Al's Inspiration Shelf for Music

I've recently taken it upon myself to parse out some of my favorite things from my collections and put them on their own dedicated shelf. These will be my "inspiration shelves," containing media and things that will directly inspire and influence my own imagination and creativity. There's a shelf for books, one for film, but the biggest one may be for music.

My History With Music:

Music is everywhere. When I was a kid, I took an instant liking to some select rock and pop songs of the 80s that I heard around. I especially remember hearing and enjoying songs by Journey, Queen, Def Leppard blasting from my parents' stereo. For some odd reason, Journey's "Wheel in the Sky" was a song that appealed to me the most and lingered in my mind and soul. It always found a way on my future mix tapes, CD-Rs, and MP3 playlists.

Around grade school, I listened exclusively to oldies and novelty songs that my dad had recorded on tape. This ultimately led me to collect and listen to Weird Al Yankovic ad nauseam. Around that time, I was aware that harder forms of music existed--some schoolmates embraced bands like Metallica and Korn, and others were into rap, but I consciously avoided all mainstream music. The harder and heavier bands, I always perceived as music for mature adults, and some seemed too dark and mean to embrace. Everything else, I just didn't think would interest me.

But it was the late 90s, and I was living in England at the time--with great British acts like the All-Saints and Spice Girls all the rage, pop music was unavoidable. Most of it was catchy. Most of it had beat. And most of it was pretty modern for the time, thanks to the ever-evolving influence of electronica and dance music. But I never really realized how wonderful mainstream music could be until I turned on the radio one night, and heard it all for the first time. Even if I heard songs before, it's a different experience to stop and listen on a more critical level, to soak in the beats, lyrics, instrumentation, the ambience, and everything. The first song I heard, and ultimately recorded on a cassette tape, was "Never Ever" by the All-Saints--it was a hit song in England at its time, and it even won some kind of best-of award. From that point onward, I started a new hobby--collecting real music on my own, capturing hits I liked off the radio on cassettes and assembling my own mix tapes (called "Al's Favorite Music", and it went up to volume 10 or so between 1998 and 2000). Other bands I had on those tapes included Oasis, Bobby Brown, Chumbawamba, Will Smith, and Natalie Imbruglia.Of course, some Weird Al songs made their way on the tapes too.

Around the time I started with the tapes, I had a few CDs in my possession as well. Some were gifts from my parents, and some of those are still favorites to this day. The first is probably still the best one: the various artists soundtrack to the 1997 film The Saint. This included a fair amount of techno and electronica--I may have known of the music style from the film, but to hear it on its own was new and fresh to my ears. That was when I first discovered a whole new breadth of sound, from throbbing high-tempo dance tracks by Underworld, Moby, Fluke, and the Chemical Brothers to much more relaxing and soothing serenades by Dreadzone and Everything But the Girl. In the middle, there was the Sneaker Pimps' "Six Underground," probably the first trip-hop song I heard, although I never identified that as a genre until after hearing everything from Massive Attack and Portishead years later. I suppose that one track was the gateway drug for my obsession with downtempo music in general. Other tracks by Duran Duran, Luscious Jackson, and David Bowie were decent. Another really big various artists mix I had back then was the Box Hits of 1998: it included a crap ton of pop, dance, R&B tunes from the radio. And, of course I had Weird Al Yankovic albums.

With my own money, I inevitably purchased my own pop music: the Backstreet Boys, Chumbawamba, Aqua, B*Witched, the Corrs were among the first albums I purchased. Once I went into high school, I continued to fill my ears with pop and dance music, but I did rediscover some of the classic 80s rock and pop, and I took greater pains to hunt down music I heard in movies. I had CD soundtracks in my hands for Toys, Tomorrow Never Dies, Red Planet, Armageddon, and more. After moving to the States again, I seemed to lose interest in radio, finding only a few good hits to hold onto. I did discover appealing new music through movie soundtracks, the school loudspeaker (certain classes played stuff), MTV (yes, they still played music videos back then!), and live performances aired on Saturday Night Live. MP3s were all-new at that time, and the legal controversies around them just barely begun to stir. I took the chance to download songs that interested me, including old and new music by David Bowie, more pop songs, as many older Chumbawamba songs as I could find, and as many movie scores as I could find (especially James Bond soundtracks). I started to hunt down video game music (going so far as recording it while the games played).

