Pining for the past...

Happy Tuesday, everybloody! A few years back, I had my cd collection stolen out of my ever-so-classy Mitsubishi Eclipse and since that time, I have been diligently trying to replace each and every disk within it. Some, unfortunately, are irreplaceable (personalized mix cds, small time concert disks, my dad's music, etc...) but I am still trying to rebuild my collection to its former glory. To help put it in perspective, it was every cd I had collected and created since early high school, so we are talking several hundred cds easy. I have since been lucky so far to find most of the missing cds on the cheap (I love you, Salvation Army...), but some are still AWOL. So, with all that build up, I'm running down the top missing discs I still need for my collection to be whole again. Here we go...

13) Daft Punk - Human After All: For those in the know, I am a pretty big Daft Punk fan. I wanted to fight a dude for his Daft Punk shirt at a recent bachelor party because I thought he didn't deserve it because he looked like a douche. Either way, I have enjoyed Daft Punk ever since senior year of high school and saw their music videos in Germany. Their music stylings mixed with slightly retro anime animation worked wonders for me. Since then, I have been following their continuing career with much enthusiasm and interest (TRON was awesome...). As far as this album is concerned, it will never be their best work as it is filled with an overuse of repetitive loops and beats AND it happened to follow Discovery which is one of my ultimate albums. It's still a good album and I must have it for completions sake alone, even outside enjoying the band...
Songs of note: Human After All, Robot Rock, Technologic...

12) Phil Collins - ...Hits: Sometimes, you just want the sappy love songs or the heart rending ballads. Enter Phil Collins and his greatest hits collection from his very extensive body of work. This was released pre-Tarzan but truly captures the overall feeling of the bald pop star and former front man of Genesis. I get a lot of good natured flack for liking the Phil (you know who you are...), but like most things, even Phil Collins has his time and place in my musical repertoire. Sometimes I don't really want to listen to his B-sides; that's the joy and the convenience of a greatest hits disc...
Songs of note: In The Air Tonight, Take Me Home, Two Hearts...

11) Simply Red - Home: Here we have a blue-eyed soul group who had their greatest success in the 1980's. However, it would be foolish to sell this group short as they can still produce all-around solid tunes. Home is a disc of covers and songs inspired by recognizable works of other artists. For some groups, this might feel like cheating or a cop out. But for Simply Red, it really works. Each of the songs within that are influenced by others is done in a way that makes them unique and they own their version of it. Their stylings go from pop to jazz to dance and beyond within the span of this album and it has never disappointed. It may not push any boundaries, but not every album needs to...
Songs of note: Home, Sunrise, Fake...

10) John Mayer - Heavier Things: One of my favorite younger artists (comparatively; I listen to a LOT of old rockers...), John Mayer is often a treat to listen to. Spawned from and inspired by the era of Dave Matthews Band pop/rock, John Mayer is one of the few musicians that come to mind to have 'gamed the system' successfully. By that, I mean he entered the scene being a pure pop act with a smattering a blues and rock elements thrown in AND was successful. Now that he established himself, Mr. Mayer is able to tell the record companies what he wants to do and not always pander to the needs of 'the man', whatever that means. This particular album venture shows the beginning of the transition of John's music style from pop to the blues that he loves so much. As the album progresses, his passion for music definitely comes through in this piece of work...
Songs of note: Clarity, Bigger Than My Body, Come Back to Bed...

9) Genesis - Genesis: Oh, Genesis. Be you fronted by Peter Gabriel or Phil Collins, I totally dig your style. This particular album, led by the aforementioned PC, was one of the first albums I ever owned. It was a Christmas gift in the late 90's. Back then, I was WAY into Phil Collins, so obviously I was into his era of Genesis. Now, as an adult, I can actually more fully appreciate the songs within this album. Still feeling their prog-rock roots but beginning to shift towards the pop scene, Genesis (the album...) is full of strange, quirky, yet catchy songs that hold up to the test of time. I recommend this to anyone who thinks the Phil Collins-era of Genesis is only about pop and not worth the time of day...
Songs of note: Mama, That's All, Illegal Alien...

8) Michael Jackson - Thriller: Good Lord, is there anything anyone can say about Thriller that hasn't been said twenty times before? At this point, I sincerely doubt it. It's MJ, it's the ultimate in 80's pop, it's got both Eddie Van Halen AND Vincent Price on the same album, and it’s the number one selling album even before Jackson died. Thriller is just worth owning as it is polished, slick, and just a pleasure to put in and jam on...
Songs of note: Wanna Be Startin' Somethin', Billie Jean, Thriller...

