Tom Waits' all time top 20 albums

[nicolas]

Can't help but sharing this.Here is the link

1 In the Wee Small Hours by Frank Sinatra
2 Solo Monk by Thelonious Monk
3 Trout Mask Replica by Captain Beefheart
4 Exile On Main Street by the Rolling Stones
5 The Sinking of the Titanic by Gavin Bryars
6 The Basement Tapes by Bob Dylan
7 Lounge Lizards by Lounge Lizards
8 Rum Sodomy and the Lash by the Pogues
9 I’m Your Man by Leonard Cohen
10 The Specialty Sessions by Little Richard
11 Startime by James Brown
12 Bohemian-Moravian Bands by Texas-Czech
13 The Yellow Shark by Frank Zappa
14 Passion for Opera Aria
15 Rant in E Minor by Bill Hicks
16 Prison Songs: Murderous Home Alan Lomax Collection
17 Cubanos Postizos by Marc Ribot
18 Houndog by Houndog
19 Purple Onion by Les Claypool
20 The Delivery Man by Elvis Costello

[Nick]

I can't exactly say I'm surprised, as Waits frequently sounds like the love child of Sinatra, Monk, and Beefheart.

[notbrianeno]

Predictably badass

[Honorio]

It's not a new list, Waits did it in 2005. It was posted on the old acclaimed music Forum some years ago. Anyway it's fantastic, it gives you a perfect indication of why Tom Waits sound like that.
I strongly recommend the comments Tom Waits made about these albums, you can find them in http://www.theguardian.com/music/2005/m ... opandrock1

[nicolas]

Thanks Honorio, I didn't remember seeing that list before. I hope there are more lists by great artists. we should compile them too. Why not in this thread or in another (unless it's been done before)

[PlasticRam]

Chronological order.

[Honorio]

Kurt Cobain:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/perpetua/kurt-c ... llY7wnByJa

Elvis Costello:
http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2000/ ... ite-albums

Thurston Moore:
http://www.self-titledmag.com/thurston- ... e-records/

[bootsy]

That Costello list.

[babydoll]

What, bootsy? There were some great choices, just not any hip-hop. While I think at least TEN hip-hop albums should have been on there, there were some nice albums by artists not normally represented.

But if we gotta talk, in no world is Post better than Homogenic.

[bootsy]

What, bootsy? There were some great choices, just not any hip-hop. While I think at least TEN hip-hop albums should have been on there, there were some nice albums by artists not normally represented.

But if we gotta talk, in no world is Post better than Homogenic.

That's what I like about the list, he didn't go with some obvious choices and there were the obvious choices. I understand not having hip hop as I don't expect him to be a huge fan of it so not surprised. Would have been nice but no surprise.

[Honorio]

Well, the Costello list may not include much Hip Hop (it was not expected to be Costello's favourite genre) but it's not devoid of it at all. 8 albums can be filed under Hip Hop:
1) BEASTIE BOYS: Paul’s Boutique (1989), “Shadrach.”
2) EMINEM: The Marshall Mathers LP (2000), “The Way I Am.”
3) FUGEES: The Score (1996), “Ready or Not.”
4) GRANDMASTER FLASH AND THE FURIOUS FIVE and THE SUGAR HILL GANG: Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five vs. the Sugar Hill Gang (1997), “The Message.”
5) LAURYN HILL: The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998), “Ex-Factor.”
6) SALT’N PEPA: The Best of Salt’N Pepa (1999), “Whatta Man.”
7) A TRIBE CALLED QUEST: Anthology (1999), “Check the Rhime.”
8) SOUNDTRACK The Wood (1999), Mystikal & Outkast, “Neck uv da Woods.”

And 4 more are Trip Hop albums, a style usually not considered as part of the Hip Hop genre (it's included as part of Electronic on the Rateyourmusic classification used on this site) but with obvious Hip Hop influences:
1) MASSIVE ATTACK: Protection (1994), “Karmacoma.”
2) PORTISHEAD: Dummy (1994), “Sour Times,” “Glory Box” Portishead (1997), “Western Eyes.”
3) TRICKY: Maxinquaye (1995), “Overcome.”

Moreover the list was published in 2000 and it missed the last 15 years, where very good Hip Hop albums had been released. Anyway Costello included a Hip Hop album from the very same year the list was published, "The Marshall Mathers LP."

But the Hip Hop selections are not what make this list so awesome. For instance, it could be a goldmine for the upcoming 1950s albums Poll. And I wish I would have remembered it when I was compiling pieces for the Classical Poll…

[luney6]

It would be nice if these lists were eligible. Crotics are often (but not always) wannabe musicians after all.

[notbrianeno]

To clarify for some non-Western users that might be unfamiliar with it, the Obama sweating meme is used to indicate being blown away by music or a *fire* mixtape

[bootsy]

To clarify for some non-Western users that might be unfamiliar with it, the Obama sweating meme is used to indicate being blown away by music or a *fire* mixtape

Thanks for explaining this. I thought that pic may go over some posters heads.

[PlasticRam]

I like these small pictures:

[Honorio]

I found another list from a rock star and it's again very interesting. David Bowie published his "Confessions of a Vinyl Junkie" in Vanity Fair in 2003. As expected, Bowie's list covers a lot of ground with many different styles on it (Classical, Folk, Jazz, Blues, Reggae or Psychedelia to name a few). What was not so expected was the fact that he includes many oddities, even downright bizarre albums like the one by Florence Foster Jenkins. And also many obscure choices, I should admit that I never heard more than half of these albums. I strongly recommend you to read Bowie comments, he included some interesting record-buying memories.

The link for the Confessions of a Vinyl Junkie

As an additional list you may be interested in Bowie's 100 favourite books, another fantastic list that he published in 2013 that shows his "wide-ranging love of literature." Bowie's 100 favorite books

[DDD troll account]

It would be nice if these lists were eligible. Crotics are often (but not always) wannabe musicians after all.

Costello's list was deemed eligible a while ago and is included on the site. I don't remember Henrik's reasoning exactly but I think it had something to do with Costello's expertise in so many genres.

[luney6]

It would be nice if these lists were eligible. Crotics are often (but not always) wannabe musicians after all.

Costello's list was deemed eligible a while ago and is included on the site. I don't remember Henrik's reasoning exactly but I think it had something to do with Costello's expertise in so many genres.

That's definitely a good thing. I'm looking forward to the same thing happening for other artists as well, hopefully, in the future. I'm sure most of them are more knowledgeable than whatever critics run Billboard, right?