I thought that picking my top 10 albums of 1998 was going to be a breeze. But as I perused my CD purchases of the past year, I realized 1998 wasn’t a great year for music. A lot of songs were out there, but not a lot of good albums.

I ended up narrowing it to the top eight of ‘98, and even that was tough. This past year wasn’t the best for the music industry. It seems there were a lot of decent songs, but few decent albums.

Some of the CDs that haven’t left my CD changer for weeks at a time, like Matchbox 20’s “Yourself or Someone Like You” or Edwin McCain’s “Misguided Roses” aren’t eligible for the top 10: While the hits from them occurred mainly in ‘98, the actual release dates were prior to 1998. So here’s the list of the top eight:

8. “Armageddon, the Album,” Various Artists

Partly an Aerosmith showcase, the soundtrack does offer a good mixture of new and old. “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” is yet another timeless ballad by Aerosmith, and “Sweet Emotion” is a classic from the ’70s, along with ZZ Top’s “La Grange,” with its funky guitar riff.

The Our Lady Peace track, “Starseed,” is another great addition, with its upbeat tempo that wakes up the end tracks. Even the Journey track, “Remember Me,” is worth listening to, rather than skipping to the next Aerosmith track.

7. “Version 2.0,” Garbage

I still think I like their first version better, but Version 2.0 is still a great album. The entire album seems to be more upbeat and is easy to sift through its entire 49:38 without having to skip any tracks.

“I Think I’m Paranoid” is a great listen. Its distorted guitar and strange background samples/synthesizer are a good mixture. “Temptation Waits” is one of the best tracks on the album. Vocalist Shirley Manson’s voice meshes well with the dancelike beat and electronic/guitar samples and loops that drop in and out of the track.

6. “3,” Van Halen

Though album sales would most definitely not put Van Halen’s “3″ on any year-end top 10 charts, I thoroughly enjoyed the first outing with ex-Extreme vocalist Gary Cherone.

At times on the album, Cherone’s screams and yells possess an uncanny resemblance to former front man Sammy Hagar’s wails. The opening track “Neworld” is an instrumental that echoes the guitar piece acoustically of the first single, “Without You.”

“Josephina” also shows the acoustic side of Edward Van Halen. “Without You,” “Dirty Water Dog” and “Fire in the Hole” are all classic Van Halen, with hard-hitting drums and strong electric-guitar styling as only Eddie can do.

5. “Hello Nasty,” Beastie Boys

While “Hello Nasty” doesn’t have the “Sabotage” track that “Ill Communication” had, it’s still a great album that shows that the Beastie Boys have continued to enjoy success even as the ’80s have long become a memory.

“Intergalactic,” the first single off the album, has a unique groove, though the robotic voice in the background took some getting
used to and several listens before it was able to be translated by my friends and me. “Body Movin’,” the second single, is also catchy and is classic Beastie work.

The album took a little bit more time for me to get into than “Ill Communication” but is definitely a classic gem from 1998.

4. “Picture Postcard Walls,” Far Too Jones

These guys wouldn’t make it on any lists of top live shows. I saw them twice over the winter break as the opening act for Edwin McCain, and they did nothing for me. But their studio album is great.

In concert, the simultaneous use of three guitars completely oversaturates their songs, but it works well on their CD, creating a good layering of thin and thick and clean and distorted. This is another one that is worth listening to all the way through
(though the hidden track 13 isn’t much of a song).

“As Good as You” is a great uptempo tune that I can just imagine being used as the credits roll on some Hollywood flick. “Close to You” is a beautiful acoustic ballad that complements the other, harder-rocking tracks of the disc. My favorite track is definitely “Middle of Me.” I really like the constant, quick beat of the drums and the back and forth of guitar and vocals.

3. “City of Angels Motion Picture Soundtrack,” Various Artists

Soundtracks have always been an essential part of my collection, and this CD from the Meg Ryan/Nicolas Cage flick really doesn’t have a track that doesn’t deserve a listen.

I love the hits by Alanis Morissette (”Uninvited”) and the Goo Goo Dolls (Iris). Both have been nonstop perches on radio stations but still haven’t gotten on my nerves.

Sarah McLachlan’s “Angel” is beautiful in its simplicity of piano and voice. Her voice is strong throughout and is a good emotional outburst to accompany such an emotional film. Paula Cole’s slightly strange “Feelin’ Love” has a nice groove that instantly makes me want to get up and groove.

The three blues songs are also a nice touch that complete the palette of the soundtrack — John Lee Hooker’s “Mama, You Got a Daughter,” Eric Clapton’s “Further On Up the Road” and Jimi Hendrix’s “Red House.”

2. “Garage Inc.,” Metallica

I’ve actually really owned the second disc of this double CD for a couple of years, but I’m glad Metallica finally agreed to re-release the “Garage Days” sessions, along with some B-sides and an entire disc of covers.

By far, my favorite on the first disc is the twangy rendition of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Tuesday’s Gone,” though the intro is at first a little messed up. James Hetfield does a great job of singing the entire song, paying tribute to Skynyrd, but at the same time, making it Metallica.

This is true about both discs. Metallica makes Black Sabbath’s “Sabbra Cadabra,” Danzig’s “Last Caress/Green Hell” and Queen’s “Stone Cold Crazy” all sound like true Metallica tunes that come from deep within their own creative cores, yet they still leave the songs intact enough for them to be recognizable. It’s a hard technique to explain and an even harder technique to accomplish. Metallica is able to.

1. “Spirit,” Jewel

I loved Jewel’s first album, “Pieces of You,” but “Spirit” is right behind it. Her second release seems to revolve around the images of the flame. I’m trying to figure out what the flame represents personally to Jewel but have yet to uncover that.

“Hands” shows off her voice well and is a beautiful tune, though the lyrics are quizzical: “My hands are small I know, but they’re not yours. They are my own.” Her words are a little mysterious, yet not in a way that is too deep.

I have a lot of CDs, but this is one of my few recent acquisitions that I can honestly say I can listen to all the way through. The acoustic guitar throughout is more appealing to me than the first album. It’s hard to single out a few tracks, but “Deep Water,” “Jupiter,” and “Life Uncommon” all are very catchy and memorable, with a good meshing of guitar, strong vocals (that are less whiny than “Pieces of You,” as well) and a nice bass line accompaniment.

Originally posted at NandoNext.

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 10th, 1999 at 8:25 am and is filed under Music, Music Reviews, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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