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You are here: Home / Music / Another Open Thread

Another Open Thread

by John Cole|  May 1, 200910:56 pm| 447 Comments

This post is in: Music

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Right now, I am of the mind that there are very few albums that in and of themselves are completely perfect. If I had to list them, I would say that they are:

Little Feat: Waiting for Columbus, which I simply think is the greatest album of all time. I’m really not going to argue this one, nor will I put up with any discussions of my taste. This is the essential soundtrack in the movie of the life of John Cole. I don’t remember not owning this album. I don’t remember going a couple days without listening to it. When I did POM nonsense while in the Army, I included instructions to be buried with this playing.

Yes: Relayer

Frank Zappa: Fillmore East: June 1971

Pink Floyd: Animals

Ben Folds Five: The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner

The Beatles- Abbey Road. Blah blah blah it’s the Beatles, how trite and overplayed. Not really very good musicians, blah blah blah- I love it.

I’m sure there are others I would include as being complete and perfect and when I finish listening to them I am drained and content, but these stand out right now. Your mileage may vary, of course, and this is not a complete list, but these are albums that are a part of who I am.

Let the psychoanalysis begin.

*** Update ***

OMG- no Velvet Underground, I must have no taste! Die, posers.

*** Update #2 ***

Holy shit. I forgot Paul’s Boutique. Shoot me.

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Reader Interactions

447Comments

  1. 1.

    Calouste

    May 1, 2009 at 11:02 pm

    Considering two of the five (Animals and Relayer) are in my top 5 albums, I’m going to check out the other three.

  2. 2.

    mr. whipple

    May 1, 2009 at 11:02 pm

    Frank Zappa: Fillmore East: June 1971

    I’m a huge Frank fan, my fave is One Size Fits All.

    I’d add:

    Ellington, Great Paris Concerts

  3. 3.

    straleno

    May 1, 2009 at 11:04 pm

    You know this will the longest open thread you’ve ever had, right?

    XTC: Skylarking
    Freedy Johnston: Can You Fly
    Weezer: the blue album
    The Byrds: Sweethearts of the Rodeo

    And for me, Whatever and Ever Amen is the perfect Ben Folds Five album, with his solo album Rocking The Suburbs on the list, too.

  4. 4.

    cleek

    May 1, 2009 at 11:04 pm

    Animals, for sure.

    DSOTM, too. though i rarely want to hear it.

    Also:
    Abbey Road
    Talking Heads – Remain In Light
    Miles – Kind Of Blue
    Pretenders (first)
    Pavement – Slanted & Enchanted
    Sonic Youth – Daydream Nation
    F. Mac – Rumors
    My Bloody Valentine – Loveless
    Liz Phair – Exile In Guyville
    ZZ Top – Tres Hombres
    Slint – Spiderland

    there are more.

    they change over time, though.

  5. 5.

    neal peart

    May 1, 2009 at 11:06 pm

    Um, what about me?

  6. 6.

    John Cole

    May 1, 2009 at 11:08 pm

    @cleek: I was adding Abbey Road as you commented. I will see you Rumors, too.

    You know what else I would think about adding- Los Lobos, How Will The Wolf Survive? It just seems to miss a bit of the LP album play feel. But I still love it.

  7. 7.

    Dan

    May 1, 2009 at 11:08 pm

    perfect albums:

    Rolling Stones: Exile on Main Street

    Notorious B.I.G.: Ready to Die

    Allman Bros: Live at Fillmore East

    Miles Davis: Kind of Blue

    Common Sense: Ressurection

    Bob Dylan: Highway 61

    Just a few of my personal favorites.

  8. 8.

    J. Michael Neal

    May 1, 2009 at 11:08 pm

    Dire Straits – Love Over Gold
    Marvin Gaye – What’s Going On?
    The Blues Brothers Movie Soundtrack
    Ditto on Animals
    Alan Parsons Project – Gaudi
    Annie Lennox – Diva
    The Art of Noise – In No Sense? Nonsense!
    Rush – Rush in Rio

    That’s not quite a list of my favorite albums, as there are several that I think have flaws, but the highs of which make up for them. Duke from Genesis, for instance.

  9. 9.

    J. Michael Neal

    May 1, 2009 at 11:09 pm

    @neal peart: I got you covered, Neal.

  10. 10.

    lost in GA

    May 1, 2009 at 11:11 pm

    John; you preach it every now and then. Paul’s Boutique needs to grace your list.

  11. 11.

    Comrade Kevin

    May 1, 2009 at 11:11 pm

    The Clash – London Calling

  12. 12.

    smiley

    May 1, 2009 at 11:12 pm

    Graceland – Paul Simon
    Blue – Joni Mitchell
    and…
    Too many others to name.

  13. 13.

    jon

    May 1, 2009 at 11:12 pm

    XTC’s Skylarking (either the version with Mermaid Smiles or with Dear God for you pedantic fans)
    REM’s Reckoning (though I usually only listened to the first side on the vinyl)
    Pulp’s Different Class (perfectly snarky)
    Kink’s Muswell Hillbillies (never outdated, never outdone)
    Sundays’ Reading Writing and Arithmatic (perfect pop from the perfect sounding pop group, I remember hoping that the Can’t Be Sure single was going to be followed by a great album and can also remember being astounded that the album was just as good)
    and a second vote for The Pretenders’ First

  14. 14.

    Janet Strange

    May 1, 2009 at 11:13 pm

    One of my fondest memories of the Armadillo World Headquarters was standing right in front of Kenny Gradney while Little Feat played there. (He was so-o-o-o good looking.) Resting my elbows on the stage. . . . Sigh.

    A few years before that, my guitar-playing boyfriend (later husband) was in a band and went off to play in a small club in Houston. My best friend was singing with that band at the time. They both came back just raving, “We opened for the greatest band. Little Feat.” After that, it was simply not allowed to not be there whenever they played in Austin.

    OK, off to find Waiting for Columbus.

  15. 15.

    bogart

    May 1, 2009 at 11:14 pm

    ahem

    Radiohead – Ok Computer, or Kid A
    The Flaming Lips – The Soft Bulletin
    Elvis Costello – This Year’s Model
    Led Zeppelin – II
    Modest Mouse – The Lonesome Crowded West
    Wilco – Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
    The Clash – London Calling

    Yes, I am a hipster douchebag

  16. 16.

    wb

    May 1, 2009 at 11:14 pm

    Ya know, I always hate this kinda thing, ’cause it always shows my age. Ah well:

    Layla – Derick and the Dominoes
    Pearl – Full Tilt Boogie Band (yeah, it was Janis, but that WAS the name of the band)
    Live at Filmore East – The Allman Brothers Band
    Tea for the Tillerman – Cat Stevens (sure, go ahead and laugh, I don’t care anymore)
    Volunteers – Jefferson Airplane

    Sheesh…where’s my Metamucil?

  17. 17.

    Mike S

    May 1, 2009 at 11:14 pm

    Lou Reed “Rock and Roll Animal.”

    David Bowie’s “Station to Station” and “Ziggy Stardust.”

    The soundtrack to “Life Aquatic.”

    CSNY “4 way Street.”

    St. Germain’s “Tourist.”

  18. 18.

    asiangrrlMN

    May 1, 2009 at 11:15 pm

    Oh, so sad that I cannot play along on this thread. I will just have to read everyone else’s lists.

  19. 19.

    Steve V

    May 1, 2009 at 11:15 pm

    You’re going to get some crap from other liberal bloggers for liking Yes, I’d imagine. Though for my money I think I might go with Close to the Edge. :)

  20. 20.

    Xecklothxayyquou Gilchrist

    May 1, 2009 at 11:16 pm

    I can’t think of any albums that are perfect, but Abbey Road is as close as I’ve ever heard.

  21. 21.

    fliegr

    May 1, 2009 at 11:16 pm

    @cleek: no question. also

    Radiohead The Bends
    Radiohead OK Computer
    The Notwist Neon Golden
    Randy Newman Sail Away
    New Order Power Corruption and Lies

    Oh, and concur with London Calling and Paul’s Boutique.

  22. 22.

    cleek

    May 1, 2009 at 11:16 pm

    i’ll also add

    Neutral Milk Hotel – In The Aeroplane Over The Sea
    Cowboy Junkies – The Trinity Sessions

  23. 23.

    J. Michael Neal

    May 1, 2009 at 11:17 pm

    @Steve V: I can always manage to piss off Yes fans, since, while I like them a lot, my favorite album of theirs is Union.

  24. 24.

    J. Michael Neal

    May 1, 2009 at 11:18 pm

    Is it tragically unhip to say that I really like Coldplay?

  25. 25.

    Paul

    May 1, 2009 at 11:19 pm

    Waiting for Columbus is one of my favorites, too. I am very fond of that version of Dixie Chicken, and Willin’ is perfect, too, I’m smiling just thinking about it.

    I think I’ll take The White Album over Abbey Road. It’s pretty close but Maxwell’s Silver Hammer makes me want to puke, so I knock a few points off for that one.

    Bruce Cockburn’s Dancing in the Dragon’s Jaws is pretty high up there in my book.

  26. 26.

    cleek

    May 1, 2009 at 11:19 pm

    Is it tragically unhip to say that I really like Coldplay?

    unfortunately, yes.

    but you’re not alone. and we can help.

    I think I’ll take The White Album over Abbey Road. It’s pretty close but Maxwell’s Silver Hammer makes me want to puke, so I knock a few points off for that one.

    do you listen to Revolution 9 without reaching for the >> button ?

  27. 27.

    Cain

    May 1, 2009 at 11:20 pm

    Porcupine Tree – In Absentia
    Dream Theater – Images and Words
    Yes – Fragile

    I didn’t put any of the Rush ones since it would just be one big * (Except for Test4Echo..bleah)

    cain

  28. 28.

    tballou

    May 1, 2009 at 11:20 pm

    More perfect albums:

    801 Live (Phil Manzanera, Brian Eno, et al)

    Roxy Music – Roxy Music, Stranded

    Elvis Costello – My Aim is True

    Blondie – Blondie

    Grateful Dead – Wake of the Flood, Live from Mars Hotel, American Beauty

    Mothers of Invention – Hot Rats

  29. 29.

    J. Michael Neal

    May 1, 2009 at 11:21 pm

    @cleek: But I don’t want help.

    Okay, I do, but only in regards to explaining Non-GAAP Auditing Standards and Non-Audit Types of Reports.

  30. 30.

    Xecklothxayyquou Gilchrist

    May 1, 2009 at 11:21 pm

    @smiley: How could I forget Graceland!

    Oh, and The Graduate soundtrack.

  31. 31.

    A Ghost To Most

    May 1, 2009 at 11:21 pm

    John,
    I agree about Waiting For Columbus. Easily my favorite live album. I just don’t understand why more people don’t love this album like I do.

    If you don’t have the extended, two CD version, I highly recommend it. Not only does it restore ‘Don’t Bogart That Joint’ and ‘A Apolitical Blues’ from the LP, but it also has several other cuts from the concerts, including ‘Skin It Back’ (two versions), ‘One Life Stand’, and ‘Teenage Nervous Breakdown’.

    Albums I consider essential:

    Graceland – Paul Simon
    Trace – Son Volt
    Who’s Next – The Who
    No Depression – Uncle Tupelo
    and anything by Drive By Truckers

    edit: Exile on Main Street

  32. 32.

    folkbum

    May 1, 2009 at 11:21 pm

    Peter Mulvey, Kitchen Radio
    Old 97s, Satellite Rides
    Patty Larkin, Strangers World
    Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer, Drum Hat Buddha
    Carrie Newcomer, My Father’s Only Son

    Lots of others that are almost perfect, and probably lots of others that I can’t think of now.

  33. 33.

    C Nelson Reilly

    May 1, 2009 at 11:22 pm

    R.L. Burnside – A Ass Pocket of Whiskey

  34. 34.

    smiley

    May 1, 2009 at 11:23 pm

    @Steve V:

    Though for my money I think I might go with Close to the Edge. :)

    I was into that album at the time, along with some ELP. Gawd, youth.

    BTW, John, this thread runs the risk of turning into a Tbogg Pre-Friday hipper than thou wank fest. Just sayin… [ducks flames]

  35. 35.

    cleek

    May 1, 2009 at 11:23 pm

    Trace – Son Volt

    yes.

    their “Mystifies Me” kicks my ass every time i hear it.

  36. 36.

    J. Michael Neal

    May 1, 2009 at 11:24 pm

    Porcupine Tree – In Absentia

    Fear of a Blank Planet is better, as are a couple of the albums from the earlier style.

    Dream Theater – Images and Words

    Awake is better.

    Yes – Fragile

    Almost everything else is better. 1970s era Yes got far too cute.

    I didn’t put any of the Rush ones since it would just be one big * (Except for Test4Echo..bleah)

    Plus Grace Under Pressure and Counterparts. All of them have three good songs, and a lot of crap.

  37. 37.

    Krista

    May 1, 2009 at 11:24 pm

    Graceland – Paul Simon

    Definitely!

    Legend – Bob Marley and the Wailers
    Nothing Short of a Bullet – Lowest of the Low
    OK Computer – Radiohead
    Licensed to Ill – Beastie Boys
    Little Earthquakes – Tori Amos

    I’m sure there are others, but it’s late and I’m too tired to get up to go over to my CD rack.

  38. 38.

    LD50

    May 1, 2009 at 11:24 pm

    The Stooges, Fun House, released in 1970. Easily the most brilliant ‘rock’ LP ever made.

  39. 39.

    Alan

    May 1, 2009 at 11:24 pm

    Animals will always be way up there on the list.

    I loved every song on Van Halen’s first album.

    Rush has too many complete albums: 2112, Hemispheres, Moving Pictures…

    Big Audio Dynamit’s No. 10, Upping St.

    Many already listed by others.

  40. 40.

    lost in GA

    May 1, 2009 at 11:25 pm

    @cleek:
    I’ll give you NMH (solid), but Cowboy Junkies always struck me as a less interesting version of Mazzy Star (who preceded whom notwithstanding).

  41. 41.

    wb

    May 1, 2009 at 11:25 pm

    can’t think of any albums that are perfect, but Abbey Road is as close as I’ve ever heard.

    I’ve heard this for years, and I don’t know. Sure, I enjoy Abbey Road, but really, the bestest Beatles album evah was Rubber Soul.

    Sorry, I’m funny that way.

  42. 42.

    Keith G

    May 1, 2009 at 11:25 pm

    My eclectic 4

    Sergeant Pepper’s – I have my original – present from my older bro when i was in 6th grade.
    Déjà Vu – Crosby Stills Nash & Young
    Yellow Brick Road
    Transformer – Lou Reed

    I loved Rumors as well.

  43. 43.

    Xecklothxayyquou Gilchrist

    May 1, 2009 at 11:26 pm

    @wb: Sorry, I’m funny that way.

    I don’t judge. :)

  44. 44.

    Betsy

    May 1, 2009 at 11:30 pm

    R.E.M., Automatic for the People
    Neko Case, Fox Confessor Brings the Flood
    Paul Simon, Graceland.
    Bob Dylan, Blood on the Tracks

    There are probably others, but I’m tired and these are the ones that spring to mind before reading other folks’ lists.

  45. 45.

    smiley

    May 1, 2009 at 11:31 pm

    I see this appears to be an older crowd. Interesting… I didn’t know that before.
    @asiangrrlMN:
    Come on, play!

  46. 46.

    LD50

    May 1, 2009 at 11:31 pm

    I’ve heard this for years, and I don’t know. Sure, I enjoy Abbey Road, but really, the bestest Beatles album evah was Rubber Soul.
    Sorry, I’m funny that way.

    I’d place Rubber Soul second. I always thought their masterpiece was Revolver. The White Album and Abbey Road bore me to tears.

  47. 47.

    Sam Hutcheson

    May 1, 2009 at 11:32 pm

    The Rock*a*Teens – Golden Time (trust me)
    The Hold Steady – Seperation Sunday
    The Weakerthans – Left and Leaving

  48. 48.

    lost in GA

    May 1, 2009 at 11:32 pm

    @Krista:
    Not to butt into (more so) the conversation, but what did you think of “Scarlett’s Walk”? I thought Tori really nailed the mood of sensible people in the US after 9/11 in that album without becoming sanctimonious. And it proved to be a great tour. Saw her at an amphitheater in ATL with Ben Folds opening solo. Thanks.

  49. 49.

    Danton

    May 1, 2009 at 11:32 pm

    My two cents:

    Ry Cooder, Into the Purple Valley
    Warren Zevon, Stand in the Fire
    Grateful Dead, Workingman’s Dead
    The Pogues, If I Should Fall from Grace with God
    Paul Butterfield Blues Band, East-West

  50. 50.

    Groucho48

    May 1, 2009 at 11:33 pm

    Santana– Abraxas
    Bob Segar and the Silver Bullet Band–Live Bullet
    Bob Dylan–Highway 61 Revisited
    Rod Stewart–Every Picture Tells a Story
    Chuck Berry–More Chuck Berry
    Grateful Dead–American Beauty

  51. 51.

    kim

    May 1, 2009 at 11:34 pm

    P.E. – it takes a nation of millions
    Rage against the machine – ratm
    Gd – one from the vault / American beauty / reckoning
    Sublime – 40 oz to freedom
    Abb – live from Fillmore east 71
    Nin – downward spiral
    Paul’s boutique
    Dylan – blood on the tracks
    Velvet underground – loaded

  52. 52.

    Mnemosyne

    May 1, 2009 at 11:34 pm

    I could listen to Elvis Costello’s King of America every day from now until the day I die and never get sick of it. Yes, I know it has a reputation for being a crappy album. That reputation is wrong, and “Suit of Lights” is the reason why.

  53. 53.

    ed

    May 1, 2009 at 11:35 pm

    The Beatles suck ass. All Beatles albums suck ass. ..

    …except for Abbey Road. Which is awesome.

    also:
    Fishbone: Truth and Soul

    Clash: London Calling

    Neil Young: uh, lots

    Stones’ Exile and Los Lobsters Wolf were already mentioned.

  54. 54.

    Doug H.

    May 1, 2009 at 11:35 pm

    I think every Floyd album between Dark Side of the Moon and The Wall pretty much qualifies.

    Also mentions for Paradise Theater, The Blues Brothers soundtrack, Fear of a Black Planet, and one half of Making Movies.

  55. 55.

    Krista

    May 1, 2009 at 11:35 pm

    Not to butt into (more so) the conversation, but what did you think of “Scarlett’s Walk”?

    I actually haven’t heard it yet. (Hangs head in shame). I’ll have to check it out now.

  56. 56.

    smiley

    May 1, 2009 at 11:36 pm

    Cowboy Junkies – The Trinity Sessions

    Every time I put that on my friends fall asleep. Don’t know why…

  57. 57.

    Sam Hutcheson

    May 1, 2009 at 11:36 pm

    Oh, and for the record, Pinkerton is five times a better album than Weezer (blue.)

  58. 58.

    ed

    May 1, 2009 at 11:37 pm

    Paul Simon’s Graceland is a nice call too.

  59. 59.

    robertdsc

    May 1, 2009 at 11:37 pm

    Metallica-Master Of Puppets, the Black Album, and Death Magnetic

  60. 60.

    folkbum

    May 1, 2009 at 11:38 pm

    And no one’s added Frampton Comes Alive?

    [ducks]

  61. 61.

    asiangrrlMN

    May 1, 2009 at 11:38 pm

    @smiley: Nope. Not gonna do it. People think I’m a freak as it is. I don’t really need to confirm it.

  62. 62.

    Tom

    May 1, 2009 at 11:38 pm

    UFO – Strangers in the Night

    and

    Scorpions- Tokyo Tapes

    Two live albums that were all I needed in my teens.

    Is Les Miserables too far out of the general musical tastes here?

  63. 63.

    Kirk Spencer

    May 1, 2009 at 11:38 pm

    Alice Cooper – Welcome to my Nightmare.
    Pink Floyd – Dark Side of the Moon.
    Mannheim Steamroller – Fresh Aire III.

  64. 64.

    kim

    May 1, 2009 at 11:38 pm

    @kim: forgot to mention even though its not an album, greatest song of all time: pink floyd echoes.

  65. 65.

    Beauzeaux

    May 1, 2009 at 11:39 pm

    Jon Wayne – Texas Funeral

    (Their second album, Two Graduated Jiggers, is almost perfect too but much MUCH weirder.)

  66. 66.

    J. Michael Neal

    May 1, 2009 at 11:39 pm

    one half of Making Movies

    Christ, that’s only the fifth best Dire Straits album, beating out only Communique. It’s also behind every one of Mark Knopfler’s solo albums, and his duets with Emmylou Harris.

  67. 67.

    Betsy

    May 1, 2009 at 11:39 pm

    @kim:
    That was the soundtrack to high school. Not *my* soundtrack, necessarily, but the one that was playing in the background more often than not at various friends’ houses/cars. Ah, memories!

  68. 68.

    J. Michael Neal

    May 1, 2009 at 11:40 pm

    @asiangrrlMN:

    Nope. Not gonna do it. People think I’m a freak as it is. I don’t really need to confirm it.

    Uh, no. Everything you say screams, “I have to meet her some day.”

