According to my wife, I’m a music snob. It’s true that I know what I like and don’t feel shy about expressing it and even citing the reasons why. But I’m not about to tell anyone else their taste in music is wrong. I just happened to think my taste in music is great.

So, in this age of music singles (which is not a new thing) it may seem like the album as a concept is dying a slow death. It used to be that many albums had one or two great songs, and the rest was filler (REM – Out of Time, I’m looking at you).

Then there are albums which are well thought out, demand to be listened to in order, don’t have any filler songs, and sometimes even follow a thematic concept that ties the whole thing together. I’ve been working on one myself for my current solo project.

So without further adieu, here is my list of awesome albums and why I think so. I’ve also made a playlist on Spotify so you can hear what I’m talking about (with one exception).

The Awesome Album List

The Beatles – Abbey Road

Of all the great Beatles albums, this one holds up as sonically and artistically consistent from beginning to end.  The second half, or “B-side” is continuous, without any break between songs, and flows beautifully between “movements.”

U2 – Achtung Baby

While U2’s Joshua Tree remains a venerable classic, Achtung Baby remains their crowning achievement. This album showcases U2 at their most confident, strident and inventive. Catchy, memorable songs and powerful production by none other than Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno, this collection of songs rocks out with The Fly and caps off with the vulnerable and haunting Love is Blindness.

They Might Be Giants – Apollo 18

This album from They Might Be Giants (TMBG) is intended to take advantage of your CD player’s “shuffle play” mode, as noted in the liner notes. The quirky Brooklyn duo included a series of Fingertips – 21 mostly really short songs, individually indexed on the disc, so that listeners would get a 5-second ditty in between two “normal” songs, for example; very clever and certainly one-of-a-kind. There are TMBG albums with better songs (John Henry is their best, IMO) but Apollo 18 is no slouch either and Fingertips makes it a clincher for this list.

Supertramp – Breakfast in America

I first heard several of the chart-topping hits from this album when I was a child, but only visited the entire album as an adult. Literally half of the album’s 10 songs were either major worldwide hits or on regular rotation on the radio from 1979 onward. This is testament to the high quality songwriting and production that makes Breakfast in America a true pop-rock classic.

The Decemberists – The Crane Wife

This is the first Decemberists album I ever heard, and still stands up as their best. The highly literate, folk-rock storytelling style is peppered with progressive rock elements (arguably the popular music format that most embraces the album as concept). Echoes of the opening song Crane Wife 3 occur later in Crane Wife 1 & 2, while centering around a Japanese folk tale. High concept, indeed.

Joe Satriani – The Extremist

Who needs a singer when you can make your guitar do the singing? Beautifully expressive while at the same time, energetic and shredding, Joe Satriani takes us though a collection of instrumental rock pieces that’s engaging and lyrical without uttering a single word.

Huey Lewis & the News – Fore!

During a decade of synth-pop hits (the 1980s, for those of you keeping score), Huey Lewis and the News were unapologetically classic rock and blues. This, combined with a very polished production and amazingly catchy songs, puts this album as their best. Pretty much what Patrick Batemen thought.

The Sheepdogs – Future Nostaligia

Catchy guitar melodies, and a trombone feature mix together with powerful lead and harmony vocals to create a unique, if somewhat derivate, feel-good rock n’ roll mix. While all the songs are very strong (no filler), the final six tracks of the album is a medley of shorter songs that harkens back to The Beatles Abbey Road with a fresh energy. This album demands to be listened to in order.

Sloan – Never Hear the End of It

Although many Sloan albums are worthy of this list, their 2006 double-album opus Never Hear the End of It stands out for its ability to transform from chaos to order upon multiple listens. While other Sloan albums like Commonwealth are upfront and clear about their album format, Never Hear moves more freely from beginning to end, but make no mistake, there is a beginning and an end. Songs overlap, singers and songwriters change up, and individual songs somehow don’t mean as much as the collection. The band eases through 30 songs in just under two hours, none of which feel like fragments of longer songs, and with a beautiful cohesion that defies logic.

The Grapes of Wrath – Now and Again

This album is a collection of incredibly tightly written pop-rock songs, with the beautiful acoustic opener, All the Things I Wasn’t.  This is the Canadian band’s most confident and finely executed effort. Twelve tracks, and none of them are filler.

