60. KITCHIE NADAL (KITCHIE NADAL)
Year of Release: 2004
Labels: Warner, 12Stone
Key Tracks: "Same Ground," "Bulong," "Huwag na Huwag Mong Sasabihin"
In the early 2000s, when rock was taking a backseat to other genres, from gigs at the local bar Gweilos emerged the super talented Kitchie Nadal, who has a beautiful voice and commanding, intelligent lyrics, whether in Filipino or in English. She played a role in the return of rock to the local music scene, even as her songs were straying beautifully into pop-rock sensibilities that allowed them to take a foothold on popular radio. She hasn't come up with material anywhere near as strong as this, but this debut should always be a reminder of what she'll always be capable of. Let's hope she makes a strong comeback soon.
59. THE MISEDUCATION OF LAURYN HILL (LAURYN HILL)
Year of Release: 1998
Labels: Ruffhouse, Columbia
Key Tracks: "Doo Wop (That Thing)," "To Zion," "Everything Is Everything," "Forgive Them Father"
Her stint with The Fugees hardly prepared us for the gem that was spitfire Lauryn Hill's debut solo album. The funky tune of "Doo Wop (That Thing)" proved to catchy to resist. When I purchased the album, I quickly realized that what I had in my possession was the work of a musical prodigy, and in a genre that I didn't usually listen to all too much. Sick beats propel the more upbeat songs. Always, the lyrics provoke thought and emotion, especially the very personal "To Zion," a song about the son the people around her discouraged her from having. We should be grateful that despite Lauryn Hill always putting her family first, she was able to give us this musical gem.
58. WHALER (SOPHIE B. HAWKINS)
Year of Release: 1994
Label: Columbia
Key Tracks: "As I Lay Me Down," "Don't Don't Tell Me No," "Only Love (The Ballad of Sleeping Beauty)," "Mr. Tugboat Hello"
Sophie B. Hawkins exploded into the music scene in 1992 with the explicit "Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover" off her debut album Tongues and Tails. That her second most famous single is the romantic, almost saccharine "As I Lay Me Down" was somewhat surprising but nevertheless welcome. Propelled into fame by its use in the film Now and Then and the TV series "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," it became a regular on mainstream radio, where I first heard it and fell in love with it. It remains one of my top 10 favorite pop songs to this date. The rest of the album is diverse in style and almost messy, but Hawkins is always earnest and all of the songs are quite enjoyable.
57. DUMMY (PORTISHEAD)
Year of Release: 1994
Label: Go! Beat
Key Tracks: "Glory Box," "Sour Times," "Wandering Stars," "Roads"
"Glory Box" and "Sour Times" are those songs that are ultra-popular but you won't necessarily recognize them from the titles alone. What you likely won't forget when you hear them is that they're songs by the trip-hop pioneers Portishead. Aside from their music not sounding like most popular music out there, vocalist Beth Gibbons has a ghostly quality to it that's unlike most others'. And in tracks like "Roads" and "Glory Box," she sounds so anguished that you can't help but feel your heart twinge. Trippy would be a good word, but happy certainly wouldn't be.
56. THE ARCHANDROID (JANELLE MONÁE)
Year of Release: 2010
Labels: Wondaland Arts Society, Atlantic, Bad Boy
Key Tracks: "Faster," "Come Alive (The War of the Roses)," "Cold War," "BaBopByeYa"
Few debuts are as sure and confident as Janelle Monáe's The ArchAndroid. She immediately knew what she wanted and how to say it. She'd carry the "cyborg" theme through her three albums not only with the titles and album covers but also with how much of a hybrid her sound is. There's rap, soul, R&B, rocks, dance, techno, jazz, etc. And she doesn't go wrong with any of them.
55. SCARLET'S WALK (TORI AMOS)
Year of Release: 2002
Label: Epic
Key Tracks: "A Sorta Fairytale," "Amber Waves," "Don't Make Me Come to Vegas," "Gold Dust"
Be warned: this is the first of many Tori Amos albums in this list. It's a very beautiful album, with "A Sorta Fairytale" and "Amber Waves" probably being among the most sublime songs in her discography, but I've always been partial to her more bizarre, unhinged sounds, pre-Tash (her daughter). Having a daughter did not reduce her musicality or her insane talent with the piano and deeply insightful lyrics, just her anger. My preferences aside, this might be the best album to introduce a Tori Amos virgin to, if you think album covers where she suckles a pig would shock him or her. True to the theme of the album, it's a great one to hit the road with.
54. ISANG BUHAY (ONE LIFE) (GRACE NONO)
Year of Release: 1997
Label: Tao Music
Key Tracks: "Anungan," "Ader," "Ay, Leng"
While Diwa (number 88 on this list) is technically more polished, Grace Nono's ethereal Isang Buhay is on another realm of beauty altogether. Like with Loreena McKennit, Nono's voice and the authentically indigenous lyrics and music take you on a journey, this time to the mountains, hills, grasslands, rivers of rural Philippines, where the mystical still takes hold and the culture is rich and pure. For championing this culture, Nono deserves the label of national artist. For her beautiful music, she deserves to be discovered by music fans all over the world, especially fans of McKennit, Enya, and Kitaro.
53. JOANNE (LADY GAGA)
Year of Release: 2016
Labels: Streamline, Interscope
Key Tracks: "Perfect Illusion," "Hey Girl," "Million Reasons," "A-Yo"
I love the energy and beats of Lady Gaga's earlier dance hits, but I truly learned to appreciate her voice and musicality in this album, especially in her sweet pairing with Florence Welch in "Hey Girl"--an ode to sisterly solidarity--and the pounding "A-Yo." Of course, her singles "Perfect Illusion" and "Million Reasons" also stand out. Only haters wouldn't be able to appreciate the astounding talent of Gaga, especially in this very "complete" album.
52. PEARL (JANIS JOPLIN)
Year of Release: 1971
Label: Columbia
Key Tracks: "Me and Bobby McGee," "Cry Baby," "Mercedes Benz"
It is with an unavoidable sadness that one listens to Janis Joplin's second and last album. While most would know her for her powerful cover of "Piece of my Heart," Pearl includes sublime interpretations of "Me and Bobby McGee" and "Cry Baby" as well as the enjoyable ditty "Mercedes Benz," which she wrote herself. In these and all the tracks, Joplin's raw, rugged vocals take centerstage. A phenomenal talent gone too soon.
51. LOVE. ANGEL. MUSIC. BABY. (GWEN STEFANI)
Year of Release: 2004
Label: Interscope
Key Tracks: "Hollaback Girl," "What You Waiting For?," "Harajuku Girls," "Rich Girl"
Gwen Stefani's Harajuku-inspired persona was just my gateway to her first album as a solo artist. Ultimately, it was the music that made me a big fan. What's not to love? Stefani breaks out of the confining corners of No Doubt and fully realizes herself as a music and style icon that easily crosses the boundaries of bubble gum pop, pop-rock, hip hop. Just the four tracks I've listed along are reason enough to put the album on repeat for pure fun.
50. TAMING THE TIGER (JONI MITCHELL)
Year of Release: 1998
Label: Reprise
Key Tracks: "Lead Balloon," "Love Puts On a New Face," "Man From Mars," "No Apologies"
With this album, the one and only Joni Mitchell goes full-tilt jazz. And the result is a strong, assured project that is every bit as colorful as the painting on the album cover. It's not career-defining or monumental, but it's always nice to see that a true legend like Mitchell can still turn out tonally and lyrically rich narratives like the ones that fill this album, top of which for me is the angsty, somewhat feminist "Lead Balloon." It's like you're being visited by a tough-as-nails but secretly sweet aunt who has seen much of the world and shares her stories over bourbon. With providence, Mitchell will have many more stories to tell.
49. SOMETHING TO REMEMBER (MADONNA)
Year of Release: 1995
Labels: Maverick, Warner Bros.
Key Tracks: "Love Don't Live Here Anymore," "You'll See," "One More Chance," "I'll Remember"
What a way for Madonna to remind the world of her brilliance as a musician! This "compilation" album (that nevertheless has three completely new songs, two previously unreleased tracks, and a completely reworked one) is, simply put, a gorgeous reminder that Madonna puts out some of the all-time best pop songs. Were haters capable of changing their minds and hearts, they'd be hard-pressed to deny the Queen of Pop's capabilities here. Just look at that list of key tracks, and add "Take A Bow," "Rain," "Crazy For You," "This Used To Be My Playground!" One of the best pop albums of the 90s, hands down.
48. DIVA (ANNIE LENNOX)
Year of Release: 1992
Labels: RCA, Arista
Key Tracks: "Little Bird," "Why," "Walking on Broken Glass," "Money Can't Buy It"
When I want to listen to a song to perk myself up, or get myself into the groove, I usually listen to "Little Bird." It's just that type of song. The music video, with multiple personas of the chameleon Annie Lennox, always makes me crack a smile, too. And then you listen to the whole album and you're treated with modern classics like "Why" and "Walking On Broken Glass." Even when she was still in Eurythmics, her voice was always phenomenal. She unleashes it in this debut album with gusto, giving us multiple shades of a true diva, and they're all awesome.
47. LEMONADE (BEYONCÉ)
Year of Release: 2016
Labels: Parkwood, Columbia
Key Tracks: "Sandcastles," "Pray You Catch Me," " Don't Hurt Yourself," "Hold Up"
What to say about Beyoncé, the Queen B? Without a doubt, hers is one of the most beautiful voices in pop today. She's a fantastic live performer. I've had every reason to love her, but I never really did because I was never much into the R&B that she was primarily doing with Destiny's Child and her early years as a solo artist. But then I listened to Lemonade and OH GOD THIS IS WHY SHE'S THE QUEEN B. This concept album was a sucker punch. It's trippy, it's fun, it's sacred, it's tormenting. All of a sudden, Beyoncé is a high priestess of urban pop. And her "Sandcastles"--goosebumps. Has she ever been more raw and vulnerable?
46. ELLA IN HOLLYWOOD (ELLA FITZGERALD)
Year of Release: 1961
Label: Verve
Key Tracks: "Take the 'A' Train," "You're Driving Me Crazy," "Blue Moon," "Mr. Paganini," "Air Mail Special"
Come for the "A" Train and stay for everything else! That eight-minute track is insane because virtually the whole song is Ella Fitzgerald showcasing what she is best at: scat singing. Absolutely spectacular. There's more scat in "Air Mail Special" (five minutes of it!) and "Mr. Paganini," then pure vocal bliss in the other tracks especially the divine "You're Driving Me Crazy" and the playful "Blue Moon." Truly, this is Lady Ella at her glorious best.
