Joe's 25 Favorite Albums of 1998 

Nice inclusion of Mark Hollis 👍 ! Once again Mark slipped in a reference to his favorite album Forever Changes by Love by including a track named The Daily Planet ..the last Talk Talk album being named Laughing Stock .. both tracks from Forever Changes.

Wow!!! Death made it to TLM!?! Joe might indeed be the man of the people! Yes, this was also the album that made me finally give Death Metal a chance and their whole discography is killer. There are other cool bands too but to me, so far, Death is a clear standout of the genre. Chuck is just an awesome songwriter and that makes a difference. Anyone can be technical but they had that extra sauce. Check out their other 90s albums like Human, Symbolic and Individual Thought Patterns, they are all bangers.

Thanks for the Mark Hollis nod. Nothing in 1998 pulls me into its world like that one…

You guys should ABSOLUTELY cover Death's discography!

Well I am glad you made it through this torturous exercise. Made for some pretty hilarious commentary. I do love to see Hole and The Chicks make the list. Those albums are very dear to my heart since they came out (The Chicks just missed my 25 - wasn't sure if nostalgia coloured my feelings a bit). That Sheryl Crow album is good but I like her self-titled from 96 even better. Also my fourth favourite Tori album but still 5 stars and the first one I ever heard so still lots of love for it from me. We had 6 matches which is probably the lowest ever that's just the curse of 98 I guess lol.

classic cranky Joe, enjoying these a lot! here's my list of matches and my full list Matches - Kramzer - 9 (Afghan Whigs, Neutral Milk Hotel, Mercury Rev, Pulp, PJ Harvey, Massive Attack, Elliott Smith, Smashing Pumpkins, Air) Jason - 6 (Smashing Pumpkins, Superdrag, Afghan Whigs, Lambchop, Elliott Smith, Sparklehorse) Joe - 6 (Massive Attack, Lucinda Williams, At the Drive-In, Pulp, Tori Amos, Elliott Smith) 1. Elliott Smith - XO 2. Pulp - This Is Hardcore 3. Air - Moon Safari 4. Tori Amos - From the Choirgirl Hotel 5. Ms. Lauryn Hill - The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill 6. OutKast - Aquemini 7. The Smashing Pumpkins - Adore 8. Afghan Whigs - 1965 9. Gomez - Bring It On 10. Superdrag - Head Trip in Every Key 11. Mercury Rev - Deserter's Songs 12. PJ Harvey - Is This Desire? 13. Starflyer 59 - The Fashion Focus 14. Silver Jews - American Water 15. Eels - Electro-Shock Blues 16. At the Drive-In - In/Casino/Out 17. Lambchop - What Another Man Spills 18. Pernice Brothers - Overcome By Happiness 19. The Cardigans - Gran Turismo 20. Less Than Jake - Hello Rockview 21. Lucinda Williams - Car Wheels On A Gravel Road 22. Massive Attack - Mezzanine 23. Sparklehorse - Good Morning Spider 24. Black Star - Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star 25. Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea

Thank you for including Mark Hollis’ solo album, Joe! One of the most intimate records ever made. :)

And now for the definitive 1998 list!

MY TOP 25 STUDIO ALBUMS, 1998: 1. Car Wheels on a Gravel Road -Lucinda Williams 2. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill -Lauryn Hill 3. XO -Elliott Smith 4. Deserter's Songs -Mercury Rev 5. Bring It On -Gomez 6. Moon Safari -Air 7. Queens of the Stone Age (s/t) 8. Version 2.0 -Garbage 9. Yield -Pearl Jam 10. The Boy With the Arab Strap -Belle & Sebastian 11. Mermaid Avenue -Billy Bragg & Wilco 12. Whitechocolatespaceegg -Liz Phair 13. Without You I'm Nothing -Placebo 14. Ophelia -Natalie Merchant 15. Mezzanine -Massive Attack 16. Aquemini -Outkast 17. Mutations -Beck 18. Electro-Shock Blues -Eels 19. American Water -Silver Jews 20. How It Feels to Be Something On -Sunny Day Real Estate 21. Big Calm -Morcheeba 22. Dose -Government Mule 23. In the Aeroplane Over the Sea -Neutral Milk Hotel 24. TNT -Tortoise 25. Up -R.E.M. MY TOP 3 LIVE ALBUMS, 1998: 1. Bootleg Series Vol. 4: Live 1966, Royal Albert Hall Concert -Bob Dylan 2. BBC Sessions -The Jimi Hendrix Experience 3. Swans are Dead -Swans MY BAND OF THE YEAR: Mercury Rev MY SOLO ARTIST OF THE YEAR: Lucinda Williams I think '98 is great, but I wouldn't say it's an all-time great year.

I love how Joe follows and keeps to his own path. And also a very big thank you to him for putting me onto No Other. This is now one of my favorite albums, and makes many of these so-called classic albums pale in comparison.

Nice list, Joe. Glad to see Bruce in the top 5. Also, Death.🤘

Great list - very interesting choices - THANK YOU

Kudos for taking on such a lacklustre year. Is this the year the '90's decided to slow down for a minute, take a deep breath, and consider what's next? You decide. Looking at my own library, I discovered that after 25 years of The Never Ending Cull (TM), only 18 titles remain in my library in physical form. I basically ordered them in terms of how often I return to them and continue to enjoy them. I fleshed out my list with seven additional albums that I have enjoyed in the past, which I recommend for streaming. Cheers! 1) Lucinda Williams - Car Wheels on a Gravel Road 2) Elliott Smith - XO 3) Beck - Mutations 4) Elvis Costello with Burt Bacharach - Painted from Memory 5) Air - Moon Safari 6) The Tragically Hip - Phantom Power 7) Michael Manring - The Book of Flame 8) Billy Bragg & Wilco - Mermaid Avenue 9) Bass Extremes (Steve Bailey & Victor Wooten) - Cookbook 10) Ayreon - Into the Electric Castle (A Space Opera) 11) Gary Willis - Bent 12) Nightwish - Oceanborn 13) Sloan - Navy Blues 14) Cowboy Junkies - Miles from Our Home 15) Pearl Jam - Yield 16) Devin Townsend - Infinity 17) Bruce Dickinson - The Chemical Wedding 18) Rufus Wainwright - Rufus Wainwright 19) Sonic Youth - A Thousand Leaves 20) Belle & Sebastian - The Boy with the Arab Strap 21) Sheryl Crow - The Globe Sessions 22) Smashing Pumpkins - Adore 23) Gomez - Bring It On 24) Massive Attack - Mezzanine 25) David Gray White Ladder

Been waiting all year to hear JoE's top 25 favs of 98!!!!!

I have decided it would be the most entertaining video in the world for Joe to rank Bob Dylan. Make him participate in ranking the bootleg series!

Mezzanine is an incredible album , so full of atmosphere , I would have it top ten.

Album Matches with Joe = 8 *1. From the Choirgirl Hotel - Tori Amos (4.5)* *2. XO - Elliott Smith (4.5)* 3. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill - Lauryn Hill (4) *4. Yield - Pearl Jam (4)* 5. Mutations - Beck (4) 6. Aquemini - OutKast (4) *7. This Is Hardcore - Pulp (4)* 8. The Boy with the Arab Strap - Belle and Sebastian (4) 9. Adore - The Smashing Pumpkins (4) 10. In the Aeroplane Over the Sea - Neutral Milk Hotel (4) 11. Rufus Wainwright - Rufus Wainwright (4) 12. 1965 - The Afghan Whigs (3.5) 13. Up - R.E.M. (3.5) 14. Good Morning Spider - Sparklehorse (3.5) 15. Global - The Cowsills (3.5) *16. Celebrity Skin - Hole (3.5)* *17. Version 2.0 - Garbage (3.5)* 18. Mermaid Avenue - Billy Bragg & Wilco (3.5) *19. Queens of the Stone Age - Queens of the Stone Age (3.5)* 20. Phantom Power - The Tragically Hip (3.5) 21. The Chinese Album - Spacehog (3.5) 22. Ray of Light - Madonna (3.5) 23. Cowboy Bebop - Seatbelts (3.5) *24. System of a Down - System of a Down (3.5)* 25. American Water - Silver Jews (3.5)

Look out! The Man of the People is back!! Joe has mentioned my two fave redheads - Tori Amos & Shirley Manson; the super-sheen, power-pop/rock of Courtney and her compatriots; and the Maiden-esque metallic mayhem of The Air Raid Siren, the Dickensian Bruce Dickinson!!! When he brought up the Bruce Juice in his top five, my puny mind was blown… 🤯 At any rate, Joe brought up four of my top ten for 1998, which I thought was very cool. Working in record stores from the mid 80s through the mid 2010s, l often made a top ten list to hang up in the store. I definitely remember that Dickinson was my number one in 1998, and Hole was number two. Looking forward to more of these funky fresh shows. Cheese and cheers from Noo Yawk, ova heyah. Rock Out & Prog On! Frog 🐸 On! ~ Chauncey Marwood Oglethorpe III

1. Neutral Milk Hotel - In The Aeroplane Over the Sea - 5 stars (10) 2. Cake - Prolonging Magic- 5 stars (10) 3. Eels - Electro Shock Blues - 5 stars (10) 4. Afghan Whigs - 1965 5 stars (9.8) 5. Tori Amos -From the Choir Girl Hotel - 5 stars (9.7) 6. At the Drive In - In/Casino/Out 4.5 stars (9.5) 7. Dwight Yoakum - A Long Way Home 4.5 stars (9.3) 8. Elliott Smith -XO - 4.5 stars (9) 9. Outkast - Aquemini- 4.5 stars (9) 10. Queens of the Stone Age - Queens of the Stone Age - 4.5 stars (8.9) 11. Lambchop - What Another Man Spills - 4.5 stars (8.9) 12. System of a Down - System of a Down - 4.5 stars (8.9) 13. Opeth - My Arms, Your Hearth - 4.5 stars (8.8) 14. Son Volt - Wide Swing Tremelo -4.5 stars (8.8) 15. Beck - Mutations 4.5 stars (8.8) 16. Liz Phair - whitechocolatespaceegg 4.5 stars (8.8) 17. The Chicks - Wide Open Spaces - 4.5 stars (8.7) 18. Sunny Day Real Estate - How It Feels To Be Something On 4 stars (8.6) 19. TNT - Tortoise- 4 stars (8.5) 20. Pulp- This Is Hardcore - 4 stars (8.4) 21. Lagwagon - Let’s Talk About Feelings 4 stars (8.4) 22. Catch 22 - Kaesbey Nights 4 stars (8.4) 23. New Radicals - Maybe You’ve Been Brainwashed Too 4 stars (8.2) 24. Smashing Pumpkins - Adore 4 stars (8.2) 25. Placebo -Without You I’m Nothing 4 stars (8.1)

