Submitted by Jonathan Stephens of eleventyseven (Current album: Galactic Conquest, Flicker Records)
1. Third Eye Blind Self-titled Debut
This album was amazing for so many reasons. First off...the song writing is incredible. He's a lyrical genius. It's one of the few records out there where the music and lyrics go hand in hand. Neither one outshines the other. 3eb was one of the first rock bands to embrace pop and create a smooth compromise that addicted tons of fans from both genres. It's definitely one of those albums where you don't skip a single song.
2. Sublime 40 Oz. to Freedom
Well this was a band that I used to listen to a lot all through high school. And that's because in high school I wasn't a Christian and did a lot of things i shouldn't. But anyway I left that stuff behind but I held on to the music. I just love how Sublime can intermingle punk rock and reggae so flawlessly. I think my favorite thing about this album is Bradley's voice. No matter what the song is about...whether it be about his dog, his girl, or even just hanging out with friends, he sings it with more passion than anyone else could even imagine.
3. Vertical Horizon Everything You Want
This record is one of those that has at least one song on it that everyone knows.....even if they don't know who the band is. I think he did a great job of writhing songs on that record that let you know that he was heart broken but also let you know that he had accepted it and was moving on. This record also had some catchy synth lines on it.
4. Goo Goo Dolls Dizzy Up The Girl
Definitely one of the most amazing and memorable voices of all time. And I'm only talking about the frontmans voice....i hate it when the bass player sings. his voice is terrible. I really like how souful the lyrics on this record are.
5. Everclear So Much for the Afterglow
I love love love this record. I have two favorite things about this record. The first is that while most of the others bands in the rock genre we're focusing on music that was hard and driving, Everclear's music had a groove that just kinda flowed through every song. The other thing I like about the record is the brutal honesty. When they were writing this record I bet they never thought once about whether or not people would like their songs. All they cared about was writing music that was true to them. They wrote songs that could relate to a lot of people because of being real.