Marilyn Manson - Antichrist Superstar

I've said it before: Manson is generally better when he's not trying to be the boogie man. So, I've not much of a proponent of Antichrist Superstar, which unabashedly baits for controversy with its title and music. At seventeen songs, it's way too long. Every song seems to be built around the same 90s industrial grind, but it lacks Nine Inch Nails' taste for atmosphere while turning the theatrics up to 11. The big hit, "The Beautiful People," is the best thing on here. The strangest thing is that, for an album that's almost entirely driven by aggressive guitars, nothing sounds as heavy as it should, which lessens the impact. Manson got better over his next few releases.

Metallica - Metallica (The Black Album)

Probably realizing that "faster and more complex!" as a mission statement for every album is a cul-de-sac, Metallica chose to slow things down significantly for their self-titled album. It has more of their biggest hits than any of their other albums, with "Enter Sandman," "Sad But True," "The Unforgiven," "Nothing Else Matters" peppered throughout the tracklist. It also has some duds, though: "Holier Than Though" is a bit on the nose, and "Don't Tread On Me" is more slogan than song. It's not that the hits are the only good things on here ("My Friend of Misery" is excellent), but here's my theory: by scaling down their sound, Metallica made shorter songs. So, to fill up an album, they had to make more songs. So more of their songs felt forgettable. So the overall quality of Metallica dipped.

Morrissey - Years of Refusal

In this decade, Morrissey's settled into a relatively predictable pattern. His solo albums build on his considerable strengths: a deep and affecting baritone, a wit for poignant lyrics, and, above all, a taste for the theatrical (which generally translates to gloriously overblown hooks). Years of Refusal closes Morrissey's decade in the same way, generally favoring his harder guitar approach and layering some light strings ("That's How People Grow Up") and new elements (Latin-sounding horns on "When Last I Spoke to Carol") over that. Highlights: "That's How People Grow Up," "Throwing My Arms Around Paris," "Something is Squeezing My Skull," "It's Not Your Birthday Anymore." He's still got a knack for being a compelling sad sack, and he never dips into the bluntness of its predecessor (2006's Ringleader of the Tormenters). In short, this one's a winner.