I enjoy listening to music a lot, and the following are some lists of my favorite albums, organized by genre.

50s - mid-60s Jazz Instrumental

"In Greenwich Village" - Albert Ayler

"Gone With The Wind" - Dave Brubeck

"Time Out" - Dave Brubeck
"My Funny Valentine" - John Coltrane
"Settin' the Pace" - John Coltrane
"Kind Of Blue" - Miles Davis
"Outward Bound" - Eric Dolphy
"... And His Mother Called Him Bill" - Duke Ellington
"Portrait In Jazz" - Bill Evans

"Modern Art" - Art Farmer
"Concert By The Sea" - Erroll Garner

"Stan Getz Plays" - Stan Getz
"The Jimmy Giuffre Three" - Jimmy Giuffre
         

"Doin' Allright" - Dexter Gordon
"This Is How I Feel About Jazz" - Quincy Jones

         
"Rip, Rig and Panic" - Rahshaan Roland Kirk
"Mingus Ah-Um" - Charles Mingus

"Monk's Dream" - Thelonious Monk
"Art Pepper + 11" - Art Pepper

"Night Train" - Oscar Peterson
"Jazz In Silhouette" - Sun Ra
"Way Out West" - Sonny Rollins

"Blowin' The Blues Away" - Horace Silver
"Rearin' Back" - Sonny Stitt
"Plays Arrangements From the Pen of Quincy Jones" - Sonny Stitt
"The Genius Of Keyboard" - Art Tatum (Italian Import)
"A Keyboard History" - Mary Lou Williams

Punk

"The CD Version Of The First Two Recordss" - Bikini Kill

"London Calling" - The Clash
"Gravest Hits" - The Cramps
"Blank Generation" - Richard Hell and the Voidiods
"In Too Much Too Soon" - The New York Dolls
"Guitar Beat" - The Raybeats

"Never Mind The Bollocks" - The Sex Pistols
"Fun House" - The Stooges
"Pure Mania" - The Vibrators

Blues/ Folk

"The Herald Recordings 1954" - Lightnin' Hopkins
"The Best Of" - Mississippi John Hurt
"Praise God I'm Satisfied" - Blind Willie Johnson
"The Complete" - Robert Johnson

"Live at the Regal" - B. B. King
"Boss Blues Harmonica" - Little Walter
"1957-1966" - Magic Sam
"1927-1936" - Blind Willie McTell
"The King Of Chicago Blues Piano Vol. 1" - Big Maceo Merriweather
"Bright Lights, Big City" - Jimmy Reed
"1956-1958" - Otis Rush
"The Best Of" - Slim Harpo
"Rock Me" - Muddy Waters (Charly)
"More Real Folk Blues" - Sonny Boy Williamson

"[Rocking Chair]" - Howlin' Wolf

Hip-Hop

"The Millennium Collection: Hip-Hop" - various artists (Rhino)
"The New Millenium Collection: Hip-Hop" - various artists (Rhino)
"Sex Packets" - Digital Underground

Zydeco/Cajun

"Menagerie" - Buckwheat Zydeco
"La Chanson Perdue" - Geno Delafose & French Rockin' Boogie
"Voodoo" - Dirty Dozen Brass Band
"& Cajun Brew" - Michael Doucet
"Rock N' Roll Gumbo" - Professor Longhair
"Doin' The Zydeco" - Rockin' Dopsie and the Twisters
"The Best of Beausoleil" by Beausoleil

60s R & B

"Struttin'" - The Meters (Charly)
"Pain In My Heart" - Otis Redding
"I Never Danced Nowhere" - Eskew Reeder

"A Black Man's Soul" - Ike Turner
"Gone For Good" - O. V. Wright (Charly)
"Soul Shots Volumes 1-3" - various (Rhino)

Jamaican

"African Herbsman" - Bob Marley (Trojan)
"Rasta Revolution" - Bob Marley (Trojan)
"Reggae Greats" - The Maytals
"My Best Girl Wears My Crown" - The Paragons

"Best Of Studio One Vol.s 1-3" - various

Jazz Vocalist

"Rock Swings" - Paul Anka
"Harold Arlen Songbook Vol. 1" - Ella Fitzgerald
"Ella Swings Lightly" - Ella Fitzgerald

"Songs I Like To Sing" - Helen Humes
"This Is Anita" - Anita O'Day

"Mr. Five By Five" - Jimmy Rushing
"Compact Jazz" - Sarah Vaughn
"My Kinda Love" - Sarah Vaughan

'60s Rock (aside from the Beatles)

"96 Tears" - ? & The Mysterians

"20 Essential Tracks" - The Byrds
"Bayou Country" - Creedence Clearwater Revival

"Blonde on Blonde" - Bob Dylan
"Bringing It All Back Home" - Bob Dylan
"Are You Experienced?" - Jimi Hendrix
"Forever Changes" - Love
"Astral Weeks" - Van Morrison

"Let It Bleed" - Rolling Stones
"Now!" - Rolling Stones
"Evil Hoodoo" - The Seeds

