The Mansion

One of my favorite Red Hot Chili Peppers albums is Blood Sugar Sex Magik. Between this and Mother's Milk, the Chili Peppers were riding a wave of mainstream success as the 80s began to seep into the 90s. I remember reading Anthony Kiedis's autobiography, Scar Tissue, and loving the story behind recording BSSM. It marked their first time having Rick Rubin produce for them and after struggling initially to record anything substantial in a typical studio setting, Rubin rented out a large mansion in Los Angeles in the hopes that it would elevate the band's creativity. It worked.

Rick Rubin now owns this mansion and has used it to record some great albums. Recently I was looking through a list of the albums he's recorded there and I was amazed to find so many of my favorite artists listed. Here are some of those albums:

De-Loused in the Comatorium by The Mars Volta
The album that opened my ears to the world of progressive rock. I remember my first time listening to this album and thinking it sounded like nothing I had ever heard before. It's very theatrical and I love how multi-layered each song is.
My favorite song off this album: Roulette Dates (The Haunt Of)

Mezmerize & Hypnotize by System of a Down
My entire teenage existence can be narrowed down to just a couple of bands that I was obsessed with. System of a Down was one of them. While technically this is two albums, they were both recorded at the same time in the house. I seem to remember the albums not being received as favorably as Toxicity but I thought they were excellent. The band really stretched their legs and managed to experiment with their sound a bit while not abandoning their hard sound and kinda twisted composition.
My favorite songs off this album: Radio/Video and Holy Mountains

Out of Exile by Audioslave
I remember playing this album pretty much every morning on my way to school back when I was in college. Commuting sucked but Audioslave made it way better. While not as hard hitting as their debut album, I really liked the lyrical content of this album. It felt more personal and refined.
My favorite song off this album: Heaven's Dead

Stadium Arcadium by Red Hot Chili Peppers
If ever an album exceeded my expectations, Stadium Arcadium takes the cake. This album blew me away when I first listened to it. While I'd maybe pick Californication as my favorite album, I think this is their magnum opus.  A true showcase of the band's amazing talent.
My favorite songs off this album: Wet Sand and Turn it Again

Minutes to Midnight by Linkin Park
One of the other bands I was obsessed with when I was a teenager. A perfect musical outlet for all my teenage angst. This actually came out in my early 20s, but I still enjoyed it. Not as much as their two older albums as it's definitely a more commercialized version of their sound, but there is still some gold in these hills and I think the production value is great.
My favorite song off this album: The Little Things Give You Away

This Is Happening by LCD Soundsystem
One of my favorite albums of all time. It's funky and rocks and makes you want to dance beginning to end. Just incredible live as well. Some of my most fond concert memories are of dancing to songs off this album with my wife and friends.
My favorite song off this album: Dance Yrself Clean

These are just my albums from artists I regularly listen to. Other great albums recorded at The Mansion include:
Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death) by Marilyn Manson
99 Problems by Jay Z
Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses) by Slipknot
Dancing for the Death of an Imaginary Enemy by Ours 

If you're on Spotify, I've created a playlist that includes music from all the albums recorded at The Mansion (except for Maroon5 because I can't stand that band). Click here for the playlist.