albums from this decade. It's actually kind of weird now that I look at the order of their albums and I notice what I prefer. Kinda cool too.

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Oh, that's fair enough that you like their more recent stuff. It's always interesting to see how peoples' music taste can differ - you could write a thesis on this kinda thing.

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Yeah, definitely.


I guess my next contribution to this thread is... Dirty Beaches - Badlands

Sometimes I have a hard time getting into this indie "lo-fi" movement because sometimes the quality is just way, way too low and doesn't actually add to the song. It's like it's a trend sometimes to just make it sound as crappy as possible. Hell, you can apply that to Black Metal as well, because even though Black Metal is one of my favourite forms of metal, sometimes the bands just record with the worst equipment because they feel like they have to... not because it can lend to a darker, rawer feel. This happens with indie bands as well once in a while.

But I love Dirty Beaches. Badlands was the first album I discovered by him (as far as I know it's still one person). It's a little experimental, but a little rockabilly as well.

To sum up the feel of the album, I have to use a movie reference. There was a movie in the 70s called Badlands, about two killers on a road trip/murder spree. They were in love with one another. Like any road trip, there were the highs and the good times, but then ultimately they were murdering people too so it had a dark feel at the same time. Dirty Beaches picked an appropriate name for this album because it's hard not to visualize the movie, that time and place, that mood and atmosphere, when listening to it. Some of the songs are more upbeat, "chase" songs, whereas some are more introspective. The way he uses the lo-fi approach is appealing because he makes it sound haunting and that compliments what I assume he was going for. I really don't think it's a coincidence he chose Badlands as the title.

Here's a full playlist, minus one song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edV1...5139EA&index=2

Here is that one song, and it's actually my favourite. Fans of old music may be familiar with the main riff that plays throughout because it's ripped from another song, but he re-imagines the idea behind it and makes the song his own:
Ihttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1npX5-CP0A

Quote:

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Originally Posted by deepdoop

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Sephex

I'll just list four that's been on my mind/been listening to a lot lately.
___________________________

Mechanical Animals - Marilyn Manson:
The Parallax II: Future Sequence - Between the Buried and Me:
Disintigration - The Cure:

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These are magnificent. Well, I've never actually listened to The Parallax 2 because I haven't gotten around to it, but Between the Buried and Me are magnificent so I have no doubt that album is too.

Also, for the record; it's true that people don't really give Marilyn Manson enough credit, because his first 3 albums are awesome. Really was something special... he was provocative but had a nice satirical bent to everything he did. People didn't want to see the meaning behind his words because they'd rather just look at the "freak" and criticize/judge him.

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Glad you liked most of my submissions. Definitely check out Future Sequence ASAP. That album is a journey.

Glad someone else gets that a lot of Manson's material (on and off Mechanical Animals) was very satirical. The guy is a joker at heart, and much more clever than most people give him credit for. I think most people know by now to look past the "freak" imagery, but a lot of people are still dismissive of the discography outside of the hit singles, which are good, but there are some awesome songs all over the place--even on newer albums (the latest album "Born Villain" was an excellent return to form).

Yeah, he does have some good songs scattered across his discography for sure. I haven't liked a full album since his early ones, though. It used to make me shake my head once Bowling For Columbine came out and people would see the segment with Marilyn Manson and comment about how he's "actually pretty smart." Well yeah, all you had to do was listen to his lyrics to know that. It's all right there for the world to see.

Godspeed You! Black Emperor is the best band ever and Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven is their best album.

Cold War Kids - Robbers and Cowards. I'm not sure how to really put this album into words, but the biggest things that stand out to me from it are the autobiographical narratives and the emotion that comes from behind the songs.



I don't think that there's much more that can be said about it, really. I look at it as a sort of mournful loveletter or apology to his (Nathan Willett's) family in a way. It's tough for me to just listen to the songs on a whim because of the emotion I feel coming from them. The songs themselves aren't necessarily sad, the tones and melodies don't necessarily shape them that way, but the collective lyrics and stories of the album touch me in a way of feeling as if he has a lot to atone for and and that he's carrying a lot of pain around while trying to be a good person in the present, and he's excellent at painting that picture for you. But there's also tones of redemption in between the lines as well.

We Used to Vacation is as good of a representation of the album as you can get, I think, although Hang Me Up To Dry was popular on the radio a few years ago (closer to 2006/2007, more likely, I guess).

Still, things could be much worse
Natural disasters on the evening news
Still, things could be much worse
We've still got our health
My paycheck in the mail

Give it a try if you're looking for something a littler deeper, I guess!

EDIT: Good album, Shorty.

I'm going to have to go with two very different bands:

Band -- Album

Fleet Foxes -- Fleet Foxes


Gojira --

It's hard to pick one album. From Mars to Sirius is one of the best albums of all time. But my personal favorite is The Way of All Flesh

Well, here's a masterpiece (slightly edited, and LONG) from The Way of All Flesh:



And something slightly more accessible (and a little groovy) from the Sirius album:

Gojira brings me back a bit. I never got super into them, but I did enjoy a few tracks from both albums you posted.

If I were going to recommend a Fleet Foxes album it would be their second one, Helplessness Blues.



the s/t is still nice though

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Originally Posted by The Man

If I were going to recommend a Fleet Foxes album it would be their second one, Helplessness Blues.

*slash*

the s/t is still nice though

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I started to, but their eponymous album came out of nowhere and blew me away. There's a nostalgia factor.

Here's an idea. Listen to both albums, b/c they're both great!

Good picks people. I haven't heard some of these bands, like Cold War Kids and Gojira in YEARS. Not that I was a huge fan of either but I liked what I heard back then. Unfortunately they were both bands that I listened to a few songs here and there and then they were forgotten. That's not a comment on the quality, it's just a lot of music going into my brain at that time.

Whoever posted Godspeed, yes, yes yes. Sorry I can't remember who it was, but that's excellent. I think my next album will be something inspired by Godspeed.

Fall of Efrafa - Owsla

The inspirations for Fall of Efrafa actually paint a really good picture of them; Godspeed You Black Emperor, Agalloch, His Hero is Gone and Neurosis. They are an awesome blend of post-metal, post-rock and crust-punk. Post-metal and rock often go together, but crust-punk is a bit of an oddball. Yet, their unique, interesting sound is done incredibly well, with some massive build-ups that explode into really passionate punk/metal.

Owsla has a story to it, much like their other albums, but you don't really need to follow it if concept albums aren't your thing. Instead, lyrically, they often sing about politics, society, animal rights, environmentalism and atheism.

The neat thing about them is that over their 3 albums, they've had changes in their sound. While the second album is more post-rock, the third has more doom metal in it. They're a great band because even though they didn't last long, they did a lot in that period of time.

Full album: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-O42bQgRaQ

Fall of Efrafa is great. And I was the one who posted Godspeed :monster:

Time for some pretentious progressive rock :monster:



This no doubt won't make the slightest bit of sense to you the first time you hear it. Just keep listening. It'll eventually break through.

The second and third tracks will probably make more sense than the first one, at least the first time through.

Track listing:
00:00 - Close To The Edge
18:42 - And You and I
28:51 - Siberian Khatru

I was just listening to that album earlier today. That and "Fragile" are my favorite Yes albums.

Those two and Relayer are probably the best, with The Yes Album in fourth place and Going for the One in fifth. CttE is the top ranked album in history on Prog Archives and I can't really quibble with that.

Dude, ****ing "Going For The One" and "Awaken" are a couple of my go to tracks if I want an epic drive home from work. I especially love that guitar solo in "Awaken."

"Awaken" might be a strong contender for Yes' best piece ever. Amazing song.

Have you ever heard the name Laura Branigan? Probably not. Did you ever play the game Grand Theft Auto Vice City? Then maybe you'll recognize this song:
(SPOILER)

I love the 80s so very. very much and thus the entire VC soundtrack is like a tiny piece of Heaven to me but Laura is the only singer/performer I have really come to love. (well her and The Human League) The rest are great true but Mrs. Branigan had something special. She is gone now unfortunately but she had such talent.

I highly recommend her album that shares the same name as that above song, "Self-Control." I'm not even sure if it's still in print or around but the odds of anyone here actually spending money on any of this strikes me as very low. You could always get one of her many compilation albums.

But my favorite track from that album is this one:

Can we just turn this into a Yes appreciation thread?

Not even to mention the contributions its members have made outside of Yes (Jon Anderson + Tangerine Dream = LEGEND)

I'm fully on board with that



Skip to 19:18

Keith Tippett is a beautiful pianist.

Going to contribute some more.
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Still - Nine Inch Nails: When Nine Inch Nails decided to release a live album back in 2002, a bonus disc known as "Still" was packaged with special copies of it. You could also simply buy the live album or the "Still" disc by itself. For me, "Still" is one of my favorite releases by Nine Inch Nails because of how unconventional the recording was for Trent Reznor. Usually, the dude hammers things out carefully in a studio with a couple of other people, but he went with recording using the live lineup he had at the time. It's technically not an original album since it has reworked versions of old songs on it, and instrumental material that was tweaked (would have been used in the "One Hour Photo" score). Still, the track "And All That Could Have Been" is worth listening to the album alone. It's a pretty dark and sincere track that was recorded during one of Trent's lowest points in his life.

http://youtu.be/az1ewpORFm0


Seventeen Seconds - The Cure: Since I listed a much more known Cure album last time, I decided I would talk about one of my favorite earlier Cure albums. This is the first album that showed the band's darker side in full force. It's a very minimalist album and has fantastic pacing. It carries the same tone and theme without feeling that it drags on and on, which is something I feel a lot of darker albums across all genres end up doing. "Play for Today" "A Forest" and "Seventeen Seconds" are among my favorite Cure songs in their enormous discography.

http://youtu.be/LjcFBNqF-pA

The Wind the Trees and the Shadows of the Past - The Morningside: Yeah, those of you who don't like harsh vocals might not get into this, but those of you who wish metal slowed down a bit got slightly folkish might like it. Give "The Shadows of the Past" a listen to avoid the harsh vocals altogether. Great for rainy days when you are depressed! No, seriously, I kind of wish these guys did more things because this album (the the EP) was a great starting point.

http://youtu.be/uafFf7T-9wY


Assassins: Black Meddle - Nachtmystium: Although I have like past and future works of these guys immesnely, this is the only album of theirs that I feel knocks it out of the park. This album seriously has one of the most amazing endings to a metal album I have ever heard, simply because it does some unconventional things without seeming to be forceful or obvious about it. Lots of high energy moments that are balanced with atmospheric pieces.

ALBUM ARTWORK LINKED IS SLIGHTLY NSFWhttp://youtu.be/yQRoWFOVU_o (again, could not find a whole album link, but this link contains the excellent ending I was talking about)
http://youtu.be/z97QtpSPYT0 (a good earlier track that is more upbeat from same album)

Wow, so there's some fellow prog fans in here. NICE. Here are a few that have tickled my fancy lately:

Seven Impale "City of the Sun" – Literally JUST released, this is the best fusion of prog rock and jazz I've EVER heard. Like if Yes and Jaga Jazzist formed a supergroup. Pretty sure this is going to run away with my Album of the Year spot.

Big Big Train "English Electric, part 1" – The closest thing that exists today to Hackett/Gabriel-era Genesis (aka the best thing ever).

The Tea Club "Quickly Quickly Quickly" – Another band who's got that '70s prog spirit (as in, not the '80s neoprog spirit), but they combine it with modern creativity. Very post-prog, and very awesome. They've got a new one coming soon!

And



And



Because CLAPTON

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Originally Posted by Sephex

The Wind the Trees and the Shadows of the Past - The Morningside: Yeah, those of you who don't like harsh vocals might not get into this, but those of you who wish metal slowed down a bit got slightly folkish might like it. Give "The Shadows of the Past" a listen to avoid the harsh vocals altogether. Great for rainy days when you are depressed! No, seriously, I kind of wish these guys did more things because this album (the the EP) was a great starting point.

http://youtu.be/uafFf7T-9wY

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I adore this album, and that song in particular. I saw the bold bit while skimming and did a double-take, it's awesome finding stuff in common with you guys here.

Right, here's a few:

40 Watt Sun - "The Inside Room"

This is a British band founded by Patrick Walker, who is very well respected in the British metal scene. This is vaguely similar to his most well-known project Warning in that it's very, very... 'doomy,' but 40 Watt Sun utilise a very crushing yet hauntingly beautiful theme in their music and lyrics, with clean vocals too which is unusual for this genre.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Q4FkTm3Q40

One of my big regrets in life was not seeing them live for my birthday in a pub in London a couple of years ago. They did an acoustic set, which included this version of the above song. In fairness I would have been a wreck if I could have made it, it's incredible.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=233010893439641

Alrighty, another is Anathema, a band who made the transition from doom metal to post-rock in the late 90's and never looked back. They've dome seom amazing songs, but one of my favourite albums is an acoustic compilation called Hindsight. Much like 40 Watt Sun it's hauntingly beautiful at times. Angelica is a fine example.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OV3YfRyYsuc

One more, hugely underrated rock band InMe. They've dome some hit and miss albums, their best two being the debut Overgrown Eden and third album Daydream Anonymous for vastly different reasons. The first is a riff-driven rollercoaster:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoAMYuVnRSI

And the second generally more mellow and lyrically refined:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txGJodXc7bw&index=10

I hope someone enjoys these bands as much as I do.

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Originally Posted by AssassinDX

One more, hugely underrated rock band InMe. They've dome some hit and miss albums, their best two being the debut Overgrown Eden and third album Daydream Anonymous for vastly different reasons. The first is a riff-driven rollercoaster:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoAMYuVnRSI

And the second generally more mellow and lyrically refined:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txGJodXc7bw&index=10

I hope someone enjoys these bands as much as I do.

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lol Jesus, InMe. I haven't heard them in ages. I've only heard Overgrown Eden but I really liked that album when it came out. That brings me back. I am now going through and listening to that album to see if any of it holds up. This stuff isn't actually that bad. They've aged a lot better than some of the trout I used to listen to, not that it'll be an album I listen to much. It's just nice to know that I can tolerate them.

http://static.djbooth.net/pics-albums/saroc-nebu.jpg

Nebuchadnezzar by Sa-Roc is my favorite album of the year so far.

I just got acquainted with Sa-Roc this year and I fell in love with her. With her in the mix now, I can't quite determine who my second favorite rapper is. Her flow and wordplay straight demolishes almost any mainstream rapper today, though considering the current state of rap that wouldn't be hard to do, but she is phenomenal. Sa-Roc keeps up her tradition of mixing science fiction and divinity in her lyrics, while also speaking on social matters. My favorite track on the album goes to The Who? which features artist David Banner. Hulk's verse relays education about historical figure Patrice Lumumba which is something that is not often seen in music now. Sa-Roc drops a lyrical manifesto (reference intended) in her following verses, elevating her lyrical status and speaking on her inspirations. Nebuchadnezzar is a true masterpiece and an instant classic for me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUBRq4yzDYc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3y580JHic-c