The Top Fifteen Albums of 1995

As we keep working our way through the 5s, we've reached 1995, a year that gave us a wide variety of gems. There was no sound that defined 1995, and I think that's what I find so amazing about it, so many genres were experimenting with new or old sounds. In rock we were experiencing a true alternative explosion, moving away from the grunge that dominated the early 90s and branching out in so many sounds. Meanwhile hip-hop was maturing faster than ever and R&B and pop were delivering new spins on throwback sounds that were fantastic and have aged beautifully. If 1995 had a theme it was the year of retrofuturism, looking back at the sounds that brought us to this point, and using them to blast forward to totally uncharted sonic territory. Without further adieu, let's count down the Top Fifteen Albums of 1995.

#15 Insomniac - Green Day (32 minutes, Punk Rock)

Green Day hit it big with the pop-punk masterpiece Dookie.  Some might say they hit it too big, losing their underground edge, but unlike other big time pop-punk groups, Green Day never seemed content to make the same album twice, leading to their striking longevity.  While most other bands would easily try for a Dookie 2, this record trades in the immediately catchy pop hooks of the former for a much weirder, off-beat record that veers a lot closer to the punk side of pop-punk than their earlier work.  This is an ugly album (not just its cover), the songs are short, loud and angry with Billie Joe Armstrong’s songwriting becoming more impressionistic than ever, I couldn’t tell you what a lot of these songs are about, but it doesn’t really bug me cause they’re great for headbanging.  While the harder stuff is noisier and more lyrically cutting than ever due to the album’s mean streak, the softer, acoustic moments are also more prevalent than before, with a couple ballads making their way in and pointing the way towards the more diverse indie stylings of their future records Nimrod and Warning.  They even deliver a few classic power-pop songs in signature Green Day style with the heavy metal inspired stomp of “Brain Stew”, which may be their catchiest song and the only true Dookie soundalike, the glorious pop-punk anthem “Walking Contradiction”.  Does this reach the highs of either bookending album?  Not quite.  But is it still a damn fun Green Day album?  Hell yeah.  Teenage angst never sounded so good.

Choice Cuts: "Brain Stew / Jaded" "Walking Contradiction" "86"

#14 New Beginning - Tracy Chapman (1 hour and 2 minutes, Folk-Rock / Blues)

Tracy Chapman’s fourth album is a major expansion of the intimate acoustic sound she’d mastered over her last three albums, branching out stylistically without ever losing the emotional core that made us fall in love with her.  Where her previous albums were at their best when they sounded quiet, as if she was playing just for you, this album thrives when it comes to the full band arrangements, which while still placing Tracy and her guitar at the forefront, give her a bit more muscle than usual, lending to the album’s blues influence.  Tracy’s natural grit in her voice lends itself very well to the bluesier songs, making her pleas for understanding and love more gripping than ever before.  The other side of the album sees Chapman explore a subtle world music influence, with didgeridoo and pan flutes adding new textures to her sound, which crop up mainly on the more environmentally focused songs. A focus on environmentalism is the real political thrust of the album, with Tracy writing beautiful, poetic lyrics about the need to preserve our natural world, which are still prescient today.  While this isn’t as immediately accessible as her first two records, it may be her most rewarding in the long term.  A beautiful, underrated project.

Choice Cuts: "Heaven's Here on Earth" "Give Me One Reason" "New Beginning"

#13 The Great Escape - Blur (56 minutes, Britpop)

When you think of Brit-pop, what’s the first thing that comes to mind?  The blustery, full throttle rock and roll of Oasis?  The whip-smart art school ditties of Suede and Pulp?  The rich, well orchestrated melodies of The Verve?  All are fair answers, but for me I think of the delightfully twee power pop of mid-90s Blur, and on no album are the Blur lads more overtly Brit-poppy than this, their fourth record.  Where their last record, the peerless Parklife was ostensibly an archetypal Britpop outing, it showed the group’s versatility and ambition with some weirder moments of punk, baroque and dub, but on this album every song fits the classic Brit-pop mold of Kinks-ian melodies, glam rock-tinged guitar licks and hyper specific lyrics about the ins and outs of being a British lad in 1995.  This is easily the group’s silliest, most lightweight album with lead singer and songwriter Damon Albarn at his wittiest, writing an album of pointed social critique draped in an overly goofy wrapping.  While the big dumb fun songs like “Country House” and “Charmless Man” are delightful enough, the album’s best moments are the ballads, which like they did on Parklife, elevate the project from lightweight to an album of real substance.  Albarn’s melodic sensibility comes alive on these songs, with their lush orchestrations blending with cold electronics paving the way for both the lush late 90s Blur records and the icy, digital experimentation of his next project, Gorillaz.  This is far from my favorite Blur album, but it represents a moment in time better than many other projects, and taking a trip up the country with the lads is always a good bit of fun.

