Under the motto:
Here comes the thread for essential non-VK albums.
Personally i dont have huge opinion on it.
Yeah not even metalcore-wise i dont have a huge opinion, maybe because most people swear on Crystal Lakes Helix, but i personally prefer The Sign.
So i am looking forward to hear everyone else’s opinion.
VICTIMOFDECEPTION Godless, first Makito album is very good. This new Earthists. album is a great one for beginners. MY FIRST STORY’s All Lead Tracks is amazing. I swear by ASIAN KUNG FU GENERATION’s Solfa album, and anything pre-2009 the pillows is golden. Maximum the Hormone’s ぶっ生き返す is a good album, as well as Ellegarden’s Eleven Firecrackers. Bump of Chicken’s Bump of Chicken I 1999–2004 Bump of Chicken II 2005–2010 compilation should be in a museum somewhere. Any ACIDMAN album, Tomoyasu Hotei’s Soul Sessions, Char’s Singles 1976-2005. Okay I’m done. I may love VK, and metal, but my background is J-Rock lol. So many great J-Rock best of albums.
UVERworld - Timeless (2006)
BIGMAMA - 君がまたブラウスのボタンを留めるまで (2011)
KELUN - KELUN (2008)
ONE OK ROCK - 人生×僕 (2013)
…though my personal favorite is Nicheシンドローム
CROSSFAITH - THE DREAM, THE SPACE (2011)
Flumpool - Unreal (2008)
Happy End - 風街ろまん (1971)
Spitz - ハチミツ (1995)
Ok, I need to namedrop a couple more personal favorites (w/ bias):
BINECKS - Change and Chain (2010)
RADWIMPS - RADWIMPS4~おかずのごはん~ (2006)
ストレイテナー (Straightener) - STRAIGHTENER (2011)
Aqua Timez - ダレカの地上絵 (2007)
No Regret Life - Sign (2006)
Bump of Chicken - Yggdrasil (2004)
ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION - Sol-fa (2004)
UVERworld - Timeless (2006)
FLOW - Microcosm (2010) - oddly enough, the two tracks with PVs are in my opinion the weakest songs.
Survive Said The Prophet - s p a c e [s] (2018)
Special shoutout to L’Arc~en~Ciel’s Ray and Ark albums (1999) as they are truly special too.
Such a staggeringly wide category of music (“non-VK”) requires an equally broad range of suggestions, so here I go with three totally random picks, for now.
BLANKEY JET CITY - C.B.Jim (1993)
To me this album exudes pure raw youthful energy, distilled into fun punky rock ‘n’ roll tunes. Sharp guitars, tasty bass and absolutely animal drumming. One of the greatest power trios of Japan in the '90s (I could’ve also easily chosen their previous album “BANG!”).
NUMBER GIRL - SAPPUKEI (2000)
As far as I’m concerned, they were The indie-rock band. Such a creative way of playing and arranging, yet it’s not like crazy math-rock that might go over your head. Great sound on this one overall, somehow both clear and dirty. An electric buzz of tension and joy.
Church of Misery - Houses of the Unholy (2009)
One of Japan’s premiere metal bands in my eyes. They take stoner and doom metal tropes and crank everything up beyond eleven. The lumbering bluesy riffs sound like barbed wire caught in molten lava. In other words, pretty pleasant stuff. Can’t go wrong with their other albums either.
Some heavier shit:
gotta say voyage sans retour by malice mizer, a fancy album by fancy lads
just came to say Timeless and possibly Solfa (possibly? consider: Kimi Tsunagi Five M aka the first) but those were the first replies so I literally went researching to remember more must-listens
Ling Tosite Sigure - just a moment (just a moment is what it took to remember the name of the minialbum with Telecastic Fake Show is not TelecasticFake Show. sorry I only remember covers not names)
Amazarashi - biased of me but wanna say Sekai Shusoku 2116 (2016) Biased bc that’s when I found them out but it hit harder than earlier ones IMO. Consider Boycott though
Ali Project - Psychedelic Insanity (2007) because AliPro was just that weird indie vk-but-not-quite-bc-WoMeNzZzZz band until the whole Rozen Maiden era and then this album which really paved the way for every band like this (think Yousei Teikoku, Kalafina, WDYM I am biased towards Asriel etc)
Monkey Majik - Sora wa Maru de (that’s how I first heard about them but is it the most influential maybe. yes another 2007 one)
L’arc en Ciel - Kiss (guess the year. no but it’s not biased… well there are so many Ken songs here maybe it is… but hear srssssssss 
)
Bump of Chicken - Orbital Period (2007) was the platinum in my house (yes we seein a pattern) but not sure how many people agree that is their must listen. Most people might name Yggdrasil (2004)
the brilliant green - the brilliant green (1998) NOW for one rec I never actually got around to listening as of today but it’s in my backlog as I hear it was … something. I was just listening to Tomoko Kawase solo stuff and literally only a few the brilliant green songs but it seems good anyways Tommy Heavenly6 (2005) is platinum in my earphones
Aqua Timez - Carpe Diem (2011) although my favorite song is not there so difficult pick but its so solid criminally underrated band so who knows if its considered a must listen by anyone but me lmaooo
Polysics - probably Karate House would be the popular pick but We ate the machine was the platinum in my home so
Polkadot Stingray - Zenchi Zennou (2018) is a platinum to me but is it to everyone else? just found a really passionate review of it so maybe and not just the songs are A+ the visuals too … its a mood.
Honorable mention to Iceman bc DA’s obsession with striking down every pirated content is amazing so no real opinion on an album but a must listen band or just listen to Access aka japanese Erasure as @tsundairy aptly put
Honorable mention to Kinoko Teikoku’s Long goodbye but always felt like theyre the sorta band more loved by foreigners than in Japan
these should be more than enough though I keep thinking of bands or albums that are must listens in my heart but likely not to anyone else (Seamo’s debut album if we calling that rock, Adventure by Monobright which was a triple platinum here, Unison Square Garden’s self titled which literally only made waves in my home and Me and Your Borderline by Last Alliance to name sum 
)
and then there are a lot of bands that come to mind as must listen but I never listened to much whoops. thinking classic poprock ones like Judy and Mary (all I know is the sunshine track) Princess Princess (all I know is they inspired that BLs name) Chage & Aska (lol all I know are the tabloid stuff) etc I once even got a pack of cds to change that but do u have a player of 80mms yea me neither. it’s around somewhere
