Tomorrow I start counting down my 'All-Time Favorite Albums' in a series of weekly posts over the next couple months. Last night I posted to FaceBook the albums that didn't make the Top 100 and within minutes there was speculation that my entire list was bogus due to the fact that some essential albums didn't make the cut. Controversy! I love it.
The rules I set up will be explained in the posts but basically, I tried to be true to myself and list albums that were important to me and not what others expect.
A few examples:
Dylan has had a HUGE impact on my musical growth. There's no doubt about it but I already included one of his albums on the list and tried not to repeat a specific artist or band. "Blood on the Tracks" is a great, great album but is it better than "Bringing It All Back Home", or even "Infidels" which I listen to all the time? Tough call for sure but this is the reason I am calling the list 'Favorites' and not 'Best'.
Dylan has had a HUGE impact on my musical growth. There's no doubt about it but I already included one of his albums on the list and tried not to repeat a specific artist or band. "Blood on the Tracks" is a great, great album but is it better than "Bringing It All Back Home", or even "Infidels" which I listen to all the time? Tough call for sure but this is the reason I am calling the list 'Favorites' and not 'Best'.
Another cry of heresy came with "London Calling" not making the list. Here's the deal, I totally understand what a milestone The Clash, and in particular that album, is in rock history. Thing is, I never bought or listened to any Clash music growing up and until recently, never got into them. I am a newbie fan for sure but haven't spent enough time to fully appreciate how 'great' they are and if that somehow nullifies my intentions, then so be it. As rankings reflect, this is a fluid list in that it will be different in a year from now when I discover new (and old) music that surely will become future favorites.
In talking to my brother he said, "Exile on Main St." isn't number one? Your list is invalid." Yeah, "Exile" is amazing (and does crack the Top 30) but for me there are albums that I love more. It's impossible to 'please' everybody, or anybody, in attempting to compile a list like this so I didn't even try and freed myself from worrying about any sort of critical evaluation in doing so. People are always going to be chuggin' that Hatorade, that's cool with me.
This, like any list, is eventually going to stir debate but what I really hope happens is that maybe you discover some fantastic music that you might not have heard before. There's a lot out there, you just might have to dig a bit and my sole intention is to help you along.
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