Best Chamber Pop
Double vinyl LP pressing.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"If you like the Decemberists, you like the Decemberists."
"I really love a few of the songs."
"Almost worth the price."
"This band incorporates both acoustic & electric guitar with other instruments to create their sound!"
"The Crane Wife is still my favorite (along with Hazards of Love which was so good that I went to 3 Hazards of Love concerts in 3 different states--that's when I found out that concert promoters add dates as they go along, so if a concert is not in your town initially, it may still be scheduled)."
"Mostly the music was pretty mellow compared to a lot of the things that I listen to. Overall, I really like the CD and enjoy listening to it."
"I keep searching my mind for some other act to which this group compares; I can find none."
This 5-CD box set includes all five volumes, plus a 42-page booklet with an original Christmas essay by acclaimed American novelist Ricky Moody, two essays, a short story by Stevens, a holiday sticker, chord charts, lyrics, comic strip, family portrait poster, photos, and an animated video. With an endless stream of overplayed pop stars stirring what Sufjan Stevens calls "That Creepy Christmas Feeling," how does one navigate the sound of the season? In the end of the liner essay, Stevens writes that the Christmas story is about love, and on that note, he proclaims that these songs and the "Creepy Christmas Feeling" prompt "a transformation of the heart" for him and bring out affection and reflection.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Off-beat Christmas music made my "Christmas in June,", today being June 25th."
"There is something so magical and winter Wonderland about the overall sound of the album that makes you feel nostalgic about every Christmas you have ever experienced as a child."
"Seriously, his rendition of "Lo, How A Rose Ere Blooming" is one of the best songs I have ever heard, and "The Friendly Beasts" makes me cry consistently."
"It's an exhaustive compendium of Sufjan's signature whimsical/misery blend, with a bit of holiday flair."
"The cardboard gift-box opens up to reveal: a folded-up Christmas poster that has a comic strip on the other side; a sheet of stickers; a thick booklet that contains three essays, the song credits, some song lyrics with chords, and scattered illustrations; and, each In its own illustrated cardboard sleeve, five Christmas CDs, one for each of the five years in which Sufjan recorded them."
"In an age where packaged CD's are giving way to downloads, this remarkable effort made me re-think the whole business. For not only does this box set contain outstanding music (more on that later), it contains a poster, a comic strip, well written essays, stickers and more. After listening to some artists whine about about how there's no reason to buy music CD's anymore, I can't tell you how refreshing it is to see the whole concept redefined. I guess I wouldn't evaluate a Christmas album buy slapping on a pair of headphones and sitting back to listen with undivided attention. Can't wait till next year cause I'm afraid that Steven's record label, Asthmatic Kitty Records, might go out of business from selling these things at a loss or worse yet some big record label will buy up the rights and put the whole collection on two or three plain silver CD's in classic empty plastic packaging."
"It's one of my favorite music set christmas or not."
"Sufjan is probably my favorite musician in any category because he covers them all!!"
3 BOXER
LP on Black Vinyl.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"My favorite band of all time."
"Excellent album from an excellent band."
"Personally, this is my favorite of The National's albums."
"I don't know that I can explain that statement fully, but either way I would highly suggest this album along with the album High Violet."
"Great addition to the vinyl collection."
"This is more like indie!"
"Excellent, darker and more brooding than some of their other albums."
"Can't say why but I'm glad this group came into being."
Best Goth & Industrial
This is the 21st Anniversary of Cure's masterpiece.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I hadn't listened to it in over 12 years when I bought a used copy of the CD recently - and to my surprise I found that it was as moody, beautiful and wonderful as ever."
"Love the heavy vinyl."
"It's THE CURE!!!!"
"This is The Cure's best album: Disintegration."
"The vocals, keyboards, etc all are given their own space to breathe and it makes for a better listening experience."
"The Cure is the best band of all time."
"What an album!"
Best Dream Pop
A Rush Of Blood To The Head is a soulful, exhilarating journey, moving from the cathartic rock of 'Politik' to the hushed tones of 'Green Eyes' without once breaking its mesmerizing spell.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Love this song; I love the lyrics."
