Bump for a fun thread. I've not been in a music phase for a long time but find myself reinvigorated of late. This is hard, but I have to be true to my youth and not pretend that I frequently listen to anything earlier than 1990.
1. Tool - Lateralus. "Metaphysics" would have been another appropriate title. How Mike G. feels about In the Court of the Crimson King is how I feel about this.
2. The Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream. "Spaceboy" in particular is on perma-repeat but a bad track this album has not.
3. Beck - Sea Change. I can't think of a more personal album [to the artist, not the listener].
4. Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings the Flood. This is the most listenable album I have ever heard in my entire life. "At Last" is a song to die by.
5. Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles. It's ridiculous, chaotic, and absurd. And I love every single second of it.
Honorable mentions:
Radiohead - Kid A. The only release from them that I ever thought lived up to the hype. Pretty much perfect.
A Perfect Circle - Mer de Noms. The other side of Maynard and it is gloriously emotional.
Flying Lotus - Until the Quiet Comes. Probably the most complex and delightfully-themed electronic album I've heard.
The Dave Brubeck Quartet - Jazz at Oberlin. Always found this group to be the most listenable in all of jazz. The airiness in their sound is lovely. Brings me back to my decade+ of playing alto and makes me wish I still played.
Andy McKee - Art of Motion. I would love to put a half-dozen acoustic records on here but I find Andy to be the most personable artist with perfect pedigree and influence and this record hits that spot-on.
Fiona Apple - When the Pawn... Like everything in my life, 75% of the music I listen to now, I would never have experienced if I hadn't met Allison. This one album represents all of that.
Opeth - Blackwater Park. I likelove nearly every album for them but I still think this one had true balance between metal and prog-rock. Also to be different from the other people who already posted Opeth.
Okay I have to stop somewhere.