2006年 Aug 1日 Tuesday, 0:33

On July 28th I hit my one year anniversary with Last.fm and to celebrate, I didn't scrobble. I was on vacation. Still am, but I found time to crank out some thoughts on my top 20 artists after a year. It's been a great year for me musicially and I learned a lot about my tastes through this great service. Thanks a lot Last.fm!

Tracks Played: 31,878

20: Skid Row - 472
Coming in at number twenty is Skid Row, and of course, I have not wasted any of Skid Row's plays on the "other" lead singer's album. It isn't Skid Row without Sebastian Bach. Skid Row is one of those bands that absolutely hooks you with an awesome lead guitarist and an absolutely amazing lead vocalist, and that's probably one of the reasons I can't get into the Soligner stuff. It's all about Bach, man. None the less, their three Bach albums are all flawless masterpieces in my mind. They'll probably be flirting up higher on the list next year. I can almost guarentee it.

Favorite Track: Slave to the Grind

19: Judas Priest - 488
The almighty Judas Priest have been pretty high on my charts for a while. Had it not been for new comers to the high up list such as Faith No More, Slayer, and Children of Bodom, I'm sure they would still be nestled right under the top 10. Still though, at number 19, they seemingly can't be dropped too far down. I may not consistantly play Priest on days end, but I do play them in good blocks that keep them going. And hell, Rob Halfrod is the Metal God himself. I bow down.

Favorite Track: Screaming for Vengeance

18: The Confession - 490
Despite having five (yes, five) tracks by the Confession, they were, at one point, situated at number 12. Ever since I saw them as an opening band on the Cities of Evil tour, I fell in love. An amazing band who definately need to release more material. I'm sure if I had an album by them, they'd be right behind L.A. Guns and Aerosmith. A refreshing twist on the mostly bland heavy metal of the day. Still though, their name is pretty bad.

Favorite Track: Wasting Away

16: Queen - 496
Tied at 16 with Slayer, Queen has been one of my favorites since childhood. I was all about the big sound stadium rock when I was young, and no band really epitomised it as well as Queen did for me. Unbelievable ballads, amazing guitar solos, phenomenal vocals… Queen is the total package. I may be a bit biased in the fact that I like their pre-synth music better, but even when they experimented with the synthesizers, they still sounded rockin'. They'll always be in my music collection, even if they only get a spin every now and then.

Favorite Track: Spread Your Wings

16: Slayer - 496
Tied at 16 with polar opposites Queen, the almighty SLAYER have attacked my charts recently, leaving a burning path of destruction up my charts becoming my most played thrash metal band. What is not to like about Slayer? Anti-Christian, Nihilistic, and incredibly brutual despite having no growling. The soundtrack to hell is right. If they play this in hell, I want to go there when I die.

Favorite Track: Angel of Death

15: Cheap Trick - 501
Cheap Trick have my favorite song ever in their discography; "I Want You To Want Me." Being the real formulators of hard edged power pop, Cheap Trick has always got me to sing along with them. Great songwriting really drives this band home with me. Plus, the whole half cool/half geek band thing works for me. I dig it.

Favorite Track: I Want You To Want Me

14: AC/DC - 536
AC/DC were an early favorite for me, but then again, what kid doesn't like AC/DC? It's like balls transformed into music. I haven't really cranked out the Acca Dacca in a long while, but they got so high so early on that it's allowed them to hold onto a top 20 position for quite some time. Now, don't get me wrong, AC/DC is great. I just find myself being interested in other bands at the moment. No matter, I'll still be bustin' out my AC/DC live CD's (which I find are superior to their studio albums. Don't know why, I just like it live), and raising the horns for years to come.

Favorite Track: She's Got the Jack

13: Children of Bodom - 538
The only "extreme" metal band in my top 50. While they definately don't fit into any heavy metal category perfectly, the harsh vocals definately earn them the extreme tag in my mind. Ignoring genre disputes, Children of Bodom are quite frankly, the shit. I own all their albums, and trust me, they are all great in their own way. Alexi Laiho is a great guitarist and I think his vocals are pretty neat for the type of heavy metal they play. I used to hate growling/screaming/cookie monster vocals, that is, until I heard COB. They opened my ears to Death Metal, Black Metal, and Metalcore.

Favorite Track: Bodom After Midnight

12: Slash's Snakepit - 542
Guitar virtuoso Slash's side project has been a hit with me. Both albums are great, with "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere" being the better of the two in my mind. Great bluesy guitars and some great rock songs in the mid 90's just make me love it even more. Any band that came out with real mother fucking Rock N' Roll in the 90's is good by me. Especially when my favorite guitarist is handling the solo action.

Favorite Track: Neither Can I

11: Bullets and Octane - 559
I first saw them opening on the Cities of Evil tour and was immediately impressed. I met Gene afterwards, and since he was such a cool guy, I checked out the band again. I got their CD's and definately rotated them til I didn't want to listen to them again, but of course, I did after intersplicing a song by someone else here and there. I saw them live again in March headlining and got a shirt and some other merch, and of course, I'm a Bullethead now. Fantastic band. Dirty, sleazy punk driven hard rock n' roll that just drives it right to the soul. In my mind "In the Mouth of the Young" is THE album of the year. Flawless rock n' mother fuckin' roll.

Favorite Track: Caving In

10: Star Star - 579
The coolest band to have ever walked the face of the earth. I don't know how often I say that about Star Star. Seriously though, they fucking rock. Groovy tunes, killer guitar solo's, rad lyrics. It's just an overall goodtime with any Star Star song. They were completely overlooked by the industry, and considering that they came at the end of the 80's, it's understandable how they never got quite a a huge fan base. Still though, I guaren-damn-tee that no band will ever be as hip as Star Star.

Favorite Track: Sarah Soda

9: Avenged Sevenfold - 581
For some strange reason, Avenged Sevenfold seem to be a pretty controversial band. You either love them or hate them. I happen to love them. I love the semi-retro heavy metal feel they got going. I'm not really going to touch on their metal cred, but you can hear the influence of the music on them. I saw them live in February and have to say that they put on one hell of a show. M. Shadows' vocals sound so amazing live, even better than on the record, and I can say hands down, that no other band today could put on that good of a show for that big of an audience. They really excel in areas with larger groups of people. Plus, I gotta say, Synyster Gates is one hell of a guitarist.

Favorite Track: Trashed & Scattered

8: Faster Pussycat - 683
Three solid albums before the band broke up and Taime Downe went industrial, Faster Pussycat were one of the best sleaze bands to be associated with really generic "glam" bands like Whitesnake, Poison, and Firehouse. A cut above their contemporaries, Faster Pussycat has probably the best humor I've ever heard in a rock band. Cool, bluesy tunes driven by a distinctive whine that always manages to please. I'm seeing them in less than a month and am definately stoked.

Favorite Track: Where There's a Whip There's a Way

7: Faith No More - 742
A more recent obsession of mine has been any project in which Mike Patton participates. At the forefront of these projects is the most commerically successful, and my favorite, Faith No More. Putting a great twist on heavy metal and turning it into something bizzare and unique really attracted me. I happen to be one of the few people who feel that "the Real Thing" is the best Faith No More album, but of course, I'm alone here because most people don't like the whine like I do. None the less, all their albums are great, and everything they released is at the bare minimum, enjoyable. I expect them to join the 1000 club very soon.

Favorite Track: Edge of the World

6: Iron Maiden - 743
The band that got me into heavy metal. They'll always be near the top (and were in the early stages of my Last.fm experience) and I can't say that I ever get sick of them. A fantastic band that has continuously created great music over the years. If I were to have to pick out my favorite Maiden song, I'd be hard pressed to do so. I am continously changing my mind because they're all so great.

Favorite Track: Wasted Years

5: Buckcherry - 1044
The best band to come out of the 90's, IMO. Overlooked due to their hard rockin' tendencies that delved into classic sleaze during a time when grunge was just fading into the commercialized excess of mallcore, Buckcherry are the cockiest band I have ever heard. It's like they literally kicked AC/DC in the balls and Josh Todd said, "I'll take care of the ego now." Love all their albums and I'm damn glad they're back together. Still though, a Velvet Revolver with Josh Todd fronting would have been absolutely killer.

Favorite Track: Dirty Mind

4: Guns N' Roses - 1120
Everyone loves Guns N' Roses. Well, except hippies. And indie kids. And anybody without any taste in music what-so-ever. GN'R are the real mother fucking deal. Too bad it's the Axl Rose show. I love "Appetite for Destruction" and both "Use Your Illusion" albums are far above the standard rock par. If you can't see that this is a timeless rock n' roll band, you must be blind. They'll always be on repeat for me.

Favorite Track: You're Crazy

3: Mötley Crüe - 1123
This band is the reason I got back into rock n' roll and heavy metal. If it wasn't for them, I have no clue where I'd be musically right now. The reason glam metal even got off the ground, Mötley Crüe have been, and always will be, one of the greatest bands to ever exist. Even the John Corabi LP was great. I don't care what those critics say, that album rocked. "Too Fast For Love" and "Shout at the Devil" are both perfection in music, with "Dr. Feelgood" having very minor flaws on top of that. They are so great, I can understand why people are obsessed with them.

Favorite Track: Bastard

2: L.A. Guns - 1806
L.A. Guns are the best thing to come out of the 80's. I stick by that statement 100%. The epitome of sleaze, especially on their three lastest studio LPs, this band has consistantly released material that definately rock (with the except of those non-Phil Lewis albums). I have the pre-major label demo's with Paul Black on vocals, which definately kick ass, but I gotta say, it's really not LAG without Phil Lewis. His voice really hits the music home. I think that was proven with "Tales from the Strip." Tracii Guns can go try out for Limp Bizket again for all I care. As long as Phil is in L.A. Guns, I'll be around to listen.

Favorite Track: Waking the Dead

1: Aerosmith - 1985
My absolute favorite band of all time is at number one for obvious reasons. I love everything they've released (yes, even "Just Push Play") and am always in the mood for more Aerosmith. Sometimes I'm in the mood for some classic Aerosmith, sometimes some 80's, sometimes some 90's. I just love everything they've made and can even find myself singing along to "Can't Get It Up." They can make music until they can't even move on stage anymore. The Rolling Stones do it, why can't Aerosmith?

Favorite Track: Nobody's Fault

I hope to look forward to another great year of scrobbling here at Last.fm. Cheers!