  69. 69.

    Mike S

    May 1, 2009 at 11:41 pm

    Transformer is a fantastic album. I saw Lou Reed at Neil Young’s “Bridge School Benefit 1997,” a two day show that’s all accoustic.

    The one I went to had Lou Reed, Metallica, Blues Traveler, Dave Mathews, Blind Melon, Allanis Morresette and Neil Young of course.

    A friend called it “Mikestock” because it was all of my favorite bands at the time. You can’t tell how good Metallica is until you see them play accoustic.

    And Lou Reed doing “Perfect Day” outdoors in Northern California was damn sweet. Although it was funny to see them clear all of the kids in wheel chairs off of the stage right before he came on. It’s like they thought he might shoot up then and there.

  70. 70.

    kim

    May 1, 2009 at 11:41 pm

    @Betsy: My high school years were ’92 – ’96, yours? ;)

    I can’t say I would still listen to NIN/Downward Spiral (i really have no reason to be that depressed anymore!), but I do appreciate its a masterful concept album.

  71. 71.

    Brick Oven Bill

    May 1, 2009 at 11:42 pm

    Here I prove Joe527 to be the fraud. Gifts are not achieved through education. The seven liberal arts and sciences are grammar, rhetoric, logic, arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy. Graduate and post-graduate studies of these subjects have not been able to teach President Obama to articulate his own words.

    In like manner, my pizza skills were largely gained through the study of thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, heat transfer, chemistry, and biology. This scientific background presents a false sense of security for the weak minded. Obama might perceive that he has a rhetorical gift, but in reality it is sophistry. I do not see a similar gift in myself. This is because my professors had to pass calculus, and were thus cognitively capable of teaching me humility.

    No, gifts are presented from deity, not college professors. Thus I present Rado, the pizza master. No formal education, and uses BROWN SUGAR. By the way, you prepare dough by kneading it, Joe the fraud.

  72. 72.

    Betsy

    May 1, 2009 at 11:42 pm

    @kim:
    :) Pretty close – ‘ 94- ’98

  73. 73.

    PGE

    May 1, 2009 at 11:43 pm

    I’ll play. Perfect is a pretty high bar, but I’ll add

    Veedon Fleece – Van Morrison
    The Roches – the Roches
    oh.. and Harvest – Neal Young
    and I agree with tballou about 801 Live: TNK is my favorite Beatles cover ever

  74. 74.

    wag

    May 1, 2009 at 11:44 pm

    R.E.M-Murmur
    Easy Star All stars-Dub Side of the Moon (easily the best pink floyd cover ever)
    Ramones-Rocket to Russia
    Go Gos-Beauty and the Beat
    Kraftwerk-Computer World
    The Pogues-Rum, Sodomy and the Lash
    Brian Eno-Music for Airports
    Talking Heads-The Name of this Band is…(best live album ever)

    You can probably guess when I was in college…

  75. 75.

    Paul

    May 1, 2009 at 11:44 pm

    @cleek

    “do you listen to Revolution 9 without reaching for the >> button ?”

    Yes, I do, but I’m funny that way. Honey Pie, on the other hand…

  76. 76.

    Ninerdave

    May 1, 2009 at 11:44 pm

    No love for the mighty Zep?

    Houses of the Holy?

    Come on now. Of course you like the Dead, so I suppose there is no accounting for taste

  77. 77.

    Farley

    May 1, 2009 at 11:44 pm

    @Doug H.: Amen to all that.

    So much great stuff already listed.

    To reach into my bag of slightly (?) younger stuff, if I may:

    Rage Against The Machine “Evil Empire”
    Perfect Circle “Thirteenth Step”

  78. 78.

    J. Michael Neal

    May 1, 2009 at 11:45 pm

    @Brick Oven Bill: See, other people complain about BOB, and, I admit, some of his posts display an extreme lack of creativity. For instance, it’s time for him to stop talking about wind energy. On the whole, though, he takes stream of conscious wingnutness to the level of being art. He’s not even a troll. He’s a category all by himself, and this would be a poorer comments section without him.

  79. 79.

    smiley

    May 1, 2009 at 11:45 pm

    @Kirk Spencer:

    Mannheim Steamroller – Fresh Aire III.

    I think we have a mole here.

  80. 80.

    Mike S

    May 1, 2009 at 11:45 pm

    Cripes Betsy and Kim. Couldn’t you keep that to yourselves? It’s bad enough to hear most of my high school songs on oldies stations.

  81. 81.

    phein

    May 1, 2009 at 11:45 pm

    Lyle Lovett – Joshua Judges Ruth
    Aphrodite’s Child – 666
    Stan Getz – Jazz Samba
    Leonard Cohen – I’m Your Man
    Traffic – John Barleycorn
    Cake – Motorcade of Generosity
    Van Morrison – A NIght in San Francisco
    Miles Davis – Kind of Blue
    Steve Earle – The Mountain
    Sinatra – In the Wee Small Hours
    Steve Earle – El Corazon

  82. 82.

    asiangrrlMN

    May 1, 2009 at 11:48 pm

    @J. Michael Neal: Aw, thanks. Believe you me, though, if I list my fave albums, you probably will change your mind.

  83. 83.

    smiley

    May 1, 2009 at 11:50 pm

    @Betsy:

    oh.. and Harvest – Neal Young

    I would include that one too. Good call.

  84. 84.

    Betsy

    May 1, 2009 at 11:52 pm

    @smiley:
    I think you probably meant to click @PGE. :)

    ETA: I do like that album, but it’s nowhere near the top of my list.

  85. 85.

    kim

    May 1, 2009 at 11:53 pm

    @Betsy: btw, great call on the neko case. what do you think of middle cyclone? i just can’t get as into it as fox confessor. going to see her in early june though, so still excited. graceland is probably the first cd that both my dad and i were equally absolutely stoked on.

  86. 86.

    randiego

    May 1, 2009 at 11:53 pm

    Lou Reed Rock ‘N Roll Animal is definitely one of ’em.

    Physical Graffitti, Ziggy Stardust, The Smiths, Nirvana, and RATM Battle of L.A. would be other memorable ones.

    I had a couple of unnamed live cassettes of J.Geils Band in the late 70’s that was insanely good, and a live Cure show in ’84 or so that was amazing too.

  87. 87.

    Cain

    May 1, 2009 at 11:54 pm

    @J. Michael Neal:

    Fear of a Blank Planet is better, as are a couple of the albums from the earlier style.

    I liked In Absentia as it had a wider set of topics. Fear of a Blank Planet seemed more of a concept album and I had a hard time getting into some of the songs. But there is that one knock out song that totally gets you out of your seat. I don’t have all of PT’s older stuff, but yah I like some of the older ones as well. I jut happen to listen to In Absentia the most. :-)

    Dream Theater’s Awake is also an excellent album. I agree. I haven’t liked too much of their latest stuff, and they’ve pissed me off by avoiding coming to the Northwest. Their egos have grown so huge that they expect a certain level of engagement. Portland is not particularly friendly to outside acts of Dream Theater’s size for whatever reason. I know they were pretty pissed the last time they played here.

    Van Halen, yeah, but only during the Dave era. Good stuff.

    I’ve lately been listening to Opeth, but I don’t like the death metal stuff when they don’t do the deathmetal with the growls it’s pretty damn good. :)

    cain

  88. 88.

    PGE

    May 1, 2009 at 11:54 pm

    phein, I made everybody I knew listen to 666 in… 1978 I think it was. maybe ’79. Great album.

    and I’ll add Kate Bush – Dreaming, a perfect album if ever there was one.
    and the 12 Dreams of Doctor Sardonicus

  89. 89.

    Violet

    May 1, 2009 at 11:54 pm

    I love “Graceland.” Totally perfect album.

    I also love the soundtracks to “Grosse Pointe Blank” and “Love Actually.” I wish I could put music together like that.

    I love Lyle Lovett. I think “Pontiac” and “The Road to Ensenada” are my favorites. A good friend thinks “Joshua Judges Ruth” is the best. They’re all good.

  90. 90.

    Mike S

    May 1, 2009 at 11:55 pm

    Neil’s Harvest Moon is another all around great album. My wife and I used the title track as our first dance at our wedding.

  91. 91.

    Mike G

    May 1, 2009 at 11:55 pm

    Midnight Oil – 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1

    The soundtrack to the dread of impending nuclear war that permeated everything in the Reagan early-mid-80s.

    And another vote for Neil Young’s Harvest.

  92. 92.

    Betsy

    May 1, 2009 at 11:56 pm

    @kim:
    You know, at first I definitely wasn’t that into it, but it’s grown on me the more I listen. I LOVE This Tornado Loves you and People Got a Lotta Nerve, and I quite like Magpie to the Morning. I still think I like Fox Confessor and The Tigers Have Spoken more, but I like this one, and it’s growing on me.

  93. 93.

    kvenlander

    May 1, 2009 at 11:56 pm

    Mingus: Ah um
    Talking Heads: Fear of music
    Linton Kwesi Johnson: Making history
    Neil Young: Weld

  94. 94.

    Cain

    May 1, 2009 at 11:56 pm

    @Ninerdave:

    Houses of the Holy?

    I love that album. I’ve been listening to a lot of Zep of late. In fact there is one song on there where I could have sworn I was listening to some old song of Porcupine Tree!

    cain

  95. 95.

    nix

    May 1, 2009 at 11:56 pm

    Love & Money – Strange Kind Of Love
    Steely Dan – The Royal Scam
    Louis Armstrong – Hot Fives & Sevens
    The Beatles – Past Masters Vol. 2
    Me’Shell Ndegéocello – Peace Beyond Passion
    Michael Giacchino – The Incredibles Soundtrack
    Neil Larsen – Jungle Fever
    Yellowjackets – 1st Album
    Earth, Wind & Fire – Gratitude
    Peter Gabriel – So

  96. 96.

    PeakVT

    May 1, 2009 at 11:58 pm

    I don’t know if there is a perfect album, as even my favorites have one that song that has me reaching for the remote. But these are some of the ones I’m most likely to listen through without interruption.

    Hendrix – Band of Gypsies
    North Mississippi Allstars – Shake Hands with Shorty
    GnR – Appetite for Destruction
    The Verve – Urban Hymns
    Stone Roses – Stone Roses
    Soungarden – Superunknown
    Powerman 5000 – Mega Kung Fu Radio
    Rage against the Machine – RATM (was just jamming to this. . .)

    Added: Morphine – Cure for Pain

  97. 97.

    Cain

    May 1, 2009 at 11:58 pm

    @kim:

    I can’t say I would still listen to NIN/Downward Spiral (i really have no reason to be that depressed anymore!), but I do appreciate its a masterful concept album.

    If you want downers, you should listen to Evanescence. Jeez, they take the topic of “lonely” to a whole new level.

    cain

  98. 98.

    joel hanes

    May 1, 2009 at 11:58 pm

    Crosby Stills & Nash
    Simon & Garfunkel “Bookends”
    Jimi Hendrix “Electric Ladyland”
    Led Zeppelin II
    Grateful Dead “American Beauty”
    side 1 of Blind Faith
    Bonnie Raitt “Nick of Time”
    Laura Nyro “Gonna Take a Miracle”
    Eagles “Desperado”
    Al DiMeola “Elegant Gypsy”

  99. 99.

    Calouste

    May 1, 2009 at 11:59 pm

    I saw Paul Simon in concert on the Graceland tour.

    Only time I have seen an artist being outplayed, more or less on purpose, by his backing band (Ladysmith Black Mambazo).

  100. 100.

    Bedrock

    May 2, 2009 at 12:00 am

    “Perfect” may be in the ears of the beholder but here are some of my faves:
    Paul Van Dyke-Seven Ways
    REM-New Adventures in Hi-Fi
    Ottmar Liebert-Solo Para Ti
    The Cure-Disintegration
    Peter Gabriel-So
    The Insider Soundtrack

    And ditto Little Earthquakes and Radiohead.

  101. 101.

    smiley

    May 2, 2009 at 12:00 am

    @joel hanes:

    Bonnie Raitt “Nick of Time”

    I second that.

  102. 102.

    Betsy

    May 2, 2009 at 12:01 am

    @kvenlander:
    Oh yes, Mingus Ah Um should have been on my list, no question.

  103. 103.

    J. Michael Neal

    May 2, 2009 at 12:01 am

    If you want downers, you should listen to Evanescence. Jeez, they take the topic of “lonely” to a whole new level.

    “Evanescence” is English for “Lacuna Coil.” It loses something in the translation, too.

  104. 104.

    Mr. Stuck

    May 2, 2009 at 12:01 am

    Led Zep 1
    Wishbone Ash (first)
    Mitchell- blue
    Blind Faith
    Allman Bro’s – Atlanta Pop Festival live
    Jethro Tull – Aqualung
    Traffic – Mr. Fantasy

    **Santana – Arbraxis

  105. 105.

    Cain

    May 2, 2009 at 12:02 am

    @J. Michael Neal:

    Plus Grace Under Pressure and Counterparts. All of them have three good songs, and a lot of crap.

    I love “Grace Under Pressure”. Counterparts I agree with you on. Songs like “Speed of Love” or whatever that is seemed like a lack of ideas. I really wish Neal would stop writing songs on the human condition and do some fun stuff. BTW I really loved their last album stuff like “Main Monkey Business” is just killer.

    cain

  106. 106.

    LawPemb

    May 2, 2009 at 12:02 am

    In no particular order:

    Clash – London Calling
    Stones – Begger’s Banquet
    Beatles – Abbey Road, Sgt Pepper’s &White Album
    Dylan – Blood on the Tracks
    Ray Charles – Genius + Soul=Jazz
    Animals -Animalisms
    Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin I
    Van Morrison-Tupelo Honey & Moondance
    Radiohead – The Bends
    Miles Davis – Porgy & Bess
    Sex Pistols – Never Mindd the Bollocks
    U2 – Achtung Baby
    Sam Cooke – Live at the Harlem Square Club
    Counting Crows – August & Everything After
    Frank Sinatra – Songs for Swingin’ Lovers
    Quincy jones – Birth of a Band

    I must stop now……..

  107. 107.

    burnspbesq

    May 2, 2009 at 12:02 am

    So much great stuff mentioned already, so I’ll add a few that haven’t been.

    Sonny Rollins, Vol. 2. (I saw him last night at Segerstrom Hall, and at age 78 the man can still bring it).

    Anything by Bob Mould.

    Strength in Numbers, The Telluride Sessions. The best bluegrass or newgrass album ever recorded.

    Paul Lewis, Complete Beethoven Sonatas (in four two-disc sets). Definitive, in every way.

    Thelma Houston, I’ve Got the Music in Me. Recorded direct to disc. The best sounding record I’ve ever heard.

  108. 108.

    Mike S

    May 2, 2009 at 12:02 am

    If you want downers, you should listen to Evanescence.

    If you want a downer, listen to Lou Reed “Berlin.” It’s one of tyhe most depressing albums ever made. A good friend of mine said that you need two things to listen to it. A bottle of Jack Daniel’s and a loaded .45 to blow your brains out.

    Any album with a song titled “Sad Song” is bound to be sad.

  109. 109.

    Betsy

    May 2, 2009 at 12:02 am

    @kim:
    Oh, and also, I’m mad jealous of your concert tickets. She’s not going to be anywhere near me this tour.

  110. 110.

    Ninerdave

    May 2, 2009 at 12:03 am

    @Cain:
    Yeah I go through a phase about once a year where I do Zep for about 2 months straight. Then I put it away. Of course I lived and died on them and AC/DC growing up.

    Oh and Chris Whitley is one of the best (mostly) unknown musicians ever.

    One of my favs: Dirt Floor

    If you’re of a mind, there’s a lot of his live stuff on You Tube. He was amazing live. Most times, just him, his guitar and a piece of wood he mic’ed to produce a bass drum sound

  111. 111.

    Cain

    May 2, 2009 at 12:03 am

    @J. Michael Neal:

    “Evanescence” is English for “Lacuna Coil.” It loses something in the translation, too.

    I had an album of Lacuna Coil, can’t remember what it was but it got stolen. They aren’t a bad band. Heavy on the arabic music though.

    cain

  112. 112.

    wilfred

    May 2, 2009 at 12:04 am

    No particular order:

    The Who – “Live at Leeds”

    Allman Brothers – ” Live at Fillmore East”

    The Clash – “London Calling”

    Public Enemy – “Fear of a Black Planet”

  113. 113.

    J. Michael Neal

    May 2, 2009 at 12:04 am

    Fear of a Blank Planet seemed more of a concept album and I had a hard time getting into some of the songs.

    I’m a big Alan Parsons fan, so concept albums don’t scare me.

    Dream Theater’s Awake is also an excellent album. I agree. I haven’t liked too much of their latest stuff, and they’ve pissed me off by avoiding coming to the Northwest. Their egos have grown so huge that they expect a certain level of engagement. Portland is not particularly friendly to outside acts of Dream Theater’s size for whatever reason. I know they were pretty pissed the last time they played here.

    I haven’t listened to Systematic Chaos much, but I liked both Train of Thought and Octavarium a lot. Still, if you like Dream Theater, I highly recommend the two Liquid Tension Experiment albums. John Petrucci, Jordan Rudess, and Mike Portnoy together with Tony Levin, the greatest bassist in the world. They cook with gas, and you don’t have to listen to LeBrie, who is easily the weakest link in DT.

  114. 114.

    Paul

    May 2, 2009 at 12:04 am

    I must also add Nick Cave & The Bad Seed’s “Abattior Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus”.

  115. 115.

    Bret

    May 2, 2009 at 12:05 am

    Elliot Smith – XO

  116. 116.

    Cain

    May 2, 2009 at 12:05 am

    @PeakVT:

    GnR – Appetite for Destruction

    Now, all of GnR’s popular songs seems to be covers with some exceptions. Half of the band (at the tiem) came from my home town of Lafayette, IN. For a small town we produced a lot of good bands. (blind mellon?)

    cain

  117. 117.

    Comrade Mary, Would-Be Minion Of Bad Horse

    May 2, 2009 at 12:06 am

    I have to agree with these:

    Bob Dylan: Highway 61
    Radiohead: OK Computer
    Van Morrison: Veedon Fleece
    Bowie: Ziggy Stardust

    And I’ll add these:

    Talking Heads: ’77/More Songs …/Fear of Music/Remain In Light
    Brian Eno: Taking Tiger Mountain
    Pixies: Surfer Rosa
    Sloan: Twice Removed
    Elvis Costello: This Year’s Model/Armed Forces/Get Happy
    Redd and White Stripes: Redd Blood Cells

  118. 118.

    wag

    May 2, 2009 at 12:06 am

    I forgot Flaming Lips-Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots

  119. 119.

    Mike S

    May 2, 2009 at 12:07 am

    It’s kind of depresing. I’m reading all of this great music but stuck playing Beyonce. Working at a Smooth Jazz station is good sometimes and bad others.

    Now is one of the others.

  120. 120.

    Cris

    May 2, 2009 at 12:08 am

    cleek@25: I sing along with Revolution 9. I bet you do too, sometimes.

    LD50@45: George Harrison said that he thought of Revolver and Rubber Soul as two halves of a double album. I like that idea.

  121. 121.

    Cain

    May 2, 2009 at 12:08 am

    I haven’t listened to Systematic Chaos much, but I liked both Train of Thought and Octavarium a lot. Still, if you like Dream Theater, I highly recommend the two Liquid Tension Experiment albums. John Petrucci, Jordan Rudess, and Mike Portnoy together with Tony Levin, the greatest bassist in the world. They cook with gas, and you don’t have to listen to LeBrie, who is easily the weakest link in DT.

    I admit that LeBrie has started to get on my nerves. They need to replace him I feel. He was a breath of fresh air in Images and Words since I couldn’t stand the other guy. I’ve listened to some of the Liquid Tension Experiment stuff. I need to buy some more albums.

    Didn’t they have something after Systematic Chaos? I didn’t like Train of Thought it was just.. too much. Plus, they had distractions in the songs that I found hard to get into for instance in “Sins of the Father”.. you keep hearing this ‘Goddam Regreeeet!” It was like you could cut a part of the song off it would be great. They just can’t resist geeking out. :-)
    cain

  122. 122.

    J. Michael Neal

    May 2, 2009 at 12:09 am

    I love “Grace Under Pressure”.

    “Kid Gloves,” “Red Sector A,” “The Body Electric,” and “Red Lenses” are all lame. “Distant Early Warning” and “Between the Wheels” kick ass, though.

    After two weak albums, Vapor Trails and Snakes and Arrows are great. So are the string of live albums they did, Different Stages, Rush in Rio and R30. Snakes and Arrows Live isn’t nearly as good, because the stuff off the new album doesn’t work well live. Alex has to spend so much time fiddling with the pedals that they lose energy. “The Main Monkey Business” may be their best instrumental ever.

  123. 123.