Choice Cuts: "The Universal" "Charmless Man" "Yuko and Hiro"

#12 Do You Want More?!!!??! - The Roots (1 hour and 13 minutes, Jazz Rap)

It bothers me to no end that The Roots are better known nowadays for being Jimmy Fallon’s house band than for their pioneering hip-hop records of the 90s and 00s, which at the time were genuinely paradigm shifting for the genre.  Other groups, A Tribe Called Quest, in particular had specific songs where they used elements of live instrumentation, The Roots were the first and still the best known hip-hop band, a group who played live jazz music instrumentals over which the incredible MC Black Thought rapped with his insightful, political bars.  This, their sophomore album, takes the basic foundation of their debut and steps up in terms of actual song-craft where instead of just bars on bars at the smoky jazz night club, this album has more structure with rock solid hooks and music that sounds more like loops than pure improvisational jazz.  The group does an incredible job at sounding like DJ loops, namely due to the brilliant drum work from the legendary Questlove who drives each song’s central loop, usually sticking in one main groove but also embellishing it with fills to make sure we know it’s all the way live.  This is a very jazzy album, perhaps the group’s most jazz-forward project, fitting right in with the sounds of the Native Tongues who dominated the early 90s on the East Coast, with smooth organ and tight bass lines underpinning Black Thought’s witty verses, which lack some of the fiery political bars of his later work, but still showcase his effortless wordplay.  Here Thought is also joined by fellow MC Malik B, who while being more than a step behind Thought is a great change of pace.  This album suffers a bit from 90s bloat and a few too many brief skits/instrumentals and even a solo beatbox track, but when they group is on they are mind-blowingly tight.  Not my favorite from The Roots, but probably the best place for a new fan to start with the group.

Choice Cuts: "Mellow My Man" "I Remain Calm" "Proceed"

#11 Daydream - Mariah Carey (46 minutes, Pop / R&B)

Mariah Carey is usually deemed a singles artist.  Someone who’s talents and artistry typically is best reflected in specific songs, made for radio-play with her sharpest pop hooks, but I think that distinction is misplaced.  In a field of pop divas, Mariah’s catalog has always stuck out to me as one of the most carefully curated, as she seemed to really connect with her material, and craft a consistent album length experience.  This, her fourth record, was her final bearing the heavy influence of her label head/husband Tommy Mottola who dictated her early career as a pop-friendly balladeer, steering her away from the hip-hop influences she desperately wanted to incorporate into her sound.  You’d think that would mean this results in an album drowning in soppy adult contemporary ballads, and while the record has its fair share of power ballads, Mariah never lets them feel lame or toothless, her peerless vocal deliver has you feel every word she sings and the stylistic variance makes them stand out, with some feeling like quiet storm R&B while others are Celine Dion styled rafter screamers or spirit-lifting gospel and even a rare diversion into a straight up rock ballad, with her expertly covering Journey (and surpassing the original in my view).  The album’s best moments though, are where she strays from ballads and delivers sticky, sweet pop confections like the R&B flavored “Always Be My Baby” or the danceable lite-funk groove of “Fantasy”, with her roots in house music being reflected in the album’s dancier moments including a full on house interlude.  While her following project, Butterfly, is lauded as her true artistic awakening, I’d say this is the perfect prelude to her musical emancipation (of Mimi).  Here she strikes back from the inside and delivers a masterclass of pop that isn’t “safe”, it’s warm, inviting and joyful.

