# Essential CDs (All Genres) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 27, 2004, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/essential-cds-all-genres/276911 "2004-11-27T20:25:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Hodge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Hodge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hodge)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/essential-cds-all-genres/276911/21 "2004-11-28T00:46:47Z")
For more roots of modern alternative, how about some late '60s / early '70s proto-punk? **New York Dolls** - _New York Dolls_ **The Stooges** - _Funhouse_ **MC5** - _Kick Out The Jams_ **The Modern Lovers** - _The Modern Lovers_ **The Velvet Underground** - _The Velvet Underground and Nico_ ---
**Author:** ![pesch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pesch/32/4925_2.png) [@pesch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pesch)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/essential-cds-all-genres/276911/22 "2004-11-28T01:03:52Z")
I tend to be pretty ideosyncratic in my music tastes and have followed few artists from album to album. That said, here’s my list, in no particular order. **U2** , Auchtung, Baby. Blew me away from track to track. It’s got the hits like “One” and “Mysterious Ways”, a beautiful love song for drunks (“Trying to Throw Your Arms Around the World”) and some neat sounds courtesy of Brian Eno. Speaking of which… **Brian Eno and David Byrne** , My Life in the Bush of Ghosts. Can’t explain this one, but it’s weirdness squared. Includes bonus exorcist of a Jezebel, set to music. **Johnny Cash** I love the American albums, but I would suggest looking into Number 4, “The Man Comes Around” for its mix of Cash-penned numbers (title track with its Biblical apocalyptic theme) and “songs the kids like” (like “Hurt” and “Personal Jesus”). Try not to cry when he ends the CD with “We’ll Meet Again.” **Louis Armstrong** Try a greatest hits package. I had acquired a three-disk set of swing music, listened to it once, and realized that after three tracks, it all sounds the same. Armstrong’s distinctive voice and trumpet cuts through that buzz like Mufuni through a samurai. An American original, in the best self-made way. **Jesus Christ Superstar** It’s the beat, man, the beat. I love the original London stage recording with Murray Head and Yvonne Ellman. Big thrill for me was being part of the 39 Lashes scene in a local production, although my favorite is the vaudevillian Herod’s Song (“So if you are the Christ, you’re the great Jesus Christ / prove to me that you’re no fool / walk across my swimming pool”). ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/essential-cds-all-genres/276911/23 "2004-11-28T02:16:48Z")
The Clash, _London Calling_ Stevie Wonder, _Talking Book_ Stevie Wonder, _Songs in the Key of Life_ Bruce Springsteen, _Born to Run_ Prince, _1999_ Prince & The Revolution, _Purple Rain_ U2, _The Joshua Tree_ Talking Heads, _Remain in Light_ Michael Jackson, _Thriller_ Joni Mitchell, _Blue_ Joni Mitchell, _Court and Spark_ The Beatles, _Revolver_ The Beatles, _The Beatles (The White Album)_ The Beatles, _Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band_ The Beatles, _Abbey Road_ R.E.M., _Murmur_ R.E.M., _Automatic for the People_ Simon & Garfunkel, _Bridge Over Troubled Water_ Elvis Costello, _Get Happy!!_ The Police, _Synchronicity_ ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/essential-cds-all-genres/276911/24 "2004-11-28T02:49:51Z")
> [@](#): > > I have Geogaddi and have listened to it once. I think it needs more than one listen to really get into. Is this album (Music has the Right…) similiar? I’ve not heard Geogaddi yet but reports are it is similar. And yeah, I’d say more than one listen is required, as there’s a lot of stuff going on in the mix. ---
**Author:** ![yBeayf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/e274bd/32.png) [@yBeayf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yBeayf)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/essential-cds-all-genres/276911/25 "2004-11-28T03:06:53Z")
I know I’ve mentioned it on here twice or thrice before, and it’s not alternative, but _Korong_ by Kornog is the absolute best album of Breton music in existence, and one of the very few albums I would call absolute perfection. I cannot recommend it highly enough. Other essential albums in various genres: Spiritualized, _Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space_ Shudder to Think, _Pony Express Record_ Poe, _Haunted_ Type O Negative, _Bloody Kisses_ The Flaming Lips, any and every album from _Transmissions from the Satellite Heart_ until the present day Somebody earlier recommended Monster Magnet’s _Powertrip_, but I think that’s a little too stripped-down an album; _Dopes to Infinity_ would be my choice there. Likewise, with Neurosis I think _Times of Grace_ or _Enemy of the Sun_ are better representative albums than _A Sun that Never Sets_. _Teletubbies: the Album_ is an outstanding example of the black metal genre. ---
