1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die

It’s time for another update on my music project.  Two summers ago I started using this book as a guide to explore music with my son.  Gage has been a party to some of the journey, but not all.  I try to play at least parts from every album for him, except the explicit ones, and some he likes and some he covers his ears.  He is probably more discerning than I am.  This post is more for me than you because I know that these lists can get boring, but feel free to comment if I’ve listened to a favorite of yours (whether I liked them or not :)).  Happy listening.

This go round I’ve decided to list them in the order I liked them best.

Thriller by Michael Jackson– first and only album I begged my dad for money to buy.  I remember him counting out change from our change bucket.

Brothers in Arms by Dire Straits – love, love, love

Pearl by Janis Joplin – So talented and such a shame she died so young.

Parachutes by Coldplay – loved it

Dare by the Human League – fun 80’s album with a favorite

In Our Heads by Hot Chip – a great new discovery

Make Yourself by Incubus – nu-metal?  surprisingly, I liked it!

Boatman’s Call by Nick Cave – Love this dark and moody album.

Aqualung by Jethro Tull – Liked the whole album.

Murder Ballads by Nick Cave – the dark murder ballads (something I’d never heard) was really cool.

Off the Wall by Michael Jackson – Can’t go wrong with Michael.

Bad by Michael Jackson – a much more polished Michael.

Come Away With Me by Norah Jones – easy listening

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road by Elton John – I don’t think you can ever go wrong with Elton John.

Rhythm Nation by Janet Jackson – It’ll make you want to dance!

Songs of Love & Hate by Leonard Cohen – Like him better than Dylan.

British Steel by Judas Priest – Not a hard rock girl but I liked this one.

Surrealistic Pillow by Jefferson Airplane

A Rush of Blood to the Head by Coldplay – didn’t love as much as  the first

Songs of Leonard Cohen by Leonard Cohen – Not my favorite of his.

In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida by Iron Butterfly – It was ok, a little dopey.

Morrison Hotel by  The Doors– My third Doors album that I just thought was okay.

Tusk by Fleetwood Mac – Didn’t like as much as Rumours.

Abattoir Blues/Lyre of Orpheus by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – My least favorite of the three.

Safe As Milk by Captain Beefheart – Hippy dippy, but the best name ever!

Are We Not Men? We are Devo! by Devo – Too frenetic for me.

Be by Common – not for me.

Cross by Justice – Let’s dance!

Chicago by Chicago Transit Authority – Easy, a little boring.

A Love Supreme by John Coltrane – I like jazz, but really only in person.

What People Say I Am That’s What I’m Not by Arctic Monkeys – eh, nothing special here

Trout Mask Replica by Captain Beefheart – Eek! A double album of music I didn’t like!

Never Mind the Bollocks by the Sex Pistols – Couldn’t really understand them.

Maggot Brain by Funkadelic – Took me a few tries to get this one but it is fun to move to.

Blueprint by Jay-Z – This didn’t elevate rap for me.

Sweetheart of the Rodeo by the Byrds – Too much country for me.

Gris Gris by Dr. John – This is an album? Not much here.

Now I Got Worry by Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – too much screaming

The Score by The Fugees – Loved one song. A lot.

Foo Fighters by Foo Fighters – Grunge or grunge-like has never been my thing.

