Everyone's Doing Their Own Brackets

So with March Madness in full swing (the best month of the sports year!), I keep hearing different people doing their own versions of brackets. The bracket itself is such an interesting concept: rank things highest to lowest, square each of them off in pairs with the winner advancing, and eliminate until you're left with an eventual champion. Now with social networking and instant fan feedback, so many radio shows are doing bracket-style gimmicks in their shows. And let me be honest - I love it! It's kind of how my brain works, compare two things, pick the better of the two, and then decide how MUCH better it is than everything else. Simply fascinating.

Two brackets I've really liked recently have been music related: Colin Cowherd (on his radio show, The Herd) did a top music groups bracket, and then the local sports radio show around Houston (The Blitz) did a unique spin on that: worst musical groups, which I enjoyed so much. For instance, one of the second-round matchups squared off the New School boy band Jonas Brothers against the Old School boy band, Hanson. It was amazing! And the final was great too: Insane Clown Posse narrowly being defeated by David Hasselhoff. It definitely made listening to the radio on my lunch break suck that much less.

So with those two music-related brackets as guides, I had an idea: a bracket of the best bands of all time, seeded according to long-term success, and then having matchups set as each band's top 5 songs head-to-head, majority-rules.

That way, a band like Boston, who really only had one great album and then broke up, would be seeded low due to such a short-term lifespan - but then their top 5 hits are a murderer's row against the best of them: More Than A Feeling, Foreplay (Long Time), Smokin', Rock 'n Roll Band...I mean that's tough to beat. So, I like this idea, and I think that my four #1 seeds would be as follows (keeping in mind that these are for long-term success in the music industry): The Rolling Stones, U2, KISS, and Aerosmith.

The Beatles (my favorites to win it all, since I think they're the best band of all time) would land somewhere around a 3 seed? Because they were only a band from 1963-70, yet with that you forget that they put out at least an album a year, sometimes two. So they're not quite Coldplay, with 4 albums over 10 years of being a legitimate chart-topper, but they can be a dark horse and come from nowhere to win it all.

So go ahead and try to tell me this idea sucks, because it doesn't.

Down Goes Selena 2.0!

Okay, this is another American Idol breakdown, but I just think that the scenarios have changed slightly. So look at this as a progress report.

Here are my power rankings, and these are based on where I think they should go realistically (with only slight bias).

1 - James Durbin

2 - Jacob Lusk

3 - Casey Abrams

4 - Pia Toscano

5 - Stefano Langone

6 - Haley Reinhart

7 - Lauren Alaina

8 - Paul McDonald

9 - Scottie McCreery

10 - Thia Megia

11 - Naima Edadapo

First, the judges on the show have started to just fill roles in their post-performance critiques. Randy, as he always has, takes a very musical, note-by-note approach. That's fine, except that what he sometimes thinks are "hot", I don't agree with. Jennifer Lopez has transitioned nicely into the Paula Abdul vacancy, and she's an even bigger star than Abdul was so she has even more influence on these guys. This may sound crazy, but after the audition episodes, I thought that Steven Tyler was going to triumphantly take over the Simon Cowell role of tough-love critic. Then, he decided to take his cues from...Ellen Degeneres? Now he is just pumping these singers so full of inspiration that I'm afraid of an explosion of Care Bear lovey-dovey rainbows every time he opens his mouth.

Do I have a solution? Sure, I'm glad you asked! Randy, keep doing what you're doing - you and I may differ, but your opinion has been proven and it's respected. J.Lo, right on. You know where these people could possibly be headed, and you have good advice. Steven Tyler, please please please be the singer of good music that you are, and give them good advice and point out musical aspects of the songs. Also, keep cursing on camera - it's so funny to play "Is that a cable provider audio error or just Steven being Steven?"

Now to the competition. With Karen (aka Selena/J-Lo 2.0) voted off, there are now two more contestants who I think have no business being in the competition this late - namely Thia and Naima. Both are great singers, but they just don't have the chops to hang with the rest. The next two weeks, in a perfect world, would have the two of them leaving in no particular order.

