Best albums ever

[js_surrealism]

I love LOADS of albums, but I think I'll just limit myself to 15, that's a nice number.

1. Shena Ringo - Karuki Zamen Kuri no Hana
Shouso STRIP's my favourite, but this is her best work. Unbelivable instrumentation, and excellent songwriting.

2. PJ Harvey - Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea
Her vocals here are simply unbelievable, and yeeahh, she basically just rocks alot.

3. the brilliant green - Los Angeles
Their tightest and hardest rocking album of the 4 they've released, Tommy's voice sounds good even on distortion.

4. Mew - Frengers
Friggin beautiful, I don't think I've heard a band quite like them before. If music came from an extra-terrestial origin, I figure it'd sound something like this.

5. Every Little Thing - Time to Destination
Classic. Can't get sick of this. Ever. Every single on this one's a winner, and even the non-singles are top-notch, too.

6. Belle and Sebastian - Dear Catastrophe Waitress
I can't quite describe this either, fun folk-influenced rock? I don't know, but it doesn't take alot to enjoy their music though.

7. Lost in Translation Original Soundtrack
This has been my late night staple for the longest time, and I still maintain that it is one the best movie soundtracks ever made, that excels both in complementing the movie and as a standalone piece of work.

8. GARNET CROW - first soundscope ~Mizu no nai hareta umi e~
There wasn't ever a doubt that one of their albums would make my list, but I had trouble deciding which one. Eventually their debut struck me as the one with the most playability. So it wins, by a small margin.

9. The Postal Service - Give Up
Nothing much to say either, except that I can't get enough of it.

10. The Sounds - Living in America
Of the some 235321097897235 bands clamouring to do the whole retro rock thing, I think the Sounds does it best, sounding like a more exuberant female counterpart to Franz Ferdinand.

11. SPITZ - Recycle
I'm obviously not a hardcore fan or I'd have chosen one of their original albums, but I haven't heard everyone of them yet. But a compilation of their singles is just beautiful ear candy for anybody who's in the mood for something pleasant.

12. Cocco - Rapunzel
It has "Ke no michi", "Mizu kagami", "Kumoji no hate" and "Juukai no ito" on it, therefore it's the best of her work.

13. Lene Marlin - Another Day
She's one of those plain, unassuming artists, but she has a wonderful knack for melody, and the melancholic mood conveyed through this album was quite good, I thought.

14. Hamasaki Ayumi - Duty
It was a hard toss up between this one and "I am...", but right now I guess my favourite Ayu album is as such. Both Dai and HAL and Kazuhito Kikuchi were at their composing and arranging peaks here, and Ayu wrote some of her best lyrics in this one too. Plus it features alot of my favourite non-single Ayu songs, like "key", "girlish" and "Duty".

15. Keren Ann - Not Going Anywhere
Wonderful voice, very nice soft bluesey acoustic pop. The title track is a real winner on first listen. May be too light for some people though, but otherwise very...pretty.