[fogia.4]

So I am looking to buy lots of new CDs in 1 go of music I may not necessarily listen to or even know. If people post their 20 favorite albums it'll help me greatly in buying a new CD collection

Here are some recommendations:

All Led Zeppelin albums, all Dire Straits, all Supertramp, all the Police, all Jethro Tull, all Hendrix

a bit of jazz now:

Charles Mingues - Mingus Ah Um
Louis Armstrong - any album, the early ones are great

John Coltrane - Giant Steps
Kenny Burrel - Midnight Blue

Let me know what you like best

 

[Jahn]

So many suggestions...

Perhaps I can offer 10 in a small window we call "80's New Wave" - not necessarily the best albums, rather, a collection that will scattershot the biggest hits.

1)Depeche Mode 101. Pretty much the top of the heap, and it's live too. Alot of the good stuff is here. If you want to check out their entry into the 90's, go get "Violator" too.

2)Erasure - "POP!" Pretty much has all their singles. Hmm, you might want "HITS!" if you want to include their 90's stuff too.

3)OMD - OMD's Greatest Hits. I think that's what it's called. Anyhow, this covers some nice early tidbits all the way to their "Pretty in Pink" days. There was another greatest hits album a few years ago but it has alot of crap on it.

4)The Cure - Staring at the Sea: The Singles. I'd get this, and forget about "Galore" - better to get the individual albums like Disintegration instead of the later compilation.

5)New Order - "Substance" is a cool 2-CD set of their long-form singles and B-sides. If you like it, grab "Technique" as well.

6)The Smiths - "The Singles." A nice overview, not as complete as both "Best Of" CDs, but not bad for one CD.

7)Pet Shop Boys - "Discography." If you like it, grab "Very" as well.

8)Duran Duran - "Greatest." Avoid "Decade" at all costs.

9)Yaz - "Best of." They have alot more to offer than just "Only You" and "Situation." If you know you like these guys, you might as well skip the collection and get their only two albums, "Upstairs at Eric's" and "You and Me Both."

10)Squeeze - "45's and Under" - some folks might ask why not Talk Talk or ABC or Modern English or Spandau Ballet and the like, but imho Squeeze was an unstoppable singles machine for music that mattered in the 80's - give it a listen. If you like it, check out the Violent Femmes' self-titled debut for a more acoustically punkish and raw take. (Or Tears for Fears for a more polished take.)

 

[asmox]

gordian knot - gordian knot
gordian knot - emergent
spastic ink - ink complete
watchtower - energetic disassembly
pain of salvation - entropia
murcof - martes
tortoise - millions now living will never die
plaid - rest proof clockwork
squarepusher - ultravisitor
hiromi - another mind
autechre - incunabula
björk - homogenic
depeche mode - violator
depeche mode - songs of faith and devotion
mr. bungle - disco volante
múm - yesterday was dramatic, today is ok
cynic - focus
enigma - le roi est mort, vive le roi
vienna art orchestra - art & fun
requiem for a dream soundtrack :O

 

[Blainethepain]

Right, here we go (in no particular order):

Unknown Pleasures - Joy Division
Closer - Joy Division
Bitches Brew - Miles Davis
OK Computer - Radiohead
Sketches of Spain - Miles Davis
The Good Will Out - Embrace
A Love Supreme - John Coltrane
After The Goldrush - Neil Young
Asleep in the Back - Elbow
Beethovens 9th - Beethoven
Substance (compilation) - New Order
Pauls Boutique - Beastie Boys
Ricochet - Tangerine Dream
Rubycon - Tangerine Dream
Phaedra - Tangerine Dream
The Wall - Pink Floyd
The Final Cut - Pink Floyd
Harvest Moon - Neil Young
Dubnobasswithmyheadman - Underworld
Automatic For The People - REM

Just a selection of 20 Albums that I never tire of listening to.
If I put anymore thought into it than than then my head would probably explode.

 

[eight08]

heres a few thats lasted in my heavy rotation list...

elliott smith - either/or - may possibly be my favorite album. sad, haunting, depressing, emotional - but beautiful.

Modest Mouse - This Is a Long Drive For Someone With Nothing To Think About - another "classic", earlier modest mouse... still fairly raw and real

Quasi - Featuring "Birds" - some pretty deep and witty/wierd lyrics disguised by poppy tunes. janet weiss kills on the drums!

The Sundays - Reading, Writing And Arithmetic - melodic, harriet wheelers voice is just amazingly beautiful

Wu-Tang Clan - Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) - if you're ever in a bad situation, just put your hands up in the shape of a "W" and start yelling "wu tang"... youll be ok.

Stan Getz & João Gilberto - Getz/Gilberto - the perfect cocktail party album

Sonic Youth - Dirty - "im angry at you" music

Juliana Hatfield - beautiful creature - some of juliana's mellower songs on one album

Neutral Milk Hotel - In The Aeroplane Over The Sea - lo-fi music at its finest! powerful vocals

Norah Jones - Feels Like Home - found out about her through head-fi (i live in a cave). most amazing/soothing/sensuous female vocals i've ever heard

Rage Against The Machine - Rage Against The Machine - another "im angry at you" album

Weezer - Pinkerton - a little less pop sound in this album, to me anyway.. i love this album

Rilo Kiley - More Adventurous - non classifiable music, sort of pop, sort of rock, all good.

 

[MD1032]

Just whip out good old "Blizzard of Oz".

 

[virometal]

Wow, what a tough question...no order:

Gift - Curve: I always come back to the "trash" pop.

Way of Curve - Curve: All their best together.

The Downard Spiral - NIN: Will I ever fail to discover something new on this album?

Violator - Depeche Mode: Dark pop perfected.

1992-2002 - Underworld: The classics remastered.

Insides - Orbital: Soundtrack for the chill generation. The 2 track "The Box" is one of the greatest electronic progressions.

Bible of Dreams - Juno Reactor: Fanastic GOA trance.

Trance Euro Express - Kraftwerk: Electronic pop still hasn't been done better.

Thriller - Michael Jackson: When he was a little less weird.

Bad - Michael Jackson: Love the tough guy image. MJ tough? LMAO!

Is This Desire - PJ Harvey: Always dug her dirty, sexy sound.

Bitches Brew - Miles Davis: Never knew I could like Jazz until that one.

Live Evil - Miles Davis: And I thought Bitches Brew was crazy.

Thrust - Herbie Hancock: Electro funk delight.

Dirt - Alice in Chains: The epitone of grunge IMO.

Supercoolnothing - 16 Volt: Great hooks wrapped in crunchy guitars.

OK Computer - Radiohead: So delicate and powerful; still blows my mind.

Kid A - Radiohead: Former rockers do electronica better than the pros.

Sgt. Pepper's....- The Beatles: No explanation necessary

Revolver - The Beatles: Same as above.

Oops, think I went over.

 

[Wmcmanus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jahn 3)OMD - OMD's Greatest Hits. I think that's what it's called.

Based on the rest of your list, I'm pretty sure this isn't the Ozark Mountain Daredevils, but man were those country-rock-bluegrass good old boys ever fun back in their day. Nothing that would make my top 20 list, or even top 100, but still...

 

[ChaosCow]

I'm not going to post more than one album for each band. Suffice to say, I certainly think that bands such as the Beatles and Rolling Stones should be represented by more than one album, and I might parenthesize others I'd recommend... but never mind.



Radiohead - OK Computer (The Bends is good, too.)

Beatles - Abbey Road (Anything from Rubber Soul on, besides maybe Let It Be, is almost of equal quality, although wildly different musically.)

Rolling Stones - Exile On Main Street (But really, you should get the "Holy Four", the other three members being Beggars Banquet, Let It Bleed, and Sticky Fingers)

David Bowie - Ziggie Stardust

The Smiths - The Queen Is Dead

Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited (This really is his best, in my mind)

Flaming Lips - The Soft Bulletin (Yoshimi is JUST AS GOOD, almost, and you should probably buy it first)

Cream - Disraeli Gears

Frank Zappa - Cheap Thrills (It's a good, accessible compilation with live tracks that won't make you feel ripped off when you go buy the studio albums; that is, usually you won't be buying the same tracks twice)

Jimi Hendrix - Electric Ladyland (Though, really, it's worthwhile to own Are Your Experienced?, Axis: As Bold As Love, and Band of Gypsys, as well)
Oasis - (What's The Story) Morning Glory? (It's catchy and nice, what can I say?)

Pink Floyd - Dark Side Of The Moon (I REALLY need to buy Piper At The Gates Of Dawn very, very, soon...)

Queen - A Night At The Opera

The Who - Tommy (Quadrophenia is RIGHT up there, as well; I think Who's Next is kinda overrated, though)

R.E.M. - Automatic For The People

Television - Marquee Moon

U2 - The Joshua Tree

The Velvet Underground - The Velvet Underground And Nico

Modest Mouse - Good News For People Who Love Bad News/The Moon And Antarctica (They're very different)

Yes - Close To The Edge

Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand



This list always changes, naturally - I got my first real CD three years ago, and the first one I still listen to two years ago.

 

[ls20]

i dont have a 20 favorites... but, recently, the ones ive been listening to the most are:

dj shadow - in tune and on time
albert king / srv - in session
bb king - live at cook county jail
fiery furnaces - gallowbirds bark
jim o'rourke - eureka
- insignificance
neil young - rust never sleeps
- weld
otis redding - definitive collection (comp)
spoon - gimme fiction
sunny day real estate - rising tide
wilco - being there (double album)... oh how i love this one

and ofcourse... i have to listen to bob dylan atleast once per day

 

[blessingx]

Astor Piazzolla - Tango: Zero Hour
The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds
Bill Evans And Stan Getz - But Beautiful
Cesaria Evora - Cesaria Evora
Chopin, Frédéric - Nocturnes - Tamas Vasary
Copland, Aaron - Lincoln Portrait - Morton Gould and Utah Symphony (includes great Our Town)
Djivan Gasparyan - I Will Not Be Sad In This World
Dusty Springfield - Dusty In Memphis
Elmer Bernstein/Royal Scottish National Orchestra - To Kill A Mockingbird Soundtrack
Everything But The Girl - Amplified Heart
Frank Sinatra - In The Wee Small Hours
Hem - Rabbit Songs
John Coltrane - From the Original Master Tapes
Joni Mitchell - Blue
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan - Shahen-Shah
Pavement - Wowee Zowee
Philip Glass And Foday Musa Suso - Music From The Screens
Piano Music Of Philip Glass - Aleck Karis, piano
The Planet Sleeps - Various Artists
The Replacements- Let It Be
Kate Rusby - Underneath The Stars
The Rolling Stones - Exile On Main Street
Shelby Lynne - I Am Shelby Lynne
Steve Earle & The Del McCoury Band - The Mountain
Toumani Diabate - Kaira
Vince Guaraldi - A Charlie Brown Christmas

 

[mtkversion]

1. Jay-Z - Reasonable Doubt
I bought this on tape not even knowing who Jay-Z was but it quickly became one of my favorites. A favorite album of mine is something that I can usually listen to from beginning to end without skipping any songs. This album is one of them. I've liked most of his stuff after this one as well. The Black Album is still getting play in the car.

2. Nas - It Was Written
I got this at the mall on tape because of the single " If I Ruled The World " .. I didn't even know who Nas was at the time even though his highly acclaimed " Illmatic " was released 2 years prior. It's just a great album to me, I still listen to it frequently.

3. the notwist - Neon Golden
I got a copy of this from a friend and didn't know what to expect. It's definitely different from what I normally listen to but I found myself playing this everyday for 2 straight weeks in my morning commute ( 1 hr drive each way ) The bass in track #6 ( Solitaire ) is something to be heard on a good set of subwoofers. Just an odd but enjoyable album.

4. The Strokes - Is This It?
I remember when this first came out and everyone raved about it. I just never paid attention to them as I never really heard them on radio/TV. A few months after the buzz died down I was able to buy a copy for $5 from a used CD store and I had a listen. Wow a very fun album. It's short so I can listen through the CD two times on one of my drives.

5. CKY - Infiltrate. Destroy. Rebuild
MTV's Jackass is what introduced me to their music but once I found a copy of their first CD I was really hooked on these guys. I guess laughing so hard to some of the skits with their music in the background gives them a nostalgic plus to the CD but I really just enjoy it. I picked up both their releases and will get their latest a few weeks from now.

... 15 more coming.

 

[Sleestack]

I don't have 20 favorite albums... but here are 21 great ones:

Maceo Parker - Mo' Roots
Maceo Parker - Funk Overload
Buddy Guy and Junior Wells - Buddy Guy and Junior Wells Play the Blues
Buddy Guy - Sweet Tea
Jeff Beck - Blow by Blow
Bebo Valdes - Bebo & Cigalia
Bebo Valdes - El Arte De Sabor
Mark O'Connor - New Nashville Cats
James Burton & Ralph Mooney - Corn Pickin N Slick Slidin
The Ray Brown Trio - Live at the Loa
Danny Gatton - Redneck Jazz
Martha Argerich - Rachmaninoff # 3
Ry Cooder - Mambo Sinuendo
The George Benson Quartet - The George Benson Cookbook
Paco de Lucia - Siroco
Muse- Showbiz
Donald Fagen- The Nightfly
Albert Collins, Robert Cray, Jonny Copeland - Showdown
Thelonious Monk - Straight No Chaser
Jimmy Smith & Wes Montgomery - The Dynamic Duo
Mark O'Connors Hot Swing Trio - In Full Swing
Glenn Gould - The Goldberg Variations

 

[bjjp2]

Some of my special favorites (excluding Greatest Hits):

Rolling Stones: Sticky Fingers, Exile, Get Yer Ya' Ya's Out
Hendrix: Axis: Bold as Love
Dylan: Blood on the Tracks, Blonde on Blonde
The Clash: The Clash, London Calling, Give 'Em Enough Rope (underrated).
Talking Heads: The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads (live) or any of the their studio albums except True Stories and Naked.
Meat Puppets: Huevos
Creedence: Cosmo's Factory
Television: Marquee Moon
Zeppelin: (Any of the first six).
Elvis Costello: This Year's Model, King of America (underrated)
Lucinda Williams: Car Wheels On A Gravel Road
Grateful Dead: Europe 72.
James Brown: Live At The Apollo.
Beatles: Abbey Road, Rubber Soul
Old 97's: Fight Songs
Eleventh Dream Day: Beet (obscure)
Walt Mink: El Moodio (obscure)
Lou Reed: Rock And Roll Animal (live)
Tom Robinson Band: Power In The Darkness (obscure?)
X: Wild Gift
U2: Boy, War
Replacements: Let It Be
Bowie: Ziggy Stardust

 

[periurban]

Frank Zappa - One Size Fits All
Yes - Close to the Edge
Miracle Legion - Me and Mr Ray
Madonna - Ray of Light
Clear Spot - Captain Beefheart
Unlimited Edition - Can
Octopus - Gentle Giant
Pawn Hearts - Van Der Graaf Generator
Empusa - Giani Noccenci
David Torn - What Means Solid Traveller?
Tomorrow Belongs To Me - The Sensational Alex Harvey Band
Sea Change - Beck
Split The Difference - Gomez
Thank Christ For The Bomb - The Groundhogs
Workingman's Dead - Grateful Dead

That leaves me five to think about......