Rob's Best: #7: Set Your Goals - Mutiny!

Released: July 11, 2006.

This is the best damn pop punk record ever.  Listening to this album is like being at a party with all your best friends.  It's fast, fun, and catchy as hell.  This record flows exceptionally well as songs often segue from one to the next perfectly, and often building up as a kind of prequel, like the combos of "Dead Men Tell No Tales" into "Mutiny!" and "Don't Let This Win Over You" and "Echoes."  I can't help but bounce and swing my arms in jubilation whenever I listen to Mutiny!  The two vocalists duck and weave around each other, trading line for line for the most part, but occasionally singing together as well, to tremendous effect like sing-a-long at the end of "Echoes".  It's never been more fun to sing along to songs about life, religion and death... and pirates.

Rob's Best: #8: Gaslight Anthem - Sink Or Swim

Released: June 12, 2007

Wow!  The first direct overlap of the countdown!  I think that means this record has been scientifically proven to be the 8th best record of the decade.  Well done.

Trystan said it already, I'll say it again but different.  This record is awesome summer music.  And Brian Fallon is, by far, the best nostalgia lyricist to come out of our generation, and with Sink Or Swim he sang with a gruffness and a conviction that made his every word magical.

Honey, we came to dance with the girls with the stars in their eyes,

Do the jump back jacks, stop and slide to the right,

Never break their hearts, never make them cry, come on

Strike up the band, play a song that everybody knows,

If I'm not your kind, then don't tell a soul,

I'm not the one who hates being alone, so come on.

Rob's Best: #9: Kodan Armada - A Collection Of Songs

Released: June 22, 2004

This is one of the greatest screamo records I've ever heard and I mean screamo in the traditional sense a la bands like Saetia, Neil Parry, and Orchid rather than what people call screamo now like The Used or I Set My Friends On Fire (who, incidentally, rival brokenCYDE for one of the worst bands ever).  But I digress, A Collection Of Songs is essentially just that, a collection of songs taken from their one EP, and the few 7"s they released over the years.  It's their only real full length record, and it plays almost like a retrospective (which, at this point, it is since they broke up years ago) with short recordings of between-song banter from live shows explaining the meanings behind the songs interspersed throughout. 

None of this has really told you anything about the music.  They play an abrasive, cathartic, and emotive form of hardcore music.  They tend to write either relatively short bursts of chaotic noise like "Cops", or much more epic songs that push the boundaries of tension and release that build into an unstoppable fury like "No Has Never Had Three Letters" or "Butterfly Effect".  There was a period a few years ago where I listened to only this record for about a month straight and I was constantly surprised by the discovery of new melodic nuances.  These songs are dense with layers that only reveal themselves after repeated listens, much like Dillinger Escape Plan.

Trystan's Best #7: Death From Above 1979 - You're A Woman, I'm A Machine

Released: October 26th, 2004

Is it possible to make an album that's as sexy as it is heavy? As catchy as it is unaccessible? Death From Above 1979, the one-time duo from Toronto pull this off with their masterful and only album You're A Woman, I'm A Machine. Between singer Sebastien Grainger's banshee-like vocals and bassman Jesse F. Keelers distorted bass-lines their is pop gold to be found. "Romantic Rights" and "Blood On Our Hands" are two of the catchiest songs you'll ever silmultanously shake your butt to and mosh to, and "Black History Month" has enough build-and-explode in it to blow the speakers at the biggest stadium. And nevermind closer "Sexy Results" which, if put on at the correct time during a date, could in fact lead to very sexy results.

It's a shame the two in this band couldn't stick it out longer, because they were certainly going to be greats. So we'll have to settle for their lone album, which happens to be one of the greats of this whole decade.

Trystan's Best #8: The Gaslight Anthem - Sink Or Swim

Released: June 12th, 2007

Sometime before critics couldn't stop ejaculating their Springsteen-comparisons all over The Gaslight Anthem's second album The '59 Sound, The Gaslight Anthem released one of the best punk rock albums of the decade Sink Or Swim. Their debut, which was edgier, catchier, and ballsier than their latest, never really got it's due, which seems absurd with such midnight-drive sing-a-longs like "We Came To Dance" and "Boomboxes & Dictionaries". Or how about their ode to the late Joe Strummer "I'da Called You, Woody, Joey" or their perfect acoustic closer "Red At Night"? How about all of those great songs, music presses of the world!? That's right, The '59 Sound didn't even make my list! Dicks!

Trystan's Best #9: Murder By Death - In Bocca Al Lupo

Released: May 23rd, 2006

Murder By Death are in a class of their own: They make western rock music. Not country rock, but western rock. The latter you would tap a toe to, line dance to, or fire up the barbeque to, and the former you would shoot-a-man-in-reno-just-to-watch-him-die to. In Bocca Al Lupo is a collection of stories. Stories of redemption, revenge, and obligation, and like and good piece of spaghetti western film, this album has rising and falling action. Things begin slowly and then burst wide open on "Brother" then slow with "Dynamite Mine" and again go wild with the prison-break-anthem "Sometimes The Line Walks You". This pattern continues, closing with the optimistic sing-a-long of "The Devil Drives", some much needed optimism for anyone taking their first step into singer Adam Turla's dark, whiskey-soaked world. Murder By Death are the best band you probably haven't heard of, so get to it!