A couple singers have been surprising to me - or rather, America's response has been surprising to some fairly unique voices. Where Casey seems to be a favorite in the competition, and Paul has been accepted for all of his dance moves and odd voice, I think that Haley has been sending in some absolute gems for a few weeks and has been getting killed for it. She's got that growl in her voice, which I think she uses tastefully, and isn't afraid to move around while she dances which is good. Granted, I know that it sounds differently when you're in the theater with them, so J.Lo saying that it looks awkward may have some merit to it. But I really think she's got a great voice, and where Randy says "what do you want to be? who are you as an artist?" I could construe as saying that she's super-versatile. Think about it, she sang Alicia Keys and then Lee Ann Rimes - in back-to-back weeks. That's why she's so high on my power rankings.

Lauren is legit, she had a bad week and was sick last week so she's not in the top 5 because of that and, honestly, that everyone in the top 5 might be a little better than her. But she could be a Carrie Underwood-type.

I'm pretty sure Scottie has already gotten calls from country producers offering him a job, and you know what? Keep it up bro! He knows what he can do, and he stinkin' does it. Right on.

My roommate told me this after hearing the last episode, and I agree with him. He said that he hopes Paul gets voted off soon, because if he does the fear is that he'll be shoehorned into a major record label-type of act. And I honestly think that he could be great if left to do his own thing without having to appease the American Idol producers.

Pia and Stefano are the two dark horses, who were kind of unheralded but now have proven to be amazing if given the right song. Pia has something about her where she can take on the divas and do them justice. Also, she has such as strong, controlled voice that she can go even higher after holding out a sustained note in the upper register. Listen for it next time, it's pretty remarkable. If Stefano could use last week as a blueprint, I see him becoming a Ne-Yo/Bruno Mars type. And I really like both of those guys.

James, Jacob, and Casey are still my favorites to win it all, and it's just a matter of who gets sick as to who will win. Jacob, though, needs to ease up a little. I like that he goes all the way up to 6th gear on the intensity, but I like to hear the soft and beautiful voice like he did on the last line of his song last week.

And Casey, do you now see why Nirvana has never been done? Yeah. I like the risk, but horrible execution. I won't say anything bad about James, you can't make me.

American Idol, are you serious?

I mean for real! After my boy, Taylor Hicks, won season 5 of American Idol, I swore off the show because I had reached the pinnacle - I had picked a guy in his first audition to win the whole thing. Also attributing to my American Idol sabbatical was the increase in gimmicks and tricks that the show kept throwing out there. It was honestly annoying, and if you don't agree then you must be the one person in the world who thinks that Ryan Seacrest is SO funny, and you probably actually like watching non-Super Bowl commercials. Be honest.

However, I started watching this season. What got me back into it? Honestly, I wanted to see Jennifer Lopez, Randy Jackson, and Steven Tyler ruin the show. I knew that Randy couldn't handle the show by himself, J-Lo would be too....I don't know, harsh? and that Steven Tyler would probably fill his Coca-Cola sponsored cup with LSD and trip out on national TV. So I started watching. And you know what? I like it! I was right, Randy can't carry the load, but he doesn't need too - this group is sharing the load, like the '00 Ravens, or the '04 Pistons, or the '10 San Francisco Giants. They're sharing the ball, and it's really working.

As a side note, I'm pretty sure that Steven Tyler has in his contract somewhere that he can do whatever he wants. And I'm sure that Ryan Seacrest - ever the drama queen - loves it, and caters to it. Seriously, how long until he gets to bring a pet into auditions one year? Or he makes out with a hot girl (or guy? ew jordan...stop) after some face-melting solo.

So here's what I think of the current top 10 (+3). Because it's not the top 13 according to TV Guide...thanks a lot, show riggers. The girls are clearly shallower in depth, so I'll start with them. Lauren Alaina and Hailey Reinhart could win the whole thing, but each would have to surprise me. Hailey KILLED it this week with Alicia Keys' "Fallin'", and Lauren actually sang a song that I didn't like. But like a consummate professional, she made a 4 sound like an 8, and a song choice that should have made her nervous in any other year sent her sailing through to the next round. Thia Megia could be something special, but has yet to prove to me that she's good enough to make into the Hailey-Lauren echelon. Naima is really good, but won't last - and Ashthon is solid, but doesn't do anything special for me...and you need that to separate yourself. Pia sang The Pretenders' "I'll Stand By You" so well this week, and me and my roommate were blown away by it - but it's really the first time I've looked at her twice, so it's too soon to place her. I really like Karen Rodriguez, and I'd say her consistency puts her in a class of her own directly below the Hailey-Lauren line. The girls, however, are weak compared to the guys, and I still think that only Lauren or maybe Hailey can win it all.

