# Top 10 albums of all time



## eljr (Aug 8, 2015)

I think it best to keep this a "favorites list so we don't run into conflicts of artistic merits and the like.

My top 10 albums of all time are: 


Blonde On Blonde Bob Dylan
Forever Changes Love	
Workingman's Dead Grateful Dead
Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin 
Are You Experienced? Jimi Hendrix Experience	
John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band	
Stage Fright Band 
Tonight's The Night Neil Young 
In Utero Nirvana	
All Things Must Pass George Harrison	

While I am at it, here is 11-20

Old And In The Way Old And In The Way
Songs from Liquid Days Phillip Glass
Jar Of Flies Alice in Chains
Hot Tuna Hot Tuna
Band of Gypsys Jimi Hendrix
The Cry of Love Jimi Hendrix
Berlin Lou Reed
Get Your Ya Ya's Out Rolling Stones
Beggars Banquet Rolling Stones
Let It Bleed Rolling Stones


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## eljr (Aug 8, 2015)

@Art Rock shared his in another thread: 

1. Hounds of Love (Kate Bush)
2. Selling England by the Pound (Genesis)
3. Wish You Were Here (Pink Floyd)
4. Fear of a Blank Planet (Porcupine Tree)
5. Scarlets Walk (Tori Amos)
6. Love over Gold (Dire Straits)
7. A Trick of the Tail (Genesis)
8. Little Earthquakes (Tori Amos)
9. The Raven that Refused to Sing... (Steven Wilson)
10. Unrepentant Geraldines (Tori Amos)


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

eljr said:


> @Art Rock shared his in another thread:
> 
> 1. Hounds of Love (Kate Bush)
> 2. Selling England by the Pound (Genesis)
> ...


The next ten would be

So (Peter Gabriel)
Graceland (Paul Simon)
Dark Side of the Moon (Pink Floyd)
Hand. Cannot. Erase. (Steven Wilson)
As Time Goes By (Bryan Ferry)
Bat out of Hell (Meat Loaf)
Year of the Cat (Al Stewart)
Hopes and Fears (Keane)
Brothers in Arms (Dire Straits)
In Absentia (Porcupine Tree)


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## Eva Yojimbo (Jan 30, 2016)

Here's a list I posted a couple years back. I'm sure if I made the list now there would be some changes, and it's only a rough draft I've never gotten around to making a fully-considered list of my favorite albums the way I've done with my favorite artists: https://www.talkclassical.com/62301-your-top-albums-ever.html#post1670142

1. Radiohead - OK Computer
2. Queensryche - Operation: Mindcrime
3. King Crimson - In the Court of the Crimson King
4. Bob Dylan - Blonde on Blonde
5. Beatles - Abbey Road
6. Bjork - Vespertine
7. Tool - Lateralus
8. Iron Maiden - Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
9. Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffitti
10. Opeth - Ghost Reveries

11. The Kinks - Village Green Preservation Society
12. XTC - Skylarking
13. AC/DC - Back in Black
14. Death - Sound of Perseverance
15. Talk Talk - Spirit of Eden
16. Yes - Relayer
17. Kate Bush - Aerial
18. Mercyful Fate - Don't Break the Oath
19. Prince - Purple Rain
20. Steely Dan - Aja

21. Weakling - Dead as Dreams
22. Taylor Swift - Speak Now
23. The Gathering - if_then_else
24. Jimi Hendrix - Electric Ladyland
25. Tom Waits - Bone Machine
26. Kayo Dot - Hubardo
27. Emperor - Prometheus
28. Megadeth - Rust in Peace
29. The Move - Move
30. The Smiths - The Queen is Dead

31. King Diamond - Abigail
32. Dream Theater - Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
33. Genesis - Selling England by the Pound
34. Alice in Chains - Dirt
35. King's X - Gretchen Goes to Nebraska
36. Gorguts - Obscura
37. Cocteau Twins - Treasure
38. The Who - Quadrophenia
39. Big Star - Third/Sister Lovers
40. Cynic - Focus

41. Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
42. Mars Volta - Francis the Mute
43. Judas Priest - Stained Class
44. Pixies - Doolittle
45. Immortal - At the Heart of Winter
46. Van Halen - Van Halen
47. Immolation - Close to a World Below
48. Queen - A Night at the Opera
49. Black Sabbath - Master of Reality
50. Mastodon - Leviathan


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## eljr (Aug 8, 2015)

Art Rock said:


> The next ten would be
> 
> So (Peter Gabriel)
> Graceland (Paul Simon)
> ...


I can see why you have the "Art" in Art Rock.


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## Jay (Jul 21, 2014)

Rock Division:

Hendrix - Electric Ladyland
Beatles - Revolver
KC - In the Court of The Crimson King
VdGG - Pawn Hearts
Joni Mitchell - Blue
Nico - The Marble Index
Allman Bros. - Fillmore East
Love - Forever Changes
Zombies - Odessey and Oracle
MoI - Uncle Meat


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## Forster (Apr 22, 2021)

Looking back, these are the albums whose grooves I wore out when I first bought them, and/or that I return to periodically to remind myself how good they are.

Todays' 10...


_Robert Wyatt - Rock Bottom
_
_Eno - Another Green World
_
_Genesis - The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway_
_Radiohead - Kid A_
_Radiohead - In Rainbows
_
_The Beatles - The Beatles_
_Joy Division - Closer
_
_Magazine - The Correct Use of Soap
_
_Muse - Black Holes and Revelations_
_Moby - Play_

Tomorrow's might include...


_Mothers of Invention - We're Only In It for the Money
_
_Kraftwerk - Computerworld_
_Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes_
_Peter Gabriel - Peter Gabriel (1)
_
_Sufjan Stevens - Illinoise_
_Hatfield and the North - Rotters Club
_
_Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot_
_Sigur Ros - Ágætis byrjun_
_Grace Jones - Nightclubbing_
_Donald Fagen - The Nightfly_


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## HenryPenfold (Apr 29, 2018)

This is tough. So many to leave out, like Low - Bowie, For Your Pleasure - Roxy Music, various Zappa albums, The velvet Underground, Lou Reed and so on.


in no special order ....

1. Ege Bamyasi - Can
2. Larks Tongues In Aspect - King crimson
3. Trout Mask Replica - Captai Beefheart
4. "Heroes" - David Bowie
5. Roxy Music - Roxy Music
6. Never Mind the Bollox*, Here's The Sex Pistols - The Sex Pistols
7. Dark Side Of The Moon - Pink Floyd
8. Led Zeppelin II - Led Zeppelin
9. OK Computer - Radiohead
10. Unknown Pleasures - Joy Division

*Correct spelling not allowed. Good job I don't rate Crass, The Dead Kennedys etc too highly!


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

I have thousands of CDs but I'll go with ten that I've listened to a great deal over the years.

Yes: Fragile
ELP: Brain Salad Surgery
Allan Holdsworth: Sand
Zappa: Shut Up 'N' Play Yer Guitar
Tony Rice: Native American
Genesis: Seconds Out
Mike Keneally: Sluggo
Pat Metheny: The First Circle
The Dregs: Unsung Heroes
Joni Mitchell: Shadows and Light


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

Very hard to limit it to ten but I'll try

Kind of Blue - Miles
Bitches Brew - Miles
Blue - Joni Mitchell
Late for the Sky - Jackson Brown
John Wesley Harding - Bob Dylan
The Band - The Band
Pet Sounds - The Beach Boys
Nilsson Sings Newman - Harry Nillsson
Voodoo - D'Angelo
Karla Bonoff - Karla Bonoff


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## Serge (Mar 25, 2010)

My one desert island album would be, I am quite sure:

Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti

Helps that it's a double album too. Anything further, and it gets too complicated trying to figure it out. Sorry.


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## HenryPenfold (Apr 29, 2018)

These are good, too!

1. Close To The Edge - Yes
2. Paranoid - Black Sabbath
3. Low - David Bowie
4. Apostrophe - Frank Zappa
5. Combat Rock - The Clash
6. In The Court Of The Crimson King - King Crimson
7. Ratus Norvegicus - The Stranglers
8. Rock n Roll Animal - Lou Reed
9. Heartbreaker - Free
10. For Your Pleasure - Roxy Music


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## HenryPenfold (Apr 29, 2018)

starthrower said:


> I have thousands of CDs but I'll go with ten that I've listened to a great deal over the years.
> 
> Yes: Fragile
> ELP: Brain Salad Surgery
> ...


Fragile and In The Court were the two albums that cemented my love affair with drumming. I still can't get my head around how the hell Michael Giles was doing what he's doing on ITCOTCK


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

HenryPenfold said:


> Fragile and In The Court were the two albums that cemented my love affair with drumming. I still can't get my head around how the hell Michael Giles was doing what he's doing on ITCOTCK


I've always listened to a lot of progressive rock and fusion because I love great drummers. And I like the sound of a well tuned kit as played by Bruford, Collins, Lenny White, Billy Cobham, Neil Peart, Chester Thompson, etc. And the drum sound on KC's Lizard.


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## HenryPenfold (Apr 29, 2018)

starthrower said:


> I've always listened to a lot of progressive rock and fusion because I love great drummers. And I like the sound of a well tuned kit as played by Bruford, Collins, Lenny White, Billy Cobham, Neil Peart, Chester Thompson, etc. And the drum sound on KC's Lizard.


I too have had my fair share of prog! A generational thing?

From your list (j'adore lists!) I've enjoyed the musicianship of Bruford so much down the years. And Chester Thompson is incredible on Squonk (Seconds Out). Love Lenny and Phil, never got on with Neil Peart or Billy Cobham


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## Jay (Jul 21, 2014)

HenryPenfold said:


> I still can't get my head around how the hell Michael Giles was doing what he's doing on ITCOTCK


I couldn't tell whether he was one of the best drummers I'd ever heard or one of the worst; I settled on the former assessment. Notable was his reliance on the triplet, where most drummers divided and sub-divided the beat by two and multiples of it. Andrew McCulloch and Franz Di Cioccio were listening!


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## HenryPenfold (Apr 29, 2018)

Jay said:


> I couldn't tell whether he was one of the best drummers I'd ever heard or one of the worst; I settled on the former assessment. Notable was his reliance on the triplet, where most drummers divided and sub-divided the beat by two and multiples of it. Andrew McCulloch and Franz Di Cioccio were listening!


Exactly! I don't think he quite knew what he was doing, otherwise he wouldn't do it! :lol:


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## jegreenwood (Dec 25, 2015)

The Band (Brown Album)
Moondance - Van Morrison
Blonde on Blonde - Dylan
Layla - Derek and the Dominos
Who's Next
Ella in Berlin - Ella Fitzgerald
A Swingin' Affair - Sinatra
Sketches of Spain - Miles Davis (and sneaking in a touch of classical)
You Must Believe in Spring - Bill Evans
Follies in Concert - Sondheim


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## HenryPenfold (Apr 29, 2018)

HenryPenfold said:


> This is tough. So many to leave out, like Low - Bowie, For Your Pleasure - Roxy Music, various Zappa albums, The velvet Underground, Lou Reed and so on.
> 
> in no special order ....
> 
> ...


OMG! Somehow left off "The Colour Of Spring" - Talk Talk


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## Malx (Jun 18, 2017)

Not possible .


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## eljr (Aug 8, 2015)

Malx said:


> Not possible .


Sure it is, it just takes time and a system.


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

I am not sure if they do as best albums of all time, but for sure the most listened.




Simon & Garfunkel / Bridge Over Troubled Water
Simon & Garfunkel/Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme
Paul Simon/ Graceland
Buena Vista Social Club/ Buena Vista Social Club 
The Beatles/ Abbey Road
Eagles/Hotel California
Sting /Nothing Like the Sun
The Beatles / Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Miles David / Kind of Blue
Miles Davis/ Birth of the Cool
Miles Davis/Doo-Bop


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## Jay (Jul 21, 2014)

HenryPenfold said:


> Exactly! I don't think [Giles] quite knew what he was doing, otherwise he wouldn't do it! :lol:


Oh, I think he knew exactly what he was doing, developing an orchestral conception with specific parts appropriate for that particular music. His triplet thing and playing against the time were unusual in rock drumming. His playing on the coda to the title song is a tour-de-force of chops and ideas.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

Today's list:

Lou Reed - New York
Patti Smith - Horses
Television - Marquee Moon
Ramones - Ramones
The Clash - The Clash
Frank Zappa - 200 Motels
Yes - Close to the Edge
Gordon Lightfoot - Sit Down Young Stranger
J.J. Cale - Naturally
Leon Russell & Mark Benno - Asylum Choir II


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## Red Terror (Dec 10, 2018)




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## eljr (Aug 8, 2015)

SanAntone said:


> Today's list:
> 
> Lou Reed - New York
> Patti Smith - Horses
> ...


You continue to surprise me. Asylum Choir II? Crazy good. I never see it on best lists through. I just checked my top 100 list that I slaved over years ago, I have that at 71. 
Lou Reed, for me, Berlin.


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## Subway Wind (Jan 3, 2022)

Difficult one. Top 100 would be easier :lol: can't even get Led Zep in not to mention a world of Blues

London Conversation - John Martyn
Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd
Pink Moon - Nick Drake
Blue - Joni Mitchell
Hunky Dory - David Bowie
Horses - Patti Smith
Wednesday Morning, 3AM - Simon & Garfunkel
Greetings From L.A. - Tim Buckley
Astral Weeks - Van Morrison
The Mirror of My Madness - Jack Hardy


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## Simon Moon (Oct 10, 2013)

This is tough. In reality, there are way too many albums I place at the same level of quality, to honestly only pick 10.

But I'll give it a go.

YES - Close to the Edge
King Crimson - Larks' Tongue in Aspic
Gentle Giant - In a Glass House
PFM - Per un Amico
Banco del Mutuo Soccorso - Io Sono Nato Libero
Magma - K.A. (Köhntarkösz Anteria)
Thinking Plague - In Extremis
John Coltrane - A Love Supreme
Mahavishnu Orchestra - Inner Mounting Flame
Area - Arbeit Macht Frei 

All the following albums could have made this list: 

PFM - Storia di un Minuto
Banco del Mutuo Soccorso - Darwin!
YES - Relayer
Gentle Giant - Octopus
Magma - Mëkanïk Dëstruktïẁ Kömmandöh
Il Balletto di Bronzo - YS
Bruford - One of a Kind
Allan Holdsworth - Metal Fatigue
Henry Cow - Western Culture
Return to Forever - Romantic Warrior
Anglagard - Epilog
Deus ex Machina - Equilibrismo da Insofferenza

and more...


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## senza sordino (Oct 20, 2013)

My top favorite ten from England / North America / Jazz and Jazz Fusion

Revolver - The Beatles
Abbey Road - The Beatles
Who's Next - The Who
Led Zeppelin IV - Led Zeppelin
Close to the Edge - Yes
Selling England By The Pound - Genesis
Lark's Tongue in Aspic - King Crimson
Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd
A Night at the Opera - Queen
War - U2

Pet Sounds - The Beach Boys
Electric Ladyland - Jimi Hendrix
Hot Rats - Frank Zappa
Chicago 2 - Chicago
Abraxas - Santana
Tapestry - Carole King
Harvest - Neil Young
Innervisions - Stevie Wonder
Brothers and Sisters - The Allman Brothers Band
Pretzel Logic - Steely Dan

Kind of Blue - Miles Davis
Time Out - Dave Brubeck
A Love Supreme - John Coltrane
Getz / Gilberto - Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto
Bitches Brew - Miles Davis
The Inner Mounting Flame - The Mahavishnu Orchestra
Return to Forever - Chick Corea
Headhunters - Herbie Hancock
Heavy Weather - The Weather Report
The Elegant Gypsy - Al di Meola


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## Chilham (Jun 18, 2020)

John Martyn - One World
David Bowie - Hunky Dory
Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells
Led Zeppelin - IV
Supertramp - Crime of the Century
Genesis - Trick of the Tail
Donald Fagen - The Nightfly
Bob Dylan - Budokan
Joni Mitchell - The Hissing of Summer Lawns
Paul Simon - Graceland


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## Kjetil Heggelund (Jan 4, 2016)

ok
1. Queen II
2. Iron Maiden-The Number of the Beast
3. Def Leppard-Pyromania
4. Judas Priest-Unleashed in the East
5. Motörhead-No Sleep Til Hammersmith
6. TNT-Knights of the New Thunder
7. Frank Zappa-Roxy & Elsewhere
8. Tom Waits-Franks Wild Years
9. Leonard Cohen-Songs From a Room
10. Terje Rypdal-Chaser
11. Rainbow-Rainbow Rising
12. Ozzy Osbourne-Blizzard of Ozz
13. Ozzy Osbourne-Diary of a Madman
mine goes to 13 and all albums I got before I was 20 and never grow tired of. I almost forgot I'm a pretty big Randy Rhoads fan :angel:


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## SearsPoncho (Sep 23, 2020)

Kjetil Heggelund said:


> ok
> 1. Queen II
> 2. Iron Maiden-The Number of the Beast
> 3. Def Leppard-Pyromania
> ...


