Update (Aug 30, 2016): I've added in some new favorites, below…
Why? Well, each one satisfies at least two out of three criteria: 1). Has personal significance — like a tattoo on my mind, these albums always bring back warm feelings; 2). It's a perfect album in my mind — from beginning to end, and from songwriting/performance to recording execution; and 3). Has significantly affected my own songwriting and/or recording projects.
I'm most certainly forgetting some.
In alphabetical order:
- Alva Noto, “Xerrox Vol. 2”
- Bang On a Can, “Music for Airports"
- The Beta Band, “Hot Shots II”
- Brian Eno, “Apollo: Atmospheres & Soundtracks”
- Biosphere, “Dropsonde”
- Bjork, “Vespertine”
- Cocteau Twins, “Heaven or Las Vegas”
- Daniel Lanois, “Belladonna”
- David Bowie, “Sound and Vision”
- Do Make Say Think, “& Yet & Yet”
- Fennesz, “Endless Summer”
- Gastr del Sol, “Upgrade & Afterlife”
- James, “Laid”
- Japan, “Tin Drum”
- Jim O'Rourke, “Halfway to a Threeway”
- John Cale, “Paris 1919”
- Joni Mitchell, “Court & Spark”
- Joni Mitchell, “The Hissing of Summer Lawns”
- Loose Fur, “Born Again in the USA”
- Low, “Things We Lost in the Fire”
- Marvin Gaye, “What's Going On”
- Marvin Gaye, “I Want You”
- Marvin Gaye, “Here, My Dear”
- Michael Jackson, “Off the Wall”
- Michael Jackson, “Thriller”
- Monolake, “Cinemascope”
- Paul Simon, “Rhythm of the Saints”
- Pita, “Get Out”
- Prince, “Prince”
- Prince, “Purple Rain”
- Prince, “Around the World in a Day”
- R.E.M., “Up”
- Radiohead, “Kid A”
- Sam Prekop, “Sam Prekop”
- The Sea and Cake, “The Fawn”
- The Sea and Cake, “Oui”
- The Sea and Cake, “The Moonlight Butterfly”
- Sparks, “Kimono My House”
- Stereolab, “Dots & Loops”
- Stevie Wonder, “Songs in the Key of Life”
- Talk Talk, “Laughing Stock”
- Talking Heads, “Remain in Light”
- To Rococo Rot, “The Amateur View”
- To Rococo Rot & I-Sound, “Music is a Hungry Ghost”
- To Rococo Rot, “Speculation”
- Tortoise, “Millions Now Living Will Never Die”
- Tortoise, “TNT”
- Trans Am, “The Surveillance”
- Trans Am, “Futureworld”
- Wilco, “A Ghost is Born”
- Willie Nelson, “Red Headed Stranger”
- Yo La Tengo, “And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out”
- The Zombies, “Odyssey and Oracle”
A couple other things of note: whole genres are missing (where's Hip-Hop?); there's an overabundance of “Post-Rock”; there's an overabundance of albums that came out in late 90's, early 00's; there's an underwhelming amount of ambient-electronic on here, compared to what I listen to on a daily basis. Also, no Beatles? Stones? WTF? Of course some of that shit is my favorite, but it's also in the water I drink.
There are at least 100 other albums that could and may make this list, but most haven't had the benefit of time or enough repeated listens (e.g. I can't stop listening to a few albums that came out in the past couple years, but it's too soon to call them all-time-favorites). I really want to add Gordon Lightfoot's “Sundown”, but I'm still geeking on it. Need to relax and forget for a while, then come back and see if I'm still into it.