The Lifesaver

From a literal point of view, The White Album isn't really a Beatles album at all. It's more like two solo albums, one for John and one for Paul, and two EPs for George and Ringo. Only on two songs ("Birthday" and "Cry Baby Cry") does the band share vocals. Nevertheless, it is 30 songs. 30 frigin' songs! And that's what ultimately makes The White Album so great. It gives all four Beatles the freedom to make the music they want to make with very few limits.

And, boy, did they take advantage; The White Album is easily the Beatles' most eclectic release. Of course, the diversity on this album is enormous, allowing listeners to hear every great brand of the Beatles' music. Lennon's "Julia" and McCartney's "Martha My Dear" are simple and incredibly beautiful love songs. "Birthday," "Helter Skelter," and the Beach Boys-influenced "Back In The U.S.S.R." are rollicking rockers, bringing to mind the Beatles' earlier works. And "The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill," Harrison's "Long, Long, Long" and "Wild Honey Pie" are subtle and almost avant-garde, demonstrating the Beatles' evolution from mop-topped rock and roll stars to innovative and progressive pop artists. The White Album may be a mess, with little organization and group dynamic, but it's a pretty damn beautiful mess.

You know that old phrase "music is the universal language of mankind?" No where does that better apply than Michael Jackson's Thriller. Not even with the Beatles. How else to explain that, even without a hit song in almost 15 years and a hit album in almost 20, and sexual abuse charges and bizarre behavior damaging his public image during that time, MJ was treated as a hero when he died last summer? In the end, it all comes down to Thriller.

During a time when Linkin Park, Black Eyed Peas, and other garbage dominated my playlists, I purchased Thriller at my local Barnes and Noble solely based on its legend. One listen through, and I was hooked like a fish on a rod. "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" and "P.Y.T." are dance-pop at its most irresistible. The ballads "Human Nature" and "The Lady In My Life" are tender and poignant. And "Beat It" and "Billie Jean" are, well, perfect. Michael Jackson literally sounds on top the world on Thriller; there's no rhythm he can't handle and no note he can't hit.

For the longest time, Pearl Jam has been my favorite band, and it even feels a bit sacrilegious not putting them at #1. And also for the longest time, I considered PJ's Vs. to be my favorite album. And then there's, of course, Ten, the magical album that that introduced me, like so many others, to the band in the first place.

As of today, at least, I consider Vitalogy to be the groups greatest effort. It's the perfect balance between the epic and emotional intensity of Ten and Vs. and the more subtle beauty of their later work, like No Code and Yield. Vitalogy is also Pearl Jam's most uncompromising album to date, a quality that may be off-putting at first but ultimately rewarding in the end. After only a few listens, fierce punk-rockers like "Whipping," "Not For You" and "Spin The Black Circle" sound exhilarating. But for every song that requires patience ("Tremor Christ" and "Satan's Bed," additionally), Eddie Vedder and Co. toss in tender and gorgeous gems like "Nothingman," "Immortality," and especially "Better Man" that demonstrate Vedder at his songwriting best.

Like I've done for every other album on this list, I listened to Radiohead's OK Computer a full way through in preparation for this post. Still, I couldn't find the capacity to conjure up words for an album, and band, I became infatuated with two winters ago. Then I listened to it again. And again. And again. Four times through OK Computer, and I still had nothing. But I sure enjoyed every second of it.

Maybe that's the real beauty of a record like OK Computer. I can listen to it in its entire length, multiple times through, and not even think about it. As I find it, OK Computer is as mentally and psychologically dominating as anything I've ever heard. This isn't an album you can multi-task to.

The palpable paranoia in Thom Yorke's voice on "Climbing Up The Walls" and "Karma Police;" Jonny Greenwood's sweet, delicate guitar tones on "Subterranean Homesick Alien" and "No Surprises;" the band's thrilling transitions between musical sections on "Paranoid Android." It may sound like an old cliche by now, but OK Computer enraptures you. Call me old-fashioned, but in our culture of iPhones, Twitter and 24-hour news cycles, I find nothing more tranquil than lying in my bed, listening to music, staring into space, and allowing the sounds and words coming out of my headphones to take over. And for those occasions, I know the one album I can always go to.

If David Bowie and David Byrne traveled back to the year 1979 and gave birth to a child, they would have James Murphy. Murphy, LCD's central man, has an extraordinary, god-given ability to fuse dance music, rock, new wave and punk into epic compositions of sound and rhythm. Nowhere is that better demonstrated than on 2007's Sound of Silver, LCD's best album to date and one of modern electronic music's true masterpieces.

What ultimately defines this album is the way Murphy layers his music, creating a sense of progressive build-up during songs and allowing them to remain fresh and exhilarating after multiple listens. The development of "All My Friends" from a simple, uneven piano chord to a massive wall of sound is simply thrilling. And "Someone Great," possibly my favorite song of the new millennium, beautifully balances Murphy's personal lyrics of love and loss with an extraordinary blend of distorted sound and pulsing beats. Speaking of Bowie.....

Picking my favorite David Bowie album is always tough, and for good reason. There are just so many reincarnations of the man that pretty much defines the phrase "musical chameleon." You have your glam Bowie (Ziggy Stardust, Aladdin Sane), your poppy folk Bowie (Hunky Dory), your Philly soul Bowie (Young Americans), and your new wave, Berlin Trilogy Bowie (Low, "Heroes," Lodger).

But if you asked me today, I would pick Station to Station. It's Bowie's single album as the Thin White Duke, the drug-fueled crooner who fused funk and soul with new wave influences that would surface further on his future work. What makes Station to Station so remarkable to me is actually its general ambiguity; you never get a genuine feel for who the man behind the music really is. On upbeat tracks like "Golden Years" and "Stay," Bowie sounds almost robotic or artificial, creating a sharp contrast between the vocals and music. Then, on a track like "Wild Is The Wind," we hear Bowie in his most human state, singing lines like "Give me more than one caress, satisfy this hungriness" with a deeply tragic and mortal tone in his voice. Station to Station may not be Bowie's most celebrated work, but it may be his most representative, epitomizing one of rock's most mysterious figures.

Prince seems to get a bad rap from the under-30 crowd today. Today, he produces mediocre albums, on which he tries and fails to emulate Jimi Hendrix. Today, he refuses to allow his videos onto YouTube and criticizes, of all things, the Internet. Today, his apparent fondness for Jehovah's witness has stripped all the fun and authenticity out of his music. But back in the day, Prince was, arguably, the most brilliant musician alive.

And Purple Rain is his magnum opus, a collection of music that sounds both timeless and representative of '80s pop music. Purple Rain revolves around its center point, "When Doves Cry," a song both brilliantly innovative (a dance song with no bass line) and widely popular (top-selling single of 1984). But what makes Purple Rain so special to me is the specific moments that remain as beautiful and powerful as, well, pretty much anything you'll hear anywhere. Prince's haunting screams of "I want you!" in the last minute of "The Beautiful Ones;" the extended guitar solo during the second half of "Purple Rain;" when Prince screams "Niiiikkkkkiiiiiii!!" at the 2:23 point on "Darling Nikki." Front to back, Purple Rain is as emotionally powerful and captivating as any pop album ever produced. As Charlie Murphy once said, "That cat could ball, man."

The highlights stick out immediately: the amazing boogie rock of "Dancing Days," the band's unique take on reggae on "D'yer Mak'er," and "The Ocean," one of Jimmy Page's greatest moments as a guitarist. But what perhaps makes Houses of the Holy so remarkable is what each band member brings to the table, supporting my belief that Led Zeppelin is the single most talented collection of rock musicians to ever play together. John Paul Jones' haunting arrangements on "No Quarter," Page's work on "The Ocean," John Bonham's insanely complicated drumming on "The Crunge," and Robert Plant's vocals on "D'yer Mak'er" are prime examples.Fans and critics often call Led Zeppelin IV/ZOSO the band's greatest work, but I beg to differ. Houses of the Holy is not only Led Zeppelin's most eclectic album, but also, I find, their most rewarding.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

But on Maya, the Sri Lankan's third album, M.I.A. crosses that delicate line between innovative art and shallow noise. To put it frankly, it's a mess. Half-baked songs and a lack of real direction dominate an album whose thematic premise had much promise.

To understand Maya in a nutshell, look no further than its album cover. On it, we see M.I.A. hiding behind a wall of YouTube video players, staring back at us. Maya is essentially an overload of electronic static, heavy beats and other loud noises, and notably lacks the pop hooks and influence of international music that made her first two albums so unique and exciting.

