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Several weeks ago I decided to buy a 'classic' album every fortnight*

 

I've been looking at various 'best ever albums' pages online for ideas.

 

So far I've bought (on CD, obviously, since the sound quality is far superior to vinyl) Funeral by Arcade Fire, Daydream Nation by Sonic Youth, and Dummy by Portishead. The first two are superb. The third should arrive sometime next week.

 

What are some 'classic' or 'essential' albums that you own?

 

 

*two weeks

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Some faves, off the top of my head:

 

Are You Experienced - Jimi Hendrix

In a Silent Way - Miles Davis

Brandenburg Concertos - J. S. Bach

Symphony No. 3 in E Flat Major - Beethoven

Systems of Romance - Ultravox

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Bitches Brew - Miles Davis

 

Miles of Aisles - Joni Mitchell

 

The Band - The Band (the "Brown Album")

 

The Four Seasons - Vivaldi

 

The Rite of Spring - Stravinsky

 

Live At The Fillmore - Allman Brothers Band

 

El Rayo X - David Lindley

 

All outstanding, in their own unique way.

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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'Dummy' is so awesome.

 

Also in that direction:

Massive Attack - 'Protection' (not 'No Protection', which is Mad Professor"s dub remix)

Björk - 'Post'

Massive Attack - 'Mezzanine'

Björk - 'Homogenic'

"The Angels of Libra are in the European vanguard of the [retro soul] movement" (Bill Buckley, Soul and Jazz and Funk)

The Drawbars | off jazz organ trio

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Some of my favorites that I decided to collect again. Much of this is the music I grew up on which is a major factor when deciding what to collect.

 

Santana (the original lion head album)

 

I Robot - Allen Parson's Project

 

Steppenwolf - Live

 

Led Zeppelin - I

 

Journey - Infinity

 

Toto (1978)

 

Chicago II

 

Fleetwood Mac

 

Thelonious Monk - The Memorial Album

This post edited for speling.

My Sweetwater Gear Exchange Page

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Goodbye Yellow Brick Road - Elton

 

It holds up so well.

 

Hounds of Love - Kate Bush

Gist of the Gemini - Gino Vannelli

Cupid and Psyche - Scritti Politti

Apostrophe - Frank Zappa

Rapture - Anita Baker

Staring at the Sun - Level 42

The fact there's a Highway To Hell and only a Stairway To Heaven says a lot about anticipated traffic numbers

 

People only say "It's a free country" when they're doing something shitty-Demetri Martin

 

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Jazz Samba - Stan Getz / Charlie Bird

Jazz Samba Encore - Stan Getz / Luis Bonfa

also Focus, Soul Eyes, The Dolphin, & Pure Getz - Stan Getz

The Yes Album, Close To The Edge and Fragile - Yes

Aqualung - Jethro Tull

The Baddest Turrentine - Stanley Turrentine

Stolen Moments and Bop For Kerouac - Mark Murphy

Live at the Apollo 1962 - James Brown

Dark Side Of The Moon - Pink Floyd

Zeppelin 1, 2, 3 & 4

Abbey Road (side 2) - Beatles

Time Out - Dave Brubeck Quartet

Ruby - Gato Barbieri

Vanilla Fudge (first album)

The Cat - Jimmy Smith

In The Court Of The Crimson King - King Crimson

Hollywood Madness - Richie Cole

The Hottest New Group In Jazz - Lambert, Hendricks & Ross

Extensions - Manhattan Transfer

Dvorak Symphonies 7, 8, & 9 - Cleveland Orchestra / Dohnanyi

Beethoven Symphonies 4 & 7 - Cleveland Orchestra / Szell

Arabian Nights - Fikret Amirov (various composers and orchestras

Asrael Symphony - Josef Suk - Czech Philharmonic / Belohlavek

Dorati Conducts Tchaikovsky Antal Dorati (Romeo & Juliet, The Tempest, Marche Slave, Cappricio Italian and plenty of other)

Tchaikovsky Symphonies 3, 4 & 6 / Shastakovitch symphonies 4, 7, 9 / Khachaturian Symphonies 1 & 2 (various orchestras and conductors)

 

I could go on. Much of the most complex symphonies and orchestral works keep my interest over and over and over again as long as they combine that with music.that appeals to me.

 

As my tastes evolve, I find myself listening to more and more symphonic works, especially from the Romantic period to the Contemporary and heavily weighted to the Eastern Europeans and Russians. The music is not only interesting and exciting, but it is impossible for me to memorize every note and every nuance from every instrument, so even after hundreds of listenings I can still find something new.

 

For example. I played Dvorak's 9 in concert band, and have owned 4 different versions, one on LP and 3 on CD until I found one interpretation that I really liked. I have listened to it in concert dozens of times by touring orchestras and on recording hundreds of times. One day I'm listening and in the fourth movement there is a short segment where he plays 2 bars from the main theme of the 3rd movement mashed up with 2 bars of the main theme of the 4th movement. Then one day I realized he also played 4 notes from the main theme of the 1st movement in the bass line and a fragment of the main theme of the 2nd movement as countermelody. After hundreds of listenings, a pop/jazz/rock or any other genre of music has never done that to me. I'm sure more discoveries will be in my future.

 

Notes

Bob "Notes" Norton

Owner, Norton Music http://www.nortonmusic.com

Style and Fake disks for Band-in-a-Box

The Sophisticats http://www.s-cats.com >^. .^< >^. .^<

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I listen to so many genres....here's my classic 10 from memory from electronic music FWIW:

 

Global Communication 76:14

Aphex Twin Selected Ambient Works 85-92

Underworld Second Toughest In The Infants

Steve Roach Structures From Silence

Oneohtrix Point Never Replica

Meat Beat Manifesto Actual Sounds and Voices

Orbital Snivilisation

Brian Eno Nerve Net

The Orb The Dream

Terry Riley A Rainbow in Curved Air

 

And some million honorable mentions one of which is Gui Borrato Chromophobia

 

Some of the top-regarded classic electronic artists I just have never warmed to: Daft Punk, Boards of Canada, Burial, Squarepusher, Gas, Deadmau5, B.T., Caribou. I must be deficient in some gene or other. And almost all rave and italo disco and drum 'n bass and hardcore, etc, etc, leave me pretty numb.

 

nat

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The Who - Whos Next

 

Root Boy Slim and the Sex Change Band - Zoom

 

Taj Mahal - Giant Step and De Ol' Folks At Home (douible album)

 

Joni Mitchell - Blue, Court and Spark, Don Juan's Reckless Daughter

 

Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong - Duets (both albums)

 

David Bowie - Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars, Scary Monsters

 

Duke Ellington and His All Star Band Live (1962)

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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The Rolling Stones - Exile on Main Street

 

Big Brother and The Holding Company (featuring Janis Joplin) - Cheap Thrills

 

Various Artists- Motown Classic Gold

 

Thelonious Monk - Brilliant Corners

 

Miles Davis - Kind Of Blue

 

Sun Ra - It's After the End of the World

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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And, some classic country albums.

 

Marty Robbins - Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs

 

Roger Miller - Best of Roger Miller: His Greatest Songs

 

Emmylou Harris - Quartermoon in a Ten Cent Town

 

Linda Ronstadt - Heart Like a Wheel

 

Trio (Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt and Dolly Parton) - The Complete Trio Collection

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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