45. DIRTY COMPUTER (JANELLE MONÁE)
Year of Release: 2018
Labels: Wondaland Arts Society, Bad Boy, Atlantic
Key Tracks: "Crazy, Classic, Life," "Screwed," "Dirty Computer," "Make Me Feel"
Yes, she's three of three in this list. And the middle child is the best one. All the great things that I said about her two other albums are multiplied here. As always, she does so well with collaborations. Here, "Screwed" with Zoë Kravitz and "Dirty Computer" with the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson are definite highlights. But hey, she does extremely well even on her own, thank you very much. Which is not to knock her band, of course, because one of the other fantastic things about Monáe is that she and her crew put together such a whole sound. I feel like the more I listen to this album, the more steadily it will rise up this list in future years.
44. NINE OBJECTS OF DESIRE (SUZANNE VEGA)
Year of Release: 1996
Label: A&M
Key Tracks: "No Cheap Thrill," "Caramel," "Headshots," "Thin Man," "World Before Columbus"
Who hasn't sung or hummed along to the catchy "Tom's Cabin?" The painfully real "Luka" is one of Suzanne Vega's other hits. That breathy voice! And the beats! Nine Objects of Desire, her fifth album, retains the magic of her past hits and gives us a perfect album to chill to (especially with the super smooth "Caramel") but still pay enough attention to the lyrics, which have always been a strength of her songs. Every Suzanne Vega song is a confessional. That she sings them so clearly and crisply certainly helps! Every song here is precious!
43. HEAVEN OR LAS VEGAS (COCTEAU TWINS)
Year of Release: 1990
Label: 4AD
Key Tracks: "Iceblink Luck," "Cherry-Coloured Funk," "Heaven or Las Vegas," "Pitch the Baby"
Don't even try to make sense of the lyrics! It's an exercise in futility. Just soak yourself in the haunting tones of Elizabeth Fraser's vocals and the dream-like quality of the instrumentation. It's like a trip down Lewis Carroll's rabbit hole in music form. The subgenre is called dream pop for a good reason. I immediately fell head over heels for this album at the first listen and regretted not having tried their music earlier.
42. SPICEWORLD (SPICE GIRLS)
Year of Release: 1997
Label: Virgin
Key Tracks: "Stop," "Spice Up Your Life," "Too Much," "Move Over"
This is probably where the list really goes into personal taste and where some people will start questioning that taste. Spiceworld over Lemonade? The Spice Girls over Tori Amos and Joni Mitchell? And yet to be so dismissive of the Spice Girls is to dismiss not only their iconic place in popular culture but also their exuberant excellence at giving us what we really really want (oops, that's a different album) in pop. Pop is supposed to be fun, infectious, impossible not to dance to. And that's what the Spice Girls gives us for a second time here. A second helping of "Girl Power" wrapped in glorious dance-pop was most welcome, and it's still a go-to album for me when I want to feel energized or bathe myself in the nostalgia of the 90s, the best decade for music, especially pop. And come on, can anyone really resist "Stop?"
41. EVEN SUCH IS TIME (CYNTHIA ALEXANDER)
Year of Release: 2018
Key Tracks: "St. Cecilia," "What I Left Behind," "Dressed For Nowhere," "Even Such Is Time"
Cynthia Alexander is widely recognized in the Philippines as one of its greatest musicians. Her lyrics are pure poetry, she's a highly skilled and acclaimed bassist, and she has some of the best instrumentalists in her crew. Fans like me mourned her departure from the country to take up permanent residence in the US. So it was with pure happiness that we welcomed her newest album Even Such Is Time. It's not like the albums that came before it, which hook you from the very start, but the songs here are those that linger and demand that you return to them with a more open heart and mind. And when I did, I realized that Alexander had given us another precious gift. Like the dragonfly wings on the cover, the songs are almost fragile in their beauty, particularly "St. Cecilia," the best of the seven. Breathtaking.TOP 20
Numbers 21-40
Numbers 61-80
Numbers 81-100
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80. TRAGIC KINGDOM (NO DOUBT)
Year of Release: 1995
Labels: Trauma, Interscope
Key Tracks: "Spiderwebs," "Don't Speak," "Just a Girl," "Sunday Morning"
When Tragic Kingdom came out in 1995, its sound was completely new to many people, especially here in the Philippines. But the album is so much more than an experiment in ska punk sounds, though that's the beating heart that energizes many of the singles and most exciting tracks. "Don't Speak" is a straight out pop-rock ballad that could have found a home on a regular mainstream pop album, but only Gwen Stefani's unique tone could have it given it as much emotional power.
79. ALRIGHT, STILL (LILY ALLEN)
Year of Release: 2006
Label: Regal
Key Tracks: "Smile," "Knock 'Em Out," "LDN," "Alfie"
Such a naughty, foul-mouthed Brit, this Lily Allen! Well, her sophomore album It's Not Me, It's You one-ups Alright, Still with the wonderfully sweet "Fuck You," but there's still a lot here to offend easily offended sensibilities and please fans of just really good, catchy, mature pop-rock. The first three songs in the album are the perfect gateway to what Lily Allen is capable of. The ending song, "Alfie," is the perfect bookend, especially if you've seen with "Game of Thrones" and Jojo Rabbit how far her little brother has gone.
