My 100 Favorite Rock Albums

Beauty, Truth, and Goodness

A week or so ago, a Twitter friend (@Penjammin) asked me for a “prog rock” recommendation—one that wasn’t too “out there.” The request got me thinking, and I realized I’d not done a favorites list in a couple of years. They always change, of course, not just because new music arrives in the world but also because one’s soul delights in one thing one year and another another year.

Last night, after a rather mundane day sprinting to and from the Denver Airport, I decided to type mine out. I’m sure I’m missing some albums, and I intentionally avoided all jazz (Dave Brubeck, Miles Davis), surf music (The Madeira, Lords of Atlantis), and a band with which I’m intimately associated, The Bardic Depths.

As such, this is really a list of my favorite pop, rock, and prog albums since the 1960s. I’ll give you my top ten (in order) first:

1.     Big Big Train, The Underfall Yard

2.     Steven Wilson, Hand Cannot Erase

3.     Rush, Moving Pictures

4.     Genesis, Selling England by the Pound

5.     Talk Talk, Spirit of Eden

6.     The Cure, Disintegration

7.     Tears for Fears, Songs from the Big Chair

8.     Yes, Close to the Edge

9.     Kevin McCormick, Squall

10.  Glass Hammer, Inconsolable Secret

And, here are my top 100 in alphabetical order:

1.     Anathema, Weather Systems

2.     Ayreon, Universal Migrator

3.     Beach Boys, Pet Sounds

4.     Big Big Train, English Electric

5.     Big Big Train, The Underfall Yard

6.     Bryan Ferry, Boys and Girls

7.     Catherine Wheel, Happy Days

8.     Chicago, Chicago Transit Authority

9.     Chris Squire, Fish Out of Water

10.  Cosmograf, Capacitor

11.  Dave Kerzner, New World

12.  Dave Matthews Band, Crush

13.  Echo and the Bunnymen, Heaven Up Here

14.  Echo and the Bunnymen, Ocean Rain

15.  Flower Kings, Flower Power

16.  Flower Kings, Paradox Hotel

17.  Flower Kings, Space Revolver

18.  Galahad, Beyond the Realms of Euphoria

19.  Galahad, Empires Never Last

20.  Gazpacho, Fireworker

21.  Gazpacho, Night

22.  Gazpacho, Tick Tock

23.  Genesis, Duke

24.  Genesis, Foxtrot

25.  Genesis, Selling England by the Pound

26.  Glass Hammer, Inconsolable Secret

27.  Glass Hammer, Valkyrie

28.  IZZ, Crush of Night

29.  Jethro Tull, Thick as a Brick

30.  Kansas, Leftoverature

31.  Kansas, Point of No Return

32.  Kate Bush, Aerial

33.  Kate Bush, Hounds of Love

34.  Kevin McCormick, Squall

35.  Kevin McCormick, With the Coming of Evening

36.  Marillion, Afraid of Sunlight

37.  Marillion, FEAR

38.  Marillion, Marbles

39.  Moody Blues, Days of Future Passed

40.  My Bloody Valentine, Loveless

41.  NAO, Fog Electric

42.  Natalie Merchant, Leave Your Sleep

43.  New Order, Low-life

44.  No-man, Schoolyard Ghosts

45.  Nosound, Lightdark

46.  OAK, False Memory Archive

47.  Oceansize, Effloresce

48.  Pearl Jam, Vs.

49.  Phish, Billy Breathes

50.  Pink Floyd, Animals

51.  Pink Floyd, Dark Side of the Moon

52.  Pink Floyd, Wish You Were Here

53.  Porcupine Tree, Fear of a Blank Planet

54.  Porcupine Tree, Sky Moves Sideways

55.  Radiohead, Kid A

56.  Riverside, Out of Myself

57.  Riverside, Wasteland

58.  Roxy Music, Avalon

59.  Rush, 2112

60.  Rush, A Farewell to Kings

61.  Rush, Clockwork Angels

62.  Rush, Grace Under Pressure

63.  Rush, Hemispheres

64.  Rush, Moving Pictures

65.  Sanguine Hum, Diving Bell

66.  Sarah McLachlin, Fumbling Towards Ecstasy

67.  Simon and Garfunkel, Bookends

68.  Simple Minds, New Gold Dream

69.  Simple Minds, Sons and Fascination

70.  Steven Wilson, Grace for Drowning

71.  Steven Wilson, Hand Cannot Erase

72.  Steven Wilson, Insurgentes

73.  Steven Wilson, Raven That Refused to Sing

74.  Stone Temple Pilots, Tiny Music

75.  Talk Talk, Laughing Stock

76.  Talk Talk, Spirit of Eden

77.  Talk Talk, The Colour of Spring

78.  Tears for Fears, Elemental

79.  Tears for Fears, Songs from the Big Chair

80.  Tears for Fears, The Hurting

81.  The Cure, Disintegration

82.  The Cure, P-ography

83.  The Cure, Wish

84.  The Tangent, Le Sacre du Travail

85.  The Tangent, The Music that Died Alone

86.  Thomas Dolby, Golden Age of Wireless

87.  Tim Bowness, Flowers at the Scene

88.  Tin Spirits, Wired to Earth

89.  Tori Amos, Little Earthquakes

90.  Tori Amos, Under the Pink

91.  Traffic, John Barleycorn Must Die

92.  Traffic, Traffic

93.  U2, October

94.  Ultravox, Rage in Eden

95.  XTC, Black Sea

96.  XTC, Skylarking

97.  Yes, 90125

98.  Yes, Close to the Edge

99.  Yes, Drama

100.                 Yes, Fragile