Trystan's Best #10: Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago

Released: February 19th, 2008

Enough has been written about Justin Vernon in the past year and a half to make whatever I have to say almost irrelevant. So I will simply say that this minimal, beautiful folk album may be the most poignant lament to lost love since Bob Dylan's Blood On The Tracks. And "Skinny Love" could be the best song of the decade.

Rob's Best: #10: Bomb The Music Industry! - Scrambles

Released: February 14, 2009.

This is my best album of 2009.  I've been listening to this album constantly since midnight on the 14th when I downloaded this record.  It's amazing!  I've never so personally connected with the lyrics of any album before this one.  I feel like I could have, and should have, written half this record myself.  But Jeff Rosenstock went ahead and did it first, and made it catchy as hell, and he made it all happen for less than $50 and released it for free off of his own record label, Quote Unquote Records. 

From this point on on my side of this list, the writers and lyrics are a huge factor in reaching the top 10 of this pinnacle of music journalism.  Jeff Rosenstock is easily one of my favorite lyricists ever, I mean, I stole the name of this blog from the name of one of his songs, "Brian Wilson Says SMiLE, a.k.a. Beard of Defiance" off of To Leave Or Die In Long Island.  I'm constantly torn over what my favorite song on this record is, but as of this moment, it's "(Shut) Up The Punx!!!":

‘Cause the last thing I wanna be is another negative asshole.
Like God speaks through my acoustic guitar
and I’ve got the perfect set of morals
on a dry erase board at the front of the house:

'FOLLOW THESE CONDITIONS OR WE’LL KICK YOUR ASS OUT:
Vegans only: NO MEAT ALLOWED!
Straight Edge only: NO DRINKING ALLOWED!
Fixed gears only: NO THREE-SPEEDS ALLOWED!
Me me me!!!: I’M SMART! I’M RIGHT! I’M SMART!'

I think it’s dumb when you take the inherently fun like riding bikes
and singing songs and say they’re not for everyone
as if for your whole life you were cool as shit.

Rob's Best: #11: Jimmy Eat World - Bleed American

Released: July 18, 2001

Over the years, this album has continually served as safe place to return to when I'm feeling lost; it's like an old friend that serves as a reminder of what friends are for.  It's got the full spectrum of emotion, from happy to sad, angry to melancholy, and it's there to show that you'll live through it all and be alright.  Even if you're stuck in the middle... Ha.  Ha.  I love this band for being wonderfully melodic and for the constant layer of overdubs and harmonies that ring out cheerfully on every record.  They do what they do and they do it well.

Rob's Best: #12: Between The Buried And Me - Alaska

Released: September 6, 2005

This is my favorite Between The Buried And Me record, and that's saying something because they have released several phenomenal ones.  At this point, they're still writing individual songs, rather than basically one long song with varied movements like on Colors, which I tend to prefer.  Between The Buried And Me can seem, at times, like two very separate bands in one since they worship two disparate musical styles: tech metal and prog rock.  But these guys pull it off because they are some of the most talented musicians I've ever seen; just listen to the song "Selkies: The Endless Obsession."  That song is the epitome of all that is Between The Buried And Me: it begins with keyboards that are quickly joined by several harmonizing guitar lines which builds into a soft sung vocal line over a slightly menacing chord progression... and then the metal happens.  Twisting time signatures, angular guitar riffing, solid double bass, and guttural howls.  After this, the keyboards kick back in, with a gentle repeated guitar melody and layered sung vocals... and then the guitar solo happens.  And happens for the rest of the song.  And it's worth it.  This guitar solo rivals "Master Of Puppets" by Metallica.  It's got sweep picking like I ain't never heard before.  It's beautiful.  It's Between The Buried And Me.

Rob's Best: #13: Dillinger Escape Plan - Ire Works

Released: November 13, 2007.

Dillinger Escape Plan are an absolute force of nature.  They practically invented grindcore with their debut album Calculating Infinity, and since then they've proceeded to expand vastly on their musical palette with each album to the delight (or chagrin) of their long time fans.  Ire Works in particular was polarizing among fans because there was (gasp) even more singing on it, or because that singing is heavily inspired by Mike Patton of Faith No More.  Personally, I think Ire Works is the perfect mix of everything Dillinger has done before.  While there aren't really that many jazzy moments like those from Calculating or Miss Machine, there are still blasts of technical fury in "Nong Eye Gong" or "Fix Your Face" (which even features original vocalist Dimitri Minakakis), poppier structures on "Black Bubblegum", proggier experimentation on "Mouth of Ghosts", Metallica tributes on "82588" (...And Justice For All was released August 25, 1988), and two of the most kick ass tracks of the decade in "Horse Hunter" and "Milk Lizard".  Everything about "Milk Lizard" is awesome, big band horns overtop old school metal guitar runs?  Yes, please!

