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The ES Actual Best 200 Albums List: 1950-1990


Going Commando

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I still know all of the words to Millennium and have seen Spice World dozens of times.

In all seriousness though, I have a horrifying amount of Kid Rock, Limp Bizkit, and Creed in my musical history. 1997-1999 was not a good time for me.

I'm not (that) ashamed to admit I still jam out to Blink 182 from time to time.

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Well, Van Halen - 1984

 

Granted I posted another Van Halen album prior to this, but this one should be on the list too. The keyboard sound alone was copied by many others much like Eddie's guitar playing.

 

Someone (I believe Bang), mentioned Rock from Aerosmith. Toys in the Attic should be on the list too. 

 

Somewhere in there, Madonna should be on the list but have no inclination which album was more impactful...maybe Like a Virgin.

 

I'm a blues, and blue rock guy but recognize the cultural impact that Madonna had. 


So:

 

Van Halen - 1984

 

Aerosmith - Toys in the Attic (1975)

 

Madonna - Like a Virgin (1984)


Tesla - Five Man Acoustical Jam (1990)

 

It's off the radar for most people, but it essentially paved the way for MTV Unplugged performances to be released and basically brought back the acoustic trend in the early 90s.

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Halfway through. Here's the first half:

1 - Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - The Beatles - 1967

2 - Grace Under Pressure - Rush - 1987

3 - Van Halen - Van Halen - 1978

4 - Abbey Road - The Beatles - 1969

5 - Pet Sounds - The Beach Boys - 1966

6 - Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs - Derek and the Dominoes - 1970

7 - Tons of Sobs - Free - 1969

8 - In the Court of the Crimson King - King Crimson - 1969

9 - Beginnings - The Allman Brothers Band - 1973

10 - Axis: Bold as Love - The Jimi Hendrix Experience - 1967

11 - Truth - Jeff Beck - 1968

12 - I Got a Name - Jim Croce - 1973

13 - Smash Hits - The Jimi Hendrix Experience - 1968

14 - The Doors - The Doors - 1967

15 - Strange Days - The Doors - 1967

16 - Sin after Sin - Judas Priest - 1977

17 - Thriller - Michael Jackson - 1982

18 - The Great Otis Redding Sings Soul Ballads - Otis Redding - 1965

19 - Complete & Unbelievable: The Otis Redding Dictionary of Soul - Otis Redding - 1966

20 - Exile on Main St. - The Rolling Stones - 1972

21 - Moondance - Van Morrison - 1970

22 - Physical Graffiti - Led Zeppelin - 1975

23 - Led Zeppelin I - IV - Led Zeppelin - 1969-1971

24 - Sheer Heart Attack - Queen - 1974

25 - Murmur - R.E.M. - 1983

26 - Back in Black - AC/DC - 1980

27 - Songs in the Key of Life - Stevie Wonder - 1973

28 - What's Going On - Marvin Gaye - 1971

29 - At Fillmore East - The Allman Brothers Band - 1971

30 - Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music - Ray Charles - 1962

31 - Then Play On - Fleetwood Mac - 1969

32 - A Long Time Comin' - Electric Flag - 1968

33 - Together For the First Time - Live - B.B. King & Bobby Bland - 1974

34 - Couldn't Stand the Weatehr - Stevie Ray Vaughan - 1984

35 - The Best of the Atlanta Rhythm Section - Atlanta Rhythm Section - 1982

36 - Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton - John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers - 1966

37 - Let's Hide Away and Dance Away With Freddie King - Freddie King - 1961

38 - Machine Head - Deep Purple - 1972

39 - Tommy - The Who - 1969

40 - Folk Singer - Muddy Waters - 1963

41 - Relaxin' With the Miles Davis Quintet - The Miles Davis Quintet - 1955

42 - Elton John Greatest Hits - Elton John - 1974

43 - Rocket to Russia - Ramones - 1977

44 - Band of Gypsies - Jimi Hendrix - 1970

45 - The Joshua Tree - U2 - 1987

46 - Born To Run - Bruce Springsteen - 1975

47 - Some Girls - The Rolling Stones - 1978

48 - Rocks - Aerosmith - 1977

49 - Remain in Light - Talking Heads - 1980

50 - Graceland - Paul Simon - 1986

51 - It Serve You Right to Suffer - John Lee Hooker - 1966

52 - Life's Rich Pageant - REM - 1986

53 - Rock and Roll Animal - Lou Reed - 1974

54 - Live and Dangerous - Thin Lizzy - 1978

55 - Fascination Street - The Cure - 1988

56 - Rumours - Fleetwood Mac - 1977

57 - A Charlie Brown Christmas - Vince Guaraldi Trio - 1965

58 - It's Only a Movie - The Raybeats - 1983

59 - Kind of Blue - Miles Davis - 1959

60 - Master of Puppets - Metallica - 1986

61 - The Stone Roses - The Stone Roses - 1989

62 - Appetite for Distruction - Guns N' Roses - 1987

63 - Doolittle - Pixies - 1989

64 - Who's Next - The Who - 1971

65 - East-West - The Butterfield Blues Band - 1966

66 - On the Beach - Neil Young - 1974

67 - Time Out - The Dave Brubeck Quartet - 1959

68 - ... And Justice for All - Metallica - 1988

69 - Revolver - The Beatles - 1966

70 - Straight Outta Compton - N.W.A - 1988

71 - Sabotage - Black Sabbath - 1975

72 - Crosby, Stills & Nash - Crosby, Stills & Nash - 1969

73 - At Last! - Etta James - 1961

74 - Ritual de lo habitual - Janes Addiction - 1990

75 - The Cars - The Cars - 1978

76 - Bleach - Nirvana - 1989

77 - The Royal Scam - Steely Dan - 1976

78 - Leftoverture - Kansas - 1976

79 - Let It Be - The Replacements - 1984

80 - The Queen Is Dead - The Smiths - 1986

81 - Dirty Mind - Prince - 1980

82 - The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spider From Mars - David Bowie - 1972

83 - At Folsom Prison - Johnny Cash - 1968

84 - The Clash - The Clash - 1977

85 - Blood on the Tracks - Bob Dylan - 1975

86 - Damn the Torpedoes - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - 1979

87 - My Favorite Things - John Coltrane - 1961

88 - American Beauty - Grateful Dead - 1970

89 - Dark Side of the Moon - Pink Floyd - 1973

90 - Moanin' in the Moonlight - Howlin' Wolf - 1959

91 - 1984 - Van Halen - 1984

92 - Toys in the Attic - Aerosmith - 1975

93 - Like a Virgin - Madonna - 1984

94 - Five Man Acoustical Jam - Tesla - 1990

95 - Fifth Dimension - The Byrds - 1966

96 - It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back - Public Enemy - 1988

97 - Disraeli Gears - Cream - 1967

98 - Paid in Full - Eric B. & Rakim - 1987

99 - Ghost in the Machine - The Police - 1981

100 - Music from Big Pink - The Band - 1968

101 - The Band - The Band - 1969

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Public Enemy - It Takes a Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back, 1988. Chuck D rules. The Bomb Squad rules. This album rules. Listen to it.

One of my all time favorites for sure. Chuck D's gotta be one of the most underrated MCs ever. He never seems to make top 5 lists.

 

Alright, to keep this list balanced -

 

Kind of Blue feat. Miles Davis (1959)

 

'59 was a damn good year for jazz music, as you can tell. On the west coast, Brubeck and co. were reaching the mainstream with a cool, relaxed, though musically challenging style, but back east, Miles Davis was establishing himself as the heavyweight champion of the Great American Art Form. Miles had just gotten clean a few years prior and was on a creative tear. Where Brubeck and Desmond broke ground on rhythm, Miles was breaking ground in chord progression.

 

This album also features one of the greatest lineups in the history of the genre - Bill Evans (who would have a very successful, albeit troubled, decade ahead of him) on piano, Jimmy Cobb on Drums, and two legends - Cannonball Adderly and John Coltrane (who had also just kicked his own heroin habit and also had some of his best work still ahead of him) - sharing sax duties. Not to mention the omnipresent Paul Chambers.

