What songs/albums should go in a musical time capsule?

[StevieFan13]

I don't know if you guys have wondered about this before, but I've always thought about there being a special time capsule for albums and songs that stand the test of time. Not just obvious stuff, but recordings from all kinds of different genres. I'll give my selections below, and while you can list as many as you want, I decided to start with 50 albums and 50 songs. Alphabetical order. Some are kind of obvious, but hey, what are you gonna do.
Albums
- Courtney Barnett, Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit (2015)
- The Beach Boys, Pet Sounds (1966)
- The Beatles, Abbey Road (1969)
- Beck, Odelay (1996)
- Beyonce, Lemonade (2016)
- Blondie, Parallel Lines (1978)
- David Bowie, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972)
- James Brown, Live at the Apollo (1963)
- Buena Vista Social Club, Buena Vista Social Club (1997)
- Bulgarian State Radio & Television Female Vocal Choir, Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares (1975)
- The Clash, London Calling (1979)
- Elvis Costello, This Year's Model (1978)
- Miles Davis, Kind of Blue (1959)
- Sandy Denny, All Our Own Work (1973)
- DJ Shadow, Endtroducing... (1996)
- Bob Dylan, Blood on the Tracks (1975)
- Cesária Évora, Miss Perfumado (1998)
- Fleetwood Mac, Rumours (1976)
- Marvin Gaye, What's Going On? (1971)
- Ofra Haza, Yemenite Songs (1985)
- The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Are You Experienced? (1967)
- Iron Maiden, The Number of the Beast (1981)
- Michael Jackson, Thriller (1982)
- Billy Joel, The Stranger (1977)
- Robert Johnson, The Complete Recordings (1990)
- Carole King, Tapestry (1971)
- Kraftwerk, Autobahn (1974)
- Kendrick Lamar, To Pimp a Butterfly (2015)
- Nas, Illmatic (1994)
- Nirvana, Nevermind (1991)
- The Notorious B.I.G., Ready to Die (1994)
- Oasis, What's the Story, Morning Glory? (1995)
- OutKast, Stankonia (2000)
- Parliament, Mothership Connection (1977)
- Pixies, Doolittle (1989)
- The Pogues, Rum, Sodomy, and the Lash (1985)
- Public Enemy, It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (1988)
- Tito Puente and His Orchestra, Dance Mania (1958)
- Radiohead, OK Computer (1997)
- Ramones, Ramones (1976)
- R.E.M., Automatic for the People (1992)
- Santana, Abraxas (1969)
- The Smiths, The Queen is Dead (1986)
- Patti Smith, Horses (1975)
- Bruce Springsteen, Born to Run (1975)
- Talking Heads, Remain in Light (1980)
- Various Artists, The Indestructible Beat of Soweto (1985)
- The Velvet Underground, The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967)
- Kanye West, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010)
- Stevie Wonder, Songs in the Key of Life (1976)
Honorable mentions to Sleater-Kinney's Dig Me Out, U2's The Joshua Tree, and Green Day's Dookie.

