Spin magazine placed TNWWL in the top albums of the decade, if I'm correct. The unfortunate part, though, is that Built to Spill's 1994 release should be closer to the top than it was placed.

This album is unbelievable. There is so much emotion put into every note that Doug Martsch launches from his guitar that the album requires so many listens to absorb it all. "Car", "Fling," and "Cleo" are some of the most beautiful songs ever written. "Big Dipper" is just plain guitar-pop fun. The best song, in my opinion, is the closer "Stab." It starts off simple, gets loud, changes to a mournful string-based session, and closes the album with the most haunting solo I've ever heard. This song, and especially the last few minutes of it, stir something inside of me unlike any other song that I have heard.

Even though I have close to 200 CDs, this one is in my compact disc player every day. Phil Eck did a great job with the production of this album and deserves a lot of credit. A few more notes, though. Brett Nelson's bass playing is unbelievable. Andy Capp's drumming is decent, but Nelson plays the bass like it's a part of him. The last thing I'll mention is the last, untitled track, which still gives me a laugh. This "preview" pokes a little fun at the mainstream punk scene and modern rock radio.

So if I could give this album six stars, I would.

---Starting out being a huge Modest Mouse fan, I started hearing a small buzz for this little known influence. I sampled a few songs and settled on this as my first Built to Spill album... That was 8 months ago and I still listen to it at least once a week.

---This is the definative BTS album... Whether or not their others are better, this is the album that should come to mind when you hear someone say Built to Spill..You can sing along to every single song on this CD and it holds a very cute "Denis the Menece/Calvin and Hobs" youthful quality to it. Musically this album recalls Pavement meets a Flaming Lips jam session...But to compare bands is not completely fair, for BTS has a very unique sound that is very much all their own.. Even Modest Mouse and Death Cab for Cutie (who are often compared) have a much different sensibility and aproach..

---Pure and simple this album has everything an indie rock geek can love about music. Its not overthought yet its not lazy.. Perfect pop album... Buy it now...

I am a huge BTS fan. I have seen them live several times, and I own most all of their albums. This is my first online review--I thought it best to start with the album that has the most personal effect on me.

TNWWL is, in short, a masterpiece. I hate that term--it implies something academic and studied. On the other hand, it conveys the awesome power of this set of songs.

Production--Phil Ek is a mastermind. If you look at his work with BTS and the new Shins album you'll see what I mean. TNWWL is very quiet with minimal studio trickery. There are numerous spots on the album where you will hear vocal mistakes or off-kilter recording levels. Those are part of the genius! The last track ("preview of next BTS album") is hilarious.

Songwriting--Dug is never better than on TNWWL. The songs are mostly intimate and very autobiographical. There is a definite difference between this album and Keep It Like a Secret or Perfect From Now On. Later in his career Dug gets more and more vague. It almost as though he changed songwriting styles. I love PFNO and KILAS, but TNWWL is on a different plane. The song Cleo is amazing--it's told from an unborn baby's perspective. I also love Distopian Dream Girl, Twin Falls, and Car.

Playing--organic and raw. They aren't as loud or as feedback oriented as they would get in subsequent albums...but they rock all the same. I would pay close attention to the acoustic songs and the string arrangements (again--Ek is brilliant!).

Value--there isn't one song on this album I skip over. It's awesome that BTS still plays many of these songs in concert. A friend asked me to recommend a good first album by BTS to buy. I told him Perfect From Now On. That album rocks harder and is more likely to show the musical force behind BTS. I was a little selfish in making this recommendation--I wanted to keep the lyrical beauty and grace of this album to myself.

This first release from Doug Martsch and company remains my favorite BTS recording. BTS aren't confined by typical songwriting structure, i.e. verse-chorus-verse-chorus-verse-bridge-chorus. Songs start incongruously - see fabulous opener "In the Morning" - and end suddenly - again, see fabulous opener "In the Morning". Rough-around-the-edges melodies, masterful guitar work, and uncanny, slice-of-life lyrics abound throughout TNWWL. Anyone who has ever been less-than-stellar at spotting constellations will smile knowingly when listening to "Big Dipper". "Twin Falls" and its reference to Thumbs Up Seven Up will charmingly harken some listeners back to elementary school, while the David Bowie "Lodger" references in "Distopian Dream Girl" will bring a smile to the most jaded music listeners. ("My stepfather looks/Just like David Bowie/But he hates David Bowie/I think Bowie's cool/I think 'Lodger' rules/And my stepdad's a fool.") And seriously, who can't identify with Martsch when he sings, "I want to see movies of my dreams" in "Car"?

I bought TNWWL on a blind recommendation, never having heard a note of Built to Spill's music. I'm grateful I did - don't be afraid to do the same.

There are things that happen to all of us that, looking back, we feel were crucial to our development as a human being. Encountering this band was definatly one for me. TNWWL was recorded back in '94 - this information is irrelevent. This album is timeless. It is not a way to go back to a time when music was a certain way and people thought certain things. This album is an independant entity. On top of it's independance from time and place IT IS FRIGGING AMAZING! This album will sooth you, energize you, teach you new things, put the way things are in a new perspective, and basically enlighten you. Doug Martsch is a brilliant lyricist and song writer. His songs will make you feel like you're the hub cap of a car tire that seems to spin real fast in one direction, then slow down, stop, and slowly start spinning in the other direction. This music is the kind of stuff you can rock out to, mellow out to and love until the day you die.

1 spin of this CD and you will be a fan for life.