Choice Cuts: "Fantasy" "Always Be My Baby" "Open Arms"

#10 Labcabincalifornia - The Pharcyde (1 hour and 5 minutes, Jazz Rap / Alternative Rap)

The Pharcyde’s first album is a certified classic of alternative hip-hop, a hilarious, jazzy cornerstone delivering a West Coast take on the style that Tribe, De La and others had pioneered on the East Coast.  Now if you only know their first record, you’d think this album would be more of the same, but instead the group trades in the jazz-focused beats and juvenile jokester bars for a true elevation of their style, namely due to the production of a young up and comer named J-Dilla.  Dilla’s beats on this album, some of his first to break through, are astonishing in their creativity, turning simple loops into chopped up, jazzy masterstrokes with crisp drums and a sort of haunted atmosphere that befits the album’s darker tone.  “Drop” in particular creates a whole sonic universe from a single Beastie Boys vocal sample and a backwards instrumental loop (which is made even better when you watch the music video which is shot entirely in reverse).  Every beat is a classic, especially due to Dilla’s brilliant use of vocal samples throughout which no other producer uses quite as cleverly.  With their beats leveling up, you’d think the boys from The Pharcyde would be outclassed, but the rappers stepped it up as well, still keeping elements of their quirky, sometimes gross-out sense of humor but writing more mature songs moving on from schoolboy crushes and your mama jokes into writing about the struggles of young adulthood and “something that means something”.  All four MCs deliver rock solid performances, and part of the group’s brilliance is how no single rapper overshadows the others, similar to De La Soul, there is no breakout star and it works wonders.  The album’s sole weakness is the length, both of the songs and the entire project, with a little cutting this would easily surpass their classic debut.  As it stands, this is easily the group at their most polished and a great album when you want a little conscious, a little comedy and a lot of classic Dilla beats.

Choice Cuts: "Runnin'" "Drop" "Bullshit" "She Said"

#9 Ben Folds Five - Ben Folds Five (46 minutes, Power Pop / Piano Rock)

When you think about the the alt-rock of the 90s, most people seem to remember the heaviness of grunge first and foremost, and while that ruled the airwaves in the first half of the decade, the latter half of the 90s were much more diverse in terms of alt-rock.  Case and point, is Ben Folds Five, a cheekily named trio that specialized in piano-driven power pop which channeled the quirky unsung heroes of 70s rock like 10cc and Cheap Trick in their effervescent melodies, gorgeous harmonies and razor sharp, hilarious lyrics.  The genius of Ben Folds is in the way he is able to write the most joyful, upbeat pop songs about the relatively bleak subjects and this album, the group’s debut, is chocked full of these deeply contrasting songs.  Folds writes smartly and emotively about his subjects, with an empathy that would only increase on future outings, but like his earlier power pop peers like Elvis Costello and Andy Partridge he also writes plainly hilarious songs, full of witty turns of phrase and poking fun at everything from safe sex, toxic masculinity, abrasive relatives and their own nerdy underground alt-rock scene.  Musically, it sounds like the trio is on their tenth album not their first in terms of how polished these arrangements and performances are, the rhythm section lays down truly immaculate, locked in grooves over which Folds plays gorgeous, but upbeat piano parts.  The mix of upbeat, rocking Randy Newman-esque bangers with the soft, gentle Billy Joel styled ballads makes for an exciting, never too stiff listen.  This album feels very much out of time.  It doesn’t make any sense coming from 1995, this feels like a lost singer-songwriter classic of the 70s coming out of hibernation.  I think it’s that timelessness that makes the Ben Folds Five so enduring.  These are classic-sounding songs regardless of era, but their sardonic wit is 90s to a T.  Their next album would be even stronger, but for a debut album it doesn’t get much better than this.

Choice Cuts: "Philosophy" "Underground" "Where's Summer B?" "Boxing"

#8 Tragic Kingdom - No Doubt (59 minutes, Ska / Pop-Rock)

When No Doubt recorded this album, it was truly a make or break moment for the group.  Their first two albums had been critical and commercial flops and the label was on the verge of dumping them, right after the group’s main songwriter Eric Stefani had just ditched the group after their tumultuous sophomore album.  Add in a Fleetwood Mac styled intra-band romance between bass player Tony Kanal and lead singer Gwen Stefani falling apart, you’d think they wouldn’t even try.  However, sometimes the worst circumstances lead to the best records, and that’s certainly the case here, where after Gwen’s older brother left, the group was able to shift into a whole new sound that would bring them major success.  While their first two records were very off-kilter third wave ska albums, this is a much more pop friendly affair, while not totally abandoning their ska roots.  These songs blend rich, catchy pop rock hooks with the rubberband rhythm section and punchy horns of a great ska album.  The production from 80s pop one-hitter Matthew Wilder is as colorful as possible, creating these sonic explosions that are almost psychedelic but are always grounded by the band’s airtight grooves.  Gwen Stefani’s vocals are at their best, being the perfect mix of pop friendly and just plain weird, with her pinched vibrato ringing throughout each song.  Songwriting wise the group absolutely leveled up, with the powerhouse duo of Tony Kanal and Gwen Stefani writing punchy pop songs with striking lyrics, whether they be for a heart-rending break up ballad, a punky feminist rock song or a ska track about screening phone calls.  This album grooves infectiously, there’s not a skip here because the band is firing on all cylinders musically, even adding in hints of other genres like disco, punk and Elvis Costello-ish power pop throughout.  This is a single album with the sprawl and creativity of a classic double LP.  The group would stick it out for two more albums, each a little more pop and less alt than the last before Gwen Stefani’s big solo move, but for all intents and purposes, this is the one No Doubt platter everybody needs to have.  A classic crossover alternative gem.

Choice Cuts: "Just a Girl" "Don't Speak" "Sunday Morning" "Spiderwebs"

#7 The Bends - Radiohead (48 minutes, Alternative Rock / Britpop)

Radiohead is one of those titanic, major bands that loom so large in music history, and the discourse of music nerds like myself that they feel like they’ve always been legends, but on this, their second album they sound human, and perhaps that’s why this is one of my favorites from their catalog.  After their spotty but occasionally brilliant debut album Pablo Honey which saw the band playing with shades of grunge, this album also feels somewhat of the moment, with the group pivoting hard away from the influence of Cobain into making a record very much modeled after another late, great 90s rock genius, Jeff Buckley.  This album takes a lot of cues from the sound Buckley cultivated on Grace, with a blend of heavy guitars and soft, cooing, ethereal vocals from Thom Yorke to create these wispy Brit-pop adjacent ballads which soar melodically like nothing else in their catalog.  The record is very much split between the harder edged rock songs, which see guitarist Johnny Greenwood get a chance to lay down his last few grunge inspired riffs before fully pivoting to providing the alien textures and jangly riffs of OK Computer and the ghostly ballads which showcase Thom Yorke’s gorgeous, but still tenuous voice.  While the rock songs are great, they still feel a bit like Pablo Honey, whereas the ballads point the way towards their brilliant future on OK Computer, feeling ethereal and alien in their gentle but off-putting beauty.  Thom’s lyrics are some of his most blunt, writing lyrics criticizing the ever-present commercialism of the world and its effects on the environment as well as highly personal lyrics about his discomfort with their quick rise to fame via “Creep”.  Yorke’s vocal transition is almost entirely due to Jeff Buckley’s leaning into his fragile falsetto register, which he would utilize for so much of the rest of the group’s career, giving each song a ghostly quality, as if he’s singing from beyond the pale.  Radiohead’s music is often unsettling while also being incredibly beautiful, and on this album that’s more apparent than ever.  Few transitional records are masterpieces on their own accord, but when it comes to Radiohead, expect the unexpected.

Choice Cuts: "Fake Plastic Trees" "Street Spirit (Fade Out)" "High and Dry" "Just"

#6 The Gold Experience - Prince (1 hour and 5 minutes, Funk Rock / R&B)

Prince’s legacy has mostly been relegated to his wildly creative work in the 80s, a string of peerless classics that took R&B, funk and pop to new dizzying heights creatively and his invention of the Minneapolis sound, which still resonates today.  The modern day mythology of Prince usually speaks only in passing of 90s Prince name-dropping a few hit singles or perhaps his work with The New Power Generation, but rarely are any of his 90s projects brought up among his undisputable classics, and in the case of The Gold Experience that’s a shame as this is easily on par with some of his all time best work, and is easily his strongest post Sign ‘o’ the Times project full stop.  This record has some of the hallmarks of classic 90s Prince, namely an overreliance on interludes, skits and segues between songs, but in spite of that filler the songs themselves are nearly all classics.  Where much of his NPG-assisted early 90s material feels of the moment with now passé rap verses and New Jack influenced beats, this album still sounds fresh despite the CD era sheen.  Stylistically, Prince smartly focuses primarily within the realm of smooth, sexy R&B with a series of plush, warm bedroom ballads forming the album’s core, which as explained through the interludes is a futuristic song cycle about courtship.  By no means is this album one note, it’s Prince after all, so packaged with the soft ballads are tracks as distinct as a funky feminist rap anthem, a politically charged funk workout, a dramatic heartbreak story song complete with a spoken word breakdown set in a courtroom, a psychedelic pop gem about reincarnation, a hard funk-rock workout about his hatred of gossip reporters and a glorious “Purple Rain” styled rock ballad to close it all off.  Unlike all his other 90s albums, there’s not a song I would cut, it never feels too long, if anything it reminds me of Sign ‘o’ the Times, an album recorded at a creative high that feels staggeringly consistent for its length.  This is far from the last great Prince project, but it’s the last record of his that can easily be called a masterpiece.  An overlooked stunner.

Choice Cuts: "Gold" "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" "Dolphin" "Billy Jack Bitch"

#5 Garbage - Garbage (50 minutes, Alternative Rock / Trip Hop)

I’m not quite sure I’d call Garbage a supergroup in the traditional sense, as its members aren’t traditional rock stars but instead are a group of producers and remixers that cut their teeth in the grunge and alt-rock revolution, namely the group’s leader and drummer, Butch Vig, best known for producing Nirvana’s world-altering opus Nevermind.  The group’s greatest asset though is the only non-producer in the mix, the enigmatic siren-like force of Shirley Manson, whose mysterious, darkly poetic lyrics and haunted yet seductive vocals are at the center of the trip-hop meets noise rock tornado that Vig and company cook up.  This album is one of the most cohesive I’ve ever heard, with the songs being able to stand on their own, but outside of the standout single “Only Happy When It Rains”, I’d argue everything works best as a full set of songs, draped in heavy atmosphere, industrial tinged percussion and Nine Inch Nails-inspired synths.  This isn’t as bleak as a Trent Reznor project, instead of reveling in the pain of suicidality and addiction, Shirley Manson’s lyrics are more oblique, writing about depression, malaise and sexuality in a way that is almost alien.  It’s never straight forward but you always know what she’s talking about, that’s the power of her pen.  Musically, this album feels like the culmination of so many 90s alternative sounds, with hints of Portishead’s trip-hop, NIN’s heavy industrial rock and even some of Nirvana’s grungy guitar licks anchoring all the electronics in the mix.  This is raw, but pristinely polished at the same time.  It’s a perfectly produced album, and that makes sense knowing the group’s background.  The album is a masterpiece of atmosphere, playing with noir textures better than any non-jazz record I’ve ever heard.  There’s a real James Bond-ness to some of these songs, it’s no wonder they would go on to write my second favorite Bond theme later in the decade (“The World Is Not Enough”).  These are widescreen cinemascope renderings of depression, anxiety and everything queer.  It’s profoundly 90s but it doesn’t feel dated.  I am head over heels for this record, and it’s easily Garbage’s masterpiece, even if their next few albums were quite good as well.  This is the sort of alchemy you can’t always repeat.

Choice Cuts: "Only Happy When It Rains" "Stupid Girl" "Queer" "Milk"

#4 Brown Sugar - D'Angelo (53 minutes, Neo-Soul / R&B)

This year we lost one of music’s greatest living auteurs, the soulful perfectionist D’Angelo, who only gifted us three albums in his lifetime, but every single one is flawless in its own right.  This platter was his debut, which started a brand new movement in the R&B world, kickstarting the relevance of a new subgenre, neo-soul, which took its cues from the classic soul of the 70s but also incorporating some of the innovations of the hip-hop era, sometimes feeling like Marvin Gaye or Stevie Wonder singing over Roots tracks or jazzy DJ Premier beats.  No one could do neo-soul quite like D’Angelo, because his voice was an absolutely peerless instrument, gliding over every track with an effortlessly smoothness and warmth that all the best soul singers possess.  His falsetto is second to only Prince and Marvin in its power and poise.  Every song on this record is home to a virtuosic vocal take, full of riffs, runs and glissandos but also making sure to let the melody speak for itself when necessary.  His restraint is one of his greatest strengths, where other singers would over-do it in an instant.  The song-craft here is brilliant, with most tracks being at least five minutes, but not one feels too long, with each bridge, chorus and outro feeling earned and leaving you wanting more.  Lyrically, D’Angelo write mainly about romance and infatuation (mainly with women but in the case of the title song, sometimes with Mary Jane), but the variety on display while maintaining a consistently soulful feel is impressive.  There’s some more hip-hop inflect cuts like the title song, and pure R&B balladry like the eternally classic “Lady”, a couple slow grooving funk songs that would point towards his even better sophomore album Voodoo and even a gripping jazzy murder ballad.  This album is hard to write about, not just because his unexpected passing makes all his projects feel a little less joyful, but because this isn’t music to analyze, it’s music to feel.  This is life-affirming, beautiful music that must be experienced to be appreciated.  Rest in Peace to one of the greats.

Choice Cuts: "Lady" "Brown Sugar" "Cruisin'" "Me and Those Dreamin' Eyes of Mine"

#3 Me Against the World - 2Pac (1 hour and 6 minutes, Conscious Rap / G-Funk)

Tupac Shakur is more myth than human at this point, he’s been lauded in the annals of music history ever since his tragic killing in 1996, but amidst all the accolades and platitudes sent his way ever since he death, sometimes it’s hard to peel back the hype and just listen to the music.  If we are able to navigate through the layers of hype, it’s easy to see that this, Pac’s third album is easily his magnum opus, a beautiful, deeply personal record that feels like a gangsta rap version of a confessional record akin to something Joni Mitchell or James Taylor, just with a lot more of a gritty tone.  This album sees Pac begin to embrace the G-Funk sound for the first time, after his first two albums saw him split between the sounds of the east and west coast.  This is a California sounding record with its whining G-Funk synths, low-slung funky bass and Dre-styled drum production (even though Dre wouldn’t get behind the boards until his next album).  The production, mostly from the legendary Easy Mo Bee, is lush and ageless.  While other 90s rap production can feel dated (in a good way), this sounds like it could have come out yesterday and it would still be fresh.  The beats are aggressive when they need to be, but mostly they are relatively chill, leaving room for Pac’s verses to fill up the space.  Lyrically, I’d argue Pac has never been better, every verse here is raw and personal, telling the stories of his life in vivid detail.  This isn’t purely gangsta-rap, it’s much more layered than that, though a good deal of his lyrics are fascinated by his seemingly inevitable death, with his dropping bars about his fear of mortality that would be all too prescient, but elsewhere he is mostly discontent with the world he lives in.  This album is an angry one, but instead of the righteous rage of Public Enemy, he raps with a more relaxed, conversational flow, showing that he’s more disappointed with the state of things, but has no idea how to change them.  The resignation on display here is frustratingly relatable.  Not everything is doom and gloom, Pac as always provides some party-bangers, celebrating his old school Hip-Hop heroes, a bedroom jam for the ladies and some brag-heavy spitters.  His flow is infectious and feels effortless, with a raw charisma that few other rappers have ever possessed, mainly due to his buttery smooth bass voice.  Pac’s level of introspection is incredible, matched only by Biggie on Ready to Die when it comes to this subgenre.  This is a gangsta-rap album with a conscience.  Would any other rapper in his subgenre decide to dedicate an entire song to his complicated history with his mother who struggled with addiction, not blaming her for his bad childhood, but using a superhuman level of empathy to see the situation from both sides? I think not.  Pac can’t help but write about the struggle, and nobody does it better.  While it may lack the recognizable bangers of All Eyez on Me, make no mistake, this is the man’s best album.  Hip hop confessions have never sounded so good.

Choice Cuts: "Dear Mama" "Death Around the Corner" "So Many Tears" "Temptations"

#2 (What's the Story) Morning Glory - Oasis (50 minutes, Britpop / Rock)

