Close-Up's Top 20 albums 1991-2008

by Wayne Graham

I love a good best-of list. These things are obviously meaningless, but it's fun to see your favorites on a list, and even more fun to bitch about the ways that the list "got it wrong." Swedish music magazine Close Up has published the top 100 albums in metal, hard rock, hardcore, punk, and, um, "extreme rock" released from 1991 until now. Seems like an arbitrary starting point, I guess, but I do tire of music lists that you just know are going to be topped by Paranoid, Led Zeppelin IV, and Master of Puppets even before you take a single look, so 1991 it is. Here's their top 20. (thanks to Blabbermouth for posting)

Close-Up's Top 20 albums 1991-2008:
01. AT THE GATES - "Slaughter Of The Soul"
02. METALLICA - "Metallica (Black Album)"
03. PANTERA - "Vulgar Display Of Power"
04. ENTOMBED - "Wolverine Blues"
05. ALICE IN CHAINS - "Dirt"
06. NINE INCH NAILS - "The Downward Spiral"
07. RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE - "Rage Against The Machine"
08. NEUROSIS - "Through Silver In Blood"
09. MINISTRY - "Psalm 69: The Way To Succeed And The Way To Suck Eggs"
10. MAYHEM - "De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas"
11. MACHINE HEAD - "Burn My Eyes"
12. FAITH NO MORE - "Angeldust"
13. TOOL - "Ænima"
14. W.A.S.P. - "The Crimson Idol"
15. ENTOMBED - "Clandestine"
16. NIRVANA - "Nevermind"
17. OPETH - "Blackwater Park"
18. SEPULTURA - "Arise"
19. SOCIAL DISTORTION - "White Light, White Heat, White Trash"
20. MASTODON - "Leviathan"

I can tell you that this list has ALOT of records that I deeply love, and I'm not griping about much here at all. Of course, I don't really see that Entombed needs TWO entries. Plus, where is Meshuggah's Destroy Erase Improve? Why in the hell is W.A.S.P.'s Crimson Idol on there?? (sorry Myche and Mark. I know you guys like it fine.)

So, what we're going to do....we're going to listen to all of these over the next couple of weeks. Some of these will be first listens, many will be ones that we've heard, but we're going through all of it. And we'll post our thoughts as we go along.

So...keep an eye out. We're starting at the bottom and working up, so prepare yourself for our thoughts on Mastodon's Leviathan soon. (Lord knows we never talk about THOSE guys)