Vote

John Stewart's 1969 masterpiece California Bloodlines. In my opinion, a shamefully neglected American wonder. There is not a misplayed or misplaced or unnecessary note on it. Pure genius from beginning to end. Oh Mother Country, I do love you.

Just one? Most of the Beatles albums. Led Zeppelin's Houses of the Holy (IV loses out due to "Four Sticks"). Pink Floyd: Wish You Were Here (I'll leave it to others to nominate DSoTM). The Eagles: Hotel California. Cream: Disraeli Gears. Bruce Springsteen: Born To Run and Darkness on the Edge of Town. Crosby, Stills, and Nash: Crosby, Still, and Nash. Nirvana: Unplugged. CCR: take your choice!

Paul's Boutique. I know it is full of samples but from start to finish a great album

Dark Side Of The Moon by Pink Floyd This album is hugely representative of the singular fact that albums aren't just a mere collection of songs but an artist's ability to take the listener on a musical journey. Peace!

McGilroy the Housefly by Incubator. 1993 psychedelic death album that is to the genre what Dark Side of the Moon was to psychedelic rock. Awesome!

It's not that unusual. Stevie Wonder's made a couple of them, so has Joni Mitchell. Most of the universally acknowledged geniuses have made at least one. Lucky Thompson: Lucky Strikes. Bob Dylan: Blood On The Tracks. Duke Ellington: …And His Mother Called Him Bill. Beastie Boys: Paul's Boutique. Arvo Part: Arbos. Gidon Kremer: Impressions D'Enfance.

Frank Zappa: One Size Fits All. It just flows.

You Forgot it in People by Broken Social Scene. The first album I heard where it all just fit.

The Stone Roses: Stone Rose. Begins with "I Don't Have to Sell My Soul, He's Already in Me" (in I Wanna be Adored)" and ends with "I am the Rresurrection". The 20th anniversary remaster is out now. After 20 years, it is still one of my all time favorites.

Coldplay: A Rush Of Blood To The Head

Too numerous to mention. But those with good sound, (blues) Muddy Waters Folk Singer, (pop) Marvin Gaye's Let's Get It On, and (jazz) Bill Evans' Waltz For Debby.

Dave Matthews Band: Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King

Dark Side Of The Moon by Pink Floyd.

Can't possibly pick just one. Babylon By Bus by Bob Marley, Donald Fagan's The Nightfly. Nine Inch Nails: Pretty Hate Machine. Nirvana: Nevermind. Paul Simon: Graceland. Peter Gabriel: Passion. Pink Floyd: Dark Side of the Moon. Prince" Purple Rain. Rolling Stones: Let It Bleed. Steely Dan: Aja. Talking Heads: Stop Making Sense.

Violator by Depeche Mode.

Hear are a half-dozen fairly obscure works of genius (the last two being least well-known). The Geraldine Fibbers: Lost Somewhere Between Earth and My Home and Butch. Both brilliant albums weaving together traditional country and folk with rock. Band leader Carla Bozuluch correctly points to the the insurgent and angry nature of much traditional American music. The second album has Nels Cline, who many consider to be the greatest living guitarist. Its music has a more experimental feel. Mercedes Sosa: Sino. May be the best album by this recently deceased Argentine singer. Combines powerfully belted tunes with ballads. Think Cranberries and Joan Baez. In Spanish. Fela Kuti: "The Best Best of Fela Kuti. Kuti is considered one of the most important African musicians since World War II. This double disc has the best of his "Afrobeat," which crossed Nigerian music with jazz. There are prominent brass sections in large backing orchestras. Songs go 10 to 20 minutes and are immensely danceable. Dirty Three: Horse Stories. A lot of music claims to be different, but this actually is. There's a violinist, electric guitarist, and percussionist. No singing. Songs go for 5, 10 minutes or more. The mood is alternately melancholy, aggressive, or exhultant. Its somewhere between classical, jazz, long-form Sonic Youth and traditional Appalachian folk music. Magic Hours: Succession. When Galaxie 500 broke up in the early '90s, its bassist and drummer helped form this quartet. This album is a classic of psychedelia. No singing. Just four musical pieces (one 20 minutes, one 14, one 4, and one 7.5). Mystical and intense.

Blood on the Tracks by Bob Dylan.

Every album has something I prefer more than others. There are very few albums that are perfection on a single track let alone start to finish.

Cowboy Junkies: The Trinity Session. It just draws me in and doesn't let go until the final note. The new 200g recording serves to bring out all the details that are buried in the CD or earlier vinyl copies.

Small Change by Tom Waits.

The Radiators' Law of the Fish. I wish somebody would remaster this. Fish!

I would have to divide the vote between two: one, a classic, is Dark Side of the Moon (Pink Floyd) and the other is Come On Feel the Illinoise (Sufjan Stevens). Both amazing musicallly, articstically and the recordings are great as well.

Wincing The Night Away by the Shins.

Joes' Garage by Frank Zappa. Okay, set of albums!

Thomas Feiner & Anywhen: The Opiates—Revised. Radiant and very open sound and beautiful music for late night enjoing

Astor Piazzolla's Tango: Zero Hour. Stunning.

Paddy McAloon: I Trawl the Megahertz

Born to Run opens with what is possibly the best-written rock song ever and closes with "Jungleland."

Ben Harper's Fight for Your Mind and Eberhard Weber's Escape from the Wasteland, and the last five Beethoven symphonies. That's it, all else is server fodder for background (elevator) music.

The Joshua Tree. How could there possibly be any debate on this one?