The purpose of this feature is to give you an unbiased and diverse look at what the StonerRock.com Community thought were the best albums released in the year 2002. Well, as diverse as possible considering that we`re mostly die-hard heavy rock fans! We`ve provided a total of 6 lists to ensure as much diversity as possible. The first list was compiled from a poll (via our Top 22 Albums of 2002 contest) conducted among the general members of the StonerRock.com Community, the second list is an individual member`s own list (the winner of the contest), and the final 4 lists were compiled by the staff here at StonerRock.com. We hope these lists provide new fans with ideas for which albums they should pick up first and the die-hard fans with a list of great albums that they`re missing out on.
A great many of the albums listed below are available for purchase in our All That`s Heavy Online Music Store. Those that are available will be linked directly to that album in the store or you can just click here to go to the main page of the store. Sorry for the shameless self promotion but it`s the sales from the store that keep StonerRock.com online - if it weren`t for those sales we wouldn`t be able to bring you this feature. Please support StonerRock.com by doing some of your record shopping with us.
And now onto the feature, starting with the StonerRock.com Community Top 22 Albums of 2002.
StonerRock.com Community Top 22 Albums of 2002
Between January 1st and 31st, 2003 we ran a competition on StonerRock.com that our community members could enter by submitting their "Top 22 Albums of 2002" lists. This was run like a poll with very strict rules. There were hundreds of lists submitted and very very few were suspicious. I personally went through every list and compiled a master list and then alloted points based on a strict and fair criteria. This took me many hours and I was extremely careful not to miss any submissions. I won`t reveal my system for determining the points because I don`t want people to cheat the next time we run a poll/competition like this but I will guarantee that this list is very accurate and gives you an almost perfect representation of what albums the StonerRock.com Community favours.
- Queens of the Stone Age - Songs for the Deaf (4414 pts)
- High on Fire - Surrounded by Thieves (2502 pts)
- Electric Wizard - Let Us Prey (2205 pts)
- Down - II: A Bustle In Your Hedgerow (2007 pts)
- Hermano - �Only a Suggestion (1924 pts)
- Alabama Thunder Pussy - Staring at the Divine (1478 pts)
- Fu Manchu - California Crossing (1429 pts)
- Orange Goblin - Coup de Grace (1358 pts)
- Los Natas - Corsario Negro (1294 pts)
- Isis - Oceanic (1269 pts)
- Mastodon - Remission (1225 pts)
- Brant Bjork & The Operators - Self Titled (1193 pts)
- Sixty Watt Shaman - Reason to Live (1187 pts)
- Bongzilla - Gateway (1044 pts)
- 35007 - Liquid (970 pts)
- Atomic Bitchwax, The - Spit Blood (853 pts)
- Cathedral - The VIIth Coming (848 pts)
- Hellacopters - By the Grace of God (838 pts)
- Spiritual Beggars - On Fire (825 pts)
- Pentagram - First Daze Here (The Vintage Collection) (730 pts)
- Various Artists - Sucking the 70s (698 pts)
- Melvins - Hostile Ambient Takeover (671 pts)
Click here to view the Community Top Albums Master List - Contains all albums that were voted for by StonerRock.com Community Members in the "Top 22 Albums of 2002" contest....
Contest Winner`s Top 11 Albums of 2002
In a random drawing Daniel Liden (StonerRock.com Username: GREENLEAF and member of the bands Demon Cleaner and Greenleaf) won our "Top 22 Albums of 2002" contest. As part of his prize (which also included his choice of any 10 items from our All That`s Heavy Online Music Store) his "Top 22 Albums of 2002" list that he submitted is being included as part of this feature (NOTE: Only a top 10 list was *required* to enter the competition and GREENLEAF submitted 11 albums for his entry), so here it is:
- David Eugene Edwards - Woven Hand
- 16 Horsepower - Folklore
- The Faint - Danse Macabre
- Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Yanqui U.X.O.
- The Hellacopters - By The Grace Of God
- Queens of the Stone Age - Songs for the Deaf
- Audioslave - Self Titled
- The Residents - Demons Dance Alone
- Solomon Burke - Don`t Give Up On Me
- Sweatmaster - Sharp Cut
- Kent - Vapen & Ammunition
Robwrong`s Top 22 Albums of 2002
(Rob is an official reviewer/writer for StonerRock.com and is also the frontman of the Portland stoner/doom band Witch Mountain)
Well here it is, the finish of another year. I have to admit that there were quite a few more releases out there that I really liked, but I had to make some decisions on what to cut...
