ur favorite Albums that last the test of time, and why (1 Viewer)

[Mark Murphy]

For me:

Tool-anything

Alice in Chains-Jar of Flies

Pearl Jam-Ten

Radiohead-The Bends, Ok Computer

Nirvana-Unplugged in New York

Led Zeppelin-anything

EPMD-Strictly Business

Run DMC-Run DMC

Eric B. & Rakim-Paid in Full

A Tribe Called Quest-Low End Theory, Midnite Marauders

Dr. Dre-The Chronic

Nas-Illmatic

Bad Company-10 from 6 (I know its a best of, but I love it anyway)

Mobb Deep-The Infamous

Fleetwood Mac-Rumours

The Cars-The Cars

I grew up on Hip Hop and "discovered" rock in college but these are the ones that I have at close proximity at all times.

 

[Brook K]

I don't really listen anymore to the stuff I listened to as a kid or even in high school other than The Beatles. But now 10 years removed from college, I'm still listening to the same stuff I was then with a few additions here or there, but since about '99 I've probably bought maybe 1 CD a year.

The Beatles - Everything
Yes - The Yes Album, Tales From Topographic Oceans, Relayer
Depeche Mode - Black Celebration, Depeche Mode 101
The Cure - Disintegration
The Smiths - Louder Than Bombs, Meat Is Murder
Bob Dylan - Blood On The Tracks
John Coltrane - A Love Supreme
Miles Davis - Kind of Blue, Miles Smiles
Fleetwood Mac - Rumours
The Velvet Underground and Nico
Frank Sinatra - Live in Australia with the Red Norvo Band
U2 - War
Erasure - Innocents
The Doors - In Concert (Jim was at his very best in front of a live audience)

 

[Matt_P]

Radiohead - Kid A

 

[Paul Bartlet]

sitting here reading over all the great albums listed here.
Remembered I had ordered about 10-15 CDs about 2-3 months ago. Put them in desk, and forgot about two in there (was opening 1-2 each weekend).
Came across Elton John "Madman across the Water" and Steely Dan "Gaucho".

Madman playing now, great album. 70's Elton John is great.

Saw U2 listed, realized I had forgotten one I still enjoy.

U2 - The Joshua Tree

Couple more I'll list, but are normally only played when Daddy has the house to himself (which is not often), two kids and wife, can't blast'em whenever I want anymore. But these ones are Loud or not at all -

Yes- The Yes Album
Metallica - Load and ReLoad
Sammy Hagar - self titled
Ozzy Osbourne - Blizzard of Ozz
Queen - The Miracle
Rush - 2112

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

Man I must be really old....the Beatles broke up when I was in college.

Traffic - John Barlycorn Must Die
Fairport Convention - Liege & Leif, Full House
Simon & Garfunkle - Wednesday Morning 3 AM (leaves out the Phil Spector treatment)

 

[Jon_Are]

This is funny - I just heard this on the radio the other day, the first time I've heard it (or, actually listened to it) in years, and I was surprised. "Bites the Dust" rocks, particularly the vocals.

Anyway, I could easily rattle off a couple of dozen albums off of the top of my head, but I'm going to restrain myself and list just three, in the hopes that you'll really pay attention .

1. Elvis Costello - Imperial Bedroom
2. Bob Dylan - Blonde on Blonde
3. REM - Automatic for the People

These are, in my mind, three absolutely perfect albums of which I will never tire.

Jon

 

[Paul Bartlet]

I paid attention


Queen - Another One Bites the Dust
I shouldn't asume everyone knows what I'm talking about. It's from the the Album The Game. At the time of release (79-80), it fit into many radio stations mix of music. I'm pretty sure you could find this tune playing on near every channel all the time. When one station finished it, another was beginning/in the middle of. It was all over the place.
It was Queen, so it was Rock, but it sounded like Disco (at the time) so it was Disco, but it fit into the AM channel scene too, hell, I think gospel, country and western took it on, it was everywhere.
So, hope that explains the comment.

 

[AndyVX]

Let's see... I'm 23 now, so while I don't have that many years under my belt, there have been a few albums that have really shaped my musical tastes.

The two albums that got me started down the rock music path were:
The Beatles - Sgt Pepper
Zeppelin - IV

You can thank my dad for those two. It was those two albums where I discovered music at a very young age. The first album that got me to break away from my dad's music collection and start my own was:
Nirvana - Nevermind

I remember being at a friends house when the Smells Like Teen Spirit video came on. As soon as I got home, I begged my mom for some money to buy the Nevermind album.

 

[Angelo.M]

The Beatles
Music from Big Pink The Band
Blood on the Tracks Dylan
Born to Run Springsteen
Led Zeppelin (IV)

Blue Joni Mitchell
L.A. Woman The Doors
The Unforgettable Fire U2
Remain in Light Talking Heads
The Allman Brothers Band at Fillmore East

Kind of Blue Miles Davis
A Love Supreme John Coltrane
Mingus Ah Um Charles Mingus
Time Out Dave Brubeck
Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1/Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 2 Van Cliburn
Turandot Pavarotti, Sutherland, Mehta, LPO

As far as "greatest hits" albums, I think it's legitimate to include them for artists who recorded prior to the "album era" and/or who don't have a true album in their discography, e.g. Robert Johnson, Chuck Berry, etc.

 

[John Alvarez]

.38 Special - Wild eyed Southern Boy
Lynyrd Skynyrd - Pronounced
Molly Hatchet - Moly Hatchet
ZZ Top - Tres Hombres
The Outlaws - The Outlaws

Had my southern side going this morning for Ya'll....

 

[Alex Shk]

I wish I had I had your mental capabilities. If I could list 50 albums that never failed, it wouldn't be a tough call.

 

[Paul Bartlet]

This says it best. I can word it different, but not as well. This is my feelings as well for "Best Of" albums.
A "Best Of" can't possibly fit "Albums that last the test of Time", as they are put together from albums from a span of years/albums. And as Tom pointed out, they may not even be in the bands interests, more the record labels.

 

[Jon_Are]

Oh, I understood your comment completely, Paul. That song became an embarrassment - particularly in my area when the Detroit Lions took it upon themselves to take "overplay" to another level when they enjoyed a modest winning streak.

The intention of my response was to convey my surprise at how much I enjoyed hearing it the other day, and my conclusion that it ain't such a bad tune after all. Not that it's anything near Queen's best, but I think it gets a bad rap.

C'mon, sing it with me...

...and another one gone, and another one gone, and another.......ahhhh, nevermind.

Jon
(wondering how I forgot Joni Mitchell's Blue.

 

[Angelo.M]

This is entirely unfair to artists who produced no true albums, and included in this group are many of the most important, pionnering artists in rock, blues, folk, jazz, etc.

I'm sorry that you're not familiar with my examples, but, to use one of them, Chuck Berry didn't record any proper "albums." Every existing Chuck Berry "album" is a compliation of singles or other recordings or a live album. We're talking about, arguably (I'm being diplomatic, it's not arguable at all), one of the most important artists in the history of rock, so to make any of his "Greatest Hits" ineligible (e.g., The Great Twenty-eight, on Chess) is to, in a way, dismiss some of the most important, pioneering singles in the rock era.

And if you've heard the Beatles, the Stones, Hendrix, Clapton--check that, just about anyone who's recorded a rock tune--then you know Chuck Berry.

Hopefully, another of the elderly members of HTF will chime in here, agree or not. Now where did I leave my Geritol?

/rant

 

[Jason Kirkpatri]

Judas Priest knows Chuck Berry Goes to show you how far his influence is.

 

[Chris]

The Beatles - Abbey Road As near to perfect as any album I ever purchased. While I love all of the Beatles albums, Abbey Road & Sgt. Peppers always pop to my head. But it's Abbey Road that keeps me coming back. Audacious storytelling with an album that has a continous flow from beginning to end. Beautiful, joyful and sorrowful all at the same time, Abbey Road has, as it's conclusion one of the greatest medleys ever put together on an album.

Tori Amos - Under the Pink, Australian EP Under the Pink really stands out for me as one of those "different kind" of albums. From upbeat tracks about down subjects "Cornflake Girl" to self doubt; "Under the Pink" was a magnificent follow up to "Little Earthquakes". But what repeatedly draws me back to "Under the Pink" Australian Edition, is the inclusion of a great number of B-sides, and outtakes that would make most artists blush. One of the greatest "gimmies" to the fans, the Australian Edition of Under the Pink expanded so well on the story of UtP that it's often revisted in my collection.

They Might Be Giants - Flood I think a lot of people riff on TMBG and put them in the same category as Dr. Demento, etc. But TMBG's album "Flood" was a breakthrough for fans of "Lincoln". "Flood" is an album full of songs that seemingly never age; from "Birdhouse in Your Soul" to "Particle Man" "Your Racist Friend" etc. "Flood" took complex ideas and managed to say "can you look at the world in a different way?" I sometimes think that music that is "too different" gets dismissed, but the writing and music within "Flood" is well written, joyous and provides everything I want from music - an album I could listen to numerous times and find something different in it each time. "Flood" sounds much different to me now, 14 years after I heard it the first time.. but watching kid's eyes light up as they listen, and adults who get the message.. it's worth picking up. I was really tempted to chose "Lincoln" which I find myself loving more each time, but I find from a music standpoint the slicker "Flood" still sticks in my mind. Not for the radio hits, but for the songs that pepper the album and make it unique.

Deep Forest - Comparosa A unique world beat and style that is all it's own. Mixing music by so many different cultures, Comparosa is one of the most joyous albums I own. It's also an album I don't allow in my car because listening to it, I find that I speed like a bandit with it on There are a great number of people who prefer Deep Forest's early works of "Boheme" and "Deep Forest" which I also enjoy. But Comparosa, to me, strikes out and it truly different.

Paul Simon - Graceland From the title track on, Graceland has one of the best vocal melodies that Simon has put out. I've always been a Paul Simon fan, and I'll admit it, I loved "Songs of the Capeman" but Graceland is his modern work that made people stop saying "he's the guy behind "Bridge Over Troubled Water" and made his place in history.

Nine Inch Nails - Downward Spiral Ever really unhappy? I loved Pretty Hate Machine, but Downward Spiral did something completely differnet with the alternative genre. While people were wondering if they would go heavy metal or if NiN would turn into something else, Trent Reznor fashioned his own place by making an album that took them away from their Pretty Hate Machine roots. Sure, the hit "Closer" is on here, but songs like "Hurt" an "The Ruiner" "The Becoming" help flesh out the album.

Public Enemy - Fear of a Black Planet Easily the most controversial album in Rap at the time. Not controversial because of coochie lyrics or 2-Live-Crew esque reasons, which two many modern rappers fall into. Controversial because of the issues that the album delved into "911 is a Joke" "Fear of a Black Planet" "Burn Hollywood Burn" "Welcome to the Terrordome" .. Fear of a Black Planet has become a fixture in.. NFL football games as backbeats. But at the time it was released, the album controversially attacked the industry itself for everything from Oscar slights to handling of the issues. While I often found myself disagreeing with Chuck, he managed to put everything on the table, no holds barred. At the time he referred to the music of himself and others as "The Black Man's CNN" .. while rap didn't stay that kind of message oriented for long, Chuck D takes a place at the table of albums that changed the way I look at music.

 

[John Alvarez]

Tom Petty and The Heart Breakers - Damn the Torpedo's

 

[Angelo.M]

Graceland, while certainly a terrific album, by no means made Simon's "place in history"--it was already made. And anyone who only knew Simon before Graceland as "the guy behind BOTW" didn't really know very much about him to begin with.

 

[Zen Butler]

The Flaming Lips- The Soft Bulletin :

I couldn't picture the 90's without this band. This is a band that has aged so gracefully. "The Soft Bulletin" is close to my favorite album of the 90's. Cute, quirky and a surprisingly emotional album. Enhanced listening also adds to the experience.

Genius!

 

[Chris]

As much as I love Paul Simon - and I had every one of his albums, for most people, Simon was most famous for his collaborations with Garfunkel, and BOTW was the most famous of those. While I enjoyed Hearts & Bones, it didn't ignite the public. His 1970s releases, while successful (some very much so) also never remade his persona in the same way that Graceland did. (JMHO)