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[nilmind]

Here, we talk about our favorite albums from Bemani artists and vocalists.  Feel free to talk about why you like them and such.

Anyway, before I get to mine, I should explain my criteria of how I would give an album a good rating.  To me, a good album isn't one where there is only one or two listenable songs, but rather that it's something one can just listen through the whole way (or the great majority of the way).  Also note that what I may consider the "best" albums may not necessarily be my favorites.  By that, I mean that the overall quality of songs in one album doesn't necessarily outweigh some personal factors such as them giving me lasting impressions and pleasant memories.  (everyone, by the way, and use whatever criteria they want)

So anyway, I believe that my top 3 favorite Bemani albums ever are as follows:

3. RЁVOLUTIΦN - TЁЯRA
- I remembered that before I had this album, I made a specialized tracklist that consisted of only the game versions of TЁЯRA songs.  Apparently, it was thrilling to finally get a taste of those songs in their full versions.  Other than the terribly long Baby Baby Gimme Your Love, which would be okay if 5 minutes was dropped from it, that one slow song, and Raspberry Heart when I'm not in the mood, I tend to listen through that album all the way through well satisfied.  Although I haven't listened to this album in awhile, and while I have criticized the TЁЯRA sound to be somewhat tired at times, this album undoubtedly left an everlasting impact on me.  It's definitely nice to come back to it once in awhile.

2. BeForU II - BeForU
- The story went that I sought this album immediately after hearing the short version of I am..., and once found, I was completely blown away by this album version.  And plus, I remembered listening to the other tracks and was quite impressed (I only avoid like 2 or 3 songs when listening to it the whole way through).  Even though I've known of BeForU for a long time, I was not really a fan until I found this album (fan until somewhere in early 2007 though ).

1. Eight Elements of the Star - Kanako Hoshino
- Surprised?  Well to me, every single song on this album was well listenable (and well, I'll admit that the small track size may have helped here ).  I'm afraid to say, however, that there isn't a nice story that goes with this one other than the fact that I was thoroughly impressed with the long versions (especially TAIYO and Regret).  I remember that I used to listen through this album over and over again despite its relatively small track size.  To this day, TAIYO is still on the top 5 songs off my playlist.

So where are those hyped albums like Milestone, Denjin K, and Synthesized?  I must agree that those albums are exceptional, but as I've said before, I chose my favorites mostly based on how they personally impacted me.  The fact of the matter was that the 3 albums I listed as favorites also happened to have been during the period when I was most into Bemani music.  Thus, the pleasant memories.

[Hatsukoi]

Wow! This is a great topic.
Hm... I really put some thought into this and I couldn't pick a top 3 without picking one over another.  Therefore they're not in any specific order.

BeForU II - BeForU
This is an awesome album!  BeForU II is oriNEXT's first album.  It includes awesome solos from each member and an album version of NEXT's first song, Scenario.  This album displayed the huge talent that each member had individually as well as their talent as a group.  The group songs were outstanding! PEACE(^^)v, DIVE2006, Morning Glory are the songs I call BeForU anthems.  To this day I still enjoy listening to the songs very much. I can never get enough of Scenario and Hatsukoi. 

Synthesized - Sota Fujimori
Another great album from another great artist.  Sota's songs on this album are great! I love both versions of Look to the Sky.  Look to the Sky is one of my favorite songs to play on DDR and pop'n.  The long version of Kind Lady was also great, I love the instrumentals on it as well as the vocals.  I could listen to this album on repeat all day.

Eight Elements of the Star - Kanako Hoshino
This album made me a Kanako fanboy.  With various Bemani composers working on this album, they made this album very easy to pick up and listen to.  Kanako's vocals were much improved in the long versions of the songs, like TAIYO and Regret.  Hakugen is the song that made me fall in love with her voice, its so nice .  Inferno long version is the best though. DAKISHIMETEEEEE ftw!  The only thing missing on this album was Spark!  But that's what Another Sense is for...

For Dear... - Reiji Sakurai
This album made Sakurai shine.  In my opinion it's one of the best Bemani albums out there.  I love Infinity Blue and I could listen to it forever.  Infinny Brooooo~  I love the Engrish, its too cool.  This album introduced me to other rock like songs in Bemani and made me a fan of Sakurai, just like Eight Elements of the Star with Kanako.