I'm a big Randy Rhoads fan too! Some great stuff mentioned by all. I'm glad to see Genesis' Selling England by the Pound mentioned several times. Steve Hackett is another one of my favorites. Tough to narrow this down to 10, but Jeff Beck's Blow By Blow has to be up there.


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## Simon Moon (Oct 10, 2013)

Simon Moon said:


> This is tough. In reality, there are way too many albums I place at the same level of quality, to honestly only pick 10.
> 
> But I'll give it a go.
> 
> ...


I can't believe I didn't have any Zappa on my lists!

One Size Fits All
Zoot Allures
Orchestral Favoites


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

Ten Favorite Rock Albums: No Order

Bob Dylan: Blood on the Tracks
Mother Love Bone: Apple
Joan Osborne: Relish
Paul Simon: Graceland
Led Zeppelin: Led Zeppelin (1)
PJ Harvey: Let England Shake
Genesis: Selling England by the Pound
Bruce Springsteen: Darkness on the Edge of Town
The Doors: The Doors
Jimi Hendrix: Are You Experienced

Ten More:

PJ Harvey: Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea
Janelle Monae: The Archandroid
Genesis: Foxtrot
Yes: Close to the Edge
Maria McKee: You Gotta Sin to Get Saved
John Mellencamp: The Lonesome Jubilee 
Led Zeppelin: Led Zeppelin 3
Fleetwood Mac: Say You Will
PJ Harvey: To Bring You my Love
Jonny Lang: Wander This World

The criterion for choosing these albums is the percentage of “want to hear again” songs on each album. An enormous number of groups and artists have offered albums with as good or better songs, but they do not form as large a percentage on those albums as do those listed above. Some examples of such albums with 5 or fewer excellent (IMO) songs would be Soundgarden: Louder Than Love, Chicago (Transit Authority): Chicago Transit Authority, Neneh Cherry: Homebrew, CS&N: Daylight Again, just to name a tiny number out of a vast population of similar albums.

I note also the relative scarcity of female groups and artists in many of these above lists. This is at least partly due to the relatively recent (late 1980s and 1990s, mostly) rise of a whole phalanx of talented women out of a former near-desert.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Nice to see you back here, SM!


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## Xisten267 (Sep 2, 2018)

My turn:

1. Yes - Tales From Topographic Oceans
2. Queen - A Night at the Opera
3. Pink Floyd - The Dark Side of the Moon
4. King Crimson - Red
5. Queen - Innuendo
6. Deep Purple - Machine Head
7. Pink Floyd - Animals
8. Brian Wilson - Brian Wilson Presents Smile
9. Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
10. Yes - Close to the Edge


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## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

Kjetil Heggelund said:


> ok
> 12. Ozzy Osbourne-Blizzard of Ozz
> 13. Ozzy Osbourne-Diary of a Madman
> mine goes to 13 and all albums I got before I was 20 and never grow tired of. I almost forgot I'm a pretty big Randy Rhoads fan


I am a big Randy Rhoads fan myself, those are my two favorite metal albums. The one thing that puzzles me though is that Blizzard of Ozz seems to get a little more love (is that just because it has Crazy Train, or what?) To my ears Diary of a Madman is clearly the better album of the two, although Blizzard of Ozz is also great.

I love Ozzy's voice it is very unique in metal, he never has to get raspy or growl with it. The natural timbre of his voice is powerful enough on its own.


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## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

As an aside Randy Rhoads was a fan of classical music. The guitar chords opening the title track _Diary of a Madman_ were inspired by Leo Brouwer's guitar study _Estudios Sencillos no. 6_


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## Jogaga (Nov 24, 2021)

Its just a list (I can't rate them)

1. Queen - A Night at the Opera
2. Beatles - Abbey Road
3. Pink Floyd - The Dark Side of the Moon
4. Miles Davis - Kind of Blue
5. Chico Buarque - Construção
6. David Bowie - Hunky Dory
7. Elton John - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (Remastered)
8. Ella Fitzgerald - Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Cole Porter Songbook
9. Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin IV
10. The Rolling Stones - Exile On Main Street


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

Jogaga said:


> 5. Chico Buarque - Construção


Great to see this appear on anyone's list. :tiphat:


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## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

Top ten "favorite" albums is a do-able task, even though the favoritism shifts on, nearly, a daily basis, depending upon what I'm hunkering to hear. So many _favorite_ albums out there!

But there are some that I just cannot escape from, ones I tend to collect multiple copies of in various formats and masterings, ones that get heavy rotation on my system. I'm happy to notice a few of these on other people's lists.

I _won't_ say this is a ranked order, but those top two are likely my most favorite albums -- running just a play or two ahead of the others.

1. _Kind of Blue_ - Miles Davis
2. _Getz / Gilberto_ - Stan Getz & João Gilberto Featuring Antonio Carlos Jobim

















I present pics of these two in the "newer" releases where remastering is superb and old errors are corrected (such as the errant tape speed of the Miles Davis original pressing and the channel switch of the early Getz/Gilberto). The sound of these pressings (one a clear vinyl, the other an SACD) is sublime.

3. _Letter To Evan_ - David Benoit
4. _Canyon Lady_ - Joe Henderson
5. _The Brasil Project_ - Toots Thielemans
6. _The Antonio Carlos Jobim Songbook - Wave_ [a compilation, to be sure, but one I couldn't live without] - including Jobim, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Astrud Gilberto, Joe Henderson, Stan Getz & Charlie Byrd, Toots Thielemans & Elis Regina, Dizzy Gillespie, Oscar Peterson, Pat Metheny, Wes Montgomery....
7. _Jobim - Someone To Light Up My Life_ - Gene Bertoncini
8. _Naked Guitar_ - Earl Klugh
9. _Touchdown_ - Bob James
10. _The Beatles In Mono_ (the white box with vinyl, especially) - The Beatles [OK. I'm cheating big time on this one, a 14 disc set. But, how do you pick a favorite Beatles record?]

My list here is heavier on jazz than pop/rock, but that's what I tend to listen to moreso nowadays, when not engaging with "classical" or "new experimental music". As a result, some of my great favorite pop/rockrecords -- like _Songs In The Key Of Life_ by Stevie Wonder, _Tea For The Tillerman_ by Cat Stevens, _Chicago_ by Chicago, _Grand Funk_ by Grand Funk Railroad, _So Far_ by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, _Halber Mensch_ by Einstürzende Neubauten ... and about a thousand more... -- didn't make the cut. Still, they are in my collection, and I can listen to them any time I please. Which is all I ask for.


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## pianozach (May 21, 2018)

Yeah. *Top 10 albums of all time*.

Impossible.

First of all, "Top" is subjective. Are talking about the most critically acclaimed albums? Our "Favorite" Top 10? The best-selling?

I'll assume we're talking about our personal favorites. Even then I'm sure that I'd easily have to have a list of 50 albums. 7+ Beatles albums, 7 Yes albums, 5 Jethro Tull albums, 2 Klaatu albums. Right there I'm already over 20.

