Near Perfect Albums

Blah blah, nothing's perfect. Ignoring this truth, these are some damn awesome albums through and through, and I consider them near perfect. To preface this list, these are according to my personal music tastes, obviously. I'm the first to admit that there are whole genres that I know very little about because I listen to them rarely, so there might be an amazing album out there that I just haven't discovered (yet). A lot of my favorite overall artists aren't on this list because while they may consistently make awesome music and I love it all, there's no single album that gets it perfect.
In no particular order:

1. Gasoline by The Hard Lessons.

I've been in love with this band since the first time I ever saw them in 8th grade. Now, 8 years and four albums later, I still think THL are some of the rockingest musicians out there. Gasoline is by far their least produced sounding album and I love that. Every song has some little thing, some creative hook or harmony or weird playing with the beat, that sets this album above and beyond your typical blues/rock set. THL have that White Stripes quality of making a really big sound out of not many people.

Stand out tracks: Milk and Sugar, That Other Girl, Inspired/Admired, Love Gone Cold.

2. Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd.

I feel like I don't need to say much about this album it's so ubiquitous with classic, awesome music. The reason's it's on my list, is that I'm a sucker for albums that blend together so they sound like one continuous track, and Dark Side does that well. Pink Floyd used techniques that people had never really done before to give their music out of this world qualities. One track will be a sped up electronic device, and the next is an improvised piano + vocal piece (which also happens to be my favorite song in the history of music). 

Stand out tracks: On the Run, The Great Gig in the Sky, Us and Them, Any Colour You Like.

3. In the Aeroplane Over the Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel

Another album with some fantastic bleed through from song to song. There are so many things I love about this album from the Anne Frank-esque concept to the cover art to the fact that my favorite track, Oh Comely, was recorded by Jeff Mangum in one raw take. This album will make you rock out, sing at the top of your lungs, and cry, all within the span of a dozen tracks.

Stand out tracks: The King of Carrot Flowers Pts. Two and Three, Holland 1945, Communist Daughter, Oh Comely. 

4. This Is Happening by LCD Soundsystem.

Sound of Silver actually has more of my favorite single songs by LCD, but This is Happening hit me like a train the first time I heard it. It's James Murphy's last CD as the band, and it's driving and danceable and fun the whole time, if you're into weird electro-y intellectual alt rock. Each song is so unique, but unlike their previous albums, they are fit so perfectly together as an album. I like the cohesiveness, plus every track is fantastic.

Stand out tracks: Dance Yrself Clean, Somebody's Calling Me, Home, Throw, I Can Change.

5. The Way Out by The Books.

No joke, I probably listen to this album all the way through once or twice a month, every month. Why? Because it is one of the most soothing, entrancing, creative, and engaging albums released in the past forever. From the very first track, you know this is something unlike anything you've ever heard before. Audio verite at its finest. The Books balance the weird, the scripted, the electronic, and the real instrument so so well, and on this, their last album as a group, they've hit the bullseye. 

Stand out tracks: Group Autogenics I and II, A Cold Freezin' Night, I Am Who I Am, Free Translator. 

Okay, that's solid enough for now. More to come, I'm sure!