My 100 Favorite Albums

 

Folks,

 

I’ve been meaning to post this for some time. I recently updated the list so now seemed as good a time as any to do a blog re-launch. My goal is to keep my writing honed by posting fairly regularly  so I’m planning on writing a short review of each of the albums on here.

 

These are my 100 favorite albums in chronological order (for the most part). This list can, and should change periodically.

 

Album Name	Artist	Year	Rating
Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely	Frank Sinatra	1958	4
Highway 61 Revisited	Bob Dylan	1965	5
Rubber Soul	The Beatles	1965	4.25
The Exciting Wilson Pickett	Wilson Pickett	1966	4.25
Complete & Unbelievable: The Otis Redding Dictionary of Soul	Otis Redding	1966	4.5
Revolver	The Beatles	1966	4.5
Pet Sounds	The Beach Boys	1966	5
Scott 4	Scott Walker	1969	4
Let it Bleed	Rolling Stones	1969	4
Moondance	Van Morrison	1970	4.75
Roots	Curtis Mayfield	1971	4
Whats Goin' On?	Marvin Gaye	1971	4.5
Harvest	Neil Young	1972	4
Superfly	Curtis Mayfield	1972	5
The Wild, The Innocent and the E Street Shuffle	Bruce Springsteen	1973	4.25
Horses	Patti Smith	1975	4.75
Born to Run	Bruce Springsteen	1975	5
Small Change	Tom Waits	1976	4.75
The Clash (UK)	The Clash	1977	4.75
My Aim is True	Elvis Costello	1977	4.5
This Year's Model	Elvis Costello	1978	5
Darkness on the Edge of Town	Bruce Springsteen	1978	5
Armed Forces	Elvis Costello	1979	4.75
London Calling	The Clash	1979	4.75
The River	Bruce Springsteen	1980	4.5
Big City	Merle Haggard	1981	4.25
Imperial Bedroom	Elvis Costello	1982	4
Combat Rock	The Clash	1982	4.25
Nebraska	Bruce Springsteen	1982	5
Hi, How Are You?	Daniel Johnston	1983	4.5
Murmur	REM	1983	4.5
Swordfishtrombones	Tom Waits	1983	4.75
Born in the USA	Bruce Springsteen	1984	4
Tim	The Replacements	1985	4
Rain Dogs	Tom Waits	1985	5
Life's a Riot with Spy vs Spy	Billy Bragg	1986	4.25
Talking with the Taxman about Poetry	Billy Bragg	1988	4
Pleased to Meet Me	The Replacements	1987	4.25
It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold us Back	Public Enemy	1988	4
Guitar Town	Steve Earle	1988	4.5
Damaged	Black Flag	1990	4.5
Reckoning	REM	1984	4.5
Bandwagonesque	Teenage Fanclub	1991	4
Don't Try This at Home	Billy Bragg	1991	4
Ten	Pearl Jam	1991	4.25
Frenching the Bully	The Gits	1992	4
Life's Rich Pageant	REM	1986	4
VS	Pearl Jam	1993	4.75
Exile in Guyville	Liz Phair	1993	4.5
Illmatic	Nas	1994	4.75
Vitalogy	Pearl Jam	1994	4.75
Bee Thousand	Guided By Voices	1994	5
Alien Lanes	Guided By Voices	1995	4.75
The Ghost of Tom Joad	Bruce Springsteen	1995	4
I Feel Alright	Steve Earle	1996	4.5
Brighten the Corners	Pavement	1997	4.25
OK Computer	Radiohead	1997	5
Stranger's Almanac	Whiskeytown	1997	5
Mermaid Avenue Vol 1	Billy Bragg and Wilco	1998	5
The Pilgrim	Marty Stuart	1999	4
Bone Machine	Tom Waits	1992	4
Summerteeth	Wilco	1999	4.25
The Mountain	Steve Earle	1999	4.75
Supreme Clientele	Ghostface Killah	2000	4
Heartbreaker	Ryan Adams	2000	5
Kid A	Radiohead	2000	4.25
Tyranny of Distance	Ted Leo	2001	4.5
O	Damien Rice	2002	4
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot	Wilco	2002	4.5
Jerusalem	Steve Earle	2002	4.5
The Rising	Bruce Springsteen	2002	4.5
The Fine Art of Self Destruction	Jesse Malin	2003	4
One Beat	Sleater-Kinney	2003	4.25
Love and Distance	Helio Sequence	2003	4.25
Decoration Day	Drive-By Truckers	2003	5
Hearts of Oak	Ted Leo	2003	4.75
Love is Hell pts 1 and 2	Ryan Adams	2003	4.5
Funeral	Arcade Fire	2004	4.25
Shake the Sheets	Ted Leo	2004	4.25
The Dirty South	Drive-By Truckers	2004	4.75
The Woods	Sleater-Kinney	2004	4.75
Little Rock	Hayes Carll	2004	4
Alligator	The National	2005	4
Separation Sunday	The Hold Steady	2005	4
Bang Bang Rock & Roll	Art Brut	2005	4
Smile	Brian Wilson	2005	4.5
Boys and Girls in America	The Hold Steady	2006	5
Magic	Bruce Springsteen	2007	4.5
Ash Wednesday	Elvis Perkins	2007	4.25
Pseudosix	Pseudosix	2007	4.5
Magic Hour Sailor Songs	CR Avery	2007	4
Boxer	The National	2007	5
This Is It & I Am It & You Are It & So Is That & He Is It & She Is It & It Is It & That Is That	Marnie Stern	2008	4.25
We Brave Bee Stings and All	Thao with the Get Down Stay Down	2008	4.25
Seven Mile Island	Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit	2009	4
Rose City	Viva Voce	2009	4
Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix	Phoenix	2009	4.5
American Slang	Gaslight Anthem	2010	4.5
The Archandroid	Janelle Monae	2010	4.75
The Final Sessions	Hank Williams	(Various)	4.5