Wednesday, January 31, 2018

The Year 1998 Albums Calendar and Rankings

 The year 1998 was a year I was in the thick of Dream Theater fandom I suppose, as I got to see them live for the 2nd time with ELP and Deep Purple.

And of course their new side project Liquid Tension Experiment came out on the heals of Falling Into Infinity, a polarizing record for many. LTE though most loved, and I will admit I did enjoy then, but probably more now as I wasn't as into instrumental rock music up until that point.

But looking at the rankings and calendar, 1998 was quite a deep year, compared to some other years. But at the same time, there doesn't seem to be any all-time favorites.

dredg's Leitmotif is a great debut album, quite original and does not overstay its welcome. And I came to learn about its cool concept/story after enjoying it for awhile. I suppose by default, and my love of dredg, it is my favorite album from 1998. But it's interesting scanning the list, many of the other albums I could easily rank higher than it, as many are albums that are my favorites from said artists (Superior, Jeff Buckley, Chroma Key, VAST, Mansun, Platypus, Pushmonkey).

But it's splitting hairs I guess. I look at this year and calendar as having many (20-25 or more) very good, 3.5-4 star albums. With a few at least bordering on 4.5.

In other words, not Top Heavy, but DEEP and in a matter of speaking.

1. dredg - Leitmotif
2. Liquid Tension Experiment - Liquid Tension Experiment
3. Superior - Younique
4. Pain of Salvation - One Hour by the Concrete Lake
5. Jeff Buckley - Sketches (For My Sweetheart the Drunk)
6. Marillion - Radiation
7. Shadow Gallery - Tyranny
8. Enchant - Break
9. Angra - Fireworks
10. Chroma Key - Dead Air for Radios
11. Mansun - Six
12. Fates Warning - Still Life
13. Galactic Cowboys - At the End of the Day
14. VAST - Visual Audio Sensory Theater
15. Spock's Beard - The Kindness of Strangers
16. Poncho Sanchez - Afro Cuban Fantasy
17. Platypus - When Pus Comes to Shove
18. King's X - Tape Head
19. Valinor's Tree - Kingdom of Sadness
20. Pushmonkey - Pushmonkey
21. Sculptured - The Spear of the Lily Is Aureoled
22. The Gathering - How to Measure a Planet?
23. Refused - The Shape of Punk to Come
24. Ty Tabor - Moonflower Lane
25. Marillion and the Positive Light - Tales from the Engine Room
26. Steve Hackett - The Tokyo Tapes
27. Soundscape - Man and Machine [EP]
28. Rush - Different Stages
29, Opeth - My Arms, Your Hearse
30. White Willow - Ex Tenebris
31. Without Warning - Step Beyond
32. Power of Omens - Eyes of the Oracle
33. OHO - Ecce OHO
34. Vincent Gallo - Buffalo '66 Soundtrack
35. Imogen Heap - I Megaphone
36. Al Di Meola - The Infinite Desire
37, Gorguts - Obscura
38. Wondermints - Bali
39. System of a Down - System of a Down
40. sElf - Brunch [EP]
41. The Rubinoos - Paleophonic
42. Poundhound - Massive Grooves from the Electric Church of Psychofunkadelic Grungelism Rock Music
43. Dream Theater - Once in a Livetime
44. At the Drive-In - In/Casino/Out
45. New Radicals - Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too
46. Metropolis - Shadows of the Past
47. Lenny Kravitz - 5
48. Lorde of All Desires - The Scent of Malevolence
49. Van Halen - Van Halen III


Untitled
Poncho Sanchez - Afro Cuban Fantasy
rel January 1, 1998

In Extremis
Thinking Plague - In Extremis
rel January 1, 1998

Are You Shpongled.jpg
Shpongle - Are You Shpongled?
\rel January 25, 1998

Untitled
Freak Kitchen - Freak Kitchen
rel January 26, 1998

Dixie Chicks - Wide Open Spaces.jpg
Dixie Chicks - Wide Open Spaces
rel January 27, 1998

Tales from The Engine Room
Marillion and the Positive Light - Tales from the Engine Room
rel January 1998

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Madonna - Ray of Light
rel February 22, 1998

Moonflowerlane.jpg
Ty Tabor - Moonflower Lane
rel February 24, 1998

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Liquid Tension Experiment - Liquid Tension Experiment
rel March 10, 1998

Van Halen - Van Halen III.jpg
Van Halen - Van Halen III
rel March 17, 1998

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Malice Mizer - Merveilles
rel March 18, 1998

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Sculptured - The Spear of the Lily Is Aureoled
rel March 1998

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Arena - The Visitor
rel April 20, 1998

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Jimmy Page and Robert Plant - Walking Into Clarksdale
rel April 21, 1998

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Steve Hackett - The Tokyo Tapes
rel April 27, 1998

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Blind Guardian - Nightfall in Middle-Earth
rel April 28, 1998

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Josh Rouse - Dressed Up Like Nebraska
rel April 28, 1998

Vast.jpg
VAST - Visual Audio Sensory Theater
rel April 28, 1998

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Julian Lennon - Photograph Smile
rel May 4, 1998

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Lenny Kravitz - 5
rel May 12, 1998

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Spock's Beard - Kindness of Strangers
rel May 19, 1998

