20 Albums That Everyone Should Own (And The World Would Be A Better Place Because Of It)
Completely subjective, these are albums I love. I notice most of them are from the late 1970s and a raft of them are from 1977. I'm not sure what it means that these slabs of plastic (then it was vinyl) fused onto my life in my mid/late teen years. Maybe it's similar to the way that by six or seven years old little kids have language and learning aptitude imprinted. Perhaps our musical preferences are burned in at sixteen or seventeen, when we're becoming adults. Or maybe 1977 was the last cool year for music. Or maybe it was the year the drugs kicked in.
INSPIRATION INFORMATION - Shuggie Otis (1974). Way ahead of its time when it came out, it still sounds unique and timeless. The music is a blend of soul, funk, pop,blues and psychedelic rock all played by Otis who was all of 20 when he recorded it (he plays everything but the horns and the strings). A truly amazing collection of songs that are as under-appreciated today as they were when the album came out.
PROPAGANDA - Sparks (1974).
A tough choice here but for sheer chuckles this disc wins out over KIMONO MY HOUSE released earlier the same year. Another of the underrated bands I champion, Sparks are the Mael brothers Ron and Russ. They have a really amazing catalog of smarty-pants, wiseacre albums of which this is my favorite. Full of clever lyrics and equally clever music played by a crack band (and who couldn't like a band with 'Dinky Diamond' on drums?) "At Home At Work At Play", "Achoo", "Who Don't Like Kids" -- there isn't a clunker here. The terrific and almost majestic "Never Turn Your Back On Mother Earth" is an unsung classic we can only hope gets its due from future Rock and Roll historians. I never realized how much Russ Mael influenced Mike Patton until I heard Faith No More do "Something For The Girl With Everything."
The RESIDENTS present THE THIRD REICH 'N ROLL
- The Residents (1976). There's not really a way to describe what's on this disc. The Residents, for those in the dark, are a mysterious group of musicians from San Francisco that have been releasing music since the early 1970s, mostly on their own label Ralph Records. Their identities are unknown as they hide behind an array of disguises (most famously large eyeball helmets) and rarely perform live. From about 1972-1982 they released some of the strangest, most wonderful music the world has ever know - this being my personal fave. Conceptually the album suggests the pop music machine of the 1960s was a fascist Nazi plot. What's actually on the disc can't really be described - imagine a group of clinically insane 6 year old Dada-ists remembering everything they could from their parent's record collection and performing it as one nonstop song. Strange, hilarious, brilliant, stupid - it's all this and more. The finale of "Hey Jude", and "Sympathy For The Devil" played on top of each other is arguably the genesis of the mash-up culture.
A REAL MOTHER FOR YA - Johnny "Guitar" Watson (1977).
Deep from the funk freezer and covered with soul. There are not many albums cooler than this one. Johnny "Guitar" Watson made a name for himself in the 1950s and 1960s as a bluesman. He recreated himself in the mid-1970s as the Iceman of Funk with two albums, this and its predecessor AIN'T THAT A BITCH (1977). He plays all the instruments except the drums and horns, which are handled by an A-list of British jazz players who blow OUT. Watson scats, raps, talks to his guitar and sings his way through a collection of simmering soul classics that have more funk than George Clinton's laundry. As a guitar player, he's a rare master of exactly the correct note at exactly the correct time; fast and fancy when needed, slow and thoughtful when it counts. Ain't that cold? Yes, Johnny, it is and so are you.
ROUND THE BACK - Cafe Jacques (1977).
Here's an obscure one. A Scottish trio that released two albums, both produced by Rupert Hine, full of smooth, sophisticated soul/pop, rich in melody, catchy lyrics and hummable choruses. I would count this among the best pop albums of all time. There is something about the harmonies, the arrangements and the tunes that leave me hopeful and a little melancholy (a good kind of melancholy) . Their second album INTERNATIONAL has one of the greatest cover versions ever done, an unbelievable transformation of "Boulevard of Broken Dreams".
NEVER MIND THE BULLOCKS, HERE'S THE SEX PISTOLS - Sex Pistols (1977).
