# Let's do this: What are your ten favorite albums? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 10, 2011, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-do-this-what-are-your-ten-favorite-albums/592174 "2011-08-10T05:52:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2011, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-do-this-what-are-your-ten-favorite-albums/592174/61 "2011-08-11T18:30:28Z")
10 of my favorites; some all-time, some of the moment: _Quadrophenia_ – The Who _Welcome Interstate Managers_ – Fountains of Wayne _Meddle_ – Pink Floyd _The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter_ – Josh Ritter _Get Away from Me_ – Nellie McKay _Recall The Beginning…A Journey From Eden_ – Steve Miller _Damn the Torpedoes_ – Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers _My Aim Is True_ – Elvis Costello _Mutiny_ – Greg Kihn _Band on the Run_ – Paul McCartney & Wings ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2011, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-do-this-what-are-your-ten-favorite-albums/592174/62 "2011-08-11T18:57:29Z")
In no particular order: The Beatles, _Abbey Road_ The Beatles, _Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band_ Electric Light Orchestra, _A New World Record_ Pink Floyd, _Wish You Were Here_ Michael Jackson, _Thriller_ The Alan Parsons Project, _Eye in the Sky_ Paul Simon, _Graceland_ Asia, _Asia_ Soundtrack by James Horner, _Glory_ Soundtrack by Dario Marianelli, _Pride & Prejudice_ There are lots of songs I like individually, but these are, overall, my favorite albums. Even on these, though, I don’t like every single song. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2011, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-do-this-what-are-your-ten-favorite-albums/592174/63 "2011-08-11T19:07:11Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > :smack: > > I want to add ELO - “A New World Record” to my list now. Great album! I did it for you. ELO fans - represent! ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-do-this-what-are-your-ten-favorite-albums/592174/64 "2011-08-12T02:32:40Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > Where’s your Red Hot Chili Peppers’ _Blood Sugar Sex Magik_? 🙂 (Seriously, that’s an album that almost made my list.) Believe it or not, I didn’t warm to that album until I was much older. I really didn’t like it when it came out. Heretic, I know. ---
**Author:** ![punch\_line\_loser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e7dd6/32.png) [@punch\_line\_loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/punch_line_loser)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-do-this-what-are-your-ten-favorite-albums/592174/65 "2011-08-12T02:48:05Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > Where’s your Red Hot Chili Peppers’ _Blood Sugar Sex Magik_? 🙂 (Seriously, that’s an album that almost made my list.) > > And thanks to the OP for noticing my inclusion of the Negro Problem. Stew can be brilliant – almost Cole Porter-esque at times. I caught his show on Broadway, and I thought it was terrific. Actually I can’t say I’m really a fan of the Negro Problem (though I admit I haven’t heard much) - it just totally out-obscures everything else mentioned so far in the thread, and the latent hipster asshole in me thinks that’s awesome. Part of me wants to add _Alligator_ by the National in there somewhere, and maybe _Purple Rain_ too. But I mean, where? ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-do-this-what-are-your-ten-favorite-albums/592174/66 "2011-08-12T03:06:15Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > I did it for you. ELO fans - represent! When I first read this, I thought it said “ELO fans - repent!” ---
**Author:** ![punch\_line\_loser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e7dd6/32.png) [@punch\_line\_loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/punch_line_loser)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-do-this-what-are-your-ten-favorite-albums/592174/67 "2011-08-12T03:07:22Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > When I first read this, I thought it said “ELO fans - repent!” Gotta admit, ELO always struck me as a band that had great singles, but that I probably couldn’t handle for too long in one go. ---
**Author:** ![Carmady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f04885/32.png) [@Carmady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carmady)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-do-this-what-are-your-ten-favorite-albums/592174/68 "2011-08-12T04:10:01Z")
1. Radiohead - OK Computer 2. Nirvana - In Utero 3. Belly - Star 4. PJ Harvey - Is This Desire? 5. Big Star - Third/Sister Lovers 6. Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea 7. X-Ray Spex - Germ Free Adolescents 8. Tom Waits - The Black Rider 9. The Clash - London Calling 10. Nina Simone - Verve Jazz Masters 17 ---
**Author:** ![Sunshine\_and\_Smiles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Sunshine\_and\_Smiles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunshine_and_Smiles)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-do-this-what-are-your-ten-favorite-albums/592174/69 "2011-08-12T04:36:26Z")
In the order that my semi-drunken mind just thought of them: Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea The Postal Service - Give Up Aphex Twin - Selected Ambient Works 85-92 Okkervil River - Don’t Fall in Love with Everyone You See Bright Eyes - Fevers & Mirrors LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver The White Stripes - White Blood Cells Burial - Untrue Ryan Adams - Heartbreaker I could go on for hours! ---
