Top Classic Rock Albums

Okay, I don't know if there's been another topic like this in a while, there probably has, but seeing as I'm drunk off my tree, I might as well start it again:

My top 5 picks are:

1: The Beatles: Abbey Road
2: Pink Floyd: Dark Side Of The Moon
3: Led Zeppelin: Zep 1
4: David Bowie: Ziggy Stardust
5: The Who: Who's Next

Do it to it!

 

Amphitheater is particularly for discussion. List threads belong in YJCC. Please discuss your choices if you wish this thread to remain open.

 

Oh please, how many lists are in this Amphitheatre thingy? This thread is all about discussion! My choices for Top Albums might be somebody else's bottom choices. THAT'S where the discussion comes in! I may be drunk, but I still know what's what!

 

1. Abbey Road - The Beatles
2. Dark Side of the Moon - Pink Floyd
3. Days of Future Passed - The Moody Blues
4. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - The Beatles
5. Pet Sounds - The Beach Boys

It's interesting that you and I have the same top two.

I think that Abbey Road represents a stage for the Beatles that few other groups ever get to - a complete synthesis of all influences and a distillation of them into a pure style. What I mean is that whereas Sgt. Pepper is the Beatles in their psychedelic style, Let It Be is the Beatles in their roots-rock style, etc., Abbey Road can only be described as being in the Beatles' style. This allows for a kind of straightforwardness or second naivete (to borrow a term from a book I read about Mozart . . .) in the music.

And of course, there's the fact that the music simply sounds very, very good. The first side is a string of minor masterpieces from all four Beatles; and of course the second side is dominated by the famous "pop symphony". I'm continually impressed with how well structured that second side is. First we have a straightforward but beautiful opening ("Here Comes the Sun") then the slow, minor-key "Because". These act as something of an introduction to the pop symphony and a link to the first side. Then "You Never Give Me Your Money" starts off as a typical McCartney ballad but takes several unexpected twists and becomes something of a rocker. "Sun King" is sort of like the traditional second movement of a Classical symphony, a slow piece to contrast with the first movement. Then the tension is very skillfully increased through "Mr. Mustard" and "Polythene Pam" until it peaks in a moment of tremendous beauty and drama at the beginning of "She Came In Through the Bathroom Window". But the latter ends inconclusively, setting up the final group of songs. Again, the tension is steadily built up through "Golden Slumbers" and "Carry That Weight". The reprise of "You Never Give Me Your Money" lends a certain epic feeling to the piece, and is also particularly satisfying since the initial subject of that song was never repeated in the song proper (note also that the riff from the end of YNGMYM is reprised at the end of CTW). And we are then launched into "The End", which keeps the tension high through the incredible solo section before resolving things with suitable grandeur.

It's certainly an album that is greater than the sum of its parts; imagine how pointless "Mr. Mustard" or "Polythene Pam" would sound in any other context and compare that with how perfectly they work here.

 

Oh please, how many lists are in this Amphitheatre thingy? This thread is all about discussion! My choices for Top Albums might be somebody else's bottom choices. THAT'S where the discussion comes in! I may be drunk, but I still know what's what!

What I mean is that you need to discuss the reasons for your choices. Not just you, but everybody. Listing threads are not allowed in this forum. They get redirected to YJCC.

 

Abbey Road is my favorite rock album of all time, and the previous posters description mirror's my own. It's the Beatles at their best, and it is a collection of everything they learned, its like they all really did know it was the last one, and something special happened, even as they were breaking up and tearing each other to shreds, musically they said goodbye with poetry and grace.

 

5. Linkin Park- Hybrid Theory
4. Sepultura- Roots
3. Venom- Black Metal
2. Cradle of Filth- Midian
1. Led Zeppelin-IV

I think it's IV anyway, the one with Black Dog and Stairway to heaven on it. Linkin Park are just good, but since HT they haven't been brilliant. Sepultura are great, were even. Roots is amazing. Venom and Cradle are great Extreme Metal bands and had to be included, and Zep is just amazing.

