*Boots up iTunes*
Alright, now I've got a ton of "classic" albums that I've either half-listened to or not gotten around to at all, so cut me some slack if a few of these sound really lame. Once again, this is...
"Near-Perfect"
American Idiot, Green Day: The emotional state I was in at the end of high school (when I finally got around to voluntarily listening to more than just the title track) may have been a factor, but I still think it's a remarkable, ever-revelant example of modern concept rock. "Wake Me Up When September Ends" is a bit repetitive and confusing, though (the excessive radio replay it got probably didn't help matters any).
Bat Out of Hell, Meat Loaf: As both a writer and... well, music appreciator, I love the epic scale and lyrical scope, from start to finish. Bat Out of Hell II is no less awesome, but I think the relative shortness of the original is to its strength as a collectively "perfect" album. Meanwhile, Bat Out of Hell III is somewhat disjointed, and Hang Cool Teddy Bear is best experienced through one or two iTunes singles.
Batman, Prince: As in, the soundtrack to the movie. Granted, a good deal of these songs were in the working stages before he was approached to integrate them into a superhero movie, but it's still an impressively good standalone album. I would be perfectly content if "Scandalous!" were a little shorter, though.
Blink-182, Blink-182: Okay, this is more along the lines of "I just really like this album", but I still think it's cool how these guys went from making a bonus track called "**** a Dog" to doing borderline experimental rock. The song-to-song transitions, the cool audio samples, the unconventional musical keys... it was jarring when I first heard it, but it's definitely their most mature album--in a good way.
Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys, My Chemical Romance: Is the "plot" of this album vague as hell, music videos or none? I suppose so, but the vibe running through every song is what matters, and that vibe is "Mad Max meets 21st Century Breakdown meets some of the catchiest riffs in recent memory". Seriously, if you can't think of at least one daily activity that would be automatically more kickass while listening to "Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na)", then I cannot help you.
The Dark Side of the Moon, Pink Floyd: And now, for something completely different! Do I listen to this album very much (anymore)? No--but then again, I haven't had any desire to see Citizen Kane since I last did many years ago, and I'll still admit that it's a profound film. The same here: Everything, from the production to the running themes, is as well-composed as you're likely to ever find.
Honorable mentions
The Black Parade, My Chemical Romance: There's a track or two or that grate on me ("Mama", in particular, because it takes the Pink Floyd influences of "The End." and runs with them to the point that it's almost the auditory equivalent of jumping the shark), but the rest is wonderful, if not somewhat of a downer.
Broken, Nine Inch Nails: I'm no fan of short instrumentals and awkwardly "hidden" songs (although I suppose it's cool, since you can't do that as easily these days), but the songs proper are killer.
Dig Out Your Soul, Oasis: The last album by the collectively noted plagarist and arrogant d-bag that is Oasis? It may seem like an odd pick, but there's not a single song on this album that I don't want to listen to. Sure, it starts to peter out with the last couple of tracks, but it's overall one of the rare albums that I could listen to start-to-finish with no complaints.
Europop, Eiffel 65: It's a strange case, these guys: They release one album in English with a single that practically divides time (Before "I'm Blue" and Anno "I'm Blue"), then promptly returned to the obscurity of the Italian club scene. It's not revolutionary or emotionally compelling in any way, but it's great at what it is: Thirteen tracks of repetition-tastic dance music with thumping beats and vocoding out the wazoo. For those who may recall, "Silicon World" is something of a theme song of mine.
Favourite Worst Nightmare, Arctic Monkeys: Once again, it's nothing historical, but this another one of those albums that's great to the last note.
Folie à Deux, Fall Out Boy: Same thing here, really. Of course, I had to make up my own names for the songs just to remember what the hell they were actually about, so maybe not...
21st Century Breakdown, Green Day: As convoluted as its "story" is, the album's overall structure and, well, catchiness is hard to argue with.
Also, for what it's worth, I believe my favorite song is "Take it Back", off Pink Floyd's The Division Bell.