**Author:** ![JessMagic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c0e974/32.png) [@JessMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JessMagic)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-do-this-what-are-your-ten-favorite-albums/592174/70 "2011-08-12T04:41:32Z")
Also invoking the “one album per artist” rule (sorry, Nevermind): Nirvana - In Utero Beatles - Abbey Road AC/DC - Let There Be Rock Super Furry Animals - Radiator The Clash - London Calling Depeche Mode - Speak and Spell Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream Radiohead - The Bends Vitalic - OK Cowboy Creedence Clearwater Revival - Cosmo’s Factory ---
**Author:** ![punch\_line\_loser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e7dd6/32.png) [@punch\_line\_loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/punch_line_loser)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-do-this-what-are-your-ten-favorite-albums/592174/71 "2011-08-12T04:52:13Z")
Two people have listed _Star_! That’s amazing. Belly make me proud to be from Boston. I have to contest **Carmady’s** Big Star selection though - _Radio City_ almost made my list, but I never got _Third_. ---
**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:** [August 12, 2011, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-do-this-what-are-your-ten-favorite-albums/592174/72 "2011-08-12T05:05:14Z")
Moving Pictures - Rush Strange Beautiful Music - Joe Satriani In Color - Cheap Trick Drama - Yes Black Pearl - Pat Travers Band Machine Head - Deep Purple EE Ticket - Marc Bonilla Cutting Bridges - Giacomo Castellano’ Physical Graffitti - Led Zep Seconds Out - Genesis ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_jeffrey_lebowski/32/215_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Jeffrey_Lebowski)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-do-this-what-are-your-ten-favorite-albums/592174/73 "2011-08-12T05:51:16Z")
No particular order. Scruffy the Cat - Tiny Days Buzzcocks - Singles Going Steady Bob Marley and The Wailers - Rastaman Vibration Traffic - Welcome to the Canteen The Grateful Dead - Mars Hotel The Pixies - Surfer Rosa The Beatles - Abbey Road Ednaswap - Wonderland Park REM - Murmur The Clash - Sandanista Side note about Scruffy - a few years ago I emailed Charlie Chesterman, the band’s frontman, to ask him why their music wasn’t on itunes. He said mostly due to band disagreements; well he made their catalog available to me and I was able to download both of their albums. While making this list, I googled Scruffy, and saw that Charlie is now battling the big C - bummer. If I had an 11th, it might be Mars Needs Guitars by Hoodoo Gurus or maybe 3 Feet High and Rising by De La Soul. ---
**Author:** ![Crown\_Prince\_of\_Irony](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ed655f/32.png) [@Crown\_Prince\_of\_Irony](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crown_Prince_of_Irony)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-do-this-what-are-your-ten-favorite-albums/592174/74 "2011-08-12T05:52:53Z")
My top four have remained on my list for several years, but the rest of the list is pretty mercurial. This is actually something I was agonizing over recently, since for the first time in years, I was considering bumping Revolver off my perennial top spot - after much consideration, I did. [ol] [li]Neutral Milk Hotel - In The Aeroplane Over The Sea (this album is just too personally meaningful to me not to put it at #1, though I totally get why folks may wonder why it’s on here at all)[/li][li]The Beatles - Revolver (sorry, Fab Four - you had a good run)[/li][li]The Ramones - Leave Home[/li][li]Charles Mingus - Mingus Ah Um (for me, the quintessential jazz album)[/li][li]Green Day - Nimrod (hands down their masterpiece - a full album of perfect songs, with not a single filler, unlike their later concept albums, much as I love them. Not a wasted note to be found, perfect track sequencing, and an oom-pah song about a cross-dressing child; what more can you ask for?)[/li][li]Dead Kennedys - Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables (this album wrote the template for the put-up-or-shut-up school of socially conscious punk - London Calling was pussified, aimless navel-gazing by comparison)[/li][li]Menahan Street Band - Make The Road By Walking (an amazing instrumental soul album from the always stellar Dap-Tone label. Recorded only a couple years ago, but will still sound timeless in 50 years)[/li][li]Fela Kuti - Zombie[/li][li]Guitar Wolf - UFO Romantics (Japanese biker-grease ball-garage-punk - I don’t care that i don’t understand what I’m singing along to, this shit rocks! Lock n’ loll!!!)[/li][li]Bantam Rooster - Fuck All Y’all (aside from the fact that BR kicked all kinds of ass, this one I like because it has the best album cover. Of all time. [Period.](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/611ZXWdu48L._SL500_AA280_.jpg))[/li][/ol] On review, I’m really surprised that some of my favorite artists didn’t make the cut: Heartless Bastards, Reigning Sound, White Stripes, and Billy Childish. Oh well, I’m sure the list will change next month. ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-do-this-what-are-your-ten-favorite-albums/592174/75 "2011-08-12T06:01:12Z")
