I know, I know, there was already a thread on this awhile back.
I’m groovin’ to Hearts’ Dreamboat Annie while working. Happy sigh! Ahhhhhh, the classics! Fleetwood Mac Rumours is next…
When I move into a new place, the first ting I puton the stereo is always ‘The Wall’ (Pink Floyd). Other faves: ‘Just Another Band from L.A.’ (Frank Zappa); ‘Lark’s Tongue in Aspic’ (King Crimson); ‘Abbey Road’ (The Beatles); ANYTHING by Steely Dan… the list goes on and on…
Oh great. Thanks. remind me, why dontcha?!
I don’t have my Steely Dan here!!!
hands down…
Aphex Twin - I Care Because You Do
Okay, this will take a while:
The Beatles: From Help to Let It Be[/b[, it’s all great
The Who: My Generation,Tommy,Live at Leeds,Live at the Isle of Wight(it’s been ishued quite recently but it’s among the greats),Who’s Next****Quadrophenia( don’t let anyone fool you, this one is simply brilliant, the definitive rock opera). I know it’s a lot but what can I do, I’m a fan.
Bob Dylan:Highway61 RvisitedandBlonde on Blonde** some of the best music he ever did
Doors: The first and the last two albums are great.
Pink Floyd: Piper at Gates of Dawn and Animals are both unjustly forgotten and there’s Dark Side of the Moon of course
Genesis: Both Foxtrot and ** Selling England by the Pound** are great, some of the best prog one can find.
King Crimsom: In the Court of the Crimson King their first and best( and most revolutionary, interesting, influential, etc…).
Frank Zappa: He’s got to much albums for me to tell you.
Can: These are some german guys with a japanese singer and do this krautrock stuff that’s really nice. Anything with Damo Suzuki still in the band.
Jimi Hendrix: Well, his debut is pretty amazing.
I could say much more but this is a big enough start isn’t it?
Terrapin Station Side B (Not as much Donna) – Dead
American Beauty – Dead
Ace – Bob Weir (Yeah, I know the Dead backed 'im.)
The Allman Brothers Band Live At Fillmore East and it’s updated version.
Aside from those mentioned, what about the Velvet Underground - especially the first with Nico, but any of the others too? And Patti Smith’s Horses?
I’m not sure how old an album has to be for “classic” status, but I’d put the Talking Heads through Speaking in Tongues on my list too, and Peter Gabriel’s early albums (hell, all of them up until whenever they can’t be called classic anymore).
And as long as I’m sneaking in albums from the early 80’s, Murmur by R.E.M. holds up very nicely, too.
I agree with VB’s choices, but I’m afraid I’m lost on the rest. Except for the Beatles, natch. I’m not sure my fave’s would fit in with this bunch, so I’ll just sit over here quietly and read this thread now and then. I might find something to listen to. 
pb –
Yanni’s in the next thread over.
I don’t think it’s an age thing so much as a recognition thing. Some albums are pretty much acknowledged as classics right off the bat, such as the aforementioned Rumours, but also like Tapestry, and Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band, Summer Breeze, Court & Spark, and many others. A few things I’ve noticed is that they usually are tightly assembled with no dud tracks, and they seem to push the envelope for the particular group or individual artist. They also seem to have one or more tracks that climb the charts and become perennial favourites. An example would be Don MCleans’(sp) American Pie, which contains such classics as the title track, and Vincent.
- Revolver - The Beatles
- Automatic for the People - REM
- Dark side of the moon - Pink Floyd
- Bridge over troubled waters - Simon & Garfunkel
- Nevermind - Nirvana
- Out of Time - REM
- The White Album - The Beatles
- Blood on the tracks - Bob Dylan
- The River - Bruce Springsteen
10)Are you experienced? - Jimi Hendrix
11)The Bends - Radiohead
12)New Adventures in Hi Fi - REM
13)Up - REM
14)Rumours - Fleetwood Mac
15)Bat out of Hell - Meatloaf
16)The Marshall Mathers LP - Eminem
17)The Contino sessions - Death in Vegas
18)Before the calm - Witess
19)OK Computer - Radiohead
20)The Queen is Dead - The Smiths
21)Forever Changes - Love
22)Blond on Blond - Bob Dylan
23)Blood on the Tracks - Bob Dylan
24)Highway 61 Revisited - Bob Dylan
25)August and Everything After - Counting Crows
26)Trout Mask Replica - Captain Beefheart
27)Safe as Milk - Captain Beefheart
28)The complete Animals (compilation) - The Animals
29)Odelay - Beck
30)Imagine - John Lennon
Plus many hundreds of others I cannot recall at this time.
Rush - Moving Pictures
[/quote]
And this one’s off to IMHO.