"This is where it all started."
"Would Highly Recommend."
"These cd is awesome."
"Great CD original recording."
"Super fast shipping."
Best Ambient Pop
French duo Air's debut album is a superlatively happy collection of experimental disco-mood sound nestled between ambient soundscape and breathy pop. Oh, and contrary to sampler fashion, Nicolas Godin and Jean Benoit Dunckel played the instruments themselves.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Accomplished painters have the innate ability to activate neural pathways to create a remarkably pleasing viewer experience that defies explanation or analysis."
"This is my introduction to Air and I bought it soley on the reviews on Amazon and the style of music."
"The French have always led the way in chill/ambient music since I first heatd French avant-garde in the mid 1970s."
"For any of you analog synth lovers out there, this is the album to get."
"The only thing that I don't like about it is knowing that this was a moment of inspiration for these guys: the rest of their albums are more like the rest of electronic music albums out there, they are just not worth the 15 bucks you have to pay for them."
"Highlights include: "La Femme d'Argent". "All I Need". "Talisman". "Ce Matin-La". "New Star in the Sky (Chanson Pour Solal)". "Le Voyage de Penelope" (parts of it)."
"I love it love it love it."
"I played this until I was sick of it, and then I played it some more."
Best Twee Pop
High quality gatefold sleeve.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"After the brilliant landmark album, Trasatlanticism, Death Cab For Cutie made the big jump to Atlantic records and released the more lush record, Plans in the fall of 2005. As with every indie band, moving to a major label is often resented by many fans of the group and while some have still been critical towards the more balladesque atmosphere on Plans, I'm happy to see that others have been very welcome to it."
"As with many of their albums, I grow new favorite songs by listening to the entire album (such as Brothers on a Hotel Bed being my new favorite close to the two mentioned above, and Your Heart Is An Empty Room)."
"I strongly suggest purchasing this album for any record collector / vinyl enthusiast."
"I would say the sound of the album is more "open" than their other LP's, which leaves you with some contemplative lyrics, warm vocals, and soft strings and piano that creates a very peaceful, slightly melancholy atmosphere."
"Good album decent quality vinyl."
"One of my all time favorite albums ever."
Best Jangle Pop
The sympathetic ballad "Everybody Hurts" must have prevented countless suicide attempts, while the Andy Kaufman tribute "Man on the Moon" (with Michael Stipe affecting an Elvis Presley imitation) and the rock-into-oblivion "Drive" are among the quartet's strongest hits.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Just had to have this to replace a scratched CD."
"One of the best albums of the 90's!"
"Great CD."
"One of the top 10 albums of the 90s."
"vinyl records are hard to find."
"Of course I ordered this after watching the new Vh1 series, "Hindsight.""
Best Electronic Pop
Also includes covers by The Shins and Iron & Wine as well as the remixes from "The District Sleeps Alone Tonight" single.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The Postal Service's freshman album "Give Up" is nothing short of a musical tour de force. Take the lyrical honesty of Death Cab and marry it with Jimmy Tamborello's "Nintendo-esque" keyboard sensibilities. The result is an absolutely smashing record that harkens back to the days of Depeche Mode and Yaz but with a more modern bent. Starts off slow in almost a dream-like fashion then steadily increases, it's tempo culminating in a climax awash in keyboards and catchy drumbeats. Brand New Colony - Finally....The Super Mario theme song with added vocals!!!"
"Like a soundtrack to a 16-bit video game mixed with the sensibilities of a John Hughes movie, Give Up's beats chirp and hum along happily while the singer sings tales of love and love lost."
"Sounds amazing on vinyl!!!!!"
"Came fast, and listening to the album while cleaning, with the windows open and the rain falling?"
"One of my favorite albums of all time."
"The Postal Service truly gets to the heart of the matter by fusing together several different types of music into one gorgeous collection with velvety vocals and sweet, captivating melodies, this album provides something different in each track, giving the listener the ability to select as he or she pleases."
