Zak Making Dollars

The bad: Just when I think I have heard the worst of the worst, I am proven wrong. Public Image Ltd (#461) was about the worst I've heard and not just on this list but in general. It makes me long for...I'd rather lick a tramp or listen to Creed than have to go through that album again. Public Image Ltd was Johnny Rotten's band post Sex Pistols and though it was a departure from the Sex Pistols it was far from an improvement. Def Leppard (#464) sacrificed any real talent they had for the sake of smash-hyper-sex hits that made them millions of dollars and created an album I couldn't care less for; though it didn't make me long for Creed. I like The Drifters but I don't think it's quite fair to put a 'best of' album on a list of greatest albums of all time. Los Lobos, though talented, offered little in the way of catchy tunes. As did Big Star and Alice Cooper. Wait! No! Big Star was crap. When Big Noize (Blake and Steve might be the only peeps who know that reference) can do a semi-decent and almost indistinguishable cover of one of your best hits...well maybe don't write songs and do taxes instead.

The good: I highly doubt that Here, My Dear by Marvin Gaye (#456) would be the only album of his on this list and it makes me excited for what's to come. Z by My Morning Jacket has a modern sensibility that I really connected to and will listen to again, though the effects on the vocals, after an albums worth of songs, might get distracting. Jackson Browne (#450) is one of the better singer-song writers to come out of the 70s and worth looking into more. EPMD (Eric and Patrick Making Dollars) (#453) had a similar swag to A Tribe Called Quest though quite different in musical influences and tempo and more obsessed with "dollars" and "business." Echo and the Bunnymen (#463) gave me a reason to give New Wave a serious look into. Not a bad album, though I think it's not the best of its type. I fully admit that New Wave is a genre that I think you had to grow up with to fully appreciate. The highlight of the last handful of albums was Back to Black by Amy Winehouse (#451). A wonderfully fresh and unique album. Amy Winehouse had an incredible soul in her voice, especially for a white girl, and the music is real throw-back but in no way does it merely rip off or recycle old Motown. I think Aretha and Otis should be proud. If you are like me, you never really gave her a chance but try listening to Me & Mr Jones or You Know I'm No Good or Tears Dry On Their Own if you don't want to listen to the whole album. Really though, the whole album is great.