Not only that, but Dillinger Escape Plan are The Best Live Band Ever.  They put absolutely everything into their stage performance and it is breathtaking to behold.  They throw themselves into a frenzy of motion, yet somehow still maintain a frightening technical accuracy; actually, they tend to be not only accurate but sped up as well.  Plus, the singer, Greg Puciato, is built like a goddamned tank.  The last time I saw them, during the breakdown for "Sunshine The Werewolf" he stormed from the back of the stage to the front, literally picking up and throwing two monitors out of his way and then just fucking attacked the crowd screaming "destroyer...".

Rob's Best: #14: With Honor - Heart Means Everything

Released: June 8, 2004

This is the first hardcore band I ever loved.  I saw them play when they were touring for this album with another young band who were touring on their first record as well called Comeback Kid.  It was one of the first hardcore shows with legit touring hardcore bands I had ever seen and it legit kicked my high school ass.  On the surface, Heart Means Everything is just bad ass with some of the best gang vocals ever recorded and heavy/awesome breakdowns.  And once I started reading the lyrics, they were all about positivity and strength and I could really identify aesthetically with it.  With Honor were to hardcore, for me, what Blink 182 were to punk music; they opened doors I didn't know existed and made me believe in dragons.

Rob's Best: #15: Sinking Ships - Disconnecting

Released: March 20, 2007

Sinking Ships were a Seattle-based melodic hardcore band.  Disconnecting is their second and final full length, and it's full of great sing-a-longs, interesting arrangements, and poignant lyricism.  I mean, the album's first "chorus" is a repeated refrain of a quote from an American Revolution era pamphlet: "These are the times that try [our] souls."  Some of the songs on this album still catch me with their pure evocation of images or emotions, and I would easily consider them among the best songs of the decade regardless of genre.  The only reason this album isn't higher on my list is that the second half of the album is noticeably weaker than the first, and it's not that they're bad by any means, but they just can't compare with the standouts like "The Next Time I Go," "Auburn," or "The Days You've Come To Fear."  Not to mention the sadly beautiful "Ghost Story":

And it scares me to death to know that one day I won't be haunted by your ghost.

Stay with me.

That one day I'll lay awake and struggle to remember your face

Stay with me.

'It will be lost,' I'll breathe.  Remembering that I won't remember anything

Stay with me.

It never stops.

Trystan's Best #11: Brand New - Deja Entendu

Released: June 17th, 2003

Brand New's second album Deja Entendu is a bitter, bitter collection of songs, and that's ok because they are also some of the best pop-punk songs put to plastic this decade. Jumping between terribly catchy, hook-driven songs like "Sic Transit Gloria... Glory Fades" and "Ok I Believe You, But My Tommy Gun Don't" and the more introverted, often acoustic tracks "The Boy Who Blocked His Own Shot" and "Play Crack The Sky", Brand New never lets the listener get comfortable with one kind song. While this can sometimes be jarring in the hands of a lesser group, Brand New weaves through these songs perfectly. At one point you will be pumping your fist, another you'll be reaching for your lighter (or cellphone as the case may be), and all throughout you will never be confused of the honest and uncontrived emotion to be found here.

Rob's Best: #16: Latterman - No Matter Where We Go...

Released: August 9, 2005.

This is music to shout along to in a sweaty basement with all of your friends when for a few brief moments none of the shit outside matters, just being together and knowing that life is made of beautiful moments where everything is loud, everything is fun, and everything means something. 

Rob's Best: #17: Brand New - The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me

Released: November 20, 2006

I didn't know what to make of this album the first time I heard it.  I only knew of the band by reputation and this is definitely not what I was expecting from a band whose peers are bands like Taking Back Sunday and Thrice.  This is a bold exposition of layered sound that grows more powerful upon each successive listen.  The first song that hooked me is by far the most straightforward, "The Archer's Bows Have Broken" is catchy and similar in style to Brand New's previous albums.  Exploring the rest of the album has been an ongoing adventure that has been exceptionally rewarding and exhilarating like riding waves of dynamic emotion through still and storm.

Trystan's Best #12: Sunset Rubdown - Shut Up I am Dreaming

Released: May 2nd, 2006

Spencer Krug has the most interesting voice in music today, and he uses it to great effect on Shut Up I Am Dreaming. Krug yelps and cries his way across ten songs of indie-pop wonder, from the grand opener "Stadiums and Shrines II" to the slow-burn-to-explosion closer "Shut Up I Am Dreaming Of Places Where Lovers Have Wings". It's often confusing and difficult to decipher just what some of these songs are about, but Krug's mastery of language and rhyme makes for such interesting lyrics you can often and just sit back and enjoy them, no matter what they're about. Like most good music, the voice carries the emotion here, and Krug's paints such a vivid picture, deciphering the meaning behind the words becomes unnecessary.

