Music Monday: 37 Albums Everyone Should Listen To

For the past two years, I've showcased new artists that I was obsessed with and thought they were good. I also wrote about upcoming releases, new albums, and shared playlists with you guys. Now, I've compiled a list of some albums that I personally have fallen in love with over the years. Some are old, some are new. Here's a list of my favorites. I love albums because they are a personal period of an artist's life. I also love them because there's nothing better than putting on a new CD. (I'm still old fashioned) And no, they are not in particular order. I recommend these all to you if you're looking for some fresh new tunes.

1. Like a Virgin by Madonna
2. Born to Die by Lana Del Rey
3. No More Tears by Ozzy Osbourne
4. 1989 by Taylor Swift
5. The One by Elton John
6. Heartthrob by Tegan and Sara
7.  Strange Desire by Bleachers
8. Honeymoon by Lana Del Rey
9. Red by Taylor Swift
10. Paper Trail by T.I. 
11. Madonna by Madonna
12. Ozzmosis by Ozzy Osbourne
13. Ultraviolence by Lana Del Rey 
14. JOJO by JoJo
15. True Blue by Madonna
16. Down to Earth by Ozzy Osbourne
17. Made in England by Elton John
18. Black Rain by Ozzy Osbourne  
19. The High Road by JoJo
20. Confessions on a Dance Floor by Madonna
21. Top Gun (Soundtrack) by Various
22. Scream by Ozzy Osbourne
23. Stripped by Christina Aguilera 
24. The Stranger by Billy Joel
25. Beauty Behind the Madness by The Weekend 
26. Big Ones by Aerosmith
27. Tringle by JoJo
28. X by Ed Sheeran
29. Paradise (EP) by Lana Del Rey 
30. Going to Hell by The Pretty Reckless
31. Dirty Dancing (Soundtrack) by Various 
32. Ultimate Sin by Ozzy Osbourne
33.  Sehnsucht by Rammstein
34. Love Songs by Elton John 
35. American Life by Madonna
36. Light Me Up by The Pretty Reckless 
37. No Rest for the Wicked by Ozzy Osbourne

Music Monday: The Weeknd's New Album

 
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One of the album's that has been on repeat for me for the past few days was the Weeknd's second album "Beauty Behind the Madness." I never really heard of The Weekend until I heard that Lana Del Rey, my favorite singer ever was going to be featured on the album. I remembered seeing "Earned It" on the Fifty Shades soundtrack, but since I didn't know much about the artist I didn't end up getting the song. Needless to say, I downloaded the song when the album dropped August 28th. And it was a repeat, because it's amazing. Lana did an amazing job with it, but I really liked the beat of it as well. I knew right then and there that this was an artist that I needed to have the entire album of.
And so, Friday night I snagged a digital copy of it. I feel in love with it, as soon as the first notes of "Real Life" came out of my Macbook speakers. It's a bit different then some of the other Indie/Metal/Rock artists that are present in my iTunes, but I'm still obsessed with his vocals, lyrical content and the overall album. Some of my favorite artists, such as Del Rey and Ed Sheeran, appear on the album and those songs did not disappoint. Even though those artists are different then The Weeknd, I thought the combination sounded perfect.
Overall, I think this album is one of my favorite albums that came out this year, tying with Madonna's "Rebel Heart." As we enter the last few months in fall, I'm expecting that this will compete with a few other albums, such as Lana Del Rey's "Honeymoon" (expected release this Friday), and Demi Lovato's confident (which is expected to be released in October.) And, we can not forget JoJo's tringle. However, I think "Beauty Behind The Madness" is definitely going to be one of my favorites of the year.
Must Listen: Real Life, Prisoner, the Hills, Tell Your Friends Can't Feel My Face, Angel, Earned It (Fifty Shades), Losers and Dark Times.

Music Monday: May Music Obsessions

The title of this post has such alliteration! Anyways, for those of you who know me, I love a good playlist. During my time as the Opinions Editor for the Southern News, I had to make a playlist every week and I was in heaven. Lately, I've been adding music to my iTunes library like crazy! From Lil Wayne, to Lindsay Lohan my iTunes and iPod have been gratefully accepting my new music choices to jam to. So, I decided to share a playlist with you...enjoy! (Some of these songs are a bit older, so #throwback!)

