Top 10 Albums to Hear Before You Die

Okay, I don't want to be offensive to any individual or anything, but let's face it: Most of the albums that are hitting the pop charts these days are nothing special. They're nothing legendary. But in the past, classic artists have released classic albums that completely rocked the public and rocked the charts. This was very rare, and only top musicians could pull it off, but some did, with flying colours. In this list I'll be including some of these, and also some more recent albums and some compilation albums to create a nice informative list of 10 albums (including links to where you can buy the album) I think that everyone should have a listen to. Yes, this is an opinionated list - live with it.

1. Bat Out of Hell - Meatloaf

   

   This 1977 album has sold over 34,000,000 copies in 30 years, and sells about 200,000 copies each year. Successful? Muchly. Written by Jim Steinman, these songs tell stories mostly about love, with such famous titles like “Bat out of Hell” and “Paradise by the Dashboard Lights”. The fast-paced piano, brilliantly executed guitar, lyrics full of meaning and awesomely belted vocals make this a must hear album and, if you have the time and money, you should watch this guy live, believe me - he puts on one hell of a show.

2. Best of Bowie - David Bowie

   

   Released on the 35th Anniversary of Bowie's first album (“David Bowie”) “Best of Bowie” was released in 21 countries in total with each album having a different track listing depending on which songs were most popular wherever the different versions were released. A total of 63 different tracks were used at least once in each album, 62 of these being re-mastered versions. David Bowie's lyrics are also meaningful, just like Meat Loafs, and his songs are beautifully written. Some of the more famous songs from this compilation are: “Life on Mars?”, “Space Oddity” and “Under Pressure”.

3. Thefakesoundofprogress - Lostprophets

   

   Originally supposed to be only a demo, this album was recorded in one week with a budget of £5,000 by Welsh band Lostprophets. Even with massively popular hits “Shenobi VS Dragon Ninja” and “The Fake Sound of Progress” this album still managed to receive a bad review from All Music Guide who said “The only redeeming quality is the great production by Michael Barbiero, that allows all instruments to be heard perfectly in all their ennui-inducing glory, proving that no matter how much you polish up a turd, it's still a turd.” However, it also received several good reviews, proving that people have different views on this album. It's worth a listen.

4. Monsters of Rock - Various Artists

   

   The first compilation “various artists” album in my list, it's also the heaviest compilation album in my list, including some heavy songs such as “Why Can't This be Love?”, “Mama we're all Crazee Now” and “Poison”. This album contains loads of songs that you can really get into and would be great if you were throwing a rocking party with some of your friends. Heavy guitar, heavy drums, kicking vocals, up-beat rhythm. Brilliant.

5. All Killer No Filler - Sum 41

   

   Being one of my first favourite bands and being very influential to me Sum 41 had to have a place on this list. I first saw them when I was 6, where I got so excited I jumped up and down on my chair, fell off and hurt my knee. I went again last year with some friends, and it was a rocking concert. All Killer No Filler is the first full album by Sum 41 which was released in 2001 and sold over 1,000,000 copies within the first few months of it being on the shelves. Nowadays Sum 41 are a lot more rock-based, and this album shows just how they were when they were Punk artists, heated guitar, jet engine drums and rebellious lyrics are all on this album. This album contains some of their most famous hits like “Fat Lip”, “In Too Deep” and “Pain for Pleasure”.

6. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - The Beatles

   

   Rolling Stone magazine ranked this as the number one album of all time in 2003, and lots and lots of people still hold this in high regard. Personally, it's my favourite Beatles album, with complex lyrical themes and well put together songs. And it's no wonder how good this album is due to the fact that it took 159 days to record, that's nothing in comparison with Lostprophets FSOP which only took a week! Their idea for this album was (after deciding they didn't want to tour anymore) was to create an alter-ego fictitious band to base the album around that could tour for them. And in this way they still tour each and every day.

7. The Best of the Best Air Guitar Albums in the World… Ever! - Various Arists

   

   There's not a song on this compilation that I do not like. This album was released as part of the “The Best… Album… Ever!” series, and features a three-CD track list containing fantastically fabulously famous songs such as “Free Bird”, “Crazy Crazy Nights”, “Fat Bottomed Girls”, “Johnny B Goode” and loads more. If I ever have this album playing on shuffle, I'm always pleased with what I'm listening to. This actually has quite a few songs on it that are also on “Monsters of Rock” so if you didn't want to spend too much money then I would recommend only buying one of these.

8. Greatest Hits - Queen

   

   I did a test today. I loaded up Google and did a search for “Queen” to see just how famous they are. And (just as I expected) Queen results appeared before any results about the actual Queen (monarch). That is quite an achievement don't you think? So why not buy their greatest hits? They're obviously one of the greatest rock bands in all history. You may not even know it but you might already know a Queen song without realising it. Some of the more popular ones from this album are “Bohemian Rhapsody”, “Another One Bites the Dust”, “Don't Stop Me Now”, “We Will Rock You” and “We Are the Champions”.

9. The Wall - Pink Floyd

   

   This is a brilliantly produced psychedelic album from the fantastic band Pink Floyd. Released in 1979, this rock-opera album focuses mainly a theme of isolation from other people. This entire album actually tells a story based around a fictional character named Pink. Pink loses his father (“Another Brick in the Wall (Part 1)”), is abused by teachers (“The Happiest Days of Our Lives”), was brought up by an overprotective mother (“Mother”) and was later left by his wife (“Don't Leave me Now”) which overall gives a sense of loneliness. Brilliantly composed and wonderfully performed this album is essential to any progressive rock fan.

10. S&M - Metallica

    

    And finally, my number one favourite album of all time is Metallica's S&M with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. This album gives such a brilliant twist of metal and classical music that provides such an overwhelming experience for the listener. Each and every track on this album has had orchestral parts written for it so that listening to each one is a whole new experience than just listening to the plain Metallica versions. This combines my love of metal music and my love of classical music. An orchestra in a rock band? Awesome.

Track List:Disc 1:

1. The Ecstasy of Gold
2. The Call of the Ktulu
3. Master of Puppets
4. Of Wolf and Man
5. The Thing That Should Not be
6. Fuel
7. The Memory Remains
8. No Leaf Clover
9. Hero of the Day
10. Devil's Dance
11. Bleeding Me

Disc 2:

1. Nothing Else Matters
2. Until It Sleeps
3. For Whom the Bell Tolls
4. Human
5. Wherever I May be
6. Outlaw Torn
7. Sad But True
8. One
9. Enter Sandman
10. Battery

So, whether you're in the shower with a fancy bathroom CD player, driving in your car and listening to some music while you wash the dishes, I recommend you have a quick listen to some of these albums.