my favorite albums of all time: a poll

lol this is completely impossible

Cool list. The correct answer is Laughing Stock imo.

For me it's the mighty Gene Clark - No Other. Immediate runner-up = Bowie - Low.

Speaking of which, when was the last time ILM polled its favourite albums of all time?

hey these albums are all really really good

choosing between:

the blue nile: hats (1989)
kate bush: hounds of love (1985)
steely dan: gaucho (1980)
miles davis: kind of blue (1959)
fleetwood mac: tusk (1979)
roxy music: avalon (1982)
van morrison: veedon fleece (1974)
sly & the family stone: there's a riot goin' on (1971)
david bowie: low (1977)
bill evans trio: sunday at the village vanguard (1961)
joni mitchell: the hissing of summer lawns (1975)
talk talk: laughing stock (1991)
the rolling stones: exile on main st. (1972)
gene clark: no other (1974)

teenaged me would take exile in a walk, and 2017 me would pick veedon fleece, but 2019 me is very conflicted right now

Damn. Kind of Blue probably. I may have to log in with an old account to vote for Tago Mago as well.

since the poll is impossible I voted for Rocks, just to make sure someone did

Love that Parade is your one Prince pick, as that tops my list, as well.

Really it's Velvet Rope vs. Erotica for me.

Lots of fantastic stuff here. I went with Kind of Blue.

Kind of Blue over Transilvanian Hunger

Lots of my faves on that list, i think i love Sprinkles most of all

can - tago mago for me

Between 'Hats', 'Cupid&Psyche', 'Laughing Stock', 'The Drift', 'Tago Mago' and 'Low'... Voted 'Hats' because Blue Nile deserves a vote.

Love that Parade is your one Prince pick, as that tops my list, as well.

― Artisanal Personality Disorder (Old Lunch), Friday, May 10, 2019 10:29 AM (twelve minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

haha, I dig Parade but my first thought was that I can't comprehend how that could be a person's favorite Prince album. I may not agree with some of the other artist picks (particularly Peej, Madonna, and Roxy) but I can at least see the case.

I voted Janet cuz hell, that's an off-the-wall pick I do agree with.

normiest picks of the list, but what's honestly have gotten the most play at my house-

prince: parade
steely dan: gaucho
fleetwood mac: tusk
sly & the family stone: there's a riot goin' on
the rolling stones: exile on main st.
gene clark: no other

Like there may be and probably are objectively better Prince albums but Parade has slowly risen to the position of my personal fave.

thank u for this brad

my first thought was that I can't comprehend how that could be a person's favorite Prince album

of his classic records it's the most fragmentary, but a cool side effect of this is that it makes all of the songs seem like interconnected chambers of the same obtusely funky house. plus every song whips ass

lol totally missed that Otis Blue is on there

Best new thread

What I love about all these albums is that they’re all of them the best albums and none of them perfect (except A Kind Of Blue)

I can’t decide to vote for my fave (Sprinkles) or the album that makes me think of Brad (Fall Out Boy)

Either way I’m putting the handful of albums on this list I don’t know at the top of my queue

head says hissing of summer lawns, heart says adore, body says laptop cafe, soul says love deluxe, weather says veedon fleece, weather soon will probably say transilvanian hunger

Pretty sure I was listening heavily to Otis Blue and Veedon Fleece at the same time, during the worst summer of my life. They have some kind of connection in my head.

Had to go with Hats as you didn't pick any of the five albums I'd put ahead of it.

So many great choices here. I especially love how you've picked many of my favourite albums by such incredible artists (I'm Still In Love With You, Hissing Of Summer Lawns, Love Deluxe, The Velvet Underground S/T). Dirty Mind is the only Prince album I'd put ahead of Parade. It's really close though.

I think I might be ready to switch over to team Jordan: The Comeback now. It's always been Steve McQueen, but recently Jordan has been feeling like the one.

was between tusk and discovery. went tusk. found out about through here years ago and fell in love. great list btw

I feel like this list proves that Brad is the ur- and/or über-ILMer.

sly

Can't decide between:

Kind of blue
Veedon Fleece
Discovery

adore

just thought about van's falsetto on 'who was that masked man' and i think i'm gonna roll with veedon fleece

Ridiculously easy, this one. Avalon.

Kind of Blue or Discovery

Lovely list! Too early to decide what to vote for, but I love that Rapture and Padlock are among the options.

Especially the Gwen Guthrie: “Peanut Butter”, “Hopscotch”, “Seventh Heaven”, “Padlock” itself - whether the original Sly & Robbie productions or the Larry Levin remixes**, that’s some of my favorite music ever. Lush as fuck.

Also, can’t wait to check out that DeBarge album again.

**I was only familiar with the versions on GG’s 1983 Portrait album until relatively recently, but “Seventh Heaven” especially is superior in the LL remix.

uhmmm... Larry LevAn, obviously

of his classic records it's the most fragmentary, but a cool side effect of this is that it makes all of the songs seem like interconnected chambers of the same obtusely funky house. plus every song whips ass

― american bradass (BradNelson), Friday, May 10, 2019 2:53 PM (four hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

This is a really great summation of why Parade is so good (I go back and forth between it and Dirty Mind as my favourite Prince LP).

Voting for Tusk, with Gaucho and Hissing of Summer Lawns in 2nd and 3rd place.

I think I'm actually gonna vote for Snivilisation here. I remember hearing this album in my car for the first time and just being floored by "I Wish I Had Duck Feet". The last two tracks are stunners, I still think "Attached" is in a genre all its own. There are a lot of 90s artifacts still lurking but I think it's held up very well. Combined with dubnobasswithmyheadman it must've felt like electronic music had unlimited potential in '94.

J. Sam otm

I could have sworn I posted my love for the alternate/demo versions of songs from No Other a little while ago (must not have actually clicked submit)... the arrangements are stripped down a bit and I generally prefer that!

Anyway I think ultimately I'd go for Laughing Stock overall.

Also throwing my vote to Orbital

I feel like this list proves that Brad is the ur- and/or über-ILMer.

― pomenitul

I always assumed that there's a lot going on at ILM which I don't pay attention to (in the rolling face-tat thread, etc). but as far as the threads that i click on, I can totally co-sign on pomenitul's statement.
this list is like the ILM dead sea scrolls.

Not really imo, moaning about the hive mind is pure ILM but to quuote one glaring example Kind of Blue is not the hive mind Miles album

There's a few things on this list that I think are utter garbage, and in the cases of the artists that I do like a lot/rate highly - with a couple of exceptions - the wrong album is featured, IMO.

Interesting list, could've gone for 5 or 6, went with Prefab Sprout, never get tired of that album, such wonderful drama and romanticism to it all.

Any reason there's so few from the 21st century? Granted, those of us past a certain age will lean towards 20th century choices...

hi, Brad

alexander o'neal: hearsay (1987)

omigod

Any reason there's so few from the 21st century? Granted, those of us past a certain age will lean towards 20th century choices...

― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Friday, May 10, 2019 1:46 PM (one minute ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i don't really know! this is just kinda how it shook out. one record i could've included is portishead's third

It's a very '80s heavy list. I suppose if I was arsed about compiling such a list, mine would be '80s heavy too, but it sure as hell wouldn't look like this.

I looked deep into my heart and voted Speak No Evil

ok, so which ones of these do i know well

dolphy, prince, bush, miles, vu, sprinkles, sly, bowie, mitchell, walker... i've only heard the levan padlock mixes... green, talk talk, can.

anybody who knows my posting history: which three should i listen to from the ones i haven't listed?

by the way of these, my gut today is either joni mitchell or al green

Al Green, first and always.

Not really imo, moaning about the hive mind is pure ILM but to quuote one glaring example Kind of Blue is not the hive mind Miles album

You're right of course, but this is as close as we'll get to a single individual embodying the hivemind. For now.

if i were not born they would have to invent me

You are one avatar of many.

