My Top Ten Albums of All Time

 

I'm Jake. A young music enthusiast from Greater Manchester, UK with a huge passion for live music and exploring new music. My main genres include Punk, Fuzz, Grunge, Psych, Surf, Rock, Blues, Garage, Ska and Reggae. And I'm here to share my top ten albums of all time with you all! This was quite hard to write because there's so much music out there but here is my top ten that I grew up with or found with my heart! And feel free to check out my Spotify playlist for more inspiration. 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0zqKiQllDWWQtOm3Gkph22?si=6d2a34939c544089

1. MC5 Back In The USA- 1970

Now this has got to be the first album I recall ever listening to and I will never look back. I remember being three years old and as I called it "The Red CD" I danced to it none stop on my dad's portable CD player almost daily and would listen to it by my side whilst playing video games and I still listen to it the same way today, I've never gotten bored of it and I don't think I ever will! Simple masterpiece, This will always be the album that has my heart.

This Motor City 5-Piece (See what I did there) released their first studio album Back in The USA in January 1970 following up from their famous live debut album "Kick Out The Jams" which released two years prior in February 1969. Members include Rob Tyner (Vocals) Wayne Kramer (Guitar) Fred "Sonic" Smith (Guitar) Michael Davis (Bass) and Dennis Thompson (Drums)

Back in the USA is packed with pure energy and political lyrics also including some famous covers of Tutti Frutti (Little Richard) and Back in the USA (Chuck Berry).

My favourite tracks off this album are: Teenage Lust, Call Me Animal, The American Ruse and The Human Being Lawnmower.

2. Suicide (1977)

Another album I was introduced to at an early age. Suicide have got to be the most underrated two-piece I've ever set my ears on! Brooklyn based Alan Vega and Martin Rev released their 7 track debut album in 1977 and it blows my mind how the whole album is made entirely of synth and vocals when I always get the feeling there's more to it. In fact it used to baffle me at an early age, I listened to this album a lot when my dad would drive me to my swimming lessons on a Saturday morning. Every time Track 2 (Rocket USA) would play I always pressed to go back to the first track (Ghost Rider) even today that song always puts me in a good mood even when I thought there was a guitar involved when it was a synth which has got to be the most genius contribution to the album, Simply magical.

3. Dead Moon- Defiance (1990)

A relatively new band for me but still a favourite. I remember watching Amyl and the Sniffers live at the Albert Hall in May 2022, Just after the support band Bruise Control finished their set-Walking On My Grave by Dead Moon came on and as soon as I heard the riff I thought to myself, "Wow this is incredible" opened Shazam and saved it to my Shazam list to listen to when I get home. And since then I've just been wondering where this band has been all my life?! Three piece Dead Moon formed in Portland, Oregon in 1987 consisting of Fred Cole (Vocals/Guitar) his wife Toody Cole (Backing Vocals/Bass) and Andrew Loomis (Drums) and formed their own brand of rootsy garage punk. This album also features a cover of Milk Cow Blues (The Kinks) which also shares the Hidden Charms riff by Link Wray.

4. Nirvana- Bleach (1989)

Probably the final Nirvana album I remember listening to despite it being their debut studio album. As a teen I regularly listened to the iconic albums such as Nevermind, In Uetro and one of my personal favourites, The Nirvana compilation that features "You Know You're Right" released in 2002.

I'm not too sure exactly how I came across this album, I was just scrolling through Spotify one time and "About a Girl" and their cover of Love Buzz (Shocking Blue) popped up and those were really the only two songs I was bothered about listening to until I bought the album on Vinyl and since then, Never looked back.. This album on vinyl is absolutely legendary, In particular the B Side that features "Swap Meet" And "Mr. Moustache" Nirvana members on this album include Kurt Cobain (Guitar/Vocals) Krist Novoselic (Bass) and Chad Channing (Drums).

5. Rancid- ...And Out Come The Wolves (1995)

Once again I'm not sure how I came across this album/band but my question is.. Where the hell has it been all my life? It must have been mid 2021 when I started getting into more classic punk bands such as Bad Brains, Black Flag and Dead Kennedys then I gave this album a whirl and thought.. Wow, It's punk with elements of Ska, Perfect!! This album features tracks such as Time Bomb, Ruby Soho, Old Friend and Olympia WA. This has to be one of the greatest albums I've ever come across. Rancid are a Berkeley, CA based iconic punk band made up of Tim Armstrong, Matt Freeman, Lars Frederiksen and Branden Steineckart.