Elvis Costello - My Aim Is True & Imperial Bedroom
Television - Marquee Moon
Pixies - Doolittle
The Clash - London Calling
Pink Floyd - DSOTM
Husker Du - New Day Rising
Gang Of Four - Entertainment
The Jam - Sound Affects & The Gift
XTC - English Settlement & Skylarking
The Who - Who’s Next
The Mekons - Rock And Roll
REM - Murmur
David Bowie - Ziggy Stardust
[ol][li]Truth[/li][sup]JEFF BECK[/sup]
[li]The Lady and the Unicorn[/li][sup]JOHN RENBOURN[/sup]
[li]Get Your Yah Yah’s Out[/li][sup]THE ROLLING STONES[/sup]
[li]The Yes Album[/li][sup]YES[/sup]
[li]Blues Incorporated[/li][sup]ALEXIS KORNER[/sup]
[li]Hat[/li][sup]DAVY GRAHAM[/sup]
[li]Rosemary Lane[/li][sup]BERT JANSCH[/sup]
[li]Another Monday[/li][sup]JOHN RENBOURN[/sup]
[li]Swiss Movement[/li][sup]LES McCANN & EDDIE HARRIS[/sup]
[li]Time Out[/li][sup]DAVE BRUBECK[/sup]
[li]Eat A Peach[/li][sup]THE ALLMAN BROTHERS[/sup]
[li]Children of the Future[/li][sup]STEVE MILLER BAND[/sup]
[li]Uncle Meat[/li][sup]FRANK ZAPPA[/sup]
[li]Cry of Love[/li][sup]JIMI HENDRIX[/sup]
[li]Live Cream Volume II[/li][sup]CREAM[/sup]
[li]John Barleycorn Must Die[/li][sup]TRAFFIC[/sup]
[li]Band of Gypsies[/li][sup]JIMI HENDRIX[/sup]
[li]Johhny Winter and Live[/li][sup]JOHNNY WINTER[/sup]
[li]Free Hand[/li][sup]GENTLE GIANT[/sup]
[li]Ummagumma[/li][sup]PINK FLOYD[/sup]
[li]Cheap Thrills[/li][sup]BIG BROTHER and the HOLDING COMPANY[/sup]
[li]Abraxas[/li][sup]SANTANA[/sup]
[li]Ah Via Musicom[/li][sup]ERIC JOHNSON[/sup]
[li]The Doughnut In Granny’s Greenhouse[/li][sup]THE BONZO DOG DOO DAH BAND[/sup]
[li]Tocatta and Fugue in D Minor[/li][sup]HELMUT WALCHA[/sup]
[li]The Brandenburg Concertos[/li][sup]MAX GOBERMAN[/sup]
[/ol]
The list is endless…
In the Court of the Crimson King (and IMHO a shitload of others) - King Crimson
Foxtrot - Genesis
Fragile - Yes
Aqualung - Jethro Tull
Who’s Next - The Who
Brain Salad Surgery - ELP
One Size Fits All - Frank Zappa
Time Out - Dave Brubeck
White Album - Beatles
IV - Led Zeppelin
---- needless to say, I don’t listen to the radio much anymore…
My tastes are rather diverse, so my top 10 in the order I thought of them…
- Boston – Boston
- Shaking Like A Human Being – Kim Mitchell
- Sgt. Pepper – The Beatles
- Highway 61 Revisited – Bob Dylan
- Kick Out The Jams – MC5
- New Traditionalists – Devo
- Back In Black – AC/DC
- South Of The Border – Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass
- Born To Run – Bruce Springsteen
- Machine Head – Deep Purple
These are in perpetual “heavy rotation” with me. One could make an arguement that they may not fit a strict definition of “classic”, but I believe they are all fairly recognizable (maybe not Kim Mitchell, but trust me, American readers, he is a Canadian rock icon), and in my opinion are solid front to finish. When I load up these in the CD changer, there are absolutely NO tracks that I skip. They are all, IMHO, representative of the best of their respective genre.
Rush Permanent Waves, Moving Pictures and Exit…Stage left
Deep Purple Machine Head
Cheap Trick In Color
Steely Dan Aja
The Clash London Calling
The Dead Boys Young, Loud and Snotty
I’ll stick with one per group:
Beatles – White Album
Rolling Stones – Let It Bleed
The Who – Who Are You
Traffic – The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys
Grateful Dead – Workingman’s Dead
Flash and the Pan – Lights in the Night
Pink Floyd – Atom Heart Mother
Kinks – Lola vs. Powerman and the Moneygoround
Springsteen – The Wild, the Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle
Zappa – We’re Only In It For the Money
Bonzo Dog Band – Urban Spaceman
Siegel Schwall Band – Siegel Schwall Band
Eagles – Hotel California
Van Morrison – Moondance
Jethro Tull – Aqualung
Spirit – The Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus
Allman Brothers Band – Live at Filmore East
Derek and the Dominoes – Layla
Various artists – Woodstock
The Band – The Last Waltz
Elton John – Honkey Chateau
Hot Tuna – Hot Tuna
Robert Johnson – Best of
The Best of Busby Berkeley
Denver Symphony Orchestra with George Gershwin – Rhapsody in Blue.
Zenster:
Wow. All these posts on this board and I finally see someone else has heard of them. 
Great stuff listed so far. Here are a few that haven’t appeared yet that are staples of my collection:
Van Halen: Van Halen I, Diver Down, 1984
Billy Joel: Turnstiles
Bill Kirchen: Hot Rod Lincoln Live
Junior Brown: Guit With It
Rockapella: Primer
Woodstock Movie Soundtrack
Brian Setzer Orchestra: The Dirty Boogie
Red Elvises: I Wanna See You Bellydance