Best Album For

Dave and Caleb have a close encounter of the third kind as they choose the best album for seeing aliens. Is music a universal enough language to avoid world domination? Do aliens even exist? Is it better to give them the best music the world has to offer, or the music that most stirs your soul? Caleb presents our unidentified anomalous phenomena friends with Marvin Gaye's classic What's Going On?, and confesses something that leaves Dave stunned. And Dave finally presents DJ Koze and attempts to find words to explain why he is so spellbound. Plus, what song nearly ruined the total solar eclipse? Discussed today: Marvin Gaye - What's Going On? DJ Koze - Amygdala Bad Bad Hats - Bad Bad Hats Nia Arhives - Silence is Loud Hosts: Dave Sandell & Caleb Gardner

What's the right soundtrack for barreling down a highway in pursuit -- or being pursued -- in your very own General Lee? Dave & Caleb lay out the criteria, buckle in, and gun it to 95 with The Prodigy's Fat of the Land and The Reverend Horton Heat's It's Martini Time! Two albums from a golden era of the 90s when, for one shining moment, electronica and swing music improbably had its grips around our collective imagination. Plus, the single scariest moment of young Dave's life. Also, what we're listening to this week, including a band we love with the most unfortunate name. Discussed today: The Prodigy - Fat of the Land Reverend Horton Heat - It's Martini Time The 90s swing era (including Brian Setzer Orchestra, Cherry Poppin' Daddies, Royal Crown Revue and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy) DMX The Yeah Yeah Yeahs Mannequin Pussy - I Got Heaven Waxahatchee - Tiger's Blood Alice Coltrane - The Carnegie Hall Concert Alice Coltrane - Journey in Satchidananda Check out our new playlist on Apple Music, Best Music For 2024. (Spotify coming soon.)

Special guest co-host Vince Brackett joins the podcast this week to discuss what it means to “sell out” for a variety of musicians, and the template for popular and highly successful musicians to “reverse sell out” with an album cycle (or more) marked by attempts to be taken more seriously as an artist. Along the way, they unpack the careers of the strangest bands to have ever momentarily hit it big (Primus, Butthole Surfers), artists who made giant left turns to restart their career (Rebecca Black!), aging rock stars who pump out albums that seem wholly disconnected from their vital days (The Rolling Stones, Stevie Wonder), bands that “real” fans never forgive (Green Day) and bands that everyone embraced despite doing all the things that sell-out bands do (Blink 182). Plus, Vince looks at a band who could have sold out but chose to forget their own path, The Roots, and their 1996 opus, Illadelph Halflife. And Dave unpacks Rihanna's seminal Anti, and how she seemingly threw hit making to the wind and bet on her own taste.  Discussed today: The Roots Rihanna Butthole Surfers Primus Rebecca Black Coldplay Green Day Lorde The Black Keys Blink 182 Stevie Wonder The Rolling Stones David Bowie David Byrne The Wailin' Jennys The Smile

We go deep on a roadmap for getting your kids to rap music, from Sugarhill Gang to whatever is happening in the genre right now. How do you approach conversations about lyrical content, specific life experiences that aren't our own, and answer questions you never thought you'd have to answer (yikes.) Along the way we talk about A Tribe Called Quest's timeless masterpiece, The Low End Theory, and Jurassic 5's rap primer for white people, Quality Control. Plus, we build our rap album and artist hall of fame. Plus, what are we listening to this week? A Tribe Called Quest - The Low End Theory Jurassic 5 - Quality Control Outkast - ATLiens, Aquemini, Stankonia Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp A Butterfly, Good Kid MAAD City Jay-Z - The Blueprint, Reasonable Doubt, In My Lifetime Vol 2 (Hard Knock Life), The Black Album Tupac - All Eyez on Me Notorious BIG - Ready to Die Wu-Tang Clan - Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) Madvillain - Madvillainy  Nas - Illmatic Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, College Dropout, Yeezus Kali Uchis - ORQUIDEAS Sampha - Lahai

Dave and Caleb welcome in 2024 by naming the best albums for starting a new year. What albums best capture that fine line between eternal optimism and existential dread about what could come? Dave suggests Prince's 1999, a party album preoccupied with nuclear proliferation in the early 80s, and Caleb brings Jamie xx's dance party in a jewel case, In Colour. Along the way, they unpack what it was like to first be exposed to Prince as kids in largely conservative environments, and the daunting task that is working through Prince's catalog. Before that, they talk through the things from 2023 that consistently brought them joy, and cap everything off with what they're listening to this week.  Albums discussed at length this week: Prince - 1999 Jamie xx - In Colour

Dave and Caleb are wrapping up 2023 with our inaugural top tens of the year, plus loads of honorable mentions and singles. We count it down 10-1 and hopefully introduce you to some of your new favorite music! Our favorite albums of 2023: Alex Lahey - The Answer is Always Yes Boygenius - the record Bully - Lucky for You Danny Brown - Quaranta Jamie Branch - Fly of Die Fly or Die Fly or Die ((world war)) Jamila Woods - Water Made Us Militarie Gun - Life Under the Gun Noname - Sundial Roisin Murphy - Hit Parade Sampha - Lahai Slowdive - Everything is Alive Slow Pulp - Yard Sufjan Stevens - Javelin There Will Be Fireworks - Summer Moon Wednesday - Rat Saw God Yazmin Lacey - Voice Notes Youth Lagoon - Heaven is a Junkyard Yves Tumor - Praise a Lord Who Chews but Which Does Not Consume

This week we're doing something different, a game we call Let's Make a Mixtape. Our friend Hana Kim joins us as we draft 18 Christmas songs that we're publishing as a playlist you can listen to on Spotify or Apple Music. But there's a twist -- when it's someone's turn, they get to not only draft a song and performer, but also they get to draft where on the mixtape it goes. Merry Christmas! Hosts: Dave Sandell & Caleb Gardner Spotify playlist Apple playlist

December is here and we're ready to get in the Christmas spirit! Or Dave is at least. Dave brings Caleb on a magical journey through a season of lights and traditions and a spiritually moving season, while Caleb keeps us grounded in the stress and consumerism of the holiday. But, one thing they can both agree on is that the nostalgia of 1987's A Very Special Christmas with artists like Run DMC, Whitney Houston, Madonna and U2 can immediately get you in the spirit of the season. Meanwhile, Dave suggests an album that may be new to many listeners, the Will Scruggs Jazz Orchestra's Song of Simeon: A Christmas Journey, which tries to bridge the gap between religious sentimentality and holiday pop that most Christmas music falls into. Grab some egg nog and a candy cane and join us for our first Christmas episode. Discussed today: A Very Special Christmas, Volume One (Various Artists) Phil Spector's A Christmas Gift for You Vince Guaraldi's A Charlie Brown Christmas Will Scruggs Jazz Fellowship - Song of Simeon: A Christmas Journey The Sufjan Stevens Christmas EPs Danny Brown - Quaranta Aesop Rock - Integrated Tech Solutions The Smile - “Wall of Eyes”

Dave and Caleb celebrate their November birthdays by introducing you to one of their favorite bands, the Scottish indie rock legends Frightened Rabbit, and their seminal break-up album, The Midnight Organ Fight.  Discussed today: Frightened Rabbit's catalog Spiritual Cramp - Spiritual Cramp Jamie Branch - Fly or Die Fly or Die Fly or Die ((world war)) 

The leaves are changing, the hot apple cider is brewing, the bonfires and bonfiring, and Dave and Caleb are ready to crown the best album for autumn. What are the albums that we pull out for just a few months each year that are elevated by the invigoratingly crisp air and the cozy trappings of fall? Throw on your favorite cardigan and re-discover Bon Iver's For Emma, Forever Ago and Yo La Tengo's I Can Hear the Heart Beating As One, plus many, many more recommendations (but no Nick Drake, apparently. How did we forget about Nick Drake?) Music discussed today: Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago Bon Iver - Bon Iver Yo La Tengo - I Can Hear the Heart Beating As One Big Thief - UFOF Neko Case - Blacklisted Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings the Flood Angel Olsen - Burn Your Fire For No Witness Brightblack Morning Light - Brightblack Morning Light Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes James Blake - Overgrown The Cure - Disintegration Kacey Musgraves - Golden Hour Slowdive - Slowdive Feist - Metals O Brother Where Art Thou soundtrack Jockstrap - I Love You Jennifer B Slow Pulp - Yard Thanks For Coming - What Is My Capacity to Love Cleo Sol - Gold Cleo Sol - Heaven Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool

Daylight Savings Time is upon us, and Dave and Caleb are celebrating by choosing albums that sound great at one in the morning. What makes an album sound best in the dark, wee hours of the morning? Dave gets into one of his all-time favorites, Portishead's trip-hop classic Dummy, and Caleb goes all catharsis with M83's Hurry Up We're Dreaming.  Music discussed this week: Portishead - Dummy M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming Young Thug - Jeffrey Jamie XX - In Colour Nine Inch Nails Radiohead - Kid A / Amnesiac DJ Koze - Amygdala Frank Ocean - Blonde Boards of Canada - Music Has the Right to Children Phoebe Bridgers - Punisher Big Head - The Worst Is Yet to Come Sun June - Jaguar

Halloween is upon us, and after a quick stroll through all things traditions and family policies, Dave and Caleb unpack what makes a song spooky? Is it the song itself, or are the images we associate with it doing half the work? Along the way, they give picks for music that is genuinely terrifying and music that hits the more playful side of the season. Music discussed today: John Carpenter's Halloween Soundtrack (1978) Rob Zombie - Hellbilly Deluxe Nine Inch Nails Fever Ray & The Knife (song featured from Fever Ray's self-titled) The Misfits Boards of Canada - Geogaddi The Caretaker - Everywhere at the End of Time Sufjan Stevens - Javelin L'Rain - I Killed Your Dog And then a bunch of stuff that we don't necessarily recommend you listen to. Happy Halloween!

Taylor Swift is a global sensation with legions of devoted fans who call themselves "Swifties." Surprisingly, your hosts Dave and Caleb -- a.k.a. two dads in their 40s -- aren't among them. But in the midst of the year of Taylor, we wanted to find our way in. So we enlisted our friend Sydney Bauer, a self-professed Swiftie to give us three records and three weeks to fully take them in, and then guided us through a proverbial walking tour of what makes Taylor so singular and beloved. We did our homework, and now we're ready to name the best album for becoming a Swiftie! Hosts: Dave Sandell and Caleb Gardner Guest: Sydney Bauer Music discussed in depth today: Taylor Swift - Red Taylor Swift - 1989 Taylor Swift - Folklore Taylor Swift - Evermore Phoebe Bridgers - Stranger in the Alps Miss Americana documentary Every Single Album podcast from The Ringer

If movies like Roadhouse and Fight Club taught us anything, it's that every bar fight is accompanied by a catalyzing track. Today, two pacifists  take another trip into their imaginations to determine the album that could come on that would make you want to defend someone's honor (or at least buy groceries a little harder.) Dave takes us to punk's roots with Iggy & the Stooges' Raw Power and Caleb dips into 90s angst with The Offspring's Smash. Music featured today: Iggy & the Stooges - Raw Power (Iggy Pop mix) The Offspring - Smash McClusky - new songs McClusky - McClusky Do Dallas Death Grips - The Money Store The Stooges - “I Wanna Be Your Dog” The Pixies - Doolittle / “Gouge Away” Rage Against the Machine - Evil Empire Rage Against the Machine - The Battle of Los Angeles Slowdive - everything is alive The Chemical Brothers - For That Beautiful Feeling Disclosure - Alchemy

Dave and Caleb hop in their DeLorean to travel back to the year 1966 and decide which album they most want to experience in the time of its release. They talk about the frenzy that surrounded every Beatles release and what it must have felt like to experience your favorite band going in new directions like the Beatles' Revolver. And they imagine being in the audience to experience the power and magnitude of Nina Simone in the year she released Wild is the Wind. Music discussed this week: The Beatles - Revolver Nina Simone - Wild is the Wind The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds Bob Dylan - Blonde on Blonde Ike & Tina Turner - River Deep – Mountain High The Rolling Stones - Aftermath 13th Floor Elevators - Psychedelic Sounds... Otis Redding - The Soul Album Roisin Murphy - Hit Parade James Blake - Playing Robots Into Heaven Olivia Rodrigo - Guts

They say you can't go home again, but this week Dave and Caleb make an attempt to as they think about hometowns. The good, the bad, the people, what it means to bring your full grown up self to a place where you are perpetually 17 years old, and importantly, the power of music to become containers for all the parts of your life; songs that mean something to you as a kid and grow and mold with you as you get older, so that they feel both present and meaningful and "like home." They dive into the Smashing Pumpkins' seminal album, Siamese Dream, currently celebrating its 30th anniversary. And then they briefly discuss country music and all of its baggage in light of the album that most sounds "like home," Garth Brooks' 18-million-selling album, No Fences.  Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie & the Infinite Sadness  Garth Brooks - No Fences Noname - Sundial New Pornographers - Continue as a Guest Sufjan Stevens - “So You Are Tired” Slowdive - everything is alive Olivia Rodrigo - “Bad Idea Right?”