As for the guys, unfortunately, it's a two-man race. Stefano is really good, he's got such a powerfully high voice for only being like 5'5'', but his time on the show is dwindling because he doesn't have the depth of range of his peers.

Can I just say that Tim Halperin is good enough to make it ANY other year?! So good, and I really think that a bad song choice led him to an early exit. Plus, he's friends with a guy I knew from high school, so it was cool to see Aaron Mullenix on my TV for the past few weeks.

Scotty, the low-singing baseball pitcher, is Mr. Country this year. He knows his strike zone, and isn't willing to chase. He's like Tony Gwynn, he won't hit many home runs, but every time out you expect him to make solid contact. And you know what? I think it could get him to go really far this season.

I love Paul McDonald, and his quirky voice and fashion sense. First of all, props for going all-black, and the coat tails were very cool. He knows what he can do, and with his raspy voice he can take any song and make it his own without trying too hard. However, I don't think the American public will appreciate him as much as he should be, so I think he's on his last legs here. Shame.

Casey Abrams, if anyone, could catch the two frontrunners. However, the bearded eccentric will have to set the WORLD on fire if he plans on catching them...kind of like he did this week. His personality really shows when he sings, and it's very endearing. He's a mainstay in the show for sure, and he is must-see TV.

Now Jacob Lusk and James Durbin are 1-2 in some order, depending on the day. For me, I think that this week Jacob's Vandross song "A House Is Not A Home" barely edges out James's "You Got Another Thing Coming". Lusk was emotional, and Durbin was playful and energetic, and it's really like a difference between 9.9 and a 9.8 but still. One thing that I think will be interesting to watch will be to see how well Jacob can do the faster songs. He's got the heart-wrenchers down to an art, but can he awkwardly bounce around the stage? Even if he can't, he's still miles in front of 3rd place. And let it be known that Durbin can do almost no wrong in my eyes. So there.

Final prediction: 1st - Lusk, 2nd - Durbin

The Houston Rockets

I never thought I'd say this, but I am beginning to be a fan of none other than the Houston Rockets basketball team in the National Basketball Association. Like, a legitimate fan. For around 12 years now, I've lived in Houston. I have been a die-hard Astros fan for each and every year of that span (dating back to the Carl Everett, Mike Hampton, and Jose Lima days), but have never really followed the Rockets very intently. Sure, I'd cheer for them or watch if the games were on, but I never made it a point to watch.

Well, that sure has changed. I've watched more NBA games this season than I ever have, and have seen nearly every game played by the Rockets this season. As for my fanhood, I'm a fan of the hometown boys, LeBron and the Heatles, and several individual players throughout the league (Chris Paul, Kevin Durant, and Stephen Curry, to name a few). With the trade deadline recently having passed, and the most exciting part of the NBA season looming on the near horizon, I figured I'd break down some thoughts on the new and (hopefully) improved Houston Rockets.

First, I like Rick Adelman. He's got a good demeanor on the court with the pacing and instructing his players. He seems to fight for his players with the referees without ever going postal and trying to make himself the focal point of the game. In the post-game press conferences and interviews, he seems to have good perspective and makes it easy for the media members to glean quotes from him for their articles and pieces. He's not the best coach in the league, but he only adds to this team and takes nothing away.

Secondly, I'll discuss GM Daryl Morey and the new arrivals/departures from the recent trades. Morey, from everything I've read and heard, seems to be a pioneer in the NBA landscape. He's very statistically-driven (even co-chairing the MIT Sloan Sports Conference, a Mensa-meeting-type feel of sports stats nuts) and seems to never accept the Rockets in their current state. It's that drive to always strive for more that I think will make the team competitive each year for as long as he's here. Will he make some mistakes? Sure, he might trade/release a guy who goes on to have a revitalized career or sign someone who was only a flash in the pan. However, the overall feel of his managerial style shows that he's got a great feel for what Adelman needs as far as tools to make this team win, and his trade moves reflect that.

