The Top 100 Most Influential Albums

So a few weeks ago someone in our Facebook group most a link to a website's version of the 100 most influential records.  It was garbage.  So in true LO&M fashion we decided to come up with our own list.

But how were three people with varying musical tastes ever going to agree on that many records?  Well, it was a long and arduous process. There were tears, bloodshed and name calling.  But through a carefully devised system we managed to piece it all together.  NO ONE is completely happy with this list.  But this is a start.  A discussion point, if you will.  So how did we do it?  In phases of course...

• Phase 1 was for each member to make his own list of 100, with zero knowledge of the other two lists being created.  Once finished any album that all three of us had on our list automatically made The Master List.  There were 10 such albums.  They will forever be known as "The Golden Ten".
• Phase 2 was to go back to our lists and any album that two out of the three of us had also made The Master List.  Because, as Meatloaf once said, 'Two outta three ain't bad."  
• Phase 3 was then to discuss the artists that two or more of us had on the list but had different albums listed.  If two of us had an artist with different albums the third person would then be the tie-breaking vote for which album made The Master List (unless that person was willing to concede to the other person involved - which actually did happen a couple times!).  
• Phases 4-6 involved a series of Round Robin like trials in which each one of us submitted 10 albums from what was left of our own lists and another 10 albums from what was left from what the other two submitted.  Again, any album that received two or more votes during any given phase would be added to The Master List.  
• Lastly we were each given one "Wild Card" album that we could add to The Master List with totally immunity.  (Ed. Note: I still think this was Lonesome's way of sneaking on an album that doesn't belong as he knew it was this album's only shot.)   

So without further ado here is The Master List (in alphabetical order by artist):

 

Band  Album Nominated AC/DC  Back In Black L, O The Animals The Animals O The Beach Boys Pet Sounds L, O The Beastie Boys Paul's Boutique L The Beatles Rubber Soul L, O The Beatles Revolver L, O, M The Beatles Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band L, O Black Flag Damaged O, M Black Sabbath Black Sabbath L, O Black Sabbath Paranoid L, O Black Sabbath Master of Reality O, M Blue Cheer Vincebus Eruptum L, O, M Big Star #1 Record L David Bowie The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars L, M Buzzcocks Another Music In a Different Kitchen O, M The Byrds Sweetheart of the Rodeo O, M Can Tago Mago L, M Carcass Reek of Putrefaction O Johnny Cash At San Quentin O Leonard Cohen Songs of Love and Hate L, M John Coltrane Interstellar Space M Cream Disraeli Gears L, O, M The Cure Disintigration L, O Miles Davis Bitches Brew M Deep Purple In Rock O, M De La Soul 3 Feet High and Rising L Dio Holy Diver O The Doors The Doors L, O, M Bob Dylan Highway 61 Revisited L Bob Dylan Nashville Skyline O, M Marvin Gaye What's Going On L, M Guns N Roses Appetite For Destruction L, O Happy Mondays Pills N Thrills & Bellyaches M Emmylou Harris Elite Hotel O PJ Harvey Rid of Me O Issac Hayes Hot Buttered Soul M The Jimi Hendrix Experience Are You Experienced? L, M The Jimi Hendrix Experience Axis: Bold As Love L, O Iron Maiden Iron Maiden O, M Iron Maiden Number of the Beast L, O Jefferson Airplane Surrealistic Pillow O Waylon Jennings Lonesome, On'ry and Mean O Robert Johnson The Complete Recordings L, O Joy Division Unknown Pleasures O, M Judas Priest British Steel O King Crimson In the Court of the Crimson King L The Kinks The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society L, O, M Kraftwerk Computer World M Kris Kristofferson Kristofferson O, M Kyuss Welcome to Sky Valley L, O Led Zeppelin II L, O Led Zeppelin IV L, O Love Forever Changes L, M Madonna Like A Virgin L MC5 Kick Out The Jams M Metallica Kill 'Em All L, O, M Metallica Master of Puppets L, O Minor Threat  The Complete Discography O, M Misfits Walk Among Us O Joni Mithcell Blue L, M Motorhead Ace of Spades L, O, M Willie Nelson Phases and Stages O, M Willie Nelson Red Headed Stranger O Nirvana Bleach M N.W.A. Straight Outta Compton O Gram Parsons GP O Dolly Parton Jolene L Pink Floyd The Piper At The Gates of Dawn L, O, M Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon L, O Pixies Surfer Rosa O, M Possessed Seven Churches O, M Elvis Presley Elvis Presley O, M Prince & The Revolution Purple Rain L Public Enemy It Takes A Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back L, O Radiohead OK Computer L, M Ramones Ramones L, M The Rolling Stones Beggars Banquet M Opeth Blackwater Park L Otis Redding The Soul Album O Portishead Dummy L R.E.M. Murmur M Run DMC Raising Hell L, O Rush 2112 L Sir Lord Baltimore Kingdom Come L, O Slayer  Reign In Blood L, O, M Sly & The Family Stone There's A Riot Goin' On M Patti Smith Horses L Dusty Springfield Dusty In Memphis M Bruce Springsteen Born To Run L, M The Stooges Raw Power L, O T. Rex Electric Warrior L, M Television Marquee Moon L, M Uncle Tupelo No Depression O Van Halen Van Halen L, O, M The Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground & Nico L, M Stevie Wonder Songs In The Key of Life L, O The Stone Roses The Stone Roses L, M Muddy Waters Folk Singer O Neil Young Harvest L, O The Zombies Odessey and Oracle L
We will be discussing this further giving you all a taste of which albums we had to fight for, which ones were our Wild Cards, and what our individual lists looked like.  We'll also discuss the albums from our lists that we feel should have made it.
For now tell us what you think in the comments!

This band tied for the most albums on the list.  Suck it haters.

                                  

We Sold Our Souls For Rock N' Roll...specifically Black Sabbath

Mr. Lonesome:

Gentlemen.

Two weeks ago, I announced that Iron Maiden surpassed Black Sabbath as my favorite metal band. Today, I’m here to say my brain is like the BCS rankings and Sabbath is again in the #1 spot.

In honor of their awesomeness, I want to have a detailed discussion on Black Sabbath.

I’ll start, by explaining how they fell back into the #1 spot for me: I listened to them.

With all the greats, there is no denying the genius of riffs. It’s why we listen and love in the first place. But for me, there are more Maiden songs I can skip over than Sabbath songs. And that consistency of awesomeness maintains their legacy. Sure, we can talk about their innovation, coming out dark and heavy when no one else was doing it. But just because the Wright Bros flew a plane for, what, 14 seconds, it doesn’t mean they rode that same plane for the next couple decades. Sabbath came out, introduced something interesting and, frankly, needed, and they continued to pummel.

We keep listening because of the music, its sustainability, its ability to carry over and maintain relevancy to this day. It doesn’t sound dated: it sounds like G-d banging drums eternal.

I’d like to get into Ozzy and RJD solo too, but please throw your initial thoughts.

GO.


Mr. Mean:

So, I go back and forth a bit on things related to Sabbath for a number of reasons. First of all, yes, they were great, they were pioneers, they were the first, yadda yadda. I just can’t consider them metal, therefore not in the same league as Maiden. Sabbath was a hard blues/rock band. The term heavy metal, at the time, was thrown everywhere there were loud guitars, whether it was Hendrix, Clapton, Led Zep, Blue Cheer, even freakin’ Vanilla Fudge was deemed heavy metal. It was hard, loud, dark rock and blues. Sabbath was signed to a newly formed PROGRESSIVE ROCK label called Vertigo, so at the time, they were pretty much deemed prog. “21^st Century Schizoid Man” came out in ’69 and is “metal” sounding, too. The lines between blues/rock, prog, and metal all blurred. Heavy metal, as far as I am concerned, started with Priest. If I had to pick my favorite METAL band, it’s Iron Maiden, with Priest not far behind. Out of the “big 3” proto metal bands, Sabbath is my favorite, then Deep Purple, and Zeppelin is far distant fourth behind Sir Lord Baltimore.

Musically, they just got better and better. The problem is that the production got crappier. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath should be godlike, but the production leaves it so thin and makes me wonder what it could be like in the annals of rock history had it sounded remotely good. Another factor about them, from Ozzy to RJD, is that the first four Sabbath albums are brilliant and the first two with RJD are right there with them. The last four Ozzy ones are good, not great.