Dave and Caleb go deep on how they formed their imagination for high school (spoiler alert: Saved by the Bell shows up) and what types of feelings and memories shaped their mindset as they remember entering high school, with all its misplaced promise and unearned swagger and raging hormones. They turn to two bands who uniquely understood the assignment — Blink 182 and the Beastie Boys — and dive into a classic and a little-less-classic album from each. Grab your trapper keeper and start the countdown to college as they pick the best album for starting high school! Albums discussed today: Blink 182 - Blink-182, Enema of the State, Take Off Your Pants and Jacket, Dude Ranch Beastie Boys - Ill Communication, Check Your Head Ratboys - The Window Rob Moose - Inflorescence

Dave is joined this week by a special guest, Quentin Coaxum (https://quentincmusic.bandcamp.com). Quentin is a professional trumpeter, composer and teacher in the Chicago area, where he's performed at the Chicago Jazz Festival and the Pitchfork Music Festival. Dave and Quentin go deep on two very different records they recommend for retreating to woods, including the lush “Sing to the Moon” by Laura Mvula that could accompany you on a walk in nature, and the lovely, dark and deep “No More Shall We Part” by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds that is better suited to a cabin in fifteen feet of pure white snow. Music discussed today: Quentin Coaxum - You & I Laura Mvula - Sing to the Moon Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - No More Shall We Part Blu - Her Favorite Color Goldman - Sometimes Angel Olsen - Burn Your Fire for No Witness Smog - Rock Bottom Riser Bill Callahan - Apocalypse The Black Keys - Chulahoma Miles Davis - In a Silent Way Marvin Gaye - What's Going On? Whitney - Light Upon the Lake Al Green - I'm Still in Love With You Al Green - Let's Stay Together Wilco - Kicking Television

Dave and Caleb make one last splash before summer comes to a close by determining the best album for jumping in a lake with your friends, including a surprise album that neither of them like all that much. Can an album be a 'best album for' if it has 5 killer tracks and a ton of filler? They also discuss why rock music production from the last 20+ years all kind of sounds the same, and how that affects the mood of a party as opposed to music from every decade prior to 2000 that transports us back to a specific time and place. Plus, what's the value of interludes and skits on albums and much more. Music discussed today: Future Islands - Singles The Killers - Hot Fuss Duran Duran - Rio Taylor Swift - 1989 Fleetwood Mac - Rumors Kendrick Lamar - Good Kid, MAAD City Restraining Order - Locked in Time

In today's episode, Dave wants to bring you in on one of his most embarrassing behaviors that began with a brilliant attempt to be cool in high school, and Dave and Caleb attempt to determine what songs you can blast from your car that will, for a brief moment, make sure the high schoolers you are driving by know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that you are cool. Also, they have an episode-long conversation about 90s hip hop, Kendrick Lamar's best album and more. Plus, they answer the age-old question: Are the Misfits a band or a very successful t-shirt company? Music discussed today: Cypress Hill - Black Sunday Missy Elliott - Under Construction The Misfits - Static Age The Misfits - Walk Among Us Elijah and Jammz - Make the Ting De La Soul - Three Feet High and Rising Too many 90s hip hop acts to count

You get a call in the middle of the night from your best pal, panicked and determined. Something unthinkable has happened. Things will never be the same. And now you have to pick the best album for burying a body with a friend. It's a listener suggestion this week on Best Album For! Dave and Caleb are explore why people are so drawn to true crime and how they fine tuned their picks for such an unseemly topic. It's a doozy, people. Along the way, they talk about how much screaming is too much in metal music, revisit their unfortunate brush with nu-metal and explore one of the finest musicians of their lifetime that hasn't gotten her due.  Music discussed today: Deftones - Diamond Eyes Deftones - White Pony Deftones - Around the Fur Deafheaven - Sunbather PJ Harvey - To Bring You My Love PJ Harvey - Stories from he City, Stories from the Sea Toadies - Rubberneck Future Islands - Singles bdrmm - I Don't Know

