I'mma Let You Finish But These are the Greatest Albums of All Time

I should be practicing guitar or reading 11 pages about the court system or doing literally anything else academically related, but alas. I am not. Instead, I am presenting you with a list of some of the best albums I've ever listened to. Which means this is biased and completely, 100% my opinion only. But, like, listen to them and you'll know what I'm talking about.

Disclaimer: My qualifications for "best album" are simply that I can listen to the whole thing without skipping more than one or two songs. I'm really not that complicated.

Legendary - The Summer Set
Nothing Personal - All Time Low
Paramore - Paramore
The Fool - Ryn Weaver
Electra Heart - Marina and the Diamonds
She Looks So Perfect: US Tour Edition - 5 Seconds of Summer
x - Ed Sheeran
1989 - Taylor Swift
Hozier - Hozier
Acronyms - LANY
Communion (Deluxe) - Years & Years
American Candy - The Maine
Froot - Marina and the Diamonds
Losing Sleep - Parachute
The Way It Was - Parachute
Badlands - Halsey
WILD - Troye Sivan

You're welcome.

Aside from "1989," all of these albums are on Spotify so go check them out. Each album title is hyperlinked to the band/artist's website. Even more you're welcomes. 

P.S. - Quick note about the 5SOS EP - the version on Spotify does not include the one song that I love above all else that literally gives me heart palpitations every time I listen to it, which is "Disconnected," So if you would like to truly experience this majestic and beautiful harmony, here is the YouTube link. It's also available on Spotify as a live track off of their other album LIVESOS. 

Singing in the Shower

I'm in college now, so I no longer sing in the shower, as much as it pains me. However, I feel like I could out of sheer joy, because I'm recognizing that I'm making friends and getting acclimated to being away from home, and it's so great I could burst into song. Living in one of the smallest freshmen dorms on campus means that within 3 short weeks, we've all gotten to know each other at least relatively well, and that means that you never have to eat alone in the dining hall, or study by yourself, or be alone if you don't want to be. Today, the girls on my hall spent all afternoon going back and forth between each other's closets borrowing clothes, and shoes, and accessories. It just  made me feel like I was a part of something really cultivating, like we were becoming each other's unofficial sisters and it was a great feeling. I can't wait to spend more time with all of these girls and get to know everyone even better. This year is going to be great.

The other reason I mentioned singing in the shower is because I have SO MANY new songs stuck in my head and I just have to share them with you. Get pumped. :)


House of Gold - Twenty One Pilots [I am fully aware that this song isn't new, but I just learned how to play it on ukulele and I love it. Oh yeah, ukulele is a thing I do now. #college.]

Aquaman - Walk the Moon [the Discover playlist on Spotify that updates weekly is a Godsend. This song sounds like it's from the 80's or something but IT ISN'T and I just love the vibe.Very Wham! meets Sting.]

Dollhouse - Melanie Martinez [This song is like the lyrical version of the entire Pretty Little Liars series, but like, better, and not as frustrating.]

WILD (album) - Troye Sivan [Either you know of Troye, and you're excited about this, or you know Taylor Swift, and you can recognize that she was excited about this. Either way, get more excited because this whole entire album (actually it's an EP but whatever,) is FRICKIN PHENOMENAL. Go listen to it right this very minute. Also, this video for the song "WILD" is amazing.]

Sit Still, Look Pretty - Daya [This song is the ultimate anthem for girls who don't want to conform to gender norms and stereotypes, as well as wanting to be badass. Love.]

Nobody to Love - Alex Newell [The newest song to add to your Thursday-Night-Study-Break-Pre-Weekend-Dance-Party playlist. You're welcome.]

Beware the Dog - The Griswolds [I don't really know how to describe this song other than the fact that it repeatedly uses the line "She used to suck the fun out of me" without making any reference to a vampire, which gets it bonus points in my book.]

Mother & Father - Broods [I mentioned this song in my last post, but honestly guys, go check it out and then go call your parents, maybe spend a weekend at home. It just makes you feel all the things, and also want to spend more time with your family and I really, really, like it.]

Crayola Doesn't Make a Color for Your Eyes - Kristin Andreassen [A very acoustic sounding song, but I will bet you $3 that you will find yourself humming it to yourself within an hour of listening to it.]

Hard Out Here - Lily Allen ["Forget your balls and grow a pair of tits./ It's hard out here for a bitch." All you need to know about this song is contained within those two lines. Go forth and be feminist.] [Maybe don't watch this at work or in front of children or the elderly. Just saying.]

