My Top Ten Favorite Albums
Like my Co-Writer and Editor Devin, a lot of thought went into making this list. There are so many great albums that came to mind and several by the same artist, but in the end, these are the 10 albums I have chosen. I also would like to remind you this is not in any way an all-time greatest album list this is just my favorite albums.
10. “Move Along” by The All-American Rejects
This bad boy has been released for a whopping 12 years it came out in 2005, and to be honest this was the first album I ever bought on a CD it is to this day it is the reason I got into Pop Punk and rock music. Not only is it nostalgic for me but it is a great album as well with big hits like “Move Along”, “It Ends Tonight”, and “Dirty Little Secrets” it cemented its self as a Double Platinum record in the US and debuted and peaked at Number 6 on the Billboard 200. The whole album flows so well together as if it were one big song, it is what cemented my future enjoyment of listening to bands like Blink-182, Fall Out Boy, and Panic! at the Disco. I do have to say that “Night Drive” is my favorite song off of this particular record. As I have grown older this album has grown closer to my heart a lot to thank Tyson and the gang for in my musical taste.
9. “Songs about Jane” by Maroon 5
I owe a lot of my vocal styling to Kara’s Flowers, I mean Maroon 5 oops! Origin story joke aside, I learned a lot from listening to Adam Levine’s vocals throughout this album. Maroon 5 was made by this album and have continued to put out great music like this since then. This album is completely deserving of this spot and will forever be a favorite.
8. “Blink-182" by Blink-182
This self-titled album by Blink is the description of Pop Punk music and always will be between classics like “I Miss You”, “Down”, or “Feeling This”. The album shows off a lot of the bands slower and faster music styling and showed how much had learned after coming back from a break to work on their own music projects like “Box Car Racer” and “Transplants”. Side Note: Down is probably my favorite Blink song, I just wish Tom would stop chasing aliens and make more music.
7. “Ocean Avenue” by Yellowcard
Speaking of classic pop-punk sound this album is one of the best there is at reminding us of just that. The now-retired Yellowcard rocked the genre with Pop Punk anthem songs like “Ocean Avenue” and “Only One”, it would be hard to put this album down and I don’t have much more to say than that.
6. “Infinity on High” by Fall Out Boy
Fall Out Boy is one of those bands that reinvented to sound of Pop Punk much like Blink-182 did. This album has some of their most well-known songs including “Thnks Fr Th Mmrs” and “ This Ain’t A Scene, Its An Arms Race” both of which are pretty powerful anthem songs in themselves.
5. “Meteora” by Linkin Park
“Meteora” is the base of what I consider my top 5 favorite albums when I think of alternative music this is the album I think of. While it was not their first album this album was by far their best. It sports some of their highest grossing songs on iTunes like “Numb”, “Faint”, “Somewhere I Belong”, and “Breaking The Habit”. This album was and always be one of my favorites.
4. “Hybrid Theory” by Linkin Park
This album is the first album, Linkin Park ever released, when this bad boy came out in late 2000 I don’t think the band had any idea what their music would do to change the landscape of rock and alternative music. The album has long since become a Diamond record by the RIAA. In 2012, Rock Sound named “Hybrid Theory” the best modern classic album of the last 15 years in a list of 101 different albums. I know I said before this that “Meteora” is their best album, but this is where it all started for this band and I still view it as a better album.
PS: RIP Chester Bennington, you will be missed by everyone around you and those you touched through your music.
3. “Native” by OneRepublic
This is by far one of my favorites albums of all time, it is one of the few albums I own that when you listen to it from beginning to end it never gets less exciting. With hits like “Counting Stars”, “I Lived”, “Feel Again”, and “If I Lose Myself” this album pack some of Ryan and the gangs best songwriting. There is not much more I can say other than I adore everything about this album.
2. “A Beautiful Lie” by 30 Seconds to Mars
“A Beautiful Lie” was released on August 30, 2005, in the United States. This album much like the last is an album that doesn’t have a musical decline as you listen to it this album does nothing but get better as you listen to it track by track. With huge hits like “The Kill”, “From Yesterday”, “Attack”, and “A Beautiful Lie” this album had the power to take this spot in my top ten and not just because of Jared Leto’s ridiculously strong voice. These songs rank as some of my favorites of all time I listen to at least one of them on a daily basis, along with other songs of this album and some songs from the following album “This Is War” by 30 Seconds To Mars.
- “How to Save a Life” by The Fray
This album is a much softer one than the rest of what is on my list and in my music taste for that matter, but it is by far my favorite album. My first live concert was seeing “The Fray” on the albums release tour and it is to this day one of the best live shows I have ever been to. This album is one that I will listen to front to back as well, I love every song on it and know every single word. The Fray is a band I look at a lot to branch off and find new music just because of the diverse discography they have created over time. I know this album came out quite awhile back but I would like to suggest it to anyone who has not heard it.
Side Note: My favorite song on this album is Vienna.
