Best Albums.

[Lewis C]

I guess I'll be outing my nerd/geek status when I say.....anything by Mozart or Puccini?

If I really try to drag myself into a more recent time I'd nominate albums by The Beegees, Paul Simon, Don Mclean and James Taylor.

When I look at your lists I wonder.....what language are these guys speaking. My wife often asks me where I have been for the last 50 years.

Cheers, George

Hi George,

I like classical music, but this thread is about albums, and when I think of classical music, I think of works rather than albums. Generally speaking, my favorite classical music is the orchestral music of Mozart, Beethoven, Bach, Haydn and Brahms. For something more outside the box, I like orchestral music from the Baroque era pretty indiscriminately: Handel, Vivaldi, Telemann, Rameau, Albinoni (but not the adagio), etc.

[Herlock Sholmes]

I have and like Queen's Greatest Hits (1&2). I like Police's Greatest Hits (no "2" needed here ).

You won't find me dead with a U2 record

@ Herlock, around 20 years ago, I was surrounded by Tool fanatics but I never took a liking to it. Too disorganised/hectic for my taste. This is where Fear Inoculum is different. It's a relatively calm record (by Tool standards) which gives some of thier other qualities some more space to breathe.

If you liked Sundgarden/Pearl Jam in the day, you should really check out the Alice in Chains. I think it's their best work to date despite having to re-jig the vocalists and the recording itself sounds like a million bucks. It's probably the best sounding record I have.

I’ve got Dirt by Alice In Chains but haven’t heard anything with the new vocalists. I’ll certainly give it a blast though as well as the Tool album (tbh I think that I might only have heard Lateralus). I saw Pearl Jam at Wembley but to be honest it could have been a tribute band as we were so far from the stage.

[Herlock Sholmes]

Yes, the Pavlov's Dog thing is a bit left-field, but I discovered them via a pal's way cooler older brother when I was a teenager in Germany.

I think they had a bit of a following there at the time.

Some of their other albums aren't of the same standard (although The Sound of the Bell is pretty good).

Yes, I was a big Zep fan growing up. When I was a child I thought Stairway to Heaven was the most profound thing EVER written and I have fond memories of driving round immediately after passing my driving test at 17 with Zep 3 (Whole Lotta Love etc) blaring out!!

Bauhaus re-form and tour every so often.

I saw the full line up around 20 years ago.

Now it's often just Peter Murphy on his own, which isn't quite the same but still pretty good.

St Vincent is kind of art school pop with a bit of electro. She's extremely cool and very talented.

Phoenix are v poppy and funky (pretty French boys. Say no more!!)

I remember Pete Murphy doing a tv advert for Maxell tapes.

[GBinOz]

Nothing wrong with your choices at all. But come on George where are the Aussie bands?

Hi Herlock,

Aussie bands?? I was once asked if I knew any Aussie bands, and I replied that I'd heard of the "Inks", not knowing that it was pronounced "in excess". The Bee Gees are considered to be Aussie, even though they were born in the UK. My step daughter likes to play AC/DC....I found that the only thing worse than having to endure their cacophonous infernal racket on CD was trying to maintain a straight face while twitching my way through one of their music videos.

Lewis C has pointed out that the subject is Albums. Back in the days of Vinyl we would buy a record, transpose its contents to tape, and then archive the record in a sealed plastic sleeve. So I pulled out my collection of once played vinyl records, and have listed some favourites.

Bringing It All Back Home - Dylan
John Wesley Harding - Dylan
Nashville Skyline - Dylan
Greatest Hits - Diana Ross
Greatest Hits - Donovan
Guilty - Streisand and Barry Gibb
Tea for the Tillerman - Cat Stevens
Teaser and the Firecat - Cat Stevens
Footsteps in the Dark - Cat Stevens
Greatest Hits Etc - Paul Simon
Joan Baez Vol 2
Joan Baez/5
American Pie - Don McLean
Alice's Restuarant - Arlo Guthrie
Arlo - Arlo Guthrie
Carole Bayer Sager (First Album)
Carole Bayer Sager...Too
Sometimes Late at Night - Carole Bayer Sager
Spirits Having Flown - The Bee Gees
The Ultimate Bee Gees - The Bee Gees

So that's my 20 "pop" favourites. Nerd city I know, but there it is.

Cheers, George

[Christian]

Good selection Christian. Looks like the 60’s and the 80’s/90’s are your eras. Good to see the Yardbirds, the Small Faces and Manfred Mann getting a mention.

Definitely H
i do collect 60s British r&b 45s and DJ !! Ran many Mod clubs over the years

[Holmes' Idiot Brother]

Very interesting and eclectic choices! Here are my favorites, also in no particular order (if I can name 20, as my taste in music is pretty narrow):

Astral Weeks by Van Morrison

Moondance by Van Morrison

Live at The Cook County Jail by B.B. King

Waking Hours by del Amitri

Blonde on Blonde by Bob Dylan

Tigerlilly by Natalie Merchant

The Velvet Underground and Nico by same

American Beauty by The Grateful Dead

Bayou Country by Creedence Clearwater Revival

Small Change by Tom Waits

Time of No Reply by Nick Drake

Every Picture Tells A Story by Rod Stewart

Move It On Over by George Thorogood & The Destroyers

Bat Out Of Hell by Meatloaf

Jesus Christ Superstar (Motion Picture Soundtrack)

The Band by The Band

The Last Waltz by The Band & Various Artists

Rock-N-Roll Gumbo by Professor Longhair

Promising Traveler by New Potato Caboose

[Herlock Sholmes]

Hi Herlock,

Aussie bands?? I was once asked if I knew any Aussie bands, and I replied that I'd heard of the "Inks", not knowing that it was pronounced "in excess". The Bee Gees are considered to be Aussie, even though they were born in the UK. My step daughter likes to play AC/DC....I found that the only thing worse than having to endure their cacophonous infernal racket on CD was trying to maintain a straight face while twitching my way through one of their music videos.

Lewis C has pointed out that the subject is Albums. Back in the days of Vinyl we would buy a record, transpose its contents to tape, and then archive the record in a sealed plastic sleeve. So I pulled out my collection of once played vinyl records, and have listed some favourites.

Bringing It All Back Home - Dylan
John Wesley Harding - Dylan
Nashville Skyline - Dylan
Greatest Hits - Diana Ross
Greatest Hits - Donovan
Guilty - Streisand and Barry Gibb
Tea for the Tillerman - Cat Stevens
Teaser and the Firecat - Cat Stevens
Footsteps in the Dark - Cat Stevens
Greatest Hits Etc - Paul Simon
Joan Baez Vol 2
Joan Baez/5
American Pie - Don McLean
Alice's Restuarant - Arlo Guthrie
Arlo - Arlo Guthrie
Carole Bayer Sager (First Album)
Carole Bayer Sager...Too
Sometimes Late at Night - Carole Bayer Sager
Spirits Having Flown - The Bee Gees
The Ultimate Bee Gees - The Bee Gees

So that's my 20 "pop" favourites. Nerd city I know, but there it is.

Cheers, George

Some great choices there George. I’ll never complain of Dylan being added and it’s good that you’ve added some of the lesser known ones. Good to see Cat Steven’s, Donovan and Joan Baez getting a spot too.

[Herlock Sholmes]

Very interesting and eclectic choices! Here are my favorites, also in no particular order (if I can name 20, as my taste in music is pretty narrow):

Astral Weeks by Van Morrison

Moondance by Van Morrison

Live at The Cook County Jail by B.B. King

Waking Hours by del Amitri

Blonde on Blonde by Bob Dylan

Tigerlilly by Natalie Merchant

The Velvet Underground and Nico by same

American Beauty by The Grateful Dead

Bayou Country by Creedence Clearwater Revival

Small Change by Tom Waits

Time of No Reply by Nick Drake

Every Picture Tells A Story by Rod Stewart

Move It On Over by George Thorogood & The Destroyers

Bat Out Of Hell by Meatloaf

Jesus Christ Superstar (Motion Picture Soundtrack)

The Band by The Band

The Last Waltz by The Band & Various Artists

Rock-N-Roll Gumbo by Professor Longhair

Promising Traveler by New Potato Caboose

Like it. Another two to add to my ‘check them out’ list - Professor Longhair and New Potato Caboose. The Grateful Dead, Tom Waits and Nick Drake certain deserve to be around on top twenty’s.

Im surprised that Neil Young hasn’t made anyone’s list yet?

Is that Jesus Christ Superstar the one that I have. The original one with Ian Gillan from Deep Purple playing Jesus?

[Lewis C]

Two more bands that I wish I’d have fitted into my list are Steely Dan and Supertramp.

Pretzel Logic and Aja might have made my list if it were a top 100 list. I don't mean that as weak praise, because I think that there are a lot more than 100 great albums.

[Lewis C]

Hi Herlock,

Aussie bands?? I was once asked if I knew any Aussie bands, and I replied that I'd heard of the "Inks", not knowing that it was pronounced "in excess". The Bee Gees are considered to be Aussie, even though they were born in the UK. My step daughter likes to play AC/DC....I found that the only thing worse than having to endure their cacophonous infernal racket on CD was trying to maintain a straight face while twitching my way through one of their music videos.

Lewis C has pointed out that the subject is Albums. Back in the days of Vinyl we would buy a record, transpose its contents to tape, and then archive the record in a sealed plastic sleeve. So I pulled out my collection of once played vinyl records, and have listed some favourites.

Bringing It All Back Home - Dylan
John Wesley Harding - Dylan
Nashville Skyline - Dylan
Greatest Hits - Diana Ross
Greatest Hits - Donovan
Guilty - Streisand and Barry Gibb
Tea for the Tillerman - Cat Stevens
Teaser and the Firecat - Cat Stevens
Footsteps in the Dark - Cat Stevens
Greatest Hits Etc - Paul Simon
Joan Baez Vol 2
Joan Baez/5
American Pie - Don McLean
Alice's Restuarant - Arlo Guthrie
Arlo - Arlo Guthrie
Carole Bayer Sager (First Album)
Carole Bayer Sager...Too
Sometimes Late at Night - Carole Bayer Sager
Spirits Having Flown - The Bee Gees
The Ultimate Bee Gees - The Bee Gees

So that's my 20 "pop" favourites. Nerd city I know, but there it is.

Cheers, George

Hi George,

When it comes to "pop" albums, it seems that your tastes generally go toward folk influenced singer/songwriter music. I like some of that type of music too. I listed 2 Dylan albums, and you listed my 3rd favorite Dylan album, Bringing It All Back Home. Another folk influenced artist that I like is Richard Thompson. He made some fine albums with his wife Linda, then they got divorced, and he made more fine albums as a solo artist. He's different in that he's English folk rock, where most folk rock is influenced by American folk. For anyone interested in checking him out, his last album with Linda, Shoot Out the Lights, is probably the best place to start.

I'm with you on AC/DC. Others talked about Queen, U2, and The Police as bands that others love that they don't care for, but for me, AC/DC is that band, though I'm not that big on Queen either. U2 and The Police both have songs that I like.

An Aussie band that I like but that I haven't listened to as much as I intend to is The Go-Betweens.

[Herlock Sholmes]

Another band that it grieved me to leave out - Dead Can Dance. A band I never managed to get to see.

A future thread perhaps - bands/artists that we wish we could have seen.

[Lewis C]

Very interesting and eclectic choices! Here are my favorites, also in no particular order (if I can name 20, as my taste in music is pretty narrow):

Astral Weeks by Van Morrison

Moondance by Van Morrison

Live at The Cook County Jail by B.B. King

Waking Hours by del Amitri

Blonde on Blonde by Bob Dylan

Tigerlilly by Natalie Merchant

The Velvet Underground and Nico by same

American Beauty by The Grateful Dead

Bayou Country by Creedence Clearwater Revival

Small Change by Tom Waits

Time of No Reply by Nick Drake

Every Picture Tells A Story by Rod Stewart

Move It On Over by George Thorogood & The Destroyers

Bat Out Of Hell by Meatloaf

Jesus Christ Superstar (Motion Picture Soundtrack)

The Band by The Band

The Last Waltz by The Band & Various Artists

Rock-N-Roll Gumbo by Professor Longhair

Promising Traveler by New Potato Caboose

Hi HIB,

Your list might be the closest to mine of any posted, as we both listed Blonde on Blonde, The Band, and Moondance. Others that you listed that I really like are Astral Weeks, VU & Nico, American Beauty, and Every Picture Tells a Story. I like CCR too, though my favorites by them are Willy & the Poor Boys and Cosmos Factory.

[Lewis C]

Like it. Another two to add to my ‘check them out’ list - Professor Longhair and New Potato Caboose. The Grateful Dead, Tom Waits and Nick Drake certain deserve to be around on top twenty’s.

Im surprised that Neil Young hasn’t made anyone’s list yet?

Is that Jesus Christ Superstar the one that I have. The original one with Ian Gillan from Deep Purple playing Jesus?

Herlock, I'm a Neil Young fan, but he didn't make any one album that I like well enough to put in my top 20. He does have several albums that I think are excellent, however, with After the Gold Rush and Rust Never Sleeps probably my 2 favorites, and Zuma, Comes a Time, and Ragged Glory not far behind.

[Linotte]

Off the top of my head:

David Bowie, Ziggy Stardust
Fleetwood Mac, Rumours and The Dance
Adele, 25

[Holmes' Idiot Brother]

Pretzel Logic and Aja might have made my list if it were a top 100 list. I don't mean that as weak praise, because I think that there are a lot more than 100 great albums.

Agreed! These are the albums I have listened to for over 30 years, which comfort and inspire me. There are sooooo many more that deserve listing.