          

"1968-1973" - Steve Miller Band
"& Nico" - The Velvet Underground
"Greatest Hits" - The Yardbirds (Charly)
"Guitar Rock 1966-1967" - Various

'70s Rock

"Changesbowie" - David Bowie
"Rumours" - Fleetwood Mac
"IV" - Led Zeppelin
"Shaved Fish" - John Lennon
"Waiting For Columbus" - Little Feat
"Band On The Run" - Paul McCartney
"Best Of 1974-1978" - The Steve Miller Band
"Dark Side Of The Moon" - Pink Floyd
"Walk On The Wild Side - Greatest Hits" - Lou Reed
"Exile On Main Street" - Rolling Stones
"Born To Run" - Bruce Springsteen
"Ringo" - Ringo Starr
"Greatest Hits" - Steely Dan
"Small Change" - Tom Waits

Post-Punk / '80s era

"Mr. Heartbreak" - Laurie Anderson
"The Kick Inside" - Kate Bush
"19 Years: A Collection" - Alex Chilton
"Best of" - Elvis Costello & The Attractions
"The Nightfly" - Donald Fagan

"So" - Peter Gabriel
"Fresh Fruit in Foreign Places" - Kid Creole and the Coconuts
"How Will The Wolf Survive" - Los Lobos
"Party Of One" - Nick Lowe
"Madness" - Madness
"Diesel and Dust" - Midnight Oil
"Learning to Crawl" - Pretenders
"Let It Be" - The Replacements
"Captain Swing" - Michelle Shocked
"Graceland" - Paul Simon
"Speaking In Tongues" - Talking Heads
"Shoot Out The Lights" - Richard and Linda Thompson
"Couldn't Stand the Weather" - Stevie Ray Vaughan

Alternative

"Stunt" - Barenaked Ladies
"First Band On The Moon" - The Cardigans
"Kerosene Hat" - Cracker
"Where You Been" - Dinosaur Jr.
"Only Everything" Juliana Hatfield
"Live" - Mary's Danish
"Nevermind" - Nirvana
"Ten" - Pearl Jam
"Trompe Le Monde" - The Pixies
"Reconstruction of the Fables" - R.E.M.
"Life's Too Good" - The Sugarcubes

"Mirror Ball" - Neil Young

World Music

"Tango Zero Hour" - Astor Piazolla

"Mambomongo" - Mongo Santamaria (Charly)

Gospel

"Live" - The Dixie Hummingbirds (MFSL)
"Best Of" - The Swan Silvertones

Albums I'd Like To Find

anything by Carlton and the Shoes
 

Favorite Blues Song Titles

"Mississippi Jail House Groan" - Rube Lacy
"Big Leg Woman Gets My Pay" - Blind Boy Fuller
"I Asked Her For Water (She Gave Me Gasoline)" - Howling Wolf
"Low Down Dirty Dog Blues" - Son House
"Ground Hog Blues" - John Lee Hooker
"Toothache Blues" - Lonnie Johnson
"Dead Shrimp Blues" - Robert Johnson
"Mean Old Bed Bug Blues" - Lonnie Johnson
"Your Funeral and My Trial" - Sonny Boy Williamson
"Blind, Crippled and Crazy" - O. V. Wright
"She Cooks Me Cabbage" - Champion Jack DuPree
"Spider In My Stew" - Magic Slim and the Teardrops
"I've Been Drinking Water Out Of A Hollow Log" - Mississippi Fred McDowell
"Lightnin' Don't Feel Well" - Lightnin' Hopkins

Some Advice On Buying Blind:

Sometimes you find yourself looking at an album (especially vinyl) by an artist you are not familiar with and wondering if it is any good. I have done this a lot, and have formed some general rules of thumb for buying certain genres of music blind which you may find helpful:

Black Gospel:

If the artist is a reverend, it's probably at least average.
If the artist is blind, it's probably at least good.
If the artist is a blind reverend, it's probably great.

If the cover contains nothing but a photo or drawing of a single mundane or beat up object, such as a rocking chair, an old shoe, a hat, a jug, etc., it's probably good. It's OK if a harmonica or maybe a guitar is also pictured, but there shouldn't be anything else. Also, if the cover in its entirety consists of a black and white photo, this is a plus.

If the lead singer is wearing white polyester slacks, it's probably very good. If the front or back cover also includes a picture of the band's trailer, with the band's name amateurishly painted on the side, and a lot of the paint is peeling off of it, it's probably great.

Example:
           

If the album was recorded from 1956 - 1959, this is a definite plus. Also, if one of the artists on the cover is wearing sunglasses in this time period, but is not blind, this is also a plus. For vinyl, anything on the Norgran label is likely worth getting.

If the singer is pictured performing, he should be sweating profusely (males only).

Female Jazz Vocalist:

If the artist is on the Verve label, or the front cover consists of a black and white picture, it's probably at least good.
 

 
  Last Modified: 9/09