Essential Collections

[ljb187]

Not sure if the title is entirely accurate, but what I'm getting at is listing the musicians, composers or groups you think were/are consistently great enough to warrant owning their entire (original) discography. I can't speak to likes of Bach, Wagner, Armstrong...but I'll start by throwing out The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix* and The Clash. I'd have liked to add Tom Waits but he lost me around Alice and Blood Money.

*By way of example I'm talking about Are You Experienced, Axis: Bold as Love, and Electric Ladyland...not the 100 posthumous Hendrix releases that followed - even though some were quite good.

[MarkO]

Van Morrison

[Raza]

The Smiths.

[movet22]

The Doors.

The Guess Who.

[Ryan]

A few that I own (that come to mind as I write this):

Debussy, Piano Works (Pascal Roge)

Beethoven, String Quartets (Takacs Quartet)

Nick Drake, Fruit Tree

Simon and Garfunkel (studio recordings)

[thewalrus]

The Beach Boys

Creedence Clearwater Revival

Eric Clapton (The Yardbirds, John Mayall and the Blues Breakers, Cream, Derek and the Dominos, Solo work. And so on. The only problem being that he keeps putting out only OK albums now - which sort of dilute the collection)

Stevie Ray Vaughn

[RayMac]

Agree with the Doors (although The Soft Parade isn't up there with the others.)
Moody Blues probably - just for the album titles.
Simon and Garfunkel for me as well.
I own the entire Doobie Brothers up until Michael McDonald turned them into a soul group.

[movet22]

Agree with the Doors (although The Soft Parade isn't up there with the others.)

Agreed, but LA Woman is, for my money, the best album of all time.

[wschofield3]

Just my opinion...other than the previously mentioned Beatles, Beach Boys, Doors, Clash, Led Zeppelin and Stevie Ray (and I totally agree with The Smiths...it's in my car CD player right now);

• Janes Addiction - this band changed my life for the better. Raucous, who gives a crap serious rock and roll!
• Nine Inch Nails - Trent is the man.
• Beck - who could possibly challenge this one....Kim Kardashians a$$ Kanye?
• The Yardbirds - no explanation needed
• Graham Parker - and with the Rumor too
• James Taylor - who doesn't love this guy...mellow, driving, some times a bit of rocking lightly.
• Black Sabbath...early stuff (I know, how sophomoric am I)
• Creedence - just because they rocked so hard
• The Stooges - one of my favorite all time bands. Iggy still does it for me.
• Radiohead - I respect them, but for me, a couple of their albums were a bit "whiny". OK Computer is a masterpiece!
• AC/DC - for those about to rock, I salute them!
• Zappa - because of Frank, I don't eat yellow snow.
• The Police - one of the most brilliant power trios of all time IMHO.
• Al Green - can you say "play this if you want the girl"?
• Pink Floyd (Ok, maybe with an exception or two)
• The Sex Pistols - It was like watching a train wreck, but they defined a genre.
• Thomas Dolby - Incredible talent and very under rated IMO. "The Flat Earth", if you've never listened, do so. Go get it right now.
• Aerosmith, right up through Rocks, garbage thereafter. They should have kept on drugging.
• Parliament/Funkadelic - Big George Clinton fan here and i love me some funk. Him and Boostsy....yeh man!
• Howlin' Wolf - because almost every great musician ever in modern times lists him as an influence, and it's easy to understand why.
• Queen, except for the song "another one bites the dust". What were they thinking? BTW, if I had to rate my all time favorite rock vocalist, I have zero hesitation going with Freddie
• The Band....really, who else could do that when they were always so wasted. It made Steven Tyler and his gang look like amateurs.
• The Byrds - melodic, tuneful, great accapella...just so in sync...
• Bowie - because, his androgynous Ziggy Stardust persona was just so cool when I was growing up.He created glam rock.
• Roy Orbison - From the soul my man...always from the soul.
• Johnny Cash - his last album, if it doesn't make you cry, you're not human.
• Neil Young - polarizing, I know, but it's my opinion!
• Prince - I love this guy!
• Ramones - really, all you have to do is buy one album because they are all basically the same tune, but boy did they put on a show. I saw them at CBGB more than a few times in their heyday.
• Springsteen - love him or hate him, he is a great American poet. Me, I love the guy.
• Velvet Undergorund - broke a mold and almost every alt rocker owes them a beer.
• Television - always evolving and some pretty hefty stuff for their era
• Otis Redding - can you imagine life without sitting on the dock of the bay, or any other of his soulful tunes for that matter. I think not!
• Muddy Waters - because he perpetuated what Robert Johnson created and did it so well. If there was one musician that I'd like to spend a lot of time with, it would have been Muddy
• Robert Johnson - Mississippi Delta Mud Flat Blues y'all. Influenced every single rocker since the beginning of rock and roll.
• Sam Cooke - voice from Heaven!
• Bob Marley - What's for dinner Dad.....two Red Stripes and a bone son! C'mon, does Bob not put you squarely on a sailboat or at the beach every time you listen. Damned good political statements too. Substance with a capital S.

Not the Rolling Stones...blech.

[ljb187]

Just my opinion...other than the previously mentioned Beatles, Beach Boys, Doors, Clash, Led Zeppelin and Stevie Ray (and I totally agree with The Smiths...it's in my car CD player right now);

• Janes Addiction - this band changed my life for the better. Raucous, who gives a crap serious rock and roll!
• Nine Inch Nails - Trent is the man.
• Beck - who could possibly challenge this one....Kim Kardashians a$$ Kanye?
• The Yardbirds - no explanation needed
• Gram Parsons - and with the Rumor too
• James Taylor - who doesn't love this guy...mellow, driving, some times a bit of rocking lightly.
• Black Sabbath...early stuff (I know, how sophomoric am I)
• Creedence - just because they rocked so hard
• The Stooges - one of my favorite all time bands. Iggy still does it for me.
• Radiohead - I respect them, but for me, a couple of their albums were a bit "whiny". OK Computer is a masterpiece!
• AC/DC - for those about to rock, I salute them!
• Zappa - because of Frank, I don't eat yellow snow.
• The Police - one of the most brilliant power trios of all time IMHO.
• Al Green - can you say "play this if you want the girl"?
• Pink Floyd (Ok, maybe with an exception or two)
• The Sex Pistols - It was like watching a train wreck, but they defined a genre.
• Thomas Dolby - Incredible talent and very under rated IMO. "The Flat Earth", if you've never listened, do so. Go get it right now.
• Aerosmith, right up through Rocks, garbage thereafter. They should have kept on drugging.
• Parliament/Funkadelic - Big George Clinton fan here and i love me some funk. Him and Boostsy....yeh man!
• Howlin' Wolf - because almost every great musician ever in modern times lists him as an influence, and it's easy to understand why.
• Queen, except for the song "another one bites the dust". What were they thinking? BTW, if I had to rate my all time favorite rock vocalist, I have zero hesitation going with Freddie
• The Band....really, who else could do that when they were always so wasted. It made Steven Tyler and his gang look like amateurs.
• The Byrds - melodic, tuneful, great accapella...just so in sync...
• Bowie - because, his androgynous Ziggy Stardust persona was just so cool when I was growing up.He created glam rock.
• Roy Orbison - From the soul my man...always from the soul.
• Johnny Cash - his last album, if it doesn't make you cry, you're not human.
• Neil Young - polarizing, I know, but it's my opinion!
• Prince - I love this guy!
• Ramones - really, all you have to do is buy one album because they are all basically the same tune, but boy did they put on a show. I saw them at CBGB more than a few times in their heyday.
• Springsteen - love him or hate him, he is a great American poet. Me, I love the guy.
• Velvet Undergorund - broke a mold and almost every alt rocker owes them a beer.
• Television - always evolving and some pretty hefty stuff for their era
• Otis Redding - can you imagine life with sitting on the dock of the bay, or any other of his soulful tunes for that matter. I think not!
• Muddy Waters - because he perpetuated what Robert Johnson created and did it so well. If there was one musician that I'd like to spend a lot of time with, it would be Muddy
• Robert Johnson - Mississippi Delta Mud Flat Blues y'all. Influenced every single rocker since the beginning of rock and roll.
• Sam Cooke - voice from Heaven!
• Bob Marley - What's for dinner Dad.....two Red Stripes and a bone son! C'mon, does Bob not put you squarely on a sailboat or at the beach every time you listen. Damned good political statements too. Substance with a capital S.

Not the Rolling Stones...blech.

Terrific post. I can't say I agree with all of this list, but like good Rock-n-Roll your enthusiasm leapt off the page. Thanks for the VU reminder....if I could play only one song it might be Sister Ray.