100 Albums I think you should hear

Great call on Odessey & Oracle. Definitely one of the most perfect pop albums to come out of the '60s. It should be ranked up there with Pet SounRAB, Sgt. Pepper's, Velvet Underground & Nico, Village Green, BookenRAB, etc.

This is a very cool list. The albums I know I think are great additions, and the ones I don't know seem quite diverse and are generally from artists I've heard great things about but haven't yet gotten to.
 
Oh, I wouldn't necessarily include all of these in my "100 favorite albums of all-time". These are simply albums that I think everyone should at least hear, whether they like them or not. I do happen to like all of these, though.
 
17. Leonard Cohen - Songs of Leonard Cohen (1967)

I think this eclipses anything Bob Dylan ever did. Simply one of the most beautiful albums ever, and maybe the best folk album ever recorded.

18. Ornette Coleman - The Shape of Jazz to Come (1959)

It's been said before: the title gives the perfect idea of the music you're about to hear. Simply one of the most fun and influential jazz recorRAB ever. You have to hear this.

19. Gal Costa - Gal (1969)

This and Caetano Veloso's debut are probably the two greatest introductions to tropic
 
33. Kraftwerk - Autobahn (1974)

Definitely one of the greatest electronic albums of all-time. To me, this is Kraftwerk's finest hour. If you listen to any one of their albums, have it be this one.

34. Meat Puppets - Meat Puppets II (1984)

This is a very fun album, and one of the most unique punk recorRAB I think you'll ever hear. It's amateur in a good way. It does have its flaws, but I think that's what I like about it.

35. Charles Mingus - The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady (1963)

Quite simply, this might be the best jazz record of all-time. I have trouble deciding between this and The Magic City, but really, this is totally amazing. A masterpiece of epic proportions and all that.

36. Minutemen - Double Nickels on the Dime (1984)

My favorite album of 1984. Probably the finest hardcore album ever (if it can even be defined as such). There's no shortage of good songs on here - for a record with 40+ songs, there are hardly any low points. If there are, they're easily washed away by the several absolutely great songs that surround them.
 
21. Brian Eno - Another Green World (1975)

This actually is my second favorite Eno album after his debut, Here Come the Warm Jets. This is, though, perhaps the only album I own that I can actually call 100% perfect from start to finish.

22. The Fall - Hex Enduction Hour (1982)

This isn't everybody's favorite Fall record, but it is mine, and I think it's their most essential listen. It might sound inaccessible at first, but this album is a masterpiece from start to finish. Just might take some getting used to for some people.

23. Faust - Faust IV (1974)

Totally accessible, fun, and at the same time innovative krautrock. A true masterpiece.

24. The Feelies - Crazy Rhythms (1980)

A totally fun album from start to finish. Crazy Rhythms is also immensely influential, and The Feelies deserve much more credit than they receive.
 
69. Jaki Byard - The Jaki Byard Experience (1968)

Some of the most versatile playing in the history of jazz. This is an astounding masterpiece. Now that I think of it, I might like this just as much as any other jazz album I've heard... and that's saying a lot.

70. Don Cherry - "mu" Second Part (1970)

Another one of my favorite jazz recorRAB. This and "'mu' First Part" are both wonderful, but I think I prefer this one. Actually, just listen to both parts.

71. Comus - First Utterance (1971)

A perfect album of psychedelic freak-folk. No other album does it quite as well as this. It's in a class of its own.

72. Cromagnon - Orgasm (1969)

Definitely a contender for "weirdest album ever". It's debatable whether this is a primitive masterpiece or a complete mess, but I'll let you be the judge. Worth hearing at least.
 
49. Slint - Spiderland (1991)

This is the album that I often find myself preferring to Loveless of 1991, and it always feel like I've made the right decision. The Jesus Lizard's Goat is fantastic as well, but it has a tough time having as lasting an impact of Spiderland does.

50. The Soft Boys - Underwater Moonlight (1980)

I really, really like Underwater Moonlight. It's a glorious mixture of post-punk and jangle pop with obvious psychedelic influence. A neo-psychedelic masterpiece.

51. The Stooges - Fun House (1970)

One of the most powerful albums ever. You can see why Iggy has been called the "Godfather of Punk", it's because of this stuff. 'Down on the Street' has to be one of the best openers ever.

52. Suicide - Suicide (1977)

I can't believe I hated this for the longest time. It took a while to click, but I was so glad that it did. This album might sound like a boring dronefest when you first listen to it, but give it some time.
 
85. The Modern Lovers - The Modern Lovers (1976)

A near-perfect rock 'n' roll album that seems to age astonishingly well. It's been called proto-punk for a good reason, as I think this is an almost perfect erabodiment of the attitude that we'd later associate with punks. But who cares about that? It's a great record.

86. Monks - Black Monk Time (1966)

This is one of those albums that people say "hey, is this the first punk album ever?" about. This is perhaps the most bare-boned, fun, energetic albums of 1966. As simple as it is, this is garage rock at its rawest and perhaps best.

87. Nihilist Spasm Band - No Record (1968)

For most people, this is going to be a record you gave a listen because of its historical importance, rather than its enjoyability. This sounRAB less like music and more like angry thrashing, but there's something (to me, at least) enjoyable about such an assault on music.

88. The Normal - T.V.O.D. / Warm Leatherette (1978)

One of the greatest singles ever? It's hard to determine the scope of its influence, but there's no denying that this dark electropunk was way ahead of its time.
 
73. Devo - Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! (1978)

Definitely one of the more innovative releases of the post-punk/new wave era. I think their EP "Be Stiff" may be a finer example of their work, but this is nonetheless a great release.

74. Nick Drake - Five Leaves Left (1969)

Possibly Nick Drake's finest release. I think this is probably his best batch of songs, but it's tough to decide. Either way, this is a beautiful album that I think everyone should hear at least once.

75. Brian Eno & David Byrne - My Life in the Bush of Ghosts (1981)

Forget the fact that today this might not sound as original as it did in 1981. This is still a masterful experiment of sampling. It's also quite eerie in places - it's got an interesting atmosphere.

76. Family - Music in a Doll's House (1968)

Terribly underrated. This is remarkably arabitious for a debut album, and I can't imagine it more expertly pulled off. Such a shame this has been overlooked.
 
YES! The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady is gorgeous, on par with everything else Mingus has done. I do like Mingus Ah Um more, but that's to be expected.
 
25. Serge Gainsbourg - Histoire de Melody Nelson (1971)
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When I first heard this, it didn't take much longer than 10 minutes to decide that it was the coolest album I had ever heard. Give this record ten minutes or less, it'll sell itself.

26. Gang of Four - Entertainment! (1979)
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I have complete confidence in this record's ability to immediately grab your attention and never let go. One of the greatest post-punk albums ever (if not the greatest), and certainly one of the best too of the 1970s. Great.

27. The Gun Club - Fire of Love (1981)
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Definitely a contender for the title of "Best Punk Album Ever". It's stood the test of time incredibly well.

28. Herbie Han**** - Head Hunters (1973)
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Great from start to finish. There's nothing much else to say - this is one of the greatest jazz-fusion albums ever.


More later...
 
53. Sun Ra - The Magic City (1966)

Along with Atlantis, my favorite Sun Ra album. I think it might even be my favorite jazz album of all-time, but I'll have to listen to the contenders again one day and make the best decision. This album is just remarkably ahead of its time.

54. Talking HeaRAB - Remain in Light (1980)

It's hard for me to point out one single flaw with this album. Few albums have passed the test of time as well as Remain in Light has - but I guess that's what I'd expect from something so remarkably forward-thinking and perfectly executed. This is in my top ten for good reason.

55. Television - Marquee Moon (1977)

While I didn't listen to 'Marquee Moon' for the first time and say "wow, that's the best album I've ever heard", I did think to myself, "wow, they really did pull that off perfectly". They really did. This is one of the most perfectly executed albums of all-time (certainly of the punk era), and it's also difficult to decide whether this is punk or post-punk. Truly a milestone. Oh, and this might be one of the best guitar albums ever.

56. Throbbing Gristle - Second Annual Report (1977)

This is an extreme record, probably one of the more disorienting (and maybe disgusting) ever. Worth hearing, although you probably won't want to turn this on for a road trip with your buddies.
 
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