   


Mr. Lonesome:

Oh, where to begin.

Ok – let’s just agree to disagree with the definition of metal. In retrospect, I think we can deem what was and what wasn’t metal. Hendrix, Clapton, etc, they were not metal. Sabbath absolutely was. They exceeded “hard rock/blues” by using one very instrumental element: the power chord. That’s right there is generally what separates a metal band from a hard rock band (specifically, bands with slow-medium tempos. Thrash and Prog, etc. are a whole different discussion on theory, mainly because they are more influence by classical music than blues).

Also, Sir Lord F’ing Baltimore over Zep?

Jesus.



Mr. Mean:

Sorry gents, I just do not like Led Zeppelin that much. They are merely ok to me. Sir Lord Baltimore was fricking amazing.



Mr. On'ry:

I don't even know where to begin with some of this lunacy so I'll try to go chronologically here.

First and foremost anyone who says Black Sabbath isn't a metal band is a f*cking moron.  Period.  The first notes from the first album trickled out of Satan's orifices straight to Iommi's stubs and reinvented everything heavy that came after it.  Saying Sabbath isn't metal because of the time period they recorded is like saying the person who invented the wheel doesn't count because the wheel wasn't on a car.  It has no logic to it at all.  Now if you want to call bands like Sir Lord Balitomore, Deep Purple, Blue Cheer, Pentagram, etc. "proto-metal" as is popular today and deem Judas Priest as the first "pure" heavy metal" band I'm o.k. with that.  But Sabbath IS metal and I could even argue that their first seven albums are more "metal" than the first three Priest records (and certainly the first two albums with Dio are).  Priest didn't start playing "metal" until, what, maybe Stained Class in 1978 and everything they did before that was also pretty much "blues based, prog influenced rock".  Sooooo...that theory is shot to piss as well.  Oh and are you one of those guys that runs around saying that bands on labels like, say, Alternative Tentacles couldn't be metal because they weren't on a "metal label"?  Because that's a pretty silly argument as well.

Secondly, we've had this discussion multiple times about the album Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath specifically.  I actually listened to a handful of songs off that record yesterday.  With the exception of the song Sabbra Cadabra (which has an inexplicably low mix that drives me nuts as well) the production on this album is not lacking.  I really don't know what the eff you are talking about.  I'm pretty sure that all that bad dance music you listen to has crapped up your hearing because Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath is one of the greatest records ever made.  EVER.  The songs on that album are so innovative and so talent filled that they could have smeared dog crap all over the speakers and then recorded it in a cardboard box layered with tin foil and it would STILL sound like gold.  Sometimes you have to just stop being a music snob and appreciate a masterpiece for what it is. 

I mean seriously, do you need me to make you a mix tape with all the Sabbath songs that will prove my point that they weren't just another "hard blues/rock band".  Because I will...and it will make you cry at your own stupidity.

And Mr. Lonesome, stop knocking Sir Lord Baltimore until you actually listen to them because they are one of the most underrated bands in rock history.  Led Zeppelin is fantastic and I love, love, love the first four records but they put out just as many crap records loaded with filler as they did classics.  I've personally had enough of the blind Zeppelin worship that dominates most music circles.  

The album that started metal...unless you are Mr. Mean, then you're a moron.

Mr. Lonesome:

Just a quick note on Zep: I do not worship them blindly. I worship them “Boogie With Stu” and all.

Back to Sabbath: I touched on power chords, be there are other elements of theory that characterize “Heavy Metal.” Specifically, the diminished fifth (used as the main riff in “Black Sabbath”) – and Chip nailed it, because the chord (or tri-tone) is known as The Devil’s Chord. So, yes. It totally came “out of Satan’s orifices.”

Also – hahaha dance music sucks.



Mr. On'ry:

I'm sorry, let me refrain.  I don't think YOU worship Zeppelin blindly.  But a lot of people do...and it's annoying.  That is all I have to say about that.



Mr. Mean:

Ouch, that last line hurt there. Because, you know, all I listen to is electronic music. Morons.

My feelings are hurt now. Well, not really.