    JK

    May 2, 2009 at 12:10 am

    Tommy – The Who
    Who’s Next – The Who
    Dark Side of the Moon – Pink Floyd
    Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band – The Beatles
    Quadrophenia – The Who
    American Beauty – The Grateful Dead
    In the Court of the Crimson King – King Crimson
    Beggar’s Banquet – The Rolling Stones
    Rubber Soul – The Beatles
    Revolver – The Beatles
    Blonde on Blonde – Bob Dylan
    Europe 72 – The Grateful Dead
    Skull and Roses – The Grateful Dead
    Let it Bleed – The Rolling Stones
    Live at Leeds – The Who
    Sandinista – The Clash
    London Calling – The Clash
    1969: The Velvet Underground Live – Velvet Underground.
    Live Rust – Neil Young
    The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars – David Bowie
    Are You Experienced – Jimi Hendrix
    Live at the Fillmore East – The Allman Brothers Band
    Live Dead – The Grateful Dead
    Pretenders – The Pretenders
    Outlandos d’Amour – The Police
    The Chicago Transit Authority – Chicago
    Ghost in the Machine – The Police
    Born to Run – Bruce Springsteen.
    John Barleycorn Must Die – Traffic
    Joe’s Garage Vol 1 – Frank Zappa
    After the Gold Rush – Neil Young
    Rock n’ Roll Animal – Lou Reed
    Marquee Moon – Television
    Layla – Derek and the Dominoes
    Let It Bleed – The Rolling Stones
    Miles of Aisles – Joni Mitchell
    A Hard Day’s Night – The Beatles
    Help – The Beatles
    Nashville Skyline – Bob Dylan
    Blood on The Tracks – Bob Dylan
    Desire _ Bob Dylan

    Gave myself about 5 minutes and these were the most perfect albums that came to mind

  124. 124.

    Comrade Mary, Would-Be Minion Of Bad Horse

    May 2, 2009 at 12:10 am

    Oh, and here’s a perfect cover by Elliot Smith.

  125. 125.

    passerby

    May 2, 2009 at 12:11 am

    You know, my first thought was similar to what asiangrlMN chimed in with–I can’t really play because I don’t do the whole album thing. But like most people I like a wide range of music.

    I didn’t think I could name a perfect album but smiley @12 reminded me:

    Graceland–Paul Simon. Every track a winner and I played it over and over again back when I was far from home at school in Fayetteville, AR. Every track.

    And echo wb @ 15:

    Tea for the Tillerman – Cat Stevens (sure, go ahead and laugh, I don’t care anymore)

    Cat Stevens did some great stuff back in the day. Love him.

    My ex was a huge David Byrne fan and he turned me on to Talking Heads. So cleek blew the dust off that memory–Remain in Light.

    I guess I can sorta play along but, mostly, I’ll just watch from the sidelines.

  126. 126.

    demimondian

    May 2, 2009 at 12:12 am

    @smiley: Yup — it’s an older crowd.

    https://www.google.com/adplanner/site_profile#siteDetails?identifier=balloon-juice.com&geo=US&trait_type=1&lp=false

  127. 127.

    slackerjax

    May 2, 2009 at 12:13 am

    Black Sabbath – Sabotage
    Leatherface – Mush
    Pegboy – Strong Reaction
    Hüsker Dü – Zen Arcade
    Stiff Little Fingers – Inflammable Material
    Beastie Boys – Check Your Head
    David Bowie – Heroes

  128. 128.

    mario

    May 2, 2009 at 12:14 am

    when I was in college, circa ’77, I once wrote out the lyrics
    to Gates of Delirium from Relayer on the wall of a bathroom stall from memory.

    “stand and fight, we do consider…”

    just sayin’

  129. 129.

    Mike S

    May 2, 2009 at 12:15 am

    @demimondian: Old, male and childless seems to be the norm here.

    Oh, and more educated than me.

  130. 130.

    PGE

    May 2, 2009 at 12:16 am

    @Comrade Mary, Would-Be Minion Of Bad Horse: I go thru periods when I listen to Taking Tiger Mountain once a day.

  131. 131.

    asiangrrlMN

    May 2, 2009 at 12:16 am

    @demimondian: Woah, is the male/female breakdown really that drastic? And the kid thing amazes me. Is this for real?

  132. 132.

    Wile E. Quixote

    May 2, 2009 at 12:17 am

    Pink Floyd, Wish You Were Here

    Supertramp, Paris one of the best live albums ever recorded.

    The Beatles, Abbey Road

    The Rolling Stones, Some Girls

    Little Feat, Waiting for Columbus. I played “Dixie Chicken” for my Dad and he loved it.

    Joe Jackson, Night and Day and Look Sharp

    The New Pornographers, Twin Cinema

    Pet Shop Boys, Fundamental/Fundamentalism

    Warren Zevon, Life’ll Kill Ya

    Rush, Signals

  133. 133.

    demimondian

    May 2, 2009 at 12:17 am

    Peter, Paul, and Mary _Peter, Paul, and Mary_
    The Nylons, _Seamless_

  134. 134.

    JGabriel

    May 2, 2009 at 12:17 am

    Joni Mitchell – Blue, Court and Spark
    Elvis Costello – This Year’s Model, Imperial Bedroom
    The Replacements – Let It Be
    Pavement – Slanted and Enchanted
    Yo La Tengo – Painful, Electro-Purra
    Robyn Hitchcock – I Often Dream of Trains
    Richard & Linda Thompson – Shoot Out The Lights
    Matthew Sweet – Girlfriend
    Prince – 1999, Sign O’ The Times
    Outkast – Stankonia
    Wilco – Summerteeth
    REM – Murmur, Reckoning
    Liz Phair – Exile in Guyville
    The New Pornographers – Mass Romantic
    Sleater Kinney – One Beat
    Sonic Youth – Goo, Daydream Nation

    Etc., Etc., Etc.

    That’ll do for a start. Kind of random, but as a former college / alternative radio dj, I know way too many damn records and CD’s and could literally go on for hours, days even.

    .

  135. 135.

    burnspbesq

    May 2, 2009 at 12:17 am

    Has anyone mentioned “My Life in the Bush of Ghosts” yet?

  136. 136.

    kim

    May 2, 2009 at 12:20 am

    @Betsy: yeah, we got lucky. and even luckier on 6th row flight of the conchords in berkeley late may. i’m going to blow out this summer with concerts: the dead, allman bros, neko, flight of conchords, death cab, high sierra music festival and then 3 nights of phish (i admit it)… after that 2 years of little music while at b-school.

  137. 137.

    Betsy

    May 2, 2009 at 12:21 am

    @demimondian:
    How does Google get the data on gender, income, etc?

    I’m off to bed now – night everyone!

  138. 138.

    burnspbesq

    May 2, 2009 at 12:22 am

    The album falls short of perfection, but “A Million Miles Away” by the Plimsouls is the single best rock song ever recorded.

  139. 139.

    Turgidson

    May 2, 2009 at 12:22 am

    Built to Spill – Perfect from Now on
    My Bloody Valentine – Loveless
    Kinks – Something Else by the Kinks
    Husker Du – New Day Rising
    Nick Drake – Bryter Layer
    REM – Murmur
    Pixies – Doolittle
    Beatles – Rubber Soul
    Beach Boys- Pet Sounds
    Radiohead – Kid A
    Talking Heads – Remain in Light
    Cream – Disraeli Gears

    those come instantly to mind. There are a lot more.

  140. 140.

    PeakVT

    May 2, 2009 at 12:23 am

    @Cain: The songs on AfD are all by band members (two are co-credited to others). After that came out, the songs they wrote weren’t as good and thus the covers were played more. Also, AfD isn’t very radio-friendly (no Radio Friendly Unit Shifters – gawd I love that song title) it never got a lot of play except on MTV (IIRC).

    I’m glad to see Truth and Soul getting some love. I tastes are towards the hard/heavy stuff but I wish there were more like T&S. The music is great and the mood/emotions are … complex? Dunno how to describe what it does for me.

  141. 141.

    Kirk Spencer

    May 2, 2009 at 12:26 am

    @smiley:

    I think we have a mole here.

    Nope.

    I think folk have listed a lot of very fine albums. I don’t think most of them are perfect, however.

    Rule one of a perfect album is that every song is good. Unfortunately… let’s take an album I own and play quite a bit for example: Graceland. It’s excellent till gumboots. That one… just misses, in my opinion. Crazy Love is sometimes right and sometimes not. Since it’s a record it has to be the listener – doesn’t change the fact there are times I skip past it so it doesn’t ruin the album.

    Rule two for perfection is that there’s a flow. I don’t need a theme, but I think every song on a perfect album follows from the previous – either as contrast or continuation. I wore out my LP of the Blues Brothers soundtrack, and think every song is a gem – but some of the songs don’t follow.

    I happen to own the first eight albums put out by Mannheim Steamroller. The first four are outstanding, the next four gradually declined. Only one of the first four, however, is (in my opinion) perfect, and that’s Fresh Aire III aka “Fall”.

    There is, of course, a caveat. No album is perfect in the ears of every listener. If you cannot stand the genre, then regardless of how outstanding the work it will not be “perfect” to you. Caveat auditor.

  142. 142.

    Whammer

    May 2, 2009 at 12:28 am

    I’m a little surprised not to see some of the “pretty darn big” acts on this list (at least I think I didn’t see them):

    The Who (“My Wife” on Who’s Next is way underrated…)
    Springsteen
    Prince
    Beach Boys
    Nirvana
    Elton John — ya gotta like GBYBR, dontcha?
    Cream

    Who’s with me on some REO Speedwagon? ;-)

  143. 143.

    Shygetz

    May 2, 2009 at 12:28 am

    Talk, Talk, Talk — The Psychadelic Furs
    Second on Automatic for the People — REM
    So — Peter Gabriel
    Wildflowers — Tom Petty
    And, if we’re allowing compilation albums:
    Legend — Bob Marley and the Wailers
    Singles — The Smiths
    Galore — The Cure

    I consider these to be my no-skip albums.

  144. 144.

    Comrade Mary, Would-Be Minion Of Bad Horse

    May 2, 2009 at 12:30 am

    Hey! Coming up on Letterman right now is Bat For Lashes. No perfect albums yet, but just imagine Kate Bush as muse for her 21st century niece.

  145. 145.

    robertdsc

    May 2, 2009 at 12:31 am

    If you want downers, you should listen to Evanescence. Jeez, they take the topic of “lonely” to a whole new level.

    Amy Lee’s voice kills me. So many tracks off The Open Door hit the mark from a mile away.

  146. 146.

    JGabriel

    May 2, 2009 at 12:31 am

    Hmm, skimming other people’s lists here, it looks like I could party pretty comfortably with cleek, Comrade Mary, Turgidson, kim, Betsy, wag, and fliegr.

    Others too, I’m sure, but their choices just sort of stood out on a quick skim.

    .

  147. 147.

    burnspbesq

    May 2, 2009 at 12:32 am

    @Whammer:

    REO Speedwagon is in the guilty pleasure category, listened to alone, late at night when everyone else has gone to bed, through headphones. Otherwise, the risk of mockery is just too great.

  148. 148.

    JK

    May 2, 2009 at 12:33 am

    @Whammer:

    Agree with you on My Wife and would add Getting in Tune and The Song is Over to that list. The Who is timeless

  149. 149.

    Whammer

    May 2, 2009 at 12:34 am

    Comments moving fast — Cream and Prince show up while I’m kvetching.

    I’ll back up that Tea for the Tillerman from way above also. A certain age, I guess……..

  150. 150.

    Docrailgun

    May 2, 2009 at 12:35 am

    The Police – “Synchronicity”
    Styx- “Kilroy Was Here”
    Metallica – “… and Justice For All”
    Iron Maiden – “Powerslave”

  151. 151.

    hoosierspud

    May 2, 2009 at 12:35 am

    “Harvest” is Neil Young’s most middle-of-the-road, mainstream album. My personal favorite is “On The Beach”, but like Lou Reed’s Berlin, it is incredibly depressing. “After the Gold Rush”, “Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere”, and “Zuma” are all super albums.

    I would also nominate “Sweet Tea” by Buddy Guy.

  152. 152.

    JGabriel

    May 2, 2009 at 12:36 am

    @burnspbesq:

    REO Speedwagon is in the guilty pleasure category…

    Which explains why you use a pseudonym.

    (Ducks and runs.)

    .

  153. 153.

    demimondian

    May 2, 2009 at 12:36 am

    @burnspbesq: I was driving the family around the other day, and the CD changer shifted over to one of the Zevon albums, picking out “Excitable Boy”.

    One of the kids listened for a moment, and then said “Wow, Dad! You’ve never played *this* for us.”

  154. 154.

    CJ

    May 2, 2009 at 12:38 am

    @folkbum: I went to college with Peter Mulvey. Interesting guy.

  155. 155.

    jhaygood

    May 2, 2009 at 12:39 am

    Oh man, John, you’re bringing me back. When I heard The Last Record Album at a friend’s back in college around ’76 I borrowed it and literally played it hundreds of times – finally just bought him a new copy to replace it. Still have that copy…

  156. 156.

    gizmo

    May 2, 2009 at 12:40 am

    Santana – Abraxas.

    Case closed.

  157. 157.

    trollhattan

    May 2, 2009 at 12:41 am

    You’ve got some contendahs there, for sure. “Waiting for Columbus”–I just think of “Fat Man in the Bathtub” and the reel-to-reel in my brain can track the whole album. “Fillmore East” makes me think of mudsharks and a baby octopus. My fav-or-right Zappa album remains “Weasels Rip My Flesh” with honorable mention to “Hot Rats.”

    My perfect album list would have to include “Oranges and Lemons” by XTC, “Pure Pop for Now People” by Nick Lowe, “The Pretenders”, “London Calling” (sorry for the repeat, but I’m watching Rescue Me and they’re tracking “Guns of Brixton” and it totally works), “Happy Trails” by Quicksilver, “Astral Weeks” by Van…I’m pretty sure I’m supposed to stop.

    Special commendation to the Stones three album string: “Beggars Banquet,” “Let it Bleed,” “Sticky Fingers” which will never be equaled. Not even “Revolver” to “Sgt. Peppers.” There, I said it.

  158. 158.

    JK

    May 2, 2009 at 12:45 am

    Just Live Albums

    Live at Leeds – The Who
    Live at the Fillmore East – The Allman Brothers Band
    Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out – The Rolling Stones
    Live at the Hollywood Bowl – The Beatles
    Five Live Yardbirds – The Yardbirds
    Europe 72 – The Grateful Dead
    Skull and Roses- The Grateful Dead
    Live Dead – The Grateful Dead
    Before the Flood – Bob Dylan
    Hard Rain – Bob Dylan
    Waiting for Columbus – Little Feat
    Rock N’ Roll Animal – Lou Reed
    Live Rust – Neil Young
    David Live – David Bowie
    Absolutely Live – The Doors
    1969 – The Velvet Underground
    Miles of Aisles – Joni Mitchell
    It’s Too Late to Stop Now – Van Morrison
    Fillmore East – Frank Zappa

  159. 159.

    Turgidson

    May 2, 2009 at 12:46 am

    @JGabriel:

    Your list killed it. Many of them would make my top 50-100 or close to it.

  160. 160.

    Laura W Intriguing

    May 2, 2009 at 12:47 am

    @JK: WTF?
    No Bonnie Raitt Road Tested?
    Get real.

  161. 161.

    JGabriel

    May 2, 2009 at 12:47 am

    trollhattan:

    “Astral Weeks” by Van…

    Dayyum, how could I have forgotten Astral Weeks? Also, Into the Music, especially side two.

    .

  162. 162.

    Corner Stone

    May 2, 2009 at 12:48 am

    I won’t go with the “perfect” album nonsense but I will challenge anyone here – if you had to carry one artist/band’s oeuvre with you for eternity who would it be?
    For me, there is no doubt. Tool. Danny Carey + Maynard?
    Listen to them forever and pick up something new each time.
    We’re done here.

  163. 163.

    Corner Stone

    May 2, 2009 at 12:50 am

    Fuck the Beach Boys! Fuck them up their stupid ass!

  164. 164.

    burnspbesq

    May 2, 2009 at 12:52 am

    @demimondian:

    My kid gave me a verrrrrrrrrry strange look the first time he heard “Roland the Thompson Gunner.”

  165. 165.

    Bob Frapples

    May 2, 2009 at 12:52 am

    Waiting for Columbus must have been the roadies’ favorite, because it played through many a PA system before the concert, back in the day. Maybe I got to like it so much because I listened to it so many times while my own pre-concert warm-up was kicking in.

  166. 166.

    J. Michael Neal

    May 2, 2009 at 12:53 am

    @JK: You do realize that there are bands that got their start after 1973, right? Try them sometime. You might like some of them.

  167. 167.

    Turgidson

    May 2, 2009 at 12:54 am

    @burnspbesq:

    anything by Bob Mould

    Up until maybe 10 years ago, I would have agreed with you. Husker Du is almost all gold of course, his late 80s solo stuff was overlooked and great, Sugar was very good, and his first couple solo albums after that kept it going. But…his electronica dalliances and last couple albums haven’t done it for me. I keep trying to like them, but it isn’t working out.

    He definitely gets a lifetime achievement award from me, though, and my ears still haven’t recovered from seeing Sugar on tour. The only show I’ve ever seen that was definitely louder was My Bloody Valentine’s reunion tour a few months ago. (I was only 11 when Loveless came out, so missed their first go-around *sad face*)

  168. 168.

    J. Michael Neal

    May 2, 2009 at 12:55 am

    I won’t go with the “perfect” album nonsense but I will challenge anyone here – if you had to carry one artist/band’s oeuvre with you for eternity who would it be?

    Mark Knopfler, particularly if I can count the last three Dire Straits albums, which were mostly him. Rush and Marillion place close behind.

  169. 169.

    Mike S

    May 2, 2009 at 12:55 am

    @hoosierspud: Huge Neil Fan here. I’ve seen him at least 36 times. On the Beach is an outstanding album with some of the best lyrics ever written.

    I heard that Laurel Canyon is full of famous stars.
    But I hate them worse than lepers and I kill them in their cars.

    Some of his more obscure albums, the ones he did on Virgin I think, have some great stuff too. Life is a great album with songs like Mideast Vacation.

    I was grooving through the disco, moving to the beat, when they burned me in effigy my vacation was complete.

    But the best part of the album is the last two songs.

    When your lonely heart breaks is a great song for getting over a broken heart. When the song ends you feel a ton better.

    Then it follows with “We Never Danced” which makes you want to kill yourself again.

    The tour was awesome too. The set was a garage and the idea was that they were a garage band practicing for a big show. He even had Bobcat Goldwaith play the next door neighbor screaming about the noise.

  170. 170.

    JGabriel

    May 2, 2009 at 12:55 am

    @Corner Stone:

    Fuck the Beach Boys! Fuck them up their stupid ass!

    Yeah, umm…. I’ll second the nomination for Pet Sounds. That really is a fantastic record. You might want to check it out, Corner Stone.

    .

  171. 171.

    Michael

    May 2, 2009 at 12:56 am

    @J. Michael Neal

    Is it tragically unhip to say that I really like Coldplay?

    You and my 15 year old pianist daughter, who has memorized and built off every song in their repertoire.

    I’ll list my faves –

    Jethro Tull – Warchild, Aqualung, Songs From the Wood

    Jimmy Buffett (yes, he has perfect albums here and there) – A1A, Changes in Latitudes, Son of a Son of a Sailor

    Liz Phair – Exile in Guyville (somebody brought this up earlier)

  172. 172.

    trollhattan

    May 2, 2009 at 12:56 am

    @hoosierspud

    Love the Buddy Guy: “I Done Got Old”

    Boo-ya!

    Dang, I forgot “Live at the Apollo”, James Brown!

  173. 173.

    Mike S

    May 2, 2009 at 12:57 am

    @folkbum: Is this folkbum my spellchecker? I haven’t seen your name in years.

  174. 174.

    Corner Stone

    May 2, 2009 at 12:57 am

    @ed:

    The Beatles suck ass. All Beatles albums suck ass. ..

    Agree 100%. Only one song by these schmoos I’ll even listen to and that’s – Let It Be.
    Otherwise, if you’re under 50 you realize just how bad they fucking suck.

  175. 175.

    JGabriel

    May 2, 2009 at 12:58 am

    @Turgidson: Thanks, you can assume from my comments that I felt an affinity for your choices too.

    .

  176. 176.

    Tattoosydney

    May 2, 2009 at 12:59 am

    @smiley:

    Good heavens. Jefferson Airplane? Soooo much Pink Floyd.

    At the risk of gaying up the thread:

    Massive Attack: Blue Lines
    Lisa Miller: Car Tape.
    Global Underground: Dubfire – Taipei Disc 1
    Renaissance – Dave Seaman – Awakening – the greatest dance mix CD ever made…

  177. 177.

    goblue72

    May 2, 2009 at 1:00 am

    Velvet Underground – White Light/White Heat
    The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band – Will the Circle Be Unbroken
    Jay-Z – The Black Album
    Neutral Milk Hotel – On Avery Island
    Elliott Smith – Either/Or
    A Tribe Called Quest – The Low End Theory
    Big Star – #1 Record / Radio City
    Marvin Gaye – What’s Going On
    KISS – Alive!
    Bruce Springsteen – Nebraska
    John Coltrane – A Love Supreme
    Ali Farka Toure – Talking Timbuktu
    Babatunde Olatunji – Drums of Passion
    The Feelies – Crazy Rhythms
    Television – Marquee Moon
    Beach Boys – Pet Sounds

  178. 178.

    burnspbesq

    May 2, 2009 at 1:00 am

    @Turgidson:

    I liked most of District Line, and I love “Stupid Now” even though it feels unfinished.