For instance, trading fan-favorite Shane Battier along with Ish Smith for Hasheem Thabeet and Demarre Carroll and a first-round pick is a very pro-active move that will hopefully serve to give some worthy bench guys some minutes. Battier is an excellent player and a good team guy, but his contract is expiring and I at least would rather move him too soon than too late. Thabeet (who looks like a character straight out of Avatar - don't lie, you see it too!) is still very young, and he could be a serviceable center in the league. I mean, look at what we did with 6'6'' Chuck Hayes! Also, call me crazy but I watched Carroll in college (at Mizzou), and he's not a bad player at all. Think Patrick Patterson but a little more pass-heavy, like Pistons rookie Greg Monroe.

The other Rockets trade sent point guard Aaron Brooks to the Suns for their Slovenian backup Goran Dragic and a pick. Brooks really didn't do a whole lot for me as a fan, but that's probably because I didn't get to see him in his excellence last year and only in his conflict-ridden season this year (storming off the court and receiving a suspension for it). Dragic set the world on fire with an excellent playoff series against the Spurs in 2010, and ever since then I have been a fan of his. He has an excellent motor, isn't afraid to mix it up (as evidenced by a verbal tussle with Sasha Vujacic in last year's playoffs...but seriously Vujacic had it coming. The dude's a whimp.), and loves to drive to the lane and kick it out to a thankful 3-point shooter. Brooks will be missed, but I like the move and what it brings to starter Kyle Lowry.

I'm sorry, did someone say Kyle Lowry?! Well then, I'd love to put my two cents in. I've watched Kyle Lowry snag (and then firmly put his stamp on) the starting point guard job. He's lighting it up from 3, and brings a junkyard-dog feel to the team that I love. For all of Kevin Martin's whiny acting jobs, Lowry matches those performances with a hard and-1 to the basket or an open-court steal and bucket on the break. He has quickly become my favorite Rocket.

Other bright spots obviously include Martin, who was NBA player of the week last week, rookie Patrick Patterson who has been playing like a veteran, and severely-undersized Chuck Hayes (or The Chuckwagon, as FSN announcers Matt Bullard and Bill Worrell affectionately call him) who consistently turns out double-doubles and guards some of the toughest power forwards in the league. I love Luis Scola's offensive game, and he has recently stepped it up with some charge-taking performances on the defensive end too. Courtney Lee quite possibly is the most athletic Rocket, and I love his game on both ends. I've actually had a soft-spot in my heart for him ever since his dagger 3 in the first round of the NCAA tournament a few years ago with Western Kentucky - even though he screwed over my bracket.

Brad Miller has had better times than he's playing right now, and I wish that he'd bring some toughness along with his height to the second-team. I'm not too high on Kevin Martin actually, but like every long-time Laker fan will tell you about Kobe, you don't complain about results.

Where do I see the Rockets going? I hope they can get a playoff spot, and I think it's very possible. However, barring a crazy run or some meteoric collapses from the bottom-half of the playoff brackets I don't foresee the Rockets moving out of the first round. However, the future looks bright for this team, and I will definitely be watching intently to see how the season plays out.

The Fighter

I'm a guy who likes a good quest. They don't necessarily require damsels in distress or large rewards for completion (although hey, that never hurts), but nothing gives you a focus and a determination like a quest of some sort. For example, I just recently completed my mission to listen to every song in my iTunes library start-to-finish at least once. I now hate myself for being determined to leave on every single Sufjan Stevens song even when I don't care for his music (oh come on! some of those titles don't even finish scrolling across the screen before they're over!), and I want to kick Junior-year Jordan in the face for putting on a 100-song playlist of the best classical music compositions....but I stand (sit) before you (my computer screen) as a man who has climbed the mountain of iTunes - triumphant.

A quest that I kind of stumbled into is the Oscar nominees for Best Picture. I had already seen Toy Story 3, Inception, The Social Network, True Grit, and Black Swan and liked, if not loved, all of them, so I figured I'd try my best to see the others before February 27 when they hand out the award. So now came time for me to watch The Fighter, and I was underwhelmed. I find more...jenqui.

