Still to buy that last-minute Christmas present, have you? Room Thirteen knows the feeling. The gut-wrenching horror as you realise you have absolutely no idea what to buy them, following months of non-committal drivel such as “I don’t mind” or, God forbid, “I just want a nice surprise.” It’s horrendous, the sheer prospect of voyaging into town to gift hunt enough to turn your stomach. We’ve all been there. You know what you’re going to end up doing. Buy a couple of cheap CDs and hastily surround them in last year’s scraps of wrapping paper.

So what better time of year for Room Thirteen to compile its definitive list of our fifty favourite albums of all time?

We debated long and hard. We racked our brains day and night to decide upon the best albums in existence. Finally, just in time for your pre-festive panicking, it’s here. We hope you enjoy the read.


50. Green Day – Dookie
49. Machine Head – The Burning Red
48. Jimmy Eat World – Bleed American
47. Hawkwind – Warrior on the Edge of Time
46. Leftover Crack – Mediocre Generica
45. U2 – How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
44. Jeff Buckley – Grace
43. Children of Bodom – Follow the Reaper
42. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Fever to Tell
41. Stereolab – Cobra and Phases Group play Voltage in the Milky Night

The lower end of the list was a close call, with many great albums narrowly missing out on a place in the Top 50. In the end, the team settled on this list, with Green Day’s ‘Dookie’ kicking us off. U2’s latest effort gets a mention, as do the skacore sounds of Leftover Crack and the beautiful tones of Jeff Buckley’s famous ‘Grace’ album.


40. Red Hot Chili Peppers – Californication
39. U2 – War
38. Pearl Jam – Ten
37. Dream Theatre – Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
36. Muse – Showbiz
35. NOFX – Punk in Drublic
34. Smashing Pumpkins – Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
33. Hole – Live Through This
32. The Wildhearts – Earth vs. The Wildhearts
31. The Doors – Waiting for the Sun

Although many hail ‘Blood Sugar Sex Magik’ as the definitive Chili Peppers album, it’s the breathtaking variety of Californication that gets into the Room Thirteen list. U2 receive yet another mention, alongside the prog-metal wonderments of Dream Theatre and the distinctive sound of Smashing Pumpkins. The Doors secure the top position of this section, with their classic ‘Waiting for the Sun’.


30. 36 Crazyfists – Snowcapped Romance
29. Nightwish – Oceanborn
28. The Clash – London Calling
27. Green Day – Kerplunk
26. Jimmy Eat World – Clarity
25. Nine Inch Nails – The Fragile
24. System of a Down – Toxicity
23. Manic Street Preachers – The Holy Bible
22. The Wildhearts – Earth vs. The Wildhearts
21. Muse – Absolution

The Clash and the Manic Street Preachers both end up in the same segment of the list, the latter’s music clearly influenced by the former. Muse’s latest effort, a magnificent, epic record, gets the highest position in this chart, soaring above classics such as London Calling and Kerplunk. Seminal metal album Toxicity by System of a Down also finds a home here.


20. A Perfect Circle – Thirteenth Step
19. Rage Against the Machine – Rage Against the Machine
18. Radiohead – OK Computer
17. Nirvana – Nevermind
16. Blondie – Parallel Lines
15. The Distillers – The Distillers
14. Rancid – And Out Come the Wolves
13. Stiff Little Fingers – Inflammable Material
12. Nightwish – Once
11. Green Day – American Idiot

And, like the late 1970s itself, the ‘oh-so-nearly-in-the-top-ten’ portion of the list provides a perfect home for punk rock. The Distillers’ debut album gets a mention, as do records from Rancid and Stiff Little Fingers – not to mention the maturing punk rock sounds of the ever-popular Green Day, mere inches away from the top ten. Elsewhere in the list, Nightwish’s latest album gets a worthy accolade, as do A Perfect Circle’s powerful and, ahem, ‘emotive’ Thirteenth Step, and Rage Against the Machine’s stirring debut. Blondie’s Parallel Lines, Nirvana’s famed Nevermind, and Radiohead’s classic OK Computer complete the list.


10. U2 – Achtung Baby
U2 are seemingly unstoppable in this list. With a miraculous four separate albums in the top 50, and a further two certainly considered for inclusion, Bono and chums seem to be ever increasing in popularity. Achtung Baby was a landmark rock record, rightly classed as one of the finest alternative albums in history.

9. Foo Fighters – The Colour and the Shape
After a promising self-titled debut album, Foo Fighters returned in 1997 with a phenomenal collection of rock songs, entitled The Colour and the Shape. Undoubtedly the band’s milestone moment, featuring classic tracks such as My Hero and Everlong, The Colour… cemented the band’s reputation as one of the finest modern rock groups in the world.

8. Ramones – Ramones
With the sheer volume of punk rock records in this list, it seems only sensible to give the Ramones’ debut album the highest placing of the lot. The absolute forefathers of the genre, the Ramones defined half a decade of music and international attitude. What’s more, Ramones still stands up head and shoulders above the rest of its competitors, even today.

7. Radiohead – Kid A
Radiohead’s first real venture into electronic music was met with mixed reactions. Still, whatever your personal opinion of the style, it’s impossible to deny the sheer genius of Kid A, a real step forward in the band’s sound – and, indeed, that of an entire genre of music. A revolutionary recording, Kid A finds itself beaten by only a few…

6. Radiohead – Hail to the Thief
…Including the same band’s latest venture, Hail to the Thief. This is a true masterpiece of an album, and emotional, political, soaring eagle of music. From Thom Yorke’s heavenly falsettos, to Jonny Greenwood’s dirty, distorted guitar riffs, topped off by the genius production of Nigel Godrich, Hail to the Thief is quite simply one of the finest albums of recent times, and an absolutely inch-perfect evolution of Radiohead’s sound.

5. A Perfect Circle – Mer de Noms
Written predominantly by guitarist Billy Howerdel in the 1980s, it seems phenomenal that, upon release in 2001, the record sounded almost ahead of its time in the new millennium. Fronted by Tool vocalist Maynard James Keenan, A Perfect Circle combine heavy rock guitars with beautiful harmonies, heart-rending lyrics and breathtakingly experimental sounds. ‘Orestes’ could well be the defining song of a million shattered hearts, while the haunting harmonies in the chorus of ‘The Hollow’ are unlikely to leave anyone’s minds for the rest of their lives. Mer de Noms truly is a remarkable achievement.

4. David Bowie – The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
The name says it all, really. Anything with as ridiculously overblown a title as this simply must be good. An absolutely classic blend of rock, pop, and orchestral music, Ziggy Stardust still stands as one of the best albums ever released, more than thirty years after it was unleashed upon the world. Still sending a shiver down spines today, Bowie’s masterpiece rightly enters the top five.

3. Oasis – (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?
Released in the heart of the mid-nineties Britpop surge, Morning Glory? was Oasis’ defining moment. A sublime fusion of the band’s versatile sounds, written almost entirely by Noel Gallagher without the aid of his brother or the rest of the band, this record clearly deserves its top three position. ‘Wonderwall’ was one of the highest-selling singles of the year, while title track ‘Morning Glory’s slow, creeping guitar work has been penetrating minds and lodging there for a decade. It truly is one of the finest achievements in rock and roll history.

2. The Mars Volta – De-Loused in the Comatorium
Following the demise of At the Drive-In, songwriters Cedric Bixler Zavala and Omar Rodriguez-Lopez wrote this: a breathtaking concept album, and a stunning tribute to their best friend Julio Venegas’ life. From the haunting opening synth of ‘Son et Lumière’, to the closing chords of phenomenal climax ‘Take the Veil, Cerpin Taxt’, and through literally every song in between, the sheer musical invention and palpable sense of emotion stays at the front of the listener’s mind all the way. It’s progressive rock at its very finest, a truly astonishing art-house recording, and the second highest album on this list.

1. U2 – THE JOSHUA TREE
And guess who takes the number one spot. U2 have certainly proven themselves in this list as being one of the finest bands in the world, with more entries than any other artist. The Joshua Tree is their pinnacle, a sublime record, showcasing each individual band member spectacularly, and welding together to create a mind-blowing whole. From classic opening track ‘Where the Streets Have No Name’, famed for Bono’s soaring vocal melody, through indisputable classics such as ‘With or Without You’ and the definitive ‘I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For’, The Joshua Tree oozes passion, in a variety of contexts. It’s the best album U2 have released – and, here at Room Thirteen, we’d suggest it just might be the finest alternative album of all time.