Songs
- 2pac (feat. Dr. Dre and Roger Troutman), "California Love" (1996)
- AC/DC - "Highway to Hell" (1979)
- The Andrews Sisters, "The Boogie-Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B" (1942)
- Louis Armstrong, "West End Blues" (1928)
- The Beach Boys, "Good Vibrations" (1966)
- Beastie Boys, "No Sleep Till Brooklyn" (1986)
- The Beatles, "I Want to Hold Your Hand" (1963)
- Chuck Berry, "Johnny B. Goode" (1957)
- Jacques Brel, "Ne me quitte pas" (1959)
- Cab Calloway, "Minnie the Moocher" (1931)
- Ray Charles, "What'd I Say" (1959)
- Celia Cruz, "Burundanga" (1957)
- Dick Dale, "Misirlou" (1962)
- Lucio Dalla, "Come 'e profondo il mare" (1977)
- Daft Punk, "One More Time" (2000)
- Aretha Franklin, "Respect" (1967)
- Gidi Gov, "Kelim Sheluvym" (don't know what year)
- Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, "The Message" (1982)
- Al Green, "Let's Stay Together" (1971)
- Billie Holiday, "God Bless the Child" (1940)
- Elton John, "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" (1973)
- Umm Kalsoum, "Al atlal" (1966)
- Ladysmith Black Mambazo, "Inkanyezi Nezazi" (1992)
- Led Zeppelin, "Stairway to Heaven" (1971)
- Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, "Matador" (1993)
- Bob Marley and the Wailers, "Exodus" (1977)
- Metallica, "The Call of Ktulu" (1984)
- MGMT, "Time to Pretend" (2007)
- M.I.A., "Paper Planes" (2007)
- Glenn Miller, "In the Mood" (1939)
- New Order, "Blue Monday" (1983)
- OutKast, "Hey Ya!" (2003)
- Edith Piaf, "La Vie en Rose" (1945)
- Elvis Presley, "Jailhouse Rock" (1957)
- Public Enemy, "Fight the Power" (1989)
- Queen, "Bohemian Rhapsody" (1975)
- Elis Regina and Antonio Carlos Jobim, "Aguas de Marco" (1973)
- Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, "The Tracks of My Tears" (1965)
- The Rolling Stones, "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" (1965)
- The Ronettes, "Be My Baby" (1963)
- Sex Pistols, "Anarchy in the U.K." (1976)
- Sigur Ros, "Hoppipolla" (2005)
- Simon & Garfunkel, "The Boxer" (1969)
- Nina Simone, "Sinnerman" (1965)
- The Smiths, "How Soon is Now" (1984)
- Donna Summer, "I Feel Love" (1977)
- The Verve, "Bitter Sweet Symphony" (1997)
- The Walker Family, "Can the Circle Be Unbroken" (1935)
- The Who, "My Generation" (1965)
- Stevie Wonder, "Superstition" (1973)
Honorable mentions to "Immigraniada" by Gogol Bordello and "YYZ" by Rush.

[veganvalentine]

I think your list is a good start, and YYZ is certainly an interesting choice. Any time capsule list would be largely comprised of AM's top albums and songs, but if the point is to get a sense of what it was like to live during a time period, it's important to include the most popular albums and songs, even if some them aren't critically acclaimed. Thus, looking at the best-selling albums of all time, I would also include Saturday Night Fever, The Dark Side of the Moon, Back in Black, Hotel California, Come on Over, Bat Out of Hell, 21, Jagged Little Pill, etc.

[StevieFan13]

I think your list is a good start, and YYZ is certainly an interesting choice. Any time capsule list would be largely comprised of AM's top albums and songs, but if the point is to get a sense of what it was like to live during a time period, it's important to include the most popular albums and songs, even if some them aren't critically acclaimed. Thus, looking at the best-selling albums of all time, I would also include Saturday Night Fever, The Dark Side of the Moon, Back in Black, Hotel California, Come on Over, Bat Out of Hell, 21, Jagged Little Pill, etc.

Yeah, I guess I got close to that with Thriller and "Stairway to Heaven" and stuff like that (BTW, thanks for reminding me of Pink Floyd - damn, I should've included that one).
Bearing that in mind, a proper musical time capsule should also include (in addition to the ones you mentioned):
- Spice Girls, "Wannabe"
- Jay Z, "99 Problems"
- 50 Cent, "In da Club"
- Journey, "Don't Stop Believin'"
- Little Richard, "Tutti Frutti"
- Pink Floyd, The Wall
- Goo Goo Dolls, "Iris"/"Slide"
- Supertramp, "Give a Little Bit"
- Santana (feat. Rob Thomas), "Smooth"
- TLC, Crazysexycool
- Dire Straits, Brothers in Arms
- ABBA, "Dancing Queen"
- Britney Spears, "...Baby One More Time"
- One Direction, Made in the A.M.
- Kool and the Gang, "Celebration"
- Run-DMC (feat. Aerosmith), "Walk This Way"
- Rihanna (feat. Jay Z), "Umbrella"
- Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men, "One Sweet Day"
Those are just some big popular ones that come to mind.