What Are Your Favorite Top 10 Albums Of All Time And Why?

[Nizar]

Many of us have our favorite albums, some have charted others not. No greatest hits or compilations to be included.

Here is my list to give you a start.

1. Elton John- Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. This album is like eating a five star meal at a fancy restaurant. Every track is great. This is Elton at his very Best. Four top 10 singles that rocked America. Candle in the Wind- Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Benny And The Jets- Saturday Night Is Alright For Fighting. Lyrically and vocally Elton and Bernie taupin at their finest writing. Not even any Beatles album can equal this.

2. Bob Dylan- Blood On The Tracks. The greatest lyrics ever to be put on an album. Dylan best album by far his vocals are superb here. Tracks like Tangled Up and blue, The idiot wind, You are a big girl now are brilliant. This is an album that puts my mind and senses at ease and at peace.

3. Pink Floyd- Dark Side Of The Moon. Musically and lyrically this is the greatest album of all time.

The music production is outstanding.

4. Supertramp- Breakfast In America. You want to have a course in songwriting, this album gives you all the clues. i I purchased this album on its first day of release, when I palyed it, it blew me away. I told my best friend that this album will take Supertramp to the top, He said you are joking, and it did. A worldwide number one hit.

Every track is great. Logical song-Breakfast In America Lord is it Mine. what a winner this album was.

5. Fleetwood Mac -Rumors. I gave this album a spin for weeks on end. It is addictive and lifting. What a great album this was.

6. Bruce Sringsteen- Born To Run. The Boss at his best, this album make you feel young and wild, a rebel without a cause. The only thing which upset me is the sound quality of recording, which could have been better with a better sound engineer.

7. David Bowie- Ziggy Stardust. Bowie at his very best Every track is amazing.

8. Carol King- Tapestry. The greatest album ever by a female artist. Many regards this album as a trully a classic and it is. Only one artist that came close to this album by a female ADELE 21.

9. Barry White- Stone Gon. You want a good relationship with your girl friend or wife? play them this alb um. It will make them feel romantic and easy going I gurantee. This album is love at its best. A sexy soul album. The Rolling stone Magazine put his Can't Get Enough album in the top 500 albums of all time. I strongly disagree, this album should have been the one.

10. Millie Jackson- Caught Up. You are probably asking yourself who is this??? well you want to hear the real Queen of Soul. This album is it. It went gold in the US and a grammy nominee. listen to that track of if loving you is wrong I don't wanna be right and much more.

[scotsman89]

i don't really have a top ten albums, but there are certain ones i like to go back to when the mood takes me,harry chapins work always ,airsupply,bonnie raitt ,bob dylan, the kinks all have great songs but a top ten sorry no

[Nizar]

Come on all of you out there, someone must have a top ten favorite albums.Tell the world about it! What albums did you spin the most? We all have our favorite artists what about the albums?

[Steve]

Rumours - Fleetwood Mac

Dark Side of the Moon - Pink Floyd

Meddle - Pink Floyd

Room Service - Bryan Adams

Songs from The Wood - Jethro Tull

Minutes to Midnight - Linkin Park

3 Doors Down - 3 Doors Down

Adiemus - Karl Jenkins I would urge everybody to listen to this. It's stunning!

Sounds of a playground fading - In Flames

March of Progress - Threshold

All exceptional albums.

[Nizar]

Thanks Steve in taking an interest. Iam familiar with five of your albums. I will check out Adiemus by Carl Jenkins. I really like 3 Doors Down. It's nice to know that Rock still rules!

[Steve]

Thanks Steve in taking an interest. Iam familiar with five of your albums. I will check out Adiemus by Carl Jenkins. I really like 3 Doors Down. It's nice to know that Rock still rules!

It does in this house. Adiemus is NOT rock, but it is simply amazing!

[TapperMike]

I never was really in love with albums but I'd always listen to them in one setting.

It's all Steely Dan for me. I had to stop listening to Steely Dan and stop playing Steely Dan covers because I was so addicted to it.

Aja and Katie Lied

The rest of the stuff...I like Nizar's list but I'd have to follow with ...The Beatles. Back in the day if you played guitar your first songbook was a Beatles songbook. Everyone had one and when ever I'd sit down to play with someone it was usually a Beatles song. Those were songs I memorized for life 10 20 30 and more years after I learned them I still can pull quite a few out of my hat. They are always a crowd pleaser to play and I still play my beatles cd's from time to time.

I had most of the Beatles collections on vinyl as well as all of Steely Dan.

