Ridiculously Commercials Albums I Have No Business Owning But That I Do Anyway

A Cursory glance at my CD collection (which can be found at this link) would reveal that I listen to a good many things not typically found on the radio, whether it be obscure indie rock bands, Norwegian black metal, or African tribal music, commercial is one thing people don't normally associate with my music tastes.  But they would be wrong.  I have just as many popular selections as the next guy sprinkled throughout my collection.  I just have a whole lot of extra stuff, too.  Anyway, here are some more mainstream selections from my collection that have some merit (because honestly there is a great deal of dreck on the radio).

AFI's Sing the Sorrow was a departure for the band, deviating from the more hardcore approach of their early albums into a more "mature" and commercially viable sound while still retaining the core dynamics of the band.  Sure there are a few electronic blips, the choruses are a little catchier, and there is a distinct lack of screaming, but in the end, it's really still AFI.  Decemberunderground wound continue to drive the commercial direction of the band while re-introducing some of the more hard-edged sounds of their past.

The All-American Rejects are a textbook example of pitch-perfect power pop dynamics.  Their albums, and particularly the singles, are very polished and calculating.  Either despite it or because of it, the polish on their latest album Move Along results in some of the catchiest songs I've heard in recent memory.  The title track especially is approximately four minutes of pop bliss.

Coldplay is one of the ridiculously popular Brit Rock bands that ape Radiohead but lack the real creativity and inventiveness as Radiohead.  You may wondering, I thought this was an article about popular bands you like?  To be honest, Coldplay has moments that give a glimpse of the potential of Chris Martin and company of truly rising to the heights of Radiohead.  X&Y was something of a departure from their previous two albums, drifting into slightly more esoteric territory.  It really seems that they were wanting to craft a more complex album.  If you listen to some critics, they did.  To my ears though, much of the album seems unfocused with a distinct lack of hooks.  As I mentioned earlier though, there are moments that rise above the muddy waters to hint at something more.  The last third of "Fix You" is a good example, beginning with a dull and somewhat unispired melody but morphing into something more ethereal by the end.  I've heard good buzz about the new Coldplay album, so maybe it will turn out to be their Ok Computer, or at least a Pablo Honey.

Norah Jones sells a ridiculous amount of albums and yet you will not find her on MTV.  This is because she is HUGE with the middle age crowd.  Her soft, folky melodies are rather inoffensive and pleasant to the ears.  I don't necesarily feel compelled to listen to Norah Jones at regular intervals, but she certainly makes for ideal background music.

The Killers are a kind of cheat for this article.  Like others such as Franz Ferdinand and The Strokes, they are big with both the indie circles as well as the mainstream.  It's the sort of thing I could technically have in my collection and not lose my indie cred.  But whatever.  Sam's Town, their follow-up to the ridiculously popular Hot Fuss, finds The Killers doing a lot less dance punk vamping and a lot more driving rock, Springsteen-style.  The arrangements are more complex, the themes in their lyrics aren't quite as shallow, and they seem to have have embraced a general "maturity" to their music.

Crunk Juice=Pure Comedy Gold.

The Black Parade is leaps and bounds beyond My Chemical Romance's previous albums.  Constructing an elaborate concept album involving death and parades.  Drawing influences from such unlikely places as Pink Floyd's The Wall and vaudeville, The Black Parade sounds both epic and catchy.