20 Albums You Should Own, But Probably Don't

[Bob R]

That's not exactly how I meant it. I meant what twenty albums do you own that everyone else should but probably don't. Still any way you take it is fine.

Sorry, I knew I missed the mark.

In that case,

All Porcupine Tree:

Voyage 34

Signify - and Insignificance, the UK version.

Coma Divine

Up the Down Stair

On the Sunday Side of life ...

Warzawa

Sky Moves Sideways

and the blessed DVD-A releases,

In Absentia

and Deadwing

 

[Hawkeye]

Can't think of 20 albums you must have, but here's a few that I would highly recommend.


Richard Wright - Wet Dream - a little mellow, a little jazzy, a little bluesy, a little Floyd. An album from Pink Floyd's keyboard player, one of my favorite discs.

Toy Matinee - Simply one of the best rock/pop albums of all-time.

Kevin Gilbert's Thud - Driving force behind Toy Matinee's one and only cd is Kevin Gilbert. An enormous talent who died far too young. This album is a little edgier than the TM release, but superb.

Pete Bardens - Speed of Light - Soothing, electronic, dreamy, a bit Floydish. Solo album by keyboardist and one of the founding members of the prog band Camel. Features Mick Fleetwood on drums.

Porcupine Tree - The Sky Moves Sideways - Their last two cds, In Absentia and now Deadwing, are many folk's first introduction to PT. This album, from 10 years ago is well worth exploring.

The Zombies - As Far As I Can See - Yes...the Zombies. Rod Argent's songwriting and hammond organ mastery mesh so nicely with Colin Blunstone's "breathy" vocals. They still have it.

Freudiana - This 1989 release was supposed to be the 11th Alan Parsons Project album. It instead became the soundtrack to a musical based on Sigmund Freud and some of his patients. Many Parsons fans consider this album to be among the best ever penned by Woolfson/Parsons.

ELO - Time - One of my personal favorite ELO albums. Damn, how I wish this would be released on SACD or DVD-A surround format.

Camel - A Nod and a Wink - Will this be the last album Camel ever releases? Very nicely recorded. Andy Lattimer shines on guitar, sounding, at times, very David Gilmour-ish. Some of the most emotional guitar you'll hear. The song For Today, drawing inspiration from the WTC victims, will leave a lump in your throat.

Chris Rea - Road to Hell - Good guitar and the type of voice that I can only imagine must come from 2 packs of non-filtered Camels a day.

 

[zipper]

Have you had a chance to evaluate it? If so , what do you think, particularly of tracks 16 and 17?

"Rise" is the main reason I bought the CD. I remember when it got a lot of radio play...............love it. I used to play the trumpet many moons ago. Track 17 is also nice.

Sounds great too.

 

[moverton]

3. Flaming Lips - The Soft Bulletin: This one is honestly the Dark Side of the Moon for the modern day. The followup album, Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, is killer too, but The Soft Bulletin is a great intro to the band.

I agree with this. This is probably the most enjoyable album I have. It is a litle hard to pick up. I would just recommend playing it a few times before judging it. Also, the album, like many great ones, gets better as it goes along. Make sure to listen past the 5th track.
Also, personally, I think this one needs a good sounds system (or headphones). Not nearly as good in the car (too much gets lost).
I heard they are working on a DVD-Audio version of it. I hope it gets mixed well. I thought the 5.1 version of Yoshimi was a little distracting.

Does anyone else hear the beach boys influence on this one? My wife thinks I'm nuts.

12. Sonny Rollins - Way Out West: Most would say if you only buy one real jazz records to make it Miles Davis' Kind of Blue- and it's hard to argue with that choice. But for my money, I'll take tenor-sax-god Sonny Rollins Way Out West. This one's simply more compelling to me than anything by Davis. Go for the XRCD version if you can; it's spendy, but the sound is fantastic.

Great album, but I would recommend Saxophone Colossus over Way out West. Way out West is available on SACD hybrid and sounds great in that format.

13. Dave Brubeck - Time Out: Okay, I'm not 'Mr Jazz' by any means, but to me Time Out is the greatest album in jazz history. Filled with catchy tunes and wild experiments in rhythm, this one at once accessible and eccentric. Listen to it once before you decide you don't like jazz.

