7. Isolation Drills (2001)

If there’s an invisible line between non-essential and essential GBV, this is where we cross it. The seven greatest GBV albums represent a big step up from the rest, starting with 2001’s Isolation Drills. Following the commercial and critical failure of Do The Collapse, Pollard could’ve given up on his hi-fi dreams and retreated to the basement. Thankfully he gave the studio another try and the results were a revelation. Instead of stripping the charm from his melodies which is what happened on Do The Collapse, the bright guitars and big drums on Isolation Drills freed them from the tyranny of shitty sound quality. The key to its success is that the high production values still sound organic, less like a million-dollar studio job and more like a live show where the sound guy totally nails the levels. And that’s how we get high-flying anthems like “Chasing Heather Crazy” and the ebullient “Glad Girls” which, after 19 albums and hundreds of tracks, is still my favorite Guided By Voices song (best experienced in a live setting, but still).