Note: Albums released after 11:59:59, December 31, 1999 were not eligible for inclusion. Remember that this list is in alphabetical order.
So, you�ve decided to sink some of your hard-earned money into some new music. That�s nice. Good for you. But it seems that this would be a special occasion. You want music that you can use to accompany your evenings under a black light, doing bong hits. That means heavy guitars, woofer-destroying bass, and lethargic tempos. That sounds to me like a job for Stoner Rock. But what to buy? With large retail outlets like Tower Records selling new CD�s at $17.99, the whimsical purchase is a thing of the past. You need a handy guide. So, here are my choices for the ten best Stoner Rock albums of all time. Some of these albums are not new, and you may even already own one or two that are mentioned here. This is because my intention is to present the albums I feel best represent the genre; I am not writing this to stimulate the economy. Also, fans of the genre may notice some obvious choices are absent from this list. That is because I hate them.
p>So, without further ado, I present to you, in alphabetical order: The Top Ten Stoner Rock Albums of the 20th Century!
1. ACID KING - �Busse Woods�
(1999, Man�s Ruin)
With six songs in over 45 minutes, the Bay Area trio�s third release was where they found their voice. The set includes a cover of �39 Lashes� from the �Jesus Christ Superstar� soundtrack, mutated into pure sludge evil in the capable hands of the King, and it more than adequately matches the five originals surrounding it. A truly sinister album, not for the squeamish or faint-hearted.
2. BLACK SABBATH - �Master of Reality�
(1971, Warner Bros.)
In my opinion, this is the greatest Stoner Rock album of all time, and no home should be without it. Although it was neither their most commercially successful nor their most famous (1970�s �Paranoid� holds that distinction), it showcases Black Sabbath at the height of their powers; they simply never again recaptured the raw fury found here. From the album-opening cough of the cannabis anthem �Sweet Leaf� to the last note of �Into the Void�, there is not a bum note anywhere. And in terms of sheer heaviness, it is on a par with any record that�s been released since, by anybody. Absolutely essential. Play it loud.
3. GOATSNAKE - �I�
(1999, Man�s Ruin)
Guttural, turbo-powered riff rock that has all the strengths of the genre and none of its clich�s (the �ironic� CD artwork notwithstanding). Formed as a side project by members of Wool and Engine Kid, Goatsnake�s only release to date exudes the power and confidence one would normally expect on a band�s fifth album. An extremely promising debut.
4. JIMI HENDRIX - �Band of Gypsys�
(1970, Capitol)
Two concerts at New York�s legendary Fillmore East were thrown together at the last minute and recorded. The sole purpose of these recordings was to create an album that would fulfill contractual obligations Hendrix had with another label. The ensuing perfunctory contract-fulfiller ended up fusing heavy funk with riff-rock and extended psychedelic jamming in a way no one had ever considered doing before, has never mastered since, and will likely never surpass. This album also contains some of Hendrix�s most uninhibited and inspired solos ever.
5. KYUSS - �Sky Valley�
(1994, Elektra)
The year was 1994. Singles-oriented munchkin-rock bands like Better Than Ezra and Weezer dominated the airwaves. And Kyuss released a ten-song CD indexed into three tracks, with three or four songs on each to prevent the attention-deficient listener from skipping. The liner notes bore the instruction, �Listen Without Distraction�. Without �Sky Valley�, there would be no Stoner Rock at all. The number of current bands who owe their entire repertoires to cloning this album cannot even be counted. If the dictionary had an entry for �Stoner Rock�� you get the idea. Oh, and by the way, all the playing is brilliant and all the songs are instant classics.
6. LED ZEPPELIN - �I�
(1969, Atlantic)
While it is hard to imagine this album being �new� to anyone in this day and age, it has provided a soundtrack for the lives of burnouts everywhere for over thirty years. That alone should be enough to merit its inclusion here, but that would slight the sheer ferocity of this band�s take on heavy white blues, to which Stoner Rock pretty much owes its entire existence. It also rules.
7. MELVINS - �Gluey Porch Treatments�
(1987, Alchemy)
While Kyuss� forays into psychedelic sludge in 1994 were out of place in their musical climate, the Melvins� forays into ten-ton plod during the INXS era were almost unthinkable. Time has caught up with them, of course, and although the Melvins still release atomically heavy music today, �Gluey Porch Treatments� was, in my opinion, the heaviest thing they ever did, as well as the best.
8. NATAS - �Delmar�
(1997, Man�s Ruin)
Argentina�s first entry in the Stoner Rock sweepstakes is a psychedelic masterpiece. With wretched recording and mixing that would make any other band unlistenable, this album actually benefited from it; �Delmar� is ultimately a very spontaneous, warm, and intimate recording, resulting in their psychedelic excursions taking the listener much further out there than they would in lesser hands.
9. SLEEP - �Sleep�s Holy Mountain�
(1992, Earache)
The greatest album Black Sabbath never recorded, this is the only album I have ever heard that actually benefits from its utter lack of originality. Sleep had released one so-so album of sludgy riff-rock before this, but here they abandoned all pretense, followed their hearts, and did what they truly wanted to do, which was make the sludge rock equivalent of a Cecil B. DeMille epic. As we all know, this means pour on the Sabbath riffs and keep �em coming. In 1994, their next album, a single one-hour song called �Jerusalem�, was shelved by their record company, and was finally released in 1999, a full five years after they had disbanded. It�s a great novelty record. �Sleep�s Holy Mountain�, however, is a hands-down masterpiece.
10. SOUNDGARDEN - �Badmotorfinger�
(1991, A&M)
After their 1989 major-label debut, everyone, myself included, expected Soundgarden to do the predictable thing: Start to suck. I was not the only person to be utterly shocked at the album they released. �Badmotorfinger� was a progressive, dirgy, dirty album that featured lower tunings, slower tempos, and more wailing vocals than anyone expected; something like a mid-70�s King Crimson as performed by the Melvins and fronted by Ronnie James Dio. A total surprise, and one that continues to pay off with subsequent listens.