Dave and Caleb lament how easy it is to lose momentum on work outs and pick their best albums for getting out of bed or out the door to get a work out in when you're really unmotivated. Caleb takes us into 1980s hardcore punk and Dave presents one of his all-time favorite albums that rarely gets its due. Plus, what we're listening to this week. Music discussed today: Minor Threat - Out of Step The Chemical Brothers - Dig Your Own Hole The Prodigy - Fat of the Land Discovery - LP REM - Monster (and other music from The Bear Season 2)

Dave and Caleb explore their ideal work settings and choose the album for the inevitable times you're stuck in a coffee shop with bad reggae covers playing in the background. Along the way, they explore where jazz music sits for them in 2023, and Dave reveals the origin of his very confusing AOL screen name. Music discussed today: Mark Farina - Mushroom Jazz Vol. 4 Miles Davis - Birth of the Cool Quentin Coaxum - You & I Nico Segal - Tell the Ghosts Welcome Home DJ Koze - “Candidasa” Queens of the Stone Age - In Times New Roman… Dave's longlist of early 00s electronic artists you can work to: Amon Tobin Bonobo Cinematic Orchestra Kruder & Dorfmeister Luke Vibert Mr. Scruff Nightmares on Wax Peace Orchestra Pete Rock Telefon Tel Aviv  Tosca Thievery Corporation Ulrich Schnauss Anything on Ninjatune

Dave and Caleb hit the open road and pick the best album for a road trip by yourself. Along the way, they talk about guilty pleasures, whether one can dance while driving a car, the scourge of hidden tracks on CDs, saccharine songs that haven't aged well, and two unassailable albums for solo road trips. Music discussed today: Aphex Twin - “Blackbox Life Recorder 21f” Christine and the Queens - Paranoia, Angels, True Love Counting Crows - This Desert Life Nico Segal / Donnie Trumpet & the Social Experiment - Surf Prince - Purple Rain Robyn - Body Talk Roisin Murphy - “Fader” Run the Jewels - rtj2 Slowdive - “Kisses” The Smile - “Bending Hectic” Tom Petty - Wildflowers The Urge - Receiving the Gift of Flavor & Master of Styles Youth Lagoon - Heaven is a Junkyard

Dave and Caleb present a special episode entirely dedicated to new music from this year as they count down their individual top 5 lists of 2023 music so far, plus a peak at what they're excited about for the rest of 2023. [SPOILER ALERT] Albums recommended in this episode (not in this order): boygenius - the record Brutalismus 3000 - ULTRAKUNST Debby Friday - “So Hard to Tell” Indigo D'Souza - All of This Will End Kara Jackson - Why Does the Earth Give Us People to Love? Lil' Yachty - Let's Start Here Wednesday - Rat Saw God Yazmin Lacey - Voice Notes Yves Tumor - Praise a Lord Who Chews But Which Does Not Consume; (Or Simply, Hot Between Worlds)

We discover that we have very different ideas about what it means to decompress, from when that process should begin to how it should end. Should decompression be energizing after a long day, or should it help us unwind? We debate what makes for a good decompression album and make it through multiple genres along the way. Hosts: Dave Sandell & Caleb Gardner [SPOILER ALERT] Albums recommended in this episode: Flume - Skin A Winged Victory for the Sullen - The Undivided Five Arvo Part - Tabula Rasa Beach House - Teen Dream Bill Callahan - Apocalypse Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago D'Angelo - Black Messiah Kacey Musgraves - Golden Hour Madlib - Shades of Blue Moodymann - Sinner Morphine - Yes Morphine - Cure for Pain My Bloody Valentine - Loveless M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming The National - Boxer Neko Case - Blacklisted Open Mike Eagle - Anime, Trauma & Divorce 100 Gecs - 10,000 Gecs Smashing Pumpkins - “Galapagos” Water from Your Eyes - Everyone's Crushed

It's part two of our superhero origin stories as we unpack Dave's arrival at becoming ‘musically sentient' — the first album he remembers where music meant to him what it means now. We journey through the Bangles and ‘Do the Bartman' to arrive at a seismic shift in music history that Dave caught at the perfect age, and unpack the way we can attach ourselves to both music and musicians in powerful ways. We want to hear from you! What was the album where you awoke to music holding a deep place in your heart? We also would love to hear your suggestions for future topics. Email us at bestalbumforpodcast@gmail.com. [SPOILER ALERT] Music discussed in this episode: Nirvana - Nevermind Indigo De Souza - All of This Will End Yazmin Lacey - Voice Notes