 

Led Zeppelin is the only classic rock band you listed. The rest are either death metal/black metal or the worst offender of the bunch, nu metal

For classic rock, I'd say

Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin II
Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon (cliché, yes, but it is damn good)
Jethro Tull - Thick As A Brick
Van Halen - Van Halen
Yes - Close to the Edge
Aerosmith - Toys in the Attic

 

Abby Road is my favorite Beatle album, particularly the second side after here comes the sun.

 

There have been several great choices so far, but you've missed several obvious ones:

(In no Particular order):

1. Back in Black - AC/DC
Possibly one of the best alblums of all time. Just an all around awesome alblum.

2. Paranoid - Black Sabbath
Has some of the most memorable riffs ever. Practically defined what metal is.

3. Van Halen - 1984
What can I say about this one? Its just a great alblum. I love Dave's energy, and Eddie shows off his talent very well.

4. Led Zeppelin - III
I love this alblum. I love Jimmy Page's acoustics, and the writing on this alblum is insanely awesome.

I know stecm already got this one, but I think it deserves to be here:

5. Led Zeppelin - II

 

ACDC and Sabbath, while truly awesome hard rock bands, should never, ever, ever be listed above Led Zeppelin for anything, in my humble opinion. Van Halen, while they have their moments, doesn't even deserve to be anywhere on the same list as Led Zeppelin. I would take CODA over anything Van Halen has ever or would ever produce.

 

Well, that's your opinion. You're entitled to it. I have mine. And I'm entitled to them. Also, read my post. I said 'In no particular order'. That means that they aren't in any order

 

Oh, I thought it meant classic as in great. But oh well, here's my new list.

5. Dire Straits- Self Titled.
It had Sultams of Swing and Down to the Waterline on it.
4. G'n F'n R's- Appetite for Destruction.
Paradise City, It's so Easy and Anything Goes on on album, awesome.
3. Lynard Skynard- Free Bird
The best 'best of' album ever, with Free Bird, Sweet Home Alabama, and Working for the MCA on it.
2. Pink Floyd- The Wall
Really ground breaking, and he had all the kids perform on it.
1. Led Zeppelin- IV.
Same reasons as before.

 

1-Tokyo Blade -burning down paradise
Brilliant, it has great riffs and lyrics. AND my dad was lead singer.
2-Tokyo Blade -night of the blade the night before
Another great Tokyo Blade album, has a lot of tracks and still sticks with the great riffs.
3-Iron Maiden -best of the beast(complication)
Every maiden fans dream, all the best put in one.
4-Guns'n'Roses -appetite for destruction
probably one of the greatest albums ever.
5-Metallica -Reload
Great songs, load good too but i prefer this better.

 

My mistake, FamouseAmos. However, I stand by my statement about Van Halen!

 

1. Quadrophenia by The Who: This is just a piece of work people, it's just masterful!
2. Who's Next? by the Who: THis is another masterful piece The Who, indisputably one of their best albums.
3. Nevermind the Bollocks, here's the Sex Pistols: The Sex Pistols: This is serious rock people, and I love it!
4. Schoolboy in Disgrace by The Kinks: THis just cracks me up sometimes but I love it al lteh same.
5. Tommy by The Who: This is actualyl more of a rock opera written b ythe WHo, another beautiful album.

:Targeter:

 

So you're a big Who fan, Targeter? I think Tommy is a masterpiece, one of the greatest albums ever (it's - let's see - about my 7th favorite album or so). It's got a lot of great songs, but I'm most amazed by the sophistication of its overall structure, both musically and lyrically. The overture and the repetition of certain motifs ("See me, hear me . . .", "Gazing at you . . ." and others) are handled nearly perfectly, lending significant coherence to the album without sounding redundant. And the lyrical content is extremely sophisticated stuff for a rock band - it addresses sensation, communication, and transendence but not in the fairly simplistic way in which those themes are sometimes dealt with. I'm surprised that there isn't a host of literary analysis of the album.

