This is the 16th post in this series. Click here to start from the beginning: Inhailer's Top 500 Albums of All-Time: (#500-476)
Every Friday, Inhailer is counting down our totally objective, completely undisputed, most-correct list of the Top 500 albums of all time. We're doing so in bite-size chunks of 25 albums (nobody has the energy in their thumbs to scroll through 500 albums in one sitting). Last week we continued our countdown with the likes of Howlin' Wolf, Modest Mouse, and Groove Armada. This week we continue with Nos. 125-101. The ask was simple: excluding compilation albums, what are the 500 best albums of all-time, ranked? Here's the sixteenth list in the countdown:
125. Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? (2007)
Kevin Barnes' mid-career stroke of genius is a mastery of danceable indie pop that revives the fashion, drugs, and guy-liner culture of '70s glam rock.
124. Sigur Rós - Ágætis byrjun (1999)
Translating to "a good beginning," Icelandic post-rockers feature their lush, chamber orchestrations and striking guitar sounds made by cello-bowing.
123. Sufjan Stevens - Carrie and Lowell (2015)
Sufjan returned to his acoustic roots, confronting the strange love of his schizophrenic mother Carrie and her second husband, both of whom Stevens never really new.
122. The White Stripes - White Blood Cells (2001)
Jack and Meg's critical breakthrough features their most enduring songs, including "Fell in Love with a Girl," "Hotel Yorba," and "We're Going to be Friends."
121. Beck - Odelay (1996)
For his first collaboration with The Dust Brothers, Beck goes just about everywhere sonically, anchored by sample-heavy beats and rap rock verses.
120. Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake It's Morning (2005)
It took real guts for Oberst and his pals to unplug and unload after the success of their crazed indie rock array in 2002's Lifted.
119. Kraftwerk - Trans Europe Express (1977)
Is it reality or is it a front? That's the fundamental question behind Kraftwerk's experimental yet minimalistic electro-pop.
118. The Postal Service - Give Up (2003)
Ben Gibbard, who was living in Seattle, wanted to record an album with the LA-based Jimmy Tamborello. So they mailed each other tracks, voice parts, or musical fragments and made what might be the first ever virtual album.
117. Mordicai Jones - Mordicai Jones (1972)
Mordicai Jones isn't a real person, but he is the mysterious alter-ego of Link Wray's and Steve Verocca's piano player, Bobby Howard. Together, they the are the unsung heroes of the Americana roots movement.
116. Stereolab - Dots and Loops (1997)
Produced by John McEntire, this landmark electronic work feature's Stereolab's most influential works like "Miss Modular" and Brakhage."
115. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Fever to Tell (2003)
Karen O, Nick Zinner, and drummer Brian Chase were living in a tiny NYC apartment, funding their debut record out of their own pocket...just a year later their debut album was released on a major label and became a one-million seller.
114. New Order - Power Corruption and Lies (1983)
The flowers on the cover of New Order's best album "suggest the means by which power, corruption and lies infiltrate our lives. They're seductive."
113. The Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (2002)
Despite the legal controversy with Cat Stevens, Wayne Coyne's Yoshimi is a mellow, sincere mixture of neo-psychedelia, space rock, and indie pop.
112. Joe Henderson - Page One (1963)
Trumpeter Kenny Dorham and Henderson got along well enough to record two iconic jazz standards, one composition each, with Dorham's "Blue Bossa" and Henderson's "Recorda Me."
111. Silver Apples - Silver Apples (1968)
This electronic rock album was so far ahead of its time that even Bob Moog was impressed, venturing to Simeon Coxe's studio to study Silver Apples' usage of homemade synthesizers and half-functional amplifiers.
110. The Allman Brothers - At Fillmore East (1971)
By March of 1971, the Brothers had already played whopping 400+ shows in the decade. Two of them, captured immaculately on tape, were apparently just typical of their wicked, expansive Southern rock jamming.
109. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion (2009)
It took the band two years to actually play the venue in Maryland. By that point, the album had already been deemed the most acclaimed album of 2009.
108. The Feelies - Crazy Rhythms (1980)
"The sound we were after was a reaction against the punk scene... Being a little older, we felt it had all been done before. We wanted the guitars to be cleaner, and we started experimenting with a lot of percussion."
107. Led Zeppelin - IV (1971)
Zoso... untitled... the four symbols... whatever you want to call it is fine. Just remember "Black Dog" opens and "When the Levee Breaks" closes. Oh, and there's a little song called "Stairway to Heaven" thrown in there too.
106. The Avalanches - Since I Left You (2000)
Bringing plunderphonics to the mainstream, Australian 'bandmates' Darren Seltmann and Robbie Chater made use of almost 1,000 vinyl records they collected for the project.
105. Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures (1979)
The tragedy of Ian Curtis was captured like lightning in a bottle, igniting the post-punk movement for the new decade.
104. Mingus - Ah Um (1959)
Latin speakers say it's Mingus, Minga, Mingum. This influential post-bop album includes the rousing "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat," his most known composition.
103. The Who - Quadrophenia (1973)
Pete Townsend's soundscape became more complex and layered than ever before, manipulating writhing synth loops and John Entwistle's horn overdubs to create their freshest work.
102. Whitney Houston - Whitney Houston (1985)
A whopping three songs from her self-titled work hit #1 on the Billboard Top 200, Houston's first album smashed previous sales records for a solo female artist, opening the door for other female artists to break the glass ceiling.
101. Patti Smith - Horses (1975)
The opening lyrics, "Jesus died for somebody's sins but not mine," set the tone for Smith's debut statement. It doesn't really get much less political from there.
Want to listen to our choice cuts from this list? Follow our countdown playlist on Spotify!
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