Oasis: It's Getting Better (Man!!)
[purchase]
Oasis: (It's Good) To Be Free
[purchase]
I've had a soft spot for Oasis since the day they hit the scene in 1994. It's shame they haven't really released anything noteworthy since 1998, but that's okay. When they split for the millionth and possibly last time in 2009, I wasn't too bothered.
We'll always have those first three albums, Definitely Maybe, (What's The Story) Morning Glory? and Be Here Now and the b-sides compilation The Masterplan, all of which should have a prominent place in everyone's record collection. Be Here Now has gotten an unfairly bad reputation for not living up to everyone's expectations at the time, but it's actually very good.
Though I admit some songs are too long, and it's also a good early example of what would later be known as "the loudness war". It's a very brickwalled record, definitely one of the loudest mixes I've heard, which makes it quite tiring to listen to after a while. A real shame, since some songs, like Magic Pie and My Big Mouth, are among the band's best.
Yes, Noel Gallagher stole bits and pieces from every part of rock history, but what he did with his loot is the important part and I don't think his skills as a songsmith can be questioned with any real authority.