The Top 10 Albums of all time list is a tough one. First off, albums are a lost art. Most groups don’t bother making great albums anymore, especially since it became so easy to download just one song. My son’s best friend plays in a band and is a great young musician, so I asked him what some of his other favorite tracks were from a Red Hot Chili Peppers album and he looked at me like I was an alien. “Other tracks?” He had just picked all the songs he liked and downloaded them separately. Because of this trend there are songs my kids have played for me from this era that I like, but I couldn’t tell you the name of most of the albums they’re from. That being said, there are so many great bands and albums that I remember, it’s hard to pull together a list as you want to make sure you didn’t leave anyone out. I personally had a hard time leaving out Elton John, The Clash, John Coltrane, Pat Metheny, my god the list could go on forever. But I finally pulled it together, and here I what I came up with.

10.   Local Hero, Marc Knofler – Marc Knofler is a genius. Everything he does is awesome. I recently traded some of my daughter’s old Hilary Duff CDs (thank God she’s well out of that phase) for a Knofler album I didn’t have and it felt like stealing. Soundtracks make great albums because they tie together so well (sounds like another list for a future post). Many of the albums I listen to the most are soundtracks and Local Hero is the best. If soundtracks are illegal in a greatest albums list, insert any Marc Knofler album here and I am fine with that (or Elton John or The Clash…)

9.  52^nd Street, Billy Joel – My kids love Billy Joel and especially this album. It is the music from my generation they connected with. Their friends get in the car and sing along as well. It always makes me feel good to belt out a song with them whether Half a Mile Away or Stiletto, they’re all good. I always have a copy in my car.

8. Even in the Quietest Moments, Supertramp – I listen to all the Supertramp albums a lot but over the course of time this has become my favorite.

7.  Aja, Steely Dan – Years ago, a co-worker said, “You need to listen to Steely Dan and Tom Waits any time you can.” Clean, crisp, classic Steely Dan.” Wise words, Bob.

6. Who’s Next, The Who – It’s The Who, how can I go wrong!

5. Kind of Blue, Miles Davis – The more I listen to this album the better it gets.

4. Pachelbel; Handel; Vivaldi; Gluck, Christopher Hogwood, Academy of Ancient Music - A good friend of mine in college was trying to open my mind to classical music and gave me this record.  I now have 100s of classical CD’s thanks to him and still consider this my favorite.  Famous classical songs played extremely well. Thanks Eric!

3.   Abbey Road, The Beatles – My favorite Beatles Album

2. Dark Side of the Moon, Pink Floyd – Pink Floyd is my favorite band and I could have probably put all their albums in my top 10, but went with Dark Side of the Moon.

1.  Joshua Tree, U2 – When my son was young he couldn’t sit still, EVER, and hated the car. One day as my wife and I fought with him in his car-seat, I happened to put in this cassette. He instantly calmed down. After that, any time he fussed in the car I would put in Joshua Tree and he was instantly quiet. As you can imagine, I played that cassette a lot. With the hundreds of times I have heard it, I am always impressed with how good it is and how lucky I was my son liked U2. He could have liked Hilary Duff like my daughter did. Thank God she loved the car.

Some of our readers lists will be featured Friday. Check them out!