YOUR RBR TOP 25 ALBUMS of ALL TIME

I screwed up and posted mine on the fanshot post, so I resubmit.

1. AC/DC – Back in Black
2. The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Electric Ladyland
3. Pink Floyd – The Darkside of the Moon
4. Guns N Roses – Appetite for Destruction
5. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band – Nebraska
6. Led Zeppelin – II
7. Metallica – And Justice for All
8. Johnny Cash – I Walk the Line
9. Cream – Disraeli Gears
10. The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Are you Experienced?
11. Michael Jackson – Thriller
12. Weezer – The Blue Album
13. Heart – Dream Boat Annie
14. The Beatles – Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
15. Pink Floyd – The Wall
16. Creedence Clearwater Revival – Cosmo’s Factory
17. Black Sabbath – Paranoid
18. Dire Straits – Brothers in Arms
19. Metallica – The Black Album
20. Dr. Dre – The Chronic
21. Radiohead – Paranoid Android
22. Led Zeppelin – IV
23. The Pixies – Surfer Rosa
24. Nine Inch Nails – Pretty Hate Machine
25. Iggy Pop – Lust for Life

1. Chris Whitley – Living with the Law
2. Tom Waits – Mule Variations
3. Drive By Truckers – The Dirty South
4. Stereophonics – You Gotta Go There to Come Back
5. Buckcherry – Buckcherry (before they sold out, one of the most underrated rock records in a long time)
6. Chris Whitley – Terra Incognita
7. Patti Griffin – Living with Ghosts
8. Lucinda Williams – Car Wheels on a Gravel Road
9. Hank Williams, Sr. – Greatest Hits double disc (yea, yea, can’t do that, I know, but I gotta have ’em all)
10. Bill Perry – Greycourt Lightning
11. SRV – Texas Flood, The Sky is Crying, or In Step
12. Chris Whitley – Dirt Floor
13. Chris Whitley – Rocket House
14. GnR – UYI I&II
15. The Band – Music from Big Pink
16. The Black Crowes – The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion
17. The Black Crowes – Three Snakes and One Charm
18. The Black Crowes – Amorica
19. Chris Whitley – Din of Ecstasy
20. Ryan Adams – Easy Tiger (or Jacksonville City Nights depending on the mood)
21. Jackie Greene – American Myth
22. Bob Dylan – Highway 61 Revisited
23. Bob Dylan – Bringing it all Back Home
24. Bob Dylan – Blonde on Blonde
25. Bob Dyaln – Blood on the Tracks
26. Buddy Miller – Universal United House of Prayer

Shoutouts to Poison’s Open Up and Say Ahhh (for nostalgic reasons), Keb Mo, Chris Cornell’s Euphoria Morning, and OCMS…close, it hurt to not put y’all in there

20. Let Love In – Nick Cave (Mellow and autobiographical to my life. Just a perfect album except for “jangling Jack”)

What’s wrong with “Jangling Jack?”

Nirvana- Bleach
Nirvana- Nevermind
AC/DC- Back in Black
Aerosmith- Rocks
Minutemen- Three Way Tie For Last
Minutemen- Double Nickels on the Dime
Husker Du- The Living End
Led Zeppelin- IV
Pink Floyd- Dark Side of the Moon
Jimi Hendrix- Electric Ladyland
Black Sabbath- Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath- Paranoid
Johnny Cash-At Folsom Prison
U2- The Unforgettable Fire
Tom Petty- Full Moon Fever
AC/DC- Highway to Hell
Bad Company- Bad Company
Lynyrd Skynyrd- (Pronounced ‘Lĕh-’nérd ‘Skin-’nérd)
Guns & Roses- Appetite for Destruction
ZZ Top- Tres Hombres
Van Halen- Van Halen
Alice in Chains- Facelift
Ramones-Ramones
Sex Pistols- Never Mind the Bollocks
The Allman Brothers- Live at Fillmore East

