Best Album/CD EVER

[cnorman18]

Just for laughs, how about we give some awards?

I propose a poll to determine the best rock/pop CD or album ever. Let's get some nominations in, say three to five each, and then I'll see if I can con somebody into doing a poll where we can each vote three (or five) times.

What I have in mind are the most innovative, groundbreaking or seminal albums or CDs ever, the ones that had the most impact on the music world. "Greatest Hits" albums and collections are OK, but I think the original works are more interesting.

Whaddaya say?

I'll start with my next post.

[McCulloch]

1. Abbey Road, The Beatles
   It is difficult to select which of the Beatles albums to include. But Abbey Road, to me is a whole lot of fun.
2. Time Out, The Dave Brubeck Quartet
   You might give it to them for playing a very enjoyable tune in 5/4 time, but it is evident that they were really trying to stretch the confines of rhythms without sounding odd.
3. Hotel California, Eagles
   For being both country and rock and still sounding great.
4. A Trick of the Tail, Genesis
   This was proof that Phil Collins really could sing. A great balance between the artistic excesses of Peter Gabriel and the commercialism that Genesis would later succumb.
5. Tapestry, Carole King
   Carole King is an amazing player, singer and songwriter. This album was a touch stone for a generation. She created a new vision for female vocalists (there were not too many at the time. ) So many of these songs have been re-done by others: Aretha Franklin (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman; The Shirelles' "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" and James Taylor (really a friend to Carole King and who also played on Tapestry), with You've Got a Friend.
6. Dark Side of the Moon, Pink Floyd
   The vocals on The Great Gig in the Sky by Clare Torry still take me back to the days of basement get-togethers and more than a few joints in High School.
7. Abraxas, Santana
   Samba pa Ti is such a slow-burning, seductive piece! And who could beat the lyrics, "Your mother ain't so bad, what happened to you?" Virtuoso guitar.
8. Bridge over Troubled Water, Simon and Garfunkel
   Great feel good music. Feelin' Groovy.
9. Tommy, The Who
10. Fragile, Yes
    Cryptic lyrics, Bill Bruford's percussion and Rick Wakeman doing an amazing job on keyboards, before he got too introspective.

[cnorman18]

What the heck, if McC can explain his choices, so can I:

Rubber Soul, The Beatles

Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Beatles

You kids who were born after the Beatles' reign seem to just see the whole corpus of their work as "Beatles songs." We who grew up with them, though, saw them grow and develop as we did. I was 14 when they hit the charts with "I Wanna Hold Your Hand"; they played bubblegum, and that's what we were ready for. Hints of what was to come appeared in Yesterday and Today, and then Rubber Soul knocked us all on our butts. Every album after that was a revelation and different from the one before, with Revolver and Magical Mystery Tour standing out - and then came Sergeant Pepper. This was the first album that they couldn't take on tour - an orchestra wouldn't have fit on the bus. Nothing like it had ever been done before. They jumped the shark with the "White Album," for many of us - but rose back to innovative greatness with Abbey Road. Let It Be was their swan song, including favorite singles that had never been included in the albums, like "Rain" and "Paperback Writer," and if I remember right, it was released about the time that they broke up. This band dominated rock music through the 60s like no one has before nor since; at one time 8 of the top 10 singles and 4 of the top 5 albums on the charts were from the Fab Four, and that sort of dominance was pretty routine.

Thriller, Michael Jackson

He was once a genius before he turned into Glinda, the Good Witch if the North. Let's not forget that.

Surrealistic Pillow, Jefferson Airplane

THE quintessential acid-rock album, and the rightful heir to the legacy of Big Brother and the Holding Company, the seminal San Francisco band. Moving ballads - "Comin' Back To Me" is not the sound that you associate with this band - and the ultimate tribute to LSD, "White Rabbit." The sheer power and glass-cutting intensity of Gracie's vocals still give me chills.

(Gracie was the hottest babe in rock n' roll 40 years ago. She's now a pleasant-looking, white-haired little old lady. It sucks getting old.)

Blows Against the Empire, Jefferson Starship

A science-fiction novel in album form. It moves from chaos and cacophony to beautiful, symphonic harmony as the starship-hijacking hippies move from this broken world through the new freedom of space to a new and perfect one. Stunning.

Tapestry, Carole King

McC said it all. This lady was writing hits when the rest of us were trying to get a date for the Prom. If memory serves, she wrote "The Locomotion" when she was 17.

Days of Future Passed, Moody Blues

Classically trained, and it shows. As good as anything Schubert ever wrote.

Bridge over Troubled Water, Simon and Garfunkel

Feelgood music, to be sure - but heartbreaking ("El Condor Pasa") and evocative and bloody immortal (the title track) as well.

Graceland, Paul Simon

Simon's best work, I think. He slides from South Africa to the Big Easy without effort and without a seam. This guy is the Mozart of our generation, to me - but I'm a fan since Wednesday Morning 3 AM.

Tommy, The Who

The first rock opera. What can I say? It would be a hit if it came out next week.

Here's another one, not on the ballot:

Super Session, Al Kooper, Stephen Stills, Mike Bloomfield

Three great musicians jamming in Kooper's basement, by all accounts. This is where you learn that a wah-wah pedal isn't just for showoffs. "Season of the Witch" in the best (and longest) version ever recorded. Good luck finding this one.

(By the way, Mac, my people aren't that great with stone tablets. That was just one guy, and all he did was carve out the slabs. The actual writing was done by, er, a different hand....)

[JoeyKnothead]

Count me for:

1- Dark Side of the Moon
2- The Wall
3- Radio KAOS
It should be apparent I like psychedelics

4- Ten
The best debut of any

5- Dirt Track Date
6- Liquor in the Front
Hillbilly rock at its best

7- Rumours
How'd I forget to mention that one?

8- Led Zeppelin II
Rocks!

9- Quadrophenia
Some of Pete's best guitar work

10- Hotel California
Soundtrack to one of the best summers of my life

[cnorman18]

Here are all the albums that got more than one vote:

Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Beatles. 2

Hotel California, Eagles. 2

A Trick of the Tail, Genesis. 2

Thriller, Michael Jackson. 2

Surrealistic Pillow, Jefferson Airplane. 2

Tapestry, Carole King. 2

Nevermind, Nirvana. 2

Ten, Pearl Jam. 3

Dark Side of the Moon, Pink Floyd. 3

The Wall, Pink Floyd. 3

Wish You Were Here, Pink Floyd. 2

Bridge over Troubled Water, Simon and Garfunkel. 2


Quadrophenia, The Who. 2

Tommy, The Who. 3



I suggest another round of voting for everyone who's interested, and that we vote for three.

[cnorman18]

And here's my vote:

Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Beatles

Surrealistic Pillow, Jefferson Airplane

Bridge over Troubled Water, Simon and Garfunkel

[McCulloch]

1. Abbey Road, The Beatles
2. Tapestry, Carole King
3. Dark Side of the Moon, Pink Floyd

[bernee51]

1. Abbey Road, The Beatles

2. Surrealistic Pillow, Jefferson Airplane

3. Dark Side of the Moon, Pink Floyd

4. Nevermind, Nirvana

5. Hotel California, Eagles

6. Thriller, Michael Jackson

7. Led Zeppelin II, Led Zeppelin

8. Days of Future Passed, Moody Blues

9. Abraxas, Santana

10. Tommy, The Who

[Homicidal_Cherry53]

I suggest another round of voting for everyone who's interested, and that we vote for three.

Three out of what's left, or just any three?

If it's just what's left:

1. Nevermind by Nirvana

2. Quadrophenia by The Who

3. Ten by Pearl Jam

Three overall:

1. OK Computer by Radiohead

2. Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd

3. Quadrophenia by The Who

[cnorman18]

I suggest another round of voting for everyone who's interested, and that we vote for three.

Three out of what's left, or just any three?

If it's just what's left:

1. Nevermind by Nirvana

2. Quadrophenia by The Who

3. Ten by Pearl Jam

Three overall:

1. OK Computer by Radiohead

2. Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd

3. Quadrophenia by The Who

I would suggest three from what's left. I have added Abbey Road, Days of Future Passed, and Abraxas; after Bernee's post, they all made the cut. If anybody wants to change their vote, just post it. This is a work in progress, whatever you guys want.

[JoeyKnothead]

Dark Side of the Moon - Pink Floyd

The Wall - Pink Floyd

Ten - Pearl Jam