My Favorite Albums of All Time
(very few of the artist pictured will be on this list. maybe none. I stole this cool graphic from rolling stone)
Since nobody asked, I'm going to share my top 16 albums of all time. 16 because it's a good even number, and because I can do what I want.
Rule 1: One album per artist. Can't list multiple albums by the same artist, or else the whole list would be E.L.O. and Jim Croce.
Rule 2: These are my personal favorite albums of all time, and the ones most influential for me as a songwriter and music lover. It is NOT a list of the most influential or technically proficient albums ever. That's above my pay grade.
Rule 3: I will be assigning each of these albums a “trait” that influenced me personally. The available traits are as follows, and some albums will have mulitple:
Songwriting
Production
Whimsy
Sentimentality
Quirkiness
Those five traits sum up my personal songwriting pretty well, and they will not be explained.
Here we go, starting from the bottom:
#16 - Welcome Interstate Managers (Fountains of Wayne)
Trait: Quirkiness, Songwriting
Favorite Track: Halley's Waitress
#15 - Forget and Not Slow Down (Relient K)
Trait: Sentimentality
Favorite Track: Candlelight
#14 - Holiday (America)
Trait: Songwriting, Production
Favorite Track: Another Try
#13 - Sweet Baby James (James Taylor)
Trait: Songwriting
Favorite Track: Sweet Baby James
#12 - Solid State (Jonathan Coulton)
Trait: Quirkiness, Songwriting
Favorite Track: Your Tattoo
#11 - One More Song for You (The Imperials)
Trait: Songwriting
One More Song for You
#10 - Rockin' the Suburbs (Ben Folds)
Trait: Songwriting, Production, Sentimentality
Rockin' the Suburbs
#9 - Careless (Stephen Bishop)
Trait: Songwriting, Production, Sentimentality, Whismy
Favorite Track: Little Italy
#8 - The Turn of a Friendly Card (The Alan Parsons Project)
Trait: Songwriting, Production, Quirkiness
Favorite Track: Time
#7 - Bookends (Simon and Garfunkel)
Trait: Songwriting, Whimsy, Production
Favorite Track: America
#6 - Smell the Color 9 (Chris Rice)
Trait: Songwriting, Whimsy, Sentimentality, Production, Quirkiness
Favorite Track: Belong
#5 - The Stranger (Billy Joel)
Trait: Songwriting, Production
The Stranger
#4 - Life and Times (Jim Croce)
Trait: Songwriting, Production, Sentimentality
Favorite Track: Alabama Rain
#3 - Seeds of Love (Tears for Fears)
Trait: Quirkiness, Production, Whimsy
Favorite Track: Advice for the Young at Heart
#2 - Breakfast in America (Supertramp)
Trait: Quirkiness, Production, Whimsy, Songwriting
Favorite Track: Casual Conversations
#1 - Out of the Blue (Electric Light Orchestra)
Trait: Quirkiness, Production, Whimsy, Sentimentality, Songwriting
Favorite Track: Starlight