OK, fine, valid points on Priest’s records before Stained Class, but since I pretty much hate subsubsubsubgenres anyway, whatever. They’re a rock band, they all are, so take the inverted cross out of your backside. When I think of metal, I think of Priest and Maiden first.

And dude, I like SBS. It’s a huge step creatively for them, I am well aware of that. But it is so thin. I hate the sound of that album. You are so gaga over Sabbath that, yes, it could be a dog crap in a cardboard box and you would still think it is the best thing ever made. You’re blind wrong though.

No I don’t need a Sabbath comp, moron. I have them all through Born Again. Unlike the other knobhead here who buys digital songs from albums, I buy full length albums. I have heard them all because I own them all. Make a comp for some dumb kid who thinks POD is metal.

THE BEATLES. Idiots.

What I want to know is why you have such a hatred for Deep Purple considering how much you “worship” the Sabbath and Zeppelin. It makes no sense. I want to beat you with Jon Lord’s keyboard and throw you into the North Sea.



Mr. On'ry:

You know I love you like a brother.  I can put up with your Morrissey worship, your blinding hatred of the Beatles, your love of crappy dance music...but you struck a nerve when you said Sabbath wasn't metal because to me (and this is just me being me here) it sounded like the dumbest thing any one of us has ever said on this blog...even dumber than 90% of what comes out of Lonesome's mouth.  Ha! 

And I'm not "Sabbath blind" so to speak.  I don't like the entire second half of Never Say Die.  I don't own anything past Mob Rules.  So there. 

Oh and the inverted cross stays wherever Satan planted it because it clearly makes me more metal than all of you.

Lastly, if this devolves into a Beatles conversation I swear to the Old Scratch himself I quit.

This cover depicts what's going to happen to Mean the next time On'ry sees him...

Mr. Lonesome:

Speaking of Deep Purple, I think it’s safe to say Gillan was a bad choice to sing for Sabbath.



Mr. Mean:

I like Born Again. The problem, once again, is bad production. WTF is your obsession with hating Gillan? The dude has pipes. You are such an idiot.

Like I said, Chip Satan, they are not what I deem as metal. I think of Maiden, Priest, Slayer, Venom, etc. as metal. Different times, different sounds. 



Mr. On'ry:

We shall agree to disagree.  And by "agree to disagree" what I meant was I am right and you are an idiot and the next time I see you I'm going to uncomfortably rub my Black Sabbath tattoo in your face.   



Mr. Lonesome:

I also believe On'ry is right.

And so am I.

And dude – I have nothing against Gillan, or Deep Purple. I just don’t think either are as great as you do. The world won’t stop spinning.

Mr. Mean:

You both are idiots.

*So tell us in the comments - Are Black Sabbath "metal"?  Are Led Zeppelin overrated?  Can we go one God forsaken post without mentioning the Beatles?  

 
 
  

The Unappreciated

Mr. Lonesome:

Ladies & Germs. I’ve been listening to The Cars over the last couple days. And it made me, almost instantly, think of this topic: what would a band do if it weren’t for this member? Basically, I’d like to discuss those musicians who get little-to-no fanfare, yet their respective bands just wouldn’t sound, or be, the same without them. Which leads us to:

The Cars: Elliot Easton – Lead Guitar. I’ve spoken about him in the past, and I’m speaking about him now. Elliot Easton rocks. I’m not sure this guy has ever not played the perfect note. Great examples of his solos are “Just What I Needed” and “Shake It Up” – both have that rock backbone but with pop melody. I actually liken him to the New Wave David Gilmour, in the sense that you can absolutely sing his solos. I also liken him to the antithesis of Andy Summers.  Both had their short sections to do something within the song. Where Summers would usually try some weird soundscape (i.e. the “solo’ section in Synchronicity II), Easton would maximize those quick eight bars with perfection. Band besides The Cars I wish he was in: Television. A Berklee-trained guitarist, I’d have loved to hear what he could have done with more space and improvisation.

Who’d like to have a go-‘round at this? Who you got?

Mr. Mean:

Since I am not a musician, I may not answer this correctly but I will take a stab with what I think about two drummers:

Dude, huge case in point is Rush. With John Rutsey, they were just another Led Zep ripoff. Don’t get me wrong…I like the first Rush album. But I LOVE the ones Neil Peart is on. His style is amazing, frantic, intricate. And, he gave Rush their identity as prog rockers with his lyrical content. I know you mentioned the musicians who get little or no fanfare, but as a band, Peart changed them so much and for the better. They are recognized as one of the all-time greats because he came aboard. A lesser known one – Les Binks in Judas Priest. He totally revolutionized metal drumming and was sacked because they wanted a less-technical drummer, so they brought in Dave Holland. Metal drummers owe Binks a huge debt.

Mr. Lonesome:

I think that’s a very valid response. I really dug Rutsey’s drumming too, especially on “Working Man.” But Peart really did redefine who Rush was. And yeah, they really wouldn’t be the same bad without him.

To be honest, I was sort of hoping you would go on a Jon Lord lovefest with this topic. When I hear Deep Purple, he’s the first one that comes to mind as far as helping define their “sound” – case in point is Rainbow. Same songwriter, but I would never mistake Rainbow for Deep Purple.

Mr. Mean:

Funny you mention Jon Lord. I am listening to The Stranglers right now and, like Lord, I think they too had an organist who defined their sound: Dave Greenfield. First wave punk was not known for having organ players, and the youngest member of the band was 25 when their debut record came out, which is pretty old by punk standards at the time. Greenfield was nearly 30 and brought the whole Ray Manzarek feel to the band. Further, I think their sound was defined by JJ Burnel’s bass as well. The songs are rough, the lyrical content perverse and dark, and Burnel added a very “in your face” sound. I can hear him playing and know immediately that it is him. Same goes for Peter Hook of Joy Division/New Order. He plays bass like an electric guitar – you would not even know it was a bass sometimes, but it totally defined their sound.

Mr. On'ry:

I’ve got three right off the top of my head:

Geezer Butler – Yes, Tony Iommi is one of the greatest guitar players of all time and his riffs invented metal.  But Black Sabbath would not be Black Sabbath without Geezer’s bass lines.  They really are the backbone of the beast.  Plus he wrote all the lyrics on the eight studio albums Ozzy sang on.  When you think about it Geezer really has always been the heart and soul of that band.

Robby Krieger – It’s hard for me to imagine the lone guitar player in one of the greatest rock bands of all time not getting his due but when you think of The Doors, who do you think of?  Morrison.  Then who?  Ray Manzarek is probably next.  Krieger is one of the most underrated guitar players in the history of modern music in my book.  He was so technically proficient it’s ridiculous to watch in the live setting (which I had the chance to do in Philly a long time ago).  But The Doors sound is predicated on Morrison’s crooning and the keyboards being way out in front, especially on a lot of their singles.  So much so that to me Krieger’s playing is lost on a lot of people.  (By the by, I could be arguing the same exact thing about John Densmore.)

Jorma Kaukonen – I feel pretty safe in saying that when you talk about underrated musicians that Jorma Kaukonen should be towards the top of everyone’s list.  His work with Jefferson Airplane was fantastic, but again when you think of the Airplane, who do you think of?  Grace Slick?  Marty Balin?  Paul Kantner?  Hell, even Spencer Dryden?  Most people don’t even know who Jorma was or that he was in the band.  But he really was the one who brought the fantastic Blues elements into the band, as proven in his later works with Hot Tuna.  Criminally underrated musician in my book. 

I’ll add more as I think of them but for now I’ll close with:  Rush sucks. 


Mr. Mean:

Two words: Hot Tuna. Brilliant call, man.


Mr. Lonesome:

I started this with one musician, and I sent with just Easton to sort of facilitate the conversation. But I also had three. Mr On’ry, you nailed one of them:

The Doors: Robbie Krieger – Guitar. I agree with everything you said. Krieger is ridiculously talented. Just listening to something like “Spanish Caravan” makes me wonder why more people don’t talk about his gifts. I can’t think of so many songs without his input: “The End” or “Love Me Two Times” or “Break on Through” or “People Are Strange” or “Insert Any Doors Song Here” – love me some RK.

