1st Annual SH Forums Favorite Albums Countdown (As Voted By You) - Voting Thread

Beatles, Archies, Partridge Family, Cameo, Van Halen, Billy Joel, EWF, Bangles, Go-Go's, Nancy Wilson, Robin Trower, Foreigner...

It's a pretty interesting cross section of the entire forum!

I also enjoy seeing the combinations of different types of music in folks' lists.

 

Yup. What can I say? I just listened to a wide variety of music growing up. I even have country, classical, and reggae stuff, but none of them made the cut.

 

Grant, we are the ones who make the forum interesting.

 

I really want to participate in this, but I am having such a difficult time getting my list together! I've decided to make it Beatles-free because if I didn't it would be Beatles-top heavy, and it looks like they'll top the final countdown without me.

Back to work....

Oh, and Grant--I think there will be plenty on my final list that haven't been mentioned by other participants yet!

 

That's the issue I'm facing - 14 of my top 20 are Beatles albums, with a few more Beatles and solo albums scattered throughout.

BORRRING.... to everyone but me.

 

Don't furrow your brow, just post your list of favorites. That's what it's supposed to be. A lot of posters have lists that are top heavy with several artists, and some went out of their way to be diverse.

 

Good point. You don't have to be as diverse as possible; that will take care of itself as the lists pile up. The objective here is to put down your favorites so the final list will be accurate to true tastes.

 

With all the divergent tastes here, the point of divergence seems to be the Beatles, so they're going to show up on the composite regardless.

My list is just a point in time anyway; it has and will continue to change and shift through the years.

 

50 of my present-day and sentimental favorites...No Jazz Titles included - a headache would have become a migraine. So, here's some much needed musical relief for meself...


1 U2 - Boy
2 Bob Dylan - Blonde On Blonde
3 Beth Orton - Central Reservation
4 Bruce Springsteen - The Wild, The Innocent and The E Street Shuffle
5 Jackson Browne - For Everyman

6 The Who - Quadrophenia
7 Van Morrison - Astral Weeks
8 Bob Marley - Uprising
9 Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited
10 U2 - The Joshua Tree

11 The Who - Tommy
12 Bob Dylan - John Wesley Harding
13 The Replacements - Pleased To Meet Me
14 REM - Fables of the Reconstruction
15 Talking Heads - Stop Making Sense

16 Van Morrison - Moondance
17 Elvis Costello - King Of America
18 REM - Murmur
19 Elvis Costello - Brutal Youth
20 Sam Cooke - Live at the Harlem Square Club

21 The Who - Who's Next
22 REM - Life's Rich Pageant
23 The Replacements - All Shook Down
24 Sara Mclachlan - Fumbling Towards Ecstacy
25 Rufus Wainwright - Want One

26 Sam Phillips - A Boot and A Shoe
27 Billy Bragg - Talking With The Taxman About Poetry
28 Morrisey - Your Arsenal
29 Smashing Pumpkins - Adore
30 Tim Buckley - Dream Letter

31 John Fogerty - Blue Moon Swamp
32 Led Zeppelin - In Through The Out Door
33 Bruce Springsteen - Darkness On The Edge Of Town
34 Elvis Costello - North
35 U2 - October

36 Talking Heads - True Stories
37 Warren Zevon - Warren Zevon
38 Jackson Browne - I'm Alive
39 David Byrne -Uh-Oh
40 Morrisey - Vauxhall & I

41 Jackson Browne - Saturate Before Using
42 John Lennon - Plastic Ono Band
43 Van Morrison - No Guru, No Method, No Teacher
44 Los Lobobs - How Will The Wolf Survive
45 Elvis Presley - From Elvis In Memphis

46 Sam Phillips - Omnipop
47 The Who - Sell Out
48 Tori Amos - From The Choirgirl Hotel
49 The Cure - Disintegration
50 Waterboys - This Is The Sea

 

Please replace my #99 with Sheik Yerbuti - Frank Zappa

 

Hi Dave,

thanks for starting this incredibly interesting and entertaining thread!

As possibly most of the participants, I had a 'hard time' putting my top-100 in some kind of order - which of course is already part of the fun of the 'game'.

To characterise but briefly where this comes from: 41yo, male, Germany, mainly into Swing&Jazz. I tried to pick 100 that are emotionally dearest to me and which belong to my "musical daily life" so to speak.