Well, 1998 was a bit of a rough year. I have listened to around 100 releases and have about that many more pulled from my collection that I hope to get through. I have a current top 25. I do not love them all, probably no more than 10 I would say I really like, then the best of the rest. With that said, here we go,, 1. Highways & Honky Tonks - Heather Myles 2. A Long Way Home - Dwight Yoakam 3. Wander This World - Jonny Lang 4. Powertrip - Monster Magnet 5. 5 - Lenny Kravitz 6. Old Dogs - Old Dogs (Jennings, Tillis, Bare and Reed) 7. American Teenage Rock 'N' Roll Machine - The Donnas 8. A Man Of My Word - Johnny Adams 9. By Your Side - The Black Crowes 10. Golddigger - Ronnie Baker Brooks 11. Aquemini - Outkast 12. Devil Without A Cause - Kid Rock 13. Spacey And Shakin - Pete Droge 14. Trampoline - The Mavericks 15. Greycourt Lightning - Bill Perry 16. Grand Union - Otis Grand, Debbie Davies, Anson Funderburgh 17. Black Tornado - Magic Slim & The Teardrops 18. Gangstabilly - Drive By Truckers 19. Wishing You Well From The Pink Hotel - Cisco 20. Life, Love & The Blues - Etta James 21. Artists & Whores - The Revenants 22. Wrapped - Bruce Robison 23. Mermaid Avenue - Billy Bragg & Wilco 24. 1965 - The Afghan Whigs 25. Let Them Eat Pussy - Nashville Pussy

Car Wheels IS as good as everyone says, Joe. It just is.

I'm shocked Joe had lucinda on his list and Jason didn't. Bravo Joe, you were the only one to list the best album of the year. I have no problem with the production issues,the songs are phenomenal

Takeaways from this deep dive into the Abyss that was 1998: My memory of this year was fairly reliable. Many of the albums and songs that I loved back then still felt right at home on my lists. Some thrilling new discoveries rounded everything out. Thanks to everyone who suggested albums. I found deep resonance with a few hidden gems. It was actually a bigger smorgasbord of music than I first thought possible. My glass is always half full when it comes to connecting my musical past with my present, so cheers to you all! 🎶 “Every You Every Me”🎵 ❤️💙💜

I don't know we all judge but just the amount of albums included that are from genres you're not into (Death, Massive Attack, Hollis) or artists you thought you won't like (Hole, I also hate Courtney, Sheryl...) as a sign of open mindedness, definitely more than me, all of you to some degree, that's why we watch you, you never know what y'all get ... Got five in common this time

Though not as strong as '72 or '82, I still enjoyed this deep dive. It was a chance to both take a trip down memory lane and discover a few new great albums! My list: 1. Belle and Sebastian - The Boy with the Arab Strap - 5 (Kramzer) 2. Boris - Amplifier Worship - 5 3. Boredoms - Super AE - 4.5 4. At the Drive-in - in casino/out - 4.5 (Joe) 5. Alkaline Trio - Goddamit - 4.5 6. Silver Jews - American Water - 4.5 7. Queens of the Stone Age - s/t - 4.5 (Joe) 8. Mercury Rev - Deserter’s Songs - 4.5 (Kramzer) 9. Make-Up - In Mass Mind - 4.5 10. Calexico - The Black Light - 4.5 11. Willie Nelson - Teatro - 4.5 (Jason) 12. Offspring - Americana - 4 13. Black Star - Mos Def and Talib Kweli are Black Star - 4 14. Halo Benders - The Rebels Not In - 4 15. Beck - Mutations - 4 (Jason) 16. PJ Harvey - Is this Desire? - 4 (Kramzer) 17. Fatboy Slim - You’ve Come a Long Way, Baby - 4 18. Mad Caddies - Duck and Cover - 4 19. Garbage - Version 2.0 - 4 (Joe) 20. Outkast - Aquemini - 4 21. Strung Out - Twisted By Design - 4 22. Pram - North Pole Radio Station - 4 23. Snowpony- The slow motion world of snowpony- 4 24. Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - Acme - 4 25. Less Than Jake - Hello Rockview - 4

Very surprised to see The Sound Of Perseverance on here. I’m impressed by you, Joe. Almost if not every album by that band is a masterpiece.

It’s weird looking back at 98. ATDI was huge for me during that time. Probably my fav album from your list. Nice to hear people talk about music.

