# Top 10 albums **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 7, 2004, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-albums/253886 "2004-07-07T01:11:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![todd33rpm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a5b964/32.png) [@todd33rpm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/todd33rpm)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2004, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-albums/253886/21 "2004-07-07T15:07:14Z")
As of this moment, in no order: 1. Dire Straits _Communique_ (1979) - Holds together more solidly as an album than the debut. 2. Bruce Kaphan _Slider: Ambient Excursions For Pedal Steel Guitar_ (2001) - Really redefines what one can expect from the instrument, in the process probably inspiring a whole subgenre. 3. John Lurie _Fishing With John_ soundtrack (1998) - In places, Coltrane for the modern era, in other places, a big goof. 4. Uncle Tupelo _Still Feel Gone_ (1991) - Banjo and hard-rock guitar make comfortable bedfellows. 5. The Court And Spark _Bless You_ (2001) - Quite possibly my favorite album of Cosmic American Music, to use Gram Parsons’ phrase. Sounds really good in a CD changer between #4 and #2 above. 6. The Band _The Band_ (aka “The Brown Album”) (1969) - I wish more albums were recorded this way. 7. Otis Redding _Live In Europe_ (1967) - I don’t count this as a compilation because the live performances really do knock out the studio versions. 8. The Minutemen _Double Nickels On The Dime_ (1984) - A generous helping of riffs, played just enough and not to excess. Damned catchy, and more so as time goes on. 9. The Replacements _Let It Be_ (1984) - The Midwest reinvents punk in its own odd image, and bless them. 10. Viktor Krauss _Far From Enough_ (2004) - Good ingredients, from Viktor’s sister Alison to longtime musical friend Bill Frisell on guitar. ---
**Author:** ![Chunky\_Bum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Chunky\_Bum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chunky_Bum)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2004, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-albums/253886/22 "2004-07-07T15:24:28Z")
> [@todd33rpm](#): > > As of this moment, in no order: > > 1. The Band _The Band_ (aka “The Brown Album”) (1969) - I wish more albums were recorded this way. Please elaborate ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2004, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-albums/253886/23 "2004-07-07T15:36:56Z")
Ooh, always a tough question. Here are mine, in no specific order: Tom Waits - Nighthawks At the Diner Mike Ness - Cheating At Solitaire Portishead - Dummy The Clash - London Calling Snoop Doggy Dogg - Doggystyle Royal Crown Revue - Mugzy’s Move Neko Case - Blacklisted The Pogues - Rum, Sodomy, and the Lash The Cure - Disintegration Ben Folds - Live ---
**Author:** ![Rex\_Fenestrarum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rex_fenestrarum/32/7265_2.png) [@Rex\_Fenestrarum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rex_Fenestrarum)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2004, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-albums/253886/24 "2004-07-07T16:00:25Z")
Well, since you said **albums** , I’ll add mine, with the caveat that I’m mostly into singles… or was, back when they made them anyway. Also, some of my favorite bands haven’t made the best albums - for example, there’s not a single New Order album I like as a whole, but I’ve actually worn out two copies of the _Substance_ CD. So even though I _really_ like New Order or The Smiths, I don’t really like any of their albums, but I’m not gonna put someone’s “greatest hits” against someone else’s general releases. That’s hardly fair! Anyway, my list: 1 - Madonna – _Ray of Light_ (1998) 2 - Duran Duran – _Duran Duran_ (1981) 3 - This Mortal Coil – _It’ll End In Tears_ (1986) 4 - Paul Oakenfold – _Tranceport_ (1998) 5 - Cocteau Twins – _Victorialand_ (1986) 6 - Saint Etienne – _Tiger Bay_ (1994) 7 - R.E.M. – _Fables of the Reconstruction_ (1985) 8 - The Glove – _Blue Sunshine_ (1983) 9 - Sex Pistols – _Never Mind The Bullocks_ (1977) 10 - 10,000 Maniacs – _In My Tribe_ (1987) I have a [Top 20 Album List](http://www.jimcofer.com/critics_corner/albums.htm) on my wesbite… I actually think that the bottom ten are more interesting than the top ten, but I tried my best to keep all of these albums in perspective… which is hard. I mean, if I listened to an album 24-7 for three years back in the 80s, where does that fit, even if I don’t really like Duran Duran anymore? ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ea5d25/32.png) [@Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Scrappy_Hero_Pup)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2004, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-albums/253886/25 "2004-07-07T16:13:43Z")
