Alexis Herrera’s 50 favorite albums

In case you didn’t notice, this post is not about the Boston Celtics. Since the season opener is still two weeks away, I feel that this is the perfect time to take a break and blog about something else.

As I wrote in my about page, music plays a pivotal role in my life. I was lucky to grow up in a house in which different types of music were always being played, and this had a profound effect on my development. Let me give you an example: when I was three years old, I took Pavarotti tapes to school because I wanted all my friends to listen to this amazing tenor. Needless to say, this is not typical preschooler behavior.

If there’s one thing I have in common with many other music lovers, it’s that I love creating lists of my favorite artists, albums, songs, genres; you name it. This list represents the 50 albums that I’d want with me if I were stranded on a deserted island (with a CD player…and electricity…). Before I get into it, here are a few notes about how it was compiled:

• You should already know that I like The Beatles more than anything else in life. I limited myself to one album per artist just so they wouldn’t have 10 on here.

• I deliberately avoided including double albums, as that would be a convenient way to circumvent the rule of thumb I established.

• Similar albums and artists are arranged in chronological order under a common description. While I probably like the albums in one group more than the ones in the group directly below it, this list is not presented in order of preference. That would’ve been too difficult to accomplish, and choosing just 50 albums was challenging enough.

Without further ado, I present my 50 favorite albums of all time:

The Gods

• The Beatles – Revolver
• John Lennon – John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band

I still remember the first time I heard “Revolver.” It’s one of those defining moments in life that you never forget. Many consider it The Beatles’ best, and while that is infinitely arguable (“Rubber Soul,” “Sgt. Pepper,” “The White Album,” and “Abbey Road” aren’t exactly duds, either), it’s always been my personal favorite. Nearly 50 years after it was released, the innovative sounds and evocative lyrics on every song are still remarkably fresh. Its compressed production distinguishes its sound from other Beatles records, and it was the beginning (and some might say, the apex) of their experimental phase.

If I eventually decide to get a tattoo, this is what I would want.
Photo added by Zach Tretter to Pinterest, via Ally Dunn.

John Lennon’s debut album is also extremely important to me. I don’t know of any other musician who has bared his or her soul on record in a more brutally honest way than he did on this 1970 masterpiece. He touched on every subject imaginable – love, loneliness, his distrust in authority, his (lack of) religious beliefs, his mother (and her death), and many others. If you’re a Beatles fan who doesn’t know much about their members’ solo work, start with this one. Also, watch this brilliant documentary on the making of the album. I guarantee that this record (and the documentary) will touch even the most cynical person you can think of.

The Best Hip-Hop Album Of All Time

• Nas – Illmatic

This record is so good that I couldn’t get past its first song for about two months. I had been listening to rap music for two years before I bought “Illmatic,” but I had never heard any rapper who came close to matching Nas’ verbal dexterity. The merging of his dense rhyming style with beats from some of hip-hop’s most sought-after producers resulted in the album that is universally acknowledged as the greatest in the history of rap.

The Ultimate Alternative Band

• Rage Against The Machine

Despite what anybody says, Rage Against the Machine is the only American band that has successfully combined hard rock and hip-hop. Chicano frontman (and former hardcore punk singer/breakdancer) Zack de la Rocha’s distinctive lyrics and delivery were imbued with political awareness and class rage that privileged white “rappers” could never hope to match, and together with Tom Morello’s innovative guitar techniques, they created a hard-hitting sound that has been imitated by many and duplicated by none.

Wu-Tang Clan Ain’t Nuthing Ta F*** Wit

• Wu-Tang Clan – Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)
• Ol’ Dirty Bastard – Return To The 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version
• Raekwon – Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…
• GZA – Liquid Swords
• Ghostface Killah – Ironman

Wu-Tang Clan in 1997.
Bob Berg/Getty Images

Most of the greatest rap music ever recorded came out of New York City in the mid-1990s. The fact that the Wu-Tang Clan kick-started this movement with their seminal debut album and remained its most prolific group for five years (with eight CDs worth of material) is nothing short of impressive. Even though some of their members (each of whom has his own unmistakable and inimitable style) released critically acclaimed “solo” albums between 1994 and 1996, they’re really the work of a unified collective – group leader RZA produced almost all their tracks, and other Wu-Tang members were featured heavily on all of them. If you like challenging, unconventional, uncompromising, and just plain good music, you need these records in your collection.