Hindsight may say The Clash released the definitive "punk" album but this is the album that started it for most of us. Smart funny lyrics and songs that are simply great rock tunes fill this to the brim. Simply one of the greatest records ever made. I'm glad I was there to hear it when it came out.
KEW. RHONE. - Peter Blegvad / John Greaves / Lisa Herman (1977).
The exact antithesis of the previous selection. One of the great art-rock progressive jazz albums ever made, this collection of cryptic, puzzling, punny, mystifying and haunting songs are inspired by C.W. Peale's painting "Exhuming of the American Mastodon". Like all great art, it reveals itself a little bit at a time over subsequent visits.
PLAYING THE FOOL - Gentle Giant (1977).
A double live record from the peak of their career, this is among the best live albums ever. A virtuoso band playing the highlights of their catalog. Complex songs and a raft of instruments (each band member is a multi-instrumentalist). In these days of performers using prerecorded tracks to fill out (or in some cases completely create) live performances, it's worth listening to a band that can duplicate their complex studio releases and improve on them. The madrigal "On Reflection" demonstrates a vocal prowess unmatched by any rock band before or since.
CHEAP TRICK - Cheap Trick (1977).
Here's a record so underrated and ignored it makes me wonder whether or not people can tell the difference between Great and Crap. Ignore the track order on the CD reissue - the original was released with a Side 1 and a Side A which apparently confused the intended song order. Reprogram the CD to start with "Hot Love" and end with "Oh Candy" for the ultimate version of this masterpiece. Ferocious guitar and bass, Robin Zander's near perfect rock voice, and songs so hook filled it borders on ridiculous. For me, these guys never did better although they came pretty close several times. "He's A Whore" should be as famous as "Stairway to Heaven" and "Taxman, Mr. Thief" should be bound by law to play immediately following "Taxman". Excuse me, just writing this makes me need to go listen to this right now.
154 - Wire (1979).
This disc appears on my other list as one of the greatest recordings ever made, but since it's also one of my all time favorite albums, it gets a repeat here. While any of the first three Wire records could be here, this particular album trumps the others by its shear density of sonic content. The performances are intense and precise and the songs are near perfect. The opening song "I Should Have Known Better" blew me away the first time I heard it - one of the few times that's happened. I listened to just that song for days on end. When I finally got around to the last song, it was probably a week later.
LODGER - David Bowie (1980).
Although the first side of HEROES is probably the best stuff he ever did, this is my favorite album. The songs vary wildly in style and subject, but when put in sequence they create a weird travelogue that has a strange logic.
DISCIPLINE - King Crimson (1981).
I listened to this album for about two years solid when it came out. I'd forgotten how much it impacted everything I currently listen to until I saw Adrian Belew play three cuts off this with his Power Trio. Amazing combination of progressive rock/metal/pop.
ENGLISH SETTLEMENT - XTC (1982).
It's hard to pick just one album from their oeuvre as I'm pretty fond of all of them but this one gets the most airtime hands down. The one-two punch of the opening tracks, "Runaways" and "Ball and Chain" clear the way for the next thirteen songs. 80 minutes later, you've heard the best music has to offer. The US version originally neutered this to a single album leaving off a seemingly arbitrary selection of the songs - the tunes are all so good I suspect someone used a dart board to figure out what to leave off. The CD release returns the album to its full glory.
BLAST OF SILENCE - The Golden Palominos (1986).
The Golden Palominos are essentially a pickup band revolving around drummer Anton Fier. This is their second album and for my money their best album. A exemplary collection of great song writing and great performances, especially vocally, easily put this among my favorite and most listened to albums. The album is framed by two Lowell George (Little Feat) songs, "I've Been The One" and "Brides of Jesus", but the rest are mostly by Fier and Peter Blegvad. The musicians are a potent but eclectic mix including Bill Laswell (Material, Eno, Laurie Anderson, Pil, Herbie Hancock), Matthew Sweet, Jody Harris (Raybeats, Contortions), Robert Kidney (The Numbers Band), Nicky Skopelitis (Ornette Coleman, Material, PiL), Carla Bley, Pat Thrall (Pat Travers Band, Automatic Man), Bernie Worrell (Parliment/Funkadelic, Material, Talking Heads), T-Bone Burnette, Chris Stamey (Alex Chilton, The dBs), Syd Straw, Jack Bruce (Cream). While this sort of "guestitis" has the potential to sound disjointed and grab-ass in this case it results in a very solid "band" sounding album. Much of that is due to the presence of Peter Blegvad, Bernie Worrell and Jody Harris , along with Fier, on most of the tracks. Syd Straw, who's beautiful voice is surely one of the most underrated in music, provides the bulk of the lead and backing vocals, with Matthew Sweet in for one song and Jack Bruce in for a pair. One of a handful of releases I've owned on LP, cassette and CD.
