Without a great deal of commentary, here are my Top 10 favorite albums (as of today . . . )
But first some honorable mentions:
- Billy Joel - Piano Man (1973)
- Elton John - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1973)
- Blood, Sweat & Tears (1968)
- Three Dog Night - Around The World (1973)
- Van Morrison - Astral Weeks (1968)
- Doobie Brothers - The Captain and Me' (1973)
10) Boston (1976) Debut album - technological and musical marvel. Groundbreaking.
9) Beach Boys - Pet Sounds (1966) The Beach Boys eleventh album and by all accounts their greatest masterpiece. Vocal harmonies that sound like they were created in the realms of the heavenlies.
8) Joni Mitchell - Court and Spark (1974) Her sixth studio album and her first combining her folk style with jazz elements. Simply stupendous.
7) John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman (1963) This breakthrough album combined two of the giants of jazz and big band vocals. It was rumoured that all of the tracks of this record were recorded in the first take except for the first song when the drummer dropped his drumsticks during the recording. Amazing.
6) Fleetwood Mac - Rumours (1977) The band's eleventh album, recorded in the midst of personal relationship storms combined with drug use that resulted in a burst of unmeasured creativity. And chaos that still reigns over forty years later . . .
5) Peter Gabriel - So (1986) This is the fifth solo album from the former Genesis singer and is considered his best and most accessible album of his career. The production quality combined with the creative use of synths and drums is breathtaking and unique arrangements make this a stellar album.
4) Chicago IX - Greatest Hits (1975) This album contained hits ranging from their debut album in 1969 to Chicago VII. Includes classic cuts such as Saturday In The Park, 25 or 6 to 4, Make Me Smile, the list goes on and on.
3) Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon (1973) This album which defies simple labeling, was one of the primary soundtracks of my high school years. It was played on my 8-track player on two trips out west, providing respite from the drudgery of the midwest highways. Groundbreaking songs, vision, arrangement, produced by Alan Parson, engineering genius.
2) Genesis - Duke (1980) This is the tenth album of these progressive rock giants, and the second after the departure of Peter Gabriel. Figuring into this recording was Phil Collins emergence as a solo writer which would culminate in the release of his debut album, "Face Value (1981)". Duke was my first entry into the world of Genesis but after wearing out that album I was hooked. Interesting note, Collins monster hit off his debut album, "In the Air Tonight" was offered first to the band Genesis to use for Duke but Tony Banks didn't think it fit with the mood of the existing songs. Can you imagine Duke's impact as an album with that song as part of its tracks?
1) Steely Dan - Aja (1977) The sixth studio album and a magnum opus in musical quality and recording. This is the album that I have never tired of, even after a steady diet of listening that exceeds over forty plus years! This is the "desert island" album that if I could only listen to one album for the rest of my life, it would be this one. This album marked a change in Steely Dan's sound, incorporating more of a jazz fusion type feel instead of the rock style from their previous five albums. The song writing was never predictable, the musicianship never grows old, and the songwriting and production are the gold standard, in my opinion, for all recordings.