**Author:** ![hlanelee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3bc359/32.png) [@hlanelee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hlanelee)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/essential-cds-all-genres/276911/26 "2004-11-28T03:35:53Z")
_American Pie_ by Don McLean I remember when I was young, the whole country sang the title song of that album for about a year. (albums ☹ ) _Alice’s Resturant_ by Arlo Guthrie But thinking about it, if you never carried a draft card, you wouldn’t really appreciate it, that’ll change, keep an eye on Taiwan. ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/essential-cds-all-genres/276911/27 "2004-11-28T03:42:02Z")
Well, I’m trying to spread the **Wilco** love, so I’m going to suggest **Summerteeth** and **A Ghost is Born**. ---
**Author:** ![Kid\_A\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Kid\_A\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kid_A_1)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/essential-cds-all-genres/276911/28 "2004-11-28T04:27:57Z")
> [@hlanelee](#): > > _Alice’s Resturant_ by Arlo Guthrie But thinking about it, if you never carried a draft card, you wouldn’t really appreciate it, that’ll change, keep an eye on Taiwan. Luckilly, I’m up in the Great White North. Wow, thanks for all the responses so far. While there have been a couple of albums that I’ve already own, 90% of the stuff is new to me. Special thanks to **ultrafilter** for that amazing metal breakdown and **pepperlandgirl** for the Wilco. I love this board. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ilsa\_Lund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a6a055/32.png) [@Ilsa\_Lund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ilsa_Lund)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/essential-cds-all-genres/276911/29 "2004-11-28T04:52:32Z")
Jeff Buckley - _Grace_ ---
**Author:** ![audiobottle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc8723/32.png) [@audiobottle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/audiobottle)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/essential-cds-all-genres/276911/30 "2004-11-28T06:03:36Z")
> [@Gadfly](#): > > Supermodified, by Amon Tobin - this is to typical big-beat electronica what Miles Davis is to Kenny G. Man, I was just coming in here to recommend Amon Tobin. His alter-ego, Cujo, has a good album called “Adventures in Foam.” Really good stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/essential-cds-all-genres/276911/31 "2004-11-28T06:19:14Z")
I like a lot of different types of music. Many of the above suggestions are very good (although I certainly couldn’t differentiate between so many types of metal). People who make lists like these tend to like music which is quite obscure, and to pooh-pooh Best Of albums. If you’re buying music, however, Best Of albums do have their place – who wants to buy a CD for one or two good songs? Anyway, in no particular order, pulled off my musicmatch list… I like (alternative music included to see if tastes match, or to broaden exposure): - 13 Songs, Fugazi, punk - Acadie, Daniel Lanois, Acadian Folk Music - Add It Up, Violent Femmes - After You’ve Gone, Roy Eldridge, Jazz (very good) - Austin Powers Soundtrack, various 60s mix - Blue Train, John Coltrane, Jazz - Buena Vista Social Club, Cuban folk/jazz (son) - Classic Queen, Queen, rock - Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain; Pavement, alternative - Cure for Pain, Morphine, alternative - Day for Night, The Tragically Hip, rock - Debut, Bjork, alternative - Decade, Neil Young, rock - Don’t Give Up On Me, Solomon Burke, blues (very good) - Doolittle, Pixies, alternative - Dummy, Portishead, alternative - Elastica, elastica, alternative - Elvis 30 #1 hits, Elvis Presley, rock - Exit Planet Dust, Chemical Brothers, electronica - Fashion Nugget, Cake, alternative - Fiesta Fatal, B-tribe, electronica - Forty Licks, Rolling Stones, rock - Fun House, The Stooges, punk - Gentlemen, Afghan Whigs, alternative - Guns and Roses, greatest hits, hair metal - Highway 61 Revisited, Bob Dylan, folk (or a Best of) - Hand On The Torch, US3, acid jazz - Illmatic, Nas, rap - Kind of Blue, Miles Davis, jazz - Legend, Bob Marley, reggae - London Calling, The Clash, punk - Loveless, My Bloody Valentine, punk - Master Series, Edith Piaf, French chansons - Mellow Gold, Beck, alternative - Motown, any best of (I like Motown 40) - Negotiations and Love Songs, Paul Simon, pop - No Need To Argue, The Cranberries, alternative - Nothing’s Shocking, Janes Addiction, hard - Pet Sounds, The Beach Boys, oldie - Psychocandy, Jesus and Mary Chain, garage - Pulp Fiction, various - Rain Dogs, Tom Waits, various - Ray Charles, any best of - Red Hot and Blue, Cole Porter tribute, traditional - Red Hot and Rio, Brazillian jazz/alternative - Richard D James album, Aphex Twin, ambient - Save This House, Spirit of the West, pop/folk - Sinatra Reprise, Frank Sinatra, traditional - So Tonight That I May See, Mazzy Star, alternative - Space Age Bachelor Pad Music, Esquivel, 50s futuristic jazz/pop - Space Is The Place, Sun Ra, jazz fusion - Strange Brew: The Best of Cream, 60s blues? - Strong Persuader, Robet Cray, modern blues - Sultan of Swing, Best of Dire Straits (or Brothers In Arms), 80s - Sweet Oblivion, Screaming Trees, alternative - Swordfishtrombones, Tom Waits, blues/jazz - Tears Roll Down, Tears for Fears, 80s - Teenage Kicks, 80s mix - Ten, Pearl Jam, grunge - Ten Years of Gold (or other Kenny Rogers best of album) - The Beatles 1, Beatles (buy this cheapy if you have few beatles albums) - The Best of David Bowie, 1969-74 - The Best of Ladysmith Black Mambazo, African drumming/folk - The Best of Leonard Cohen, folk - The Best of Muddy Waters, blues - The Best Album In The World Ever, britpop mix - The Blueprint, Jay-Z - The Commitments, soul - The Eminem Show/The Marshall Mathers LP, Eminem, rap - The Essential Pogues, the Pogues (or Very Best Of) - The Joshua Tree, U2, rock - The Queen Is Dead, The Smiths, punk - The Rest of (Best Of) New Order, New Order, new wave 80s - The Ultimate Experience, Jimi Hendrix, 60s - The Very Best of the Eagles, Eagles, pop - The Wall, Pink Floyd, 60s - Turns Into Stone, Stone Roses, Britpop/stadium/house? - Verve Story, jazz mix (4 cds) - Very Best of Sheryl Crow, pop - What A Wonderful World, Louis Armstrong, jazz - What Hits?, Red Hot Chili Peppers, alternative - Who Made Who, AC/DC, rock - The Best of David Wilcox, folk, Canadian essential - Wipeout XL, soundtrack, electronica - Wish You Were Here, Pink Floyd, classical? (very good) - Ziggy Stardust, David Bowie, rock - Zoot Suit Riot, Cherry Poppin’ Daddies, swing - This is a partial list of CDs I like. Rare stuff and pretentious descriptors not included. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/essential-cds-all-genres/276911/32 "2004-11-28T06:24:25Z")
Before I get pissed on, I’m well aware that Best Of albums like “Beatles 1” aren’t as “good” as The White Album, Sargeant Pepper, Rubber Soul, Revolver, etc. Nor as good as 1962-1966 and 1967-1970. My list is to give you exposure to different bands, not buy their discography. Of course The Beatles are a bad example. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/essential-cds-all-genres/276911/33 "2004-11-28T06:30:53Z")
For early hip hop, consider Def Jam Records: 10th year anniversary (4 CDs). You might want a best of Kenny Rogers, Classic Country, 50s songs, Bing Crosby, Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra, Eric Clapton (esp, Crossroads), Charlie Parker, The Kinks, Disco, Pink Floyd (echoes), The Police, Mambo Music, Movie Music:The Definitive Peformance, etc. There is lots of good world folk music, country music, classical music and jazz my list was too brief to include. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/essential-cds-all-genres/276911/34 "2004-11-28T07:17:29Z")
Yer still a little light in the Rock/Jazz Fusion genre. Might I suggest a little [Cosmosquad](http://www.jeffkollman.com/discography_csquad.html) and a little [Jeff Beck](http://www.jeffbeck.com/jeffbeck_discography.html). ---
**Author:** ![zoogirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b9bd4f/32.png) [@zoogirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoogirl)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/essential-cds-all-genres/276911/35 "2004-11-28T07:36:33Z")
Alice Cooper - Billion Dollar Babies and Killer. You didn’t think I was going to suggest some other band, did you? :rolleyes: 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Talon\_Karrde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Talon\_Karrde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Talon_Karrde)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/essential-cds-all-genres/276911/36 "2004-11-28T08:33:20Z")