1. Born to Die by Lana Del Rey 
2. What Makes You Beautiful by One Direction 
3. Love Me Like You Do by Ellie Goulding (from 50 Shades of Grey)
4. One by Ed Sheeran
5. Perry Mason by Ozzy Osbourne
6. Closer by Tegan and Sara 
7. Hold on We're Going Home by Drake 
8. Summertime Sadness by Lana Del Rey 
9. Don't by Ed Sheeran 
10. Dangerous by Roxette
11. Style by Taylor Swift 
12. Heaven Knows by the Pretty Reckless 
13. American by Lana Del Rey 
14. Miracle Man by Ozzy Osbourne
15. West Coast by Lana Del Rey 

2012: The Playlist.

2012 was an amazing year of music. Britain has taken over the charts, and artists that haven't come up with new music in nearly a decade at last came together. So, I've compiled a playlist of my favorite songs from the year 2012. Let's go kids.

• Gotta be you- One Direction. I'm not a huge fan of One Direction, but for some odd reason, I really like this song. It's very ballad, which I thoroughly enjoy. However, this is the ONLY song I actually listen to obessively...for the record.
• Call Me Maybe; Tiny Little Bows; Good Time (featuring Owl City) by Carly Rae Jepson. I will admit, these songs are my musical guilty pleasures. She's really talented, and of course, I think Call Me Maybe is the anthem of 2012. She's just awesome. Don't hate. 
• Looking Hot; One More Summer; Push and Shove; Settle Down by No Doubt. I was so excited when their new album came out, after nearly ten years of breaking up, and let me just say this it was amazing. These songs are a few of my favorites from Push and Shove, and are very, very amazing. Ps: they were amazing in their GMA Summer Concert Series Performance.
• Girl Gone Wild; I Don't Give A..., Give Me All Your Lovin' (featuring Nicki Minaj & MIA); Gang Bang; I'm Addicted; Turn Up The Radio by Madonna. I'm a huge Madonna fan. Needless to say, I love MDNA, despite it's bad critical reviews. I'm not a huge fan of pop music, but I can honestly say that Madonna is one of the best artists out there.You go, Madonna!
• Girl on Fire (featuring Nicki Minaj) by Alicia Keys. I loved this song ever since I heard it on MTV. Alicia's just talented. That's all. 
• Country Girl (shake it for me); Drunk on You; Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye by Luke Bryan. Okay, EVERY song in Tailgates and Tanlines is amazing. These however are a few of my favorites from him. Luke's amazing. And cute. That's all. Plus, I also got to see him perform on Good Morning America in the summer and that made me happy.
• Blown Away; Good Girl; Two Black Cadillacs by Carrie Underwood. Blown Away was amazing. I really think it shows off how talented Carrie is. The message from Good Girl is amazing, that no girl should have to stick with a guy that makes her unhappy nor is not good enough for her.
• Chasing the Sun; Glad you Came by the Wanted. Catchy. 
• The Only Way I Know (featuring Luke Bryan & Eric Church) & Take a Ride by Jason Aledean. I really got into country music this year. The Only Way I Know is one of my favorite songs of the year, because a; it has Luke Bryan, and b: it's a good song. 
• Anything Could Happen; Don't Say A Word; Lights by Ellie Goulding. I love her. Her songs are very original, which I look for in an artist. Anything Could Happen is literally my theme song. 
• Everybody Talks by Neon Trees. It started with a whisper....
• Somebody That I Used to Know by Gotye. The video...? Wierd. However, I love this song A LOT. They need to play it on the radio more. Even though it was over played..yeah whatever..it's still good.
• Skyfall by Adele. I'm not the world's biggest Adele fan, but I really like this song. And the movie. But the song's pretty good too. 
• The A Team by Ed Sheeran. OKAY WHY DOES ENGLAND HAVE SO MANY AMAZING ARTISTS??? I love this guy. Literally, he's so talented, and it's such good music. How could you not love him? 
• Your Body by Christina Aguilera. I'm one of the biggest Xtina fans ever. Lotus is one of her best albums ever. She has talent, kids, and I really need to get her CD. 
• The entire Nashville soundtrack. This show? Amazing. These songs? Even more so. I literally have all of their songs. They are just so good!
• Give Your Heart A Break by Demi Lovato. Demi's so talented, in addition to inspirational. Her songs are not only really good, they are very inspiring. Unbroken really shows her getting away from her Disney image with really raw and personal tracks. You go, Demi!

So those are my picks for 2012. As you can tell, I have a lot of music. But one can truly never have enough music, and I can't wait to watch my music libary grow bigger as the new year comes in.