The 25 Most Important Albums In My Life
So, SarahSpy, a very good blog, has declared this week “Alltime Favorite Albums Week,” so I can’t resist making a list. I started with a list of around 35 and cut it down to 25 (sorry Morphine, sorry Morrissey, sorry Modest Mouse and my sincerest apologies, R.E.M.) and I also decided not to include more than one record by any artist (so there goes Kid A, Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain and Either/Or). I decided to do the list chronologically because there’s no way I can put these in any decent order, and I’m gonna say a sentence or two about all of them, and include my favorite song from each, so you can download them at your leisure. Here goes nothing.
1. Black Saint and The Sinner Lady, by Charles Mingus (1963)
My favorite jazz album of all time is still the one that got me into jazz in the first place. My best friend, Nathaniel, told me to listen to it alone with all the lights turned out, and you should all have that experience too.
Favorite Track: “Trio and Group Dancers”
2. Highway 61 Revisited, by Bob Dylan (1965)
Kills me. I don’t give a shit how political Dylan was. It was his visceral, personal stuff that has always meant the most to me.
Favorite Track: “Ballad of a Thin Man”
3. The Velvet Underground & Nico, by The Velvet Underground (1967)
Combines the swirling intensity of Black Saint with the mesmerizing lyricism of Highway 61, for a one of a kind experience. I don’t think the Velvets were ever quite this good again.
Favorite Track: “Venus in Furs”
4. The Beatles, by The Beatles (1968)
It’s the White Album, the one where the Beatles tried every genre and recording technique they could think of and created something absolutely genius out of each one.
Favorite Track: “Happiness is a Warm Gun”
5. Bridge Over Troubled Water, by Simon and Garfunkel (1970)
Their old folk stuff is fine and all, but this, their last album, has always blown my mind. Complex arrangements, catchy pop tunes…it’s a final, arresting statement by one of the best bands of all time. And after this they both decided to suck for good.
Favorite Track: “The Only Living Boy In New York”
6. Plastic Ono Band, by John Lennon (1970)
I don’t care that this guy was bigger than Jesus. This album just sounds like a poor bastard alone in a room with his many, many shockingly personal thoughts.
Favorite Track: “God”
7. Hunky Dory, by David Bowie (1971)
After he started the insane experimentation, but before he went totally out of his mind. I used to talk to shit about Bowie because the first album of his I ever got was Let’s Dance, which is a total piece of shit. But someone (I don’t remember who) lent me this one and it was all I listened to for months.
Favorite Track: “Quicksand”
8. Daydream Nation, by Sonic Youth (1988)
I can’t believe we just jumped from ‘71 to ‘88 but this is my list. I used to listen to this album on walks a lot, and just get completely lost in it. Someone put “Candle” on at a party last week, and it still gets me all nostalgic.
Favorite Track: “Teen Age Riot”
9. Wish, by The Cure (1992)
This isn’t the Cure’s best or most consistent album. It’s just the first one I fell in love with. My sister bought it for “Friday I’m In Love” and I stole it from her. Still have her copy, still listen to it often. It may be the most romantic album of all time.
Favorite Track: “Trust”
10. So Tonight That I Might See, by Mazzy Star (1993)
Dreamy, and unforgettable. Bought it on a whim after hearing “Fade Into You” in Starship Troopers of all places. Hope Sandoval sounds like a ghost and it just nails itself into your head.
Favorite Track: “Fade Into You” (Still!)
11. Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), by The Wu-Tang Clan (1993)
I didn’t listen to rap until High School, and that’s because I didn’t get it until I heard this album for the first time. It’s ambitious, fun, disturbing at times, lyrically brilliant and more concise than you’d expect.
Favorite Track: “C.R.E.A.M.”
12. Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, by The Smashing Pumpkins (1995)
Sprawling, 28-track rock and roll record that says everything about my junior high years that you need to know.
Favorite Track: “Farewell and Goodnight”
13. Pinkerton, by Weezer (1996)
The last album of the Matt Sharp years, this one is confessional and tough in a way we haven’t seen from Weezer since. The lyrics are creepy and depressing, the music muscular and quick. It’s short and brilliant, without a lame moment.
