1. Radiohead
While the appeal of their more experimental albums is debatable, I've loved just about everything that they've put out. It is said that Eskimos have over 100 different words for our word "snow". I think Radiohead manages to do the same thing with sorrow - every subtle variation seems to have its own separate song.
Favorite Album: The Bends
Favorite Song: Street Spirit (Fade Out)
2. Failure
Perhaps the least mainstream entry on this list, Failure is one of those bands that surfaced when alternative music was in full swing in the mid-Nineties. They possess a really unique sound - a combination of heavy guitars, creative feedback, and the unique vocal stylings of the lead singer, Ken Andrews. He has almost hollow quality to his voice that lends it an eerie echo.
Favorite Album: Fantastic Planet
Favorite Song: While I think new listeners will get a good feel for their musical style without delving into unfamiliar territory by listening to their cover of Enjoy the Silence, I first gravitated to Failure through their abrasive radio hit Pitiful
3. Tool
Dark, brooding, music. Everything about this band seems to be rich with hidden meaning. The lead singer's soft, understated voice contrasts sharply with heavy guitars while controversial lyrics hide deeper meanings, all without sacrificing satisfying musical composition. Often, I will find that I have listened to a track again and again, only to stop and pay closer attention to the lyrics and be shocked to hear what I had missed.
Favorite Album: Ænima
Favorite Song: Sober
4. Alice in Chains
It's a shame lead singer Layne Staley died of a heroin overdose, but if you were listening carefully to Alice in Chains' lyrics, you could see that coming. Alice in Chains had this interesting way of alternating between a full length hard core album and a shorter EP on the lighter side. Both stylings were absolutely great, though.
Favorite Album: While it's not a full length album, I'd have to say Jar of Flies. If I were to pick one of the full length albums, I'd go with Dirt
Favorite Song: Would?
5. Pearl Jam
I didn't really appreciate Pearl Jam as much as many of my friends during their heyday in the early years, but at some point I looked back on over 10 years of favorites, and realised they all came from the same band.
Favorite Album: Rearviewmirror: Greatest Hits 1991 - 2003. Like I said, it was a over a decade before I began to appreciate them. By that point, I could get all of my favorites.
Favorite Song: Corduroy
6. Ozzy Osbourne
After I got old enough to look past the false associations between Ozzy Osbourne and devil worship, Ozzy had already come and gone from the mainstream. Still, I was surprised to find how many of his songs I'd loved without knowing it. I know Sabbath came first, but I've liked the solo stuff better.
Favorite Album: The Essential Ozzy Osbourne. Another collection. I don't feel like I'm cheating.
Favorite Song: Mr. Crowley, although I remember trying to convince my Mom that there was a song about Perry Mason.
7. Modest Mouse
They've got this fresh indie feel to them that's kind of like a rock/folk mix that makes me smile. I have a feeling though, that any description I could come up with insult the hardcore fans of this band.
Favorite Album: Good News for People Who Love Bad News
Favorite Song: Although Float On was the hit that brought the band to my attention, I've come to really like Cowboy Dan for it's title character's views on life.
8. Foo Fighters
I took to Foo Fighters more easily than I did to Nirvana, which I find surprising. Perhaps it's the lighter tone, I don't know. There certainly seems to be more energy in their music, whether that's happy energy or angry energy.
Favorite Album: Foo Fighters (self-titled)
Favorite Song: Exhausted, the last track on the aforementioned album. Great use of feedback and static.
9. Rush
Familiar story by now. Great band comes to my attention decades after their prime. Unique vocals on the lead singer. Some great guitar riffs.
Favorite Album: Rush Chronicles. You wait long enough, they put all the hits on a two-disc set!
Favorite Song: Subdivisions
10. Filter
A long time ago, when alternative music was still big, this band used to be at the top of my list. I guess I'm not as angry as I used to be.
Favorite Album: Short Bus
Favorite Song: Hey Man, Nice Shot
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1 comment:
_I_ remember when you listened to nothing but Sheryl Crow's "Tuesday Night Music Club" and Counting Crows' "August and Everything After."
And while some Ozzy solo stuff is better than some Sabbath stuff, the converse is also true. I have to deduct points from Ozzy here, because after Randy Rhoads died, he spent years hiring young blonde guitar players who played and looked exactly like R.R. Jake E. Lee doesn't count.
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