FAVORITE ALBUMS FROM MY FAVORITE BANDS 4.13.25
BEST OF THE BEST
Ah, a classic move! Ranking your favorite band's albums in a completely arbitrary order, knowing full well it’ll change a hundred times over as you discover some obscure track you previously overlooked. Then, of course, you have to reevaluate their entire discography again. Oh well—here it is, anyway.
4.13.25
1. THE STROKES
"FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF EARTH"
I’m not trying to be a contrarian or anything—I’m just calling it like I see it. For sure, it’s a toss-up between this one and Room on Fire, but I truly believe The Strokes’ third album, First Impressions of Earth (2006), is a masterpiece. Sure, it’s been torn apart by critics, and I’ve even had friends tell me it’s when the band “started to suck,” but I couldn’t disagree more. The album sounds absolutely massive, and I appreciate how it shows the band evolving their sound.
From the opening track, “You Only Live Once,” you might think, “This is going to be another classic Strokes album,” but just one song later, “Juicebox” introduces a new, grittier, more ambitious vibe. I remember tuning into Fuse TV regularly to watch the music video and hear the song. This album always felt like it got unfairly trashed, and I’ll never understand why. It’s filled with beautifully crafted tracks and features a darker sound than their previous albums, while still maintaining the Strokes’ signature nostalgic feel.
2. RADIOHEAD
"THE BENDS"
Radiohead means a lot to a lot of people. Some love their experimental nature, how they refuse to conform, and how they keep evolving musically—and that’s great. I remember being younger, pirating music on LimeWire when they released In Rainbows, and I always appreciated the fact that such a massive band made the decision to allow fans to download their album for free if they wanted. But that’s beside the point. To me, my favorite version of Radiohead can be found on their 1995 release, The Bends. An instant classic for me—one of those albums that constantly makes me switch my favorite song on it.
Whenever I go through periods where I’m not listening to it and then return, I’m immediately obsessed with it again, always finding new things to appreciate. Punchy basslines, driving guitar licks, and of course, Thom Yorke’s melodies and lyrics—it’s all just... right. It’s simple but perfectly crafted and filled with raw emotion. Philip Selway, the drummer, is so underrated. There’s something about his ability to stay in the pocket while creating unique and amazing drum parts that I really appreciate. This is hands down an album I could never go sour on.
3. PAVEMENT
"TERROR TWILIGHT"
I read somewhere that Terror Twilight is the album that broke the band up for an extended period of time—something about Stephen Malkmus taking too much creative control, and the band just fizzling out. I’m not sure if that’s true, and honestly, I don’t care because whatever happened, it produced my favorite collection of Pavement songs. Terror Twilight (1999) is filled with absolute gems. It’s a softer, more composed, yet still wildly experimental version of Pavement. They switched up their sound just enough to create something unique to them.
It still features plenty of sloppy guitar solos and abstract lyrics about who knows what, but also introduces more acoustic arrangements in an ambitious style. “Spit on a Stranger” has this immense feeling of nostalgia, and it’s the perfect intro to the record. There isn’t a Pavement album out there I dislike, but this one always has me coming back for more.
4. NATURAL CHILD
"FOR THE LOVE OF THE GAME"
Natural Child is one of those bands I’m mad I didn’t know about sooner. A few years ago, after playing a show, the headliner came up to me and told me my band reminded him of Natural Child. Usually, when someone compares you to another band and you check them out, it’s a huge disappointment, and you end up thinking, “Dude, what the fuck was that guy thinking?” But this time, I got to discover something magical.
For the Love of the Game is a rambunctious blues-rock album filled with drunken goodness. From the opening track, “8AM Blues,” you’re transported into the life of a barroom band. The album is raw and packed with catchy, overdriven bass lines and drunken harmonies. Sometimes aggressive, sometimes sweet—it’s an insanely addictive listen. From their cover of “That’s How I Got to Memphis” to the final track, “Ain’t Gonna Stop,” it’s the perfect album to blast while driving in your band van on the way to a shitty Motel 6.
5. BLACK LIPS
"UNDERNEATH THE RAINBOW"
It’s a tough band to pick a favorite from, but The Black Lips' 2014 release, Underneath the Rainbow, has so many hypnotically good tracks that it had to be my pick. After the band worked with Mark Ronson on Arabia Mountain, I wasn’t sure what they were going to cook up next, but I definitely wasn’t disappointed. This album has all the best elements of the band—catchy, witty, and totally fucked up—but it’s a little more experimental in sound than some of their previous albums.
“Do the Vibrate” makes you feel like you're in a basement lit by only a single red light, while “Make You Mine” is a sweet, country-ish ditty. The album stays true to the band’s garage rock roots but expands on them just enough to create something unique and provocative.