Trystan's Best #13: The Wooden Sky - When Lost At Sea

Released: January 24th, 2007

The best country music is the stuff not on CMT or at the Merritt Mountain Music Fest (R.I.P.), but in the smallest venues in North America, in front of small groups of passionate, plaid-ed fans. The best of these bands, in this humble writer's opinion, is The Wooden Sky. When Lost At Sea is a tight, precise collection of woodsy and heart-felt songs of heartache, sorrow, nostalgia, and all the other good things country music used to be about. Singer Gavin Gardiner has just the right amount of quiver and shake in his voice to give his songs complete legitimacy, and at a moments notice, he can pull a trigger on that voice and turn a sad song into a testament. Amen, boys.

Trystan's Best #14: The Chariot - The Fiancee

Released: April 3rd, 2007

The Chariot's sophomore effort, "The Fiancee" is music that can barely be contained by its own parameters. Josh Scogin and co. take this ephemeral beast on a spiraling and destructive journey, almost careening out of control at times, but never losing sight of their goal: making truly passionate metal music. Each song is imbued with the band's own personal insights on faith and life and with it, enough badass fucking riffs and guttural singing to make you forget this is even a christian metal band. Standouts are "And Shot Each Other" and "Came To Kill", but the whole album is a complete experience by a band making wholly original music.

Trystan's Best #15: Dan Le Sac Vs. Scroobius Pip - Angles

Released September 2nd, 2008

Angles has enough wit and scathing observation for every MC in the business to take some, and it would still be the best hip-hop album of the decade. Annihilated by some pretentious asshole at Pitchfork, this album never really got the recognition it deserved. It opens with a clip of voice-man Scroobius Pip dropping some slams on an unsuspecting audience and then segues into "The Beat That My Heart Skips" by way of Dan Le Sac's frenetic, bouncing beats. There are too many good songs to mention here. "Thou Shalt Always Kill", where Pip lays out his rules on life music, and everything else, and "Angles", a more somber track about the effects of one's actions on others. Almost no one is left unscathed in Pip's poetic crosshairs, but he and Dan Le Sac do it in such a booty-bumping way, you might not care. Download it, burn it to a CD, and blast it in your car. You'll know what I mean.

Trystan's Best #16: Have Heart - The Things We Carry

Released: August 4th, 2006

Not that I'm an authority on the genre or anything, but I think it's safe to say that Have Heart's The Things We Carry is the best hardcore album of the decade. In a scene that can at times be diluted with bands that all sound the same (although, what scene isn't?), Have Heart dole out breakdowns and hooks that make you feel like you're listening to hardcore for the first time again. Patrick Flynn's vocals are ferocious and desperate all at once, and his lyrics are unmatched by anyone in his field except maybe that dude in Bane. This is music to get back on your feet to, if you don't believe me, just listen to closer "Watch Me Rise".

Trystan's Best #17: Dan Mangan - Nice, Nice, Very Nice

Released: August 11th, 2009

Funny without being overtly comic and energetic without being brazen, Dan Mangan's Nice, Nice, Very Nice is an album for everyone. It begins with the driving (no pun intended) "Road Regrets" where Mangan immediately lays out his very slam-inspired style of lyrics and pacing. This song is followed by "Robots" which has a sing-a-long at the end that just screams "play me at the end of your show for a most epic time!"
Most of the time Mangan dabbles in the lighthearted, while punching in little moments of biting commentary (See: "Some People"), but when he chooses go for the heart he hits the target, especially on the heart-swelling "Basket". Dan Mangan is on course to becoming one of Canada's purest and most effective songwriters.

Rob's Best: #18: The Bronx II

Released: July 18, 2006

This shit is punk rock gold!  These LA dudes know how to make fast, grooving, southern California punk rock and roll, and make it sound like sex in your ears, in the best way possible! 

Trystan's Best #18: Elliott Brood - Mountain Meadows

Released: June 24th, 2008

Folk-Rock is a weird thing. How can something be simultaneously acoustic & mellow and electric & rockin? I mean, Bob Dylan's electric stuff, although labeled folk-rock, was simply rock music by a formerly folk artist. So does folk-rock exist? Certainly. It was willed to life by a trio of Canadians, in a band called Elliott Brood.
Mountain Meadows roars to life with the driving opener "Fingers And Tongues" and doesn't let up for almost nine whole songs. Their heavy, working-man riffs are crafted out of small, acoustic blues-guitars run through a distortion pedal. Who'da thought, right!? And while you're pumping your fist to "Write It All Down For You" or singing along to the all-too singalongable closer "Miss You Now" you will know this is folk-rock. Mean enough to start a mosh pit, and down to earth enough to know you don't need to.