1) Bob Dylan – Highway 61 Revisited
2) The Beatles – White Album
3) Beach Boys – Pet Sounds
4) Marvin Gaye – Whats Going On
5) The Clash – London Calling
6) Elvis – The Sun Sessions
7) Nirvana – Nevermind
8) Bruce Springsteen – Born To Run (Thunder Road. Enough said, natch.)
9) Michael Jackson – Thriller (seriously, think of all the hits this album produced)
10) Miles Davis – Kind of Blue
11) Chuck Berry – The Great Twenty-Eight (still remember Dylan saying "if you had to call rock and roll another name, you’d have to call it Chuck Berry)
12) U2 – The Joshua Tree (I hate the band, but this album is as solid as it comes IMO)
13) Johnny Cash – At Folsom Prison
14) The Who – Who’s Next
15) Robert Johnson – King of the Delta Blues Singers (they say he sold his soul to the devil…)
16) James Brown – Live at the Apollo
17) Ramones – Ramones
18) XTC – Oranges and Lemons
19) Sex Pistols – Never Mind the Bollocks
20) Bob Marley and the Wailers – The Legend
21) John Coltrane – A Love Supreme
22) Public Enemy – It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back (yeah boy!)
23) Lynyrd Skynyrd – Pronounced
24) The Allman Brothers Band – At Fillmore East
25) Simon And Garfunkel – Bridge Over Troubled Waters

I feel dirty for not putting a single Zappa album in this, also I did not want to duplicate artists, or else this would have been all Dylan and Cash. There are others I labored over to try and justify into this list, but if I had to start over without everything these are the first 25 albums I’d purchase.

I think my top 25 artists would be easier… Stay tuned.

21. Temple of the Dog – Temple of the Dog (The finest album to come out of Seattle. Pure emotion and killer songs from Chris Cornell and half of Pearl Jam)

Mother Love Bone; I salute you.

1. Hendrix – Are You Experienced
2. Beatles – 1962-1966 – Red Album
3. Marvin Gaye – What’s Goin’ On
4. Van Morrison – Astral Weeks
5. Van Morrison – Moondance
6. The Who – Tommy
7. XTC – Skylarking
8. Dire Straits – Dire Straits
9. Led Zeppelin – I
10. Led Zeppelin – II
11. Led Zeppelin – IV
12. The Band – Music from Big Pink
13. Prince – 1999
14. U2 – War
15. Bruce Springsteen – Born to Run
16. John Coltrane – A Love Supreme
17. The Clash – The Clash
18. Iggy & the Stooges – Fun House
19. Santana – Abraxas
20. Talking Heads – Speaking in Tongues
21. Peter Gabriel – So
22. Allman Brothers Band – At Fillmore East
23. Stevie Ray Vaughn – Soul to Soul
24. Pink Floyd – Dark Side of the Moon
25. Rolling Stones – Exile on Main Street

My selections are based on the knowledge that I can and will still sit through these, start to finish, even all these many years later.

1) U2 – The Unforgettable Fire
2) The Stooges – The Stooges
3) Prince – Controversy
4) Public Enemy – It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back
5) The Cult – Electric
6) The Pharcyde – Bizarre Ride II
7) Beastie Boys – Licensed to Ill
8) Liz Phair – Exile in Guyville
9) The Clash – The Clash
10) Violent Femmes – Violent Femmes
11) Rick James – Street Songs
12) Lenny Kravitz – Let Love Rule
13) Bob Dylan – The Times They Are A Changin’
14) 311 – Music
15) John Lennon – Shaved Fish
16) The Beatles – White Album
17) Van Morrison – Astral Weeks
18) The Velvet Underground & Nico (self-titled)
19) The Replacements – Let It Be
20) David Bowie – The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars
21) AC/DC – Back in Black
22) Rolling Stones – Exile on Main Street
23) The Doors – Morrison Hotel
24) The Who – Who’s Next
25) Muddy Waters – Hard Again

