Your top 5 albums

[Larvell Blanks]

We haven't had a good music discussion on here in a while.

List your top 5 albums that you have/listen to. Hopefully there'll be some listed that I don't have and will look into getting.

My list, which changes like the weather. Do this list next month and 4 out the 5 would probably change.

Violent Femmes - Violent Femmes
When I picked this up back in '83, I was blown away. Being from Parma, the music landscape consisted of Rush, Genesis, Yes and what Uncle Vic was playing. This album became the soundtrack of teenage angst. Popped it in a couple months ago after not listening to it for 10+ years and sang along to every track like I have played it 24/7.

Gentlemen- The Afghan Whigs
Cincy boys make good on the Sub Pop label. One of the overlooked bands of the 90's. Greg Dulli's best and most personal lyrics regarding relationships and lost love.

Let it Be - The Replacements
Hard to choose just one album by Paul Westerberg and crew but this is the one that saw Westerberg blossom as a songwriter.

Rain Dogs - Tom Waits
Probably Waits best overall album. Not a bad song in the bunch

Siamese Dreams -Smashing Pumpkins
Recently went back and listened to this again after ignoring it for the better part of the decade. Not the best written or best produced but somehow it has stood the test of time. Sounds as original as it did the day it was released.

just missing top 5
It takes a nation... -Public Enemy
Goat - The Jesus Lizard
Meantime - Helmet
Aenima - Tool
The Moon and Antartica - Modest Mouse

[Bill the Butcher]

I enjoy music a lot, even have played the guitar for more than 15 years now and have gone through many different genres of music, but my list isn't going to be as... underground?... as most of your guys'. I'll be honest, I'm a more mainstream kind of guy. But not MTV mainstream. Not douche mainstream.
In no particular order:

1) Thrice - Artist in the Ambulance
2) The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper ("the beatles are overrated" i know, blah blah blah)
3) Relient K - Two Lefts Don't Make A Right, But Three Do
4) Metallica - Death Magnetic (yes, i'm serious)
5) Metallica - ...And Justice For All

[aoxo1]

Bob Dylan - The Bootleg Series Vol. 5: Bob Dylan Live 1975, The Rolling Thunder Revue
Radiohead - The Bends
Silver Jews - The Natural Bridge
David Bowie - The Rise and Fall of Ziggie Stardust
The Clash - London Calling

[rebelwithoutaclue]

Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
Tom Petty - Wildflowers
Velvet Underground - Velvet Underground & Nico
Led Zeppelin IV
Radiohead - OK Computer

[British_Pharaoh]

David Bowie - The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust......
Clinic - Visitations
Radiohead - In Rainbows
Manic Street Preachers - The Holy Bible
Marvin Gaye - What's Goin' On

[hermanfontenot]

I came of age musically in the '90s, so my favorites are all from that era:

1.) Radiohead- The Bends: My official "stranded on a desert island" album. Long before they started messing around with electronics and lost their edge, Radiohead was a great pure rock band, with Jonny Greenwood's blistering guitar licks and Thom Yorke's howling, whiny voice setting the tone for an album that is superb from beginning to end. Some great, great videos came out of this album too- I actually got turned on to the band when I saw the video to "Just."



2.) Blur- The Great Escape: As far as I'm concerned, this album turned the so-called Battle of Britpop into a Bull Run-style rout. There's just a what's what of great tracks here- "Charmless Man," "Top Man," "Country House," "The Universal," "He Thought of Cars," "Entertain Me," etc etc. I actually liked Oasis back in the day, but they couldn't touch this album.



3.) Rage Against the Machine- Rage Against the Machine: Yeah, the political posturing is pretty ridiculous, the Che t-shirts were obnoxious, and this album did inspire a generation of douchebag college kids to hang "Free Peltier!" signs in their dorm-room windows despite not knowing who the hell Leonard Peltier was, but who cares? Rage's self-titled debut just effing rocked, and that's all that matters.



4.) Ben Folds Five- Whatever and Ever Amen: I'm a sucker for piano-based rock, so Ben Folds is right up my alley. With tracks like "Fair," "Brick," "Song for the Dumped," and "Steven's Last Night in Town," this is my personal favorite from their catalogue.



5.) Stone Temple Pilots- Purple: I like rock music, I like it slick, clean and highly produced, and I make no bones about it. And "Purple" is about as slick as it gets. Still, if I heard "Interstate Love Song" one more time in the summer of 1994, I was going to strangle someone.



Honorable Mentions (not all from the '90s):

Aerosmith: Toys in the Attic

Beastie Boys: Paul's Boutique

Beatles: Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Billy Joel: The Stranger

Bruce Hornsby and the Range: The Way It Is

Ice Cube: Death Certificate

Keane: Under the Iron Sea

Outcast: Aquemini

Soundgarden: BadMotorFinger

Steely Dan: Aja (1977 was an awesome year for music)

[peeker643]

Just really heavy rotation right now. Not a an all-time list.