I’m tired, so I’ll make this sort of brief in each respective category. If you want to go into alt-rock history, I guess I’ll point out my favorite albums in that genre… The Velvet Underground are essential. Pick up _The Velvet Underground and Nico_, it has Heroin on it. Their other albums are good too, but there is disagreement about them. I personally don’t like the second one _White Light/White Heat_. Their third album has a much gentler, acoustic sound. It’s called _The Velvet Underground_. I like that album a lot. My favorite song on it is Pale Blue Eyes, which I don’t think I had heard before I got the cd but it sounded so familiar. Their fourth album, _Loaded_, is their poppiest. Some fans dismiss it as a sell-out album- it was made in response to people who said that VU couldn’t write a hit song. I like that one quite a bit too, and it has one of their best songs, Sweet Jane. Lou Reed’s second solo album, _Transformer_, is also excellent. It was produced by David Bowie and Mick Ronson. Speaking of David Bowie, you can’t forget him. He’s got a ton of essential albums. You should probably start with _The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars_. It’s not my favorite of his, but it’s a great one to start with. Every song on it is great. For now I’m gonna skip to '77 and the great albums there. There are a ton of great punk albums I could list, and I haven’t even heard all of the major punk albums that year. For now, I’ll just mention Television’s album _Marquee Moon_. This is one of my favorite albums. They have a ton of melodic lead guitar parts interweaving throughout their songs. I consider New Order to also be essential. I don’t have any of their early albums, just _Substance_, which is an excellent compilation of their early material. Echo and the Bunnymen are another of my favorite bands. Any of their first four albums are great, but I most highly recommend _Ocean Rain_. It uses orchestration to a great effect. REM’s albums _Murmur_, _Reckoning_, and _Life’s Rich Pageant_. The Smiths- It’s hard to decide which one. Their most essential is probably _The Queen is Dead_. I should get to bed now. I’ll fill in some of the gaps I left tomorrow. ---
**Author:** ![START](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@START](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/START)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 8:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/essential-cds-all-genres/276911/37 "2004-11-28T08:52:59Z")
Let me take you to the underground and I mean really deep underground…here is just one hip hop artist you should be checking out. [BUSDRIVER](http://www.dirtyloop.com/Busdriver.html) ---
**Author:** ![ColonelDax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@ColonelDax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ColonelDax)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/essential-cds-all-genres/276911/38 "2004-11-28T13:31:27Z")
> [@Talon Karrde](#): > > Television A strong recommendation here for _The Blow-Up_, the two-disc set of live Television recordings from 1978 that was released a few years back. It has some blistering work including a 15-minute “Little Johnny Jewel” as well as “Marquee Moon” and an excellent “Ain’t That Nothin’” that’s my favorite track. On the subject of live recordings, I’d say Bob Dylan’s “Royal Albert Hall” concert is pretty damn essential. Go for the two-disc Bootleg Series version, which contains the first (acoustic) half of the show as well as the (electrified) second half that caused so much fuss. I’ve had a CD of the electric part of the show for years, but when I picked up the Bootleg Series version a couple of years ago, I found that listening to the discs in order really added a new dimension to the venom so openly expressed by some parts of the audience during the electric part of the show. Besides which, it’s just a kick-ass performance - that stretch of “I Don’t Believe You,” “Baby, Let Me Follow You Down” and “Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues” is about as rockin’ as anyone could want, IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/essential-cds-all-genres/276911/39 "2004-11-28T13:50:47Z")
If you like strange music and want Hip-Hop, how about: William Burroughs’s _Spare Ass Annie_ Strangest album ever. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/essential-cds-all-genres/276911/40 "2004-11-28T14:38:28Z")
Elvis Costello, _This Years Model_, punk Richard Thompson, _Daring Adventures_, rock with a folk tinge Dwight Yoakum, _Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc._, country [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/essential-cds-all-genres/276911.md?page=1)