"Adrian Murray" was a funny slipup 😅. That Bruce album is really great though, glad it made the list this high up.

Joe had mentioned a few times in videos liking "over the top" music. And I always wondered if any of the TLM boys knew or liked The Divine Comedy. The album that made your list was the last one I paid attention to and thought they fell off a bit. Definitely check out their first 4 albums.

Mark Hollis would probably be my top pick for '98. Then, The Sound of Perseverence by Death would probably very high on my list. Joe dug deep in a year he doesn't particularly like and came up with two brilliant records, Mark Hollis and Death, that are such a distance from each other musically. Perfect. Other albums I would include: Starters Alternators : The Ex Ocean Songs : The Dirty Three The Black Light : Calexico Deserter's Songs : Mercury Rev Pennsylvania : Pere Ubu Mutations : Beck Music Has the Right to Children : Boards of Canada Celebrity Skin : Hole XO : Elliott Smith Diabolical Conquest : Incantation Amongst the Catacombs of Nephren-Ka : Nile Obscura : Gorguts Philophobia : Arab Strap

Tori amos is my favorite artist of all-time so I was incredibly hopeful she would be on Joe’s list. Glad Kramzer also had a song in his top 25. It is my 4th favorite so I completely understand the hate for 98 too.

Love that Death's Sound of Perseverance is on here. Others have suggested a listography and I wouldn't be opposed to that lol. If Joe found the harsh vocals a bit much to take over the course of one album, though, I don't know how a discography would fare. Some killer riffs and drumming to be found on their earlier albums as well though. Or, perhaps a System of a Down listography to meet us halfway.

It's a long way from my favourite year but still plenty to like... 01... Manic Street Preachers - This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours.. 02... Pulp - This Is Hardcore ... ... 03... Catatonia - International Velvet… 04... Neil Finn - Try Whistling This ... 05... Beck - Mutations … 06... Rialto - Rialto … 07... Billy Bragg & Wilco - Mermaid Avenue … 08… Belle & Sebastian - The Boy With The Arab Strap… 09... Roddy Frame - North Star … 10... Beautiful South - Quench ... 11… The Divine Comedy - Fin De Siecle… 12… Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea… 13… Robbie Williams - I've Been Expecting You … 14… Elliott Smith - XO … 15… Silver Jews - American Water … 16… Chris Isaak - Speak Of The Devil ... 17… REM - Up … 18… Space - Tin Planet … 19… Sparklehorse - Good Moring Spider… 20… Lucinda Williams - Car Wheels On A Gravel Road… 21… Air - Moon Safari… 22... The Chicks - Wide Open Spaces … 23… Moon Pix - Cat Power… 24… Plant & Page - Walking into Clarksdale… 25… Liz Phair - Whitechocolatespaceegg…

Thanks for putting the Divine Comedy album in your list Joe.

Is this the first time The Divine Comedy have been mentioned on TLM? I'm delighted to see them/him get their dues - so many great albums including their self consciously "indie" Nigel Godrich produced follow-up to Fin De Siecle. Hopefully you'll get round to their discography one day.

I’m stunned at the lack of love for Car Wheels

I remember seeing Robbie Williams in concert in the DC area at The 930 Club (1200 capacity) somewhere around this time. In England, he was selling out Wembley Stadium (90,000 capacity)!!!

Joe has the most interesting list. He has my bottom albums: #104 (Mark Hollis), #98 (Car Wheels On A Gravel Road), #95 (In/Casino/Out), & #94(System Of A Down). He has my middle albums: #66(Celebrity Skin) & #55(Wide Open Spaces). He has albums that just missed out( #29 Version 2.0 & #26 Before These Crowded Streets). We do share six albums on our list(Mezzanine, XO, From The Choirgirl Hotel, Yield, Queens Of The Stone Age, and Globe Sessions). Joe has an assortment of musical tastes.

🤠 Divine Comedy. Hell yeah. Just work backwards from there in his discography, and you'll hear the golden years; Songs of Love...Your Daddy's Car ...sigh. Some of the most romantic songs to emerge from the decade.

in '98 and subsequent years I was into: 1 Mutations (Beck) 2 Frank Black & The Catholics, 3 Last Dog & Pony Show (Mould), 4 Mermaid Ave (Bragg/Wilco), 5 Deserters Songs (Mercury Rev), 6 Waved Out (Robert Pollard), 7 Teatro (Willie Nelson), 8 Hello Nasty (Beastie), 9 Moon Pix (CatPower), 10 Up (REM). Since then I've dug Death, Napalm Death, Tori Amos but I guess not much from '98