1. Jimi Hendrix Experience – Axis: Bold as Love (given to me early in elementary school by my hippie uncle, Axis doesn’t get as much attention as others, but songs like Little Wing, Bold as Love, and Spanish Castle Magic helped introduce me to a lifetime of rock.)
2. Van Morrison – Astral Weeks (can’t bean the man’s voice, nor can you match his daringness in making this album. As a caveat, I’m not repeating artists here b/c my list was too damn long when I did. Otherwise, Moondance would most definitely be on this list, in the top 12.)
3. The Beatles – Revolver (The greatest band of all time, Won’t entertain arguments tot he contrary.)
4. Pink Floyd – Dark Side of the Moon (let’s be honest, who hasn’t listened to this album start to finish? )
5. The Rolling Stones – Let it Bleed (liked it more than Exile, second greatest band of all time.)
6. Bob Marley – Legend (again, this album is timeless. I would argue that Exodus was the more complete album, but the ongoing global impact of Legend can’t be underestimated)
7. Johnny Cash – At Folsom Prison (Cash was stickin it to the Man for a lifetime before the NWA and Public Enemy hit the scene.)
8. Miles Davis – Bitches Brew (drugs are bad, mmmmkay, but some musicians do their best work on them)
9. The Band – The Last Waltz (I don’t care that it’s technically a soundtrack, its plays as an album and highlights the dissolution of a seminal band.)
10. Allman Bros. Band – Live at the Fillmore (southern rock at its finest)
11. Marvin Gaye – What’s Going On (the album is genius, and the Funk Brothers were allowed to showcase their talents, which only complimented Gaye’s powerful voice and lyrics)
12. The Meters – Look-Ka Py Py (they invented the funk, what more can you say?)
13. Robert Johnson – King of the Delta Blues Singers (he influenced every single artist on this list)
14. Led Zeppelin – Physical Graffiti (also given to me by my uncle, rings as my favorite of theirs after almost 20 years.)
15. Guns N Roses – Appetite for Destruction (if you don’t like GnR, then fuck you)
16. Michael Jackson – Thriller (dude was batshit insane, but every single song on this album was a repeat listen)
17. Dire Straits – Dire Straits (Music from Big Pink also in consideration)
18. Talking Heads – Stop Making Sense (Byrne is on more booger sugar than Tony Montana, but damn if it doesn’t make for great listening)
19. The Stooges – The Stooges (let there be punk)
20. Elton John – Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (love this album, NTTAWWT)
21. Dr. Dre – The Chronic
22. Sam Cooke – Portrait of a Legend (for all the ladies in the house, you know his voice makes you melt)
23. Black Sabbath – Paranoid
24. Queen – Night at the Opera
25. Cream – Disreali Gears (while not an influence in my discretion on this list, best album cover of all time)

Honorable Mentions: Black Star – Mos Def and Talib Kweli are Black Star, The Who – Tommy, The Roots- Phrenology, Coltrane – Love Supreme, Nirvana – Unplugged, Outkast – Aquemini, Parliament – Maggot Brain, Professor Longhair – New Orleans Piano

Tongue-in-cheek, but deserve mentions: Jimmy Buffett – Cheeseburger in PAradise, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony – E 1999 Eternal

17. Dire Straits – Dire Straits (Brothers in Arms also in consideration)

Fixed.

In no particular order, except for #1 because it is the greatest album ever made…ever.

1. Nas – Illmatic
2. De La Soul – Stakes Is High
3. Jay-Z – Reasonable Doubt
4. Little Brother – The Listening
5. Wu-Tang Clan – Enter The Wu: 36 Chambers
6. Jay-Z – The Blueprint
7. D’angelo – Brown Sugar
8. Kanye West – College Dropout
9. Eric B. & Rakim – Paid In Full
10. Steely Dan – Aja
11. CRU – Da Dirty 30
12. Smif-N-Wessun – Dah Shinin’
13. Slum Village – Fantastic Vol. 2
14. Notorious B.I.G. – Ready To Die
15. Kanye West – Graduation
16. Gang Starr – Hard To Earn
17. The Roots – Illadelph Halflife
18. O.C. – Jewelz
19. Common – Like Water For Chocolate
20. A Tribe Called Quest – Midnight Maruaders
21. Pete Rock & CL Smooth – The Main Ingredient
22. Erykah Badu – Mama’s Gun
23. NWA – Straight Outta Compton
24. Jay Dee – Welcome 2 Detroit
25. Smashing Pumpkins – Siamese Dream

Honorable Mention:

*Raekwon – Only Built 4 Cuban Linx
*Redman – Muddy Waters and Whut Thee Album?
*Gang Starr – Moment Of Truth
*The Roots – Do You Want More???!!?
*Teedra Moses – Complex Simplicity
*A Tribe Called Quest – Low End Theory and The Love Movement
*Ghostface Killah – Ironman
*Pink Floyd – Dark Side Of The Moon
*GZA – Liquid Swords
*OutKast – The Love Below
*Bob Marley – The Best Of The Wailers
*DJ Premier – NY Reality Check 101 Mixtape
*Lost Boyz – Legal Drug Money
*Bush Babees – Gravity
*Pete Rock – Soul Survivor
*Slick Rick – The Great Adventures Of…
*Sublime – 40 Oz. To Freedom

Ok, I better cut myself off. Thanks for this GTO.

1. Guns N Roses-Appetite for Destruction(I was in tech school at Keesler AFB in Biloxi,MS when this came out. I think I played it constantly for the next year)
2. Rollins Band-End of Silence
3. Metallica-Master of Puppets
4. Motley Crue-SHout at the Devil
5. Black Flag-Damaged
6. Drive By Truckers-Southern Rock Opera
7. Van Halen-Fair Warning
8.Clutch-Pure Rock Fury
9.Wu Tang-36 Chambers
10.Hanoi Rocks-Two Steps From The Move
11.Iron Maiden-Piece of Mind
12. Slayer-Reign in Blood
13. Slipknot-Slipknot
14.Eminem-MArshall MAthers LP
15.Panters-Vulgar Display of Power
16.Guns N roses-Use Your Illusion 1&2
17 Queensryche-Operation Mindcrime
18. Metallica-Ride The Lightning
20. Anthrax-Persistence of Time
21.Method Man-Tical
22 Raekwon-Only Built For Cuban Linx
23.Van Halen-Van Halen
24.Rolling Stones-Exile on MAin Street
25.Ice T-Original Gangster

Probably a fluid order after the top 5 or so but pretty close.

a coherent and full expression of a musical idea or theme.

Whaeva:

1. What color is love – Terry Collier
2. Baader Meinhof – Baader Meinhof
3. After Murder Park – The Auteurs
4. Jesus and the Mary Chain – Psychocandy
5. My Bloody Valentine – Isn’t Anything
6. The Smiths – Meat is Murder
7. Pulp – Different Class
8. St. Etienne – Foxbase Alpha
9. Massive Attack – Blue lines
10. miles davis – sketches of Spain
11. REM – Fables of the Reconstruction
12. Gram Parsons – GP/Grievous angel
13. Dot Allison – Afterglow
14. The divine comedy- Liberation
15. DJ Shadow – Endtroducing

Top 25 but in no ranking order. When you see “or” in there, it’s because I was torn “like an old sweater.” Enjoy.

Def Leopard: Pyromania
AC/DC: Back in Black
Police: Synchronicity
Billy Joel: The Stranger or The Essential Billy Joel
Queen: News of the World
Elton John: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
Beatles: Help or Abbey Road
Guns N’ Roses: Appetite for Destruction
Van Halen: 1984
Nirvana: Nevermind
REM: Document
Rolling Stones: Hot Rocks
U2: Joshua Tree
KISS: Rock and Roll Over or Destroyer
Stone Temple Pilots: Core
Bush: Sixteen Stone
Billy Squier: Emotions in Motion
Billy Idol: Rebel Yell
Run-DMC: Raising Hell
Eminem: The Eminem Show
Beasty Boys: Licensed to Ill
Twisted Sister: Stay Hungry
Boston: Boston
Michael Jackson: Thriller
Live – Throwing Copper

1. Van Halen – Van Halen A classic/gamechanger the minute it was released
2. Number of the Beast – Iron Maiden My favorite band of all time.
3. Master of Puppets – Metallica I was already into Metallica before, but they took it to a different level with this release.
4. Appetite for Destruction – Guns n Roses Life in the L.A. gutter. What’s not to like?
5. Back in Black – AC/DC Not bad for a band whose lead singer just died. We had this album playing while we warmed up in my HS basketball days.
6. Houses of the Holy – Led Zeppelin My prerequisite Zep album
7. Shout at the Devil – Motley Crue Sleaze metal from the Sunset Strip
8. Are You Experienced – Jimi Hendrix Set the mood and listen to this on headphones. Seriously.
9. The Doors: Original Soundtrack Recording – The Doors My wife’s and my first date was this movie.
10. Texas Flood – Stevie Ray Vaughn SRV’s first (I think)
11. Ah Via Musicom- Eric Johnson I’ve always kept this in my vehicle.
12. Songs You Know By Heart – Jimmy Buffet I’m in Baldwin County- if the cops pull you over and you don’t have some Buffet, they take you to jail. The kids love to sing along to Cheeseburger in Paradise and so do I.
13. One More From The Road – Lynyrd Skynyrd See Jimmy Buffet
14. Alive II – KISS Yes, I was a member (I guess I still am) of the KISS Army.
15. Escape – Journey Good songs, I always thought Neal Schon didn’t get his due. Pop this in (yes, pop describes inserting a cassette) and it’s make-out city (in 1982 anyway)
16. Exit Stage Left- Rush I love the crowd sing-a-long on Closer to the Heart, and Alex Lifeson’s guitar. Neil Peart? Who’s he? ; )
17. Soldiers Under Command – Stryper Christian Metal that crossed into mainstream. I’ve always been a big fan of this band. Great sound, catchy riffs.
18. Elv1s: 30 #1 Hits Elvis: don’t leave home without it. We love to do our best Elvis singing along to this CD on family road trips. Good times.
19. Metal Church – Metal Church Classic metal album. Powerful stuff.
20. Powerslave – Iron Maiden Great lyrics, long guitar solos, Maiden Rules….
21. Piece of Mind – Iron Maiden ….and their live shows are legendary
22. Kill em All – Metallica Kicks ass-that is all
23. Exodus – Bob Marley Great music from the master.
24. A Higher Form Of Killing – Intruder Awesome album from a pretty much unknown thrash metal band from Nashville. Great headbanging from start to finish.
25. Surfer Rosa – Pixies I love this album and it gets on my nerves at the same time.

At any rate, now I’m having more albums come to mind:

Matchbox 20: Yourself Or Someone Like You
Green Day: Dookie
Journey: Escape
Genesis: Genesis

So maybe I’m stuck (mostly) in the 90s. Sue me. These are the albums that have meant the most to me personally, and the 90s happened to be ages 15-25 for me, so… yeah.

Also, I do tend to find bands that I like and stick with them, so there are several repeats here. But I did have a large number (over 400 albums, from which I picked over 100 that I wanted to put on this here list) that I combed through to get here:

1. Muse — Absolution (Stockholm Syndrome) It’s a safe guess that I’m the biggest Muse fan on here.
2. Black Crowes — The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion (No Speak No Slave)
3. Led Zeppelin — I (Babe I’m Gonna Leave You)
4. Radiohead — The Bends (Just) My classic debate for music fans: Favorite Radiohead album? The Bends is best, IMO. If it’s OK Computer, there’s a decent chance you’re just following critics. And if it’s Kid A or Amnesiac, you’re probably on meth.
5. Weezer — Weezer (The Blue Album) (My Name is Jonas) Somehow I never actually picked this album up until a few years ago, but it’s definitely one of my favs now.
6. Muse — Origin of Symmetry (New Born) Objectively this might be a better Muse album than my #1, but I got Absolution first, so there’s some attachment there.
7. Led Zeppelin — III (Gallows Pole)
8. Arcade Fire — Neon Bible (Antichrist Television Blues) Just got this one last year. The best album I’ve bought in a while.
9. Radiohead — OK Computer (Paranoid Android)
10. Blues Traveler — Travelers & Thieves (What’s For Breakfast) What, no one else has BT in their top 10? Losers. They were my favorite band from the time this one came out in ‘91 till Four came out in ’95 and ruined them. If you only know “Run Around”, a lot of this album sounds significantly different and less poppy than that.
11. Pearl Jam — Vs. (Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town) Kind of surprising myself that my top PJ album didn’t make the top 10, but it’s close. I’m still a huge Pearl Jam fan.
12. Led Zeppelin — IV (When The Levee Breaks)
13. U2 — Joshua Tree (Bullet The Blue Sky) As someone else mentioned, I see a lot of U2 hate on here, which IMO is just posturing. If you don’t like this album, you’re not a music fan. But I will grant you that everything after Rattle and Hum is crap.
14. The Postal Service — Give Up (Such Great Heights) This is a great album if you’re not familiar with it.
15. Pearl Jam — Ten (Black)
16. Smashing Pumpkins — Siamese Dream (Cherub Rock)
17. Tom Petty — Wildflowers (Honey Bee)
18. R.E.M. — Eponymous (Radio Free Europe) Yeah, I know this is a Greatest Hits. Sorry, but I got this one first many years ago and I always listen to this one and not the individual albums.
19. Rage Against the Machine — Evil Empire (People Of The Sun)
20. Smashing Pumpkins — Adore (Pug) This song is probably not a favorite of theirs for most people, but I think it’s a really great album. It’s got a great cohesive feel as a full album.
21. Nirvana — Nevermind (Stay Away) Yeah I know, sacrilege putting it this low on a 90s fan’s list. Of course this album is amazing and I love every song here, it just didn’t rank quite as high as some others for me personally.
22. Silversun Pickups — Carnavas (Well Thought Out Twinkles) Their newer one, Swoon, has some better songs, but this is a better album, IMO.
23. Tool — Lateralus (Parabola) This is my only Tool album. There could be others that are better, but I wouldn’t know. I love this one.
24. Live — Throwing Copper (T.B.D.) One of the 90s’ more forgotten bands, but this and Mental Jewelry are great albums.
25. Morphine — Yes (Honey White) I had to re-arrange a little to get this one in here, but it deserves it.

And a top 10 Honorable mention (because I literally ranked over 100 before I stopped to notice how few 25 really is):
Muse — Showbiz
R.E.M. — Out of Time
Muse — Black Holes & Revelations
White Stripes — Elephant
Filter — Title of Record
Poe — Hello
Toad the Wet Sprocket — Fear
Silversun Pickups — Swoon
Rusted Root — When I Woke
Jeff Buckley — Grace

That’s kind of interesting to me. Very few lists go beyond color lines – Robert Johnson, Jimi Hendrix, Bob marley are the classic few black artists allowed on canonized lists made by white people (see Rolling Stone).

Not that there’s anything wrong with it. I’ll try and get one on here soon. I think I have a list at home. Number one though, is Born to Run

Work intrudes and I’m going overseas where there is not internet (for nonwork) access

These are in no overall order, but in the cases where there are multiples by the sasme band, those are in order of my preference:

1. Metallica – …And Justice for All (Songs are long, complex and diverse, with movements almost like classical…amazing arrangements, which prove not only are the boys the greatest Metal band ever, (not open to debate) but consummate musicians as well)
2. The Reverend Horton Heat – Liquor in the Front (This could have easily been just about any RHH album, but I went with my personal fave)
3. Pink Floyd – DSOTM (No commentary needed)
4. Gn’R – Appetite for Destruction ( One of the most perfect rock albums ever)
5. Megadeth- Countdown To Extinction (Probably the most comercially successful MD album)
6. The Meteors- Corpse Grinder (OTMAPP!)
7. Joe Satriani- Surfing With The Alien (I love Satch, and this album is still a staple and a background soundtrack to alot of my college life)
8. 311- 311 (Living at the beach, this album was the soundtrack of my mid twenties. Good times and hip hop reggae fusuion. Hells yeah)
9. AC/DC- Back in Black (No explanation needed)
10. Johnny Cash- At Folsom Prison (The original middle finger to the man)
11. Metallica- Master of Puppets ( like any list I make would have only one ‘Tallica album on it….right.)
12. Metallica- Metallica (The Black Album) ((Like any list I make would only have two ’Tallica albums on it…riiight.))
13. White Zombie- La Sexorcisto: Devil Music Volume 1 (Harder than Hell groove metal that just totally hooks you from the beginning…bonus for having Iggy Pop narrate the opening to “Black Sunshine”
14. Betty Blowtorch – Are You Man Enough? (Foulmouthed, filthy minded all girl punk band with members named Bianca Butthole, Blare N. Bitch, Sharon Needles and Judy Molish…how could you NOT love it? Pity Bianca was killed in a car crash and cut this band’s career short…)
15. L7- Bricks are Heavy (More foulmouthed, pissed off female punkers. This album is a classic and still gets heavy play on my Ipod)
16. Cult- Sonic Temple (Tough call here beween “Sonic” and “Electric”)
17. The Reverend Horton Heat- The Full-Custom Gospel Sounds of the Reverend Horton Heat (Same as ‘Tallica…no way there’s only one album by the Rev on my list)
18. Boston- Boston (One of the quintessential Rock albums…there’s not a bad cut on it)
19. Def Leppard- Hysteria (Fun British bubblegum Glam Metal…but lots of really good date memories with this one…)
20. Motley Crue – Shout at the Devil (The sunset Strip personified)
21. Iron Maiden – Powerslave (Again, tough call, but my personal fave)
22. Talking Heads – Little Creatures (To this day, I never get tired of this album)
23. The Smithereens- Green Thoughts (One of the most underrated pure rock bands of the 80’s and 90’s.)
24. Beastie Boys – License to Ill (Pure unadulterated fun)
25. U2 – The Joshua Tree (Too bad they went stright to Hell after this album…)

1. Rage Against the Machine – Bombtrack
2. Jimmy Cliff – Harder They Come
3. Radiohead – Ok Computer
4. Smashing Pumpkins – Gish
5. Soundgarden – Badmotorfinger
6. Black Crows – Southern Harmony
7. Grateful Dead – Workingmans Dead
8. Public Enemy – Nation of Millions
9. Pennywise – Unknown Road
10. Metallica – Master of Puppets
11. Led Zeppelin – Physical Graffiti
12. Prince – Purple Rain
13. Pearl Jam – Vs
14. Sugar – Copper Blue
15. Waylon Jennings – Ole Waylon
16. Rolling Stones – Sticky Fingers
17. Van Halen – 1984
18. Rush – Moving Pictures
19. Black Sabbath – Black Sabbath
20. Tool – Undertow
21. The Verve – A Storm in Heaven
22. Beastie Boys – Check Your Head
23. Widespread Panic – Space Wrangler
24. Jimi Hendrix – Axis: Bold As Love
25. Guns N Roses – Lies, Lies, Lies

1. Tommy – The Who
2. Nevermind – Nirvana
3. Metallica – Metallica ( The Black Album
4. Who’s Next – The Who
5. Stadium Arcadium – Red Hot Chili Peppers
6. Dirt – Alice in Chains
7. Core – Stone Temple Pilots
8. Collective Soul – Collective Soul
9. Dookie – Green Day
10. Ten – Pearl Jam
11. Led Zeppelin IV – Led Zeppelin
12. The Wall – Pink Floyd
13. ( What’s the Story) Morning Glory – Oasis
14. Boston – Boston
15. Sixteen Stone – Bush
16. Siamese Dream – Smashing Pumpkins
17. Phobia – Breaking Benjamin
18. (Pronounced ‘Lĕh-’nérd ‘Skin-’nérd) – Lynyrd Skynyrd
19. Eagles – The Eagles
20. Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace – Foo Fighters
21. Ride the Lightning – Metalica
22. Blood Sugar Sex Magik – Red Hot Chili Peppers
23. Appetite for Destruction – Guns N’ Roses
24. Master of Puppets – Metallica
25. In Utero – Nirvana

these are the albums i literally played the SHIT out of….in no particular order of course

1.U2 – Joshua Tree
2.Phish- Live at Madison Square Garden – New Years Eve 1995
3.Jack Johnson- A live album that has no name cause its bootleg
4.Jack Johnson- On and On
5.Pearl Jam- Vitology
6.Smashing Pumkins- Siamese twins
7.Dave Mathews- Under the Table and Dreaming
8.Cold play- Parachutes
9.Ben Folds Five- Whatever and Ever Amen
10.Nirvana- Never mind
11.Pearl Jam 10
12.Weezer Blue
13.Stone Temple Pilots- Core
14.U2- War
15.Led Zeplin I-IV
16.Foo Fights- Color in the shape
17.Galactic- Pretty much all of them
18.North Mississippi All-stars – Hill Country Review
19.REM- Automatic For the People
20.Dr. Dre- Cronic
21.Outkast- Aquamini
22.Soundgarden- Super unkown
23.Sublime- Sublime
24.Rage Against the Machine- Evil Empire
25.Rage Against the Machine- Rage Against the Machine

It’d probably be different if I did it again tomorrow. Hopefully you’ll see something you like…

01 The Beatles: Revolver – She Said She Said – I’m by no means a Beatles fanatic, but I love this album, love love love it. Listen to it all the time.

02 Talking Heads: Remain in Light – Born Under Punches – Sweet mercy do I love this record. It’s weird & cerebral and yet still kind of primal.

03 Radiohead – OK Computer – Paranoid Android – I’ve never felt more connected to an album than this probably.

04 Black Sabbath – Paranoid – Paranoid – Black Sabbath = the birth of heavy metal. Ozzy > Dio. Both things I wrote there are irrefutable.

05 John Coltrane - Blue Train – Blue Train – I know A Love Supreme is the sexy pick, but this is the record that got me into jazz and it never disappoints when I return to it.

07 Johnny Cash – At Folsom Prison – Cocaine Blues – Murder, Drugs, Heartache, God, Redemption, Tragedy, Love, etc. Quintessential Cash.

08 Bob Marley – Rastaman Vibration – War That song is the TRUTH. I figure most people would go with Legend or Exodus, but this is the one that does it for me.

09 Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds – Let Love In – Do You Love Me? – I’m not gonna lie, sometimes Nick Cave just ain’t right it seems…but he can turn a phrase like few others can and has an emotional range that goes from soft piano ballads to roaring punk. You’re the man Nick.

10 Orchestra Baobab – Pirate’s Choice – Werente Serigne – Dr. Dre was onto something…slower is better. Great band from Senegal. This is the guaranteed to get people on the dancefloor record. Nobody knows the songs, but the grooves are seriously infectious and the vibe is unstoppable. I’ve never put this on at a party and not had at least 3-4 people ask me what it was because they wanted to go buy it. Works in all seasons, but is unstoppable at an outdoor BBQ at night. Also, some of the sickest, most understated guitar solos ever.

11 Sigur Rós – ( ) – Untitled Five (Álafoss) – One of those records that re-invented music for me. It was rock music that required a classical music attention span. The crescendo this thing builds to is unreal. Love it.

12 Phish – Billy Breathes – Bliss/Billy Breathes – I’m sure many will consider this one of my more oddball inclusions, but this record meant so much to me at a certain time in my life that it still takes me to a happy place. Musically speaking, this was the album where they showed they could actually write 3-4 minute songs and not everything had to have bizarro time signatures or huge guitar solos.

13 Faith No More – Angel Dust – Caffeine – This is a spectacularly weird album that covers so much stylistic ground that it’s not even funny. It’s such a far cry from “Epic” and The Real Thing that it’s almost like two different bands. The record label hated it and it was light years ahead of it’s time. One of the weirdest albums to ever get the greenlight from a major. Don’t believe me, listen to Malpractice and think “This came out in 1992?”

14 Sixteen Horsepower – Sackcloth & Ashes – If you like the Gun Club or Nick Cave, chances are you’ll like 16HP. Very fire & brimstone-ish though. They were dark, religious and intense. Check out the wicked bandoneon on American Wheeze or the apocalyptic banjo on Black Soul Choir.

15 Sufjan Stevens – Illinoise – Come On! Feel the Illinoise! – I loathed this record when it came out, and now it’s on my Top 25 of all time. Funny how things change….

16 Steve Reich – Music for 18 Musicians – Section IIIA – This music has touched so much that’s come after it that you don’t even realize it. Reich was a true visionary and this is his masterpiece. It’s running time is around 45+ and it’s glory is beyond description. Do yourself a favor and listen to the entire thing.

17 TV on the Radio – Return to Cookie Mountain – Playhouses – I firmly believe this’ll be an album from 2000-2009 that people will be talking about forever. It’s so layered, sonic, intense, beautiful and perfect. New music for a new millennium. no idea why the person chose to put this song over that video. oh well. ignore the video.

18 Buena Vista Social Club – Buena Vista Social Club – Chan Chan – This song and album captivated me from the day I first heard it. I could listen to this song forever.

19 Ali Farka Toure – Niafunké – Ali’s Here – The king of African blues, from Niafunke, Mali.

20 Nikhil Banerjee – Ragas Chandrakaush & Khamaj – Pretty much anything by him would suffice, but I couldn’t find either of the pieces I wanted online so here’s a short clip of him. Nikhil was the man (RIP).

21 The Gun Club – Miami – Brother & Sister and Carry Home – I came to this album waaaaaaaaaaay after the fact, but man, it blows me away on every listen.

22 Jeff Buckley – Grace – Lover You Should’ve Come Over – Biggest musical tragedy of the 90s. I wonder what he’d be putting out today. This album made a whole generation of people think he wrote “Hallelujah” and not Leonard Cohen.

23 RL Burnside – Mississippi Hill Country Blues - Poor Black Mattie and Just Like a Woman – This acoustic blues record pretty much owns to a degree not understood by most.

24 Metallica – Master of Puppets – Master of Puppets – Nothing Metallica does today can take away from what this album is. One of the gold standards for metal.

25 Hank WIlliams – Gold – I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry – Very few have been worthy to carry his torch.