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Ranking the albums of my three favorite bands (Part 3): #1 Muse

I thought I'd take some time away from the crazy world of politics and write about one of my loves, one of the things which helps keep me reasonably sane despite the before-mentioned craziness - music. I have a wide range of likes when it comes to music. Growing up, my mom preferred to listen to oldies, while my dad opted for classic rock, and my family in Michigan listened to, what else, but Motown. My brother involved himself in jazz band, introduced me to some alternative rock bands. A few friends of mine enjoyed rap and/or country. Through it all, I've come to enjoy at least a few songs from every genre, including country, which is without question my least favorite style of music. Even so, though, I can't help but feel like rock 'n' roll runs through my veins. I loved it when I was a child and my dad played: Boston, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Alice Cooper, The Rolling Stones, Elton John, and Aerosmith from his record player, and I've been hooked ever since. While I love rock of all stripes, though, my three favorites bands are, without question, Muse, Marilyn Manson, and Def Leppard (with Green Day and Pearl Jam rounding out my top 5). My first rock concert was a Def Leppard in-the-round performance on December 22nd of 1992 at the Omaha Civic Auditorium - a show I'll never forget. Marilyn Manson's thought-provoking quotes, lyrics, and imagery paid dividends for me growing up, and my eyes were opened both before and during a performance of his I witnessed on February 8th of 1998 in Omaha, Nebraska. The mayor of the city at the time told parents to not allow their kids to see Manson live, which prompted two of my friends' parents to refund their tickets, and prompted me to write the mayor and express my displeasure with his attempt of garnering free publicity by spreading falsehoods. He was impressed with my writing skills, and well, the rest is history. As far as Muse goes, as an American, unfortunately, I didn't stumble upon them until 2008 after I moved to Ohio, but I've been hooked on their music for 8 years, have been wowed three times by their one-of-a-kind spectacles, and have done everything I can to spread word about them to others in this country. Yes, 17 years after they released their first album, six records later, and some still haven't heard of them. So, given all of that, I thought I'd rank my three favorite bands' albums in descending order, starting with #3 Def Leppard and closing with #1 Muse:

Muse
7) Showbiz (1999): Here's where it all started for the British trio. This is the rawest sounding album from the trio. The sound quality, like most debut records, is inferior to their succeeding efforts. Lead singer Matt Bellamy's voice, while still powerful and one-of-a-kind, isn't as crisp at times on this album as he is on others. Having said that, though, there are some classic Muse tracks on this album. "Sunburn," "Muscle Museum," and "Cave" are classic Muse. "Hate This and I'll Love You" is a hidden gem toward the tail-end of this album. The title track, outside of "Citizen Erased," may be my favorite Muse song of all time. Showbiz may be my least favorite Muse album, but it's still a quality record, and without it, there would be no Muse today.

Best tracks: "Sunburn," "Muscle Museum," "Showbiz," "Hate This and I'll Love You"

Worst tracks: "Falling Down," "Overdue"

6) The Resistance (2009): With The Resistance - the band's 5th studio album - the band finally made a name for itself in the United States. Yes, it only took a decade. "Uprising" remains the band's biggest hit in the States, going so far as to become a common anthem played at sporting events. Regardless of the popularity of that stadium rock anthem, this album begins and ends with the epic three-part symphony. Without those three songs, The Resistance is a slightly above-average album. With those three goosebump-inducing songs, though, the album goes from slightly above-average to memorably good. Love or hate The Resistance, what other modern-day rock band would think to close an album with 13 minutes of classical music? Like every effort from Muse, this album is a sonic venture to behold, especially in the last three tunes.

Best tracks: "Exogenesis: Symphony Part 1 (Overture)," "Exogenesis: Symphony Part 2 (Cross-Pollination)," "Exogenesis: Symphony Part 3 (Redemption)"

Worst tracks: "Undisclosed Desires," "Guiding Light"

5) The 2nd Law (2012): After experimenting with just about every genre of music you could possibly think of, I think Muse may have been bored when working on this album and told one another, "Okay, so any sound we've yet to integrate into our music over the past 13 years, let's integrate them in this album." Of the band's seven records, this album has the worst flow, as it comes across as experimental from beginning to end. Most notably, Muse decided to experiment with dubstep in The 2nd Law, which can be heard on "Madness" and the two title tracks, among others. Bassist Chris Wolstenholme even sings two songs on the album ("Save Me" and "Liquid State"). The 2nd Law features: An inevitable James Bond theme song ("Supremacy"), Queen meets Stevie Wonder ("Panic Station"), an Olympics-sized stadium rock anthem ("Survival"), a call back to the '80s ("Follow Me"),  classic rock ("Animals"), a ballad ("Explorers"), a U2 tribute ("Big Freeze"), and instrumentals ("The 2nd Law: Unsustainable" and "The 2nd Law: Isolated System"). Yes, this album has it all, and so long as you're able to not take it so seriously, it comes across as a little slice of sonic heaven.

Best tracks: "Supremacy," "Animals," "The 2nd Law: Isolated System"

Worst tracks: "Save Me"

4) Drones (2015): Here's the band most recent effort - a concept album by the title of Drones. As the band promised going into this album, they stripped things back a little. With their three previous records, Muse's sound became increasingly more "epic," and they decided they couldn't sound any bigger and had to strip things back some, and that's exactly what they did here. Granted, it's still Muse, so even a stripped-back Muse still comes across as more epic-sounding that 98% of other bands. The band mixes things up quite effectively on Drones, which flows much more nicely than its predecessor, The 2nd Law. The lyrics are hit and miss at times, but the overall concept is intriguing and doesn't detract from the music any. The album's closing a capella, the title track, is interesting, but the three standouts to me are: "Reapers," "The Handler," and "The Globalist." "Reapers" manages to effectively mix a Van Halen-esque intro with a Madonna-like chorus and a "Stockholm Syndrome"-type of close. "The Handler" is a shout-out to die-hard Muse fans that have followed the band since their inception. It's a track many of those fans thought would never be produced again. In my opinion, it's Muse's best song in 9 years, since Black Holes and Revelations. "The Globalist" is a 10-minute epic with a mid-song instrumental that is not to be missed! Yeah, like I said, even a stripped-back Muse is more epic than 98% of other bands. This concept album is far from perfect, but is a welcome addition to the Muse catalog, and prompts curiosity on which direction the band might go next.

Best tracks: "Reapers," "The Handler," "The Globalist"

Worst tracks: "Revolt"

3) Origin of Symmetry (2001): If you were to ask every Muse die-hard what their favorite album of the band's was, I'd hypothesize that a majority would say Origin of Symmetry. It's raw, dark, epic, and features the fan favorites: "New Born," "Bliss," and "Citizen Erased." Not only that, but "Plug In Baby" is a Muse classic, with a killer guitar intro by Bellamy. Speaking of Matt Bellamy, whether you love or loathe the song, you wouldn't have truly listened to the band's lead singer until you hear him sing "Micro Cuts." "Space Dementia" and "Dark Shines" are also classic Muse tunes, full of darkness and angst you won't hear on Muse albums post-Absolution (2003). I will always hold great appreciation for Origin of Symmetry, but still see it as slightly inferior to two of the band's other albums.

Best tracks: "New Born," "Bliss," "Space Dementia," "Citizen Erased," "Dark Shines"

Worst tracks: "Hyper Music"

2) Absolution (2003): This is really the album where the band started transitioning from angsty rock newcomers to successful rock stars, and the sounds reflected that. With "Apocalypse Please," "Stockholm Syndrome," and "The Small Print," Muse showed they still had it in them to produce music similar to what they released in their first two studio albums. However, with songs like "Time Is Running Out" and "Hysteria," just to name a couple, Muse also showed they'd had some success and wanted to expand their commercial horizons with catchy, more pop rock-sounding songs. From the classic bass intro and close to "Hysteria" to the catchy chorus in "Time Is Running Out" to the head-banging finale to "Stockholm Syndrome," to the goosebump-inducing close to "Ruled By Secrecy," to my personal favorite, "Butterflies & Hurricanes," Absolution is arguably the band's best album, and not to be missed by Muse fans old and new.

Best tracks: "Stockholm Syndrome," "Hysteria," "Butterflies & Hurricanes," "Ruled By Secrecy"

Worst tracks: "Falling Away With You"

1) Black Holes & Revelations (2006): While I know many Muse fans will disagree with me on this, I believe Black Holes & Revelations to be the band's best album to this point in their careers. Granted, I may hold a slight bit of bias towards this album, for the very fact it was the first full-length album of the band's I'd heard. Yes, residing in the United States, I arrived late to the show like most others. Even with that bias, however, I think this album best captures the totality of the Muse experience, as it's currently the band's mid-album (4 out of 7), and showcases the transition from raw, angsty rock to epic, polished rock. The only miss on this album, if you want to call it that, is the two-minute transitional song, "Soldier's Poem." Nothing says epic quite like the album's opening track, "Take a Bow." The band then goes a bit more pop and commercial with "Starlight," but with a catchy, dark Muse edge to it. We then transition to funk with "Supermassive Black Hole," before going electronica with "Map of the Problematique." Things temporarily slow down after "Soldier's Poem" with the epic rock ballad, "Invincible," before speeding things up again with "Assassin" and "Exo-Politics." The album closes in a perfect fashion with the orchestral wonder, "City of Delusion," the piano masterpiece, "Hoodoo," and lastly, one of the best, most epic tracks Muse has ever released, "Knights of Cydonia." While I've thoroughly enjoyed each and every one of Muse's seven albums thus far, Black Holes & Revelations was the first I'd heard and continues to be my favorite 8 years later.

Best tracks: "Map of the Problematique," "City of Delusion," "Hoodoo," "Knights of Cydonia"

Worst tracks: "Soldier's Poem"

My Ultimate Playlists
Trying to include at least one song from every album in the playlists, here are my ultimate Muse playlists, listed in descending order, with my very favorites presented last:

Playlist #4
1) "Supermassive Black Hole" - 3:29 (Black Holes & Revelations - 2006)
2) "Crying Shame" - 2:39 (B-Side - 2006)
3) "Agitated" - 2:23 (B-Side - 1999)
4) "Bliss" - 4:12 (Origin of Symmetry - 2001)
5) "Easily" - 3:41 (B-Side - 2006)
6) "Survival" - 4:17 (The 2nd Law - 2012)
7) "United States of Eurasia (+Collateral Damage)" - 5:48 (The Resistance - 2009)
8) "Unintended" - 3:57 (Showbiz - 1999)
9) "Nature_1" - 3:39 (Hullabaloo - 2002)
10) "Thoughts of a Dying Atheist" - 3:11 (Absolution - 2003)
11) "Exo-Politics" - 3:53 (Black Holes & Revelations - 2006)
12) "Mercy" - 3:52 (Drones - 2015)
13) "Do We Need This?" - 4:15 (B-Side - 1999)
14) "Fury" - 5:02 (B-Side - 2003)
15) "Resistance" - 5:47 (The Resistance - 2009)
16) "Invincible" - 5:00 (Black Holes & Revelations - 2006)
17) "Revolt" - 4:06 (Drones - 2015)
18) "Pink Ego Box" - 3:31 (B-Side - 1999)
19) "Take a bow" - 4:36 (Black Holes & Revelations - 2006)

Playlist #3
1) "Uprising" - 5:03 (The Resistance - 2009)
2) "Assassin" - 3:31 (Black Holes & Revelations - 2006)
3) "Fillip" - 4:01 (Showbiz - 1999)
4) "I Belong to You (+Mon Coeur S'ouvre A Ta Voix)" - 5:39 (The Resistance - 2009)
5) "Starlight" - 4:00 (Black Holes & Revelations 2006)
6) "Sunburn" - 3:54 (Showbiz - 1999)
7) "Host" - 4:18 (B-Side - 1999)
8) "Dead Inside" - 4:24 (Drones - 2015)
9) "Dead Star" - 3:41 (B-Side - 2002)
10) "Psycho" - 5:28 (Drones - 2015)
11) "Dark Shines" - 4:48 (Origin of Symmetry - 2001)
12) "Hate This and I'll Love You" - 5:10 (Showbiz - 1999)
13) "Apocalypse Please" - 4:13 (Absolution - 2003)
14) "Exogenesis: Symphony Part 1 (Overture)" - 4:18 (The Resistance - 2009)
15) "Exogenesis: Symphony Part 2 (Cross-Pollination)" - 3:56 (The Resistance - 2009)
16) "Exogenesis: Symphony Part 3 (Redemption)" - 4:37 (The Resistance - 2009)
17) "The 2nd Law: Isolated System" - 5:00 (The 2nd Law - 2012)

Playlist #2
1) "In Your World" - 2:37 (B-Side - 2002)
2) "Defector" - 4:33 (Drones - 2015)
3) "Plug In Baby" - 3:40 (Origin of Symmetry - 2001)
4) "Cave" - 4:46 (Showbiz - 1999)
5) "Eternally Missed" - 6:07 (B-Side - 2002)
6) "Unnatural Selection" - 6:55 (The Resistance - 2009)
7) "Time Is Running Out" - 3:56 (Absolution - 2003)
8) "Liquid State" - 3:03 (The 2nd Law - 2012)
9) "The Small Print" - 3:29 (Absolution - 2003)
10) "Glorious" - 4:41 (B-Side - 2006)
11) "Hoodoo" - 3:43 (Black Holes & Revelations - 2006)
12) "Ruled By Secrecy" - 4:52 (Absolution - 2003)
13) "Space Dementia" - 6:21 (Origin of Symmetry - 2001)
14) "Muscle Museum" - 4:23 (Showbiz - 1999)
15) "The Globalist" - 10:07 (Drones - 2015)

Playlist #1
1) "Supremacy" - 4:55 (The 2nd Law - 2012)
2) "Hysteria" - 3:47 (Absolution - 2003)
3) "New Born" - 6:03 (Origin of Symmetry - 2001)
4) "Map of the Problematique" - 4:19 (Black Holes & Revelations - 2006)
5) "The Handler" - 4:34 (Drones - 2015)
6) "Stockholm Syndrome" - 4:59 (Absolution - 2003)
7) "Animals" - 4:23 (The 2nd Law - 2012)
8) "City of Delusion" - 4:49 (Black Holes & Revelations - 2006)
9) "MK Ultra" - 4:06 (The Resistance - 2009)
10) "Panic Station" - 3:04 (The 2nd Law - 2012)
11) "Reapers" - 6:00 (Drones - 2015)
12) "Knights of Cydonia" - 6:07 (Black Holes & Revelations - 2006)
13) "Citizen Erased" - 7:19 (Origin of Symmetry - 2001)
14) "Showbiz" - 5:17 (Showbiz - 1999)
15) "Butterflies & Hurricanes" - 5:02 (Absolution - 2003)

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