Dave's Den

My Top 50 Albums

Everybody else does it, so here’s the obligatory list of my top 50 favorite albums/CDs of all time, in no particular order:

Gear Daddies: Billy’s Live Bait
An old girlfriend of mine bought this for me for Christmas back in 1991. Although I tired of her, this record never grows old. Probably my all-time favorite. I found a suitable description in someone’s Amazon review: “classic country rock songs that are drenched in heartache and honesty”.

Klaatu: Hope
Klaatu is the band that some media folks believed were the reunited Beatles back in the mid 1970s. Once you get by all of that hype, you’re left with the music, which was way ahead of its time. Hope, their second album, is a sci-fi concept album that fuses rock/pop with the London Symphony Orchestra. Had Klaatu not faced the backlash from the whole Beatles thing, we might now be looking back at this as a classic piece of work.

Pink Floyd: Dark Side of the Moon
Not much to add to what others have said about this album over the years. The human condition summed-up in a timeless sequence of songs. A true classic from a great band at the peak of their creative powers.

Del Amitri: Change Everything
A fantastic collection of songs about screwing up a good thing and yearning for something better. Memorable from start to finish.

Bruce Springsteen: Born to Run
Classic Bruce. A timeless set of mini-operas about wanting to bust out and make it big.

Jellyfish: Bellybutton / Spilt Milk
I lump these 2 together, since both are equally fantastic. If you can picture The Beach Boys and Queen thrown in a blender, you get a good approximation of the Jellyfish sound. Unfortunately, the band imploded after releasing these 2 albums, but a lot of modern bands now list Jellyfish among their influences.

Dire Straits: Dire Straits
The record that introduced the world to Mark Knopfler. Strangely enough, Sultans of Swing is probably my least favorite track here. It’s the bluesy stuff like Six Blade Knife, Water of Love and Wild West End that I go back to time after time.

Brian Wilson: Smile
Smile was going to be the Beach Boys follow-up to Pet Sounds back in the 1960s. After it was nearly finished, the entire project was abandoned due to various reasons, including drug use and less than enthusiastic support from the band. Brian Wilson never recovered from this, and basically went insane. Nearly 35 years later, Brian decided to go back and finish the album, filling-in the missing pieces and completely re-recording it with his new band. An incredible piece of work, rescued from the trash heap of history.

The Beach Boys: Pet Sounds
After Brian Wilson quit touring with the Beach Boys, he had more time for writing and producing. Pet Sounds is an extremely intimate window into Brian’s state of mind at the time, and is one of the most deeply personal records ever made. It signaled a move away from the sun & fun tunes the Beach Boys had been riding on for years.

The Beatles: Revolver
I could probably list every Beatles album here, but thought it best to try and include only my favorite one in this list. While most attention usually gets focused on Sgt. Pepper, I think Revolver is a much better picture of the Beatles at the top of their game. Here you get the feeling they’re still working together as a cohesive unit, unlike their later records. Revolver ends with the fantastically trippy Tomorrow Never Knows, with John Lennon singing lyrics from the Tibetan Book of the Dead. It makes me sad to think popular music has gone from this to American Idol.

Crowded House: Temple of Low Men
This is the follow-up to their ultra-poppy debut album. This time out, the lyrics are darker, the arrangements more sophisticated, and the whole thing feels more mature and melancholy. Neil Finn’s writing here is inspired. The best track, Love This Life, contains one of my all-time favorite lyrics:
“There’s something that you can do
Even if you think that I hate you
Stop your complaining leave me defenseless
When you love this life
Gotta love this life”

Oasis: (What’s the Story) Morning Glory
Brit-pop at its cocky best. Champange Supernova rockets off into the stratosphere.

Cherry Twister: At Home With Cherry Twister
A pure pop record with solid songwriting, unforgettable hooks, and tight vocal harmonies.

Bruce Springsteen: Born in the USA
Another Bruce classic. This one got me through my mid-20s.