Who's Next is undeniably great as well, but somehow in my mind it doesn't come close to Tommy. I guess I see Tommy as a singular, coherent work of art whereas Who's Next is not markedly more than the sum of its parts. Fortunately, those are some pretty good parts. The opening chords of "Baba O'Reilly" alone elevate the album above quite a few others.

Quadrophenia is an album that I think I need to become more familiar with. I've only listened to it once or twice. It struck me as having some incredibly great moments and some mediocre moments. But that was just a first impression - Tommy actually didn't astound me when the first time I heard it either. Maybe I'll give Quadrophenia another listen tonight. Incidentally, does it bother anyone else that Townshend accidentally mixed languages in the title of this album? He clearly meant "Four Faces", but "phenia" = "faces" is Greek and "Quad-" = "four" is Latin. It probably ought to have been called "Tetraphenia".

 

Yeah, my dad just introduced me to his record collection a couple months ago and I got hooked.

I like Tommy, but I really love Quadrophenia, it's just amazing to me. There's some songs on there, THe Punk Meets teh Godfather, Helpless Dancer, Love Reign o'er me, that are just absolutely wonderful.

Who's Next, I'll always love that because it has Behind Blue Eyes on it. BBE has to be my favorite song of all time. I odn't know why, but I love side 2 of that album more than side 1. I dunno, maybe I'm just odd or something.

:Targeter:

 

1. Appetite For Destruction. - Guns N Roses

No one has come close to creating a record in the same league as this record. Recorded by a bunch of scumbags with no money to there names this record is the record all other debuts are compared to. It features Guns N Roses first number 1, Sweet Child O mine along with rock amthems Welcome to the Jungle and Paradise City.

2. Led Zeppelin IV - Led Zeppelin

Only 8 tracks long, but there are no weak links among them. It includes such classics as Black Dog, Rock N Roll and Stairway to Heaven

3. Back in Black - AC/DC

Recorded in the wake of Lead Singer Bon Scott's tragic death, the Young brothers come up with there best and most popular album. It includes the tracks, Hell's Bells, Shoot to Thrill, Back in Black and You Shook Me All Night Long.

4. Paranoid - Black Sabbath

Often overlooked because they weren't as big when they were recording as they are now and dismissed as the band that spawned Ozzy Osbourne this is the bands best record. Including the songs Paranoid, Iron Man and War Pigs this Sabbath record is a necisary addition to any record collection

5. Van Halen 1 - Van Halen

Van Halen burst on to the scene with this debut record. Dismissed by Rolling Stone as a 1 hit wonder, (You Really Got Me) this record is an in your face classic Eddie Van Halen record with Diamond Dave singing over the riffs.

 

I guess it's time somebody tells you the right answers.

I chose couple of live albums to my list and I didn't want to choose more than one albums from one artist.



1. Yes - Close To The Edge
-Some might argue whether this is considered "classic rock" but anyway it's best album ever made and it rocks. This album has everything from perfect songs to perfect playing and it's only three songs long.

2. The Who - Live At Leeds
-The ultimate live album. Nothing fancy here just pure magic. If you don't like this then you're deaf.

3. Rolling Stones - Sticky Fingers
-A dark album filled with drugladen lyrics and bluesy sound overall. And it works out perfectly. Hightlight here is the marvellous Can't You Hear Me Knocking

4. Deep Purple - Made In Japan
-Second best live album ever. Only one boring drum solo otherwise perfect. Blackmore and Gillan really shine here. Nobody can screech like the master.

5. Vanilla Fudge - Near The Beginning
-This may be little less familiar to some people than earlier albums. But that certainly doesn't make this any worse. Psychedelic hardrock can't sound better. Sadly little known american classic.