OO List of Albums You Must Hear - Now Compiled

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Jaymann
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OO List of Albums You Must Hear - Now Compiled

Post by Jaymann »

It seems the mainstream makers of these lists are a bit out of touch with reality, to put it mildly. Therefore I propose the members of OO compile a list of must-hear albums. I think it would be more "real" and perhaps stimulate some music appreciation.

The rules are simple, just submit 10 albums, in no particular order, that should be included. You should try not to duplicate any already mentioned, but don't sweat major scrutiny. Once the effort seems exhausted, I will compile into a single list. Feel free to comment on your selections, but it is not required. I will start the ball rolling with these:

Ry Cooder - Into the Purple Valley
Roy Buchanan - Loading Zone
Johnny Winter - And
The Yardbirds - Having a Rave Up with the Yardbirds
John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers - Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton
Moby Grape - Moby Grape '69
Elvis Costello and the Attractions - My Aim is True
Jimi Hendrix Experience - Electric Ladyland
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - You're Gonna Get It
Joe Jackson - Look Sharp

Edit to add a few I did not see elsewhere:

The English Beat - I Just Can't Stop It
Blondie - Eat to the Beat
The Specials - The Specials
Crazy Horse - Crazy Horse
Fleetwood Mac - Bare Trees
Nirvana - Nevermind
Jeff Beck - Truth
Last edited by Jaymann on Mon Jan 18, 2021 12:44 pm, edited 5 times in total.
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Re: OO List of Albums You Must Hear

Post by LordMortis »

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – Into the Great Wide Open
Frightened Rabbit – The Winter of Mixed Drinks
Pink Floyd – Animals
Lord Huron – Lonesome Dreams
Sinead O’Conner – Lion and the Cobra
Yaz – Upstairs at Eric’s
Peter Gabriel – Security
Diblo Dibala – Super Soukous
Goober and the Peas – The Collected Works of
Alice Cooper – Special Forces

This would change an hour from now or if I were sitting in front my CDs
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Re: OO List of Albums You Must Hear

Post by Skinypupy »

Here's the 10 albums I would consider "essential listening", in no particular order

- Skinny Puppy - Too Dark Park
- Sigh - Scenes from Hell
- Opeth - Ghost Reveries
- David Bowie - Hunky Dory
- Wilderun - Sleep at the Edge of Earth
- Agalloch - Marrow of the Spirit
- Death - Human
- Bauhaus - Crackle (yes it's a greatest hits...sue me)
- Edge of Sanity - Crimson
- Turisas - The Varangian Way

EDIT: These would all fall just outside that top 10, and might replace them on any given day, depending on my mood.
- At the Gates - Slaughter of the Soul
- Frontline Assembly - Implode
- Enslaved - Riitiir
- Type O Negative - October Rust
- Aether Realm - Tarot
- Obituary - Cause of Death
- Mr Bungle - California
- Amorphis - Skyforger
- Emperor - In the Nightside Eclipse
- Bathory - Hammerheart
Last edited by Skinypupy on Thu Jan 14, 2021 10:44 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: OO List of Albums You Must Hear

Post by Sudy »

This is a really cool idea!

Though I find it hard to differentiate between "timeless albums that should appeal to anyone with a general appreciation for music" and "niche albums others are less likely to have come across that I really want to share".

I saw a commercial on late night TV. It said, "Forget everything you know about slipcovers." So I did. And it was a load off my mind. Then the commercial tried to sell me slipcovers, and I didn't know what the hell they were. -- Mitch Hedberg
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Re: OO List of Albums You Must Hear

Post by Jaymann »

Sudy wrote: Tue Jan 12, 2021 6:21 pm This is a really cool idea!

Though I find it hard to differentiate between "timeless albums that should appeal to anyone with a general appreciation for music" and "niche albums others are less likely to have come across that I really want to share".
It's all good, man. If you must make one list of each.
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Re: OO List of Albums You Must Hear

Post by coopasonic »

My tastes are... special. Basically tried to think of what I wouldn't want to live without and only one album per artist. I would like to throw the Hamilton soundtrack in there but you should watch the show at least once first... and I am not sure what I would replace to fit it in there. Pearl Jam or Taylor Swift I guess.