Well, I entered a preliminary top 25 months ago after listening to over 100 albums from 1998. After buying way too much music over the years, I decided to use the deep dive to listen to all of the '98 discs I have, many of which I had never heard. So, after 800+ albums from 1998 (a dubious achievement to be sure), here is my top 25 with 25 as overflow. 1. Heather Myles - Highways & Honky Tonks 2. Dwight Yoakam - A Long Way Home 3. Jonny Lang - Wander This World 4. Monster Magnet - Powertrip 5. Lenny Kravitz - 5 6. Johnny Rivers - The Memphis Sun Recordings 7. Old Dogs - Old Dogs 8. Paul Kelly - Words And Music 9. Lazy Lester - All Over You 10. Johnny Adams - Man Of My Word 11. The Black Crowes - By Your Side 12. James Armstrong - Dark Night 13. Chris Knight - Chris Knight 14. Bap Kennedy - Domestic Blues 15. Kid Rock - Devil Without A Cause 16. Gotohells - Burning Bridges 17. Magic Slim & The Teardrops - Black Tornado 18. Little Mike And The Tornadoes - Hot Shot 19. Various Artists - KISS Tribute In Japan 20. Hadacol - "Better Than This" 21. Todd Snider - Viva Satellite 22. Blue Oyster Cult - Heaven Forbid 23. James Solberg - L.A. Blues 24. The Hellacopters - Disappointment Blues EP 25. The Makers - Psychopathia Sexualis 26. Gary Allan - It Would Be You 27. Bernard Allison - Times Are Changing 28. Clutch - The Elephant Riders 29. A.J. Croce - Fit To Serve 30. Red Meat - 13 31. Big In Iowa - Twisted 32. Roots Rock Action Figures - Calling Dr. Strong 33. Allison Moorer - Alabama Song 34. The Humpers - Euphoria, Confusion, Anger And Remorse 35. Guitar Shorty - Roll Over, Baby 36. B.B. King - Blues On The Bayou 37. Fortune & Maltese And The Phabulous Pallbearers - Fortune & Maltese And The Phabulous Pallbearers 38. The Mavericks - Trampoline 39. Big Sugar - Heated 40. Junior Brown - Long Walk Back 41. The Donnas - American Teenage Rock 'N' Roll Machine 42. Bangs - Tiger Beat 43. Don Griffin - Standing Alone 44. Tommy Womack - Positively Na Na 45. Outkast - Aquemini 46. Cafe R&B - Black And White 47. Cheeky Monkey - Four Arms To Hold You 48. Ralph Stanley & Friends - Clinch Mountain Country 49. Pete Droge - Spacey And Shakin 50. Swamp Boogie Queen - Ill Gotten Booty

The only match I had with Joe was Bruce Dickinson's The Chemical Wedding album. It is probably the only album from 1998 that I own. 🎶

Digging around the only 1998 pop Lp's that seem to be very well, or universally, respected are: Hill's - MisEducation, Air's - Moon Safari, Outcast's - Aquemini and the Hollis. Joe did have one of these! I quite liked the Manic Street Preachers effort, but it only had a couple of tasty tracks from memory.

Haven't yet heard them but the Turbonegro entry is top 25 all-time Wikipedia entry for me. Renaissance people!

You had 5 that I acclaim for a '98 list. *BeforeTheseCrowedStreets* was one of the first 7 Cds I ever bought which started in 1998 ,amid that I get your animosity of that year, the boy groups in particular were predated already in their outdated'ness back then.

I am interviewing Jody Stephens for my music writing job with the rock and roll globe Tuesday.

25. Without You I'm Nothing - Placebo 24. A Go Go - John Scofield 23. The Globe Sessions - Sheryl Crow 22. Alankomaat - Nits 21. In The Aeroplane Over The Sea - Neutral Milk Hotel 20. Tyranny - Shadow Gallery 19. Wormwood - The Residents 18. Hologram Of Baal - The Church 17. Cause And Effect - Steve Smith, Tom Coster & Larry Coryell 16. The Last Wave Of Summer - Cold Chisel 15. Up - R.E.M. 14. Moon Safari - Air 13. Rufus Wainwright - Rufus Wainwright 12. XO - Elliott Smith 11. Mutations - Beck 10. The McGarrigle Hour - Kate & Anna McGarrigle 9. The Visitor - Arena 8. Queens Of The Stone Age - Queens Of The Stone Age 7. Queen Of All Ears - The Lounge Lizards 6. Whitechocolatespaceegg - Liz Phair 5. This Is My Truth Tell My Yours - Manic Street Preachers 4. Car Wheels On A Gravel Road - Lucinda Williams [4.5] 3. The Boy With The Arab Strap - Belle And Sebastian 2. Good Moring Spider - Sparklehorse 1. Little Plastic Castle - Ani DiFranco

System of a Down, Death, Elliott Smith, Tori Amos, Garbage, At the Drive In, all 4.5 stars for me. No Shelter is either 3rd or 4th on my greatest songs of all time list.

Glad to see Hole on both Jasons and Joes list. I can't say I like Courtney Love one bit from what I know about her as a personality but the singles from that album is quite good. Surprised there wasn't any hiphop on this list... Outkast? Jay-Z? Beastie Boys? A Tribe Called Quest?

10. David gray - white ladder 9 Pulp - this is hardcore 8 Aquemini - outkast 7 deserters songs - mercury rev 6 tori amos - from the choirgirl hotel 5 massive attack- mezzanine 4 Elliot smith- XO 3. Air - Moon safari 2 Lauryn Hill- miseducation 1 the divine comedy - fin di siecle!

I agree that this was not a good quality year but good calls for Lucinda Williams, Garbage, Dixie Chicks. All good albums.

