So the other day on Facebook I see this quiz people took - How Many of These 100 Influential Rock Albums Do You Own? This was so right up my alley that I broke my almost inviolate rule against doing anything on Facebook that requires the fuss of using an app. I got to the quiz and started scrolling down. It didn't take long before my mind was saying "What the....?"
It was the most weird-ass, crack-smokin', left-field group of stuff I've ever seen. There were very few albums that EVER come up in conversation, or articles, or stupid countdown TV shows. When there was even a band I like, they seem to have picked the most obscure album by that artist. It was only afterwards that I noticed that the modifier "most" was missing from the title. I.e. "100 Most Influential Albums." It merely said "Influential." Well, hell, any album is influential - even if it only influences you to turn it off or trade it in.
I was so put off that I deleted the app and was inspired to cleanse my psyche by creating the following list - which is actually based on something called "criteria." Unlike the stupid Facebook quiz app.
So, my criteria for this list are that each album strengthened my belief that music is the best thing humans do. Or consoled me in a time of heartache. Or made me dance. Or introduced a totally new and unique sound unlike any I'd heard before. Or made me play tennis racket guitar. And, I'm not just going for influential here, but for "Best." I often have more albums by many of these artists than are listed here, but even the best bands have hits and misses. So these are winnowed to what I think are their strongest output.
This is mostly a subjective list, but many of these albums also made a big impact on the development of Rock and Pop. I'm not sure where the line between Rock and Pop is. iTunes and other music services attempt to use both labels. In my music collection, all the Pop, Rock, Electronic, Alternative, and what have you, all gets lumped under Rock, because it's all listened to under one frame of mind for me - as opposed to days when I turn to Classical or Jazz.
And mostly, the "album" criteria for this list is that the album has to be very cohesive and excellent as an album. You know, with that special flow that draws you along from track to track and makes you reluctant to turn it off before it's over. So, without further ado, here is KennebecTom's list of 191 of the best albums ever (alphabetically by artist, to make your shopping easier):
a-ha
Hunting High and Low
Stay On These Roads
ABBA
Gold
ABC
Beauty Stab
Lexicon of Love
Adam Ant
Manners & Physique
Alphaville
Forever Young
Arcadia
So Red The Rose
Ash Koley
The Black EP
The Blue EP
The Red EP
The White EP
The B-52s
Cosmic Thing
Belly
Star
Big Audio Dynamite II
The Globe
Bjork
Debut
Byrne, David
Uh-Oh
The Church
Starfish
Priest=Aura
The Clash
Combat Rock
Cousteau
Cousteau
Crow, Sheryl
The Globe Sessions
Sheryl Crow
The Cult
Sonic Temple
Electric
The Cure
Mixed Up
Def Leppard
Pyromania
Depeche Mode
Music For The Masses
Violator
Songs of Faith & Devotion
Donnelly, Tanya
Lovesongs for Underdogs
Duran Duran
Seven And The Ragged Tiger
All You Need Is Now
Big Thing
Duran Duran
Duran Duran [The Wedding Album]
Notorious
Rio
Electronic
Electronic
Raise The Pressure
EMF
Schubert Dip
Enigma
MCMXC A.D.
Enya
The Celts
Shepherd Moons
Watermark
Erasure
The Innocents
Chorus
Wild!
Evanescence
Fallen
The Fixx
Shuttered Room
Reach The Beach
Phantoms
Flesh For Lulu
Long Live The New Flesh
Plastic Fantastic
Florence + The Machine
Lungs
Ceremonials
Frankie Goes To Hollywood
Welcome To The Pleasuredome
Garbage
Garbage
Gene Loves Jezebel
Discover
Gordon, Nina
Tonight And The Rest of My Life
Harket, Morten
Wild Seed
Hatfield, Juliana
Become What You Are
Beautiful Creature
Henley, Don
Building The Perfect Beast
Hooverphonic
The Magnificent Tree
Blue Wonder Power Milk
Idol, Billy
Billy Idol
Rebel Yell
Imbruglia, Natalie
Left Of The Middle
Information Society
Information Society
Hack
INXS
Shabooh Shoobah
Kick
The Swing
X
Switch
Welcome To Wherever You Are
The Jesus And Mary Chain
Automatic
Koop
Koop Islands
KTP
Certain Things Are Likely
Lorde
Pure Heroine
Love And Rockets
Earth.Sun.Moon
Love And Rockets
Madonna
Confessions On A Dance Floor
Music
Mandell, Eleni
Afternoon
Marley, Bob
Legend
Max Q
Max Q
McKeown, Erin
Grand
Sing You Sinners
McLachlan, Sarah
Afterglow
Fumbling Towards Ecstasy
Surfacing
Michael, George
Faith
Listen Without Prejudice
The Mission U.K.