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List of the albums we listened to from the book(The Visitors by ABBA, Back to Black and Highway to Hell by AC/DC, 21 by Adele, Pump and Toys in the Attic by Aerosmith, School’s Out by Alice Cooper, Dirt by Alice in Chains, Among the Living by Antrax, Tidal by Fiona Apple, Funeral by Arcade Fire, Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not by Arctic Monkeys,  The B-52’s by the B-52’s, The Atomic Mr. Basie by Count Basie, Abbey Road, The Beatles (white album),  A Hard Day’s Night, Revolver, Rubber Soul, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, With the Beatles by The Beatles, The Band and Music From Big Pink by The Band, Pet Sounds by the Beach Boys, Licensed to Ill and Paul’s Boutique by the Beastie Boys, Parallel Lives by Blondie, Boston by Boston, Station to Station by David Bowie, Safe As Milk and Trout Mask Replica by Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band, Sweetheart of the Rodeo by The Byrds, Abattoir Bllues/The Lyre of Orpheus, The Boatman’s Call and Murder Ballads by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Chicago by Chicago Transit Authority,  The Songs of Leonard Cohen and Songs of Love and Hate by Leonard Cohen, A Rush of Blood To the Head and Parachutes by Coldplay, A Love Supreme by John Coltrane, Be by Common,  Crosby Stills & Nash by Crosby Stills & Nash, Are We Not Men?We Are Devo! by Devo, Brothers in Arms by Dire Straits, The Doors and Morrison Hotel by The Doors, Gris-Gris by Dr. John, The Night Tripper, Blonde on Blonde, Blood on the Tracks, Bringing It All Back Home, Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan, Highway 61 Revisted, by Bob Dylan,  Eagles and Hotel California by The Eagles, Seldom Seen Kid by Elbow, The Marshal Mathers LP andThe Slim Shady LP by Eminem, Sweet Dreams by Eurythmics, The Soft Bulletin and Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots by The Flaming Lips, Rumours and Tusks by Fleetwood Mac, Foo Fighters by Foo Fighters,  Frampton Comes Alive by Peter Frampton, Franz Ferdinand by Franz Ferdinand, The Score by Fugees,  Maggot Brain by Funkadelic, So and Melt by Peter Gabriel, Appetite for Destruction by Guns N’ Roses, In Our Heads by Hot Chip, Dare by The Human League, Make Yourself by Incubus, In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida by Iron Butterfly, Rhythm Nation by Janet Jackson, Bad, Off the Wall and Thriller by Michael Jackson, The Blueprint by Jay-Z,  Surrealistic Pillow by Jefferson Airplane, Darklandsand Psychocandy by The Jesus and Mary Chain, Aqualung by Jethro Tull, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road by Elton John, Now I Got Worry by The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Come Away With Me by Norah Jones,  Pearl by Janis Joplin, British Steel by Judas Priest, Cross by Justice, Tapestry by Carole King,  Destroyer by KISS, Tragic Songs of Life by the Louvin Brothers, Illmatic by Nas, In Utero, MTV Unplugged in New York, and Nevermind by Nirvana, Ready to Die by The Notorious B.I.G.,  Straight Outta Compton by NWA, Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd, Regatta de  Blanc and Synchronicity by The Police, Elvis Presley by Elvis Presley, 2112 by Rush, Never Mind the Bollocks Here’s the Sex Pistols by Sex Pistols, Bridge Over Troubled Water and Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme by Simon & Garfunkel,  Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim and In the Wee Small Hours by Frank Sinatra, Me Against the World by Tupac, System of a Down by System of a Down, Dear Science by TV on the Radio, All That You Can’t Leave Behind, Joshua Tree, and War by U2, Velvet Underground & Nico by Velvet Underground,  Red Headed Stranger andStardust by Willie Nelson, Back to Black by Amy Winehouse, XX by The XX,  It’s a Blitz! by Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Close To the Edge, Fragile and The Yes Album by Yes,  After the Gold Rush, Harvest, and  Tonight’s the Night by Neil Young, Rust Never Sleeps by Neil Young and Crazy Horse, Hot Rats by Frank Zappa) 140/1001

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1-10, 11-30 31-60, 61-90

 

 

1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die

It’s time for another update on my music project.  Last summer I started using this book as a guide to explore music with my son.  Gage has been a party to some of the journey, but not all.  I try to play at least parts from every album for him, except the explicit ones, and some he likes and some he covers his ears.  He is probably more discerning than I am.  This post is more for me than you because I know that these lists can get boring, but feel free to comment if I’ve listened to a favorite of yours (whether I liked them or not :)).  Happy listening.

Simon & Garfunkel  are responsible for 2 albums this round and have 7 of my all-time favorite songs.  I was already a fan and loved hearing these albums again. Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme (1966)   Scarsborough Fair, Patterns, Homeward Bound, and For Emily

and Bridge over Troubled Water (1970)  Bridge Over Troubled Water, If I Could, The Boxer

I discovered new favorites, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and their album It’s a Blitz (2009), liked the whole album, but especially Runaway.  The XX were new to me as was their XX (2009) album, VCR was probably my favorite song.  The Flaming Lips had two albums and I really liked Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (2002), more so than The Soft Bulletin (1999) but I found them both so relaxing and look forward to listening to them again.  And since I listened to a lot of Bob Dylan it makes since that I also listened to The Band, his backup singers, and their two albums on the list, Music from Big Pink (1968) and The Band (1969), enjoying the former more. Franz Ferdinand’s Franz Ferdinand (2004) was fresh and funky.

Somehow I’ve become a bit of a Neil Young fan which I feel good about since he is currently taking a stand against GMOs and the companies that support them. There were 7 albums on the list and I listened to 4 this time around.  My favorite was After the Gold Rush (1970) with Tell Me Why being my favorite song.  Tonight’s the Night (1975) felt more bluesy? but I liked it, especially Tonight’s the Night, part 2.  Harvest (1972) was great too and I liked the personal The Needle and the Damage Done.  And Neil Young and Crazy Horse’s Rust Never Sleeps (1979) album made the cut, with My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue) a thoughtful and beautiful song.

I also got a bit of a Bob Dylan education since 7 of his albums made the cut. I made it through five this go round and liked them more that I thought I would.  Blonde on Blonde (1966) had the favorite Just Like a Woman and the fun Everybody Must Get Stoned.  Loved Highway 61 Revisited (1965) and the classic Like a Rolling Stone.  Blood on the Tracks (1975) was good but it was by this time I realized that while I could listen to the Beatles’ albums back to back, it didn’t really work for Dylan, but I did like A Simple Twist of Fate. The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan (1963) had the iconic and original Blowin’ in the Wind.  Bringing It All Back Home (1965) and Subterranean Blues was probably a favorite.

A few that I knew I loved before I listened again. Rumours (1977) by Fleetwood Mac had the popular Don’t Stop.  The Doors (1967) by The Doors had Break On Through and Light My Fire.

Amazingly, at the age of 43 and 20 years after the album’s release, I became a fan of Tupac’s Me Against the World (1995).  I liked his song to his mother, Dear Mama, Me Against the World, and Temptations, but my favorite was So Many Tears.

The ‘Boys’ were somewhere in the middle for me. The Beastie Boys had Licenced To Ill (1986) with the throwback Girls and Paul’s Boutique (1989) with Hey Ladies.  While I liked Pet Sounds (1966) by the Beach Boys it wasn’t as upbeat as I thought it would be, especially for a group whose name screams fun in the sun.

And then there were the ones I just didn’t care for all that much. Surprisingly, I didn’t like The B-52’s (1979) by the B-52’s, just too over the top for me, I guess.  Hot Rats (1969) by Frank Zappa and The Yes Album (1971), Close To the Edge (1972) and Fragile (1971) by Yes were a little instrument heavy for me.  And as much as I loved Tupac, I very much disliked Dr. Dre’s The Chronic (1992).  Any time you have to resort to having sex on an album it negates everything else (and I didn’t really like anything else anyway).

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List of the albums we listened to from the book(The Visitors by ABBA, Back to Black and Highway to Hell by AC/DC, 21 by Adele, Pump and Toys in the Attic by Aerosmith, School’s Out by Alice Cooper, Dirt by Alice in Chains, Among the Living by Antrax, Tidal by Fiona Apple, Funeral by Arcade Fire, The B-52’s by the B-52’s, The Band and Music From Big Pink by The Band, The Atomic Mr. Basie by Count Basie,Pet Sounds by the Beach Boys,  Licensed to Ill and Paul’s Boutique by the Beastie Boys, Abbey Road, The Beatles (white album),  A Hard Day’s Night, Revolver, Rubber Soul, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, With the Beatles by The Beatles, Parallel Lives by Blondie, Boston by Boston, Station to Station by David Bowie, Crosby Stills & Nash by Crosby Stills & Nash, The Doors by The Doors, The Chronic by Dr. Dre, Blonde on Blonde, Blood on the Tracks, Bringing It All Back Home, Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan, Highway 61 Revisted, by Bob Dylan,  Eagles and Hotel California by The Eagles, Seldom Seen Kid by Elbow, The Marshal Mathers LP andThe Slim Shady LP by Eminem, Sweet Dreams by Eurythmics, The Soft Bulletin and Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots by The Flaming Lips, Rumours by Fleetwood Mac, Frampton Comes Alive by Peter Frampton, Franz Ferdinand by Franz Ferdinand, So and Melt by Peter Gabriel, Appetite for Destruction by Guns N’ Roses, Darklands and Psychocandy by The Jesus and Mary Chain, Tapestry by Carole King,  Destroyer by KISS, Tragic Songs of Life by the Louvin Brothers, Illmatic by Nas, Red Headed Stranger and Star Dust by Willie Nelson, In Utero, MTV Unplugged in New York, and Nevermind by Nirvana, Ready to Die by The Notorious B.I.G.,  Straight Outta Compton by NWA, Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd, Regatta de  Blanc and Synchronicity by The Police, Elvis Presley by Elvis Presley, 2112 by Rush, Bridge Over Troubled Water and Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme by Simon & Garfunkel,  Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim and In the Wee Small Hours by Frank Sinatra, System of a Down by System of a Down, Dear Science by TV on the Radio,  Me Against the World by Tupac, All That You Can’t Leave Behind, Joshua Tree, and War by U2, Velvet Underground & Nico by Velvet Underground, Back to Black by Amy Winehouse, XX by The XX,  It’s a Blitz! by Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Close To the Edge, Fragile and The Yes Album by Yes,  After the Gold Rush, Harvest, and  Tonight’s the Night by Neil Young, Rust Never Sleeps by Neil Young and Crazy Horse, Hot Rats by Frank Zappa) 90/1001

Linkup to my past posts

1-10, 11-30 31-60

1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

I started working my through this book this past summer, mostly with Gage but sometimes not (original post here).  I don’t know that any of you will really care to keep up with our travels through the music starting in the 1950’s but I thought I’d keep a record of it at least.  I’m random in how I’m choosing the albums.  I use the index and see which ones the library has so we’ve had a good mix of decades and genres.

And here are our thoughts what we’ve been listening to so far….

New girl crushes (me not Gage) – Blondie and Amy Winehouse. Seriously, I listened to Winehouse’s Back to Black countless times before I returned it to the library.  She was amazing and it’s so sad when such talent is gone too soon.  As for Blondie, I should have been more familiar since I was a little more aware of music back in high school, but I was clueless. I think Parallel Lives is the cd that Gage and I danced to the most this round.

Biggest difference of opinion – Tragic Songs of Life by The Louvin Brothers.  To me-Screeching.  To Gage-Hold me and let’s dance.

Not good for Gage’s young ears – Slim Shady by Eminem.  I was listening to this one full blast when Jason and Gage came back from swimming and I got in trouble 😉  I wasn’t sad to stop it.  I get his talent but the bad language ruins it for me.

Biggest Surprises – Elbow and TV on the Radio.  I’d never heard of either of these bands and loved both albums (The Seldom Seen Kids and Dear Science) from first song to last.  I’ve gone on to listen to Elbow’s other albums and liked them as well.

Two albums by the same name – Back to Black by Amy Winehouse and AC/DC.  You Shook Me All Night Long and the rest of the AC/DC album brought back great memories of high school and you know already I fell in love with Amy Winehouse so this was a win/win!

Someone I actually saw in concert (this list is very small) – The Eagles. Enjoyed their concert in Cleveland a few years ago and really liked their two albums on the list, Hotel California and The Eagles.

My favorite album – 21 by Adele

See any of your favorites here? Anyone new?

List of the albums we listened to from the book(Back to Black and Highway to Hell by AC/DC, 21 by Adele, Pump and Toys in the Attic by Aerosmith, School’s Out by Alice Cooper, Among the Living by Antrax, Tidal by Fiona Apple, Funeral by Arcade Fire, Parallel Lives by Blondie, Eagles and Hotel California by The Eagles, Seldom Seen Kid by Elbow, The Marshal Mathers LP and The Slim Shady LP by Eminem, Sweet Dreams by Eurythmics, Frampton Comes Alive by Peter Frampton, So and Melt by Peter Gabriel, Darklands and Psychocandy by The Jesus and Mary Chain, Tragic Songs of Life by the Louvin Brothers, Regatta de  Blanc and Synchronicity by The Police, Elvis Presley by Elvis Presley, Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim and In the Wee Small Hours by Frank Sinatra, System of a Down by System of a Down, Dear Science by TV on the Radio,  Back to Black by Amy Winehouse) 30/1001