Crosby Stills and Nash (the album) - I was a big fan of Crosby Stills Nash and Young collectively or apart or in there previous works (Buffalo Springfield, The Hollies. The Byrds)

Simon & Garfunkel - Bookends

They've got so many great songs a greatest hits would be the easy answer. In High School even before learning to play the guitar I worked at our high school radio station. We had a 20,000 record library with music from the 30's to the 70's and we had production rooms where you could take an album or two and simply listen to it if you had an open hour, during lunch, or afterschool. I'd go into one of those production studios put on some Paul Simon and do my homework.

Elton John - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.

Funeral for a friend is prolly the greatest rock instrumental of all time.

Van Halen (1)

It changed rock forever.

Thriller - Michael Jackson

Breezin - George Benson

I'd always hated that doubling scat and instrument thing before I heard his cover of Leon Russells "This Masquerade" If anything the album shifted my attention away from vocal music to instrumental music. Prior to that I could barely tolerate more then two instrumentals in a row.

These days my musical tastes are all over the board. The last "album" I bought and listened to was Sheryl Crow - (Sheryl Crow)

I'll usually buy mp3's on amazon more so as a pat on the back or a lift up for the artist then something that goes into a library for later listening.

[Nizar]

Hi Tapper Mike,

It is interesting reading your write up. Elton John's Funeral for a friend/Loves Lies Bleeding is a masterpiece. Captain Fantastic aslo rocks/his second best album

Crosby Stills Nash Young Dejavu is their best work. I also very much like Neil Young solo work. Nash has one great solo album- Wild Tales. This album is briliant and most people don't know about it. As for Young/ Everybody knows this is nowhere-Gold Rush- harvest are great albums.

The Beatles are the only artist that have all-round good songs from the day they started until they brokeup.

Simon and Garfunkel are a classic in their own right.

Van Halen is great rock.

Michael Jackson Thriller- is a great album to boogie and have parties with.

Thanks for your info, you know what quality music is.

Check this album out- The Waterboys-This Is The Sea. In my opinion the greatest undiscovered album of all time. Trully a masterpiece of rock. Let me know what you think???

[LemonCrush]

This is such a hard topic...my top 10 changes way too often.

Um...Songs in the Key of Life by Stevie Wonder. Sign of the Times by Prince. Houses of the Holy by Led Zeppelin.

IDK, these things shift around way too much.

[Nizar]

Thanks Lemon Crush for your reply, I have two of your three mentioned albums:Stevie Wonder-Songs In the Key Of Life (his best album)Led Zeppelin-Houses of the Holy is one of their best albums.

As for Prince-Signs of the Times which is a double album I believe. I know that this album is critically acclaimed. Is it better than Purple Rain album? Is It pop rock or funk rock?

Anyway, you know what is good music.

[LemonCrush]

Thanks Lemon Crush for your reply, I have two of your three mentioned albums:Stevie Wonder-Songs In the Key Of Life (his best album)Led Zeppelin-Houses of the Holy is one of their best albums.

As for Prince-Signs of the Times which is a double album I believe. I know that this album is critically acclaimed. Is it better than Purple Rain album? Is It pop rock or funk rock?

Anyway, you know what is good music.

Well, IMO Stevie is a genius all around. Such amazing mastery of the craft of songwriting. His ability to channel almost any emotion into song form is something I wish I could do...and his subtle yet glaring combination of mixing minor or dark sounding chords in a happy, uplifting song...amazing. Songs In the Key of Life is definitely his best artistically, but I'd enjoy the songs on other albums more.

Houses of the Holy, I like because it's eclectic, and it reminds me of summertime during my high school years. It's kind of become my traditional summer album.

Sign Of The Times....I'm kind a Prince fanatic and...historian, you could say hahah. Sign of the Times was his first album after the breakup of The Revolution (his backing band). He'd fired everyone, and went back to his one-man-band ways. It IS a double album...as I understand it, he was working on 3 or so albums at once, and when he disbanded the Revolution, he decided to use the best songs from each, and you have Sign of the Times. It's really awesome and unique It came out in 87, and nothing like the sounds on Signs was like what was happening at the time. The styles of music is weird. The production is sparse...everything has a demo like feel to it. Drums, synth and a vocal...there's loose, funk songs (the title track), good pop rock (Never Take the Place Of Your Man, Play In The Sunshine), straight James Brown-on-acid Funk jams (Housequake), ballads of course (Adore), and even freaky, weird elevator music/funk hybrids (Ballad of Dorothy Parker). I think it's better than Purple Rain. In my opinion, it's one of the last times Prince truly said "to hell with normal pop music" and really just did his own thing...

It's super influential. It was sampled a lot back in the day, and still is from time to time. You can still hear the influence in today's music. Check it out if you haven't. Even if you don't like Prince, it' still worth listening to, because its cool to see someone stretching the limits of pop music at the time

Edited December 25, 2012 by LemonCrush

[Rudi]

no particular order.

By the Light of the Moon - Los Lobos :

It is so eclectic, it almost sounds like a compilation album. Country, Rock, Nortena, soul, latin etc. and all of it is blisteringly good. It came out in 1987, and I never tire of listening to it.

Live Dead - Grateful Dead :

I wore out two vinyl copies of this double album and had to buy a 3^rd before finally getting it on cd. Village Voice critic Robert Christgau wrote: "Side two of this four-sided set contains the finest rock improvisation ever recorded".

Free Somehow - Widespread Panic:

The first time I heard this I knew the lead guitarist was neither Michael Houser nor George McConnell. It was the first time I had heard Jimmy Herring. It was wonderful. It still is. Some of the bands finest songs on here too.

Rosemary Lane - Bert Jansch :

1971 solo album. This is truly solo. No guests, no double tracking, no loops. Just one man and his guitar. This kind of thing is extremely consuming and difficult. There is folk, blues, classical and blending all styles in there. It’s quiet, reflective & beautiful. The musicianship is exceptional. ‘Tell me What is True Love’, ’Sarabanda’, ‘Reynardine’ are peerless.

Paris Concert – Circle: (another live double album) A free form jazz group. You might wonder whether every piece here was improvised. It isn’t. There are studio versions of these tunes to bear this out. String bassist Dave Holland & drummer Barry Altschul are my favourite jazz players. This group features them with Anthony Braxton (sax) & Chick Corea (piano). Its pretty heavy going stuff, but brilliant.

The Dancer with Bruised Knees - Kate & Anna McGarrigle :

The Canadian sisters 2nd album. ‘First Born’ could only have been written by a woman “That first born son I always the one, the first to be called and the last to come…†The harmonies sometimes sound like clever mice. It can be strange in parts and folksy most everywhere else. A couple of the songs are sung in French. I adore this album.

Kiko - Los Lobos :

The moment when the eclectic stylings came together in new and original ways. It took years for this to happen. When it did, it was acknowledged by everyone who was paying attention. The Lobos have (so far) made ten albums since this one. Good though they are, none equal this 1992 masterpiece.

Segovia Plays Bach - Andres Segovia :

Segovia invented the ‘classical guitar’ all by himself. These old recordings feature complete performances of some of his very best JS Bach arrangements. The analogue distortion of the Spanish acoustic guitar actually sounds good. Some of these interpretations are breathtaking. One of these pieces is forever ingrained into my mind.

Ry Cooder – I Flathead :

2008. I have all of Ry’s many albums. This is my favourite. My pal wrote a review of this on play.com. This is part of it-

“Ry has adopted an alter ego to write & perform all the songs here. This is Buck Cash, a blue collar salt of the earth type with a passion for driving. Buck has recorded this album to pay the garage bill on his car. He wants you to listen to these songs with the volume turned up while driving.â€

When I Woke – Rusted Root.

The opening track comprises of just drums, but it’s a great opening track all the same. The bands best known song, ‘Send Me On My Way’ is here too. This album somehow captures the energy usually only found on a live performance. I wish I knew how that can be done.

Edited December 25, 2012 by Rudi

[Nizar]

Many thanks Lemon Crush for your great interesting write up, I do agree that Stevie Wonder is a genius. I have a collection of his albums which are all great; all the 70's stuff is superb.

As for Prince, I really like the Purple Rain soundtrack. I will check out Signs of the Times album.

Have a great day.

[Nizar]

Hi Rudi,

I was surprised by your collection, all the albums and artists you mentioned I am unaware of with the exception of Grateful Dead.

I will definitely check them out. There's so much music out there.

Many thanks for your information.

[Wil]

Number 1 is Number 1, but anything after is just kind of in there somewhere, in whatever order I remember them.

#1 - MONO - Hymn to the Immortal Wind Oh good Lord this album is PERFECT. I'm a huge fan of instrumental music, and this is the kingpin. Not only is the music astoundingly beautiful, but the art that goes along with it is fantastic and the story written alongside perfectly puts the album into words. It's the perfect combination of the three main art-forms.

Arcade Fire - The Suburbs This album is a grand, slightly dark piece that really encapsulates the feeling of a suburban raising, and I love it.

The Who - Quadrophenia The Who did some awesome, solid rock before this, but this album is a huge cohesive monster with an atmosphere that no album has replicated since.

The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band There were good albums before this, but this was the first GREAT album. It's just great all the way through, and the fact that no other albums might have existed without this album helps as well.

