I would have an impossible time coming up with a top 10! It would probably take me as many weeks as it took you guys to come up with your 100, and I would probably rearrange and alter it daily or several times a day!! Which I’m sure you guys did after reading how you made your lists.
Some of my favorites- whether they would be top 10 or top 50 aside from albums either of you have on your lists, would absolutely be female heavy.
I breezed through the album covers here a couple of times, but possibly missed if I do repeat one (I would absolutely have so many of your choices on my top 100)
In addition to the albums Kristin mentions, I'm going to continue to make the pitch for _Little Earthquakes_. Not a perfect album but messy in good ways. When I first listened to it, I found it intimidating because of and respected the way in which it puts you entirely within her emotional landscape.
The more I learned about it the more I also think of it as a great "I'm not throwing away my shot" album.
And, of course, I also echo Kristin's comment about being very impressed at the whole project.
Yes yes yes!!! I had intended to put a Tori Amos album on there! And Little Earthquakes would probably be the top of my list! I was going to look through her discography again, but then I got sidetracked and totally forgot 🤣
Nick, I admire your Tori Little Earthquakes pitches! You should be a PR rep for her marketing team! You've gotten me to replay that album recently after many years and although I wouldn't put it in a top-10 list for myself, it hit so many nostalgia buttons. (I remember where I was when I first listened to it: editing a car-commercial for a video post-production facility in San Francisco on the night shift.)
I don’t think I’m completely finished making the pitch (I was considering doing a post highlighting some of the performances from Live at Montreux), but I’m glad that you went back to re-listen to it and had a nice moment of nostalgia.
Tori Amos is one of those artists that I didn't like at the time, but the older I get, the more I appreciate her work. Over on medium, a writer went through and did deep dives on several of her records and that really helped open my mind back up.
If we hadn't put a firm deadline in place to cement our final picks, I'd probably still be tweaking mine. lol.
House Tornado! One of my faves. Flirted with putting both that and the Real Ramona on the list, but Hunkpapa rearranged my mind so thoroughly that it had to be here.
I think Daydream Nation and Enter the Wu-Tang would be in my top 10, but I am very happy to read about your picks and not make a list. I couldn't take the anxiety! Thank you(s) for your service.
Every once in a while a friend I grew up will text me out of the blue, and a good 80% of the time, it's something to do with how awesome Daydream Nation is.
I greatly admire your list and the work that must have gone into it. Even your narrowly missed albums are good. Having said that, I must confess that I don't like best-of lists because they are so subjective and personal. As much as I enjoyed going through your lists each week, there were selections that I shook my head at and muttered, "Really!?" through my clenched teeth. Your list inspired me to attempt my own top 10 list. It had a lot of "Really" moments, and I cut and reposted many times. This fluid list will undoubtedly change with time, as I did this morning when I cut Neil Young's Harvest and relegated it to the also-ran section.
"Here's an affectionate attempt at ranking their records with the understanding that placing things you love in a rigid hierarchy is objectively insane "~ Elizabeth Nelson
Bee Gees - Best Of The Bee Gees
The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Beatles ("The White Album")
Dave Brubeck -Time Out was close to the top, as was the eponymous Dark Side of the Moon. I need to give a listen to the Bill Evan’s Trio - Live at the Village Vanguard. Early Talking Heads was another hard to cut group. I started listening to them in 1981/82. I was in high school and played my brother’s tapes. I was completely enamored.
Thank you Norman (and thanks for the link as well!). This is a great top 10.
You're right about them being subjective- even going into this with our eyes wide open, I knew my own tastes, age, etc. would influence some of the way this list went.
As for picks that make your teeth clench; that's totally fair--and half the fun! I think the worst thing we could've done was make a boring, predictable list filled with all the "usual suspects."
Nice to see Actually, God Fodder and August and Everything After included (although I personally prefer Hard Candy).
