Top 15 Albums {But not exactly all together true}.

I've read some folk's Top 15 Albums on Facebook and have enjoyed reading them. I figured maybe I'd take a stab at one. Here's mine:

1. The Beatles-(everything they have ever released)
I am an unabashed Beatlemaniac and I don’t care who knows it. I could go on for days about how much these four gents from Liverpool have affected my life but I won't. If I would ever consider getting a tattoo, it would have to somehow be about these guys because I love them so much and I will never outgrow them.(Thank God I didn’t get that Chili Pepper logo back in ‘90!) The great debate:Beatles vs. Stones....well, it’s not even close for me. The Stones copied everything (good) that they did.I even like “Octopus’ Garden” I am THAT much of a fan.I have the movies , I own most every book published about them.I buy all the re-issues. I am a lifer.

2.Van Halen-”Fair Warning”
It’s appropriate that these dudes follow the Beatles because, in a way, they WERE the Beatles of all that schlocky, hair metal wankery of the 80’s. They were light years ahead of all those poser rockers like Ratt and Warrant and all that shit. These guys were huge. The street-wise and salacious hobo-poetry of “Diamond” Dave, the almost tribal pounding of Alex behind a 32 piece drum set, the bong-rattling bass of Jack Daniels aficionando and angelic back-up singing Michael Anthony , and of course, the face-meltin’, finger tappin’ wizardry of Eddie. They blew my fragile teenage mind. I even chose “Edward” for my confirmation name, for Christ sake. Oh, yeah and once, me and the Perreault’s , Pete & Pablo defaced a local politician’s sign so it read” Vote for Van Halen” (his name must have been somewhat close if I recall) All their albums have their moments but this one for some reason has it all. It’s dark, it’s poppy and sappy and it’s partytime. It has it all.

3. The Sex Pistols-”Never Mind the Bollocks...”and The Ramones-”The Ramones”
A tie. I can’t remember which one I heard first but either way, these two records changed my world forever. It was a profound musical awakening which directly lead to me becoming a musician.I know a lot of rockers have cited this as why they got into music but it really fucking did for me. I learned “Blitzkrieg Bop” on the bass and that was it. I was a bass player who liked playing with his legs spread out and the bass hanging incredibly low as if almost out of reach. These guys proved to me that you didn’t need to “shred” sick solos and bend the whammy bar to be a real rocker. This shit was Real. My band, The Blatant Irregulars covered just about half the Pistols album and damn, it was fun to play. It's sad that about half these guys are tits up now but then again, it's really no surprise. RIP Sid, Dee Dee, Johnny, and Joey. Rock In Peace.

4. The Stone Roses- “The Stone Roses”
I can’t believe this album is 20 years old. It stills sounds great everytime I play it and it brings back a flood of great memories. We made it a rule that you had to dance the entire time that “Fool’s Gold” was on and that track was almost ten minutes long. It was a fun time , dancing around like we were at an acidhouse party in Manchester instead of being drunk off domestic beer in a town near Manchester (only the WRONG Manchester) The rule still applies today. Oh, and BritPop would never had happened if it wasn’t for this album.

5.The Beastie Boys-”Paul’s Boutique”
After hearing “License to Ill” about 4,000 times, this follow up couldn’t have been more refreshing. It’s so weird that it was dubbed “ a flop” since it was one of the best hip hop albums ever made. They sampled everything (before having to pay for samples) and mixed it all up, wrote some of the sickest rhymes and came out with this masterpiece. It got me through some times, man.For instance, anytime someone put this on at a party and people started rapping with it, you just made homies for life. It brought people together. It was dope, yo. I still can rap the whole damn thing too.

6.Minor Threat-”Out of Step”
Punk Rock and skateboarding went together so well. Now, I couldn’t skate for shit but boy, did I love the music. This lead to my love for other similar bands such as Black Flag, The Circle Jerks, The Descendents, and of course, Fugazi. I never did go for anything more hardcore than this. And I never went in for all that “straight edge” shit either.

7. Billy Squire-”Don’t Say No”
More straightforward than “Emotions in Motion” and way deeper too, on a cosmic and philosophical level. People tend to get their Rock History confused. Those poofs in Led Zep ripped off almost all of Billy’s riffs and moves. Why he’s not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is beyond me.

8.Jane’s Addiction-”Nothing’s Shocking”
This album came out at exactly the right time. The 80’s were coming to a close and so there was a radical change from say, shit like Extreme (how funny that name is for all their lameness) to these freaky maniacs would could actually rock and rock real fucking hard at that. There’s two things about this disc that I remember so clearly....1. Blasting this tape and our minds down at the Powerlines , just trying to get our kicks without police interuptions and 2. Being at a small club in Rhode Island where Perry came out last as they started in on “Up the Beach” with a bottle of wine raised above his dreads and the place goin’ absolutely batshit. I almost lost my life in that mosh pit that night. It was fucking fantastic.