The Hard Rock Classics

• Led Zeppelin II
• Aerosmith – Rocks
• Cheap Trick
• Mötley Crüe – Too Fast For Love
• Guns N’ Roses – Appetite For Destruction

In spite of my Beatles obsession and my fondness for hardcore hip-hop, my favorite style of music is probably hard rock. There’s just nothing in the world quite as thrilling to me as the sound of a melodic riff played on a distorted electric guitar.

Although I greatly appreciate “Led Zeppelin III’s” country and folk-flavored acoustic songs, “Led Zeppelin IV’s” bombast, and “Physical Graffiti’s” stylistic breadth, “Led Zeppelin II” is my favorite Zeppelin album because it refined the breakthroughs of their debut, in which they practically invented hard rock with their dynamic interpretation of the blues.

Aerosmith’s rollicking sleaze and “f*** you” attitude spawned legions of imitators, and no record of theirs displays these qualities better than “Rocks.” It influenced many of the most important hard rock acts of the 1980s and 1990s, especially Guns N’ Roses.

Guns N’ Roses before they turned into “Axl Rose and a revolving door of hired musicians no one cares about.” Photo uploaded by unitedconnection to http://unitedcollection.blogspot.com

While I don’t care for anything they’ve done after 1989, “Appetite for Destruction” is my all-time favorite non-Beatles rock album. Slash and Izzy Stradlin’s weaving guitars, Axl Rose’s versatile singing, and the whole group’s menacing aura made them sound like Aerosmith on steroids. “Welcome to the Jungle,” “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” and “Paradise City” might be the instantly recognizable hits, but the high point of the album is easily the closing “Rocket Queen,” a six-minute epic that integrates all of the band’s best qualities into a single piece.

Cheap Trick left a lasting mark on rock music; aside from Aerosmith, they’re probably the only band that simultaneously influenced both hair metal and grunge. They became more of a power pop outfit with subsequent releases, but their debut is a stirring hard rock onslaught with songs about pedophiles and serial killers. My favorite track on the album is “Oh, Candy,” an affectionate eulogy to a friend of the band who committed suicide that initially fools the listener into thinking it’s a typical boy-girl love song.

I thought that Mötley Crüe was a fluffy hair metal band until I heard “Too Fast For Love.” This song is nothing like their diluted MTV hits; it’s raw, smutty hard rock that mixes heavy metal, punk, glam, and power pop very effectively. I played its eponymous album non-stop throughout 2008 and it still hasn’t gotten old.

The Alternative Rap Manifesto

• The Pharcyde – Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde

Coming out of Los Angeles (the mecca of gangsta rap) in the early 1990s, The Pharcyde were a groundbreaking rap group who dared to be different by refusing to conform to musical trends, and their singular brand of humor, fearless musical exploration, and emotional sincerity inspired plenty of artists. Their debut is an eclectic collection of jazzy tunes that dealt with topics that were seen as taboo in hip-hop at the time, such as unrequited love, sexual mishaps, and masturbation. Kanye West named it his favorite album of all time, but don’t hold that against it.

“Grunge”

• Alice In Chains – Dirt
• Soundgarden – Superunknown
• Nirvana – MTV Unplugged In New York

I wrote the name of this category with quotation marks because that’s the label the media attached to pretty much every hard rock band that came out of Seattle in the 80s and 90s, irrespective of their individual style. In reality, these groups didn’t have much in common with each other.

Alice in Chains’ aggressive musical attack placed them closer to heavy metal than most of their Seattle counterparts, and Dirt‘s bleak and haunting songs about depression have gotten me through some tough times.

Upon first listen, the most glaring feature of Soundgarden’s music might be Chris Cornell’s impossibly wide vocal range, but further inspection reveals that they were always the most daring and experimental of all the Seattle bands. They finally broke into the mainstream with “Superunknown,” an album that combines Black Sabbath’s heaviness with The Beatles’ psychedelia yet creates its own unique, separate identity.

