Johnny Fever's 50 favorite albums thing

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Assembled the list as quickly as possible to prevent overthinking. Included compilations because a) truth and b) who gives af. Behold my middlebrowness!

Poll Results

OptionVotes
Prince - Sign O the Times (1987) 8
A Tribe Called Quest - The Low End Theory (1991) 7
Devo - Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! (1978) 6
Life Without Buildings - Any Other City (2001) 5
Fleetwood Mac - Rumours (1977) 5
The Cure - Standing on a Beach—The Singles (1986) 5
Fugazi - In on the Kill Taker (1993) 4
Shudder To Think - Pony Express Record (1994) 4
Radiohead - The Bends (1995) 4
Violent Femmes - Violent Femmes (1983) 3
U2 - The Joshua Tree (1987) 3
INXS - The Swing (1984) 3
The Chameleons - Script of the Bridge (1983) 3
The Smiths - Louder Than Bombs (1987) 3
New Order - Technique (1989) 3
Susanne Sundfør - Ten Love Songs (2015) 2
The Sundays - Reading, Writing & Arithmetic (1990) 2
Ramones - Ramones Mania (1988) 2
The Church - Starfish (1988) 2
ZZ Top - Eliminator (1983) 2
The Cult - Electric (1987) 2
Pixies - Doolittle (1989) 2
The B-52's - Wild Planet (1980) 1
Cyndi Lauper - She's So Unusual (1983) 1
Curve - Doppelgänger (1992) 1
Sky Ferreira - Night Time, My Time (2013) 1
Caterwaul - Pin & Web (1989) 1
Bonnie Raitt - Give it Up (1972) 1
Shriekback - Oil and Gold (1985) 1
Tori Amos - Little Earthquakes (1992) 1
Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique (1989) 1
Laura Lee - Women's Love Rights (1972) 1
Portishead - Third (2008) 1
Van Halen - 1984 (1984) 1
Peter Gabriel - So (1986) 1
Barbara Panther - Barbara Panther (2011) 1
The Highwomen - The Highwomen (2019) 0
Def Leppard - Hysteria (1987) 0
Depeche Mode - Music for the Masses (1987) 0
Elton John - Honky Château (1972) 0
Nirvana - Bleach (1989) 0
Nana Mouskouri - Nana Mouskouri In New York—The Girl From Greece Sings (1962/99) 0
Kris Kristofferson - Kristofferson (1970) 0
Killing Joke - Laugh? I Nearly Bought One! (1992) 0
Madeline Kenney - Sucker's Lunch (2020) 0
Sinéad O'Connor - The Lion and the Cobra (1987) 0
Stretch Princess - Stretch Princess (1998) 0
Heavy Heart - Keepsake (2017) 0
Nine Inch Nails - Pretty Hate Machine (1989) 0
The Soviettes - LPII (2003) 0


ⓓⓡ (Johnny Fever), Tuesday, 22 August 2023 04:40 (two years ago)

this is making me regret not including a Radiohead album on mine so The Bends it is

earosmith (Neanderthal), Tuesday, 22 August 2023 04:41 (two years ago)

Mostly this is a big list of stuff I commonly listen to while driving or doing chores around the house. Comfort food.

ⓓⓡ (Johnny Fever), Tuesday, 22 August 2023 04:43 (two years ago)

Voted fugazi, if I added one more album to my list it would have been red medicine

H.P, Tuesday, 22 August 2023 04:44 (two years ago)

Lots of good, but had to Give It Up.

dow, Tuesday, 22 August 2023 04:47 (two years ago)

Selected titles for context...

The Cult - Electric (1987)

This album's short on originality, but it's goddamn great for learning how to play the guitar when you're 13.

Nana Mouskouri - Nana Mouskouri In New York—The Girl From Greece Sings (1962/99)

Found this when on a big Quincy Jones bender a number a years ago. It's been in my car ever since.

Laura Lee - Women's Love Rights (1972)

Bought this cheap because the cover slaps. Turns out the record does too.

Kris Kristofferson - Kristofferson (1970)

Perhaps not my favorite album of all time in a practical sense, but in an admiration/intellectual sense perhaps it is.

ⓓⓡ (Johnny Fever), Tuesday, 22 August 2023 04:48 (two years ago)

Never heard her, but Nana of awesome ancient album covers: Greek as charisma, and serious-looking with those glasses! So cuet

dow, Tuesday, 22 August 2023 04:56 (two years ago)

Yeah that’s an awesome cover… never heard of her either.

Cone of uncertainty (morrisp), Tuesday, 22 August 2023 05:26 (two years ago)

if it's the cassette version of the cure standing on the beach then that. if it's cd version then joshua tree.

oscar bravo, Tuesday, 22 August 2023 06:20 (two years ago)

had to go w/ Oil And Gold here

out-of-print LaserDisc edition (sleeve), Tuesday, 22 August 2023 07:01 (two years ago)

I arbitrarily counted 32 albums released 1977-1992, which is a nice concentration and one of my favorite broad period in music.

I find it super meaningless to vote on the best in someone's else list, I prefer to look at the internal logic and formation of experience. But I guess that's overthinking.

Nabozo, Tuesday, 22 August 2023 07:15 (two years ago)

violent femmes s/t and it's not even close. really cool to see a shudder to think record on here though!

tremolo, Tuesday, 22 August 2023 09:07 (two years ago)

Well, Nana Mouskouri is an unexpected pick!

Monthly Python (Tom D.), Tuesday, 22 August 2023 09:16 (two years ago)

Extremely famous and popular in Europe (incl. the UK) but apparently not in North America.

