12. Green Day - American Idiot (2004)Two words: Rock. Opera. Okay, so to go a little deeper... It still amazes me how, as much as this was supposed to be listened to as a whole, Green Day still was so successful launching singles from it. The nine-minute-long "Jesus of Suburbia" is a masterpiece of complications and simplicities, and the title track is the perfect anthem for those of us who are proud to not always fit in with the nation we're living in.
11. Corinne Bailey Rae - Corinne Bailey Rae (2006) 
Rae's soulful, colorful, and all-sorts-of-ful debut is (like Idiot) great not only as a sum of its parts, but also in the uncanny way it flows from piece to piece, seeming to chronicle the ups and downs of love and of life. For example, she moves from track #5, in which she has "Trouble Sleeping," to track #6, "Call Me When You Get This," where she seems to awaken in the middle of the night and get that feeling that it can't wait til the morning; in #7, "Choux Pastry Heart," she starts by saying "I was just waiting for your phone call," and then goes on in a rich, slow, inescapably sad song in which it all seems to fall apart. Subtle, and brilliant.
Rae's soulful, colorful, and all-sorts-of-ful debut is (like Idiot) great not only as a sum of its parts, but also in the uncanny way it flows from piece to piece, seeming to chronicle the ups and downs of love and of life. For example, she moves from track #5, in which she has "Trouble Sleeping," to track #6, "Call Me When You Get This," where she seems to awaken in the middle of the night and get that feeling that it can't wait til the morning; in #7, "Choux Pastry Heart," she starts by saying "I was just waiting for your phone call," and then goes on in a rich, slow, inescapably sad song in which it all seems to fall apart. Subtle, and brilliant.
10. Alanis Morissette - Jagged Little Pill (1995)Probably the best "break-up album," or just fuck-off album, ever made. Whenever I am pissed, this goes on. Today it sounds kind of cliche, but back when it came out it was the real deal.
9. Johnny Cash - American Recordings (1994)
You can't let the fact that the fifth volume of this eventual series was a recent gift from Laura Bush to Dubbya stand in its way as amazing. It's stripped down, soulful, and rough on all the right edges. Just when you think it can't get any more sullen, the final track, "The Man Who Couldn't Cry," shows that Cash can make even killing a joke an art.
8. Diana Krall - The Girl in the Other Room (2004)Also known as, "Why I Hate The Grammy's." The one time Krall deviates from her usual collection of spruced-up old standards, and comes up with an album of more abstract numbers - many of them originals written by her and her husband, Elvis Costello - they snub her from any recognition. Hard to imagine why her next album was a Christmas-themed collection (*gags). In truth, it's a great showpiece of modern, almost alternative jazz, and it's got a great sense of mood and cool warmth to it.
7. No Doubt - The Singles 1992-2003 (2003) 
WTF is a greatest hits album doing on here? It's not, jerk. Rather, No Doubt's singles album is more a portrait of a band than a collection of "hits," a story through the sounds of the radio we all (at least half) recognize. And whereas with a "hits" album there are usually a few songs that are intolerable outside of their time and place, I dare you to find one on this collection.
6. Paris Combo - Attraction (2002)
After seeing this French gypsy-jazz band twice live (at the Festival International de Jazz de Montreal, no less) it's hard for any album to capture the same experience. But this one is really captivating, and captures some of the madness of seeing them live. The lyrics are also really funny, or at least trippy, pending your ability to understand French. So weird and so good.
WTF is a greatest hits album doing on here? It's not, jerk. Rather, No Doubt's singles album is more a portrait of a band than a collection of "hits," a story through the sounds of the radio we all (at least half) recognize. And whereas with a "hits" album there are usually a few songs that are intolerable outside of their time and place, I dare you to find one on this collection.
6. Paris Combo - Attraction (2002)After seeing this French gypsy-jazz band twice live (at the Festival International de Jazz de Montreal, no less) it's hard for any album to capture the same experience. But this one is really captivating, and captures some of the madness of seeing them live. The lyrics are also really funny, or at least trippy, pending your ability to understand French. So weird and so good.
5. Bob Dylan - Blonde on Blonde (1966)
Even if I go months without listening to it, the songs from Blonde on Blonde always pop back into my head and refuse to leave. It's hard not to love an album that starts with a song called "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35." I'm not a Dylan expert and don't really care to compare this album to his others, except to say that this is the one that sticks with me longest. It also has the dubious honor of being the favorite album of fictional presidential candidate Matt Santos from the West Wing... and has an awesome name.
4. KT Tunstall - Drastic Fantastic (2007)Forget what you've heard from Tunstall on the radio; those light poppy numbers don't come close to resembling the tone of her second album, Drastic Fantastic. Even when upbeat and happy, it maintains a really deep, dark tone, and is the rare album that can maintain an organic feel while also being slick and - somehow - metalic. "Hopeless" has been my theme song since the day I heard it, and "I Don't Want You Now" is a much more fun way to tell someone to fuck off than Morissette ever managed.
3. Joni Mitchell - Blue (1971) and Court and Spark (1974)
Generally considered to be Mitchell's artistic and commercial highs, respectively, these are two truly great albums. I can never make up my mind as to which is my favorite, and it generally depends more or less on my mood. My real favorite Joni Mitchell album is below, but these two are such an important part of my music library that I couldn't keep them off.
2. Dixie Chicks - Taking the Long Way (2006)I'm not really a fan of D.C.'s earlier works, as well-done as they might be. Not really my thing. In Taking the Long Way, however, they do three things. First, the defy the very idea of genre in a way that modern country hasn't even approached; just trying to put your finger on each song will drive you crazy. Second, they challenged society, stood their ground, and made an album that most artists of their magnitude wouldn't have dared to do; it's as socially risky as it was musically, and yet never feels like a soap box stand. And finally, they made an album that's truly enjoyable and enlightening to listen to. Every song is masterfully done.
1. Joni Mitchell - Miles of Aisles (1974) 
This live album, which captures Mitchell's tour at the commercial height of her career, has amazing versions of most of her best songs that will make it hard to go back to the original studio versions. Rather than being just the very well-known numbers, she picks out some others as well (including one of my favorites, "People's Parties," that is the type of song that never makes it onto most live records.) Normally I hate live records, which is what makes this so special. You really get a sense of Mitchell's personality and genious in both her witty commentary and also in some of the slight changes she makes to the pieces; in "The Last Time I Saw Richard," she takes on the voice of a midwestern waitress for a line and it is impossible not to fall totally in love. There is no better experience than putting this album on (preferably in its original vinyl version) and just letting the world slip away.
This live album, which captures Mitchell's tour at the commercial height of her career, has amazing versions of most of her best songs that will make it hard to go back to the original studio versions. Rather than being just the very well-known numbers, she picks out some others as well (including one of my favorites, "People's Parties," that is the type of song that never makes it onto most live records.) Normally I hate live records, which is what makes this so special. You really get a sense of Mitchell's personality and genious in both her witty commentary and also in some of the slight changes she makes to the pieces; in "The Last Time I Saw Richard," she takes on the voice of a midwestern waitress for a line and it is impossible not to fall totally in love. There is no better experience than putting this album on (preferably in its original vinyl version) and just letting the world slip away.