TANGO: ZERO HOUR - Astor Piazzolla (1986).
The first time I heard this I was completely floored. Sensual and muscular, it wasn't the tango I was familiar with; not the silly joke tango from movies but the rough and erotic music of the whorehouse. I could listen to this all night. Piazzolla's next two albums, THE ROUGH DANCER AND THE CYCLICAL NIGHT (1987) and LA CAMORRA (1989), are a shade less great.
FATS WALLER AT THE ORGAN VOL.3: 1926-1929 - Fats Waller (1926-28/1998).
I looked for this album for years. Fats Waller was of course the most legendary of pianists, an early jazz pioneer, and also known as an early user of the electric organ in jazz. Less known and less available were his pipe organ recordings, which are simply wonderful. There is something really terrific about jazz on a pipe organ, in some ways like jazz on a banjo (re. Bela Fleck) and this is a great collection of solo and group sides. I first became interested in tracking this down after reading that this was what plays in the background of Henry Spencer's apartment in ERASERHEAD. It took a long time to actually find the music and it has continued to make me happy every time I hear it. A rare and wonderful musical experience.
CALIFORNIA - Mr. Bungle (1999).
Talk about going out with a bang! Mr. Bungle's final album is the perfect synthesis of their prior two major label releases and it's a magnificent album. Their everything-including-the-kitchen-sink musical style shines here as they jump from doo-wop to surf to metal to arabic to jazz often within a 30 second span. Definitely from the Bizarro Planet Earth, it's a feast for the ears. Imagine the band popping three excellent albums into a blender and rendering the result into a concentrated sonic stew = this record. And special props for the best integration of Kecak, the Balinese Ramayana Monkey Chant, into a rock song ("Goodbye Sober Day").
STUPID DREAM - Porcupine Tree (1999).
Like XTC above it's almost impossible to pick out my favorite PT recording. STUPID DREAM edges out the others by a quill. The first track is one of the best things they ever recorded and it's followed by the charming "Piano Lesson" ("...tiny hands / destroying timeless tunes...") and "Pure Narcotic" which has ethereal harmonies. "Baby Dream In Cellophane" is in a league with "Norwegian Wood" for songs with painfully lovely melodies. This disc is a sort of bridge between the psychedelic PT of the earlier albums and what I would call the rock/pop of their middle albums (three albums later would begin the heavier sound influenced by Steve Wilson's work with Opeth).
THE SOFT BULLETIN - The Flaming Lips (1999).
The sheer brilliance of this release can't be measured by currently existing instruments. If the album only contained "Race For The Prize" it would be worth owning - the fact that "Race" is only one of twelve pocket symphonies makes it indispensable. Layers of sound and general weirdness surround haunting melodies. The album leaves one with a feeling of optimism that's as heartfelt as the lyrics. A masterpiece.
THE SHAMING OF THE TRUE - Kevin Gilbert (2000).
A concept album about the rise and fall of a singer named Johnny Virgil, it mirrors the sad, short life of its creator. Gilbert died tragically in 1996 leaving this album unfinished but thanks to engineer John Cuniberti, drummer Nick D'Virgilio and Gilbert's rough mixes from a DAT master, one of the greatest rock albums ever saw the light of day. Gilbert was a gifted multi-instrumentalist, singer and song writer and on these songs wears his influences (Peter Gabriel, Elton John, Yes, Gentle Giant, Pete Townshend) on his sleeve without ever sounding derivative. This may be the perfect rock album.