Soundgarden in the mid-1990s.
Photo uploaded by blinddogs to tumblr.com

Everybody knows Nirvana, their signature song “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” and their Diamond certified (more than 10 million copies sold) album “Nevermind,” but “MTV Unplugged” is by far my favorite record of theirs. Even if he was known as more of a screamer than a singer, I feel that Kurt Cobain was better suited to playing in small settings than arenas. This gave him the opportunity to place his vocals at the forefront, and the listening experience amounts to an intimate portrait of the man who committed suicide just a few months after this harrowing, masterful performance. Perhaps unintentionally, this also makes the record a sort of “John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band” for the 1990s, a comparison that makes more sense once you realize that Lennon was Cobain’s idol.

The Concept Albums

• Sticky Fingaz – Black Trash: The Autobiography of Kirk Jones
• Mr. Lif – I Phantom
• The Roots – Undun

If you think rap is nothing more than unbearable noise that allows inarticulate thugs to get rich by simply talking over a bland musical backdrop, I challenge you to revisit your views by listening to these three exquisite works.

“Black Trash” is, in my opinion, the most underrated rap album of all time. The record plays like a movie in which the main character goes through all sorts of existential crises while facing prison, seeing his younger brother throw his life away, reexamining his treatment of women, questioning the existence of God, dreaming he was white, and comparing himself to money in an enthralling extended metaphor. Even after all these highlights, its best song is probably the closer, an ironic cover of Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World” that reflects on the negative aspects of modern life. This magnificent record is one of the most complete albums I’ve ever heard in any genre of music, and it only gets better with each listen.

Boston’s own Mr. Lif crafted a record just as profound as “Black Trash” with “I Phantom,” a concept album about a lower-class African-American man trying to make a living in post-9/11 America. Its signature track is a multi-part suite on the oppressive nature of 9-to-5 jobs in capitalist societies, a song that demonstrates Lif’s enlightened understanding of politics and economics.

Known to Middle America as The Tonight Show’s house band, The Roots also happen to be the most innovative and prolific rap group of the last 20 years. In the 1990s, they perfected the concept of a hip-hop band, and even won a Grammy. What’s truly impressive about them is that while the vast majority of their contemporaries have fallen off the map creatively, The Roots only get better with time.

The Legendary Roots Crew.
Photo via SUPERGOODMUSIC.

“Undun’s” profoundly affecting portrait of a man’s final 24 hours of life is peppered with philosophical musings on life, death, and regret, and it’s also a deeply personal album for me. In late 2011, I was feeling out of place while studying abroad in Spain. The record’s somber feel was a perfect sonic representation of my feelings at the time, and its imaginative blend of alternative rap, neo-soul, indie rock, jazz, and classical music (along with its engrossing lyrics) gave me hope during my very worst moments.

The Hardcore New Yorkers

• Mobb Deep – The Infamous
• M.O.P. – Firing Squad

Hailing from Queens and Brooklyn, respectively, these two duos are among the best representatives of the hardcore rap style that I love.

“The Infamous” is a dark and heavy affair with an untouchable legacy in the rap world. “Shook Ones, Pt. II” is its best-known track, but all of them are superb. “Firing Squad” isn’t as popular, but M.O.P.’s rough rhymes and DJ Premier’s melodic production make it one of the quintessential New York rap albums.

Girls, Girls, Girls

• The Knack – Get The Knack
• Weezer – Pinkerton

Some people consider The Knack one-hit wonders, but based on the magnitude of that particular hit, they could very well be the most famous power pop band of all time. Either way, every song on their debut album bursts with infectious energy. It’s so good that it sounds like a greatest hits compilation, and even Kurt Cobain loved it!

The Knack in their prime.
Photo uploaded by Sam to http://sam-musiclovers.blogspot.com/

Although “Pinkerton” isn’t really a power pop record, Weezer is perhaps the most popular modern power pop band. That’s not why I lumped them in with The Knack, though; I did it because the lyrics in these two albums remind me of every single romantic and sexual experience I’ve ever had (or haven’t had, or wanted to have). From the fun to the disheartening and from the sweet to the raunchy, these two records perfectly capture the experience of being young and in love (or lust).