Rapture!

Brad, get out of my phone.

this is impossible as so many of these albums are also my favourite ones. between the blue nile, fleetwood mac, sade, janet jackson, prefab sprout, talk talk, can, smashing pumpkins and dj sprinkles i can't really choose right now.
i was kinda expecting to find hole's celebrity skin. my vote would so much easier.

What you should probably do is make a playlist of the best tracks from these and post it here. Then I could switch off the internet and be happy for ever more.

Fwiw, I think it's probably Bill Evans.

how was this list compiled - was it just on the spot?

a lot of things i haven't heard, so that is good, and i will try to hear some

write-in for blood inside obv

I picked Jordan: The Comeback.

I thoroughly enjoy this list, am looking forward to checking out the records I haven't heard, and more ILM-ers should do this, please and thank you :)

I checked out the DJ Sprinkles album last night on a whim. Exactly what I needed.

how was this list compiled - was it just on the spot?

i’ve been keeping a running list on rym for almost a decade bc i got tired of forgetting what my favorite albums were

i am completely digging the other people place rn. randomly voted in a special way - one of the numerous amazing records on the list

Great list, several overlaps with mine if I did one. However, 'The Blue Mask'? Weirdly I listened to this last week for the first time and find it difficult to see how this would be placed above 'Transformer' or 'Berlin' or even 'New York'.

It's a better album. New Sensations even more.

Berlin is one of his poorer records too, getting by on its "darkness"

Each to his own.

A little darkness goes a long way.

i love berlin but the mood of the blue mask is more my style: at first ghostly and inviting then straight up haunted and scared

also: my favorite lou reed backing band no contest (i also love new sensations)

(despite the absence of quine)*

Lou shouting about SYYYYLLLVIIIIAAAAAA is scarier than anything on Berlin.

coney island baby is in the deeper reaches of this list, as are ecstasy and lulu

transformer's a great record that i've known and loved since high school but if i want high glam reed most of the time i end up listening to rock n roll animal instead

hats i think but lots of my favs on here

brad nelson is up to his tricks again

their tricks

It took Ezra Furman's recent 33 1/3 on Transformer to give it the spin I haven't in almost twenty years.

i do want to read that book

thanks j. <3

I feel like this list proves that Brad is the ur- and/or über-ILMer.

― pomenitul, Friday, 10 May 2019 17:35 (yesterday) Permalink

no loveless though!

or britney

too hard to vote!

surprised Imagination didn't make the cut

wait till my list

<3

Gotta go with Rapture, though only Sleep No More fueled my high school poetry.

the blue nile: hats (1989)

Thanks for the sophie’s choice between Pirates and Veedon Fleece, two of my all time faves. In the end it’s Van.

Berlin is one of his poorer records too, getting by on its "darkness"

― recriminations from the nitpicking woke (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn)

it's one of bob ezrin's better records imo

gotta go with Otis here

voted for fleetwood mac's tusk but any of these are also on my list:

the blue nile: hats (1989)
kate bush: hounds of love (1985)
janet jackson: the velvet rope (1997)
dj sprinkles: midtown 120 blues (2008)
the smashing pumpkins: adore (1998)
talk talk: laughing stock (1991)
can: tago mago (1971)
sade: love deluxe (1992)
madonna: erotica (1992)

such a brilliant list, such an impossible task, but...i was quite happy w/ seeing 'no other' in there, which i've been championing for years, so i'm giving that a vote.

and, 'dance of december souls' over 'brave murder day'?

It occurs to me that I own actual physical copies of Pirates, Parade and the DJ Sprinkles but remember embarrassingly little about them. Good excuse to remedy that...

Sunday at the Village Vanguard for me. Laughing Stock would be a close second.

A few on here I am oblivious to and will have to dig into this afternoon.

Sunday at the Village Vanguard for me. Laughing Stock would be a close second.

A few on here I am oblivious to and will have to dig into this afternoon.