7) 3 Doors Down - The Better Life: The boys of 3 Doors Down are a great example of the post-grunge style spawned from the loins of bands such as Nirvana, Stone Temple Pilots, and Soundgarden. 3DD's sound is more palatable and relatable than their predecessors and (by proxy...) more lucrative. Not that this is a bad thing; bands gotta eat too. This particular album came out at the end of my junior year in high school and we listened the hell out of it. To date, none of 3 Doors Down's other albums have match the success of The Better Life but it did succeed in establishing them as a solid rock act worth the plastic they are printed on. Kind of like ZZ Top...
Songs of note: Kryptonite, Loser, Down Poison...

6) ZZ Top - Afterburner: And speaking of the boys in beards, we have the long standing blues-rock group from Texas. These guys are so good, it surprises me how often they get glossed over in 'Awesome Rock Groups' lists. They are musically great, their themes are relatable and awesome (hot chicks and hot cars, man...), and they just ooze cool. Afterburner was released at the height of their more synthesizer period, but each song still contains the elements that make ZZ Top... ZZ Top. Due to the success of the previously released Eliminator, it is not surprising they would release a similarly synthed-up album. Want some solid rock tracks? Pick up Afterburner...
Songs of note: Stages, Planet of Women, Delirious...

5) The Darkness - One Way Ticket to Hell ...and Back: The short lived, glam-rock send up band known as The Darkness never achieved the mainstream success they should have. Not surprising; the media couldn't figure out if they were a joke band like Spinal Tap or a throwback group akin to Queen. The Darkness also waffled on that matter during interviews, so confusion was sown and, with their breakup, many have forgotten this little gem of a band. This is their second and last album (to date...) and, while it did not reach the height of Permissions to Land, it contained some solid glam metal tracks that are just fun to listen to and rock out with...
Songs of note: Is it Just Me?, Dinner Lady Arms, Girlfriend...

4) Spinal Tap - Break Like The Wind: Going from a pseudo-fake band to a full on fake band, we have the dudes from Spinal Tap. This album was procured during my tenure at camp and I was blown away. I thought this actually legitimized Spinal Tap as a 100% real bad. I was wrong. Break Like The Wind was released around the time of the movie sequel to 'This is Spinal Tap'. Oh well. Either way, this silly album features a plethora of guest artists such as Dweezil Zappa, Slash, and even Cher. While the Tap is surprisingly talented musically, each song on Break Like The Wind is full of silly humor, double entandres, and strange, nonsensical metaphor, all of which add to the charm of this album...
Songs of note: Bitch School, Diva Fever, The Sun Never Sweats...

3) The Eagles - Complete Greatest Hits/The Very Best Of: So far, this two-disc set of Eagles hits has been the only thing to dislodge Thriller from the number one album slot. This was a temporary dislodging, but it proved the sheer might of this collection. I highly recommend this set for any Eagles fan, be they the casual radio-listener type or the hardcore, 'I own them all on vinyl' type. It contains the best of both the Frey years and the Henley years and there would be no reason to not own this compilation. I enjoy Greatest Hits discs as they are easier to listen to and you don't have to switch out discs to hear what you want. This may change in this iPod era, but we'll see...
Songs of note: Take it Easy, Life in the Fast Lane, Hotel California...

2) Fleetwood Mac - Rumors: Rumors is a staple of 70's rock and quite possibly one of the best composed albums I've ever owned. Many of the songs differ greatly in theme, style and sound, but they have been blended together in a wonderful piece of art that is relevant in any time period since its release in 1977. The stories have been expounded upon by various news sources about what was going on with Fleetwood Mac at this time, so I won't go into it here. I will say (with apologies to the band...) that I am glad for the listeners’ sake that they had the troubles they did back then. The level of heightened emotion each member felt then came pouring out into their music and lyrics. Rumors is a triumph of rock music and if you do not own a copy, remedy that...
Songs of note: Go Your Own Way, You Make Lovin' Fun, Don't Stop...

1) Red Hot Chili Peppers - Californication: And so we come to the end of the list with an album that really caps off 90's rock with a bang. If there is a better album that exemplifies this period in rock music (specifically mainstream rock music...), I don't know what it is. Californication feels like a giant opus for the Chili Peppers, helped partially by the length, but also due to the level of surface emotions in this album. RHCP hit on all their strengths in this album; they get funky, they rock out hard, the slow it down for introspection, all of which can be seen to varying degrees in each of their previous albums. But it took Californication to really bring it home and cobble it together as one giant package. My only complaint: it can get a little long, but I really can't pick any songs to remove. It's one of the few albums to actually make me tired while listening to it. It's just a great big road trip. Let's put it in perspective, though; I've bought this album three times before. I guess I have a forth coming up...
Songs of note: Scar Tissue, Californication, Purple Stain...