25 albums that you COULD NOT live without if you were stranded on a desert island--assuming there was electricity on this island--and the reasons WHY you couldn't live without them. What are yours?
1.London Calling: The Clash--My all time favorite Clash album. It covers a lot of different musical genres, which I like, and showed, at the time it came out, that they could do other stuff besides punk music.
2.Tusk: Fleetwood Mac--When I was a kid, my Mother used to listen to this constantly. I've grown very fond of the Lyndsey Buckingham stuff. Thanks Mom!
3.The Stone Roses: The Stone Rose--One of my all time favorite Brit-rock albums. Hugely influential.
4.The Beatles: The White Album--I like how this album basically has each Beatle doing their own thing. I especially like John Lennon's contributions.
5. The Beach Boys: Pet Sounds--My Parents used to listen to this too when I was a kid. It's such a sad and sweet album that is still hugely influential today.
6.Big Star: #1 Record--A great hybrid of the best parts of The Beatles, The Byrds, The Kinks and Power Pop. I practically fell out of my chair the first time I heard this, plus I'm a sucker for most Alex Chilton stuff.
7.Big Star: Third/Sisters, Lovers--Their last album, and with only Alex Chilton plus the drummer remaining. A depressing album, which I hated when I first heard it, but it quickly grew on me.
8.A Clockwork Orange: Soundtrack--I love the synthesizer versions of ol' Ludwig Van by Wendy Carlos, plus I like the original music she did for the movie too. It also influenced a lot of 80s synth bands.
9.Husker Du: Zen Arcade--A concept album by Minneapolis' most melodic Hard-core punk band. I especially like the Grant Hart stuff.
10.Teenage Fanclub: Bandwagonesque--When I first bought this album I almost wore out the cd. I love how they were really influenced by Big Star but with a grungy edge also.
11.The Jam: All Mod Cons--Probably my favorite Jam album. It shows how Paul Weller had really grown as a song writer compared to their first two albums.
12.The La's: The La's--The only really good album from this band. A combination of Brit-pop, Beatles-sounding songs.
13.Neil Young: Everybody Knows this is Nowhere--I really loves me some "Cinammon Girl"!
14.Panda Bear: Person Pitch--A weird combination of the Beach Boys and trance-like dirges.
15.The Replacements: Let it Be--Probably my favorite Replacements album. It really shows Paul Westerberg stretching as a song writer.
16.The Shins: Chutes too Narrow-- I really hated this album when I first heard it, but it slowly grew on me.
17.The Smiths: The Queen is Dead--Probably my favorite Smiths album.
18.Sonic Youth: Daydream Nation--favorite song, "Teenage Riot".
19.The Specials: The Specials--I loves me some British Ska and this album is that at its best.
20.The Byrds: Sweetheart of the Rodeo--When the Byrds went country with Gram Parsons in the band. Anything he sings on this album is a highlight.
21.Spirtualized: Songs in A & E--Another really depressing album that I really like!
22.The Velvet Underground: Loaded--The album that launched a million bands. I wonder what the modern equivalent is to this?
23.The Who: Live at Leeds--The best live album EVER!!
24.XTC: Drums and Wires--I'm a sucker for most XTC. This is by far my favorite.
25. Pink Floyd: Wish you were Here--A love letter to Syd Barrett.