Hootie and the Blowfish: Cracked Rear View
Even though they’re still around, Hootie was really a one-hit wonder. What a hit it was, though. The band had evidently collected the best songs they would ever write and included them on this debut release. Unfortunately, since it became such a phenomenal best-seller, the inevitable backlash came, they rushed-out a half-baked follow-up, and gradually faded from view. If you strip away all the hype and the “uncool” factor, Cracked Rear View is a record that still stands up IMHO.

The Posies: Dear 23
Flawless psychedelic power-pop. While the Posies would release other records, none of them ever approached the heights of this first release. Think Cheap Trick with more introspective lyrics.

Fountains of Wayne: Utopia Parkway
Pure pop perfection.

Crash Test Dummies: God Shuffled His Feet
I was never much of a fan of the Crash Test Dummies, but I think something about Jerry Harrison’s (Talking Heads) production elevates this record to another level. The lyrics are a strange mixture of body parts, cavemen, ducks and psychics, but somehow it all works. I can’t really explain it, but I like it.

Darden Smith: Little Victories
Light, breezy songs about life’s ups and downs, and having an appreciation for what you’ve got.

Crowded House: Woodface
More great songwriting from Neil Finn, with his brother Tim also on board for this one. Catchy melodies with melancholy undertones permeate the record. She Goes On is a moving tribute to a departed loved one, and Four Seasons in One Day is a look at how relationships can crumble in an instant. Music that sticks with you.

New Radicals: Maybe You’ve Been Brainwashed Too
Another one-hit wonder, this is a feisty mixture of pop, punk, funk, and whatever else you can think of. Gregg Alexander (writer/singer/producer) got tired of the whole promotional merry-go-round during the subsequent tour, and disbanded the group. He went on to write The Game of Love single for Santana and Michelle Branch.

Pete Yorn: musicforthemorningafter
A slacker-rock masterpiece. While it can be hard to relate to the obscure lyrics, the music here is original, and Pete’s voice fits the material perfectly. His follow-ups haven’t approached the heights of this debut.

Cheap Trick: One On One
I have a confession to make. Cheap Trick is my all-time favorite band. Sure, they’ve released a few clunckers here and there (The Doctor, Next Position Please), but when they’re on their game (and have the right producer), there’s no better band for my money. I picked One on One because it simply rocks from start to finish. This is just good old-fashioned power pop about girls, raising hell and robots(?).

The Decemberists: Picaresque
A very theatrical record. Many songs here would not seem out of place in a movie soundtrack. From bombastic to intimate, there are many memorable songs here, my favorite being The Engine Driver.

The Outfield: Play Deep
Best drum sound of any rock album I’ve heard. Your Love is one of the great singles of all time- sounds great cranked up with the windows down on a hot summer night.

XTC: Skylarking
The perfect soundtrack to a summer day. Starts off bright and cheery, but makes a transformation to dark and foreboding as it progresses to the end. Great songwriting throughout.

Wilco: Summerteeth
This is Wilco before they slid into their “experimental” period. I’ve tried to get into their newer stuff like Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, but it just sounds like self-indulgent noise to me. Summerteeth is enjoyable for its catchy melodies and pop vibe- something Wilco abandoned with its subsequent releases.

The La’s: The La’s
A one-hit wonder if there ever was one. This is classic, stripped-down, Beatles-type pop, and done very well. It contains the original version of There She Goes, which has been covered many times by other artists. For reasons unbeknown to me, the La’s never released another record after this debut.

The Autumn Leaves: Treats & Treasures
Another overlooked gem, this is all poppy, jangly guitars, and great vocal harmonies. Very reminiscent of a 1960s psychedelic pop record, only with better production values. Their follow-up to this record was a major disappointment and sounds like a completely different band.

The Replacements: All Shook Down
Hard-core Replacements fans will probably flame me for this, but I love All Shook Down. Originally conceived as a Paul Westerberg solo album, the guys got together one last time for this release. It’s a much quieter, toned-down affair from the earlier raucous Replacements releases, but I think it works tremendously. Most of the screaming electric guitars are gone in favor of a stripped-down acoustic sound with a great beat.

