The Smiths -The Smiths
Their other work may be more adventurous, witty and polished but 'The Smiths' will continue to be the Bible that every lonely, confused soul that crawls this world turns to in their hour of need.

Music Has The Right To Children- Boards Of Canada
Whatever words I write about this album will not reflect what it means to me. There are no words in the English language that describe the feeling I have when I hear it. *

Pet Sounds-The Beach Boys
breathtaking. *A whole army of unorthodox instruments and sounds are used on this album and not one of them sounds surplus or forced in any way. No matter how many times you listen to this album you will find something new that will perk your ears up. Wilson pretty much crashed and burned after this masterpiece but what a beautiful way to burn.

Doolittle -Pixies
Every song on this could have been. A single. The perfect alternative rock album. Poppy without losing the bands edge, Doolittle was the perfect follow up album

Magical Mystery Tour- The Beatles
Not sure whether this can be classified as a "proper album" but quite simply its a set of songs that you'll be humming from the day you first hear them until the day you die.

Ask me tomorrow and all but the top 2 will have probably changed

I've had to give this one a lot of thought - presumably "Best of" compilations don't count, as that's more a vote for the artist than the album. My faves are:

Abbey Road - The Beatles
The Kick Inside - Kate Bush
Everyone Else is Doing it - The Cranberries
Peter Gabriel 3 (The Melt album)
Hotter Than July - Stevie Wonder
The same reason for all of them, really - I listen to all of them repeatedly, there's no "filler" songs there at all.

With an honourable mention to War of the Worlds, which has whiled away many a long car journey.

Probably showing me age here but here goes;
The White Album, The Beatles - even it's flaws are fascinating. And when it's very good, you have the greatest ever pop group in full flight.
Exile On Main Street, The Rolling Stones - again for a double album, it's perfect.
Quadrophenia, The Who - I love the fact that throughout the album the four band members appear to be playing four different songs at once, and yet the whole thing coheres.
Meat Is Murder, The Smiths - All because of Johnny Marr
Ogdens Nut Gone Flake, The Small Faces - The greatest white soul singer ever. And - unlike Pepper, which I do love - there's an actual concept on it. Drug soaked, but a concept nonetheless...

I'd have to think long and hard about it and I've not the energy so will just do it off the top of my head in no order. I was born '77 but my tastes were always mostly retro and before my time.


The White Album - The Beatles.

I grew up on my parents Beatles albums but never came across this one until years later and it became my favourite. It has the best and the worst (or most experimental) of them for me. I'm more of a fan of their later stuff - generally.


Diamond Dogs - David Bowie

I love all his stuff but this one is my favourite. It's quite dark as it was during his difficult times I think. If I remember rightly then it might even have been originally conceived as a music for a stage adaptation of 1984 that never happened. I might be remembering things wrongly but I think that's the case. Candidate/Sweet Thing/ and back to Candidate is about the best transition in rock music.


Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere - Neil Young

I could pick many albums of his but this was the personal favourite. I bought it blind and loved it. Strangely, I think there are only about 7 songs on it and I dislike 2 of them so I must like the others a lot for it to be a favourite.


Teenager Of The Year - Frank Black

I was a Pixies fan although too young to really be in to them early on. I think they were splitting by the time I got to them via my sister and her boyfriend so I bought the singer's first (or possibly 2nd now I think about it) solo album and I like it more than any Pixies album as it seems more personal to me and you don't hear it every other day like you do with Where Is My Mind and Pixies songs like that.


The Soft Parade - The Doors

I was obsessed with the Doors around 14-16. I like this one the most I think. The title track and Runnin' Blues especially.

Last year the posts had the same message just a different singer, James Otto?

Tough question. But at this moment I am going with:

1. Donald Fagen - The Nightfly
2. Miles Davis - Kind of Blue
3. Shawn Colvin - A Few Small Repairs
4. Trisha Yearwood - Trisha Yearwood
5. Adele - 21

3 for certain..

Tom Waits - Closing Time
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - And No More Shall We Part
Bruce Springsteen - The River

After that, it's a case of take your pick from the likes of Paul Simon / Simon & Garfunkel, Guns 'n' Roses, Ben Folds / Ben Folds Five, Okkervil River, The Clash, Fleetwood Mac...