    Haven’t heard his latest yet – vinyl’s not coming out for another two weeks.

  179. 179.

    trollhattan

    May 2, 2009 at 1:00 am

    @ Corner Stone.

    XTC The only perfect pop band since the Beatles.

  180. 180.

    Corner Stone

    May 2, 2009 at 1:01 am

    @JGabriel: Unfortunately, my rents were born in the ’40s. Hence, I’ve heard a hell of a lot of Waylon & Willie and the Boyz, Kenny Rogers, and the motherfucking suck my loser ass balls Beach Boys.
    No thanks bub.

  181. 181.

    JK

    May 2, 2009 at 1:01 am

    @J. Michael Neal:

    The Pretenders, The Clash, The Police, and Television are all post 1973.

    Some, if not many of us, have our blind spots or biases.

    Thanks for your suggestion.

  182. 182.

    Turgidson

    May 2, 2009 at 1:03 am

    @Corner Stone:

    if you had to carry one artist/band’s oeuvre with you for eternity who would it be?

    Definitely the Beatles for me – obvious, cliched and lame as it is. I truly think they deserve every single bit of hype and credit they receive. Their whole catalog is excellent and I still hear new things in it all the time, despite having been listening to it since I was 5. The progress they made in about 8 years was breathtaking, I think.

    Considering this question, the reason it’s obviously the Beatles for me is that so few bands were able to sustain a high level of excellence for more than a 2-3 albums. The Beatles did it from A Hard Day’s Night through Abbey Road in my stupid opinion. The Stones had many great albums. The Kinks had an amazing run. Dylan, too. I just like the Beatles’ albums better. Most of my (other) favorite albums were the very best that band could do, and they couldn’t sustain it for long. Which is natural, and which makes the Beatles such freaks.

  183. 183.

    Turgidson

    May 2, 2009 at 1:04 am

    oh by the way Corner Stone, I’m 29. high five!

  184. 184.

    burnspbesq

    May 2, 2009 at 1:05 am

    “Quarter Moon in a Ten Cent Town” was about as good as it got in the 1970s.

  185. 185.

    hoosierspud

    May 2, 2009 at 1:05 am

    @Mike S:

    I only saw the Live Rust tour, but it rocked.

    I think he wrote “Revolution Blues” about the Manson family. A lot of the lyrics remind me of stuff in “Helter Skelter”.

    I used to have the vinyl of “Everbody Knows This is Nowhere” and I really liked the song, “Come On, Baby, Let’s Go Downtown” that Danny Whitten sings lead on. It’s not on the CD.

    I would recommend “Squeaky”, Neil’s biography that came out several years ago if you haven’t read it.

  186. 186.

    Tattoosydney

    May 2, 2009 at 1:06 am

    @Tattoosydney:

    Forgot one…

    George – Polyserena

  187. 187.

    The Other Steve

    May 2, 2009 at 1:09 am

    My all time favorite albums.

    Radiohead – OK Computer
    Alanis Morisette – Jagged Little Pill
    Tori Amos – To Venus and Back
    Pink Floyd – The Wall
    Holly Cole – Don’t Smoke in Bed
    Chieftains – The Long Black Veil
    Sarah McLachlan – Surfacing
    Van Halen – 5150

  188. 188.

    cleek

    May 2, 2009 at 1:09 am

    The Feelies – Crazy Rhythms

    woohoo!

  189. 189.

    hoosierspud

    May 2, 2009 at 1:10 am

    @trollhattan:

    I love “Done Got Old”, but I really like every song on that album.

  190. 190.

    Paul

    May 2, 2009 at 1:11 am

    Re:

    “The Beatles suck ass. All Beatles albums suck ass. ..”

    That’s an attitude, not an opinion. Check yer head(s). I’d bet your favorites would tell you to take a flyin’ frak at the moon…or at least sing Dear Prudence in the shower.

  191. 191.

    JGabriel

    May 2, 2009 at 1:12 am

    @Corner Stone:

    Unfortunately, my rents were born in the ‘40s. Hence, I’ve heard a hell of a lot of Waylon & Willie and the Boyz, Kenny Rogers …

    I feel your pain. Literally. My parents, also born in the 40’s, tortured me the same way.

    .

  192. 192.

    eemom

    May 2, 2009 at 1:12 am

    A lot of great stuff mentioned here, but I just don’t GET why anyone would focus on albums instead of songs.

    And I guess I’m “old,” if that matters. 46. Forty-six. There, I said it.

    (and hi there burnsy! Fancy meeting you here…..)

  193. 193.

    The Other Steve

    May 2, 2009 at 1:13 am

    Oh yeah… Dave Brubeck – Time Out

  194. 194.

    amorphous

    May 2, 2009 at 1:14 am

    whoah, no joshua tree? no red headed stranger?

  195. 195.

    asiangrrlMN

    May 2, 2009 at 1:14 am

    @Tattoosydney: I gotta ask you, who is the dark-haired guitar player for George? Oh, sure, I could look it up, but I’m too lazy to do that.

  196. 196.

    Turgidson

    May 2, 2009 at 1:15 am

    @Paul:

    …or at least sing Dear Prudence in the shower.

    Wait, other people do that? I thought I was the only one.

  197. 197.

    burnspbesq

    May 2, 2009 at 1:17 am

    @eemom:

    Counselor – how goes it? Did Betsy tell you I’m back to being a real lawyer, in a law firm and all?

  198. 198.

    JGabriel

    May 2, 2009 at 1:18 am

    Turgidson:

    Wait, other people do that? I thought I was the only one.

    Siouxsie from Siouxsie and the Banshees definitely does, given the sound quality on her cover version – which I actually kind of like.

    .

  199. 199.

    Tattoosydney

    May 2, 2009 at 1:19 am

    @asiangrrlMN:

    Get you to the Google, woman.

    (Sheesh.

    The band consists of Katie Noonan on vocals and keyboards, her brother Tyrone Noonan on vocals, guitar and keyboards, Geoff Green on drums and percussion, Paulie Bromley on bass and Nick Stewart on acoustic and electric guitar. Geoff Hooton, a bass player left the band in early 2000.

    sigh.)

  200. 200.

    asiangrrlMN

    May 2, 2009 at 1:20 am

    @Tattoosydney: I saw that, but I am illiterate as to which guitar is which. A little help?

  201. 201.

    robertdsc

    May 2, 2009 at 1:21 am

    if you had to carry one artist/band’s oeuvre with you for eternity who would it be?

    Metallica by light-years over anyone else.

  202. 202.

    JC

    May 2, 2009 at 1:22 am

    Seconding anyone who said London Calling and Born to Run.

    But no one’s mentioned Grace by Jeff Buckley?

  203. 203.

    Mike S

    May 2, 2009 at 1:23 am

    @hoosierspud: I didn’t make the Live Rust tour. Manson was a regular on Topanga beach and up in the canyon when Neil lived up there. I’ve been meaning to pick up the book.

    The Other Steve

    I saw Dave Brubeck at the HollyWood Bowl last summer. The guys like 150 years old. We started a dead pool when he and his band walked out on stage, it was who would die on the stage first. Dave actually had to have someone help him to his piano.

    But when he sat down he blew me away. It was like watching a 20 year old play.

    The great thing about living in LA is that everyone plays here.

  204. 204.

    JGabriel

    May 2, 2009 at 1:27 am

    @Steve V:

    You’re going to get some crap from other liberal bloggers for liking Yes …

    It has nothing to do with being liberal and everything to do with Yes making bloated, pretentious music that’s: no fun.

    That said, if it weren’t for groups like Yes, Emerson Lake & Palmer, and The Moody Fucking Portentous Blues, all taking themselves way too seriously, we probably wouldn’t have the great punk counter-reaction from the Sex Pistols, The Clash, etc. So there is that to be said for them. I guess.

    .

  205. 205.

    Corner Stone

    May 2, 2009 at 1:27 am

    @Turgidson:

    oh by the way Corner Stone, I’m 29. high five!

    No. I’m sorry but anyone born 1980’ish, who started remembering moosic at 5 should not be holding on to the cheesy ass Beatles so damn tightly.
    There’s just something wrong here.

  206. 206.

    Splitting Image

    May 2, 2009 at 1:27 am

    Lots of good choices here. I second Pet Sounds and Graceland.

    I see lots of Dylan, but no love for Bringing it All Back Home? Oh well.

    Also:

    Abba – Abba: the Album
    Mike Oldfield – Ommadawn
    Pink Floyd – Meddle
    The Pogues – If I Should Fall From Grace With God
    The Byrds – Sweetheart of the Rodeo
    REM – Automatic For the People
    Love – Forever Changes
    U2 – The Unforgettable Fire

    A word about REO Speedwagon. I had a very well-played copy of “Wheels Are Turning” back in 1985 or so.

    And thumbs up to goblue for nominating Big Star. I actually prefer Sister Lovers, although it has its peaks and valleys.

  207. 207.

    Politically Lost

    May 2, 2009 at 1:28 am

    I’m gonna date my self and show my So. Cal. Roots.

    Oingo Boingo – Best O’ Boingo.

  208. 208.

    Jim

    May 2, 2009 at 1:30 am

    The Who – “Who’s Next”
    Springsteen – “Born to Run”
    Mary Chapin Carpenter – “Come On Come On”
    The October Project – “The October Project”
    Jennifer Knapp – “The Way I Am”

    and notwithstanding all the ridicule that will follow:

    Neil Diamond – “Hot August Night”

  209. 209.

    Mike S

    May 2, 2009 at 1:31 am

    Oingo Boingo’s Holloween and New Years Eve shows were legendary.

  210. 210.

    Turgidson

    May 2, 2009 at 1:32 am

    @Corner Stone:

    If liking the Beatles is wrong, I damn well don’t want to be right.

    edit: Now Playing – Happiness is a Warm Gun

  211. 211.

    Mike S

    May 2, 2009 at 1:34 am

    @Jim: Any show done at the Greek Theater is great. The atmosphere there just makes all music sound perfect.

  212. 212.

    Toyon Toots

    May 2, 2009 at 1:35 am

    Van Morrison: Moondance
    Bobby Bland: Two Steps from the Blues
    Albert King: Born Under a Bad Sign
    Hollywood Fats: Rock This House
    Teresa James & the Rhythm Tramps: Oh, Yeah!
    The Clovers: Down in the Alley

    If I had to pick one … The Clovers

  213. 213.

    Ben

    May 2, 2009 at 1:37 am

    Top 5 (at least right now, I’m blitzed)…

    Dredg – El Cielo
    RHCP – Blood Sugar Sex Majik
    Pogues – Rum, Sodomy, and the Lash
    Hendrix – Live at the Fillmore
    Social Distortion – Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell

  214. 214.

    AnneLaurie

    May 2, 2009 at 1:38 am

    I saw Paul Simon in concert on the Graceland tour. Only time I have seen an artist being outplayed, more or less on purpose, by his backing band (Ladysmith Black Mambazo).

    I saw that tour too (the Lansing show), but I got the impression Simon didn’t realize how completely outclassed he was…

    As for albums I haven’t seen here:

    Melissa Etheridge – (especially) her first, Brave & Crazy, Never Enough, and Breakdown
    Peter Gabriel – Security
    Eurythmics – Touch
    October Project
    Simon & Garfunkel – Wednesday Morning 3AM
    Maddy Prior & Tim Hart – Summer Solstice
    Steeleye Span – Ten Man Mop, Below the Salt, Parcel of Rogues…

  215. 215.

    burnspbesq

    May 2, 2009 at 1:40 am

    @Mike S:

    Remember the Los Lobos shows at the Greek in the late 1980s? Unbelievable.

    The only outdoor venue that comes close to the Greek is Wolf Trap. Saw some epic shows there when I lived in NoVa.

  216. 216.

    Jim

    May 2, 2009 at 1:41 am

    @AnneLaurie: Wow, I’m rather surprised someone else has even heard of October Project

  217. 217.

    amorphous

    May 2, 2009 at 1:43 am

    @Michael: Son of a Son of a Sailor is a yes for me.

  218. 218.

    Gravenstone

    May 2, 2009 at 1:46 am

    *sigh* I feel like I’m coming from the shallow end of the gene pool here, in terms of taste and breadth of musical exposure. Still, might as well play along. Not claiming perfection, just what works for me.

    Operation Mindcrime – Queensryche
    Powerslave – Iron Maiden
    Rubber Soul – Beatles
    Whos Next – The Who
    The Turn of a Friendly Card – Alan Parsons Project

  219. 219.

    Seitz

    May 2, 2009 at 1:47 am

    The first Stone Roses album is the most perfect album in the history of recorded music.

  220. 220.

    Corner Stone

    May 2, 2009 at 1:47 am

    @Turgidson: Listen, for someone who was a teen in the ’60s I’m sure it’s a natural reflex. But for those of us born with a 7 handle or later – the Beatles just weren’t the phenomenon anymore.
    Their music is simplistic, their lyrics are fit to another time. A time that just didn’t exist post 1980. The mop top shakin, hip schwerving was important sure – but to a different generation.
    So, in sum, I will continue to contend that all Beatles’ catalog sucks the boney one.

  221. 221.

    Turgidson

    May 2, 2009 at 1:48 am

    @Corner Stone:

    You obviously haven’t heard any Beatles material after 1965. Carry on.

  222. 222.

    eemom

    May 2, 2009 at 1:50 am

    @burnspbesq:

    naw, I’ve lost touch with the “relaxed” gang.

    A LAW FIRM?? Horrors! Say it ain’t so, Joe….please, say it ain’t so. (what was the name of that Roger Daltrey solo album?).

    And who said “Hot August Night”?? I’ll be a closet fan of the young Neil Diamond till I die, by God…..AND I’ll throw in REO Speedwagon, to complete the pathetic picture.

  223. 223.

    Joel

    May 2, 2009 at 1:50 am

    @Mike S: Tourist is just an awesome album.

    I’d consider Daft Punk’s Discovery, although it has a few weak spots.

  224. 224.

    Corner Stone

    May 2, 2009 at 1:50 am

    @Gravenstone:

    Operation Mindcrime – Queensryche

    Oh God yes.

  225. 225.

    NR

    May 2, 2009 at 1:51 am

    I would just like to take this opportunity to point out that Wish You Were Here is the best Pink Floyd album.

    That is all.

  226. 226.

    Corner Stone

    May 2, 2009 at 1:53 am

    @Turgidson: No, it’s true. I didn’t waste my time because they sucked pre -65 and I wasn’t born then.
    I mean, I like Buddy Holly too but I keep him in his cage.

  227. 227.

    Mike S

    May 2, 2009 at 1:53 am

    @burnspbesq: I’ve never seen Los Lobos, but liked them a lot.

    I’ve seen a lot more shows at the Bowl. I love that place, one reason being that you can bring in all the beer, wine and food you want.

    Last summer I saw The Thunder Tour. Stanley Clarke, Victor Wooten and Marcus Miller. All three are bass gods. Together they sound like a full band. They all play the bass like the best guitarist you’ve ever seen.

    I’ve seen Clarke about 6 times and every damn time I am blown away by how friggin good he is.

  228. 228.

    Corner Stone

    May 2, 2009 at 1:55 am

    @NR:

    I would just like to take this opportunity to point out that Wish You Were Here is the best Pink Floyd album.

    That’s like saying the toilet scene from Dumb & Dumber was the best scat scene in film.

  229. 229.

    burnspbesq

    May 2, 2009 at 1:57 am

    @Mike S:

    For me, the Trinity of Bass Gods is Paul Chambers, Ron Carter, and Edgar Meyer, but if you like the guys you mentioned you need to check out Tal Wilkenfeld. Find the 2007 Crossroads Guitar Festival DVD and check out her solo on “Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers” with Jeff Beck.

  230. 230.

    Mike S

    May 2, 2009 at 1:57 am

    @Joel: I haven’t heard DP.

    Last summer there was a world music show at the Bowl where I saw Thievery Corporation. They were pretty amazing, of course the “special” lemon cake may have skewed it for me.

  231. 231.

    JK

    May 2, 2009 at 1:59 am

    @J. Michael Neal:

    I will challenge anyone here – if you had to carry one artist/band’s oeuvre with you for eternity who would it be

    It would have to be The Beatles

    Second choice would be The Rolling Stones and third choice would be The Who.

    Great to see so many outstanding choices on this thread.

    Disappointing to see the trashing of other peoples’ choices.
    Voting for John McCain shows far worse judgement than expressing a favorable opinion of The Beatles.

  232. 232.

    Turgidson

    May 2, 2009 at 2:01 am

    @Corner Stone:

    My point is, descriptors like “simplistic”, “mop top shaking”, and lyrics about liking girls really only apply to their music pre-Rubber Soul. The complexity of the lyrics, arrangements, and production grew rapidly from then on. But whatever – you have your opinion of the Beatles and I have mine.

    Anyway, I respect the fact that you love Tool, a band I find to be a tedious listen personally – I know I know, only their true fans “get it”, and the rest of us don’t. That’s cool. You can lack respect for my taste if you want. No biggie.

  233. 233.

    eemom

    May 2, 2009 at 2:01 am

    and if you’re gonna talk about albums and Paul Simon in the same thread, someone has to mention Bridge Over Troubled Water……

  234. 234.

    tbogg

    May 2, 2009 at 2:02 am

    What Seitz said.

    Waiting for Columbus is the greatest live album, however.

    Back when I was a roofer (in the seventies) I used to play in a regular Thursday night poker game that had an ever-shifting group of guys who showed up to play. One night one of the regulars brought his friend “Sam”. Later in the evening during a break in play someone asked Sam what he did and he said he was a musician. Someone asked what band, assuming a local band. Sam Clayton. Little Feat.

    Place went fucking nuts.

  235. 235.

    burnspbesq

    May 2, 2009 at 2:03 am

    @JK:

    Body of work? Coltrane. Then the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields. Then the Beatles.

  236. 236.

    Mike S

    May 2, 2009 at 2:04 am

    @burnspbesq: I’ll check them out.

    I was in Nice France a couple of years ago. We were delayed at Heathrow, worst fucking airport on the planet, and got to our hotel at 3 in the morning. There were some americans in the lobby that I started talking to. They mentioned that they were in a Jazz band. I told them that I had seen Return to Forever back in 1983. The guy I was talking to said, “here comes Al Dimeola right now.” They were on tour along the French Riviera and staying in the room right across the hall from me.

    Made the delay worth it.

  237. 237.

    Tattoosydney

    May 2, 2009 at 2:05 am

    @asiangrrlMN:

    Um. I have no idea.

  238. 238.

    Doug

    May 2, 2009 at 2:05 am

    Certainly, unequivocally, one of the top five of my all time:

    Born to Run, The Boss

  239. 239.

    JC

    May 2, 2009 at 2:06 am

    Oh, and for some badass hardcore: Cave-In, Until Your Heart Stops. If you want to go crazy, that’s the album to do it to.

  240. 240.

    Turgidson

    May 2, 2009 at 2:07 am

    @burnspbesq:

    Yeah, Coltrane is pretty unfuckwithable. I’m just not always in the mood to listen to jazz, so he’s further down my list, as are Miles and the other obvious jazz luminaries with amazing catalogs.

  241. 241.

    JK

    May 2, 2009 at 2:13 am

    @Turgidson:

    I think some people just have a knee jerk reaction to trash The Beatles. I’d bet that many of these people haven’t bothered to listen to their work from 1965 onwards.

    @burnspbesq:

    I love John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonius Monk and many other jazz musicians. For the purpose of this thread, I chose to limit myself to rock music.

    I’m not familiar with Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields but I’ll check them out.

  242. 242.

    Corner Stone

    May 2, 2009 at 2:14 am

    @Turgidson:

    Anyway, I respect the fact that you love Tool, a band I find to be a tedious listen personally

    Holy shit.
    I may have to come back to this later.
    But in the meantime – the time signature changes by Danny Carey? Oh, yeah, the fucking Beatles could’ve done this. Did do anything that non-understandable. Nope.
    Good God.

    de todas formas, you’re right. You love the simpleton Beatles and I do not. More power to you.

  243. 243.

    Corner Stone

    May 2, 2009 at 2:16 am

    @JK: It’s true. It’s reflexive.

  244. 244.

    burnspbesq

    May 2, 2009 at 2:17 am

    @JK:

    I’m not familiar with Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields but I’ll check them out.

    Start with their recording of the Brandenburgs. They “get” Bach like no one else I’ve ever heard.

  245. 245.

    Mike S

    May 2, 2009 at 2:17 am

    @Corner Stone: You seem bitter. Did one of the Beatles shit in your cornflakes?

  246. 246.

    Joel

    May 2, 2009 at 2:17 am

    @Mike S: If you’re coming at St. Germain from the more jazz angle, you’ll probably not like Daft Punk. Thievery Corporation is awesome, though.

  247. 247.

    Comrade Kevin

    May 2, 2009 at 2:22 am

    @Cain:

    I had an album of Lacuna Coil, can’t remember what it was but it got stolen. They aren’t a bad band. Heavy on the arabic music though.

    Huh? You know they’re actually Italian, yes?

  248. 248.

    Turgidson

    May 2, 2009 at 2:22 am

    @Corner Stone:

    We have very different tastes. Yours is better than mine, obviously. Whatever.

  249. 249.

    Mike S

    May 2, 2009 at 2:23 am

    @Joel: Not really a jazz angle for me, although I like that angle. It’s more about the way the music flows. Plus I discovered it while skiing in the French Alps. We were drinking in the lodge when we first heard them. So it has meaning for me too.

  250. 250.

    JK

    May 2, 2009 at 2:24 am

    To any Beatles haters, does your hatred extend to all of the solo recordings of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr?

    On another note, someone should start a thread on the most underrated, overlooked bands and the most underrated, overlooked songs.

  251. 251.

    Comrade Kevin

    May 2, 2009 at 2:26 am

    @Corner Stone:

    the time signature changes by Danny Carey? Oh, yeah, the fucking Beatles could’ve done this. Did do anything that non-understandable. Nope.

    Everybody knows that is the ultimate in music. I mean, if you don’t switch from 4/4 to 15/16 to 3/4 in one tune, you suck.

  252. 252.

    Corner Stone

    May 2, 2009 at 2:28 am

    @Turgidson: Thank you.

  253. 253.

    Mike S

    May 2, 2009 at 2:29 am

    Thievery Corp was amazing. I had never heard them before. We actually went to the show to see Seu Jorge who did the Bowie stuff in Portegese in the movie “Life Aquatic.”

    He came out and sang for Thievery too. As did Perry Farrel.

    The lemon cake made the show a bit more psychadelic too.

  254. 254.

    burnspbesq

    May 2, 2009 at 2:30 am

    Underrated and overlooked song? Well, a lot of people hate the song “Since I Fell For You” because of what Michael Bolton did to it, but the original recording by Lenny Welch from 1961 is absolutely to die for.

    Underrated and overlooked bands? Solas. Irish music is a pretty small niche, but the amount of instrumental talent in that band is just ridiculous.

  255. 255.

    Corner Stone

    May 2, 2009 at 2:31 am

    @Mike S: Well, I’m sure theyd’ve tried if they’d still been existant when I was eating cereal.
    You know, I love CCR. Not for their technical music but just cuz I can dig what they’re about. The Beet-uhls on the other hand just sucked.

  256. 256.

    Corner Stone

    May 2, 2009 at 2:39 am

    @Comrade Kevin: No, you’re right Kevin. Changing time is for little chilluns.
    Little teeny tiny lil chilluns that have nothing better to do. In fact, given the choice I’m sure they’d prolly prefer to just sit there and tap their foot in time to a 4/4 beat. I mean, I know I’d prefer to listen to predictable, count on your fingers and toes beats.
    Don’t challenge me! Fer God’s sake don’t make me wonder what the fuck else is out there! No! Just let me stay in my nice comfy even beat bubble.

  257. 257.

    JK

    May 2, 2009 at 2:39 am

    @Corner Stone:

    Do you hate all British invasion bands or just the Beatles?

    Can you tolerate or enjoy any songs by The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Yardbirds, The Kinks, The Animals, The Hollies, or the Spencer Davis Group?

    Do you hate all the solo work of John, Paul, George, and Ringo?

  258. 258.

    Comrade Kevin

    May 2, 2009 at 2:41 am

    @Corner Stone: Gosh, you’re right! I have seen the light. If it isn’t “complex”, it sucks! Thanks for enlightening me.

    I’ll go run off and buy some more Opeth albums now. Do they meet with your approval, or are they too simple too?

  259. 259.

    BongCrosby

    May 2, 2009 at 2:42 am

    Haven’t seen any love yet for either Joe Jackson or John Prine, so let me add them to the mix.

    I love Jackson’s first album, “Look Sharp!” (*Is She Really Going Out With Him?”), although most people seem to prefer “Night and Day” (“Breaking Us In Two”).

    There are about a half-dozen of Prine’s albums that would fit into my top 20 of all time. “Jesus: The Missing Years,” “Lost Dogs & Mixed Blessings,” his debut album and “Sweet Revenge” are all wonderful, and “Bruised Orange” may be my favorite album of all time.

  260. 260.

    Mike S

    May 2, 2009 at 2:42 am

    Well, my shift is coming to a close and the last song I’m going to play is by another favorite. Ray Charles’ “Georgia on my Mind.”

  261. 261.

    Turgidson

    May 2, 2009 at 2:44 am

    I’m probably jumping the gun since the album’s not even officially out for another 3 weeks, but I think Grizzly Bear’s new album (Veckatimest) is among my favorites of the past few years. I don’t think it’s perfect (or I probably won’t once I’ve had it for a year or more), but it’s very impressive.

  262. 262.

    Mike S

    May 2, 2009 at 2:45 am

    I saw Joe Jackson on the tour for Look Sharp. He played the Universal Amp when it was still an outdoor venue.

    He got pissed because people were throwing shoes on the stage and walked off after about a half hour.

    He was kind of a dick.

  263. 263.

    Comrade Kevin

    May 2, 2009 at 2:46 am

    Here’s another album:

    Refused – The Shape of Punk To Come

  264. 264.

    Chuck Butcher

    May 2, 2009 at 2:47 am

    I don’t much do ‘so-and-so’ did the best or there’s a perfect album.

    The Rolling Stones are the world’s greatest roadhouse band, since that’s most of where I am at, great. Hard driving blues is probably my base anymore but I saw a lot of albums and artists I really like in people’s lists, some surprised me to see from someone other than myself.

  265. 265.

    Mike S

    May 2, 2009 at 2:48 am

    I’m reposting this comment withput the refrence to a private part when talking about Joe’s attitude. It says my comment is awaiting moderation.

    I saw Joe Jackson on the tour for Look Sharp. He played the Universal Amp when it was still an outdoor venue.

    He got pissed because people were throwing shoes on the stage and walked off after about a half hour.

    He was kind of a d***

  266. 266.

    PeakVT

    May 2, 2009 at 2:49 am

    most underrated, overlooked bands

    The problem here is: underrated and overlooked as compared to what? I’d say PJ Harvey (listening to Stories from the City/Sea right now), McLusky, Morphine, Bettie serveert, and Fugazi are all underrated compared to say, Britney, but they aren’t exactly unknown either.

  267. 267.

    Corner Stone

    May 2, 2009 at 2:50 am

    @Comrade Kevin:

    Gosh, you’re right! I have seen the light. If it isn’t “complex”, it sucks! Thanks for enlightening me.

    You’re welcome.

  268. 268.

    JK

    May 2, 2009 at 2:50 am

    @BongCrosby:

    Agreed on Joe Jackson.

    This is a kick ass version of I’m the Man
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=el66jnuItYc

  269. 269.

    Corner Stone

    May 2, 2009 at 2:51 am

    @JK: Nope. Loves me some Oasis.
    Bwah-ha-ha!

  270. 270.

    burnspbesq

    May 2, 2009 at 2:52 am

    @Corner Stone:

    Not to belabor the point, but any moderately talented 16-year-old who’s been at all serious in his or her studies will be able to effortlessly handle changing time signatures and sight-read anything you put in front of him or her.

    There’s a difference between playing notes and playing music. Chops are nice to have if you know what to do with them, but they are neither a necessary nor a sufficient condition for making music.

  271. 271.

    slightly_peeved

    May 2, 2009 at 2:54 am

    But no one’s mentioned Grace by Jeff Buckley?

    Great, but too many covers.

    I’d rate Whatever & Ever Amen over Rheinhold Messner, Ben Folds Five-wise.

    With people on London Calling, Kind of Blue, and OK Computer. Further suggestions:
    Muse – Black Holes & Revelations
    The Cat Empire – The Cat Empire

  272. 272.

    Mwangangi

    May 2, 2009 at 2:56 am

    oh good, I’m here after closing…

    Nas – Illmatic (almost perfect, Halftime was good as a single, but doesn’t mesh with the rest of the album)

    Pete Rock and CL Smooth – Mecca and the Soul Brother

    New Edition – N.E. Heartbreak (if you got the Cassette, the CD had this extra stupid song on it)

    Mary J . Blige – My Life

    Jay-Z – Reasonable Doubt
    Jay-Z – The Black Album (since someone has already mentioned BA we’ll go with RD)

    Biggie Smalls – Ready to Die (if you replace the album version of One More Chance with the remix)

    Mobb Deep – The Infamous

    Gangstarr – Hard to Earn
    Gangstarr – Moment of Truth
    Ice Cube – Amerikkka’s Most Wanted
    *********
    close calls:
    Public Enemy – Fear of a Black Planet
    Mos Def and Talib Kweli are Blackstar
    Michael Jackson – Off the Wall (better than Thriller)
    Onyx – All We Got Iz Us
    Jimi Hendrix – The Ultimate Experience Disc 1 (add in Axis, and Changes and it’s perfect)
    Prince – Purple Rain
    *********
    artists/bands that have a more than a two song difficulty but have more than enough material for album length compilations:
    Earth, Wind and Fire
    Ras Kass
    Joe Budden
    KRS – One
    Run DMC
    M.O.P.
    Amerie
    Rage Against the Machine
    *********
    honorable mentions:
    Postal Service
    James Brown
    Nirvana
    Origa (check out “Inner Universe” [on YouTube])
    *********
    and for all you cats yappin’ ’bout Evanescence, I still say they WISH they sounded as good as Madder Rose

  273. 273.

    Comrade Kevin

    May 2, 2009 at 2:57 am

    @Corner Stone: Of course you do.

  274. 274.

    bago

    May 2, 2009 at 2:57 am

    I will confirm it. You all is old. Someone got close with massive attack, but blue lines is the wrong album.

  275. 275.

    Comrade Kevin

    May 2, 2009 at 2:58 am

    @burnspbesq: Corner Stone is impervious to that, because he is trolling the thread.

  276. 276.

    Peter J

    May 2, 2009 at 2:58 am

    After seeing this, can someone help me, has Erik Erickson ever been considered sane?

  277. 277.

    Turgidson

    May 2, 2009 at 2:59 am

    @bago:

    Mezzanine? I quite enjoy that one.

  278. 278.

    Corner Stone

    May 2, 2009 at 2:59 am

    @Comrade Kevin: Be Here Now bitchez!
    For dog’s sake Kevin. Could you miss any harder? Prolly not.

  279. 279.

    Comrade Kevin

    May 2, 2009 at 3:00 am

    @Peter J: Not that I am aware of.

  280. 280.

    hamletta

    May 2, 2009 at 3:01 am

    God bless Lowell George.

    I’m from DC, and Little Feat was weirdly popular there, like NRBQ and Bruce Springsteen pre-Born To Run.

    I remember hearing stories about how Lowell George’s father was a State Department/CIA factotum, and that’s why he died in a Crystal City motel room, blah, blah, blah.

    I think maybe the most perfect NRBQ album was Tiddlywinks, but I’m not sure. Anyway, God bless Weasel of WHFS of Buh-thesda, Maryland.

    And I love You’re Gonna Get It! by Tom Petty and the Haeartbreakers, because it is still awesome. And Argybargy by Squeeze.

    And I do love A Capella by Todd Rundgren, because it got me through some bad times, and it’s an awesome technical achievement. It is also beautiful.

  281. 281.

    JK

    May 2, 2009 at 3:02 am

    @PeakVT:

    Maybe underrated or overlooked is an amorphous concept not easily defined. For me, it means a band that was never on the playlist of any classic rock radio station or if they did make onto a classic rock playlist it would be for only 2 or 3 songs.

    For me, bands I consider underrated and overlooked are King Crimson, Roxy Music, Soft Machine, Fairport Convention, Hot Tuna, and The Jam.

  282. 282.

    Comrade Kevin

    May 2, 2009 at 3:04 am

    @Corner Stone: Huh? Start making sense, bub.

  283. 283.

    Mwangangi

    May 2, 2009 at 3:04 am

    As far as the Beatles are concerned…

    They’re really background noise to me. I don’t hate them or love them I really just don’t care. I will notice when someone plays too much of them (like a fan). I did watch Across the Universe recently and found myself singing (humming/whistling) along; so I guess for me their songs just need context for them to be entertaining. Maybe it’s because I haven’t crossed into the 2nd biggest Juicer demographic yet…

  284. 284.

    Corner Stone

    May 2, 2009 at 3:08 am

    @burnspbesq: I will donate $100 to any charity of your choice if you can provide proof of this statement. Not just changing time as you so blithely state, but a 16 yr old mimicing Danny Carey.
    I’ll send it to Cole or whatever it takes to verify.
    “There’s a difference between playing notes and playing music. Chops are nice to have if you know what to do with them, but they are neither a necessary nor a sufficient condition for making music.”
    What are you stating here? Please be clear. Are you saying that Danny Carey is…what? A proficient drummer? An adequate musician? What?

    Bring anything from a moderately talented 16 yr old that touches on a Tool performance and I’ll be happy to donate.
    My whole post wasn’t about the simple act of changing time – I can do that. It was about the complexity that Tool presents that Teh Beet-uhls never did, nor ever could’ve.

  285. 285.

    Steeplejack

    May 2, 2009 at 3:09 am

    Just got home from work a little while ago. Haven’t had a chance to read the whole thread, but I wanted to get something in before it peters out. Plus I can’t believe Laura W. is nowhere to be found. This would be hog heaven for her! Except for no boiled kale. Maybe someone could throw in some J.J. Cale. (Edit: I see that she made a brief appearance.)

    Some perfect or near-perfect albums:

    – The Beatles. Four-way tie among Rubber Soul, Sgt. Pepper, Abbey Road and the White Album, depending on the time of year, my mood and the ambient humidity. Rubber Soul is probably the least of the four as an artistic “accomplishment,” but it is the most consistently listenable, regardless of ambient humidity. Like them or hate them, the Fab Four created the space for everything that came after. Everything.

    – Ahmad Jamal, The Awakening (1970).
    My perfect jazz album. I like it even better than–okay, just by a little–Kind of Blue. Just piano, bass, drums. “Wave.” “Dolphin Dance.” “Stolen Moments.” Ecstasy. Recording quality is unbelievable. It sounds like he’s playing a 40-foot stretch Steinway right next to you. In a good kind of way.

    – Lou Rawls with Les McCann Ltd., Stormy Monday (1962). Forget Lou as the genial old duffer on the telethons. This is kick-ass jazz-blues from a guy with an incredible voice. And McCann’s trio stays with him all the way. Check out “God Bless the Child.”

    – Stevie Ray Vaughan, Couldn’t Stand the Weather (1984). One of my guitar gods.

    – Allman Brothers Band, Live at Filmore East (1971). Guitar gods, plural. “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed.” Sigh.

    – José Feliciano, Feliciano! (1968). Almost–but not quite–pure Velveeta cheese-like product. Easy listening (in a good way) from another (understated) guitar god. If you young hipsters want something to change up your “ultra-lounge” set, try this.

    – David Crosby, If I Could Only Remember My Name . . . (1971). A slightly weird album that hangs together and ages surprisingly well.

    – Steely Dan, Aja (1977).

    – Some Wes Montgomery album.

    – Some Buffalo Springfield album.

    – Van Morrison, Moondance (1970).

    – The Rolling Stones, Let It Bleed (1969).

    – James Brown, Love Power Peace: Live at the Olympia, Paris, 1971.

    – Ry Cooder, Bop Till You Drop (1979).

    – Sly and Robbie, Friends (1998).

    – Swing Out Sister, It’s Better to Travel (1987). Kind of cheesy, in an ’80s kind of way, but then that’s how it was back then. The whole album hangs together perfectly. And I wanted Corinne Drewery to bear my children.

    In retrospect, I tried to list some off-the-beaten-path ones that people might be interested in checking out. And, Cole, I’m with you on Little Feat!

  286. 286.

    Comrade Kevin

    May 2, 2009 at 3:12 am

    @Corner Stone: Have you ever seen a decent high school jazz ensemble?

  287. 287.

    Linkmeister

    May 2, 2009 at 3:15 am

    From my iTunes library: Joni Mitchell’s “Blue”, “Court & Spark”, and even her relatively-new “Shine” are all nearly flawless in my mind.
    Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris’s “Roadrunning” is excellent.
    Harris again, for “Red Dirt Girl” and her duets album with Ronstadt, “Western Wall”
    Beatles “Rubber Soul”
    Dylan’s “Highway 61”
    Carole King’s “Tapestry”
    Fleetwood Mac’s “Rumours”
    CSN, the first (eponymous) album
    Neil Young’s “Harvest,” “Everybody Knows This is Nowhere,” and “Live at Massey Hall”
    Eva Cassidy’s “Imagine”
    Robert Plant & Alison Krauss’s “Raising Sand”
    Dixie Chicks “Not Ready to Make Nice”
    S&G’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water”

    And probably more, if I dug through the vinyl collection.

  288. 288.

    JC

    May 2, 2009 at 3:16 am

    @slightly_peeved: What as a cover on that album, besides Hallelujah?

    Grace, Lover you Should Have Come Over, Last Goodbye, Mojo Pin… Man, can’t beat that.

  289. 289.

    Steeplejack

    May 2, 2009 at 3:22 am

    Screwed up my link for Ahmad Jamal’s The
    Awakening
    . Fix’d.

  290. 290.

    burnspbesq

    May 2, 2009 at 3:25 am

    @Corner Stone:

    And my point is, complexity in the service of what?

    “Giant Steps” isn’t great because it’s got fiendishly complicated changes. And “Blue Train” isn’t great because it’s a simple blues. But they’re both great.

    Complexity has no inherent value. And chops are just a tool (no pun intended).

  291. 291.

    wasabi gasp

    May 2, 2009 at 3:45 am

    Albums not yet mentioned:
    The Lounge Lizards – Big Heart: Live in Tokyo
    Mr. Bungle – Disco Volante
    Magnolia soundtrack

  292. 292.

    Corner Stone

    May 2, 2009 at 3:45 am

    @Comrade Kevin: No Comrade. Have you?
    Of course you have. You’ve seen a dozen that will blow the doors off my mind! You’ve seen a group of teenagers that would absolutely fucking level me if only I could’ve been there to see them!
    They razzled! They dazzled! They did things no musician has ever seen. In some mythical place and time they were fucking amazing! Or maybe they were just sadly ordinary and did the same shit that all high school musicians are capable of. Capably playing a capable ensemble and not much else.
    Yeah, fuck you and you fucking teenage ragtime band.

  293. 293.

    Corner Stone

    May 2, 2009 at 3:51 am

    @burnspbesq: Ok burnie. You’ve previously said that Tool was a band you found tedious to listen to.
    Good enough, and good on you.

  294. 294.

    Common Sense

    May 2, 2009 at 3:52 am

    Wilco kicks the shit out of Son Volt. Just sayin’. YHF is the album of the decade bar none. Being There has some great songs, but too long so it’s hard to call it perfect.

    Yes to Graceland

    And whoever mentioned Slanted and Enchanted and St. Germain — y’all are dead on as well.

    Jimmy Cliff — The Harder They Come is a flawless album.

    As for Radiohead, I prefer The Bends, but that’s just me I guess.

    I couldn’t possibly choose an Elvis Costello or Beatles album. There are just too many.

    Oh and with this I win the thread

    Stevie Wonder Songs in The Key of Life or Innervisions.

  295. 295.

    Common Sense

    May 2, 2009 at 3:59 am

    Willie Nelson’s Stardust. Way mellow but Booker T + Willie = epic album.

    Superfly isn’t too shabby a soundtrack either.

  296. 296.

    Mwangangi

    May 2, 2009 at 3:59 am

    @Steeplejack:
    another reason I love Illmatic, the Ahmad Jamal, “I Love Music” sample in “The World is Yours”

    …and, Nas talks over a purer sample on the Russell Simmons/ DJ Green Lantern Obama mixtape.

  297. 297.

    Common Sense

    May 2, 2009 at 4:00 am

    This moderation queue is retarded. Willie Nelson is moderated?

  298. 298.

    Mwangangi

    May 2, 2009 at 4:06 am

    @Common Sense: What, the post about stardust? I see that…

  299. 299.

    Common Sense

    May 2, 2009 at 4:07 am

    @Mwangangi:

    You see it because someone approved it.

  300. 300.

    bago

    May 2, 2009 at 4:11 am

    THIS IS SPARTA!

  301. 301.

    Mwangangi

    May 2, 2009 at 4:15 am

    @Common Sense: Either one of the mods is ‘hepped up on goofballs’ or they’re still on west coast time…

  302. 302.

    bago

    May 2, 2009 at 4:15 am

    Mezzanine was quite good, but still had a few songs to skip. 100th window is great. Nothing I want to skip.

  303. 303.

    Common Sense

    May 2, 2009 at 4:16 am

    @Mwangangi:
    I don’t care if they’re jacked or not if they’ll let me run off at the mouth…

  304. 304.

    Mwangangi

    May 2, 2009 at 4:16 am

    @bago: I was waiting around to see if we got to 300, but that was the perfect way to cap it…

  305. 305.