Trystan's Best #19: Handsome Furs - Face Control

Released: March 10th, 2009

Handsome Furs' debut, Plague Park, was an endearing, albeit less-than-groundbreaking, collection of songs. Nonetheless, you could tell Dan Boeckner and then-fiance-now-wife Alexei Perry were onto something. With Face Control, the two assert not only that they're the real deal, but that they might just be the sexiest couple in rock'n'roll. Boeckner barks through a cigarette-smoke lined throat and doles out lightning-strike guitar hooks while Perry pumps out some industrial beats stolen right out of an East-German disco. Boeckner manages to make somewhat cliche lines seem as new as ever, particularly on standout "All We Want, Baby, Is Everything". The blood gets pumping early with the deadly "Evangeline" and the thumping "Talking Hotel Arabat Blues". The album hits a major peak with Boeckner's guitar wailing on "I'm Confused", but the Berlin Wall love-story closer "Radio Kaliningrad" just can't be forgotten.

Rob's Best: #19: Tegan & Sara - The Con

Released: July 24, 2007

If any of you know me, you probably already know that I have a love affair with these two women.  They're probably the only band that turns my brain into that of a prepubescent girl.  The Con is their best album.  It is quirky, fun, and catchy as all get out.  The whole album flows wonderfully, with a really strong and upbeat introduction from the off-beat opener combo of "I Was Married" and "Relief Next To Me" through the flagship song "The Con" and into the lead single "Back In Your Head".  While the last half of the album is filled with the emotional highpoints "Nineteen", "Dark Come Soon," and "Call It Off."  This might seem like needless namedropping to fill up space, but I would likely kick myself later if I didn't mention each one because all of them are amazing and delightful and gosh they're neat!

Rob's Best: #20: The World / Inferno Friendship Society - Addicted To Bad Ideas: Peter Lorre's Twentieth Century

Released: September 11, 2007

The World / Inferno Friendship Society is a punk rock cabaret collective led by the unfailingly entertaining Jack Terricloth.  Addicted To Bad Ideas is a concept album based upon the life and works of actor Peter Lorre that begins in true classical fashion with an overture of soft, plucked cello that quickly grows into a bombastic serenade with more strings, clarinet, piccolo, and a horn section.  Then the drums kick in and the show begins in all of its sensational, over-the-top, rock and roll / klezmer fusion glory.  This album never fails to make me happy to be alive when I listen to it, especially the song "Ich Erinnere Mich An Die Weimarer Republik."  You listen to that song and I dare you to try and not start dancing. 

Rob's Best: #21: The Avett Brothers - Emotionalism

Released: May 15, 2007

This is probably the sexiest folk album of the decade.  This album is filled with, you guessed it, emotional highs and lows.  From the opening porch stomper "Die Die Die" and "Will You Return?" to the simple, quiet beauty of "The Ballad of Love and Hate", this album will take you on a journey through stories of love, betrayal, and heartache.  Brothers Seth and Scott Avett will sing their way right up to your heart, and will set up shop with their guitar and their banjo and just croon the night away. 

Trystan's Best #20: Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning

Released: January 25th, 2005

Most people love to hate Conor Oberst these days, mostly as a result of the tidal wave of fandom caused by this album, I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning, his alt-folk opus. "Oh my God! I can't possibly like something that EVERYBODY likes!" was the subconscious reaction of most. But music-elitist-bullshit aside, this is Oberst with sharpened words and a trained hand, cutting as deep and as effectively as ever. His voice quivers and wains and yelps its way through perfect songs like "Land Locked Blues" and "Another Travelin' Song", while lyrically reflecting the four-more-years-of-bush vibe that most Americans were feeling at the time (the album came out a mere five days after Bush's second term began). While "First Day Of My Life" might turn into a first-dance-at-the-wedding staple and subsequently into a song we will all hate, no one will ever forget the shivers they got from the final freakout of "Road To Joy".

Trystan's Best #21: The Rural Alberta Advantage - Hometowns

Released: July 7th, 2009

With every other genre blending together in this melting-pot age of music we're living in, it only makes sense that one might eventually hear synth and drum-machines mixed with evocative folk rock like that of The Rural Alberta Advantage on their debut Hometowns. In some cases, this could be detrimental to this kind of music, but that's not the case here. Nils Edenloff's songs are simply too honest, and way too catchy! His nasally, country howl, carried by Paul Banwatt's drumming and complemented by the shy Amy Cole, covers an entire spectrum of emotion. You are made to feel the regret of "Don't Haunt This Place" and the nostalgic longing of "Edmonton". This band has a bright future ahead of them, especially if they can keep up putting out songs like album closer "In The Summertime", which might be the most honest account of true love committed to song this decade.

Rob's Best: #22: Shai Hulud - That Within Blood Ill-Tempered

Released: May 20, 2003.