Pearl Jam : Ten.
This is THE album. Nearly everyone has a THE album, it's the album where you discovered your own music identity and really fell in love with music properly for the first time, your first music crush. The album you listen to over and over in your teenage bedroom.
I still love this album and the song 'Black' is still my go to comfort blanket song.

Okkervil River : Black Sheep Boy.
The masterpiece from folky lyric genius Will Sheff (New album out tomorrow, yay!)

The Decemberists : Picaresque.
The masterpiece from folky lyric genius Colin Meloy.

Mew : + -
Best album I've heard from this decade.

Dream Theater : Metropolis Part 2 - Scenes from a Memory.
Best Prog rock album ever.

Just looking at the names of some of the albums brings a lump to my throat!
I couldn't just choose 5.

Some of mine would be
The Wall Pink Floyd
The Holy Bible Manic Street Preachers
The Bends - Radiohead which I had to stop listening to because it was TOO good
Hole - Live through this
Nirvana - Bleach

But I feel the need to include Nick Cave, the Smiths, Pearl Jam. Dark Side of the Moon should be there as well but I have more feelings for the Wall

I feel like the 'top best albums' would be perhaps different from 'my favourites' though. And I can't work out the difference

Yep, can't wait : )

Did you get the recent anniversary edition of Black Sheep Boy?

Silly me. It's Sweet Thing, Candidate and then back to Sweet Thing. I've only listened to it about 1000 times. Doubt anyone will pick me up on it but it's a schoolboy error.

Electric Light Orchestra - Time
The Pogues - Rum Sodomy & the Lash
Queen - The Works
Tom Petty - Full Moon Fever
Traveling Wilburys - Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1

..............because I've enjoyed listening to all of the above albums umpteen times over the decades, and I haven't tired of any of them yet.

I have a two tier selection if that's ok?

The first is what I think are the 5 of the best albums, although not my absolute favourites, but ones which are musically superior and influential They are albums where I listen to now and again, and can only marvel at their creativity and place in history.

Pink Floyd - Dark Side Of The Moon
Marvin Gaye - What's Going On
Led Zeppelin - 4
Beatles - Revolver
Beach Boys - pet Sounds

The second list is more, sort of guilty pleasures if you like, which I have on constant rotation.

Thin Lizzy - Jailbreak
Black Sabbath - Sabotage
It Bites - Once Around The World
10cc - Sheet Music
Steely Dan - The Royal Scam

In no particular order

The Beatles, Abbey Road, Revolver and White album (cant separate which one is my fav..I love all 3 albums, but if only one, then Abbey road))
Black Sabbath, Volume 4 (runner up Paranoid)
Led Zeppelin, 2 (Runner up Led Zep 1)
Queen, 'Queen' (First album)
The Darkness, Permission to land.

Arthur Kinks
Village Green Kinks
Queen is Dead Smiths
Kite Kirsty Maccoll
More Specials Specials

So interesting reading this thread, and the responses have made me want to keep changing my list! How to choose between albums like Pink Flloyd's The Wall or anything from the Beatles entire discography! Very difficult!

Songs From The Big Chair - Tears for Fears
Out Of The Blue - Electric Light Orchestra
Hallelujah - Espen Lind, Kurt Nilsen, Alejandro Fuentes and Askil Holm
Hounds of Love - Kate Bush
Blue - Joni Mitchell

Massive Attack - Blue Lines
The Cranberries - Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We?
Kylie Minogue - Fever
Sugababes - Angels With Dirty Faces
Years & Years - Communion

This is so hard but will try my best

1. P!nk - M!ssundaztood. I remember hearing it for the first time when I was 11 at a school party and falling in love with her. It was the first kind of 'mature' album I had bought as before that I was a spice girls fan than a Britney fan [M!ssundaztood was released round about when Britney started to grow up and releasing songs like Slave 4 u]
2. Britney Spears - In The Zone. 13 years on it still sounds so fresh and relevant as it did back in 2003
3. Eminem - The Eminem Show. Just a classic album that will never die
4. P!nk - I'm Not Dead. Amazing album that touches on so many issues that are still present 10 years on
5. Cher - Very Best Of. Don't know if this counts because its a greatest hits collection but mostly all the songs hold so many happy/sad memories of my childhood so when I listen to it, its like a trip down memory lane

Dark Side of the Moon - Pink Floyd
Ziggy Stardust - David Bowie
Close to the Edge - Yes
Ace of Spades - Motorhead
Murder Ballads - Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

can I have 50 please, so many more