78. 1989 (TAYLOR SWIFT)
Year of Release: 2014
Label: Big Machine
Key Tracks: "Blank Space," "Style," "Shake It Off," "Clean"
As is (and will be) evidenced by its general absence in my lists, I'm not a big fan of country music. So it's probably not surprising that it's Taylor Swift's most pop release up to that date that made it in. It's a veritable list of hits and tracks that are just simply fun to sing to and dance to, the standout among those of course being "Shake It Off," which is so hard to shake off. A personal favorite of mine though is "Clean," her collaboration with Imogen Heap.
77. THE IDLER WHEEL... (FIONA APPLE)
Year of Release: 2012
Labels: Clean Slate, Epic
Key Tracks: "Every Single Night," "Werewolf," "Hot Knife"
Full title: The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do. Not the longest title of a Fiona Apple album, believe it or not. If you think it's a bit pretentious, the music contained therein is anything but. Apple has always been a fiercely, unapologetically honest musician. While her angst is gentler and more refined here, her artistry is sharper than ever. Really, getting the album is worth it even just for "Hot Knife," probably her most creative and playfully sensual song ever and a new favorite for chorale groups to try out their harmonies.
76. ALISHA RULES THE WORLD (ALISHA'S ATTIC)
Year of Release: 1996
Label: Mercury
Key Tracks: "I Am, I Feel," "Indestructible," "Alisha Rules the World," "Just the Way U Like It"
As I was looking at the tracks of this album to pick the Key Tracks, I realized that I fiercely like virtually all of the songs here. The album is so coherent in theme and flavor that the songs transition to each other very neatly, but you won't confuse one with the other. Each one is its own wonderful little monster. There's a sweetly sinister undertone to most of the songs, and the Poole sisters' sweet voices make that stand out even more. Sweet voice or no, "I Am, I Feel," "Indestructible," and "Alisha Rules the World" are girl-power anthems that long predate the #MeToo movement. The music videos are great, too!
75. THE BOOK OF SECRETS (LOREENA MCKENNIT)
Year of Release: 1997
Labels: Quinlan Road, Warner Bros.
Key Tracks: "The Mummers' Dance," "Prologue," "The Highwayman"
It's interesting that I had to turn to a Canadian when I was looking for a more Celtic flavor than what Enya's newer albums were giving me. Add to that the fact that I had no idea who Loreena McKennit was when I saw the cassette tape of The Book of Secrets in a record store (remember those?); I just liked the cover and thought it gave a mystical aura. Lo and behold, it contained "The Mummers' Dance," which was a sort of crossover hit at the time. The dance version was cool and all, but the real thing was in this album and I was ecstatic. McKennit's albums take you on a journey to exotic markets, forgotten roads, lush vineyards, ancient forests, temples and groves of power. "The Mummers' Dance" gave this an edge over her other albums, but all of those will take you to realms that you may have thought only books can bring you to.
74. STEREO ★ TYPE A (CIBO MATTO)
Year of Release: 1999
Label: Warner Bros.
Key Tracks: "Moonchild," "Lint of Love," "Sci-Fi Wasabi"
My love of Japanese culture probably plays a big role in why I love this album so much, but it's not as if you'd even know the singers are Japanese when you hear the outstanding, solemn "Moonchild," as I did on a local rock radio station (how I miss NU 107!). It becomes more obvious when they get cute and playful in their other tracks, such as "Lint of Love" and "Sci-Fi Wasabi." It's hard to classify it into particular genres, but at the end of the day, it doesn't and shouldn't matter. It's just pure joy, period.
73. LUNGS (FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE)
Year of Release: 2009
Label: Island
Key Tracks: "Dog Days Are Over," "Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)"
Whether you like their songs or not, it's hard to deny the hypnotic power of Florence Welch's immaculate voice. In a wonderful album that transcends genre boundaries, the animal-named singles are truly the standouts and the best showcase of Florence's vocal prowess and the band's musicality. But the rest of the album isn't a slouch, either.
72. TIGERLILY (NATALIE MERCHANT)
Year of Release: 1995
Label: Elektra
Key Tracks: "Wonder," "Jealousy," "Carnival," "San Andreas Fault"
Natalie Merchant's is one of the most easily recognizable voices in music. She served 10,000 Maniacs well as its lead vocalist for 12 years, but thank the heavens that she went solo! Otherwise, we wouldn't have had the gem that is Tigerlily! "Wonder" is an enthusiastic anthem on self-worth that more people should be listening to nowadays. "Jealousy" has angst but never feels bitter (it's interesting that this album came out at around the same time as Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill). Most of the rest are slow tunes that won't excite a lot of people, but with Merchant's voice and lyrics, there's always so much to unpack.
71. MEDUSA (ANNIE LENNOX)
Year of Release: 1995
Labels: RCA, Arista
Key Tracks: "No More I Love You's," "A Whiter Shade of Pale," "Take Me to the River," "Thin Line Between Love and Hate"
An album of purely covers isn't always exciting unless it's experimental, but when you have a voice like Annie Lennox's that's capable of expressing so much emotion and is all her own, you can get away with just about anything. Each and every song here almost becomes an Annie Lennox original, the way she takes ownership of them with her characteristically powerful vocals. But really, it's mostly about "No More I Love You's," an odd song with an even odder music video. I can't understand how it became a hit; it likely wouldn't be one now. But it's absolutely fantastic and quintessential Lennox: melodic, strange, a tad dark, but undeniable beautiful.
70. RHYTHM NATION 1814 (JANET JACKSON)
Year of Release: 1989
Label: A&M
Key Tracks: "Rhythm Nation," "Miss You Much," "Black Cat"
I'm not really a fan of Janet Jackson. But considering her icon status, I felt that it wouldn't have been right for me to create this list before trying to listen to at least one of her albums. Most similar lists include Control, her third studio album. But I was drawn to Rhythm Nation 1814, her more personal and more political album. There's righteous anger here, and calls to arms, but there are also pop standards like "Miss You Much." It's a really solid collection.
69. WHISPER NOT (ELLA FITZGERALD)
Year of Release: 1966
Label: Verve
Key Tracks: "Sweet Georgia Brown," "Thanks for the Memory," "Old MacDonald Had a Farm," "Matchmaker"
I had a late jazz phase. I started really listening to the greats only less than five years ago. I started with Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan, and Ella Fitzgerald. It didn't take me long to realize who was my favorite. Lady Ella. The Queen of Jazz. First Lady of Song. She deserves each and every moniker that gives her a place of honor in the halls of jazz music. The way she interprets a song, playing around with it, especially when she does scat singing (no one better!)--it's pure joy to listen to. Her vocal control is astounding in tracks like "Thanks for the Memory," and the classic "Old MacDonald Had a Farm" is a perfect showcase of the playfulness that has endeared her to audiences during her live performances.
68. EMOTION (CARLY RAE JEPSEN)
Year of Release: 2015
Labels: 604, School Boy, Interscope
Key Tracks: "I Really Like You, "LA Hallucinations," "When I Needed You"
This was a very pleasant surprise. I must admit that I had been quick to dismiss Carly Rae Jepsen as just one of many disposable pop acts because of her catchy but otherwise uninteresting (for me) hit "Call Me Maybe." I wanted to understand why so many people, including friends that I know to be sensible, worship her. So I listened to this album (and yeah, I had to get over the stylized way by which the title is written on the album). I got hooked. I'm not a devotee yet, but I can understand why now. This is probably the closest that an album has gotten to pure, unadulterated pop in a long while. And that purity shows me that Jepsen really knows herself, and her fans. Why change a winning formula when it's this sweet and blissful?
67. BODY TALK (ROBYN)
Year of Release: 2010
Label: Konichiwa
Key Tracks: "Time Machine," "Indestructible," "Dancing On My Own"
I have loved Robyn for a long time for her 1997 pop hit "Show Me Love," which for me is one of the all-time best pop songs. But that was the extent of my knowledge of her music...until I listened to Body Talk. Turns out I had known but a very, very small percentage of her genius. Body Talk is a brilliant dance/electro-pop project that really gets you going from the first track all the way to the end. I'm honestly not sure how I feel about "U Should Know Better," her collaboration with Snoop Dogg, but the rest makes you feel that you've gone to the trippiest club during a spontaneous trip to Europe. So enjoyable.
66. THE ELECTRIC LADY (JANELLE MONÁE)
Year of Release: 2013
Labels: Wondaland Arts Society, Bad Boy, Atlantic
Key Tracks: "Electric Lady," "Q.U.E.E.N.," "Dance Apocalyptic," "Dorothy Dandridge Eyes," "Givin' Em What They Love"
There are few artists today as exciting and as deserving of the label "artist" as Janelle Monáe. Her acting career aside, every Monáe album is a mosaic that would have been a dirty mess in the hands of a lesser artist. With The Electric Lady and her other albums, she weaves through jazz, rock, hip hop, soul, and punk like it has always made perfect sense for one person to be so good at all of them. Though there's no throw-away track in the entire album, the title single and her collaborations with fellow musical prodigies Erykah Badu, Solange, and Esperanza Spalding are particular highlights. Such an electric album!
65. LET'S TALK ABOUT LOVE (CELINE DION)
Year of Release: 1997
Labels: Columbia, Epic
Key Tracks: "My Heart Will Go On," "To Love You More," "Tell Him," "Treat Her Like a Lady," "Immortality"
Celine Dion's albums are all showcases of her incomparable vocals; the inclusion of the Titanic theme song "My Heart Will Go On" and "To Love You More" here make it true for this album. Let's Talk About Love also showcases Dion's ability to gather some of the best artists in the industry to jam with her. Here we have Carole King, Barbra Streisand, the Bee Gees, Luciano Pavarotti, to name a few. All stellar, of course, but I have a special affection for her collab with Diana King on the reggae track "Treat Her Like a Lady." Essentially, Dion proved with that track that she can do just about everything and still be the ultimate pop diva that she is.
64. THE DIARY OF ALICIA KEYS (ALICIA KEYS)
Year of Release: 2003
Label: J
Key Tracks: "If I Ain't Got You," "Karma," "Heartburn," "Dragon Days"
For me, this sophomore album is much stronger than her critically acclaimed debut. At this point, Alicia Keys has become a much more confident musician, her sound more complete and her voice more powerful. While "If I Ain't Got You" is the signature song of the album, and rightly so, "Karma" and "Heartburn" are strong anthems that drive the narrative force of this more personal release. As the title suggests, this is the album that gives audiences a better look at the soul of one Alicia Keys.
63. FIRST LOVE (UTADA HIKARU)
Year of Release: 1999
Label: Toshiba EMI
Key Tracks: "Automatic," "First Love," "Movin' On Without You," "Time Will Tell"
Twenty one years after its release, First Love is still the bestselling Japanese album of all time. With four fantastic, ultra-memorable singles, that shouldn't be surprising. Utada Hikaru defined J-Pop for a whole generation of fans. That fellow superstar Hamasaki Ayumi made an official cover of "Movin' On Without You" as part of a tribute album to her is a testament to how much of an impact she has had on Japanese music. And all those Kingdom Hearts and Evangelion Rebuild songs! That she would come up with even more tonally and lyrically accomplished albums than this one is almost a marvel, but this album will forever be treasured for introducing Utada to the world.
