147. THE MASTERPLAN by Oasis

When one thinks of the Manchester-bred Britpop band Oasis, images of the constantly squabbling brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher or images of those first two classic record sleeves usually come to mind. However, many casual listeners of the band may not realize that this 1998 record, a collection of B-sides, is considered by many as their third best album, regardless of the fact that it is, technically, a compilation of songs deemed not good enough to make the cut for regular release. Going into your listening session with this knowledge should hopefully help you realize that this collection of Oasis ‘throwaways’ is better than many bands A-sides. Start out (and start loud) with the absolute banger, ‘Acquiesce.’ Continue with ‘Going Nowhere’ (how can you not love how Noel enunciates “jag-u-ar”?) and then finish off with the classics, ‘Half the World Away,’ ‘Headshrinker’ and title track ‘The Masterplan.’