For me the Queens slayed the number one position with an album even after 6 months of listening hasn`t lost it`s luster for me. The songwriting is simple and the production is awesome...there seemed to be a lot of controversy on whether it was good or not, well...it was IMO! I haven`t heard an album that I have liked this much in years...it`s a classic. Till next year...
- Queens of the Stone Age - Songs for the Deaf
- YOB - Elaborations of Carbon
- Pentagram - First Daze Here (The Vintage Collection)
- Weedeater - 16 Tons
- Sourvein - Will to Mangle
- Place of Skulls - Nailed
- Hermano - �Only a Suggestion
- The Glasspack - Powderkeg
- Eternal Elysium - Share
- Bad Wizard - Sophisticated Mouth
- Rubes, The - Hokum
- Alabama Thunder Pussy - Staring at the Divine
- Boulder - Reaped in Half (Acts 1 & 2)
- Electric Wizard - Let Us Prey
- Josiah - Self Titled
- Kung Pao - Sheboygan
- Pod People - Doom Saloon
- Sixty Watt Shaman - Reason to Live
- Tummler - Early Man
- Beaten Back to Pure - The Last Refuge of the Sons of Bitches
- Abdullah - Graveyard Poetry
- All Night - Self Titled
Randolfio`s Top 22 Albums of 2002
(Mark (Randolfio) does the shipping & receiving for our All That`s Heavy Online Music Store.)
2002 was one helluva year in ROCK for me. Emissions, SHOD, too many incredible shows to count, road trips, hanging with friends at shows, crashing on people`s floors, people crashing on my floors, getting yelled at by my roommates for making too much noise, playing bass for Witch Mountain, and doing more drugs than ever are but a few of the many highlights I will always remember. Hazy memories mind you, but memories nonetheless.
2002 has also been and incredibly exciting year professionally. It brought the beginning of the most exciting music venture of my life, a new band with KillerTone called Black Magic Circle. We didn`t do much in 2002, but the fire was lit, and will soon be blazing! And running the All That`s Heavy store has never been better. I don`t know if you`ve noticed, but the store has almost doubled in size since last year. More bands, more albums, more formats, and more opportunities to spread the ROCK. All thanks to our wonderful customers who support us through thick and thin, the bands who keep pounding away in obscurity, and Danno`s continued dedication to this site, genre, and ROCK in general.
Running the store gives me the opportunity of listening to almost everything that we carry, so this year`s top 22 was a very difficult task. After running through the list of the contenders, I had to narrow it down from about 50, and I wish I could recognize every band that has blown me away this year. but here`s 22 of them.
- Isis - Oceanic
- YOB - Elaborations of Carbon
- Mastodon - Remission
- Pentagram - First Daze Here (The Vintage Collection)
- All Night - Self Titled
- 35007 - Liquid
- Various Artists - Sucking the 70s
- High on Fire - Surrounded by Thieves
- Floor - Self Titled
- Bongzilla - Gateway
- WE - Dinosauric Futurobic
- Queens of the Stone Age - Songs for the Deaf
- Tummler - Early Man
- Raging Slab - (pronounced eat shit)
- Thumlock - Sojourns Lucid Magic
- Los Natas - Corsario Negro
- Rebreather - Need Another Seven Astronauts
- Kung Pao - Sheboygan
- Grand Magus - Self Titled
- Sourvein - Will to Mangle
- Bad Wizard - Sophisticated Mouth
- Halfway to Gone - Second Season
Hogfeldt`s Top 22 Albums of 2002
(Peter Hogfeldt is an official reviewer/writer for StonerRock.com - our European correspondent)
2002 - Stonerrock is dead... long live stonerrock:
What should I say about 2002? It hasn`t been that good a year for me personally, lotsa health problems and lotsa missed opportunities to see good bands live. But still, it hasn`t been all bad, there`s been some really good albums released and I`ve seen some great live performances. During a few of the live performances I`ve seen during 2002 I`ve heard stuff like "stoner rock is dead" and "fuck stoner rock" shouted from the stage. It seems that some bands are trying to distance themselves from the stonerrock scene (most of these bands would`ve been long gone if it wasn`t for the "stonerrock community", since we`re the ones buying their records). Now, I`ve never been a fan of the stonerrock tag... but then again I don`t give a shit what this music is called as long as it has something that sets it apart from all the crappy music out there (shure, there`s plenty crappy stonerrock bands as well, but most of the bands do manage to reinvent themselves musically between albums... enough so to continue to keep the scene interesting and "fresh").
