99. The Smashing Pumpkins - "Atum: Act One"

Ok given that this was only released the day before I closed the list and I have therefore given this only two cursory listens, its inclusion is a bit of a punt, to be honest. But I am prepared to take the risk for two reasons. Firstly, its level of ambition and sheer scale reminds me of “Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness”, their sprawling 1995 masterpiece and the last Smashing Pumpkins album that I truly adored. Secondly, there are several tracks that hark back to “Mary Star of the Sea” the exquisite debut (and only) album from Billy Corgan’s short-lived side project Zawn. ”Atum: Part One”, is as the name suggests, the first part of a rock opera trilogy. It embraces the utter bombastic nature of that medium and for the first time in a long time, our Billy actually sounds like he cares. I suspect with further listens that this could have been higher.