This week we're releasing two new episodes on the same theme: the first album you remember where music held the place that is means to you now — what we call ‘becoming musically sentient.' Caleb takes us way back to fifth grade when music videos on MTV were the most influential thing in the pop universe and a certain (extremely problematic) king of pop caused him to first diverge from his parent's musical influence. (Dave's episode will be released later this week.) We want to hear from you! What was the album where you awoke to music holding a deep place in your heart? We also would love to hear your suggestions for future topics. Email us at bestalbumforpodcast@gmail.com. [SPOILER ALERT] Music discussed in this episode (other than ‘Weird Al' Yankovic): Michael Jackson - Dangerous Garth Brooks - No Fences Keli Uchis - Red Moon in Venus SZA - SOS Kelela - Raven Caroline Polachek - Desire, I Want to Turn Into You

Summer is here and along with it comes numerous excuses to gather in someone's backyard to grill out (or, barbecue / BBQ if you're from the midwest. We see you, Texas.) What are the most important things to consider when creating your playlist for a backyard BBQ? From target audience to volume to what purpose music serves in these settings, Dave & Caleb have you covered. Don't miss a cornucopia of honorable mentions to get you started on a legendary mix. [SPOILER ALERT] Today's deep dives: The Avalanches - Since I Left You Belle & Sebastian - Late Developers Alex Lahey - The Answer is Always Yes Stone Temple Pilots - Tiny Music… Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop

Two guys who have never done any hard drugs choose the best album for a hallucinogenic drug experience. Why? Because they've seen every movie and television depiction of the experience, good and bad, from the last 30+ years and have a pretty clear idea of how to establish criteria for such an experience. As long as, you know, you too are less interested in the actual experience and more interested in the imagination exercise of music to levitate to. It's a public service, people. Along the way, they talk about two very important albums in the Dave & Caleb canon. [SPOILER ALERT] Today's deep dives: Radiohead - In Rainbows alt-J (∆) - An Awesome Wave Jessie Ware - That! Feels Good! Yves Tumor - Praise a Lord Who Chews but Which Does Not Consume; (Or Simply, Hot between Worlds)

In the last of the launch week episodes, Dave and Caleb figure out the Best Album For Apologizing to Your Kids. What music would work best in the background of modeling emotional health and doing the hard work of repairing with your kids? Along the way, they discover that many of the great apology songs are surrounded by songs that are completely inappropriate for young minds, do a deep dive on what folk music they're drawn to, and recall the singular pre-streaming experience of spending $20 on a record for one good song and the rest of it being very different than that single. Also, what are they listening to this week? Hosts: Dave Sandell & Caleb Gardner [SPOILER ALERT] Today's dives: Joy Oladokun - In Defense of My Own Happiness (2020/2021) The Cranberries - No Need to Argue (1994) Japandroids - Celebration Rock (2012) De La Soul - 3 Feet High and Rising (1989)

In the second of three launch week episodes, Dave and Caleb choose their Best Album For a nearly universal human experience — Cratering a Social Network. What kind of music would someone listen to if they were making the choices that a certain social media exec has been making over the last several months? Along the way, they get nostalgic for Walmart electronic sections with edited album covers and one way in and one way out. Also, what are they listening to this week? Hosts: Dave Sandell & Caleb Gardner [SPOILER ALERT] Today's deep dives: Poison - Open Up and Say… Ahh! (1988) Van Halen - 1984 (1984) Jessie Reyes - Yessie (2022) Open Mike Eagle - Component System with the Auto Reverse (2022)

It's launch week, and in the first of three episodes, Dave and Caleb present their picks for the Best Album For Starting a Podcast. They find a not-so-deep cut from 1995 that captures all of their hopes and dreams for this new venture, and then discuss what to do with albums that once fit the topic perfectly but now are shrouded in controversy and scandal, and try not to touch the third rail as they parse out if anything should be off limits for two white guys hosting a podcast in 2023. Also, what are they listening to this week? Hosts: Dave Sandell & Caleb Gardner [SPOILER ALERT] Today's deep dives: Mariah Carey - Daydream (1995) Jay-Z & Kanye West - Watch the Thrones (2011) Hamilton Broadway Cast Recording (2015) Spiritualized - Ladies and Gentlemen, We Are Floating In Space (1997)