Octahate - Ryn Weaver [Ryn Weaver is a person I wish I knew in real life but at the same time I feel like she is way too cool for me. Just watch the music video for this song and you'll know what I mean. Her whole album, "The Fool" is probably one of my new favorites of the year.]

You Don't Love Me Like You Should - Hey Violet [This band opened for 5 Seconds of Summer, and you all know how much I love me some 5SOS, so of course I checked them out. But I didn't seriously start listening to them until recently, after I saw them and 5SOS live in concert about 2 weeks ago. I *love* girl rock bands, and even though one guitarist in this band is a guy, I still give it credit as a mostly-girl rock band.]

Jet Black Heart - 5 Seconds of Summer [I couldn't end this post without mentioning 5SOS at least three times. But aside from having to meet that quota, this song is really good. It's a little slow for my taste but it is so reminiscent of early All Time Low, I couldn't resist. I am so exceedingly excited for their new album "Sounds Good Feels Good," I cannot wait for October 23rd. Yes yes yes.]





ALSO: In the one in a billion chance you haven't seen it yet, here is the music video for Taylor Swift's "Wildest Dreams," which may or may not whitewash the plains of Africa, but also may or may not have done that on purpose in order to emulate the 40's film era. Decide for yourself. But other than that, the video kills me every time. I'm also 99.99% sure it features Cecil the Lion, which means I'm officially in love with this video.

Current Music Recommendations

So, as you know, I haven't posted since February, which means I haven't updated you on what I'm currently listening to since before that. So here I am, back and better than ever with the songs/albums/artists I'm currently listening to on repeat. You can thank me later.
(As always, each title is hyperlinked to the video for the song, when available.)


Le Chant des Sirenes by Frero Delavega (A song my high school French teacher introduced me to that I absolutely fell in love with.)

She's Kinda Hot by 5 Seconds of Summer (Thankfully not as sexist as I feared it would be, actually has a really good message)

Tiny Dancer by Elton John (How can you not love this song?)

Hold Me Down by Halsey (I adoorreeee this song and I want everyone to know it, and love it with me.)

American Candy (album) by The Maine (Jumped on this train and I never want to get off)

Black Magic by Little Mix (Top 40 isn't always a bad thing. Plus, the video for this song reminds me of the live-action version of the show Sabrina: The Teenage Witch and I loved that show so I kinda love this song.)

Like I Can by Sam Smith (I don't think Sam Smith is capable of making a bad song.)

Crave by Parachute (I've loved this band since I was like, 9, and their first two albums were EXPONENTIALLY better than their third one, but with this new single I'm hoping they go back to sounding the way they did in their hey-day. This is promising though.)

Fight Song by Rachel Platten (Sue me, I love this song.)

Woman (Oh Mama) by Joy Williams (This song is simple in it's composition, but it gives me goosebumps and I loved the Civil Wars so much, so since they're broken up I've turned to the individual members' music, and Joy does not disappoint. This song is frickin phenomenal.)

Renegade by Styx (Old song, still badass.)

Speechless by Lady Gaga (Another song that was popular back in the 6th grade, but still a jam nonetheless.)

Blank Space/Stand By Me - Live From Spotify London by Imagine Dragons (You haven't heard Blank Space like this before and you never knew you absolutely needed to until now. Just note that the Spotify version is better than the one I linked to but it was all I could find.)

Tunes on Tunes

I am procrastinating homework. And one way I like to occupy myself is to blog, which I don't do often enough. I haven't made a post about music in a while, and I've been listening to a lot of new stuff lately that I want to share. If my writing at any point gets kind of loopy or incoherent, you'll have to forgive me because my room is currently OPPRESSIVELY HOT AND STUFFY.

Alrighty then. Here we go. :)

"Do It 2 Me" by Allstar Weekend - This song is so catchy, and even though it's obviously about sex, I don't really care. This entire album is full of catchy songs that I could literally listen to over and over. It's not new, but it's darn good!

"Chelsea" by The Summer Set - Again, not a new song, but SO GOOD. It's made even better by the fact that it was written for a girl named Chelsea, who happens to be Chelsea Kane from the show Baby Daddy, and she appeared in the music video, which I thought was especially cute. Then, when she was on Dancing With the Stars, they had to pick a sentimental song, and she chose this one. So cute, so cute. :)

"You're Not the One" by Sky Ferreira - I heard this song on Tumblr awhile ago, and I had saved a screenshot of it to remind myself that it was worth listening to again. When I found the screen shot, and listened to it to remember, I was justifiably surprised. I had always thought that Sky Ferreira made quirkier music, but this song is the perfect mix of bubblegum pop meets Marina and the Diamonds angst. I love it.

"I Blame Myself" by Sky Ferreira - As I was looking up the video for "You're Not the One" I stumbled upon the video for this song, and let me tell you, it is probably the epitome of "cool kid". It sounds like a song straight out of the 80's, (a decade I personally identify with for some unknown reason), heavy on the keyboard and synthesizers and it's just so cool and I love it. I so wish I had known about it, and Sky Ferreira, before I spent all my iTunes gift card money.

"God Only Knows" by MKTO - I first heard this song on YouTube after watching the music video for "Classic" and seeing the video for this song in the sidebar. The rhythm of the song is romantic, but dance-able, if you're into that (which I am), and the video is clever, to say the least.

"Girls Chase Boys" by Ingrid Michaelson - The first line in the song is "All the broken hearts in the world still beat, let's not make it harder than it has to be." On top of that, the actual music which accompanies the lyrics is not gloomy at all, in fact it's lighthearted and head-bop-inducing. If that doesn't constitute endless replays, I don't know what will.

"Fancy (feat. Charli XCX)" by Iggy Azalea - I don't normally gravitate towards rap or hip-hop music at all, and at first, the only reason I bought this song was because Charli XCX's part was really cool. But after a whole week of listening to this song within a playlist of 10 songs, Iggy's rapping started to grow on me. It's entertaining and funky and cool, and I think I like it. :)

"Wild Heart" by The Vamps - Words cannot express how much I wish this band's debut album would be released in the US. This song is available on American iTunes. BUT THAT'S IT. It's not that they're some lyrically genius, musical masterminds, but their songs are really good as far as pop music goes. And I don't like being denied things because of the country I live in, like c'mon America, get your shit together. Please and thanks.

"I See Fire" by Peter Hollens - THIS SONG IS BEAUTIFUL. Ed Sheeran did a cover of it for The Hobbit soundtrack, and I heard a remixed version of that cover on Tumblr, so I looked it up on iTunes. This is (I think) the original version of the song. If you don't like slow songs, it won't even matter because you will love this song. It sounds like the kind of thing you would hear on the Scottish Highlands during a medieval war. It's powerful musically and lyrically and it gives me chills.

"Dernière Danse" by Indila - This is a French pop song that we listened to in French class throughout this past month for a song analysis assignment, and as soon as I heard it, I distinctly remember thinking "I am so going to buy this song." I fell in love. It's so poetic, if you know what the lyrics are saying, and even if you don't have a clue, you can still appreciate the fact that the song is arranged nearly perfectly.

"Disconnected" by 5 Seconds of Summer - I bought the physical copy of 5 Seconds of Summer's EP "She Looks So Perfect" from Target as soon as I could, and I couldn't have been happier about it. This song was a physical copy exclusive track, so I had no idea what I was in for (I had listened to the other tracks on YouTube before buying the CD, just to make sure it was worth it)(It was so worth it). Disconnected was co-written with Alex Gaskarth, the lead singer of another band I love, All Time Low, and you can hear his influence in the tone of the song. It works out perfectly though, because the All Time Low influence mixed with the 5SOS spin creates such an amazing song. The EP only has 4 songs on it, and it's all I listen to in the car. As I listen to it now, I feel like I should be driving.

"Heartache on the Big Screen" by 5 Seconds of Summer - I remember finding the leaked cut of this song on YouTube about a week before it actually came out, and being absolutely blown away. As soon as I heard it, I was so angry that I couldn't buy it immediately. It's one of those songs that you instantly know will be stuck in your head for days. I love it not only for that, but also for the clever extended analogy, referring to a relationship gone bad in terms of movies.

"She Looks So Perfect" by 5 Seconds of Summer - This is the band's first single from the EP, and it is so much fun. From the beginning of the song, I find myself wanting to belt out every lyric. The video is also really cool, and kind of liberating because, while they have people in their underwear dancing throughout the video, they're not just stereotypical "pretty" people, they're people of all shapes, sizes, and colors, and that's awesome. Oh yeah, and the lead singer's vibrato is TO DIE FOR.

"Magic" by Coldplay - All I'm going to say about this song is that if you can't picture this being played at your wedding, what's wrong with you?

"Don't Stop" by 5 Seconds of Summer - I'm sorry I'm including so many songs from this band.... Actually, I'm not sorry, because I think I love them, and I'm not apologizing for that because life is too short to apologize for the things you love. But anyway, this is the absolute newest song they've released, and it's only currently available for purchase everywhere but North America, which sucks, but at least they released the lyric video for it on their YouTube channel so the whole world can listen to it. Thank God, too, because that song is damn good. And again, the lead singer's vibrato makes me want to die and burst into tears and laugh until I cry because it is so SO good.