    Comrade Kevin

    May 2, 2009 at 4:16 am

    @Corner Stone: I even played in one when I was in high school. It may be difficult for you to wrap your head around, but the talent level displayed in Tool is not as rare as you like to pretend.

  306. 306.

    Mwangangi

    May 2, 2009 at 4:18 am

    oh, there was an editing of the post; do you think he really got out of bed for that?

  307. 307.

    Comrade Kevin

    May 2, 2009 at 4:18 am

    @Corner Stone: They are tedious to listen to. Talented musicians churning out turgid, tedious music. Kind of like Opeth, who I mentioned earlier.

  308. 308.

    Common Sense

    May 2, 2009 at 4:19 am

    @Mwangangi:

    Knowing John, I’m betting he’s hopped up on a WoW raid.

  309. 309.

    Comrade Kevin

    May 2, 2009 at 4:23 am

    @Common Sense: heh. I play WoW, but I have managed to avoid the plague that is raiding.

  310. 310.

    JayMi

    May 2, 2009 at 4:23 am

    Okay, okay…it’s a million o’clock BUT had to add to the thread. Y’all are awesome, the recommendations are very interesting! Perhaps there could be a thread on singles we all like or one hit wonders or underrated artists. For example: XTC, Roxy Music, The Ohio Players, Mavis Staples & Slave are some of the most underrated artists EVAH. As for my album list, here goes:

    Mary J. Blige-The Breakthrough (positive & awesome)
    Lauryn Hill-The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
    Toumani Diabate-Kaira (hypnotic west African music)
    Roxy Music-Street Life & Avalon
    Ella Fitzgerald-Ella in Berlin (her voice was so sweet)
    Dave Brubeck Quartet-Take Five
    Mavis Staples-Mavis @ the Hideout (She is like Aretha, a natural treasure)
    Chaka Khan-Epiphany (compilation, she too is like Mavis and a Chicago girl to boot. Woo-hoo!)
    U2-The Joshua Tree
    Radiohead-Hail to the Thief (excellent title too)
    Dave Matthews Band-Under the Table and dreaming (This got me through moving away from home the 1st time. Dave, I want to have your babies!)
    The Arcade Fire-Funeral

    Ditto on the following albums:
    Grace-Jeff Buckley
    Court and Spark-Joni Mitchell (genius!)
    Sgt Pepper….(Beatles, genius in post 1965)
    Murmur-REM (the best country album made by a non-country band)
    So-Peter Gabriel

  311. 311.

    Tattoosydney

    May 2, 2009 at 4:26 am

    @bago:

    Protection?

  312. 312.

    Mwangangi

    May 2, 2009 at 4:30 am

    @JayMi: oh how could I skip Lauryn and the Fugees… Mona Lisa?, Ready or Not?, Lost Ones? damn… I fail.

  313. 313.

    Common Sense

    May 2, 2009 at 4:30 am

    By the way, and I am not kidding:

    On the thread for “Signed, Sealed, Delivered” a commenter claimed Wonder wrote the song at 15 years old. (The commenter is mistaken — Wonder’s first hit was Fingertips (Part 2) which he wrote at 12. Marvin Gaye played drums). There is actually a commenter on YouTube that compared this song to the Jonas Brothers. By the time Stevie was the age of the Jonas Brothers, he had written “Tears of a Clown” and “Uptight (Everything is All Right).”

    I think I’m going to be ill.

  314. 314.

    Common Sense

    May 2, 2009 at 4:33 am

    Oh by the way Johnny Cash — Live at Folsom County Prison is phenomenal as well.

  315. 315.

    fastandsloppy

    May 2, 2009 at 4:42 am

    Two perfect live albums:

    James Brown – Love Power Peace
    Talking Heads – The Name Of This Band Is Talking Heads

  316. 316.

    Common Sense

    May 2, 2009 at 4:47 am

    @fastandsloppy:

    I loved James Brown’s Live at the Apollo, and I’m not really a James Brown fan. I’ll have to check out Love Power Peace. Still gotta go with the Who for best live album though. And for those that love Peter Gabriel Secret World Live is insanely good — the version of In Your Eyes is absolutely epic.

  317. 317.

    bago

    May 2, 2009 at 4:51 am

    @mwangangi: I was on my phone so I was quite lucky. iPhone has no caps lock.

  318. 318.

    daryljfontaine

    May 2, 2009 at 4:52 am

    Like many on the thread, Wish You Were Here edges out Animals for my perfect album by the Floyd, although I could happily roll both on constant rotation.

    Same with Abbey Road and Sgt. Pepper’s. Although the stuff I most enjoy listening to is on The White Album, particularly stretches of songs like “The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill” through “Rocky Raccoon”, listening to the album without skipping “Revolution No. 9” is like listening to Cake’s Fashion Nugget without skipping “Nugget.”

    Muse’s Black Holes and Revelations was mentioned late in the thread, and I have to agree — I cannot take a road trip without at least one stretch of highway rolling that entire album beginning to end, and I do not ever get tired of listening to it.

    Frank Zappa – Apostrophe’/Overnite Sensation. I know they were separate albums originally, but I was introduced to Frank through the combined album and it is still a favorite total experience.

    As far as soundtracks go, I think Strange Days is underrated for the variety of really excellent music, and not a false note among it — Deep Forest, Skunk Anansie, Kate Gibson covering Leonard Cohen — even the fictional Me Phi Me/Jeriko One track “hereWEcome” has a perfect angry rhythm to it that fits the film.

    Reading the thread, it’s obvious I don’t listen to enough live albums. ^_^ Oh well, it’s not like we’re not on the Internet.

    D

  319. 319.

    bago

    May 2, 2009 at 4:57 am

    @Tattoosydney: I wouldn’t skip that one, but the rest of the album, Heeengh? We are talking albums here.

  320. 320.

    Comrade Baron Elmo

    May 2, 2009 at 5:12 am

    A truly great album has to be more than just a collection of songs. It should form a unified whole that adds up to more than the sum of its parts… so much so that to remove a single track or alter the running order would diminish its brilliance.

    With this in mind:

    Rolling Stones: Beggars’ Banquet
    Sly & the Family Stone: There’s a Riot Goin’ On
    Van Dyke Parks: Song Cycle
    Wire: Chairs Missing
    Love: Forever Changes
    Robert Wyatt: Rock Bottom

    I’ll probably do like John and whup myself upside the dome for missing a couple, an hour down the line… but these will do.

  321. 321.

    Common Sense

    May 2, 2009 at 5:13 am

    @Comrade Baron Elmo:

    Oh fuck I forgot about Wire. God I wish that band had made more. Still, maybe that’s part of their beauty.

  322. 322.

    Tattoosydney

    May 2, 2009 at 5:54 am

    @bago: True, which was why I had Blue Lines on my list instead. Admittedly “Five Man Army” and “Day dreaming” are pretty shit but I’d happily listen to the rest of it over and over.

    I forgot to mention “Leftism“.

  323. 323.

    jTh

    May 2, 2009 at 5:58 am

    My standards for perfection are really high – I’m with Kirk @141 – so I see lots of entries above that I love, but wouldn’t call perfect. (For instance, I was pleased to see tballou @#28 mention 801 Live, which I worship, but I don’t care for about eight pompy minutes of it: that version of Baby’s on Fire and the over-the-top reprise of T.N.K.)

    So, surely forgetting a couple, but these three cross my mind as readily/ evidently/ uncontrovertibly perfect:
    Peter Gabriel – Security
    King Crimson – Discipline
    The Velvet Underground – 1969, Vol. 1
    (I think Vol. 2 fails the perfection test.)

    And damn yes, LD50 @38, the Stooges’ Fun House comes really really close, but it depends on one’s capacity to endure L.A. Blues at the end.

    Oh, PGE @88, I’ll have to second that vote for The Dreaming. Surely the most brilliantly psychedelic album ever made. Nothing else even comes close.

    Other seconds (now that I’ve read the whole thread):
    Rumours
    In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
    Born to Run
    And yeah, Sgt. Pepper really does hold up under scrutiny. I like Abbey Road better, but Sgt. Pepper is more flawless.

    Notable omissions from this thread so far:
    Emmylou Harris – Wrecking Ball
    The Chili Peppers – Freaky Styley
    and perhaps most glaringly missing?:
    The Police – Zenyatta Mondatta

  324. 324.

    ** Atanarjuat **

    May 2, 2009 at 5:58 am

    The only two albums I’ve ever considered “perfect” in the sense that I can listen to one track after another without wanting to change CD’s after only a few songs (or, as I used to originally enjoy them, flipping from Side A to Side B as vinyl records on my old turntable).

    Rush – 2112
    Marillion – Misplaced Childhood

    -A

  325. 325.

    Xenos

    May 2, 2009 at 6:05 am

    @J. Michael Neal: JK’s list is almost exactly everything I was listening to in 1984. If you did not like disco, Grease, or Spandau Ballet you had to be an old fogey at 18.

    Now I have to put up with my kids and their shitey music (although Green Day certainly does not suck). I can’t blame them though – over the last 20 years radio has gone completely to hell. I just spent a week in Europe and DJing was still alive. Great mixes, juxtapositions of styles, obscure and interesting cuts… made me realize how much we have lost here in the corporate superstate.

  326. 326.

    Common Sense

    May 2, 2009 at 6:20 am

    @Xenos:

    Has it ever occurred to you your kids might just have really bad taste? There’s tons of great bands around today. Songwriters like Britt Daniel and Jeff Tweedy, guitarists like Ben Harper and Matthew Bellamy. They are out there, you just have to avoid the radio — then again, from what I remember the radio wasn’t all that hot in my day either.

  327. 327.

    Digital Amish

    May 2, 2009 at 6:20 am

    325 comments, so whatever I say is, as usual, irrelavent. I don’t know ‘perfect’ but the first albums I bought after deciding to replace my vinyl with cds were:

    The Who Who’s Next
    Jackson Browne Late for the Sky
    Bob Dylan Blood on the Tracks
    Hot Tuna Hot Tuna
    Paul Simon Graceland

    Yeah, yeah. I’m an old fart. Now get off my lawn and turn down that goddamn noise.

  328. 328.

    jTh

    May 2, 2009 at 6:30 am

    Oh hell, I forgot Jefferson Airplane’s Bless Its Pointed Little Head.

    Oh, and for Common Sense @326, sure, Jeff Tweedy was really good, when he was known as Paul Westerburg. But in his current incarnation, he really pales by comparison.

  329. 329.

    HeartlandLiberal

    May 2, 2009 at 7:04 am

    Beatles – A Hard Days Night
    (You have to understand. My wife and I were dating when this movie came out. We saw it a dozen times. We have now been married 44 years. The opening sustained chord always brings tears to my eyes. If you have never seen the movie, you are to put it politely culturally deprived beyond measure. It was the forerunner and precursor to the totality of the music video and visual direction that popular music would take over the next half century. Aside from which, it is a lot of fun.)
    Beatles – Help
    Because of their second movie as well as the music, which also is a must see. An absolute musical and comedy delight.

    Pink Floyd – Dark Side of the Moon
    Pink Floyd – Momentary Lapse of Reason
    Alan Parsons Project – Gaudi
    Alan Parsons Project – Eye in the Sky
    Moody Blues – Days of Future Past
    Moody Blues – To Our Children’s Children’s Children

    Although this thread is primarily rock related, I have to add that there is one album I could listen to forever. I consider it the one of the greatest musical achievements, bar none, by any musician. If you do not know this musician, make it your goal in life to discover him and his friends who have played together in various combinations over the years:

    Pat Metheny – Secret Story
    Especially this piece. It is a ong piece, over nine minutes. Listen to it as it builds to one of the most beautiful crescendos of celebration of just feeling alive and being grateful for that that you will ever hear. The Truth Will Always Be

    And finally, if you have never listened to Emmy Lou Harris, try it. One of my absolute favorites of hers is the “Roses in the Snow Album”, which album she dedicated to Blue Grass and folk inspired and influenced. I am from the Deep South, Alabama, and traditional country music is somewhat embedded in some dark recess of my mind, and this album just speaks to me. In fact, FWIW, Emmy Lou was born in my hometown, Birmingham, Alabama, just one year later than I was.

    Gordon Lightfoot – Summertime Dream, because it has the ‘Wreak of the Edmond Fitzgerald’ on it, perhaps the greatest ballad written in the 20th century. I also am very fond of his “Endless Wire” album, primarily because of the song ‘The Circle is Small”, on of the most tragic love songs ever written about betrayal. Heck, anything by Gordon Lightfoot is going to be great.

    Neil Young – Decade, the two album (LP) compilation. Nuff Said.

    P.S. I still have practically every album we ever bought on LP, probably 1,300 plus albums, and still listen to them, especially since a large part of the collection is classical: Brahms, Beethoven, Rachmaninoff, all those old dead European guys. I scrounge book and garage sales for used LPs. CDs are nice, but I can actually hear the difference between analog LP reproduction of sound, the slight harshness you get when you digitize. Remember, a digital CD is just a sampling of the music, a good sample to be sure, but still just a sampling of the actual stream of sound. To be entirely fair, analog LPs have drawbacks, but still, I find it interesting to have read lately that the market for LPs seems to be reviving.

    Anyway, from the Wikipedia article

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_audio

    Digital audio is the method of representing audio in digital form.

    An analog signal is converted to a digital signal at a given sampling rate and bit resolution; it may contain multiple channels (2 channels for stereo or more for surround sound). Generally speaking: the higher the sampling rate and bit resolution the more fidelity, as well as increase the amount of digital data.

    Sound quality

    While the goal of both analogue and digital systems is to reproduce audio perfectly, there are several obstacles to achieving this, including:

    * Analogue noise floor in the capturing circuitry and have inherent capacitance and inductance that limit the bandwidth of the system, and resistance that limits the amplitude.
    * Digital quantization noise in the capturing circuitry, and sampling rate limits the bandwidth and its bit resolution limits the dynamic range (resolution of amplitude creation).

    A digital audio signal starts with an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) that converts an analog signal to a digital signal. The ADC runs at a sampling rate and converts at a known bit resolution. For example, CD audio has a sampling rate of 44.1 kHz (44,100 samples per second) and 16-bit resolution for each channel (stereo).

  330. 330.

    jon

    May 2, 2009 at 7:19 am

    James’ Laid is a perfect album.

    It seems Brian Eno produces a lot of those. If anyone is going to look for the underrated people of rock, that guy is at the top of my list. His solo albums are incredible, his lyrics are confoundingly interesting, his studio chops impeccable enough for U2, Talking Heads, Brian Ferry, and that Paul Simon guy. And others. The weirdest thing is, when you look at a really old Roxy Music video on youtube (I think he was only with the group for two albums,) he doesn’t seem to do much other than be some sort of peacock at a keyboard.

    More (not Brian Eno-related):

    The Lucy Show’s Mania
    Drunk Injuns’ Dog Bites, Man Cries
    Jane’s Addiction’s Nothing’s Shocking
    Smiths’ Queen is Dead
    Replacements’ Tim
    Wire’s Pink Flag

  331. 331.

    SGEW

    May 2, 2009 at 7:29 am

    Surprised by a few names that were not mentioned on this thread (Handel, Billie Holiday, and Duke Ellington come to mind).

    Here’re my contenders, off the top of my head (and very, very subjective, natch) for “perfect albums”:

    Fugazi – 13 Songs and/or The Argument
    Pink Floyd – Dark Side of the Moon
    Mozart – Symphony No. 40 or the Requiem Mass
    Beethoven – Any symphony, really
    Django Reinhardt – My personal “best of” mix tape from high school

    Those, to me, are just perfect. Wish I still had that Django tape.

  332. 332.

    Jim H

    May 2, 2009 at 7:31 am

    Willie Nelson, Red-Headed Stranger
    Beach Boys, Pet Sounds
    The Who, Who’s Next
    Allman, Live at Fillmore East
    Miles Davis, Kind of Blue
    Wilco, YHF
    Songs: OHIA, The Magnolia Electric Co.
    King Creosote: Kenny and Beth’s Musakal Boat Rides; Bombshell

    These last two (artists) are really important. How they aren’t famous is really beyond my comprehension and adds to my cynicism about the world. If anyone is still here, get a hold of these.

  333. 333.

    Digital Amish

    May 2, 2009 at 7:48 am

    Sound quality

    While the goal of both analogue and digital systems is to reproduce audio perfectly, there are several obstacles to achieving this, including:

    I always envy the folks that can hear the difference. Maybe thirty years ago I could have. Anymore the air pressure from the speakers sounds the same whether from my Ipod or my turntable (minus the the pops and hisses). BTW, I concur with all your music selections.

  334. 334.

    Hank

    May 2, 2009 at 7:48 am

    Tom Waits: Rain Dogs.
    Neutral Milk Hotel: In the Aeroplane over the Sea

    As far as I’m concerned, the conversation should stop here.

  335. 335.

    Digital Amish

    May 2, 2009 at 7:57 am

    Fricken’ block quote.

    Sound quality

    While the goal of both analogue and digital systems is to reproduce audio perfectly, there are several obstacles to achieving this, including:

    well it worked in preview

  336. 336.

    Josh Hueco

    May 2, 2009 at 8:15 am

    I own Paul’s Boutique and love it and everything, but (heresy approaching…prepare to flame away) I don’t think it’s as good as Check Your Head or even Ill Communication.

  337. 337.

    dog's eye view

    May 2, 2009 at 8:16 am

    Rolling Stones: Let It Bleed

    Pretenders: debut album (self-titled)

    =====

    re Little Feat: a favorite song is “Kiss it Off” from Dixie Chicken

  338. 338.

    Betsy

    May 2, 2009 at 8:23 am

    @jTh:
    How could I leave off Emmylou?? Both Wrecking Ball and Red Dirt Girl are wonderful.

    This thread has given me lots of new albums to check out. Yay!

  339. 339.

    Betsy

    May 2, 2009 at 8:23 am

    @Josh Hueco:
    I actually agree about Check Your Head.

  340. 340.

    The Grand Panjandrum

    May 2, 2009 at 8:25 am

    @Jim H:

    Willie Nelson, Red-Headed Stranger

    Best. Country. Album. Ever.

    I went through the thread pretty quick so I may have missed it:

    Black Sabbath — Paranoid.

    Hands down the most influential heavy metal album. Tony Iommi and, of course Ozzy Osbourne, are the best known members of the original line up, but the drummer Bill Ward never got his due. I put him in the John Bonham/Keith Moon category for raw evocative power on the drum kit.

  341. 341.

    mclaren

    May 2, 2009 at 8:44 am

    Fascinating that anyone would consider disposable pop music crap like The Beatles or Yes or Pink Floyd or Zappa to be interesting or worthwhile.

    A potent illustration of the ongoing degradation of American culture. Serious music cannot be discussed or mentioned: Lou Harris’ Third Symphony can never be mentioned, nor David Diamond’s Second Symphony, nor Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring. Presumably the same degeneration explains why so many Americans now advocate torture, government kidnapping without trial or charges, etc.

    Real excellence goes unremarked, swill rises to the top. So little that is good is popular, and so little that is popular is good.

    Thus do societies decline, degenerate and collapse. Tragic, but presumably part of the inevitable cycle of existence. Oh well. America had a good civilization while it lasted. I’m just sad it’s gone.

  342. 342.

    Steeplejack

    May 2, 2009 at 8:46 am

    Some more in the clear light of morning. And I have to go back to work at 10:00! Damn it.

    – Mos Def, Black on Both Sides (2002).

    – Someone mentioned Gordon Lightfoot. A perfect album is Sunday Concert (1969).

    . . . Aw, hell, I can’t get into this or I’ll be late for work. Great thread, though. Lots of stuff for me to investigate.

  343. 343.

    dan robinson

    May 2, 2009 at 8:47 am

    Paul Simon – Graceland
    The Wallflowers – Breach, has “Up From Under” which has this great line:
    Tell me how I conceived
    The vanity to believe
    That I would not be outnumbered
    By the thumbs I have been under

    The Pretenders first two albums were pretty good
    Bleed American – Jimmy Eat World
    August and Everything After – Counting Crows
    Kind of Blue – Miles Davis

  344. 344.

    Steeplejack

    May 2, 2009 at 8:49 am

    Jeez, how does this site’s software keep getting worse?! The {p} and {/p} tags used to work reliably before I crashed at the end of March, but not now. And I see people bitching and moaning about {blockquote}. Is it just WordPress or what? (Insert obligatory disclaimer that I love this site and admire John greatly for running it. Just sayin’.)

  345. 345.

    Steeplejack

    May 2, 2009 at 8:58 am

    @Common Sense:
    Amen to Stardust. Also Willie’s Pretty Paper–the best Christmas album by someone you’d never think would do a Christmas album.

    And how could I forget the greatest Christmas album of all time: Vince Guaraldi’s A Charlie Brown Christmas.

  346. 346.

    Steeplejack

    May 2, 2009 at 8:59 am

    @Mwangangi:

    Thanks for the tips. Will check ’em out.

  347. 347.

    Raenelle

    May 2, 2009 at 9:03 am

    Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young–Deja Vu.

  348. 348.

    Steeplejack

    May 2, 2009 at 9:06 am

    @SGEW:

    Surprised by a few names that were not mentioned on this thread (Handel, Billie Holiday and Duke Ellington come to mind).