6. PARQUET COURTS
"LIGHT UP GOLD"
Raw, unapologetic, and as groovy as it gets, the first LP by Parquet Courts is something to behold. Twisted melodies, scrappy guitar riffs, punk rock drum beats—it’s got it all. It’s unpolished, and I like that. Songs like "Picture of Health," "Caster of Worthless Spells," and "Careers in Combat" are deep, reverb-soaked, and offer a more tame side of the band. Then the album hits you with punk rock bangers like "Borrowed Time" and "Disney Pt."
The album delivers all the right feels—nostalgic and catchy. Sometimes the dual guitars put you in a rock and roll trance. I love the more polished and ambitious albums Parquet Courts went on to release, but Light Up Gold will always hold a special place for me.
7. MAC DEMARCO
“SALAD DAYS”
I’ll be honest—the first time a buddy of mine showed me Mac DeMarco, I was like, “Dude, this is so bad.” But after a joint or two, I started to get it. It was such an original style at the time that I couldn’t appreciate it until I smoked my brains out. So when DeMarco released Salad Days in 2014, I couldn’t wait to get more of that slacker rock stuck in my head. The album kept the same vibe as his previous release, 2, but with a little more experimentation on some tracks.
The album feels like a warm summer day. His lead guitar playing is original and hypnotic, and all the hooks he sings get stuck in your head. It’s chock-full of sweet little songs about life and love that fill you with nostalgia. It became a go-to album for every car ride I took back then. Tracks like “Chamber of Reflection” and “Passing Out Pieces” swapped out the guitars for keys and felt wavy and psychedelic. Mac has always been a one-man wrecking machine, able to create unique music that feels timeless. This album helped mark a very fun and stoned time in my life.
8. THE GROWERS
"CASUAL ACQUAINTANCES"
With so many great releases before this record, I wasn’t sure if The Growlers could keep it going, but Casual Acquaintances ended up being another feather in their cap. Julian Casablancas helped them out on this record, and I feel like it shows. The album is filled with that early 2000s New York vibe but still retains that cool, surfy edge. Brooks Nielsen’s lyrics and melodies are interesting and slick, the vibrato-laced guitars are trippy and cool, and of course, the bass lines are as groovy as ever.
The album feels like a sequel to their City Club album, which I was also a big fan of. It has a darker tone, but with some optimism mixed in. Some of the tracks have a spooky, Halloween vibe to them, and it feels like they successfully experimented with newer sounds while maintaining their signature surfy vibes.
I don’t know the interpersonal dynamics between all the members, but whoever played on this album nailed the vibes right on the head. “Orgasm of Death” is up there with one of the best garage rock songs of all time, and the title track, “Casual Acquaintances,” is unique in every way—from the fuzzy, feedbacking guitar to the bouncy bassline and weaving vocal melody. The album really mixes a lot of their old sounds while introducing some new ones, making it stand out as exceptional for me.
9. DEERHUNTER
"MONOMANIA"
Deerhunter has a lot of great albums under their belt and never seems afraid to change their style. No matter what sub-genre of alt-rock the band experiments with, I’ve been a fan, but on their fifth album, Monomania, the group achieved a raw garage rock sound that blew me away. The album is saturated and feels like it was recorded in a basement on cassette (maybe it was, I don’t know). Punchy drums, simple yet catchy guitar licks, weird vocals—everything on this album is just cool and unique.
The track “T.H.M.” literally ends with half a minute of coughing, and still, it’s catchy. “Back in the Middle” feels like a modern-day Steve Miller track, perfect for a summer drive with the windows down. And the final track (and my favorite), “Punk (La Vie Antérieure),” is a beautiful lo-fi indie track with fuzzed-out vocals, a driving tambourine, and oscillating swells.
The album has an amazing flow from track to track and, to me, is one of the best albums from the early 2010s.
10. BRIAN JOHNSTOWN MASSACRE
"STRUNG OUT IN HEAVEN"
The Brian Jonestown Massacre has a lot of great albums, but none hit me harder than their 1998 release, Strung Out in Heaven. From start to finish, it’s filled with everything I love about the band. From groovy, psychedelic 60s-style songs like Got My Eye on You to droning tracks like Wisdom, this album offers a lot of variation while staying true to BJTM’s core sound. It almost feels like it should be the soundtrack to a movie about drug addiction, which might not be too far off, since Matt Hollywood contributed more to this record while Anton Newcombe was struggling with heroin addiction.
My personal favorites are the tracks where the band incorporates acoustic guitars and a more laid-back tone. Nothing to Lose is witty and driving—simple yet impactful, and of course, catchy. Lyrics like “Cause you’re so damn stupid, got nothing to lose” remind me of Positively 4th Street by Bob Dylan. I’ve always been a sucker for rock-and-roll diss tracks.
Maybe Tomorrow feels like a song they wrote for Mazzy Star—overflowing with nostalgic vibes and heartfelt lyrics. Going to Hell feels like the song that plays at the end of one of those weird 90s teen movies. This album, to me, wraps up the perfect late-90s sound and stands out in their discography.