Agreed, accessible but deeper than is immediately apparent. If you are familiar with that weird mathematical harmonic that great Jazz can set off in your brain, try this one.

17. Beck - Sea Change: Beck is probably mostly thought of as a sardonic jokester (much like me ), but this rare album of totally sincere and un-ironic music is quite a departure for Bech, but very powerful. Especially good on DVD-A.

Awesome lead off track. I have the SACD version which also sounds great; unfortunately, it is not a hybrid. When I play this with guests in the house, it never fails to generate a "Wow, who is that?" from them.

 

[AFJumper03]

Opeth

I see that so many people on here love the P-Tree CDs, and rightly so, I'm a huge fan and I espically love that they are embracing multi-channel recording. What I am surprised about is that almost NO one talks about Opeth. In fact, the first post on this thread that mentioned them in the same breath as Porcupine Tree was the first I've heard them on this site.

Now granted, Opeth is a metal band, and most of their music is VERY heavy. But their newest CD "Damnation" would probably be right up the ally for any P-tree fan, as its totally acoustic, very mellow and has a 70's prog rock feel to it. It was an experiment album for them, but if you like it, you'd might be able to get into their other cds, which while heavier, still have moments of quiet glory that Damnation have. And not to mention the guitar work and song writing in general are incredible.

They were even mentioned in the New York Times recently, something that has never happened to a small underground Metal band from Sweden that gets no radio airtime whatso-ever.

If you like heavy music even a bit, and you have an openmind I highly recommend you pick up some of their albums.

Below is a list of all their albums to help you get into the band with comments

-Damnation
"The mellow album" My favorite guitar solo of all time is on the track Windowpane.

- Still Life
Much more classic Opeth. Here the duality of the band is shown in all its glory on the track "Godhead's Lament", where the band flows seamlessly from heavy riffing with growling vocals to soaring interludes of harmony with acoustic guitars.

-Deliverance
The sister album to Damnation, very heavy and more in tune with what the band would say is their true self. "A Fair Judgement" might be my favorite song of all time and is hands down their easiest song for a non-metal head to enjoy. At about 3:45 into the song is the most incredible passage of music I've ever listened to. I use it to test out speakers, and to see if they are able to convey emotion.

-Blackwater Park
Often critizised, but still great. Harvest is a crowd favorite at their concerts and one of their best "mellow" songs.

- Morningrise
The album that made this band explode in the underground scene, this is not for the faint of heart. 20 minute songs and incredible mood swings will make you rethink everything you've ever thought about how music is supposed to be written. "To Bid You Farewell" is the song that got me into this band

-My Arms, Your Hearse
Often called their most "metal" album, still filled with great soft interludes and breathtaking melody. "Demon of the Fall" is the song that the old school metal heads love.

-Orchid
Their first CD and not my favorite. While still being a great CD overall, its not nearly as genius as their other albums.


Also they have a live DVD thats is recorded in GREAT 5.1, and focuses mostly on their more mellow songs. The recording is really professional and does a great job showing off the band.

They have a new CD coming out next month as well.

Please be advised though, this band is not for the faint of heart, your subwoofer will get a workout on all but their acoustic CD, and if you think metallica is too loud you might need to ease into this

IF you are into this band even a little, back me up here and get some of these Forum members into this wonderful group of musicans.

 

[Mudcat]

My twenty (some of these are for one song only - some for the whole album) in no particular order.


<b>Folkjokeopus - Roy Harper.</b> Roy is the guy from track 10 of Led Zepplin III (Hats off to {Roy}Harper). Great songs especially McGooHan's Blues. You could pick Live at Les Cousins, but Folkjokeopus is probably better overall.

<b>Dark Side of the Moon - Pink Floyd.</b>

<b>Physical Graffiti - Led Zepplin</b>

<b>KEΦAΛHΞΘ - Ministry.</b> Hey, Jesus built my hotrod. Nuf Said.

<b>Pretty Hate Machine - Nine Inch Nails.</b>

<b>The Guitarist - John Williams.</b> Excellent classical guitar

<b>Passion - Peter Gabriel</b>

<b>Led Zepplin IV - Led Zepplin</b>

<b>Who's Next - The Who.</b> The flotsam from one of Pete's abandon projects becomes one of the greatest albums of all time.

