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Inspired by the 'Top 5 Films' thread, I thought it'd be interesting to find out the 5 favourite albums of my fellow dakkanauts!

For me, it's a tricky one, as I have so many albums that I absolutely love! Music is literally almost my entire life - I study it, perform it... even my part-time job involves music. As a result, I am constantly listening to something musical. I couldn't possibly put these in any particular order, but here are the five albums I find myself constantly coming back to, time and time again:




What's Going On - Marvin Gaye

A true classic, this 1971 album is rightly considered as Gaye's magnum opus. Both ground-breaking musically (it's the first soul 'concept' album, amongst other things) and in terms of it's social commentary, there is not a note of filler on the entire album, and it sounds like it could have been written yesterday. It never gets old - I must have listened to it hundreds of times. It also contains one of the best religious songs ever written ('God is Love'), one of the best 'green' songs ever written ('Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)'), one of the best and most accurate drug songs ever written ('Flying High in a Friendly Sky') and possibly the funkiest song about urban deprivation I've ever heard ('Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)'). The album is also a vocal performance par excellence. Seriously, just go out and buy this album. It's that good.

Uh, in case you hadn't noticed, I'm not wearing my analyst hat in this thread - this is just me being a fan!



Bryter Later - Nick Drake

Oh, Nick Drake. How many grey gloomy English afternoons have you soundtracked? A lot, I'll wager - certainly in my case, anyway! This is a wistful and beautifully fragile record by an English folk singer who, up until recently, was criminally overlooked by both the pop establishment and the record-buying public at large. When it was released in 1970, it only sold a paltry few thousand copies, which for anyone who's actually heard the record, beggars belief. It's incredible. The percussive guitar finger-picking, married to the lush orchestration and the gentle whisper of Drake's plaintive vocals create an atmosphere that, in the right circumstances, can be completely bewitching. I spent much of my early teenage years sitting in my bedroom with the curtains drawn reading Lord of the Rings, smoking pot, and listening to this album. I do not consider them to be wasted years.



OK Computer - Radiohead

I know every word and note of this album off by heart. I've listened to it so many times that I now only get it out on special occasions. I'm on my third copy of it. Simply put, it's the defining album of my generation. It's our Revolver...

...Which leads me to:



Revolver - The Beatles

Many people consider Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band to be 'the' Beatles record, but for me it's this. It's truly a masterpiece, and possibly the crowning achievement of popular music to date. There's just so much in this particular work that marks it out as special - great performances, some of the best pop songs ever written... it manages to be wildly experimental without ever coming across as self-indulgent. I mean, it contains 'Taxman', 'Eleanor Rigby', 'She Said, She Said', 'Love You To' (sitars ftw), 'Yellow Submarine', 'Here, There and Everywhere', 'I'm Only Sleeping', and 'Tomorrow Never Knows'! Come on!



Dark Side of the Moon - Pink Floyd

It's Dark side of the Moon. 'Nuff said.



So, Dakka - I've shown you mine, now you show me yours!

1: The Number of the Beast, by Iron Maiden


2: The Atrocity Exhibition: Exhibit A, by Exodus


3: Turtleneck and Chain, by the Lonely Island


4: Gender Studies, by Team Stray


5: The Black Album, by Metallica

'Turtleneck and Chain'! Yessss! What a shout.

...And I 100% agree with Alby on this one...

No fancy pictures but:
The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, David Bowie
London Calling, The Clash
Quadrophenia, The Who
Remodulate, Gary Numan

not sure if any come to the level of these four for me so I can't name a 5th.

We talking Rock Era or All Time?

Well, I like quite a few albums, but I'll list the ones that had not a single bad song on them.

John Mayer - Room For Squares
The Offsping - Americana
Panic! At The Disco - A Fever You Can't Sweat Out
Panic! At The Disco - Vices And Virtues
After Midnight Project - After Midnight Project & The Becoming (Counting them as one because they each had like 5 songs and a duplicate or two.

Zodiac-Electric Six
Kill-Electric Six
Humanity: Hour 1-Scorpions
Sam's Town-The Killers
Angles-Dan le Sace vs. Scroobius Pip
My top 5...

One of the great hip-hop albums and just a great listen to from beginning to end.



Being their last album, it was a great one to go out on.



I suppose IV is their best known but I still prefer the first album.



I actually prefer the actual film soundtrack as the album is missing a few songs.



Kanye West's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Not something I expected to enjoy, but an interesting listen, to be sure.

I...just....does it have to be only five?...

Metallica - Kill 'em All

Slayer - Reign in Blood

The Black Dahlia Murder - Nocturnal

Cannibal Corpse - Butchered at Birth

Black Sabbath - Paranoid


...So much Ska, Punk, and Rockabilly I want to mention, but these are my Top Five that I listen to the most probably

Yay i inspired a thread XD

In no particualr order

1) Zonaria - the cancer empire



2) Three days grace - self-titled



3) skindred - roots rock riot



4) A thorn for every heart - It's hard to move you (never released)



5) (my guilty pleasure :/ ) Dizee rascal




Nom XD

Pet Sounds, Beach Boys. This was Wilson at his peak. A beautiful soundtrack to bliss out on.



Second Toughest in the Infants, Underworld. An inspired slice of electronic perfection. If effects like lift and drag didn't exist, man could fly on this work alone.



Heartwork, Carcass. Not content with having created metal's 'grind' sub-genre, Carcass released this face melting masterpiece and showed everyone how to be as heavy as Death itself, and still have melody. This may be the last truly great, innovative album any metal band has released.



The Moon and Antarctica, Modest Mouse. The perfect bridge between their too-art early work and their too-mainstream follow up.

This will be a bit tough for me, and very random


Firstly, Minus the Bear. I dont care what album it is, I just love this band. They have a great mood and are talented as well. And I was introduced to them on one of DAKKAs MANY musical threads over the years, so nice plus to that


Clutch. Ill put their first CD, but Id be lying if I said I didnt like everyone they made just as much as the last ones. Crazy rock music with a message, and you can just groove the hell out of their tracks.


Robert Johnson is a blues legend, and I grew up listening to a collection of his compiled music that my dad had. After all these years his music is still fantastic.


First CD I owned by them, and still one of my faves


I listened to this cd so much, I had to buy a new one

Wow... it is so hard getting this down to 5... let alone in any kind of order. These are standouts for various reasons.

Lets start with Alice..... Dragontown. Second disk of his tribute to Dante's Inferno. Not a dog on this album, and runs the gamut from ballad to rock/rap.


Sister Sin..... Switchblade Serenade. Solid rockers across the board.


DORO..... Force Majeure. This is most likely her masterwork. Like the Cooper disk not a single bad song.


Styx..... Paradise Theater. Bests Kilroy for their most solid concept album.


Bond..... Born. Yeah, classical music makes the list. Ok so the four hot ladies helps sell this but the music is solid.

Let's see if anyone can pick out the pattern in my top five. No particular order here, as I love all of them to death.

The Universal Migrator: Parts I and II by Ayreon


A fantastic rock opera that deals with the end of humanity and one man's journey back through time to discover more about himself before dying as the last man alive. Excellent sound, great vocals, and a very dramatic finale as the hero dies within the malfunctioning Dream Sequencer.

The Human Equation by Ayreon


The Human Equation follows a man's trip through his own psyche as he learns why he went into a coma, with some startling revelations near the end. The finale (Day 20: Confrontation) is one of Ayreon's all-time best endings to an album.

01011001 by Ayreon


The secret story behind the previous stories in the Ayreon timeline, 01011001 deals with the mysterious Forever, an alien race that has abandoned its emotions in search of immortality, as they seek to reclaim their lost emotions by creating the human race and guiding them throughout their life on Earth.

Space Metal by Star One


Star One is a band that does music based on science fiction movies, and their first album was fantastic. Featuring songs that follow the plots of both the well-known (The Empire Strikes Back) to the obscure (Enemy Mine and Dark Star), it's a great combination of metal and sci fi.

Into the Electric Castle by Ayreon


One of the experiments of the Forever in the Ayreon timeline, Into the Electric Castle shows eight individuals from different timelines being ripped out of their homes and forced to go on a journey to the Electric Castle, showing off both the light and darker sides of human nature throughout the trek.

Yeah, I kinda like the Ayreon projects. In honesty, I wouldn't feel right naming other albums by other artists, because Ayreon is about the only group that I buy full albums from; everyone else I pretty much pick and choose what songs I like.

I don't think I could ever a pick a top five as music is just diverse of a medium for me, plus I like a lot of bands for many different reasons and my mood also has an effect on what I'm craving for.

My Top 5 Albums:

1) Who's Next by The Who
2) The Family That Plays Together by Spirit
3) Surrealistic Pillow by Jefferson Airplane
4) Stand Up by Jethro Tull (or Benefit, it's a close one)
5) Cricklewood Green by Ten Years After

Picking just 5 was way too tough. So many great ones that are essential:

Disraeli Gears by Cream
For Your Love by The Yardbirds
Sticky Fingers by The Rolling Stones
Sgt. Pepper's by The Beatles
Electric Warrior by T. Rex
Led Zeppelin IV by Led Zeppelin
Dark Side Of The Moon by Pink Floyd
Green River by Creedence Clearwater Revival
The Doors by The Doors
Twelve Dreams Of Dr. Sardonicus by Spirit
Moontan by Golden Earring
In Search Of The Lost Chord by The Moody Blues
The Who Sell Out by The Who

and on and on.

BrassScorpion wrote:Picking just 5 was way too tough.

I believe that is part of the point of the exercise.

I believe that is part of the point of the exercise.

Yes, I believe my statement acknowledged that. And you'll notice that I wasn't the only one to point out what a struggle that is, especially for those of us with wide or eclectic musical taste.

