Jedey

1) Derek & The Dominos ~ Layla and other assorted love songs
2) The Beatles ~ Abbey Road
3) Bob Dylan ~ Bringing It All Back Home
4) The Rolling Stones ~ Let It Bleed
5) The Jayhawks ~ Hollywood Town Hall
6) Son Volt ~ Trace
7) Elvis Costello ~ This Year's Model
8) Bruce Springsteen ~ The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle
9) The Who ~ Who's Next
10) The Band ~ Music From Big Pink

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My Tunes

Ska Lagos Jew Sun Ra

I would argue a million times over that Slayer is a very significant metal band. They are pretty much the band that bridged the mainstream into black/death/speed metal. I personally went for only sounds that represented certain aspects of Rock. I mean, IE. Zappa's Hot Rats because it typifies Jazz Fusion in predominately rock form, and Gong's Angel Egg Trilogy because it's my favorite psychedelic work, and I feel for being so deep fairly easy for the rock listener to digest.

Obviously, I'm not putting Brotzmann, and Koenji Hyakkei on this list. Still, if you're putting up a list that contains everything you should put up one or two that fit more non-commercial avenues.

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OccultHawk

They're easily in the top five.

ThePhanastasio

Yeah, I can really see what you're saying here; in order for something to be "essential", it would have to typify rock and roll as a whole, and stand alone as an album which would appeal to a significant amount of people as an achievement in the genre.

With that said, I'll still stand by my list. I was kind of iffy about including Arcade Fire, to be quite honest, but I made my list more as the top 10 albums I would hand to someone who had never heard anything in the "rock and roll" genre. I figured a more contemporary inclusion would be necessary for this, although it certainly hasn't reached "classic" status. Who knows? It may never (probably won't) reach classic status, but I feel like it fit.

It's pretty subjective, anyway.

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• Phish: Studio Discography Reviewed
• 100 Albums I Heartily Recommend
• My last.fm

captaincaptain

No particular order, actually it's in chronological order.

Elvis Presley - Elvis Presley (1956)
Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited (1965)
The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Are You Experienced? (1967)
MC5 - Kick Out The Jams (1969)
The Rolling Stones - Exile On Main Street (1972)
Pink Floyd - The Dark Side of the Moon (1973)
Ramones - Ramones (1976)
R.E.M. - Murmur (1983)
Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation (1988)
Radiohead - OK Computer (1997)

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RYM

Palatable Vera

This is actually something that I've thought about before. The essential albums thing, I mean. Obviously no such list will ever exist in an immaculate form -- or maybe not even close to immaculate -- but one could attempt to make one. While these types of lists never stray too far from a personal list or some critic list, it's always interesting to see the results. That being said, here's mine in no particular order:

The Doors - The Soft Parade
--The Doors were arguably one of the better acts from the 60's. While some of their stuff (ie: Waiting For The Sun) may not have aged well and even more of it may seem really cheesy now-a-days, their short legacy is still one of note. Even if you haven't heard the Doors, you've definitely heard of them. You may have heard about their blend of blues and their little Gothic-styled pop, their corny pop era, about Jim Morrison. What makes this album so special and deserving of a space on an essential albums list is the fact that it is the quintessence of the Doors. Even with their more flowery elements introduced on The Soft Parade, it still delivers the the dark vision of Morrison (but you can't OD on it like you could on albums life The Doors or Strange Days since there's a fair amount of Robby Krieger-penned songs as well) and the tight performances of each and every member. While at first it may not seem to pleasing or even up to the standards of the other Doors albums, it just might grow on you after a while with its intoxicating pop hooks and overall catchy melodies. Yeah, it's weird to hear the Lizard King sing these cheesy-ass pop songs, but he does it well. Almost to the point of being believable. It may not be the best Doors album, but it's definitely my favorite.

The Rolling Stones - Let It Bleed
-- This may seem like an "obvious choice" sort of album, and maybe it is. But if it's any consolation, this was a tough debate between Their Satanic Majesties Request, Beggars Banquet, and this. But all-in-all, this is the stronger and more consistent product. Maybe most of the appeal comes from its atmosphere: it's dark and yet darkly funny. From the opening riffs of "Gimme Shelter" and its pleading for protection from this prophetic "storm" to the burnt-out and perhaps tongue-in-cheek title track to the choral ascension in "You Can't Always Get What You Want", I find myself thoroughly entertained. The Stones are at the top of their game too. While their "slump" era only exists to those who want it to exist, this is probably why people believe that they became utter crap after Goats Head Soup (I like them all, actually, if you can believe it. Yes, even Dirty Work) since this shows a form of musicianship that has never since been emulated by anybody else -- not even the Stones themselves. It's one of those few "classic" albums that actually deserves the ungodly amounts of acclaim that it gets, even though it's unjustly overshadowed by Exile On Main St.

The Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots
--Another album that is overshadowed by another release. While many would hop on that Soft Bulletin or Clouds Taste Metallic bandwagon (well, maybe "bandwagon" is a bad word for it), I find that Yoshimi is the much more accessible album. Not only accessible, but a lot more relatable. While Wayne Coyne's humanitarianism shows more on At War With The Mystics, it can also be readily found here in its subtle lucidity and in a much more listenable form. While it's true that they sound a tad more commercialized here, I can easily look over that in favor of its light playfulness and slushy, dreamy performances. Various electronic noises are everywhere along with seemingly random sound effects. You might think that it would sound "bad" because of that, but in the usual FLips style, they make it work. And that's really the appeal of the FLips, isn't it? Their quirkiness can make anything they do sound good (or at least listenable). To be honest, though, this is a questionable choice, but it gets my full support anyway.