OK I'll give it a shot

*Beatles:*
Revolver
Abbey Road
Rubber Soul
Magical Mystery Tour
Please Please Me
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
The White Album
Love
1962-1966
1967-1970
Past Masters
Live at the BBC
Live at the BBC 2

John Lennon Rock 'N' Roll
Paul McCartney Ram
Paul McCartney Band On the Run
Paul McCartney Unplugged
Paul McCartney Flaming Pie
George Harrison All Things Must Pass
George Harrison Living In the Material World
George Harrison Gone Troppo
George Harrison Dark Horse
George Harrison Cloud Nine
Ringo Starr Ringo

*Yes*:
Relayer
Talk
Drama
Tales From Topographic Oceans
90125
Fragile
Close To the Edge

Chris Squire Fish Out of Water
Jon Anderson Olias of Sunhillow
Rick Wakeman The Six Wives of Henry VIII

*Jethro Tull:*
Benefit
Thick As a Brick
Warchild
Stand Up
Aqualung

*Klaatu*:
3:47 EST
Hope

Led Zeppelin III
Led Zeppelin Physical Grafitti
Jimi Hendrix Electric Ladyland

Pink Floyd Wish You Were Here
Pink Floyd Dark Side Of the Moon
Pink Floyd Atom Heart Mother

Paul Simon Graceland
Simon & Garfunkel Bridge Over Troubled Water
Simon & Garfunkel Bookends

The Byrds Greatest Hits
Crosby, Stills & Nash Crosby, Stills & Nash
Buffalo Springfield Buffalo Springfield Again

Emerson, Lake & Palmer Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Emerson, Lake & Palmer Trilogy
Emerson, Lake & Palmer Brain Salad Surgery

U.K. U.K.

The Blues Brothers A Briefcase Full of Blues
Fleetwood Mac Rumours
Roger Hodgson In the Eye of the Storm

Queen A Night at the Opera

Chicago Transit Authority
Chicago Chicago II
Chicago Chicago III
Chicago Chicago V

David Bowie David Live
David Bowie The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars

Uriah Heep Demon's and Wizards
Uriah Heep The Magician's Birthday

Janet Robin Out From Under

Elton John Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
Elton John Madman Across the Water
Elton John Greatest Hits

The Doors The Doors
Boston Boston
Creedence Clearwater Revival Greatest Hits
Eagles Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975)
Iron Butterfly In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida

Mike Oldfield Tubular Bells
Mike Oldfield Hergest Ridge

*There ya go . . . 80*


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## BrahmsWasAGreatMelodist (Jan 13, 2019)

I don't really have favorite albums. I have favorite songs, but then 10 is far too few


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## eljr (Aug 8, 2015)

pianozach said:


> Yeah. Top 10 albums of all time.
> 
> Impossible.


.

Difficult, not impossible.

To come up with my list it took me many months and I attached criteria that I could quantify in order to accomplish it.

and yes, of course this thread is of a subjective nature or we could simply consult Billboard.

I find your submission very interesting. What stands out to me is the absence of John Lennon, aside from Rock "N" Roll, when clearly the Beatles and their members is central to your enjoyment. 
On top of that, Rock "N" Roll is the only Lennon release I do not favor! 

Thanks for the submission.


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

Pianozach: not a criticism, just an observation--no women in your list. And, could you identify a common theme or criterion running through your list of 80? In my list (elsewhere) of ten or a dozen or so individual songs, I can specify several criteria that link together my enthusiasms for those songs: these would include, for some, a rediscovery (by Rock artists) of Romanticism: for others compelling guitar work (plangently emotional): for others a compelling vocal emotionality: for all a moment or moments of the building of tension and then its cathartic (orgasmic?) release.

Comments welcome!


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## Johnnie Burgess (Aug 30, 2015)

Strange Magic said:


> Pianozach: not a criticism, just an observation--no women in your list. And, could you identify a common theme or criterion running through your list of 80? In my list (elsewhere) of ten or a dozen or so individual songs, I can specify several criteria that link together my enthusiasms for those songs: these would include, for some, a rediscovery (by Rock artists) of Romanticism: for others compelling guitar work (plangently emotional): for others a compelling vocal emotionality: for all a moment or moments of the building of tension and then its cathartic (orgasmic?) release.
> 
> Comments welcome!


So Janet Robin does not count?


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

Johnnie Burgess said:


> So Janet Robin does not count?


Sorry, I missed that. Thank you for noticing! One out of 80............


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

12 albums which could sum up my musical favorites (sans Classical) which for me includes complete boxes.

JAZZ
*Miles Davis* - _Complete Featuring John Coltrane_
*Louis Armstrong* - _Complete Hot Five and Seven Recordings_
*Thelonious Monk* - _Complete Riverside Recordings_

COUNTRY
*Hank Williams* - _Complete_
*Bill Monroe* - _Essential_
*Johnny Cash* - _American Recordings Box_

ROOTS
*Harry Smith*, ed. - _Anthology of American Folk Music_
*Robert Johnson* - _Centennial Collection_
*Woody Guthrie* - _The Asch Years_

SONGWRITER
*Guy Clark* - _Best of the Dualtone Years_
*Townes Van Zandt* - _At the Old Quarter_
*Bob Dylan* - _The Cutting Edge 1965-1966_


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## eljr (Aug 8, 2015)

Strange Magic said:


> Pianozach: not a criticism, just an observation--no women in your list. And, could you identify a common theme or criterion running through your list of 80? In my list (elsewhere) of ten or a dozen or so individual songs, I can specify several criteria that link together my enthusiasms for those songs: these would include, for some, a rediscovery (by Rock artists) of Romanticism: for others compelling guitar work (plangently emotional): for others a compelling vocal emotionality: for all a moment or moments of the building of tension and then its cathartic (orgasmic?) release.
> 
> Comments welcome!


Speaking introspectively through hindsight it seems clear that my favorites reflect the emerging power and strength of masculinity that grabs a young male. 
That coupled with the forlorn feeling of lost love seemed to have dominated my life at it's most impressionable time and is reflected in the music that I most favor. 
Self expression though music.


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## eljr (Aug 8, 2015)

SanAntone said:


> 12 albums which could sum up my musical favorites (sans Classical) which for me includes complete boxes.
> 
> JAZZ
> *Miles Davis* - _Complete Featuring John Coltrane_
> ...


I'd say this represents an unusually strong appreciation of very earthy, Americana sophistication through simplicity. 
Very impressively rooted, frankly.


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## eljr (Aug 8, 2015)

SanAntone said:


> 12 albums which could sum up my musical favorites (sans Classical) which for me includes complete boxes.
> 
> JAZZ
> *Miles Davis* - _Complete Featuring John Coltrane_
> ...


I'd say this represents an unusually strong appreciation of very earthy Americana sophistication through simplicity. 
Very impressively rooted, frankly.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

eljr said:


> I'd say this represents an unusually strong appreciation of very earthy, Americana sophistication through simplicity.
> Very impressively rooted, frankly.


Yeah, my favorites have always been the older Roots sound.


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## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

BrahmsWasAGreatMelodist said:


> I don't really have favorite albums. I have favorite songs, but then 10 is far too few


Of course, a _thing_ about "favorite albums" is that every song (or nearly every one) pleases, there seem to be no "fillers". I refer to my list with the sense that when I listen to these albums I enjoy each work, each one seems better than the last, and yet the last one prompts me to return to the beginning and play the album again. These are albums that feature some "great songs", but the impact of the album is as a whole. These are albums that I have repeat-played so many times.

Ten "favorite songs" would be a completely different notion, probably more flexible for changeability day to day than even one's ten favorite albums. I have favorite songs that exist on albums where I never listen to any other piece. (I think off hand of Lyle Lovett's "North Dakota" on his album _Joshua Judges Ruth_.) Sometimes a favorite song might be one not covered by many others (as is the case of "North Dakota"), but more often than not a favorite song transcends any particular single recording and may well be ubiquitous on disc, having been recorded hundreds of times (which accounts for why it might qualify as a favorite song).

Though my ten favorite albums likely feature several of my ten favorite songs, such is not a guarantee for qualifying an album as a favorite. I'll admit that "Girl From Ipanema" is a favorite song and appears on a couple of the discs I list among my ten favorite, but that is likely the exception rather than the rule. Bacharach's "The Look of Love" remains a long favorite song of mine, but I'm not a great fan of other Bacharach songs, for some strange reason. Likely I won't find a "favorite album" that features "The Look of Love", but I will find a version of the song on many an album, and chances are I'll like the song, whatever its arrangement or vocalist(s), with exceptions possible, of course. I'm not sure Tiny Tim performing the song accompanied by his ukulele would prompt applause from me.


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

Sonnet CLV, your experience very closely mirrors mine (or mine yours) with the exception that my list of ten or a dozen or 14 favorite songs (or albums) evolves only very slowly and only by addition, never subtraction. I completely agree with your criterion, similar with mine, that it is the percentage of want-to-hear-again songs on an album that dictates its inclusion onto a list of favorites. I find with you that very few of my favorite songs are to be found on my favorite albums. In fact upon checking I find no favorite song on any of my 20 favorite albums--two separate criteria at work. This is why it always interests me to read of others' explicit reasons for liking what they like, at least in list creation.


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## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

Strange Magic said:


> Sonnet CLV, your experience very closely mirrors mine (or mine yours) ....


Of course, outside of this Forum, I never really think about such things as "my 10 favorite songs", "my 10 favorite albums", or "my 10 favorite aggravations" (though sometimes the posts I read here fit into that third category, whether I think about it or not!).

Favorite songs (such as "What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life" written by Legrand-Bergman-Bergman, "We're Off To See The Wizard" from _The Wizard of Oz_, and "My Funny Valentine" by Rodgers & Hart) tend to have two qualities to me: the knack for quite often popping into my head for a replay no matter what and when, and the quality of having clever lyrics, often involving internal rhyme and alliteration.

I am rather confused by the notion that a "favorite song" should have lyrics, and thus be "a song". Is it otherwise a "favorite tune"? I think of "'Round Midnight", the Thelonius Monk masterpiece. I like it as a wordless "tune" but also with its various lyrics. I even wrote lyrics of my own to fit the tune.

If we were to qualify as "songs" only those pieces specifically penned with indivisible tune and lyrics, my favorite songs list would change from what I might have come up with without that qualification. Thus, when a lyric poem is set to music, that would not be a qualifiable "song", as when lyrics are added to a composed "tune." Of course, how are we to know such things. "Wassiye" by African singer/guitarist Habib Koité is a "favorite song" for me, though I have no idea if the lyrics came before the tune, or the tune before the lyrics, or if the song were written as a piece, tune and lyrics developing simultaneously during the act of creation. I've written a few songs in my career, and I've written them in all three ways described: putting music to a lyric, putting a lyric to music, and creating both the lyric and music spontaneously.

And so all of this pondering is now getting me close to approaching the speculation of another "favorite aggravation", but I don't want to go there, so I'll cease.


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

Right off the top of my head, easily my favorite example of a poem set to music is Paul Robeson singing _Jerusalem_ on an old Vanguard LP. Also there are many songs I love with lyrics in languages I know nothing of (and have often no access to a translation). This includes many songs from Western Africa and others sung in Arabic. There are some published translations of the often almost incredibly slurred and tormented version of the Andalu dialect in which cante flamenco is sung, but the expressive force ot so many of my favorite flamenco "songs" is sufficient to wholly satisfy my musico-emotional thirst.


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## pianozach (May 21, 2018)

Johnnie Burgess said:


> So *Janet Robin* does not count?


. . . And *Fleetwood Mac*? 3 vocalists in the band, 2 of which are female.

I'm amused that I've been singled out for a paucity of females on my list. I daresay that practically everyone's attempt at a list has a scarcity of female artists.

Go ahead; scroll back and look.

*OP*: eljr 20 albums 0 women
*ArtRock*: 20 albums 4 women
*Eva Yojimbo*: 50 albums 3 women
*Jay*: 10 albums 2 women
*Forster*: 20 albums 1 woman
*HenryPenfold*: 21 albums 0 women
*Starthrower*: 10 albums 1 woman
*SanAntone*: 20 albums 3 women
*Rogerx*: 11 albums 0 women
*Subway Wind*: 10 albums 2 women
*Simon Moon*: 22 albums 0 women
*senza sordino*: 30 albums 1 woman
*Chilham*: 10 albums 1 woman
*Kjetil Heggelund*: 13 albums 0 women
*jegreenwood*: 10 albums 1 woman
*Strange Magic*: 30 albums 3 women
*Xisten267*: 10 albums 0 women
*Jogaga*: 10 albums 1 woman
*SONNET CLV*: 16 albums 0 women
*pianozach*: 80 albums 3 women



eljr said:


> .
> 
> Difficult, not impossible.
> 
> ...


I thoroughly enjoyed *John Lennon* when he was with *The Beatles*, and there's plenty of solo tracks of his I enjoy.

His solo albums though (not even counting those awful experimental albums, and that grungy Live Peace In Toronto 1970)? I like 'em . . . to an extent. Just not on my list of "favorite albums".

Y'see, back when he was with the Beatles, there was a certain oversight, production values, whether it was George Martin, or bandmate Paul. Once out on his own, he teamed up with crazy man Phil Spector, and there was no one to tell him a song needed another take, or an overdub, or some structure, or some editing.

Hell, more than half his singles only had ONE of his songs on them (the other going to Yoko). Two of his albums were half-Yoko releases. In fact, John only released 5 *full* studio albums in the ten years between leaving the Beatles and his untimely death. I certainly like those five a great deal, but they all have flaws.

*Plastic Ono Band* is a short sloppy faux-grunge/garage thing. Most of the songs are simplistic things, and a few are complaining whiney petulant poor me things. I still giggle at the lack of a rehearsal on "Remember": Bassist Voorman has difficulty following John, and excellent drummer White just went with a straight 2/4 beat in the intro 'cause who knew where the verse downbeat was going to land. Well Well Well has John's little screamfest in the middle. Some good songs, but just not a "fave".

*Imagine* had better production values. Still a rather short album, and has the dippy "Oh Yoko" at the end. And another rambling jammy song, "i Don't Want to Be a Soldier Mama". Pretty damned good album otherwise.

*Some Time In New York City* is a load of crap. Still, though, John sings on [only] half the songs, and I still think he's a great vocalist. Opening track won't even print on TC. There's a few of John's songs I like.

*Mind Games* and *Walls and Bridges* paints John in those soft rock colors that he used to say he hated. There's a handful of songs on each that I really like.

*Rock 'n' Roll* is him singing what he sings best. A fun listen.

*Double Fantasy* is, again, not a full album from John; it's only half an album. The songs range from great to pleasant.


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

PZ, I'm confused. I thought I had listed only 20 albums, not 30 (scroll back). I think, however, that we both err--I for excluding (senile dementia), the two excellent women of Fleetwood Mac. And you for miscounting my albums and, since we acknowledge the two women of FM, miscounting the women in my list of 20 albums--I count six: Polly Harvey, Maria McKee, Janelle Monae, Joan Osborne, and Nicks and McVie.

P.S. My list includes seven albums featuring women; yours two.


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## eljr (Aug 8, 2015)

pianozach said:


> . . . And *Fleetwood Mac*? 3 vocalists in the band, 2 of which are female.
> 
> I'm amused that I've been singled out for a paucity of females on my list. I daresay that practically everyone's attempt at a list has a scarcity of female artists.
> 
> ...


Interesting. Plastic Ono Band is in my top 5 for many of the reasons you view it with disdain. On Walls and Bridges #9 Dream is among his best work, IMO. Double Fantasy is a gem.

I don't listen for production value. I listen, principle, although not consciously, for emotional identification. As Tolstoy said, "Music is the shorthand of emotion."



> *Plastic Ono Band* is a short sloppy faux-grunge/garage thing. Most of the songs are simplistic things, and a few are complaining whiney petulant poor me things. I still giggle at the lack of a rehearsal on "Remember": Bassist Voorman has difficulty following John, and excellent drummer White just went with a straight 2/4 beat in the intro 'cause who knew where the verse downbeat was going to land. Well Well Well has John's little screamfest in the middle. Some good songs, but just not a "fave".