    Well, we’re talking albums “as originally created,” I think. I love Billie and Duke, but my experience of them is almost all through compilations. Same with Django, whom I also love. And my favorite Wes Montgomery “album” is my mix CD of personal favorites.

  349. 349.

    Wick

    May 2, 2009 at 9:07 am

    Richard Thompson — Daring Adventures
    Dire Straits — Love over Gold
    Springsteen — Wild, Innocent & E Street Shuffle
    Stan Rogers — Home in Halifax
    REM — Chronic Town
    Fleet Foxes — Self Titled

  350. 350.

    PSoTD

    May 2, 2009 at 9:11 am

    Some cool picks posted already here that don’t get enough love usually in these kinds of posts:

    Tea for the Tillerman – Cat Stevens
    Elvis Costello – My Aim is True
    Kate Bush – Dreaming – although Hounds of Love is an even greater choice
    So—Peter Gabriel – this is the first GIGANTIC CD sales album, right music, right recording values, right time
    Alanis Morisette – Jagged Little Pill
    Roxy Music-Avalon

    and a few other favorites of mine:

    The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway – Genesis
    Everyone is Here – Finn Brothers
    Phenomenon – UFO
    Systems of Romance – Ultravox

  351. 351.

    Joel

    May 2, 2009 at 9:17 am

    @Comrade Kevin: I was never deeply into punk, especially the thrasher kind of stuff that evolved in the 90s, but there are some stellar tracks on that album (Liberation Frequency, New Noise)…

  352. 352.

    in canaduh

    May 2, 2009 at 9:19 am

    Meat Puppets II

  353. 353.

    Tom

    May 2, 2009 at 9:24 am

    Oh, OK, I’ll join in the fun:

    Meddle – The Floyds
    Something Else – The Kinks
    Armed Forces – Elvis Costello
    Let It Be – The Replacements
    All Beatles
    Between The Buttons – Exile on Main Street – Stones
    Stand Up – Jethro Tull
    Reckoning – REM
    Tommy – The Who (the best drum album ever)
    The Band – The Band
    Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes
    The Life Pursuit – Belle and Sebastian
    Marquee Moon – Television
    Talking Heads ’77 – Talking Heads
    The River – Bruce
    Summer Days/Summer Night – The Beach Boys (because Pet Sounds is too cliche to say)

  354. 354.

    Ned R.

    May 2, 2009 at 9:25 am

    Hahah, here I am, an honest-to-god published music critic for years now and I missed this entire battle royale last night! Then again I was first out at a birthday party and then my body finally told me ‘you have had a completely exhausting week, go home and SLEEP.’ Which I did.

    I can’t offer much here, I used to be a list-maker and organizer but I’ve let that go in recent years as too limiting. Instead I do love seeing how the differences in taste among people mix and match (like this thread! some great suggestions here), and while I have my favorites and my loathed examples of horror any reflexive defenses and attacks are momentary results of bouncing ideas off each other.

    But FWIW here’s the piece I wrote on what remains my favorite album of all time, My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless, for a book anthology that came out a couple of years back — USA Today republished it via one of their blog sites, bless ’em:

    http://blogs.usatoday.com/popcandy/2007/08/that-desert-isl.html

    Beyond that are the clutch of groups I know I’ll always listen to — Depeche Mode’s a good example, been a fan for over twenty years and as you can see here I love the new album — and everything else just hits me as does. Wouldn’t have it any other way.

  355. 355.

    Laura W

    May 2, 2009 at 9:26 am

    @Steeplejack: OK, just for you, since you’re probably the only person here who might enjoy the list. It’s off the top of my not quite awake yet head. No looking at the shelves, and only ten.

    Joni Mitchell – Miles of Aisles
    Bonnie Raitt – Road Tested
    Dylan – Blood on the Tracks
    EBTG – Amplified Heart
    Laura Nyro and Labelle – Gonna Take a Miracle
    Neil Young and Crazy Horse – Everyone Knows this is Nowhere
    Steely Dan – Katy Lied
    Annie Lennox – Medusa
    David Gray – Greatest Hits (current obsession. Just discovered him.)
    Stones – Some Girls

    See how easy it was to get 10 and still not mention CSN and a bazillion others I’ll think of later. Free association can be fun too.
    Edit: Can’t do it. Must break my rule. Elvis Costello – My Aim is True.
    phew.

  356. 356.

    Steeplejack

    May 2, 2009 at 9:34 am

    @Laura W:

    Great, Laura! Gotta blow, and I’m probably still gonna be late for work. Mo’ later . . .

  357. 357.

    dan robinson

    May 2, 2009 at 9:35 am

    Depeche Mode.

    Hmmm. When I was a college DJ and they were on our hot rotation, I always introduced them as “Depressed Mode”. I saw them in Mountain View in the 80’s and they hit play on their synths and danced on stage. I don’t know if that was the worst show I have ever seen, but it is a strong contender.

    Best show: Buster Bloodvessel and Bad Manners, Keystone, Palo Alto. And the show we did at Santa Clara when Dream 6 opened for The Untouchables.

  358. 358.

    Mr Furious

    May 2, 2009 at 9:36 am

    Little Feat — Waiting for Columbus, a staple for me as well

    Genesis — Seconds Out, I don’t care if it’s post-Gabriel. Everything between this album and Three Side Live is good.

    The Raconteurs — Consolers of the Lonely, I LOVE both albums, but if you put a gun to my head I’m taking this one.

    The Posies — Frosting on the Beater, textbook alternative power-pop

    dada — Puzzle, The only song you probably know is Dizz Knee Land, and it’s the worst song on the album. Excellent musicianship plus two alternating and harmonizing lead vocalists are a winning combination for me (see also, Raconteurs, The; Posies, The)

    Emmylou Harris — Wrecking Ball, Amazing.

    Rolling Stones — Beggars Banquet, An almost impossible task to choose between this and Exile. At times I’ll go the other way…

    White Stripes — Get Behind Me Satan, single-handedly redeemed the music world for me after a couple years off.

    Mike Doughty — Golden Delicious, Excellent work from Soul Coughing front-man.

    Zappa? I’ll take the CD combining Apostrophe and Overnight Sensation.

    If you really want to waste a few hours, do this meme: The Best Album From Every Year You’ve Been Alive. A worthwhile excercise, because you end up dusting off losts of great stuff.

  359. 359.

    bago

    May 2, 2009 at 9:36 am

    @** Atanarjuat **: Wait.. Rush has a 2112 album?

  360. 360.

    Ned R.

    May 2, 2009 at 9:38 am

    I always appreciated how Depeche were the great divider for a lot of people. (Still — my boss at work’s a music nut in general and while our tastes can diverge the only, ONLY time I saw him worked up about anything like that was when he learned some coworkers and I were going to see them a couple of years back. Hilarious — and we laughed all the way to the sold-out arena. ;-) )

  361. 361.

    Joel

    May 2, 2009 at 9:42 am

    Cole did five albums, although I don’t think there are five perfect albums. There may not even be one. Every album that I enjoy has at least one weak spot, and most have several. My favorite albums (like Aphex Twin’s “Richard D. James Album” and Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run) are usually carried by a few strong tracks.

    The closest thing to a perfect album in my book tends to follow a theme fairly strictly. That means that most of the tracks are comparably strong. I can see why Cole chose “Animals” for example, although I don’t care for that album. “Abbey Road” is precisely my example of an imperfect album, because of the Beatles’ tendencies to throw in some completely nonsensical self-indulgent garbage with their good music. Other favorites of mine are completely undermined by the same tendency (the middle 5 tracks of Sublime’s self-titled album are fucking awful).

    I guess what I’m saying is that there are no perfect albums, and looking through my collection, I’d have to say that:

    Ratatat “Classics”
    Eels “Beautiful Freak”
    the aforementioned “Tourist” by St. Germain

    come closest, which is surprising to me. They’re probably not my most listened-to albums, but I never skip a track when I do listen to them.

  362. 362.

    Laura W

    May 2, 2009 at 9:43 am

    @Steeplejack: Manhattan Transfer – Coming Out.
    Also.

  363. 363.

    Larime the Gimp

    May 2, 2009 at 9:44 am

    A few of my favorites off the top of my head…

    The Cure – Disintegration
    Depeche Mode – Violator
    Garbage – Garbage
    REM – Green
    Nine Inch Nails – The Downward Spiral
    Marilyn Manson – Antichrist Superstar
    Amanda Palmer – Who Killed Amanda Palmer?
    Art of Noise – Who’s Afraid of the Art of Noise?
    Leonard Cohen – I’m Your Man
    Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Let Love In
    Tom Waits – Real Gone
    Cranes – Loved
    The Dresden Dolls – The Dresden Dolls

  364. 364.

    WereBear

    May 2, 2009 at 9:44 am

    Desert island pick has to be Van Morrison. Huge catalog, most of which he wrote himself, spanning nearly four decades. Rock, blues, country, Celtic.

    The thing about the Beatles is that appreciating them requires perspective. One has to know what pop crap was popular right before they hit to understand how they radically changed everthing. Yes, it sounds poppy and pedestrian now, to some, not realizing they live in a landscape the Beatles created.

    Reminds me of a comment I saw somewhere, asking what was so great about Led Zeppelin, dissing them as just another “stadium show band.” It’s different when you know they basically invented the context in which they were being discussed.

    One might as well deride Edison because our light bulbs are better now.

  365. 365.

    Ed in NJ

    May 2, 2009 at 9:44 am

    Here’s some for your consideration. Some already mentioned:

    10,000 Maniacs- In My Tribe
    REM- Murmur
    Billy Joel- The Stranger
    The Hold Steady- Boys and Girls in America
    Jackson Browne- The Pretender
    Jim Croce- You Don’t Mess Around With Jim
    Robbie Robertson- Storyville
    Jimmy Cliff- The Harder They Come
    Genesis- The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway

    and a couple of guilty pleasures:
    Hootie and the Blowfish- Cracked Rear View
    Counting Crows- August and Everything After
    The Wreckers- Stand Still, Look Pretty

    and the guiltiest pleasure of all:
    The Planet P Project- nerdy technopop (and I’m not even a nerd). Not even sure why this appeals to me. I can’t stand anything else Tony Carey has done since.

  366. 366.

    Ned R.

    May 2, 2009 at 9:45 am

    To this day I listen to albums straight through most of the time, I suspect something of a rarer thing in the iTunes world. I prefer the unitary experience but that’s what I was raised with.

  367. 367.

    bago

    May 2, 2009 at 9:45 am

    Sweet Jesus. It’s like only 3 albums suggested are from 1990 and beyond.

    Old people are old.

    I would throw up some Gridlock, Some Dryft, some Boards of Canada, Nine Inch Nails, Haujobb, White Zombie, Glitch Mob, and Opeth waaay before the sounds of the seventies compilations you all be postin about! And that’s before I even get into the ambient/psy with Shpongle, Hallucinogen, Infected Mushroom, Vibrasphere, and Ooze. Then from there you hit Kurder and Dorfmeister and all of their side projects, Delerium (who is actually Front Line Assembly), and their stuff, and Supreme Beings of Leisure.

    I’m 30 and most of what has been posted was recorded before I was alive.

  368. 368.

    Joel

    May 2, 2009 at 9:46 am

    @WereBear: I think the viewpoint of that person is that arena rock itself is undesirable, not that there are other comparably talented arena rock bands.

  369. 369.

    TR

    May 2, 2009 at 9:49 am

    Radiohead – In Rainbows
    Radiohead – OK Computer
    R.E.M. – New Adventures in Hi-Fi
    The Roots – Things Fall Apart
    Weezer – Blue Album
    Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago
    De La Soul – Bionix
    Girl Talk – Feed the Animals
    Liz Phair – Exile in Guyville
    Magnetic Fields – Holiday
    Paul Simon – Graceland
    Tom Waits – Frank’s Wild Years
    TV on the Radio – Dear Science
    Wolf Parade – Apologies to the Queen Mary

  370. 370.

    bago

    May 2, 2009 at 9:49 am

    @Joel: At least we got someone with some Aphex Twin. Ever hear Cylob?

  371. 371.

    Joel

    May 2, 2009 at 9:54 am

    @bago: Have not, but am checking out his blog right now.

  372. 372.

    South of I-10

    May 2, 2009 at 9:55 am

    Wow, y’all were busy last night! I think these have pretty much already been mentioned, but here goes, in no particular order:

    Grateful Dead – American Beauty or Workingman’s Dead, close either way

    Ben Folds Five – Whatever and Ever Amen

    Bob Dylan – Blood on the Tracks

    Paul Simon – Graceland

    Led Zeppelin I

    Lucinda Williams – Car Wheels on a Gravel Road

    RHCP – The Uplift Mofo Party Plan

    Beastie Boys – Pauls Boutique

    Rolling Stones – Beggars Banquet

    Billy Bragg & Wilco – Mermaid Avenue

  373. 373.

    Mr Furious

    May 2, 2009 at 9:56 am

    @Common Sense:

    Wilco kicks the shit out of Son Volt. Just sayin’.

    Um? Not. Even. Close. Jay Farrar has chunks of guys like Tweedy in his stool. Just one man’s opinion…

    As for Radiohead, I prefer The Bends, but that’s just me I guess.

    That’s two men’s opinion—I agree completely.

  374. 374.

    Cat Lady

    May 2, 2009 at 10:09 am

    Bringing up the rear here:

    Paul Simon – Graceland
    Nitty Gritty Dirt Band – Will the Circle be Unbroken
    Stevie Wonder – Talking Book
    Eno/Cale – Wrong Way Up
    Joni Mitchell – Blue
    Bob Marley and the Wailers – Exodus
    Sheila Chandra – Weaving My Ancestors Voices
    Red Hot Chili Peppers – Blood Sugar Sex Magik

  375. 375.

    Mr Furious

    May 2, 2009 at 10:15 am

    Didn’t see it in the thread, though I’m sure it must be…

    SRV — Couldn’t Stand the Weather

  376. 376.

    Gus

    May 2, 2009 at 10:21 am

    @John Cole:

    Kiko is perfect. No time to read the whole thread now, though I will because y’all seem to have some good taste. I noticed a few others I agree with:
    Pretenders first,
    Replacements Let it Be,
    Stones Beggars Banquet, Exile, and Let it Bleed,
    Beatles just anything
    Talking Heads just about anything
    XTC Skylarking
    Television Marquee Moon
    Bob Dylan Bringin’ It All Back Home, Highway 61 and Blonde on Blonde
    saw some Jefferson Airplane love that I would like to second with After Bathing at Baxters (but only if you’re tripping)
    also
    Jimi Hendrix Axis Bold as Love and Are You Experienced
    John Coltrane A Love Supreme
    Creedence Cosmo’s Factory
    The Clash London Calling
    Bowie Ziggy Stardust

    and tons more. I disagree with John, there are shitloads of perfect albums.

  377. 377.

    JGabriel

    May 2, 2009 at 10:27 am

    To all the Rush fans: You guys do realize that Rush is just Robert Fripp on bad dope and Ayn Rand, if he was from Canada, right?

    .

  378. 378.

    HyperIon

    May 2, 2009 at 10:37 am

    no one has mentioned Surrealistic Pillow.
    plus
    1. Sticky Fingers.
    2. Elton John’s first American release (self-titled?)
    3. Eric and the Dominoes

  379. 379.

    bago

    May 2, 2009 at 10:50 am

    Seriously, Tool. Recursive music FTW!

  380. 380.

    Montysano

    May 2, 2009 at 10:51 am

    Jeez, I go to bed early and a party breaks out.

    A few that seem to have been missed:

    Neville Brothers “Yellow Moon” – if I had to pick a best ever, this might be it;

    Paul Simon “Rhythm of the Saints” – I love “Graceland”, but love this one even more.

    I’ve been on a Buffalo Springfield jag lately; some of the best work Stills and Young ever did, and the recording quality is superb.

  381. 381.

    J.D. Rhoades

    May 2, 2009 at 10:53 am

    Excellent choices, all. Glad to meet another fan of Animals, the most criminally overlooked PF album…a biospecial about the Floyd on VH1 didn’t even mention it.

  382. 382.

    South of I-10

    May 2, 2009 at 10:53 am

    @Montysano: Yellow Moon is a great album! Totally forgot about it.

  383. 383.

    djork

    May 2, 2009 at 11:02 am

    Crap. Coming to this kind of late, but my perfect albums would be (in no order):

    Pet Sounds – Beach Boys — Perfect.

    A Hard Day’s Night and Revolver — The Beatles –Perfect for different reasons. Hard Day’s Night is the perfect distillation of 1960s rock and roll before it got druggy and weird. Conversely, Revolver shows the consummate 1960s rock band first starting to get druggy and weird.

    Wowie Zowie – Pavement — A perfect mess.

    Yankee Hotel Foxtrot — Wilco — Wilco is probably the best American band around right now. At the moment, this is my favorite Wilco album. In ten minutes, it will be Summerteeth. Ten minutes after that, Being There.

    Some others that i think are pretty much gravy:
    Paris 1919 — John Cale
    London Calling — The Clash
    Luxury Liner — Emmylou Harris
    Washing Machine — Sonic Youth
    Marquee Moon — Television
    The Soft Bulletin and / or Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots — The Flaming Lips
    Future Days — Can
    Kind of Blue — Miles Davis

    These are probably my personal perfect records. I would agree with others that Dark side / Animals / wish you were here are all flawless. I also second Rumours as being a perfect album

  384. 384.

    canuckistani

    May 2, 2009 at 11:05 am

    Late to the game, but I’ll toss in my fave’s for future historians:

    The Clash: London Calling (practically conformism here)
    Elvis Costello: Armed Forces
    Pink Floyd: Dark Side of the Moon
    Talking Heads: Remain in Light
    Peter Gabriel: Us
    Tom Waits: Rain Dogs
    Devo: Are We Not Men?
    Eurythmics: Sweet Dreams
    The Pogues: Rum, Sodomy and the Lash
    The Who: Quadrophenia

    I am rethinking these choices even as I type these letters, but if I’m missing something awesome, I’m not embarrassed by any of these.

  385. 385.

    p.a.

    May 2, 2009 at 11:10 am

    They surely change over time, but here are some current ‘can’t do withouts’:

    Clash London Calling

    Dylan Nashville Skyline

    Replacements Hootenanny

    THeads More Songs About Buildings and Food (best title evah?)

    Graham Parker Heat Treatment

    Elvis The Sun Sessions

    Van the Man (Anything old but especially) Astral Weeks

    The Who Live at Leeds Deluxe Ed.

    Coltrane Blue Train

    Fitzgerald & Armstrong Ella and Louis

    Party Music:

    The Very Best of the Meters

    Beau Jocque & the Zydeco High Rollers Beau Jocque Boogie

  386. 386.

    wasabi gasp

    May 2, 2009 at 11:13 am

    Prior to last week I would have thought Paul’s Boutique would have made a respectable showing on my list, a list that would surely be flooded in the low numbers by the likes of Floyd, The Beatles, The Stones, Pavement, and some others. But after listening to it for the first time in a few years, I couldn’t get through it. I canned it halfway and washed it down with Exile on Main Street.

    Another album I once gave a lot of spin time to that I found doesn’t do it for me anymore is Vanilla Trainwreck – Mordecai.

    Blondie – Parallel Lines still works for me in a big way.

    If I had to pick an overall album winner, I’d probably say The Wall, but it’s a demanding listen and doesn’t get nearly the spin time that I give to some Beatles and Pavement albums.

  387. 387.

    Jason F

    May 2, 2009 at 11:16 am

    Pretty much every Springsteen album up to and including Born in the U.S.A., but if I could pick only one, it would be Darkness on the Edge of Town.

    Enough mention of Velvet Underground that John called them out to the top of the post, but I don’t think anyone mentioned Peel Slowly and Eat, which surprises me.

    The Stones had a string from Beggars Banquet through Exile that was just outstanding. My favorite, depending on which day you ask me, is either Let It Bleed or Sticky Fingers.

    I saw a couple of people mentioned PE’s Fear of a Black Planet. What about It Takes a Nation of Millions?

    That first Ramones album and Rocket to Russia were both perfect. Leave Home, Road to Ruin, and End of the Century all come damned close.

    Dylan: Blonde on Blonde, Highway 61, and Blood on the Tracks.

    The Minutemen’s Double Nickles on the Dime.

    London Calling by the Clash. I also put Combat Rock in that rarified air.

    I’m still digesting the debut album from Glasvegas, but I think it might wind up on this list. Ditto Now We Can See by the Thermals.

    Queen’s Night at the Opera and News of the World are both perfect.

    Horse by Patti Smith doesn’t have a single note out of place.

    Who’s Next by the Who.

    Both versions of Let It Be (the one by the Beatles and the one by the Replacements).

  388. 388.

    captens1

    May 2, 2009 at 11:20 am

    Good choices above, to which I’d add

    Del Amitri: Change Everything
    Del Amitri: Waking Hours
    Devotchka: How it ends
    Emmylou Harris: Wrecking Ball
    Vince Guaraldi: A Charlie Brown Christmas
    Alison Krauss
    Kirsty MacColl: Tropical Brainstorm
    Supertramp: Breakfast in America
    XTC: Oranges and Lemons
    XTC: Apple Venus

  389. 389.

    dobrojutro

    May 2, 2009 at 11:23 am

    Everytime I think I have a beat on my top5, someone drops Big Star or Fishbone and I have to start over.