Children
Carved In Sand
Grains Of Sand
The Models
Out Of Mind Out Of Sight
Morissette, Alanis
Jagged Little Pill
Flavors of Entanglement
So-Called Chaos
Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie
Under Rug Swept
Morrissey
Bona Drag
Kill Uncle
Vauxhall And I
Ringleader of The Tormentors
You Are The Quarry
Your Arsenal
New Order
Brotherhood
Low-Life
Power, Corruption & Lies
Republic
Substance
Nine Inch Nails
Pretty Hate Machine
Nitzer Ebb
Belief
Showtime
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
Crush
The Pacific Age
Sugar Tax
Orton, Beth
Central Reservation
Daybreaker
Trailer Park
The Outfield
Play Deep
Pet Shop Boys
Actually
Alternative
Behavior
Bilingual
Please
Introspective
Poe
Hello
The Police
Ghost In The Machine
Reggatta De Blanc
Zenyatta Mondatta
Synchronicity
The Power Station
The Power Station
The Proclaimers
Sunshine On Leith
REM
Automatic For The People
Document
Green
New Adventures in Hi-Fi
Ruby
Saltpeter
Runga, Bic
Beautiful Collision
Drive
Saint Etienne
Foxbase Alpha
Finisterre
Tales From The Turnpike House
Scritti Politti
Cupid & Psyche 85
Anomie & Bonhomie
Provision
The Sisters of Mercy
Floodland
Vision Thing
The Smiths
Best of
Sneaker Pimps
Bloodsport
The Soup Dragons
Lovegod
Hotwired
Squeeze
Babylon And On
Starsailor
Love Is Here
Stereo MCs
Connected
Sting
The Dream Of The Blue Turtles
Nothing Like The Sun
Sacred Love
Ten Summoner's Tales
Tears For Fears
Everybody Loves A Happy Ending
Songs From The Big Chair
The Seeds Of Love
The The
Mind Bomb
Dusk
Thompson Twins
Queer
Todd, Katie
Changing Faces
Closer
Make Some Time For Wasting
Mumbled Speech
U2
The Joshua Tree
Achtung Baby
Rattle And Hum
The Unforgettable Fire
UB40
Labour of Love
Vega, Suzanne
Beauty & Crime
Songs In Red & Gray
Nine Objects of Desire
Venus Hum
Big Beautiful Sky
The Colors In The Wheel
Mechanics & Mathematics
Songs For Superheroes
Veruca Salt
American Thighs
The Wonder Stuff
Eight Legged Groove Machine
XTC
Nonsuch
Yes
90125
Big Generator
Whew. Um. Well, I got a little carried away maybe. That's 191 by my count. There may be some others that'd make the list in my library, but I'm just not familiar with all of them enough to be sure the percentage of superlative tracks outweigh the stinkers. Productive use of a Saturday afternoon? Maybe not, but I hope you enjoy a few "oh yeah" moments and maybe even discover something new.
It was the most weird-ass, crack-smokin', left-field group of stuff I've ever seen. There were very few albums that EVER come up in conversation, or articles, or stupid countdown TV shows. When there was even a band I like, they seem to have picked the most obscure album by that artist. It was only afterwards that I noticed that the modifier "most" was missing from the title. I.e. "100 Most Influential Albums." It merely said "Influential." Well, hell, any album is influential - even if it only influences you to turn it off or trade it in.
I was so put off that I deleted the app and was inspired to cleanse my psyche by creating the following list - which is actually based on something called "criteria." Unlike the stupid Facebook quiz app.
So, my criteria for this list are that each album strengthened my belief that music is the best thing humans do. Or consoled me in a time of heartache. Or made me dance. Or introduced a totally new and unique sound unlike any I'd heard before. Or made me play tennis racket guitar. And, I'm not just going for influential here, but for "Best." I often have more albums by many of these artists than are listed here, but even the best bands have hits and misses. So these are winnowed to what I think are their strongest output.
This is mostly a subjective list, but many of these albums also made a big impact on the development of Rock and Pop. I'm not sure where the line between Rock and Pop is. iTunes and other music services attempt to use both labels. In my music collection, all the Pop, Rock, Electronic, Alternative, and what have you, all gets lumped under Rock, because it's all listened to under one frame of mind for me - as opposed to days when I turn to Classical or Jazz.
And mostly, the "album" criteria for this list is that the album has to be very cohesive and excellent as an album. You know, with that special flow that draws you along from track to track and makes you reluctant to turn it off before it's over. So, without further ado, here is KennebecTom's list of 191 of the best albums ever (alphabetically by artist, to make your shopping easier):
a-ha
Hunting High and Low
Stay On These Roads
ABBA
Gold
ABC
Beauty Stab
Lexicon of Love
Adam Ant
Manners & Physique
Alphaville
Forever Young
Arcadia
So Red The Rose
Ash Koley
The Black EP
The Blue EP
The Red EP
The White EP
The B-52s
Cosmic Thing
Belly
Star
Big Audio Dynamite II
The Globe
Bjork
Debut
Byrne, David
Uh-Oh
The Church
Starfish
Priest=Aura
The Clash
Combat Rock
Cousteau
Cousteau
Crow, Sheryl
The Globe Sessions
Sheryl Crow
The Cult
Sonic Temple
Electric
The Cure
Mixed Up
Def Leppard
Pyromania
Depeche Mode
Music For The Masses
Violator
Songs of Faith & Devotion
Donnelly, Tanya
Lovesongs for Underdogs
Duran Duran
Seven And The Ragged Tiger
All You Need Is Now
Big Thing
Duran Duran
Duran Duran [The Wedding Album]
Notorious
Rio
Electronic
Electronic
Raise The Pressure
EMF
Schubert Dip
Enigma
MCMXC A.D.