As always it`s been hell trying to get my "best of 2002" lists together, they`ve been revised a couple of times. There was almost 50 releases that I thought was good enough to deserve mentioning (and still there`s plenty releases I haven`t heard at all), but I finally decided not to second guess my picks anymore. So let`s say that all the releases that have had positive reviews written about `em by me all share the 23rd or 11th spot on my top 2002 list... There`s even more Scandinavian bands than usual on my Top 22 albums list (11 outta 22, and 9 outta the 13 bands on the Top 10 Splits, EP`s & Singles list) which shows that the Scandinavian underground musicscene is as strong as ever. Finally, I`m hoping I will get up to my normal speed with writing reviews and "features" during 2003 (gotta keep those stacks of review CD`s from growing any more), and that it will be a better year (for everyone in every way)...
- Half Man - Red Herring
- WE - Dinosauric Futurobic
- Queens of the Stone Age - Songs for the Deaf
- Generous Maria - Command of the New Rock
- Fleshpress - Bleak Emptiness
- Souldivider - Supersound City
- Acid Ape - Fleshspa
- Weedeater - 16 Tons
- Mastodon - Remission
- Mustasch - Above All
- Awesome Machine - Under the Influence
- High on Fire - Surrounded by Thieves
- Sourvein - Will to Mangle
- Bongzilla - Gateway
- Los Natas - Corsario Negro
- Brant Bjork & The Operators - Self Titled
- Cracktorch - ... Is Not The Problem
- Motorpsycho - It`s A Love Cult
- Gate 9 - Moon Ranger Gone Evil
- Fatso Jetson - Cruel & Delicious
- Seid - Among The Monster Flowers Again
- Misdemeanor - Self Titled
Top 10 Splits, EP`s & Singles:
- Church of Misery - Boston Strangler EP 10"
- Hell N� Diesel - Asphalt Supreme
- Baby Woodrose - Never Coming Back 7"
- Witchcraft - Witchcraft
- The Awesome Machine - Black Hearted Son 7"
- Fleshpress / Dot(.) - Split 7"
- Rickshaw / Noise of Reality - Split 7"
- Los Natas / Dozer - Split 7"
- On Trial - Higher 7"
- Cephalic Carnage - Halls of Amenti
El Danno`s Top 22 Albums of 2002
Well. I think the other guys have said everything there is to say about 2002 already so I`m not going to go into too much detail with my own introduction. I will say that 2002 saw us receiving more albums, by far, for review than ever before and it proved to be impossible to keep up and listen to them all, let alone listening to all the good ones enough times to give them a fair chance at making my own Top 22 list. However, I can say for sure that all of the albums that I`ve listed below are fucking killer releases and are all some of my favourite albums of all time, not just 2002!! I listen to them all over and over again and never even start to get sick of them. They all grabbed me immediately and held my attention and impressed me enough that I chose to play each of them repeatedly - this is how I decide what my favourite records are. I`ve listened to Songs for the Deaf and First Daze Here probably hundreds of times each and they still continue to slay me every time! Here`s hoping for more records of the quality of the following 22 in 2003!!
One other thing that I`d like to mention is that StonerRock.com passed it`s 3rd anniversary on December 15th, 2002!! Three years in business and things are still going strong!!! A very sincere thanks to all of our regular visitors, community members and especially our loyal All That`s Heavy Online Music Store customers - it`s thanks to you that we`re still online!! :)
So, without any further nonsense, here`s my Top 22 Albums of 2002:
- Queens of the Stone Age - Songs for the Deaf
- Pentagram - First Daze Here (The Vintage Collection)
- Josiah - Self Titled
- Various Artists - Sucking the 70s
- Black Nasa - Self Titled
- YOB - Elaborations of Carbon
- Brant Bjork & The Operators - Self Titled
- Ribeye Brothers, The - If I Had A Horse
- Liquid Sound Company - Inside the Acid Temple
- Mammoth Volume - The Early Years
- Rubes, The - Hokum
- Eternal Elysium - Share
- WE - Dinosauric Futurobic
- Raging Slab - (pronounced eat shit)
- 35007 - Liquid
- Los Natas - Corsario Negro
- Half Man - Red Herring
- Lost Goat - The Dirty Ones
- The Glasspack - Powderkeg
- Nebula - Dos Eps
- Atomic Bitchwax, The - Spit Blood
- High on Fire - Surrounded by Thieves