BRIDGE ACROSS FOREVER - Transatlantic (2001).
I wrote about this a couple of years ago. Although I no longer listen to this every day I still listen to it pretty frequently and still feel the same: this may be the best progressive album ever made. The strong Beatle's influence with the major league prog rock complexities (time signatures, really monster playing) make this the most hummable of art rock albums. It's interesting that in reading various on-line reviews most people seem to prefer their first album, which while very good doesn't have the musical cohesiveness of this album. Pete Trewavas's bass playing is really superb in a way that I haven't heard on the Marillion albums. And although Roine Stolt seems to feel the whole TA project never got to its full musical potential, he certainly does some of his finest, most melodic playing.
DAMNATION - Opeth (2003).
Even though Opeth are a death metal band, I'd have no problems recommending this disc to just about anyone. The quiet moments have always been a welcome part of Opeth's generally heavy discs - welcome because of Mikael Akerfeldt's fantastic voice and gift for melody and harmony. The less heavy songs never come across as the "obligatory mellow song needed on a heavy metal release." DAMNATION is a great collection of moody, atmospheric music; the lyrics and cover being the only real hints at the dark underpinnings of the band. "Windowpane" and "In My Time of Need" are haunting, beautiful songs. A Rhodes sounding keyboard on "Weakness" creates an environment Akerfeldt's voice has never encountered on disc, and the effect is chilling. I doubt they will ever make another album like DAMNATION but I'm really glad they made this one.
TESTIMONY - Neal Morse (2003).
Morse is a big favorite of mine -- I think his song-writing is extraordinary and he has a gift for creating melodies that really stick. He also primarily writes progressive rock epics. This is one of his best. It's a very personal album dealing with his own spiritual awakening brought on by his despair, a feeling of aimlessness and ultimately the miraculous healing of his critically ill daughter. It's a Christian album, yes, but the music is a genre-defying mix of everything from country to progressive metal. While he is speaking of religious salvation, he is also speaking of the healing power of hope and love. I find the album uplifting and musically thrilling. If all Christian music were like this, there'd be a lot more religious people in the world.
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Way ahead of its time when it came out, it still sounds unique and timeless. The music is a blend of soul, funk, pop,blues and psychedelic rock all played by Otis who was all of 20 when he recorded it (he plays everything but the horns and the strings). A truly amazing collection of songs that are as under-appreciated today as they were when the album came out.
A tough choice here but for sheer chuckles this disc wins out over KIMONO MY HOUSE released earlier the same year. Another of the underrated bands I champion, Sparks are the Mael brothers Ron and Russ. They have a really amazing catalog of smarty-pants, wiseacre albums of which this is my favorite. Full of clever lyrics and equally clever music played by a crack band (and who couldn't like a band with 'Dinky Diamond' on drums?) "At Home At Work At Play", "Achoo", "Who Don't Like Kids" -- there isn't a clunker here. The terrific and almost majestic "Never Turn Your Back On Mother Earth" is an unsung classic we can only hope gets its due from future Rock and Roll historians. I never realized how much Russ Mael influenced Mike Patton until I heard Faith No More do "Something For The Girl With Everything."
There's not really a way to describe what's on this disc. The Residents, for those in the dark, are a mysterious group of musicians from San Francisco that have been releasing music since the early 1970s, mostly on their own label Ralph Records. Their identities are unknown as they hide behind an array of disguises (most famously large 
Deep from the funk freezer and covered with soul. There are not many albums cooler than this one. Johnny "Guitar" Watson made a name for himself in the 1950s and 1960s as a bluesman. He recreated himself in the mid-1970s as the Iceman of Funk with two albums, this and its predecessor AIN'T THAT A BITCH (1977). He plays all the instruments except the drums and horns, which are handled by an A-list of British jazz players who blow OUT. Watson scats, raps, talks to his guitar and sings his way through a collection of simmering soul classics that have more funk than George Clinton's laundry. As a guitar player, he's a rare master of exactly the correct note at exactly the correct time; fast and fancy when needed, slow and thoughtful when it counts. Ain't that cold? Yes, Johnny, it is and so are you.