Godspeed You! Black Emperor - F#A# (Infinity)
--While GY!BE is more well-known for Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennaes To Heaven, their previous effort -- their official debut, mind you -- is just as good if not better. At that time, they were already a mature act, and that fact translated well onto record. It's a bleak endeavor. If "Gimme Shelter" were an album by a post-rock band, this would be it. It starts out just as foreboding-ly ("We are trapped in the belly of this horrible machine, and this machine is bleeding to death"). It plays out slow, sure, but that just brings out its bleakness. It may be hard to sit through it for an hour, but the greatness of it is almost undeniably there. It's edgy and paranoid post-rock being played by eccentric visionaries, something that doesn't happen often. It's an experience, and a mind-blowing one at that. It's probably the most atmospheric thing that I've ever heard. The only thing that's ever came close to matching its atmosphere and quality was that Slow Riot EP that came out a while later.

Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited
--Perhaps I seem a tad typical for putting of these "critically acclaimed" albums on this list. Really though, I find Zimmers' almost petulant attitude very appealing, especially if it would result in his surrealistic and allegorical tour de forces. Luckily for me, the majority of Highway 61 is composed of those allegorical tour de forces. Unfortunately for Zimmers' avid folk fans, he continues his little electric excursion, and this time is unrelenting, not offering a single unplugged piece whatsoever except for the bombastic closing track(well, as "bombast" as an acoustic piece can get). But for those who adapted to Zimmers' new-found sound, this offers a very tasty array of compositions. With Bringing It, his electric bits were still unpolished, but with a few months between this and that, we get to see a massive improvement over what we were offered on the last album. I would even go so far as to haphazardly call this "perfect". It's very rare that we get to see every step in an artist's development, but Zimmers only puts a few weeks between a release and new recording sessions(well, he did earlier in his career, anyway), so we get to see almost every detail in maturing. He's literally growing up musically and lyrically right before our ears. That being said though, you can't help but feel that this album was somewhat rushed. Or at least really loose, which makes up most of its charm.

A Silver Mt Zion - Horses In The Sky
--Is it any surprise that a subsidiary of such a great band as Godspeed You! Black Emperor could make such a great album? Yes, a few of the albums listed already have some sort of dark air about them, and yes, this one does too. It's more like pleading, really, but that's not really what makes this so great. It's a very unconventional album, as you could probably guess. But they're not being unconventional just for the sake of being unconventional (I don't think so, anyway). Every little aspect here is used very artistically and in turn sounds really good. There's everything from syncopation to un-tuned guitars, but it all sounds good. How? I'm not all to sure. There's nothing esoteric about all the little tricks that they use, though, as those quirks can be found in several other artists discographies, but they are used very well here. Horses In The Sky is another "quintessential" albums of sorts, and it has a charm that's almost indescribable in words. It may be a cop-out to say that, but I really couldn't.

The Decemberists - The Crane Wife
--Folk and prog are a weird mix. Then again, the Decemberists could be described a "weird" band as well. Not only does it have well-crafted hooks but it also has a tad bit of nostalgia about it. It may not seem amazing when you first start listening to it, as "The Crane Wife #3" seems a bit airy, but as it progresses into the more bombastic songs and more resonant songs, it's true beauty shows through. Yes, it's a beautiful album, both in music and in lyrics. It's a concept album, but the meaning's not buried in metaphors and obscure lyrics. It's straightforward, and if you don't like straightforward albums, it's easily forgivable by the music itself. And as for the music, it flows together really well. Like, really well. The transition from "Shankill Butchers" to "Summersong" is a prime example. It's consistent and it's solid. It's a great album.

Pink Floyd - Atom Heart Mother
--OK, yeah, shoot me. Atom Heart Mother is highly criticized, and I can see why. In all honestly, I find myself having a hard time liking it on occasion, but not very often. It's experimental, yes, and it breaks away from the Floyd's usual style, yes. But that's no reason to hate it, right? In fact, I haven't really heard a valid reason why people dislike it. It takes risks, it's a jagged album, but it's a good jagged album. It has an epochness to it, and yet it also has an ambiguity to it. It's really on this list for more novelty reasons, but it's "essential" in the sense that you're listening to a more experimental release. It's a nice thing to look back on.

Sparklehorse - Good Morning, Spider
(I don't have a lot to say about this at the moment)

King Crimson - Red
(Same as above. Not a lot to say right now.)

Anyway, maybe my list seems bland or predictable but... Eh.

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Siddhartha

steppenwolf, 7

jimi hendrix, band of gypsies

the doors, absolutely live

steppenwolf

OccultHawk

these are not necessarily my favorites- just albums i think are essential to the understanding of rock'n'roll

Chuck Berry- One Dozen Berrys
Elvis Presley- Elvis Presley
The Beatles- Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
The Rolling Stones- Sticky Fingers
Pink Floyd- Dark Side of the Moon
Jimi Hendrix- Are You Experienced
Led Zeppelin- II
Black Sabbath- Paranoid
Ramones- Ramones
Slayer- Reign in Blood

RVCA

Palatable Vera - great list, you obviously put a lot of thought and time into it. Nice.

Mrd00d

Seconded, great effort!

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