There’s a lot of ways you can interpret the phrase “big music”.  Does it mean music that sounds massive, like its built for arenas to scream along with every roaring chorus hook?  Does it mean ambitious in scope?  Or perhaps it’s just about being loud as hell.  In all three cases, I’d put Oasis up there as some of the best to ever do “big music”, because Oasis never once tried to sound quiet or low key.  Like them or not, they were gonna be huge, and on this, their sophomore album, they never sounded bigger, or better.  Sometimes people throw around the fact that an album tracklist is stacked with so many classics that it feels like a greatest hits album, and I’d say this is one of those albums.  The record is stacked wall to wall with smash hits and anthems.  What other band would be ballsy enough to have “Wonderwall” and “Don’t Look Back in Anger”, two of the most anthemic rock songs of their era back to back.  The Gallagher Brothers took all the right lessons from their first album, the fantastic Definitely Maybe, with this feeling like more of that classic Oasis rock sound while also evolving in their own subtle ways.  Where their last album felt mainly like big loud ballsy stadium rock songs with the occasional soaring ballad, this one is the opposite, with the roaring power ballads dominating the proceedings, letting Liam’s growling vocals really soar over the lush rock production.  The heavy guitars are everywhere, packing riff after riff and providing a gritty atmosphere to the record, even during the album's requisite silly pop song "She's Electric".  Noel’s songwriting has also stepped up, with every song packing hooks for days, every chorus will stick to your brain with its gripping melodies, even the verses are remarkably catchy on each song.  Noel’s pen is very Beatlesque on this record, making a few coy references to the lads from Liverpool, but also in the effortless hook-craft he displays here, though these songs are much heavier than your average Fab Four joint.  Each track roars along, chugging away, but never feeling too long because the hooks are just so strong.  Lyrically, Noel is as obtuse as ever.  I have no clue what almost any song is about here, but you can feel what they’re about, it’s all in the emotional delivery of Liam and the melodies themselves.  Production wise this is Oasis at their best, not quite hitting the headache inducing loudness of their future records, but sounding like a true wall of sound nonetheless, and the album’s Beatlesque string arrangements truly are its secret weapon.  In the battle of Brit-pop I usually tend more towards the art-school quirkiness of Blur, but whenever this album is on, I am a full on Gallagher convert.  Rock on lads, and do it loudly!

Choice Cuts: "Don't Look Back in Anger" "Champagne Supernova" "Some Might Say" "Cast No Shadow" "Morning Glory"

#1 Post - Björk (46 minutes, Art Pop / Trip Hop)

I’ve written before about artists who feel beyond this world, whether they be alien or mystical, and no one fits that bill better than the Icelandic genius Björk, who has never once attempted to be traditional or anything less than uniquely, aggressively herself.  This is Björk’s second solo album, after years of honing her craft with post-punk band The Sugarcubes, and it is the perfect expansion on her brilliant debut, aptly titled Debut, which saw her blend avant-garde art pop sounds with the inviting sounds of house music and dance-pop.  Post picks up where Debut left off, but instead of couching her most odd impulses in house music, she instead paints with the genre brushes of more mellow trip-hop and heavy, industrial rock, even if the dance beats aren’t totally gone.  The album is awash in electronics that are equal parts beautiful and harsh, depending on the song, but every track is produced to perfection.  It never once sounds dated like other trip-hop of the day, this was cutting edge but still feels refreshingly bright and new in its lush beds of strings, electronics and thrumming percussion.  As a songwriter, Björk’s greatest asset is her ability to convey raw, primal emotions as if it is her first time experiencing any particular emotion.  Her voice, one of the most emotive and expressive in music history, is perfect for this, as when her songs are angry, she is able to shriek with hellish fury, when she’s in love she softly coos with otherworldly warmth and joy and when she’s depressed, her voice is as hollow and wounded as anyone’s could be.  No song on here feels forced or melodramatic, it is as if she is the aforementioned alien, experiencing the joy and pain of humanity for the first time, and feeling each moment so deeply.  I wish I could express myself with her same depth of feeling, but honestly it may be overwhelmingly scary to feel so deeply.  Musically, these songs stick with you, the hooks are strong and memorable, due to her soaring, heartrending vocal performances and the trippy electro-beats.  Even when you think you’ve got her figured out, she pivots.  No one else would stick a jazzy, horn-laden cabaret ballad like “It’s Oh So Quiet” on the same album as a heavy industrial song like “Army of Me” or a thunderous dance track like “Enjoy”, unless you’re Björk.  There are moments like the gorgeous baroque-inspired “You’ve Been Flirting Again” or the intimate micro-beat masterpiece “Headphones” that point towards her future efforts like Homogenic and Vespertine, even more experimental records, but for the most part this is the perfect fusion of the accessible and the artfully inscrutable, making it the perfect introduction to the magic of Björk.  While it might not be her absolute best, this remains my favorite Björk album, the one I return to the most, and the one that truly showed me that she will always be one of music’s greatest innovators.

Choice Cuts: "Hyper-Ballad" "Army of Me" "Isobel" "It's Oh So Quiet" "Possibly Maybe"

And that's 1995 everybody!, Give these albums their flowers, cause thirty years later they have stood the test of time and remained unmissable gems. The Best of 2005 is coming soon. Let me know below if there's anything you think I missed, or any thoughts of your own on these brilliant projects!

Happy listening!