Shai Hulud is a seemingly contradictory creature.  Their music is simultaneously dark, yet triumphant; aggressive, yet somehow melodic.  Not melodic in the traditional sense, by any means, but still wonderfully hummable.  Their lyrics are, at face value, wholly pessimistic and misanthropic, but under the surface they display an undeniable yearning for hope and beauty and wonder. Theirs is a melancholic path to tread: That of the cynic who dreams of one day showing his true optimism.  Until then, they'll scream at the moon, hoping that someone will hear them and understand.

"I am prepared to fight humanity every day
for the rest of my life,
albeit, my mind and body
yearn for tranquility.

People that should earn my love
consistently warrant my hate.
I truly resent this.

Breathe easy, friend.
Let not bitter fruit sour your breath."

Trystan's Best #22: Kid Cudi - Man On The Moon: The End Of The Day

Released: September 15th, 2009

In a genre of music built upon flaunting your wealth, influence, and phallic attributes, Kid Cudi is a breath of fresh air. Brought into the light by Kanye and Jay-Z, Kid Cudi's debut, Man On The Moon: The End Of The Day is a layered, deep, minimalist hip-hop masterpiece. The beats are sparse, eerie sounds that could have made their way from the farthest outreaches of space, and the subject matter is just as lonely as the imagery as Cudi flows on personal issues, awkwardness, and recurring night terrors. I'm making his music sound boring, which it is not. If anything, the slower more methodical tracks only set you up for the epic "Heart Of A Lion (Kid Cudi Theme Music)", the sex-bounce "Enter Galactic (Love Connection Pt.1)", and the inspiring "Up Up & Away". And just in case I scared you away with all this talk of depth and intelligence regarding this guy, don't worry, there are numerous mentions of blowjobs.

Rob's Best: #23: Bane - The Note

Released: May 17, 2005

Bane is the stuff of hardcore legend.  They are an emotional powerhouse that will knock you on your ass in tears and then be right there to pick you back up to your feet, brush the dust from your shoulders and tell you that: "You're stronger than you think you are."  The Note is Bane's most recent full length, and also their most polished.  The music flows more than their previous albums and the inclusion of piano and strings was a nice touch.  But the true magic of Bane is found in Aaron Bedard's lyrics.  No matter what the subject matter, he writes in a very straight forward manner with simple statements, but his gift is in his absolutely vivid use of imagery.  Whether he's describing a funeral in the rain ("Don't Go"), the end of the world ("Swan Song"), or just a play-by-play of a poker game ("One For The Boys"), he invites you into his studio, sits you down, and goes to work illustrating the canvas of life.  This man can do no wrong in my books.

And, I warned you earlier, but here it is, #5 on my list of Best Live Bands Ever.  He gives eloquent speeches like you wouldn't believe, he makes your heart beat in time with the world.  He makes people literally fall out of the rafters: Ali v. Frazier I performed at Hellfest 2002.

Trystan's Best #23: The White Stripes - White Blood Cells

Released: September 24th, 2001

Jack White is a rarity in this day and age. He has achieved an unparalleled level of fame for the genre-bending, boundary pushing music he makes. A level of fame typically reserved for the Nickelbacks and Jonas Brothers of this world. In years to come, he may become remembered as our generation's closest thing to a Jimi Hendrix or a Bob Dylan. Now these are big, broad statements that are making me digress from the point at hand: White Blood Cells is a fucking fantastic album, and one that draws you in for repeated listens of its primal, raw guitars and classic rock'n'roll tunes. What's most amazing is the seamless blend of genres here. Country, blues, classic hard rock all mashed up and pushed to their limits, and this is all before you even reach the breakout single "Fell In Love With A Girl". Time can only tell how Jack White's legend will grown before we are all old, but for now we have numerous albums by him to enjoy, with White Blood Cells at the top of the heap.

Trystan's Best #24: Comeback Kid - Wake The Dead

Released: February 22nd, 2005

Hardcore is a music of virtuous appetite and searing indictment, and Wake The Dead is no exception. This epic, hook-filled album begins high with "False Idols Fall" and reaches a stratospheric level with "Wake The Dead", which uses imagery of zombies to drive home a message of shattered faith and disappointment. And besides all this metaphorical-theme babble, the title track is just a fantastic hardcore song, with gang vocals that practically redefine gang vocals, it could probably have your grandma screaming "RIIIIIIIIIIIISSSSSSEEEE!" before the final chorus. While at times the songs venture into cliche territory lyrically speaking, they are never without honesty and conviction.

