What’s your favorite album?
Sgt. Pepper’s is a big one, Pet Sounds, Let it Bleed is great, Dark Side of the Moon of course, Led Zeppelin’s 4th album (the symbols one) is always big, a Night at the Opera, and the list just goes on and on.
Got any good recommendations to make here?
my faves change a lot. I usually listen to an album until I can’t stand it anymore, then set it aside for later, I also have different favorites for working around the house, driving, walking, and sitting in a hot tub. :)
Three that seem to always be on heavy rotation in my life are:
Gimme Fiction (Spoon)—I love the raw-ness of Britt Daniel’s voice, and as a band Spoon is very lyrically talented, they make you think a bit, which I like. There’s a lot of tempo changes and interesting sounds involved in the experience, but always on the melodic side. (I’m not a big fan of industrial music.)
Car Wheels on a Gravel Road (Lucinda Williams)—I love L.W. mostly for her voice range, which is very close to my own, which makes singing along a very personal experience. This particular album is fantastic, if not the best for listening to while riding a bus from TX to FL.
Left and Leaving (The Weakerthans)—I witnessed the playing of this record stop a boyfriend/girlfriend break up once. The Weakerthans are craftsmen rockers, (i may have just made that up.) But listening you get the sense that every little part of each song is a detail that is attended to. Reconstruction Site is another great album by The Weakerthans.
ooh i just thought of another fave song! :)
Just a couple of albums to add to those at the top:
Brothers in Arms by Dire Straits- one of those rare studio albums that has all the greatest hits in one place. So Far Away, Money for Nothing, Walk of Life, Brothers in Arms, Your latest Trick, they’re all there. Wow.
Rumours, by Fleetwood Mac. Although it’s missing some of my favourite songs, rumours stands out as one of the best albums ever, with Don’t Stop, Dreams and Go Your Own Way.
Californication, the Red Hot Chili Peppers- yeah, sorry, it’s a bit of a cliche like most of these albums. But Californication holds really powerful songs, and was a great surprise with the inclusion of lots of toned-down and even melodic songs that went in contrast to the classic RHCP sound. Hard to get it wrong with great songs like Californication, Otherside, Scar Tissue, Parallel Universe or Around the World.
Demon Days, the Gorillaz- one of the first albums I’ve ever bought. It’s sort of a concept album, and it has some surprisingly good songs even if you’re not a rap/hip hop fan.
Pop-U2. Just read my top songs list and you’ll know it’s easily my favourite. It’s the most underrated album ever, with such great songs as Staring at the Sun and Discotheque. It’s a must-listen if you have any ears.
oLahav: I’m inspired by your list! That Dire Straits record does sound good…I know all the songs you mentioned but have never listened to them in context of the album! I will check that out! Also I was thinking maybe we should start a seperate post all about first albums! Ok, I’m just gonna do it. :-)
Here’s a good bit of albums that rock (my top 15, I guess):
Reflections – Apocalyptica: Classical stylings put into rock music. It has excitement, which classical music often lacks, and it has musical intuition, which is what mainstream rock music lacks. My only complaint is that less than half of the songs have lyrics, and only a few of those are in English.
Out of Exile – Audioslave: A supergroup composed of Rage Against the Machine and Chris Cornell of Soundgarden can’t go wrong! Surprisingly, this album lacks the heavy qualities of both of those bands, but plays quite well.
Bounce – Bon Jovi: Bon Jovi went back to their hair metal roots withthis album (before going completely country recently) in 2002. It was mainly inspired by the 9/11 attacks, and the feeling in the music can easily be felt.
Under the Table and Dreaming – Dave Matthews Band: It produced hits in “Ants Marching” and “Satellite,” but the other songs on the album were not lacking in catchy rhythms and great lyrics. Look into “Rhyme and Reason” or “What Would You Say.”
The Meanest of Times – Dropkick Murphys: Irish Rock!! This album shows that the Dropkick Murphys can play more than just “Shipping Up to Boston.” Actually, the overplay of that song has got me tired of it. Just look at “The State of Massachusets:” a song with emotion, and, if I may say so, a killer opening banjo line and tinwhistle part.
