10. Ben Folds Five - Ben Folds Five ( 4.5 Stars )
Ben Folds is in my Top 5 pianists, and I consider Ben Folds Five the Bill Evans Trio of rock. If you're not familiar, the band's name is ironic as there are only three members; Ben Folds, Robert Sledge on bass, and Darren Jessee on drums. Their genius level songwriting is fully formed on this debut. "Underground" is a masterpiece and my second favorite song of 1995. I will put a video at the end of this post. It's too hard to explain its brilliance. The musicianship is insane. Sledge does things with the bass that I didn't know were possible. Folds clever lyrics, musical references, and singular playing style are jaw dropping. Other highlights include "Jackson Cannery", "Philosophy", "Sports & Wine", and "Best Imitation of Myself". And the closer, "Boxing", is epic.
9. Foo Fighters - Foo Fighters ( 4.5 Stars )
Despite everything that's happened over the past 30 years, the Foo Fighters debut (essentially a Dave Grohl solo album) is fantastic. Grohl emerged from the ashes of Nirvana with an album that has, possibly, the greatest 1-2-3 punch on a debut album; "This Is a Call", "I'll Stick Around", and "Big Me". Throw in "Alone + Easy Target" and it's four. And we still haven't even gotten to my favorite track, "Oh, George". It's apparently an homage to George Harrison, because he plays a solo in that guitar style. Even the cover of the album is perfect. Sadly, I've only seen them live once after they became a bloated arena act. It was a drunken sausage fest, and they played a ten minute version of "Monkey Wrench", and NOTHING from this album. WTF Grohl.
8. The Flaming Lips - Clouds Taste Metallic ( 4.5 Stars )
This is the second, and final, album with my favorite lineup of The Flaming Lips; Wayne Coyne, Ronald Jones on guitar, Michael Ivins on bass, and Steven Drozd on drums. While Clouds is just a notch below their other album, Transmissions From the Satellite Heart, it's still spectacular. The opener, "Abandoned Hospital Ship", is a Top 5 Lips track for me and features a blistering solo by Ronald Jones. Steven Drozd's bombastic drumming is all over Clouds. Even on toned down songs like "Placebo Headwound". Every track on Clouds is great, except for one turd in the punchbowl, "Brainville". The other highlight is "Lightning Strikes the Postman". It's a beautiful, fuzzed out mess with the closing line, "And it's hard to read the writing through the flames". "When You Smile" and "Kim's Watermelon Gun" ain't bad either.
7. Guided by Voices - Alien Lanes ( 4.5 Stars )
"The club is open". You're probably tired of me going on about these guys, but I can't help it. Alien Lanes is a treasure trove of lo-fi nuggets. "Game of Pricks" was my entry point to GbV. There are so many classics; "Watch Me Jumpstart", "My Valuable Hunting Knife", "Motor Away", "The Closer You Are", "Blimps Go 90", "My Son Cool", "Striped White Jets" and that's just the Robert Pollard tunes. There are also the Tobin Sprout gems "A Good Flying Bird" and "Little Whirl". I had to give it 4.5 Stars because it's just a notch below Bee Thousand and Under the Bushes, Under the Stars, which are both 5 Stars.
6. Goo Goo Dolls - A Boy Named Goo ( 5 Stars )
Don't laugh at me. The Goo Goo Dolls run of A Boy Named Goo, Dizzy Up the Girl, and Gutterflower is flawless. Except, I'm not a fan of "Iris". Every song on A Boy Named Goo is a dinger, with the possible exception of "Slave Girl". I even love the Robby Takac songs. This album contains their breakthrough hits, "Naked" and "Name". They are clearly the highlights of the album, "Name" being my favorite. The lyrics really hit. "All the dreams you never thought you'd lose got tossed along the way". Peace.
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