33. The Cure - Disintegration - 1989

One of the ten best records of the 1980's. Disintegration may be The Cure's best record. A great number of Cure fans out there would argue that. Typically Cure fans fall into three groups. There are the ones who think Pornography is their best record. Then there are the ones who think Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me was their best record. Last, you have the ones that believe Disintegration was their best record. Personally, I'm in the Pornography camp, but I love Disintegration!!!! I just picked up a 180 gram vinyl copy today and it's been a blast to listen to. Plainsong, Pictures Of You, Lovesong, Lullaby, Fascination Street, Prayers For Rain, and Disintegration make for 7 standout songs! What a masterpiece this is. Lush orchestral melodies, complex and soothing. The emotional thread of the music works so well the lyrics. Plainsong washes over you like nothing else that was recorded before it. Some of the songs roll over you and sweep you away like an avalanche, some pull you down like an undertow, while others make you feel sky high. This is an amazing piece of work. A true gem. A brilliant achievement that shows the genius of Robert Smith. Tonight I'm going to listen to this record with the lights off while lying on my back on the floor. Pillow under my head, cold drink in my hand.

32. Radiohead - OK Computer - 1997

My favorite Radiohead record. This album touches me deeply. At one point or another I'm sure we can all identify with the feelings of isolation and and despair that are on this record. Although it does have those themes of an impersonal and artificial society which has become so in part because of technology, still this record is absolutely beautiful! Stunning! Gorgeous! We all know Paranoid Android and Karma police are awesome, but Exit Music is so dreamy and haunting as a lead in to Let Down. Few songs can pick me up like Let Down can. I have no idea how many times I have listened to that song. By the time it gets to the line "you know, you know where you are with", it's like someone has grabbed me by the spine and lifted me up into the air! The song feels like it actually lifts me. The high point of this record for me is the low point. No Surprises is the stand out track lyrically on an album that is about as strong as a modern rock album can be. When I am feeling tired and weak and powerless, this song is like therapy. It's lullaby. Whenever I read about some obviously innocent person being harassed by the TSA or Obama wasting billions of dollars with nothing to show for it, I think of these words. After listening to this song, I still feel helpless and weak, but I don't feel alone.

A heart that's full up like a landfill

A job that slowly kills you

Bruises that won't heal



You look so tired and unhappy

Bring down the government

They don't, they don't speak for us


I'll take a quiet life

A handshake of carbon monoxide



No alarms and no surprises

No alarms and no surprises

No alarms and no surprises

Silent, silent



This is my final fit, my final bellyache with



No alarms and no surprises

No alarms and no surprises

No alarms and no surprises please



Such a pretty house, such a pretty garden



No alarms and no surprises (let me out of here)

No alarms and no surprises (let me out of here)

No alarms and no surprises please (let me out of here)

God, I love this record so much. It means more and more as the years go by.