It was hard to choose one.
So here are a few
Streetlight Manifesto -
Everything Goes Numb - Basically one of the most amazing third wave ska albums ever made...maybe as good as Catch 22's Keasbey Nights. The interesting part about that is that Streetlight Manifesto was created in the wake of Catch 22's lineup from Keasbey Nights splitting up. The lead singer and songwriter, Tomas Kalnoky left Catch 22 along with a few other members and formed Streetlight Manifesto. They later re-recorded Keasbey Nights as Kalnoky had originally wanted the album.
Killswitch Engage -
Alive or Just Breathing - Killswitch Engage is the pioneering band of the metalcore genre. This album was their first major release. Every track on this album is amazing...from the soft instrumental tracks to the hard hitting songs like Fixation on the Darkness, My Last Serenade, and Life to Lifeless.
Catch 22 -
Keasbey Nights - Regarded by most as the definitive album of third wave ska. The album stays strong throughout its duration. Catchy instrumentals backed up by witty and sometimes deep lyrics keep the album worth listening to over and over. The most interesting thing about this album is that the band had only practiced the songs about 3 or 4 times each before they recorded, so the album has a very rough sound, which actually lends to listening experience. It feels less manufactured. Later, the album was re-recorded by Tomas Kalnoky's new band, Streetlight Manifesto and it was more polished, and in my opinion, not as good.
Bury Your Dead -
Beauty and the Breakdown - A hard hitting album with a very odd basic concept that is still pretty awesome. Every song title from this album relates to a Disney movie in some way and the album itself actually TELLS a fairy tale created by the band. As soft as this sounds, the album is anything but. The entire album is metal/hardcore madness.
Chiodos -
All's Well That Ends Well - An interesting album by an interesting band. Chiodos doesn't fit any one genre. This album shifts from post-hardcore to punk to pop to alternative sounds, sometimes multiple times in the same song.
Operation Ivy -
Energy - A very influential album in the history of punk and ska. Operation Ivy was a short-lived band that made a huge impact on the music scene. This 27 track album maintains a consistent level of quality with no one song really standing out as a masterpiece. When I first heard the album, I knew little of the band, and I had assumed this was a greatest hits collection. Once I did more research, I found that this was their only full length album ever made. One of their members (Lint. Better known as Tim Armstrong) ended up forming the ska/punk band Rancid.
