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The Best Of: 2022

December 28, 2022 by Ben Beard

The year 2022 might be remembered as the year we got back to “normal”. In the spirit of that, let’s revisit all the best things that happened this past year, even if 2022 wasn’t the best year for everyone.

Best Movie
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
The next entry in one of my favorite movies from 2019, Glass Onion is another murder mystery led by Daniel Craig. We first saw him in Knives Out which surprised many as a breakout hit and a fresh take on the murder mystery genre. Glass Onion is different, but good in similar ways. My favorite thing about Glass Onion is how the story unfolds and you aren’t trying to solve the puzzle the entire time.

Best TV Show
Severance
Seems like Severance came out so long ago that I had to check if it was indeed released in 2022. It premiered in February and was released weekly like the good old days. If you haven’t yet watched Severance (Apple TV+) be sure to check it out before season 2 premieres. It’s such a good show and I don’t think I can do it justice trying to explain it here. What I will do is say that it’s a sci-fi/thriller series set in an office.

Best Music Album
Dirty Heads – Midnight Control
In 2022 we began to see the fruits of labor from the lockdown and we got a lot of great music this year. The Dirty Heads have released their 8th album Midnight Control and it might be their best yet. Give it a listen, even if you don’t necessarily like their other music. They are definitely a genre-bending band and with each new album they introduce a refined sound.

Best Song
Morgan Wallen – You Proof
A country song about whiskey and breakups, what’s so good about it? I’m not sure, but You Proof is the song I listened to the most this year and almost all of those listens were by choice. Morgan Wallen is someone who keeps churning out good music and I’m not even a country music fan.

Best Video Game
Vampire Survivors
Lots of great games were released in 2022 (mostly for Playstation) and none struck me and reeled me in like Vampire Survivors. I actually didn’t notice this game until recently and I played it for hours on Xbox Game Pass, then bought it on Steam to play it on the go. it’s a simple game too. The only control mechanism is the direction your player moves. It has been described as a “pure hit of Dopamine”.

Best Mobile Game
Marvel Snap
Look… I’m not a big Marvel fan. I’m not a fan of card strategy games. I rarely play mobile games more than a few times. For some reason, I can’t put down Marvel Snap. It’s a simple card-based game that is absolutely free. Try it, but remember, I warned you that it’s addicting.

Best Podcast
SmartLess
Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, and Sean Hayes have a comedy podcast where they interview famous people but end up spending a lot of the time joking with one another. It’s a welcome change in my podcast rotation apart from my usual tech and movie/tv podcasts. I’m a Jason Bateman fan and his personality on SmartLess is a lot like some of his movie characters.

Best New Tech Product
Steam Deck
A mobile computer gaming machine that’s better in a lot of ways than the Nintendo Switch. I did an in-depth review on this beast, that you can read over here.

Best Apple Product
Apple Watch Ultra
Apple finally made a watch worthy of my lifestyle. No I don’t rock climb, SCUBA dive, or run marathons, but I am rough on technology. Read my in-depth review on the Apple Watch Ultra over here and let me know what you think!

Let me know your thoughts on Facebook, Twitter, or where ever you saw this post!

Last year’s The Best of 2021

The Beard Blog Top Albums of 2021

December 30, 2021 by Ben Beard

Back again for 2021 are my picks for the best music albums released this past year. It seems we got a lot more music this year than a normal year since literally everyone was quarantined during most of 2020. I have a theory that many music artists forced themselves to make music with all that down time which resulted in large quantities of music, but not the best quality.

My picks for the best 5 albums of 2021, ranked not by best to worst, but by release date. These albums were selected for their overall enjoyability. It is becoming more rare that albums are enjoyable from beginning to end.

Dangerous: The Double Album by Morgan Wallen (January 8, 2021)

This feels like it was released more than a year ago, but with the pandemic and Morgan’s racist slur controversy it feels a lot longer than it has been. Putting the video of drunk Morgan aside, this album is great. I attribute this album to my re-interest in modern country music. I think the genre is being redefined again and moving back towards its roots instead of trying to be pop. Because this album came out so early in 2021, I’ve logged the most hours listening to this than any of the others on this list.

Sob Rock by John Mayer (July 16, 2021)

The long-awaiting eighth studio album by John Mayer is a throwback to 80’s yacht rock and it’s intentional. While his last couple of albums were good Sob Rock feels like the most complete package since Continuum. My favorite song as of writing this on Sob Rock is Wild Blue, an upbeat mellow track with two great guitar solos. This album, like others on this list, was made to be listened to on vinyl. I wonder if that trend will continue in 2022 and beyond?

Heartland by Nelly (August 27, 2021)

Nelly finally released a country album! Sort of… After the commercial success of Over & Over featuring Tim McGraw Nelly fans have been clamoring for more country-ish songs from Nelly. The 2009 remix of Cruise with Florida Georgia Line increased that appetite even more. This album features some great guests including the aforementioned Florida Georgia Line, but my favorite is the track with Darius Rucker named ‘Ms. Drive Me Crazy’. I hope Nelly continues down this road as he may have found his niche in his second career in music, must like Hootie and the Blowfish’s Darius Rucker.

= by Ed Sheeran (October 29, 2021)

The first solo album from Ed since 2017 and we get another math symbol and he says he has one more coming (minus?). This may mark the first departure from pop music Ed has given us and that’s not a bad thing. As he matures he’s finding his artistry and that’s not always being at the top of the charts. This is a solid complete album, while not his best, is still one of the shining spots in year 2 of the pandemic.

An Evening with Silk Sonic by Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak, and Silk Sonic (November 12, 2021)

I’ve been waiting and waiting for new music from Bruno Mars for years and we finally got it! Much like his last album 24K Magic, his latest album has some sort of a theme and a guest, Anderson .Paak. The duo does a good job of being cheesy enough to fit their vibe without becoming an Andy Samberg/Justin Timberlake SNL tune. Smokin’ Out the Window is by far my favorite song on this album with its funky sound, catchy chorus, and funny concept.

Honorable Mentions:

Sucker by Katastro (July 16, 2021)

A small independent album from a band I was mostly unaware of that came out over the summer and provided perfect summer driving music. If you’re a fan on the alternative/reggae genre, give this album a listen. It’s great from start to finish.

30 by Adele (November 2021)

How could I make this list and not include Adele? While this album is good, on my first three times through, I haven’t had enough time with for it to make my top list. The later tracks on the album hit hard emotionally and sometimes aren’t great for a casual listen.

Check out my lists from 2020 and 2019!

The Top 100 Songs: 1990s

October 5, 2021June 9, 2021 by Ben Beard

When you think about the best decade of music, you might immediately think the 60s or 70s. Some may argue it was the 80s or 90s. I was pretty sure the best decade of music was the 2000s, but now I’m convinced it was the 1990s.

This started as a top 10 list of 90s music, which was really hard because of all the different sounds during this era. Expanding the list to a top 100 was poised to be my most ambitious list yet. Turns out, my love for music and making lists made this a simple task. In the end, I decided to rank them using an online ranking generator allowing me to compare songs 2 by 2. I input my list of 110 songs into the ranking generator and did over 400 comparisons. The end results were very surprising.

The rules for this list, made up be me:
– No repeats for main attributed artist (e.g. Michael Jackson & Janet Jackson – Scream counts as an entry for both of them)
– No covers, original recordings only (e.g. Whitney Houston – I’m Every Woman originally recorded by Chaka Khan in 1978, not eligible)
– Must have been released as a single or on an album after December 31, 1989 and before January 1, 2000
– No complications, best of, or greatest hits releases apply

For your and my listening pleasure, I’ve created this list as both an Apple Music and Spotify playlist (see below)

The top 100 list is below in order based on my opinion, and because I’m me, there are 10 honorable mentions afterwards!

Did your favorite 90s song make the list?

Artist	Title	Year	Rank
Lauryn Hill	Doo Wop (That Thing)	1998	1
Bone Thugs -n- Harmony	Tha Crossroads	1995	2
Usher	You Make Me Wanna...	1997	3
Michael Jackson & Janet Jackson	Scream	1995	4
Whitney Houston	I Have Nothing	1992	5
2Pac	Changes	1998	6
Luniz	I Got 5 On It	1995	7
Boyz II Men	End of the Road	1991	8
Big Pun	Still Not a Playa (feat. Joe)	1998	9
Sublime	What I Got	1996	10
Mariah Carey	Fantasy	1997	11
Hanson	MMMBop	1997	12
TLC	Waterfalls	1994	13
Aaliyah	Are You That Somebody? *	1998	14
Alanis Morisette	You Oughta Know	1998	15
Hootie & The Blowfish	Hold My Hand	1994	16
Warren G & Nate Dogg	Regulate	1994	17
Dr. Dre	The Next Episode (feat. Snopp Dogg)	1999	18
Snopp Dogg	Who Am I (What's My Name)?	1993	19
Kci & JoJo	All My Life	1997	20
Blackstreet	No Diggity (feat. Dr. Dre & Queen Pen)	1996	21
No Doubt	Spiderwebs	1995	22
Alice in Chains	Rooster	1992	23
T.Q.	Westside	1998	24
Ice Cube	It Was a Good Day	1992	25
Outkast	Rosa Parks	1998	26
Blues Traveler	Run-Around	1994	27
The Notorious B.I.G.	Mo Money and Mo Problems (feat. Mase & Puff Daddy)	1997	28
Matchbox 20	3 am	1996	29
Ginuwine	Pony	1996	30
311	Down	1995	31
Ma$e	Feels So Good	1997	32
Rage Against the Machine	Bulls On Parade	1996	33
Do or Die	Po Pimp	1996	34
Soundgarden	Black Hole Sun	1994	35
Destiny's Child	Bug a Boo	1999	36
*NSYNC	Tearin' Up My Heart	1997	37
Jay-Z	Big Pimpin' (feat. UGK)	1999	38
Salt-N-Pepa	Shoop	1993	39
The Presidents of the United States of America	Peaches	1995	40
Beastie Boys	Intergalactic	1998	41
Eminem	My Name Is	1999	42
Green Day	Basket Case	1994	43
Ini Kamoze	Here Comes The Hotstepper	1994	44
Barenaked Ladies	One Week	1998	45
Juvenile	Ha	1998	46
Bush	Comedown	1994	47
Everlast	What It's Like	1994	48
Puff Daddy	I'll Be Missing You (feat. Faith Evans & 112)	1997	49
The Smashing Pumpkins	1979	1995	50
Third Eye Blind	Jumper	1997	51
Red Hot Chili Peppers	Under the Bridge	1991	52
The Cranberries	Zombie	1994	53
Spice Girls	Wannabe	1996	54
The Goo Goo Dolls	Iris	1998	55
Next	Too Close	1997	56
Keith Sweat	Nobody (feat. Athena Cage)	1996	57
Montell Jordan	This Is How We Do It	1995	58
DMX	Party Up (Up In Here)	1999	59
Metallica	Enter Sandman	1991	60
Backstreet Boys	I Want It That Way	1999	61
Wu-Tang Clan	C.R.E.A.M.	1993	62
Sugar Ray	Fly (feat. Super Cat)	1997	63
Lenny Kravitz	Fly Away	1998	64
Master P	Make 'Em Say Ugh	1997	65
Aerosmith	Crazy	1993	66
Mark Morrison	Return of the Mack	1996	67
Brandy	Sittin' Up In My Room	1995	68
The Chemical Brothers	Block Rockin' Beats	1997	69
"Weird Al" Yankovic	Amish Paradise	1996	70
Color Me Badd	I Wann Sex You Up	1991	71
Radiohead	Creep	1996	72
Kid Rock	Cowboy	1998	73
Will Smith	Gettin' Jiggy Wit It	1997	74
Ol' Dirty Bastard	Got Your Money (feat. Kelis)	1999	75
En Vogue	Free Your Mind	1992	76
Marcy Playground	Sex & Candy	1997	77
Naughty By Nature	O.P.P	1991	78
Crazy Town	Buttefly	1999	79
Jamiroquai	Virtual Insanity	1996	80
The (Dixie) Chicks	Wide Open Spaces	1998	81
Robyn	Show Me Love	1995	82
Ace of Base	The Sign	1993	83
Oasis	Wonderwall	1995	84
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones	The Impression That I Get	1997	85
The Tony Rich Project	Nobody Knows	1995	86
SWV	Weak	1992	87
Sisqo	Thong Song	1999	88
702	Where My Girls At?	1999	89
Beck	Loser	1993	90
LeAnn Rimes	How Do I Live	1997	91
Mary J. Blige	Real Love	1992	92
The Prodigy	Firestarter	1996	93
Kris Kross	Jump	1992	94
Crystal Waters	100% Pure Love	1994	95
Babyface	Every Time I Close My Eyes	1996	96
Nine Inch Nails	Closer	1994	97
Snow	Informer	1994	98
Garbage	Only Happy When It Rains	1995	99
New Edition	Hit Me Off	1996	100

Honorable Mentions:
101. Shaggy – Bombastic (1995)
102. Meredith Brooks – Bitch (1997)
103. Jewel – Who Will Save Your Soul (1995)
104. Nirvana – Smells Like Teen Spirit (1991)
105. LFO – Girl On TV (1999)
106. Lil’ Troy – Wanna Be a Baller (1999)
107. Vitamin C – Smile (1999)
108. The Offspring – Pretty Fly (For a White Guy) (1998)
109. 98º – The Hardest Thing (1998)
110. New Kids On the Block – Step By Step (1990)

*Aaliyah – Are You That Somebody? is not available on any digital platforms.

In Memoriam: Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Tupac Shakur, Big Pun, Bradley Nowell, Lisa Left-Eye Lopes, Aaliyah, Nate Dogg, Layne Staley, Christopher Wallace, Chris Cornell, Adam Yauch, Dolores O’Riordan, Earl Simmons, Russel Jones, Keith Flint, Chris Kelly, and Kurt Cobain.

Credits: Wikipedia, Apple Music, Pub Meeple

The Best of 2020: iOS Apps

December 28, 2020 by Ben Beard

“There’s an app for that!”

Continuing my list of the best things from 2020, mostly what helped us get through the pandemic, the most obvious thing you use a lot is your phone. There are a lot of great apps I use everyday but the three I’m about to list are essential apps for entertaining me, staying connected, and getting me what I need. What are some of your favorite apps of the past year?

The Best of 2020: TV Series

December 28, 2020 by Ben Beard

Unlike movies of the past year, TV shows or series, have become our primary form of entertainment. Personally, I’ve been favoring a series over a movie because they seem to be better written and produced these days. There was a lot, past and present, content to watch while we were all stuck at home this past year. TV helped us pass the time of being quarantined, but also helped us connect with others by sharing common interests in content. I enjoyed a lot of TV shows this year, but I whittled my list down to just three. These three are new shows for 2020. There were a lot of great shows (The Mandalorian, The Boys, Big Mouth, The Crown, and Ozark) that gave us new seasons to enjoy. Today I’m focusing on shows that debuted in 2020.

In no particular order, here are my picks for best new TV show of 2020:

Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness – March 20 | Netflix

An international phenomenon and the only thing a lot of us talked about during the earlier outbreak of COVID-19. Joe Exotic, the Tiger King won us all over with his crazy story and footage at his entertainment park. If you haven’t seen this by now, stop what you’re doing and give it a watch. You’ll thank me later. Hopefully someday we’ll get more from this crew, but for the rest of history, Joe Exotic will be what helped us get through our first ever pandemic shut down.

Ted Lasso – August 14 | Apple TV+

A comedy about an English soccer team coached by an American doesn’t really sound like something most people would be interested in. Before I started watching Ted Lasso it was not something I would have watched based on the synopsis, or cover if you will. After the first episode I was hooked. It’s a kind hearted, well written story about overcoming the various hurdles in your life for a bigger purpose. When you watch Ted Lasso you’ll find yourself laughing, crying, and on the edge of your seat, all in the same episode. Don’t worry about the premise, give it a shot and if you’re like me, you’ll be counting down the hours until you can watch more of Ted.

The Queen’s Gambit – October 23 | Netflix

A series about a chess prodigy… is this going to be another Ted Lasso where we don’t want to judge a book by its cover? Well, in short, yes. The Queen’s Gambit follows a young girl through the child welfare system where she discovers her natural ability to play chess. I can’t explain really what draws me to this show, but I think it’s primarily the story telling and the acting. The lead actress shines through her ups and downs as we see what it’s like to be a chess cehampion in the mid-20th century. The Queen’s gambit is another show that you should ignore what you think it might be about and just watch it. Again, trust me.

Honorable mention:

Dave – March 4 | Hulu

Check out more of my ‘Best of 2020’ —> Here

The Best of 2020: Songs

December 23, 2020 by Ben Beard

Much like my albums of the year, I’m listing my songs of the year. These songs are standouts and heavily rotated tracks in my library. Only one of the songs happens tp appear on my albums of 2020 list. Nevertheless, it was tough to only pick three, but by limiting that small amount I pull some truly great songs that I’ll be listening to for years to come.

The Best of 2020: Music Albums

December 22, 2020 by Ben Beard

The past several years, I’ve done ‘The Best Albums’ of 2018 and 2019 because music is a very large part of my life, more so listening than playing. Because it’s 2020, I’ve switched it up and limited my picks to just three and this joins an expanded list of ‘Best of’ for this year.

The Best of 2020: Video Games

December 21, 2020 by Ben Beard

This past year was a horrible year in more ways than one. I’ve decided to only talk about the best things that came out of 2020. Over the next several days until the end of the year, I will be posting about my favorite and best things that I experienced in 2020.

Starting with video games, much like other categories I’ll go over, being at home gave me a lot more time to appreciate these things.

The video games I have listed as my best for 2020 came from Xbox. There are some other games that should probably be on this list, but because I only have an Xbox at this time, I was unable to experience them.