Your absolute favorite albums

[hungrych]

I thought it would be interesting to see people post their absolute favorite albums of all time. Your desert island albums, albums with huge personal significance to you, whatever. Those albums that you know note for note and can always listen to and be blown away by. I thought by doing this we could all expand our own musical horizons, or something.

This is in no order (well I guess it has to be in an order, but it's of no significance):

John Coltrane - A Love Supreme

IMO this is the greatest single musical statement ever. People usually recommend My Favorite Things as a first Coltrane album, but I got this instead. If I remember right it was the second pure "jazz" album I ever bought, after Kind Of Blue. Right away here I knew something was different from anything I'd ever heard. Coltrane wanted to make this album his gift to god, and it's definitely worthy of a deity. Everyone on it is just perfect. I listened to the whole album at least once a day for months after I got it. I don't listen to it as much anymore, but every time I do I'm still blown away.

Miles Davis - A Tribute To Jack Johnson

The fusion album. The perfect mix of rock, funk, soul, jazz, and whatever else got thrown in there. You might know the story of the first track, "Right Off", where John McLaughlin was riffing around with the band and Miles ran in and played one of his best solos ever. Not to mention later on Herbie Hancock popped in with a bag of groceries and Miles forced him to play the malfunctioning Farfisa organ in the room. Having former Stevie Wonder bassist Michael Henderson provides a funkalicious backbone that most jazz bassist couldn't dream of. This album, more than anything, is the epitome of fun. You can just feel the fun they're having as they jam away while crafting a near-perfect album. I also listened to this a million billion times after I got it.

The Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots

I bought this because I liked the cover and my friend said I should get it. There is nothing else like this album. Every single note is perfectly woven together. Wayne Coyne has more emotion in one syllable than most do in the course of an album combined. The amount of psychedelicia is perfect, instead of distracting from the emotion it creates a dreamy soundscape from which the band funnels their emotions right into you. There was a period where this was basically the only thing I could listen to, over and over. And honestly, I still don't know what it's about. I've read it's a parallel to the Iraq war, but I'm not convinced. It's not really important to me anyway, because the music itself sounds like something from beyond the earth.

Marvin Gaye - What's Going On

The pinnacle of soul music! Gaye put his immense songwriting and singing talents towards a social protest, and in the process created a musical statement almost unparalleled in his genre. While Marvin Gaye is one of the greatest singers ever, quite a bit of credit should go to bassist James Jamerson (credited as "bass (personified)" in the album notes). One of, if not the, best bassists ever, his godly lines control and compliment the songs perfectly. I know I've used that word a lot, but this time I mean it literally: perfectly. Marvin Gaye and the Funk Brothers combined to make this the magnum opus of soul, and I don't know how it could be better. The fact that Motown owner Berry Gordy initially didn't want to release the eponymous single is one of the biggest musical travesties ever.

Jimi Hendrix - Live At Woodstock

I know this version of the album has tracks out of order, bad mixing, and fake crowd noise. But it was the first real rock album I ever bought. From the opening guitar ferocity of "Fire" (which of course was not the actual opening song) I was blown away. This album helped open the floodgates of my love for music, which since has been a huge part of my life. I probably overrate this album, or at least this version, because of the sentimental value to me, but Jimi is absolutely electric throughout the show.

The Who - Live At Leeds

I think this was the second real rock album I ever bought. Between their amazing tightness, the greatest rock rythm section, bassist, and drummer of all time, awesome vocals, and brilliant songwriting, I think The Who are the greatest rock band ever. Could the Beatles or Stones ever rock this hard for a whole show? I don't think so. Keith Moon's drumming is explosive and the first time a drummer ever stood out to me. Ditto for John Entwistle, the whole show is like one giant bass solo that happens to go perfectly with the rest of the music. This was a tough choice as now I actually kind of prefer Live At The Isle Of Wight because it's both longer and the playing is a little looser. But I don't have the deluxe edition of Leeds which makes up for the first issue, and the latter is less about which is better and more about just being different.

Dangerdoom - The Mouse And The Mask

This might seem like an odd choice. But I would not be listening to any rap/hip-hop if it wasn't for this album, which I first downloaded because of the Adult Swim connection. While those parts are great, the combination of Dangermouse's production and MF Doom's crazy delivery and bizzaro lyrics instantly won me over. I've listened to this album so many times that I can remember some pretty strange lines, but there's just so much amazingness packed in here it's hard for my brain to hold it all in! "Old School" featuring Talib Kweli is one of the tightest rap songs ever.

One more, that I can't really count because I haven't had it long enough or heard it enough times, but still blows me away:

Jimi Hendrix & Otis Redding - Live At The Monterey Pop Festival

Most people know about Jimi's historic performance (and one of his best, the version of "Like A Rolling Stone" is transcendent) at Monterey. But somehow able to match it and possibly surpass was Otis Redding. Backed by Booker T & The MG's, Redding pours his soul out to thousands of unsuspecting hippies, who respond raucously, both awed and whipped into a frezy. Otis Redding is imo the most emotional and talented singer in the history of music. Every time I hear the finale of "Try A Little Tenderness" I get goosebumps all over. People talk about the early deaths of Hendrix, Joplin, Morrison, Dolphy, and LaFarro, but who knows what Otis Redding could have accomplished in the What's Going On and Innervisions led era of soul advancement in the 70's.

That's about it, I'd love to see what all you guys come up with!

[Dusty Chalk]

That was real interesting -- nice write-up! I'll post to this thread when I can do something that is worthy. The hard part is going to actually figure out what my favourite albums are -- I know my first two (they're a tie for first place, and have been for quite a while), but I don't know the rest. Will get back to you.

[postjack]

hungrych, I really appreciate the write up, that was an excellent read! I will also add some later, but I admit your question has thrown me for a whirl. My musical interests have changed so drastically over just the past two years that I'm hesitant to call any album an absolute favorite. Some of my favorite albums of all time I may not even own anymore due to the great CD dirge of my "college" years.

[iceman94]

This thread is genius. I've never gotten the cry of "you're not a real music lover unless you buy tons of music *nose in air*"- I'll literally listen to one disc for a week or two. I love getting to know an album inside and out. Maybe that's because I basically only had 6 albums to listen to over the course of middle school, so that's how I learned to listen.

Pat Metheny- Secret Story

My desert island disc. A perfect blend of orchestra and Metheny's jazz/world music-y feel, so basically two of my favorites mixed into one. Lushly recorded, emotional, with some really funky stuff here and there. I absolutely hated it the first time I played it

John Williams- Return of the Jedi SE soundtrack, disc 2

Mostly a personal thing, I kind of poured myself into it when I was going through really rough family stuff in middle school, so yeah.

Miles Davis- Kind of Blue

First ever jazz album, basically memorized it.

Dave Matthews Band- Live at Red Rocks

My sister and I bonded over this when I was little, it was my first introduction to any sort of pop/rock-ish music. She's 10 years older than me, so I didn't get to see her that much, so I hung on to what I managed to get.

Barenaked Ladies- Rock Spectacle

Another early music/sister-bonding experience, and pretty much the best BNL album ever. I swear I hear my mom calling my name during one little bit of "Brian Wilson".

There are probably others, but those really stick with me.

[Grand Enigma]

[humanflyz]

Nothing needs to be said about this album that hasn't already been said. It is the album that got me into jazz in the first place.

This album just makes sense to me in a way that I cannot explain.

To me, this is Pink Floyd's crowning achievement: sublime and tragic at the same time.

A rumination on life and death that speaks tremendously to me.

To me, the Sixth Symphony captures the entirety of the human condition

A perfectly weird record that is moving at the same time.

The most intensely personal album that somehow resonates universally

To me, this album represents everything good about hip hop: gritty subject matter described in cinematic realism, mixed with technical virtuosity, and judicious use of sampling.

[Thelonious Monk]

Remember Shakti - Saturday Night In Bombay

This... this is one fucking amazing piece of music. Remember Shakti is a group formed by John McLaughlin and Zakir Hussain, two absolute virtuosos on their respective instruments (guitar and tablas), in tribute to their former group, Shakti. This is a live recording, recorded on one of the last shows of the last leg of their world tour. Since it was such a special occasion, McLaughlin and Hussain were joined by a fucking myriad of virtuosos from the Indian classical scene; U Srinivas, Debashish Bhattacharya, Shiv Kumar Sharma... Christ. Other than some goddamn amazing interplay, this album features some of the most amazing McLaughlin solos I've ever heard. Score one for the "world-fusion" genre. A must-have for any fan of McLaughlin, and the best possible entrance into the broad world of Indian music I can possibly think of. Truly ball-busting.

Summary: I actually liked this album enough to type in proper case. I'll add to the list later.

[Mister X]

The same 5 as last time.

http://www.head-case.org/index.php/topic,813.0.html

[Thelonious Monk]

The same 5 as last time.

http://www.head-case.org/index.php/topic,813.0.html

that thread doesn't have any pretty pictures. i do not approve.

[deepak]

Remember Shakti - Saturday Night In Bombay

This... this is one fucking amazing piece of music. Remember Shakti is a group formed by John McLaughlin and Zakir Hussain, two absolute virtuosos on their respective instruments (guitar and tablas), in tribute to their former group, Shakti. This is a live recording, recorded on one of the last shows of the last leg of their world tour. Since it was such a special occasion, McLaughlin and Hussain were joined by a fucking myriad of virtuosos from the Indian classical scene; U Srinivas, Debashish Bhattacharya, Shiv Kumar Sharma... Christ. Other than some goddamn amazing interplay, this album features some of the most amazing McLaughlin solos I've ever heard. Score one for the "world-fusion" genre. A must-have for any fan of McLaughlin, and the best possible entrance into the broad world of Indian music I can possibly think of. Truly ball-busting.

Summary: I actually liked this album enough to type in proper case. I'll add to the list later.

Holy shit this album just melted my brain.

I've heard a bunch of Zakir Hussain and he is indeed a master of the tabla (and obviously a huge McLaughlin fan) but these two tear shit up. Indian classical rules.

[deepak]

Since the theme of this thread is music that inspired and/or got you into more diverse music (or just started your love for music) I'll add those albums. Again in no particular order:

AC/DC- Live

Lied about the order thing, this was the first truly awesome rock album I had ever heard. IIRC I picked it up in 3rd grade (?) and holy shit did it rock hard. It still rocks hard! Imagine hearing this when you'd been listening to nothing but country music for the last 3 years

Nine Inch Nails - The Fragile

King Crimson - In the Court of the Crimson King

The very first prog rock album I got on the recommendation of a friend's dad when I asked him what progressive rock was. Mind melted, head blown fool, whatever you call it 10 years later and I'm still addicted to prog rock and trying to find new bands.

Miles Davis - Bitches Brew

Discovered this sometime in high school, definitely went over my head the first few times. I think it was only in my junior year that I was able to appreciate jazz and this was the album I came back to.

Godspeed You! Black Emporer - F#A#(infinity)

An epic album. I've searched high and low for post rock bands that can do what GYBE have done and there are few that can match or exceed them.

John Zorn - Masada, Live in NYC

The album that introduced me to experimental music and introduced the concept that music still changes and people are still doing great things to make music "out of the box". Zorn is in my top 5 artists to see live before I die.

Sunn O))) - Black One

Holy crap this album is a beast. An entire album of the darkest droniest, bowel moving drone. I remember hearing it on the bus late at night on the highway, pouring rain. Came on with my IEMs and I felt truly afraid like something terrible was about to happen. No other doom/drone band does it like Sunn.

Ravi Shankar - Three Ragas

A gift from my dad, the album that introduced me to Indian classical music. Really good stuff here.

[deepak]

woops forgot this one, another favorite:

Eric Clapton and BB King - Riding with the King

A very easy album to listen to, got me into the blues and Clapton at the same time. Not much more needs to be said

[deepak]

Last one

Circle - Sunrise

Badass Finish "new wave of Finish heavy metal " kraut rock, one of my absolute favorites that I discovered in one of my psychedelic phases.

Boris - Pink

who the hell knows how to describe Boris? The Melvins meet Japan? Boris rules!

[postjack]

I'm going to try to do like jpak, and post albums that were seminal in my development as a music snob.

Okay, so I was 11-12 years old, I think (6th grade), when I first heard this album. A buddy of mine had snagged a cassette tape dub from his older, cooler, pot smoking brother. None of our parents would let us buy the album since it had pot leaves all over it. Hell I still remember what the track listing looked like on the label in the cassette, all scrawled out in my buddy's distinctive goofy handwriting. Of course I'd seen the videos for "Dre Day" and "Nuthin But A G Thing" on MTV, but they left so much up to the imagination, what with half the video bleeped n' blurred out. Even after listening to it, I had no idea what half the words meant. Hell, I was in pre-adolescence. But to this day that album has stuck to my ribs: its flow, its beats, its sense of mystery and utter cool confidence falling from the lips of Dre and Snoop with apparent ease. Sure, it depicted a violent gangster fantasy world I knew nothing about, but coming to a kid who's favorite book was Clive Barker's Imajica, in hindsight parallels are easily drawn between the two fictional worlds rooted in reality presented so well by both artists. Dre brought melody to hip-hop, and in doing so he brought it to the masses. For better or worse, this makes it one of my all time favorite albums.

[ojnihs]

I got to run to class, so I'm going to post a couple of albums that I like.

[boomana]

Some regular favs:

Okay, there are waaay too many fav albums to post, but these are some I listened to today that are always around me and I've loved for years.

[catscratch]

Electronic music begins, and ends, with Shpongle.

Shpongle's most accessible album, which is not to say their worst. Music to open your mind.

Maneesh makes truly mystical music.

Most horrible album cover ever, which is in direct contrast to the music. This is one of the few modern composers thoroughly worth their salt. Astonishing flutist, too.

Nile will kill you and stomp all over your corpse with their awesomeness. Too bad it went downhill from here.

If only more metalheads knew this band. Absolutely bloody brilliant.

Lousy Rite of Spring but the Petrushka performance is seriously great. Technical but inspired.

The single best pianist I've ever heard. And I trained as a classical pianist myself, so I'm not just spouting gibberish.

More techincal wizardry from Volodos. Here, he was still somewhat restrained in interpretation, but it's still wonderful.

I guess you could say my tastes are a bit eclectic, but what else can you expect from a classical pianist snatched away from his musical future and immersed in too many psychedelic drugs to count...

[Dusty Chalk]

I like Alchemist. Oh, and the rest of your list is pretty cool, too.

[mirumu]

Let's see...here's a few of my favourites. Probably a bit light on older releases primarily because they've slipped out of my short term memory.

Sunn 0))) - Black One. I see deepak already mentioned this one too. It's completely astounding how dark and deep this album is. Sometimes I'm just not in the mood, other times it's totally mind blowing in ways other albums can't comprehend.

Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins - Rabbit Fur Coat. I love Jenny (even if this album cover doesn't do her justice) and would marry her if I could. I'm sure if Angels exist they sound like her. There's quite a lot of country influence here which isn't normally my thing but here it just gels for me. The only downside for me is the cover of the Travelling Wilburys "Handle Me with Care" which just doesn't capture the original magic (but what could?).

Radiohead - Amnesiac. I can't quite explain my liking for this one, it just slightly has the edge on Kid-A for me. It speaks to me on some level I can't comprehend.

Cansei De Ser Sexy - CSS. This is just damn cool and fun. It's mastered like crap, is full of stupid beeps and cheesiness but I still love it. Must be played loud.

Pink Floyd - Animals. Definitely Floyd at their best IMHO. Always been one of my favs and I've never grown tired of it.

Sonic Youth - Sonic Nurse. Visceral and bombastic, noisy and detuned. A very accessible album but at the same time pure Sonic Youth.

Shiina Ringo - Karuki Zamen Kuri no Hana. A complex and diverse album with a large number of instruments from this experimental Japanese musician. This album is always interesting to listen to and there's always something new creeping out of the mix on every play. Unfortunately it's poorly mastered.

Gary Numan - The Pleasure Principle. Heavily electronic new wave songs with a real driving rhythm and flowing basslines. No wonder it's been sampled so much by other artists.

The Knife - Silent Shout. I didn't want to post a list this long but I just couldn't skip this album. To me this Swedish brother and sister duo managed to create an absolute masterpiece with this one. Synth heavy but still dynamic and emotional. I find myself compelled to put this CD on every now and again and always come away pleased.

[MaloS]

[Fungi]

I think I could get along very nicely with you, deepak

THE essential boris recording for me though is flood. It just, well, washes over you.

Some more essentials...

XTC - Drums And Wires

Il Balletto di Bronzo - Ys

[pabbi1]

[jinp6301]

Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins - Rabbit Fur Coat. I love Jenny (even if this album cover doesn't do her justice) and would marry her if I could. I'm sure if Angels exist they sound like her. There's quite a lot of country influence here which isn't normally my thing but here it just gels for me. The only downside for me is the cover of the Travelling Wilburys "Handle Me with Care" which just doesn't capture the original magic (but what could?).

Just so you know, I love Jenny more then you and me and jenny are definitely getting married as soon as possible

[ojnihs]

Just so you know, I love Jenny more then you and me and jenny are definitely getting married as soon as possible

you wish!

[hYdrociTy]

Just so you know, I love Jenny more then you and me and jenny are definitely getting married as soon as possible

HAY

<---hdcd too, bitch.