Some albums that verge on perfection. For me, that means that every track (except for maybe one) adds to the album and fits in with the overall theme.
These (in no particular order) are my Top 10 Perfect Albums. I’d love to know yours.
The Joshua Tree - U2
Side one starts with maybe the best opening song of any album ever: “Where the Streets Have No Name.” Side two starts with “Red Hill Mining Town,” another banger. I can’t think of one song I’d remove from this LP.Swamp Ophelia - Indigo Girls
During my senior year in college, I had one class a day at 8 a.m. When I got back to my dorm, I’d put this album on and gradually fall asleep. It’s absolutely perfect, even though you probably never heard one of these songs on the radio.The Bends - Radiohead
What can I say about this album, which was the band’s SECOND album? It’s one of the few albums I listen to every single week. My friend George says, “It’s the Sgt. Peppers of our generation.” I can’t argue with that.Appetite for Destruction - Guns ‘N’ Roses
This was the first vinyl LP I ever bought, and I still own it. The album is pretty much perfect, except for “Anything Goes,” which should’ve been left off. LTF… “November Rain” might have been on this album, if Axl would’ve finished it in time.Abbey Road - The Beatles
Do I really have to say anything about this one?Let It Be - The Beatles
Ditto.Moondance - Van Morrison
This is the perfect album to put on the turntable and just sit back and enjoy. Unfortunately, the only song that doesn’t belong on this album is the title track itself, which feels out of place with the rest of the songs.Siamese Dream - Smashing Pumpkins
Another album with an absolute banger for an opening song. This is one of the true classic LPs of the ‘90s grunge era. Takes me back to my college years every time I hear it.Nothing Left to Lose - Foo Fighters
There’s a reason why this album, the Foo’s third studio release, won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Album in 2001. It has everything from ear-splitting rockers to soothing mellow melodies.Can’t Buy a Thrill - Steely Dan
I’m a huge Steely Dan fan, and this album, their first, is their best, in my humble opinion. That’s why it starts and finishes every one of my Friday Vinyl Nights. You knew right away that this group was going to be special.
So that’s my list. How about you? What are your “perfect” albums? ~
Wanna read more about my thoughts on music?
Check out my book: The Music of My Life: A Personal History
1. Yes - Close to the Edge
2. Elton John - Madman Across the Water
3. Grateful Dead - Workingman’s Dead
4. Genesis - Selling England By the Pound
5. The Beatles - White Album
6. David Bowie - Hunky Dory
7. Weather Report - Mysterious Traveler
8. Steven Wilson - Hand. Cannot. Erase
9. Crack the Sky - Safety in Numbers
10. The Dixie Dregs - Night of the Living Dregs
Chronologically
1. Blind Willie Johnson – ”It's Nobody's Fault but Mine” b/w "Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground"
a. Side B is on the Voyager.
.
2. Various – Alan Lomax’s Southern Journey 1959-1960
a. A true treasure of recordings from a man driven to visit rural America and ask “who is the best musician in your town?”
.
3. Love – Forever Changes
a. 60’s pop orchestral, known as baroque rock, a genre frequently stronger than George Martin.
.
4. Cannonball Adderley – Mercy, Mercy, Mercy
a. First hard bop album I discovered, from dad’s collection, swings hard.
.
5. Leo Kottke – 6 & 12 String Guitar
a. Gateway drug to instrumental acoustic.
.
6. The Stooges – Funhouse
a. It’s not rock if your parents like it.
.
7. Tony Conrad/Faust – Outside the Dream Syndicate
a. The Theatre of Eternal Music became the drone music of the Velvet Underground.
.
8. Dick Gaughan – Handful of Earth
a. Traditional songs with as much political punch as Phil Ochs, fingerpicked in a Martin Carthy style.
.
9. Lou Reed – New York
a. On release the lyrics were added to the NY Times as an editorial.
.
10. Alejandro Escovedo – Gravity
a. Singer/songwriters are a deep interest, and this album hits as hard as it was for Alejandro to make.