I went with CD releases, rather than original album releases, mainly so I could stick in CDs where 2 great albums were fit onto one CD (Big Star, The dB’s). I also wasn’t a snob about box sets or compilations, though I tried to stay away from them as much as possible. I did limit myself to one album per artist, though, just to keep it interesting.
I tried to be honest and pick the stuff I actually listen to with pleasure the most often. There are plenty of albums I like - Pavement’s Slanted & Enchanted, Aphex Twin’s Richard D. James album, Blonde Redhead’s stuff, The Silver Apples’ first 2 albums (also together on 1 CD), Pulp’s Different Class - that are more mood music for me, and plenty of artists I theoretically should enjoy a lot more than I actually do - Nirvana, Neil Young, Modest Mouse. So here is my list, which I’m sure I will realize I made mistakes in, and hopefully more of you will post your own:
Air – Moon Safari
Asobi Seksu - Citrus
Syd Barrett – The Madcap Laughs/Barrett
The Beach Boys – Pet Sounds
Beastie Boys – Paul’s Boutique
The Beatles – Revolver
Beck - Odelay
Belle & Sebastian – If You’re Feeling Sinister
Big Star - #1 Record/Radio City
David Bowie - Low
Billy Bragg – Talking With The Taxman About Poetry
James Brown – Star Time
Buzzcocks – Singles Going Steady
Cinerama – Va Va Voom
The Clash – The Clash
Elvis Costello & The Attractions – This Year’s Model
Marshall Crenshaw – Marshall Crenshaw
Crowded House – Crowded House
The dB’s – Stands For Decibels/Repercussion
De La Soul – 3 Feet High And Rising
DJ Shadow – Endtroducing…
Nick Drake – Bryter Later
The English Beat – I Just Can’t Stop It
Brian Eno – Another Green World
The Feelies – Crazy Rhythms
Fishbone – Truth & Soul
Funkadelic – Motor City Madness: The Ultimate Collection
Gang Of Four – Entertainment!
The Go-Betweens – 16 Lovers Lane
The Go-Go’s – Beauty & The Beat
Handsome Boy Modeling School – So…How’s Your Girl?
Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians – Element Of Light
Buddy Holly – The Buddy Holly Collection
Hoodoo Gurus – Stoneage Romeos
The Housemartins – London 0, Hull 4
Husker Du – Zen Arcade
The Jam – Sound Affects
The Jesus & Mary Chain – Psychocandy
Joy Division – Closer
The Kinks – The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society
Kraftwerk – The Man-Machine
The La’s – The La’s
Nick Lowe – Jesus Of Cool
The Magnetic Fields – 69 Love Songs
Meat Puppets – Up On The Sun
The Mekons – Mekons Rock ‘n’ Roll
Minutemen – Double Nickels on The Dime
Bob Mould – Workbook
My Bloody Valentine – Loveless
New Order – Substance
Outkast - Stankonia
Parliament – Tear The Roof Off 1974-1980
Pere Ubu – The Tenement Year
Pet Shop Boys - Actually
Pixies – Surfer Rosa
The Pogues – Rum, Sodomy & The Lash
Portishead - Portishead
The Pretenders – The Pretenders
Prince – Sign O’ The Times
The Psychedelic Furs – Talk Talk Talk
Public Enemy – It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back
Public Image Ltd. – Metal Box
Queen – Sheer Heart Attack
Ramones – Rocket To Russia
Otis Redding – Otis!: The Definitive Otis Redding
R.E.M. – Murmur
The Replacements - Tim
Sleater-Kinney – All Hands On The Bad One
Sly & The Family Stone – The Essential Sly & The Family Stone
The Smiths – Louder Than Bombs
The Soft Boys – The Soft Boys
Sonic Youth – Daydream Nation
The Specials – The Specials
Spiritualized – Ladies And Gentlemen, We Are Floating In Space
Stereolab – Emperor Tomato Ketchup
The Stone Roses – The Stone Roses
The Stooges – Fun House
Sugar – Copper Blue
Talking Heads – Remain In Light
Television – Marquee Moon
They Might Be Giants - Lincoln
U2 – The Joshua Tree
The Undertones – The Undertones
Various Artists – Beg, Scream & Shout! The Big Ol’ Box of 60s Soul
Various Artists – Can You Dig It? The 70s Soul Experience
Various Artists – The Complete Stax/Volt Singles 1959-1968
Various Artists – Loud, Fast and Out Of Control
Various Artists – No Thanks! The 70s Punk Rebellion
Various Artists – Nuggets: Orignial Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era 1965-1968
Various Artists - Nuggets II – Original Artfacts from the British Empire & Beyond
The Velvet Underground – The Velvet Underground & Nico
Oh, come on! I know I’m not the only music geek here. You don’t have to limit yourselves to one album per artist or just rock/pop. I’m sure the members of the Dope can come up with some better lists than Time or Rolling Stone.
Oh, all right then. A hundred, eh? Do box sets count as one, or as however many discs are in the set?
The Beatles - Please Please Me
The Beatles - With The Beatles
The Beatles - A Hard Day’s Night
The Beatles - Beatles For Sale
The Beatles - Help!
The Beatles - Rubber Soul
The Beatles - Revolver
The Beatles - A Collection Of Beatle Oldies
The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
The Beatles - Magical Mystery Tour
The Beatles - s/t
The Beatles - Yellow Submarine
The Beatles - Abbey Road
The Beatles - Let It Be
Got them out of the way. Now I’ll use my database as a reference.
Bryan Adams - Reckless
Bachman-Turner Overdrive - Anthology
Bad Company - s/t
Badfinger - No Dice
The Beach Boys - Smiley Smile / Wild Honey
The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds
The Beach Boys - Made In USA
The Beach Boys - Smile (bootleg)
Jeff Beck - Truth
Chuck Berry - The Chess Box or The Great Twenty-Eight
Victor Borge - Live! (comprised of “Comedy In Music” and most of “Caught In The Act”)
Boston - s/t
David Bowie - Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars
Kate Bush - The Kick Inside
Kate Bush - Lionheart
Kate Bush - Never For Ever
Kate Bush - Hounds Of Love
George Carlin - Class Clown
The Cars - s/t
Harry Chapin - Greatest Stories Live
Ray Charles - The Very Best Of
Cheech & Chong - Big Bambu
Chicago V
Alice Cooper - Billion Dollar Babies
Alice Cooper - Welcome To My Nightmare
Bill Cosby - To My Brother Russell, Whom I Slept With
Creedence Clearwater Revival - Cosmo’s Factory
Tim Curry - Fearless
Deaf School - Second Honeymoon
Fats Domino - The Legendary Imperial Recordings
The Doors - L.A. Woman
The Dukes Of Stratosphear - Chips From The Chocolate Fireball
Dave Edmunds - Anthology
Electric Light Orchestra - Afterglow
Brian Eno - Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)
The Firesign Theatre - Don’t Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me The Pliers
The Guess Who - American Woman
The Guess Who - Share The Land
The Guess Who - So Long Bannatyne
Jimi Hendrix - Electric Ladyland
John Lee Hooker - The Original Mr. Lucky
The James Gang - Yer Album
The James Gang - Rides Again
Billy Joel - The Essential
Elton John - Greatest Hits 1970-2002
The Brothers Johnson - Look Out For #1
King Crimson - Discipline
King Crimson - Beat
King Crimson - Three Of A Perfect Pair
The Kinks - The Kink Kronikles
Led Zeppelin - I
Led Zeppelin - II
Led Zeppelin - III
Led Zeppelin - IV
Led Zeppelin - Houses Of The Holy
Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti
Led Zeppelin - Presence
Led Zeppelin - In Through The Out Door
Jerry Lee Lewis - Anthology
Little Richard - The Essential
Max Webster - s/t
Max Webster - Universal Juveniles
Paul McCartney - Wingspan
Paul McCartney - Flowers In The Dirt
Harry Nilsson - Anthology
Harry Nilsson - Nilsson Schmilsson
Oasis - (What’s The Story) Morning Glory
The Alan Parsons Project - Tales Of Mystery & Imagination
Pink Floyd - Dark Side Of The Moon
Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
Pink Floyd - The Wall
Robert Plant - Pictures At Eleven
Elvis Presley - The Sun Sessions
Emitt Rhodes - s/t
The Rolling Stones - Hot Rocks
Billy Squier - Don’t Say No
Steely Dan - Showbiz Kids
Rod Stewart - Every Picture Tells A Story
Styx - Crystal Ball
Supertramp - Crime Of The Century
T. Rex - The Slider
Traffic - The Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys
Tom Waits - Nighthawks At The Diner
Muddy Waters - Complete
The Who - Ultimate Collection
Brian Wilson - Smile
and a number of albums that will have to Bubble Under. To rewrite the list would take even longer! So there’s 100 albums I like, leaving out many, many others. Now get off my lawn!
I can’t manage one album per artist or limit it to rock/pop, but I will try to put them vaguely in order of preference.
There isn’t much classical here, even though I listen to a lot of it, because I tend to have favorite pieces rather than favorite recordings/albums, if that makes sense.
The order was done unfairly quickly, so it probably doesn’t actually reflect my preferences. But here we go.
Universal Hall Pass - Mercury
Venus Hum - Big Beautiful Sky
Splashdown - Blueshift
The Decemberists - Picaresque
The Decemberists - The Crane Wife
Piñataland - Songs for the Forgotten Future, vol. 1
Barenaked Ladies - Gordon
Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha
The Decemberists - Her Majesty, The Decemberists
The Decemberists - Castaways and Cutouts
“Weird Al” Yankovic - Running With Scissors
Bruno Pelletier - D’autres rives
Dar Williams - The Green World
“Weird Al” Yankovic - Straight Outta Lynwood
Andrew Bird - The Mysterious Production of Eggs
Dar Williams - My Better Self
Emiliana Torrini - Fisherman’s Woman
Jorane - The You and the Now
Laura Veirs - Year of Meteors
Osvaldo Golijov - Ainadamar
Frou Frou - Details
Barenaked Ladies - Rock Spectacle (Live)
Venus Hum - The Colors in the Wheel
Emiliana Torrini - Love in the Time of Science
Tomás Jensen et les Faux-Monnayeurs - Pris sur le vif
Dar Williams - End of the Summer
Blue Man Group - The Complex
Tomás Jensen et les Faux-Monnayeurs - Tomás Jensen et les Faux-Monnayeurs
Andrew Bird - Music of Hair
Rufus Wainwright - Want One
Dar Williams - Mortal City
Les Misérables Paris Revival Cast
Rufus Wainwright - Want Two
“Weird Al” Yankovic - Poodle Hat
Les Misérables Complete Symphonic Recording
Laura Veirs - Carbon Glacier
Anthony Warlow - Centre Stage
Happy Rhodes - Many Worlds are Born Tonight
Laura Veirs - The Triumphs and Travails of Orphan Mae
Dar Williams - The Honesty Room
Dido - No Angel
Les Misérables Original French Concept Recording
Mecano - Descanso Dominical
Blue Man Group - Audio
Keren Ann - La biographie de Luka Philipsen
Howard Shore - Lord of the Rings: Return of the King soundtrack
Bruno Pelletier - Miserere
Bruno Pelletier - Un monde à l’envers
Songs for a New World original cast recording
Dido - Life For Rent
Victory At Sea - All Your Things are Gone
Anthony Warlow - Midnight Dreaming
Kate Bush - The Kick Inside
Bill Bailey - The Ultimate Collection… Ever!
Anthony Warlow - Back in the Swing
Keren Ann - La disparition
Kate Bush - Aerial
Loreena McKennitt - Book of Secrets
Anthony Warlow - Face the Music
Mecano - Aidalai
No Doubt - Tragic Kingdom
LittleHorse - The Mission Before Us
Philip Quast - Live at the Donmar
Yann Tiersen - Amélie soundtrack
Stephen Jay - Tangled Strings
Loreena McKennitt - An Ancient Muse
Paul Simon - Graceland
Greg Edmonson - Firefly soundtrack
Notre-Dame de Paris original cast recording
Mecano - Dónde está el pais de las hadas?
Avenue Q OBC
Emmanuel Pahud - Paris
Keren Ann - Not Going Anywhere
The Last Five Years original cast recording
Ensemble Polytonal - Darius Milhaud Chamberworks
Bruno Pelletier - Défaire l’amour
Lucia Micarelli - Music from a Farther Room
Camera Obscura - Let’s Get Out of this Country
Mecano - Entre El Cielo Y El Suelo
Arthur Honegger - Les Miserables (1934) soundtrack
Keren Ann - Nolita
Clogs - Lantern
Tarkio - I Guess I was Hoping for Something More
Eric Whitacre - Cloudburst and Other Choral Works
Terry Taylor - The Neverhood soundtrack
Osvaldo Golijov - La Pasión Según San Marcos
Freezepop - Fancy Ultra Fresh
Steve Reich - Music for 18 Musicians
Danny Elfman - Big Fish soundtrack
Freezepop - Freezepop Forever
Philip Glass - The Hours soundtrack
Uffington Horse - Enchantment
Emmanuel Pahud - Beau Soir
Emily Beynon/Andrew West - L’Album des Six
Dawn Upshaw - Golijov’s Ayre and Berio’s Folksongs
Okay, okay. Geez. It takes awhile to come up with a list of 100. (But that’s still easier than narrowing it down to 10).
Here’s my list, in alphabetical order. Some true greats, some sentimental favorites or guilty pleasures. I did limit myself to rock/pop, to make things easier on myself. Subject to change without notice. Some restrictions apply. Offer void where prohibited.
ABC: The Lexicon of Love
Adam Again: Dig
Bad Manners: The Height of Bad Manners
The Bangles: Different Light
The Beach Boys: Pet Sounds
The Beach Boys: Smiley Smile / Wild Honey
The Beatles: Revolver
The Beatles: Abbey Road
Adrian Belew: Inner Revolution
David Bowie: The Rise & Fall of Ziggy Stardust & the Spiders from Mars
The Call: Red Moon
Chagall Guevara
The Choir: Speckled Bird
Collective Soul
Elvis Costello and the Attractions: Imperial Bedroom
Elvis Costello and the Attractions: Punch the Clock
Marshall Crenshaw
Daniel Amos: Shotgun Angel
Daniel Amos: Vox Humana
Da: Darn Floor–Big Bite
Daniel Amos: Motor Cycle
Daniel Amos: Songs of the Heart
The Decembrists: Picaresque
The Dream Academy
Dreams So Real: Gloryline
Jeff Elbel + Ping: No Outlet
Electric Light Orchestra: El Dorado
Fleetwood Mac: Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac: Rumours
Fleming and John: The Way We Are
Ben Folds Five: Whatever and Ever Amen
Fountains of Wayne: Utopia Parkway
General Public: Hand to Mouth
Eddy Grant: Going For Broke
John Wesley Harding: The Name Above The Title
George Harrison: All Things Must Pass
Mark Heard: Dry Bones Dance
Richard X. Heyman: Living Room !!
Nick Heyward: From Monday to Sunday
Hooters: Zig Zag
Billy Joel: An Innocent Man
Phil Keaggy: Find Me In These Fields
The Kinks: Face To Face
The Kinks: The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society
The Kinks: Arthur or The Decline And Fall Of The British Empire
The Kinks: Lola versus Powerman and the Moneygoround * Part One
The Kinks: Schoolboys in Disgrace
Lost Dogs: Scenic Routes
Lost Dogs: Little Red Riding Hood
Lost Dogs: The Green Room Serenade part one
Lost Dogs: Gift Horse
Madness: One Step Beyond…
Madness: Keep Moving
Chris Mars: Horseshoes and Hand Grenades
Paul and Linda McCartney: Ram
Paul McCartney: Tug of War
Men At Work: Two Hearts
Midnight Oil: Earth and Sun and Moon
Julie Miller: Orphans and Angels
The Moody Blues: In Search Of The Lost Chord
The Moody Blues: On The Threshold Of A Dream
The Moody Blues: To Our Children’s Children’s Children
The Moody Blues: The Present
Van Dyke Parks: Jump!
The Alan Parsons Project: Ammonia Avenue
The Alan Parsons Project: Gaudi
Tom Petty: Full Moon Fever
Sam Phillips: Martinis and Bikinis
The Police: Synchronicity
Prefab Sprout: Jordan: The Comeback
Queen: Greatest Hits
Michael Roe: The Boat Ashore
The 77s: Sticks and Stones
The 77s: Pray Naked
Simon and Garfunkel: Bridge Over Troubled Water
Paul Simon: Graceland
Paul Simon: Rhythm of the Saints
The Smithereens: Green Thoughts
Something Fierce: Gone All Wobbly
Something Fierce: Completely Unglued
Something Fierce: Franklin Pierce
Something Fierce: A Sound for Sore Ears
Randy Stonehill: Wonderama
The Swirling Eddies: Outdoor Elvis
Terry Scott Taylor: A Briefing for the Ascent
Terry Scott Taylor: John Wayne
They Might Be Giants: Then
They Might Be Giants: Apollo 18
The Traveling Wilburys: Vol 1
Trip Shakespeare: Are You Shakesperienced?
Trip Shakespeare: Across the Universe
Trip Shakespeare: Lulu
Brian Wilson: Brian Wilson
Brian Wilson: Smile
Stevie Wonder: Innervisions
Stevie Wonder: Fulfillingness’ First Finale
Stevie Wonder: Songs in the Key of Life
XTC: Skylarking
XTC: Oranges and Lemons
Weird Al Yankovic: Dare To Be Stupid
Looking at the other lists posted here, I can see some albums that almost made it onto mine, and quite a few others that I may have to check out. (i.e. from the names I do recognize, I can see that you have good taste, so I want to look into the other albums that I don’t recognize.)
Sticking to one album per artist (with a coupla slight cheats). Not a definitive list, would be different tomorrow, yadda yadda yadda.
John Abercrombie/Dave Holland/Jack DeJohnette: Gateway
Amon Düül II: Wolf City
Jon Anderson: Olias of Sunhillow
Ange: Emile Jacotey
Art Bears: The World as It Is Today
Phil Austin: Roller Maidens from Outer Space
Banco Del Mutuo Soccorso: Darwin!
The Band: The Band
Beatles: Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
Bonzo Dog Band: Urban Spaceman
David Bowie: Low
Arthur Brown: The Crazy World of Arthur Brown
Jack Bruce: Songs for a Tailor
Kate Bush: The Hounds of Love
Can: Ege Bamyasi
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band: Trout Mask Replica
Caravan: Waterloo Lily
Martin Carthy & Dave Swarbrick: Prince Heathen
The Clash: Combat Rock
Shirley & Dolly Collins: Anthems in Eden
John Coltrane: Meditations
Elvis Costello: Get Happy!!
Cream: Wheels of Fire
Miles Davis: In a Silent Way
Sandy Denny: The North Star Grassman and the Ravens
Deus Ex Machina: De Republica
Eric Dolphy: Out to Lunch
The Doors: The Soft Parade
Nick Drake: Bryter Layter
Bob Dylan: Highway 61 Revisited
Emerson, Lake & Palmer: Brain Salad Surgery
Brian Eno: Another Green World
Fairport Convention: Liege and Lief
Firesign Theatre: I Think We’re All Bozos on This Bus
Fripp and Eno: No Pussyfooting
Peter Gabriel: Peter Gabriel (first)
Genesis: Selling England by the Pound
Gentle Giant: Octopus
Lisa Germano: Lullaby for Liquid Pig
Gilgamesh: Another Fine Tune You’ve Got Me Into
Gong: Flying Teapot
Grateful Dead: Aoxomoxoa
Gryphon: Gryphon
Peter Hammill: The Silent Corner and the Empty Stage
Herbie Hancock: Maiden Voyage
Roy Harper: Stormcock
Hatfield and the North: The Rotters Club
Jimi Hendrix Experience: Electric Ladyland
Henry Cow: In Praise of Learning
Steve Hillage: Fish Rising
Howlin’ Wolf: Moanin’ in the Moonlight/Howlin’ Wolf
Mississippi John Hurt: 1928 Sessions
Ashley Hutchings/John Kirkpatrick: The Compleat Dancing Master/Rattlebone and Ploughjack*
Incredible String Band: The Hangman’s Beautiful Daughter
Skip James: Today!
Jefferson Airplane: After Bathing at Baxters
Jethro Tull: A Passion Play
Paul Kantner: Blows Against the Empire
Mike Keneally: Dancing
King Crimson: Lizard
The Kinks: Face to Face
Lemon Pipers: Green Tambourine
Love: Forever Changes
Magma: Mekanik Destruktiw Kommandoh
Phil Manzanera: Diamond Head
Charles Mingus: Mingus in Europe
Joni Mitchell: The Hissing of Summer Lawns
Thelonious Monk: Monk’s Music
Mothers of Invention: Uncle Meat
National Health: Of Queues and Cures
News from Babel: Work Resumed on the Tower
The Nice: Five Bridges
Yoko Ono: Fly
Picchio dal Pozzo: Abbiamo Tutti I Suoi Problemi
Pink Floyd: Ummagumma
Popol Vuh: Hosianna Mantra
Procol Harum: Broken Barricades
Rare Bird: Rare Bird
Terry Riley: Rainbow in Curved Air
Rolling Stones: Beggars Banquet
Roxy Music: For Your Pleasure
Terje Rypdal: Odyssey
Klaus Schulze: Timewind
Pete Sinfield: Still
Slapp Happy: Desperate Straights
Soft Machine: Third
Steeleye Span: Parcel of Rogues
Chris Squire: Fish out of Water
Tangerine Dream: Zeit
Richard Thompson: Henry the Human Fly
Ralph Towner: Solstice
United States of America: United States of America
Univers Zero: Uzed
Michal Urbaniak: Constellation Live
Tom Waits: Swordfishtrombones
Patty Waters: College Tour
The Who: The Who Sell Out
Robert Wyatt: Rock Bottom
Yes: Tales from Topographic Oceans
Frank Zappa: Civilization Phaze III
For 25 years I totally loved the Compleat Dancing Master LP before discovering that the version I had was mispressed, and side two was actually side two of Hutchings’s Rattlebone and Ploughjack album.
Yeah, that’s why these are fun - they make you want to check out stuff you’re not aware of.
They also remind you of artists you forgot when putting together your own list - I probably should have made slots for Love, Midnight Oil, Roxy Music, The Bangles and Prefab Sprout. Next time I’ll have to do a top 150 list.