Sad lack of girls there. But so it goes I guess.
Snarf's Top 10 Female Artist Albums, following Snarf's Previous Rules:
1.
Third, Portishead. I'm totally cheating, but this gets me TWO Portishead albums. If you ever asked yourself, "How can a band make albums that sound completely different, yet always remain identifiably that band?" then you're ready to listen to Portishead.
2.
Live Through This, Hole. When you're done playing by the rules society has placed on you, and just need to lash out.
3.
The Dreaming, Kate Bush. I really wanted to put Aerial in this spot (Washing Machine
.... will always be in my head) but this is what would happen if you take the second half of
Hounds of Love and made it into a full album. Woah. Wait. You know what?
CHANGE UP!
3.
Hounds of Love, Kate Bush. Remember when "records" had sides? Actually, vinyl is back, so you do remember! It's not just an amazing album, it's two amazing albums. Come for the first half that you remember (the ethereal pop of Cloudbusting and Running up that Hill) and stay for the superior and devastating second half and feel the water close over you.
4.
Kala, M.I.A. Powerful and uncompromising and sounding like nothing else at the time. This is the soundtrack to a revolution in a place in a place you've never been.
5.
The Woods, Sleater-Kinney. Another tough call. My personal favorite, and most consistent album, is
All Hands on the Bad One. The best, and rawest, sound is definitely
Dig Me Out. But this is the sound of a band being challenged to evolve, and not just meeting the challenge, but aggressively overcoming it.
6.
Blue, Joni Mitchell
. Not including Joni Mitchell on this list would be sacrilege.
Court and Spark? Hejira? Great albums, but this is one of the all-time greatest for a reason. Every person who listens to this album knows that it speaks to them, and them alone.
7.
Back to Black, Amy Winehouse
. Most great artists have the talent to give you something you never realized you wanted. But that wasn't Amy. Her talent was different. When you heard her music for the first time, you realized that you had always known it, and that it had always been a part of your existence.
8.
Like a Virgin, Madonna. You'd be hard-pressed to go wrong with any of the four albums that formed her supernova explosion in the 80s (
Madonna, Like a Virgin, True Blue, Like a Prayer) but I'm going with the one that first cemented her into the mainstream.
9.
CrazySexyCool, TLC. If you've heard any pop music after 1994, you've heard this album.
10.
Future Nostalgia, Dua Lipa. Too soon? No. Straight-up bangers, from the first track to the last track. To hear this album is to love it.
Honorable mentions (artists)-
Billie Eilish, The Distillers, Patti Smith, Missy Elliot, Beyoncé, Adele, Taylor Swift (!!!), Janis, Lauryn Hill, Carole King, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Björk, St. Vincent.