Explosions in the Sky - All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone I can't even explain it, I just love it.

Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven Simple GEN!US.

Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea If anything can be said about this album it's that it's simply interesting. It has great instrumentation and the lyrics are astoundingly cryptic and strange, but it just paints this big, beautiful picture and creates its own world. I doubt there will ever be an album like this again.

The Allman Brothers' Band - Eat a Peach There's something magical about this album. This list is filled with big, loud, serious albums, but this album just reminds me that sometimes simpler is better. You can tell the band had fun with this one, and the final track is among my favorite songs ever, for reasons I may post about at a later date.

Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues I just love this album, it's full of interesting rhythm and mature lyrics, plus a fair bit of experimentation that really sets them ahead of their contemporaries (i.e. The Shrine/ An Argument).

Explosions in the Sky - The Rescue EitS is my favorite band, so it makes sense that they're the only band with two albums on the list, but this last one isn't an album, it's an EP. This piece was spontaneously written and recorded in eight days, and the short incubation period somehow resulted in some really great stuff. Just by chance they came up with some of their best almost on the spot, with highlights being tracks five and six. Really this album is just casual.

Honorable mentions:

Bon Iver - Bon Iver

Pink Floyd - Animals

Arcade Fire - Funeral

The National - High Violet

Zammuto - Zammuto

This Will Destroy you - Young Mountain

The Beatles - Abbey Road

RadioHead - Ok Computer

[Rudi]

Hi Rudi,

I was surprised by your collection, all the albums and artists you mentioned I am unaware of with the exception of Grateful Dead.

I will definitely check them out. There's so much music out there.

Many thanks for your information.

Hi Nizar,

Welcome.

PS -You might want to leave 'Circle' for last. Happy listening.

[gwenni63]

Here's my top ten

Thriller--Michael Jackson

Purple Rain--Prince

Bad--Michael Jackson

Control---Janet Jackson

Rhythm Nation 1814--Janet Jackson

Whitney Houston--Whitney Houston

Born To Sing--En Vogue

Make Him Do Right--Karyn White

Ricky Martin English Language Album--Ricky Martin

Christina Aguilera--Christina Aguilera

[mds725]

I don't have a top ten album list per se, but here, off the top of my head, are some albums I really like. I'm sure I've left a bunch out. For example, I love artists like Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, Yo Yo Ma and Jake Shimabukuro, to name just a few, but can't think of any specific album of theirs that I'd list in a top ten.

The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds; Endless Summer

The Beatles - Abbey Road; Rubber Soul

Karla Bonoff - Karla Bonoff

Petula Clark - Greatest Hits

Rupert Holmes - Widescreen*

Fleetwood Mac - Fleetwood Mac

David Grisman - The David Grisman Quintet; Grateful Dawg

John Lennon - Imagine; Double Fantasy

Paul McCartney - McCartney and Ram

Simon and Garfunkle - Bookends

*Yeah, Rupert Holmes is the "Escape (The Pina Colada Song)" guy, but that was a throwaway song, his early pop stuff (like the Widescreen album) is clever and interesting, and he's won a Tony Award for the soundtrack to "The Mystery of Edwin Drood," for which he also wrote the play.

Edited December 28, 2012 by mds725

[Nizar]

Hi, Gwenni 63,

I Know six of your albums, Michael Jakson's Thriller and Bad, for me I like Bad more then Thriller,.Many people think that Thriller is a better album. I have always disagreed. Michael had five number 1's singles from bad. As for Janet, nice these two albums are her best Rhythm Nation-Control. Prince Purple Rain is superb. As for whitneyHouston this is her only solid album besides The Bodyguard soundtrack. Check this two albums out which I belive are classics and two of the best albums by a female artist(Millie Jackson Caught up and Still Caught Up/ This is what I call real quality music; great lyrics/music vocals and production, this is soul music at its best.

Have a great New Year,,

[Nizar]

Hi. Mds 725,

I enjoyed reading your list, You do have some great albums, Beach Boys/Pet Sounds/The Beatles Abbey Road/Rubber Soul/ The Beatles have many great albums . Fleetwood Mac/Fleetwood Mac/I love this album/ I listen to it alot, Rumours is also great album. John Lennon/ Imagine is brilliant. As for Double Fantasy,Only side A is good as for B Yoko Ono destroyed the album, she can't write or sing . Paul McCartney Ram, is a good album, but nothing beats Band on the Run album. Simon and Garfunkle are excellent. I really like their music, this is superb songwriting, I like their Greatest hits Collection and Bridge Over Troubled Waters, album.

You do know what is good music. I am willing to listen to any music as long it is quality.

Have a nice New Year.