62. HAUNTED (POE)
Year of Release: 2000
Label: Atlantic
Key Tracks: "Walk the Walk," "Haunted," "Control"
The criminally underrated artist Poe is probably still more famous for her debut album Hello, which is definitely a fierce and amazing album with a load of earworms, but true to its title, it's her second album that, well, haunted me with its dark lyrics, sick beats, and Poe's forlorn voice. It's a much more mature and thematic offering from Poe, whose brother Mark Z. Danielewski wrote the cult classic House of Leaves; the siblings, who have collaborated on several projects, consider their respective creations to be companion pieces of sorts. How I wish the label "cult classic" were also attached to this underappreciated gem.
61. COURT AND SPARK (JONI MITCHELL)
Year of Release: 1974
Label: Asylum
Key Tracks: "Help Me," "Free Man in Paris," "Raised on Robbery," "Twisted"
This is the first of several Joni Mitchell albums that are in my list of the 100 best albums by women. If you've been following her discography, you'd probably know what the other ones are. While Court and Spark doesn't quite reach the status of those more iconic works, it has it own jewels displaying Mitchell's gravelly voice and intelligently poetic lyrics. Here, she's beginning to lean toward the jazzier parts of her musical resume, which would come to characterize most of her later career. "Help Me," "Free Man in Paris," and "Raised in Robbery" are just as good as her more famous singles in capturing the essence of Mitchell's music. "Twisted," which is a cover, is decidedly different in tone from the rest of the album and could give an idea as to why artists like Tori Amos were drawn to her.
TOP 20
Numbers 21-40
Numbers 41-60
Numbers 81-100
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Sometime in 1995, when I was in high school, I bought my first ever music albums: Mariah Carey's Daydream and Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill. Two modern classics from rather different genres. Genre-wise, my taste in music mostly settled in the pop-rock spectrum in the early years of my being a purchasing fan. Eventually, I discovered alternative music with Tori Amos and Björk, "New Age" with Enya (though she has never warmed to the term or her inclusion among its stalwarts) and, much later, jazz with the legends, Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan. My love for anime and Japanese culture in general also got me hooked on J-Pop in the 2000s. Long story short: my taste in music is rather eclectic and even perhaps a little unconventional (I don't know if anyone among my friends even knows who the Mediæval Bæbes are, and I have three of their albums), but there is one thing that all (save for two, and of course the compilation albums and soundtracks) my albums have in common: they're made by solo women or female-fronted acts. I enjoy music by male acts just like most others, but I've almost never found the urge to buy any of their records. Women's records, on the other hand: my wall's covered with shelves of their cassette tapes and CDs.
NPR has an awesome list of "The 150 Greatest Albums By Women" (here's the link: https://www.npr.org/2017/07/24/538387823/turning-the-tables-150-greatest-albums-made-by-women), but given how much I absolutely love women's music, I decided to come up with my own list. I've been working on this for maybe two months, and there's no better time to start sharing it than today, on International Women's Day. Most of these have been albums that I've listened to and sang to countless times, while some are things that I felt I had to listen to first before I could justifiably come up with a list that was anywhere close to just and properly representative. Still, at the end of the day, it's my personal taste, so I'm bound to have missed many of your own personal faves.
Anyway, here goes. As with my lists of movies, my goal is to encourage people to try some of these out if they haven't yet. So enjoy reading and, more importantly, listening!
100. BEAUTIFUL GARBAGE (GARBAGE)
Year of Release: 2001
Labels: Almo, Interscope
Key Tracks: "Androgyny," "Cherry Lips"
The third album of Garbage was probably its most polished up to that date and gave the band's fans a different, more pop-dance feel. The beats of "Androgyny"--as well as its message--were infectious, and vocalist Shirley Manson's voice is sweetly versatile on "Cherry Lips." But it's hard to top their first album, coming later in this list, for its pure burst of intelligence and rawness.
99. THINK TANK (TANK AND THE BANGAS)
Year of Release: 2013
Key Tracks: "Boxes and Squares," "Human"
Last year, Tank and the Bangas was thrust into the limelight by that shocking Grammy nomination for Best New Artist. I had not heard of Tarriona "Tank" Ball prior to that, so I had to look them up. Such a discovery! Their performance in the NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert (which you can see here), especially of their signature song "Boxes and Squares," is pure joy. A lot of the spontaneity of their live performances is lost in the transition to a recorded album, but their debut is still so enjoyable. The biologically informed ode to the uniqueness of the human body, "Human," is beautiful in its reminder of how special each individual is, as music should remind us more often.
98. RETRO (REGINE VELASQUEZ)
Year of Release: 1996
Label: Mercury
Key Tracks: "Shake Your Groove Thing," "Zoom," "Dance With Me"
Philippine media has a risible (at best) tendency to label some of the country's artists as Asia's this or that, even if their career hasn't quite earned them the moniker. However, Regine Velasquez, "Asia's songbird," has somehow earned it. Retro is the third and last of the great trio of records that made her a popular artist in the region. Retro might not be the most pop of the three and mostly consists of covers of classics, but it's certainly the best technical production. Regine's singing was also probably at its best, but a lot of that had to do with the great arrangements on each song, especially the Peaches & Herb classic "Shake Your Groove Thing." "Dance With Me" is a sweet gem where she duets with her mother.
97. SASSY SWINGS AGAIN (SARAH VAUGHAN)
Year of Release: 1967
Label: Mercury
Key Tracks: "Sweet Georgia Brown," "I Left My Heart in San Francisco," "Every Day I Have the Blues"
Such a voice! Ella Fitzgerald's vocal power and scatting calisthenics are incomparable, but the pureness of Sarah Vaughan's voice, and her level of control of it, have rightly made many critics--and fellow artists like Frank Sinatra--consider hers to have been the most beautiful voice in jazz. It is perfection here, especially in her rendition of the Tony Bennett signature "I Left My Heart in San Francisco."
96. GARBAGE (GARBAGE)
Year of Release: 1995
Label: Almo
Key Tracks: "Only Happy When It Rains," "Stupid Girl," "Milk"
Beautiful Garbage and Version 2.0 were worthy follow-ups with their own earworms, but the raw energy of the band's self-titled debut album is unbeaten. With five singles, it gave listeners a lot of reasons to recognize the band's genius and the bright future that they would have in the music industry.
95. BADUIZM (ERYKAH BADU)
Year of Release: 1997
Labels: Kedar, Universal
Key Tracks: "On and On," "Rimshot," "Next Lifetime"
Speaking of earworms, probably no one had an easy time shaking off the beats (from opening to end!) of "On and On," the song that launched the wonderful Erykah Badu into public consciousness. But "On and On" is far from being the only song in Baduizm that showcases her unique vocals and musicality. True to its name, the album defies its listeners not to declare themselves disciples of this new philosophy or religion.
94. TO BRING YOU MY LOVE (PJ HARVEY)
Year of Release: 1995
Label: Island
Key Tracks: "Down by the Water," "To Bring You My Love"
The alt-rock queen rawness of PJ Harvey has catapulted her to the top of many people's lists of icons in those genres, and "Down by the Water," with its eerie image of a child drowning, was the perfect introduction to her unique flavor. Many of her later albums are more critically acclaimed and have shown her considerable growth as an artist, but she got me hooked with her whispered incantation of "Little fish, big fish, swimming in the water
Come back here, man, gimme my daughter." Shivers.
93. HEART IN MOTION (AMY GRANT)
Year of Release: 1991
Label: A&M
Key Tracks: "Every Heartbeat," "Baby Baby," "That's What Love Is For," "I Will Remember You"
Released in 1991, the saccharine Heart in Motion took the best of pop flavors from both the 80s and the 90s, producing some of the cutest love songs ever ("Every Heartbeat," "Baby Baby") but also heartfelt pieces like "That's What Love Is For" and "I Will Remember You," which deserve to be remembered more as the love song gems that they are.
92. SONGS IN A MINOR (ALICIA KEYS)
Year of Release: 2001
Label: J
Key Tracks: "Girlfriend," "Fallin'," "A Woman's Worth"
Now one of America's most loved and respected artists of her generation, Alicia Keys debuted her soulful singing and piano-playing with hit after hit from this album. If just based on the singles off it, I'd be ranking this much higher, but I didn't quite fall in love with the rest of the 16 tracks. But even then, one thing was crystal clear: Alicia Keys is an intelligent and masterful artist...and she would prove it again with her next album.
91. SUPERSTITION (SIOUXSIE AND THE BANSHEES)
Year of Release: 1991
Labels: Polydor, Geffen
Key Tracks: "Kiss Them For Me," "Fear (of the Unknown)"
Siouxsie Sioux and her band are stalwarts of the post-punk, goth rock movement that would influence many artists after them, and their debut album The Scream started them off loudly on that trajectory. It's a strong album, but for me, Sioux's voice and the band's performance as a whole are much more colorful--an odd word to use for a goth band, I know!--and dynamic in Superstition, their 10th studio album. They earned a new following from their wonderful song "Kiss Them For Me," made mesmerizing by the instrumentation of Tabla player Talvin Singh. The rest of the album is similarly wickedly melodic.
90. MY LOVE EMOTION (REGINE VELASQUEZ)
Year of Release: 1995
Labels: Polycosmic, Mercury
Key Tracks: "You've Made Me Stronger," "My Love Emotion," "Fast," "Perfect"
Regine Velasquez was at the peak of her popularity in the Asian region when she released My Love Emotion, which rode on the strength of "You've Made Me Stronger," written by the great composer Trina Belamide. The album is pure, quintessential 90s Asian pop, the type you'd hear from the Cantonese and Japanese pop idols of the time. Belamide's second contribution to the album, "Fast," is more mellow but no less beautiful, and Regine's collaboration with local a cappella group The TUX on "Perfect" is another highlight. While Velasquez is still active in the local music industry, I can't help but lament the end of her blossoming career in the region and the zenith of her artistry with her decision to change management and labels.
89. 25 (ADELE)
Year of Release: 2015
Labels: XL, Columbia
Key Tracks: "Hello," "Send My Love (To Your New Lover)"
Spoiler alert: another Adele album ranks MUCH higher on this list. 25 is a strong follow-up to the phenomenon that is 21, with the amazing Hello (which has an equally amazing music video directed by Canadian wunderkind Xavier Dolan) and the super-catchy "Send My Love (To Your New Lover)," but I wish I loved more of the album. Still, there's no denying the serious talent of this Brit music royalty.
88. DIWA (GRACE NONO)
Year of Release: 2002
Label: Tao Music
Key Tracks: "Dosayan," "Maghimaya Ka, Maria," "Golpiadu Makimallo"
It would be unfair to simply label Grace Nono, the almost mystical legend of Philippine ethnic music, as the "Filipino Enya" or "Filipino Loreena McKennit," but that might be a good introduction for the uninitiated. Nono is high priestess of indigenous-meets-pop/soul; her voice is deep, powerful, and unmistakably her own. Her music, often a collaboration with partner Bob Aves, is made more accessible with gorgeous packaging in the physical copy of the album, but it's always about the music. It's almost hypnotic. This magnificent album should have made waves in world music.
87. IN DEEP (TINA ARENA)
Year of Release: 1997
Label: Columbia
Key Tracks: "Burn," "If I Didn't Love You," "Now I Can Dance"
Australian pop superstar Tina Arena had been long popular in her home country, but her international career really took off with the hit singles "Burn" and "If I Didn't Love You," both of which showcased her astounding vocal cords and capacity to express ache and longing in her tone. The rest of the album is really good stuff, too, and "Now I Can Dance" is the uplifting piece that gives it a good balance.
86. A FEW SMALL REPAIRS (SHAWN COLVIN)
Year of Release: 1996
Label: Columbia
Key Tracks: "Sunny Came Home," "Get Out of This House," "Wichita Skyline"
Shawn Colvin won loads of acclaim and awards for this album, including Song of the Year and Record of the Year Grammys for the haunting "Sunny Came Home," a misleadingly light-sounding song about a woman who burns her family house down to escape from her past. "Get Out of This House" is similarly empowering, lent strength by Colvin's poetry and her warm tones. The album as a whole is pure artistry.
85. FALLING INTO YOU (CELINE DION)
Year of Release: 1996
Labels: Columbia, Epic
Key Tracks: "It's All Coming Back To Me Now," "Because You Loved Me," "All By Myself"
It shouldn't be surprising that Falling Into You is one of Celine Dion's most successful projects to date, one of the best-selling albums in history and a Grammy winner for Album of the Year and Best Pop Album. I mean, with singles like "Because You Loved Me," "Falling Into You," and that most awesomely legendary camp epic ballad "It's All Coming Back To Me Now," should it be? Add to the mix the vocal powerhouse that is "All By Myself," plus a few other pop gems, and it's simply speaking one of the best that this Canadian icon has ever released.
84. NIGHTCLUBBING (GRACE JONES)
Year of Release: 1981
Label: Island
Key Tracks: "Nightclubbing," "I've Seen That Face Before (Libertango)," "Demolition Man"
I've long known the intimidatingly statuesque Grace Jones as an actress and singer, but always more as the former. Listening to Nightclubbing for the first time, however, made me forget that she was ever anything but a formidable musical icon. Straddling several genres, including reggae and punk, this album will not allow itself to be pigeonholed. Don't force too many labels on it! Just listen and prepare to be astonished. Truly, Grace Jones is a force of nature.
83. SHEPHERD MOONS (ENYA)
Year of Release: 1991
Label: WEA
Key Tracks: "Caribbean Blue," "No Holly for Miss Quinn," "Book of Days," "Marble Halls"
Full disclosure: I am a BIG Enya fan. I have all her albums. So no, this won't be the last Enya album on this list. Aside from having strikingly beautiful jacket art, the music itself is among the best and most characteristically Enya that the artist--who is almost a brand unto herself--has ever produced. Enya has always been wonderful at combining Celtic mysticism and pop sensibilities, and she would take herself further into the latter with some of her later work, but Shepherd Moons is one of her purest, especially with the title track and the often used "Book of Days." Tolkien fans would be pleased to discover that one of the tracks is entitled "Lothlórien" and is an ode to that Elven kingdom--surely a foreshadowing of her eventual involvement in the soundtrack to The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.
82. PINK FRIDAY: ROMAN RELOADED (NICKI MINAJ)
Year of Release: 2012
Labels: Young Money, Cash Money, Universal Republic
Key Tracks: "Starships," "Pound the Alarm," "Right By My Side"
Really, just for the unforgettable and unshakable "Starships" and "Pound the Alarm"--which, incidentally, have produced two of the most memorable lip sync battles in the herstory of "RuPaul's Drag Race"--it's worth getting the album. But the rest is great, too, whether you're more into Nicki Minaj's rap stylings or you prefer her pop princess schtick. What I love most about the album--and Minaj herself--is that it's crazy fun but, if you listen closely enough, she has a lot of important things to say. A true artist who, I must admit, I have long underestimated.
81. COME ON OVER (SHANIA TWAIN)
Year of Release: 1997
Label: Mercury
Key Tracks: "From This Moment On," "Man! I Feel Like a Woman!," "You're Still the One," "That Don't Impress Me Much"
I could have listed a few other key tracks for this album; such is the strength of the package! With this phenomenal success of an album (the best-selling of any solo female), Shania Twain blurred the boundaries between country and pop, making a crossover with some of the most honest lyrics and catchy tunes airing on the radio at the time. She never quite duplicated the success of the album, but at least we'll always have it with us. I am not a big fan of country music (as you will realize as you go through this list), but this made me come very, very close to changing my mind about the genre.
TOP 20
Numbers 21-40
Numbers 41-60
Numbers 61-80
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