Here's an obscure one. A Scottish trio that released two albums, both produced by Rupert Hine, full of smooth, sophisticated soul/pop, rich in melody, catchy lyrics and hummable choruses. I would count this among the best pop albums of all time. There is something about the harmonies, the arrangements and the tunes that leave me hopeful and a little melancholy (a good kind of melancholy) . Their second album INTERNATIONAL has one of the greatest cover versions ever done, an unbelievable transformation of "Boulevard of Broken Dreams".
Hindsight may say The Clash released the definitive "punk" album but this is the album that started it for most of us. Smart funny lyrics and songs that are simply great rock tunes fill this to the brim. Simply one of the greatest records ever made. I'm glad I was there to hear it when it came out.
The exact antithesis of the previous selection. One of the great art-rock progressive jazz albums ever made, this collection of cryptic, puzzling, punny, mystifying and haunting songs are inspired by C.W. Peale's painting "Exhuming of the American Mastodon". Like all great art, it reveals itself a little bit at a time over subsequent visits.
A double live record from the peak of their career, this is among the best live albums ever. A virtuoso band playing the highlights of their catalog. Complex songs and a raft of instruments (each band member is a multi-instrumentalist). In these days of performers using prerecorded tracks to fill out (or in some cases completely create) live performances, it's worth listening to a band that can duplicate their complex studio releases and improve on them. The madrigal "On Reflection" demonstrates a vocal prowess unmatched by any rock band before or since.
Here's a record so underrated and ignored it makes me wonder whether or not people can tell the difference between Great and Crap. Ignore the track order on the CD reissue - the original was released with a Side 1 and a Side A which apparently confused the intended song order. Reprogram the CD to start with "Hot Love" and end with "Oh Candy" for the ultimate version of this masterpiece. Ferocious guitar and bass, Robin Zander's near perfect rock voice, and songs so hook filled it borders on ridiculous. For me, these guys never did better although they came pretty close several times. "He's A Whore" should be as famous as "Stairway to Heaven" and "Taxman, Mr. Thief" should be bound by law to play immediately following "Taxman". Excuse me, just writing this makes me need to go listen to this right now.
This disc appears on my other list as one of the greatest recordings ever made, but since it's also one of my all time favorite albums, it gets a repeat here. While any of the first three Wire records could be here, this particular album trumps the others by its shear density of sonic content. The performances are intense and precise and the songs are near perfect. The opening song "I Should Have Known Better" blew me away the first time I heard it - one of the few times that's happened. I listened to just that song for days on end. When I finally got around to the last song, it was probably a week later.
Although the first side of HEROES is probably the best stuff he ever did, this is my favorite album. The songs vary wildly in style and subject, but when put in sequence they create a weird travelogue that has a strange logic.
I listened to this album for about two years solid when it came out. I'd forgotten how much it impacted everything I currently listen to until I saw Adrian Belew play three cuts off this with his Power Trio. Amazing combination of progressive rock/metal/pop.
It's hard to pick just one album from their oeuvre as I'm pretty fond of all of them but this one gets the most airtime hands down. The one-two punch of the opening tracks, "Runaways" and "Ball and Chain" clear the way for the next thirteen songs. 80 minutes later, you've heard the best music has to offer. The US version originally neutered this to a single album leaving off a seemingly arbitrary selection of the songs - the tunes are all so good I suspect someone used a dart board to figure out what to leave off. The CD release returns the album to its full glory.
The Golden Palominos are essentially a pickup band revolving around drummer Anton Fier. This is their second album and for my money their best album. A exemplary collection of great song writing and great performances, especially vocally, easily put this among my favorite and most listened to albums. The album is framed by two Lowell George (Little Feat) songs, "I've Been The One" and "Brides of Jesus", but the rest are mostly by Fier and 
The first time I heard this I was completely floored. Sensual and muscular, it wasn't the tango I was familiar with; not the silly joke tango from movies but the rough and erotic music of the whorehouse. I could listen to this all night. Piazzolla's next two albums, THE ROUGH DANCER AND THE CYCLICAL NIGHT (1987) and LA CAMORRA (1989), are a shade less great.
