Pardon me for the title, I know it is so very bad... Anyway, Clash's debut is truely a milestone in the history and evolution of punk rock music. Although it is not considered their finest work, it is truely an unmissable record. Somehow for me it seems to be much more durable than, say Sex Pistols, because if I had to choose between "The Clash" and "Never Mind the Bollocks" which one to put on the record player, this one would win hands down every time. there aren't any really weak tracks on the albums, which is allways a sign of a classic album. Instead, we get classic Clash songs like "Janie Jones", "White Riot", "Career Opportunities" and the eternally oh-so-relevant "I'm So Bored With the U.S.A." A crucible album for any rock collection.

I won't say this is their finest hour. In fact, I haven't got a clue as to which one of their three essential releases is their zenith. There might not be a instant hit like "Love Will Tear Us Apart" here, but while listening to this album, you just don't care. This is the sort of album that grabs your attention immediately whiel at the same time being multi-layered. It demands your attention. The album opens with what is my favorite Joy Division song, "Disorder", which is actually a surprisingly upbeat song. The rest of the material seems to balance between more energetic tracks and 'Closer-ish', more desperate moods. A true classic.

Yes, indeed, there are actually three JD albums that any record collection should have, because you just can't pin the band's music down and get the full retrospective of the group just by purchasing "Closer", "Unknown Pleasures" or "Substance". The first one might is arguably their gloomiest album, and it's also their most consistent work while "Unknown Pleasures" is a not quite so desperate and perhaps a little more accessible. Understandably this album is the least consistent of the three, mainly due to it's collection album format. But what it lacks in consistence it makes up in songs, being the most accessible and versatile of the three. Even though the songs are not in a chronological order you can hear the band's musical evolution from a slightly eccentric punk band into the genius it has become to be known as. Besides the ovbious treats like their singature track "Love Will Tear Us Apart" it offers many less known masterpieces. Highly recommendede, just don't think this gives you the full perspective, since this is just a one side of the cubicle. Or something...

Chaos A.D. was the most brilliant metal album of the 90's. Now, Roots has some excellent material, especially the opener "Roots Bloody Roots", which would have stood out even on Chaos A.D. But half the album is just numbing nu-metal riffery. There are some deliciously menacing tracks besides the aforementioned opening tracks, not least "Ratamahatta", but for my taste there's just too much KORN here.

I still can't figure out just why Suicidal Tendecies had to switch rfom hardcore punk into speed/trash metal, because this album is a brilliant collection of brilliant hardcore songs. of course, there are classics such as "Institutionalized" , "i Shot The Devil" or "Possessed", but tracks like "Subliminal", "Two-Sided Politics" and "I Want More" are equally impressive. Not only is this the finets SD album, but also highly recommended for any hardcore punk fans out there.

This is the greatest live album ever recorded, by a mile. No matter how brilliant moments of magic albums such as The Who's Live At Leeds include, this is the one live album you should own. Of course, Johnny Cash himself is larger than life, but it is the electricity, the emotion and the interaction between the performer and the unique audience that makes this album so huge. If this was the only album you owned, you'd still have a mighty record collection.

Tomahawk's first album will have people drooling for a new Faith No More, but Faith No More was less a Patton's band than Tomahawk is. There is no Billy Gould's funky bass or Roddy Bottum's atmospheric keyboards. Instead, it's full on Patton, which is, of course, equally amazing. There is no-one else besides Mike Patton himself who is going to tell Patton where he should focus from now on, but I'm sure that after this album, no matter how great Fantomas can be, there are thousands who agree with me that this is what he does best.

Another a**kicking release from the Scott Hill's stoner tribe. This ain't quite as good as In Searc Of..., but if you're looking for brainless kicking riff rock to bang your head to, this is warmly recommended. Action Is Go is a bit heavier album than In Search Of... was and it lacks a bit of the major hooks, but all in all, a very satisying listening experience. Especially when you're driving a car.

Back in 1980-1982 HD was a rather angry little hardcore unit. Only little of their melodic abilities is evident on this album, but the uncompromising attitude and energy is still convincing. Tracks like "From The Gut", "Everything Falls Apart" and "Gravity" prove that they were on the right tracks. But really it is the "...and more"- part of the record that really makes this a must. Sure, there's no comparison to Metal Circus -EP, for example, but many of the extra tracks are rather good indeed, especially "In A Free Land", "Amusement" and "Do You Remember?". Plus, isn't it, after all, interesting to hear the early stuff of a band with such significanse.

The period in 1983-1984 was, on my opinion, the golden era of Husker Du. In 1983 they released this amazing EP and their finest hour, Zen Arcade -album followed a year later. Of course, "Diane" is still the finest song on the album, but tracks like "Real World", "Deadly Skies" and "It's Not Funny Anymore" are easily on the level of the masterpiece that was Zen Arcade. The interesting thing about these song is that although at fisrt they seem like a mixature between noise rock and hardcore, there are some "hidden" melodic hooks in every song.