6. The Sonics- Here Are The Sonics (1965)

An absolute garage classic right here! This album is what mainly introduced me into the world of garage music and it always puts me in a dancing mood. I must've first heard "Have Love Will Travel" from this iconic Washington garage band off an advert, surely. But ever since listening to this I started listening to bands like The Milkshakes, The Seeds and Count Five. Sensational! The basslines and drum techniques of garage have always fascinated me and inspired me in the music world. Timeless classic!

7. Ramones (1976)

This has to be one of the most iconic classics in the punk scene that changed the scene forever and despite it being fairly new to me I'm so glad I found it. Consisting of Joey, Johnny, Dee Dee and Tommy Ramone and hailing from Queens, NYC their legendary debut album released in 1976 featuring tracks such as "Judy is a Punk" "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend" and "Blitzkrieg Bop" I've been a long time fan of fellow NY punk bands such as New York Dolls and Johnny Thunders but I was quite late to the party when it came to Ramones, And for a famous band like these I have no idea. I just needed this energy and finally found it eventually.

8. Various Artists- The Best of 2Tone

Ska and 2Tone music has and will forever hold a special place in my heart. Growing up as a kid I always watched bands live such as Madness, The Specials, The Beat, The Selecter and Bad Manners at festivals where my uncle's ska band would also perform and the experience was absolutely out of this world! I couldn't just choose one album from those bands so I decided to stick with this 2Tone compilation so each band could have a piece of the pie. Gangsters by The Specials has to be my favourite song to play live, I remember playing it at my 10th birthday on the drums and then 7 years later my first time performing on stage to an audience in a college band, This song will always stick by me in the music world.

I was reunited with my ska phase again aged around 13/14 after a short hiatus listening to other music/trying to blend in and bandwagon with everyone at school (Which failed) After watching Shane Meadows' This Is England (2006) for the first time and it all came back to me, The music, The Fred Perry polos, The boots and braces. And just after that I started listening to the music I grew up with and sporting the skinhead/Trojan inspired uniforms. A life changing movie that reunited me with my childhood.

9. Link Wray- Presenting Link Wray (1962)

I must've been in my early teens when my dad introduced me to surf music and bands such as Dick Dale, The Beach Boys, The Surfaris, and Lee Hazlewood but Link Wray has to be my all time favourite from that era, I remember me and my dad were in a record shop in Leeds and Movin' by Lee Hazlewood was playing then when we went home he was playing me all different types of surf music and I was so fascinated by it all, could just tell the guitar effects make my dark rainy days instantly sunny and bright.

I began listening to Link Wray's album in November 2022 whilst I began to revisit the surf genre and the compilation just blew me away, It's incredibly underrated. Hidden Charms and Ace of Spades have to be my favourites off this one!

10. Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers- L.A.M.F- 1977

We end this list with what has to be my favourite album of all time - L.A.M.F!

Abbreviation of "Like A Motherfucker" this band was formed by Johnny Thunders (Vocals/Guitar) and Jerry Nolan (Drums) former members of iconic NY punk band New York Dolls whom split up in 1975. The Heartbreakers also consisted of Walter Lure (Guitar) and Billy Rath (Bass)

I was 10 years old when I first listened to The Heartbreakers after their famous "Born To Lose" track was featured on Skate 3, A video game I used to play often as a youth and regularly listened to it whilst playing Skate.

I revisited Born To Lose on Spotify about 8 years later after seeing the lead singer of local up and coming punk band Bruise Control has Born T'Lose tattooed on his stomach and I instantly had the chorus stuck in my head after seeing it so I decided to give it a spin on Spotify for the first time in years and what do you know? I was back. Then I regularly kept listening to the whole album then eventually got the vinyl and even have it tattooed on my arm! This album is enough to call my bible. I don't know where I'd be without this absolute diamond. My favourite tracks off this belter are Baby Talk, All By Myself, Chinese Rocks, Goin' Steady, I Wanna Be Loved and Born to Lose.