5. Baroness - "Stone"
This is the album that Baroness have always threatened to make. Their previous five releases (all named after colours) have been great but this, but this is such a leap forward in ability, vision, and sculptured songwriting.
This is stoner prog, combining the laid-back vibes of sludge metal with the intricate ambition of prog. Or to use another analogy, this is prog for people who don’t like long songs. It certainly is their most focused effort yet, there is very little fat or wasted opportunities on the record.
Overall, it is a divine record that is just a joy to listen to. Every track is immaculately conceived, with colossal choruses and wonderful dual guitar work. It’s quite hard to describe why it is so brilliant, but it is. Probably because for the first time they are not trying to challenge or educate the listener, instead they have gone out of their way to make a proper and edifying rock record, and boy have they succeeded.