I'm not sure that tipsy/drunk is the best way to write the last couple of captions for these top 25 albums. However, that's the way it goes. Top 5 albums of all time, coming up:

5. Guns N’ Roses – Use Your Illusion (I & II)
I’m lumping these together because they’re a double album, despite the fact that they were released separately. If someone wants to get technical, I’ll say that I slightly prefer II, but that’s moot because I’m lumping them together, so get over it. Don’t Cry. November Rain. Estranged. Live and Let Die. Coma. Civil War. Yesterdays. Knockin on Heaven’s Door. Come on, this/these is/are the best rock and roll album/albums ever made, by the best pure rock and roll band there ever was. Don’t try to argue with me, because I’ll play you one of Slash’s endless awesome guitar solos and you’ll have no choice but to slink away defeated.

4. Lagwagon – Let’s Talk About Feelings
To give you an idea how short this album is, the vinyl version is a 10” instead of the usual full length 12”. However, these are the best 25 minutes of straight up punk (albeit poppy punk) music that I’ve ever heard. The songs blaze in and out of each other, each song basically leading into the next. The lyrics are some of the best that Joey Cape ever wrote. And there’s not a bad song on here. A lot of people would put this album near the bottom of Lagwagon’s catalog, but those people are all stuck on the metal leanings of Trashed (also a great album) or the harder punk edge of Hoss (also a great album). In the end, though, people who aren’t hung up on their punk being too punky should realize that this is the best Lagwagon album, and in my mind, the best punk album I’ve ever heard.

3. Against Me! – Reinventing Axl Rose
This was a toss up between this one and Searching for a Former Clarity, but in the end, for me, this album was much more important. Early Against Me! (up to and including this album and The Disco) is much more raw and dirty than later Against Me!, and that’s what attracted me to this album and this band so much. Lyrically superior to any later album, nothing else I’ve ever heard or read has made me want to be a nihilistic anarchist more than this album. And while Tom Gabel and I both realize at this point that that’s stupid, I still get a little rush listening to this album. Against Me! has become one of my favorite all time bands, with my favorite all time live show, and that all happened because of this dirty folk-acoustic-punk album.

2. Bad Astronaut – Houston We Have A Drinking Problem
Aside from having one of the best album titles ever, this mix of punk rock, prog rock, space rock, and really every type of rock, is the modern album that I have related to more than any other. The great rock music here is unmatched in my opinion. Joey Cape is basically my musical hero, and this album is a conglomeration of all the reasons why: great lyrics, layers upon layers of instrumentation, and just plain awesome songwriting combine to make this the best modern album I’ve had the privilege of listening to. The message boards at punknews.org might not get it due to their narrow-mindedness, but I swear, the first time I heard this was the musical equivalent of witnessing the creation of the universe or Jesus’ miracles first hand. Unbelievably good, from lovingly created first note to lovingly created last.

1. The Beatles – Abbey Road
The Beatles could basically populate half of this top 25 list. Rubber Soul, Magical Mystery Tour, the White Album… they’re all great albums. But when I think of the best albums ever recorded, the b-side of Abbey Road is so far ahead of everything else that this is a no-brainer. People can say the Beatles were overrated as much as they want, but the medley(s) that populate(s) the end of this album prove that these four men together were the best singers/songwriters that ever lived. Abbey Road in unquestionably the best album that has ever been written and played, and I can pretty much guarantee that no album will ever surpass the genius contained in this piece of wax/plastic, ever.

Yay!

Alright, now that that's over, I'm going to really try to continue to update this fairly often. I've already started to regain that magic that I used to feel from the written word. I've got a Word file open with some topics to write about, and the urge to write. We'll see what happens.

Love, Adam