Other way round. Pet Sounds came out first and the Beatles tried to rise to beat it.
Seconded, absolutely. I was limiting myself to 60s rock, because I know it so much better, but every decade has amazing work.
Another 80s album that is stunning is Roxy Music’s Avalon. One of the few albums coming out of that period to be utterly timeless. It’s the soundtrack to an infinitely pleasurable dream.
Most of mine have already been listed (not surprisingly)
I’ll add (unless I missed it)
Appetite for Destruction - Guns N’ Roses
I can enjoy it as much today as I did when it was released in 1986. It is timeless.
I heartily endorse Pet Sounds and The Velvet Underground & Nico, and will add:
David Bowie, Ziggy Stardust
Patti Smith, Horses
Talking Heads, Talking Head:77
Pixies, Surfer Rosa
Lauryn Hill, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
Most of my choices have been named but I’ll throw in a few that have not:
“So,” Peter Gabriel
“Synchronicity,” The Police
“Ill Communication,” Beastie Boys
“Fully Completely,” The Tragically Hip
“Songs in the Key of Life,” Stevie Wonder
Suggest a few from the “country” side, some well-known, others not so much…
Willie Nelson; Redheaded Stranger
Emmylou Harris; Wrecking Ball
John Prine; Lost Dogs & Mixed Blessings
(Yes, I know 2 and 3 are not exactly country music. They’re difficult to classify…maybe “Americana”?)
A couple of others get an honorable mention; Springsteen’s Nebraska, and Dire Straits’ Brothers in Arms
SS
Rumours was great. Still listen to it all the time.
DSOTM is an old favorite. The Wall is going to get mention, but I find myself listening to Wish You Were Here more often.
I’ll probably get a lot of groans for this one, but Bat Out of Hell is a longtime fav. Not a bad song on it, and I think it was a fairly unique blend of 50’s rock with 70’s rock/pop.
Neil Young’s Everyone Knows This is Nowhere is another one I like to listen to from start to finish. In this era of mp3s, it’s easy to cut and paste and not have the full experience of listening to a whole album, or even the same artist in the same sitting. It’s a curse and a blessing, but I try to listen to whole albums from time to time.
If forced to choose just one, I’d go with Paul Simon’s Graceland. I listened to it endlessly when it was released and never tired of it; I could put it on right now and I know it would still sound fresh. Absolute perfection from beginning to end.
A few others not yet mentioned:
Imperial Bedroom - Elvis Costello
After the Gold Rush - Neil Young
Plastic Ono Band - John Lennon
Speaking in Tongues - Talking Heads
Love and Theft - Bob Dylan
Loaded - The Velvet Underground
mmm
Fleetwood Mac - Rumours
Pink Floyd - The Wall
Def Leppard - Hysteria
Counting Crows - August and Everything After
The Police - Syncronicity, Ghost in the Machine
Michael Jackson - Thriller
Madonna - Erotica
Nirvana - Nevermind
Kansas - Point of Know Return
Doobie Brothers - Minute By Minute
I’m not a Dan Fogelberg fan normally but The Innocent Age is a fantastic album. Most of the songs are memorable and when you listen to the whole album, it’s just incredible.
The Zombies Oddysey and Oracle is this completely different sound from the “normal” Zombies. Like the one Chuck mentioned, the Zombies were breaking up and wanted to go out with a bang. “Brief Candles”, “Beechwood Park”, “A Rose For Emily” all stand out.
I normally don’t count “Greatest Hits” albums (it’s cheating, that’s why) but Footsteps In The Dark: Cat Steven’s Greatest Hits vol. 2 is a special case. It was the only place (for years) that you could get the songs from “Harold and Maude”, so there’s like 5 original songs on the “Greatest Hits” album.
I love a bunch of the other stuff that was mentioned…
The Wall
Pet Sounds
Thriller
Sgt. Pepper’s
Huh–I don’t think anyone listed Tommy by the Who. Add that to my list.
Also, the original recording of Jesus Christ, Superstar. That opening electric guitar still sends shivers up my back.
Get Happy!! - Elvis Costello & The Attractions
Entertainment! - Gang Of Four
Loveless - My Bloody Valentine
Revolver - The Beatles
Sign ‘O’ The Times - Prince
New Day Rising - Husker Du
Let It Be - The Replacements
The Clash - The Clash
Paul’s Boutique - Beastie Boys
Psychocandy - The Jesus & Mary Chain
Double Nickels on the Dime - Minutemen
Violent Femmes - Violent Femmes
The Who Sell Out - The Who
I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One - Yo La Tengo
Rum, Sodomy & The Lash - The Pogues
Murmur - R.E.M.
Fear of Music - Talking Heads
Unknown Pleasures - Joy Division
In Color - Cheap Trick
Dig Me Out - Sleater-Kinney
Crazy Rhythms - The Feelies
16 Lover’s Lane - The Go-Betweens
Skylarking - XTC
I Just Can’t Stop It - The (English) Beat
The greatest Heavy Metal album, Queensryche, Operation: Mindcrime.
Personally I find 'Wish you were here is better than Dark side of the moon
Here are some for you,
Silk Degrees - Boz Scaggs
Paranoid - Black Sabbath
Jazz - Queen
Revolver - Beatles, for me this is their best album
Parklife - Blur
Aja - Steely Dan
Bridge over troubled waters - Simon & Garfunkle
Appetite for destruction - Guns ‘n’ roses
American Pie - Don Maclean
Hotel California - Eagles
The Doors - The Doors
Innervisions, but it could easily be Higher Ground - Stevie Wonder
Tea for the tillerman - Cat Stevens
Music for the jilted generation - The Prodigy - I guess that for you Americans this probably passed you by, but for hard electro rock this was seminal
Breakfast in America - Supertramp
The Nightfly - Donald Fagen
Piano Man - Billy Joel
A trick of the tail - Genesis
Trampolina - Mavericks
Parallell lines - Blondie
Goodbye Yellow Brick road - Elton John
Come on , come on - Mary Chapin Carpenter
Ingenue - K D Lang
That’s a pretty varied selection, and some fine stuff too
Many, many of my favorites already listed. I don’t think I’ve seen “Willy and the Poor Boys” by Creedence, “A Salty Dog” by Procol Harum or "Highway 61 Revisited by Bob Dylan.
Those three will always be in any top 10 list I make.
Add these to my list, please.
Kind of Blue and Birth of the Cool, Miles Davis
Dave Brubeck Quartet at Carnegie Hall
Getz/Gilberto, Stan Getz, Joao and Astrud Gilberto
Brasileiro, Sergio Mendes
Talking Timbuktu, Ali Farka Toure with Ry Cooder
Elegant Gypsy, Al Dimeola and Paco de Lucia
Rumours, Fleetwood Mac
Sgt. Pepper, Revolver, and Rubber Soul (in that order), The Beatles
Are You Experienced?, Jimi Hendrix Experience
I prefer their Hero and Heroine instead.
My turn :
Tommy - The Who
Seasons and Lord of the Ages - Magna Carta
Harvest - Neil Young
Highway 61 Revisited - Bob Dylan
Ladies of the Canyon - Joni Mitchell
Past, Present and Future - Al Stewart
These Eyes - Guess Who
Thick as a Brick - Jethro Tull
There’s more, but it will do for now.
Having just seen it played live a couple of times, I’ll add another vote for Quadrophenia.
That’s in my top ten list, too. Oh, screw it, I’ll give my top ten:
(#1 & #2 were switched the other way around last time a top ten albums discussion came around, but these two are pretty much cemented here.)
Led Zeppelin IV dropped off my list from a few years ago, but they’d be the 11 spot. For a guy born in 1975, this is perhaps a bit too 60s-80s heavy but, well, that’s what I like.
Am I the only Rush fan still livin’?
Moving Pictures - RUSH gorramit!!