2008 progressive metal album consisting of covers of classic video game themes. There's a strong keyboard/synth presence on the album, with occasional segments that focus on piano— not what I typically think of with metal, but works rather well here.
My picks: "Metroid - Kraid/Cranial Syphon," "Super Metroid/Super Cranial Syphon," "The Legend of Zelda I + II/Dozen Elf Death Gel"
2008 post-rock album from Switzerland. There's definitely a bit of space rock or prog here, with long, meandering songs. At times reminds me of Grails, especially the back half of "Mithridate."
2022 experimental rock album from London, England. A crazy experience that takes from prog rock, show tunes, jazz fusion, and more. A hellish nightmare concept album, at times sung, at other times ranted in a blend of carnival barker and auctioneer; often hectic, occasionally soft, frequently discordant.
My picks: "Eat Men Eat," "Welcome to Hell," "Dangerous Liasons"
1959 cool jazz album. Notably uses a variety of time signatures, rather than sticking with the tried-and-true 4/4. (Not that there isn't 4/4 on the album.)
My picks: "Blue Rondo à la Turk," "Take Five," "Pick up Sticks"
1973 prog rock album from England. A nearly fifty minute epic split into two parts, performed almost entirely by Mike Oldfield, and released just ten days after his 20th birthday. Famously, the introduction to part one was used in The Exorcist.
It's all a bit mad, really, an odd adventure that's stylistically varied, at times beautiful and at times oddly funny, but always impressive.
1996 indie pop/rock album from Jönköping, Sweden. A fairly strong lounge influence and lyrics that darkly contrast the upbeat music make this a pretty interesting album. "Lovefool" is the big hit, and "Step On Me" is also plenty popular, but the album's got plenty of other good ones, including a great Black Sabbath cover.
My picks: "Your New Cuckoo," "Heartbreaker," "Iron Man"
2015 dark ambient OST from Stockholm, Sweden. The game itself may be a "walking simulator" that's too philosophical for its own good, but the soundtrack is wonderfully moody and atmospheric.
2017 jazz fusion album from Los Angeles, California. Drums/guitar/organ trio (and some session musicians) with one fantastic name, and some great song titles to match. Pretty funky stuff.
My picks: "Long Live the King," "Don't Eat Your Fingers," "E.T. AF"
1972 art rock/glam rock album from London, England. Eclectic pop rock, for the most part. It's pretty front loaded, but the incredible strength of the front half makes up for the weakness of the back half. "If There Is Something" is definitely one of my all-time favorite songs.
CW album cover eye contact
My picks: "Ladytron," "If There Is Something," "Chance Meeting"
2012 house EP from Lisbon, Portugal. A solid EP that runs longer than you'd think for such a short track list. "Plus Four" is such an odd track that I can't help but find captivating.
1972 power pop/folk pop album from Memphis, Tennessee. An album that at times is rocking out power pop, and at other times is jangly acoustic folk ballads, yet the two don't seem at odds with each other somehow. Some great harmonies throughout the entire album. Also has "In The Street," famously covered by Cheap Trick for That '70s Show.
2020 outsider house album. A solid toe-tapping, head-bobbing album. Usually warm and relaxed, although "Off My Face" is a bit more driven and aggressive than the rest of the album.
2022 ambient album from Toronto, Canada. Ryan Roth has done a number of official soundtracks, so this unofficial one fits the tone of something that would work just fine in a game. Environmental sounds are present in the tracks, from mechanical hum to rain and thunder, filling out the atmosphere.
2012 electropop/French electro EP from Oslo, Norway. Here's a Norwegian band whose so inspired by French house that even their name is French. (Although the name is taken from the Belgian astronomer Georges Lemaître, who proposed the Big Bang theory.) Catchy stuff, though.
1970 folk rock/country rock album. The front half of this album has an incredible run of some of the best of Neil Young's work—not to say the back half is bad by any means. "Tell Me Why" might be my favorite Neil Young song overall.
My picks: "Tell Me Why," "Southern Man," "Don't Let It Bring You Down"
2016 prog metal/prog rock album from Los Angeles, California. It's kind of a bizarre album, really, bouncing from one idea to the next. It could be jazz or funk or synthy prog—there's even a section that sounds like a MIDI march from a '90s game—then suddenly you'll find metal riffs interrupting it all. A fun, if odd album.
My picks: "Finding The Falls," "Sky Run," "Impulse II"
2001 glitch/ambient album from Vienna, Austria. To paraphrase a YouTube comment: it's not a sunny beach in audio form, but a low quality jpeg of a sunny beach interpreted by someone who's never been to a beach. I was caught off guard when I first heard "Before I Leave" and discovered Robot Science's "Alaska" had heavily sampled it.
My picks: "Endless Summer," "Caecilia," "Before I Leave"
1971 prog rock album from London, England. Okay, everyone loves "Roundabout." But where's the love for the rest of the album? It's an incredible album the whole way through.
Except for "Cans and Brahms." Feel free to skip the "pesky contracts prevented a Rick Wakeman original" track. 😆
My picks: "South Side of the Sky," "The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus)," "Heart of the Sunrise"