Note that in #43, I do not mean the whole (triple) "Trilogy" album but only the third LP on it (with the title as given), which is a very intense concept album of its own.

Best,
Bernhard.

++

1 - Frank Sinatra - (Frank Sinatra Sings For) Only The Lonely
2 - Frank Sinatra – In The Wee Small Hours
3 - Frank Sinatra – September Of My Years
4 - Frank Sinatra – A Swingin’ Affair
5 - Tony Bennett – The Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Album (1975)
6 - Tony Bennett – Tony Bennett & Bill Evans Together Again (1977)
7 - Judy Garland – Judy At Carnegie Hall
8 - Frank Sinatra – Swing Easy
9 - Frank Sinatra – Songs For Young Lovers
10 - Frank Sinatra – The Concert Sinatra

11 - Frank Sinatra – Come Fly With Me
12 - Frank Sinatra – No One Cares
13 - Billie Holiday – Solitude
14 - Frank Sinatra – She Shot Me Down
15 - Frank Sinatra – Where Are You?
16 - Judy Garland – Alone
17 - Bob Dylan – Blood On The Tracks
18 - Bruce Springsteen – Nebraska
19 - Frank Sinatra – Watertown
20 - The Rolling Stones – Stripped

21 - Vladimir Horowitz – Horowitz in Moscow
22 - Frank Sinatra – Moonlight Sinatra
23 - Frank Sinatra – Songs For Swingin’ Lovers
24 - Duke Ellington – Ellington At Newport
25 - Ella Fitzgerald – Ella Fitzgerald sings the Duke Ellington Songbook
26 - Rosemary Clooney & Duke Ellington – Blue Rose
27 - Ella Fitzgerald – Ella Fitzgerald sings the Cole Porter Songbook (DCC/Gold remaster)
28 - Rosemary Clooney – Rosie Solves The Swinging Riddle
29 - Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong – Ella & Louis
30 - Benny Goodman – Carnegie Hall 1938/The Complete Concert (Columbia/2006 remaster)

31 - Chavela Vargas – En Carnegie Hall
32 - Benny Goodman – BG in Hi-Fi
33 - Chavela Vargas - Somos
34 - Frank Sinatra – Sinatra-Basie
35 - Ella Fitzgerald & Count Basie – A Perfect Match
36 - Frank Sinatra – Come Dance With Me
37 - Frank Sinatra – Sinatra’s Swingin’ Session
38 - Rosemary Clooney – Rosemary Clooney Sings the Music of Cole Porter
39 - Stan Getz/Joao Gilberto – Getz/Gilberto
40 - Frank Sinatra – Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim

41 - Chavela Vargas – Cupaima
42 - Chavela Vargas – Soledad
43 - Frank Sinatra – Trilogy Part 3: Reflections On The Future In Three Tenses (Reprise triple album, LP #3)
44 - Judy Garland – The Letter (w/John Ireland)
45 - The Alan Parsons Project – Tales Of Mystery And Imagination
46 - Gordon Jenkins – Seven Dreams
47 - Sammy Davis junior – Sammy Davis jr Sings, Laurindo Almeida Plays (DCC remaster)
48 - The Rolling Stones – Sticky Fingers
49 - Bruce Springsteen – Greetings From Ashbury Park
50 - Marlene Dietrich – Live At The Café de Paris

51 - Frank Sinatra – All Alone
52 - The Alan Parsons Project – The Turn of A Friendly Card
53 – Mike Oldfield - Five Miles Out
54 - Rosemary Clooney – At Long Last
55 - Tony Bennett – Perfectly Frank
56 - Nat King Cole – After Midnight
57 - Anthony Warlow – Midnight Dreaming
58 - Frank Sinatra – Sinatra & Strings
59 - Dean Martin – Sleep Warm
60 - Moacir Santos – Coisas

61 - Sammy Davis jr – That’s All! (Live)
62 - Julie Andrews et al. [Soundtrack] – The Sound of Music
63 - Bing Crosby – Live At The London Palladium 1976 (feat. Rosemary Clooney)
64 - Frank Sinatra – Ring-A-Ding-Ding!
65 - Harry Connick jr. – Blue Light, Red Light
66 - Neil Young – Harvest
67 - Bing Crosby – Seasons
68 - Frank Sinatra – Come Swing With Me
69 - Dean Martin – Gentle On My Mind

70 - Frank Sinatra – Point Of No Return
71 - Liza Minnelli – Live At Carnegie Hall (1981)
72 - Tom Petty & The Heartbrakers – Pack Up The Plantation! Live
73 - Neil Young – Live Rust (Reprise)
74 - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (first album 1976)
75 - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – Damn The Torpedoes
76 - The Traveling Wilburys – The Traveling Wilburys [Vol.1]
77 - Frank Sinatra – The Voice of Frank Sinatra (Columbia album 1946)
78 - Mike Oldfield – Ommadawn
79 - Mike Oldfield – Tubular Bells (1)
80 - The Alan Parsons Project – Pyramid

81 - Marlene Dietrich – Marlene Dietrich singt Berliner Lieder (1960 German LP, no sampler)
82 - Tim Fischer – Zarah ohne Kleid
83 - Tim Fischer – Walzerdelirium (Sonopress Live-Album)
84 - Frank Sinatra – Sinatra & Swingin’Brass
85 - Mike Oldfield - Exposed
86 - Anthony Warlow – Back In The Swing
87 - Shirley Bassey – I Am What I Am
88 - Frank Sinatra – I Remember Tommy
89 - Frank Sinatra – Live At The Sands (w/Count Basie. Reprise 1966)
90 - The Rolling Stones – The Rolling Stones (first Decca album)

91 - The Rolling Stones – Let It Bleed
92 - Frank Sinatra – Swing Along With Me (aka Sinatra Swings, Reprise)
93 - The Beatles - Revolver
94 - Hildegard Knef – Hildegard Knef singt Cole Porter (1968 German album)
95 - Claire Martin – The Waiting Game
96 - Jo Stafford – Autumn In New York
97 - The Hi-Lo’s & Rosemary Clooney – Ring Around Rosie
98 - Elvis Presley – Elvis Presley (first studio LP)
99 - Nat King Cole – Penthouse Serenade
100 - Nancy LaMott – My Foolish Heart

++

 

That's a good idea. I think I may follow suit.

Same here.

 

Dave,

Are reissues able to be included; for instance, I was thinking of the Rhino release of Get Happy, which includes the original release and a bonus disc?

Can we modify our list a little bit if need be, with regards to rankings and additions/deletions?

 

1 - Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
2 - The Beatles - Abbey Road
3 - The Who - Who's Next
4 - Miles Davis - Kind of Blue
5 - Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited
6 - Stevie Wonder - Songs in the Key of Life
7 - John Lennon - Plastic Ono Band
8 - Marvin Gaye - What's Going On
9 - Steely Dan - Aja
10 - Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
11 - Paul McCartney - Ram
12 - E.L.O. - A New World Record
13 - The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds
14 - Tom Waits - Swordfishtrombones
15 - Santana - Abraxas
16 - Grant Green - Idle Moments
17 - Bill Evans - Sunday at the Village Vanguard
18 - Bill Evans - Waltz for Debby
19 - Pink Floyd - Animals
20 - Bob Dylan - Blonde on Blonde
21 - Stevie Wonder - Innervisions
22 - Sting - Nothing Like the Sun
23 - Miles Davis - In a Silent Way
24 - The Beatles - Revolver
25 - Prince - Sign O' The Times
26 - Pink Floyd - The Wall
27 - Elton John - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
28 - The Beatles – White Album
29 - Roger Waters - Amused to death
30 - Carol King - Tapestry
31 - The Allman Brothers Band - Idlewild South
32 - Stevie Wonder - Music of My Mind
33 - Paul McCartney - Band on the Run
34 - Steely Dan - Katy Lied
35 - U2 - Achtung Baby
36 - Tom Waits - Rain Dogs
37 - John Lennon - Imagine
38 - Elton John - Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy
39 - Peter Gabriel - Peter Gabriel [1]
40 - Bob Dylan - Blood on the Tracks
41 - The Beatles - Rubber Soul
42 - Steely Dan - Gaucho
43 - The Who - Quadrophenia
44 - Billy Joel - The Stranger
45 - Rolling Stones - Let it Bleed
46 - Eagles - Hotel California
47 - Marvin Gaye - Let's Get it On
48 - Derek & the Dominoes - Layla
49 - Miles Davis - Cookin'
50 - Miles Davis - Workin'
51 - Miles Davis - Steamin'
52 - Pink Floyd - Meddle
53 - Roxy Music - Avalon
54 - The Doors - The Doors
55 - CCR - Willy and the Poor Boys
56 - Michael Jackson - Off the wall
57 - Herbie Hancock - Maiden Voyage
58 - Fleetwood Mac - Rumours
59 - Peter Gabriel - Peter Gabriel [3]
60 - The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
61 - The Allman Brothers Band - Eat a Peach
62 - Dave Brubeck - Time Out
63 - Leonard Cohen - I'm Your Man
64 - Rolling Stones - Beggars Banquet
65 - Pharoah Sanders - Journey to the One
66 - Donald Fagen - The Nightfly
67 - Supertramp - Crime of the Century
68 - George Harrison - All things must pass
69 - Michael Jackson - Thriller
70 - Beck - Odelay
71 - Talking Heads - More Songs About Buildings and Food
72 - E.L.O. - Discovery
73 - Joe Henderson - Page One
74 - Stevie Wonder- Talking Book
75 - Herbie Hancock - Head Hunters
76 - Tom Waits - Closing Time
77 - Marvin Gaye - I want you
78 - Bob Marley - Exodus
79 - George Michael - Listen without prejudice
80 - Iggy Pop - Lust for Life
81 - James Taylor - JT
82 - The Who - Who are you
83 - Prince - Parade
84 - Marillion - Afraid of Sunlight
85 - R.E.M. - Automatic for the People
86 - David Bowie - Young Americans
87 - Supertramp - Breakfast in America
88 - David Bowie - Low
89 - John Coltrane - A Love Supreme
90 - McCoy Tyner - The Real McCoy
91 - The Doors - LA Woman
92 - James Mason - Rhythm of life
93 - Earth Wind & Fire - That's the Way of the World
94 - Horace Silver - Song for My Father
95 - Bobby Hutcherson - Montara
96 - Prince - Purple Rain
97 - Donald Byrd - Black Byrd
98 - Paul Simon - Hearts and Bones
99 - Paul Desmond - Pure Desmond
100 - Isaac Hayes - Hot Buttered Soul

Dave - thanks for starting this thread; it was fun putting this list together!

 

What I decided to do was limit myself to only listing one Beatles or Beatles-related album. My list just would not be accurate if Revolver wasn't in the number one position.