Billie Eilish - When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?
Halsey - Hopeless Fountain Kingdom
Tori Amos - Little Earthquakes
Nine Inch Nails - Pretty Hate Machine
Stone Temple Pilots - Core
Queensrÿche - Operation Mindcrime
Alice in Chains - Dirt
Pearl Jam - Ten
Taylor Swift - 1989
Eminem - The Marshall Mathers LP
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Re: OO List of Albums You Must Hear

Post by Madmarcus »

Sudy wrote: Tue Jan 12, 2021 6:21 pm Though I find it hard to differentiate between "timeless albums that should appeal to anyone with a general appreciation for music" and "niche albums others are less likely to have come across that I really want to share".
I don't worry about that distinction. I don't feel at all qualified to point to timeless albums or anything of real transcendent quality. So if I put up a list is definitely a list of things that I feel made an impression on me.
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Re: OO List of Albums You Must Hear

Post by Jeff V »

How about some Greatest Hits / Live albums that manage to shine a positive light on the artist?

Chronicles - Creedence Clearwater Revival
Plays Live - Peter Gabriel
Yessongs - Yes
Stop Making Sense - The Talking Heads
Ramonesmania - The Ramones
2400 Fulton Street - Jefferson Airplane
Great Dictations - The Dickies
Rattle and Hum - U2
Twilight of the Gods - Richard Wagner
Living Ornaments - Gary Numan
The Greatest Hits 1969-1999 - John Williams
Divine Madness - Madness
Songs You Know By Heart - Jimmy Buffett
The Return of the Manticore - Emerson, Lake and Palmer
Sex, America, Cheap Trick - Cheap Trick
Up from the Catacombs - Jane's Addiction
Story of The Clash - The Clash
Chicago 9 - Chicago
Ein Straussfest - Erich Kunzel
An Audience with the Queen - Koko Taylor
Now It Can Be Told - Devo
Best of Bowie - David Bowie
A Decade of Steely Dan - Steely Dan
Classicks - Alice Cooper
In Concert - Los Straitjackets
Greatest Hits - Bjork
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Re: OO List of Albums You Must Hear

Post by Sudy »

If we're not being snobs that's actually a really good idea. There are a few artists whom my primary exposure to was through their greatest hits releases, such as R.E.M.'s In Time: The Best Of R.E.M. 1988-2003, and Soundgarden's A-Sides. And while if I were to suggest a Metallica album it would be hard not to go with one of their first four, the first S&M is also a worthy consideration (and also made it onto the list in Exodor's book). Of course, that may be blasphemy for anyone with a deep knowledge of these artists' catalogues, but if you had to choose just one, it's hard not to go with their hits in some cases. For the GH releases that are packed to the brim and/or had actual artist involvement or extra singles, they can be amazing retrospectives and fantastic value.

I saw a commercial on late night TV. It said, "Forget everything you know about slipcovers." So I did. And it was a load off my mind. Then the commercial tried to sell me slipcovers, and I didn't know what the hell they were. -- Mitch Hedberg
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Re: OO List of Albums You Must Hear

Post by Jolor »

The Motors - Tenement Steps
The Fabulous Poodles - Think Pink
Charlie - No Second Chance
The Clash - London Calling
Dave Brubek Quartet - Time Out
Nick Lowe and His Cowboy Outfit
John Hiatt - Riding with the King
Count Basie and Zoot Sims - Basie and Zoot
The Tragically Hip - Up to Here
Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here

Some real tossups in there when I had to decide which album to promote for some artists.

edit = first change is replacing 'Doug and the Slugs - Music for the Hard of Thinking' with 'Count Basie and Zoot Sims - Basie and Zoot'.
edit 2 = Dave Brubek Quartet - Time Out in for Armed Forces (Costello)

Joke the first: Stampeders (the one with Sweet City Woman)
Last edited by Jolor on Thu Jan 14, 2021 11:42 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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Re: OO List of Albums You Must Hear

Post by McNutt »

Mastodon - Crack the Skye
Queensryche - Promise Land
Queen - A Night at the Opera
Overkill - The Years of Decay
Fleetwood Mac - Rumours
Amy Winehouse - Back to Black
Blue Murder - Blue Murder
Ozzy Osborne - The Blizzard of Ozz
Whitesnake - Whitesnake
Metallica - Master of Puppets
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Re: OO List of Albums You Must Hear

Post by malchior »

Mine are some traditional picks mixed with some that are more personal picks that are more on the 'fun side'

"Serious picks"

Arcade Fire - Funeral
The Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (and/or the slightly less accessible but superior Soft Bulletin)
The Mountain Goats - Sweden
The National - High Violet
Tool - Lateralus
Public Enemy - Fear of a Black Planet
Radio Head - The Bends (everyone fights over Kid A or Ok Computer but I prefer the less produced sound of this album)
Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

Un-snob-picks:

Bad Religion - Stranger than Fiction
Beach Rats - Wasted Time
Bloc Party - Silent Alarm
Coheed and Cambria - Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV
Jeff Rosenstock - Worry
Manchester Orchestra - A Black Mile to the Surface
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes - Ruin Jonny's Bar Mitzvah
The Promise Ring - Nothing Feels Good
Reel Big Fish - Why Do They Rock So Hard?
Thursday - Full Collapse
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Re: OO List of Albums You Must Hear

Post by Kraken »

Jeff V wrote: Tue Jan 12, 2021 7:42 pm How about some Greatest Hits / Live albums that manage to shine a positive light on the artist?
The first Bowie album I ever heard was the 1974 David Live! double album. It took me years to accept the studio versions of his songs.

I got into greatest-hits albums when I made the transition from vinyl to CDs and didn't want to replace my whole record collection. With the exception of album-rock groups like Bowie, Genesis, and Pink Floyd, I was fine with having just the hits on CD because I could still fire up my turntable for the full album. Can't think of any standouts off the top of my head, though...it's been years since I looked at my CD collection.
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Re: OO List of Albums You Must Hear

Post by Sudy »

Personal List - These are the albums that have had some of the greatest impact on me as a music fan over the years, and include some lesser known selections that would fill me with delight to share with others. Some may not be as original as the albums on the latter list and are more iterative--they've just touched me the most, personally. These are my "offical" picks for the list.

Tom Waits - Bone Machine (1992) - Just an impossible choice, but this is probably the one of his that's impacted me the most overall.
31Knots - Talk Like Blood (2005) - Just an outstanding and underappreciated indie/math/avant-garde band that evolved from a more traditional rock sound to delightful keyboard/sampled weirdness that lives on in Joe Haege's more recent projects. My favourite rock band of the 2000s.
Monster Magnet - Dopes to Infinity (1995) - Another tough call... I think their debut Spine of God is more important and has multiple tracks that blow me away, but Dopes is just so perfect top to bottom and is an amazing mishmash of two influential rock eras.
Slechtvalk - A Forlorn Throne (2010) - This is one of the albums that got me back into metal and I adore it beginning to end. It's harsh, haunting, blackened melodic death metal that manages to pulse with uplifting energy even as it broods.
Sunset Rubdown - Dragonslayer (2009) - I think this album is the epitome of 2000s indie rock. It lifts me up and brings me to tears at the same time.
Captain Beefheart - Doc at the Radar Station (1980) - Indescribable. You can come at it ironically and it will make you laugh (see: Telephone--and that's OK), but this is pure art.
Polvo - Exploded Drawing (1996) - For those not into music that initially sounds discordant... well, lol, you're probably not going to listen to half the albums on my list--but you have to give this one a chance. You'll find yourself humming the songs that initially hurt your ears while you're grocery shopping.
Ghost - Prequelle (2018) - I'm so glad I gave this a chance. It's one of the most moving rock albums I've heard.
Snog - Buy Me... I'll Change Your Life (1998) - An extremely accessible marriage of rock/electro-industrial/spaghetti western themes/general electronic coolness. It couldn't have been made any time except the late 90s.
Parts & Labor - Mapmaker (2007) - Noise rock bliss. Their follow-up albums are grander, but this is the album that opened my mind to harsh noise that could be made to sound uplifting.


General List - These are ten albums that have also affected me greatly and I believe they have supreme cultural value in their respective genres. Some may not be quite as special to me as the above, but I would consider them better choices for a universal "should listen before you die" list, and I hope someone considers them. There are a few more I pondered, but the reality is that I'm not as familiar with the whole album.

The Stooges - Raw Power (1973)
Warren Zevon - Excitable Boy (1978)
Aldo Ciccolini - Satie: Piano Works - I believe this was a very well regarded compilation of recordings between 1966 and 1971, but I'm having trouble finding it. Any release of Ciccolini playing Satie is probably fantastic.
Nine Inch Nails - Broken (1992, EP) - The ultimate "fuck it" recording.
Front 242 - Geography (1982) - Such a classic of EBM. These synths give me chills. Is it the past or the future? I can't tell. Robots dance to this. And Germans.
Arcade Fire - Neon Bible (2007)
TV on the Radio - Desperate Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes (2004)
Joy Division - Substance (1988, compilation) - Though it doesn't include Day of the Lords. :cry:
Talking Heads - Talking Heads: 77 (1977) - No one cares what you think, Z-Corn.
Judas Priest - British Steel (1980) - Such a tough call... I think I favour tracks from Screaming for Vengeance and Painkiller, but I enjoy Steel most as an album.


I feel guilty not including some favourites from my formative years, and others that I know are classics but that I just haven't spent as much time listening to. I used my 2006+ Last.fm logs as a rough guide, and feel these are the most important or share-worthy ones with personal relevance. I feel like this list needs more jazz, hip-hop, country, etc., but I just don't have the same album experience with those genres. For classical I just went with Satie, but it feels like that could be a thread/list unto itself.

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Re: OO List of Albums You Must Hear

Post by hitbyambulance »

i had problems getting this down to ten. let's talk editing later, when the list is compiled...

for now, how about my top albums of the 1970s, in chronological order

King Crimson - Larks' Tongues in Aspic
Hawkwind - The Space Ritual Alive
Brian Eno - Here Come the Warm Jets (i had to pick just one, so the first one it shall be, but really any would work)
Sparks - Kimono My House
Kraftwerk - Autobahn
Tangerine Dream - Rubycon
David Bowie - Low
Pink Floyd - Animals
Yellow Magic Orchestra - Solid State Survivor
This Heat - This Heat
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Re: OO List of Albums You Must Hear

Post by Kraken »

hitbyambulance wrote: Tue Jan 12, 2021 11:06 pm i had problems getting this down to ten. let's talk editing later, when the list is compiled...

for now, how about my top albums of the 1970s, in chronological order

King Crimson - Larks' Tongues in Aspic
Hawkwind - The Space Ritual Alive
Brian Eno - Here Come the Warm Jets (i had to pick just one, so the first one it shall be, but really any would work)
Sparks - Kimono My House
Kraftwerk - Autobahn
Tangerine Dream - Rubycon
David Bowie - Low
Pink Floyd - Animals
Yellow Magic Orchestra - Solid State Survivor
This Heat - This Heat
I know and approve seven of your 10, so it's a safe bet I'd like the others too. Needs a German synthesizer band, though. How about Nektar?
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Re: OO List of Albums You Must Hear

Post by Dramatist »

This is too hard but one of mine has already been taken (Radiohead - The Bends)

1 The Cars - Candy-O
The album the made me realize I loved music.
2 Joy Division- Closer
Just perfection, Twenty Four Hours is one of the most powerful songs ever recorded
3 Wire - 154
I love how Wire puts menace into their songs. But there is also beauty and fresh innovation.
4 The Chameleons - Strange Times
These guys should have been bigger but alas, all their stuff is great, this is my favorite.
5 David Bowie - Aladdin Sane
Love the album but the piano solo in the title track may be my favorite rock moment.
6 ABC - The Lexicon Of Love
I love pop music and this is a pop tour du force.
7 Radiohead- OK Computer
The Bends was taken but this album is right up there with it.
8 Grimes - Art Angels
Wildly interesting and inventive pop music
9 Echo and the Bunnymen- Ocean Rain
I love this album so much.
10 Skinny Puppy- Mind: The Perpetual Intercourse
Blew my mind back in the day because I never knew music could take you to such dark places.