Cosmos - 秋桜
I love this album too good for its own good The songs are so soothing and different from the music I normally listen.  I love fragments one of my favorite songs ever.  Their voices blend well together.  I pick up this album whenever I want to relieve some stress and forget about the challenges in life.


If we were including OSTs I would definitely put the pop'n 14 soundtrack on here!

oops I chose four five, I thought it was three

EDIT: Gasp I almost forgot about Cosmos

[SUPER STAR MITSURU]

I don't think teranoid albums nor Disconation count, lol. So here we go.

Denjin K
I was very happy when I heard the news that L.E.D. was getting an album to himself. It was a lot of his songs that I got fascinated by when I was still in my Bemani discovery days and I always liked his musical style of psytrance/goa (especially since when I was a young teenager, I listened to a lot of that.) Aside from being musically very wonderful, the album holds a special place in my heart emotionally because my friend JAKAZiD had received the album from kors k two days earlier than the release date in May at the Ultimate A-Style release party.  Since I was translating for him, I found myself utterly speechless as I held this album in my hands and it was like "OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG" which was extended to "OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG" when I met L.E.D. in person at that very party. It was a shame I didn't get him to sign it, that would have been epic. But oh well. Besides that, the album is musically very solid (even if it is mastered a bit strangely) because there was only one song I didn't really like (Overblast!! (Studio Bongo Mango 'Whisper Love' Mix), because that was just OVERBLAST!! timestretched badly with stuff laid on top of it.) A lot of the remixes kept to the spirit of the original but kept something very new to it (Infinite Prayer, Laser Cluster, Quantum Teleportation to name a few examples) and there were those that surprised people (Photongenic, Shining Polaris, Genom Screams).

Plus this album is epic to listen to on my HD-25s.

BeForU
I think this was my first BeForU album and I used to have it on loop a lot of the time. It was because I liked playing GFdm and DDR and the songs that were similar on both were of course, the BeForU ones at the time. Even though this album is mostly Riyu and Noria, I don't care, it's really good and I think it's the most cohesive of all the BeForU albums since this is the one that had the best production values plus very enjoyable songs that I could just jump in and listen to (Unlike BeForU II, which took me a while to actually listen to some of the songs and BeForU III, which I only listened to once and not much after that.) You have some really J-rocky stuff like Chikara, Himawari and BREAK DOWN against really hyper eurobeat and trance-y songs like DIVE, SHOOTING STAR and TEARS (which is an EPIC track, by the way). The only song I didn't like? true... (2003 album version) because it sounded bad and GRADUATION～それぞれの明日～ （unplugged version） doesn't count because I just don't like some songs. This is the album with the lowest amount of songs I didn't like (BeForU II had KI・SE・KI (album version) and Under the Sky ～SAYAKA's solo new version～ and BLACK OUT～I want to be・・・!!（album version）while BeForU III had pretty much everything that wasn't near me., Izayoi, Yamato Nadeshiko, Love(2)Clutch or Kagerou.)

REVOLUTION
There was time in which I was going through my TERRA phase because TERRA is nothing short of an active Bemani SUPERUNIT in which it composes, arranges, writes and sings its own work with opportunities to expand the dynamic between jun and Naoki. There are songs on this album which I feel are better done by jun compared to the originals (『termination』, ever snow (I think jun gives it a more chilling tone than Yoma's version, which makes me shiver every time I hear it, unlike Yoma's. Jun is really good at this chilling tone of voice which she uses in North Wind.) and BABY BABY GIMME YOUR LOVE). Admittedly a lot of my love for this album comes from the megamix, which is among some of the best megamixes in Bemani. Though some of the tracks could be shorter (I'm looking at you Sota.) I think 蒼い衝動 ～SF cyborg TRANCE MIX～ and BABY BABY GIMME YOUR LOVE (Cyber electronica R+B mix) are enjoyable when in the right mood to do so. But yeah, even with Sota dickwagging with his synths, I really love this album to bits and there is not one song I dislike on it, which is strange because this is one of the very few albums that I can say that for.

[pants]

Milestone
really?? nobody has this in their top three? I love this album. when I first heard of its release, I was immediately aching for the awesomeness that encompasses this album.
I mean, c'mon! wac remix of A? AWESOME
vocal version of Tomorrow Perfume? holy crap (the vocal version is one of my favorite songs ever, by the way.)
TaQ remix of COLORS?!#% I could still die in awe.

BeForU
this is such a great album, there are so many songs that I still love listening to~a plethora of awesome.
album comes with many DDR memories attached, void where prohibited.

bounce connected
this album is fantastic. I could listen to it forevvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvver.
remix of PARANOiA by TaQ? wowza.
stoic? :^)
summer vacation? :^)
QQQ? :^D

I guess my reasons are pretty short. but they get to the point.

[tsugaru7reveng]

Denjin K
The remixes are amazing, albeit most of them. THE DETONATOR is the win track in this one.

Synthesized
Same as above. Sota did a great job on some of his Disc 1 stuff. Disc 2 just appeals to me more. I love the Ryu* and Yoshitaka remixes.

It should be fucking obvious as to what album this would be, for those who know me very well
This album is made of pure win. I love all tracks. I like how most of them have godly violins.
Track #2 and #4 are my favorites. I like how #4 is made. #2 is too long to play in GFDM, but it's nice to listen to.
#5 is something for a change, from his usual style to something more light. Well, it's TOO light, but it's still awesome.

[Azzy2121]

Milestone
I just love this album. V -conclusion- is an epic song, I never actually used to like this or the original V but now I think they're both brilliant. Violin + Trance = Win.
One More Lovely is the song on the album I like to get up and try to dance but end up giving in. I think it's so energetic and it has that really Happy sound to it. Once again, I never actually used to like this song.
snow storm I never used to like either (There is definatley a pattern here >.>) but after I listened to it a few times it grew on me, and now I think it's a great song. I LOVE the piano in it.
少年A is FANTASTIC! I didn't actually like the song at first, but now I usually listen to it on repeat when bored >.>
I also love the memories -still remain- remix. good-cool has such a good voice!
The SAFARI is also a One More Lovely type song for me once the happy hardcore kicks in.


Denjin K
GO L.E.D.!
I could listen to this album for ever and ever. At first I didn't think I'd like it very much, then i was like "OMG! HOW COULD I HAVE SAID THAT!?!".
The only song In don't really listen to a lot (but I still do) is Ixion. Don't know why, It doesn't really appeal to me. The epic songs off this album have to be (in order):
Jewellery Storm - I just love it, I can't even explain it. The music, the vocals. I just like to get up and jump up and down to it.
Solid State Squad - One of the best collaborations ever. I love the guitar bit the best near the beginning and then when it all comes together near the end. This is usually the song I use to wake me up properly.
Eraser Engine Distorted - I really think L.E.D. should do more like this, His style and guitar is fantastic. I also like singing trying to singalong to this song, but i focus to much on air guitar.


RЁVOLUTIΦN
You guys should have seen this coming.
I don't know what to say! There's so many words flying round I don't know what to use!
This album is EPIC. I could listen to this for all of eternity and never ever get sick of it. I could never get tired of jun's vocals or Naoki's music, they're both fantastic!

I may add to the descriptions later >.>

Mod Edit: You saw nothing.

[typeMARS]

out of 3:
5. for dear...
reiji's voice was nice. even my friend that hates japan stuff wants this

4. MILESTONE
yup. my brother loves this too. he said that his style just like DJ Tiesto.

top 3:
3. Eight Elements of the Stars
Kanako-chan was hillarious! I'm always listen to HAKUGEN when i was lonely.

2. DENJIN K
L.E.D., my top artist on my W800.

1. This would be awesome!
his violins was professional! i mostly listen to the longest one. though, t7r has cut the intro of the longest one 

[NES]

SYNTHE SIZED is one of the best... I like teranoid albums too, since some of them are under bemani

[dreamlover13]

RЁVOLUTIΦN
Great, great album

神曲
Love, LOVE Asaki

Milestone
Taka at his finest.

Bounce Connected
Best underated album.

Naoki Premium Tracks
Naoki's the best.


BeForU
I like alot of BeForU's later stuff, but it's kind of hard to beat the original. The BEST EVER>

[SUPER STAR MITSURU]

Naoki Premium Tracks
Naoki's the best.

Uhh... this isn't really an album, this is a Topranker Prize and there's only about 4 of them in existence. :p

[dreamlover13]

Naoki Premium Tracks
Naoki's the best.

Uhh... this isn't really an album, this is a Topranker Prize and there's only about 4 of them in existence. :p

Point being it's good. And with torrenting who knows how many are out there lol.