Posted on

50 Albums you must hear before you buy a house 2.0 (6): 25-21

The end of 2013 is approaching quickly now, and so is the top of our all-time album lists. Kicking off the top half this week with a lot of notorious albums:

DOK:

21. Radiohead – Kid A (2000)
22. The Beatles – Rubber Soul (1965)
23. Cream – Disraeli Gears (1967)
24. Neil Young – After The Gold Rush (1970)
25. George Harrison – All Things Must Pass (1970)

GvZ:

21. (24)  Santana – Abraxas (1970)
22. (16)  Electric Light Orchestra – Out of the Blue (1977)
23. (28)  Bob Dylan – Blonde on Blonde (1966)
24. (*)    Neil Young – Harvest (1972)
25. (27)  The Beatles – Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)

RKH:

21. (*)    Jefferson Airplane – Surrealistic Pillow (1967)
22. (30)  Radiohead – OK Computer (1997)
23. (11)  Bob Dylan – Desire (1976)
24. (35)  Guided By Voices – Bee Thousand (1994)
25. (21)  The Beatles – Rubber Soul (1965)

The smaller the numbers, the bigger the names, as is clearly the case here. Four artists stand out this time: The Beatles, Radiohead, Bob Dylan and Neil Young. Rubber Soul is RKH’s first Beatles album in the list on #25, while it’s DOK’s second on #22 after Sgt. Pepper.  That one is GvZ’s second Fab Four album, preceded by Young and Dylan’s second. Other albums from them are found on the exact same spots in DOK’s and RKH’s lists respectively. Last but not least, Radiohead features both those lists with Kid A as well as OK Computer. The smaller the numbers, the less the variety.

Posted on

50 Albums you must hear before you buy a house (9): 10-6

We can see the end of the year now, just like the absolute top of our lists looms up slowly. Entering the top 10, the lists of both music professors finally start to display some resemblances. Let’s have a look at some of the last albums you have to dig through before signing that contract of your new house:

RKH:

6. Paul Simon – Graceland (1986)
7. Brian Wilson – SMiLE (2004)
8. Beatles – Abbey Road (1969)
9. Paul McCartney & Wings – Band on the Run (1973)
10. Lee Hazlewood – Cowboy in Sweden (1970)

GvZ:

6. Paul Simon – Graceland (1986)
7. Paul McCartney & Wings – Band on the Run (1973)
8. Panda Bear – Person Pitch (2007)
9. Beatles – Rubber Soul (1965)
10. Jefferson Airplane – Surrealistic Pillow (1967)

Something that immediately stands out is the fact that both lists are topped by Mister Simon’s Graceland. This fantastic album full of melody and fascinating little stories has already become a true classic throughout the years and is best served on a Greek beach full of second hand beer salesmen. Another album that appears in both lists is Paul McCartney’s Band on the Run. Three years after the dissolution of the Beatles, Macca (just like Simon would do 13 years later to record Graceland) went to Africa to make the most successful (at least commercially) album of an ex-Beatle. It goes without saying that both albums are absolute must haves in your record collection.

McCartney is represented two more times this week, together with his three former buddies. Mister Hofmeijer presents Abbey Road on #8 (earlier to be found at GvZ’s #11), while mister van Zwanendonk presents his third Fab Four album at #9 with Rubber Soul (RKH: #21). Two other albums that were met earlier are SMiLE (GvZ: #14) and Person Pitch (RKH: #39). What remains are the two number tens. Mister Hofmeijer offers this spot to his personal idol Lee Hazlewood, who he is trying to become since he first saw him. Meanwhile, mister van Zwanendonk gives you a Surrealistic Pillow to spend the holidays with, as psychedelic distorted guitars and westcoast vocal harmonies were never fused together better than on this 1967 classic, which is of course added to the poll. See you next time for the final end of the lists!