Rob's Best: #24: The Chariot - The Fiancée

Released: April 3, 2007

The Fiancée is many things.  First of all, it marks Josh Scogin's second appearance on this Best Of list (the first being Norma Jean's album at #31).  And musically, it is an exercise in chaos: there are multiple, rapid time changes, spastic guitars, distortion, feedback, one of the heaviest growls this side of Job For A Cowboy, harmonica, heavier-than-yo-fat-mama breakdowns, and a full southern Baptist gospel choir.  Yeah, I know, right?  The Chariot are also, for those of you keeping score, at #4 on my list of Best Live Bands Ever (numbers 1-3 and 5 are all showing up later on in the list, so keep checking back!  I'll let you know... #5 is coming up real quick!).  They're just mental; they throw their guitars, themselves, and anything that happens to be lying around into a blender of amazing and then they pour you, the audience, a smoothie of 100% Pure Entertainment.

Bonus: Hayley Williams also sings on one track, which means that every once in a while, a vapid Paramore fan is going to notice that fact, listen to this album, and probably cry.  There's probably one crying right now as I write this... And right now, as you're reading this.

Rob's Best: #25: The Snake The Cross The Crown - Cotton Teeth

Released: March 6, 2007

The Snake The Cross The Crown used to play fairly straightforward indie rock, but with Cotton Teeth, they embraced a much more folk and Americana-inspired sound that I think serves them much better.  This album is full of beautiful songs that pluck at your heart like a guitar.  Imagine it's late summer, it's long past midnight, you and your friends are just sitting on a hillside watching the stars and enjoying each others company.  Put on "Gypsy Melodies."  This is the soundtrack to that moment.

Trystan's Best #25: The Wet Secrets - Rock Fantasy

Released: May 13th, 2008

Rock Fantasy is like the musical equivalent of Kool-Aid and porn. Shameless, ridiculous indie pop-rock that really sounds like it was too much fun to make. Comprised of members of other Edmonton bands, this may be the only collection of recordings you will ever hear from this band, and it may be all you need. There's the frantic gang-vocals of "Easy Prey Vs. Sex Maniac", the nasty dance number "Hot Roller", and the Transylvanian romp about being a shit bag, "Boat Gas Death Train". But the high point, and this high point could be the catchiest song of the decade, is right in the middle with "Secret March". If that one doesn't get you naked and doing the hokey-pokey, I don't know what will.

Trystan's Best #26: Holy Fuck - LP

Released: October 22nd, 2007

Much like Robocop or Sam Worthington's character in Terminator: Salvation, Holy Fuck is half human and half electronic. By this I mean their unique and dare I say groundbreaking form of electronica (electronicore?) is made by combining synthesizers and drum machines with bass players and actual drummers. Most of the time this makes for some darkly groovy tunes, and at other times, like on standout track "Lovely Allen", maniacally uplifting euphoria. LP, beyond all the other albums on my list, is far and away the most original sounding album of the decade.

Rob's Best: #26: Most Precious Blood - Merciless

Released: September 20, 2005.

Most Precious Blood are a New York hardcore band.  They play heavy, awesome, dirty, epic music.  Merciless is a powerhouse of an album that is jam packed full of amazing riffs that would go great with the end of the world.  Despite all of the grooving aggression, they've still created a very intricately structured album, not only in the songs, but the record as a whole.  There is a very defined rise and fall in the flow of the album, assisted in part thanks to some of the most artfully applied samples I've ever heard on a hardcore record.  Sure, some are just dropped in front of a song like usual, but others are blended in to the song itself and the song "Curse of the Immortal" in particular is a sample that is looped and repeated which segues into the next song.  Somehow they even make a 30 track of silence work as a titled song ("A World Without Music") rather than just that period of time before the "secret" track starts. 

Rob's Best: #27: AFI - The Art Of Drowning

Released: September 19, 2000

This is the first "real" punk band I ever listened to, after only hearing bands like Treble Charger and Sum 41 on MuchMusic.  Needless to say, The Art of Drowning has a certain something that Wide Awake Bored or All Killer, No Filler do not... What it is, is far too vast a concept to be grasped in the English language, but words like "originality," "artistic depth," "interesting layered arrangements," or "way more whoa-ohs per capita" come close to delivering an accurate representation.  Don't get me wrong, I love Canadians who write faux-NWOBHM songs as much as the next guy, but I'd much rather listen to the incredible full album experience that The Art of Drowning offers, from the brooding intro through 13 songs of dark punk perfection (14, if you bought the vinyl), and then there's even a hidden track that kicks ass like Black Flag.  This album makes me happy.

Trystan's Best #27: Converge - Axe To Fall

Released: October 6th, 2009

How do you pick the best Converge album of the decade? With Jane Doe, You Fail Me, and No Heroes all receiving near-perfect acclaim in their own right, is it terribly trendy of me to select the most recent thrash-a-thon by the boys from Salem, Axe To Fall? I don't think so. And fuck you if you do. Axe To Fall is one of the best albums of the decade if for nothing more than the breakdown on opener "Dark Horse" which packs a punch like the backhand of God shattering the Temple Mount (barely coming shy of Norma Jean's "Memphis Will Be Laid To Waste" for heaviest shit I've ever let come out of my headphones and into my unsuspecting head). Never mind the solos that will leave people saying "Early Metallica who?"