1 – The Beatles – Revolver
2 – Pink Floyd – The Piper at the Gates of Dawn
3 – The Pretty Things – Parachute
4 – The Pretty Things – S.F. Sorrow
5 – The Kinks – The Kinks are the Village Green Preservation Society
6 – Bob Dylan – Blonde on Blonde
7 – Love – Forever Changes
8 – The Zombies – Odessey and Oracle
9 – The Rolling Stones – December’s Children (and Everybody’s)
10 – The Rolling Stones – Between the Buttons
11 - The Who – The Who Sell Out
12 – Kaleidoscope (UK) – Tangerine Dream
13 – The Small Faces – Ogden’s Nut Gone Flake
14 – The Kinks – Something Else
15 – The Kinks – Face to Face
16 – Mighty Baby
17 – The Soft Machine – Vol. 2
18 – The Soft Machine – Vol. 1
19 – Billy Nicholls – Would You Believe
20 – Syd Barrett – Madcap Laughs
21 – Syd Barrett – Barrett
22 – July
23 – John Coltrane – A Love Supreme
24 – The Sonics – Here are the Sonics!!!
25 – The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Axis: Bold As Love
26 – The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Electric Ladyland
27 – Spirit
28 – Spirit – Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus
29 – Fairport Convention – Liege and Leif
30 – The Outsiders (Dutch) – C.Q.
31 – Five Day Week Straw People
32 – Blossom Toes – We Are Ever So Clean
33 – The Move
34 – The Move – Shazam
35 – The Idle Race
36 – 13th Floor Elevators – The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators
37 – Tomorrow
38 – The Remains
39 – Skip Bifferty
40 – Marvin Gaye – What’s Going On
41 – Los Mac’s – Kaleidoscope Men
42 – The Flamin’ Groovies – Shake Some Action
43 – bobak, jons, malone – motherlight
44 – The Velvet Underground and Nico
45 – Dusty Springfield – Dusty in Memphis
46 – Nick Drake – Pink Moon
48 – Moby Grape
49 – The End – Introspection
50 – The Rolling Stones – Their Satanic Majesties Request
51 – The Who – A Quick One
52 – Os Mutantes
53 – Prince – Sign ‘O’ The Times
54 – Trees – On The Shore
55 – The Smoke (UK) – It’s Smoke Time
56 – Family – Music in a Doll’s House
57 – The Clash – London Calling
58 – Stevie Wonder – Innervisions
59 – Radiohead – OK Computer
60 – Fallen Angels – It’s A Long Way Down
61 – The Incredible String Band – 5,000 Layers or Spirits of the Onion
62 – The Beach Boys – Pet Sounds
63 – Aretha Franklin – I Never Loved a Man
64 – Grapefruit – Around Grapefruit
65 – Apple – An Apple A Day
66 – Beau Brummels – Triangle
67 – The Ramones
68 – Big Star – 3rd/Sister Lovers
69 – Bob Dylan – Highway 61 Revisited
70 – Bob Dylan – Blood on the Tracks
71 – Gandalf
72 – Groep 1850 – Agemo’s Trip to Mother Earth
73 – Honeybus – Story
74 – Insect Trust
75 – Kaleidoscope US – Side Trips
76 – Kak
77 – Lou Reed - Berlin
78 – Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians – Element of Light
79 – Ronnie Lane & Slim Chance – Anymore for Anymore
80 – The Action – Rolled Gold
81 – Mighty Baby – A Jug of Love
82 – The Blues Magoos – Psychedelic Lollipop
83 – The Electric Prunes – I Had Too Much To Dream Last Night
84 – The Bee Gees – 1st
85 – Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger & The Trinity - Open
86 – The Hollies – King Midas in Reverse
87 – Swag – catch-all
88 – The Monks – Black Monk Time
89 – The Who – Live at Leeds
90 – The Who – Who’s Next
91 – The Yardbirds – Little Games
92 – The Yardbirds – Roger the Engineer
93 – Le Orme – Ad Gloriam
94 – Van Morrison – Moodance
95 – Alexander “Skip” Spence - Oar
96 – West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band – A Child’s Guide to Good and Evil
97 – Richard & Linda Thompson – Shoot out the Lights
98 – Kevin Ayers – Joy of a Toy
99 – Donovan – Sunshine Superman
100 – The Stooges – Fun House

 

Now this is different! Got a lot of Sinatra in there!

 

WOW...now that's some list! In fact your list is making me pull out your #8 again (Cecil Taylor)...haven't listened to it in a long time...

 

Now this is my kind of list! Haven't heard that Section 25 album since the 80s, but it's a good one.

 

Howard Mandel has a book out entitled Miles, Ornette, and Cecil. I can almost give you a '100 favorites' list using only those three. It's been suggested to me that I shouldn't have put anything between #'s 8&10.

 

I am not sure what band Get Happy is an album for, but all entries will be considered under the original release. So you can factor it in your decision, but ultimately everything will be grouped as one.

You can modify your list. If it is a minor tweak, you can just PM, if it is a major revamp, then you can post it again, noting that it is an unpdated entry.

 

Thanks, BigDave.

 

if anyone else is struggling as much as I am with this...

I listed about 110 albums in excel. Then I arbitrarily said "top", "middle" or "bottom" for where I felt they roughly belonged. I then did a "top", "middle" and "bottom" for each of the three sections, creating about nine divisions, which were easily sorted via the "sort" function in excel. As I re-evaluate each section, it's easy to change a general categorization or a "sub"-categorization. Of course, I still won't agree with what I post (once I finally get around to it), but I am getting closer...

 

Here's what I did with my first big list to break the process into doable doses. Pick the 10 you can't live without. Don't rank them, just make that first ten. Then make the second ten (again, unranked). And so on, until you've made all 10 groups of 10 (that last batch will be the hard one!).

Then, go back to the top, and start ranking the songs within each group.

Then go to sleep. Wake up, have a look at the whole thing, wonder what on earth you were thinking in a few spots, have some pangs of regret about songs 101-110, make a few quick tweaks, and post your list quickly, before it eats away at your brain entirely.

 

I am curious, did Steve post his favorites? There are so many threads I can't tell.