And here's the part where it gets kinda tricky to rate the albums in order. If I didn't rate an album fairly, it's because I made the list too quickly. The problem will persist until I reach the top four.
Here are albums sixteen through thirteen.
Part II: Albums 16 - 13
16. Avril Lavigne - The Best Damn Thing
I liked Avril when she fist came out and I think it would be safe to say I'd like this album if it came out in 2003. It opens off strong with "Girlfriend." Avril curses in "I Can Do Better," goddamn that spunky brat. The attitude she expresses in that song is the reason I like the song. And she giggles at the end 'cause she's better off without her ex-boyfriend. In "Runaway," Avril sings about living it up. "The Best Damn Thing" is the best damn song off the the album if you think like me. After that comes the ballad "When You're Gone." It's one of those songs that's easy to overplay. The title track should have followed "When You're Gone" as the next single instead of "Hot." Steamin' moose shiiit! She cursed again in "Everything Back But You." Avril models her take on cabaret fashion in the video for "Hot," but the song leaves something to be desired after listening to an uptempo track. Guess what comes next? Another ballad by the name "Innocence" that doesn't quite live up to "When You're Gone." Cheesy lyrics such as "this innocence is brilliant." In "I Don't Have to Try," Avril does her cheerleading chant again. Did she just say
mother****er for the fifth time in the same song? Shame on her and her potty mouth :-p. A number that sounds like Sum 41 is backing her up. Where did the high frequencies go to in "One of Those Girls?" Did Deryck Whibley produce this song too? After a cheesy uptempo track named "Contagious" comes the third ballad named "Keep Holding On." The final track seems to be geared toward an older audience than the rest of the album. Maybe being part of a movie soundtrack has something to do with it. Orchestral strings in a pop song equals things. If you remove the three ballads, you get an album of girl power anthems.
Favorite songs:
*. I Can Do Better
*. The Best Damn Thing
*. I Don't Have To Try
15. Hilary Duff - Dignity
An album I don't listen to that often. I forgot it was released in 2007 since the lead single came out in 2006 months before the album release date. In the early part of 2007, I listened to Dignity at a listening party in an AIM chat room. I forgot how most of the songs go. A replay is in order. The opening track should be "Dignity" rather than "Stranger," since "Dignity" has more punch and has the same name as the album. The single "With Love" gets followed with "Danger," a number with rock elements. "Gypsy Woman" sticks out with its unusual instrumentation and lyrics. Who is the Gypsy woman Hilary talks about? "Never Stop" has a retro flavor and a beat in triple time that changes to duple time for a while. "Between You And Me" appears to have the fastest tempo of any song on the album. In "Dreamer," Hilary sings "bum bum bum ba-ba-bum" to a tune that reminds me of "Just Can't Get Enough" by Depeche Mode. "Happy" equals electro-pop or modern freestyle dance? "Burned" sounds like a darker version of the previous song. "Outside of You" sounds like upbeat rock'n'roll made with synthesizers. Dignity ends with "Play With Fire," the lead single released months in advance of the album featuring a music video where Hilary Duff shows off an edgier side of herself. So many good songs here that it's hard to choose my favorites. The songs I didn't mention in the review are on the weak side. This album lacks ballads and other downtempo songs, focusing mainly on danceable pop music. One complaint I have with this album is that it's too loud. What happened to the dynamic range that gives percussion its punch? I guess every major album is a victim of the loudness war nowadays. Once you reach 0db on the CD, where can you go from there without clipping? Just to let you know, this is the second of two albums from female artists on my top sixteen albums from 2007. I guess I like male vocals better. At least Hilary looks pretty on the cover of her album.
Favorite songs:
*. Dignity
*. Dreamer
*. Outside of You
*. Play With Fire
14. The Field - From Here We Go Sublime
Atmospheric minimal techno using samples from various sources such as downtempo jazz. Discogs.com also calls it trance, but not in the same sense as Paul Van Dyk or Cascada. More like the early era of trance from the early to mid 1990's. A good album to listen to if you want to go to sleep. I've read somewhere that songs from this album pack dance floors too. So where do I rate this album? Not much sticks in your head here. I forgot about it since it wasn't at the bottom of my playlist. "The Little Heart Beats So Fast" has something that sounds like a TB-303 plus a female voice saying "uhhh" ever two beats. I wouldn't call it acid techno since the TB-303 isn't the main instrument here. "Mobilia" has something like polyrhythm going on along with the usual deep kick drum and atmospheric pads. At the end, the flutes play solo. The last track "From Here We Go Sublime" is pieces of a song played like a broken record but without the kick drum. Amid the heavy reverberation, I can make out the word Georgia before getting time stretched to the moon and back. If you skip songs on this album, you miss very little of the general atmosphere. One more thing this album is missing: the face of Axel Willner on the cover or fancy artwork. I don't blame him for not putting his face on the cover. He doesn't look photogenic. I guess the handwritten album title and artist name on a plain off-white background is supposed to be as minimal as the album's music.
Favorite songs:
*. The Little Heart Beats So Fast
*. Mobilia
*. From Here We Go Sublime
13. Kanye West - Graduation
This is the most popular album from Oink I downloaded. Over 4000 sources on average. Is Chamillionaire really better or do his best songs stand out more? Graduation seems more laid back than Ultimate Victory. All I know is that I'd rather listen to Kanye West than 50 Cent. There's the connection to Daft Punk in "Stronger." It's easy to get lost in the music production. Sometimes I forget to listen to the lyrics. Kanye or whoever produced Graduation sure sampled lots of classic R&B music. In "Good Life," when Kanye talks about Snakes on a Plane, I start paying attention. T-Pain is on there, but he doesn't get in the way of Kanye's message. In "Can't Tell Me Nothing," when Kanye gets his money, he won't listen to your advice since his way is better. So why do I like "Barry Bonds" so much? I think it's the instrumentation at the chorus and Lil Wayne's verse. The song "Drunk and Hot Girls" makes me feel drunk without drinking anything. If I were to make a video, it would make the viewer feel seasick and would have Kanye and Mos Def doing a drunken walk in front of a night club. In "Big Brother" he talks about working with Coldplay, referring to his collaboration with Chris Martin on "Homecoming." Don't get me wrong. Kanye is an excelent lyricist, but I just prefer listening to albums with anthems like Chamillionaire's album. Chamillionaire will appear later.
Favorite songs:
*. Barry Bonds
*. Drunk and Hot Girls
*. Can't Tell Me Nothing
Preview for albums 12-9.
Three albums of dark music.
One mixed bag album.
One album from an artist at least as obscure as Rotting ****.
Please keep all guesses to yourself so you don't spoil it for people who don't know.
Even though I don't like Avril's album a lot .