A science project in physics class called for a music mix--it had to be bassy and loud enough to make the speakers thump. Small mirrors on springs were attached to the speakers, with lasers pointing at them. So when the music played, a squiggly light show appeared on the ceiling. I thought it was cool--not sure if anybody else really cared. But I volunteered to find and burn music on a CD-R, and I took requests. Though that, I discovered some harder music that was big back then--The Prodigy (with songs like "Firestarter" and "Breathe"), Outkast ("BOB" was the requested song for that project, and I took quite a liking to it), Crazytown ("Darkside" might be the first ever metal song I truly embraced--if for no other reason than the beat). For that project, I also created one track that kinda mashed together a bunch of other songs together--an amateur effort on my part to be a DJ of sorts, but I did enjoy experimenting around with audio tools and cutting my favorite parts of songs out to try and make something new.

In high school, names like Kid Rock, Korn, Masta P, Rob Zombie, Rage Against the Machine, and Eminem were commonplace. I might have even heard some here and there, but I was still resistant to diving into what seemed like dangerous music. It was as if I had a fear of their PA labels and their sordid cover art. Then again, maybe I was just afraid my parents would yell at me for listening to noise. It wasn't until 2002 or so that I took a chance on some new band I never heard before--Linkin Park. First song I sampled was "In the End." The first few bars, and I thought it was a cool-sounding electronica song. Then the rap kicked in, and it sounded decent. Then there was the chorus with the guitars and Chester Bennington's wailing voice. It truly was a hybrid of genres--I suppose that's inherent to the nu-metal scene back then, but to me this was all new and fresh territory, and it opened my ears up to a profound truth. Lyrically, Linkin Park's music wasn't as evil or mean as the lyrics from Marilyn Manson would seem: their words were strictly about emotions. Best of all, the loudest and screamiest parts of their songs were still in melody. Once I realized that metal was not just a bunch of noise and vulgarity for the hell of it, I appreciated the structure and power of metal.

From 2002 onwards, I branched off to countless directions in music. Living in Germany, I picked up more rock and metal: Nirvana, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, the 5, 6, 7, 8s, the White Stripes. By this time, I would have heard and fully embraced those bands I once thought were so dangerous: Korn, Limp Bizkit, Marilyn Manson, and more. Additionally, I discovered interesting German groups like Die Fantastischen Vier, Die Toten Hosen, Tokio Hotel, Seeed, and Jeanette Bierdermann (I already knew about Die Prinzen, Rammstein, and Eisbrecher beforehand, and it wouldn't be until later I discovered KMFDM). Once I started exploring anime for the first time, I also sought out anime soundtracks like a fiend (collecting some J-pop and clinging to composers like Yoko Kanno and Yuki Kajiura in the process).

In 2007, I swore I found the most perfect combination possible. The power of metal, united with the eloquence of opera and the fine structure of full symphony scores. To me, symphonic metal represented the sublime unity of two haves of music in general: raw power and refined beauty. I first discovered this genre with Tristania's "Beyond the Veil," and would later follow this up with Sirenia, Nightwish (and later Tarja's solo projects), After Forever, Epica, and Therion. For years, I considered Therion to be my all-time favorite band--their melodies were consistent and catchy, Christofer Johnsson's guitar work was magnificent, and their songs covered a huge breadth of cultural and mythological styles. What may have attracted me the most was marrying the music with a novel project that I held dearest to my heart: a four-book fantasy series that would cover the four corners of my own world and follow four different characters across four apocalyptic sagas. Therion's music was a perfect fit for the whole series. Alas, after drafting the first two-and-a-half stories (and redrafting the second one at least once), I listened to the band so many times I must have burned myself out on them.

I'm not sure if I'd call Therion my favorite anymore, but I still love and appreciate the majority of their albums. In time though, I found that Lacuna Coil stood the test of time--I know some may loathe their more recent, commercialized work, but to me all their albums have been sublime, and I found myself looking to Christina Scabbia more and more as a singer with serious talent and power. I might look up to Tarja Turunen a little more fondly, although not every song of hers appeals to me. I've known about industrial metal bands since 2003 or so, when Celldweller's earliest work came out and I heard some of Nine Inch Nails through soundtracks and other sources. I wouldn't embrace them in full until much later--in time, NIN and Trent Reznor's other works would become essentials in my collection. Since 2012, Celldweller and other projects by Klayton just keep coming one after another, and they've all been consistently stunning. I came across Arjen Lucassen's projects around 2012 or so--Ayreon, Star One, and Arjen's solo album found permanent places on my shelves.

Rock and metal dominated most of my listening times over the years, thanks to the incredible cathartic power of the guitars, drums, vocals, and everything. But I never fully gave up on pop music. Radio rarely interests me anymore, but around 2008 and 2009 I soaked in a ton of excellent pop and dance tunes--it was the time when I first discovered Lady GaGa and other, more modern artists. I always had an interest in downtempo, ambient, and chillout music--I took a chance on some various artists mixes in 2002, and I keep doing it on occasion to discover great and relaxing bands like Massive Attack, Thievery Corporation, Tosca, Bonobo, Groove Armada, DJ Krush, DJ Shadow, Enigma, and so many more. Listening to these bands also crossed over into listening to jazz on occasion, thanks to groups like Cinematic Orchestra and St. Germain. I would dabble with jazz even more to help with another novel project (one that I'm currently editing and actually looks promising so far). Through that, I could appreciate a few select songs by Miles Davis, Nina Simone, Dave Brubeck, although it's still not a genre I ever fully embraced--I tend to swing more towards the nu-jazz and acid-jazz scene, with bands like Xploding Plastix. Of course, jazz doesn't get much cooler than the Seatbelts (Yoko Kanno's project for the Cowboy Bebop anime).

Electronica in general has always appealed to me, and I'm always drawn towards the futuristic sounds of dance, trance, techno, breakbeat, dubstep, and whatever else there is. Breakbeat might be so late 90s or early 00s now, but to my ears it's hardly aged--I love hearing the heavy beats and noise from the Crystal Method, Kosheen, the Chemical Brothers, The Prodigy, Overseer, and such. Electronica has evolved a lot over the years--older dance and trance tunes don't hold up quite as well compared to the onslaught of noise bands like Skrillex and Noisia produce. However, I still gravitate towards Juno Reactor for their unique ambience and exotic flavor. Orbital has always been a hit or a miss with me, but I've always dug Daft Punk. For a more exquisite blend of symphony and techno, I often turn to soundtrack music, but Rob Dougan's album also fits the bill perfectly.

I was never into classical music as much. Personally, I find much of it has been overplayed in pop culture that it's become cliched. All those notes and melodies that may be cathartic and powerful to some, just don't cut it for me. However, I do find Carl Orff's entire Carmina Burana appealing. Maybe those compositions have been overplayed for some, but to me it's always been a powerful piece of work. I would come to appreciate some of Gustav Holst's work in time (especially after hearing some of it with my uncle playing the tuba as part of the orchestra). But for most orchestral work, I usually turn to movie scores. I've always loved hearing the symphonies blended with more modern instrumentation--I'm always looking out for tracks that are essentially instrumental rock or electronica tracks. If you strip away the modern stuff, I can enjoy certain other soundtracks as well, it all depends. John Williams is a no-brainer. But I also love the works of James Newton Howard, Thomas Newman, Hans Zimmer, Graeme Revell, Brian Tyler, Tyler Bates, and others. Of all film scores, Howard Shore's Lord of the Rings takes the cake for me.

I think that touches almost every corner of my music tastes and collection (save for rap, which I can dig on occasion--favorites nowadays seem to be the Beastie Boys and Insane Clown Posse). Winamp tells me I have 138 days worth of music collected. I'm pretty sure there are undiscovered gems waiting to be uncovered among the hours of songs I have. And I'm always looking for them because different songs have elicited different feelings over the years. Everything from bubbly pop to raging metal and soothing downtemp or smooth jazz--it's all stirred my mind and directed my imagination to exciting directions. Every story I conceive and attempt to write has to have a soundtrack, and I love assembling playlists and trying to figure out a soundscape that will help place me in the story. Hopefully, doing so will help place readers in the story with me, so feel all the same feelings and experience the same ambience.

What's On the Inspiration Shelf:

My goal in separating out the physical CDs in my collection is primarily to make it easier to grab them when I need them. I could always just play these digitally, but I will always prefer a physical disc so I can bring them to the office if I want to, and to own quality recordings that are a grade higher in bitrate than an MP3 download (I know vinyls are supposed to sound better yet and probably hold more information or have a greater dynamic range--they never interested me though because of the inherent noise (the scratches, pops, clicks) you get from them, and because I was never married to the analogue sound the way other music connoisseurs seem to be). I also realized it would look nice to have all my favorites put back in real CD cases (as opposed to thinner jewel sleeves) and have their spines visible on a shelf, especially next to all the digipak ones I have.

The requisite I have for these specific CDs is that they have to be ones I can listen to beginning-to-end without feeling the need to skip tracks. They shouldn't have songs I dislike. If they have filler, it might be filler I can enjoy or listen to all the same. Most importantly though, these should be albums that represent a whole sound or feeling I can't get from any other band or act. As much as I like music that's catchy, hooks and melodies alone might not always cut it--these are albums that need to linger in my mind through their atmospheres, lyrical qualities, structure, or any number of other aspects that make them stand out.

In some cases, I've sought out special editions with bonus tracks, more songs, demos, and other goodies. For the most part, these offer more of a good thing. Instrumental variations on whole albums are especially desirable--for writing, it's perfect to have the music without words.

So, to inspire my writing and help stir the mind and soul, these are the music albums I've put on the shelf. Maybe you'll find something here worth checking out as well--these all get my recommendation.

Classical Music:

• Carl Orff - Carmina Burana

Downtempo / Trip-Hop:

• Baxter
• DJ Shadow - Endtroducing...
• DJ Shadow - The Private Press
• Massive Attack - Blue Lines
• Massive Attack - Collected (Greatest Hits)
• Massive Attack - Mezzanine
• Massive Attack - 100th Window
• Massive Attack - Protection
• Massive Attack - Unleashed (Film Score)
• Massive Attack vs Mad Professor - No Protection 
• Pale 3 and Michael Brook - The Princess and the Warrior (Film Soundtrack)
• Thievery Corporation - The Cosmic Game
• Thievery Corporation - Culture of Fear
• Thievery Corporation - The Mirror Conspiracy
• Thievery Corporation - Radio Retaliation
• Thievery Corporation - Richest Man in Babylon
• Thievery Corporation - Sounds from the Thievery Hi-Fi
• Thievery Corporation - Temple of I & I
• Various Artists - Pure Chill Out Volumes 1, 2, 3, 4

Electronica:

