Billy Joel Studio Albums - Your Favorite?!

1. Turnstiles
2. The Stranger
3. 52nd Street

 

I admit I voted for The Stranger, but Turnstiles is killer. Summer, Highland Falls alone elevates that record.

 

"Glass Houses for me.
It blew me away when I heard it way back when and I went straight out and bought all his other albums.
Apart from that I think:
"The Nylon Curtain" is his masterpiece.
I love "Turnstiles" which is among his very best.
"Cold Spring Harbor" is better to have than not to have - and after all it has 'She's Got A Way' which saves it.
"Piano Man" is uneven with good songs and weak songs (hate the one about Killy The Bit or wotshisname) next to each other but Captain Jack is priceless - and so is the title track, of course.
"The Stranger" and "52nd Street" are a little too slick for me but that doesn't change the fact they are great, great albums.
"Streetlife Serenade" does not get much love but I think it's underrated and like it a lot. - in fact, I consider it a great 'little' album.
Anyway, I'll take "Streetlife Serenade" anyday over "An Innocent Man" (which I think stinks big time), "The Bridge" (which is nice but a bit anonymous), "Storm Front" (which is forgettable) and "River Of Dreams" (which I tend to forget even before it's over).

 

Veering of track a little... Do any of you guys play the Billy Joel list on SongPop? It's a lot of fun. I consider myself a fan but I get caught out on it!

 

"Honesty" should have been a much, much bigger hit than it was. I'm not really a fan of the big traditional ballad, but that one is a winner.

I had The Stranger and Glass Houses as a kid and loved them both, but The Stranger was always my favorite. It's one of the few albums I own that truly has no bad tracks in my opinion - they're all winners, even if a few of them ("Just The Way You Are", "Only The Good Die Young", "Movin' Out") are even more incredible than the others ("Vienna", "Get It Right The First Time", "Everybody Has A Dream").

I just picked up 52nd Street for the very first time from HDTracks. Sounds good to my ear, unlike the awful master of The Stranger they're selling. I don't think I'm gonna like this one as much as I loved The Stranger or Glass Houses, but "Stiletto" and "Big Shot" are both underplayed and under-appreciated, along with "Honestly". At least "My Life" had all the success it deserved, and I like the unusual-sounding "Rosalinda's Eyes" - I found it quite a surprise.

One of these days I'll have to check out The Nylon Curtain as well...

 

The Nylon Curtain for me. After that is where I get off the bus.

 

The Nylon Curtain
52nd Street
Turnstiles
The Stranger
Piano Man
Glass Houses

My ranking for the top ones for me.

 

I agree except I think "Vienna" belongs in the first category and, of course, "Scenes From an Italian Restaurant" and "She's Always a Woman" are up there too.

 

I like Glass Houses. The Stranger also rules.

 

"Vienna" is the best of the lesser tracks on The Stranger, for me anyhow. "Scenes" is in the middle of the pack along with "She's Always A Woman" and maybe "Movin' Out" - but that's quite a middle! "Just The Way You Are" and "Only The Good Die Young" are probably two of the five best tracks he ever cut - "Just The Way You Are" I think is his finest, and indeed one of the great songs of the decade. Again, not typically my style, but damn, he did it so well!

 

"Zanzibar" is the real standout on 52nd Street, an album I find more consistent than The Stranger.

 

no way! Streetlife is his best album! ok, I'll play


1. Streetlife Serenade
2. 52nd Street
3. Piano Man
4. Cold Spring Harbour
5. Turnstiles

6. The Stranger
7. Glass Houses
8. The Nylon Curtain
9. An Innocent Man
10. The Bridge
11. Storm Front
12. River Of Dreams

the first five that I've ranked are essential. the rest might have a song or two... but I can take or leave them.

 

"Vienna" is one of his best songs ever, IMO. On the top alongside "Summer, Highland Falls".

I disagree that 52nd Street is more consistent than The Stranger, but "Zanzibar" is absolutely amazing - especially in the unfaded mix on the My Lives box.

 

Turnstiles

 

Tough one-.

Nylon Courtain, sometimes The Stranger and other times Glass Houses.

 

The Nylon Curtain, very beatlesque to my ears.

 

I see I'm in a small minority with RoD. It was a toss up between that and Storm Front, which seems another minority.

 

Hard to choose, but I think I have to go with The Stranger. 52nd Street and Glass Houses are two other favorites.

 

I'm not sure I'd call it my favourite but I've been revisiting the Bridge recently and while the production is rather 80s I think the song writing is absolutely top notch, outside of Modern Woman which grates a little at this distance I don't see a weak track on it. Certainly his last great album in my view. In terms of a stone cold favourite turnstiles is perhaps the most consistent.

 

Nylon Curtain by a long shot

 

The Nylon Curtain. Nothing else comes close for me.

 

I'm surprised by the love for Turnstiles. I thought it'd be at the bottom. I saw the tour right before the lp came out and was quite taken by the new material, especially Angry Young Man and NY State of Mind. The lyrics of AYM stayed on my wall through college, some of his best ever. And the ballads, for me, are among his best. The songwriting seemed more honest than anything that came before. It's no surprise that Stranger is #1, it's my second pick and I don't even listen to any of the singles anymore.

 

I played that game for a while, but started not having fun with it because it's more about reflexes than music knowledge.

 

Mine too.

Evan