Share the Music You Love

[Brooke]

I think I could do bands!

Eagles
Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young
Aerosmith
Def Leppard
Bob Seger
Rolling Stones
John Mellencamp
Rolling Stones
Pink Floyd
Beatles

Harder than I thought!

[Freypower]

I see a couple of people have included solo artists so if I really had to break it down:

Beatles
Eagles
Glenn Frey
Dire Straits
Mark Knopfler
Rolling Stones
Led Zeppelin
Elton John
Bob Dylan
Neil Young

It was either Young or Van Morrison & ultimately I suppose I 'enjoy' Neil's songs more than Van's.

ETA: If only bands:

Beatles
Eagles
Dire Straits
Rolling Stones
Led Zeppelin
Bee Gees
The Byrds
Electric Light Orchestra
Oasis
Queen

I edited this to include Queen rather than my original choice of Pink Floyd. I chose Oasis over REM. I have most of REM's albums but frankly a lot of it is overrated.

[Windeagle]

Interesting question. I'm going to stick with bands for simplicity's sake.

Eagles
Carbon Leaf
REM
The Wallflowers
Lifehouse
Def Leppard
Dire Straits
Edie Brickell & New Bohemians
Three Doors Down
The Decemberists

Bands that just missed the Top 10 - The Beatles, Boston, and Dawes

[EaglesFanatic]

Hard question...

In no particular order, here is my list:

1. Eagles
2. Fleetwood Mac
3. Neil Young
4. Bad Company
5. Lynyrd Skynyrd
6. Allman Brothers
7. Poco
8. Bela Fleck
9. Creedence Clearwater Revival
10. Tom Petty

James Taylor, Electric Light Orchestra, and Pure Prairie League are up there too.

[EaglesKiwi]

It's fascinating reading through everyone's faves. I have a LOT of catching up on music to do!

Picked up an interesting list of albums that the reviewer considered "cornerstones" of a good music collection - not necessarily the best, or the most popular, but albums that maybe broke new ground or provide an introduction to musical styles. The Eagles don't feature, but Gram Parsons does. There are also comments on who they influenced and albums to listen to next (e.g. from Gram to The Byrds and Flying Burrito Brothers).

So - what albums would you recommend people give a listen to - whether they're on your favourites list or not? And why?

[Freypower]

I'm not a critic. I can't divorce what 'should' be listened to from what I love. Regarding Gram Parsons, quite frankly, apart a couple of songs, he was overrated, but he Died Young & apparently that makes him sacrosanct to these people just as Kurt Cobain is. I would just say - the Beatles. Seriously. And Bob Dylan, but as I am the only Dylan fan on this board I honestly don't think there is much to be gained by me writing a passionate essay on why I think you should listen to Dylan. I may think of more later, perhaps.

[EaglesKiwi]

I'm not a critic. I can't divorce what 'should' be listened to from what I love. Regarding Gram Parsons, quite frankly, apart a couple of songs, he was overrated, but he Died Young & apparently that makes him sacrosanct to these people just as Kurt Cobain is. I would just say - the Beatles. Seriously. And Bob Dylan, but as I am the only Dylan fan on this board I honestly don't think there is much to be gained by me writing a passionate essay on why I think you should listen to Dylan. I may think of more later, perhaps.

Yeah, I struggle with that too - but there is so much really good music out there that I haven't yet heard... I think Gram got on the list for his influence on others as well as his own album (which was with Emmylou Harris).

And there are certain albums or songs that I think everyone should hear, and that I want to share with my children (& my nieces and nephews...) and expect to want to share with my grandchildren if I get any. Examples are Hotel California, MJ's Thriller, Staying Alive (Bee Gees) probably some Elvis (Hound Dog?), definitely some of the Beatles - and one of my personal favourites, Louis Armstrong's What a Wonderful World. These are songs that are both absolutely of their time - and timeless.

They may or may not be the best the artist ever did - but they are a soundtrack to an era. (Although I don't think anything really defines the 2000s... not sure what I'd pick from the last decade).

Which Dylan album would you recommend a newbie start with?

[Freypower]

All of them.

Probably Highway 61 Revisited, which includes Like A Rolling Stone, or Blood On The Tracks, which includes Tangled Up In Blue, and is the greatest 'breakup' album of all time (apologies to Phil Collins' Face Value). I actually don't have the early protest albums, although I have most of those songs on compilations.

As you listed some landmark songs I will do the same.

Heartbreak Hotel - Elvis Presley
I Want To Hold Your Hand - Beatles
(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction - Rolling Stones
The Times They Are A-Changin' - Bob Dylan
Purple Haze - Jimi Hendrix
A Whiter Shade Of Pale - Procol Harum
Respect - Aretha Franklin
What's Going On - Marvin Gaye
Good Vibrations - Beach Boys
Whole Lotta Love - Led Zeppelin
Fire & Rain - James Taylor
Money - Pink Floyd
Take It Easy - Eagles
Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen
Anarchy In The U.K. - Sex Pistols
Born To Run - Bruce Springsteen
Sultans Of Swing - Dire Straits

Then I get to the 80s & I struggle beyond that.

Beat It - Michael Jackson
Material Girl - Madonna
Losing My Religion - REM
Don't Look Back In Anger - Oasis

Inadequate. These songs are not necessarily favourites of mine (some of them are).

This is a list which tries to give a (slightly) objective view of rock history. If you want me to write a list of songs which are completely indispensable just to me, I can do that, but in my opinion that wasn't what was asked. I interpreted 'songs everyone should hear' as meaning 'songs you consider important in the general scheme of things'.

ETA: The 'sharing with kids' part is not relevant to me as my daughter is already making her own mind up and I don't wish to push her into what she 'should' or 'should not' listen to; not yet, at any rate. I don't have any other young relatives (well, I do, but I am not in contact with them).

[WalshFan88]

Songs I think everyone should hear? Oh my - I could literally go on and on.

Hotel California - Eagles (the best of the best IMO)
Satisfaction - Rolling Stones
Sweet Home Alabama - Lynyrd Skynyrd
Back In Black - AC/DC
Sweet Emotion - Aerosmith
Rhiannon - Fleetwood Mac
Sweet Child Of Mine - Guns N' Roses
Pour Some Sugar On Me - Def Leppard
Life's Been Good - Joe Walsh
Hot Blooded - Foreigner
Whole Lotta Love - Led Zeppelin
A Day In The Life - Beatles
All Right Now - Free
Edge Of Seventeen - Stevie Nicks
Pride and Joy - Stevie Ray Vaughan
Refugee - Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
Hold On Loosely - .38 Special
Don't Stop Believin' - Journey
Ridin' The Storm Out - REO Speedwagon
The Boys Of Summer - Don Henley
More Than A Feeling - Boston
Stranglehold - Ted Nugent
Carry On Wayward Son - Kansas
Sunshine Of Your Love - Cream
Johnny B Goode - Chuck Berry

Note: I just re-read EaglesKiwi's post about sharing with kids.... Umm some of my songs on here may not exactly be ummm... kid friendly. But everyone else should hear them.

[Freypower]

In terms of albums everybody SHOULD hear, I can go no further than Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, & I'm reluctant to give any other examples; as I said, I'm not a critic, so I'm not going to list stuff like The Velvet Underground & Nico or What's Going On or London Calling or Pet Sounds. All of those can be found in Rolling Stone's list of 500 greatest albums.

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/li...atles-19691231