Welcome to the Top Five special! I discovered my favorite band when they were mentioned by another artist in an interview. It's natural to be want to check out the influences of your favorite artists and see what inspires them to make the music that you love. That's what this special is all about.  We send out requests to tons of bands and labels to have their artists share with us their Top Five Albums of All Time and we have quite a collection of artists from across the musical spectrum that have turned in their picks! In the coming weeks we will be unveiling a new Top Five list three times a week. Lists from big names as well as indie artists will be included, so we hope you enjoy this special and you discover some music in the process.  - Keavin (editor antiMusic.com)

Aug 14th Update: So more people can check out these lists, we're moving to posting one a week along with a staff list. So stayed tuned over the next few months for more Top 5 lists, including special Top 5 song lists and Top 5 Artists lists. 

This week we have lists from Throwdown, Sarah Blasko and antiGUY  We start off with Throwdown's Matt Mentley. 

Matt did something a little different and selected his Top 5 favorites of this year. 

Matt Mentley's Top Five Albums of 2005

5.  Meshuggah - Catch 33
(samples / buy cd)

4.  Foo Fighters - In Your Honor
(samples / buy cd)

3. Coldplay - X&Y
(samples / buy cd)

2.  Finch - Say Hello To Sunshine
(samples / buy cd)

1.  Dredg - Catch Without Arms
(samples / buy cd)

About Throwdown: Some have called these OC rockers the future of metal with their brutal metalcore sound, that buzz only intensified earlier this year with the impressive release Vendetta. Throwdown ripped it up earlier this summer on tour with Clutch, Lamb of God, Opeth and Gwar and proving there is no rest for the wicked, jumped right back on the road for the "To Die For Tour" with Remembering Never, Agony Scene and Sinai Beach which is currently crossing the States. Check out the link to the band's site for dates and to learn more about them. 

For more on Throwdown 

Official Website for Throwdown
Preview and purchase Throwdown's music
 

Now we hear from Sarah Blasko

I don't think I can say that these are my "favourite albums of all time" - that is a very big call and one I'm not willing to make at this point in time, but below are some albums that have really had an effect on me:

Sarah Blasko's Top Five Albums of All Time!

5.  PJ Harvey - 'To Bring You My Love': I love the way she uses her voice on this album, and the simplicity and strength of the arrangements - plenty of spooky organs and soundscapes.  There's a lot of religious imagery too, which is quite unique.
(samples / buy cd)

4.  Bjork - 'Vespertine':  The ecstasy and beauty of this album is like no other.  It captures the emotion of falling in love so well.  It also offers such a beautiful perspective on life. 
(samples / buy cd)

3. Mazzy Star - 'So Tonight That I Might See':   'So Tonight That I Might See' - I love the mysterious sound of this record, it sounds as though it is from another time.  'Fade Into You' is one of my favourite songs.
(samples / buy cd)

2.  Beck - 'Sea Change': This album came along at the right time for me - one of those records that you almost devour because it resonates with your own life.
(samples / buy cd)

1.  Radiohead - 'Amnesiac': 'Pyramid Song' is one of my favourites of all time.  It is perfect.  I really respect the approach they took with this album and 'Kid A'.
(samples / buy cd)

About Sarah Blasko: Sarah first turned heads in her native Australia but with the release of her major label debut The Overture & The Underscore the world is sitting up and taking notice. antiMusic's Morley Seaver wrote of Sarah's debut " If you like singer-songwriter records that are full of clear, impassioned vocals, unencumbered by electronica, check this out. You probably won't find better this year." Check out her website to hear and learn more. 

For more on Sarah Blasko 

Official Website for Sarah Blasko
Preview and purchase Sarah Blasko music
 

This week's staff list comes from the one and only antiGUY!

Some of these will be predictable but what can I say, a great album is a great album! I'm going more for albums that blew me away when I first heard them and that I still listen to on a regular basis. 

antiGUY's Top Five Albums of All Time!

5.  Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac: The original Fleetwood Mac, long before they became a pop band. Forget Eric Clapton, Peter Green IS the God of the English Blues! Even BB King said Green was the only one to ever give him chills! If you're a fan of hard rock you owe it to yourself to check this album out to hear the foundations. Zep is a no brainer for that but this is the Blues with real passion and no pretense just like the original Blues masters that inspired it.  (Aside from Pete Green, Jeremy does Elmore James better than Elmore James. Ok that's sacrilege, but it's damn close). 
(samples / buy cd)

4.  Blizzard of Ozz - Ozzy Osbourne:  I know a lot of people are going to pick Sabbath albums and Sabbath did start metal but this album really helped transcend metal from the heavy Blues based riffs that was an offspring of Acid Rock into something totally different. I still get chills when I listen to Randy Rhoads play on this album. Sabbath was the elementary school of metal and this album is grad school.   (sadly, you can't buy the original recording any longer. Sharon screwed that up when she redid the rhythm tracks over a royalty dispute. But you can find the REAL album in used record stores and places like Gemm.com) 
(samples / buy cd)

3. Ride The Lightning - Metallica:  I hated Metallica when they first started to become popular but I bought this album a little before that and never really listened to it. Then the night Cliff died, KNAC had a tribute on the air and I heard "For Whom The Bell Tolls" and something just clicked. I think this is the height for Metallica, their perfect album. The others are good (and some not so good) but this one is truly a masterpiece. 
(samples / buy cd)

2.  Ramones - Ramones: On the 8th day, God created the Ramones. Talk about the perfect rock n roll band. It's simple, it's loud, it sticks in your mind like glue and more important it still kicks ass over the commercial crap all these years later! To me AC/DC, The Ramones and Motorhead are the unholy trinity of hard rock!
(samples / buy cd)

1.  Back in Black: Yes it's insipid and its raw bones basics rock n roll, but I love it because AC/DC never tried to be anything they're not and this album just flat out rocks! Plus "Back in Black" really opened the flood gates to popular culture for the hard rock and metal that would follow.  I'll take Angus & Co over ELP any day of the week. Gene Simmons is a tool and all but I do agree with him when he said "You don't listen to Rock n Roll with your mind, you listen to it will your balls".  And my god, Angus' leads on "Hells Bells" still do it to me to this day. 
(samples / buy cd)

About antiGUY: His list was long enough, so let's just say antiGUY's been a part of antiMusic since shortly after it's inception and has been pissing off people ever since with his high standards and "hating" ways.
 

Check out Week Five's lists from Tracy Bonham plus members of Crisis, All That Remains and antiMusic editor Keavin Wiggins

Check out Week three's lists from members of KISS/Union/Grand Funk,QOTSA, Lowfive, Flys, Quiet Riot plus Deadsun

Check out week two's Lists from members of Lamb of God,  In Flames, Devildriver, Domeshots and Clit 45, plus Travis Becker's list

Check out week one's lists from members of Guns N' Roses, As I Lay Dying, Styx and Chino XL ... plus Hobo's list
...e