Radiohead – OK Computer

My most-played and favourite album of the 90s combines heavy grunge-inspired riffs with beautiful melodies and thoughtful, if occasionally esoteric lyrics. The strangeness of the computer-spoken track Fitter Happier holds the album together in a weird way. While track 2, Paranoid Android, is the albums’ (and arguably the bands’) highpoint, later cuts like No Surprises offer up a complete listening experience.

Rush – Permanent Waves

This 1980 album represents Rush’s transition from fantasy and science fiction inspired progressive rock to arena-style classic rock staples like Spirit of Radio. And as such, Permanent Waves offers the best of both Rush personalities. The album includes two multi-movement tracks in between four more radio-friendly songs, all with more focus and catchiness than their comparably self-indulgent epics of the mid- to late-70s.

Nine Inch Nails – Pretty Hate Machine

The debut album from Nine Inch Nails is unlike anything else Trent Reznor created. A short collection of synth-dance songs are teased together with heavy industrial and metal rock. And at the centerpiece, Something I Can Never Have spills out with utter rejection, delicate vulnerability, and a haunting quality. Reznor paints a mysterious and aggressive sonic landscape, but this album also lets the songs shine above it all.

Soundgarden – Superunknown

The most popular of the 90s grunge band’s albums, Superunknown is a focused collection of superb songwriting, fascinating and powerful musicality and polished production. Although a very long listen with 15 tracks and well over an hour, this album draws you into a uniquely dark sonic landscape that is gripping from start to finish.

The Police – Synchronicity

The final studio album from The Police, this album was the only strong contender to the chart dominance of Michael Jackson’s Thriller in 1983. The now classic rock standards were groundbreaking at the time, combining ska, rock and world music into a collection of thoughtful, crafty and catchy songs. Once you get past chart-busting singles like Every Breath You Take, Walking In Your Footsteps, King of Pain, and Wrapped Around Your Finger, you can appreciate the other album-only cuts that truly make this album one to experience.

Sting – Ten Summoner’s Tales

This album is Sting’s love letter to music. Sting’s real name is Gordon Summoner, hence Ten Summoner’s Tales. The eleventh track is the wonderfully whimsical Epilogue (Nothing ‘Bout Me), where Sting tell us that despite hearing ten songs by Sting, we still know nothing about him. The songs celebrate music with beauty, humour, inventiveness, and incredible musicianship. This is certainly a highlight of Sting’s long career.

Michael Jackson – Thriller

The pinnacle of Michael Jackson’s career, I never came to appreciate the brilliance of this album until many years after its release. This album is noteworthy for its perfectly written pop hits, but also for its ability to seamlessly bend and weave through pop, rock, and R&B. Truly a work for the masses, but one with high craft and attention to musical detail.

Genesis – A Trick of the Tail

This is the first Genesis album to feature Phil Collins as lead singer, after the departure of Peter Gabriel from the band. Although the album moves from style to style with songs written by different members of the band, an energetic opening track and epic instrumental finale bookend the album nicely.

Change of Heart – Tummysuckle

The only album in my list that I couldn’t find on Spotify, this classic mid-90s album from Canadian indie rock band Change of Heart perhaps never made it out of Toronto. You can hear the whole thing on youTube, though! Opening the album with a quirky band introduction, tracks mostly jump from one to the next with no breaks, demanding that it be heard in order. Catchy and heavy riffs coupled with funky rock beats and powerful vocals give this album a unique vibe unlike anything else.

Tori Amos – Under the Pink

This is the only album I heard for the first time and immediately played again. Having never heard a single note from Tori Amos, I was instantly enchanted. Endlessly inventive, superbly creative and skilled piano playing, captivating vocals and provocative songwriting all combine to create a  unique listening experience.

Garbage – Version 2.0

The sophomore album from alternative band Garbage remains their strongest. All the songs here are excellent, driving with heavy riffs, explosive drumming and incredible vocals. Garbage has been very consistent over their career, and they’re really good at what they do. Version 2.0 offers the band at their best.

Depeche Mode – Violator

The pop-dance-industrial sound of Depeche Mode is best expressed on Violator. This album draws you into the Depeche Mode soundscape and doesn’t let go until the final note. The album is succinct with only 9 songs, each distinctive and cohesive with the whole.

Pink Floyd – The Wall

Arguably the greatest concept album, Pink Floyd takes us on an epic, emotional journey from classroom oppression to prosecution on a Biblical scale. The album is interspersed with notable Pink Floyd songs, but to listen to the entire double album from start to finish gives you the whole story. Both epic and intimate, the album draws you into its inner-most tortured soul.