CD-Charts Position 41
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Unknown Pleasures

CD-Charts > Music > British
by: Joy Division

Release Date January 04, 2000
This remarkable debut on Factory has simply grown in stature in the years since its release. At odds with the general Madchester scene, and indeed with everything else around at the time, it was impossible to tell who the members of this band had been listening to. Though our listening perceptions are inevitably coloured by the tragic future of Ian Curtis, there is an undeniably awesome stature in these impeccably produced sides

CD-Charts Position 42
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Forever Delayed: Greatest Hits

CD-Charts > Music > British
by: Manic Street Preachers

Release Date October 28, 2002
As another reviewer rightly states, this is not a Greatest Hits package that a Manics devotee would necessarily give their approval too. Bands with such back catalogues are doomed to disappoint someone when they finally succoumb to the cop-out that allows them to release an "album" without actually having to be creative.

Having said that, a singles collection from one of Britain's most popular bands of the last 20 years is very welcome in my house.
There is a theme running through the majority of CDs I've bought in the last 5 years or so. During my student years I was (a) a Blur AND Oasis fan and (b) skint. So I bought Parklife and Definitely Maybe and so on, without being able to afford the "support feature" groups, e.g. Manics, ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 43
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His 'N' Hers

CD-Charts > Music > British
by: Pulp

Release Date August 25, 2003
Somehow more raw, more angry, more honest than Different Class; I found it harder to get into at first, but after a few listens, there simply isn't a weak song on there, and there are angst-ridden haunting tracks aplenty. It has something of an eighties feel, but Pulp were never quite at home with the shoutiness of Liam or the inanity of Country House, just as they didn't know what to do when they got properly famous.

If you've got into Pulp through Disco 2000 or Es and Whizz, this wil be a revelation.

CD-Charts Position 44
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To Bring You My Love

CD-Charts > Music > British
by: PJ Harvey

Release Date August 25, 2003
You aren't even taking a chance at this price. The growly, deep deep deep bass blues take around 2-3 listens to get used to but after that, this record soars. Because every PJH album adds something different it's impossible to say that one is a 'favourite' but I have the title track down officially as music to be played at my funeral. By the time I was 31 when I bought this, I thought it wasnt possible for a record to still be life changing - but this is in that league.

CD-Charts Position 45
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Chutes Too Narrow

CD-Charts > Music > British
by: Shins

Release Date August 16, 2004
This album with all its vibrant colour and form, with James Mercer's wonderful voice and moments jumping from gentle to outright hedonistic and flagrant is so very different to Oh, Inverted World. Its openness, its lyrical content, and the wild and exciting turn it takes from their debut is enough to ensure repeated listens. Intelligent, thoughtful yet youthful and carefree at the same time this album is a bundle of good things and I would urge anyone who hasn't listened to take a moment to listen. This is their most exceptional release so far (and I consider their latest release into the calculation) and at least for moments as incomparable as Gone for Good, an acoustic piece written about waiting around then moving on- for good, it is such a worthwhile visit.

CD-Charts Position 46
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The Coral

CD-Charts > Music > British
by: Coral

Release Date July 29, 2002
'The Coral' appealed to me immediately, with their off-the-wall tales of pirating, maurauding, love, drugs and general tomfoolery, though it took me a few listens before I truly appreciated the depth and craft of this unbelieveably brilliant album. The lyrics read like twisted fables (see 'Simon Diamond' and 'I Remember When') but with plenty of panache and confession to get their message across. This, incidentally, appears to be how crazy it is to live in our crazy world!

But The Coral display impressive emotional accessibility behind the tangle of musical influences and general lunacy. This is best reflected in the simple but wonderful 'Dreaming Of You', which is as perfect a song as you can get. But 'Skeleton Key' has an awesome tempo and will make you ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 47
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Lost Souls

CD-Charts > Music > British
by: Doves

Release Date April 03, 2000
I first heard this album while browsing the old Tower Records on Broadway and 67th St. in NYC. This would have been the summer of 2000. The staff had put it on before I came in and I started focusing on it when 'Rise'kicked in. I was transfixed. Listened to the rest of the album, rushed over to buy it, and played it nonstop for about 6 months. The last time an album had had that impact was when I had first heard the Stone Roses, about 10 years or so before that. It's a powerful and accessible album. Highly recommended.

CD-Charts Position 48
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Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea

CD-Charts > Music > British
by: PJ HARVEY

Release Date August 25, 2003
I am a very very hard to please, very cynical person.

I am also a massive massive fan of Dry, Rid of Me, 4-track Demos, TBMYL and Is This Desire.

I feel I have to stand up for SFTCSFTS as we seem to have the usual tiresome self-proclaimed "uberfans" slagging it off. Well, if you cannot see the appeal and beauty in tracks like Place Called Home, One Line, Good Fortune and We Float, then I despair of the human race.

And then I haven't even mentioned Big Exit (my 2nd fave PJH tune ever) and Beautiful Feeling (wonderful but perhaps better represented on the Peel Sessions CD).

If you can't appreciate this as a brilliant addition to the PJH
catalogue, then you ARE unwell in some way.

CD-Charts Position 49
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The Smiths

CD-Charts > Music > British
by: The Smiths

Release Date November 15, 1993
Was in the sixth form at school at the time of release-the girls were into Nik Kershaw and Howard Jones etc (yawn).
Yes it is over-produced (too shiny) but get by that and the quality of the songs shine through.Apart from the "barnstormers" there are some real gems-"The Hand That Rocks The Cradle" and especially the poignantly beautiful "Suffer Little Children" which,I remember,was panned by the press because they did not know that Mozza had the support of the parents involved in the tragedy.
A good starting point but The Smiths future releases were catchier and more mature-it was a travesty that they only had 4 years between first and last albums.

CD-Charts Position 50
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Rid Of Me

CD-Charts > Music > British
by: PJ Harvey

Release Date August 25, 2003
OMG this album scared me when I heard it recently, on going through to discover what exactly PJ Harvey is (if anyone can say). This is as different as can be from the semi pop tones of Stories of the City. It's kind of scary, angry but very sad with a lot of undeniable truths there and matched with a lot of hard rock/punk music being bashed out and some deliberate screaching, shouting, synthed vocals that really confuse you as you can't fit it into your understanding memory slot easily. It really scared the pants off me, probably as it took me by surprise. I do feel kind of tired just listening to it, exhausted myself from the energy. I can't think of many comparrisons but musically Nirvana style really strikes me and maybe the Cranberries as it was early 90s with more blatant sexual references - inadequacies, ... Read More: