Search
As long as I can remember, I've been listening to music. As a kid, my father had jazz going in the background at our house. As a seven year old, I bought my first album with birthday money. In my teenage years, my best friends were fans of some of the same music I listened to. Nowadays, I still try to keep up with new music, although I remain faithful to a lot of my childhood favorites.

Below you will find a list of my favorite albums since 1956, the first year that rock 'n' roll albums appeared. (Some singles had been released in 1954 and 1955, but no albums until then.)

At the top of each list, you will find my favorite album of the year with a short commentary about what makes it special to me. Underneath are the remaining nine albums listed alphabetically, not by order of preference.

I should emphasize that I make no claim to being objective here: these are not necessarily the best albums ever, just the ones I enjoy the most. The main difficulty I faced when making this list was sorting out albums that I liked at the time, but that maybe have not aged well, and then making way for music that I didn't listen to at all at the time, but that is some of my favorite today. In the end, I have done my best to include a little of both.

I thought putting this list together was more fun than creating a simple list of my favorite albums period mainly because sometimes albums might appear in a given year that would not otherwise make it onto, say, a Top 200 list. Furthermore, it was interesting to look back and see which albums appeared around the same time. The downside was that occasionally some really good albums slipped through the crack if they happened to appear in a year with a lot of fabulous music.

If you want my attempt at a more "objective" list of music, you can check out the buttons below. With my 500 Greatest songs list, ranked roughly in order, I've gone back to the very beginning of commercial records, so you will find a few songs even from the 1920s on here. Also a good mix of genres, I think: rock, country, electronic, disco, and even some traditional pop. Only popular music broadly defined, though -- nothing classical, as I have never listened to this much.

If you are more interested in exploring a particular decade, I've got my top 100 songs lists for every decade (with the pre-1950s era lumped together since there wasn't as much recorded music for these decades). These are in no particular order, except that I tried to make the list fairly listenable.
2024
Conan Gray: Found Heaven

Like a number of pop stars today, Conan Gray began as a YouTube sensation who found a record contract in the early 2020s. On his third album, he goes thoroughly retro, with a record full of 1980s-soaked synth-pop songs that will catch the ear of anyone my generation. My daughter, knowing my bent for nostalgia, recommended this album early on in the year and I have listened to it almost constantly since. A very fun album.
Also:
  • Catham County Line: Hiyo
  • The Cure: Alone
  • Ducks Ltd.: Harm's Way
  • Billie Eilish: Hit Me Hard and Soft
  • Kendrick Lamar: GNX
  • Mannequin Pussy: I Got Heaven
  • Kacey Musgraves: Deeper Well
  • Maggie Rogers: Don't Forget Me​
  • 21 Savage: American Dream
​
2023
Sleep Token: Take Me Back to Eden

A break-out album for this British alt-metal act. Their sound is very melodic and atmospheric, but with some interesting elements from other genres: solid pop hooks and occasional trap-rap beats. Since being introduced to this album early in the year, I've gone back and listened to previous albums. The bad news is that their sound gets less distinctive as one listens to more and more of their material, and it all sort of blurs together. Still, it hasn't turned me off of this album, and at the end of the year it still remains my favorite for 2023.
Also:
  • The Beaches: Blame My Ex
  • Luke Combs: Gettin' Old
  • Davido: Timeless
  • The Hold Steady: The Price of Progress
  • Niall Horan: The Show
  • Hozier: Unreal Unearth
  • Caroline Polachek: Desire, I Want to Turn Into You
  • Queens of the Stone Age: In Times New Roman ...​
  • Chris Stapleton: Higher
​
2022
Bad Suns: Apocalypse Whenever

Perhaps a little unusual for a full-on-pop album to show up at the top of my list, but I knew almost from the beginning of the year that this would be my favorite. It is full of very catchy songs laced with earworms and hummable choruses. I can thank my youngest son for introducing this band to me.
Also:
  • Archers of Loaf: Reason in Decline
  • Bastille: Give Me the Future
  • Burna Boy: Love, Damini
  • Florence + the Machine: My Love
  • Scorpions: Rock Believer
  • Harry Styles: As It Was
  • Spoon: Lucifer on the Sofa
  • Earl Sweatshirt: Sick!
  • Tears for Fears: The Tipping Point
​
2021
The War on Drugs: I Don't Live Here Anymore

The third War on Drugs album to make it to the top of my yearly list. As always, it is an atmospheric mix of heartland rock and Dylanesque lyrics. Perhaps a little quieter than the previous two, but it still leaves quite an impression.
Also:
  • Adele: 30
  • Brandi Carlile: In These Silent Days
  • Dry Cleaning: New Long Leg
  • Gojira: Fortitude
  • Mastodon: Hushed and Grim
  • Mdou Moctar: Afrique Victime
  • Kasey Musgraves: Star Crossed
  • Tyler, the Creator: Call Me If You Get Lost
  • Turnstile: Glow On
​
2020
Katatonia: City Burials

​This band has been around a while, morphing from a nondescript death metal band into an absolutely glorious progressive/ melodic/ alternative metal band, perhaps most comparable to Tool. An apocalyptic album for a year that felt very apocalyptic.  I have played the opening track hundreds of times since discovering this band, and I am slowly going back to sample their earlier material.
​Also:
  • The Deftones: Ohms
  • Dua Lipa: Future Nostalgia
  • Fleet Foxes: Shore
  • Four Tet: Sixteen Oceans
  • Hum: Inlet
  • Nada Surf: Never Not Together
  • Perfume Genius: Set My Heart on Fire Immediately
  • Run the Jewels: RTJ4
  • The Strokes: The New Abnormal
​
2019
The Hold Steady: Thrashing Thru the Passion

​Lots of really mellow music this year, but I was in the mood for a rocker. Luckily I got it with this album. It feels like a come-back for this band, but maybe only because they haven't released anything for a while. For any lover of 1970s-era Bruce Springsteen, I'd recommend it.
​Also:
  • Bastille: Doom Days
  • The Black Keys: Let's Rock
  • Burna Boy: African Giant
  • Lana Del Rey: Norman Fucking Rockwell!
  • The New Pornographers: In the Morse Code of Break Lights
  • Of Monsters and Men: Fever Dream
  • Post Malone: Hollywood's Bleeding
  • Maggie Rogers: Heard It in a Past Life
  • Harry Styles: Fine Line​
​
2018
The 1975: A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships

Another solid release from a band that sounds so 1980s and yet so current at the same time. As on earlier albums, some solid pop hooks and lush atmosphere, but with a few surprises thrown in as well.
Also:
  • ​Neko Case: Hell-On
  • Death Cab for Cutie: Thank You for Today
  • Death Grips: Your of the Snitch
  • DJ Koze: Knock Knock
  • Stephen Malkmus: Sparkle Hard
  • Panic at the Disco: Pray for the Wicked
  • Parquet Courts: Wide Awake!
  • Superchunk: What a Time to Be Alive
  • Walk the Moon: What if Nothing
​
2017
The War on Drugs: A Deeper Understanding

