Every once in awhile a band makes an album that’s bigger than the themselves.  And they spend the rest of their career living up to that apex.  They may never come close again…which is not necessarily their fault. The Cure has Disintegration, Guns N Roses has Appetite For Destruction, The Sex Pistols have Never Mind The Bullocks…  This isn’t to say these bands aren’t talented enough and can’t make great music anymore.  The problem is these albums are not just musical masterpieces but also cultural touchstones.  These behemoth albums aren’t just a product of the band as much as they are a product of timing.  From the culture, to the audience, to the exposure, to the placement, to the other music around them…the stars have to perfectly align for this type of success to befall a band.  Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix is that epic album for Phoenix.  It was a power house punch that literally came out of nowhere.  It was like an adrenaline shot to our musical playlists.  Like someone had turned our music up to 11.  At the close of a rather banal decade of music, we as music fans wanted it as much as we needed it.  Will Phoenix ever make another album this good?  We hope…but even if they don’t…let’s remember that they were there for us when we needed them the most.

Here are the 11 Best Songs By Phoenix: