I was looking at Noah Bertlasky’s book about the best ever (that is, it hasn’t been released yet, but I’ve looked at a couple of the things that will be included when it’s released in a couple of days), and while falling asleep yesterday, I thought “I wonder what my list would look like”…
So I spent half an hour compiling this. I’ve got data on what albums I love already, so it was just a matter of whittling the list down.
Here’s my random rules: 1) Not more than one album per band. 2) These have to be albums that I really love, not just stuff I think is cool. 3) Not more than 100 albums.
So I totally failed 3), because my brains just started hurting too much when I had whittled it down to 160, and by 150 I gave up. So it’s 150 instead.
Enjoy. And make your own list, too. If you’re into that sort of thing.
1968Alice ColtraneA Monastic Trio
1969Fairport ConventionUnhalfbricking
1970Vashti BunyanJust Another Diamond Day
1972Lal & Mike WatersonBright Phoebus
1975Joni MitchellThe Hissing Of Summer Lawns
1977David BowieLow
1980David Byrne and Brian EnoMy Life In The Bush Of Ghosts
1980Grace JonesWarm Leatherette
1980Joe JacksonBeat Crazy
1980Joy DivisionCloser
1980Peter GabrielPeter Gabriel 3
1980Talking HeadsRemain In Light
1980The ClashSandinista!
1981Deutsch Amerikanische FreundschaftAlles Ist Gut)
1981JapanTin Drum
1981King CrimsonDiscipline
1981KraftwerkComputer World)
1981The CureFaith
1981Tom Tom ClubTom Tom Club
1981VariousThe Fruit of the Original Sin
1981Yukihiro TakahashiNeuromantic)
1982EurythmicsSweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)
1982Kate BushThe Dreaming
1982New MusikWarp
1983Kissing the PinkNaked
1983New OrderPower, Corruption & Lies
1983Zazou, Bikaye & Cy1Noir et Blanc
1984Blaine L. ReiningerNight Air
1984Cocteau TwinsTreasure
1984The SmithsHatful Of Hollow
1985ColourboxColourbox
1985Hector ZazouReivax au Congo
1985PhrancFolksinger
1985PropagandaA Secret Wish
1985Winston TongTheoretically Chinese
1986The Wolfgang PressStanding Up Straight
1986This Mortal CoilFiligree & Shadow
1986TuxedomoonShip Of Fools
1987Bel KantoWhite-out conditions
1987Chris & CoseyExotika
1987David SylvianSecrets of the Beehive
1987Pieter Nooten & Michael BrookSleeps With The Fishes
1987Sussan Deyhim & Richard HorowitzDesert Equations: Azax Attra
1987VariousLonely is an Eyesore
1988Pet Shop BoysIntrospective
1988Throwing MusesHouse Tornado
1989Jane SiberryBound By The Beauty
1989Pink IndustryRetrospective
1989The ResidentsThe King and Eye
1990Cabaret VoltaireGroovy, Laidback and Nasty
1990CoilLove’s Secret Domain
1990Dead Can DanceAion
1990Kitchens of DistinctionStrange Free World
1990Meat Beat Manifesto99%)
1990MinistryIn Case You Didn’t Feel Like Showing Up (LIVE)
1990The BreedersPod
1990Two Nice GirlsLike A Version
1991ESGESG
1991Heidi BerryLove
1991His Name Is AliveHome is in Your Head
1992ConsolidatedPlay More Music
1992Red House PaintersDown Colorful Hill
1992Skinny PuppyLast Rights
1992Suzanne Vega99.9 F°
1993BjörkDebut
1993Leslie WinerWitch
1994Bark PsychosisHex
1994Laurie AndersonBright Red – Tightrope
1994PortisheadDummy
1994Stina NordenstamAnd She Closed Her Eyes
1995Black Dog ProductionsBytes
1995LiquoriceListening Cap
1995MobyEverything Is Wrong
1995TarnationGentle Creatures
1995Yoko Ono & IMARising
1996Bob HundOmslag: Martin Kann
1996Oval94diskont
1996Team DreschCaptain My Captain
1996TortoiseMillions Now Living Will Never Die
1997Liquid LiquidSuccessive Reflexes
1997Robert WyattShleep
1997Stephan MathieuWurmloch Variationen
1997StereolabDots and Loops
1998Antony and the JohnsonsAntony and the Johnsons
1998MimiSoak
1998MolokoI Am Not A Doctor
1998Vinicius CantuáriaTucumã)
1999Arto LindsayPrize
1999Everything But The GirlTemperamental
2000Barbara MorgensternFjorden
2000David GrubbsThe Spectrum Between
2000EnsembleSketch Proposals
2000Jim BlackAlasnoaxis
2000Juana MolinaSegundo
2000Kid606Ruin It, Ruin Them, Ruin Yourself, Then Ruin Me
2000Sidsel EndresenUndertow
2001HerbertBodily Functions
2001HoodCold House)
2001Jenny ToomeyAntidote
2001Missy “Misdemeanor” ElliottMiss E …So Addictive)
2001Soft CellThe Twelve Inch Singles
2001VariousDisco Not Disco
2001VariousFreakbitchlickfly
2002DJ RuptureGold Teeth Thief
2002Max TundraMastered By Guy At The Exchange
2002MolokoStatues
2002Nobukazu Takemura10th
2002PeachesThe Teaches of Peaches
2002Rhythm King And Her FriendsRhythm King And Her Friends
2002The NotwistNeon Golden
2002Tujiko NorikoMake me Hard
2003Cat PowerYou Are Free
2003Dizzee RascalBoy In Da Corner
2003Other People’s ChildrenDelete.Control.Escape: The Selective Memory of OPC 2000-2003
2003VariousCrammed Global Soundclash 1980-89, Part One: World Fusion
2003Xiu XiuA Promise
2004Arthur RussellCalling Out of Context
2004ElectrelaneThe Power Out
2005CocoRosieNoah’s Ark
2005Gang Gang DanceGod’s Monkey)
2005LCD SoundsystemLCD Soundsystem
2005Róisin MurphyRuby Blue
2006James FigurineMistake Mistake Mistake Mistake
2006The KnifeSilent Shout
2007Boris with Michio KuriharaRainbow
2007Hans AppelqvistSifantin och mörkret
2007Tracey ThornOut Of The Woods
2008Laura JeanEden Land
2008Sam AmidonAll Is Well
2009CirclesquareSongs About Dancing And Drugs
2010ClogsThe Creatures in the Garden of Lady Walton
2010Wildbirds & PeacedrumsIris
2011Ford & LopatinChannel Pressure)
2011MachinedrumRoom(s)
2011Macintosh PlusFloral Shoppe
2011MenTalk About Body
2011TelebossaTelebossa
2012DeerhoofBreakup Song
2012Django DjangoDjango Django
2012Janka Nabay & The Bubu GangEn yah say
2012LeilaU&I
2012Maria & The MirrorsGemini Enjoy My Life
2012Neneh Cherry & The ThingThe Cherry Thing
2016AnohniHopelessness
2017DeathcrushThe Single Series
2017Jung BodyReal Eternal Bliss
2017Sudan ArchivesSudan Archives
2017Zola JesusOkovi
2019Kokoko!Fongola
2019Trash KitHorizon
This made me realise that I had missed an awful lot of music, as I had not heard of most on this list. However, your reference to Liquid Liquid in this blog, and then to Richard McGuire’s “Here” in your blog PX88: Bad News #3 had an amazing propinquity. Turns out that McGuire provided that groundbreaking bass on Liquid Liquid’s “Cavern” and that this led to the legal battle when Melle Mel’s “White Lines” totally ripped off the entire track which began the world’s first “Sampling Law” battle. Which resulted in the bankruptcies of both Sugarhill and 99 Records with no payout of the resultant quarter million dollars damages. All of this fascinating history is beautifully explained in the comments on Terry Tolkin’s Youtube “Cavern” video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IL45YOtbuy0
Heh, using Youtube as a blogging site… Yeah, Cavern is an amazing track, and it’s fun that McGuire is responsible for both that and Here. And I guess the moral of the 99 Records story is: Don’t sue other musicians.