1961 Lonley And Blue, Roy Orbison

A part of the human condition and music is that despite the overwhelming number of choices some records one can choose from, the impact of a some albums cannot be matched. That’s how I feel about Roy Orbison’s singing. Roy singing for the lonely, brought me, and likely countless others so much solace. His operatic voice, and the simplicity of his lyrics are like warming balm on a cold rainy walk back home after work.

Notable Mentions

• My Favourite Things, John Coltrane: Just listen to the opening from 0:33, and tell me he is not the GOAT 🐐.
• The Genius Sings The Blues - Ray Charles
• Jimmy Reed At Carnegie Hall - Jimmy Reed
• Aretha - Aretha Franklin
• Swing Low - Sam Cooke

1963: Samba Esquema Novo, Jorge Ben Jor

One of life’s unfulfilled dreams was to watch Jorge play in Rio. In my opinion Mas Que Nada should be in the list of best 100 songs ever written (right up there with Ode To Joy and Nessun Dorma). Jorge is only non-English speaking musician on my list (this perhaps speaks to my limited taste), and on many rainy Oxford mornings, Jorge’s music teleports me to the beaches of Rio, where I pretend to live the life he so joyfully sings about.

Notable Mentions

• James Brown, Live At The Apollo

1965: Bringing It Back Home, Bob Dylan

In my opinion, there is no one above Bob! He is untouchable and one of two artists (see year 1975) that could keep A Love Supreme off this list. While there is little debate that Bob was surely going to feature on this list, I am tasked with the impossible problem of picking my favourite Dylan album. In a career that’s spanned over 50 years, how do you decide which is his greatest album? You could say that Blonde on Blonde was when he was at his poetic best. Any record that includes Visions of Johanna and Sad Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands should be an automatic qualifier. You could also argue that the social frenzy surrounding his comeback album Blood on Tracks best represents Dylan the person. Highway 61 makes nearly every top 10 list on the internet, and there is a reason it does so. I can even make a case for A Free Wheelin Bob Dylan- does not have a single bad song! Despite being spoiled for choices, I’m going with Bringing It Back Home. It was the first time Bob went electric. It best represents what I think is his single most defining character. Just when you think you know Bob Dylan, he confirms that you really don’t. And did I mention that this record has It’s Alright Ma, I’m only Bleeding on Side A. What to me is his best song ever.

Notable Mentions:

• Rubber Soul by The Beatles
• A Love Supreme by John Coltrane
• My Generation by the Who
• Mr Tambourine Man by the Byrds

1967: Songs Of Leonard Cohen

I was introduced to this album by the owner of Indie Coffee, a small cafe on Regent Street in Madison, Wisconsin. She used to play this album on repeat every evening, 30 minutes befor close. This album was my introduction to Leonard Cohen and it has stuck with me every since. Leonard perhaps more than any other artist on this list (even Bob), to me, has a mystique that I cannot put into words. Specially during one of his last live performances in London. This was one of the first albums I put on this list. Side B of this record is one of my favourite Side B’s of any record ever. The album starts with an all time classic, but it goes to the legendary category once So Long Marianne and Hey That’s No Way To Say Goodbye come on. While impossible to believe, given his fame, fortune and legacy, I believe Leonard Cohen was underrated (if you know what I mean). If Bob Dylan did not exist, one could make a case for Leonard winning the Nobel prize.

Notable Mentions

• Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Beatles
• The Doors, The Doors
• Surrealistic Pillow, Jefferson Airplane
• Something Else, The Kinks
• Between The Buttons, The Rolling Stones

1969: Abbey Road, The Beatles

Finally we get to the Beatles! As I’ve gotten older, my love for the Beatles has surprisingly faded. That being said, during my university years they were a huge part of my life, and I still enjoy listening to them. Perhaps their fame does their music a disservice. So for the role they played in my life, and how many hours I’ve spent listening to them, I must include the Beatles. I always thought George Harrison was the most interesting Beatle, and thus, the album that makes my list is Abbey Road. George was given the most freedom as a writer - he wrote Here Comes The Sun and Something which remain two of my favourite Beatles tracks. I did have a hard time picking between Revolver and Abbey Road, as in Revolver the Beatles were at their experimental best. However as Abbey Road has two Harrison Songs and a vintage McCartney singing a 16 minute medley of his nursery rhymes (to perfection I might add) – I’m happy to go with Abbey Road as my Beatles pick.

PS: When I first moved to London, I lived in West Hampstead, one street off the main road on which the famous Abbey Road Studios is located. I ran past this studio nearly every day for an entire year.

Notable Mentions

• Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, Neil Young and The Crazy Horse
• Led Zeppelin II, Led Zeppelin
• Let It Bleed, The Rolling Stones
• The Band, The Band
• Crosby Stills and Nash, Crosby Stills and Nash
• Santana, Santa
• Space Oddity, David Bowie
• Songs From A Room, Leonard Cohen: The Opening song bird on a wire, and the ending song Tonight will be fine are immortal for me.

1971: Led Zeppelin IV, Led Zeppelin

Rock’N Roll hall of fame! There are no two ways about this album. I’m convinced Robert Plant spent most of his musical career doing one of the two things:

1. Telling us he possesses divine knowledge about the mysteries of life that us ordinary mortals do not with the lyrics to Stairway To Heaven
2. Making Sex noises.

To me, and for a lot of people I know, Led Zeppelin is Rock ’n Roll. No band exemplified the adrenaline rush and pure excess of rock n roll through their music like Led Zeppelin did. Given this is how I feel about them, and with the competition for spots heating up, we picked the album with their most defining work and went with it.

Notable Mentions:

• Electric Warrior, T-Rex
• Sticky Fingers, The Rolling Stones – It kills me to not include a record that includes Wild Horses, which is my favourite stones song ever. I mulled over this for such a long time.

1973: The Dark Side Of The Moon, Pink Floyd

The lyrics of Time give still me the heebie jeebies. I expect many music fans have had a few sleepless nights contemplating the lyrics of this album. And the dark mood continues with Us and Them and Money. Find me someone who has spent 4 years at an American university without spotting a Dark Side Of The Moon poster on a dorm wall. Additionally, they were Cambridge boys and having spent a good bit of time in the same pubs as they started, I include them as my pick for 1973.

PS: There are a few performances where I think the artist was touched by God. In Pompei, Gilmour was not one of us.

1975: Born To Run, Bruce Springsteen and The E-Street Band

Stuck on a deserted island with only one item of my choice – I’d pick this album. Let it be the last thing I listen to before I leave this earth. The only absolute non-negotiable on this list. Everything about this record, starting from record cover with Bruce and Clarence spread out across the two sides, the longing for life to be more than what it is, their orchestra like music filling the room, all the way to Clarence’s solo in Jungleland – it is perfection! Thunder Road is, according to me (this live version), the greatest song ever written. If this story does not make you want to roll down your window, and let the wind blow back your hair, I don’t know what will (just read the comments if you’re having a hard day). He’s had me chasing the feeling for over 12 years, and I still cannot get enough of the Boss!

Notable Mentions:

• Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd
• Blood On Tracks by Bob Dylan
• A Night At The Opera by the Queen
• Fleetwood Mac(1975) by Fleetwood Mac

1977: Rumours, Fleetwood Mac

If you’ve ever searched for this album on YouTube, chances are you’ve stumbled upon a comment that says, There is literally not a single bad or even mediocre song on this album. And honestly, it’s hard to argue with that. What makes this record even more remarkable is the chaos that surrounded its creation. To write a record like this while nearly every member of the band was either sleeping with each other, or not speaking to one another because they had slept together, makes the album even more incredible. There are rumours of the band members coming into the studio at separate times to avoid being around other members. How did such beauty came out of such toxicity?

PS: If we’d gone past the 90’s I would have included Hot Fuss by the Killers in the same category of every song is gold.

1979: London Calling, The Clash

Another great year of music with lots of good records. So many good artists did so much of their good work in this era. I must admit, I’m particularly biased towards the late sixties and seventies in my taste. It was hard to decide. MJ was on the scene. AC/DC came up with Highway to Hell. Pink Floyd released the Wall. In the end, for how iconic the album still is, and for how many times I’ve listened to it, I went with the Clash. The were pioneers of a genre and this was without doubt their most iconic album.

Notable Mentions:

• The Wall, Pink Floyd
• Off The Wall, Michael Jackson
• Highway To Hell, AC/DC
• Into The Music, Van Morrison
• Live Rust, Neil Young and The Crazy Horse (just for Hey, hey, my, my – rock’n roll may never die)

1981: Moving Pictures, Rush

I have to be honest, I was quite indifferent about this year. In the end I gave in to my selection as Rush had three songs (Tom Sawyer, Limelight, YYZ) I really liked on one record and I couldn’t find a better alternative. It’s a bit lazy I know, but the Canadians will tell you it’s the most iconic album ever made. I could have included the Cure here but then it would force me to not include what I think is there best record later.

Notable Mentions:

• Faith, The Cure

1983: Let’s Dance, David Bowie

Every time I watch Bowie perform live on YouTube I just cannot take my eyes off him. The man was born to perform on stage. With the 80’s a stacked as they are, I had to find room for Ziggy. I think there is something mysterious about his personality, something I cannot explain, that makes his songs better than they actually are. The stories about he helped young musicians later in life just add to his legend. David Bowie did not die, the starman just went home!

Notable Mentions:

• Pyromania, Deff Leppard
• War, U2
• The Final Cut, Pink Floyd

1985: Brothers In Arms, Dire Straits

In my opinion, Mark Knofler is one of the most underrated musicians in the UK. This album is one of my favourite records of all time. Period! One of the those albums, I put on here before I even began researching this task. PS: I’ve run a half marathon listening to Walk Of Life on repeat.

Notable Mentions:

• Hounds Of Love, Kate Bush (Guilty Pleasure)

1987: Joshua Tree, U2

This might be controversial, as the same year, Guns N’ Roses released An Appetite For Destruction. A record that included Sweet Child Of Mine, Paradise City and Welcome to the Jungle. It’s hard to argue against the decision to put Gun’s N Roses for this year. Unfortunately for them, U2 released Joshua Tree the same year. As annoying as Bono is, I’ve spent more time listening to U2 than Guns N’ Roses. The record includes Where the Streets Have No Name, With or Without You and I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For is hard to ignore. Perhaps I am a little bit biased but I’ll rarely pick against the Irish.

Notable Mentions:

• An Appetite For Destruction, Guns N’ Roses
• Sign ‘O’ The Times, Prince
• Strangeways, Here We Come, The Smiths

1989: Disintegration, The Cure

I’d have put this record on this list just for Pictures Of You. Listened to it on repeat on my first year in Wisconsin. Got me through some really cold winters. Homesick and Lullaby were particularly good too. One of the mainstays of the punk and new wave movement, the Cure has a special place in my heart.

Notable Mentions:

• The Stone Roses, The Stone Roses
• Doolittle, Pixies