Meet Me Through My Music
Music plays a fairly dominant role in my life. Not only is it my primary source of both inspiration and solace, it’s also my livelihood; for most of my life I have earned my keep working primarily as a DJ. As such, I think it may offer helpful insight into my personality if today I share with you the music that is most important to me.
More than anything else in the world, I believe, art has the capacity to shape and change people, and music can do so perhaps more than any other art-form. I am inarguably a different person for having experienced some of the albums listed below. Had I listened to something other than Joy Division, The Smiths, David Bowie, Run-D.M.C., Suede, PiL, or Pulp during my formative years, I’d be a different person, and not just in subtle ways. My world view, my ideas about love, even my life’s goals, were all shaped, at least in part, by the songs and albums to which I listened over and over, as both a youth and now as a fledgling adult.
The list below is self-explanatory. The only liberty I’ve taken is lumping Belle and Sebastian’s three 1997 EPs together as one album, which seems fair as they came out nearly simultaneously, and their 12 songs are the rough equivalent of an LP.
With the caveat that I make no case that these are the best albums of all time, merely my personal favorites, I present to you my favorite albums of life, organized by era. A handful are highlighted in green; those are my must-have-on-a-desert-island best of the best.
Handful from the Jurassic Era
Erroll Garner – Penthouse Serenade (1949)
Charles Mingus – Mingus Ah Um (1959)
Dave Brubeck – Time Out (1959)
Miles Davis – Kind of Blue (1959)
The Beatles – Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
Velvet Underground – Andy Warhol (1967)
James Brown – Live at the Apollo, Vo. 2 (1968)
Johnny Cash – At Folsom Prison (1968)
Baker’s Dozen +1 from the Beginning of Recorded History
Black Sabbath – Black Sabbath (1970)
Can – Soundtracks (1970)
David Bowie – Hunky Dory (1971)
Serge Gainsbourg – Histoire de Melody Nelson (1971)
Nick Drake – Pink Moon (1972)
The J.B.’s – Food For Thought (1972)
The Stooges – Raw Power (1973)
Neu! – Neu! 2 (1973)
Kraftwerk – Trans-Europe Express (1977)
The Jam – This is the Modern World (1977)
David Bowie – Low (1977)
Public Image Ltd. – Public Image (1978)
Joy Division – Unknown Pleasures (1979)
Blondie – Eat to the Beat (1979)
Lucky 13 from the ’80s (+1 E.P.)
Joy Division – Closer (1980)
Bauhaus – In the Flat Field (1980)
Wham! – Make It Big (1984)
Iron Maiden – Powerslave (1984)
The Smiths – Meat is Murder (1985)
Beastie Boys – Licensed to Ill (1986)
Run-D.M.C. – Raising Hell (1986)
Slayer – Reign in Blood (1986)
Cowboy Junkies – Whites Off Earth Now!! (1986)
The Smiths – The Queen is Dead (1986)
Operation Ivy – Hectic (1987)
Public Enemy – It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (1988)
Pixies – Doolittle (1989)
Beastie Boys – Paul’s Boutique (1989)
A Bunch from the Dawn of the Modern Era
Happy Mondays – Pills ‘n’ Thrills and Bellyaches (1990)
George Michael – Listen Without Prejudice (1990)
Nirvana – Nevermind (1991)
De La Soul – De La Soul Is Dead (1991)
The Lucksmiths – First Tape (1993)
Smashing Pumpkins – Siamese Dream (1993)
Jeff Buckley – Grace (1994)
Weezer – Weezer (1994)
Pulp – His ‘N’ Hers (1994)
Portishead – Dummy (1994)
Suede – Dog Man Star (1994)
Oasis – (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? (1995)
Pulp – Different Class (1995)
Brian Jonestown Massacre – Methodrone (1995)
Radiohead – The Bends (1995)
Suede – Coming Up (1996)
George Michael – Older (1996)
Ash – 1977 (1996)
Morcheeba – Who Can You Trust? (1996)
Belle & Sebastian – If You’re Feeling Sinister (1996)
Babybird – Ugly Beautiful (1997)
Radiohead – OK Computer (1997)
Belle & Sebastian – 3.. 6.. 9 Seconds of Light /Lazy Line Painter Jane/ Dog On Wheels EPs (1997)
Air – Moon Safari (1998)
The Aislers Set – Terrible Things Happen (1998)
Jack Drag – Dope Box (1998)
Pulp – This is Hardcore (1998)
Death Cab for Cutie – Something About Airplanes (1998)
Kent – Isola (1998)
Bernard Butler – People Move On (1998)
Moby – Play (1999)
Muse – Showbiz (1999)
Tom Waits – Mule Variations (1999)
Magnetic Fields – 69 Love Songs (1999)
And a Dozen from the Current Century
The White Stripes – De Stijl (2000)
Bright Eyes – Fever and Mirrors (2000)
Yo La Tengo – And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out (2000)
Jack Johnson – Brushfire Fairytales (2000)
The Strokes – Is This It? (2001)
The White Stripes – White Blood Cells (2001)
Coldplay – A Rush of Blood to the Head (2002)
Broken Social Scene – You Forgot It in People (2002)
Libertines – Up the Bracket (2002)
Flaming Lips – Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (2002)
Wilco – Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002)
Postal Service – Give Up (2003)
his n hers is pulp’s best!!!! not different class
I only have ever heard of a few of these.
solid list!
I also don’t know too many of these bands and artists. I will need to find and listen to them and get back to you with a comment of more details.
Mingus Ah Um is one of my favorites. Write now I am listening to Bill Evans’ Waltz for Debby and have been listening to a lot of Joss Stone too. I am sure that there is more, but I can’t really think of any right now. ~ Christie
This is the list of an AHS ESL staff member:
Tool – Lateralus, Aenima
Radiohead – OK Computer, Kid A
Pink Floyd – The Wall, Animals
The Beatles – Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, Revolver
Queens of the Stone Age – Rated R, Songs for the Deaf
Nine Inch Nails – The Downward Spiral, The Fragile
Joy Division – Closer, Les Baines Douche (live album)
The Dismemberment Plan – Emergency and I, Change
Jimmy Eat World – Clarity
Beck – Odelay!
Autolux – Future Perfect
Death Cab for Cutie – Transatlanticism
David Bowie – Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
Oh, forgot:
The Notwist – Shrink, Neon Golden
Smashing Pumpkins – Siamese Dream
Depeche Mode – Music for the Masses, Violator
The Mars Volta – Frances the Mute
Lovely list, Peasprout. The eprops are specifically for your nod to Dave Brubeck.
nice! :)
Lots of good recommendations you made. Yeah, I have quite a few of those, like Belle and Sebastian, Radiohead and Pulp. I’ll look into the few I haven’t heard of. Here are some of my essentials.
A Tribe Called Quest (Low End Theory, Midnight Marauders)
Amon Tobin (Supermodified, Bricolage)
The Strokes (Room on Fire, Is This It?)
Beck (Odelay, Mellow Gold, Sea Change)
Orbital (In Sides, Orbital 2, Middle of Nowhere)
The Roots (Illadelph Halflife, Things Fall Apart, Phrenology)
DJ Shadow (Endtroducing)
Mu-Ziq (Lunatic Harness, Royal Astronomy, In Pine Effect)
Stereolab (Emperor Tomato Ketchup, Dots and Loops, Margerine Eclipse)
Beastie Boys (Ill Communication, Pauls Boutique, Check Your Head)
Jay-Z (The Blueprint, Reasonable Doubt, Black Album)
Sublime (Sublime)
Mostly hip-hop and electronica, with a little rock.
I think it would be so hard to make a list like this.
I have not heard a number of these because I think I have listened to the same few bands since the mid 90’s. That’s bad. But I totally agree with Oasis, Supergrass “I Should Coco” (I wore that one out), G. Michael’s “Listen W/Out Prejudice” (love that), Pulp (of course), and Radiohead’s “The Bends.” I think The Strokes – “Is This It?”- is wonderful (though when this came out a boy I liked burned me a copy and when that didn’t work out, I had to stop listening to it because it reminded me of him. Same of a Pete Yorn CD which is very good – different boy though). I would add Rhett Miller’s “The Instigator” to any list I would ever make because it is that good!
Moby always bothered me for some reason. I always had the urge to draw on his shiny head.
A list like this is hard to make. I dislike Coldplay. Maybe there’s something wrong with me? Sometimes you have pie for dessert every night and once in a while you just want some ice cream. That’s Coldplay for me.
I like Run DMC, George Micheal, The Strokes, Franz, Ash, Beastie Boys, Oasis, De La Soul. Your list is pretty rockin’ Casey Kasem has nothing on you. LOL.
pie and ice cream. what I mean is that Coldplay is “hot” right now. I hear them 24/7 on the radio. They are amazing musicians and songwriters and what not. I can’t bag on them. But even with my favorite albums (Alanis’ haha), I don’t like listening to them 24/7. Sometimes I just want something different, for a moment. Maybe like being on a diet and wanting to stray away? LOL.
Mine, not in any particular order, and all quite well-known.
Charles Mingus, Mingus Ah Um
Art Blakey, Moanin’
Sarah Vaughan with Clifford Brown
Sarah Vaughan Live at Mister Kelly’s
Lester Young with the Oscar Peterson Trio
Max Roach, Jazz in 3/4 Time
The Quintet at Massey Hall
Duke Ellington, Money Jungle
Stitt, Rollins, Gillespie, Sonny Side Up
Lucinda Williams, Car Wheels on a Gravel Road
Bob Dylan, Blood on the Tracks
Elliott Smith, Either/Or
Sun Kil Moon, Ghosts of the Great Highway
Jeff Buckley, Grace
The Beatles, Revolver
The Beatles, Rubber Soul
Yo La Tengo, And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out
Jimi Hendrix, Electric Ladyland
Jimi Hendrix, Band of Gypsys
The Clash, London Calling
Depeche Mode, Violator
The Cure, Disintegration
The Grateful Dead, American Beauty
A Tribe Called Quest, Low End Theory
Aceyalone, Accepted Eclectic
Blackalicious, Blazing Arrow
Talib and Mos Def, Black Star
Latyrx
Mos Def, Black on Both Sides
Madvillain, Madvillainy
Murray Perahia playing the Goldberg Variations
Pollini playing late Beethoven sonatas
Argerich playing Chopin
I forgot to add:
The Pretenders, The Singles
Uchida playing Schubert’s piano sonata D.960
Patty Griffin, Living with Ghosts
Wow. How long did it take you to make the list? I know I wouldn’t be able to come up with one. I’d go mad before I finished. ;)
Biggest surprises for me: Kent and Bright Eyes.
Nice one.
It was a work in progress for about a week or so. Looking at it now, four years after posting it, I can think of some changes I may make, not to mention subsequent albums I’d need to add.
The surprises of which you speak? Good ones? Bad ones?
Re: surprises. Definitely good ones. (I wouldn’t have mentioned any bad ones in my first comment for months – it’d be just rude.)
Re: Kent. They aren’t well-known in the US, are they? It’s probably just die-hard music fans like yourself that have ever heard of them.
Re: Bright Eyes. I’ve got most of their albums but ‘I’m Wide Awake…’ is my favourite without any doubt. A perfect wee record.
You know Christen, I almost put Revolver on this list.
oooh that list is wonderful. the 3, 6, 9…seconds of light b&s ep is amazing. especially beautiful.
good to see meat is murder by the smiths that definitely belongs on there..
but yes, bravo on whittling it down to 50, can’t say i ever could choose 50!
Oh man, I only have…1, 2, 3, (mumbling as I count)…10 from your list…Because of your list, I actually started digging for particular songs from some of the CDs. For example, David Bowie’s Hunky Dory. I love Life on Mars? It’s actually in a soundtrack I have (Life Aquatic). George Michael…another I’ve always liked. I grew up listening to his mid-80’s stuff mainly as I watched MTV (when it was good). Perhaps a decade past before I listening to his new stuff…same goes with The Smiths/Morrisey. I have two of their Best of The Smiths and I listen to some of his new stuff. I actually remember the first solo song I hear of him a couple of years (Irish Blood, English Heart). Ever since then, I’ve been getting his solo career. The Beastie Boys are awesome. Still listening to them, especially when I’m on the road. You know my take on Joy Division and the obvious Beatles (love listening to them).
what a great list…
if you were deciding between Sgt Pepper and Revolver, why did you choose the one over the other?
It was hard to choose in some cases, but when it came down to the two Beatles records, I went with Sgt. Pepper because it seems to be more of a cohesive album. I listen to it from start to finish, and while each individual song sounds fine on its own, as a whole they form one complete unit. Revolver is more like a collection of great songs, with a few so-so tracks thrown into the mix.
@Girl Without Pity, Which 10 do you have? Rather, which 72 do you NEED?
@Peasprout, That’s a lot Oh dear! I have my work cut out for me :o/
Sweet list!
@Girl Without Pity, Well, get started!
@Peasprout, Actually Radiohead, I use to listen to but fell out of it. It was in the year 90s I think. I am interesting in Pulp though. Who knows why? Will check back later after I’ve done my “music” homework ;o)
haha, whenever I listen to a Pulp song it reminds me of you and how much you were obsessed/still are I assume. :)
@Starlah Mantra, Well, after they broke up I had to tone down my adoration somewhat, but I’ve been known to play a Pulp track from time to time even in recent years.
@Peasprout, They broke up?!! shows i’m way out of touch. haha
Ah yes, a pat on the back for keeping it old school. ;)
I like the ordering of the list… maybe you could organize by cause of death, substance abuse issues, sexual identity, or if one of their songs is used in a commercial to give a few suggestions. great list though even though i don’t know half the albums.
i should try doing this ^^
@mi1kandcerea1, Yes, you should. Link me to it when you do so I can see what albums you selected.
Before I got interested in electronic music, not so long ago, i was in love with a britpop-wikipedia-kind-of-boy, i listened to (still listen to)::::
EVERYTHING of Leonard Cohen
Blur: The Universe (trumpet part is lovely), To The End
New Order: Close Range, Someone Like You
Suede: So Young (we fell in love because of this song, and i particularly like the the piano part)
Interpol: Pioneer to the Falls, The Scale,
Arcade Fire: Crown Of Love, Power Out (my most fav song of them), No Cars Go
The Lovemakers: Prepare For The Fight
The Shins: So Says I
A I personally like Marc Bolan and some of T-rex stuff (Slider is my fav album).
Tom Waits: Little Drop of Poison
The Mamas & The Papas: California Dreamin’
Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazlewood: Some Velvet Morning (this song has once made me get up early without grumpiness)
Band Of Horses: The Funeral, Is There A Ghost
and other more….
and you are a music wiki, that’s great!
@yuan, some of them are not brits.