Favorite Bands: A List

I'm a big fan the movie (and book!) High Fidelity even though I think Rob, Barry, and Dick are total musical snobs who would make fun of my taste in music without a doubt. I love that they do a bunch of wacky top five lists throughout like, "Top 5 musical crimes perpetrated by Stevie Wonder in the 80s and 90s, go." Here is the scene where Rob (as played by John Cusack) gives his top 5 side one, track one songs for fun evidence of their musical snobbery.

I'm not nearly as creative or as good at breaking things down as they are (or as snobby, yikes!), but in honor of favorite bands weeks at TFC, I thought I'd do a list my own way.

A top three is too easy because it's remained the same since freshman year of high school. There are some newer bands in the top five, but it does not fully represent my whole life if we are talking ALL-TIME favorites. Top ten might have worked, but I like the number 13 better, so I'm going to give you my top 13 favorite bands, followed my favorite album by them (though this would not necessarily be my top 13 albums in order because, for example, my number two favorite band made my all-time favorite album and my favorite album by my number one band would rank number two on my list, and I'm sure in some circles this would cause great controversy) and then I will provide a YouTube video of my favorite song by that band. (Again not in order. Oh my god, I'm not even sure I could pick an all-time favorite song.) Okay, here goes...


13. Against Me!; favorite album: Searching for a Former Clarity; favorite song: "TSR"


12. Sleater-Kinney; favorite album: Call The Doctor; favorite song: "Dig Me Out"


11. Alice In Chains; favorite album: Dirt; favorite song: "We Die Young"


10. Screaming Trees/Mark Lanegan solo work (I know it is kind of cheating, but I can't really separate them out); favorite Screaming Tree's album: Sweet Oblivion; favorite Mark Lanegan album: Bubblegum; favorite Screaming Tree's song: "Dying Days"


favorite Mark Lanegan song: "Down in the Dark" (which features Kurt Cobain on guitar)


9. The Gits; favorite album: Frenching The Bully; favorite song: "Another Shot of Whiskey"


8. Rancid; favorite album: ...And Out Come the Wolves; favorite song: "Radio"


7. The Cure; favorite album: Seventeen Seconds; favorite song: "Disintegration"


6. The Distillers; favorite album: Coral Fang, favorite song: "I Am A Revenant"


5. Civet; favorite album, Hell Hath No Fury, favorite song: "Son of a Bitch"


4. The Gaslight Anthem; favorite album The '59 Sound; favorite song, "Boomboxes and Dictionaries"


3. Social Distortion; favorite album: Social Distortion; favorite song: "Don't Take Me For Granted" (after all, it inspired my book, I WANNA BE YOUR JOEY RAMONE)


2. Hole; favorite album (of all time, thank you very much): Live Through This, favorite song: "Plump"


1. Nirvana; favorite album: In Utero; favorite song: "On a Plain"


What about you? Give me a top five, top ten, top whatever of your favorite bands, songs, or albums?

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