The Underground Revival

• Company Flow – Funcrusher Plus
• Mos Def & Talib Kweli – Black Star
• Mos Def – Black On Both Sides

In the late 1990s, New York-based rap label Rawkus Records released a series of albums that revitalized the independent hip-hop scene, and these three are my favorites. Company Flow was a pioneering group whose production techniques defined the sound of underground hip-hop for the next 10 years. I hadn’t heard a sitar on a rap song until I bought “Funcrusher Plus,” and it made me realize that there was much more artistry in rap than I could’ve ever imagined.

Mos Def and Talib Kweli were very different from the rappers I saw on TV or heard on the radio. They eschewed the thuggish posturing that was watering down the culture, opting instead to rhyme about self-knowledge and spirituality. Even when they rapped about crime, they didn’t glorify it; instead, they analyzed its effects eloquently and thoughtfully. Oh, and get this: they even respected women! Who knew?

Mos Def and me in 2002.

The Emcee’s MC

• Redman – Doc’s Da Name 2000

Eminem was far and away the most popular rapper of the early 2000s, but I was never a big fan of his. I felt that he wasn’t doing anything that Redman hadn’t done earlier and better, so I was therefore not the least bit shocked when he named Redman as his favorite rapper in his song “Til’ I Collapse.” It’s easy to see why; his warped sense of humor and satirical lyrics are very similar to Redman’s.

Ludacris is another rapper who I always felt was influenced by Redman, and I remember reading an interview a few years ago in which a friend of his said that he used to listen to Redman all the time. Again, you can clearly hear it in his songs; his rhyming cadence (especially how he tends to emphasize the last word in his lines), his subject matter, and his comedic flavor are undoubtedly inspired by the New Jersey MC.

Redman in the mid-1990s.
Photo uploaded by squiggles to rap.genius.com

The main difference between Redman and his two more well-known disciples is that he raps in a much more aggressive fashion. Perhaps this is why he couldn’t achieve the large-scale success that plenty of his peers enjoy to this day, but rap is (was?) about who’s the best rapper, not who sells the most records. In this regard, Redman is one of the greats. Don’t let his clownish tendencies fool you; he’s an immensely nimble rhymer and devastating battle MC. At 12 years of age, this was the first rap album I ever liked, and I still play it constantly. Also, it’s kind of cool that my favorite basketball player from this era also loved it.

The Departed

• The Notorious B.I.G. – Ready To Die
• 2Pac – Me Against The World
• Big Pun – Capital Punishment
• Big L – Harlem’s Finest: A Freestyle History

Although these rappers have become a little overrated after their passing, these albums are certified hip-hop classics.

2Pac was never more candid on record than on “Me Against the World.” There are no party anthems here, as he earnestly confronts death, paranoia, and personal struggle. His loving tribute to his mother is also a standout track. Likewise, in “Ready to Die,” Biggie expressed his thoughts on his own struggle, his newfound fame, and the changing times with surprising depth and candor.

Big Pun and Big L weren’t as deeply confessional as Pac and Big, but they were just as good (if not better) when it came to actual rapping. Pun’s multisyllabic delivery was extremely rare for a Latin rapper, and “Capital Punishment” is a sort of hip-hop “White Album” that shows he could perform hardcore rap, pop-rap, alternative rap, dirty rap, and gangsta rap equally well.

Big L is possibly the greatest punchline rapper and battle MC that has ever lived, and this compilation of his radio appearances showcases his trademark wit and internal-rhyme laden flow better than his “proper” albums. As a bonus track, we get to hear “How Will I Make It,” a sobering reflection on life in the streets that sadly foreshadowed his own fate.

The Headbangers

• Ozzy Osbourne – Blizzard Of Ozz
• Diamond Head – Lightning To The Nations
• Holocaust – The Nightcomers
• Judas Priest – Screaming For Vengeance
• Metallica – Ride The Lightning

I already told you that nothing gets me going more than heavy guitar riffs, and that’s why I can’t get enough of these five albums. Ozzy Osbourne’s solo debut is a heavy metal classic mainly because of the late Randy Rhoads’ guitar work. He could do it all: blazing-fast solos, catchy melodies, menacing riffs, and even delicate acoustic instrumentals.