I looked for this album for years. Fats Waller was of course the most legendary of pianists, an early jazz pioneer, and also known as an early user of the electric organ in jazz. Less known and less available were his pipe organ recordings, which are simply wonderful. There is something really terrific about jazz on a pipe organ, in some ways like jazz on a banjo (re. Bela Fleck) and this is a great collection of solo and group sides. I first became interested in tracking this down after reading that this was what plays in the background of Henry Spencer's apartment in ERASERHEAD. It took a long time to actually find the music and it has continued to make me happy every time I hear it. A rare and wonderful musical experience.
Talk about going out with a bang! Mr. Bungle's final album is the perfect synthesis of their prior two major label releases and it's a magnificent album. Their everything-including-the-kitchen-sink musical style shines here as they jump from doo-wop to surf to metal to arabic to jazz often within a 30 second span. Definitely from the Bizarro Planet Earth, it's a feast for the ears. Imagine the band popping three excellent albums into a blender and rendering the result into a concentrated sonic stew = this record. And special props for the best integration of Kecak, the Balinese Ramayana Monkey Chant, into a rock song ("Goodbye Sober Day").
Like XTC above it's almost impossible to pick out my favorite PT recording. STUPID DREAM edges out the others by a quill. The first track is one of the best things they ever recorded and it's followed by the charming "Piano Lesson" ("...tiny hands / destroying timeless tunes...") and "Pure Narcotic" which has ethereal harmonies. "Baby Dream In Cellophane" is in a league with "Norwegian Wood" for songs with painfully lovely melodies. This disc is a sort of bridge between the psychedelic PT of the earlier albums and what I would call the rock/pop of their middle albums (three albums later would begin the heavier sound influenced by Steve Wilson's work with Opeth).
The sheer brilliance of this release can't be measured by currently existing instruments. If the album only contained "Race For The Prize" it would be worth owning - the fact that "Race" is only one of twelve pocket symphonies makes it indispensable. Layers of sound and general weirdness surround haunting melodies. The album leaves one with a feeling of optimism that's as heartfelt as the lyrics. A masterpiece.
A concept album about the rise and fall of a singer named Johnny Virgil, it mirrors the sad, short life of its creator. Gilbert died tragically in 1996 leaving this album unfinished but thanks to engineer John Cuniberti, drummer Nick D'Virgilio and Gilbert's rough mixes from a DAT master, one of the greatest rock albums ever saw the light of day. Gilbert was a gifted multi-instrumentalist, singer and song writer and on these songs wears his influences (Peter Gabriel, Elton John, Yes, Gentle Giant, Pete Townshend) on his sleeve without ever sounding derivative. This may be the perfect rock album.
I wrote about this a 
Even though Opeth are a death metal band, I'd have no problems recommending this disc to just about anyone. The quiet moments have always been a welcome part of Opeth's generally heavy discs - welcome because of Mikael Akerfeldt's fantastic voice and gift for melody and harmony. The less heavy songs never come across as the "obligatory mellow song needed on a heavy metal release." DAMNATION is a great collection of moody, atmospheric music; the lyrics and cover being the only real hints at the dark underpinnings of the band. "Windowpane" and "In My Time of Need" are haunting, beautiful songs. A Rhodes sounding keyboard on "Weakness" creates an environment Akerfeldt's voice has never encountered on disc, and the effect is chilling. I doubt they will ever make another album like DAMNATION but I'm really glad they made this one.
Morse is a big favorite of mine -- I think his song-writing is extraordinary and he has a gift for creating melodies that really stick. He also primarily writes progressive rock epics. This is one of his best. It's a very personal album dealing with his own spiritual awakening brought on by his despair, a feeling of aimlessness and ultimately the miraculous healing of his critically ill daughter. It's a Christian album, yes, but the music is a genre-defying mix of everything from country to progressive metal. While he is speaking of religious salvation, he is also speaking of the healing power of hope and love. I find the album uplifting and musically thrilling. If all Christian music were like this, there'd be a lot more religious people in the world.
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