NSC's 100 essential albums

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Trufflehound

Re-enfranchised
Aug 5, 2003
14,111
The democratic and free EU
The The - Dusk.

I have listened to this album a million times.

Marillion - Misplaced Childhood

I have listened to this one 2 million times

I make that just shy of 235 years total, using wiki's album lengths of 41'02 and 41'16 respectively. That's excluding bog breaks and assuming you restart the instant the previous play has finished.
 




Seagull58

In the Algarve
Jan 31, 2012
7,514
Vilamoura, Portugal
Ziggy Stardust beats Low?

In your dreams fellas. Bowie by 1976 hated the Ziggy/Alladin phase, the screaming girls and glam copyists. he took on the image of the nazi/occultist Thin White Duke, moved to LA and had a serious cocaine problem, he couldn't remember recording Station to Station, his postcard from a coke-induced plastic California. He moved back to Europe, worked with Brian Eno, dropped the silly stage personas and effectively grew up. The result was 'Low', a gothic, truly original masterpiece.

Any Bowie geek (like me) will agree, Ziggy was a good album, but it has aged poorly, and is really showing it's age now - as is the character 'Ziggy Stardust' himself. But it has nothing on Low, it doesn't even get near Hunky Dory or Station to Station. Low is timeless, and the cover (a still from The Man Who Fell To Earth) is one of the most iconic images in popular music. It launched the 'wedge' haircut, and coincided with the end of donkey jackets, flares, and big sideburns among the youth of our big cities. The casuals/scallies took it on and the rest is history.

Low isn't just a music album, it's a watershed in the history of popular culture.

He was still on coke living in Berlin when he made Low, which isn't a patch on Ziggy Stardust. Just because he grew to detest the glam persona doesn't negate the quality of the music.
 


Icy Gull

Back on the rollercoaster
Jul 5, 2003
72,015
I can't believe people would mention "The Wall". Some class tracks, yes, but some naff ones too - as an ablum as a whole, I wouldn't include it, personally.

I'm with you 100%. Comfortably Numb apart it does nothing for me. I'd stick Dark Side, Wish You Were Here, Atom Heart Mother and Meddle way in front of the Wall personally
 


Seagull58

In the Algarve
Jan 31, 2012
7,514
Vilamoura, Portugal
IM going to take three of your nominations and ask for supporting opinions, so folks do these deserve a place

Bob Marley Exodus
Primal Scream Screamadelica
The Clash London Calling

No to all three. None are strong enough.
Maybe Bob Marley and the Wailers Live.
Deifinitely The Clash Give 'em enough Rope. Much much better than London Calling
 
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unklbrian

New member
Feb 4, 2012
190
Nice to see Marvin, Stevie & Bob on list already ,
If I may put forward 2 albums that were massively influential in the late 60's

This Is Sue - Sue/Island label sampler [right at the cusp of 'northern soul']
Tighten Up Vol2 - Trojan sampler [ opened the door to 'boss reggae']

how many of us in our late 50's had copies of both of them ?
 


Herr Tubthumper

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Jul 11, 2003
60,091
The Fatherland
IM going to take three of your nominations and ask for supporting opinions, so folks do these deserve a place

Bob Marley Exodus
Primal Scream Screamadelica
The Clash London Calling

London Calling does, without a shadow of doubt. A brilliant collection of songs covering all manner of subjects which weld punk, reggae, soul, ska, rockabilly and rock and roll. It's rare for a double album to not feel bloated, this one doesn't. It's solid and consistently good all the way through, and still leaves you wanting more.

Oh, and surely one of the most iconic album covers ever...even though it plagiarises Elvis?
 






Herr Tubthumper

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Jul 11, 2003
60,091
The Fatherland
two albums that are massively influential on modern music
Man Machine - Kraftwerk
Tago Mago - Can

Very very good call. But, was it Man Machine or the slightly earlier Trans-Europe Express which was the more influential? A lot of very early NY hip-hop and electro sampled Trans Europe. That said a hell of a lot of bands owe a debt to Kraftwerk. It is astonishing to think Autobahn came out in '74.
 








Bold Seagull

strong and stable with me, or...
Mar 18, 2010
29,893
Hove
I'm with you 100%. Comfortably Numb apart it does nothing for me. I'd stick Dark Side, Wish You Were Here, Atom Heart Mother and Meddle way in front of the Wall personally

I'd include The Wall, not because of any stand out tracks, but as a narrative album which finishes with the quietly spoken words 'isn't this where......' and starts with '.....we came in' it speaks of so much more than individual tracks on an album. As a complete work it takes you on a journey through life, how experience can manifest itself in various forms later in life. Comfortably Numb isn't the best track on there for me, that's simply Roger Waters allowing Dave Gilmour his moment on the album. The best track is 'Mother', both in a technical sense, and as a wonderful heart felt piece. Noel Gallagher was quoted as saying The Wall is one of 3 of the greatest albums ever made.

Dark Side of the Moon is probably the one to include for an essential album of Pink Floyd, but The Wall was their pinnacle and challenged what they'd become. It was focussed on the music, lyrics and song writing, rather than the recording techniques that mark Dark Side.

I also love Meddle, but I doubt even the Pink Floyd members would include Atom Heart Mother. This really was an experiment, and a challenging listen, especially through someone eating their cornflakes for 10mins. I think you most have tripped over and taken a bang to the head if your sticking AHM before The Wall, I'd have that behind The Final Cut, Saucerful of Secrets and Ummagumma!
 




The Large One

Who's Next?
Jul 7, 2003
52,343
97.2FM
An under-rated gem...

600full-summer-days-%28and-summer-nights!!%29-cover.jpg


which was the prototype that led on to this essential album...

The_Beach_Boys_-_Pet_Sounds.jpg


Critics may argue over the merits of these, but the influence of the latter is well established.
 




Icy Gull

Back on the rollercoaster
Jul 5, 2003
72,015
I also love Meddle, but I doubt even the Pink Floyd members would include Atom Heart Mother. This really was an experiment, and a challenging listen, especially through someone eating their cornflakes for 10mins. I think you most have tripped over and taken a bang to the head if your sticking AHM before The Wall, I'd have that behind The Final Cut, Saucerful of Secrets and Ummagumma!

I actually only listen to the track Atom Heart Mother tbh, and you're right the band weren't that keen on it anyway. I think watching sunsets in sunny climes whe I was young with AHM mother playing in the background may have influenced my love of the track somewhat. The Wall was Roger Waters album, not Pink Floyd imo. I find Waters an arrogant and depressing man, not to diss his music but I find the Wall a very depressing album and I'm not really into listening to more than atrack or two of depressing stuff. Same reason I can't take too much of Laughing Len although I accept his brilliance, which reminds me shouldn't there be a Leonard Cohen album in this top 100 somewhere

I know many people look at the Wall as the pinnacle of Floyd but it was the album that turned me off them :shrug:
 






Herr Tubthumper

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Jul 11, 2003
60,091
The Fatherland




Bold Seagull

strong and stable with me, or...
Mar 18, 2010
29,893
Hove
I actually only listen to the track Atom Heart Mother tbh, and you're right the band weren't that keen on it anyway. I think watching sunsets in sunny climes whe I was young with AHM mother playing in the background may have influenced my love of the track somewhat. The Wall was Roger Waters album, not Pink Floyd imo. I find Waters an arrogant and depressing man, not to diss his music but I find the Wall a very depressing album and I'm not really into listening to more than atrack or two of depressing stuff. Same reason I can't take too much of Laughing Len although I accept his brilliance, which reminds me shouldn't there be a Leonard Cohen album in this top 100 somewhere

I know many people look at the Wall as the pinnacle of Floyd but it was the album that turned me off them :shrug:

Fair enough. I'd suggest you skip The Final Cut then if you though The Wall was depressing, but I love The Final Cut, this was Waters at his very best.

My reading into Waters was that he was incredibly driven, both creatively and to control the output of work. He came to the table with a body of work for The Wall, which post Dark Side and Wish You Were Here, the other members simply didn't have. I'm not sure I look at it as arrogance that he wanted to get on and make another record, and had an amazing concept and a huge portion of it already written. That the others fell out with Waters as he was more controlling, is sometimes seen as Waters arrogance rather than their own insecurities that they simply couldn't write the quality Waters was delivering.

By the time they got to The Final Cut, Waters still had a strong creative direction and prepared music for the album which is clearly an extension of The Wall, again the other members were not bringing anything to the table. Post the break up, he himself has admitted that his own arrogance took all the court cases about the name too far, but the flip side of that is, that he really was the creative drive for most of Pink Floyds work, just because the other members couldn't work with him, he had to go and they keep the name? In some ways you could understand how frustrating that must have been.
 


Bold Seagull

strong and stable with me, or...
Mar 18, 2010
29,893
Hove
The_Beach_Boys_-_Pet_Sounds.jpg


Critics may argue over the merits of these, but the influence of the latter is well established.

I've already suggested Pet Sounds as well. An amazing album. What a shame the legacy of Sloop John B is being destroyed by lazy football fan songsmiths!
 


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