Electric Light Orchestra (ELO): Out of the Blue
A guilty pleasure. They just don’t make records like this anymore. This one’s for you, El Carlo.

The Smithereens: Green Thoughts
Filled with Beatles-type riffs, this is a very melodic record considering its harder-edged nature.

R.E.M.: Out of Time
Shiny, poppy tunes on the surface, but dark lyrics underneath.

Beck: Sea Change
This is not your typical Beck record. This one sets a somber tone of sadness and despair right from the start, and never lets up. This is Beck’s “break-up” album.

Barenaked Ladies: Stunt
This is BNL at their poppy best. Filled-with fun, catchy sing-alongs (and a couple ballads), there isn’t a bad song in the bunch. Great lyric:
“I love you more
than I did the week before
I discovered alcohol”

AC/DC: Back in Black
Most bands that lose their lead singer close-up shop or fade away into oblivion. What did AC/DC do when Bon Scott died? They produced what is arguably the best hard rock album of all time. Kicking ass from start to finish, this is the ultimate tribute to their former mate.

The Honeydogs: 10,000 Years
I didn’t see this one coming. The Honeydogs were just a local band pumping out the occasional radio-friendly pop tune. 10,000 Years came along and caught me totally off guard. This is a massively ambitious concept album with complex songs and production that I had no idea the Honeydogs were capable of. This is a beautiful, sweeping piece of work that seems to have been criminally overlooked.

Sarah Brightman: Dive
This was Brightman’s first foray into popular music after her operatic career with Andrew Lloyd Webber. It’s a concept album about the sea, but that doesn’t get in the way of some great songs. Her spectacular voice takes even the average song and propels it to another level.

William Shatner: Has Been
No, I’m not kidding. Really. Seriously. I gave this a listen, expecting to get a few yucks then chuck it in the trash. A funny thing happened along the way- I was hooked from the first listen. This is a personal, sincere collection of songs that, when combined with Ben Folds’ perfect arrangements, draw you in in such a way that you forget this is the same guy who recorded the ever-mocked The Transformed Man. This is an emotional trip through one person’s life, from anger to humor, from longing to desperation; it’s all here, and then some. Seriously.

Midnight Oil: Blue Sky Mining
The best description I’ve heard of this record is that it’s their Joshua Tree. Environmentally conscious lyrics overlay some more mid-tempo, slow-burn numbers than in their earlier releases. I don’t pretend to understand all the Australian politics, but you don’t have to in order to enjoy it.

The Apples In Stereo: Tone Soul Evolution
Another pop affair, with witty lyrics and memorable hooks.

The New Pornographers: Twin Cinema
Driving guitars chug like engines through the best numbers here. Hooks galore, with tight vocal harmonies. Their follow-up, Challengers, was a big disappointment considering the potential on display here.

David Gray: White Ladder
A lot of songs I can relate to here. We’ll leave it at that.

Coldplay: A Rush of Blood to the Head
This is my favorite Coldplay record, partially because of the songs, and partially because it’s the last thing they released before they became huge. Beautiful, personal songs that sound natural and unforced, unlike on their follow-up, X&Y.

XTC: Oranges and Lemons / Nonsuch
I’m lumping a couple of my other favorite XTC albums together here. Andy Partridge’s songwriting is intelligent, witty, funny, dry, and just about any other positive adjective you can think of. From jangly, sing-alongs to thoughtful ballads, there aren’t any other bands who can work this territory the way XTC does. A feast for the senses.

Pink Floyd: The Wall
I was in high school when this was released, and could immediately relate to the theme of isolation that runs throughout. I still do. David Gilmour’s unique guitar work here is phenomenal.

John Hiatt: Slow Turning / Walk On
A couple of my favorite releases from Mr. Hiatt. A gifted songwriter with an unmistakable voice, he spits out the great tunes here like its second nature for him. Most of these songs are personal looks at relationships and finding your way in the world.