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Last week, I took a look at AOL’s top 10 albums a person was supposed to listen to before they died. I didn’t really take a look at it so much as make fun of it, but whatever. I promised someday soon I would do my top 10 albums to listen to before you die. Well, I got nothing much else this week, so that day has come. These are in no particular order or anything, just so you know, and if you disagree, you’re probably wrong, just so you know. Here are 10 albums I think you should listen to before you die.

Bat Out of Hell by Meatloaf: I put this one first just so you can think I’m an idiot right off the top. It is, however, a pretty good album, particularly for that time. Sure, it’s great to have a big sweaty fat guy holding a red bandanna and singing about macking on chicks and driving his car really fast, but it’s more than just that; it sort of captures being in high school. The band is basically Todd Rundgren’s Utopia with Roy Bittan and Max Weinberg from the E Street Band thrown in for good measure and some cool piano and drum parts. It rocks pretty hard and has aged far better than I ever imagined.

It’s Only Right and Natural by The Frogs: I almost didn’t put this on the list for about a hundred reasons. The thing is, it’s a really enjoyable record. It’s gay-themed and really, really funny. I’ll be honest, I’m not sure if I enjoy it for the right reasons at all, but geez Louise, everyone should really listen to it. The more I think about it, the less capable I am of describing it.

London Calling by The Clash: I’m not even sure this is necessarily their best record, which is a pretty good indication of just how good these fellas actually were. The songs were about societal problems going on at the time, and they’re still relevant today. Even if you don’t care for all the politics involved, the music is more than enough to keep a person as happy as a hillbilly in a meth factory.

A Blessing and a Curse by Drive-By Truckers: Like so many on this list, all their records are great, but this one is my favorite because they were the greatest band in the world at that particular moment. Jason Isbell, Mike Cooley and Patterson Hood shared the writing, and though each of their songs is different, they all fit coherently into a wonderful little album that I like a ton.

The Last Waltz by The Band: Normally, I don’t like live albums all that much, but this one is so spectacular it’s an exception. It’s The Band’s last concert, Martin Scorsese is filming it for a movie, everyone is drugged up to the bejesus and the music still manages to sound beautiful. How can you go wrong when Bob Dylan, Neil Diamond and Neil Young want to come onstage with you to play their songs.

Gentlemen by the Afghan Whigs: This is probably the roughest album about relationships ever made. The Whigs have their signature sound intact, and the record rocks, but it’s the lyrics about a couple being mean to each other that sets it apart from their other fantastic albums.

The Ramones by The Ramones: There’s just no way you can not like these guys … unless maybe you’re my dad when I was in high school. They rock, their songs are catchy and in a worst case scenario situation, if you happen to come across a song you don’t like, just wait for about a minute and a half, and the next song will start.

Pleased to Meet Me by The Replacements: I could have picked any of their albums and been OK, but this one seems like the pinnacle to me. They rock, they’re sloppy, they’re sad and they’re oddly precise. It’s a wonderful time in their career when they still weren’t grown-up all the way, but they played as if they were.

Zen Arcade by Husker Du: This album is just so great and rough and noisy and smart. I remember the first time I heard it, I felt like I could relate to it even though I wasn’t listening to the words much. The way the music sounded was the way I felt at the time. If you can dig deep enough through all the noise, it’s actually even sort of poppy. Musically, they got much better later on, but it’s hard to match the urgency on Zen Arcade, at least in my book.

New York by Lou Reed: I’m not sure why this is the Lou Reed record I picked, but it’s just always sort of been my favorite. The band is tight, and even though it sounds like he’s talking when he’s really singing, it works well in this context. You can tell as you listen that he’s got a ton of important shit he wants to say, and he gets it out as fast as possible. In the end, I feel like I know him and the city he comes from better than I did before.

Even though I’ve named all 10, as I type this, there are another 100 albums that are popping into my mind that could have been on the list. That’s sort of the beautiful thing about it. These particular 10 albums don’t matter much either way. They are simply just a small part of all the other music that makes life kinda cool.