All artists have that one album that they could never do better than.  It’s the one album that makes us fall in love with that particular artist or band, only to be disappointed by the follow-up.  Here is my list of the Top 10 Most Groundbreaking Albums For An Artist In The Past 10 Years:

 

 

 

I know, this may upset many of you that I even thought of putting Mudvayne on here.  But seriously, their music sucks now.  ”L.D.50″ was pretty fucking amazing though.  Everything that the Nu-Metal scene was trying to do, this album accomplished.  With this album, the band shouted “hey! We’re serious! Nu-metal can be good!” It’s just too bad that their following albums were absolutely dreadful.  If you enjoy Mudvayne, throw out all of their albums and grab this.  Trust me, this is the only music from this band that you need to know.

#10:

 

 

 

Modest Mouse had a big cult following coming up to this album, but they were still considered completely underground.  This album shattered that ground that they were under.  Do you know anyone that didn’t own or love this album? Because I certainly do not.

 

 

 

Yeah, I know, The White Stripes were big before this album.  However, this album is not only arguably their best effort to date, but certainly the one that proclaimed “Hey, we’ll be here a bit.”  They came on the scene after The Strokes enabled them to (along with The Hives, The Vines, and many many other shitty pop rock bands).  I dare you to play the song “Seven Nation Army” to someone and have them not sing along or get pumped about it.  I DARE YOU.

 

 

 

For those of you who are die-hard NIN fans, I know you’ll be angry at me for this.  Hear me out though.  This is NOT his best album (I can sense your sigh of relief).  I didn’t put this album on the list because it’s his best effort.  Nothing will ever be as good as The Fragile or Downward Spiral.  This album, however, was monumental for Trent Reznor.  It was the first album he ever did SOBER.  Because of that, the album sounded more unique and different than any previous work he’s ever done.  Also, because of the success of this album, he was enabled to continue with Year Zero, Year Zero Remixes, Ghosts, and The Slip, all within a span of three years.  

 

 

 

I hate to put Eminem on this list.  Isn’t he a guilty pleasure for everyone though? He’s the artist you love to talk trash about, but goddamnit was he a good rapper.  Before this album, he was the white guy who did the “My Name Is” song.  This album proved that he was disturbingly talented.  It was the rap album that goth kids enjoyed.  It certified Eminem as possibly (and no, I’m not kidding) the most legendary mc of all time.

 

 

 

This is a recent album.  You may be wondering why this is on the list.  Well, as many of you know, the music industry is tanking.  No one buys music anymore.  As of the past three months, no one has the MONEY to buy ANYTHING right now.  This album came out at possibly the worst time for any album to come out, and it sold MILLIONS.  Not only that, but it was a rap album that sold millions.  The last time an album sold that big that fast was N’Sync in 2002.  Rap music doesn’t even sell full albums anymore, it’s being survived by ringtones and catchy singles, not full length works.  This album was predicted to sell approximately 423,000 copies.  It sold over a million in it’s first week alone.  ’Nuff said.

 

 

 

Before this album, Kanye was just another rapper.  Using samples in hip hop was becoming popular, and this guy certainly took advantage of it.  We knew he was talented, we just didn’t realize how ridiculously talented he was.  ”Gold Digger” alone earns him a place in this list.  Put that track on.  If you don’t know all the lyrics yet, you obviously don’t care about music.

 

 

 

Yeah, I know.  These guys are overplayed.  If I put them on the list I might as well put Fall Out Boy, right? WRONG.  Fuck Fall Out Boy.  I can say with a straight face that My Chemical Romance is musically talented and that they have brilliant song writing.  As far as Pete Wentz is concerned, I have more talent in my dick than he has ever been able to acquire.  Fall Out Boy makes catchy riffs, while My Chemical Romance makes art.  I’m not emo.  I’m certainly not a big follower of MCR, but if you take away the fans; if you take away the image and the scene; if you just listen, you’ll hear an amazing album in The Black Parade.  There’s a reason why the most respected critic of Rolling Stone Magazine gave it his highest review.

 

 

 

Have you heard this album? Is there anything I really need to say about it?  Rap metal didn’t start with this band, but it was perfected within them.  And as far as I’m concerned, it died with them.  They were the only band to ever do it correctly.  This was their pinnacle.

 

 

 

SAD FACT: if Amy Winehouse dies of a drug overdose soon, she will become a legend.

 

 

 

Think about it.  The most groundbreaking albums.  That’s a pretty fucking hard list to make.  Work it out in your head, I bet you’ll make a list and rewrite it fifteen times in the next hour as you continue to think of more albums.  Here are some albums that didn’t make the list, but certainly not because they weren’t good enough:

Killswitch Engage – “The End Of Heartache”

Thrice – “Vheissu”

Hank Williams III – “Straight To Hell”

Slipknot – “Vol. 3: Subliminal Verses”

Outkast – “Speakerboxx/The Love Below”

The Mars Volta – “De-Loused In The Comatorium”

The guitar riffs are lackluster, the solos hack and slash their way through the songs, and the vocals are overly produced and sound like shit.  This is not Guns ‘N Roses.  Do not be fooled by the name, this is simply Axl Rose trying to be noticed again.  Axl, we are greatly appreciative of your work in the late 80′s and through the 90′s, but you need to realize that outside the band, through your years of douche-baggery, the world as a whole has a very bitter taste in it’s mouth.  Remember your presence at the 2002 MTV Awards?  Unfortunately, so does everyone else.  You’ve had too many facelifts, you have really REALLY bad braids in your hair, and you wear oversized football jersey’s.  Time has not been kind to you.  You have not been kind to yourself.  Please, step away from the microphone.