"It was testing my will to live" "Anti-Jason-core". 9 matches. 10 if count our opinion of 2020- which did manage to have not bad albums by Lucinda Williams and Pearl Jam and didn't have XO but did have not bad album XOXO by Gary Louris' Jayhawks.

Fuck yeah, Godzilla: The Album. Never has an album better exemplified what it means to be Godzilla.

You guys need to do more ranking of artists discographies. That's the bread and butter of this channel. I'm not seeing it much anymore and it's disappointing.

I’m very happy to see Apocalyse Dudes make it onto a list (I truly wasn’t expecting it). It would have been nice to see Strung Out’s Twisted by Design make it as well, but I can’t complain. This is the only list to contain actual rock/metal albums (I consider Celebrity Skin to be a pop album with guitars), so it definitely is my pick out of the three. It’s also the only list that felt like a real deep-dive. Other observations: -Elliott Smith’s XO would appear to be the consensus winner in terms of its placement on all 3 lists. I think it’s his best album, but I only have it in 11th place on my 1998 list, as he’s never been among my absolute favorite singer-songwriters. -No hip hop at all. No OutKast, Gang Starr, Lauryn Hill, or Black Star. Wow. I’m not the biggest hip hop fan, but I like all of those acts way more than stuff like Kanye or Kendrick Lamar. -I think that Susumu Hirasawa’s Kyusai no Giho (“Technique of Relief” in English) is a bold psych-pop album that would have done well with Joe and maybe Kramzer, but I doubt that they gave it a shot. It’s a great album that anyone who likes progressive pop music should check out.

My list has 5 albums each in common with Joe and Jason and 9 with Kramzer, including everybody's top 2 and Kramzer's top 4. I wasn't expecting Joe to be the only one with Car Wheels or for Mezzanine to make his list at all; I was less surprised that he made it sound as though the latter wouldn't make his top 1 billion in almost any other year. I agree about 2014. There's Run the Jewels 2, and Conflict by Owen Pallett, both of which are among my favourite albums ever, but the drop off starts only a few albums after that and it's brutal.

Did any of you listen to Bob Mould’s “Last Dog And Pony Show?” It’s not as good as “Workbook” but it’s a hell of a lot better than a lot of the records mentioned in these 3 videos.

Kudos to Joe for including some metal on his list. Cryptopsy - Whisper Supremacy is the best death metal album of 1998 in my opinion. I am however surprised that neither of you included Semisonic - Feeling Strangely Fine, and Harvey Danger - Where Have All the Merrymakers Gone? Those two albums are easily the two best alternative pop rock albums of 1998.

Great channel y'all. I'm geekier about music than most people, so it's fun to hear 3 fellow nerds of younger (I'm 50) ages. In '98 I was really into indie rock. Or college rock. But "modern" rock radio was awful, and same with hip-hop/RnB.. I'm gonna try making a list now because I'm a nerd

It's a shame that you guys weren't able to pull together a Patrons favorite. Here are my Top 10: #1 Bring It On - Gomez #2 From The Choirgirl Hotel - Tori Amos #3 Mutations - Beck #4 Fin De Siècle - Divine Comedy #5 Whitechocolatespaceegg - Liz Phair #6 Mezzanine - Massive Attack #7 Yield - Pearl Jam #8 Big Calm - Morcheeba #9 Deserter’s Songs - Mercury Rev #10 Moon Safari - Air

1998, an odd year to do a deep dive into (the shallow end of the music pool?). For me, 1998 was somewhat of a lost year for new music. I became a father in 1997 (and then again in 2000), so for the late 90's and early 2000's I really didn't listen to any new music (that wasn't kid-related). So I had a hard time just coming up with 10 albums I really liked from that year, and most of those I discovered much later. Was hoping to hear about some great albums I didn't know about from you guys here, and there were a few that sound cool that I will probably go back and check out. For me, the best and most entertaining was the the Golden Smog album. And it's hard to believe that Joe was the only one that had this album on his list (kudos for highlighting it), and Jason did NOT ( and Jason didn't even have anything at all to say about Joe picking it or what he thought of it). I only discovered Golden Smog a few years ago, but love their albums and the loose, cool vibe they have, and I would put this one, as well as their 2006 Another Fine Day album being as good or better than most Wilco albums. 10. All the Pain that Money Can Buy - Fastball 9. Globe sessions - Sheryl Crow 8. Up - REM 7. Yield - Pearl Jam 6. Mermaid Avenue - Billy Bragg and Wilco 5. Before These Crowded Streets - Dave Matthews Band 4. XO - Elliott Smith 3. The Kindness of Strangers - Spock's Beard 2. Stunt - Barenaked Ladies 1. Weird Tales - Golden Smog

I Can’t argue with your take on Elliott, though. As a Portlander, I was lucky to see him live on several occasions, both solo and with Heatmiser.

Good series of shows overall. I didn't listen to much in 1998, but my runaway favorite by a landslide was Dose by Gov't Mule. One of the best post- 70's/80's Southern rock albums i.m.o. I did dig the debut Queens of the Stone Age and Lucinda Williams Car Wheels On a Gravel Road.

