Big World, Small Town
Welcome to the first clickbait listicle I’ve ever written.
Our country has been going through some very dark times lately. First, we had the once-in-a-lifetime pandemic of COVID-19, and then we had the incredibly tragic death of George Floyd and the uncomfortable truths it made us face. I’ve written a great deal about the former issue and many great columnists and podcasters on Watershed Voice have addressed the latter, all of them better than I ever could.
So when I thought about my next culture piece for this publication, I came to the conclusion that it should be as crowd pleasing as possible. I wanted to write a piece that would be fun, interesting and might even introduce readers to new music they’d love.
So without further ado, here’s my list of the 15 greatest albums of all time. As many a clickbait article has promised before, you will be shocked!
15. Born This Way by Lady Gaga
If you like to listen to music when you work out, there’s no better album than this one. I have great memories of running down Hoffman Street in Three Rivers listening to the countless gems in this collection. From the title track to the Clarence Clemmons sax solo on “The Edge of Glory,” almost every song is amazing. “Yoü and I” is, in my opinion, the best song that Lady Gaga has ever written and that’s really saying something.
14. Thriller by Michael Jackson
This is another album chocked full of hits and even includes cameo performances by Paul McCartney and Eddie Van Halen. Those of us in our 40s remember watching the music video for the title track on MTV over and over again and being blown away not just by the music but also by the dancing and the visuals. This is undoubtedly one of the best albums ever.
13. Separation Sunday by The Hold Steady
This one is a little more obscure but worth your time. A rock concept album about a Catholic girl named Holly who falls into a life of drug abuse, this album takes both religion and addiction seriously. If you’re a Christian who doesn’t usually like Christian music, this edgy rock opera about getting high and getting saved might be something you’ll like.
12. Twelve Stops and Home by The Feeling
Another lesser known album that deserves your attention if you like Beatle-esque pop. The Feeling is a British band whose members are the rightful heirs of the fab four. The songs on this 2008 album are ear worms of the highest order and excellent in every way. It shocks me that they never gained a following outside the UK.
11. Same Trailer, Different Park by Kasey Musgraves
This 2013 debut album from the future winner of the Album of the Year Grammy is Musgraves’s best work. Don’t get me wrong, all of her albums are superb, but this one contains one of the best songs of the decade. “Merry Go ‘Round” is simple, catchy and actually insightful about the human condition. This is the best of modern country music.
10. Lovesexy by Prince
This album is so great, I could write a whole column about it, and maybe someday I will. But for now, let me just tell you that this album was Prince’s first attempt to musically articulate his spirituality. Most people will know the hit song “Alphabet Street” but the deep track “Anna Stesia” is one of the best songs the Purple Yoda ever recorded. Don’t let the album cover scare you away!
9. Emancipation by Prince
This independently released triple album was the way Prince celebrated being released from his record contract. It contains a number of great songs, including a cover of Joan Osborne’s “What if God was One of Us.” But even better, it also contains a suite of songs that Prince wrote about his first wife. All of these songs are wonderful, but “The Holy River” is sublime. It’s my favorite Prince song ever, and that’s really saying something.
8. Rhythm of the Saints by Paul Simon
While I knew that a Paul Simon album had to be on this list, it was tough to choose between this album and “Graceland.” Both albums are masterpieces, and both are worthy of your time. “Rhythm of the Saints” won out though, because of the undercurrent of spirituality that flows through this album like a cool, cool river. “The Obvious Child” is also a work of genius.
7. Blonde on Blonde by Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is the great poet laureate of rock and roll, and this double album from 1966 is one of his best. Filled with vivid and sometimes surrealistic imagery, this album is Dylan at peak creativity. It contains what I think is the greatest rock song ever written, “Visions of Johanna.”
6. Aja by Steely Dan
Donald Fagen and Walter Becker, the duo who make up Steely Dan, created many great jazz rock fusion albums over the course of their career, but this one is their highest achievement. It’s impeccable in almost every way, and like most Steely Dan records, features some of the best musicians ever to grace a rock and roll record.
5. Rumours by Fleetwood Mac
This album is almost universally regarded as one of the best ever recorded, and for good reason. Like most great art, it was inspired by the real relationships between the members of the band and the melodies here are nothing short of astounding. Almost every song turned out to be a hit single, too.
4. The Wall by Pink Floyd
It was a tough call between this album and the band’s other masterpiece, Dark Side of the Moon. The Wall won out though, mostly because this album features some of the best rock guitar solos ever recorded. It’s David Gilmour’s distinctive guitar work that puts this album in the top five.
3. Blood on the Tracks by Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan wrote this album as he was going through the ending of this first marriage. He knew that his cheating had caused his wife to call it a day, and on this album he holds nothing back expressing his anger, grief and loss. There are too many timeless tracks on this album to count. If you’ve never heard this record, do yourself a favor and check it out soon.
2. Abbey Road by The Beatles
While Sgt. Pepper’s is considered by many to be the greatest album of all time, I’ve always thought that Abbey Road was superior. Both of these albums are brilliant, but the final song suite at the end of Abbey Road makes it the best album the lads from Liverpool ever recorded. The hidden track “Her Majesty” is pretty cool, too.
1. Purple Rain by Prince and the Revolution
Purple Rain is a towering achievement that will only become more well regarded as the years pass. If the only song on the album was “Purple Rain,” it would still make my top ten. But this masterpiece also contains well-known gems like “When Doves Cry” as well as lesser known but still remarkable songs like “The Beautiful Ones” and “Computer Blue” which Prince co-wrote with his father. While Prince was always the genius, the substantial input from his talented band make this album soar to the stratosphere and makes Purple Rain the greatest album ever recorded.
Charles D. Thomas is a writer and psychotherapist who made Three Rivers his home for over a decade. Feedback is welcome at [email protected].
Any views or opinions expressed in “Big World, Small Town” are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the Watershed Voice staff or its board of directors.