Abbey Road–The Beatles A Ghost is Born–Wilco Yankee Hotel Foxtrot–Wilco Black Sheep Boy–Okkervil River Graceland–Paul Simon The Beatles (White Album)–The Beatles Hold Time–M. Ward The Band (Brown Album)-The Band Rubber Factory–The Black Keys 69 Love Songs–The Magnetic Fields ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-do-this-what-are-your-ten-favorite-albums/592174/76 "2011-08-12T06:40:37Z")
**punch line** , you might also want to look back at some of the times this exercise has been done before, like [this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=5040981#post5040981). When I look through these, though I enjoy seeing records that I too cherish, I can’t help thinking of what’s being left almost untouched. There’s almost no reggae\* in these lists, for example; I see Bob just turned up, and the thread linked above includes a mention of [_Heart of the Congos_](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnIe1hEviBs), a touchstone record for people who are really into roots. I see a James Brown there, an EW&F here, but funk is mostly signified only by echoes in hip-hop and Prince. There’s not much folk and country music of any sort here, except at the intersections with rock. Yeah, I suppose I’ll have to put together a list of my own, and hang out some flags for all this stuff. - Reggae, a broad and rich territory of music, has been subject to two of the most absurdly wrong-headed dismissals I’ve seen yet on this board for any art form, [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=12133634&postcount=31) and [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=14060790&postcount=92). ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-do-this-what-are-your-ten-favorite-albums/592174/77 "2011-08-12T10:03:50Z")
> [@Carmady](#): > > 1. Radiohead - OK Computer > 2. Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea Yeah, this was on my list when I got it down to 12 albums. Not really sure why I dropped it but I’m glad someone else put it out there. > [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](#): > > No particular order. > If I had an 11th, it might be Mars Needs Guitars by Hoodoo Gurus … DUDE, you are freaking me out! I saw the Gurus back in '86(?) at the Continental Club in Austin when they were touring the US for the first time supporting Stoneage Romeos. I don’t know the last time I even found someone who knew who they are. THIS is why I like these threads of this sort. ---
**Author:** ![multimediac17](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/839c29/32.png) [@multimediac17](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/multimediac17)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-do-this-what-are-your-ten-favorite-albums/592174/78 "2011-08-12T10:43:21Z")
Studio albums only: 1. Kate Bush - _Hounds Of Love_ 2. Madonna - _Ray Of Light_ 3. Michael Jackson - _HIStory: Past, Present & Future - Book 1_ (studio album disc) 4. Kate Bush - _The Dreaming_ 5. Prince & The Revolution - _Purple Rain_ 6. Björk - _Homogenic_ 7. The Rocky Horror Picture Show (Original Soundtrack) 8. Kylie Minogue - _Impossible Princess_ 9. The Beatles - _Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band_ 10. Antony & The Johnsons - _I Am A Bird Now_ ---
**Author:** ![punch\_line\_loser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e7dd6/32.png) [@punch\_line\_loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/punch_line_loser)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-do-this-what-are-your-ten-favorite-albums/592174/79 "2011-08-12T11:03:56Z")
Hell yes to Kate Bush! _Hounds of Love_ was a contender as well. _The Dreaming_ is one I’ve seen a number of times on this thread, and I have to say I’m surprised. Not that I don’t like it, but it does strike me as an interesting choice. Interesting choice of Michael Jackson albums too, come to think of it. ---
**Author:** ![multimediac17](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/839c29/32.png) [@multimediac17](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/multimediac17)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-do-this-what-are-your-ten-favorite-albums/592174/80 "2011-08-12T11:28:52Z")
> [@punch\_line\_loser](#): > > Hell yes to Kate Bush! _Hounds of Love_ was a contender as well. _The Dreaming_ is one I’ve seen a number of times on this thread, and I have to say I’m surprised. Not that I don’t like it, but it does strike me as an interesting choice. Interesting choice of Michael Jackson albums too, come to think of it. _HIStory_ came at just the right time for me (I got it when I was 13, though this was in 2003, years after it was actually released) and I just got obsessed with it, I loved how angry it was and how different it sounded to the most famous Michael Jackson singles. I know it’s not a critical favourite but blah, who cares. _Dangerous_, _Bad_ and _Thriller_ would be in my 11-20, in that order. As for Kate, she’s the most consistent artist I know, almost all of her albums are near-perfect. _Hounds_ and _The Dreaming_ are the two that are 10/10, in my opinion, with _Aerial_ and _The Sensual World_ being just slightly less amazing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-do-this-what-are-your-ten-favorite-albums/592174.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-do-this-what-are-your-ten-favorite-albums/592174.md?page=5)