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Re: OO List of Albums You Must Hear

Post by Exodor »

The Cure - Faith (someone else is gonna take Disintegration and this one has so many personal memories attached...)
Rilo Kiley - The Execution of All Things
Silversun Pickups - Swoon
The Decemberists - The Hazards of Love
REM - Life's Rich Pageant
Concrete Blonde - Bloodletting
Dead Kennedys - Frankenchrist
Green Day - American Idiot
The Smiths - The Queen is Dead
My Chemical Romance - The Black Parade

Bonus albums I can't bear to cut so if someone wants to take one of the above I'll add:

Muse - Drones
Massive Attack - BLue Lines
Rush - Moving Pictures
AC/DC - Back in Black
Sleater-Kinney - Dig Me Out
The Sundays - Reading, Writing and Arithmetic
U2 - War
XTC - Skylarking


Also screw you guys, I'm not listening to the other 1001 and this list. :mrgreen:
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Re: OO List of Albums You Must Hear

Post by hitbyambulance »

for Pink Floyd, i am both into the Syd Barrett whimsy and the Roger Waters end-times political anger, so my favorite albums of theirs come at both ends of the spectrum (from their very beginning formation, jumping ahead to their 1983 breakup)
Dramatist wrote: Wed Jan 13, 2021 12:29 am Wire - 154
somehow i neglected to include any of the three 1970's Wire albums in my list (and they're all different from each other) but i wouldn't be able to decide to include Pink Flag, Chairs Missing or 154.... for the 1980s, The Ideal Copy is in my all-time top ten list for sure

another 1970s oversight of mine:
Penguin Cafe Orchestra - Music From the Penguin Cafe
Kraken wrote: Tue Jan 12, 2021 11:37 pm I know and approve seven of your 10, so it's a safe bet I'd like the others too. Needs a German synthesizer band, though. How about Nektar?
was? Kraftwerk und Tangerine Dream zählen nicht?

(Harmonia war sehr gut)
Last edited by hitbyambulance on Wed Jan 13, 2021 1:32 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: OO List of Albums You Must Hear

Post by Kraken »

hitbyambulance wrote: Wed Jan 13, 2021 1:12 am
Dramatist wrote: Wed Jan 13, 2021 12:29 am Wire - 154
somehow i neglected to include any of the three 1970's Wire albums in my list (and they're all different from each other) but i wouldn't be able to decide to include Pink Flag, Chairs Missing or 154.... for the 1980s, The Ideal Copy is in my all-time top ten list for sure

another 1970s oversight of mine:
Penguin Cafe Orchestra - Music From the Penguin Cafe
Kraken wrote: Tue Jan 12, 2021 11:37 pm I know and approve seven of your 10, so it's a safe bet I'd like the others too. Needs a German synthesizer band, though. How about Nektar?
was? Kraftwerk und Tangerine Dream zählen nicht?

(Harmonia war sehr gut)
:D Touche. I just wanted to toss in Nektar. Remember the future? The album stops noodling 5 minutes in, finds its groove at 10 min, and really cranks shortly after that.
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Re: OO List of Albums You Must Hear

Post by Skinypupy »

EDIT: Added the additional albums to my original post
Last edited by Skinypupy on Thu Jan 14, 2021 10:42 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: OO List of Albums You Must Hear

Post by Jeff V »

Kraken wrote: Tue Jan 12, 2021 10:46 pm it's been years since I looked at my CD collection.
I ripped mine years ago, and last week discovered it now resides on YouTube Music. The originals are all in disc albums that the cats now use to climb the book cases and are becoming increasingly shredded.

I was browsing through my albums on YouTube when compiling my list -- but it's very long and I finally decided it was enough. I could probably find more.
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Re: OO List of Albums You Must Hear

Post by Z-Corn »

In no order, off the top of my head albums I have played a ton. This list would change tomorrow if I thought about it again:

Butthole Surfers - Hairway To Steven
Wyclef Jean - The Carnival
The Decemberists - Picaresque
The Flaming Lips - Clouds Taste Metallic
The Pogues - Rum, Sodomy and The Lash
The White Stripes - De Stijl
Public Enemy - Yo! Bum Rush The Show
Bad Brains - Rock For Light
Hank III - Straight To Hell
Drive-By Truckers - The Dirty South
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Re: OO List of Albums You Must Hear

Post by Alefroth »

10 isn't nearly enough.

Pixies- Surfer Rosa
Jane's Addiction- Jane Says (Ritual de lo Habitual was close)
Husker Du- Warehouse Songs and Stories (Zen Arcade was close)
The Feelies- The Good Earth
Minutemen- Double Nickels on the Dime
Neil Young- Everybody Knows this is Nowhere (so hard to pick just one)
Toots and the Maytals- Funky Kingston (the one with Pressure Drop)
The Waterboys- Fisherman's Blues
The Go-Gos- Beauty and the Beat
David Bowie- The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
Led Zeppelin- Led Zeppelin IV
The Kinks- The Ultimate Collection
The Beatles- Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (another difficult choice)
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Re: OO List of Albums You Must Hear

Post by Jaymann »

The 10 limit is just a guideline, no worries. I just wanted to discourage people from listing 150 albums, which would pretty much ruin it for everyone else.
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Re: OO List of Albums You Must Hear

Post by Dramatist »

I love how varied people’s lists have been. The one thing I always hated about radio back in the days when I listened to it was the lack of variety.

Classic rock radio is the worst. Classic rock has got to be the deepest well of amazing music and the radio plays the same 250 songs over and over again. Does anyone ever need to hear Old Time Rock and Roll or Sweet Home Alabama or Pianoman ever again?

I have always been laid back and an introvert and music helps me feel and enjoy deep emotions in kind of a safe state. Whether it’s a beautiful love song or a crushingly sad song about despair and heartbreak or righteous anger over the state of the world or something just makes me want to dance or sing along with.


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Re: OO List of Albums You Must Hear

Post by Sudy »

I don't think I'll ever tire of Piano Man. However, ever since classic rock stations have been playing Everlong I've been questioning the concept of time.

I saw a commercial on late night TV. It said, "Forget everything you know about slipcovers." So I did. And it was a load off my mind. Then the commercial tried to sell me slipcovers, and I didn't know what the hell they were. -- Mitch Hedberg
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Re: OO List of Albums You Must Hear

Post by Archinerd »

Top 5 all time favorites;

REM - Murmer
Travelling Wilburys - Vol. 1
Television - Marquee Moon
Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
Buena Vista Social Club - Buena Vista Social Club

Deeper Dive (in alphabetical order);

Bombino - Azel -- "desert blues". A Taureg from Niger, his voice is a bit thin but he is an insane guitarist.
Built to Spill - You In Reverse -- underappreciated "90's alternative". This album is actually from 2006
Budos Band - Long In The Tooth -- instrumental, this just came out in 2020, but it's good horn based jazz/funk with a slightly 60's James Bond feel. If you want a more hard rock inspired sound, go with Budos Band V
Gillian Welch - Soul Journey -- Americana / Country Folk. If you like the music from the movie Oh Brother Where art thou? you will probably like this.
Hailu Mergia & The Wallas - Tche Belew -- 1970s Ethiopian Jazz instrumentals, from the private house band for the Hilton hotel in Adis Ababa. Lots of keyboard.
Michael Nau - Mowing - Singer / Songwriter folk rock. This album is composed of old demos, which gives it a rougher less produced sound (which I like) than some of his more recent albums.
Moken - Missing Chapters - Fasion Designer, Jazz, Experimental. This is a weird one, and his vocal style will be off putting to some. Oh, and it's (mostly) not in English. It's rewarding and I think well worth it if you can get past the initial hurdles.
Old Crow Medicine Show - Eutaw - Bluegrass / Folk. These guys are a bigger deal now, but I first saw them busking on the streets of Nashville. I don't like their more polished recent stuff at all. This is their second album, much easier to listen than their first, but with most of the rough edges still intact.
Tinariwen - Amassakoul - The elder statesmen of the Taureg "desert blues". Any album is good, but this one has more of my favorite tracks on it than the others, so I picked this one.
Nation of Language - Introduction, Presence - 2020 debut from a synth pop. It's not any great reinvention of anything, but it's so perfectly executed it already feels like it's been around forever.
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard - Nonagon Infinity - Psychedilic Rock. This album is meant to be played start to finish on repeat. Fans of Flaming Lips would probably enjoy.

malchior wrote: Tue Jan 12, 2021 10:45 pm Radiohead - The Bends (everyone fights over Kid A or Ok Computer but I prefer the less produced sound of this album)
In Rainbows would be my pick.
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Re: OO List of Albums You Must Hear

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Dramatist wrote: Thu Jan 14, 2021 10:35 am I love how varied people’s lists have been. The one thing I always hated about radio back in the days when I listened to it was the lack of variety.

Classic rock radio is the worst. Classic rock has got to be the deepest well of amazing music and the radio plays the same 250 songs over and over again. Does anyone ever need to hear Old Time Rock and Roll or Sweet Home Alabama or Pianoman ever again?

I have always been laid back and an introvert and music helps me feel and enjoy deep emotions in kind of a safe state. Whether it’s a beautiful love song or a crushingly sad song about despair and heartbreak or righteous anger over the state of the world or something just makes me want to dance or sing along with.


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I would agree with this. My local classic rock stations play list is about as predictable as it gets. They play the same damn stuff by the same damn people, totally ignoring other music that came out at the same time. Problem is the station that plays "modern" rock isn't any better. Plus the modern bands they play all sound alike. There are so few vocal styles in music today. Every so called metal or heavy metal band sounds alike.

And there is no way I am making a list. Music is so subjective, even more so that books.
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Re: OO List of Albums You Must Hear

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Archinerd wrote: Thu Jan 14, 2021 12:37 pm Rainbow
That's the kind of band I've never owned an album by but really should sit down and listen to in its entirety. :ninja: And now "Man on the Silver Mountain" is stuck in my head.
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Re: OO List of Albums You Must Hear

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Scuzz wrote: Thu Jan 14, 2021 2:42 pm And there is no way I am making a list. Music is so subjective, even more so that books.
I don't think anyone is expecting this to be objective.
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Re: OO List of Albums You Must Hear

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Dramatist wrote: Thu Jan 14, 2021 10:35 am And there is no way I am making a list. Music is so subjective, even more so that books.
Exactly, add your subjectivity to the pool! It can just be ten albums you really like off the top of your head.
Last edited by Sudy on Thu Jan 14, 2021 3:29 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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Re: OO List of Albums You Must Hear

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Jaymann wrote: Thu Jan 14, 2021 10:15 am The 10 limit is just a guideline, no worries. I just wanted to discourage people from listing 150 albums, which would pretty much ruin it for everyone else.
I think I might go with 10 per decade =)
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Re: OO List of Albums You Must Hear

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Alefroth wrote: Thu Jan 14, 2021 3:29 pm
Jaymann wrote: Thu Jan 14, 2021 10:15 am The 10 limit is just a guideline, no worries. I just wanted to discourage people from listing 150 albums, which would pretty much ruin it for everyone else.
I think I might go with 10 per decade =)
that's what i'm doing, by my own arbitrary rules
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Re: OO List of Albums You Must Hear

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LordMortis wrote: Tue Jan 12, 2021 4:28 pm
Yaz – Upstairs at Eric’s
Wow, I haven't listened to this album in forever. I lost my copy years ago and never picked up another one.
I can still here "Situation" in my head though.

I don't know if I can come up with 10 albums that are "Must Hear" but here are a few of my favorites that I can add to the list:

1. Atomship - The Crash of 47
Specifically, Mothra just blows me away every time I listen to it. Too bad they only did the one album.

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2. Piledriver - Metal Inquisition
The title track, Metal Inquisition is an absolutely raw, in your face, and relentless piece that never fails to get my blood pumping despite being almost a caricature of 80's metal culture.

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3. Killer Dwarfs - Killer Dwarfs
Never Killer Dwarves, it's always Killer Dwarfs. Their first album stands head and shoulders (heh) above their later, overproduced works. While nearly every song on this album is, in my opinion only, a gem, Gotta Lose To Win is pure rock anthem.

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4. Chuck Mangione - Feels So Good
Because goddammit, sometimes I just want to Feel So Good

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5. Helloween - Walls Of Jericho
I bought this album at my local record store sometime back in '86 or so having never heard of the band but I had a Halloween mask that looked exactly like the beast on the record cover. Took it home and was immediately a fan of this German band. Walls Of Jericho/Ride The Sky has one of those bass lines that just drives and drives and drives.

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Ok, I'm going to stop there. I thought I was going to have a tough time coming up with ten but now I feel like I could probably do thirty or more and I need to get some work done. :)
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Re: OO List of Albums You Must Hear

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Dramatist wrote: Wed Jan 13, 2021 12:29 am ABC - The Lexicon Of Love
I love pop music and this is a pop tour du force.
This was going to be on my list until I saw that you already had it. :)
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Re: OO List of Albums You Must Hear

Post by Jeff V »

Brian wrote: Thu Jan 14, 2021 5:43 pm
4. Chuck Mangione - Feels So Good
Because goddammit, sometimes I just want to Feel So Good
Making love to a flugelhorn is just plain wrong though. I believe the album had to be recorded in Idaho where such depravities remain legal.

A few random personal faves that might not have been mentioned yet:

XTC - Apple Venus Vol. 1. Some of you are singing the praises of various pop bands, nobody made as much an art of it as XTC.

Roger Waters - The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking. Pros: Eric Clapton on guitar, a cohesive story, a nice naked ass on the jacket. Cons: the urge to shout "FUCK IT MAN, TAKE THE KIDS BACK TO TOWN, MAYBE I'LL SEE YOU AROUND" in utter anguish at inappropriate times.

J. Geils Band - Love Stinks. When you've had enough of silly love songs, this is the one to break out. But remember, no anchovies please.

Pete Townshend, Empty Glass - Townshend was the songwriter and brains in The Who, but this album shows why he's one of the best ever.

The Boomtown Rats - A Tonic for the Troops AFAIK, Geldolf is the only pop star to have been considered for a Nobel Peace Prize. I'd also recommend The Fine Art of Surfacing.

Supertramp - Breakfast in America one of the most beloved bands from my high school days, this album's release was a major event.

Dire Straits - Sultan's of Swing I could name a bunch of good Aussie bands. I really loved this album above all others. I'm sure Freelunch can add a bunch more.
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Re: OO List of Albums You Must Hear

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Jeff V wrote: XTC - Apple Venus Vol. 1. Some of you are singing the praises of various pop bands, nobody made as much an art of it asXTC.
Love XTC. English Settlement is my favorite but Apple Venus vol. 1 is sublime.
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Re: OO List of Albums You Must Hear

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Jeff V wrote: Thu Jan 14, 2021 8:43 pm Supertramp - Breakfast in America one of the most beloved bands from my high school days, this album's release was a major event.
I finally got to Roger Hodgson maybe five years ago. His show was fantastic. Breakfast in America was one of the first four albums I owned. Breakfast in America, Against the Wind, Don't Say No, Back in Black. I assume they all came out the same year but my love of music was born there.
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Re: OO List of Albums You Must Hear

Post by Jeff V »

LordMortis wrote: Thu Jan 14, 2021 9:04 pm
Jeff V wrote: Thu Jan 14, 2021 8:43 pm Supertramp - Breakfast in America one of the most beloved bands from my high school days, this album's release was a major event.
I finally got to Roger Hodgson maybe five years ago. His show was fantastic. Breakfast in America was one of the first four albums I owned. Breakfast in America, Against the Wind, Don't Say No, Back in Black. I assume they all came out the same year but my love of music was born there.
Another common thread that occurred to me but since you mentioned it....

Albums that aren't "greatest hits" albums but had a shit ton of hits:

AC/DC: Back in Black
Pink Floyd: The Dark Side of the Moon, The Wall
Boston: Boston
Fleetwood Mac: Rumours
The Black Crowes: Shake Your Money Maker
ZZ Top: Eliminator
Van Halen: Van Halen

I love Bob Seger, saw him on the Against the Wind tour, but that wasn't my favorite album. (I'd recommend his Double Bullet Live album). Fun fact: everyone thought he dropped out of the music scene because of too much toke and too much drink; but actually he was in good health, he just wanted to be a stay-at-home dad for his kids. A few years ago, I heard he was getting back into it, but I haven't heard anything from him. Kickstarting a music career after a 20 year layoff has to be damn near impossible.
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