Trystan's Best #28: Justice - †

Released: June 15th, 2007

From the star fighter battle-opener of "Genesis" to the crunch-groove of "Waters Of Nazareth", Justice's debut album is a frenetic and vigorous electronic journey. Working from the same place stylistically as fellow Frenchmen Daft Punk, Justice first took the world by storm with the it's-so-infectious-it-could-be-H1N1 single "D.A.N.C.E." That isn't to say this album only has one good song on it. It really is a solid album in the traditional sense of the album. It has highs and lows and maintains the "dance-ness" if you will, from the freak-outs on "Phantom Pt. 2" to the hilarious "The Party". All in all this is very much a rock'n'roll electronica album. One to sweat, dance, and even bang your head to.

Rob's Best: #28: Thrice - The Artist In The Ambulance

Released: July 22, 2003

This record falls right in the middle of Thrice's discography, between the early releases that were straight up punk records and the later ones which became increasingly experimental... in several different directions at once.  I had kind of a difficult time deciding which Thrice album to include on this list because I like them all, but each for its own unique character.  I chose this one because it stills retains the speed and energy of their earlier albums, but introduces the melody and heaviness found later on Vheissu and The Alchemy Index... Basically, what I'm trying to say is that this record is full of catchy, and interesting punk songs, and that's a good thing.

Trystan's Best #29: Latterman - No Matter Where We Go...!

Released: August 9th, 2005

Is it possible to make music that sounds like friendship? Probably not, but Latterman come close on No Matter Where We Go...!, a stirring and often times uplifting pop-punk album. Their message is consistently about honesty. Honesty in music and honesty in oneself, and this message is made only more endearing by their recorded-in-my-bedroom-on-my-macbook production quality and dual, shouting-till-something-in-life-changes vocals. The whole album is consistent but hits its peak on the closer "My Bedroom Is Like For Artists", where the boys bring up a fact that heavy-hitter punk-complainers like Anti-Flag and Pennywise continually miss: Suburban white punks have really nothing to complain about at all.

Rob's Best: #29: .moneen. - The Red Tree

Released: April 11, 2006

This album was a sleeper for me.  I listened to it once through and then dismissed it out of hand as overproduced and bland.  But a few months later, I gave it another try and once I realized that they had written a powerful indie rock record instead of the angular punk record I had been expecting, I was able to really sink into it and enjoy some expertly crafted songs.  Plus they're Canadian!  Go team!

Fact: "The Frightening Reality Of The Fact That We Will All Have To Grow Up And Settle Down Some Day" has one of the catchiest choruses of the decade.

Trystan's Best #30: Timber Timbre - Medicinals

Released: January 1st, 2007

Folk music these days is full of bearded, plaid-ed introverts just barely creeping out of cabins and grain silos to deliver wonderful albums to record labels and on to us, the fans. While there may be "better" acts out there, there is none more interesting than Timber Timbre. Over three albums this decade, Taylor Kirk has weaved truly haunting music out of a fairly limited range of instruments, all the while creating a large, brooding sound that creeps through skeletal trees and on under your skin. This isn't to say his music is equivalent to watching a horror film, there's much beauty and romance to be had here. Kirk simply challenges you to crawl into the abyss and find it.

Rob's Best: #30: Envy - All The Footprints You've Ever Left And The Fear Expecting Ahead

Released: September 1, 2001

Envy are the biggest export to North America from the Japanese hardcore scene.  This is my favorite album of theirs, out of the nearly 20 or so they released since they began in 1996.  This is where they perfected the line between anger and beauty, where they're able to naturally transition between melodic passages with softly spoken Japanese into manic howling atop musical chaos.  This is also where they start to display the post-rock elements that their later records that become slightly oversaturated with.  Everything here is fresh and brave and amazing!

Rob's Best: #31: Norma Jean - Bless The Martyr & Kiss The Child

Released: August 13, 2002

Norma Jean is the first real southern metal band that I ever heard and I've never looked back.  This album kicked my ass the first time I heard it, because of these heavy and amazing riffs backed with a strong sense of groove and brutality.  Just listen to the 16 minute epic about time itself: "Pretty Soon, I Don't Know What, But Something Is Going To Happen" and you're witness to all the grace and dynamics of a great post-rock record combined with the strength and immediacy of a great metal record. 

Fact: "Memphis Will Be Laid To Waste" contains one of the greatest breakdowns ever recorded by any band.  Ever.

Trystan's Best #31: Shad - The Old Prince

Released: Oct. 16th, 2007

Shadrach Kabango seems to have tapped something almost unprecedented in the world of hip-hop on this album: Modesty. Shad, with plenty of humour and intelligence, muses on heartbreak, the glory of frugality, the state of black youth, and himself being sandwiched between angry gangster-rappers and douchy r&b pussies. Sorry K-Os, Shad might just be Canada's best MC.