There's a thread similar to this over at Movie Talk, so I thought I'd conveniently steal it for Music Talk. I'm curious as to what your 50 perfect albums would be. By perfect, I mean ones you can listen to over and over without skipping a single track. I have many albums that I love, but usually don't wanna hear a particular song or two. But these albums I'll go through forwards and backwards. 50 might seem like a lot, but I'm sure music lovers would have no problem coming up with that many.

In the order they popped in my head...

The Clash - "The Clash" (UK version)
The Band - "The Band"
Squeeze - "Singles - 45 and Under"
Bob Dylan - "Highway 61 Revisited"
Bob Dylan - "Blonde on Blonde"
Bob Dylan - "Blood on the Tracks"
The Beatles - "Revolver"
The Beatles - "Abbey Road"
Elvis Costello - "This Year's Model"
Elvis Costello - "Get Happy!!"

Miles Davis - "Miles Smiles"
Miles Davis - "Bitches Brew"
The dB's - "Stands for Decibels
"The Who - "Meaty, Beaty, Big and Bouncy"
The Who - "Live at Leeds"
Sleater-Kinney - "All Hands on the Bad One"
Velvet Underground - "White Light/White Heat"
Weezer - "Pinkerton"
The Jam - "All Mod Cons"
Elton John - "Tumbleweed Connection"

The Kinks - "Face to Face"
The Kinks - "Arthur"
John Coltrane - "Live at Birdland"
Blue Oyster Cult - "Secret Treaties"
The Pixies - "Doolittle"
The Pixies - "Trompe Le Monde"
Blake Babies - "Sunburn"
Neil Young - "Decade"
Wilco - "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot"
Jimi Hendrix Experience - "Electric Ladyland"

Buzzcocks - "Singles Going Steady"
Beastie Boys - "Paul's Botique"
Rolling Stones - "Between the Buttons"
Beach Boys - "Pet Sounds"
Black Sabbath - "Sabotage"
Sonny Rollins - "Saxophone Colossus"Alice Cooper - "Killer"
The Stooges - "Fun House"
Aimee Mann - "Bachelor no. 2"
Parliament - "Mothership Connection"

Bjok - "Post"
Bjork - "Vespertine"
Liz Phair - "Exile in Guyville"
Misfits - "Misfits"
Public Enemy - "It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold us Back"
10,000 Maniacs - "Our Time in Eden"
Funkadelic - "Maggot Brain"
Creedence Clearwater Revival - "Willie and the Poor Boys"
Chuck Berry - "The Great 28"
Love - "Forever Changes"

Ok, I have to ask... My god man, what track on "Kind of Blue" do you skip over!!! Since you have 2 Miles albums here, I'm guessing you probably own what many consider the greatest piece of recorded music ever (if there is such a thing), but it doesn't make your list? If you don't own it, pardon the rant, but run--I mean RUN RIGHT NOW--to the store and buy it.

Normally I wouldn't post to a thread like this but maybe it will give people an idea of some great music to listen to.

Anyway top 20 in somewhat order.


1. Miles Davis - Kind of Blue
2. Miles Davis - Amandla
3. Mingus Dynasty - Mingus Dynasty
4. Louis Armstrong - Louis Armstrong & Duke Ellington
5. Mozart Requiem - Toss-up between the Gardiner version and the Saileri version
6. John Coltrane - Blue Train
7. Frank Sinatra - Ring a Ding Ding
8. Charlie Haden - Etudes
9. Miles Davis - Ascenseur Pour L'echafaud (sp?)
10. Joni Mitchell - Hejira
11. Doc Watson - Doc Watson on Stage
12. Black Uhuru - Liberation
13. Elvis Costello - My Aim Is True
14. Rare Earth - Rare Earth In Concert
15. Santana - Abraxas
16. The Smiths - The Queen Is Dead
17. Thin Lizzy - Jailbreak
18. Neil Young - After The Goldrush
19. Steely Dan - Citizen
20. Vivaldi - Four Seasons with Nadja Salerno Sonnenberg (violin)

The rest

Kim Richey - Glimmer
Beta Band - The Three EPs
Bjork - Selmasongs
Pearl Jam - Ten
Temple of the Dog - Temple of the Dog
Poe - Haunted
The Sugarcubes - Great Crossover Potential
The Sundays - Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic
Alison Krauss - Now That I've Found You
Alison Krauss - New Favorite
Van Morrison - Moondance
Gatemouth Brown - Long Way Home
Vince Guraldi - Charlie Brown Christmas
Andres Segovia - Any of the Collection Series
The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds
Rush - A Farewell To Kings
Rush - Permanent Waves
Aimee Mann - Lost in Space
Cat Stevens - Teaser and the Firecat
David Bowie - Ziggy Stardust
Bob Dylan - Blonde on Blonde
Joni Mitchell - Mingus
Joni Mitchell - Blue
Tears For Fears - Songs From the Big Chair
Nick Drake - Pink Moon
Sinead O'Connor - Faith and Courage
The Corrs - Live In Dublin
Tracy Chapman - Telling Stories
King's X - Dogman
Steve Vai - Passion and Warfare
Bill Evans - Turn Out the Stars
Broun Felinis - Aphrokubist Improvizations
Van Halen - Van Halen I
Count Basie - Straight Ahead
The Who - Quadrophenia
John Coltrane - Giant Steps
John Coltrane - Live in Paris
Keith Jarrett - Koln Concert
Yes - Fragile
Miles Davis - Miles and Coltrane Complete Columbia Recordings
Miles Davis - Complete Bitches Brew
The Beatles - Abbey Road
The Beatles - The White Album
Stanley Clarke - Live 1976 to 1977
Weather Report - Heavy Weather
Me'Shell Ndegeocello - Peace Beyond Passion
Sheila Chandra - Silk
Kate Bush - The Whole Story
Aretha Franklin - Queen of Soul
Michael Jackson - Off the Wall
Prince - Purple Rain
Sam & Dave - Best Of
Wendy & Lisa - Wendy & Lisa
Fishbone - Truth and Soul
Aerosmith - Rocks
Alan Parsons - I Robot
Allman Brothers Band - Eat a Peach
Hedwing and the Angry Inch - Soundtrack
Chicago - Chicago I
Jimi Hendrix - Axis: Bold As Love
Jimi Hendrix - Last Rays of the New Rising Sun (??)
CSNY - So Far
Don Henley - Actual Miles
Donald Fagen - The Nightfly
Elton John - Madman Across the Water
Frank Zappa - Joe's Garage
Jeff Beck - Blow By Blow
Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin III
Led Zeppelin - In Through The Out Door
Jackson Browne - The Next Voice You Hear
Neil Young - Harvest

Well I can't name 50 but I'll name as much as I can think of:
(in no order)

Guns and Roses -- Appetite For Destruction
Led Zeppelin -- Led Zeppelin II
Pink Floyd -- Dark Side Of The Moon
Pink Floyd -- The Wall
AC/DC -- Back In Black
Nirvana -- In Utero
Opeth -- Morningrise
Opeth -- Blackwater Park
Smashing Pumpkins -- Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
Emperor -- Anthems To The Welkin at Dusk
Emperor -- IX Equillibrium
Burzum -- Burzum
Soilwork -- Natural Born Chaos

Heh, I own it, I cherish it, I love it, etc. (hell, even read the two books that were devoted to just this album), and maybe I should've included it. But I wanted to give some airtime to the other two Davis records. Ah, let's just say "Kind of Blue" is #51.

I will say this though, anybody who wants to try out some jazz, I HIGHLY recommend "Kind of Blue".

In no order:

Rolling Stones - Let It Bleed
Tom Waits - Nighthawks at the Diner
Everclear - Sparkle and Fade
The Clash - London Calling
The Clash - Give'em enough rope
Oasis - What the story morning glory
Steve Earle - Copperhead Road
Lyle Lovett - Joshua Judges Ruth
The Cure - Disinigration
Pearl Jam - Ten
The Pixies - Doolittle
Prince - Purple Rain
Bruce Springsteen - Born to run
Van Halen - Van Halen
ACDC - Highway to Hell
Sex Pistols - Never mind the bollocks
Sublime - Sublime
The Who - Quadrophenia
Nirvana - Bleach
The Red Hot Chili Peppers - Blood, Sugar, Sex Magic

In no order:

Rocket From The Crypt - Hot Charity/Cut Carefully And Play Loud
Rocket From The Crypt - RFTC
Rocket From The Crypt - Scream, Dracula, Scream!
Social Distortion - Mommy's Little Monster
Social Distortion - Prison Bound
Social Distortion - Social Distortion
Johnny Burnette Trio - Rockbilly Boogie
Flogging Molly - Drunken Lullabies
Flogging Molly - Swagger
Sultans - Ghost Ship
Gene Vincent - Blue Jean Bop
Gene Vincent - Gene Vincent & His Blue Caps
Agent Orange - Living In Darkness
The Meteors - Teenagers From Outer Space
The Meteors - In Heaven
The Meteors - No Surrender
The Meteors - The Mutant Monkey And The Surfers From Zorch
The Meteors - Wreckin' Crew (vinyl version with the Russell Jones songs)
Stray Cats - Choo Choo Hot Fish
Stray Cats - Stray Cats
Stray Cats - Gonna Ball
Toadies - Rubberneck
Toadies - Hell Below/Stars Above
The Amazing Crowns - Royal
P. Paul Fenech - The Rockin' Dead
The Clash - Give 'Em Enough Rope
Batmobile - Buried Alive
Failure - Fantastic Planet
Mad Sin - God Save The Sin
The Quakes - Last Of The Human Beings
The Quakes - Voice Of America
Polecats - Polecats Are Go
The Bouncing Souls - Maniacal Laughter
Long Tall Texans - Singing To The Moon
Marty Robbins - Gunfighter Ballads And Trail Songs
Guana Batz - Undercover
Skitzo (UK) - Skitzo Mania
Reverend Horton Heat - Liqour In The Front
Reverend Horton Heat - It's Martini Time
Squirrel Nut Zippers - Perrenial Favorites
Squirrel But Zippers - Hot
Nekromantix - Demons Are A Girl's Best Friend
Nekromantix - Undead'N'Live
Nekromantix - Back From The Grave
Nekromantix - Return Of The Loving Dead
The Living End - The Living End
Katherine Whalen - Katherine Whalen's Jazz Squad
Me First And The Gimme Gimmes - Are A Drag
Radiohead - The Bends
Artie Shaw - Begin The Beguine

here's my shot at this one (in stream of consciousness order)

1. Metallica: Master of Puppets
2. Tool: Aenima
3. Tool: Lateralus
4. Miles Davis: Kind of Blue
5. Miles Davis: Bitches Brew
6. John Coltrane: Giant Steps
7. John Coltrane: Blue Train
8. Rush: Moving Pictures
9. Rush: Hemispheres
10. Dream Theater: Scenes from a Memory
11. Dream Theater: Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
12. Fates Warning: A Pleasant Shade of Gray
13. Fates Warning: Perfect Symmetry
14. Pink Floyd: The Wall
15. Pink Floyd: The Dark Side of the Moon
16. Pink Floyd: Wish You Were Here
17. Crimson Glory: Transcendence
18. Emperor: Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk
19. Dimmu Borgir: Stormblast
20. Steve Vai: Fire Garden
21. Steve Vai: Passion and Warfare
22. Iced Earth: Horror Show
23. Lacuna Coil: In A Reverie
24. Yes: 90125
25. Ludwig von Beethoven: Symphony No. 9
26. J. S. Bach: The Goldberg Variations
27. Nicolo Paganini: The 24 Caprices
28. Pantera: The Great Southern Trendkill
29. Megadeth: So Far.....So Good.....So What?
30. Dio: Holy Diver
31. Dave Brubeck: Time Out
32. King's X: Out of the Silent Planet
33. King's X: Gretchen Goes to Nebraska
34. Fishbone: Truth and Soul
35. Helloween: Keeper of the Seven Keys: Pt. 1
36. Iron Maiden: Somewhere in Time
37. Iron Maiden: Live after Death
38. Iron Maiden: Piece of Mind
39. Eric Johnson: Ah Via Musicom
40. Nine Inch Nails: Pretty Hate Machine
41. Nine Inch Nails: The Fragile
42. Alice in Chains: Dirt
43. Ozzy Osbourne: A Tribute to Randy Rhoads
44. Primus: Sailing the Seas of Cheese
45. Queensryche: Operation: Mindcrime
46. Savatage: Streets: A Rock Opera
47. Theatre of Tragedy: Theatre of Tragedy
48. U2: The Unforgettable Fire
49. Van Halen: Van Halen
50. ZZ Top: Greatest Hits

added
I can't believe I forgot these:
Every single Opeth album: Orchid, Morningrise, My Arms Your Hearse, Still Life, Blackwater Park

This is what I came up with:

OK Computer - Radiohead
Signals - Rush
Ozzmosis - Ozzy
Gordon - Barenaked Ladies
All That You Can't Leave Behind - U2
Sticky Fingers - Stones
New Adventures In HiFi - REM
When I Was Cruel - Elvis Costello
Pinkerton - Weezer
Duke - Genesis
Angel Dust - Faith No More
The End Of Silence - Rollins Band
The Reality of My Surroundings - Fishbone
Daydream Nation - Sonic Youth
Around The World In A Day - Prince
The Distance To Here - Live
Hello I Must Be Going - Phil Collins
Fair Warning - Van Halen
Powerslave - Iron Maiden
Warning - Queensryche
Marvin The Album - Frente
Fear Of A Black Planet - Public Enemy
And Justice For All - Metallica
Debut - Bjork
John Henry - They Might Be Giants
Quadrophenia - The Who
Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me - The Cure
Introducing The Hardline - Terence Trent Darby
Dogman - King's X
Stars - Simply Red
Sacred Fire - Santana
Yield - Pearl Jam
Behavior - Pet Shop Boys
Bona Drag - Morrissey
Rage Against The Machine - RATM
Deep - Peter Murphy
Time's Up - Living Colour
Check Your Head - Beastie Boys
Midnite Vultures - Beck
Badmotorfinger - Soundgarden
Lateralus - Tool
World's Apart - Saga
Siamese Dream - Smashing Pumpkins

I don't have a list of 50, but I'll put the ones that I do have:

1. Tori Amos - Little Earthquakes
2. Tori Amos - Under the Pink
3. Ben Folds Five - Whatever and Ever Amen
4. Built to Spill - There's Nothing Wrong With Love
5. Built to Spill - Perfect From Now On
6. Built to Spill - Keep It Like a Secret
7. Built to Spill - Live
8. Death Cab for Cutie - Something About Airplanes
9. Death Cab for Cutie - The Photo Album
10. Fugazi - In On the Kill Taker
11. God Speed You Black Emperor! - f#a#infinity
12. God Speed You Black Emperor! - Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven
13. Hum - You'd Prefer an Astronaut
14. Modest Mouse - This is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About
15. Modest Mouse - Lonesome Crowded West
16. Modest Mouse - The Moon and Antartica
17. Mogwai - Come On Die Young
18. Mogwai - Young Team
19. Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
20. Neutral Milk Hotel - On Avery Island
21. Pavement - Slanted and Enchanted
22. Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
23. Pixies - Surfer Rosa
24. Portishead - Portishead
25. Radiohead - OK Computer
26. Radiohead - The Bends
27. The Royal Tenenbaums soundtrack
28. Sigur Ros - Agaetis Byjurn
29. The Shins - Oh Inverted World!
30. Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream
31. Sonic Youth - Washing Machine
32. Tortoise - Standards
33. Thursday - Full Collapse
34. Velvet Underground - White Light, White Heat
35. The Virgin Suicides soundtrack
36. The Weakerthans - Left and Leaving

I forgot Black Heart Procession - Three. So throw that one in there with the B's.

Dont forget In A Silent Way..I think this was a very important album as it was the real crossover album into Miles fusion stage (before Bitches Brew)

The perfect album has yet to be recorded (because if it was, there would be no need to ever record or write any music ever again - all anyone would have to do is listen to this "perfect" album).

But the album that comes closest is Rolling Stone's Exile on Main Street.

Here's my list:

1. Marillion - "Afraid Of Sunlight"
2. Neil Young - "Unplugged"
3. Rolling Stones - "Let It Bleed"
4. Jethro Tull - "Broadsword and the Beast"
5. Jethro Tull - "Roots to Branches"
6. Janis Joplin - "I Got 'dem Old Kozmic Blues Again, Mama"
7. Janis Joplin - "Cheap Thrills"
8. Queen - "Jazz"
9. Queen - "Queen"
10. Queen - "Innuendo"

11. Brian May - "Live At the Brixton Academy"
12. The Allman Brothers - "The Allman Brothers"
13. The Allman Brothers - "Idlewild South"
14. Elton John - "Tumbleweed Connection"
15. INXS - "Welcome To Wherever You Are"
16. Concrete Blonde - "Bloodletting"
17. Concrete Blonde - "Mexican Moon"
18. Pet Shop Boys - "Very"
19. Michael Mcdermott - "Bourbon Blue"
20. Michael Mcdermott - "Last Chance Lounge"

21. Boa - "Twilight"
22. Indigo Girls - "Swamp Ophelia"
23. Indigo Girls - "2100 Curfews"
24. Harry Chapin - "Greatest Stories Live"
25. Live - "Throwing Copper"
26. Live - "Mental Jewelry"
27. Massive Attack - "Mezzanine"
28. Portishead - "Roseland NYC Live"
29. Queensryche - "Operation Mindcrime"
30. Queensryche - "Promised Land"

31. Seal - "Human Being"
32. Seal - "Seal #2"
33. Jefferson Airplane - "Crown of Creation"
34. Roland Orzabal - "Tomcats Screaming Outside"
35. Tears for fears - "Raoul and the kings of spain"
36. Pink Floyd - "Animals"
37. Pink Floyd - "The Division Bell"
38. Pink Floyd - "The Wall"
39. Kansas - "Two for the show"
40. Rachmaninoff - "Concerto #2 + Rhapsody on a theme of paganini" conducted by eugene ormandy

41. Toad the Wet Sprocket - "Fear"
42. Toad the Wet Sprocket - "Dulcinea"
43. Bob Seger - "Stranger In Town"
44. Otis Redding - "Otis Blue"
45. Tool - "Undertow"
46. Ministry - "Psalm 69"
47. Chemlab - "Burnout At the Hydrogen Bar"
48. Bruce Springsteen - "Nebraska"
49. Dream Theater - "Awake"
50. Dream Theater - "Six Degrees of Separation"

Michael