In an attempt to broaden my musical horizons, I have embarked on a journey to listen to the greatest albums released over the last 70 years. I have scoured the internet for best of lists and reviews to compile a comprehensive list of around 430 albums that are considered some of the best and most influential albums of all time.
It should be noted, this list has a strong North American bias and does not include many non-English international albums. Those albums deserve a list of their own. I’ve also made a concerted effort to limit the number of albums from the same artist, with some notable exceptions.
I will work my way through the list in chronological order starting in 1954 and ending in 2019. Each Friday I’ll chronicle my thoughts on the albums I listened to that week and give them a letter grade. As I listen to each album, I will pick and choose my favourite songs and add them to a Spotify playlist.
This week’s albums are:
Afro
Dizzy Gillespie
Released: 1956
Grade: A
A great Jazz album. This is exactly the kind of jazz that I like, strong tempo and pacing and more structured than some of the more experimental jazz stuff. Gillespie does a masterful job at fusing genres creating an Afro-Cuban Jazz mix. Impeccable vibes, this is a record you can return to over and over.
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In the Wee Small Hours
Frank Sinatra
Released: 1955
Grade: B+
A really sad breakup album. This might be the first ever “Concept Album,” it tells the story of a guy who has just lost his love and is now wandering through the streets depressed. It’s very well written and the instrumentation has this cool dream-like quality. It captures that feeling you get when you’re in a big city really late at night and the streets are eerily quiet. A very theatrical album, Sinatra has one of the most iconic voices of all time but the crooner genre has never really been for me.
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Calypso
Harry Belafonte
Released: 1956
Grade: C+
A series of amusing love songs but not much depth here. Actually, it had some interesting stuff about racial identity but overall not really my vibe aside from “Day-O (The Banana Boat Song).” I don’t see myself returning to this album anytime soon.
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Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Released: 1956
Grade: B+
Classic early rock and roll, you can hear a lot of early Beatles in this. I liked the album, especially “ Blue Suede Shoes” and “I Got a Woman.” The record has a great fast paced rhythm but Elvis’ voice really isn’t that great compared to some of his contemporaries. However, you would be hard pressed to find a more iconic figure in rock history, so that helped his grade a little bit.
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Here’s Little Richard
Little Richard
Released: 1957
Grade: A
The absolute benchmark for early rock and roll. This is basically a much better version of the Elvis record with better vocals, more energy, and more soul. Such a fun album, a little bit one note but it’s one hell of a great note.
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