Essential Studio Albums

[liebzz]

50. Allman Brothers Band
49. Allman Brothers Band - Idlewild South
48. Metallica - Ride the Lightning
47. Allman Brothers Band - Eat a Peach
46. The Waterboys - This Is the Sea
45. Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Rust Never Sleeps
44. Credence Clearwater Revival - Cosmo’s Factory
43. Rolling Stones - Let It Bleed
42. The Kinks - Arthur or the Decline of the British Empire
41. Tom Waits - Closing Time
40. Kate Bush - Hounds of Love
39. Neil Young - After the Goldrush
38. Marvin Gaye - What’s Going On
37. Mission of Burma - Vs.
36. Metallica - Master of Puppets
35. Talking Heads - Remain in Light
34. Television - Marquee Moon
33. Bruce Springsteen - Darkness on the Edge of Town
32. Bob Dylan - Blood on the Tracks
31. Grateful Dead - American Beauty
30. Neil Young - Harvest
29. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - Damn the Torpedoes
28. George Harrison - All Things Must Pass
27. Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited
26. Prince and the Revolution - Purple Rain
25. The Beatles - Rubber Soul
24. Bob Dylan - Blonde On Blonde
23. Led Zeppelin IV
22. The Who - Quadrophenia
21. Tom Waits - Nighthawks at the Diner
20. Bruce Springsteen - The Wild, the Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle
19. Thelonious Monk - The Genius of Modern Music Vol. 2
18. Miles Davis - Sketches of Spain
17. John Coltrane - Blue Train
16. The Clash - London Calling
15. The Beatles - Abbey Road
14. Pink Floyd - Animals
13. Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti
12. The Beatles - Revolver
11. The Beatles
10. Neil Young - On the Beach
9. Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
8. Rolling Stones - Sticky Fingers
7. Jimi Hendrix - Are You Experienced?
6. Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
5. Rolling Stones - Exile on Main Street
4. Charles Mingus - The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady
3. Miles Davis - Bitches Brew
2. Jimi Hendrix - Electric Ladyland
1. Bruce Springsteen - Born to Run

[Higgs]

Congrats on 1000! Keep 'em coming. This thread is gold. Thanks for taking us on the journey with you liebzz.

[Ello Sailor]

Respect, bro. Love it. The Boss at #1 makes my eye twitch but , you do you, as they say.

[liebzz]

Respect, bro. Love it. The Boss at #1 makes my eye twitch but , you do you, as they say.

I try to never conflate favorite with greatest, and am keeping it subjective. Before this thread without thinking about it, I probably would have had it sitting around 3-5, but listening in this format there was a subjective feeling that just pushed it all the way up.

[VinylGuy]

fuck yeah liebzz, keep em coming

[liebzz]

Depeche Mode - Black Celebration

I still can’t admit I am completely sold on this, but I liked this far more than the last Depeche Mode album we discussed, which was their debut. This one has more an industrial pop feel than pure synth. The title track, Fly On the Windscreen, and A Question of Time are the ones that stuck out for me. I consistently was surprised how much more I liked this, yet this didn’t jump out of the speakers at me, it sort of moved along nicely without too much of a ruckus or specific pull. That could be why I look at positively, but there’s not the sort of enthusiasm that I’ve had for much of the last few albums.

The Essential Track: A Question of Time

Up Next: Bonnie Tyler - Secret Dreams and Forbidden Fire

[liebzz]

As an aside, I am generally elated that this hasn’t just been an exercise in confirming my own taste. I came into this thinking there were a handful of great 80s albums and those albums are hitting me as hard as the ones I expected to hit from the 60s and 70s. Opened up a whole new world here.

[liebzz]

Bonnie Tyler - Secret Dreams and Forbidden Fire

I was less thrilled with this album. There’s a few real compelling tracks here - Rebel Without a Cause, and the hits Band of Gold and Holding Out For a Hero are worth checking out for sure - but the rest just seem like overwrought love songs that search for Stevie Nicks energy but never find that level. They were largely middle of the road, even if Bonnie Tyler has an impactful voice - the songs just don’t live up to her voice.

The Essential Track: Holding Out For a Hero

Up Next: Chris Rea - On the Beach

[liebzz]

Chris Rea - On the Beach

One of my favorite albums is Neil Young’s On the Beach, and this doesn’t sound like that - but I did find enjoyment out of this one. It’s very laid back, atmospheric, and the songs are good here. On the Beach and It’s All Gone struck me, but I also enjoyed Two Roads and Auf Immer Und Ewig. In particular, the band behind Rea really shines on It’s All Gone, taking that one over the top.

The Essential Track: It’s All Gone

Up Next: Pet Shop Boys - Please

[LoathedVermin72]

I really think OTB is one of the most beautiful-sounding albums ever recorded. "Little Blonde Plaits" floors me every time. Immaculate vibes.

[liebzz]

I really think OTB is one of the most beautiful-sounding albums ever recorded. "Little Blonde Plaits" floors me every time. Immaculate vibes.

Agreed on immaculate vibes.

[liebzz]

Pet Shop Boys - Please

This album is a synth pop/electronic dance album that of course features West End Girls, which is an impossibly catchy and great single. This is the primary highlight, and looking at what remains after, we have some good tracks, like Two Divided By Zero, Opportunities (Let’s Make Lots of Money), Suburbia, and I Want a Lover. This album doesn’t draw me in at all times, though even as a non-primary focus, the arrangements were poking around in my brain as the album progressed. It won’t be among my personal favorites, but that’s not surprising really - it’s a solid good album that also happens to have a really good primary single.

The Essential Track: West End Girls

Up Next: New Order - Brotherhood

[liebzz]

New Order - Brotherhood

This seemed to just keep getting better as it progressed. The first half largely sticks to a rhythm oriented post punk style album, and halfway through it takes a turn to a more electronic sound while still incorporating the instrumentation highlighted in the first half. That second half is where it’s at, even with Weirdo being a real first half highlight. Bizarre Love Triangle is good, but All Day Long really kicks this thing into high gear. Every Little Counts seems almost silly until it grows into an excellent epic. State of the Nation, a CD version bonus, ties both sides together nicely.

The Essential Track: All Day Long

Up Next: Talk Talk - The Colour of Spring

[liebzz]

We got maybe 8 more albums from ‘86, so on to ‘87 we go, where we know we got some good ones. That said, your suggestions to complete the list are always encouraged!

Grateful Dead - In the Dark
Bruce Springsteen - Tunnel of Love
Midnight Oil - Diesel and Dust
Ten Years After - Universal
Warren Zevon - Sentimental Hygiene
The Smiths - Strangeways, Here We Come
The Replacements - Pleased to Meet Me
Sonic Youth - Sister
10,000 Maniacs - In My Tribe
The Jesus and Mary Chain - Darklands
Sinead O’Connor - The Lion and the Cobra
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - Let Me Up (I’ve Had Enough)
R.E.M. - Document
U2 - The Joshua Tree
Michael Jackson - Bad
Prince - Sign O’ the Times
Boogie Down Productions - Criminal Minded
Eric B. & Rakim - Paid in Full
Public Enemy - Yo! Bum Rush the Show
Red Hot Chili Peppers - The Uplift Mofo Party Plan
Faster Pussycat
Whitesnake
Def Leppard - Hysteria
Motley Crue - Girls, Girls, Girls
Guns N’ Roses - Appetite for Destruction
Green River - Dry As a Bone/Rehab Doll
Soundgarden - Screaming Life/Fopp

[liebzz]

Talk Talk - The Colour of Spring

This is yet another solid pseudo-synth pop album - I go with pseudo mostly because it has the vibe but synthesizers don’t seem all that ever present here. Granted, this much of it makes you yearn maybe just a little for something more muscular but this one is still always consistently good, with Life Is What You Make It, Time It’s Time, and Give It Up really highlighting this album. I’d put this over something like Depeche Mode (for me) but perhaps not quite the enthusiasm I felt for a few of the New Order albums.

The Essential Track: Give It Up

Up Next: Hunters & Collectors - Human Frailty

[wease]

We got maybe 8 more albums from ‘86, so on to ‘87 we go, where we know we got some good ones. That said, your suggestions to complete the list are always encouraged!

Grateful Dead - In the Dark
Bruce Springsteen - Tunnel of Love
Midnight Oil - Diesel and Dust
Ten Years After - Universal
Warren Zevon - Sentimental Hygiene
The Smiths - Strangeways, Here We Come
The Replacements - Pleased to Meet Me
Sonic Youth - Sister
10,000 Maniacs - In My Tribe
The Jesus and Mary Chain - Darklands
Sinead O’Connor - The Lion and the Cobra
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - Let Me Up (I’ve Had Enough)
R.E.M. - Document
U2 - The Joshua Tree
Michael Jackson - Bad
Prince - Sign O’ the Times
Boogie Down Productions - Criminal Minded
Eric B. & Rakim - Paid in Full
Public Enemy - Yo! Bum Rush the Show
Red Hot Chili Peppers - The Uplift Mofo Party Plan
Faster Pussycat
Whitesnake
Def Leppard - Hysteria
Motley Crue - Girls, Girls, Girls
Guns N’ Roses - Appetite for Destruction
Green River - Dry As a Bone/Rehab Doll
Soundgarden - Screaming Life/Fopp

Fleetwood Mac- Tango in the Night
George Harrison- Cloud Nine
INXS- Kick
Aerosmith- Permanent Vacation
Ace Frehley- Frehley’s Comet (First one after leaving KISS)
Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris- Trio
Sammy Hagar- I Never Said Goodbye
Sting- …Nothing Like the Sun

[wease]

We got maybe 8 more albums from ‘86, so on to ‘87 we go, where we know we got some good ones. That said, your suggestions to complete the list are always encouraged!

Grateful Dead - In the Dark
Bruce Springsteen - Tunnel of Love
Midnight Oil - Diesel and Dust
Ten Years After - Universal
Warren Zevon - Sentimental Hygiene
The Smiths - Strangeways, Here We Come
The Replacements - Pleased to Meet Me
Sonic Youth - Sister
10,000 Maniacs - In My Tribe
The Jesus and Mary Chain - Darklands
Sinead O’Connor - The Lion and the Cobra
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - Let Me Up (I’ve Had Enough)
R.E.M. - Document
U2 - The Joshua Tree
Michael Jackson - Bad
Prince - Sign O’ the Times
Boogie Down Productions - Criminal Minded
Eric B. & Rakim - Paid in Full
Public Enemy - Yo! Bum Rush the Show
Red Hot Chili Peppers - The Uplift Mofo Party Plan
Faster Pussycat
Whitesnake
Def Leppard - Hysteria
Motley Crue - Girls, Girls, Girls
Guns N’ Roses - Appetite for Destruction
Green River - Dry As a Bone/Rehab Doll
Soundgarden - Screaming Life/Fopp

Fleetwood Mac- Tango in the Night
George Harrison- Cloud Nine
INXS- Kick
Aerosmith- Permanent Vacation
Ace Frehley- Frehley’s Comet (First one after leaving KISS)
Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris- Trio
Sammy Hagar- I Never Said Goodbye
Sting- …Nothing Like the Sun

[LoathedVermin72]

Alyans - На заре
Helloween - Keeper of the Seven Keys Part I
Melvins - Gluey Porch Treatments
Big Black - Songs About Fucking
Rick Astley - Whenever You Need Somebody
Pink Floyd - A Momentary Lapse of Reason

wease beat me to Harrison's Cloud Nine. Fantastic record.

[liebzz]

We got maybe 8 more albums from ‘86, so on to ‘87 we go, where we know we got some good ones. That said, your suggestions to complete the list are always encouraged!

Grateful Dead - In the Dark
Bruce Springsteen - Tunnel of Love
Midnight Oil - Diesel and Dust
Ten Years After - Universal
Warren Zevon - Sentimental Hygiene
The Smiths - Strangeways, Here We Come
The Replacements - Pleased to Meet Me
Sonic Youth - Sister
10,000 Maniacs - In My Tribe
The Jesus and Mary Chain - Darklands
Sinead O’Connor - The Lion and the Cobra
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - Let Me Up (I’ve Had Enough)
R.E.M. - Document
U2 - The Joshua Tree
Michael Jackson - Bad
Prince - Sign O’ the Times
Boogie Down Productions - Criminal Minded
Eric B. & Rakim - Paid in Full
Public Enemy - Yo! Bum Rush the Show
Red Hot Chili Peppers - The Uplift Mofo Party Plan
Faster Pussycat
Whitesnake
Def Leppard - Hysteria
Motley Crue - Girls, Girls, Girls
Guns N’ Roses - Appetite for Destruction
Green River - Dry As a Bone/Rehab Doll
Soundgarden - Screaming Life/Fopp

Fleetwood Mac- Tango in the Night
George Harrison- Cloud Nine
INXS- Kick
Aerosmith- Permanent Vacation
Ace Frehley- Frehley’s Comet (First one after leaving KISS)
Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris- Trio
Sammy Hagar- I Never Said Goodbye
Sting- …Nothing Like the Sun

Did Permanent Vacation early, but other than that will add them all.

[liebzz]

All added.