 

Chances are, when you think of jazz (at least, at its best, not the pretentious, beret wearing, "Oh, I just got back from Europe," crowd) you think of music that is from, or sounds like it's from, this album. This album is sitting in a small, high rise apartment in a big city at 2 a.m., listening to the steady stream of cars pass by, sitting on your windowsill. 

 

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Alright it's bugging me that there are only three Beatles albums on the list so far. All of their UK original LPs except for Yellow Submarine should be on here. Plus Magical Mystery Tour. Since I started the thread I have the power to do this. We're adding them.

#104 - Please Please Me, With the Beatles, A Hard Day's Night, Beatles For Sale, Help!, Rubber Soul, Magical Mystery Tour, The Beatles (White Album), Let it Be - The Beatles - 1963-1970

These albums, plus the aforementioned Sgt. Pepper, Abbey Road, and Revolver, range from absurdly strong to masterpiece. But to break it down a little:

Please Please Me

I Saw Her Standing There is the first track and it tips off the best studio catalog any artist has ever recorded. A quintessential Beatles song. All of their energy and proficiency and creativity. So good and natural you didn't notice they were revolutionary. That quality kind of defines them for me.

With the Beatles

One of my favorites. I think this album features some of Paul McCartney's finest bass playing. That's what really stands out about it to me.

A Hard Day's Night

You can hear them evolving. No covers on this one, which was a big change for the time. This is kind of John Lennon's album as he wrote and sang the majority of it.

Beatles for Sale

My favorite "Early Beatles" pre-Rubber Soul record. Probably one of their most ignored, oddly enough. They recorded it after extensive touring in the U.S. and their is some discernible exhaustion and disillusionment on here. Almost half the songs are classic covers, but I think the originals are the gems. No Reply and Baby's in Black convey the angst the band was feeling. What You're Doing is one of my favorite Beatles songs and it's an unusual composition compared to their other songs--no chorus. I love when George Harrison played his 12 string.

Help!

This album was the precursor hinting at the major break they'd make with Rubber Soul. Their compositions were moodier and with more of a folk influence. The record makes the initial departure from the 1950's rock and roll love song driven pop music that was the norm for the time. Tell Me What You See is awesome, it shows them expanding their instrumentation in a way that would characterize their albums from the second half of their catalog. I love the percussion on it and I love the pianet. Ticket To Ride is iconic. And Yesterday was a seminal recording that I think is the most covered song in history.

Rubber Soul

A watershed record in the history of pop music. It brought into the mainstream the "album as concept." A collection of original compositions tied together thematically. That said, it's not one of their albums I know and enjoy best. I like In My Life in particular. I think it's a measure of how comfortable they were getting with experimenting with recording techniques and instrumentation that they seamlessly work in that bizarre ass harpsichord-like solo.

Magical Mystery Tour

This was my introduction to the Beatles. Weird huh? It accompanied one of their more nonsensical movies. This album gets overlooked too, but when you read the sleeve, it has some of their most well known recordings: Strawberry Fields, I Am the Walrus, Penny Lane, All You Need is Love, Lucy in the Sky, etc. I am the Walrus anticipates Hip Hop as a musical form. I love everything about that song. And Flying is my favorite instrumental track they recorded. This album is perfect.

The White Album

This album is a mess. So many friggin disparate ideas jammed into this thing. This was the beginning of the end for the Beatles, the record is pulled in so many different directions by the individual creative brilliance of each of Paul, George, and John. The result is an enormous and incoherent four sided record full of incredible songs of no stylistic connection, with a few truly oddball recordings mixed throughout. Basically the Beatles showed off their mastery of a range of genres. The album contains some of their best compositions: While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Dear Prudence, Blackbird, Happiness is a Warm Gun, Back In the USSR, Helter Skelter. I Will is my favorite Beatles love song. And I love Rocky Raccoon. The only songs I don't really care for are Birthday, Revolution, and the ****ing Yoko Ono nonsense Revolution #9.

Let It Be

Ok I don't really love this album and I threw it on here for posterity's sake. It's a good and important record but it's easily my least favorite one aside from the bull**** Yellow Submarine album.

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