Freak Out! – Frank Zappa and the Mothers: The weirdest album I’ve ever paid for. Probably even the weirdest I’ve downloaded ;). I’ve gotta say, though, Zappa’s best song is “My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama,” and sadly, it isn’t on this album…
The Black and White Album – The Hives: You can’t lose with British Pop/Dance/Punk/Rock. The lyrics are terrible, however.
Of Whales and Woe – Les Claypool: I’m a bass player. There is no better bass player than Claypool (formerly of Primus, the Les Claypool Flying Frog Brigade, Electric Apricot, Oysterhead, Les Claypool’s Bucket of Bernie Brains, Sausage, and probably 20 more I’ve never heard of), who failed a Metallica audition because hewas “too good.” If you’re not familiar with his work, he did both themes to South Park and “John the Fisherman.” This album is almost equal in weirdness to Freak Out!, but mostly because he also sings, and has a very odd singing voice. Check out “One Better.”
Mental Jewlery – Live: This album came before Live got insanely popular, and it has killer bass lines. You can feel the emotion of the music, which I think is important in every song, and all of the instruments and lyrics go together quite well.
S & M – Metallica: Metallica… live… with an orchestra! (The San Fransisco Symphony Orchestra, to be precise) Metallica’s music is actually incredibly well written compared to any hard rock or metal acts, and sounds magnificent with an orchestral accompanyment. This album plays most of their hits, but better!
Ten – Pearl Jam: Pearl Jam took grunge to the next level. They added some interesting bass rhythms (which, of course, is favorable, lol), and less depressing, more meaningful lyrics. If I’m not mistaken, this album is the only to have four songs in the Billboard Top Ten at the same time (perhaps it was top 20, I’m too lazy to look it up).
Consolers of the Lonely – The Raconteurs: Jack White got ten times better with this band (as opposed to the White Stripes). The album has the hard rock, the soft rock, and all that comes in between (which, surprisingly, is a lot).
Freaky Styley – Red Hot Chili Peppers: Before the RHCP hit mainstream popularity (and before guitarist Hillel Slovak died of an overdose and Jack Irons, drummer, left the band, later destined for Pearl Jam) they had this funk-punk-rock masterpiece. I find this album, however, to be only slightly superior to it’s followup, Mother’s Milk.
This is Spinal Tap – Spinal Tap: Arguably, the best comedy album ever (up there with Weird Al), plus the music rocks!
Sublime – Sublime: This album’s got a great beat to it, just like any reggae/rock album should. It makes you feel good inside, contrary to the wonderful grunge albums of the time, lol. I only wish their lead singer didn’t die two weeks prior to it’s release. Many other great albums could have followed…
As for what you all have mentioned: I really enjoy Led Zeppelin’s fourth, Dark Side of the Moon, Californication, and Demon Days. I will say, however, that the Pixies are nearly unbearable to listen too…
Nice selections! I’m usually not an album person, but my choices would be:
Charles Mingus – Mingus Plays Piano. Mingus is primarily a bassist, but his piano playing is also amazing and his phrasing and interpretation is much like his bass-playing. Another album of his, The Black Saint and The Sinner Lady is devastating, compelling and so original it makes my head explode – it could be the soundtrack to a modern film noir.
Buena Vista Social Club – Buena Vista Social Club – the closest thing to being on vacation in Cuba…
Girl Talk – Feed The Animals. This guy basically takes a whole bunch of already amazing songs, throws them in a blender and spits them out into one supersong. It’s basically a sampling of 20 songs, in beats and lyrics, into one. If you can sample gangster rap with Procol Harum and Chicago, hats off to you…
I’ve recently purchased an album that I have to say is incredible. After buying their newest album, Viva La Vida, I began to get interested in Coldplay, although to be honest I never really knew them before. So I bought their second album, called A Rush of Blood to the Head, because it had the song Clocks in it which was probably the only song I was familiar with before I bought Viva.
Anyway, long story short, Rush of Blood is an amazing album. Every single song there is powerful in a slightly different way. My favourites other than Clocks are Politik, which is probably one of the best opening tracks I’ve heard for any album, The Scientist, although it’s really too sad, and the best has to be the title track- a Rush of Blood to the Head, which has soft and loud sections that combine to form a smashing song.
So I’m really happy about discovering a great new album. If you don’t own it yet, you really should.
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