Still baffled by the love for Hats tbh. Possibly the contropiest of my ILM controps.

Fuck.

Voting for one thing in this list will be the hardest thing I have ever done.

What’s the most recent addition to the list, brad? Comsat angels or something else?

This is an excellent set of options. There are a few that I'd eliminate, though...

scritti politti: cupid & psyche 85 (1985)
- Eighties sophisto-pop Scritti hasn't worn well for me at all - a major drop-off in enjoyment since the Actual Eighties.

prince: parade (1986)
- Played this a couple of weeks ago and it wasn't quite the classic that I remembered.

the other people place: lifestyles of the laptop café (2001)
- Also played this a couple of weeks ago. While pleasant and ahead of its time, it's not right up there as a classic.

can: tago mago (1971)
- Never been able to get with Can. They're a band I should like in theory, but it just won't click.

madonna: erotica (1992)
- I've posted elsewhere about this before, but the ILM love for Erotica has always baffled me. Too many samey underwhelming fillers!

there's quite a few of these i haven't heard but i think it's probably Hats out of the ones i have

if Aerial was there instead of Hounds of Love it could pretty easily be that though

Still baffled by the love for Hats tbh. Possibly the contropiest of my ILM controps

if Aerial was there instead of Hounds of Love it could pretty easily be that though

― ufo, Sunday, May 12, 2019 4:31 AM (one hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

on the actual list aerial is in the top ten. didn’t want to double up on kate for a poll though

Imma gonna vote for Godflesh

What’s the most recent addition to the list, brad? Comsat angels or something else?

― Tim F, Sunday, May 12, 2019 3:56 AM (two hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

the most recent additions were low-life (after a decade-long battle it came out ahead of technique as my favorite no record) and carcass’ symphonies of sickness (after being a huge heartwork fan for years it finally clicked and is the only metal album i want to listen to). comsat angels were p recent still though!

Lotta stuff I like a lot on that list from several of my favorite acts, but few of my favorites from said acts, if I'm being honest. Voted "Tusk."

and, 'dance of december souls' over 'brave murder day'?

― rusty_allen, Sunday, May 12, 2019 3:03 AM (three hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yeah! one of the few bands for whom i think the debut towers over everything else (tbf like anathema they didn’t stay in the aching death-doom mode long anyway). rich unrelenting depressive atmosphere + perfect songs and playing

I have a theory that anytime someone lists PJ Harvey as a favorite, they are usually huge Nick Cave fans as well.
where is the NC Brad?

you know i don't really have a favorite nick cave record. i love his entire thing, hard to isolate it to just one album

Either way I’m putting the handful of albums on this list I don’t know at the top of my queue

― flamboyant goon tie included

same here. here's the handful for me:

rickie lee jones: pirates (1981)
dj sprinkles: midtown 120 blues (2008)
debarge: in a special way (1981)
gwen guthrie: padlock (1983)
anita baker: rapture (1986)
the other people place: lifestyles of the laptop café (2001)
katatonia: dance of december souls (1993)
alexander o'neal: hearsay (1987)

Tago Mago is tough, the “first disc” is my favourite Can release and the “second disc” threatens to sour their entire legacy... the moment when Damo just breaks kayfabe and starts literally going “BOOGABOOGABOOGABOOGABOOGA” might be one of my least favourite moments in recorded music

Hats is a steady dropping off in quality throughout the record but the highs are so high

I’ve typed too much about my complicated relationship to Talk Talk elsewhere

I love that Love Deluxe and Adore are on this list, truly excellent choices

Hats is a steady dropping off in quality throughout the record but the highs are so high

the last song is “saturday night”!!!!!

I love that Love Deluxe and Adore are on this list, truly excellent choices

yeah might narrow my picks down to these two, both are so full-bodied

What a great list. Had to vote "Exile" though.

brad where's all the emo?

btw the correct answer is Parade

brad where's all the emo?

― but I can't let Trae do it I got Huerter on my mind (Spottie), Wednesday, May 15, 2019 1:49 PM (sixteen minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

texas is the reason's do you know who you are is just below no other on this list. i figured i should stop at 50 lol

I think I discovered Parade through another Brad thread. Ton of albums I’m curious to hear on this list.

What's the highest 2010s album?

texas is the reason's do you know who you are is just below no other on this list. i figured i should stop at 50 lol

― american bradass (BradNelson), Wednesday, May 15, 2019 2:06 PM (eight minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

oh whoops, also diary and clarity would be above that too. the order of the list gets REAL messy after 50, it's kind of a monster. highest 2010s album is the 1975's i like it when you sleep followed by laurel halo's quarantine

These are all just about as close as you can get to musical perfection:

scritti politti: cupid & psyche 85 (1985)
roxy music: avalon (1982)
the velvet underground: the velvet underground (1969)
david bowie: low (1977)
joni mitchell: the hissing of summer lawns (1975)
anita baker: rapture (1986)
talk talk: laughing stock (1991)
the comsat angels: sleep no more (1981)

WOW. Which one am I going to go for? Oh fuck it, considering how little love it got in the 1982 poll, I have little choice but to vote for Avalon, even if so it can get at least ONE vote. (Where are all the Roxy fans?)

the velvet underground

I voted Tusk cuz I have to fess up to being a sentimentalist.

I tried listening to tusk because of this thread and I guess I don’t get that band?? I love “everywhere”

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Jesus wtf is this choice. Brutal. Love that Snivilization is here. It really is a pinnacle record for me too.

Went with Hounds of Love, though.

Parade!

Voted Joni, but forgot Al Green was there too. Feel free to use that missed vote as a tie-breaker if need be.

Seriously rooting for any one of the eight albums I mentioned in my previous post... and hoping I really didn't cast the only vote for Avalon.

Lots of good ones but for me it can only be exile

here are some records not in this poll that i'm realizing should've been:

aphex twin selected ambient works 85-92
sonny sharrock ask the ages
the human league dare
radiohead in rainbows
r.e.m. murmur (removed bc it would've won, though who knows why the same rule didn't apply to hounds of love lol)
leonard cohen i'm your man

here is the full list, it's a huge mess after the top 50 still https://rateyourmusic.com/list/BradNelson/records/

Damn, your extended list is so great! Some more of my own favourites and I immediately want to hear all the albums I don't know.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

:)

I'm shocked

Oops, thought I voted but "Rapture" has 0.

w00t, one of the eight I was rooting for got second place! Also happy about the votes Laughing Stock, Low, and Cupid and Psyche 85 got, and that I wasn't the only person who ended up voting for Avalon (but am really glad I threw a little love that way). OTOH, I'm shocked Sleep No More received zero votes.

Damn great turnout. Voted Sade in the end.

You can tell Paul's Boutique, Disintegration and Doolittle were missing from the list.

al green: i'm still in love with you (1972)
0 votes
marvin gaye: here, my dear (1978)
0 votes
anita baker: rapture (1986)
0 votes

This makes me sad.

hats 13 - laughing stock 5
i am baffled to say the least.

You and me both.

Impressed by the spread, excellent list Brad. I’m pretty sure I voted Sprinkles, as I would in any ballot

Speaking of which, I happily discovered Sprinkles through this poll so thanks, Brad!

folie a quatre

al green: i'm still in love with you (1972)
0 votes
marvin gaye: here, my dear (1978)
0 votes
anita baker: rapture (1986)
0 votes

This makes me sad.

rapture shutout is the biggest surprise there

the thing about hats and the blue nile in general. it is nice late night background music - though the strings suck big time as usual - but there is zero spirituality in that music compared to laughing stock. additionally the vu self titled which covers similar ground as hats in terms of relaxed atmosphere is so much more intimate and immediate. hats is a string syrup covered with a voice coating that does not speak to me. so what is the point?

only vaguely even aware of Blue Nile but listening now and kinda dig it.
lol @ it doesn't speak to me so what's the point