My Top Albums (Of All Time)

I had such a visceral reaction to this album that felt like my third eye opening, production wise this is a sound I want to hear again, over and over and over again. Lyrically, the feelings of brokenness and rebirth resonate deep within me, it’s an album full of themes that bounce around between a theme of nihilism that’s almost hopeful, and the emotional turmoil that jades you enough to rely on nihilism as a coping mechanism.

why the hell did fantano rate this a light 5

I consider the original release and deluxe release separate (as far as sonic flow), the original release has a really heartbreaking outward look on the future with 20 Something, the deluxe adds onto the heavier ends of heartbreak with 2AM, and Jodie is honestly a really decent closer that leans towards a more nihilistic outlook, or maybe just an acceptance?

In general this is an album that I know many consider one of the best of all time, but more importantly to me, it feels like a personal reflection of how I’ve approached my life, and how lonely I end up feeling at the end of the day.

i gravitate towards this record a LOT for a reason i can’t exactly pinpoint, even with her controversial past in mind, the art is genuinely insane. is this how people feel about Kanye?

This album is genuinely insane, I can’t begin to describe it. Somehow it’s a familiar sound yet so obviously new, even now, it’s pulling from sounds we’ve all heard by now, but the execution makes the entire album feel like a masterclass in RnB. Beyond that, it has the 90s flair and turn of the century optimism with a beyond it’s time sound that makes it a constant replay. Beyond that, the themes are surprisingly ahead of the curve, Empty literally being about a 1997 song about online dating and how the new age of the internet will affect our self identity and how we interact. The entire album is fucking AMAZING!!

Ironically I never directly connected with Kelela’s past work, definitely not compared to new avatar. Everything about it feels raw, but in a metaphoric sense, the lyrics and production are extremely full and atmospheric like I’m stepping into a soundscape rather than a song. It’s immersion is why every lyric feels a lot harder to ignore, and MUCH heavier. It’s an experience that I can only describe as a trance, even more than (Eusexua) Afterglow, it’s a hell of a trip.

LANA (the deluxe), is pretty much it’s own project, and really fits the build as a more direct successor of CTRL. It has the production and alternative RnB sound that you’d expect from SZA, which some people argue is overdone, strange considering she’s the one who really pioneered that sound, at least in the intricacies that she brings to it. I think it’s an incredible album with great tracks to come back to.

SOS in itself felt a bit weaker than CTRL for sure, but that shouldn’t really be a surprise, CTRL is like... THE album, but SOS in itself has themes that I really enjoyed, even if the tracklist could have been trimmed down, the highs are REALLY high. It brings a refreshing take on CTRL that I’m glad SZA was able to experiment with, and brought forth new favorites like Good Days, Shirt, Low, Open Arms, and so many more that I think really prove that SZA is a very talented multi-genre bending artist.

I used to listen to more future bass/kawaii based productions, so finding ILLIT a while back was a really nice surprise, ESPECIALLY bomb! I’m not a huge K-Pop fan but the production on these tracks, the vocal talents of all of the members, and the general idea that ILLIT explores is really fun and fits surprisingly well with the rest of my top albums.

ILLIT’s concept itself revolves around the dreamy aesthetics of girlhood with a dash of dreamy eeriness which really gives it an edge that makes these tracks hit harder than just cute girly k-pop that’s inspired by j-pop and anime OPs. The music itself feels self aware, as though it knows it’s trying to capture a feeling all over again, Little Monster (the opening track) makes it clear that this album is about and overcoming our inhibitions and inner demons, and “finding the magic inside you.”

It reminds me that life really is magical.

if HYBE fucks this group up any more than they already done beyond the mamihlapinatapai era i’ll fucking die