Whenever you've got Christian Bale (a heralded actor who is versatile) and Mark Wahlberg (a hunk who's got the lovable Matt Damon-thing to him) in the same movie, there's definitely potential. Especially when I found out that Micky Ward (Wahlberg's character) was from Massachusetts. That could only mean one thing - awesome accents! And while the accents were indeed awesome, this movie featured a different side of Massachusetts from the Boston that all the other movies seem to portay. That's right, apparently Lowell is to Massachusetts what Oklahoma is to Texas, or what the South is to the United States. Everybody was so white trash! (I stole that phrasing from my friend Ian at www.amainnerd.wordpress.com - check him out, he comes up with his own phrases!) So with that as the first initial shock, I was caught on my heels a little for the rest of the movie.

Mark Wahlberg, let's face it, is hit or miss with acting. Even within the movie, he had some incredibly-acted scenes (like when he gave Dicky a piece of his mind as he was leaving the prison's visitation room) and some "Mark Wahlberg Talks To Animals"-esque sections (basically any time he talked to his mother, Alice....calling your mom by her first name is annoying too, so strike two). Don't remember that SNL sketch? Or do you have it set as your home page? Me too.

http://www.hulu.com/watch/37753/saturday-night-live-mark-wahlberg-talks-to-animals

I love it. Now onto Mr. Bale. He really got the mannerisms and quirkiness of Dicky down pat, as seen in the footage at the end of the movie of the two actual brothers. He seemed like a believable junkie, so much so that I couldn't fathom him ever being a legitimate boxer. On that note, let's just all scoff at the idea of Wahlberg fighting at 140...he's 5'10'', there's no way he's a shade under 165 in this movie. However, Bale was tiny, and it was a shock to my system after seeing The Dark Knight again recently. Christian Bale was a really good actor in this movie, and I guess he's legit enough to go crazy on set, but whatever.

The actual boxing scenes were lame. I mean, when he knocked out the Mexican newcomer with a kidney shot, I bet it was a shock to everyone. But in the movie it looked like they told Sanchez (wasn't that his name? Gonzalez maybe? Ramirez? Martinez? Ugh this is getting racist...) to just...stand there. No reaction whatsoever when Mick half-jumps to the side to deliver the final blows. What can I say? I want my boxing matches to be somewhat believable.

While the boxing was lame, there were some keeper scenes. Like when Dicky gets released from prison and shows up in the gym for the first time with his mom and Micky all reunited - that's real tension. I mean just pure, unadulterated AWKWARD. It was incredible, and they really did a good job of letting it just get to the awkward stage and just fester...it made me feel like I needed to do something with my hands, Ricky Bobby-style.

One last thing I noticed was the soundtrack. If they come out with a soundtrack album for this movie, it will be awesome (The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Whitesnake...some really good rock from the time period). However, I felt like the songs were spread in an odd fashion across the movie. Where I'd rather have an epic song as the bottom layer behind a boxing match, there were some upbeat snippets thrown in. Or when Dicky was running from the cops while Micky and the family are enjoying themselves, I would've enjoyed a splicing of a grungy song for the chase while having some light jazz in the background of the dinner - and instead it was Led Zeppelin's peppy rock "Good Times Bad Times". It's the director's prerogative what to put in, but I didn't necessarily agree with it - kind of like The Watchmen's awkward soundtrack.

All in all, the movie was really good, and it told a very unique story of a hometown, family-oriented guy coming out of his fallen-star brother's shadow to achieve greatness. The relationship between Micky and Charlene was too trite for me, so it didn't really add much. The story to this movie might deserve an Oscar, but I don't think the movie itself deserves a shiny trophy.

The King's Speech

Just went and saw this movie over the weekend, and man was it interesting. Since this post will most likely just be a series of ravings for the movie, let me begin by saying something clearly: this movie is really good, relevant to the world today, and very well acted.

First, I like that the characters are cast pretty true to their backgrounds. All the main characters are English (minus the speech therapist played by Geoffrey Rush), so these accents aren't forced at all, allowing the movie to be taken seriously. As for Rush, he's actually - wait for it - Australian! So even his accent, which idiots like me (read that "Americans") would take for a superb English, can be written off as part of the character he plays.

