10 All Time Great Albums According to ME

10 All Time Great Albums According to ME!

Check out AllMusic.com for more info on these albums or your favorites.

People always talk about the stuff they would take to a desert island.... And Lately everybody seems to be advertising what albums are in their current rotation.... So, I thought I keep my brothers posted on my definitive collection!

Unfortunately for you guys, I am really enjoying this page... So it will probably get out of hand with the reviews!

1. Too Much Joy - Mutiny (1992) Probably the most underrated album I have every owned. By the time this album came out, all of the juice from the the previous 2 major releases had worn out. This album took the pop sensibility of "Cereal Killers" and added hyper-intelligent lyrics (ala-Walkenhorst), creating a hidden masterpiece.

2. Goo Goo Dolls - Hold Me Up (1987) Great Songwriting wrapped up in power guitar riffs. There is nothing complicated about what the band is doing here, yet you are pulled in with lyrics that resonate of adolescence. If you have ever loved, you know where Johnny is coming from. I am still pissed at the girl who moved to California and screwed with his head!

3. Men at Work - Business as Usual (1981) Uncle Steve used to make fun of me for this one. I told him back in 1982 that I bought a second copy of this album for posterity. Since CD's had not been invented at the time, it made sense to keep a mint copy. This album has stood the test of time. Many people remember these guys for "Who can it be now?" and "Down Under", but this album contains quite a bit more range. One of my all time favorite songs is "Down by the Sea", this song would be on my list for top 10 songs of all time.

4. Fishbone - Truth & Soul (1987) A true sign that this album is a classic... Dan and Don have been borrowing it from me for the last 6 months! I think me and Kennedy sped down 24 with this "blaring" many times. This was another fluke purchase. "Freddie's Dead" was the single that made it to MTV, as usual I found myself at Apple Tree Records in Normal humming it. Ska-Funk, with ripping guitar and bass. Boning in the Boneyard is in the rotation of Don's band (Saturn 5) right now.

5. The Refreshments - Fizzy, Fuzzy, Big and Buzzy (1997?) Don sent me this Disk for my Birthday. I was working at the dealership, and I am pretty sure he sent it there. I remember sitting in an Avalon out in the lot for my first listening pleasure. GREAT Southwest guitar band. They made a second album, but it did not compare! I cannot tell you how many times this album has been played! A very satisfying experience all around. What does that mean? Its kinda Goofy, Loud, Obnoxious, Serious, Moody, Drunk.... Hmmm.... Sounds like a party album to me! Thanks Don. I may have missed these guys had it not been for him. This album also gives me faith that decent bands are still around!!!!

6. The The - Mind Bomb (1989) I am not real sure if the album makes this one of the best by itself, or if I have not used the Video that came out at the same time to make some influence as well. Matt Johnson made a video that has every song of the album on it. Pretty ambitious for a low budget artist. All of the songs were written with the vision of the VHS at the same time. I played the hell out of this in college, and I still pull it on occasionally. Usually when the winter blue are creeping up, and I need something just as creepy! I had a hard time deciding between all 3 of my favorite The The albums. "Mind Bomb" rocks, and Soul Mining is intense but dated.

7. Rainmakers - Good News and the Bad News (1989) I was really torn on this one. While the Debut effort was awesome, and contained hooks galore... This album is more grown up. It does not have the "Pie in the Sky" attitude of the previous albums. "Good News" is storytelling at its best. Bob Walkenhorst shows why I consider him a genius lyricist with songs like "Horn of Plenty" and "30 Days". Anybody who has been in my car in the last 10 years has probably heard this album in its entirety!

8. Lou Reed - Magic and Loss (1992) Dark and Scary. Just what Lou is good at! If you sit and read the liner notes, and listen from beginning to end.... You will be depressed! Lou was inspired to write this album by the death of 2 close friends. The album takes you though the gambit of emotions. Sadness, Despair, Regret, Anger, Hope... Powerful stuff for one album! This is the album that I compare all of Lou's recordings too.

