I'm a time traveler, moving through the years and selecting my favorite albums.

1996

I'm travelling back to 1996, a time when I was starting my senior year of high school. Picking four albums per year has been an interesting exercise. This is one of those years where there are another ten albums that might have been chosen if released in a different year. Time.

At the time I really started getting into Rush T4E was the most current studio album, but it may be the least appreciated album they've done, even amongst the most loyal fans. I'll refer you to this thread I wrote on T4E last year. https://twitter.com/jcd823/status/1330183133044609030?s=20

Weezer's Pinkerton marks the third of the three albums that most defined my high school days, along with their debut and the Cranberries' No Need To Argue. Each one became my new most listened to album of all time.

I think Rivers Cuomo is a great song writer and Pinkerton is Weezer's greatest album. Musically it's a bit darker and the lyrics seem a little more personal than on any other album.

On songs like El Scorcho Cuomo sings about the difficulty of being a little too shy, a little too nervous to approach a girl you like and my 17 year old self totally identified with every word and every note.

To The Faithful Departed is the Cranberries' third album and with songs like Hollywood, Salvation, and I Just Shot John Lennon it's probably their heaviest record. Another outstanding effort from one of my favorite bands.

Sublime was a great band; their self-titled album was an outstanding mix of reggae, ska, punk and hip-hop. Singer/guitarist Bradley Nowell died of a heroin overdose two months before the album was released and it still sold millions. They could've been the world's biggest band.

From Garden Grove to What I Got to Santeria to Pawn Shop to Caress Me Down to Doin Time every track is both outstanding and filled with wonderous variety. I think this one would easily make my Top 10 albums of the 90s.