Favorite Track: “Tired of Sex”
14. OK Computer, by Radiohead (1997)
My favorite album of all time. Means more to me than I can possibly express here in two lines.
Favorite Track: “Exit Music (For A Film)”
15. Brighten The Corners, by Pavement (1997)
I could list every Pavement album here, because I think they’re the most perfect band I’ve gotten into in my lifetime. But this is my favorite, 12 tracks packed to the brim with melancholy, humor, unironic pop melodies and some of the best lyrics you’ve ever heard.
Favorite Track: “Type Slowly”
16. Perfect From Now On, by Built To Spill (1997)
A great band’s masterwork. 8 long, ambitious songs that never let up emotionally, with subtle, unpretentious lyrics and long, winding, involving instrumental sections. The best album Neil Young never made.
Favorite Track: “I Would Hurt A Fly”
17. In The Aeroplane Over The Sea, by Neutral Milk Hotel (1998)
My second favorite album of all time. I heard it for the first time in the back of Nathaniel’s car on the way to Long Beach. This one is a life-changer. I stopped writing music for a long time because I knew I’d never be this good.
Favorite Track: “Two-Headed Boy”
18. When The Pawn…, by Fiona Apple (1999)
The best album I’ve ever had sex to, even though it contains a song about a dude who can’t get it up. The short, dissonant orchestral break in “On The Bound” is one of my favorite music moments ever.
Favorite Track: “On The Bound”
19. 69 Love Songs, by The Magnetic Fields (1999)
It’s got 69 tracks and they’re not all good, but they’re all interesting and most of them are great. Best ukelele recording ever. And Stephin Merritt’s deep, deep voice has never been quite so arresting. I checked this out of the Shoreham Public Library and then had my backpack stolen with all three discs inside, so I had to pay them. But, luckily, my ex-girlfriend had already burned it for me.
Favorite Track: “Abigail, Belle of Kilronan”
20. Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea, by PJ Harvey (2000)
I heard it for the first time in an ex-girlfriend’s car as her mom was driving me to the Ronkonkoma train station so I could go home. Then a different ex-girlfriend bought it for me for my birthday. I can’t escape it, and I don’t want to. It had me at “I can’t believe life’s so complex/When I just want to sit here and watch you undress.”
Favorite Track: “You Said Something”
21. Figure 8, by Elliott Smith (2000)
I got into Elliott Smith when I was 11 years old, and I quickly became extremely obsessive about his stuff. I never got to see him live before he died, but I remember exactly where I was when I heard that he had. And I didn’t believe it. This is still my favorite of his 6 near-perfect albums.
Favorite Track: “Happiness”
22. (), by Sigur Ros (2002)
I put this on when I’m sad and it makes me sadder. I put it on when I’m happy and it creates a feeling that is indescribable. Nathaniel introduced me to this too. He played me “Untitled 8” and we both listened in silence for around 10 minutes. Then he shut it off and burned it for me, because he could probably tell I wanted it from the look on my face.
Favorite Track: “Untitled 8”
23. Lifted or, The Story is in the Soil Keep Your Ear To The Ground, by Bright Eyes (2002)
Bright Eyes is obviously a hit-or-miss whiny little bitch-boy, but this sprawling, ambitious concept record is where everything came together. I bought it on a whim the same day I bought that fucking self-titled Blink 182 record, and it was literally all I listened to for about three months. It took me a while to even open the Blink one.
Favorite Track: “Let’s Not Shit Ourselves (To Love and To Be Loved)”
24. Funeral, by The Arcade Fire (2004)
Fought listening to it for a long time because of the ridiculously loud buzz about them. Glad I gave in eventually. Possibly the best band since Radiohead? Yeah.
Favorite Track: “Wake Up”
25. Andrew Bird & The Mysterious Production of Eggs, by Andrew Bird (2005)
I first heard Andrew Bird at Bonnaroo, where I saw him twice. He’s amazing live (I’ve seen him 8 times now I think), but I bought this album at a tent at that same festival, and he’s pretty much as good on this record. “There will be snacks!”
Favorite Track: “Fake Palindromes”
So there you have it. A list. They’re fun. Make your own now. After all, it’s Alltime Favorite Albums Week.