<b>Pink World - Planet Project P (Tony Cary).</b> Can you say apocalypse?

<b>Meddle - Pink Floyd.</b>

<b>Native Tongue - Poison.</b> A very good album from them (for once).

<b>Greetings from Asbury Park - Bruce Springsteen.</b> Just listen to "Lost in the Flood".

<b>In Concert - The Doors.</b> The best version of The End and When The Music's Over. Also the only album in which you'll hear "The Celebration of the Lizard King".

<b>I Robot - Alan Parsons</b>

<b>Led Zepplin III - Led Zepplin.</b> Gallows Pole, Immigrant Song, Bron-Y-Aur Stomp. Nuf Said.

<b>Low Spark of High Heeled Boys - Traffic.</b>

<b>Broken - Nine Inch Nails.</b>

<b>Rachmaninov Piano Concerto #3 - Ashkenazy.</b> You want to hear good piano playing? Listen to this.

<b>Trout Mask Replica - Captain Beefheart.</b> Abba Zabba Zoom

 

[jaxvon]

No particular order here...no particular genre either...

Miles Davis - Kind of Blue
Honestly on of the best jazz albums ever recorded. Period.

Donald Fagen - The Nightfly
Fagen on his own. Incredible music, somewhat goofy themes, but a great album for music and sound quality alike

Keith Jarret - Belonging
Great quartet jazz, and track 3 is the influence for Steely Dan's song Gaucho

Dave Grusin - Mountain Dance
Smooth jazzish, but with great jazz chops thrown into the mix. Add to that a straight-up 2 track recording in the studio (all digital, as it's GRP), and you've got a great album.

Steely Dan - Countdown to Ecstasy
Seeing how most people only tend to know songs off of Can't Buy a Thrill and Aja, I added this to the list. Their sophomore effort, it expands much farther into jazz and latin rhythms.

Peter Gabriel - Shaking the Tree
A greatest hits collection from Gabriel, but still an excellent album.

Maceo Parker - Life on Planet Groove
A live recording from the early 90's. Funky as it gets. Features live versions of songs off Mo' Roots (another good one to pick up).

Dave Brubeck - Time Out
As Buckeye mentioned earlier, a jazz masterpiece. A must buy.

Weather Report - Heavy Weather
Awesome fusion music with Joe Zawinul and Jaco Pastorius.

Stevie Wonder - Innervisions
Stevie Wonder - Songs in the Key of Life
Both of these albums are sonic and musical masterpieces. Touching lyrics, infectious grooves, and a very honest look at life and spirituality.

Passport - Cross Collateral
Klaus Doldinger's debut album with Passport. Funky, jazzy, and unique.

Passport - Blue Tattoo
One of my favorite, if not my favorite Passport album. Hard to find though, as I have the import version.

Peter Frampton - Frampton Comes Alive
Great live 70's rock album. Do you feel like we do?

Jackson Browne - Running on Empty
Another great live album, also recorded in hotels and on busses.


That's all for now...

 

[j_garcia]

I have that Sigur Ros. Interesting, but it definitely has to grow on you. After the first few listens, I wasn't so impressed with it, but a few of the tracks do start to stick after a while. I'd have to say it isn't for everyone for sure; not sure if it is for me either, but I listen to it once in a while.

I bought Alison Krauss SACD New Favorite too, based on dozens of great reviews, and found that it isn't my kind of stuff. Very well recorded, but not my groove.

 

[eric0531]

I don't have 20 to add, but here are a few:

Porcupine Tree - Deadwing DVD-A. I'd pick this over In Absentia because while IA is a great collection of songs, Deadwing is a great album (a minor distinction perhaps). The multi-channel mix is fantastic.

Pat Metheny Group - The Way Up. A 68 minute prog-jazz "suite", both challenging and beautiful. And as always, top notch production as well as playing. Look for a live DVD at some point, it could be the definitive performance of this piece.

Pat Metheny & Lyle Mays - As Falls Witchita, So Falls Witchita Falls. The 20 minute title track (for awhile it had working titles of "Apocolypse Later" and then "I Don't Want To Get Drafted") is a masterpiece.

Donald Fagan - The Nightfly. A reference CD from the early days of digital recording. Great tunes, great sound.

Miles Davis - Complete B*tches Brew Sessions. The birth of Jazz Fusion.

Camel - Never Let Go. A direct to DAT document from their 1992 tour. Disc One is a nice overview of their earlier work ("Ice" is a show-stopper, showing just what a talented guiratist the under-appreciated Andy Latimer is). Disc Two contains a complete performance of "Dust and Dreams" that tops the studio version, plus two encores. As an aside, Andy is a genuinely nice person, every item I've bought from Camel Productions has come signed by him, often with a personalized note.

David Crosby - It's All Coming Back to Me Now. Another direct to DAT document, this of a post-rehab Crosby flexing his musical muscles in a December 2003 show at the Whisky-a-Go-Go (what a place!). Crosby is such a talented guy, perhaps with a better ear for harmony that anybody working in the rock genre.

And some non-official "releases":

Steve Kimock Band - Gothic Theater 2/22/02. There's a ton of excellent Kimock shows, but this one just does something special for me. Jazz/Rock fusion with a killer band (Alphonso Johnson on bass, the amazing Rodney Holmes on drums, Mitch Stein on guitar) and a superb "fan" recording using an onstage rig. It's like being there in the front row. You can find it in lossless format on the Live Music Archives at:
http://www.archive.org/audio/etree-details-db.php?id=1237

Grateful Dead - RFK Stadium 6/10/73. 1973 was a special year for the Dead as they integrated their new keyboardist and moved into some more jazzy explorations. Some of the first set is hit or miss, but they really cooked later on. The 3rd set had some members of the Allman Brothers (who shared the bill) joining in. Bass Great / Lesh Philling! This is the most downloaded Dead show on LMA, at http://www.archive.org/audio/etree-details-db.php?id=12091

 

[maximoiglesias]

Ok here I go.........

Allman Brothers "Live at the Fillmore East"
Pink Floyd "Dark Side o t Moon" and "Animals" and "Wish You Were Here"
Al Stewart "Time Passages"and "24 Carrots"
Alan Parson's Project " Piramid" and "Eve" and "Turn of a Friendly Card"
Yes "Fragile" and "Close to the Edge"
Uriah Heep "Demons and Wizards"
Genesis "And Then There Were Three"
C, S, N & Y "Deja Vu"
Roger Waters "Amused to Death"
Gordon Lightfoot "Shadows"

 

[Red]

Many of the albums listed I do own, so I won't go there. Here are some I didn't see listed but are certainly worth owning

Robin Trower - Bridge of Sighs
Warren Zevon - Excitable Boy
Sonia Dada - Lay Down and Love 'Em Live
Spirit - 12 Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus
Neil Young - After The Gold Rush
J.J. Cale - Naturally
Jeff Beck - Blow by Blow
Little Feat - Waiting for Columbus
The Who - Quadrophenia
Annie Lennox - Medusa/Live in Central Park (2 CD set)
Larry Carlton - Sapphire BLue
John Scofield - Blue Matter
The Beatles - Rubber Soul

 

[miklorsmith]

Holy Cow!

Great thread. I had no idea how completely clueless I am. As always, I'm gonna stir the pot a little:

Mark Knopfler - Shangri-La - Arguably his greatest album, including all of his Dire Straits stuff, though I love their On Every Street album. Any true fan of guitars and songwriting owes it to themselves to aquaint themselves with his solo work.

Paul Simon - Rhythm of the Saints My favorite Simon album. He really goes deep, mixing in Brazilian instruments and forms with his masterful songwriting. I think this is a far more creative album than Graceland, which had some great tracks but largely kept his earlier uptempo melodies.

Blackalicious - Nia THIS IS A HIP HOP ALBUM. If you've already decided you have no interest in the genre, skip ahead. Otherwise, pick it up. It is utter musical genious. His ability to mix soulful emotion with hard hitting beats is wicked and beautiful. There's a lot of good stuff out there, and this is at the top of the class. If you want to get deep, alien underground, try Dr. Octagon (Dan the Automator and Kool Keith project).

Mark Farina - San Fransisco Sessions Electronic dance tunes. If you don't like tape loops, skip this one too. Actually, anything by Mr. Farina is outstanding. He takes dancehall beats to new heights, mixing in great vocal samples, actual singing, and tons of brass and woodwinds. Toes the limits of acceptable "house" without falling off the edge. For a more downtempo sampler, go with "Air Farina". For a full-on live set - "Live at Om".

Thievery Corporation - Cosmic Game These guys are two producers/DJ's - A brit and (a cuban I think). They mix sophisicated, smooth downtempo beats with really cool Samba and Bossanova instrumentations and rhythms. Kind of far out, but eminently listenable. They have a ton of albums and they're all great - this is just the latest one.

Allman Brothers - Live at the Atlanta Pop Festival (1970) Everyone knows about "Live at the Fillmore East". If you like that one, get this one. It's not better but it's really good.

Black Keys - Rubber Factory I just found these guys. Two dudes that can lay back into the guitar and let it run. Kind of a diffuse, grinding tune to the guitar. If you say, like me, that nobody just records it like it sounds anymore, try this. Classic rock fans would eat it up.

I may tune back in with more later. This should get you started.

 

[Duffinator]

Okay, anyone care to enlighten us? I've posted this elsewhere, but I'm curious to see the responses here at AH. What are your personal "Top 20 Albums That You Should Have Yet Probably Don't"? They needn't be your twenty favorites, just good stuff that's perhaps a bit off the beaten path. I'm always looking for something new and interesting, and you rarely hear anything good on the radio. ...

...Please list the most overlooked classics you think should be in my collection. The idea is to expand each others' musical horizons by adding everyone's hidden gems.

To stick close to your original post here's a couple of my favorites, one totally from left field.

More Fun In The New World, X. X led the L.A. music scene back in the very late 70's and through most of the 80's. While I prefer the more raw sound of Los Angeles and Wild Gift, New World had X at their best and is my recommendation for a first listen. They are considered a punk band but I always considered them more basic rock with an edge, that edge being Billy Zoom's searing guitar playing. Other bands from the L.A. scene at the time were The Go Go's, Los Lobos, Oingo Boingo, and the Blasters.

http://www.xtheband.com/index.html

And from left field:
Sense, The Lightening Seeds. While I usually consider this music "lightweight fluffy stuff" I've come to really appreciate these tightly written, catchy little pop tunes over the years. The song Sense got a fair amount of radio play and you may be familiar with it. But the rest of the CD is nearly as good with my favorite being Where Flowers Fade. I'd be shocked if anyone reading this thread has this little gem in their collection. Ian Broudie has been around the block and worked with a bunch of other musicians so you may have heard of him from other efforts.

http://www.lightning-seeds.co.uk/biography.htm

 

[Rob Babcock]

It's cool that this thread still has some life left in it. I'm going to check out several of these suggestions as soon as I can.

When I made the list I didn't have PT's Deadwing yet. My tentative opinion is that it is perhaps better than In Absentia, but it's close. Some of their best songs are on In Absentia, but Deadwing is probably a bit more consistent. And the sound quality is certainly a cut above IA.

 

[sts9fan]

I have been digging The Black Keys also. Very good bluesy rock.

 

[STRONGBADF1]

This is a short list of some of my favorites. Popular or not if i can turn someone onto just one they have not heard before I will be happy.

RUSH "2112"
Still cranks me up after all these years. "WE HAVE ASSUMED CONTROL, WE HAVE ASSUMED CONTROL, WE HAVE ASSUMED CONTROL..."

ANTHRAX "STOMP 442" & "SOUND OF WHITE NOISE"
Anybody who likes metal should love these!

SYSTEM OF A DOWN "MEZMERIZE"
By far their best.

METALLICA "ST. ANGER"
Just as good as "and justice for all" and maybe better!

TOADIES "RUBBERNECK"
Brilliantly catchy alternative hard rock.

A PERFECT CIRCLE all of them
Great lyrics and concepts. 3 LIBRAS is my current favorite song.

TOOL all of them also
To many interesting tunes to ignore

LIVE "SECRET SAMADHI"
Dark music is a love of mine. Mix that with one of my favorite drummers and it makes my list.

EMMERSON, LAKE & PALMER "PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION"
read an artical that said Mussorgsky said that ELP was some of the only people that truely understood this piece.

JOE SATRIANI "JOE SATRIANI"
I like all of Joe Satriani's stuff but i thought this is a very cool change of pace some of you might like also.

ISLE OF Q "ISLE OF Q"
Reminds me of the seventys radio rock (not pop) not the sound but more the format of straight forward rock with some hooks.

THE BLACK CROWES "THE SOTHERN HARMONY AND MUSICAL COMPANION"
Great songs I'm sure any rock radio person thats older than 20-25 has heard but still a great vibe.

VARIOUS "BURNING FOR BUDDY(ATRUBUTE TO THE MUSIC OF BUDDY RICH)"
Buddy Rich's big band with an all star list of guest drummers(jazz & rock)

THE JOHN BUTLER TRIO "SUNRISE OVER SEA"
Kind of a rock/folk/country/something or other... good guitar, nice drums and an upright bass very cool.

NATALIE MERCHANT "TIGERLILLY"
My mello female favorite.

Did you see those last two. I must be getting old!!!

 

[race4aliving]

Jeff Beck-Who's Next

BoDeans-Go Slow Down

Jesse Cook-Vertigo

Elvis Costello-The Very Best Of

Dixie Dregs-What If

Flim & the BB's-Tricycle

Genesis-The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway

Lowell George-Thanks I'll Eat It Here

Ted Hawkins-The Next Hundred Years

Keith Jarrett-Koln Concert

Delbert McClinton-Great Songs Come Together

Sergio Mendes-Brasil 88

Willie Nelson-Stardust

Passport-Sky Blue

Robbie Robertson-Storyville

Todd Rundgren-Something/Anything

V.S.O.P.-The Quintet "Herbie Hancock,Freddie Hubbard,Wayne Shorter,Ron Carter,Tony Williams"

Joe Williams-The Ultimate

Yes-Relayer

Neil Young-Decade

Along with Many already listed. GREAT thread opened my eyes and ears

 

[Tomorrow]

Since I have a bit of trouble connecting with much of today's music, please un-spare me

I guess I'm with you and shadow ferret. I got stuck in that timewarp too. I guess you don't like (c)rap music either, eh?!

I'll just name two of my faves that you ALL should listen to....

'Blows Against The Empire'...Jefferson Starship.
This is the only music that ever won a prestigious HUGO award for excellence in science fiction! It'll show off those fancy floorstanders of yours.

'Outlaws'...The Outlaws.
Simply the best debut album ever by a band. This will have you rockin' to some of the finest guitar players of the last century...Billy Jones on his Black Beauty Les Paul, and Hughie Thomasson ("I got fast I haven't even played yet!") with is Strat. Thomasson has been elected as one of the "Living Legends" by Fender guitars.

Hmmm, think I'll go pop an adult beverage and put on some Starship.....

 

[JoeE SP9]

Sonny Rollins Saxophone Colossus
St. Thomas is my favorite Rollins tune

Miles Davis Kind Of Blue
Best selling jazz album in history

Chicago Chicago Transit Authority
Their first and still the best

Beatles Abbey Road
She came in through the bathroom window

John Coltrane My Favorite Things
Julie Andrews wouldn't recognize the tune

Freddie Hubbard Red Clay
The title song is worth it all

Return To Forever Light As A Feather
Listen to Spain

Miles Davis *****es Brew
This is where fusion came from

Frank Sinatra Live At The Sands
Live with Count Basie

John Mayall The Turning Point
Great music with no drummer

George Benson Give Me The Night
Mega hit every song very listenable

Santana Abraxas
Black Magic Woman and Oya Como Va

Fleetwood Mack Rumours
Stevie Nicks!!!!

Donald Fagen The Nightfly
Music to relax with your lady friend

Steely Dan Gaucho
Hey Nineteen!!!

Herbie Hancock Headhunters
Herbies best fusion

Allman Brothers Live At Filmore East
Duane and Berry Oakley still alive

Weather Report I Sing The Body Electric
I sing electric music

Stevie Wonder Songs In The Key Of Life
Stevie's best

Marvin Gaye Greatest Hits
A collection of Marvin's best

These are the first twenty I thought of right off the top of my head.

 

[jaxvon]

Joe, you have good tastes! I can't believe I forgot CTA...thats's a GREAT album.