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Nine Great Albums You (Probably) Haven’t Heard

The ‘Nine Albums That Made Me’ trend is sweeping the socials, but let’s try something a little more interesting.

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Unless you’ve been living under a rock – or have a healthy life devoid of social media – for the last week or so a lot of people are doing the “nine albums that made me” trend. Basically, there’s a website, my9albums.org, that allows you to input your nine favorite albums and produces a snazzy graphic you can post on Insta or X.

While I could have hopped on the (literal, of sorts) bandwagon here, I saw a lot of people with similar taste already posting. I saw someone joke that they could almost tell someone’s birthdate down to the month and year based on this; yes, I’m a 50-year-old white guy music snob so, yes, I concede some of my indie rock faves are predictable.

However, I’ve always had adventurous music taste and I thought I’d do something different. I’m going to list nine records I really like that I don’t think most people have heard. I’m sure there are fellow music nerds on here that know these records, but I think we can all agree even if you’ve heard them they are all underappreciated. Also, you’ll see from the photo above, I wasn’t able to complete the graphic on the “nine albums” site. There were two blank spots where the “nine albums” site didn’t have the records listed and another where the “nine albums” site only had the name and not the album art, so there’s definitely obscure-ish stuff here. Stylistically, this is a very diverse group of records – there should be a little something for everyone here.

Record One: Gene – As Good As It Gets (2001)

At least in America, I don’t think most music fans have a sense of the breadth and depth of the music explosion that came with Britpop. They know Oasis and Blur, might have heard the phrase “shoegaze” at some point, and that’s about it.

Which explains why it’s a crime that a band as singularly good as Gene could basically get lost in the din of 90s British bands. As Good As It Gets is technically a greatest hits collection, but it’s an exceptionally cohesive track listing. If you get your hands on a copy of the physical CD (I had to special order it back in the day), Irvine Welsh – the author of Trainspotting – writes the liner notes.

Recommended If You Like (RIYL): The Smiths

Sample Track: It isn’t their biggest song, but I really dig, “Where Are They Now?”

Record Two: Chris Whitley – Living With The Law (1991)

Chris Whitley was a brilliant songwriter and performer who died tragically young; he was also an extremely unique and talented guitar player – you don’t see many guys in rock slinging a dobro. Living With The Law was his most successful and probably accessible record, though on any given day I might prefer his more rocking follow-up record, Din of Ecstasy, which has some wild guitar playing on it.

Living With The Law is a more subdued record, but no less affecting. It’s a very specific vibe – if you ever find yourself on a desolate road west of the Rockies with many miles ahead of you, this is the record you didn’t know you desperately needed.

RIYL: Daniel Lanois, Robbie Robertson’s solo records, John Doe

Sample Track: “Big Sky Country” was the big hit off this record and it’s great, but this killer Letterman performance of “Kick the Stones” from 35 years ago really gives you a sense of what a unique and charismatic performer he was.

Record Three: Fig Dish – That’s What Love Songs Often Do (1995)

I guess you could also say that much like Britpop, the grunge/alternative explosion of the early-to-mid 90s also buried some great bands. In fact, the first song on That’s What Love Songs Often Do is called “Bury Me,” though I doubt that was meant as a commentary on their budding career. Almost no one outside of Chicago heard much of Fig Dish, despite glowing reviews – the Chicago Tribune called TWLSOD “a minor revelation” – and guest vocals on two tracks from Nina Gordon, whose band Veruca Salt was plastered all over........

© The Federalist