29. The Flaming Lips – Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (2002)

This is the tenth studio album from the great Canadian band, The Flaming Lips. This band has covered a lot of ground in their career, and this album is one of the best. This electro alt rock album focuses its lyrics on serious issues like death, love, pacifism and fighting the good fight, all while telling the epic tale of Yoshimi. Yoshimi is a black belt in karate and she fights a pink robot, yadda yadda. This story is told through a few of the songs, but it is not a real concept album. The psychedelic noises in some of the songs are a bit excessive for me, especially in the middle of the title track. I really do like this album however, and Are You a Hypnotist? And It’s Summertime.

28. T.I. - Paper Trail (2008)

In this album T.I. displays a perfect rap attitude; he is the shit, but he also warns other rappers not to follow in his gangster footsteps and focus on their rap careers. This album has some great songs featuring other artists such as Kanye, Lil Wayne, Jay Z, MIA, Ludacris, Rihanna, Justin Timberlake, Swizz Beatz, and John Legend. That is one hell of a lineup. There are some club songs that you’re going to hear all year in bars and on the radio, but there are also some great rap songs. My Illy is one of the best flows I’ve heard in a long time. Swagger like us is my other favorite, it was also nominated for Rap song of the year at the Grammy’s. Usually I wouldn’t mention it but I thought that all the people who contributed to this track did a good job performind at the Grammy’s, especially MIA who gave birth to her kid a few hours later. Props to that.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEFfsDiN1Z0&feature=PlayList&p=F42BE7C2B05AEEDD&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=25

27. Manic Street Preachers – Holy Bible (1994)

This album was written by as journal entries by Richey James Edwards in the months before he disappeared. The dark lyrics only hint at his mental state. I love music written by people with mental problems, the lyrics always seem to have a darker tone. Most of the songs on this album start or end with a spoken word clip, such as Faster which starts out with a voice saying “I hate purity, I hate goodness, I don’t want virtue to exist anywhere, I want everyone corrupt”. Faster, 4st, 7lbs, and This is Yesterday are my favorite tracks.

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26. The New Pornographers – Twin Cinema (2005)

This is the third album from The New Pornographers, a power pop band from Vancouver. This is a super group, whose members include Neko Case and Dan Bejar of Destroyer. I am far more familiar with Neko Case’s other work, but I was so pleasantly surprised when I heard this album that I knew it was well worth spreading the word. This album showcases Case’s beautiful vocals, usually backed up by at least one more singer. I don’t have a lot to say about this album, other than to let you know how impressed I am with it. Bones of an Idol, and Sing me Spanish Techno are my two favorites.

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25. Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (1995)

The Smashing Pumpkins have several great albums but this one is a standout. Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness proves that Billy Corgan is one of the great song writers, especially since this is their follow-up album after their hugely successful Siamese Dream. This album is a double CD release, with a play time of over 2 hours. The first disc is dawn and the other is dusk, the times mentioned in the songs roughly correspond to a passing day in the life of a teenager. If you feel like spending a few hours just chilling out with headphones on then this is what you should listen to. There are so many great songs on here that I couldn’t pick a favorite. Tonight, Tonight, Bullet with Butterfly Wings, 1979, and Here is No Why are all amazingly well written songs that you should already know.

Note: When I was in university I had to study Georges Méliès's silent film A Trip to the Moon (1902) It is one of the first silent films ever made. The Video for Tonight, Tonight is based off of Méliès film, and they did a great job. Here it is.

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24. Dinosaur Jr. – You’re Living All Over Me (1987)

This alt rock group is one of my favorites. I hate when artists use feedback as part of a song, it sounds like garbage. Having said that, I love when Dinosaur Jr. does it. They the gain way too high and lots of feedback, both of these things are incorporated into their sound so well that it fits right in. The vocals sound similar, with Lou Barlow’s voice always on the verge of cracking, but never quite getting there. Poledo is totally out of place on this album, with Barlow singing and playing a Ukulele, then Lo Fi sound clips are thrown in to make it even worse. I really thought the album could have done without this song. The Lung and Sludgefeast are two great tunes that totally make up for Poledo.

DinosaurJr.com
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23. Philip Glass – Solo Piano (1989)

Philip Glass is one of the most important composers of the last century, and he writes music for Symphonies, movies, television, operas, and just about anything else that has music involved. This recording is just what it sounds like, beautiful minimalist piano. I love the simplicity of this music, and it is just pretty to listen to. Philip Glass is also apparently friends with Aphex Twin and Bowie.

PhilipGlass.com