#43) Morrissey - Your Arsenal (released in 1992, I bought it sometime in high school at a Sam Goody's in Brooklyn when visiting my grandparents. I got it on clearance cassette for a DOLLAR. Hot diggity damn!)

The consistency of this albums still astounds me. The hard stuff's never overbearing, the light never slight, the ballads filled with novel sounds, the pop hits his most dynamic but not overdecorated. Morrissey sounds as confident and excited as his band, whose glam rockabilly keeps him from ever getting insufferable. "Glamorous Glue," "We'll Let You Know," and "The National Front Disco" add up to a somewhat frightening dalliace with fascist imagery that definitely seems satirical but adds a beneficial layer of unease to the usual flipness and aching. Judging by the change that occurred when the late Mick Ronson was replaced by Steve Lillywhite in the producer's chair after his death, I'm guessing that the glam vet was responsible for keeping the enthusiasm level high (though Southpaw Grammar was a thrilling if belated encore to this album. Can I note how proud I am that this was the Mozz's biggest US hit, debuting at no. 21 on the charts?