Somebody asked me to list my Top 50 Studio Albums of all time. And I rose to the challenge with gusto. For somebody who loves music as much as I do, it was imperative that, not only did I list my favourite albums, but I managed to do justice to my varied music tastes.
I came across many problems. How many albums by your favourite bands do you list? If I'm completely honest with myself, Nearly every Beatles album would be in my Top 50 (maybe not Yellow Submarine BUT, 'Hey Bulldog' is one of my favourite songs. It really should have been on The White Album, I digress . . .) but I didn't put them all in, I had to limit myself. In order to create an interesting and varied list that would represent me and also hopefully introduce the people who read it to some albums or artists they'd never heard of, or had, but never checked out.
The Top 5 are in no order (I stick to my view that true music connoisseurs could never pick a favourite) and the 45 that follow are in some sort of random yet very loose order.
1. The Doors - LA Woman
2. The Beatles - The White Album
3. Pulp - Different Class
4. The Beatles - Revolver
5. Marvin Gaye - What's Goin On?
6. The Doors -Strange Days
7. The Beatles - Please Please Me
8. Pulp - His 'n' Hers
9. Led Zeppelin - II
10. The Kinks - The Kink Kontroversy
11. The Small Faces - There Are But Four Small Faces
12. Cream - Disraeli Gears
13. The Rolling Stones - December's Children ( And Everybody's)
14. The Animals - The Animals
15. Bruce Springsteen - Born To Run
16. The Sonics - Here Are The Sonics
17. Led Zeppelin - III
18. Saturday Night Fever - OST
19. The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Are You Experienced?
20. The Yardbirds - Having A Rave Up
21. Jackie Lomax - Is This What You Want
22. Iggy and The Stooges - Raw Power
23. Kings Of Leon - Aha Shake Heartbreak
24. The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds
25. Them - The Angry Young Them
26. The Who - Live At Leeds (1970)
27. The Electric Prunes - I Had Too Much To Dream ( Last Night)
28. Johnny Cash - At San Quentin
29. Bob Dylan - Blood On The Tracks
30. Suede - Coming Up
31. Booker T & The MGs - Green Onions
32. The Jam - All Mod Cons
33. The White Stripes - Elephant
34. Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger & The Trinity - Open
35. Curtis Mayfield - Super Fly
36. Gil Scott Heron - Winter In America
37. Stone Roses - Stone Roses
38. Paul McCartney & Wings - Band on the Run
39. Electric Light Orchestra - Out of the Blue
40. Moby - Play
41. Love - Forever Changes
42. MC5 - Kick Out the Jams
43. Paul Weller - Stanley Road
44. Pink Floyd - Piper At the Gates of Dawn
45. Creedence Clearwater Revival - Cosmo's Factory
46. Chic - C'est Chic
47. Blondie - Parallel Lines
48. Prodigy - Experience
49. Rage Against The Machine - Rage Against The Machine
50. Jeff Buckley - Grace
5. Marvin Gaye - What's Goin On?
6. The Doors -Strange Days
7. The Beatles - Please Please Me
8. Pulp - His 'n' Hers
9. Led Zeppelin - II
10. The Kinks - The Kink Kontroversy
11. The Small Faces - There Are But Four Small Faces
12. Cream - Disraeli Gears
13. The Rolling Stones - December's Children ( And Everybody's)
14. The Animals - The Animals
15. Bruce Springsteen - Born To Run
16. The Sonics - Here Are The Sonics
17. Led Zeppelin - III
18. Saturday Night Fever - OST
19. The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Are You Experienced?
20. The Yardbirds - Having A Rave Up
21. Jackie Lomax - Is This What You Want
22. Iggy and The Stooges - Raw Power
23. Kings Of Leon - Aha Shake Heartbreak
24. The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds
25. Them - The Angry Young Them
26. The Who - Live At Leeds (1970)
27. The Electric Prunes - I Had Too Much To Dream ( Last Night)
28. Johnny Cash - At San Quentin
29. Bob Dylan - Blood On The Tracks
30. Suede - Coming Up
31. Booker T & The MGs - Green Onions
32. The Jam - All Mod Cons
33. The White Stripes - Elephant
34. Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger & The Trinity - Open
35. Curtis Mayfield - Super Fly
36. Gil Scott Heron - Winter In America
37. Stone Roses - Stone Roses
38. Paul McCartney & Wings - Band on the Run
39. Electric Light Orchestra - Out of the Blue
40. Moby - Play
41. Love - Forever Changes
42. MC5 - Kick Out the Jams
43. Paul Weller - Stanley Road
44. Pink Floyd - Piper At the Gates of Dawn
45. Creedence Clearwater Revival - Cosmo's Factory
46. Chic - C'est Chic
47. Blondie - Parallel Lines
48. Prodigy - Experience
49. Rage Against The Machine - Rage Against The Machine
50. Jeff Buckley - Grace
I urge you to try doing it yourselves. It's hard. And frustrating. But I spent a few very happy hours listening to songs I hadn't heard for a while and looking at album sleeves I had neglected for some time. The next 50 will be coming soon.
Peace.
Jenne xx
