Shaun’s Blog

If you read my blog regularly, you’ll know that I compiled a list of the top 10 movies of all time, but today I am here to force my musical taste on you. I realise that I am no Rolling Stones magazine or “media expert”, but I am the best type of music expert there is - the fan who buys the CDs.

Before I start, I need to state a few things:
1. The Beatles are over-rated.
2. Elvis Presley was a dead fat dude with bad hair.
3. John Lennon is a drip, and deserved everything he got.
4. Nirvana were crap and Kurt Kobain was a fag.

So here we are, the top 10 albums of all time.

10. Savage Garden - Affirmation (More info at Amazon.co.uk or Play.com)
Aussies Darren Hayes and Daniel Jones formed in 1997 and after changing their group name from Crush to Savage Garden, released a self titled album which was fantastic. But the height of their fame was two years later when they released the Affirmation album with a string of number ones. Their music varies from up tempo pop to delicate piano ballads. Hits such as “Affirmation”, “Hold Me”, “The Animal Song” and “I Knew I Loved You” got mainstream success in the pop industry, whilst great ballads such as “Two Beds And A Coffee Machine” and “I Don’t Know You Anymore” slipped under the radar. Savage Garden is a perfect example of pop music well executed.

9. Michael Jackson - Dangerous (More info at Amazon.co.uk or Play.com)
The king of pop himself had tonnes of albums, but Dangerous was my gateway album into Michael Jackson. With “Heal The World”, he tries to convince the world to pull together and help stop people dying. I personally think this song was his inspiration for the much later “Earth Song”. The awesome “Jam” reminds us that Jackson could still rock in the 90’s, whereas more delicate songs like “Remember The Time” and “Who Is It” tells us he’s softening a little. But his anger comes through in amazing songs such as “Black Or White” and “Give In To Me”. Jackson is still my hero.

8. The Cure - Disintegration (More info at Amazon.co.uk or Play.com)
The Cure, which is Robert Smith and a bunch of other people nobody knows the names of, have (apparantly) been together since 1976 and formed in Crawley, England. Out of the 20-odd albums they have released, Disintegration is the best by far. They sound kinda gothy and emo, with a bunch of rock thrown in - but they sound awesome. This entry is deserved completely for the two songs “Boys Don’t Cry” and “Pictures Of You”, but “Lullaby” and “Love Song” are addictive too.

7. Michael Jackson - Bad (More info at Amazon.co.uk or Play.com)
Bad is just amazing. Five of Jackson’s best songs are on this album, as well as some other songs which would still give new artists a run for their money. The self titled song “Bad”, as well as “Man In The Mirror”, “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You”, “Smooth Criminal” and “Liberian Girl” are memorable. “Leave Me Alone” is my favourite song on this album. The only downside to this album is that it was successor to Thriller… which is a lot to live up to.

6. Meatloaf - Bat Out Of Hell (More info at Amazon.co.uk or Play.com)
Anybody who doesn’t think this man is a genius is tone-deaf. His passion (and strange taste in songs) is awesome and I defy you to look at the tracklist of this album and not know each and every song. It’s pop, goth, rock and opera all in one - the songs are catchy (”Meatloaf - Bat Out Of Hell”) , emotional (”Two Out Of Three Ain’t Bad”) and sometimes even sarcastic (”Paradise By The Dashboard Light”). A strange concoxion which paid of BIG time.

5. Michael Jackson - Thriller (More info at Amazon.co.uk or Play.com)
To complete the hat-trick of Michael Jackson albums, here’s the grand Thriller. Seven of the nine tracks reached the top ten, with the most famous being Thriller, the hilarious and slightly scary dancing zombies. “Billie Jean”, “Beat It” and “Wanna Be Startin’ Something’” were also huge hugs hits from this album. The laugh at the end of Thriller gave me nightmares, thanks Vincent Price and screw you, you creepy freak.

4. James - Laid (More info at Amazon.co.uk or Play.com)
A typical college rock band shot to fame in the 80’s and 90’s with their melancholic rock tunes, with a similar sound to The Smiths or Morrissey. The song “Sit Down” made them overnight stars in the UK, but their follow up album “Laid” was more soothing, with songs such as “Say Something” and “Laid”. This is one of those albums which you can play through and not get bored of.

3. Verve - Urban Hymns (More info at Amazon.co.uk or Play.com)
Richard Ashcroft’s following started when they released Bittersweet Symphony. This being a single on their third and final album, Urban Hymns. Their first two albums flopped (nobody even heard of them until “Bittersweet Symphony”) but Urban Hymns was a masterpiece and can not ever be recreated. “Sonnet” was a ballad, which came out suprisingly well with “The Drugs Don’t Work” being a heart wrenching song, rumoured to be about his drug-addicted father. Other “filler songs” became classics too, such as “Lucky Man”, “The Rolling People” and “Catching The Butterfly”. A serious music lover must have this in their CD collection. Infact for some reason I have two.

2. U2 - The Joshua Tree (More info at Amazon.co.uk or Play.com)
Everybody knows who Bono is. Everybody knows who U2 is. And for four decades they have rocked for us (as well as rammed politics down our throats). But “The Joshua Tree” is different.. it’s relies less on the heavy rock and more on the emotion behind Bono’s lyrics. Three fantastic, even perfect songs are “Where The Streets Have No Name”, “With Or Without You” and “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”. There are some filler songs on this album which don’t live up to the U2 standard, but this album is without a doubt fantastic.

1. Coldplay - Parachutes (More info at Amazon.co.uk or Play.com)
Number one on my countdown. Coldplay! Coldplay changed the face of British rock music with this album alone. It was released in 2000 amongst a tonne of girl group and boy group crap, but Coldplay had unaltered genuine emotion in their music and that’s clear by just listening. The three instant classics became “Shiver”, “Yellow” and “Trouble”, but every song on the album is worthy of being a hit on it’s own and genuinly from the heart. Parachutes is easily worth 10/10.

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