BrassScorpion wrote:

I believe that is part of the point of the exercise.

Yes, I believe my statement acknowledged that. And you'll notice that I wasn't the only one to point out what a struggle that is, especially for those of us with wide or eclectic musical taste.

You were the last to say and, dare I say, the most egregious poster to ignore of the request to list five; it wasn't meant to be about just you.

I'm glad people were able to point out the obvious, as I am sure that makes them feel better, but I'm not sure that is an excuse to fail a requested assignment. It isn't as if these 5 will be branded to your skin and you will never be allowed to listen to another album. I suppose it is a pet peeve but it never fails in threads like these that people have trouble understanding the point of the exercise and use it as an excuse to vomit out every thing on a certain subject instead of applying themselves and coming up with a list. Even after making my list I could have thought of others that may have liked to list as well, but the point wasn't to list every album I ever liked.

To be fair I don't really consider a lot of the music I listen to better than one and another just different it's not even like some of the albums I enjoy are comparable like Jim Hendrix's "Axis: Bold as Love" and Sex

Pistols "Anarchy In the UK" both do a good job of the genre they represent how do I decide which album is better when they have completely different styles in themes, sound, lyrics, etc?

I have quite a few making it hard, probably somewhere around 20ish or more, so I'll try to keep it to what shows up in shuffle out of them.

So randomisation decides this to be the first one, as for some reason it picked two in a row from it despite being set to randomise by artist...

Kotoko - Hiraku Uchuu Pocket

Was released maybe 8 days ago, one of the few albums I've got where all the songs are alright in it and just not a few with the rest being filler.

Queens of the Stone Age - Era Vulgaris


Akiko Shikata - Harmonia

Interesting as the songs are in a variety of languages.

Daisy x Daisy - 「防衛本脳／Evidence」

Answer to the Master being the best song on it.

Justice - †

Phantom, Let There Be Light, Stress and New Jack being good. Phantom pt.2 being crap.

De-loused in the Comatorium - The Mars Volta


Around the Fur - Deftones


Aenema - Tool


You're a Woman, I'm a Machine - Death From Above 1979


Relationship of Command - At the Drive-in

Cheesecat wrote:To be fair I don't really consider a lot of the music I listen to better than one and another just different it's not even like some of the albums I enjoy are comparable like Jim Hendrix's "Axis: Bold as Love" and Sex

Pistols "Anarchy In the UK" both do a good job of the genre they represent how do I decide which album is better when they have completely different styles in themes, sound, lyrics, etc?

You don't, you just decide which you prefer. Then you come up with another four...

I think it is nice that we have all been tap dancing around the truth and playing coy. The reality is that these are the actual top 5:

I don't think I could pick 5 favourite, it sounds like a gak cop out, but for me its the same with food, like If someone asked me if I prefer Ice cream or cheesecake, or beef over chicken or pork.

Maybe I'm indecisive, but I'm no good at it cos I like too many things. There have been loads of good albums posted, I love the prodigy, beach boys, the who, radiohead, beatles, led zep, the clash, I like some black sabbath, plenty of the killers, some blues and jazz, I liked Americana by the offspring and the first wu tang album was mint as well!

I can happily say what I don't like though, perhaps it's because Matty revels in hate much easier than love?

Relationship of Command by at the Drive-in was recommended by a friend, I listened to it twice and I wanted to throw my cd player out the window. And the lyrics?!

Pantera sounds like mindless shrieking, I bought the QOTSA album off the single and it was horse gak, and I have never been able to get away with Floyd despite their glowing accolades.

Automatically Appended Next Post:

Ahtman wrote:I think it is nice that we have all been tap dancing around the truth and playing coy. The reality is that these are the actual top 5:

You big suck up..

Yeah I like Dresden as well, I rank them alongside another of my pop favourites, the pet shop boys.

Reel Big Fish- Were not Happy 'til you're not happy
The Clash- London Calling
Red Hot Chili Peppers- By the Way
Tenacious D- Tenacious D
Darling Violetta- Parlour

Tough one right enough...

I'd go with;
1. Metallica, The Black Album.
2. Guns 'n Roses, Appetite for Destruction.
3. Green Day, Dookie.
4. Pink Floyd, The Wall.
5. Queen, A Kind of Magic.

Ask me again tomorrow and I'll probably come up with a different list.

This is in no real order.

Thirteenth Step by A Perfect Circle:



Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star Four, Volume One: Fear Through the Eyes of Madness by Coheed and Cambria:



A Night at the Opera by Queen:



Circuital by My Morning Jacket:



Sigh No More by Mumford and Sons:

mattyrm wrote:

Relationship of Command by at the Drive-in was recommended by a friend, I listened to it twice and I wanted to throw my cd player out the window.

What?! That's a fething tremendous album!

Ahtman wrote:I think it is nice that we have all been tap dancing around the truth and playing coy. The reality is that these are the actual top 5: