My Top 5 Albums of ALL TIME(2022)

    I have had a top albums list in my head for years. Recently some albums have changed this list, so I want to capture these thoughts and recommend these albums to you. Those albums meant a lot to me, and they are definitely worth your time to check out. 

    I'll only choose 1 album per band/artist or else Radiohead will just slay the whole list. I've given a lot of the reviews previously, so I will just talk about my personal experience and share a lot of very good lines.

    5. Paramore - After Laughter   

    "All that I want, is to wake up fine." At some point in my life, Paramore is my favorite band. My angsty and emotional side was ignited by them, and I still love them to this day. It's a hard battle between Brand New Eyes and After Laughter, but throughout the years, After Laughter is my favorite. After Laughter has a more sincere attitude towards everything in life. The lyrics don't match the sound at all, and I'm here for it. 26 is my absolute favorite, it has the heartbreaking and warming energy at the same time:

    Hold onto hope if you got it

    Don't let it go for nobody

    And they say that dreaming is free

    But I wouldn't care what it cost me

    (from 26)

    She sang this song in the NPR Tiny Desk concert which I think it's a very cool concert. Probably nothing in After Laughter stands for happiness, there's really nothing you can laugh with. It's fake happy after all.

    4. Sufjan Stevens - Carrie & Lowell

    This is a new entry to my list and I've never talked about it before. Sufjan Stevens is always one of my favorite singer-songwriters of all time. From Michigan to Carrie&Lowell, he had an amazing 5 albums run-up. Maybe it's because I always love sad music, Carrie&Lowell, arguably one of the saddest albums of all time is my favorite of Sufjan Stevens. If you're not already familiar with this, Carrie is Sufjan's passing mother and Lowell is Sufjan's step-father. Carrie abandoned Sufjan at a very young age, so Sufjan had mixed feeling about her. 

    When I was three, three maybe four

    She left us at that video store

    Oh, be my rest, be my fantasy

   (from Should Have Known Better)

   Sufjan's singing is gorgeous, and the lyrics just hit me so bad. This is one of the few albums that I actually cry onto due to how melancholy and gorgeous this is. He mixed his personal experience with religion as well. I'm not a Christian, but I can definitely relate to it. At the end of the day, they're all human feelings. Glad that Sufjan came out of this sadness, moving on with his life.

    3. Lorde - Melodrama

    Lorde is legitimately one of the best songwriters of our generation. For me, Melodrama is the triumph of, whatever you called it, Millennials or Gen Z. Most of us are dealing with anxiety and depression, and Lorde did an amazing job presenting it. The whole album just felt like a Melodrama, everything is blown away and super emotional. She addressed our issues in a polished and cinematic way. The whole idea seems to be very authentic and genuine. She also talked about her personal fame problem, which add more emotional depths:

    The truth is I'm a toy that people enjoy

    Till all of the tricks don't work anymore

    And then they are bored of me

    (from Liability)

    I also appreciate Lorde's production choice. It has the same simple energy but is more creative than Pure Heroine. 

    2. Radiohead - OK Computer

    Radiohead is always one of my favorite bands of all time, and OK Computer held a special place in my heart. It's my introduction to them, after all these years this is still my favorite. You can argue if you want and disagree with me but to my limited music knowledge, this is their closet try to perfect. There aren't really lines that I can share with you because most of the time it's just Thom Yorke moaning and trying to be a computer. However, they did a great job doing it and I found some lines to be very melancholy:

    One day, I'm gonna grow wings

    A Chemical Reaction, 

    Hysterical and useless

    Hysterical and let down and hanging around

    Crushed like a bug in the ground

    (from Let Down)

    When those lines make sense, they are just soul-crushing. 

    1. My Chemical Romance - The Black Parade

    The other four records I'd argue are all sad white boi music, however, The Black Parade for me it's all about motivation. Sure the concept is about death, but to me, it still feels uplifting and aggressive. MCR romantically interprets death. The end is at the very start, and further, the concept goes down, he understands life deeper. Finally, the patient isn't afraid to live this life alone. MCR leaves a blank on the end, is the patient still dead or alive?

    I'm not afraid to keep on living

    I'm not afraid to walk this world alone

    Honey, if you stay, you'll be forgiven

    Nothing you can say can stop me going home

    (from Famous Last Words)

    The album is for death, for the loved ones, and also, for living. They completely nailed this concept and I think it's one of the greatest concept albums of all time. Yeah, it's the most important album for me undoubtedly.