Over the last few weeks it feels like the whole world has been compiling lists of their favourite albums so I thought I’d kick off the reboot of the Records & Bands podcast with mine.
Whenever I look at the Top 10/50/500 rankings in the music press I see the same records in slightly different orders but mostly there’s not a huge amount of variation… whether Pet Sounds is at number 2 or number 12, it’s ALWAYS there somewhere, which is fine…it’s a great album. I just never listen to it.
Nor do I listen to Led Zeppelin or Pink Floyd or The Beatles. And as blasphemous as it may seem, apart from a few minor dalliances, I never really have. I’m very much a child of my own time, getting into music in the early 90s that’s pretty much where i’ve stayed and I haven’t really gone that far back in my regular listening. So my list of “best albums ever” was always going to be a ways away from Rolling Stone.
I also found it ridiculously hard to rank them in any order so I grouped them into tiers and made a pyramid with my favourite record at the top and groups increasing in size lower down and on the podcast I go through these, highlighting a few albums from each tier and playing some tunes on the full version on Mixcloud but I figured I’d drop the full “list” here.
There were a few rules when I compiled it
1. Only 3 albums from an artist or band
2. No Greatest Hits or Best of compilations BUT live albums are ok
3. These are my FAVOURITES, they’re in regular rotation or have a real personal connection. I love them and don’t care what you think! (only joking…I’m desperate for your approval!!)
I’ll also pin this post and link to the podcast as each album gets its own show, kind of like a contents page
“Yeah..That’s a really good record!”
"How on Earth are they that far down your list - how are you allowed a music podcast"
"Oh my god I absolutley rinsed that record"
"I wish I Knew How to Quit You"
“The Battle Royal to become The No.1 Contender”
note: this was going to be a group of 10 followed by a Top 5 but it was too hard and I bottled it!
“The Greatest Album Ever Made”
So thats my list, of sorts. I’m sure plenty of people will disagree with everything on it but isn’t that the point of music. Take it as a snapshot of my tastes, a brief snippet of the things that I love and want to share. I won’t be talking about things I don’t like, it’s boring but I will finish this with a thought on “The Greats”, bands like The Beatles and The Beach Boys, Led Zeppelin, The Clash, all of those that undoubtedly set the table for every album in my list
We’re not supposed to like the stuff our parents listen to, it’s part of growing up. I don’t expect my kids to listen to my stuff but I’m more than delighted when they unearth some gems organically and even more excited when I hear something new through the bedroom walls and think “f***, thats really good”.
The Greatest Albums in the History of the World*