Another amazing album from a band making consistently quality music. Dylanesque lyrics over a sonic roar that reminds me a bit of 1980s-era Pink Floyd. This is an album that takes me back a few decades.
Also:
  • ​Afghan Whigs: In Spades
  • Japandroids: Near to the Wild Heart of Life
  • Jay-Z: 4:44
  • Kendrick Lamar: DAMN
  • Mount Erie: A Crow Looked at Me
  • The National: Sleep Well Beast
  • The New Pornographers: Without Conditions
  • Spoon: Hot Thoughts
  • Slowdive: Slowdive
​
2016
The 1975: I Like It When You Sleep, For You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware Of It

Back to '80s New Wave for me this year. Besides finally listening to Walk the Moon's material, I also spent a lot of time with Bastille's new album in the car as well as this beautiful album on my ipod. It has some catchy pop songs with some ambient soundscapes thrown in the middle. All in all, a much better CD than their first album -- one that makes me look forward to future efforts.
Also:
  • ​Car Seat Headrest: Teens of Denial
  • David Bowie: Blackstar
  • Danny Brown: Atrocity Exhibition
  • Gojira: Magma
  • The Lumineers: Cleopatra
  • The Savages: Adore Life
  • Soft Kill: Choke
  • Travis Scott: Birds in the Trap Sing McNight
  • A Tribe Called Quest: We Got It From Here
​
2015
Adele: 25

With three kids at home, I am listening to a lot more pop music these days than I have in years.  I don't have to tell you how beautiful Adele's voice is, or how moving her songs are.

​It's an album that still makes me tear up, even after a month of listening to it. And as a person with religious leanings these days, I couldn't help hear "Hello" as a song to God. I'm sure it wasn't intended this way, but like the Song of Solomon it can easily be heard from this perspective: an existential cry to whatever is out there on the other side.   A cry for forgiveness, a plea for return, but with more than a touch of modern resentment for having been left here to manage on our own in this screwed up world.
Also:
  • ​Alabama Shakes: Sound & Color
  • Beirut: No No No
  • Death Cab for Cutie: Kintsugi
  • Drake: If You're Reading This It's Too Late
  • Fall Out Boy: American Beauty/American Psycho
  • Kurt Vile: b'leive i'm goin down...
  • Of Monsters and Men: Beneath the Skin
  • Protomartyr: The Agent Intellect
  • Walk the Moon: Talking is Hard
​
2014
The War on Drugs: Lost in the Dream

Maybe it is a sign of me getting old, but there were no albums this year that just blew me away.  Still, a bunch of strong efforts, and the War on Drugs' latest is the one that I kept coming back to over and over again.  A great rock 'n' roll album.  Nice to see them still putting out consistent music, even with Kurt Vile out on his own now.  At its core, somehow a very "classic rock" sound, but with enough shimmering, feedback to keep us indie fans interested.
Also:
  • ​The Afghan Whigs: Do the Beast
  • Aphex Twin: Syro
  • The Cloud Nothings: Here and Nowhere Else
  • Cymbols Eat Guitars: LOSE
  • LP: Forever for Now
  • The New Pornographers: Brill Bruisers
  • Pallbearer: Foundations of Burden
  • Spoon: They Want My Soul
  • U2: Songs of Innocence
​
2013
The Arctic Monkeys: AM

OK, so I will admit it.  It was the Bacardi Commercial that got me listening to this album.  I almost didn't buy it since I was severely disappointed by their last two albums.  This one is much better--a real return to form.  A bunch of fun, rockin' songs that are great to drive to.
Also:
  • ​Bastille: Bastille
  • Deerhunter: Monomania
  • Local Natives: Hummingbird
  • The National: Trouble Will Find Me
  • Nine Inch Nails: Hesitation Marks
  • Queen of the Stone Age: ...Like Clockwork
  • The Savages: Silence Yourself
  • Vampire Weekend: Modern Vampires in the City
  • Kurt Vile: Waken on a Pretty Daze
​
2012
Grizzly Bear: Shields

I've always appreciated Grizzly Bear, but for whatever reason their albums never penetrated very deeply into my psyche.  Until this one, that is.  Shields is a gorgeous, haunting art rock album that moves Grizzly Bear, in my opinion, to the top of the many great bands based in New York at the moment.
​Also:
  • ​Bat for Lashes: The Haunted Man
  • The Divine Fits: A Thing Called Divine Fits
  • Gaslight Anthem: Handwritten
  • Japandroids: Celebration Rock
  • Kendrick Lamar: good kid, m.A.A.d city
  • Lana Del Ray: Born to Die
  • Bob Mould: Silver Age
  • Of Monsters and Men: My Head is an Animal
  • Temper Trap: Temper Trap
​
2011
Army Navy: The Last Place

I came upon this band's first album during the previous year, and after that it did not leave my ipod for several years.  Others might have been introduced to them through their song on the soundtrack to the film Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist.

​I've always had a soft spot in my heart for power pop, and this band was one of the best out there working in this style.  Their new album is just as good as their first, in my opinion.  For those of us who think that the Posies and Teenage Fanclub don't make nearly enough music, Army Navy steps in to fill the void.
​Also:
  • ​Cut Copy: Zonoscope
  • Fleet Foxes: Helpless Blues
  • Florence + The Machine: Ceremonials
  • Girls: A Thing Called Divine Fits
  • M83: Hurry Up, We're Dreaming
  • Radiohead: The King of Limbs
  • Washed Out: Within and Without
  • Wild Flag: Wild Flag
  • Yuck: Yuck
​
2010
Surfer Blood: Astro Coast

2010 was a great year for surf-rock revival bands: Best Coast, The Drums, the Soft Pack, Wavves, among others.  I'll admit that I got a little tired of it by the end of the year, but this album stayed in my CD player a lot nonetheless.
​Also:
  • ​Arcade Fire: Suburbs
  • Band of Horses: Infinite Arms
  • The Black Keys: Brothers
  • Broken Social Scene: Forgiveness Rock Record
  • The Drums: The Drums​
  • Radio Dept: Clinging to a Scheme
  • Ra Ra Riot: The Orchard
  • Vampire Weekend: Contra
  • Yeasayer: Odd Blood
​
2009
The Big Pink: A Brief History of Love

This year, I tuned in to the Shoegaze-revival going on in Britain and the US.  This CD has stayed on my ipod since the moment I put it there, and nearly a year later I am still listening to it.  Like a lot of the "nugaze," it is also more than a little reminiscent of some 1980s new wave.  Strong beats, roaring guitars, and dreamy melodies.
​Also:
  • ​Animal Collective: Merriweather Post Pavillion
  • Neko Case: Middle Cyclone
  • Dinosaur Jr.: The Farm
  • Iron & Wine: Around the Well
  • The Pains of Being Pure at Heart: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
  • Silversun Pickups: Swoon
  • Sonic Youth: The Eternal
  • U2: No Line on the Horizon
  • The Yeah Yeah Yeahs: It's Blitz
​
2008
The Kings of Leon: Only by the Night

The best years in music tend to be those in which a new wave of artists breaks out into the music scene: 1967 with the explosion of psychedelic music, 1977 with punk and new wave, 1987 with College Music breaking out of the underground, 1991 with the convergence of Grunge and the Golden Age of Hip Hop, 1995 with the Brit-Pop and Electronica finally making it into the American mainstream, and most recently 2001 with the Strokes and Emo hitting the mainstream and an explosion of indie pop artists in the underground.