I can't reiterate enough that the album is an overload of noises: some songs are simply annoying, on the first and twentieth listens. What sticks out on "Teqkilla," for example, is not its party-branded lyrics or M.I.A.'s signature monotone rapping, but the synths that blare out of your headphones and drown out the song. Same goes for "Meds and Feds," M.I.A.'s failed attempt to sample and recreate the music of Sleigh Bells, one of the year's hottest acts. Several other songs, including "Space," "It Takes A Muscle," and "Born Free," simply feel unfinished and unsatisfying.

Nevertheless, Maya does have its moments. "XXXO" is easily the album's catchiest moment, and the only song that has the slightest chance of becoming a hit. It's fun, danceable, and perhaps even one or two minutes too short. And rather than drowning out everything in its sight, the synths on "XXXO" complement rather than dominate the song.

Then there's "Internet Connection," where M.I.A. builds a dance song around, what else, her struggles with computer software. It's hilarious, dumb, and most of all, fun. It's also a rarity for an album that, if anything, tries way too hard to be fun.

4.5/10

Best Tracks: "XXXO," "Internet Connection," "Tell Me Why"

-David Biel

1. Avi Buffalo - Avi Buffalo

2. The Black Keys - Brothers

3. Yeasayer - Odd Blood

4. Dr. Dog - Shame, Shame

5. Beach House - Teen Dream

6. Spoon - Transference

7. Vampire Weekend - Contra

8. Here We Go Magic - Pigeons

9. LCD Soundsystem - This is Happening

10. Sleigh Bells - Treats

On "Between the Lines," STP's first single off their new record, frontman Scott Weiland sings, "I like it when you talk about love/ You always were my favorite drug/ Even when we used to take drugs." From the look of it, Weiland is a changed man. Long gone is the perverted early 90's dude who snarled "Here I Come, I Come, I Come...." with that devilish, grungy moan of his. And long gone is the late 90's junkie who was not only arrested for domestic violence but was also convicted of both cocaine and heroin possession. There's no question Weiland was a prototypical rock n' roll badass. But what's he got for us now?

For the band's first release since 2001, Weiland is still chugging on, bringing some good ol' sex, drugs, and rock n' roll back into the picture. But seemingly without the drugs and without the sex. So, if i did I math correctly, that leaves just rock n' roll.

Stone Temple Pilots is pretty much that equation: it's a fun, nostalgic ride on the back of the band's steady, well-oiled pickup truck. And while it might be the same ride down that same road time and time again, it's still a gratifying ride indeed.

At its best, the record gives enough space to everyone so that each member can shine. Guitarist Dean DeLeo comes up with some of his best work. His style certainly hasn't changed much; there's still the chunky rhythm guitar, the twangy fills after every line, and the technical and colorful solos that bring about pure bliss. But this time around, he sounds more confident than ever. Take "Hickory Dichotomy," for example. DeLeo isn't trying anything new. He just strums a few staccato chords and fills in with a few twangy riffs before Weiland unleashes his fury in the chorus. But his bluesy parts work perfectly, setting the foundation for Weiland to be playful and powerful.

But back to our frontman. Weiland, like DeLeo, is using the same tools as always. He's still a chameleon of sorts with his vocals; on one track he'll sound as grungy as ever and on the next he'll set aside the crunch and settle for a smoother, more fluid sounding voice. But there's still tracks like "Cinnamon" which find Weiland sounding simply whiny and annoying. Although he's essentially hit-or-miss throughout the record, Weiland seems to be hitting much more than he's missing.

Besides the spacey synth on "First Kiss on Mars" and the shimmering effects on "Take a Load Off," STP are relying on the same vocal, guitar, bass, and drum format for all 12 tracks. Even though the scope of mainstream rock music has changed plenty since 2001, the band is sticking to their same formula. If you were ever an STP fan, you'll have no trouble enjoying the new record, as it's just the soundtrack to another ride down memory lane.

7/10

- Jonathan Elbaz

She's got the voice of Judy Garland, the eclectic tastes of Prince, and the imagination of George Lucas. Diddy has called her "the kind of artist that changes the game" and "a true visionary." OutKast's Big Boi has labeled her "one of the most inspiring performers ever."