I understand this is opinion based but still I do need correct you on one thing, there is nothing "faux" about this album. Defining it as such is simply incorrect.

Short story. This album meant so much to me that I shared it with my dad. Only album or song I ever did. I wanted to let the music express my feelings as I certainly never could directly. He literally laughed at it. I still recall that hurt.

Not surprisingly, I am not a McCartney fan. I find his offerings much to trite and poppy. Emotionless or superficial.

Oh so interesting. Art and it's duality. It's universality and personal interpretation. Oh so interesting.

Peace, brother


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

> eljr: "I don't listen for production value. I listen, principle, although not consciously, for emotional identification. As Tolstoy said, "Music is the shorthand of emotion."


Amen to that: Tolstoy had it right.


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## Forster (Apr 22, 2021)

Re women on lists.

I'm not going to defend an overwhelmingly male top 20 when my whole collection is overwhelmingly male. I see no reason to attempt to be either inclusive or balanced.

Reflecting on the one female artist I did have in my second top ten, I might put Stina Nordenstam alongside her. I would also point out, as others have, that some of the bands, like Hatfield and the North, include female vocalists.

More importantly for me...and, it would appear, for others, judging by their lists...either women were in a tiny minority when we were growing up, so we would inevitably lean towards the male...

Or the preoccupations and musical styles of male artists "spoke" more to teenage males than did female artists.

Has research been conducted into this?

(I also like some Kate Bush, some Joni Mitchell, no Crystal Gayle, some Carly Simon...)


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## pianozach (May 21, 2018)

Forster said:


> *Re women on lists.
> 
> I'm not going to defend an overwhelmingly male top 20 when my collection is overwhelmingly male. I see no reason to attempt to be either inclusive or balanced.
> *
> ...


Quite right.

It was pointed out that I had a lack of women on my list. As I just started a train of consciousness list, it's not completely definitive. I left *Carole King's Tapestry* . . . an album with no filler. I love *Heart* and the *Carpenters* and *Janis Joplin*. *Joni Mitchell*'s OK, I guess (critics rate her highly for complex lyrics and well constructed harmonic progression). I never really enjoyed the voices of *Joan Baez* or *Yoko Ono*. I like *Carly Simon, Sheryl Crow, Billie Eilish, Avril Lavigne, Fiona Apple, Barbra Streisand, Pentatonix, Indigo Girls, The Andrews Sisters, Beth Hart, Bonnie Raitt, The Mamas & The Papas, The B-52s, Melissa Etheridge, Yma Sumac*, etc. There's plenty of songs from females I love . . . I'm just not familiar with their albums as much.

I rebutted that _everyone_ had a lack of women on their lists, or at best, a low percentage of them (except for *Art Rock!*, with an impressive 4/10).

It's not our fault. I'll bet that if we went back to 1950, and counted released "male" albums and "female" albums we might find some *systemic misogyny* in both numbers and promotion.

It could also be that male bands and male singers tend to appeal to a male audience, while female singers tend to appeal to females. I'm not sure how many member TC members that commented are female, but I'm inclined to believe that they'd likely have a higher percentage of entries from female artists if they were to comment here.


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

Forster, my post was merely an observation and clearly stated as such; not a criticism. To your choices of Kate Bush, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon, I'll add Laura Nyro, the Wilson sisters of Heart, Janis, Grace Slick, Madonna, Laura Branigan, Neneh Cherry, Patti Smith, all the women of Motown and the Doo-*** era, and then the explosion of women in the 1990s, too numerous to mention. But to each his own; much out there.

PZ, you also take my observation as criticism. But, since we both like lists and statistics, here are 2. You have 3 women on 80 albums, or 3.75%. I have 6 women on 20 albums, or 30%. Again, to each his own.


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## Red Terror (Dec 10, 2018)

Diamanda Galas
Laurie Anderson


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## Forster (Apr 22, 2021)

Nor did I take it as "criticism", but for the benefit of anyone else reading the thread, I thought I'd get my "defence" in first.

Of course, not remembering the women's albums in my collection does smack of chauvinism.

Ray of Light
Jagged Little Pill
Under the Pink
All Saints Greatest Hits

I really like the Madonna, but I'll still take Wyatt's Rock Bottom to that infamous desert island.


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## eljr (Aug 8, 2015)

Forster said:


> Nor did I take it as "criticism", but for the benefit of anyone else reading the thread, I thought I'd get my "defence" in first.


I don't think anyone needs be defensive. We like what we like. There is no arbiter of renown for personal preferences. (unless one is married, I suppose)


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## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

pianozach said:


> . . . And *Fleetwood Mac*? 3 vocalists in the band, 2 of which are female.
> 
> I'm amused that I've been singled out for a paucity of females on my list. I daresay that practically everyone's attempt at a list has a scarcity of female artists.
> 
> ...


Hmm...

My list includes several women, including some of the leading vocalists who ever vocalized ... or led!

Ok, my first pick, _Kind of Blue_ by Miles Davis is lacking female personnel. (But I _do_ have The Slits' LPs ‎_Cut_ and _Return Of The Giant Slits_ -- the latter on Yellow [Flourescent] vinyl! -- in my collection, as well as Wilma's eponymously titled _Wilma_ LP, on Subterranean Records - SUB 50, _and_ Frightwig's _Cat Farm Faboo_ - SUB 46. Not to mention pretty much of everything recorded by Bessie Smith and Billie Holiday, as well as much Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, Blossom Dearie, Julie London, Barbra Streisand, Diana Krall, Patricia Barber ... and everything recorded by Nancy Van de Vate on the Vienna Modern Masters label, including a copy of her opera _Hamlet_, which she autographed for me. And each of these albums is a treasure. So ... _that_ should pretty much balance out the male representation on _Kind of Blue_.

Moving to my number 2 pick, one should realize that a major player (or rather, _singer_) on this disc is Astrud Gilberto whose vocals prove a highlight of the first track on the album, "The Girl From Ipanema", which is also one of my favorite all time songs. I have well over a dozen different versions of this disc, and I cherish Astrud's contribution (strange though her voice might sound to some) each time I play one of the albums. I might add, I have several Astrud Gilberto albums in my collection as well. So, to count out the female vocals of Astrud Gilberto on the album _Getz / Gilberto_ is rather unfair. In fact, though _you_ may argue the "Gilberto" of the title is Brazilian superstar João Gilberto, I will stubbornly insist it refers to Astrud. Alas ....

Now, what else is on my list?

3. Letter To Evan - David Benoit

Though the performers listing for this album is devoid of women, Fran Landesman, American lyricist and poet, contributes with one of her best-known songs: "Spring Can Really Hang You up the Most." _That_ remains one of my long-time favorite songs, one that is present on many records I purchase, primarily, in many instances, for that song alone. It may be why I originally purchased this David Benoit disc, which has come to be, I estimate from memory, the most often played record in my collection of several thousand discs. Certainly a treasure island disc, made sure with the contribution of Fran Landesman.

4. Canyon Lady - Joe Henderson

The music may not have female writers or performers, but the title is "lady-like" and the cover girl is to die for. Enough said there!









5. The Brasil Project - Toots Thielemans

The album features celebrated vocalist/pianist Eliane Elias, another who is ubiquitous in my personal record collection, having some dozen or so discs of her performances, including the stunning albums _Something For You (Eliane Elias Sings & Plays Bill Evans)_, _Bossa Nova Stories_, and _Dreamer_, among others.

6. The Antonio Carlos Jobim Songbook - Wave [a compilation, to be sure, but one I couldn't live without] - including Jobim, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Astrud Gilberto, Joe Henderson, Stan Getz & Charlie Byrd, Toots Thielemans & Elis Regina, Dizzy Gillespie, Oscar Peterson, Pat Metheny, Wes Montgomery....

My comment for the above album is self-explanatory, women-wise, I would think.

7. Jobim - Someone To Light Up My Life - Gene Bertoncini

Ok. This one is rather male oriented. But it's a guy with his acoustic nylon-string guitar, Gene Bertoncini, helped out very subtly on a couple of tracks by percussionist John Arrucci. I bought this album because it features a _guitarist_ playing songs I like (and it is certainly one of my favorite albums!), but that doesn't diminish the fact that I've bought guitar albums with women performers, including Sharon Isbin, Dale Kavanagh, Karin Schaupp, Azusa Shimizu, Nicola Hall, Badi Assad, Emily Remler, and, most recently, Mary Halvorson. I tend to buy guitar albums because they are guitar albums, not because of the performer's sex. And as far as I know, guitars themselves don't have a sexual identity. I should know; I have several around the house.

8. Naked Guitar - Earl Klugh

Another guy with a guitar album, but from the way Earl Klugh plays, he could be an hermaphrodite from Mars or an agamogenetic moon man, and I'd still buy his albums -- for the guitar playing. Heck! Why is sexism even a part of this thread, for selecting one's favorite albums? The albums seem asexual, too.

9. Touchdown - Bob James

_Touchdown_'s opening song is titled "Angela", but is better known as "Theme From 'Taxi'". I've enjoyed this Bob James album since I first bought it, in 1978! Since then I've added nearly every Bob James album to my collection, though none strike me with the force of _Touchdown_. I may not be able to make a "female" case for this particular album (beyond citing the title of the opening number), but I have added to my collection discs by one Hilary James, when I learned she was Bob James's daughter. The album _Flesh And Blood_ features both daughter and daddy and is a wonderful disc.

10. The Beatles In Mono (the white box with vinyl, especially) - The Beatles [OK. I'm cheating big time on this one, a 14 disc set. But, how do you pick a favorite Beatles record?]

Granted, four fellows from Liverpool is about as male-oriented a box set as one can find, yet I recall the gals screaming over these guys, so the women were always a part of the Beatles collective experience. And so many of the songs are about girls, ladies, and women that to think one is somehow ignoring the female sex in any appreciation of Beatles music is to be rather naive. But for those still not convinced, did I mentioned I have all five volumes of _The Complete Recordings of Bessie Smith_ on Columbia Legacy? I probably could have substituted this set for the Beatles collection, and bumped that one up to number 11.

So, don't label me a misogynist on the basis of a listing of ten record albums. That's quite unfair, and silly, really.


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Just for fun I checked my favourite albums from the past ten years (a list I compiled during the lockdown). 76 albums, bold are the ladies' discs:

*2012 Born to Die - Lana Del Rey*
2012 Coffee In Neukölln - Barock Project
2012 Ballast der Republik - Die Toten Hosen
2012 Storm Corrosion - Storm Corrosion
2012 Valtari - Sigur Rós
2012 'Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend! - Godspeed You! Black Emperor
2012 Genesis Revisited II - Steve Hackett
2013 Shrine of New Generation Slaves - Riverside
2013 The Raven That Refused to Sing (And Other Stories) - Steven Wilson
2013 The Next Day - David Bowie
2013 Modern Vampires of the City - Vampire Weekend
2013 Trouble Will Find Me - The National
*2013 Invisible Empire // Crescent Moon - KT Tunstall*
2013 Kveikur - Sigur Rós
2013 The Weight of Your Love - Editors
*2013 Ceremony - Anna von Hauswolff*
2013 A Feast of Consequences - Fish
*2013 Aventine - Agnes Obel
2013 Seasons of Your Day - Mazzy Star*
2013 The Greatest Show on Earth - Airbag
*2013 Tookah - Emiliana Torrini
2014 Burn Your Fire for No Witness - Angel Olsen
2014 St. Vincent - St. Vincent*
2014 L'Enigma Della Vita - Logos
*2014 Natalie Merchant - Natalie Merchant*
2014 The Road of Bones - IQ
*2014 Unrepentant Geraldines - Tori Amos*
*2014 Ultraviolence - Lana Del Rey*
2014 Avonmore - Bryan Ferry
*2015 Bridges - Eivør*
2015 Hand. Cannot. Erase. - Steven Wilson
2015 Carrie & Lowell - Sufjan Stevens
*2015 The Way It Feels - Heather Nova*
2015 Skyline - Barock Project
*2015 Honeymoon - Lana Del Rey*
2015 Love, Fear and the Time Machine - Riverside
*2015 Slør - Eivør
2015 The Miraculous - Anna von Hauswolff*
2016 Blackstar - David Bowie
2016 A Moon Shaped Pool - Radiohead
2016 Disconnected - Airbag
2016 Stranger to Stranger - Paul Simon
*2016 My Woman - Angel Olsen
2016 Citizen of Glass - Agnes Obel
2016 Until the Hunter - Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions 
2017 Under Stars - Amy Macdonald
2017 Mental Illness - Aimee Mann*
2017 Cigarettes After Sex - Cigarettes After Sex
2017 To The Bone - Steven Wilson
2017 Luciferian Towers - Godspeed You! Black Emperor
*2017 Native Invader - Tori Amos
2017 Masseduction - St. Vincent*
2018 Seas of Change - Galahad
*2018 Dead Magic - Anna von Hauswolff
2018 Lost Souls - Loreena McKennitt*
2018 Wasteland - Riverside
2019 Bobbie Gentry's The Delta Sweete Revisited - Mercury Rev
*2019 When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? - Billie Eilish*
2019 Storm Warning - Andrew Roussak
2019 Father of the Bride - Vampire Weekend
*2019 Pearl - Heather Nova
2019 Norman ******* Rockwell! - Lana Del Rey*
2019 Resistance - IQ
*2019 All Mirrors - Angel Olsen*
2019 Cry - Cigarettes After Sex
2020 Love over Fear - Pendragon
*2020 Myopia - Agnes Obel*
2020 A Day at the Beach - Airbag
2020 Sadako e le mille gru di carta - Logos
*2020 All Thoughts Fly - Anna von Hauswolff*
2021 The Future Bites - Steven Wilson 
2021 G_d's Pee at State's End! - Godspeed You! Black Emperor
*2021 Daddy's Home - St. Vincent
2021 Happier Than Ever - Billie Eilish 
2021 Blue Banisters - Lana Del Rey 
2021 Ocean to Ocean - Tori Amos *

35 out of 76. Guess I like the ladies.


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## eljr (Aug 8, 2015)

Art Rock said:


> Just for fun I checked my favourite albums from the past ten years (a list I compiled during the lockdown). 76 albums, bold are the ladies' discs:
> 
> *2012 Born to Die - Lana Del Rey*
> 2012 Coffee In Neukölln - Barock Project
> ...


Very cool that you make and keep these lists. Very cool.


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## Forster (Apr 22, 2021)

eljr said:


> I don't think anyone needs be defensive. We like what we like. There is no arbiter of renown for personal preferences. (unless one is married, I suppose)


This one is, and she won't play Rock Bottom at my funeral. How's that for arbiting?


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## HenryPenfold (Apr 29, 2018)

pianozach said:


> I'm amused that I've been singled out for a paucity of females on my list. I daresay that practically everyone's attempt at a list has a scarcity of female artists.
> 
> Go ahead; scroll back and look.
> 
> ...


Hadn't realised I'd chose so many women.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

Top Ten Albums by Women Artists - that I've not listed before:

Ricky Lee Jones - Traffic from Paradise
Shawn Colvin - A Few Small Repairs
Sarah Jarosz - Undercurrent
Antje Duvekot - The Near Demise of the High Wire Dancer
Aoife O'Donovan - Fossils
The Be Good Tanyas - Hello Love
Emmylou Harris - Angel Band
Anna Tivel - The Question
Lucinda Williams - Car Wheels on a Gravel Road
Gillian Welch - Soul Journey

I could probably list 100, there were so many I had to choose to leave off in order to limit it to ten.


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## BrahmsWasAGreatMelodist (Jan 13, 2019)

No one is calling anyone sexist. Relax.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

BrahmsWasAGreatMelodist said:


> No one is calling anyone sexist. Relax.


I am aware of that. I just wanted to make that list.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Ten albums for all time is just a tad restrictive. Otherwise it would be quite easy to include many great albums by female artists.


