Personal Records

16 debut albums. One spot in the Final Four. Scott and Chris return for the third installment of Last Album Standing, putting another 16 debut records head-to-head until only one remains. From grunge and alternative rock to hip-hop and ska, this bracket makes for some tough calls. The opening matchups: • Goldfinger vs. blink-182 • Five Iron Frenzy vs. The O.C. Supertones • A Tribe Called Quest vs. De La Soul • Cypress Hill vs. House of Pain • Soundgarden vs. Alice in Chains • The Smashing Pumpkins vs. Nine Inch Nails • Björk vs. The Cranberries • Counting Crows vs. Collective Soul Weezer's Blue Album and Boston's self-titled debut have already punched their tickets. Who joins them in the Final Four? Tell us your winner in the comments and which of our picks you'd overturn. Subscribe to Personal Records for more album brackets, music deep dives, and favorite-record debates. 🎧 Listen on Spotify and Apple Podcasts 📸 Follow us on Instagram: @personalrecordsshow

1977 was a massive year for music, but which albums still matter most to us? Scott and Chris were both born in 1978, so this episode takes Personal Records back to the year before either of us arrived. We each count down our five favorite albums released in 1977, including records from Pink Floyd, Rush, Steely Dan, Billy Joel, Cheap Trick, Meat Loaf, Steve Miller Band, Jimmy Buffett, Foreigner and more. Some choices overlap, others come completely out of left field, and neither list follows the usual critical consensus. What is your favorite album of 1977? Let us know what we got right and which essential record we missed. Personal Records is also available on YouTube. Subscribe there to watch full video episodes and see each album pick as it is revealed.

1996 was absolutely stacked. Weezer, Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, Korn, Rage Against the Machine, The Cure, and that barely scratches the surface. Scott and Chris take turns drafting 20 albums from 1996, building rival ten-record collections one pick at a time. Who assembled the better team? Let us know the winner, the biggest steal and the most unforgivable omission. Personal Records with Scott and Chris: Episode 08. Also available on YouTube.

Sixteen more debut albums enter Last Record Standing, and only one will earn a place in our ultimate Final Four. This bracket brings together Linkin Park vs. Papa Roach, Wu-Tang Clan vs. Nas, Snoop Dogg vs. Dr. Dre, Boston vs. Blue Öyster Cult and plenty more. With nu-metal, hip-hop, indie rock, grunge and classic rock colliding, Scott and Chris are forced to make some genuinely painful decisions. By the end, one album joins Weezer's Blue Album as the second record locked into the Final Four.

Scott and Chris each rank their five favorite concept albums, covering classic rock operas, progressive sci-fi, emo, metal and modern hip-hop. The conversation includes Pink Floyd, Rush, Coheed and Cambria, Kendrick Lamar, The Who, Armor for Sleep and more, plus honorable mentions and two very different album recommendations. What is the greatest concept album ever made? Let us know what belongs at number one. Personal Records with Scott and Chris, Episode 6 Follow us on Instagram: @personalrecordsshow

Chris and Scott take a trip back to the year 2000, when everyone thought that a computer glitch was going to take down humanity. 

We put 16 legendary debut albums in a bracket to determine which one will be the Last Record Standing. In the first volume of our new album tournament, Scott and Chris go matchup by matchup, debating these classic debuts: The Cars vs. Van Halen The Go-Go's vs. Duran Duran Rage Against the Machine vs. Stone Temple Pilots Nirvana vs. Pearl Jam Oasis vs. Weezer Silverchair vs. Foo Fighters Arcade Fire vs. The Killers Interpol vs. The Strokes Some choices are easy. Others require eliminating albums we love. By the end, only one debut record remains. Watch the tournament unfold, then tell us in the comments: What would your Final Four be, and which debut album would win your bracket? Personal Records with Scott and Chris is a music podcast for people who still care way too much about records. Subscribe for more album debates, drafts, deep dives and future editions of Last Record Standing.

In this episode of Personal Records, Scott and Chris take a deep dive into HUM, the Illinois space-rock band behind You'd Prefer an Astronaut, Downward Is Heavenward, and Inlet. We talk about the band's massive guitar sound, sci-fi imagery, emotional weight, cult following, and why HUM still feels bigger than their mainstream reputation suggests. From "Stars" to Downward Is Heavenward to the band's unexpected return with Inlet, this is a conversation about a band that made heavy music feel atmospheric, strange, sad, and enormous. If you're into 90s alternative rock, shoegaze, post-hardcore, space rock, or guitar bands that sound like they're broadcasting from orbit, this one is for you. Personal Records with Scott and Chris is a music podcast about albums, artists, drafts, debates, and the records that stick with you. Subscribe for more album discussions, artist deep dives, music drafts, and lightly unreasonable arguments about records.

Scott and Chris go back to 1987 for a full album draft. We started with a pool of 50 records released that year, then took turns selecting 10 albums apiece to build the strongest possible team. There are huge albums, questionable reaches, a few steals, and at least one pick that probably should have caused a brief suspension of the podcast. Watch the draft, check out both final teams, and let us know who won: Team Scott or Team Chris? The full pool of 50 eligible albums is listed below. Subscribe for more album drafts, rankings, debates, and very personal arguments about records. The 50-album draft pool: Echo & The Bunnymen — Echo & the Bunnymen The Smiths — Strangeways, Here We Come Pixies — Come On Pilgrim Belinda Carlisle — Heaven on Earth Tiffany — Tiffany The Cult — Electric The Jesus and Mary Chain — Darklands Cutting Crew — Broadcast Starship — No Protection Guns N' Roses — Appetite for Destruction Pet Shop Boys — Actually Whitney Houston — Whitney Bathory — Under the Sign of the Black Mark Depeche Mode — Music for the Masses Whitesnake — Whitesnake Fleetwood Mac — Tango in the Night The Fat Boys — Crushin' Michael Jackson — Bad Hüsker Dü — Warehouse: Songs and Stories Debbie Gibson — Out of the Blue Bruce Springsteen — Tunnel of Love Richard Marx — Richard Marx Aerosmith — Permanent Vacation Yes — Big Generator Kool Moe Dee — How Ya Like Me Now George Harrison — Cloud Nine The Cure — Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me Faith No More — Introduce Yourself Mötley Crüe — Girls, Girls, Girls Public Enemy — Yo! Bum Rush the Show Red Hot Chili Peppers — The Uplift Mofo Party Plan Midnight Oil — Diesel and Dust The Replacements — Pleased to Meet Me Sinead O'Connor — The Lion and the Cobra Rush — Hold Your Fire Crowded House — Crowded House Sonic Youth — Sister Siouxsie and the Banshees — Through the Looking Glass R.E.M. — Document Eric B. & Rakim — Paid in Full Prince — Sign o' the Times George Michael — Faith U2 — The Joshua Tree Def Leppard — Hysteria LL Cool J — Bigger and Deffer Eurythmics — Savage Dinosaur Jr. — You're Living All Over Me Pink Floyd — A Momentary Lapse of Reason The Cars — Door to Door INXS — Kick

Scott and Chris kick off Personal Records with a trip back to 1997 — a weird, loaded, ridiculously good year for albums. Each of us brings our five favorite records from the year and explains what makes them so special to us.

Welcome to Personal Records. In this short intro episode, Scott and Chris explain what the show is, why they wanted to start it, and what listeners can expect from future episodes. Personal Records is a music conversation podcast about the albums we love, the records that shaped us, and the weirdly personal reasons certain songs stick around. Expect album rankings, drafts, year-by-year debates, deep dives, forgotten gems, and plenty of arguments about what still holds up.