What is the greatest album you've ever heard?

[Gravitycollapse]

This is a really hard question for me. So I'll give the top 5:

OK Computer- Radiohead


Dark Side of the Moon- Pink Floyd


In Rainbows- Radiohead


The Suburbs- Arcade Fire


IV-Led Zeppelin

[aaaaaa5a]

1. Phil Collins/Genesis............ No Jacket Required. nt

[OffWithTheirHeads]

2. Herbie Mann at the Village Gate. 1964

Still play it occasionaly.

Crosby Stills Nash and Young and anything by Simon and Garfunkle.

[zappaman]

3. Agree on Dark Side

Would add in MY BLOODY VALENTINE-Loveless and NEVER MIND THE BOLLOCKS, IT'S THE SEX PISTOLS.

[Gravitycollapse]

5. Loveless would be pretty high up for me as well.

[nomorenomore08]

63. Thirded. It would certainly be in my top 40-50, easily.

nt

[Frank Cannon]

97. I wish I could forget what Dark Side of the Moon sounds like.

Because I'll never forget going to a friend's house as a kid and experiencing it for the very first time. (On a quad system!) I was absolutely blown away.

I know it sounds like hyperbole to say that a record album changed your life, but that one certainly did mine.

[In_The_Wind]

98. How did that album change your life, Frank ?

[zappaman]

99. I have it in 5.1

So on my system, you get that quad experience but even better!
They took some time to remix it for 5.1 and you can hear it.

[TrogL]

4. Pink FLoyd - The Wall

[RiffRandell]

34. I'm a p-rock girl but agree.

Amazing...I was in 4th grade when my brother bought it.

[Liberal Veteran]

6. Depeche Mode - Violator. REM - Fables of the Reconstruction.

And pretty much the entire Pink Floyd catalog.

On edit: The Carpenters - The Singles. (Yeah, I love Karen's vocals.)

[TexasTowelie]

26. I certainly like the first two choices you picked.

Some Pink Floyd joins the list also.

[Hotler]

7. Maynard Ferguson Live at Jimmy's

[mokawanis]

8. I'll go with Blood on the Tracks

also love Aladdin Sane, Dark Side of the Moon, Zep IV, and Exile on Main Street

[tavernier]

9. I can listen to Brown Dirt Cowboy

over and over.

And as much as I run from Jimmy Buffett (living in the Keys where his songs get beaten to death day in and day out), I am in love with Barometer Soup.

[LWolf]

10. There's no such thing.

There are simply too many great albums. I won't even get started; it would take too long.

[pipi_k]

12. My

thoughts as well.

And the older I get, the more difficult it becomes to single out even ten, let alone one.

[Llewlladdwr]

11. Led Zeppelin IV

If aliens were ever to land in my back yard and ask me what this rock-n-roll stuff was all about this is the album I'd hand them.

[Bertha Venation]

13. Madman Across the Water, and/or

Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy. Depends on my mood.

Different genre: Lux Aeterna, composer Morten Lauridsen, the Los Angeles Master Chorale and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, conductor Paul Salamunovich.

[ohiosmith]

14. Tapestry

[sadbear]

15. Strangers in the Night by UFO

Yes, essentially a greatest hits album (but it wasn't at the time), and a live album, but IMO, the greatest album I've ever heard.

[Aristus]

16. "Bloodletting" by Concrete Blonde.

Inspired by the writings of Anne Rice, and just "Goth" enough to have maybe not aged as well as their other albums; gritty, hard-edged rock from L.A.'s underworld. But one of the best I've ever heard.

Not a bad song on the album.

And the closer, "Tomorrow, Wendy", one of the best songs ever.

I've posted about my jaw-dropping first-listen before. But if you want, I'll tell it again.

[Spike89]

28. Yes! Loved it the first time I heard it

I'm a huge Elvis Costello fan and both My Aim is True and This Year's Model (his first two albums) remain my "go to" albums, but I started out loving about 1/2 those songs and over time the other half grew on me until I appreciated many of them more than the ones I loved initially.

With Concrete Blonde, virtually every song became a favorite the first time I heard it. I've been lucky enough to see them live--even if it was well past the band's peak (about 2001 or so)--and they are an excellent live band too.

[TuxedoKat]

40. Have you heard

him do a song called "She"? It was originally written by a French/Armenian singer songwriter, Charles Aznavour, but I really like Francesco Renga's version in Italian. It just sounds really good in that language.

Of course, Aznavour does a great job too:

[NightWatcher]

17. Pearl Jam- Ten. Rage Against The Machine- RATM, Pixies- Surfer Rosa

I'm also partial to Sleater Kinney- Dig Me Out. I can't listen to just one track.

[KG]

18. DSotM, Boston, Abraxas, from the Mars Hotel, Led Zep (1)

[AsahinaKimi]

19. Asakusa Jinta

Samples

[Populist_Prole]

20. As far as the first one to REALLY blow me away hearing it the first time: Van Halen ( debut album )

Best I ever heard all time? Can't do 'dat.

[nomorenomore08]

47. While I wouldn't give any VH album a perfect 10/10, I've listened to and loved them since preschool.

One of the first artists I can remember being "into" along with Tom Petty and Neil Young. All thanks to my youngest aunt and her boyfriend (now husband).

[Populist_Prole]

66. I wasn't giving it a perfect 10, or said it's the best

In my opinion, VH peaked early, and I have no use for their post 1980 stuff. Full disclosure though: I like my rock and roll HARD. In 1978, during the dark years between the proliferation of "corporate rock" and disco being in full bloom, the first VH album was a blazing energetic shot in the arm to rock. The same can and would be said for bands like the Ramones and the NWBHM bands like Judas Priest and Iron Maiden, though I did not yet "discover" them till a year or two later.

[nomorenomore08]

67. I enjoy the full spectrum, from softest (Simon & Garfunkel) to hardest (thrash and death metal).

As for VH, I honestly think all the DLR albums are really good, and even the Hagar ones have their moments - though that's kind of getting into guilty pleasure territory for me. And the one with Cherone was frickin' terrible.

[Mr.Bill]

21. Kind of Blue

Miles Davis

[tishaLA]

92. Yes, yes, and yes

[chknltl]

22. Yessongs is my favorite but

....'Greatest' it surely is not. I'm not sure I could pick a greatest album. Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon as has already been suggested would get my vote too I suppose.

[Squinch]

72. Yessongs was the first I ever bought.

[Dr Fate]

23. Too many to list.

This week I am digging a Townes Van Vandt live lp I found in the bargain bin. Also, the 3rd Gun Club LP.

All time faves? mebbe Chuck Berry's Greatest Hits or a Cramps one? depends on the week. Love the 2nd Buff. Springfield in mono for instance...

[nomorenomore08]

24. Shit, I don't know... maybe 'Blonde on Blonde'?

Honorable mentions:

'Let It Bleed'
'White Album'
'Abbey Road'
'Revolver'
'Beggar's Banquet'
'Highway 61'
'Exile on Main Street'
'Sgt. Pepper'
'Sticky Fingers'
'Ziggy Stardust'
'Blood on the Tracks'
'Bringing It All Back Home'
Doors - 'L.A. Woman'
'Rubber Soul'
Velvet Underground - 's/t' (3rd album)
Ramones - 's/t'
Ramones - 'Leave Home'
Stone Roses - 's/t'
Mazzy Star - 'So Tonight That I Might See'
'Time Out of Mind' (probably the best comeback album ever)
Jeff Buckley - 'Grace'
Husker Du - 'Zen Arcade'
R.E.M. - 'Murmur'
Replacements - 'Tim'
'London Calling'
Jesus and Mary Chain - 'Darklands'
Slayer - 'Reign in Blood'
Suffocation - 'Pierced From Within'
Black Sabbath - 'Paranoid'
Darkthrone - 'A Blaze in the Northern Sky'
Incantation - 'Mortal Throne of Nazarene'

So there you go, 32 albums out of the thousands I've heard in my life, that I would give a 10 out of 10, or at least seriously consider it... I've probably forgotten a couple though...

[nomorenomore08]

25. Forgot 'Zeppelin I' and 'The Queen Is Dead' (Smiths)!

[datasuspect]

27. zz top

eliminator

[Spike89]

29. For pure musical awe...Butterfield Blues Band's East-West

Back in the early 70s I got a used stereo system with a Sony reel-to-reel and a box of tapes full of jazz and blues. I "discovered" the Butterfield Blues Band and played that tape to death. Other gems in the box that I still listen to 40+ years later (on CD rather than reel-to-reel sadly) was Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks (Where's the Money), Leon Russell. and tons of Herbie Hancock.

[Eleanors38]

93. Still have East-West LP. And Do the Twist With Ray Charles!

The Charles album has studio recordings of What I Say, and live at Newport cuts. Amazing. I also have Russel's Carney LP, a real sleeper. Bo Diddley's "Go Bo Diddley" is as diverse a collection you'll find anywhere -- hisses with wear.

[Hong Kong Cavalier]

30. It's curious you mention OK Computer and In Rainbows...

They're actually supposed to be mixed together.

http://puddlegum.net/radiohead-01-and-10/

1. Airbag (OK Computer)
2. 15 Step (In Rainbows)
3. Paranoid Android (OK Computer)
4. Bodysnatchers (In Rainbows)
5. Subterranean Homesick Alien (OK Computer)
6. Nude (In Rainbows)
7. Exit Music (For A Film) (OK Computer)
8. Weird Fishes/Arpeggi (In Rainbows)
9. Let Down (OK Computer)
10. All I Need (In Rainbows)
11. Karma Police (OK Computer)
12. Fitter Happier (OK Computer)
13. Faust Arp (In Rainbows)
14. Electioneering (OK Computer)
15. Reckoner (In Rainbows)
16. Climbing Up The Walls (OK Computer)
17. House Of Cards (In Rainbows)
18. No Surprises (OK Computer)
19. Jigsaw Falling Into Place (In Rainbows)
20. Lucky (OK Computer)
21. Videotape (In Rainbows)
22. The Tourist (OK Computer)

[ok_cpu]

90. Glad you posted this - it's interesting.

Never read that before. I'll have to give it a try.

[fizzgig]

31. still going with the cure's disintegration

although cheap thrills from big brother and holding company still blows my socks off every time

[nomorenomore08]

48. 'Disintegration' is great. Probably their/his best album.

And you can't go wrong with Janis either.

[zappaman]

51. Forgot about Disintegration!

Definitely in my top 5!

[WilliamPitt]

32. "Kind of Blue," Miles Davis

There is no other answer.

[First Speaker]

35. I'd have to agree...

...sometimes recognizing the obvious is what you need to do. *But*. I'm not 100% convinced that "Kind of Blue" is *better* than "Miles Smiles" or "Filles de Kilimanjaro". It's basically a three-way tie in my mind, though if you put a gun to my head, I'd say "Kind of Blue" is first among equals...

[mike_c]

33. Bodeans, Live at the Pabst....

Nothing innovative, just the Bodeans performing their usual song list. But it's one of the best live recordings I own and it's one that gets played a lot around here.

RIP Bodeans.

[nomorenomore08]

50. I don't think I know any Bodeans other than "Good Things." Song suggestions, perhaps?

[Arugula Latte]

60. You might have heard this one ... Fadeaway:

[Initech]

36. Zappa & The Mothers Of Invention - Freak Out!

Remains my all time fav.



The rest of my all time top 10:

[joeybee12]

37. Nobody will agree with mine...Bad Girls by Donna Summer and So by Peter Gabriel...nt

[rppper]

53. So is still a great album!

Without a doubt Gabriel made two of the trippiest videos of all time!

"And my heaven will be a big heaven, and I will walk through the front door..." Used to be my sig line...

[Squinch]

73. I'd put So on the list.

[MrSlayer]

38. Reign in Blood.

The quintessential Thrash Metal album. I listen to it all the time, literally all the time. It plays in an endless loop in my head. This is the epitome of Heavy Metal. You'd have to go back to Black Sabbath's invention of the genre to find a bigger game changer.

[nomorenomore08]

54. One of the best metal albums ever for sure. I nearly wore out the CD when I was 15/16.

Some other thrash classics:
Kreator - 'Pleasure to Kill' and 'Coma of Souls'
Sodom - 'In the Sign of Evil,' 'Persecution Mania,' 'Agent Orange'
Sepultura - 'Beneath the Remains'
Epidemic - 'Decameron' (although this one is more death metal-ish)

[Taverner]

39. Shit, I gotta choose just ONE?

Recently, it's this:



But in the past it has been:



















and more

[nomorenomore08]

55. Nothing wrong any of those choices. You have taste!

[Flashmann]

41. Subject to change and ridicule

Jojo Gunne "Bite Down Hard"

Spirit "Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus"

Beatles "Abbey Road"

Joe Walsh/James Gang "James Gang Rides Again"

Lonnie Brooks/Long John Hunter/Phillip Walker "Lone Star Shootout"

Those and another several hundred others somehow fit into my top five...

[DFW]

42. Ice Water by Leo Kottke, but VERY closely followed by a twenty way tie including:

Younger Than Yesterday (the Byrds)

Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus (Spirit)--and I see I'm not alone there

Revolver (the Beatles)--not alone there, either

Scenes from The South Side (Bruce Hornsby)

Strange Days (the Doors)

Live At The Quick (Bela Fleck)

Luck Of The Draw (Bonnie Raitt)

anything by Enya

Wind Tegen (Wolverlei)--I know, I know: who? WTF? If you ever get to hear it, you'll know what I mean

The Stranger (Billy Joel) (so sue me)

Are You Experienced (Jimi Hendrix)--very underrated and overlooked, I always thought

Disraeli Gears (Cream)

[Zorro]

70. We're on the same wavelength

but I think Kottke's 6 an 12 String Guitar (the one with the armadillo cover) is his masterpiece. It's an extraordinary display of acoustic guitar talent.

[DFW]

71. Armadillo was groundbreaking

But Ice Water was to Armadillo with Kottke what Revolver was to Rubber Soul with the Beatles.

I think the one presaged the other.

[lastlib]

43. the first Boston album.....

would be on my list

Desperado - Eagles
Tommy - The Who
Dark Side... - Pink Floyd
every Moody Blues Album through Seventh Sojourn
the first four LedZep albums plus Houses of the Holy
Hemispheres - Rush ("Dionysus thought me mad!&quot

[duuser5822]

44. Physical Graffiti by Led Zep

Kashmir is my favorite song on that album. Sublime....

[rppper]

49. Agreed on sublime!

I haven't put 40oz to freedom down in 15 years! It's impossible to pick any one or any one genre, but here are a few of my favorites.....

Nevermind:nirvana

Signals:rush

welcome to the pleasure dome: Frankie goes to Hollywood

Sweet oblivion:the screaming trees

Black sabbath:black sabbath

Screaming for vengeance:judas priest

Badmotorfinger:soundgarden

[OriginalGeek]

45. Nochance of picking greatest but

albums I love every song on and enjoy listening to from start to finish:

All of Led Zeppelin's catalog though Presence is my favorite
Rush: 2112, Hemispheres, Moving Pictures, A Farewell To Kings, Signals and Permanent Waves
Morbid Angel: Altars of Madness
Carcass: Symphonies of Sickness
Pungent Stench: For God Your Soul...For Me Your Flesh
Bathory: Blood Fire Death
King Diamond: Abigail
John Coltrane: A Love Supreme
Entombed: Left Hand Path
Pestilence: Consuming Impulse
Terrorizer: World Downfall
Napalm Death: Everything they've ever done.
Bolt Thrower: Pretty much everything from them too but especially War Master and Realm of Chaos
Death: Leprosy
Iron Maiden: Piece of Mind, Powerslave
Lykathea Aflame: Elvenfris
The GZA: Liquid Swords
Pink Floyd: the whole run from Dark Side though The Wall
Robert Plant: Principle of Moments and Pictures at Eleven
Motörhead: Orgasmatron

[nomorenomore08]

56. Morbid Angel, Bathory, Entombed, Pestilence, Terrorizer, ND, Death, Maiden, GZA, Motorhead...

Great choices! You definitely have taste.

[graham4anything]

46. Here are the ones I listen to all the time Elton/Lana Del Rey/ plus...

Elton John -Captain Fantastic and the Browndirt Cowboy(1975)
Lana Del Rey Paradise (2013)
Lana Del Rey Born to Die (2012)
Johnny Cash-the American 4 with Hurt and First time ever I saw your face and We'll meet again
Edith Piaf-compilation cd plus also a couple of live ones
Beatles- Blue album (being that I was singles(45s) only in the 60s, the Blue is their greatest hits from the later period)
Herb Alpert-Whipped Cream (1966?)
Showboat-the Howard Keel version of the musical
Bing Crosby-boxed set
Sinatra-boxed set
Doowop 50s-boxed set(especially the Platters and Flamingos and Five Satins)
Willie Nelson-Red headed stranger
Duke Ellington-box set
Bernard Herrmann-The soundtrack to the film "Obsession"
Petula Clark-greatest Hits
Kate Bush-first album with the original Wuthering Heights
Louis Armstrong-boxed set
Gilbert O'Sullivan-I'm a writer not a fighter
Richard Harris-A Tramp Shining
Bing Crosby-Christmas compilation inc. the duet with Bowie
White Christmas soundtrack(especially in the heat of the summer)
Neil Diamond-the one with "If you know what I mean" and Beautiful Noise.
Simon and Garfunkel-all of their albums, and Garfunkel's first solo album

forgot to add-
Elvis Costello- his first LP and Spike and the country one
Elvis Presley-his later 60s and early 70s, and all the other singles, too many to list.

(again with the 50s/60s artists-I listened to singles not full albums on them (like Dylan/Stones...if I had to pick a Dylan lp,
it would be the one with Hurricane.

[nomorenomore08]

57. "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" is great. And some other good choices like Cash, Willie Nelson, S&G.

Not so big on the Bing Crosby kind of stuff, but oh well...

[Auggie]

52. Class Clown, by George Carlin

[Initech]

82. Shit piss fuck cunt cocksucker motherfucker and tits

And tits doesn't belong on the list! It sounds like a nickname!

[madrchsod]

58. bo diddly is a gunslinger

almond brothers..live fillmore east/west

sargent pepper`s

13th floor elevators..easter everywhere

b.b. king ...indianola mississippi seeds

[Tom Ripley]

59. "Yeah yeah yeah uh huh!"

[Arugula Latte]

61. Love this one: "Goodbye, Jumbo" by World Party

And this is a brilliant compilation album by Echo and the Bunnymen -- "Songs to Learn and Sing"

http://www.amazon.com/Songs-Learn-Sing-Echo-Bunnymen/dp/B001EDOC0G

And this is an amazing album, the pre-megafame INXS -- lots of talent on display:

http://www.amazon.com/Shabooh-Shoobah-INXS/dp/B000002JJY

And this is a masterpiece, a classic -- "Avalon" by Roxy Music

http://www.amazon.com/Avalon-Roxy-Music/dp/B0000256VK

[OmahaBlueDog]

62. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

I'm a huge Zep fan, and both the fourth album and Physical Graffiti are awesome works.

The Eagles "Hotel California" doesn't have a bad song on it.

[BlueJazz]

64. Kind of Blue, Jazz Samba, Maynard and many more.

Depends on the mood and who's there.

[MrMickeysMom]

65. This is a hard one to beat...

[Doc_Technical]

68. The Who- Quadrophenia

[opiate69]

69. in no particular order:

Tool AEnima
Black Sabbath Sabotage
Jethro Tull Thick as a Brick
Beatles Sargent Pepper
Pink Floyd The Wall
Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon
Grateful Dead American Beauty
Frank Zappa Overnite Sensation
Ozzy Osbourne Diary of a Madman

[nomorenomore08]

83. Good choices! 'Sabotage' and 'Diary' are underrated.

nt

[Squinch]

74. I'm going to say this and duck: Tom Waits, Heart of Saturday Night.

You either love him or hate him.

[graham4anything]

76. Tom Traubert's Blues and The Piano must be drinking both in character.

[likesmountains 52]

78. Love!

&list=PLA947736F8FDC6BFD

I remember the day I brought this album home like it was yesterday ...

[fishwax]

96. yeah, good choice -- I remember the day I bought that as well

Good stuff.

[likesmountains 52]

79. or this

&list=PLA947736F8FDC6BFD

[underpants]

75. OK Computer or "Lolita Nation" by Game Theory

Full Lolita Nation album on You Tube

[dawg]

77. This one is my favorite ....

[vanlassie]

80. Astral Weeks. Van Morrison

It received critical acclaim immediately upon its first release and subsequently has been placed on numerous widely circulated lists of best albums of all time. In 1987, as part of their 20th anniversary, Rolling Stone magazine ranked it number seven on "The 100 Best Albums of the Last Twenty Years". The 1995 Mojo list of the 100 Best Albums ranked it as number two, and it ranked nineteenth on Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time in 2003. Astral Weeks became and remains a cult favourite, despite the fact that it failed to achieve significant mainstream sales success for decades; after 33 years, it finally achieved gold in 2001.[2] Music historian Andrew Ford compared its musical sophistication and commercial success to classical music – "neither instant nor evanescent: Astral Weeks will sell as many copies this year as it did in 1968 and has every year in between".[3]

Forty years after the release, Morrison performed the songs on the album live during two concerts at the Hollywood Bowl in November 2008. Other concerts followed with a CD and DVD from the Hollywood Bowl performances released in 2009. Warner Bros. Records had not promoted the album with touring when it was released in 1968.

[fishwax]

95. good choice

I was searching through the thread to see if anyone had mentioned Van Morrison. I figured someone might mention Moondance, which is a good album and which I think of first because it has Into the Mystic, which automatically puts it in the running. The A-side is as good as any album side ever, I think. But the second half isn't as good. So as far as albums go, I'd agree with you on Astral Weeks as a Van Morrison representative.

If the subject were "under-appreciated albums," I'd offer Veedon Fleece as the Van Morrison entry.

[Broken_Hero]

81. Its a two way tie for me...

The Wall by Pink Floyd

Master of Puppets by Metallica

[Kennah]

84. The Rutles - Finchley Road

[Art_from_Ark]

85. The Album of the Soundtrack of the Trailer of the Film

of Monty Python and the Holy Grail (Executive Version)

[burnodo]

86. Dire Straits - Brothers In Arms

is one of my favorite albums

[YeahSureRight]

87. Many good ones mentioned so I will add a few

Crime of the Century - Supertramp

Frampton Comes Alive - Peter Frampton

London Calling - The Clash

Never Mind the Bullocks - Sex Pistols

Abraxas - Santana

I will add more as I think of them

[Orsino]

88. Who's Next

[PassingFair]

89. Can't Buy A Thrill

Still love every song on it.

[vanlassie]

91. I am occasionally re-blown away by Joni Mitchell's Blue.

[fishwax]

94. I'll say the Sunset Tree, by the Mountain Goats, because nobody else has

Truthfully, my top ten list would probably change on a day-by-day basis, but The Sunset Tree, DSotM, and Highway 61 would probably be on it most days.