My Top Bands and Albums (Just for Fun – List Your Favorites Too)

It’s April 1st.

This is the day I’m supposed to post an article like “How to Save Money” and tell you to steal your neighbor’s cable, or rob a bank to pay off your debt. Yes, it’s April Fools’ Day, but since I write about things like money, I don’t want to risk posting a joke that actually leads someone to make a bad choice.

So in opposition to playing a joke on you, I’m just going to posting something purely for fun.

Here’s a look into my musical taste for no reason other than fun…and maybe for my personal reference.

I’m a musician, so I take my music very seriously, whether writing or listening. And I listen to all kinds of music.

I’m aware that my musical taste is strangely eclectic. My favorite genres include heavier music such as black metal, hardcore, thrash, metalcore, and punk. However, I also listen to a lot of blues, rock, classical, rap, jazz, electronic, and country. It’s hard to pinpoint any of my favorites when it comes to music, so this is just an attempt.

I try not to make blanket statements like “I don’t like country music” or “I listen to everything,” because I don’t literally listen to everything, but I know that there is good music in every genre I’ve heard, even dubstep…and I do listen to some dubstep.

Everything is in alphabetical order, because I don’t have the mental capacity to rank these lists. It was difficult enough to create them in the first place, and I’m sure I will be updating them as artists and albums that I’ve overlooked come to my mind. If the name is in bold, that means I’ve seen them live. I have a lot of work to do to see the other bands!

My Top 20 Bands

1. A.F.I.
2. The Acacia Strain
3. Aerosmith
4. Amen
5. Blue October
6. Evergreen Terrace
7. For Today
8. He is Legend
9. Katatonia (if I had to pick my favorite band it’s these guys)
10. Living Sacrifice
11. Metallica
12. Once Nothing
13. Paradise Lost
14. Parkway Drive
15. Red Hot Chili Peppers
16. Say Anything
17. The Smashing Pumpkins
18. Strapping Young Lad
19. System of a Down
20. Type O Negative

My Top 20 Favorite Albums to Listen to Repeatedly

1. …Is a Real Boy by Say Anything
2. Big Ones by Aerosmith
3. Blue by Weezer
4. Consent to Treatment by Blue October
5. Death Before Musick by Amen
6. Deep Blue by Parkway Drive
7. Draconian Times by Paradise Lost
8. First Came the Law by Once Nothing
9. The Fragile by Nine Inch Nails
10. I Am Hollywood by He is Legend
11. It’s Time to Decide by At All Cost
12. Jagged Little Pill by Alanis Morissette
13. Night is the New Day by Katatonia
14. Reload by Metallica
15. Machina – The Machines of God by The Smashing Pumpkins
16. Stadium Arcadium by Red Hot Chili Peppers
17. Ten by Pearl Jam
18. The End of Heartache by Killswitch Engage
19. The Price of Existence by All Shall Perish
20. Toxicity by System of a Down

The Top 20 Albums That Shaped Me Musically

1. Aerosmith (Every album, but mostly Get Your Wings and Permanent Vacation)
2. Blood Sugar Sex Magik by The Red Hot Chili Peppers
3. Collective Soul by Collective Soul
4. Cowboys from Hell by Pantera
5. Dookie by Green Day
6. Green by Days of the New
7. I Am Hollywood by He is Legend
8. Mechanical Animals by Marilyn Manson
9. Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness by The Smashing Pumpkins
10. Metallica (Every album, but mostly ReLoad and Master of Puppets)
11. Midian by Cradle of Filth
12. Nevermind by Nirvana
13. Razorblade Suitcase by Bush
14. The Dead Walk by The Acacia Strain
15. The Hammering Process by Living Sacrifice
16. The Price of Existence by All Shall Perish
17. Toxicity by System of a Down
18. Where Blood and Fire Bring Rest by Zao
19. White Pony by Deftones
20. Whitey Ford Sings the Blues by Everlast

My Overall Favorite Top 100 Bands

1. The Absence
2. The Acacia Strain
3. Aerosmith
4. AFI
5. The Agony Scene
6. Alanis Morissette
7. Alice in Chains
8. All Shall Perish
9. Amen
10. American Me
11. As I Lay Dying
12. At All Cost
13. August Burns Red
14. Bad Religion
15. The Black Dahlia Murder
16. Bleeding Through
17. Blue October
18. Bush
19. Casting Crowns
20. The Chariot
21. Chevelle
22. Collective Soul
23. Cradle of Filth
24. The Cranberries
25. Dave Matthews Band
26. David Crowder Band
27. Days of the New
28. Deftones
29. The Devin Townsend Project
30. DMX
31. Eagles
32. Eisley
33. Elvis
34. Evergreen Terrace
35. Everlast
36. Foo Fighters
37. For Today
38. Full Devil Jacket
39. The Ghost Inside
40. Goo Goo Dolls
41. Green Day
42. Gwen Stacy
43. Haste the Day
44. He is Legend
45. HIM
46. Hootie and the Blowfish
47. House of Pain
48. Impending Doom
49. Iron Maiden
50. Jewel
51. Johnny Cash
52. The Joykiller
53. Katatonia
54. Killswitch Engage
55. Letlive
56. Live
57. Living Sacrifice
58. Lynyrd Skynyrd
59. Metallica
60. Misery Signals
61. Modest Mouse
62. Motionless in White
63. Mudvayne
64. Nine Inch Nails
65. Nirvana
66. Norma Jean
67. The Offspring
68. Once Nothing
69. Pantera
70. Paradise Lost
71. Parkway Drive
72. Pearl Jam
73. A Plea for Purging
74. The Prodigy
75. Queen
76. Rammstein
77. Red Hot Chili Peppers
78. Rush
79. Say Anything
80. Seven Mary Three
81. Sleeping Giant
82. Smashing Pumpkins
83. Soundgarden
84. Stone Temple Pilots
85. Strapping Young Lad
86. Sublime
87. System of a Down
88. Tech N9ne
89. Texas in July
90. Third Eye Blind
91. Tiamat
92. TobyMac
93. Type O Negative
94. U2
95. Ugly Kid Joe
96. Underoath
97. Weezer
98. Whitechapel
99. Your Memorial
100. Zao

List your top 5, 10 or 100 favorite bands and albums below…