I've left them unnumbered, but the ones I like better are closer to the top. Also check out my Favorite Songs.
Big Blood - Unlikely Mothers (2014)
Twice in my life has my favorite band's new album been better than I could have imagined, and Camper Van Beethoven's Key Lime Pie blew me away on the first listen. But Unlikely Mothers, beyond imagination, was also beyond recognition, and it took me a whole year of immersion in their music before I understood this as their crowning achievement. For much more, see my Big Blood page,
Ecstasy and Doom.
Hawkwind - Space Ritual (1973) and PXR5 (1979)
I've been listening to Hawkwind since 1984, but only recently did I recognize these as their best albums. Scroll down for my full section on
Hawkwind.
Bob Dylan - Blood On The Tracks (1975)
Bob Dylan is my favorite male singer, and the most impressive thing about his voice is that almost anyone can imitate it and sound more interesting than with any vocal style they could come up with on their own. This album is a perfect conjunction of inspired songwriting, lyrical maturity, and edge of chaos performance. Not only does it have no duds, it doesn't even have any merely good songs. My two favorites are Idiot Wind and Buckets of Rain. My next favorite Dylan albums are Highway 61 Revisited, Blonde on Blonde, and Desire.
Led Zeppelin IV (1971)
Blues rock after 1971 is just footnotes to this album. As much as I love it now, it's strange that I heard these songs on the radio as a teenager and was not impressed. It makes me wonder what else I've heard that I could potentially like a lot more. Stairway to Heaven is a long way from my favorite, but the cool thing is that if you make a chart of its musical intensity over time, it really does look like a stairway, with sudden rises to increasingly high plateaus.
R.E.M. - Fables of the Reconstruction (1985)
This is their best collection of songs and their best consistent sonic texture. Compared to their previous two albums, the sound is still jangly but with more layers and more depth, and the guitar has just enough fuzz to make this psychedelic folk. Green Grow The Rushes is dense and beautiful, Auctioneer has sharper edges than any of their later attempts to rock out, and the unearthly Wendell Gee is one of the best songs of all time.
Camper Van Beethoven - Camper Van Beethoven (1986) and Key Lime Pie (1989)
Their self-titled third album was recorded very quickly not long after their second, apparently because they tapped into a creative force that they couldn't hold back. Their fifth album, Key Lime Pie, is much more serious and better produced, and has brilliant work by guest fiddler Don Lax.
Exuma II (1970)
When I talk about music being
raw, this is the gold standard, feral and creative from start to finish. I hope one day there will be another song that can match "Baal" head to head, but I doubt it.
Charles Mingus - The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady (1963)
It's a lot like Bitches Brew by Miles Davis: loosely structured, mostly improvised, and heavily overdubbed, but this was seven years sooner and much more raw. There are bits that sound like proto-metal, and when I mentioned that to Leigh Ann she said, "Charles Mingus invented heavy metal; Bob Dylan invented rap."
Orphans & Vandals - I Am Alive and You Are Dead (2009)
The best of these songs have complex, rambling structure like good prog rock, string arrangements like good chamber rock, and primal beats and chanting vocals like the Velvet Underground -- but nothing else that sounds like this can touch this. "Argyle Square" is one of my favorite songs by anyone.
Joanna Newsom - The Milk-Eyed Mender (2004)
It rarely happens that a great lyricist is also a great singer. With no training, Newsom puts an edge in her voice that is either unbearably irritating or unbearably beautiful, depending on your ears. I was so overwhelmed by "En Gallop" that it took me several listens to even notice the words. This is the only album where she does it -- on two early demos her voice is clumsy, and on her next album (Ys) the magic is gone. The light that burns twice as bright burns half as long.
Rush - 2112 (1976)
Fly By Night has more light through the cracks, Caress of Steel has better solos, A Farewell To Kings is just as heavy and more complex, and Moving Pictures is more respectable. Side two of 2112 is mostly duds, and the twenty minute title track has an embarrassing Ayn Rand theme. But the sound! If this is prog rock, its raw power blows away all other prog rock (even if you count Queen II). And if it's metal, then Rush is like the David Bowie of metal, as heavy as Black Sabbath and much more stylish and gothic. Never has so much energy been channeled with so much precision.
Beat Happening - Black Candy (1989)
Their first two albums, Beat Happening and Jamboree, are the most alive and inspired, and their last album, You Turn Me On, is the best produced and most beautiful. Black Candy has some of both, and it's their best collection of songs.
Big Star - first three albums (1972-1974)
Big Star's originality is overrated -- their debut album, #1 Record, was recorded more than a year after Badfinger's song "No Matter What" and has the same basic sound. But what Big Star does with that sound is so beautiful that I wonder if it was too much for pop radio, and they would have remained obscure even with a better record company. Their second album, Radio City, is a notch lower in songwriting and two notches higher in depth and chaos, which made it even more commercially doomed. So Alex Chilton said fuck it, let's really knock down the walls, and their third album is wild and raw on every level without being noisy. It's the sound of geniuses going mad, and Chilton isn't the only genius -- check out Jody Stephens' minimalist drumming.
The Muffs - first three albums (1993-1997)
After one of their shows I heard someone say, in awe, "She's angry
and happy!" On top of her rare emotional tone, I love Kim Shattuck's voice, and she's a great songwriter. Their self-titled first album is the most varied and inspired, Blonder and Blonder is the most dense and powerful, and Happy Birthday To Me has the most depth.
Tom Waits - Rain Dogs (1985)
If I were a real Tom Waits fan I'd like The Black Rider best, but Rain Dogs is his best blend of great songwriting and the style he developed on Swordfishtrombones. Bone Machine is not far behind, and most of his early albums have two or three great songs.
Pink Floyd - Meddle (1971)
Unlike the more famous albums that followed it, this has no unifying theme or sound, but it's the best set of songs they ever put together. I even like "Seamus".
Yo La Tengo - I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One (1997)
A great band's best album, with nice sounds and great songwriting all the way through. My favorites are the super-catchy "Little Honda" and the super-trippy "Spec Bebop".
Hüsker Dü - Zen Arcade (1984) and New Day Rising (1985)
Zen Arcade has more good songs and more raw energy, and New Day Rising has more complexity and depth.
Gordon Lightfoot - Sit Down Young Stranger a.k.a. If You Could Read My Mind (1970)
Gordon Lightfoot is a decent lyricist and a great songwriter and singer, and this is his best collection of songs other than greatest hits albums. If you get this plus Gord's Gold and Summertime Dream, you have only a handful of duds and only two songs of overlap. The CD version of Gord's Gold is missing "Affair on 8th Avenue", but there are vinyl rips online.
Rex Holman - Here In The Land Of Victory (1970)
Holman was an actor who made only one album, and not one critic gets it: he's not aiming for an easy listening sound, and he's not just Gordon Lightfoot with more vibrato -- he's pioneering a subtle and very powerful weirdness. You have to go to Nicholas Talbot in the next century to find something this good in this direction. But with the exception of "Come On Down", the songwriting is only average.
Electric Moon - any live album (2010-present)
This German trio can improvise top-notch stoner/psych/space rock that rewards close listening and demands nothing.
Mono - You Are There (2006)
From Japan, my favorite post-rock band. All their albums are recorded live in studio, and the others are almost this good. Mono plays the most civilized great music I've ever heard.
Violent Femmes - Hallowed Ground (1984)
Their second album matches their famous debut in the catchiness of the rhythms and melodies, and exceeds it in creativity and darkness.
Galaxie 500 - anything (1988-1990)
Among their three studio albums, it's a tossup which one is best. Today has the most consistently good songwriting, On Fire has the most beautiful guitar playing, and This Is Our Music has the most variety.
The Ramones - Leave Home (1977)
This is their second album, not as lyrically inspired as their debut, but musically better in every way. Appropriately, it was later repackaged to include "Sheena Is A Punk Rocker", the only other Ramones song that could hold its own here.
Red House Painters - (rollercoaster) (1993)
Red House Painters have two self-titled albums, and the great one has a rollercoaster on the cover. When I was 26 the vocal track sounded deep and mature, and now it sounds like a whiny teenager. But New Jersey still holds up, and I still love the music.
The Pogues - Rum, Sodomy, and the Lash (1985)
Easily the best Pogues album, but most Americans, even if they know the Pogues, have never heard it.
Bone Cellar - Now That It's All Over (1994)
Of all the Seattle bands of the early 90's, Bone Cellar was the most honest. They also had awesome guitar solos and played the best live show I ever saw. Their second album, Lost in the Light of Day, is almost as good.
The Police - Zenyatta Mondatta (1980)
Considered the worst Police album by almost everyone, and I agree that it has the lowest peaks, but I love the dark, echoey sound that fills the corners.
Queen II (1973)
Queen's best album is an early and successful exercise in combining hard rock and prog rock.
Sonic Youth - Sister (1987)
All Sonic Youth albums have good music. This one has the best songs, and sounds the most like ...
Hawkwind
Hawkwind has been my favorite band on and off since I was 16. They formed in 1969 in west London, invented space rock, and over the years have had a ridiculous number of style changes, lineup changes, and album releases -- many of them unauthorized or barely authorized compilations. Dave Brock has always been the leader and the sole continuous member, but he doesn't like to take center stage, so this role has been filled by people as diverse as an exotic dancer, Lemmy, sci-fi author Michael Moorcock, and Arthur Brown Jr. ("I am the god of hellfire!") The BBC made a great Hawkwind documentary.
Everyone agrees that they peaked in the 1970's, but there is some disagreement about which albums are better. This is a list of important ones and personal favorites.
Hawkwind, 1970
Two solid folk songs, "Hurry On Sundown" and "Mirror of Illusion", and some psychedelic rock with annoying vocals and great jams.
In Search Of Space, 1971
When I first heard this as a teenager it sounded like good songs with weird noise at the end. Now it sounds like great music with vocals to trick you into listening. Despite the title, the sound is merely cutting edge psych rock. Some fans like this album the best because of the more folky sound and complex drumming, but most people think the best was yet to come...
Doremi Fasol Latido, 1972
Hawkwind's revolution came from a synergy of two drugs: everyone else used LSD, and new member Ian Kilmister (Lemmy) used speed. His blistering bass lines drove long droning jams, and with Brock's increasing use of guitar phase effects, more skill by the two synth players, and consistent sci-fi lyrics, this was the birth of space rock. "Brainstorm" puts it all together, "Space is Deep" is their masterpiece, there's a nice Brock ballad (Down Through The Night) and a
slow Lemmy song (The Watcher).
Space Ritual, 1973
Double live album, featuring all four giants of Hawkwind: Brock, Lemmy, sax player and number two songwriter Nik Turner, and lyricist Robert Calvert, plus drummer Simon King, who would play on all their great 70's albums. I agree with most fans that this is their highest peak, but it took me a long time to appreciate Calvert's sci-fi poetry and the album's overall rawness. "Space is Deep" is not nearly as good here as on Doremi, but "Lord of Light" is better. Two of my favorites, "Orgone Accumulator" and "Seven By Seven", are not on any Hawkwind studio albums.
Hall of the Mountain Grill, 1974
Easily Hawkwind's best produced album, with complex studio overdubs that sound better the closer you listen. Every song is good, and it has their best cover art, with a
back cover by space artist David A. Hardy, but it lacks the power of their two previous releases. After many listens, my favorite song is the epic instrumental "Wind of Change".
Warrior On The Edge Of Time, 1975
Lemmy was "well out of favour" in his own words, and would soon be fired after being caught with amphetamines at the USA/Canada border. This album is a hodge-podge of embarrassing Michael Moorcock spoken word bits, clumsy experiments, and three or four great songs that make it essential for serious fans.
Astounding Sounds, Amazing Music, 1976
Hawkwind switched labels from United Artists to Charisma, and totally changed their sound by installing longtime collaborator Robert Calvert as front man. Calvert was very smart and a great lyricist, with a singing style years ahead of his time. But he wasn't a good singer yet, and the band as a whole was stumbling. I only like one instrumental, "Chronoglide Skyway".
Quark, Strangeness, and Charm, 1977
Here the Brock/Calvert team hit its stride. Nik Turner and two other members were sacked, and the new tight lineup made a great album, featuring "Damnation Alley" and "Hassan I Sabha".
PXR5, 1979
This was cobbled together from scraps in early 1978 and released more than a year later. Quark is good dweeb rock, but this is on another level, maybe because the chaos of the band falling apart led them to dig deeper musically. All five Calvert songs are brilliant, especially the post-punk "Death Trap", the power-pop "Jack of Shadows", and the dystopian crescendo of "High Rise". Brock's "Infinity" is luminous psych-drone, and the closest they've ever come to a love song.
Hawklords / 25 Years On, 1978
Recorded after PXR5 but released before it. Briefly, Hawkwind had to change their name to Hawklords for legal reasons. I only like one song, "The Only Ones".
Levitation, 1980
Legendary drummer Ginger Baker replaced King, and the band went into the studio to make a decent album, but I'd say it's unnecessary because the best bits are done better on Zones and Independent Days.
Sonic Attack, Church of Hawkwind, Choose Your Masques, 1981-1982
Three albums on RCA, mediocre.
Zones, 1983
A collection of scraps from the early 1980's. This was the first Hawkwind album I heard and it's still one of my favorites. On vinyl, side 1 is clean and light, with Ginger Baker on drums, unique airy keyboards by Keith Hale, Lloyd Langton's best guitar playing, and an exceptional live performance of "Motorway City". I love "Running Through The Back Brain", a challenging space jazz jam with vocals by Moorcock. Side 2 is dark and dirty live songs, and my big favorite is "Social Alliance".
Independent Days volumes 1-2, 1995
Another solid compilation of stuff from the early 80's, including a tight new version of Lemmy's song "Motorhead". Also two songs from 1969 and an inspired remix of "Kings of Speed" from 1975.
Chronicle of the Black Sword, 1985
A concept album based on Moorcock's Elric novels, promising but not that good. I think "Zarozinia" was Hawkwind's last good song, and the CD version includes the entire Earth Ritual Preview EP, which was previously available only on vinyl, and contains the essential song "Green Finned Demon".
Nik Turner, Space Gypsy, 2013
Turner was a major contributor to the classic Hawkwind sound of 1972-74, and here he does a good job of bringing it back, but the songwriting is forgettable.
other albums
There are many, many more, but I haven't heard any others worth mentioning. For a more complete list, go to:
http://home.clara.net/adawson/ or
http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/hawkwind/hawkwind_discs.html
Top Ten in chronological order
Charles Mingus - The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady (1963)
Exuma II (1970)
Led Zeppelin IV (1971)
Hawkwind - Space Ritual (1973)
Bob Dylan - Blood On The Tracks (1975)
Hawkwind - PXR5 (1979)
R.E.M. - Fables of the Reconstruction (1985)
Camper Van Beethoven - Key Lime Pie (1989)
Big Blood - Sew Your Wild Days Tour vol. 1 (2007)
Orphans & Vandals - I Am Alive and You Are Dead (2009)
Big Blood - Unlikely Mothers (2014)