Jamey Johnson- That Lonesome Song
Gary Allan- Living Hard
Foo Fighters- Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace
Bruce Springsteen- The Rising (Despite the 9/11 inspiration for parts of this this album I find it one of the most inspirational of his works. Find myself needing to hear this for a couple weeks straight every 12-15 months).
Barenaked Ladies- Rock Spectacle or Gordon. They get equal play.

[skatingtripods]

Tantric - The End Begins
Pearl Jam - Ten
Linkin Park - Hybrid Theory
3 Doors Down - The Better Life
Live - The Distance to Here

[dem425]

Quite eclectic:

1. Old Crow Medicine Show: "Eutaw" and "OCMS" (toss-up)
2. Nitty Gritty Dirt Band: "Will the Circle Be Unbroken?"
3. Days of the New: Self-Titled First Album
4. Carole King: "Tapestry"
5. The Eagles: "Desperado"

Honorable Mention:

6. Earth, Wind, Fire: "The Best of/Vols. I and II"
7. Warren Zevon: EVERYTHING
8. NWA: "Straight Outta Compton"
9. Merle Haggard: "That's the way Love Goes" and "Poncho and Lefty" (tie)
10. Dire Straits: "Brothers-In-Arms"

I bet a shrink could make a career on this..................

[bucknutz94]

5 desert island disks as of today:

rolling stones: exile on main street
miles davis: kind of blue
beastie boys: paul's boutique
drive-by truckers: southern rock opera
black sabbath: paranoid


honorable mention:

jane's addiction: nothing's shocking
george strait: it just comes natural
ratm: rage against the machine
loretta lynn: van lear rose
lucinda williams: car wheels on a gravel road

[View from 171]

For anyone that likes James Brown-type music. Check out Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears.

[HoodooMan]

Tool, Lateralus
Junior Wells & Buddy Guy, Hoodoo Man Blues
Miles Davis, Kind of Blue
Beastie Boys, Paul’s Boutique
Jimi Hendrix, Band of Gypsies
Lauryn Hill, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill

Had to do 6, so I could do 1 for every genre of music I really love.

Coinflip between Lateralus & AEnima, tough to have to leave off Rage Against the Machine's first album. Lots of great hip-hop albums left off by the likes of Black Star, Common, De La Soul, Wu Tang, and Nas.

Didn't have too, too much trouble leaving any 2000s groups/artists of the list, however.

[Cerebral_DownTime]

1) T00L- Aenima
2) Acid Bath- Paegan Terrorism Tactics
3) Clutch- Elephant Riders
4) Immortal- Sons Of Northern Darkness
5) Opeth- Blackwater Park

Honorable Mention

T00L- Lateralus
PanterA- Vulgar Display Of Power
Pig Destroyer- A Prowler In The Yard
Down- NOLA
Faith No More- The Real Thing

[hermanfontenot]

PanterA- Vulgar Display Of Power

Definitely a top-five album cover.

[Cerebral_DownTime]

That guy got paid $100 and a bottle of Crown to take that punch from Phil.

[Doc]

My top 5 are (in no particular order)

--The Clash, London Calling - Just good all the way through. A cool vibe, relaxing. Fave tracks...Guns of Brixton, Wrong 'Em Boyo.

--Led Zeppelin, II - My favorite, like it better than IV. Begins with one of the coolest riffs in rock history (Whole Lotta Love). Fave tracks...all are good, Heartbreaker/Living Loving Maid is my favorite.

--Green Day, Dookie - My first full album purchase (cassette). There's nothing fancy about this, it's just straight-forward and fun to listen to. Fave tracks...Basket Case (was always overplayed and I lost interest, but have actually listened to it more recently and forgot how much I liked it), Burnout, Welcome to Paradise. Also, I really like their newest album and it's been getting a lot of play from me.

--The Beatles, Rubber Soul - This is probably my favorite Beatles' album. Hard to say, it changes every day. But, I find myself coming back to this one more than the White Album, Abbey Road, or Sgt. Pepper. Fave tracks...You Won't See Me, In My Life, Run For Your Life, Drive My Car.

--Notorious BIG, Ready to Die - After Notorious came out, I watched it and reignited my love of '90s rap. I forgot how good this album was and how talented Biggie was. I had grown into a rock guy, but my formidable teen years were spent listening to BTNH, Biggie, 2Pac, etc. I think I appreciate this album a ton more now, as I actually understand it much more. Fave tracks...Big Poppa, Juicy, Gimme the Loot.

[RattleHead]

1. Stevie Ray Vaughan: Couldn't Stand the Weather
2. Judas Priest: Painkiller
3. Megadeth: Rust in Peace
4. Savatage: The Wake of Magellan
5. Pro-Pain: Act of God

Honorable mentions.

1. Joe Satriani: Flying in a Blue Dream or Surfing with the Alien
2. Metallica: Master of Puppets
3. Gary Moore: Still got the Blues for You
4. Los Lonely Boys: Los Lonely Boys
5. Anthrax: Stomp 442

[ministryman]

Great Thread.

My top 5 not in any particular order.

1. Devin Townsend - Tierra
2. Devin Townsend - Ocean Machine (both of these are epic albums, can listen all the way through on both.
3. Clutch - Elephant Rider
4. Radiohead - OK Computer
5. Secret Machines - Now Here is Nowhere

If you guys haven't heard of Devin Townsend, do yourselves a favor and find these two albums. Totally worth twice the price you will pay for it.

[Mr. MacPhisto]

Not east to even try to compile this, but I'll give it a go. All five are interchangeable.

1.) The Who - Who's Next



Song after song, this album just comes at you and finishes with one of the great songs, Won't Get Fooled Again. Baba O'Riley, My Wife, Bargain, Behind Blue Eyes, The Song is Over, and more. Wow.

2.) U2 - Achtung Baby



U2 reinvented themselves, changed their images, and launched a massive tour that did a 180 from where they had been previously. But the album is full of great songs and a somewhat cohesive narrative that focuses on both physical and spiritual infidelity. And how could you resist Oscar Wilde's Salome being retold as Mysterious Ways? You depart Zoo Station for a wild trip. What most don't know is that the repeating guitar sound at the beginning of Even Better Than The Real Thing is an imitation of the sound made when trains in Berlin leave Zoo Station.

3.) Fleetwood Mac - Rumours



Another heavy hitter that captured all the breakups, despair - everything going on in the band at the time. Once again, song after song hammers you and each of them sounds catchy too. An interesting blend of the battles between Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham mixed with Christine McVie's more optimistic outlook despite problems in the past and in the here and now.

4.) Bob Dylan - Street Legal



I'm eschewing traditional wisdom here. I love the bulk of Dylan's work and there are other albums greater, but I think Street Legal is heavily underrated. The word play is great, as usual, and the band arrangements are changed up again. It's hard to pick just one Dylan album in any list, but I have a special place in my heart for this one. This is really where Bob's apocalyptic period started - a period he's been in ever since. The end is looming as he wanders under the red skies and the album opens up with an apocalyptic number and seems to end with a conversion. It's that soft spot in my heart that made me put it here over Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, Another Side of Bob Dylan, Bringing It All Back Home, Highway 61 Revisted, Blonde on Blonde, John Wesley Harding, Nashville Skyline, Blood On The Tracks, Desire, Slow Train Coming, Saved, Oh Mercy, Time Out Of Mind, "Love and Theft", Modern Times, and Together Through Life. Any one of those albums is deserving.

And this is the album iTunes tells me I've played more than any other and I've got six years of history logged in iTunes. So maybe I should've stuck it at #1.

5.) The Beatles - Abbey Road



Hard to pick between Beatles albums, but Abbey Road is my favorite. George contributes two of the best songs The Beatles ever did. The suite on Side B is just great, combining snippets of songs John and Paul were working on. And closing Side A with I Want You (She's So Heavy) and its jolting, sudden end is genius when you consider the flip over to Here Comes The Sun. That song never fails to make me smile - beautiful.

Other Beatles albums are also deserving. Revolver, Rubber Soul, Hard Day's Night, and Sergeant Pepper. The White Album is a bit too spotty, though it rises to great heights.

Honorable Mentions:

Rolling Stones - Beggar's Banquet, Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers, Exile On Main Street.

R.E.M. - Murmur, Reckoning, Life's Rich Pageant, Fables Of The Reconstruction, Document, Automatic For The People, Monster, New Adventures In Hi-Fi.

Springsteen - The Wild, The Innocent, and The E-Street Shuffle, Born to Run, Darkness on the Edge of Town, Nebraska.

Pink Floyd - Animals, Wish You Were Here, The Wall (Dark Side Of The Moon is soooooo overrated).

The Who - Sell Out, Quadrophenia.

U2 - Boy, War, The Unforgettable Fire, The Joshua Tree, Zooropa, All That You Can't Leave Behind, How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb, No Line On The Horizon.

Peter Gabriel - Peter Gabriel 3 (Melt), Security, US, Up.

Genesis - Selling England By The Pound, The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, Trick Of The Tail.

Beach Boys - Pet Sounds.

Brian Wilson - Smile.

And plenty more that I can't think of.

[Orenthal]

1. Metallica - Kill'em All
2. Pearl Jam - Ten
3. Led Zeppelin - Led Zepplin II
4. U2 - The Joshua Tree
5. Keith Sweat - Keith Sweat (I know this doesn't fit everything else, but for some reason I luv New Jack swing, and this album da mos)

[jack_tors]

Just really heavy rotation right now. Not a an all-time list.

Barenaked Ladies- Rock Spectacle

Great call on Rock Spectacle, has to be one of the greatest live albums of all time. I can pull that album out and listen to it all the way through any day of the week.


I too dont think I can make an all time list, so here is mine as of today.

1.)Clutch- Elephant Riders
2.)Traveling Wilburys- Volume 1
3.)Barenaked Ladies- Rock Spectacle
4.)Soul Asylum- Grave Dancers Union
5.)Pantera- Vulgar Display of Power

[Tymaster]

Hard to nail down an all time top 5. Here is what is currently on my mind:

KISS: Alive!
Anthrax: Stomp 442
Life of Agony: Ugly
Down: NOLA
Elton John: Tumbleweed Connection

Edited to add my "honorable mentions:"
Van Hagar: OU812
Husker Du: The Living End
KISS: Alive II
Faith No More: Album of the Year
Slayer: South of Heaven
Cheap Trick: At Budokan

[rawdawgexpress]

This is tough. Some good lists above.

Top 5:
Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique
Broken Social Scene - You Forgot it in People
Steely Dan - Aja
Grizzly Bear - Yellow House
My Bloody Valentine - Loveless

Second Tier:
Midlake - The Trials of Van Occupanther
Wolf Parade - Apologies to the Queen Mary
Pinback - Blue Screen Lite
Pavement - Slanted and Enchanted
Sufjan Stevens - Greetings from Michigan

[Tymaster]

I like the diversity of these lists.
It's nearly impossible to nail down a top 5 though. I couldn't live without my ENTIRE Queen collection. I could a top 5 of those guys alone ya know? I just went out to care and looked at what was in my changer.

[Cease]

Lots of good stuff here, I'll give it a shot. Top 5 Albums- trying to avoid previously metioned...

Beatles The White Album - my gateway album
A Tribe Called Quest - The Low End Theory
De La Soul 3 Feet High and Rising- if you like De La, check this gem- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mh2_GOPGKBs
Phish Billy Breathes
Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon

Previously mentioned:
Miles - Kind of Blue - my next gateway album
Band of Gypsies - FYI- I have archive footage of Band of Gypsies doing this show live over two sets on NYE 1969. It is filthy, sick, disgusting, captivating and amazing. If you love this album GET THE VIDEO or PM and beg me for a copy.
Nation of Millions

[jb]

Hi, I'm JD Filing and here's my list:

5. Rush - Permanent Waves

4. Rush - Signals

3. Rush - Moving Pictures

2. Rush - Fly by Night

1. Rush - 2112

[Kingpin74]

I know he had his issues, but Thriller anyone?

[Mr. MacPhisto]

I know he had his issues, but Thriller anyone?

I at least know Jacko's favorite album while he was alive.

It was U2's Boy.



Jacko always said it was the cover that drew his eye.

[BDFD]

No order:

Rust in Peace - Megadeth
Dirt - Alice in Chains
Vulgar Display of Power - Pantera
Seasons in the Abyss - Slayer
Appetite for Destruction - GnR

[OldDawg]

1. Who- Who's Next
2. Stevie Wonder- Songs in the Key of Life
3. Elton John- Yellow Brick Road
4. Spinners - Spinners
5. Led Zep II
6. Edgar Winter Group- They only come out at night

Edit: Dang, I'm rather eclectic. Ironically, my favorite music is easy listening. James Taylor, Stephen Bishop. However, I don't know if they have an album I would rate that high (except a "best of" album). Love the Beatles and Elvis as well.

[The Brook]

Van Morrison-Astral Weeks
Toots & The Maytals-Sweet & Dandy
Screeching Weasel- My Brain Hurts
The Band- The Last Waltz
The Pharcyde-Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde

[hebner20]

Here are 6 that i've listened to over the years on a sometimes nightly basis for weeks on end. Not necessarily my top 6 but for some reason I did wear them out so that must count for something.

The Beautiful Game – Acoustic Alchemy
December – George Winston
Rust Never Sleeps – Neil Young
Did You Feel That? - Joe Sample
Wish You Were Here – Pink Floyd
Exile On Main Street – The Rolling Stones

"Dishonorable" mention:

The Soft Parade - The Doors (usually surrounded by many empty beer cans - back in the day)