Turbonegro , Hellacopters and Gluecifer were literally keeping the rock flame alive during these years … all from up that way .

Here are even more of my favourite albums from 1998. They may not all be favourites necessarily, but I believe that they do deserve a listen or two. Mechanical Animals by Marilyn Manson is interesting because of his switch in image to a more glam figure and yet, he still would give us songs which provoke us to react. Garage Inc. by Metallica is a great covers album, for the new songs and the ones which were left over, as B-sides and for me, finally having their version of Stone Cold Crazy by Queen and a ultra-heavily profanity laden song called So What, made it all worth it, along with everything else. As for So What?, I had heard about it on the radio in 1992, or 1993 as it was a B-side to one of the singles off of the Metallica album and because there was so much bad language on it, made it even more of a want to hear, in my teenage and nearly 20-year-old mind. I still love this track. Candyass by Orgy is here, simply because of some of the electronic elements which sound like Nine Inch Nails at times and I guess, their cover of Blue Monday too. I'm including Diabolus In Musica by Slayer because it is still Slayer, even with any nu metal influences. Since I had mentioned Slayer, I may as well add the debut album by System Of A Down, as it is raw, aggressive and weird. Strictly Diesel by Spineshank deserves a listen, as it is imperfect in many ways and far from what we would get in 2000, with The Height of Callousness. Finally, how can I not include Reunion by Black Sabbath? When Psycho Man came out as the first single for radio I believe that a lot of people were really stoked about what was to come, both on CD and live.

Here's my top 25 albums of 1998 . . . finally: 1. Garbage - Verson 2.0 2. Eve 6 - s/t 3. Shakira - Donde Estan los Ladrones? 4. Velvet Goldmine Soundtrack 5. Tori Amos - From the Choirgirl Hotel 6. The Jesus and Mary Chain - Munki 7. Supercar - Three Out Change 8. Imperial Teen - What Is Not to Love 9. Spacehog - The Chinese Album 10. Liz Phair - whitechocolatespaceegg 11. Madonna - Ray of Light 12. Belle and Sebastian - The Boy with the Arab Strap 13. Tripping Daisy - Jesus Hits Like the Atom Bomb 14. Nada Surf - The Proximity Effect 15. Chris Isaak - Speak of the Devil 16. Hole - Celebrity Skin 17. Space - Tin Planet 18. Lou Reed - Perfect Night: Live in London 19. Dropkick Murphys - Do or Die 20. Mark Lanegan - Scraps at Midnight 21. Rancid - Life Can’t Wait 22. Superdrag - Head Trip in Every Key 23. The Cardigans - Gran Turismo 24. The Afghan Whigs - 1965 25. PJ Harvey - Is this Desire? Ratings: 1-3: 5 stars 4-7: 4.5 stars 8-19: 4 stars 20-25: 3.5 stars Thank you. 😎

I shared 3. We had the same number one. I had Massive Attack at 21 and Lucinda at 26, but after my top 20 my list is pretty arbitrary. I should give Mark Hollis a listen as I have only recently come around to Talk Talk. Hole, Golden Smog and Pulp are ok and might even rise with further listenings.

Risingson wrestles with Inertia Creeps as my fave track on Mezzanine on any given day. So deliciously insidious.

Dave Matthews makes me want to go permanently deaf. ATDI was a good pic.

I agree that 1998 isn't very deep, but it does have two albums that are in my top 25: "Mezzanine" and "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill". I'm surprised the latter wasn't even mentioned. It's an incredible album.

Joe: We have 3 sames. Sry to hear Garbage dropped a few places. Great commentary from everyone - -once again proving that this channel is the BEST. I agree that 98 was not a great year. Finally we are done with it. If I did a list 20 years ago, I am sure Lucinda Williams would be on it. but that record didn't date well for me. A few great songs and a lot of very by-the-numbers country. Dave Matthews was close to my top 25. I don't really like his singing style many times.

we need a tori week please!!

In honor of Joe picking Death, I decided to reshuffle a few pix. No Death, just a couple of tweaks... 1. Screamin' Cheetah Wheelies - Big Wheel 2. Gov't Mule - Dose 3. Virgin Steele - Invictus 4. King Diamond - Voodoo 5. Deep Purple - Abandon 6. Grave Digger - Knights of the Cross 7. Mercyful Fate - Dead Again 8. Monster Magnet - Powertrip 9. Blue Oyster Cult - Heaven Forbid 10. Nightwish - Oceanborn 11. Jerry Cantrell - Boggy Depot 12. Izzy Stradlin - 117* 13. Bruce Dickinson - The Chemical Wedding 14. Running Wild - The Rivalry 15. Iced Earth - Something Wicked This Way Comes 16. Blind Guardian - Nightfall in Middle-Earth 17. Rhapsody - Symphony of Enchanted Lands 18. Backyard Babies - Total 13 19. Eric Clapton - Pilgrim 20. Queens of the Stone Age 21. Iron Maiden - Virtual XI 22. Kiss - Psycho Circus 23. Solitude Aeternus - Adagio 24. Sleep - Dopesmoker 25. Slayer - Diabolus in Musica

Cool, This is Hardcore at 4.

I agree '98 was a poor year overall for Rock/Pop music releases. I liked Joe's album list the best by a country mile. Kudos for including THE GLOBE SESSIONS, CHOIRGIRL HOTEL, and especially CPR. The CPR album is some of the best music of Crosby's entire career and without a doubt my #1 album of 1998. My list would also include FUNDAMENTAL by Bonnie Raitt (probably my least favorite of all her albums but still good enough to make the top 25 of this year) and WE RAN from Linda Ronstadt, a return to her classic 70's type material and her final solo album of pop/rock/americana material. Did any of you check out SPIRIT TRAIL by Bruce Hornsby? An excellent and wide ranging double album!

Joe, had you heard from the choirgirl hotel yet during 1998 albums of the year? I checked the old video and you didn't do any honorable mentions. I'm just so happy to see it rocket so high on your list! Also happy to see Sheryl Crow and to hear Joe say such nice things about it. That kind of music rarely gets a real critical look-in but it's a great record in its genre. As for the other picks and as always with all three TLMers, I strongly agree sometimes and strongly disagree other times. That's the fun of it. - Shannon :)

Surprised Joe did not include Outkast's Aquemini on his list

Joe have you heard the album “People Move On” by Bernard Butler? He was the guitarist in Suede, and I think it was his only solo album. But it’s great, full of some very George Harrison-ish songs. Maybe a bit too long, like a lot of 90’s stuff…but the song “When You Grow” is just perfect. Huge production, great tasteful guitar solo, McCarrtney style bass. A stone cold late BritPop (even though I HATE that term) classic.

My favorite is "Hello Nasty", by far.. good list tho, Joe

Dis-Missed by all 3: Clandestino - Manu Chao, Hologram of Baal - The Church (another solid release from them)

I gotta give Crystal Ball a shot now. I’m a huge Prince fan but I kind of haven’t given anything after the Gold Experience a solid listen (aside from Musicology) (and I maybe heard Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic once? but I barely remember it)

I would really like to know what Jason thinks about the Dixie Chicks?

"Well Dixie banjo my Yokum." What could be better...? That's right, bands that have a famous lineage or 'rough' association to past glories.

Man of the people!

not expecting the ATDI pick, great album though

garbage way to go joe🐯

You should check out 'Six' by Mansun, released in 1998. They're a post-Brit Pop band, and this sophomore album is basically a mash of that with prog. One of my favorites ever. But don't listen on Spotify - it's the American track listing which is totally out of order and has radio edits and shit

You know, other than her first album, I don't think I have ever listened to an entire Sheryl Crow record, and she has quite a few, one of these days I gotta go through her stuff and see how it is.

Finally qotsa and turbonegro ❤

Turbonegro were great fun!

Great list. Forgot just how good Elliott Smith was. 1998 was indeed a shite year.

Animal Kingdom is one of Prince’s biggest missteps, I agree. Have you guys done a Prince listography?

Probably closest to Kramzer overall but agree with you all 98 a really bad year, think Mezzanine tracks Angel, Teardrop and Bitter Sweet Symphony are best songs. Deserters Songs and QOTSA for me are best albums which might put me closer to Joe, again Jason's choices are a bit too left field for me. Good thing is that I listened more to Elliot Smith XO due to the amount of dross that was available that year.

Can't argue with Elliott Smith at #1! He was one of the best. I like the Hole album -- but it falls into the category of a guilty pleasure. P.S. 98 still rules!!

I think both Angels and Come Undone were big hits in America - both deservedly so. Other than those and Millennium, you're right - Robbie Williams had limited success in the States. But man is he huge in the UK and Europe.

Everyone missed Scott Weilands Solo Album 12 Bar Blues. So diverse and underrated. And the Oasis compilation album The Masterplan that had a ton of great stuff on it that could have been singles.

Love that all three did NOT pick that annoying lauryn Hill album😊

my albums ranking of 1998 (for me, one of the best years ever!) 1. Silver Jews - American Water 2. Neutral Milk Hotel - In The Aeroplane Over the Sea 3. Boards of Canada - Music Has the Right to Children 4. Elliott Smith - XO 5. Boredoms - Super ae 6. Belle and Sebastian - The Boy with the Arab Strap 7. OutKast - Aquemini 8. Cat Power - Moon Pix 9. Lucinda Williams - Car Wheels on a Gravel Road 10. Air - Moon Safari 11. Gang Starr - Moment of Truth 12. Mouse on Mars - Glam 13. Tortoise - TNT 14. Beck - Mutations 15. Lauryn Hill - The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill 16. Refused - The Shape of Punk to Come 17. Royal Trux - Accelerator 18. DMX - It's Dark and Hell It's Hot 19. Spoon - A Series of Sneaks 20. Gastr Del Sol - Camofleur 21. Duster - Stratosphere 22. Herbert - Around the House 23. Sparklehorse - Good Morning Spider 24. Mercury Rev - Deserter's Songs 25. Theo Parrish - First Floor

Sheryl's version of "Mississippi" actually pre-date's Dylan's by a few years.

1998 is honestly one of my favorite musical years ever lol