Best Indie Rock
They're drawn by songs like "Ho Hey" and "Stubborn Love," Americana-inflected barn burners in the vein of the Avett Brothers and Mumford & Sons.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I'm not very good at writing about music but if you like stuff like the Avett Brothers or Low Anthem or The Head & the Heart I'm pretty sure you will like this."
"If I had to characterize The Lumineers, I'd say they're similar to Bright Eyes, except 10 times better and a tenth as annoyingly self-infatuated."
"Submarines is what really caught my attention as well as Ho, Hey. If you, like me, sometimes want to find a new band/artist to stimulate your musical taste, I would not hesitate to recommend The Lumineers."
"Fame found them, but when you watch them or listen to their music, you appreciate how deeply they care about their music."
"I may never have bought it if wasn't that low. Yes, the stand out song is 'Ho Hey', but as much as I listen to that song, I find myself equally drawn to 'Submarines' with its upbeat warm feeling. Kind of gives me that warm feeling of being wrapped up in a blanket on a cold morning. Another song worth mentioning is 'Stubborn Love' with its haunting cello. While I do think it's somewhat of a sad sounding song, it somehow keeps drawing me in. In my opinion, if I had just bought one song, namely 'Ho Hey', I would have cheated myself out of an entire listening experience."
"They all have a catchy pure sound and make me smile; Flower in Your Hair is my 2nd favorite so far! I'm looking forward to playing this CD over and over during short trips to work, home, etc."
"Amazing album, amazing band!"
"Great CD!!!"
Best Shoegazing
No Description Available. No Track Information Available Media Type: CD Artist: MY BLOODY VALENTINE Title: LOVELESS Street Release Date: 11/05/1991. Domestic Genre: ROCK/POP.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I finally listened to it as I was embarking on an evening walk through the streets of Leominster, MA. I had squeezed my dated portable CD player into my jeans pocket. Loveless is one of the most beautiful, enigmatic, and unique recordings I have ever had the pleasure to hear in my short life. It has that same warm sensation, feeling like hot water washing over my whole body. You hear two drum beats and then WOOSH, you're swept up in a mindblowing sonic storm of guitar riffs and drones. Maybe you like being cynical about hyped albums (I think a term commonly used is "sacred cow")."
"From the first notes of "Only Shallow", the music sounds fiery yet mystical, owing to the odd softness of Bilinda Butcher's vocals that actually propel the guitar and bass melodies forward in a manner that will never go out of one's mind even after a single listen: the effect is of so many melodic lines moulded perfectly into a single unit. Unlike many self-indulgent instrumentals, "To Here Knows When" find virtue in simplicity and soothingness, epitomised by Bilinda's beautiful "la la la"s. "When You Sleep" moved onto a new plain, but the shrill sounds in the intro were a perfect match to Shields' deep, haunting voice which benefits from being somewhat buried, as it does on the static yet so beautiful "Sometimes"."
"Kevin Shields, the genius behind My Bloody Valentine (who regained notorious status through his participation in the 'Lost in Translation' soundtrack), recorded in 'Loveless' not just the band's best album, one that almost fifteen years after still works perfectly well. 'Loveless' opened up a whole can of worms for me, since there's so much more where this came from... dozens of bands that were in the back, doing their own thing at the time when grunge was at the forefront of everyone's awareness."
Best Lo-Fi
Named Best Album of the 1990s by Magnet Magazine, Aeroplane gives us Jeff Mangum's powerful solo acoustic work, full horn-section marches, history, religion, & sex -- everything you hoped for and more!
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I've always loved this album and am happy to have it on vinyl!"
"It rapidly became a contender for my all time favorite album, and I still try to introduce Aeroplane to anyone who might appreciate it, though it is true that Aeroplane is not for everyone."
"Delivery was fairly quick, but the one thing I'd say is that the packaging wasn't great - the plastic on the album cover was quite badly cracked on both sides."
"I already knew how perfect this album was as I had it on CD upon its initial release."
"The CD arrived as described and on time."
"Saw them live at Markarth, amazing, moved me to tears."
"Bought this on a whim after reading all the positive reviews and it did not disappoint."