Jubilee by Japanese Breakfast is pretty much a perfect album as far as I’m concerned and I’d like to include The IT Girl by Sleeper and 1977 by Ash. Also the Libertines debut Up The Bracket. The latter is a little patchy but the strength of the majority of the songs more than make up for the weak points (ahem, Radio America).
From the REM stable, Lifes Rich Pageant and Fables of the Reconstruction (although I’d probably want to include everything from Reckoning through to New Adventures).
Billy Joel - The Stranger, Gerry Rafferty’s- City to City… We’re really just cataloguing Tilsley favourites though 🤷♀️
Nothing wrong with cataloging Tilsley favorites! :)
Jubilee is fantastic! Early rounds saw both Psychopomp and Soft Sounds From Another Planet as well. "Diving Woman" always reminds me of driving to work at 0330 AM in the dead of winter for some reason.
You kids and your fancy apps like Topsters that make album cover grids! Back in the day I would print out my album cover images and painstakingly glue them to a white board and inevitably mess up 13 times and use up 12 ink cartridges and drink 7 gin and tonics before getting a half-way decent grid that I'd then take a photo of with my 35mm camera and then wait 7 days for the prints to arrive and then scan the image and then post it on my blog pretending that it took me all of 5 minutes.
What's the fun in it actually taking 5 minutes?
I suppose I should look at what the almost rans are. I'll respond to that soon. My gin and tonic has taken effect.
Very cool to see the runners-up. "Songs in the Key of Life" and "Like a Virgin" are great records. If I had to swap them for another one from their respective discographies, I'd go for "Innversions" and "Bedtime Stories". Both artists have such great discographies, though. So hard to choose.
Okay, I looked at the list. I can tell our 9 or 10 year age difference by many of these picks!:) I would definitely have Minutemen' Double Nickels in my top 10, and quite possibly Beasties' Check Your Head and Tribe's Low End Theory. Joe Jackson would make my list too, but probably not Body and Soul. Probably Look Sharp!, but also maybe Night and Day. Surprised to see Nada Surf and Grateful Dead on your list, for different reasons.
Imagining all the time and energy you must have put into these 200 LPs is making me sleepy. Nap time!
Both of those Joe Jackson records are right up there. "Body and Soul" was the (very narrow) winner for the totally objective, not at all random reason that it's the only one of the 3 I own on vinyl.
Really thought Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix and Double Nickels on the Dime would be in your top 100. I love both of these records.
Both were *really* close! Double Nickels made the cut in the preliminary rounds, but was bumped to make room later.
PJ Harvey's Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea would be in my top twenty.
Such a good record! I saw a bunch of clips marking it's birthday recently, and that led me to listening to it quite a bit over the last few weeks.
The Veldt - Marigolds! Fantastic mention!
Yes! I wore out at least one copy of this back in the day.
I would have an impossible time coming up with a top 10! It would probably take me as many weeks as it took you guys to come up with your 100, and I would probably rearrange and alter it daily or several times a day!! Which I’m sure you guys did after reading how you made your lists.
Some of my favorites- whether they would be top 10 or top 50 aside from albums either of you have on your lists, would absolutely be female heavy.
I breezed through the album covers here a couple of times, but possibly missed if I do repeat one (I would absolutely have so many of your choices on my top 100)
Sinéad O’Connor - The Lion and the Cobra
Tracy Chapman - S/T
Fiona Apple - Tidal
Jewel - Pieces of You
Mazzy Star - So Tonight That I Might See
Throwing Muses - House Tornado
Alanis Morrisette - Jagged Little Pill
PJ Harvey - To Bring You My Love
Annie Lennox - Diva
Tears for Fears - Songs From the Big Chair
In addition to the albums Kristin mentions, I'm going to continue to make the pitch for _Little Earthquakes_. Not a perfect album but messy in good ways. When I first listened to it, I found it intimidating because of and respected the way in which it puts you entirely within her emotional landscape.
The more I learned about it the more I also think of it as a great "I'm not throwing away my shot" album.
And, of course, I also echo Kristin's comment about being very impressed at the whole project.
Yes yes yes!!! I had intended to put a Tori Amos album on there! And Little Earthquakes would probably be the top of my list! I was going to look through her discography again, but then I got sidetracked and totally forgot 🤣
Nick, I admire your Tori Little Earthquakes pitches! You should be a PR rep for her marketing team! You've gotten me to replay that album recently after many years and although I wouldn't put it in a top-10 list for myself, it hit so many nostalgia buttons. (I remember where I was when I first listened to it: editing a car-commercial for a video post-production facility in San Francisco on the night shift.)
Thanks :)
I don’t think I’m completely finished making the pitch (I was considering doing a post highlighting some of the performances from Live at Montreux), but I’m glad that you went back to re-listen to it and had a nice moment of nostalgia.
Thank you, Nick!
Tori Amos is one of those artists that I didn't like at the time, but the older I get, the more I appreciate her work. Over on medium, a writer went through and did deep dives on several of her records and that really helped open my mind back up.
Totally agree re. Alanis Morrisette and Tracy Chapman. Amazing albums.
If we hadn't put a firm deadline in place to cement our final picks, I'd probably still be tweaking mine. lol.
House Tornado! One of my faves. Flirted with putting both that and the Real Ramona on the list, but Hunkpapa rearranged my mind so thoroughly that it had to be here.
You guys are incredible. You're the Bruce Springsteen of best album lists. Long, and full of substance.
That said, did I miss Elliott Smith? Maybe Figure 8, Basement on the Hill, Either/Or or self-titled? :-)
Thank you, Rocco!
I know I mentioned in on Notes, but no Elliot Smith. Maybe next time. :)
So good to see Ned’s Atomic Dustbin on here! Very underrated band…double bass FTW
Right?! It wasn't easy leaving this one of the final list. I'm still not 100% sure it was the right call.
I think Daydream Nation and Enter the Wu-Tang would be in my top 10, but I am very happy to read about your picks and not make a list. I couldn't take the anxiety! Thank you(s) for your service.
Every once in a while a friend I grew up will text me out of the blue, and a good 80% of the time, it's something to do with how awesome Daydream Nation is.
It is your good fortune to have enlightened friends!
From your list both REM's Out of Time and Madonna's Like a Virgin are in my Top 100.
Great minds think alike!
I greatly admire your list and the work that must have gone into it. Even your narrowly missed albums are good. Having said that, I must confess that I don't like best-of lists because they are so subjective and personal. As much as I enjoyed going through your lists each week, there were selections that I shook my head at and muttered, "Really!?" through my clenched teeth. Your list inspired me to attempt my own top 10 list. It had a lot of "Really" moments, and I cut and reposted many times. This fluid list will undoubtedly change with time, as I did this morning when I cut Neil Young's Harvest and relegated it to the also-ran section.
"Here's an affectionate attempt at ranking their records with the understanding that placing things you love in a rigid hierarchy is objectively insane "~ Elizabeth Nelson
Bee Gees - Best Of The Bee Gees
The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Beatles ("The White Album")
Dave Brubeck Quartet - Time Out
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - No More Shall We Part
CSN&Y - 4 Way Street
Bill Evans Trio - Live at the Village Vanguard
Isaac Hayes - Hot Buttered Soul
Pink Floyd - Dark Side Of The Moon
Talking Heads - Fear Of Music
Here's the long version: https://weatheredmusic.ca/2024/10/30/on-a-deserted-island/
Dave Brubeck -Time Out was close to the top, as was the eponymous Dark Side of the Moon. I need to give a listen to the Bill Evan’s Trio - Live at the Village Vanguard. Early Talking Heads was another hard to cut group. I started listening to them in 1981/82. I was in high school and played my brother’s tapes. I was completely enamored.
Thank you Norman (and thanks for the link as well!). This is a great top 10.
You're right about them being subjective- even going into this with our eyes wide open, I knew my own tastes, age, etc. would influence some of the way this list went.
As for picks that make your teeth clench; that's totally fair--and half the fun! I think the worst thing we could've done was make a boring, predictable list filled with all the "usual suspects."
1. Rolling Stones - Some Girls
2. Elvis Costello- This Year’s Model
3. Chucho Valdés - Live at the Village Vanguard
Dire Straits- Making Movie
4. Audioslave - Audioslave
5. Bararito Torres - Barbarito Torres
6. Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers - Damn the Torpedoes
7. The Beatles - White Album
8. The Velvet Underground & Nico
9. Steele Pulse - Earth Crisis
10. Robert Cray - Bad Influence
Wow. This was hard. But it’s from the heart.
Lists from the heart are the best kind! Some awesome records on here!
Nice to see Actually, God Fodder and August and Everything After included (although I personally prefer Hard Candy).
Jubilee by Japanese Breakfast is pretty much a perfect album as far as I’m concerned and I’d like to include The IT Girl by Sleeper and 1977 by Ash. Also the Libertines debut Up The Bracket. The latter is a little patchy but the strength of the majority of the songs more than make up for the weak points (ahem, Radio America).
From the REM stable, Lifes Rich Pageant and Fables of the Reconstruction (although I’d probably want to include everything from Reckoning through to New Adventures).
Billy Joel - The Stranger, Gerry Rafferty’s- City to City… We’re really just cataloguing Tilsley favourites though 🤷♀️
Nothing wrong with cataloging Tilsley favorites! :)
Jubilee is fantastic! Early rounds saw both Psychopomp and Soft Sounds From Another Planet as well. "Diving Woman" always reminds me of driving to work at 0330 AM in the dead of winter for some reason.
I think I might have mentioned it before but I read her book recently. It’s one of my favourite things I’ve ever read.
You did! I moved it towards the top of my TBR list after your mention of it. Hoping to get to it soon!
You kids and your fancy apps like Topsters that make album cover grids! Back in the day I would print out my album cover images and painstakingly glue them to a white board and inevitably mess up 13 times and use up 12 ink cartridges and drink 7 gin and tonics before getting a half-way decent grid that I'd then take a photo of with my 35mm camera and then wait 7 days for the prints to arrive and then scan the image and then post it on my blog pretending that it took me all of 5 minutes.
What's the fun in it actually taking 5 minutes?
I suppose I should look at what the almost rans are. I'll respond to that soon. My gin and tonic has taken effect.
If it makes you feel any better, I had a G&T while I was making that graphic.
...and it took a lot longer than I probably should've. lol.
My favorite would have to be Pink Floyd - The Wall, I like every song on it.
An all-timer!
Very cool to see the runners-up. "Songs in the Key of Life" and "Like a Virgin" are great records. If I had to swap them for another one from their respective discographies, I'd go for "Innversions" and "Bedtime Stories". Both artists have such great discographies, though. So hard to choose.
Really hard to choose! Innervisions is awesome.
Okay, I looked at the list. I can tell our 9 or 10 year age difference by many of these picks!:) I would definitely have Minutemen' Double Nickels in my top 10, and quite possibly Beasties' Check Your Head and Tribe's Low End Theory. Joe Jackson would make my list too, but probably not Body and Soul. Probably Look Sharp!, but also maybe Night and Day. Surprised to see Nada Surf and Grateful Dead on your list, for different reasons.
Imagining all the time and energy you must have put into these 200 LPs is making me sleepy. Nap time!
And now we’re on to another list of best albums of 2024!
The fun never ends!
YES!
Both of those Joe Jackson records are right up there. "Body and Soul" was the (very narrow) winner for the totally objective, not at all random reason that it's the only one of the 3 I own on vinyl.
Definitely go with Look Sharp or Blaze of Glory.
Some great ones here. Of the ones that missed your cut, several would be contenders for my personal top 100 (Ivy, Massive Attack, Counting Crows).
It was really hard leaving those three on the outside!