• Afro-Celt Sound System - Capture 1995 - 2010 (Greatest Hits) 
• BT - This Binary Universe
• The Crystal Method - London (Film Soundtrack)
• The Crystal Method - Vegas [Deluxe Edition] 
• Daft Punk - Musique Volume 1 1993 - 2005 (Greatest Hits)
• Deadmau5 - 5 Years Of Mau5 (Greatest Hits)
• Deadmau5 - While(1<2)
• Death In Vegas - Dead Elvis
• The Glitch Mob - Drink the Sea
• The Glitch Mob - Love Death Immortality
• Groove Armada - Goodbye Country, Hello Nightclub
• Groove Armada - The Remixes
• Groove Armada - Vertigo
• Kosheen - Damage
• Kosheen - Independence
• Kosheen - Kokopelli
• Kosheen - Resist
• Kosheen - Solitude
• Leftfield - Leftism
• Leftfield - Rhythm and Stealth
• Lindsey Stirling [With Bonus Tracks] 
• Moby - Play
• Moby - Play: The B Sides
• Orbital - Work 1989 - 2002 (Greatest Hits) 
• Overseer - Wreckage
• The Prodigy - The Fat of the Land
• Röyksopp - Melody AM [Deluxe Edition]
• Röyksopp - The Understanding
• Various Artists - The Animatrix (Film Soundtrack)
• Various Artists - Requiem for a Dream: Remixed (Film Soundtrack)

Jazz:

• The Cinematic Orchestra - Every Day 
• The Cinematic Orchestra - Ma Fleur 
• The Cinematic Orchestra - The Man With a Movie Camera
• The Cinematic Orchestra - Motion
• St. Germain - Tourist

Metal (Classic / Hair):

• Black Sabbath [Deluxe Edition]
• Black Sabbath - Master of Reality [Deluxe Edition]
• Black Sabbath - Paranoid [Deluxe Edition]
• Budgie - The Best Of
• Def Leppard - Hysteria [Deluxe Edition] 
• Def Leppard - Rock of Ages (Greatest Hits)
• Diamond Head - Greatest Hits

Metal (Nu / Gothic):

• Drowning Pool - Desensitized
• Drowning Pool - Sinner 
• Evanescence [Deluxe Edition]
• KoRn - Greatest Hits Volume 1 
• Lacuna Coil - Broken Crown Halo
• Lacuna Coil - Comalies [Deluxe Edition]
• Lacuna Coil - Dark Adrenaline
• Lacuna Coil - Delirium [Deluxe Edition]
• Lacuna Coil - The EPs (Lacuna Coil and Halflife) 
• Lacuna Coil - In a Reverie
• Lacuna Coil - Karmacode
• Lacuna Coil - Shallow Life [Italian Import with Bonus Tracks]
• Lacuna Coil - Unleashed Memories
• Limp Bizkit - Gold Cobra 
• Limp Bizkit - Greatest Hitz
• Linkin Park - A Thousand Suns
• Linkin Park - Hybrid Theory [Japanese Import with Bonus Tracks]
• Linkin Park - Meteora
• Linkin Park - Minutes to Midnight [Tour Edition]
• Linkin Park - Reanimation
• Linkin Park - Underground X: Demos
• Linkin Park - Underground Eleven
• Linkin Park - Underground XIII
• Tiamat - Skeleton Skeletron
  
• Various Artists - Heavy Metal 2000 (Film Soundtrack)
• Various Artists - Queen of the Damned (Film Soundtrack)

Metal (Industrial):