Ozzy Osbourne and Randy Rhoads.
Photo uploaded by lettingtheleadout to tumblr.com

Diamond Head and Holocaust are my favorite NWOBHM (New Wave of British Heavy Metal) bands, and their vastly underrated debut albums feature more quality riffs than most metal bands’ entire careers. If you don’t believe me, go listen to “Am I Evil?,” “Death or Glory,” “Sucking My Love,” and “Smokin’ Valves.”

While “Ride The Lightning” and “Screaming For Vengeance” might not have as many hits as “The Black Album” or “British Steel,” I believe they are the most consistent albums Metallica and Judas Priest ever recorded. “Screaming for Vengeance” covers nearly every metal style imaginable, from speed metal and pop-metal to traditional heavy metal and hard rock. “Ride The Lightning” not only includes one of the best metal songs of all time, it also has what might be Metallica’s heaviest song and their most compelling instrumental. It’s the one Metallica album that I always go back to, and I don’t see that changing any time soon.

The Latin Legends

• Willie Colón & Rubén Blades – Siembra
• Juan Luis Guerra y 4:40 – Grandes Exitos
• Héctor Lavoe – Greatest Hits

In my opinion, these three albums represent the peak of Latin music.

A mesmerizing collaboration between two brilliant musicians, “Siembra” is a world music masterpiece that is generally considered the greatest salsa album of all time. Its socially-conscious lyrics and elaborate-yet-danceable musical arrangements made it a huge hit in 1978, and like the finest works of art, it sounds just as good today as when it was released.

Juan Luis Guerra is the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful musician from the Dominican Republic, as well as a beloved international figure. A highly influential singer, composer, guitarist, producer, and arranger who graduated from the Berklee College of Music in 1982 with a degree in jazz composition, he’s still putting out quality material 30 years into his career. No one has ever recorded more inventive merengue and bachata than this man, and his greatest hits collection from 1996 is a perfect sampler of his best work.

Juan Luis Guerra, singer Adalgisa Pantaleón, and me in 1991

As soon as I heard the first notes of “Calle Luna, Calle Sol,” I knew that my life had changed. Its lively fusion of potent brass sounds and poetic lyrics that accurately portrayed the Puerto Rican experience made me see salsa as more than just danceable party music, and Héctor Lavoe quickly became one of my favorite singers. This compilation is an ideal selection of his best-known songs, and it’s a great place to start building your Latin music collection.

The British Punks

• Sex Pistols – Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols
• The Clash – London Calling

Time has made it cliché to call yourself a punk solely by claiming to like the Pistols and The Clash, easily the most well-known bands in the genre’s history. While I also listen to plenty of other punk bands, I’m not here to convince anyone of my punk credentials; I’m here to talk about my favorite albums, and these two have played a prominent role in my life since the sixth grade.

That being said, I don’t really consider “London Calling” a punk album. What is undeniable, however, is that it’s one of the most musically diverse and sophisticated records in the history of popular music. Touching on reggae, rockabilly, ska, pop, punk, and new wave, “London Calling” is a landmark recording whose fiercely political lyrics rife with insightful observations about working class life ring true to this day.

The Sex Pistols’ lone studio album is a much more traditional punk record, but it’s probably even more influential and historically important than “London Calling.” Johnny Rotten’s look, attitude, and voice have been imitated by millions of kids all over the world, and Steve Jones’ tight and punchy guitar playing gave the genre its musical voice. This album’s impact has not waned since its 1977 release, and songs like “God Save the Queen,” “No Feelings,” “Holiday in the Sun,” and “Anarchy in the U.K.” convey the frustrations of the British working class in a uniquely abrasive and immediate way.

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised

• Public Enemy – It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back

Like “London Calling” before it and “Rage Against the Machine” after it, this is an album that would have been revolutionary even if it didn’t have such unapologetically political lyrics. Chuck D’s powerful vocal delivery, Flavor Flav’s humorous catchphrases and The Bomb Squad’s layered production sounded like nothing else in hip-hop at the time, and songs like “Bring the Noise,” “Don’t Believe the Hype,” “Rebel Without a Pause,” and “Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos” are rap anthems that became instant classics.

