My top 5 favorite drum albums of all time (list subject to change upon any random whim, but probably won't):

5) In Utero - I really liked this work drum-wise better than Nevermind probably because of Steve Albini (though I bow to no one in my appreciation of Butch Vig). Punches a lot harder than the uber-compressed sound of the previous record. "Very Ape" is great and "Milk It" is the phenomenal song that made me think Kurt could be the new Syd.

4) Frogstomp - Ben Gillies did himself proud on this record, dropping in double bass kicks seemingly before every new measure. And like every good musician, has a career he can fall back on.

3) Pearl Jam, live in Atlanta - this bootleg, procured by King Marabud back in the day, cost him a painful $70... but it's worth it. Live recording of "Black", which became rare for the band. But mostly it's on this list because of the barely contained chaos that is "Evenflow" in the hands of Dave Abbruzzese. The guy is unleashed, insane, and incredible. This version was single-songedly responsible for me trying to form a band with two other guys specifically (but unknown to them) so that I could play it on drums... regardless of how badly I failed.

2) Become What You Are - Almost the opposite of the previous entry in that this album shows the exact perfect way to play powerful rock-pop drums, but restrained... sort of. Strong and flawless, but not much flourish. Just good solid playing.

1) Betty - Intensely powerful drumming, superb timing, and two of my favorite quick drum fills ever on "Street Crabs" and "Clean". I'm sure I annoyed the crap out of at least one bandmate playing that intro to "I Know" so often. This album makes me cry for how much I wish I could play like that. It's also one of the reasons I bought a piccolo snare. If I could beg anyone to give me lessons, this would be the guy. Not often I think "tasteful" when thinking of an album as heavy as this, but there ya go. A real gem. One of my 10 favorite albums of all time, maybe even in the top 5.

What... no Rush on the list, geek that I am? No, no Rush. Neil's great and all... but he was never a reason I wanted to play the drums. He's just too complex. It's like listening to an orchestra member: I can marvel at the talent, but I can't really feel him in my bones. And I can't think of a single song of his I'd really enjoy playing.