Jeff Buckley - Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk.jpg
Jeff Buckley - Sketches (For My Sweetheart the Drunk)
rel May 26, 1998

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Sloan - Navy Blues
rel May 26, 1998

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dredg - Leitmotif
rel May 30, 1998

Younique.jpg
Superior - Younique
rel May 1998

Untitled
Bela Fleck and the Flecktones - Left of Cool
rel June 9, 1998

Untitled
Vital Tech Tones - Vital Tech Tones
rel June 9, 1998

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Imogen Heap - I Megaphone
rel June 16, 1998

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Anathema - Alternative 4
rel June 22, 1998

Gorguts - Obscura.jpg
Gorguts - Obscura
rel June 23, 1998

Paleophonic
The Rubinoos - Paleophonic
rel June 26, 1998

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System of a Down - System of a Down
rel June 30, 1998

Untitled
Power of Omens - Eyes of the Oracle
rel June 1998

Untitled
Vincent Gallo - Buffalo '66 Soundtrack
rel July 7, 1998

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Angra - Fireworks
rel July 14, 1998

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Pain of Salvation - One Hour by the Concrete Lake
rel July 21, 1998

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Explorer's Club - Age of Impact
rel July 28, 1998

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The Appleseed Cast - The End of the Ring Wars
rel August 11, 1998

Massive Grooves from the Electric Church of Psychofunkadelic Grungelism Rock Music.jpg
Poundhound - Massive Grooves from the Electric Church of Psychofunkadelic Grungelism Rock Music
rel August 11, 1998

At the Drive-In - In-Casino-Out cover.jpg
At the Drive-In - In/Casino/Out
rel August 18, 1998

Al di Meola Infinite Desire.jpg
Al Di Meola - The Infinite Desire
rel August 18, 1998

Opeth MAYH.jpg
Opeth - My Arms, Your Hearse
rel August 18, 1998

Enchant Break.jpg
Enchant - Break
rel August 25, 1998

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Platypus - When Pus Comes to Shove
rel August 25, 1998

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Mansun - Six
rel September 7, 1998

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The Church - Hologram of Baal
rel September 8, 1998

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Death - The Sound of Perseverance
rel September 15, 1998

Pushmonkey - Pushmonkey.jpg
Pushmonkey - Pushmonkey
rel September 15, 1998

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Trans Siberian Orchestra - The Christmas Attic
rel September 15, 1998

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Marillion - Radiation
rel September 21, 1998

Untitled
Mastermind - Excelsior!
rel September 21, 1998

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Galactic Cowboys - At the End of the Day
rel September 22, 1998

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Shadow Gallery - Tyranny
rel September 22, 1998

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Fates Warning - Still Life
rel October 6, 1998

A man, sitting reclined with a hat pulled over his face. He is in front of an orange striped background.
New Radicals - Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too
rel October 16, 1998

Six Dimensions of the Electric Camembert
Five Fifteen - Six Dimensions of the Electric Camembert
rel October 18, 1998

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King's X - Tape Head
rel October 20, 1998

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Devin Townsend - Infinity
rel October 21, 1998

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Cobweb Strange - Sound from the Gathering
rel October 23, 1998

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Dream Theater - Once in a LIVEtime
rel October 27, 1998

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Refused - The Shape of Punk to Come
rel October 27, 1998

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Ayreon - Into the Electric Castle - A Space Opera
rel October 31, 1998

The Gathering - How To Measure a Planet.jpg
The Gathering - How to Measure a Planet?
rel November 9, 1998

Rush Different Stages.jpg
Rush - Different Stages
rel November 10, 1998

Metallica - Garage Inc cover.jpg
Metallica - Garage Inc.
rel November 23, 1998

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D.C. Cooper - D.C. Cooper
rel December 9, 1998

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Ulver - Themes from William Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell
rel December 17, 1998

Chroma Key - Dead Air for Radios (1998).jpg
Chroma Key - Dead Air for Radios
rel December 16, 1998

Blue Canoe II
Blue Canoe - II
rel 1998

Bruford Levin Upper Extremities (album) cover.jpg
Bruford Levin Upper Extremities - Bruford Levin Upper Extremities
rel 1998

Untitled
Deus Ex Machina - Equilibrismo da insofferenza
rel 1998

The Scent Of Malevolence
Lorde of All Desires - The Scent of Malevolence
rel 1998

Metropolis shadows from the past.jpg
Metropolis - Shadows of the Past
rel 1998

Mostly Autumn For All We Shared.jpg
Mostly Autumn - For All We Shared...
rel 1998

OHO.jpg
OHO - Ecce OHO
rel 1998

Untitled
Steve Smith, Tom Coster and Larry Coryell - Cause and Effect
rel 1998

Soundscape - Man and Machine EP.jpg
Soundscape - Man and Machine [EP]
rel 1998

Untitled
Valinor's Tree - Kingdom of Sadness
rel 1998

wwet.jpeg
White Willow - Ex Tenebris
rel 1998

Step Beyond
Without Warning - Step Beyond
rel 1998

Untitled
Wondermints - Bali
rel 1998


So that does it for the 1980's and 1990's Albums Calendars. I'll add something in a bit about the plans coming up. But in here, it does give me a sense of accomplishment to finish off 2 more decades worth of these and seeing the light finally at the end of the tunnel.