Secondly, I loved the back-and-forth style that Colin Firth and Rush displayed during their sessions. It was quick-witted and playful at times, and then slow and heart-warming at others. One scene which pretty accurately synopsizes the movie: when King George VI is walking through his speech which he is scheduled to give in mere minutes, his speech doctor and friend Lionel Logue sits and walks him through the ins and outs of his message. As the stammering George VI continues getting tripped up on words (such as words starting with "P"), Logue persists through the snags and pauses by giving the king helpful hints (like singing the words, cursing during pauses, or dancing to distract himself). This leads to a hilarious, ground-breaking scene where the King of the British Empire is waltzing around the room, cussing out an unseen audience and belting out the melody to "Camptown Races" to an elated Logue who shouts encouragement.

Another thing I noticed is how timeless the symbol of Nazi Germany is, and how it can still affect us today, especially British audiences. Its effect on the Jewish people remains well-documented and represented in the media, but I didn't really realize the effect felt on the British people. Granted, World War II for the UK was a bitter one, with bomb shelters and air raids being common during the blitzkrieg days of the Luftwaffe. I understand the importance of history, and how a symbol can flood back those memories found in my textbooks during school. As an American, an image of a redcoat or the Declaration of Independence bring me back to good ol' George Washington crossing the Delaware or the pride of the Boston Tea Party. Since The King's Speech is set in the times leading up to World War II, the historical images of bomb shelters and families crouching around their radio sets serve as good memory-impetuses (impeti? whatever.).

It was also really funny seeing some actors used in very different roles from how I'm used to seeing them. I kept waiting for Helena Bonham Carter, who plays the new Queen, to have a Bellatrix Lestrangian hiss whenever something went slightly wrong. And when Lionel Logue was acting out a Shakespearean character for his two young boys, I just wanted Geoffrey Rush to revert back to his Captain Barbossa character and say "we call the monkey Jack". Does that make me hard to please?!

Finally, Colin Firth really just acted well. It's very hard to stammer if you don't (believe me, I tried for the few hours after getting out of the movie), and he showed all of the inner conflict of a stammerer's fear of failure/inadequacy without conveying anything comedic about a serious difficulty. Whether or not you have a speech defect, the main conflict of the movie can be understood by most, if not all: public speaking is scary.

Okay Here Goes...

I have some favorite albums of all time. That list is quite extensive, and I won't bother you with the length of it. However, a subset of that long list includes a select few albums which are transcendant in listenability (yep...that just happened). These albums aren't necessarily better than the other albums in the "favorite" echelon, they all just share a certain oomph quality to them that sets them apart. Allow me to attempt to do the impossible: lay out an abstract thought from my head in a clear manner.

Again, as with Naturals (see my earlier post), there are certain common factors that all of these albums share. For instance, and this sounds ridiculous, but still - the album must be GOOD. Heck, we may get in the car on a road trip and pop in Britney Spears or BSB and everyone would say that this music is fun or brings back memories, but I believe consensus in the car would agree that these types of CDs aren't GOOD...or at least not really good. So each of the albums is good music, and most people would agree that the music is high-quality.

Secondly, the album can be viewed as a work of art. Maybe not abstract like a Picasso painting, or immense like the Sistine Chapel - but the artist(s) took themselves seriously when they made it. That way, you don't end up adding Ke$ha's Animal to the list (because let's be real, who wouldn't?), only to end up disappointed that she started her singing career as a joke.

The last common aspect of these albums has to do with time, and how they seem to affect it. With these types of albums, I've found that time seems to just FLY BY, and at the end of it you're always left wanting more. That's not a bad thing at all, and it's really good as an artist to trust yourself, and not mess with perfection. So there you go, three key elements that each of the following albums have that make them super-listenable (I'm loving this...I'm my own Merriam-Webster!). Without further ado, here are the albums. Hate them if you can!

Switchfoot - The Beautiful Letdown

Key Track: "The Beautiful Letdown"

Whenever I think about this concept, the Time-Bending Album, TBL is always the first one to my mind. The songs flow like crazy, every single one is amazing ("Redemption" is the least-awesome on the whole album, and it's crazy-good! There's the proof.), and it's got hit-quality songs on here too - see "Meant To Live" and "Dare You To Move". My favorite song on the album is the title track, since it just really gets down deep into lead singer Jon Foreman's heart. I may revere this album a little too highly, but I don't see that as a bad thing. I don't have much to say about this album, except that it is really good.

