The Top 10 Albums To Listen To Before You Die

The Grim Reaper watches over us this October fellow Otaku & Metalheads.

On the 1st of this month, I took a look at the top 10 movies you need to watch before you die, and as I alluded, I’m not just making lists about film. Today’s list is about the 10 albums you gotta listen to before you croak & leave this planet. Much like the first one of these, I’ve decided to focus on a variety of music styles, rather than just concentrate on one. As much of a die hard Heavy Metal disciple as I am, for perhaps a decade now other styles have been creeping in I once enjoyed, and thus there’s quite a selection here. With that out of the way, here are the top 10 albums to listen to before you die. Let’s begin.

10) Laibach - Opus Dei (Song)

Industrial has always been a music style that’s more European than American. Apart from a few home-grown exceptions here in the states, it never caught on as strongly as other musical genres. One group that definitely had some presence in America (Despite not having concerts in the U.S. if I recall correctly) was the legendary Laibach. For nearly 4 decades, they have crafted some of the most interesting albums not just in the Industrial genre, but in music period. Perhaps one of their most iconic was 1987's Opus Dei, or Work Of God translated from Latin. Opus Dei contains perhaps some of their most iconic tracks, which includes a German cover of the Queen song “One Vision” & a reworking of Austrian band Opus' sole international hit single “Life Is Life”. While it wasn’t a colossal smash in my home country, it definitely acquired a sizable cult of fans (One that’s gotten stronger overtime, btw), and remains a staple if many places throughout Europe. If you’re in the mood for some artistic Industrial music with political undertones (That doesn’t come across as too pretentious), then I suggest that you give Opus Dei a try.

9) John Denver And The Muppets - A Christmas Together (Song)

Okay, it seems a little goofy to say that one record to listen to before you die is a Christmas album, but I’m being genuine with this. Taken from the sadly obscure special of the same name (Click Here), the music that came from it has remained far more popular, and for good reasons. The songs, are warm, cozy, full of laughter & heart, and there’s a hint of history as well. I reviewed this release years ago (Click Here), and in that review I spoke very highly of the music, as it was something that was incredibly sacred in my house, and still is to this day. The fact that it still has it’s oldest fans says something to it’s quality, as is the fact that it’s got fans among younger generations also. If you’re looking for Christmas/Holiday music that’s as warm as a fireplace, make it this one.

8) Devin Townsend - Devlab (Song)

Only an album as weird as this could only have come from the mad Canadian knows as Devin Townsend!

In recent years, I’ve gotten pulled into the realm of Ambient music. Cyberpunk & Fantasy Ambient, to be more specific. Anyways, leave it up to HevyDevy to create an Ambient record that’s seemingly nonsensical, yet forms an oddly cohesive whole. Each track on their own feel like a bite-sized tornado of insanity, full of audio nonsense that makes it come across like a pretentious art project. However, if you listen to the whole thing from beginning to end, you’ll find that it’s actually one genius story. Sure, it doesn’t make a lick of sense 90% of the time, but the fact that each songs bleeds into one another without any trouble does give you some kind of clue as to what’s going on. It’s really hard to describe, so I suggest you go out & listen to it right away. You may come back confused, but you’ll be entertained at the same time!

7) N.W.A. - Straight Outta Compton (Song)

Funny story. I actually didn’t listen to this album, along with Devlab, until a few months ago for the very first time when I was beginning to pick the records for this list. Anyone who’s known me for a very long time knows I am not a fan of Rap & Hip-Hop, and outside of some very specific exceptions, I’m still not a fan.....and then comes Straight Outta Compton. Released on the 8th of August in 1988, the debut album of the N.W.A (Niggaz With Attitude) would go on to be one of the most important & infamous Rap albums ever released. Important because it helped add further to the Gangsta element that was moving more & more into the genre, and infamous because they got a warning letter from an FBI agent for their song Fuck Tha Police. That last aspect would eventually call themselves “The World's Most Dangerous Group”, which actually just helped their career. While Straight Outta Compton doesn’t pull me into the fold like how certain Death Metal & Black Metal albums did, I none the less respect it’s legacy, and acknowledge it’s place in music history. If you are ever in the mood for Gangsta Rap that doesn’t insult your intelligence, then the first outing of the N.W.A. is for you.

6) Queen - Innuendo (Song)

I will forever punch myself in the face for waiting so long to get into Queen. From the early 1970s to 1991, Queen and their iconic frontman Freedy Mercury took the world by storm, and assaulted all of their fans with some of the best Rock And Roll in the history of the style.....and I waited until the mid/late 2010s to get my foot in the door. One of the ways I got into said door was the second to last album of their career, Innuendo. For the first time ever in their career, everybody in Queen was united like never before. Even Freddy himself, who was supposed to die about 3 years prior, has never sounded so amazing as he does on Innuendo. From Gospel, to Rock And Roll, to AOR, and even a little bit of Heavy Metal, there’s something for everyone on this record. It’s a shame that Freddy’s health was so bad by that point, as even a small world tour to promote this album would have been very appreciated by the fans. Even so, Innuendo is a testament to Queen’s legacy as one of the most iconic bands of the world, and those that still continue to praise their work are nothing short of important to the preservation of the band’s history. Take my advice: listen to Innuendo just one at least.

5) New Radicals - Maybe You’ve Been Brainwashed Too (Song)

Sometimes we listen to an album because of the genre. Other times it’s because of how it makes us feel, and not to dissimilar to that, we listen to a record because of nostalgia. The lone release from the New Radicals, Maybe You’ve Been Brainwashed Too, is an example of that for me. I spoke about it a few times back in 2022, so I’ll keep things a little brief here. Maybe You’ve Been Brainwashed is, in my opinion, the single best record that perfectly embodies the 1990s. Yes, it came out in 1998, but the album manages to encompass the entire decade with ease. All of the positives, negatives, hopes, dreams, and fears of the 1990s are found within each song. I don’t think any other release from that decade was even remotely capable of doing that feat, nor manage to be quite varied in track styles as well. It’s sadly a little difficult to find these days, as there’s never been a remaster or simple re-release as far as I know, and it’s over 25 years old, but Maybe You’ve Been Brainwashed Too is just such an essential record from the last great decade, that it wouldn’t be right to leave off this list.

4) Queen Of The Damned Soundtrack (Song)

If Maybe You’ve Been Brainwashed Too encapsulated the 1990s, then this soundtrack to one of the most iconic vampire movies is to the 2000s. To be more specific, it had a hold on the early 2000s. Originally the music was written & sung by Johnathan Davis of Korn fame and Richard Gibbs, but Davis was taken off of the project due to contract issues if I recall correctly, and any trace of his vocal work on the songs he did was taken off & replaced with a different singer. Even with that factored out, the Queen Of The Damned Soundtrack was on the button of the music buzzer of some highly popular genres at the time. Nu Metal, Gothic Metal, and Industrial Metal are all found aplenty on this release, & they’re all absolute bangers in one way or another. I remember loving this back when I first listened to it in the mid 2000s, and there’s just something incredibly nostalgic about it almost 20 years later. If you’re looking for music that makes your fangs grow out, then the Queen Of The Damned Soundtrack is for you!

3) Led Zeppelin - In Through The Out Door (Song)

It took my Dad decades to get me into Led Zeppelin. It took him forever to get me into one of the bands that are practically responsible for laying down the foundation for Heavy Metal to eventually be born, despite being a Blues & Folk Rock band. Then, on Christmas of 2017, I finally got my first album from these legends in the form of what would be their last release together as a band, and that was In Through The Out Door. I reviewed this almost 5 years ago for it’s belated 40th birthday, and you can read the review here (Link), but I spoke pretty highly of it, and even said it was the only Led Zeppelin I truly like. Hell, even before getting it close to 7 years ago, I was always a fan of one song off of it, but upon listening to it, I realized that the whole thing is great. Even though it was torn apart by many people when it first released, it none the less managed to become a favorite among Led Zeppelin fans in the years afterwards, and in one circumstance.....they got me hooked.

2) Nirvana - Nevermind (Song)

Grunge. Often reviled by hardcore metalheads from the 1980s as being the main culprit of classic metal getting “Killed” in the 90s (Even though there were more business & social factors at work), it was unfairly maligned by many, and some still to this day have a brain aneurysm over it. What they all fail to realize is that Grunge was far more Metal than they knew, and even a lot of the Grunge bands kinda had that mentality as well (Whether they admit it or not). None perhaps were more iconic to the Grunge movement that Nirvana, as well as it’s troubled frontman, Kurt Cobain. Though they had an album released beforehand, it was 1991's Nevermind that established themselves as legends until the end of time. Singing about things that were more real than something like most of the Hair Metal bands from the prior decade would have in their music, Nevermind would help a burgeoning new generation find someway to make sense of the new decade, which made it all the more tragic when on the 5th of April, 1994....he took his own life by a self-inflicted shotgun blast.

1) Type-O Negative - World Coming Down (Song)

Another soul-crusher to end one of these lists.

Yet another album I reviewed 5 years ago, it might be surprising to some of you that I enjoy this record. In fact, it’ll definitely surprise you to know that it’s one of my absolute favorites coming from the Brooklyn powerhouse Type-O Negative, especially considering how bleak the music on this release is. Everything from graphic drug addition, to suicidal analogies, and to sexual fascination with fire can be found on World Coming Down. The whole experience is absolutely dark, tragic, and for almost all of the time, strangely hopeless. Yet, as I said in the review, it was also cleansing for Pete Steele. Whether he knew it or not, he was releasing just about all of his personal demons with every track, and maybe some of the other band members were doing the same thing as well. World Coming Down is most definitely a miserable experience, but it’s a well-made miserable experience, and I can’t fault it for that.

And those were the top 10 albums to listen to before you die. Records taken from across musical time & space, they’re a testament to their legacy that they’re all remembered fondly even in these dark times. So, I will see you all on Halloween Day, when I’ll talk about the top 10 games to play before you die. Before that, I believe a certain October tradition is in order. Until then, take care.