Enya
The Celts
Shepherd Moons
Watermark
Erasure
The Innocents
Chorus
Wild!
Evanescence
Fallen
The Fixx
Shuttered Room
Reach The Beach
Phantoms
Flesh For Lulu
Long Live The New Flesh
Plastic Fantastic
Florence + The Machine
Lungs
Ceremonials
Frankie Goes To Hollywood
Welcome To The Pleasuredome
Garbage
Garbage
Gene Loves Jezebel
Discover
Gordon, Nina
Tonight And The Rest of My Life
Harket, Morten
Wild Seed
Hatfield, Juliana
Become What You Are
Beautiful Creature
Henley, Don
Building The Perfect Beast
Hooverphonic
The Magnificent Tree
Blue Wonder Power Milk
Idol, Billy
Billy Idol
Rebel Yell
Imbruglia, Natalie
Left Of The Middle
Information Society
Information Society
Hack
INXS
Shabooh Shoobah
Kick
The Swing
X
Switch
Welcome To Wherever You Are
The Jesus And Mary Chain
Automatic
Koop
Koop Islands
KTP
Certain Things Are Likely
Lorde
Pure Heroine
Love And Rockets
Earth.Sun.Moon
Love And Rockets
Madonna
Confessions On A Dance Floor
Music
Mandell, Eleni
Afternoon
Marley, Bob
Legend
Max Q
Max Q
McKeown, Erin
Grand
Sing You Sinners
McLachlan, Sarah
Afterglow
Fumbling Towards Ecstasy
Surfacing
Michael, George
Faith
Listen Without Prejudice
The Mission U.K.
Children
Carved In Sand
Grains Of Sand
The Models
Out Of Mind Out Of Sight
Morissette, Alanis
Jagged Little Pill
Flavors of Entanglement
So-Called Chaos
Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie
Under Rug Swept
Morrissey
Bona Drag
Kill Uncle
Vauxhall And I
Ringleader of The Tormentors
You Are The Quarry
Your Arsenal
New Order
Brotherhood
Low-Life
Power, Corruption & Lies
Republic
Substance
Nine Inch Nails
Pretty Hate Machine
Nitzer Ebb
Belief
Showtime
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
Crush
The Pacific Age
Sugar Tax
Orton, Beth
Central Reservation
Daybreaker
Trailer Park
The Outfield
Play Deep
Pet Shop Boys
Actually
Alternative
Behavior
Bilingual
Please
Introspective
Poe
Hello
The Police
Ghost In The Machine
Reggatta De Blanc
Zenyatta Mondatta
Synchronicity
The Power Station
The Power Station
The Proclaimers
Sunshine On Leith
REM
Automatic For The People
Document
Green
New Adventures in Hi-Fi
Ruby
Saltpeter
Runga, Bic
Beautiful Collision
Drive
Saint Etienne
Foxbase Alpha
Finisterre
Tales From The Turnpike House
Scritti Politti
Cupid & Psyche 85
Anomie & Bonhomie
Provision
The Sisters of Mercy
Floodland
Vision Thing
The Smiths
Best of
Sneaker Pimps
Bloodsport
The Soup Dragons
Lovegod
Hotwired
Squeeze
Babylon And On
Starsailor
Love Is Here
Stereo MCs
Connected
Sting
The Dream Of The Blue Turtles
Nothing Like The Sun
Sacred Love
Ten Summoner's Tales
Tears For Fears
Everybody Loves A Happy Ending
Songs From The Big Chair
The Seeds Of Love
The The
Mind Bomb
Dusk
Thompson Twins
Queer
Todd, Katie
Changing Faces
Closer
Make Some Time For Wasting
Mumbled Speech
U2
The Joshua Tree
Achtung Baby
Rattle And Hum
The Unforgettable Fire
UB40
Labour of Love
Vega, Suzanne
Beauty & Crime
Songs In Red & Gray
Nine Objects of Desire
Venus Hum
Big Beautiful Sky
The Colors In The Wheel
Mechanics & Mathematics
Songs For Superheroes
Veruca Salt
American Thighs
The Wonder Stuff
Eight Legged Groove Machine
XTC
Nonsuch
Yes
90125
Big Generator
Whew. Um. Well, I got a little carried away maybe. That's 191 by my count. There may be some others that'd make the list in my library, but I'm just not familiar with all of them enough to be sure the percentage of superlative tracks outweigh the stinkers. Productive use of a Saturday afternoon? Maybe not, but I hope you enjoy a few "oh yeah" moments and maybe even discover something new.
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