The CD Rack
Welcome to The CD Rack! This is a collection of the music albums that I really love, ones that I listen to over and over. A lot of these are albums of my childhood, songs I grew up with, and so some of them have particular meaning to me. I'm going to ramble a bit about each of them, but it will all be personal thoughts, feelings, and anecdotes about the album.
A few rules I put in place myself:
- I have to enjoy a majority of the album, not just one or two songs from it.
- This is for bands, not movie soundtracks. Maybe I'll do that one another time.
- Similarly, no musicals. I could definitely make a whole webpage just of my favourite musical soundtracks and opinions on them.
- No general collection CDs - Greatest Hits/Compilations of just one band are allowed, but no mixed collections.
With all of that in mind, feel free to peruse my collection, and I encourage you to listen to these yourself!!
Let Go - Avril Lavigne (2002)
Absolutely foundational in my childhood. I'm fairly certain it was my mother who bought Avril Lavigne's first two albums, which I ended up listening to and loving to the point that I stole the CDs for my own collection. Avril was pretty key to my child/teen style, I always wanted to replicate her style of aesthetic. I spent a lot of time learning to replicate a particular vocal quality she uses in some songs on this album, and I remember being able to get a basically perfect score of Sk8r Boi on Singstar. The amount of imaginary music videos I have set to the songs on this album are innumerable. I suppose this was probably my first step towards punk, small, but very important.
Favourite Song: I'm With You
Under My Skin - Avril Lavigne (2004)
Another in my childhood foundationals. While I definitely preferred Let Go over Under My Skin, I loved both and still do. This albums tone is a little lower, darker, and more angsty - so i definitely gravitated towards it more during those periods of my life. A lot of this album was the soundtrack to my first teenage breakups and heartbreaks - the amount of times i cried while passionately singing to My Happy Ending is probably concerning, looking back on it. Together, How Does It Feel, Forgotten - all of these were definitely songs i listened to a lot holed up in my bedroom, contemplating and crying and Feeling(TM).
Favourite Song: Nobody's Home
The Best Damn Thing - Avril Lavigne (2007)
This is the first of Avril's CDs which I actually had my own copy of. I'm pretty sure I bought it not long after it came out, when I was about 11. Looking back, my mother definitely got the censored version for me, which I realised fairly recently when I realised just how different the chorus to 'Everything Back But You' was when I listened to it for the first time in years. Listening to this album definitely makes me realise a lot about my music taste - uptempo, good drum beat, a lot of guitar. The attitude of this album was perfect for my teen phase, and it got me through a lot.
Favourite Song: Runaway
200km/h In The Wrong Lane - t.A.T.u (2002)
I never actually had this album as a CD, but I did have basically half of the discography on various mixtapes, MP3 players, and digital song files. All The Things She Said sparked something in my gay little heart and started me on the journey to being the queer I am today, which is a little funny when I remember that when I was a much younger kid I thought it was about getting psychic Visions from a mysterious guy thanks to mishearing some lyrics and being like... 9. I did eventually end up a little obsessed with t.A.T.u, and was definitely a bit devasted to learn 1) they were not actually lesbians, nor a couple 2) they were massively exploited by their label. Still, they hold a very important place in my heart, and I still count myself as a big fan.
Favourite Song: All The Things She Said
Minutes To Midnight - Linkin Park (2007)
Apparently, this is own of Linkin Park's least popular albums and fans of theirs didn't like it very much, which is wild to me because this is the album that got me into Linkin Park. I absolutely love every song and I know I spent hours as a kid listening to this album. It has a really nice feel to it which I just love, a little sombre, a little mourning. It's just great. I suppose since it's less heavy on the metal compared to some other albums of theirs, maybe that's why, but it still remains one of my top favourites. Unfortunately it is also so old in my consciousness that it has a lot of dumb associations, such as No More Sorrow forever making me think of Warrior Cats since I had an imaginary AMV set to it when I was like. 10. C'est la vie.
Favourite Song: Shadow Of The Day
Fallen - Evanescence (2003)
I think it was actually my dad who first introduced me to Evanescence. As a kid Bring Me To Life was one of my favourite songs on my 'Car CD' - a home-ripped CD with a bunch of songs I liked to listen to and sing along to on car rides. I remember being proud of myself when I finally mastered the breath control to complete the long final note. Evanescence was another big part of my teenage emo phase, and the sound of this album got so many big emotions out of me, and still hits me in the chest a little when I listen to it. Unfortunately since my voice has broken I will probably never be able to sing along to these songs again - at least, not anywhere near the register of the songs themselves - but I'll still enjoy listening.
Favourite Song: Haunted
Ocean Eyes - Owl City (2009)
My strongest memories of listening to this album is a family holiday to Italy; driving through the countryside, and lying in bed at the villa we stayed at. To me, this album has the feeling of a perfect summer - blue skies, warm sun, valleys, clear lakewater, and warm nights. It was a calming and comforting album for me, and that's still the feeling I get listening to it now; its one of the albums I'll put on to listen to while falling asleep, if I ever need that. It's very different from a lot of my other favourite albums, but I really do love electronica and such, and this album definitely scratches that itch for me. Whenever summer comes around and the sun starts shining, I'll put this album on a couple of times to enjoy the vibes.
Favourite Song: If My Heart Was A House
The Fame - Lady Gaga (2008)
Similar to Ocean Eyes, I have some big memories of listening to this during holidays in Italy, but also just in general when I wanted a pop vibe. Boys Boys Boys is an absolute banger which reminds me of a woodland road towards Lake Lugano, and of course Poker Face was inescapable at the time. My favourite was always LoveGame though, I just love the beat and the instrumentation and everything. I also absolutely love her attitude and style, absolute queer icon. Shoutout to the South Park and YGOTAS parodies for giving me more ways to enjoy these songs also, you will never leave my brain.
Favourite Song: LoveGame
Hybrid Theory - Linkin Park (2000)
It took me a while to warm up to this album because it is so much heavier than Minutes To Midnight. When I was younger, I used to only like a few select songs - notably In The End - but as I've gotten older and my music tastes have changed a little, I've found more and more appreciation for it. Cure For The Itch, particularly, took a while to grow on me, but now I actually consider it one of the songs I particularly like! Sometimes I do like listening to something a little heavier, a little harsher, and Hybrid Theory is a great album for that. I think this album is probably the one that started introducing me to heavier music, which I'm very glad for!
Favourite song: In The End
200 Po Vstrechnoy - TATY (2001)
When I got into t.A.T.u as a band I of course went scouring YouTube looking for more of their music, and discovered 200 Po Vstrechnoy, the Russian version of 200km/h. Most of the songs are the same, just not the translated versions, but there are some songs unique to Po Vstrechnoy. I generally prefer Po Vstrechnoy to 200km/h, they have slightly different vibes and styles and something about Po Vstrechnoy just scratches my brain a bit more. I do also love the sound of the Russian language, and it's in my top 5 languages to learn should I ever have time and resources.
Favourite Song: Malchik Gey
Night Visions - Imagine Dragons (2012)
Sometimes, you just have to listen to some upbeat pop, and when I was a teenager Imagine Dragons was it. To be fair, to me, although these are bops some of them feel like they have a litte 'darkness' to them. Radioactive slaps, of course, and I love On Top Of The World as an upbeat song, but Demons and Bleeding Out are definitely my favourites on this album. However, I don't have much to say on it, because I don't actually listen to it that much - it just sometimes scratches an itch.
Favourite Song: Demons
Horror Show - Iced Earth (2001)
I found this one through my obsession with the Omen franchise! You can visit my shrine here for more about that, but the fact that Horror Show includes a song inspired by The Omen III is about the only reason I know about this album. I do actually enjoy a lot of the rest of the album though, and though I don't listen to it through very often, sometimes it does scratch an itch. For Damien, I do just love the way they incorporated the poem from the first film into the chorus of this song, even though it's really about the third. I do also really particularly enjoy Im-Ho-Tep (Pharoah's Curse).
Favourite Song: Damien
London Calling - The Clash (1979)
This is the point where we get into my adult venturing back into music and looking for albums that I enjoy - and that start my real forays into punk. I really love punk of the 70s and 80s, and London Calling is a real classic. It's honestly hard to pick favourites off this album because I love so many of them - Lost In The Supermarket is a very close second favourite of mine, and of course London Calling itself absolutely rocks. The Clash isn't my favourite classic punk band, but they are the only ones with an album I've listened through and enjoy - Never Mind The Bollocks by Sex Pistols is too samey for me, so I have to put the songs into playlists to enjoy them, and I haven't yet looked at any albums by The Undertones.
Favourite Song: Death Or Glory
Wakey Wakey! - The Toy Dolls (1989)
I absolutely LOVE The Toy Dolls. While The Undertones are probably my favourite punk band, The Toy Dolls are on par if not potentially a little above. They have a really fun sound and attitude that I try to bring forwards into my own sense of punk. The first song of their I was ever shown was Nellie The Elephant, by my dad years ago - a popular kids song which I enjoyed, and which he wanted to show me a fun version of. The whole of Wakey Wakey is fun, sounds awesome, and I love it. Daveys Took The Plunge has taken my number one spot, but very close runners-up include There's A Trollop Up On Elm Street, Cloughy Is A Bootboy!, and Pot Belly Bill. Honestly, this whole album is just full of bangers, and you should definitely listen to it.
Favourite Song: Daveys Took The Plunge
Warning - Green Day (2000)
I've liked Green Day since I was a teenager - I used to listen to American Idiot a lot, but I have to admit, I don't really enjoy the full album. That was the problem I used to have with Green Day, is that I generally didn't enjoy the albums, only select songs from them. Warning is different though - I absolutely fucking love all of the songs on this album. Every single one is good. I love the vocals, the guitar, the rhythms - some of the variety of the songs is really interesting. It is so hard to pick a favourite from this album, but I went with Minority - but Misery is a brilliant song, and I really enjoy Blood, Sex And Booze. Macy's Day Parade is about the only song I don't super love, but it's not like I hate it, and it's certainly not a dealbreaker. Top tier album.
Favourite Song: Minority
God's Favourite Band - Green Day (2017)
Remember when I said as a teenager I loved Green Day but there wasn't an album that I just enjoyed listening to? Well this album solves everything! It has all the classic Green Day songs that I love listening to - Basket Case, American Idiot, Boulevard Of Broken Dreams, 21 Guns - and it introduced me to some songs I didn't know before and really liked! Pretty much all the songs I have on my Ye Olde Youtube Playlist are on here, and it makes a great album for just sitting back and rocking out on my way to work. I'm glad that I bothered to look around for more Green Day albums.
Favourite Song: Know Your Enemy
The Black Parade - My Chemical Romance (2006)
Somehow I missed MCR almost entirely as a teenage emo. Friends who have since gotten to know me have always expressed surprise, and often tried to persuade me to listen to The Black Parade. On one memorable occasion, a friend had a hard time believing I had never heard Welcome, played it for me, at which point I learned that although I didn't recognise the first half - with the iconic G - I DID recognise the second half, somehow. I didn't actually try properly listening though this album until a different song in their style made me decide to sit down and give them a proper go - and what do you know, everyone was right, and I did really like them. I see why angsty teens connected so hard with this music. I will be an angsty adult connecting with it, I suppose.
Favourite Song: Mama
Conventional Weapons - My Chemical Romance (2013)
After discovering that I did, in fact, like MCR, I went looking for more of their songs. I asked people to recommend me songs based on my favourites from Black Parade, and a couple of those ended up being on Conventional Weapons, which then became my second favourite MCR album. Honestly even apart from the songs being absolute bangers, I also just love all the art for the album. MCR overall has a really interesting aesthetic sense and I can see why it was so influential on 2000s emos - I've definitely taken some elements of my own style from them now. Unfortunate that I discovered these guys during their reunion tour, and therefore it's unlikely I'll ever get to see them live.