9. Screaming Blue Messiahs - Bikini Red (1987) This CD, has been TOTALLY rocking me to work in the car. If you have the means, I HIGHLY suggest this CD. 80's Punk/Pop/Guitar/Rock! What a combo! Bill Carter KILLS his guitar whenever he finds an opportunity. Key Tracks: Sweet Water Pools, Jesus Chrysler Drives a Dodge, Big Brother Muscle and All Shook Down.

Memories about this CD. (Written for posterity) The first video for this group that I can remember came off this CD. It was for "I wanna be a Flintstone", it was a minor success. Anyway, I pressured Bob Brown to buy the cassette at Walton's because we both liked that song. He hated the rest of the tape! So I bought it from him a week later at half the price he paid! He was pissed about that for a while.
Don had me crank "Sweet Water Pools" when we were coming to school. Then, when we were right in front, we would totally blast it with the windows down. Oh, how we must have looked cruising in that brown Volare!
Finally, it was not till years later, when I lived in Miami.... At a used CD store near the University of Miami campus... I found a copy of this album on CD. I think I jumped out of my skin for a few moments, then as if it was Barry Bonds last home run ball... I grabbed that sucker and ran for the checkout counter!

10. The Blue Nile - A Walk Above the Rooftops (yr) Old Rock'n Robin in Macomb had the follow-up album, "Hats" demo for 5 Bucks on the front counter of her store. I picked it up. I had read a good review in "Stereo Review". Hats was a great album. But it was not until I picked up "Walk..." that I found the source. Sad, Mechanical, and just a bit of questionable ability on the part of the lead singer. What a combination! It really does add up to more than the sum of its part. This CD is best enjoyed on a quality sound system, with NO background noise. It really pulls you in.

Notable Mentions:

Oingo Boingo - Alive

Screaming Blue Messiahs - Wild Blue Yonder

Sting - The Soul Cages

Julian Cope - St. Julian

Rainmakers - Rainmakers

Rainmakers - Skin

Kate Bush - Hounds of Love

Rob Jungklas - Closer to the Flame

Afghan Whigs - Gentleman

Weezer - Pinkerton

They Might Be Giants - John Henry

Dead Kennedy's - Franken-Christ

Counting Crows - August and Everything After

Dada - Puzzle

John Hiatt - Slow Turning

Hoodoo Gurus - Blow Your Cool

Peter Gabriel - So (1984) We were living on Amber Drive and I was making the big bucks doing my Leader route. I rode up to Walton's and bought the newest GE CD player. On the same day, I bought this CD. That alone should qualify, but this is a GREAT album. "Sledge Hammer" is the one song everybody remembers, but there is so much more. "Red Rain", "In Your Eyes", and my introduction to Kate Bush in "Don't Give Up". Every one of these songs will stand for decades to come.

World Party - Private Revolution (1986) Total Left field purchase. Carolyn Heldman, an MTV VJ said this was her favorite album at the time... And I thought she was cool (Hot), and picked it up. This album was the Freshmen solo effort from former "Waterboy", Karl Wallinger. The big hit was "Ship of Fools". The cool thing about the songs on this CD... They are timeless. You keep finding yourself thinking that this is classic Van Morrison.

XTC - Skylarking (1986) Todd Rundgren produced this album. It is said that XTC hated every moment of making it. If that's true, it is truly and irony. Many fans, consider this to be a crown jewel in the XTC catalog. Jazzy, Dark, and very intelligent writing make this an album that you hear new details every time you listen.

I am guessing at the dates. I didn't want to walk downstairs and get every CD case to confirm the info. I think you will find that my dates are very close.

It does kinda look like I am stuck in the 80's but I think that is just a matter of timing. To be a Classic, it has to be in consistent rotation for many years. Who knows, any one of the albums below may make my top ten of 2010!