Working today was like...much harder than on regular days.  I am freaking exhausted right now and it's all of 6:30.  And since my mind is mush, I can't much think of anything to write about.  So I'm stealing LJ's "writers block" idea.  I feel like a bad person.

Fortunately, the writers block idea is about one of the things I like talking about the most, and that's MUSIC.  So their question...what are my personal top 10 albums of all time?  Let's count 'em down.

10) Silverchair-Neon Ballroom-The third album from this Aussie trio, released in 1999.  This was a much different album from their first two, with a more mature and musical sound, yet filled with much more angst and anger.  This was the start of Silverchair rebranding themselves from a post-grunge Nirvana wanna-be to a more alternative/glam band, and the last album they released until 2002.  My 17 year old self didn't really like this album because it's not easy listening...but as I gave it a second shot years later, I've come to appreciate the raw emotion in this album.  A great album for a rainy day.  Check out "Miss You Love" and "Black Tangled Heart".

9) Stone Temple Pilots-Purple-The much anticipated 1994 follow up to Core, Purple was and instant classic and has withstood the test of time (at least in my opinion).  STP never was able to recapture the sound they had on this album, probably owing a lot to Scott Weiland's drug problems.  The combination of post-grunge and Guns n' Roses-like hair glam rock on this album gives any rock and roll fan plenty to listen to.  "Interstate Love Song" and "Big Empty" are 90's rock classics, but every song on this album, from start to finish, is a winner.

8) Bad Religion-Process of Belief-After a long hiatus, this album introduced Bad Religion and their brand of intellectual punk rock to a whole new generation.  This album probably doesn't have the edge or lyrical genius of previous Bad Religion albums, but the music is a bit less three-chord and still sends a strong message.  "Kyoto Now" pretty much sums up this album with the words "we need a fresh and new religion to run our lives".  This album is also a dream for those of us with a short attention span-all songs under four minutes.

7) New Found Glory-Catalyst-It took NFG a few albums to get it right, but everything came together for them on this album.  While Sticks and Stones was a huge commercial success, it was probably a bit too bubble-gum for early fans of the band.  Catalyst moved back a bit towards the bands roots, while throwing in a few minor-key twists, but surely pleased the pop-radio fan in all of us.  And while more recent efforts from this band have been decent, it seems that the quality has gone "All Downhill From Here".  Sorry, that was a terrible attempt at being clever.

6) Jimmy Eat World-Clarity-Other JEW albums may have better songs, but this album is emo-rock in it's purest form, something JEW got away from in later albums.  The music is so relaxing and quiet, full of strong messages done in an understated way.  A great thing about this album was that JEW got to put the sound they wanted on the album because it wasn't picked up by a major label until "Lucky Denver Mint" finally started to get some radio play...and it's always nice to hear what a band sounds like without input from the corporate machine.

5) Muse-Black Holes and Revelations-I've written about this album before, but it has to be one of the coolest, most musical and most entertaining mainstream albums of the last 5 years.  Combining glam and electronica, Muse has a sound that hasn't really been heard since the days of David Bowie and Queen.  Matthew Bellamy is the perfect frontman for this band, and his singing is as good as any other rocker out there today.  This album just screams "We Kick Ass!", and it surely does.

4) Pink Floyd-The Dark Side of the Moon-It seems that more people know about how this album syncs up perfectly with The Wizard of Oz than anything else.  This is Pink Floyd's masterpiece, an album about slowly spiraling into deep insanity.  The Wall has its moments, but this psychadelic trip of an album is amazing from start to finish.  If you've never listened to it start to finish, you owe it to yourself to check it out.

3) Thrice-Vheissu-I admit that Thrice is one of my favorite bands, and Artist in the Ambulance is a masterpiece of the post-hardcore movement, but Vheissu blows it out of the water.  This album is all about raw power, and yet Thrice's use of the piano, the music box, a telegraph, and orchestral arrangements give this a highly experimental and musical aspect as well.  Lead singer Dustin Kensure switches from soft and melodic to loud and screamy in a way that doesn't come off as corny.  The only bad thing about this album is that it seems Thrice peaked with it...The Alchemy Index hasn't lived up to its lofty expectations.

2) Coheed and Cambria-Second Stage: Turbine Blade-Like so many bands, CoCa's debut album is also their best.  They just haven't been able to capture this sound in any of their other albums.  Every song on this album is unique within the album, and if it weren't for Claudio Sanchez's distinct voice, one might not realize that all these songs are from one record. The production is a lot better on other CoCa albums, but for music, lyrics, and content, this is their best effort.

1) Led Zeppelin-Led Zeppelin IV-Look, I could put any Zeppelin album here and it would be at the top.  I could probably have just put 9 Zeppelin albums on this list and thrown something else in.  But sometimes you have to make a decision.  Is there a bad song on this album?  I don't personally like "Rock and Roll", but it's still a good song.  But jeez, you've got "Black Dog", "Battle of Evermore", "Stairway to Heaven", "Misty Mountain Hop", "Going to California" and "When the Levee Breaks".  Do I even have to tell you why this album is great?  Is anybody really gonna argue me here?

Honerable Mentions
Tool-AEnima
Avenged Sevenfold-City of Evil
Soundgarden-Superunknown
Cake-Prolonging the Magic
Rush-Moving Pictures