While you will be able to tell very quickly that I am only thirty years old, screw you all anyway, because in case you didn’t get the memo, I am the arbiter of all that is worthwhile in music. Got me a business card and everything. In order, plus or minus three spaces (and the first four might just be completely interchangeable in order): 1. Soul Asylum, _Grave Dancers Union_- perhaps the most complete back-to-front alt-rock record of the era. No bad songs, some middle material better than the singles. 2. Pearl Jam, _Ten_- the best record of my generation, hands down. This record was my voice screaming and everyone else’s right along with me. 3. Nirvana, _Smells Like Teen Spirit_- Angry, disillusioned, and so alone. Just like everyone else, and that was what made it beautiful. It would have taken me a lot longer to figure out that I wasn’t the only lonely, fucked-up person in the world had it not been for this record and the movement I saw behind it, the group of which I became a part almost immediately. 4. Tori Amos, _Little Earthquakes_- Thoughtful and visceral. Everything I was too afraid to feel or to embarassed to voice, this record helped me get through. It is impossible to listen to this record and not be moved by it. 5. The Replacements, _Tim_- It’s hard to explain the gamut of emotions this record brings out in me, but it’s a soundtrack to all the impotent anger a kid can feel, an ode to the shitty feeling that you get when you realize that you are powerless, regardless of the fact that your caretakers don’t know what’s best for you and are indifferent to the fact that they do not, and a sad, sad reflection on teenage misanthropy. 6. Beth Orton, _Central Reservation_- Haunting and beautiful I’ve owned it since the day it came out, and I still don’t think I’ve plumbed its depths. I love this record. 7. Bruce Springsteen, _Greetings From Asbury Park_- Our generation’s Dylan gets his start. Since I can’t pick a compilation, I’m going with this one. 8. Guns-n-Roses, _Appetite for Destruction_- You find me a genuinely harder record, I’ll gladly listen to it. 9. Public Enemy, _It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back_- Rap is vindicated as an art form. Message, music, everything that rap’s detractors said it could never be. 10. Joss Stone, _The Soul Sessions_- because I can’t really think of a tenth and every time I try to take this one out of my car stereo, I can’t. She’s amazing. I will buy her original-material record the day it comes out. ---
**Author:** ![paulberserker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@paulberserker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/paulberserker)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2004, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-albums/253886/26 "2004-07-07T16:22:56Z")
> [@Happy Scrappy Hero Pup](#): > > 1. Nirvana, _Smells Like Teen Spirit_- SLTS would be a single, rather than an album. Is Nevermind what you’re looking for? Business card eh? And you can’t remember the title of one of your top 10 favourite albums. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ea5d25/32.png) [@Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Scrappy_Hero_Pup)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2004, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-albums/253886/27 "2004-07-07T16:36:22Z")
That’s what I get for concentrating too much on work, I guess. :smack: But at least now I know that you are so impressed and in such complete agreement with my picks that the only nitpick you had was a brainfart. OK, OK. YOu can stop bowing and scraping now. Really. It’s undignified. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Jamlad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b77776/32.png) [@Jamlad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jamlad)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2004, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-albums/253886/28 "2004-07-07T16:44:44Z")
I would have to think long and hard about this question for my final answer but here is a quick and dirty list. Robbie Robertson - Showdown in Big Sky U2 - Joshua Tree Radiohead - OK Computer Paul Simon - Graceland Led Zepplin - IX Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon Elton John - Good Bye Yellow Brick Road Beatles - White Album Beck - Odelay Peaches - The Teaches of Peaches ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2004, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-albums/253886/29 "2004-07-07T17:19:08Z")
Abbey Road – The Beatles English Settlement – XTC All Things Must Pass – George Harrison Dusk – The The (Matt Johnson) Nuada – Candidate Spilt Milk – Jellyfish Talking Heads: '77 – Talking Heads Repercussion – The dB’s Surfer Rosa – Pixies Parklife – Blur Rankings expire at approx. 1:20 P.M. EST, 7/7/04. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2004, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-albums/253886/30 "2004-07-07T17:34:22Z")
I’m very impressed. Most of these lists have in common only their wildly various nature. Dopers are far more eclectic in their tastes than I would have guessed. You’d all probably really appreciate Seattle’s KEXP ([kexp.org](http://kexp.org), streams live in 5 formats), about the only truly eclectic radio station left in the US. My list (the first nine are numbered accurately; the rest all tie for tenth and are in alphabetical order): [ol] [li]\*\*Jane Siberry \*\* _When I Was a Boy_[/li][li]\*\*Mary Margaret \*\* _O’Hara Miss America_[/li][li]\*\*Jeff Buckley \*\* _Grace_[/li][li]\*\*Kate Bush \*\* _The Dreaming_[/li][li] **Victoria Williams** _Loose_[/li][li]\*\*The Geraldine Fibbers \*\* _Butch_[/li][li]\*\*Holly Cole \*\* _Temptation_[/li][li]\*\*Lucas \*\* _Lucas with the Lid Off_[/li][li]\*\*Nobukazu Takemura \*\* _Child’s View_[/li][li]\*\*Beastie Boys \*\* _Ill Communication_[/li][li]\*\*David Bowie \*\* _Scary Monsters_[/li][li]\*\*The Creatures \*\* _Boomerang_[/li][li]\*\*Danielle Dax \*\* _Dark Adapted Eye_[/li][li]\*\*Peter Gabriel \*\* _Security_[/li][li]\*\*Diamanda Galas \*\* _The Sporting Life_[/li][li]\*\*Marvin Gaye \*\* _What’s Goin On_[/li][li] **Astrid Hadad** _¡Ai!_[/li][li]\*\*Lauryn Hill \*\* _The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill_[/li][li]\*\*Ingrid Karklins \*\* _Anima Mundi_[/li][li]\*\*L7 \*\* _Hungry for Stink_[/li][li]\*\*k.d. lang \*\* _Shadowland_[/li][li]\*\*Magnetic Fields \*\* _69 Love Songs_[/li][li]\*\*Kirsty MacColl \*\* _Kite_[/li][li]\*\*Nightmares on Wax \*\* _Smoker’s Delight_[/li][li]\*\*NIN \*\* _The Downward Spiral_[/li][li]\*\*Stina Nordenstam \*\* _Memories of a Color_[/li][li]\*\*Jo Carol Pierce \*\* _Bad Girls Upset by the Truth_[/li][li]\*\*PJ Harvey \*\* _To Bring You My Love_[/li][li]\*\*Prince \*\* _Dirty Mind_[/li][li]\*\*Queen \*\* _The End of the World News_[/li][li]\*\*Radiohead \*\* _Kid A_[/li][li]\*\*Ruby \*\* _Saltpeter_[/li][li]\*\*Tricky \*\* _Maxinquaye_[/li][li]\*\*XTC \*\* _English Settlement_[/li][li]\*\*Dwight Yoakam \*\* _Hillbilly Deluxe_[/li][/ol] ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2004, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-albums/253886/31 "2004-07-07T17:36:03Z")
1. \*\*Mary Margaret O’Hara \*\* _Miss America_ ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2004, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-albums/253886/32 "2004-07-07T18:02:14Z")
What the hell, I’ll play. In no particular order: 1. **Europe '72** (Grateful Dead) - Sure it was doctored in the studio, but it captures them at the top of their game in lots of ways. **Reckoning** is also a terrific choice, and I’d opt for that except my selection is longer. 2. **Blood on the Tracks** (Bob Dylan) - Even if I’m stranded on a desert island, I’m going to want to hear Bob Dylan, and I think this is his best work. Personal and pissed off. 3. **Ella Sings the Gershwin Songbook** (Ella Fitzgerald) - An American treasure performing American treasures. 4. **Travels** (Pat Metheny) - I’m going to be on this desert island a really long time, and I’m going to want to think back on a very magical night when I saw Pat Metheny plat at Wolf Trap in Northern VA. “Are You Going With Me?” Hell, yeah. 5. **Horowitz in Moscow** (Vladimir Horowitz) - The perfect antedote for **Blood on the Tracks**. 6. **Live at the Apollo** (James Brown) - This one should need absolutely no explanation. I’m going to want to get up offa that thang - and dance 'til I feel better…Get up offa that thang, try to relieve so of that pressure. 7. **He Stopped Loving Her Today** (George Jones) - Even on a desert island I’m going to find a beer, just so I can listen to this and cry. 8. **Who’s Next?** (The Who) - I don’t have to worry about bothering the neighbors, and my speaker cones are made of out indestructible material…so fuck you. 9. **Let It Bleed** (The Rolling Stones) - Didn’t you hear me? I said “FUCK YOU!” 10. **American Beauty** (The Grateful Dead) - I’m going to die on this desert island some day, and when I’m fading fast I hope that “Ripple” is playing. “If I knew the way…I would take you home…” ---
**Author:** ![Qwertyasdfg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/ecc23a/32.png) [@Qwertyasdfg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qwertyasdfg)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2004, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-albums/253886/33 "2004-07-07T21:18:06Z")
Tough one… 1. Led Zeppelin - IV 2. Jimi Hendrix - Are You Experienced? 3. Beatles - Rubber Soul 4. Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon 5. Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot 6. At the Drive-In - In Casino Out 7. Billy Joel - The Stranger 8. Sublime - 40 oz to Freedom 9. Led Zeppelin - Houses of the Holy 10. Stevie Wonder - Songs in the Key of Life Runners up are: Pearl Jam - Vs. Wilco - Summer Teeth The Clash - London Calling Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here A Tribe Called Quest - Midnight Marauders A Tribe Called Quest - Beats, Rhymes and Life Rage Against the Machine - Evil Empire Talib Kweli - Reflection Eternal Led Zeppelin - II " " - Physical Grafitti The Who - Who’s Next Jimi Hendrix Experience - Axis: Bold as Love " " - Electric Ladyland Queen - A Night at the Opera I could go on… ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2004, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-albums/253886/34 "2004-07-07T21:39:07Z")
Well, my “top ten” list of albums varies quite often. But at least a few of these discs tend to be in my active rotation at any given time: “Lady in Satin” by Billie Holliday “Kind of Blue” by Miles Davis “Volunteers” by Jefferson Airplane “For the Roses” by Joni Mitchell “Horses” by Patti Smith “Remain in Light” by Talking Heads “So” by Peter Gabriel “Our Time In Eden” by 10,000 Maniacs “Eventually” by Paul Westerberg “Rufus Wainwright” by (of course!) Rufus Wainwright ---
**Author:** ![SolGrundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@SolGrundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SolGrundy)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2004, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-albums/253886/35 "2004-07-07T21:47:45Z")
In order, even: 1. **Revolver** - The Beatles 2. **Telecommunication Breakdown** - Emergency Broadcast Network 3. **If I Should Fall From Grace With God** - The Pogues 4. **El Oso** - Soul Coughing 5. **Surfer Rosa** - Pixies 6. **Happy End of the World** - Pizzicato Five 7. **Led Zeppelin IV** 8. **In No Sense? Nonsense!** - The Art of Noise 9. **Check Your Head** - Beastie Boys 10. **Combat Rock** - The Clash If compilations were allowed, **Allison Krauss + Union Station: Live** would be number 2. ---
**Author:** ![look\_ninjas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b2d939/32.png) [@look\_ninjas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/look_ninjas)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2004, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-albums/253886/36 "2004-07-07T23:54:51Z")
Today’s list: 1. **Disintegration** - The Cure 2. **Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band** - The Beatles (It’s impossible to choose between Beatles albums, really - I just picked this because of “A Day in the Life.”) 3. **Exile in Guyville** - Liz Phair 4. **If I Should Fall From Grace with God** - The Pogues 5. **This Year’s Model** - Elvis Costello 6. **Violator** - Depeche Mode 7. **Off the Wall** - Michael Jackson 8. **Yankee Hotel Foxtrot** - Wilco 9. **Cloud 9** - George Harrison 10. **Haunted** - Poe ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2004, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-albums/253886/37 "2004-07-08T00:01:46Z")
This is tough, since I grew up on rock and transitioned to jazz. Lessee: Miles Davis, “Birth of The Cool” Ali Farka Toure/Ry Cooder, “Talking Timbuktu” The Beatles, “Revolver” Hendrix, “Are You Experienced?” Al Dimeola/Paco De Lucia, “Elegant Gypsy” Stan Getz, “Getz/Gilberto” Dave Brubeck Quartet, “Live At Carnegie Hall” Eagles, “Hell Freezes Over” Sort of a “best of” album, but not quite Paul Simon, “Graceland” and “Bookends” (with Art) Chet Baker, “Stella By Starlight” I think I’m cheating myself here, but my memory doesn’t work so ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2004, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-albums/253886/38 "2004-07-08T00:41:48Z")
THis changes every week: 1. **Husker Du** - _Warehouse: Songs And Stories_ or _New Day Rising_ 2. **The Beatles** - _Revolver_ 3. **The Clash** - _The Clash_ (US Version) (one great song? What about “Complete Control”? And I think “48 Hours” was kinda weak) 4. **The Go-Betweens** - _16 Lovers Lane_ 5. **The Replacements** - _Pleased To Meet Me_ 6. **R.E.M.** - _Murmur_ 7. **Gang Of Four** - _Entertainment!_ 8. **Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians** - _Element Of Light_ 9. **Bob Mould** - _Workbook_ 10. **Belle & Sebastian** - _The Boy With The Arab Strap_ ---
**Author:** ![Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2004, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-albums/253886/39 "2004-07-08T01:03:23Z")
In no order: Through the Looking Glass - Siouxsie and the Banshees We Two Are One - the Eurythmics In The Garden - the Eurythmics Viva Hate - Morrissey Music for the Masses - Depeche Mode Violator - Depeche Mode The Dark Adapted Eye - Danielle Dax Pastel Blue/Let It All Out - Nina Simone Tropical Brainstorm - Kirsty MacColl Best Shots - Pat Benatar ---
**Author:** ![Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2004, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-albums/253886/40 "2004-07-08T01:09:13Z")
As I didn’t notice till it was too late, changing my last answer from a greatest hits CD to a full standard album: Seven the Hard Way - Pat Benatar [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-albums/253886.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-albums/253886.md?page=3)