9.The Clash-”London Calling”
“The Only Band that Matters” How about that nickname huh? Well, it was true when they put this out. They were great but this double album was just insanely better than their three previous records. It had a bit of everything in it and never repeated themselves. They were in their heyday.The album art is one of the best record covers ever as well.(Paul smashin' his bass!How cool!) It was glorious and when I play today, it stills seems fresh and always rocks me well. Definitely a Desert Island Disc.

10.The Pixies-”Surfer Rosa/Come on Pilgrim”
I love all their stuff but this, their first is just so amazing. The quiet/loud dynamics, the bizarre lyrics, the pretty background vocals,the guitars squeel, and last but not least, the screaming. No one could scream like Charles/Black/Frank. Not even Cobain. They were definitely their own thing all together. I am so glad that they went in for the cash-grab that is reunion tours because we got to see them at UMASS (it’s educational!) and they were simply stunning. No talk , all rock. About 30 songs in a row that sounded as good if not better than the records.It was a celebration.

11.Pavement- “Slanted and Enchanted” and “Crooked Rain Crooked Rain”
One of my best homies , Matthew Dube brought these guys(the tunes, not the dudes) back to us from where he went to college in Virginia. He was hearing all these fantastic Indie bands down South and I was stuck up in New England with only WFNX to try to enlighten me. Matt introduced me to so many of my favorites this way( Superchunk, Guided By Voices, The Wedding Present, etc...).I am so glad and so grateful that he went to college! They were so original to me. No one sounded like Pavement (though many tried).These two albums are just the start of what was a brilliant indie rock legacy. We saw them live many times. They were good.It was fun.

12. The Replacements-”Let It Be”/”Tim”/”Pleased to Meet Me”
I couldn’t decide which one was the best and I don’t think I will ever figure it out. They are all so endearing and still so enduring. They were laying this shit down in the dark days of the 80’s when crap was king and even though they had a don’t give a shit attitude, I think it still bothered Westerberg that his songwriting wasn’t being recognized. These guys were heroes to me.They looked like they were having such a great time too which is always great to see. I wish I got hip to them back in the day so I wouldn’t have to listen to fucking Dokken on the bus rides to away basketball games.

13. Elvis Costello and The Attractions-”This Year’s Model”
Now this one is a masterpiece. His first one, “My Aim is True” got their attention and then this one just annihilated them (and me!). So tight, so fierce, so rocking.I’ve since acquired all of his output and the man can do it all, but this one really gets me going. It’s so bad ass, for real. In fact, I went to see Elvis with the Replacements opening up at Holman Stadium in Nashua (where the Merrimack Cardinals ruled the Pop Warner Gridiron) with my good friend, Ryan Power and it was a dream bill for me. I think I cdan speak for myslef and Ry when I say we had a good time at the show.

14. The Buzzcocks-”Singles Going Steady”
It’s essentially a “Best Of” but as “Best of”s go, this one is essential listening. The kings of Pop/Punk in my mind. This one reminds me of hanging out in the basement( “The Cave”) of my house in Northampton. We used to take turns playing records while we quaffed copious amounts of amber nectar(before or after we went out) and inevitably, someone would put this record on and it always got us going. So much fun. And as punks go, these guys were , to me, always positive. Even “Oh Shit” is a happy tune.

15. The Zombies-”Odessey and Oracle”
My friend, Joe Pernice introduced me to this album. I knew “Time of the Season” from countless Sixties compilations but the rest of the album was just amazing. How did I not know about it! It’s kinda still an underground sort of album. They recorded this album in the very next session at Abbey Road after The Beatles finished “Sgt. Pepper”.and then broke up before it was released. Great songs, poppy but at times kinda jazzy with beautiful arrangements. Almost baroque in a way. I remember listening to this album on my headphones on the bus a bunch of years back in Boston and watching the shitty, scummy streets go by outside the window as I was blissed out , awashed in the gorgeous harmonies.It really can transport you. My wife and I's wedding song was "This Will Be Our Year"That’s what great music can do. If some of you I “tagged” don’t own this album, (that’s okay) just do yourself a favor and get it. I really don’t think you’ll be mad at me (unless you actually like shitty Music.Ha!)

well, that’s it. I might as well post this before this list changes. It isn’t the End- all ,Be-all but still, I wanted to represent certain magical records for me. I hope you enjoyed this and maybe start thinking which Cds do that to you.Tag me if you do.