Kanye West - The College Dropout

Key Track: "Through The Wire"

Let's face it, Kanye is crazy (want more proof? twitter.com/kanyewest...be prepared). He's like a train wreck, so destructive - yet SO interesting to watch, you can't take your eyes off him! However, back in 2004 (was it really only 7 years ago?), before Kanye got his train going at full-speed, he made some SICK music. This whole album is full of bumpin' beats and cut-you-to-the-quick lyrics. While I don't absolutely love the skits, they definitely act as road signs for the listener. West's mind runs at freight train-type speeds, and we can only try to hold on for dear life as he barrels through a variety of struggles and tribulations in his own life (drug use, addiction to shopping, dissatisfaction with the education system, his epic car accident that left him with a wired-shut jaw for six weeks, and his lengthy discourse on how he got into the rap game in the 12 minute, 40 second-long saga "Last Call"). "Through The Wire" is my favorite track, and I'm sure I sound (and look) like an Eminem-wannabe when I spit it while I'm walking down the ghetto streets of Suburbia.

Cartel - Chroma

Key Track: "A"

Cartel's debut album is one of the most fun rock albums I've heard in a long time. To me, this album seems like a hand-held camcorder of lead singer Will Pugh's life. We see him painted as a romantic, a care-free kid, a young man coping with the death of his adolescence, and a poet. Yet, in the midst of this wide swatch of emotions and personalities, the entire album is driven by a rock groove. This beat ceases only in "The Minstrel's Prayer", giving way to Pugh's Avatar-style confessional (yes, that's an anachronism...why do you ask?). As we slip into his inner thoughts, queries, and doubts in "Q", the listener gets to witness his maturation and realization of himself in "A", laying waste to all his previous questions.

The Beatles - Abbey Road

Key Track: The B-Side Medley

Abbey Road is my favorite Beatles album, and it's really not even a close race. The first half of the album is near-perfection, and "Oh! Darling" is one of the best blues songs I know, even though it's played by a bunch of pretentious Brits. The album art, as shown above, is also one of the iconic albums even today - so you've got something nice to look at while you're sitting Indian-style in the basement resetting the needle on your parents' record player. Starting with "You Never Give Me Your Money", the following 16 minutes are a little glimpse behind the curtain of heaven.

Jay-Z - The Black Album

Key Track: "Encore"

This Jay-Z album is one of those you can listen to anywhere. Whether it's bumpin' in the club (which I do all the time) or dissecting the detailed rhymes on a Saturday at home (which I most definitely have NOT done...EVER), this music seems to fit the bill. At times, Jay-Z is the "Hova" of rap-god status such as the Kanye West-produced "Encore", and at other times he's the self-aware success story who came from nothing, like in "My 1st Song". Between the two personas, Shawn Carter strikes a chord with this young thug. Okay fine, with this thug.

John Mayer - Continuum

Key Track: "Slow Dancing In A Burning Room"

I'm a John Mayer fan. I'll admit it. And while his forays into the playboy world have been well-defined by National Enquirer and his E! True Hollywood Story will be scintillating to say the least, his music is the biggest thing about him. Continuum definitely satisfies the "work of art" qualification: this thing is Mayer's magnum opus. For example, one time I was having a conversation about music with a dude while we were eating lunch. When we got to the subject of John Mayer's (then) most recent album, he described it as "Mayer's Continuum" - like Handel's Messiah or Beethoven's 9th Symphony. But it is! This album, front to back, is a work of art. I have heard that "Slow Dancing In A Burning Room" is epic live, and I have sworn to see Mayer in concert before he dies. Because let's face it, John Mayer's life is following much more of a Kurt Cobain orbit than that of Betty White.

Honorable Mention:

Vertical Horizon - Everything You Want

Key Track: "Shackled"

I love Vertical Horizon, and I'm not even partially ashamed to admit that "Shackled" has far too many plays on my iTunes. Throughout this entire album, each song just...sounds...so...good! I'm a huge fan of their sound, and lead singer Matt Scannell is the long lost member of the Blue Man Group.

Oh come on, it's like looking in a mirror!