Monthly Python (Tom D.), Tuesday, 22 August 2023 09:18 (two years ago)

She was mostly known over here in the US for an old TV commercial trying to sell a compilation album of her work in the 80s. At least that's how people my age remember her.

I just happened to come across this repackaged version of her first (?) album while in the middle of a Quincy Jones production/arranging deep dive and it's marvelous.

ⓓⓡ (Johnny Fever), Tuesday, 22 August 2023 10:27 (two years ago)

*An 80s TV commercial, rather. The compilation featured older material iirc.

ⓓⓡ (Johnny Fever), Tuesday, 22 August 2023 10:28 (two years ago)

if it's the cassette version of the cure standing on the beach then that.

― oscar bravo, Tuesday, August 22, 2023 2:20 AM

Oh, I definitely had the cassette version first, but I'll be honest...my listening ratio between side 1 and side 2 was probably something like 50:1.

ⓓⓡ (Johnny Fever), Tuesday, 22 August 2023 10:38 (two years ago)

Bleach as your Nirvana pick? Interesting

Saxophone Of Futility (Michael B), Tuesday, 22 August 2023 10:58 (two years ago)

Fantastic energy there that was never recaptured.

ⓓⓡ (Johnny Fever), Tuesday, 22 August 2023 11:03 (two years ago)

Went with Tribe

The Triumphant Return of Bernard & Stubbs (Raymond Cummings), Tuesday, 22 August 2023 11:52 (two years ago)

Sky Ferreira, of course.

the dreaded dependent claus (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 22 August 2023 12:14 (two years ago)

Van Halen - 1984 (1984)

well, that was easy

Deflatormouse, Tuesday, 22 August 2023 12:39 (two years ago)

voted for eliminator

is he disgruntled adrian? (voodoo chili), Tuesday, 22 August 2023 12:43 (two years ago)

21 favorites! Bonus points for Doppelgänger!

Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 22 August 2023 12:44 (two years ago)

Voted Violent Femmes

Random Restaurateur (Jordan), Tuesday, 22 August 2023 14:16 (two years ago)

Compilations are fine imo, if that's the way you listen to the music (see Best Best of Fela Kuti elsewhere, which is indeed excellent.)

I considered Ramones Mania, but the non-chronological order bothered my OCD enough to prefer Hey! Ho! Let's Go: The Anthology. First disc of that is wall to wall greatness.

Voted Devo, a life changing record for me, but lots of hard choices. Props for remembering Caterwaul; they once deafened me in a small club, but man were they powerful.

Large, Complex, Detailed but Irrefutable POST (Dan Peterson), Tuesday, 22 August 2023 14:22 (two years ago)

Fleetwood

nostormo, Tuesday, 22 August 2023 14:25 (two years ago)

Had to be Ten Love Songs. The Sundays, Life Without Buildings, New Order and Portishead close by.

kitchen person, Tuesday, 22 August 2023 14:28 (two years ago)

I’m unsure whether or not Nirvana is making my list. If I had to chose it would be Bleach, Incesticide, or an official live record (was there one?)

The Triumphant Return of Bernard & Stubbs (Raymond Cummings), Tuesday, 22 August 2023 17:18 (two years ago)

I prefer to look at the internal logic and formation of experience. But I guess that's overthinking.

Welcome to the overthinking club.

immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Tuesday, 22 August 2023 17:19 (two years ago)

Props for remembering Caterwaul; they once deafened me in a small club, but man were they powerful.

Wish I'd had the opportunity. Very formative guitar album for me.

ⓓⓡ (Johnny Fever), Tuesday, 22 August 2023 17:58 (two years ago)

...an official live record (was there one?)

https://i.imgur.com/tbtX583.jpg

ⓓⓡ (Johnny Fever), Tuesday, 22 August 2023 18:01 (two years ago)

Lots and lots of good stuff: Third v Standing v Technique.

Bee OK, Tuesday, 22 August 2023 18:13 (two years ago)

DEVO

The Terroir of Tiny Town (WmC), Tuesday, 22 August 2023 18:56 (two years ago)

Fantastic energy there that was never recaptured.

― ⓓⓡ (Johnny Fever), Tuesday, August 22, 2023 11:03 AM (seven hours ago

If grunge is often deemed as sludgy metal meets punk then Bleach is THE grunge album

Saxophone Of Futility (Michael B), Tuesday, 22 August 2023 19:00 (two years ago)

Quite hard for me to not to vote for Any Other City whenever Any Other City is an option, despite ridiculously strong competition.

Nag! Nag! Nag!, Wednesday, 23 August 2023 02:08 (two years ago)

Number of albums heard: 26

Favourite: Devo

Least-favourite: So or Violent Femmes

Nicest surprise: Shudder to Think

Unheard, but most want to hear: Fugazi, but should probably hear She's So Unusual at some point

Extremely famous and popular in Europe (incl. the UK) but apparently not in North America.

In Toronto in the 70s she was played on the MOR station at least as often as ABBA (often).

Halfway there but for you, Thursday, 24 August 2023 17:13 (two years ago)

Doppelgänger of course

Elvis Telecom, Thursday, 24 August 2023 17:20 (two years ago)

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

System, Monday, 28 August 2023 00:01 (two years ago)

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

System, Tuesday, 29 August 2023 00:01 (two years ago)

ok who voted for Barbara Panther ily

ⓓⓡ (Johnny Fever), Tuesday, 29 August 2023 01:11 (two years ago)

just want to say that is Bonnie Raitt's best album, nice to see it mentioned

out-of-print LaserDisc edition (sleeve), Tuesday, 29 August 2023 01:49 (two years ago)


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