Best albums of 1998

Not only my favorite album of 1998, but (as those who've paid attention to my music tastes in my lists here are aware) my favorite album of all-time. And it earns that distinction for a few reasons...first off, thanks to my living in their hometown I managed to catch a handful of club shows they played prior to recording this album. At those shows their sets were almost entirely focused on testing the songs they'd been working on, and so I got to hear the early versions of a lot of the songs that made the album & thus saw them evolve.

Also, for me Tripping Daisy was all about pure joy. Their songs and live shows always made me blissfully happy, and this album is the perfect representation of the feeling I walked away with.

Finally, their sound was always a mix of punk, psychedelia, and pop. On this album those influences all came together perfectly & resulted in the creation of their most timeless songs (one reviewer stated the album is Pet Sounds filtered through Nothing's Shocking). There's not a single misstep or weak track on here, and so it saddens me that this album failed to make the huge impact it should have. The reasons it's not a popular album are twofold: first, the band chose the longest song on the album as their first single ("Waited a Light Year", which clocks in at 6 mins and 1 second) & refused to edit it for the radio; and second (and most damaging), changes at their record label (Island) went into effect shortly before the album was released & they lost all the people who were willing to support the album's promotion. So shortly after the album came out & tanked sales-wise, Tripping Daisy was dropped from the label & thus not heard from again (well, not exactly, as they proudly retreated to the underground for the rest of their short career...as a result only their die-hard fans knew what was going on with them).

Favorite song: "Your Socks Have No Name", but this time around I'll share "Our Drive to the Sun/Can a Man Mark It?" instead

If there's a punk/hardcore/emo/screamo/etc. album released in the '00s that wasn't influenced by this album, it was probably released by a band that had been around prior to Refused. Otherwise, this album echoes throughout every song by every band that rose in the wake of Refused's demise & showed up on a Warped Tour bill, as well as At the Drive-In's Relationship of Command. The band is only now seeing some financial success, as their 2012 reunion tour dates have all sold out.

Favorite song: "Summerholidays vs. punkroutine"

"Pure Morning" was my introduction to Placebo, and led to me picking up this album & their debut shortly after. They've grown as songwriters since then, but this album shows them at their glammy best.

Favorite song: "Without You I'm Nothing"

(No disrespect to David Bowie, but this song was better without him hence why you won't hear his voice here.)

Even live they're brilliant.

Forget about which song is my favorite, just watch the whole thing...

This album should have made Local H a household name, yet they always remained a minor success stuck opening for bands they were better than (they opened for Silverchair & Veruca Salt while touring behind this album, for example). Sure they sounded at times like a Nirvana wannabe (especially their debut album), but over time they showed more range to their sound. And at least I knew what Scott Lucas was singing about most of the time. :P

Favorite song: "Cool Magnet"

Similar in some respects to the Butthole Surfers, The Cows created just the kind of weird-ass music I can't help but love. Definitely not for everyone.

Favorite song: "El Shiksa"

SOAD's debut remains a powerhouse of an album. Why most people failed to get into them until Toxicity will forever remain a mystery to me, but on the other hand it gave me the opportunity to see them play these songs in a small club so I should be thankful. (In fact, at said club show SOAD opened for Incubus, which most of the audience insisted was a far better band. Still makes me laugh.)

Favorite song: "Ddevil"

I'm a sucker for a beautiful voice like Free Dominguez's, especially when it's attached to NIN-influenced music.

Favorite song: "Pretty"

This album remains a staple in my musical diet. The riffs are undeniable, the lyrics thoughtful & intelligent, and the entire album flows wonderfully. SPE could have been huge, and I suspect this album failed to reach a wider audience for the same reasons as Tripping Daisy's (since both were on the same label at the same time). Were it not for an opening slot for Rage Against the Machine in 1996, I might not have heard these guys until right before they broke up in 1999.

Favorite song: "But of Course" which I couldn't find...so here's "Written Apology" instead

The title alone is worth 10/10, but fortunately the music is great too.

Favorite song: "Victim"

Probably Busta's best album, though all of his first 3 albums suffer from the overwhelming amount of skits which serve as little more than filler. Busta was always so weird & fun that it's hard to imagine his albums needing help to appeal to audiences via between-song skits, but I guess he did it because everyone else in hip-hop was doing it at the time. The skits only serve a purpose when tied into his overarching theme of Y2K bringing the end of the world...otherwise they just inspire me to skip to the next song.

Unfortunately for Busta, Y2K would not bring the end of the world thus rendering his gimmick as sillier than it was to begin with. It did, however, mark the end of my interest in his music.

Favorite song: "Tear da Roof Off"

Fun fact: I attended Orgy's first live performance at a radio festival in Oklahoma (Tripping Daisy played, which was the main reason I went). I dug their sound & thus bought this album the day it came out. Their following releases were never this good, though they had their moments. And I still say their cover of "Blue Monday" was an improvement over the original.

Favorite song: "Fetisha"

The Jesus Lizard were one of my favorite bands in the '90s. This album would be their last, and only falls short due to a change in drummers that wasn't for the better. There's some experimentation on here that's really interesting, but not to the extent I would have wanted them to embrace it full time.

Favorite song: "Postcoital Glow"

I have an ex-girlfriend to thank for introducing me to this album. Too bad the band went on to create uninspired, unoriginal music afterwards.

Favorite song: "I'm Dying"

BHP's debut isn't my favorite of their albums, but it's solid nonetheless. The fact that all their albums pop up on my Best albums lists should tell you something.

Favorite song: "The Old Kind of Summer"

At the time this album came out Nashville Pussy were putting on one of the best, most entertaining live shows around. After seeing them one night, I bought this album & still really enjoy it. Too bad the albums that followed were nowhere nearly as good.

Favorite song: "Fried Chicken and Coffee" (which was surprisingly nominated for a Grammy in 1999 for Best Metal Performance)

I always felt like Course of Empire was largely misunderstood & subsequently dismissed by critics & thus music fans in general. Or maybe it's just that none of them ever went to see them play live shows like I did. Regardless, this album, CoE's swan-song, was their most cohesive of their 3 albums and should have earned them more airplay & a larger fanbase. Sadly, it was never meant to be.

Favorite song: "59 Minutes"

One song, "Pretty Penny", can be heard on their MySpace page.

"All She Needs Is Benadryl" (which is not at all representative of their sound)