• Argyle Park - Misguided [Deluxe Edition] 
• Celldweller [10th Anniversary Edition]
• Celldweller - The Beta Cessions
• Celldweller - Blackstar (Original Score)
• Celldweller - The Complete Cellout Volume 1
• Celldweller - End of an Empire [Deluxe Edition]
• Celldweller - Soundtrack for the Voices in My Head Volumes 1, 2, 3
• Celldweller - Wish Upon a Blackstar
• Circle of Dust [Deluxe Edition]
• Circle of Dust - Brainchild [Deluxe Edition]
• Circle of Dust - Disengage [Deluxe Edition]
• Circle of Dust - Machines of Our Disgrace
• Circle of Dust - Metamorphosis [Deluxe Edition]
• Collide - Chasing the Ghost
• Collide - Some Kind of Strange
• Collide - Two Headed Monster
• Emigrate - Silent So Long
• How to Destroy Angels [EP]
• How to Destroy Angels - Welcome Oblivion
• Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral [Deluxe Edition]
• Nine Inch Nails - The Fragile
• Nine Inch Nails - Further Down the Spiral
• Nine Inch Nails - Ghosts I - IV
• Nine Inch Nails - Hesitation Marks [Deluxe Edition] 
• Nine Inch Nails - Pretty Hate Machine
• Nine Inch Nails - The Slip
• Nine Inch Nails - Things Falling Apart
• Nine Inch Nails - With Teeth [UK Import with Bonus Tracks]
• Nine Inch Nails - Year Zero
• Rammstein - Stripped [Single]
• Various Artists - Spawn (Film Soundtrack)

Metal (Progressive):

• Arjen Anthony Lucassen - Lost in the New Real 
• Star One - Space Metal [Limited Edition]
• Star One - Victims of the Modern Age [Limited Edition] 
• Tool - 10,000 Days

Metal (Symphonic):

• After Forever - Mea Culpa (Greatest Hits) 
• Apocalyptica - Worlds Collide 
• Luciferian Light Orchestra
• Nightwish - Imaginaerum [Deluxe Edition]
• Nightwish - Dark Passion Play [Deluxe Edition]
• Nightwish - Once
• Sirenia - An Elixir for Existence
• Sirenia - At Sixes and Sevens
• Tarja - Colours in the Dark
• Therion - A'Arab Zaraq Lucid Dreaming
• Therion - The Crowning of Atlantis
• Therion - Deggial
• Therion - Lemuria
• Therion - Lepaca Kliffoth
• Therion - Secret of the Runes
• Therion - Sirius B
• Therion - Theli [Deluxe Edition]
• Therion - Vovin
• Tristania - Ashes
• Tristania - Beyond the Veil
• Tristania - Illumination
• Tristania - Widow's Weeds
• Tristania - World of Glass

Musicals:

• Jeff Wayne - War of the Worlds
• Jeff Wayne - War of the Worlds: The New Generation
• Justin Hurwitz - La La Land (Film Soundtrack)

Pop:

• Chumbawamba - Tubthumper [Japanese Import with Bonus Tracks]
• The Corrs - Forgiven Not Forgotten
• The Eurythmics - For Love of Big Brother (1984 Film Soundtrack)
• The Gorillaz - Demon Days
• Madonna - Ray of Light
• Sting - Brand New Day
• Various Artists - Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Mix Vol. 1 (Film Soundtrack) [Deluxe Edition]

Rap:

• Beastie Boys - Solid Gold Hits
• Die Fantastichen Vier - Ernten Was Wir Säen [Single]

Rock:

• Anti-M - Damage
• Blue Man Group - Audio
• Blue Man Group - The Complex 
• David Bowie - All Saints (The Instrumentals)
• David Bowie - Nothing Has Changed (Greatest Hits)
• Ian Brown - Golden Greats 
• Journey - Essential Journey (Greatest Hits)
• Led Zeppelin - Mothership (Greatest Hits)
• Scandroid
• Siouxsie and the Banshees - The Best Of [Deluxe Edition] 
• Sunhouse - Monkey Dead [Single]
• The White Stripes - Elephant
• The White Stripes - Icky Thump
• The Who - Quadrophenia [Deluxe Edition]

Rock (Grunge):

• Nirvana
• Nirvana - Nevermind [Deluxe Edition]
• Nirvana - Unplugged in New York [Live]
• Pearl Jam - Ten [Deluxe Edition]

Rock (Hard):

• Alice in Chains - The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here
• Morningwood 
• Rage Against the Machine
• Rage Against the Machine - The Battle of Los Angeles 
• Rage Against the Machine - Evil Empire
• Rage Against the Machine - Renegade
• Shinedown - Us and Them
• Tenacious D - The Pick of Destiny
• Van Halen - Best of Both Worlds (Greatest Hits)
• Wolfmother 
• The Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Fever To Tell
• The Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Isis
• Various Artists - Snakes on a Plane: The Album (Film Soundtrack)

Score Music:

• Akira Yamaoka - Silent Hill Sounds Box (Video Game Scores) [Japanese Import]
• Basil Poledoris - Conan the Barbarian (Film Score) [Deluxe Edition]
• Bear McCreary - Battlestar Galactica Seasons 1 - 4 (TV Score)
• Bear McCreary - Battlestar Galactica: The Plan / Razor (Film Score)
• Brain, Marc Canham, and Nathan Johnson - Infamous: Second Son (Video Game Score)
• Clint Mansell - Doom (Film Score)
• Clint Mansell - The Fountain (Film Score) 
• Clint Mansell and the Kronos Quartet - Requiem for a Dream (Film Score)
• The Dust Brothers - Fight Club (Film Score) 
• Graeme Revell - Red Planet (Film Soundtrack)
• Hans Zimmer - Interstellar (Film Score)
• Hans Zimmer - Man of Steel (Film Score) [Deluxe Edition]
• Howard Shore - Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Film Score)
• Howard Shore - Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Film Score) [Complete Recordings]
• Howard Shore - Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Film Score) 
• Howard Shore - Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Film Score) [Complete Recordings]
• Howard Shore - Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Film Score)
• Howard Shore - Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Film Score) [Complete Recordings]
• Jeremy Soule - Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Video Game Score)
• John Williams - Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (Film Score)
• John Williams - Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (Film Score) [Special Edition]
• Masara Nishida - Burst Angel (TV Score) [Perfect Edition] 
• Steve Jablonsky - Pain & Gain (Film Score)
• Tomandandy - Resident Evil: Afterlife (Film Score)
• Toto - Dune (Film Score)
• Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross - Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (Film Score)
• Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross - Gone Girl (Film Score)
• Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross - The Social Network (Film Score)
• Tyler Bates and Joel R. Richard - John Wick (Film Soundtrack)
• Vangelis - Blade Runner (Film Score) [25th Anniversary Edition]
• Yasushi Ishii - Hellsing: Raid (TV Score)
• Yasushi Ishii - Hellsing: Ruins (TV Score)
• Yuki Kajiura - Blanc Dans Noir (TV Score) 
• Yuki Kajiura - Madlax Volumes 1 and 2 (TV Score)
• Yuki Kajiura - Noir Volumes 1 and 2 (TV Score)

Mixed Genre Albums:

• Various Artists - CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (TV Soundtrack)
• Various Artists - The Saint (Film Soundtrack)
• Various Artists - Tomb Raider (Film Soundtrack)
• Various Artists - Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (Film Soundtrack)

Digital Albums That Would Be On The Shelf:

• Blue Stahli - Antisleep Volumes 1 - 4
• Celldweller - The Terraform Drums Volume 1
• Celldweller - Time and Space [Expanded Edition]
• Celldweller - Transmissions Volumes 1 - 4
• Celldweller - Zombie Killer (Video Game Score)
• Cliff Martinez - The Neon Demon (Film Score)
• Cliff Martinez - Solaris (Film Score)
• Darren Korb - Transistor (Video Game Score)
• DJ Shadow - Pre-Emptive Strike
• The Glitch Mob - Piece of the Indestructible [EP]
• The Glitch Mob - We Can Make The World Stop [EP]
• John Carpenter - Lost Themes 
• Juno Reactor - Beyond the Infinite
• Juno Reactor - Bible of Dreams
• Juno Reactor - The Golden Sun of the Great East
• Linkin Park - Hybrid Theory [EP]
• Linkin Park - Underground 2 - 16
• Massive Attack - Ritual Spirit [EP]
• Paul Leonard-Morgan - Dredd (Film Score)
• Phutureprimitive - Kinetik