favorite bands, revisited

back in 2014, I did a full top 80 bands

in 2020 census, I did a top 10 bands

I thought maybe I could make an update focused on being helpful to me, just to keep tabs on the bands I like. (Also, like just in case my Spotify got deleted or something, I'd have a backup.)

All of these are based on the reality of how much I like/listen to them, not a judgment on absolute quality. 

Tier One

311

Alkaline Trio

Dashboard Confessional

Motion City Soundtrack

New Found Glory

Panic! at the Disco

Vampire Weekend

Tier Two

Death Cab for Cutie

Jimmy Eat World

Fall Out Boy

Weezer

Jack Johnson

Ozma

Third Eye Blind

The Hold Steady

Tier Three

AJR

New Politics

The National

The Stereo

Brand New

Saves The Day

Unwritten Law 

Midtown

Tommy Prine

Waterparks

Seaway

Blink 182

Tier Four

Reel Big Fish

Sugarcult

Less Than Jake

Sublime

Strike

The Starting Line

The Impossibles

The Pixies

Jimi Hendrix

Forever the Sickest Kids

The Get Up Kids

My Chemical Romance

State Champs

Sum 41

Twenty One Pilots

Tier Five

Bracket

American Hi-Fi

Incubus

Flaming Lips

The Anniversary

The Juliana Theory

Flickerstick

Cartel

Hey Mercedes

Zebrahead

Tier Six

Just Surrender

Lucky Boys Confusion

Ultimate Fakebook

The Red Hot Valentines

The Audition

All Time Low

The Promise Ring

The Urge

Hit The Lights

The Menzingers

Reggie and the Full Effect

Milencolin

Against Me

Pedro the Lion

2020 Census: Favorite Music

The point of this is not trying to rank the objectively best bands. It's a time capsule. What bands am I listening to the most. What bands do I want to listen to the most. 

Here are the 7 that I immediately put into my top ten, in alphabetical order:

311

Alkaline Trio

Dashboard Confessional

Motion City Soundtrack

New Found Glory

Panic! at the Disco

Vampire Weekend

(After debating about including Vampire Weekend in the 2010 top ten, they firmly belong now.)

So that leaves three spots for the likes of The Hold Steady, Seaway, Sublime, Brand New, Ozma, Third Eye Blind, The National, The Stereo, Weezer, Twenty One Pilots...

I narrowed that list down to a next four: Third Eye Blind, Ozma, Brand New, and The Hold Steady. 

I realized that I've listened to Third Eye Blind and Ozma recently, so they're in. 

So now it's down to Brand New vs The Hold Steady. Let's go with The Hold Steady. 

So my 2020 top ten Favorite Bands:

311

Alkaline Trio

Dashboard Confessional

The Hold Steady

Motion City Soundtrack

New Found Glory

Ozma

Panic! at the Disco

Third Eye Blind

Vampire Weekend

- - -

Here's my favorite album by each of my favorite bands in chronological order:

Third Eye Blind: Third Eye Blind (1997)

Alkaline Trio: Goddamnit (1998)

Dashboard Confessional: The Swiss Army Romance (2000)

Ozma: Rock and Roll Part Three (2001)

Motion City Soundtrack: Commit This to Memory (2005)

The Hold Steady: Boys and Girls in America (2006)

Panic! at the Disco: Pretty. Odd. (2008)

Vampire Weekend: Modern Vampires of the City (2013)

New Found Glory: Resurrection (2014)

311: MOSAIC (2017)

- - -

A note on 311's MOSAIC: It's not their best album, but because it's newish, I haven't played it out yet, so it's the one I want to most listen to right now. 

A note on Alkaline Trio, I almost wanted to pick Crimson or even From Here to Infirmary. 

A note on Dashboard Confessional, I almost wanted to pick A Mark, A Mission, A Brand, A Scar

A note on New Found Glory, it's not really about any one album. I could have easily picked self-titled. 

2010 bands

2010 albums

my favorite bands in order

80. All Time Low
79. Anything But Joey
78. Spring Heeled Jack
77. The Audition
76. Hot Hot Heat
75. Metro Station
74. Something Corporate
73. Cute Is What We Aim For
72. The Red Hot Valentines
71. Nerf Herder
70. Lucky Boys Confusion
69. Ultimate Fakebook
68. American Hi-Fi
67. The Pixies
66. Explosions In The Sky
65. Fatboy Slim
64. Air
63. Just Surrender
62. Bracket
61. Against Me!
60. The Urge
59. Denison Witmer
58. Pedro The Lion
57. The Promise Ring
56. Strike
55. Hit The Lights
54. The Killers
53. My Chemical Romance
52. The All-American Rejects
51. The Strokes
50. Goldfinger
49. Green Day
48. Foo Fighters
47. Tenacious D
46. Reggie & The Full Effect
45. Phoenix
44. Passion Pit
43. Wires In The Walls
42. Eve 6
41. Taking Back Sunday
40. Fountains Of Wayne
39. Less Than Jake
38. Fall Out Boy
37. Sum 41
36. Blink 182
35. Incubus
34. Cartel
33. Forever The Sickest Kids
32. Childish Gambino
31. Beastie Boys
30. Zebrahead
29. The Starting Line
28. Hey Mercedes
27. New Found Glory
26. Third Eye Blind
25. Reel Big Fish
24. Unwritten Law
23. Jack Johnson
22. Midtown

21. Saves The Day

20. The Anniversary
19. Sugarcult
18. The Juliana Theory
17. Flickerstick
16. Jimmy Eat World
15. Weezer
14. The Get Up Kids
13. The Impossibles
12. The National
11. The Stereo
10. Vampire Weekend
9. Sublime
8. Panic at the Disco
7. Brand New
6. Ozma
5. The Hold Steady
4. Motion City Soundtrack
3. Alkaline Trio
2. Dashboard Confessional
1. 311