Let's have a Combat Ace MEGA POLL!
The matter at hand is, what are your top five rock albums of all time? Or, if you were stranded on a deserted island with an iPod that could only hold five rock albums, which would they be? You don't have to base your top five on anything other than your opinion (sales, popularity, etc. don't count) and you can define Rock as loosely as you want to, so metal, punk, blues and pop and other stuff can all find there way in. Feel free to comment on your choices as well. At the end, I'll weight and tally the results.
My choices:
1. The Beatles, Abbey Road -- A no-brainer for me. It showcases all of the strengths and none of the weaknesses of the most creative band ever, though ironically none of them would count amongst the best musicians ever. George harrison's song Something hints at his enormous talent that would not be fully realized until The Beatles broke up.
2. Led Zeppelin, Physical Graffiti -- Most double-albums would be just a good (sometimes better) if they were cut down to a single album, but Physical Graffiti is strong from start to finish and has more classic cuts than you can shake a stick at.
3. Pink Floyd, Dark Side of the Moon -- The only problem with this album is overexposure. I was tempted to go with Wish You Were Here for that reason, but face it, DSotM is Floyd's magnum opus and has to be respected.
Damn...the Brits are getting too much play here...so...
4. Van Halen, For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge -- I'm a big DLR fan, so this was a tough choice to make, but in my opinion it is Van Halen's best single album with any singer and one of the best feel-good, go out and drive fast albums ever.
5. Prince, Purple Rain -- Maybe an unusual choice for the top five but an incredible album that I could not live on that island without.
I would like to have included a Rolling Stones album on my list, but I can't becasue although they have some of the greatest singles of all time, I don't think any of their albums are good enough when taken as a whole to make my top five--to much filler in between the diamonds. The one that comes closest is Bridges to Babylon.
Anyway, can't wait to read the opinions of other members!