These Nostalgic Rock Albums Have Made My Spring Cleaning So Much Easier

Spring is here. That means the temps are rising and it’s time to open the windows, let fresh air circulate through the house, and get some major cleaning done. However, I find it incredibly hard to get things done without a good soundtrack. It doesn’t matter if I’m doing dishes or cleaning out a closet, I need some good tunes. This year, I went back to some killer nostalgic rock albums to make my long to-do list easier to conquer.

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There’s no real rhyme or reason to the list below. These albums just rock really hard and make me nostalgic. They also help me get moving. So crank up the volume and let’s get some things done.

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Slow Hole to China, Rare & Unreleased – Clutch (2009)

If I’m being honest, this list could have just been Clutch albums. The Maryland-based rockers have been putting out great tunes since the early 1990s and show no signs of slowing down. However, no matter how hard their other albums rock, none of them is as nostalgic for me as this one. It takes me back to a very specific time in my life. At the same time, it contains the song that introduced me to the band and got me hooked: “Guild of Mute Assassins.”

There’s so much more to love on this record, though. For instance, “Willie Nelson” spins a fictional tale of getting raided by the cops while praising the quality of ganja that the outlaw country icon keeps in his stash. Every track on this album is killer. It’s packed with deep grooves, riffs that will stick with you forever, and lyrics that transport you to another world. In short, it’s the perfect album to get lost in while scrubbing baseboards or tossing clothes into a donation pile.

Deliverance – Corrosion of Conformity (1994)

Corrosion of Conformity has changed lineups and sounds several times over the years. This album, though, makes me nostalgic for days when I didn’t have anything to do but crank up the stereo and try to play along with the monolithic opening riff from “Albatross.”

The sound on Deliverance has been described as Black Sabbath through the lens of the deep South, and that about nails it. It’s heavy, dirty, and will get its hooks in you from the time you press play. It’s the kind of record that makes you forget that you’re sick of the smell of Windex and wondering why self-cleaning window technology hasn’t been invented yet.

Sonic Excess in Its Purest Form – Crowbar (2003)

This album makes me nostalgic for the days of digging through Sam Goody’s for my next favorite rock band. Crowbar was such a cool name that I had to pick this one up, and so glad I did. At the time, it was the heaviest thing I had ever heard, and it blew my mind.

More than 20 years later, it’s still pretty heavy. I’m just not cranking “To Build a Mountain” in some cheap headphones while hoping my batteries don’t die before I get to school. Instead, I play it from a Bluetooth speaker while I deep clean my grill.

Master of Puppets – Metallica (1986)

For me, this will always be the most nostalgic rock or metal album ever recorded. I was in second grade and had never heard anything heavier than Lynyrd Skynyrd when my good friend handed me a copy of Master of Puppets he’d made on his mom’s dual tape deck the night before. Without question, I popped it into my Walkman, pressed play, and was forever changed.

This might be the best thing Metallica has ever released. It is also nearly impossible to be still while songs like “Damage, Inc.,” “Battery,” and the title track are playing at top volume. That’s not a problem, though, when you have work to do.

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