Top 25 Of All Time Part II: #25-21

Last entry you got to see the albums that didn't make the final cut to this fine list of my favorite albums of all time. Now, ladies and gentlemen, we march onward with the first 5 entries. Here we go!

25. The Kinks-Lola vs. Powerman and the Moneyground Part I



God The Kinks are a great band, and one that deserves more radio play outside of “You Really Got Me” and titular character of this album “Lola”. Believe it or not, this is the only Kinks album I have outside of their greatest hits and I owe that to Wes Anderson. Three tracks off this album were prominently featured in his film The Darjeeling Limited, and had it not been for that film I wouldn’t have been so driven to start listening to this album. I don’t consider myself a folk fan, but I really dig the overall rawness of this album. Acoustic guitars that sound muddy with wonderful layers of everything else that makes the Kinks great on top of them. It’s not all super punky, the sound that people always say the Kinks helped pioneer, but in that it shows some brains.




24. Yellowcard- Ocean Avenue



I think I have made some enemies by putting this album on this list. But allow me to explain, when my friends talk about going back in time and listening to that one album they expect to grow out of but it’s still just as fun and awesome, they always say Blink 182’s Enema of the State. Now maybe it’s because I feared the wrath of my parents listening to the aforementioned album when I was 14 and grounding me, but Ocean Avenue fills that void for me. It’s glorious pop punk that covers all of the essential bases. I can honestly sing along to this entire album and not get bored or tired of it. If there is ever a moment in time when I want to feel like a teenage girl, I always turn directly to the violin ridden Ocean Avenue and have a great time doing it.



23. Vampire Weekend- Vampire Weekend



One of the most recent albums to make the list, Vampire Weekend did something to me that I never thought would happen, it made me like indie rock again. After getting into hip-hop in the early years of college, my rock pallet mainly consisted of classic rock, nostalgia rock (see Yellowcard) and super heavy modern and experimental rock, but upon the urging of friends and the constant play of “A-Punk” on CT’s Radio 104.1, I gave this self titled album a chance and loved it. It is intricately simple, super quick and note filled riffs that feel like they could be placed into a Ramones song. The fact that these hipster, polo wearing rockers are just so openly suburban about their approach is like Kanye West wearing a polo, it’s a statement that they’re not going to change who they are (cough cough every Long Island band) to make records. Pop those collars Vampire Weekend, I’d have it no other way.



22. House of Pain- House of Pain (Fine Malt Lyrics)



Being the attentive Irish that I am, I used to bump “Jump Around” every Saint Patrick’s Day as an alternative to the overdosing of Flogging Molly, Dropkick Murphy’s and The Pogues. And upon seeing House of Pain’s self titled debut sitting in a discount bin at a reputable record store, I purchased it and after one listen, didn’t think twice about it for a long time. However, one random day two summers ago I started listening again. And again. And again. The combination of DJ Lethal’s muddy beats with Everlast’s boastful lyrics and Danny Boy’s quick in-and-out Eazy-E like presence, I fell in love with the House. The lyrics aren’t deep, the subject matter is somewhat limited, and it’s an album I can easily see 90% of the world passing on, but without question, this album has changed the way I look at hip-hop.




21. Gym Class Heroes- The Papercut Chronicles



Travis McCoy is one of the best rappers alive and the world doesn’t realize it. And I think at this juncture, dropping the “is” and replacing it with “ie” to become Travie, he doesn’t even realize it either. But The Papercut Chronicles is an album that goes all over the map as far as content is concerned. The way the rhythm section grooves over raps about girls, drugs, suicide, fitting in and other such issues is awesome. You don’t hear bands that make songs like “Cupid’s Chokehold” follow them up with song’s like “Pillmatic” and “Faces in the Hall” and that’s what made Gym Class, at this point in their career, so good.



Stay tuned for the rest of the list!