    Idea for new thread: top 5 records of all time that never cracked the top 200. It’s a big blue world of music out there – tell me a great album I never heard of.

    I’ll start – Hudson Bell – When the Sun is the Moon. GO!

  390. 390.

    AkaDad

    May 2, 2009 at 11:28 am

    Music is so subjective and I suppose what is “perfect” is really all in the ear of the beholder.

    If I were stuck on a deserted island with a solar-powered Ipod, I’d want to have these albums:

    Aerosmith – Get Your Wings
    Pink Floyd – Dark Side Of The Moon
    AC/DC – Back In Black
    Motley Crue – Shout At The Devil
    Dio -Holy Diver
    Black Sabbath – Black Sabbath
    CCR – Chronicle
    Deep Purple – Machine Head
    Kid Rock – Devil Without A Cause
    Judas Priest – Screaming For Vengeance
    Twisted Sister – Stay Hungry
    Y&T – Black Tiger
    Metallica – Black
    Styx – The Grand Illusion
    Tesla – The Great Radio Controversy
    Iron Maiden – Piece Of Mind
    Rush – 2112
    Pearl Jam – Ten
    Serj Tankian – Elect The Dead

  391. 391.

    amorphous

    May 2, 2009 at 11:38 am

    ♪ This is the thread that doesn’t end,
    yes it goes on and on my friend.
    Some people started singing it, not knowing what it was,
    and they’ll continue singing it forever just because… ♪

  392. 392.

    Manic Depression

    May 2, 2009 at 11:41 am

    Ten live albums yet to be mentioned:
    Jimi Hendix – Live at Monterey
    Epic versions of Like a Rolling Stone and Wild Thing.
    Lone Justice – BBC Radio 1 Live in Concert
    Maria McKee sings so hard she threatens to send the Earth spinning off it’s axis.
    Richard Thompson – More Guitar
    Hardest rocking RT ever thanks to Kenny Aronoff sitting in on the drums.
    Bruce Springsteen – Live at Winterland
    Any of the “fan club” releases. Best Bruce show ever.
    Jerry Lee Lewis – Live at the Star Club – Hamburg.
    Jerry Lee cuts the Beatles in their old stomping ground.
    B.B. King – Live at the Regal
    B.B. at his live best, with plenty of audience hoots and hollers.
    Bob Dylan – The Bootleg Series Vol. 4, The “Royal Albert Hall Concert”
    Belive the hype. Really.
    Otis Redding – Live in Europe
    Mr. Pitiful is anything but.
    Toot and the Maytals – Live
    Reggae Got Soul.
    Bob Marley and the Wailers – Live!
    Just plain great.

    Yes, I’m old.

  393. 393.

    slightly_peeved

    May 2, 2009 at 11:45 am

    @JC:

    Corpus Christi Carol and Lilac Wine. Don’t get me wrong, I love the album… but a significant portion isn’t his work.

  394. 394.

    Jose C

    May 2, 2009 at 11:46 am

    late as always – damn this life that keeps me from the computer.

    lots of good stuff mentioned, but two I haven’t seen

    Alice Cooper – Killer
    Kate Bush – the Sky of Honey disc from Aerial

  395. 395.

    LD50

    May 2, 2009 at 11:48 am

    And damn yes, LD50 @38, the Stooges’ Fun House comes really really close, but it depends on one’s capacity to endure L.A. Blues at the end.

    I just skip that track. I even left it off my ipod. It’s a perfect album if you omit it.

  396. 396.

    joeyess

    May 2, 2009 at 11:50 am

    The Beatles- Abbey Road. Blah blah blah it’s the Beatles, how trite and overplayed. Not really very good musicians, blah blah blah- I love it.

    Who says “not really very good musicians”?

    I’ll punch them in the neck.

  397. 397.

    LD50

    May 2, 2009 at 11:51 am

    Eric and the Dominoes

    …with their fantastic guitarist, Derek Clapton.

    For my money, the Pink Floyd’s best are their first two: Piper at the Gates of Dawn and Saucerful of Secrets, when Syd was either still with them or a heavy influence. Waters’ later stuff is SOOO BOOOORING.

  398. 398.

    Kelly

    May 2, 2009 at 11:55 am

    Van Morrison Moondance
    Bob Marley Babylon By Bus
    John Hiatt Bring the Family
    Robert Cray Strong Persuader
    Supertramp Crime of the Century

  399. 399.

    Piper

    May 2, 2009 at 11:55 am

    Hven’t gotten to read the thread yet, but Beck’s Midnight Vultures is the best album of the last 15 years. Nirvana’s Nevermind is the Sgt Pepper’s of this era, having altered fashion, pop culture, what passes for mainstream music and opening the door for a lot of more avant garde acts to make it big. Bleach is a better album in my opinion, but Nevermind changed the world.

  400. 400.

    Ronald

    May 2, 2009 at 11:58 am

    People who think the Beatles suck, are clueless, tasteless morons.

  401. 401.

    wasabi gasp

    May 2, 2009 at 12:05 pm

    tell me a great album I never heard of.

    In the Faust discography are some great albums.

  402. 402.

    jstudle

    May 2, 2009 at 12:09 pm

    A Wizard A True Star – Todd Rundgren
    Paris 1919 – John Cale
    Night and Day – Joe Jackson
    Discipline – King Crimson
    U.K. – U.K.

  403. 403.

    janeform

    May 2, 2009 at 12:11 pm

    My favorite Radiohead depends a lot on what mood I’m in. Amnesiac is overall best. It’s especially good for evoking deep pain and sadness, but in a good way. Spinning Plates kills.

  404. 404.

    matoko_chan

    May 2, 2009 at 12:20 pm

    Maroon 5 – It Won’t Be Soon Before Long
    Sonny Moore- Bells
    The Alkaline Trio- Agony and Irony

    This is very subjective, and highly generational.

  405. 405.

    canuckistani

    May 2, 2009 at 12:27 pm

    I didn’t put them on my list because I suck, but I think the sequence of Rubber Soul –> Pet Sounds –> Sgt. Pepper’s may be the greatest streak of competitive creativity I’ve ever seen, and they all belong on iPods in heaven. It’s a pity Brian Wilson went crazy and the Beach Boys went back to sucky beach songs before the streak could continue.

  406. 406.

    trollhattan

    May 2, 2009 at 12:36 pm

    Christ on a cracker, do you people sleep?

    Also. How could I forget (add another list here)?

  407. 407.

    Bill D.

    May 2, 2009 at 12:37 pm

    The Who: Who’s Next
    Led Zeppelin, 4th album
    U2: The Joshua Tree
    Supertramp: Breakfast in America
    Pink Floyd: The Dark Side of the Moon
    Yes: The Yes Album

  408. 408.

    Tresy

    May 2, 2009 at 1:00 pm

    What Jason F said.

    Also Stevie Ray Vaughan, Texas Flood.

  409. 409.

    passerby

    May 2, 2009 at 1:02 pm

    @HeartlandLiberal:

    Pat Metheny – Secret Story
    Especially this piece. It is a ong piece, over nine minutes. Listen to it as it builds to one of the most beautiful crescendos of celebration of just feeling alive and being grateful for that that you will ever hear. The Truth Will Always Be

    Right-o HL. Thanks for the link. The continuous snare drum had “forbearance” written all over it and you’re right about the crescendo which, in my mind, provided “triumph” at the end of a long march.

    Good stuff.

    Oh and PF, APP, and MB, echo that. I’m on your wavelength and would gladly join you in a chorus of “get off my lawn sonny” if push ever comes to shove with regard to music.

  410. 410.

    burnspbesq

    May 2, 2009 at 1:04 pm

    A few more that I’m surprised haven’t been mentioned:

    B.B. King Live at the Regal
    The Gilded Palace of Sin (Flying Burrito Brothers)
    Funky Kingston (Toots and the Maytals)
    Blues and the Abstract Truth (Oliver Nelson)
    Crystal Silence (Gary Burton and Chick Corea)
    Bitches’ Brew (Miles Davis)
    Manzanita (The Tony Rice Unit)
    See How We Are (X)

    For me, the best album released in the last 24 months is “A Year in the Wilderness” by John Doe.

  411. 411.

    Mwangangi

    May 2, 2009 at 1:04 pm

    @Steeplejack: Illmatic is… well Illmatic, a legendary album, EVERY song on it was a single. The Obama mixtape came out around convention time, and it was just the thing I needed to keep going, I was damn near on year two… and I was tired. I don’t know how the actual folks running for office do it. I uploaded that tape to my phone and I could just keep making it down to the campaign office.

    …and I wanted to put the Roots in my list, but most people like the Roots, so I expected to see it more than I did. As Bago says… old people are old.

  412. 412.

    wasabi gasp

    May 2, 2009 at 1:13 pm

    I don’t think JSBX wasn’t mentioned yet so here’s a nod to Extra Width, Orange, and Experimental Remixes.

  413. 413.

    Minionero

    May 2, 2009 at 1:17 pm

    The Smiths – The Smiths
    The Smiths – The Queen Is Dead
    A Tribe Called Quest – The Low End Theory
    Teenage Fanclub – Songs From Northern Britain
    Boards of Canada – Music Has The Right To Children
    Shack – H.M.S. Fable

  414. 414.

    Cain

    May 2, 2009 at 1:24 pm

    @Comrade Kevin:

    Huh? You know they’re actually Italian, yes?

    Of course, but their music in this particular album had a very arabic feel to. I don’t think they play any italian music hehe.

    cain

  415. 415.

    Cain

    May 2, 2009 at 1:28 pm

    @Mwangangi:

    oh good, I’m here after closing…

    Looks like it’s still going. I will admit I liked Thriller by Michael Jackson. I didn’t list it because I didn’t like all the songs. Off the wall is good.

    I notice ice cube, no NWA? I don’t listen to rap that much. But I do recall liking some of the stuff from NWA although I couldn’t take too much after awhile.

    cain

  416. 416.

    Cain

    May 2, 2009 at 1:34 pm

    @SGEW:

    Surprised by a few names that were not mentioned on this thread (Handel, Billie Holiday, and Duke Ellington come to mind).

    I don’t own any of their albums (Handel has albums? :-) Mostly those are relegated to “listening to jazz on the radio”.

    I love Billie Holiday and Duke Ellington. Big Band is fucking awesome. I tend to like older music than newer music. I suspect it’s because it seems to be harder to find good newer music for me.

    cain

  417. 417.

    Cain

    May 2, 2009 at 1:37 pm

    @mclaren:

    Fascinating that anyone would consider disposable pop music crap like The Beatles or Yes or Pink Floyd or Zappa to be interesting or worthwhile.

    This is a ridiculous notion. There is no litmus test for music. It’s all in ear of the listener. You might like it but if it triggers an emo response then it’s good enough. Trying to be high and mighty about this kind of stuff is plain stupid. Some of the most beautiful music could easily be your toddler hitting a spoon on a can.

    cain

  418. 418.

    *

    May 2, 2009 at 1:55 pm

    No psychoanalysis, but your list does indicate that your music listening experience (like that of most people) is dominated by the offerings of major corporations and is thus very limited.

  419. 419.

    evabaruk

    May 2, 2009 at 2:10 pm

    Jimmy Cliff – They Harder They Come

    Bob Marley – Natty Dread

  420. 420.

    burnspbesq

    May 2, 2009 at 2:15 pm

    I would venture to guess that a good chunk of what McLaren listens to was considered disposable pop music crap at the time of it’s public premiere. It’s fascinating to read what was written about Handel, Mozart, Beethoven, and Verdi while they were still alive. Mahler, who we revere now, was seen in his time the way some people see Salonen now – a great conductor who dabbles in composition.

    With time comes perspective. I’d venture to guess that 200 years from now, most of what had been listed on this thread will be forgotten. But so will most of the contemporary “classical” music that McLaren probably listens to. Del Tredici, Glass, Reich, Riley, Saariaho … Puh-leeze. Adams, maybe. Ades, maybe. Salonen? The Violin Concerto sounds like a keeper, the rest not so much.

  421. 421.

    wrb

    May 2, 2009 at 2:45 pm

    The Band/Dylan Basement Tapes
    Dylan Blood on the Tracks
    Band Big Pink
    Miles Kind of Blue
    Neville Bros Yellow Moon
    Dead Europe 72/ American Beauty
    Van Astral Weeks
    Joan Armatrading’s 1st
    Joni- Blue
    Garcia Relections
    Allmans Fillmore East
    Bob Marley- the box set
    Stones- Get Your Ya Yas out
    Cowboy Junkies- Trinity Sessions
    Neil Young- Everybody Knows

  422. 422.

    wrb

    May 2, 2009 at 2:57 pm

    Glancing through the above, yes I’d add Wrecking Ball, Fragile, Who’s Next, Blues and the Abstract Truth, Dylan @ Albert Hall and A Love Supreme

    Also Mingus Ah Um

    And the John Prine album with Lake Marie on it

  423. 423.

    Corner Stone

    May 2, 2009 at 3:01 pm

    I didn’t see it mentioned anywhere but it has to be said:
    Linkin Park / JayZ – Collision Course

  424. 424.

    Corner Stone

    May 2, 2009 at 3:10 pm

    He once had an awkward moment…just to see what it felt like.
    He is…the most interesting man in the world.

  425. 425.

    Joel

    May 2, 2009 at 3:42 pm

    Jesus, you’re good, John. Those picks give you a batting average of 1.000, dude. Big. time. hat. tip. Particularly impressive is Relayer. So under-appreciated yet so great.

  426. 426.

    Dave in ME

    May 2, 2009 at 3:55 pm

    The Allman Brothers – Brothers and Sisters, Eat a Peach and Live at Ludlow Garage.

  427. 427.

    bago

    May 2, 2009 at 4:02 pm

    Thank god someone besides me listed BOOC and AFX. Took long enough.

  428. 428.

    dan robinson

    May 2, 2009 at 4:21 pm

    Oh, and Dave Mason, Certified Live
    George Harrison, All Things Must Pass
    Elvis Costello and the Brodsky Quartet

  429. 429.

    Mwangangi

    May 2, 2009 at 4:54 pm

    @Cain: Ice Cube, to me was better than NWA not to say that I didn’t rock the shit out of “efil4zaggin”.

  430. 430.

    wrb

    May 2, 2009 at 5:37 pm

    and The Wild Tchapitoulas

  431. 431.

    Piper

    May 2, 2009 at 6:27 pm

    One that I doubt was mentioned is Operation Ivy Energy. That is one helluvan album, all 30 tracks. Never understood why it was their only record, but Green Day took that sound and made gajillions off of it.
    .
    Let me say it warms my heart to see multiple Grateful Dead albums mentioned. My personal favorite would be
    Wake of the Flood but one could make an argument for anything pre-1980.

  432. 432.

    dobrojutro

    May 2, 2009 at 6:32 pm

    Manic Depression -BB King Live at Cook County Prison is the greatest live blues record of all time. Carry on.

  433. 433.

    Steeplejack

    May 2, 2009 at 6:36 pm

    @Corner Stone:
    God, I hate that ad.

  434. 434.

    wrb

    May 2, 2009 at 6:54 pm

    @Steeplejack:

    Reading more above I also vote for these:

    Ahmad Jamal, The Awakening (1970).
    .
    – David Crosby, If I Could Only Remember My Name . . . (1971). A slightly weird album that hangs together and ages surprisingly well

    I also would add

    Clark Terry and Bob Brookmeyer Quintet, Gingerbread Men

  435. 435.

    wrb

    May 2, 2009 at 7:20 pm

    I looks like Gingerbred Men is only now available as part of this awesome looking collection

    http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Studio-Recordings-Clark-Terry/dp/B000AN023C/ref=reg_hu-wl_list-recs

  436. 436.

    dan robinson

    May 2, 2009 at 7:54 pm

    Art Blakely: A Jazz Message

  437. 437.

    jTh

    May 2, 2009 at 8:44 pm

    @Montysano

    Paul Simon “Rhythm of the Saints” – I love “Graceland”, but love this one even more.

    Actually, I didn’t wanna shoot anyone down for picking Graceland, but I think Saints blows its doors off.

    @Jose C

    Good call on A Sky of Honey. I’ve got issues with Sea of Honey, but Sky is likely perfect.

    @LD50

    I just skip (L.A. Blues). I even left it off my ipod. It’s a perfect album if you omit it.

    Yeah, but if I could “skip one track,” I could list a couple hundred “perfect albums” without even breaking a sweat. Most of my favorite albums have a weak track of two. Fun House certainly highly among them – it was exactly my 100th CD. My all-time favorite album – Vs. by Mission of Burma – unfortunately has one boner track (to my ear, anyway).

    Discipline, however, does not, so glad to see a couple other people mention that.

    @janeform

    Amnesiac is overall best. It’s especially good for evoking deep pain and sadness, but in a good way. Spinning Plates kills.

    I don’t think it’s perfect (I don’t think any of theirs are, though Kid A might be closest), but I’d agree that it’s grossly underrated. Yes, Spinning Plates is extraordinary (and yet many Radiohead fans are surprised when I say so?)

    Finally, @Piper

    Hven’t gotten to read the thread yet, but Beck’s Midnight Vultures is the best album of the last 15 years. Nirvana’s Nevermind is the Sgt Pepper’s of this era…

    Midnite Vultures and Odelay are both extraordinary – the latter might be perfect – but can’t agree with that perspective on Nevermind.

    Was it great? Absolutely. But it was a culmination of trends that’d been in motion for ten or fifteen years, much more than any kind of independent groundbreaker like Sgt. Pepper’s was. Not that Pepper emerged from a vacuum itself, but Nevermind was fundamentally a distillation, not an evolution. And if one was observing indie music trends in that era, it was much more of an ending/culmination (of punk, Pixies, Fugazi) than a beginning of something truly new. (Also, it’s much more mono-themed/one-noted than Sgt. Pepper’s was, another “gift” of Beatles often overlooked in hindsight, that they blew open the doors of thematic possibility.)

  438. 438.

    dkilmer

    May 2, 2009 at 10:47 pm

    Prefab Sprout – Steve McQueen

  439. 439.

    ed finnerty

    May 2, 2009 at 10:55 pm

    dobrojutro

    I’ll give you the most obscure great album you’ll ever probably not hear

    Graeme Card – Graeme Card

    Good luck finding it, but if you do – I bet you’ll love it

  440. 440.

    dobrojutro

    May 2, 2009 at 11:32 pm

    Just thought of some underappreciated power-pop gems not yet mentioned:

    Jellyfish – Bellybutton or Spilt Milk
    Toy Matinee – Toy Matinee

  441. 441.

    Mr Furious

    May 3, 2009 at 12:44 am

    Toy Matinee – Toy Matinee

    Is that the Ballad of Jenny Ledge? I used to have that CD…I don’t really remember getting into the rest of it. I’l have to take a trip down to the basement and see if I can find it.

  442. 442.

    Mr Furious

    May 3, 2009 at 12:45 am

    “Last Plane Out” was another good one off that Toy Matinee album…

    I remember really liking a Jellyfish tune, but it escapes me.

  443. 443.

    Mr Furious

    May 3, 2009 at 12:57 am

    Morphine — Cure For Pain Did this really go 400+ comments without Morphine? I must’ve missed it somewhere…

    Chris Whitley — Living With the Law Amazing.

    Jon Spencer Blues Exposion — Acme

    Robert Palmer — Sneaking Through the Alley With Sally (Little Feat is the studio band on most of this album)

    Sugar — Copper Blue I know to many it’s blasphemy, but to me this was Bob Mould’s high-water mark

  444. 444.

    Up too late

    May 3, 2009 at 1:42 am

    Got caught up in this with the initial love for Waiting for Columbus, was glad to see that I wasn’t the only one to really like 801 Live and the TNK cover mentioned midstream, and then the sustained matches with the Chris Whitley and Sneakin’ Sally mentions 2 days later in the comment just prior to me.

    Not to get too over the top, but some lightnin’ in a bottle in this Comments thread, I think

    Still can’t believe Robert Palmer’s dead — he was kind of a lifestyle rolemodel for me for while, and I’ve had to make some adjustments since then — my current plan is to live forever, and I’m still right on track, per Stephen Wright’s comments on that topic

  445. 445.

    Kenneth Fair

    May 3, 2009 at 11:17 am

    @Mr Furious: Right on about dada’s Puzzle. The entire album is full of great songs, and meshes together in a way that makes the whole greater than the sum of its parts.

  446. 446.

    dobrojutro

    May 5, 2009 at 2:00 pm

    Mr Furious –

    Toy Matinee was very much a side1 record. Great side 1 though. Worth digging for. Both Jellyfish records are top-notch power-pop:
    Bellybutton
    Spilt Milk

  447. 447.

    Up too late

    June 6, 2009 at 1:40 am

    If I can tell my grandkids I dropped the last comment on this awesome thread, . . . I’ll still be a frustrated, unfulfilled old fart.

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