If we were picking the best albums

Everybody has an opinion. Ask anybody what he or she thinks about the price of housing, politics, reality TV or capri pants for men and you're sure to get a biting response. Taste in music definitely brings out the critic in everyone. What is the greatest album every to grace the ears of mere mortals in one person's opinion is the worst example of superficial pablum to another.

A couple of weeks ago, Spin Magazine came out with a list of the top 100 albums of the past 20 years, which created a stir among some of the great minds at MSNBC.com. Cries of "Are you kidding?" to "But what about ... " could be heard around our newsroom. In response, we've asked some of the big brains of MSNBC — who never lack for opinions — to give us their top five picks. None are music critics — just music fans with a bone to pick. We haven't compiled a top 100, rather a sampling of what our editors and writers think.

We've organized them into two categories — more or less mainstream and less-than mainstream. We've also included a mailbag in order to get reader picks, so please send them in and we will post your responses.

More or less mainstream
“Fear of a Black Planet,” Public Enemy: Fifteen years ago it was impossible to discuss “Fear of a Black Planet” without getting into a lengthy debate about the controversies Public Enemy’s members were embroiled in at the time or comparing it to their previous release, “It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back.” Now free from that framework, “Fear of a Black Planet” stands as the highpoint of hip-hop, with solid beats and samples that only barely betray their original sources. Chuck D’s words feel just as urgent today, daring the listener not to react. Plus, the annoyingly catchy-but-brilliant “911 is a Joke” reminds the world how awesome Flavor Flav was before the realm of reality TV claimed him. — Ree Hines

Def Jam

You can debate whether “Fear” is angrier than “Takes a Nation of Millions,” but by this point, Chuck D. and Flava Flav had established themselves as four-star generals in the war against pop music’s profound blandness. It’s easy to tap into the surface rage in a track like “Burn Hollywood Burn,” but the genius lies under the surface. Listening to hip-hop now, it’s easy to forget just how layered, nuanced and utterly brilliant PE’s style could be. — Jon Bonné

“Joshua Tree,” U2: U2 was already putting out good albums before winning a couple Grammys for this one. But “Joshua Tree” just seemed more complete than other greats like “War” and “Unforgettable Fire.” “Where the Streets have No Name” is one of the best songs ever to lead off an album, it sets the mood right away. Several well-known classics follow, but I like the fact that it includes “Running to Stand Still,” which is — in my opinion — one of their most underrated songs. — Bob Harkins

“Graceland,” Paul Simon: My father bought this cassette when it came out in 1987 and I was 15. He would always play it while painting in his studio. I fell immediately in love with the African rhythms and the alliterative lyrics (“The boy in the bubble and the baby with baboon heart ... ”).  It was among the first albums I bought as a CD when that format started pushing cassettes out of the market. — Rob Merrill

“Ten,” Pearl Jam: It was this album, not Nirvana’s “Nevermind,” that got me hooked on the grunge scene of the early ’90s. I still think it’s their best album top to bottom. It can be dark and disturbing at times (“Jeremy”), sensitive at others (“Black,” “Release”), but mostly it just rocks. — Bob Harkins

Geffen Records

“Unplugged in New York,” Nirvana: It's probably just a painfully obvious indicator about how tragically unhip I was in my youth that Nirvana's "Unplugged" album is one of my favorites. I was a few years too young to recognize the grunge supergroup's indelible mark on music and even my own coming of age, so by the time I was old enough to rock out, the "Nevermind" moment had all but passed. Despite my own late blooming, though, I'll defend "Unplugged" as one of Nirvana's best, if only because of how raw it is. Cobain was far more exposed than he'd ever been musically, and funny, too — he riffs on the music industry, their audience, their status as "a big, rich rock band" and himself in the banter between tracks. Covers of everything from David Bowie to Christian spirituals ("but we do it the Vaselines way") to the Meat Puppets keep the album grounded, instead of the "NOW! That's what I call grunge!" tribute that it could have been. The final track, another cover, Leadbelly's "Where Did You Sleep Last Night", is so poignant and wrenching as to give the song new meaning. — Jim Ray

“Indigo Girls,” The Indigo Girls:  A combination of crystal-clear harmonies, smart acoustic guitar and clever songwriting made this album such a refreshing change from the album rock and pop that dominated the 1980s, especially to a college student. "Closer to Fine" became an anthem for our sophomore class (specifically, "I spent four years prostrate to a higher mind, got my papers, and I was free"). The songs don't have a lot of clutter like later Indigo Girls albums, relying on the guitars and voices to make the music. I still know all the words. — George Malone

MORE FROM MORE NEWS AND OTHER FEATURES

My Morning Jacket singer injured during show

My Morning Jacket singer injured during show Delta museum honors bluesman B.B. King Kimmel to host American Music Awards Kingston Trio's Nick Reynolds dies at 75 Four-CD box set shows how Orbison evolved Dailey & Vincent win big at bluegrass awards Kellie Pickler is glad to be herself on new CD Four years after disbanding, Phish to reunite T.I. won’t let jail stop him from making music Britney Spears says she plans to tour next year   Add More news and other features headlines to your news reader: