Muse Albums

Muse, the popular British progressive rock band from England, have released five studio albums since they were formed in 1994.. Muse, a trio who met while going to school in England in the early 1990’s, is one of the best live bands in the world. Matthew Bellamy (vocals and guitar), Christopher Wolstenholme (bass and backing vocals) and Dominic Howard (drums) have combined to form a band that is known for their aforementioned live performances and a unique musical style that fuses many genres.

1. “Absolution”  Haunting melodies, fresh production and expert songwriting make this the best Muse album. The sound is classically-oriented progressions played with guitars, pianos and drums. Matt Bellamy’s amazingly melodic singing washes over the whole album. The best songs on this album are “Hysteria,” “Time is Running Out,” “Stockholm Syndrome” and “Butterflies and Hurricanes.” This was the first Muse album to chart in the United States and established the group’s fan base in this country.
2. “Black Holes and Revelations” On this fourth Muse studio album, the band’s members took a more active role in the album’s production.  Like previous Muse albums, “Black Holes and Revelations” features songs that have themes that range from the political to science fiction. Many fans worried that the band might change their sound after the mainstream success of “Absolution,” however this album sounds like Muse, just with more studio polish. “Knights of Cydonia” is the highlight song of this album, but “Map of the Problematique” and “Starlight” are other standouts singles.  
3. “Origin of Symmetry” Many Muse fans will list this as their favorite album, but it lacks the refinement of later Muse albums to rank as the best. The band deviates a bit from the alt-rock sound of their previous album and experiment more instrumentally with the bass being the driving force more than the electric guitar. Highlight cuts from “Origin of Symmetry” are “Citizen Erased,” “Plug in Baby” and “New Born.”
4. “The Resistance”  This is the fifth and latest Muse album to be released. While certainly no slouch, it doesn’t rank as highly as the albums listed above it. It is overproduced while the songwriting lacks originality and goes more for anthem-rock sounds than earlier Muse songs did. In many ways it could pass as a modern-day Queen album, and that points to the shortcomings on this album; it is more Queen than Muse. Despite this, "Guiding Light", "United States of Eurasia" and the brilliant "Exogenesis" (all three parts) are the highlight cuts from this album.
5.  “Showbiz” This debut album by Muse makes a fine introduction to the band even though many critics at first dismissed Muse as a Radiohead knockoff. This album features the aggressive and melancholy musical style that Muse would become famous for while the songs deal with human relationships and difficulties. “Sunburn” and “Muscle Museum” are the two best tracks on the album.