Led Zeppelin: JPJ – everything. John Paul Jones is, to me, the most valuable person in Led Zeppelin. If for no other reason than his virtuostic versatility. He is always the last person mentioned when Zep comes up. And that’s fair enough, everyone in the band was genius. I mean who are we kidding: they are in fact the greatest rock band of all time! But back to JPJ: three defining moments for me: the bass line in “Dazed and Confused” – the key-intro in “No Quarter” – the GD recorders in “Stairway to Heaven” – the dude is a legend, but he will never be legend enough.

This guy was awesome.  Eff Mr. Mean.

 Mr. Mean:

Totally not on board with you guys as far as Kreiger. I immediately think Ray Manzarek. He is the reason I love The Doors so much. Not Morrison, not Krieger, not Densmore, not Lonnie Mack (look it up). The sound of The Doors is completely Manzarek and you both are idiots.

Mr. Lonesome:

I think the point on Krieger is that he is not immediately thought of when it comes to The Doors. Just like John Paul Jones, and Geezer Butler – there are two other bandmates that get the attention over him.  

Mr. On'ry:

Ding-dong, the topic is what musicians don’t get enough credit in what they added to the sound of the band…nice job proving our point about Krieger.  Is the only song you are thinking of right now “Light My Fire”?  Moron.  

Mr. Mean:

Fine. Not agreeing with you goons on Kreiger though. He was pretty run of the mill for a guitar player from what my ears are hearing. Get your lips off each other’s butts and carry on.

Mr. On'ry:

O.k. so I’m going to guess that I’m the only one of us that actually got to see him perform live, no?  You’d change your tune if you saw what I saw…or maybe not because you’re a stubborn little turd.

Mr. Lonesome:

There really is nothing run-of-the-mill about his guitar playing. He’s up there with people like Alex Lifeson and Lindsey Buckingham – really gifted guitarists who are overlooked because of the Brits.

Mr. On'ry:

No, Lindsey Buckingham is overlooked because he appeared on some truly horrible Fleetwood Mac albums. 

Mr. Lonesome:

Bad as they may be, I’ve never seen anyone play quite like he does. His use of fingers in lieu of a pick is insane when he solos. I’ve never seen anything quite like it. He also has incredible control of his thumb when playing the bass note while fingerpicking.

But I digress: Mr Mean is an idiot.

Mr. On'ry:

That didn’t help make Fleetwood Mac be any better…

Mr. Lonesome:

Oh, I’m not so sure that’s true. I think his songs were pretty strong, but his performances were where he shined. Youtube “I’m So Afraid” from their The Dance tour, watch/listen to him solo on that one. It’s pretty mesmerizing – like, chill-inducing. For me at least. And his solo performances from the same tour of “Big Love” and “Go Insane” (the latter coming from a solo and not Mac album), it’s obvious how ridiculously gifted he is.

Mr. On'ry:

I’m not denying he’s an amazing guitar player…I just effing hate Fleetwood Mac…

At least he had a nice 'fro. 

Mr. Lonesome:

Haha  you wont get any arguments from me, sir. I think Christine McVie may be the worst popular songwriter of all time, while “Don’t Stop” is maybe the most overrated song ever. I want to punch baby kangaroos (Joeys, if you will) anytime I hear it. Few songs induce such vitriol in me.

Mr. Mean:

I know you idiots hate The Smiths, but Johnny Marr is exceptional. Watch how he plays and listen, if you can get your heads out of each other’s butts long enough to do so and not wax poetic about how much you hate Morrissey.

Mr. Lonesome:

You are an idiot.

Not because of Marr. I think Marr is fantastic. But so do a lot of people, including most British guitarists from the 90s to now. You’re not opening any eyes, dude.

Though I’m super intrigued how you can pick up the nuances of Marr but not Krieger??

 Mr. On'ry:

You clearly don’t listen to a word that comes out of my mouth…or keyboard.  I know Johnny Marr is an exceptional guitar player.  I don’t hate The Smiths…I hate Morrissey.  He ruins every single Smiths song he has ever opened his fat, stupid mouth for. 

But Marr gets his due so what the hell does that have to do with the topic, expect open old wounds of Morrissey hate.  Screw you.  Two can play that game. – BEATLES!  METALLICA! 

There.  Suck it.

Mr. Lonesome:

/End Topic

Mr. Mean:

Morons. Now end it. Dumb bastards.

*Who are your favorite criminally underrated musicians?