Top 50 Canadian Albums Of All-Time (30 To 21)

06/30/00 8:00am

30. ALANIS MORISSETTE Jagged Little Pill (Maverick) 1995
With her diary-style rants and ex-boyfriend-crushing anger, Alanis Morissette shed her pop diva skin for a pair of leather pants and multi-million dollar success. Imbued with the sort of troubled girl angst that gets girls spending money and enough chunky guitar to get the boys shelling out too, Morissette's Jagged Little Pill showed a songwriter willing to bare her soul and a world willing to pay to hear about it. Stark, beautiful and radio-ready, there was a reason this album put Morissette on the international map. — Krista Lamb, Chart writer

29. BLUE RODEO Five Days In July (Warner) 1993
It came out in '93, just when I started university. It's one of the albums that you just have to throw on. You have to take in each song as its own. That was when I first publicly acknowledged my love for Blue Rodeo. We [the band] kinda came out of the closet as far as Blue Rodeo went. — Ken Kelley, Monoxides

28. RUFUS WAINRIGHT Rufus Wainright (Dreamworks) 1998
A stunning debut from the heir of Loudon Wainright III and Kate McGarrigle. It's one of the best albums I've ever heard. "April Fools," "Beauty Mark" and "Imaginary" just wash over you. Such a distinguishable voice, very Neil Young. There were no compressors, nothing to hold him back. Besides, my favourite producer, Pierre Marchand, worked on it. — Trevor Tuminski, Jet Set Satellite

27. THE GRAPES OF WRATH Now And Again (Capitol) 1989
This was one Canadian album that didn't sound pretentious or lame because of its Beatles-esque ranges and melodies. Just sweet and pleasant on the ears. "It was just a good Canadian album to put on in the morning when I worked retail," says Karlene Kerr, of Warner Music. "It was perfect. It didn't offend anyone."

26. NEIL YOUNG Tonight's The Night (Reprise) 1975
The album has a "darkness on the edge of town" feel to it. With "Tired Eyes" there's an intense world-weariness in Young's voice. You can sense how close to tears and to the brink he is. It's pretty obvious the album was recorded in a chemically-altered state. Just brings chills down the spine. — Jonathan Bunce, music writer, Eye magazine

25. RUSH 2112 (Anthem) 1976
An album all rockers cannot deny. It's time to proclaim and time to profess that the greatest music didn't come from the '90s but rather the '70s. Of equal importance to Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith and AC/DC are Rush and 2112 stills stands as a testament to this — self-indulgent, epic rock 'n' roll!— Richard Beland, rock 'n' roll super photographer

24. NEIL YOUNG Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere (Reprise) 1969
This was his breakout record. It's got that primal, Crazy Horse sound. I already knew of the hit songs "Cinnamon Girl" and "Down By The River" before I got the record. The album introduces the idea of guitar proficiency and economy, not just wanking off a guitar solo. It's minimal, with him taking the art of one note and excelling. — Kieran Grant, music writer, Toronto Sun

23. JONI MITCHELL Court & Spark (Reprise) 1974
I heard the songs before I got the album because I saw this live tape of hers called Shadows And Light with her doing jazzed-up versions of the tunes. On the album she just fucked with her songs, changing the arrangement around, but they would still be good songs. She wrote from different perspectives, not only just first-person. She could do it all. — Tim Melton, Chart writer

22. THE TRAGICALLY HIP Up To Here (MCA)1989
The classic full-length debut from Canada's favourite rock band. Raw, direct and propulsive, songs like "New Orleans Is Sinking," "Blow At High Dough," "38 Years Old" and "Boots Or Hearts" leapt onto the record still smoky and sweaty from the bars. For any cross-Canada drive, as essential as a functioning heater. — Jim Kelly, freelance writer

21. SLOAN Smeared (murderecords) 1992
Their first album and one that spurned on the burgeoning Halifax alternative scene, which coincided with the breakout of grunge. Our favourite song in 1993 was 'Underwhelmed' on Sloan's first of many brilliant records, Smeared. This song gave us almost five minutes of uninterrupted singing into our beer bottles which we used as microphones. — Lynn Ross, concert administrator, SOCAN

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