​Then there are years like 2008, which are quieter and yet still manage to produce a bunch of really good albums. I could have easily doubled the list this year of CDs that I really, really like. Even some albums, like Death Cab for Cutie's Narrow Stairs, which started off by disappointing me but have gradually grown on me over the year.

So I had a hard time picking a favorite this year, but the new Kings of Leon album has steadily stayed in my CD player and on my ipod. It fits the mood, I think. With an economic recession coming fast down the pike, it is appropriate that we would look back to the 1970s for inspiration. Two-martini lunches anyone? Now that's how to live through a recession!

This album has provided my personal soundtrack for the last six months.  Enormous guitar chords combined with Plant-style banshee wailing produces a fantastic, 1970s-hard rock album that is amazing, blissed-out fun.
​Also:
  • ​Army Navy: Army Navy
  • Cut Copy: In Ghost Colours
  • Deerhunter: Microcastle
  • The Gaslight Anthem: The '59 Sound
  • M83: Kim & Jessie
  • The Raveonettes: Lust Lust Lust
  • Santagold: Santagold
  • TV on the Radio: Dear Science
  • Vampire Weekend: Vampire Weekend
​
2007
The Shins: Wincing the Night Away

Interestingly, we've seen a resurfacing of prog-rock over the past few years within many different genres: emo (My Chemical Romance), pop-punk (Green Day), and even indie-pop (the Decembrists).  With their new album, the Shins too have made the move, and a lot more successfully than I would have ever guessed.  Fans of the concise pop-songs of the last two albums may be disappointed, but there are enough gorgeous, lush melodies here to win some new converts, I think.
​Also:
  • ​Against Me: New Wave
  • The Broken West: I Can't Go On, I'll Go On
  • Feist: The Reminder
  • Interpol: Our Love to Admire
  • Kings of Leon: Because of the Times
  • LCD Soundsystem: Sound of Silver
  • MGMT: Oracular Spectacular
  • Spoon: Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
  • Bruce Springsteen: Radio Nowhere
​
2006
Ellen Allien & Apparat: Orchestra of Bubbles

This has been the year for me to dive back into Berlin/Detroit techno.  Discovering that itunes has much of the material from the Tresor label, I've become addicted lately to Juan Atkins, Jeff Mills, Richie Hawtin, Joey Beltram and the like.  I also like the Bpitch Control label, with Ellen Allien being one of my favorites.

​And what's not to enjoy!  On this CD, produced with experimental electronic composer Apparat, you get a little bit of everything, it seems: some of the melodic synth lines of progressive house, hints of the glitchy, twitchy beats of microhouse, the Euro-vampy voicework of electroclash, the occasional funky beats of traditional electro, and lots of danceable, driving rhythms to keep the techno fan happy.  A very nice CD.
​Also:
  • ​Band of Horses: Everything All the Time
  • Burial: Distant Lights
  • The Hold Steady: Boys and Girls in America
  • John Mayer: Continuum
  • The National: Boxer
  • The Strokes: First Impressions of Earth
  • TV on the Radio: Return to Cookie Mountain
  • Ricardo Villalobos: Salvador
  • Yo La Tengo: I Am Not Afraid of You And I Will Beat Your Ass
​
2005
Kings of Leon: Aha Shake Heartbreak

This CD floored me.  I enjoyed their first album, but was really not prepared for the tremendous jump in songwriting that that this one represents.  This is for anyone who likes the Strokes and a good Credence Clearwater Revival tune, or maybe might have liked the Strokes if they sounded like a bunch of Southern rednecks.  Driving rhythms, punk attitude, and sloppy Southern guitar wrapped up into a fabulous album.
​Also:
  • ​Alkaline Trio: Crimson
  • Beck: Guero
  • Bloc Party: Silent Alarm
  • Coldplay: X&Y
  • Death Cab for Cutie: Plans
  • The Editors: The Back Room
  • The New Pornographers: Twin Cinema
  • Nine Inch Nails: With Teeth
  • Spoon: Gimme Fiction
​
2004
Pedro the Lion: Achilles Heel

This acoustic pop album has a frail, haunting quality that draws comparisons to Sebedoh and some of the slowcore bands (Bedhead, etc.).  The songwriting, though--especially the use of the high range--reminds me of Coldplay and occasionally Jeff Buckley.  This is the first album I've bought from this artist, but I will certainly pick up others.
​Also:
  • ​The Beastie Boys: To the 5 Boroughs
  • Blonde Redhead: Misery is a Butterfly
  • Franz Ferdinand: Franz Ferdinand
  • Green Day: American Idiot
  • Interpol: Antics
  • Iron & Wine: Our Endless Numbered Days
  • Jimmy Eat World: Futures
  • The Killers: Hot Fuss
  • Rilo Kiley: More Adventurous​
​
2003
The White Stripes: Elephant

I liked their last album, White Blood Cells, though I don't think it warranted all the publicity it got.  This album, though, deserves all the publicity and then some.  In my opinion, the best rocker of the year.
​Also:
  • ​Blur: Think Tank
  • Death Cab for Cutie: Transatlanticism
  • Fountains of Wayne: Welcome Interstate Managers
  • The Jayhawks: Rainy Day Music
  • Jay Z: The Black Album
  • Jet: Get Born
  • The New Pornographers: Electric Version
  • Snow Patrol: Final Straw
  • The Yeah Yeah Yeahs: Fever to Tell​
​
2002
Wilco: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

A mellow album with some beautiful music.  Reminds me a little of the Grateful Dead, circa American Beauty, except without the long solos.  Many Dead Heads will say that the long solos are what made the Grateful Dead... well, great.  But trust me, this album is beautiful.
​Also:​​
  • Coldplay: A Rush of Blood to the Head
  • Eminem: The Eminem Show
  • The Flaming Lips: Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
  • Interpol: Turn on the Bright Lights
  • The Libertines: Up the Bracket
  • MRI: All That Glitters
  • The Roots: Phrenology
  • The Streets: Original Pirate Material
  • Taking Back Sunday: Tell All Your Friends​
​
2001
Dezeray's Hammer: Mortified

OK, yes, it's my brother's band. But I still think this upstate South Carolina band was one of the best out there at the time.  Too bad their record company collapsed so quickly, since I think they were just as good as Jimmy Eat World, who also had a big hit this year.
​Also:
  • ​American Hi-Fi: American Hi-Fi
  • Guided by Voices: Isolation Drills
  • Jimmy Eat World: Bleed American
  • Luomo: Vocalcity
  • The Shins: Oh, Inverted World
  • The Strokes: Is This It
  • Tool: Lateralus
  • Pete Yorn: Musicforthemorningafter​
  • Various Artists: Total 3
​
2000
PJ Harvey: Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea

​Not your usual PJ Harvey, but still her most complex and developed album to date.  If you haven't heard PJ in a few years, give this a try.
​Also:
  • ​At the Drive-In: Relationship of Command
  • The Jayhawks: Smile
  • Modest Mouse: The Moon & Antartica
  • The New Pornographers: Mass Romantic
  • Paul Van Dyk: Out There and Back
  • Queens of the Stone Age: Rated R
  • Radiohead: Kid A
  • Rainer Maria: A Better Version of Me​
  • Sleater-Kinney: All Hands on the Bad One
​
1999
Guided By Voices: Do the Collapse

​For some reason, people who call themselves "true" GbV fans hate this album. I have never understood that since I think it is by far their best so far. OK, OK, so I like Ric Ocasek, who produced this album. But even beyond that, the tunes on this album are so catchy!
​Also:
  • ​Blur: 13
  • BT: Movement in Still Life
  • Built to Spill: Keep It Like a Secret
  • The Dismemberment Plan: Emergency and I
  • The Foo Fighters: There is Nothing Left to Lose
  • Moby: Play
  • The Red Hot Chili Peppers: Californiacation
  • The Roots: Things Fall Apart
  • Superchunk: Come Pick Me Up
​
1998
The Barenaked Ladies: Stunt

​The album that made a lot of us realize that the Barenaked Ladies were more than a novelty band. This CD lays their claim to being one of the best pop acts of the late 1990s.
​Also:
  • Belle and Sebastian: The Boy with the Arab Strap
  • The Goo Goo Dolls: Dizzy Up the Girl
  • David Gray: White Ladder
  • ​Madonna: Ray of Light
  • Neutral Milk Hotel: In the Aeroplane over the Sea
  • Semisonic: Closing Time
  • Sunny Day Real Estate: How It Feels To Be Something On
  • System of a Down: System of a Down
  • Lucinda Williams: Car Wheels on a Gravel Road​
​
1997
Verve: Urban Hymns

​Music that you can't get out of your head -- but in a good way. One of the best Brit-Pop albums of the decade.
​Also:
  • Apples in Stereo: Tone Sole Evolution
  • ​The Chemical Brothers: Dig Your Own Hole
  • Blur: Blur
  • The Deftones: Around the Fur
  • Depeche Mode: Ultra
  • The Foo Fighters: The Colour and the Shape
  • Modest Mouse: The Lonesome Crowded West​
  • Radiohead: OK Computer​
  • Third Eye Blind: Third Eye Blind
​
1996
Lyle Lovett: Road to Ensenada

​I didn't start listening to country until I went to Texas.  I guess it is natural, then, that this great Texas patriot is, and will probably always be, my favorite country artist.
​Also:
  • Fountains of Wayne: Fountains of Wayne
  • Fugees: The Score
  • ​Hootie & the Blowfish: Fairweather Johnson
  • The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion: Now I Got Worry​
  • Marilyn Manson: Antichrist Superstar
  • Promise Ring: 30 Degrees Everywhere
  • Sublime: Sublime
  • Tool: Aenima​
  • Underworld: Second Toughest in the Infants
​
1995
Oasis: (What's the Story) Morning Glory?

​When their first album came out, I remember seeing them as Stone Roses knock-offs (as I thought nearly all Brit pop bands were for a long time).  It wasn't until their second album that I started to catch on that they were actually Rolling Stones/Beatles rip-offs, and that it didn't matter. Still one of the best albums of the 1990s, period.
​Also:
  • Aphex Twin: I Care Because You Do
  • ​Goldie: Timeless
  • Guided by Voices: Alien Lanes
  • Natalie Merchant: Tigerlilly​
  • Radiohead: The Bends
  • Son Volt: Trace
  • Teenage Fanclub: Grand Prix
  • Tricky: Maxinquaye​
  • Tupac: Me Against the World
​
1994
Underworld: Dubnobasswithmyheadman

​Like most Americans, I pretty much ignored electronica at first,  unless you count the pop house music of the early 90s which was great to dance to. Then in 1997, albums by the Chemical Brothers and Prodigy began to both got lots of play on MTV. It was about the moment I went to Germany for the first time, where it was pretty much impossible to ignore electronic music, as it was everywhere.  Since then, I have tried to make up for everything I missed in the first half of the decade.  This album was for a time my favorite of mid-1990s electronica.
​Also:
  • Alice in Chains: Jar of Flies
  • Beastie Boys: Ill Communication
  • ​Green Day: Dookie
  • Hole: Live Through This
  • Jawbox: For Your Own Special Sweetheart​
  • Soul Coughing: Ruby Vroom
  • Soundgarden: Superunknown
  • The Stone Temple Pilots: Purple
  • Weezer: Weezer​​
​
1993
The Posies: Frosting on the Beater

​I saw this band live once, but too early in their career to predict what tremendous songwriters they would prove to be on this album. This is the best power pop album of the decade, in my opinion, and one of the best albums of all time perhaps. I only discovered this album a decade later, but I have listened to it endless times since then. Catchy melodies, gorgeous harmonies, and a more than a touch of sadness to add some balance to glossy production. Not as angry as their next album, but the most consistent overall in their catalog.
​Also:
  • The Breeders: Last Splash
  • The Counting Crows: August and Everything After
  • ​Cypress Hill: Black Sunday​
  • Nirvana: In Utero​
  • Sarah McLachlan: Fumbling Towards Ecstasy
  • Meshell Ndegeocello: Plantation Lullabies
  • Pearl Jam: Vs.
  • The Smashing Pumpkins: Siamese Dream
  • The Wu-Tang Clan: Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)​​
​
1992
The Beastie Boys: Check Your Head

​Wow, so many memories of driving around Houston with my Rice roommates while this album was booming in the car. This CD may not be as good as Paul's Boutique, but very few people appreciated that album at the time.  This is the album that made us all remember how great the Beastie Boys are.
​Also:
  • The Afghan Whigs: Congregation
  • Alice in Chains: Dirt
  • ​The Barenaked Ladies: Gordon
  • Dr. Dre: Chronic
  • Faith No More: Angel Dust
  • Helmet: Meantime​
  • Jawbox: Novelty
  • Rage Against the Machine: Rage Against the Machine
  • REM: Automatic for the People​​
​
1991
Dinosaur Jr: Green Mind

​​Wow, it was really hard to pick a top album for this year. This is one of those years that revolutionized music in so many ways. Shortly after getting back to Rice after my summer break, new albums by the Pixies, A Tribe Called Quest, Guns 'n' Roses, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers came out, as did Nirvana's stunning major-label debut. And that was just one week! 

But as my favorite, I think I have to go with this one. I still remember hearing the opening track for the first time on KTRU, Rice University's student radio station, which we often had playing in our room. It reminded me, of course, of Neil Young, but with the noisy guitar of Sonic Youth. In retrospect, this was a quality a liked in many of my favorite bands at the time: sort of like the '60s music I had grown up listening to, but with a punk edge. This would become a staple of the music that me and my Rice friends listened to constantly over the next couple of years.
​Also:
  • Massive Attack: Blue Lines
  • My Bloody Valentine: Loveless
  • ​Nirvana: Nevermind
  • The Orb: The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld
  • Pearl Jam: Ten
  • Pixies: Trompe le Monde​
  • The Red Hot Chili Peppers: Blood Sugar Sex Magic
  • Soundgarden: Badmotorfinger​
  • U2: Achtung Baby
​​
1990
Sinead O'Conner: I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got

​I developed a bit of a crush on this bald-headed phenomenon during my sophomore year at Rice University.  Her music was so simple and so moving.  Unfortunately, it didn't age as well as I would have liked, but it is still a classic of the alternative era.
​Also:
  • Alice in Chains: Facelift
  • ​The Breeders: Pod
  • Concrete Blonde: Bloodletting
  • Depeche Mode: Violater
  • Fugazi: Repeater
  • Jane's Addiction: Ritual De Lo Hapitual
  • Public Enemy: Fear of a Black Planet
  • The Sundays: Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic
  • The La's: The La's​​
​
1989
Nine Inch Nails: Pretty Hate Machine

​One of the best shows I have ever seen was a Jesus & Mary Chain show that Nine Inch Nails opened up for. It was in early 1990 in Houston, just a little before NIN really broke into the mainstream. I had caught one of their songs on the college radio station in Columbia, SC, over the Christmas break, and so was excited about the opening act almost as much as I was the headliner. Houston was a good place to see them as it had a large fan base for industrial music.

During the first two songs, the audience was attentive but quiet, but suddenly during the third song, literally in the blink of an eye -- BAM -- was it a mosh pit, or a tsunami that had appeared in the middle of the room?!? I and apparently everyone else in the room fell in love with this act before the night was out. It was all a blur from there.

An amazing year in music, so it was really hard to pick a number one. But this one has stood the test of time as well as any other. For anyone who has not dipped their toe into 1990s industrial music, a good place to begin. A nice combination of hooks and metal machine noise. It is a little more accessible than Ministry's album, which also helped to break industrial sounds into the mainstream for while.
​Also:
  • Alice Donut: Bucketfulls of Sickness and Death in an Otherwise Meaningless Life
  • ​Camper Van Beethove: Key Lime Pie
  • The Cure: Disintegration
  • Robyn Hitchock: Queen Elvis
  • Ministry: The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste
  • The Pixies: Doolittle
  • The Red Hot Chili Peppers: Mother's Milk
  • The Stone Roses: The Stone Roses
  • Soundgarden: Louder Than Love​​
​
1988
Sonic Youth: Daydream Nation

​I bought this album at a record shop in the local mall in Spartanburg, SC, of all places. I was looking for another hardcore punk album and bought this one by chance.  It wasn't exactly punk, but it didn't matter: I found something much, much better.  At the time, my favorite bands were Alice Donut and Jane's Addiction.  These bands have not aged so well in my mind, and this album is timeless, so I put it at number one for this year. One of the best example of the 1980s avant-garde.
​Also:
  • Alice Donut: Alice Donut
  • ​Tracy Chapman: Tracy Chapman
  • Edie Brickell: Shooting Rubberbands at the Stars
  • Fishbone: Truth and Soul
  • Jane's Addiction: Nothing's Shocking
  • Metallica: ...And Justice for All
  • The Pixies: Surfer Rosa
  • The Sugarcubes: Life's Too Good
  • The Talking Heads: Naked​​
​
1987
U2: Joshua Tree

​This album evokes so many memories for me.  I think many people feel like they have to grow into their personality sometime in high school.  This album played some part in the process for me.
​Also:
  • ​The Bodeans: Outside Looking In
  • The Connells: Boylan Heights
  • The Cure: Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me
  • Guns 'n Roses: Appetite for Destruction
  • The Reivers: Saturday
  • REM: Document
  • The Smiths: Strangeways, Here We Come
  • Sting: Nothing Like the Sun
  • 10,000 Maniacs: In My Tribe​​
​
1986
REM: Life's Rich Pageant

​This was the first REM album I heard, and therefore it remains my favorite.  I now see it as a the last of their straight-forward jangle pop pieces of the eighties.  Afterwards, they would go on to do some wonderful music. And even when their spark ran out in the late 1990s, they could still produce a gem or two.
​Also:​
  • The Beastie Boys: Licensed to Ill
  • Depeche Mode: Black Celebration
  • The Flaming Lips: Hear It Is
  • Peter Gabriel: So
  • Metallica: Master of Puppets
  • Paul Simon: Graceland
  • The Pet Shop Boys: Please
  • Slayer: Reign in Blood
  • The Smiths: The Queen is Dead​​
​
1985
The Replacements: Tim

​I only started to listen to the Replacements in 1987 when I was searching for another REM.  I so wished I had started earlier since they were probably the best band of the eighties.  This is their best album, in my opinion, though some people prefer Let It Be.
​Also:​
  • A-Ha: Hunting High and Low
  • The Dead Milkmen: Big Lizard in My Backyard
  • Dire Straits: Brothers in Arms
  • DRI: Dealing with It
  • The Jesus and Mary Chain: Psychocandy
  • John Cougar Mellencamp: Scarecrow
  • New Order: Low-Life
  • Rush: Power Windows
  • Tears for Fears: Songs from the Big Chair​​
​
1984
Prince & The Revolution: Purple Rain

​As a kid in puberty, I was both shocked and fascinated by this album when it became the sensation that it did in 1984 -- a reaction shared by most of America, I suppose.  In the end, though, it's the music and not the lyrics that still makes this album a pleasure to listen to.
​Also:​
  • Big Country: Steeltown
  • The Cars: Heartbreak City
  • Cocteau Twins: Treasure
  • Husker Du: Zen Arcade​
  • REM: Reckoning
  • The Replacements: Let It Be
  • The Smiths: The Smiths
  • Bruce Springsteen: Born in the USA
  • U2: The Unforgettable Fire​​
​
1983
REM: Murmur

​Marking the birth of what will eventually be called alternative music by the early 1990s, this album's sound was a kind of throwback to the mid-1960s, especially the Byrds. And yet Michael Stipe's vulnerable voice and surreal lyrics obviously connected the band with other postpunk acts out there (Robyn Hitchcock, but also maybe Violent Femmes). Especially here in the South, this band was THE underground band that all the hip kids listened to in the mid-1980s.

My experience has been that the first REM album you hear will generally be your favorite.  Murmur is usually your second favorite.
​Also:​
  • David Bowie: Let's Dance
  • Def Leppard: Pyromania
  • Billy Joel: Innocent Man
  • Cyndi Lauper: She's So Unusual
  • Journey: Frontiers
  • New Order: Power, Corruption, Lies​
  • Police: Synchronicity
  • U2: War
  • Yes: 90125​​
​
1982
Michael Jackson: Thriller

​God, I used to hate this album.  I still want to at some level, but I can't help it.  Nostalgia does its magic -- but black or white, I'm not sure.
​Also:​
  • Asia: Asia
  • Bad Brains: Bad Brains
  • The Circle Jerks: Wild in the Streets
  • The Clash: Combat Rock
  • Peter Gabriel: Security
  • Iron Maiden: The Number of the Beast
  • Toto: Toto IV
  • XTC: English Settlement​
  • Yazoo: Upstairs at Eric's​​
​
1981
Black Flag: Damaged

​It's amazing to me how long it took me to get into Black Flag.  I originally started listening to the Circle Jerks and the Dead Kennedys back in High School; it wasn't until my last years in college that I started working back to some of the original hardcore bands.  Now this is one of my favorite punk album.
​Also:​
  • Air Supply: The One That You Love
  • Def Leppard: High 'n' Dry
  • Daryl Hall & John Oates: Private Eyes
  • Joan Jett & The Blackhearts: Bad Reputation
  • Journey: Escape
  • Minor Threat: Minor Threat EP
  • Stevie Nicks: Bella Donna
  • Rush: Moving Pictures​
  • Rick Springfield: Working Class Dog​​
​
1980
The Talking Heads: Remain in the Light

​Classic Talking Heads, and probably my favorite New Wave album. Funky beats, evocative lyrics, and crazy sounds.
​Also:​
  • AC/DC: Back in Black
  • The Dead Kennedys: Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables
  • The Dire Straits: Making Movies
  • Joy Division: Closer
  • Judas Priest: British Steel
  • The Police: Zenyatta Mondatta
  • The Pretenders: Pretenders
  • The Soft Boys: Underwater Moonlight
  • Bruce Springsteen: The River​​
​
1979
The Clash: London Calling

​I heard this after I had started listening to the Dead Kennedys and the Sex Pistols.  At the time it didn't sound very punk to me, but now it may be my favorite album ever.  The cover is great too. My roommates and I had a poster of it hanging in our room for a few years.
​Also:​
  • ABBA: Voulez-Vous
  • The Buzzcocks: Singles Going Steady
  • The Cure: Three Imaginary Boys
  • The Gang of Four: Entertainment!
  • Joy Division: Unknown Pleasures​
  • Tom Petty: Damn the Torpedoes
  • Pink Floyd: The Wall
  • Supertramp: Breakfast in America
  • Weather Report: 8:30​​​
​
1978
Elvis Costello: This Year's Model

​Dave Deggeller, one of my Rice roommates, listened to Elvis Costello all of the time.  It took a while to grow on me, but now he is one of my most loved songwriters.  This is my favorite of his albums.
​Also:​
  • Blondie: Parallel Lines
  • The Cars: The Cars
  • Cheap Trick: At Budokan
  • Funkadelic: One Nation Under a Groove
  • Billy Joel: 52nd Street
  • Gerry Rafferty: City to City
  • The Rolling Stones: Some Girls
  • Bruce Springsteen: Darkness at the Edge of Town
  • Van Halen: Van Halen I​​​
​
1977
Fleetwood Mac: Rumours

​This was the album I hid from all my punk friends in high school.  I listened to it a lot, but only behind locked doors with headphones.  I don't know now why I was so ashamed.
​Also:​
  • ​Elvis Costello: My Aim is True​
  • Billy Joel: The Stranger
  • Kiss: Love Gun
  • Kraftwerk: Trans-Europe Express
  • Bob Marley & The Wailers: Exodus
  • Queen: News of the World
  • The Sex Pistols: Never Mind the Bullocks, Here's the Sex Pistols
  • Steely Dan: Aja
  • Various Artists: The Saturday Night Fever Soundtrack​​​
​
1976
The Ramones: The Ramones

​I started to listen to the Ramones in high school several years after I had started listening to punk rock.  They weren't my favorite at the time, but their music has grown on me over the years.
​Also:​
  • Abba: Arrival
  • AC/DC: High Voltage
  • Boston: Boston
  • Bob Dylan: Desire
  • The Eagles: Hotel California
  • The Modern Lovers: The Modern Lovers
  • Linda Ronstadt: Hasten Down the Wind
  • The Steve Miller Band: Fly Like An Eagle
  • Stevie Wonder: Songs in the Key of Life​​​
​
1975
Bruce Springsteen: Born to Run

​One of my favorite albums from one of my favorite artists. You will notice a lot of Springsteen's albums on these lists.
​Also:​
  • Aerosmith: Toys in the Attic
  • Bob Dylan: Blood on the Tracks
  • The Eagles: One of These Nights
  • Electric Light Orchestra: Face the Music
  • The Grateful Dead: Blues for Allah
  • Pink Floyd: Wish You Were Here
  • Queen: A Night at the Opera
  • Roxy Music: Siren
  • Patti Smith: Horses​​​
​
1974
KISS: KISS

​The first album I ever bought with my own money was a KISS album. I was just a kid, so mostly I was fascinated by their costumes at first. Still, I almost immediately fell in love with their music. My brother and his friends would come over and we would dress up and play tennis rackets to their songs.

I know many people prefer the two live albums, but I have always been a sucker for their studio work. "Strutter" and "Black Diamond" are two of my favorite KISS songs.
​Also:​
  • David Bowie: Diamond Dogs
  • Jimmy Buffett: Living and Dying in 3/4 Time
  • Eric Clapton: 461 Ocean Boulevard
  • Bad Company: Bad Company
  • Big Star: Radio City
  • Jackson Browne: Late for the Sky
  • Stan Getz: Captain Marvel
  • John Lennon: Walls and Bridges
  • Lynyrd Skynyrd: Second Helping
  • Joni Mitchell: Court and Spark​
​
1973
Pink Floyd: Dark Side of the Moon

​Pink Floyd marks the spot in my life when I turned from a casual to an obsessive music listener. As a rather depressed 8th grader, I was introduced to this band through their film and album The Wall. I soon bought everything of theirs that I could get my hands on. In contrast to some fans, I prefer some of their later albums like The Wall and Wish You Were Here, but this is still a classic, and my top pick for this year.
​Also:​
  • The Doobie Brothers: The Captain and Me
  • Herbie Hancock: Head Hunters
  • Elton John: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
  • Led Zeppelin: Houses of the Holy
  • Lynyrd Skynyrd: Pronounced 'Leh-'Nerd 'Skin-'Nerd
  • Bob Marley & The Wailers: Burnin'
  • Paul McCartney & Wings: Band on the Run
  • Iggy Pop & the Stooges: Raw Power
  • Bruce Springsteen: The Wild, the Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle​​​​
​
1972
Big Star: #1 Record

​I first heard about Big Star obliquely -- through a Replacements song named after Alex Chilton, the brilliant yet slightly erratic main songwriter for this group.  It took me a while to hunt down this album, but since finding it Big Star's first has become one of my "desert island" discs.

Many people will recognize "In the Street" from the Cheap Trick cover that served as the theme song for That 70s Show.  Big Star could do both power-pop sing-alongs like this one, and also haunting ballads such as "Thirteen" and "Watch the Sunrise."
​Also:​
  • Black Sabbath: Vol. 4
  • David Bowie: The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust
  • Nick Drake: Pink Moon​
  • NEU!: NEU!
  • Lou Reed: Transformer
  • The Rolling Stones: Exile on Main Street
  • T. Rex: The Slider
  • Stevie Wonder: Talking Book
  • Neil Young: Harvest​​​
​
1971
T. Rex: Electric Warrior

​An amazing year in music--and I say that, not just because it was my birthyear. A real turning point, when the late '60s sound finally began to give way to music that we would clearly identify as the '70s. Very hard to pick a favorite for this year, but I'll go with T. Rex's album, a record that arguably marks the beginning of glam rock.

If people my age know about T. Rex, it was through a cover of "Get It On (Bang a Gong) done in the 1980s by the supergroup Power Station. I learned about them, though, as I started to search for the origins of punk rock. One of the best songs on this album, "Cosmic Dancer," showed up on the film Billy Elliot, which I would highly recommend.
​Also:​
  • Black Sabbath: Paranoid
  • Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young: Deja Vu
  • Miles Davis: Bitches Brew
  • The Doors: Morrison Hotel
  • Iggy Pop & the Stooges: Funhouse
  • Simon & Garfunkel: Bridge over Troubled Water
  • Cat Stevens: Tea for the Tillerman
  • James Taylor: Sweet Baby James
  • Velvet Underground: Loaded​​​​
​
1970
The Grateful Dead: American Beauty

​I've never been a Deadhead, and in High School I gravitated more towards the punks and dark side of alternative and new wave music. I would have picked the Cure over the Grateful Dead any day.

However, my father listened to their music a fair amount when I was growing up, and so nostalgia for some of their songs made me go back and explore their catalogue during my thirties. This is one of their very best almost every Deadhead would agree, I think. Absolutely beautiful music, and a good place to start if you have not heard any of their music.
​Also:​
  • Black : Arrival
  • Boston: Boston
  • Bob Dylan: Desire
  • The Eagles: Hotel California
  • The Modern Lovers: The Modern Lovers
  • Linda Ronstadt: Hasten Down the Wind
  • Bob Seger: Night Moves
  • The Steve Miller Band: Fly Like An Eagle
  • Stevie Wonder: Songs in the Key of Life​​​
​
1969
The Rolling Stones: Let It Bleed

​I figure that the Rolling Stones needed to make it into the top slot for at least one year, and this album is as good as anything they put out.  This year's was another difficult choice, though.
​Also:​
  • The Beatles: Abbey Road
  • Creedence Clearwater Revival: Willy and the Poor Boys
  • Crosby, Stills & Nash: Crosby, Stills & Nash
  • Miles Davis: In a Silent Way
  • Jefferson Airplane: Volunteers
  • The Kinks: Arthur or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire
  • Led Zeppelin: Led Zeppelin II
  • The Velvet Underground: The Velvet Underground
  • The Who: Tommy​​​
​
1968
Van Morrison: Astral Weeks

​Boy, was it hard to pick a favorite out of the bunch of albums that came out this year!  I have only recently discovered Van Morrison, though, so this one is my favorite at the moment.
​Also:​
  • The Beatles: The White Album
  • Big Brother & The Holding Company (with Janis Joplin): Cheap Thrills
  • Cream: Wheels of Fire
  • Miles Davis: Filles De Killimanjaro
  • Jimi Hendrix: Electric Ladyland
  • The Rolling Stones: Beggars Banquet
  • Simon & Garfunkel: Bookends
  • Steppenwolf: Steppenwolf
  • The Zombies: Odessey and Oracle​​​
​
1967
The Doors: The Doors

​How many hippie bands are also enjoyed by punks, goths, and, well, about anyone with good taste?  Lots of great music this year, but Morrison's Nietzschean side helps the Doors to stand out from the crowd. Along with Pink Floyd, this band became another early obsession of mine.
​Also:​
  • The Beatles: Magical Mystery Tour
  • Buffalo Springfield: Buffalo Springfield Again
  • Cream: Disraeli Gears
  • Neil Diamond: Just For You
  • Aretha Franklin: I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You
  • Jimi Hendrix: Are You Experienced
  • Jefferson Airplane: Surrealistic Pillow
  • The Kinks: Something Else
  • The Velvet Underground: The Velvet Underground and Nico​​​
​
1966
The Beatles: Revolver

​Probably my favorite album, period. Nearly every album the Beatles put out is a classic, of course, but the experimentation and song-quality of this one makes it stand out, in my opinion. Also an fascinating album cover that I remember staring at as a child.
​Also:​
  • The Beach Boys: Pet Sounds
  • Buffalo Springfield: Buffalo Springfield
  • The Byrds: Fifth Dimension
  • Cream: Fresh Cream
  • Bob Dylan: Blonde on Blonde​
  • Otis Redding: Otis Blue
  • The Rolling Stones: Aftermath
  • Simon & Garfunkel: Parsley, Sage, Rosemary & Thyme
  • The Troggs: From Nowhere​​​
​
1965
Bob Dylan: Highway 61 Revisited

​Nineteen Sixty-Five was the year of Bob Dylan's transition from his early '60s folk music to a more rock-based sound. If you have seen the Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown, you are familiar with the story. Bringing It All Back Home, which he released in March, began the transition, and this album, released in August, just shortly after the Newport Folk Festival that is shown at the end of that film, completed it.

Dylan is one of my favorite artists, as indicated by the fact that I probably own more CDs by Bob Dylan than by any other artists. I also have seen him live more than any artist, now that I think about it. This is my second favorite Dylan album, after Blonde on Blonde.
​Also:​
  • The Beatles: Help!
  • The Beatles: Rubber Soul
  • The Byrds: Mr. Tambourine Man
  • John Coltrane: A Love Supreme
  • Bob Dylan: Bringing It All Back Home
  • Herbie Hancock: Maiden Voyage​
  • The Rolling Stones: Out of Our Heads
  • Various Artists: The Sound of Music Soundtrack
  • The Zombies: Begin Here​​
​
1964
The Beatles: A Hard Day's Night

​The first Beatles album to show that they could do something better than "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" and decent Chuck Berry covers.  Also the album to inspire the Byrds, which alone would make it stand out.  Nothing here could match up to the Kinks' "You really Got Me Now" of the same year, but better overall than the Kinks' debut.
​Also:​
  • The Animals: The Animals
  • The Beach Boys: All Summer Long
  • Bob Dylan: Another Side of Bob Dylan
  • Bob Dylan: The Times They Are A-Changin'
  • Stan Getz: Getz/Gilberto
  • The Kinks: Kinks
  • Lee Morgan: The Sidewinder
  • The Supremes: Where Did Our Love Go
  • The Temptations: Meet the Temptations​​​
​
1963
Thelonious Monk: Monk's Dream

​In high school, my father did his best to turn me on to Thelonious Monk, but with little luck. It took some maturity and a couple of Jazz-loving Rice roommates to get me to appreciate him. Now, he is one of my favorite jazz artists, and this is my favorite album by this genius. 
​Also:​
  • The Beatles: Please Please Me
  • The Beach Boys: Surfer Girl
  • James Brown: Live at the Apollo, 1962
  • Sam Cooke: Night Beat
  • Bob Dylan: The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan
  • Bill Evans: Conversations with Myself
  • Dexter Gordon: Our Man in Paris
  • Freddie Hubbard: Hub-Tones
  • Roy Orbison: In Dreams​​​​
​
1962
Bill Evans: Waltz for Debby

​Jazz for a rainy day, or just when you need to chill out.
​Also:​
  • The Beach Boys: 409
  • Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers: Caravan​
  • Dick Dale & His Del-Tones: Surfer's Choice
  • Bob Dylan: Bob Dylan
  • Dexter Gordon: Go!
  • Howlin' Wolf: Howlin' Wolf
  • Roy Orbison: Crying
  • Sonny Rollins: The Bridge
  • Booker T. & The M.G.s: Green Onions​​​
​
1961
John Coltrane: My Favorite Things

​Not the best Coltrane album, but maybe Coltrane at his most accessible.
​Also:​
  • Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers: A Night in Tunisia
  • Ray Charles: The Genius Sings the Blues
  • Patsy Cline: Showcase
  • Dion: Runaround Sue
  • The Bill Evans Trio: Sunday at the Village Vanguard
  • Thelonious Monk & John Coltrane: Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane​
  • Max Roach: Percussion Bitter Sweet
  • George Russell: Nardis
  • Del Shannon: Runaway​
1960
Etta James: At Last!

​Brilliant album by a genius blues vocalist. It includes perhaps my favorite version of Howlin' Wolf's song "Spoonful."
​Also:​
  • Joan Baez: Joan Baez
  • John Coltrane: Giant Steps
  • Miles Davis & Gil Evans: Sketches of Spain
  • The Bill Evans Trio: Portrait in Jazz
  • The Everly Brothers: A Date with the Everly Brothers
  • Hank Mobley: Soul Station
  • Elvis Presley: Elvis is Back!
  • Frank Sinatra: Nice 'n Easy
  • Muddy Waters: At Newport 1960​​​
​
1959
Elvis Presley: For LP Fans Only

​It feels a little wrong to have this album at the top of this year's list for a couple of reasons. First, it's actually a collection of his singles from 1954-1955. I've generally tried to avoid collections, although I've cheated a little in these early years since so much good music was released originally on 45 and then only later on LP. (The Chuck Berry album in this year's list is also a collection, by the way.)

Second, 1959 is arguably the greatest year for recorded jazz, period. Wow, so many classic albums, including Miles Davis's Kind of Blue, which was the first jazz album I remember appreciating.

So why did I highlight this album? Well, it was an LP my father gave us kids to listen to on our tiny, plastic, Fisher-Price record player in our playroom, and we played it to death. So much nostalgia for me listening to these songs. Great collection of songs from the days before Elvis was acquired by RCA.
​Also:​
  • Chuck Berry: Berry is on Top
  • Art Blakey: Moanin'
  • The Dave Brubeck Quartet: Time Out
  • Ornette Coleman: The Shape of Jazz to Come
  • Miles Davis: Kind of Blue
  • Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong: Porgy & Bess
  • Coleman Hawkins & Ben Webster: Coleman Hawkins Encounters Ben Wester
  • Charles Mingus: Mingus Ah Uh​
  • Howlin' Wolf: Moanin' in the Moonlight​​​
​
1958
Buddy Holly & The Crickets: Buddy Holly

​I fell in love with Buddy Holly's music after watching the film The Buddy Holly Story as a kid. Still some of my favorite songs.
​Also:​
  • Cannonball Adderley: Somethin' Else
  • The Count Basie Orchestra: The Atomic Mr. Basie
  • James Brown & The Famous Flames: Please, Please, Please
  • Ornette Coleman: Something Else!!!
  • Miles Davis: Milestones
  • Billy Holiday: Lady in Satin
  • Lee Morgan: The Cooker
  • Frank Sinatra: Come Fly with Me
  • Elvis Presley: Elvis' Golden Records​​
​
1957
Miles Davis: The Birth of Cool

​A album that was actually recorded back in 1949 and 1950, but not released until this year. It documents some of the sessions that gave birth to the "Cool" style of jazz that had become known in the mid-1950s, thanks in no small part to the teen-idol looks of Chet Baker and the promotion of Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner. For those looking for an entry point into Miles Davis, this is a good option (along with Kind of Blue from 1959).
​Also:​
  • Count Basie: April in Paris
  • Ray Charles: Ray Charles
  • Nat King Cole: Love is the Thing
  • Miles Davis: 'Round About Midnight
  • Bo Diddley: Bo Diddley
  • Billie Holiday, Body and Soul
  • Buddy Holly & The Crickets: The "Chirping" Crickets
  • Little Richard: Here's Little Richard
  • Sonny Rollins: Way Out West​​​​
​
1956
Billie Holiday: Lady Sings the Blues

​Another artist that my father eventually taught me to appreciate. He preferred the earlier recordings, but my Rice roommate Nils got me to listen to her later recordings after commenting that he liked her voice at this stage. "World-weary," or something like that, was how he described it, I believe.

This is recorded roughly three years before her death and includes a later version of the piece that she is probably best remembered for, "Strange Fruit," a song about lynching in the South.

I've ended the list here because good LP albums tend to get sparser if you work back any earlier. The LP format was only invented in 1948, and lots of music was still being listened to in jukeboxes and on 45s. Also, this happens to be the first year that two rock 'n' roll LPs were released. Earlier it is pretty much all jazz and pop music.
​Also:​
  • Harry Belafonte: Calypso
  • Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers: The Jazz Messengers
  • Duke Ellington: Ellington at Newpowert 1956
  • Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong: Ella & Louis
  • Bill Haley & His Comets: Rock 'n Roll Show
  • The Modern Jazz Quartet: Fontessa
  • Elvis Presley: Elvis Presley
  • Sunny Rollins: Plus Four
  • Ravi Shankar: Three Ragas​​​​​
​
Proudly powered by Weebly