Photo by Jack Barron/Rex USA

The Gangsta Classic

• Dr. Dre – The Chronic

A lot of my friends have asked me why I like this album so much. I am, after all, a non-smoking teetotaler who is fully opposed to any kind of recreational drug use. Why would I listen to a record named after a special type of cigarette and in which nearly every song is about smoking weed? Of course, the answer to that is: the music is awesome! Dr. Dre is recognized as one of the best producers in rap history, and his reimagining of 1970s funk became the most imitated sound in hip-hop for a few years.

The ubiquity of seemingly festive songs like “F*** Wit Dre Day (And Everybody’s Celebratin’)” on commercial radio has fueled the perception that “The Chronic” is mainly a party album. Laid-back compositions like “Nuthin’ but a ‘G’ Thang” and “Let Me Ride” also give off the impression that this record is all about having fun, but more attentive listeners will notice an underlying tension on even the most upbeat material. Furthermore, songs like “The Day The Niggaz Took Over,” “A Nigga Witta Gun,” and “Rat-Tat-Tat-Tat” display the effects of living amidst gang violence in an inordinately explicit and confrontational way. Say what you will about the subject matter; this is a paradigmatic recording that functions as a snapshot of South Central Los Angeles in one of its most dangerous eras.

The Revivalists

• Oasis – Definitely Maybe

While Oasis never tried to hide their love for the Beatles away (sorry, that was lame), I feel that they don’t get enough credit. Yes, they’ve ripped a lot of people off, and yes, Liam Gallagher’s voice is usually described as a mix between John Lennon’s and Johnny Rotten’s (Actually, I think it resembles Lee Mavers‘ more than either Lennon’s or Rotten’s). That being said, their sound is very much an original amalgamation of various British rock styles, and nowhere is this more evident than on the fantastic “Definitely Maybe.” Noel Gallagher wrote (or stole…whatever) 11 incredibly memorable songs, and when the band is in top form, the results are spectacular.

The Artists

• Radiohead – OK Computer

If anyone deserves to be called “the modern-day Beatles,” it’s Radiohead. Their audacious (bordering on pathological) musical exploration has resulted in multiple albums that continually rank among the greatest of all time, but “OK Computer” is their magnum opus. An artistically challenging collection of thematically linked songs about modern life in the U.K., it bred dozens of copycats – none of whom were able to replicate its magic.

The Psychedelic Masterpiece

• The Doors

Jim Morrison’s intense proto-punk vocals might be the most famous aspect of this record and this band, but John Densmore’s Latin-flavored drum beats, Robbie Krieger’s bluesy guitar lines, and Ray Manzarek’s trippy keyboard solos were just as important. These seemingly disparate musical elements triumphantly coalesced into a distinctively sensual and mysterious sound that remains irresistible almost 50 years later.

Photo uploaded by Blue Stephenson to http://bluestephenson-a2.blogspot.com/2012/12/album-art-examples.html

The Killer Soundtrack

• Curtis Mayfield – Super Fly

In my senior year of high school, I probably listened to more R&B and jazz than rap and rock, and “Super Fly” was my clear favorite. Every track on it is brilliant – even the instrumentals – and the record is rightfully considered one of the most important albums in popular music history. Johnny Pate’s detailed arrangements and orchestration blend together perfectly with Mayfield’s crisp and clear production, giving the songs a polished sheen that somehow manages to retain the necessary grit to lend authenticity to its cautionary street narratives.

A Classic Revisited

• Elzhi – Elmatic

Screenshot from the “It Ain’t Hard to Tell” video.

A testament to “Illmatic’s” significance in hip-hop culture, Detroit rapper Elzhi (with soul-funk band Will Sessions) recorded his own version of the album in 2011. The talented MC turned “N.Y. State of Mind” into “Detroit State of Mind,” made “One Love” about a romantic relationship instead of a friend in prison, and shared anecdotes of his youth in “Memory Lane,” “It Ain’t Hard to Tell,” and “Represent,” a song that became something else entirely thanks to its extended intro based on “The World is Yours’” beat. This record is proof that great art never loses its inspirational qualities, and it’s a wonderful album in its own right.