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## eljr (Aug 8, 2015)

SanAntone said:


> Top Ten Albums by Women Artists - that I've not listed before:
> 
> Ricky Lee Jones - Traffic from Paradise
> Shawn Colvin - A Few Small Repairs
> ...


I really like some of your choices, again. Particularly Jarosz, Williams and Welch. :tiphat:


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## Red Terror (Dec 10, 2018)

I can't really connect with a lot of music and literature (fiction) produced by women. Am I alone here?


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## eljr (Aug 8, 2015)

Red Terror said:


> I can't really connect with a lot of music and literature (fiction) produced by women. Am I alone here?


Not at all. Problem is, you are not allowed to say this out loud.


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

eljr said:


> Not at all. Problem is, you are not allowed to say this out loud.


One certainly is allowed to say this out loud, and to be the recipient of the approval or opprobrium of others--definitely what TC is all about. I affirm that I like much of the music produced by women, but have no opinion at all on the fiction of women as I read virtually no fiction at all. I have always enjoyed Mark Twain's observation (here paraphrased) that the difference between fiction and non-fiction is that fiction must attempt to be believable.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

Red Terror said:


> I can't really connect with a lot of music and literature (fiction) produced by women. Am I alone here?





eljr said:


> Not at all. Problem is, you are not allowed to say this out loud.





Strange Magic said:


> One certainly is allowed to say this out loud, and to be the recipient of the approval or opprobrium of others--definitely what TC is all about. I affirm that I like much of the music produced by women, but have no opinion at all on the fiction of women as I read virtually no fiction at all. I have always enjoyed Mark Twain's observation (here paraphrased) that the difference between fiction and non-fiction is that fiction must attempt to be believable.


It's funny, but I've noticed that more and more of the music that I like, especially Roots music, is being done by women artists. I've also noticed that much of the new Classical music being written is by women composers. While I've never used gender as an arbiter of whether I am interested in a work there are some genres where I think women have displayed much skill.

I read a lot of murder mysteries and over half are by women authors.

So while I would never criticize someone for overlooking women musicians, authors, or painters, etc., I would never think to do so since I am interesting in discovery and want as large a universe as possible for my explorations.


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## eljr (Aug 8, 2015)

SanAntone said:


> more and more of the music that I like, especially Roots music, is being done by women artists.


Come to think of it, this is very true.

Rhiannon Giddens comes to mind first. I don't recall you ever mentioning her. I hope you enjoy her. I find her a gift.


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## eljr (Aug 8, 2015)

Strange Magic said:


> One certainly is allowed to say this out loud, and to be the recipient of the approval or opprobrium of others--definitely what TC is all about. I affirm that I like much of the music produced by women, but have no opinion at all on the fiction of women as I read virtually no fiction at all. I have always enjoyed Mark Twain's observation (here paraphrased) that the difference between fiction and non-fiction is that fiction must attempt to be believable.


To be fair, I like you, read no fiction. None, ever since school.

I also seldom watch movies. For a time there, decades, I watched no movies at all.

It just seems like such a waste of time to occupy one's mind with fiction.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

eljr said:


> Come to think of it, this is very true.
> 
> Rhiannon Giddens comes to mind first. I don't recall you ever mentioning her. I hope you enjoy her. I find her a gift.


I preferred her work with Carolina Chocolate Drops, but I've enjoyed much of her solo work. Although I sometimes don't respond to her voice which can sound a bit trained to me.


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## Forster (Apr 22, 2021)

Red Terror said:


> I can't really connect with a lot of music and literature (fiction) produced by women. Am I alone here?


I doubt it. But connecting to works by women is not a problem for me. And I don't suppose I am alone either.



eljr said:


> It just seems like such a waste of time to occupy one's mind with fiction.


I find precisely the opposite. Occupying one's mind with fiction is an invaluable thing to do. I am somewhat ambiguous about music, however, as it is all a fiction.


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## Simon Moon (Oct 10, 2013)

Red Terror said:


> I can't really connect with a lot of music and literature (fiction) produced by women. Am I alone here?


I have zero problems connecting with music or lit produced by women.

Any time there is a poll on the main page on TC to list favorite composers, several make it into my lists: Joan Tower, Unsuk Chin, Thea Musgrave, Sofia Gubaidulina, and a few more.

I recently discovered the music of Icelandic composer, Anna Thorvaldsdttir, and have been quite impressed.

Plenty of modern prog and jazz, especially at the more experimental end, are produced, composed and played by women.


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## eljr (Aug 8, 2015)

Forster said:


> I find precisely the opposite. Occupying one's mind with fiction is an invaluable thing to do. I am somewhat ambiguous about music, however, as it is all a fiction.


I ponder this within myself. If I am reticent to spend time on fiction because no direct impartment of knowledge is implied, why am I so happy to flock in musical bliss for hours at a time?

A paradox within which I am at a loss to explain or even rationalize.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

eljr said:


> To be fair, I like you, read no fiction. None, ever since school.
> 
> I also seldom watch movies. For a time there, decades, I watched no movies at all.
> 
> It just seems like such a waste of time to occupy one's mind with fiction.


Do you also avoid movies? TV series? Or do you just watch documentaries.

However, I disagree that fiction is a waste of time. I read about 50% non-fiction and 50% fiction. For me the fiction also offers a kind of truth about human nature, philosophical concepts, the world at large, the existential condition of our lives - all done in an artful manner.

That is, if it is good fiction, what some differentiate as literature.


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## Red Terror (Dec 10, 2018)

eljr said:


> I ponder this within myself. If I am reticent to spend time on fiction because no direct impartment of knowledge is implied, why am I so happy to flock in musical bliss for hours at a time?
> 
> A paradox within which I am at a loss to explain or even rationalize.


One likes what one likes. I didn't take up fiction until several years ago. Previously, I was mostly interested in history.


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## Red Terror (Dec 10, 2018)

Simon Moon said:


> I have zero problems connecting with music or lit produced by women.
> 
> Any time there is a poll on the main page on TC to list favorite composers, several make it into my lists: Joan Tower, Unsuk Chin, Thea Musgrave, Sofia Gubaidulina, and a few more.
> 
> ...


Good for you, guy! I blame my "toxic masculinity" for my disinterest in the work of most female composers.


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## eljr (Aug 8, 2015)

SanAntone said:


> Do you also avoid movies? TV series? Or do you just watch documentaries.


Documentaries and online college courses.



> However, I disagree that fiction is a waste of time. I read about 50% non-fiction and 50% fiction. For me the fiction also offers a kind of truth about human nature, philosophical concepts, the world at large, the existential condition of our lives - all done in an artful manner.
> 
> That is, if it is good fiction, what some differentiate as literature.


Did I say it was a waste of time? I should not. It is only waste of time to me. I should be clear.

For the record, I waste much time watching sport. Certainly fiction is more bountiful in enlightenment than is sport.


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## eljr (Aug 8, 2015)

Red Terror said:


> Good for you, guy! I blame my "toxic masculinity" for my disinterest in the work of most female composers.


I found that my male toxicity largely evaporated as I aged. As performers, I am decidedly attracted to women now.


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

eljr said:


> I found that my male toxicity largely evaporated as I aged. As performers, I am decidedly attacked to women now.


A bit unfortunate typo there....


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## eljr (Aug 8, 2015)

Art Rock said:


> A bit unfortunate typo there....


another of my accumulating short comings exposed, proof reading


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

eljr said:


> I found that my male toxicity largely evaporated as I aged. As performers, I am decidedly attracted to women now.


Perfect agreement. And now we have the benefit of a host of excellent female performers especially in CM. As an avid YouTube viewer/auditor for CM concert performance, I appreciate both the women's skills but also their obvious commitment to the music. Most are quite attractive also and that is the icing on the cake.


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## eljr (Aug 8, 2015)

Strange Magic said:


> Perfect agreement. And now we have the benefit of a host of excellent female performers especially in CM. As an avid YouTube viewer/auditor for CM concert performance, I appreciate both the women's skills but also their obvious commitment to the music. Most are quite attractive also and that is the icing on the cake.


I admit to my superficiality now, the icing is my favorite part.

I mean this in sincerity not humorously.

More than ever I am drawn to the female forum as art unto itself.


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