Recommend an obscure album from RS's Top 500?

[UCLA02]

Looking to buy a new CD from someone I've never listened to. Of course you don't know who I've listened to, but just looking for something out of the mainstream to check out.

What obscure album do you like on the list and why?

http://www.rollingstone.com/features/coverstory/featuregen.asp?pid=2164

(Please no Top-20. Already have most of them and many too "mainstream" anyway.)

Look forward to seeing fellow loungers' tastes.

Headed to bed, but anxious to see where this thread goes by morning!

[Systematic Chaos]

1. The first somewhat obscure one I came across that I love was

Something/Anything? by Todd Rundgren. It's a 2-disc set that has been re-released by Rhino Records and it has the classics "Hello, It's Me" and "I Saw the Light" on it... but everything else on that album is great too.

It comes in at #173.

On edit: Another really good one is "Child Is Father To the Man" by Blood, Sweat & Tears at #264.

One more, "Sea Change" by Beck at #440. Take anything you've heard by Beck from previous albums and FUHGETABOUTIT. This latest one is a very slow, mellow disc full of songs that have an incredible amount of feeling and to me it shows a degree of versatility and range that is rarely seen among songwriters nowadays.

Okay, that's it. I'm done. :)

[Drifter]

2. Not even gonna look at the list ...

since he may not appear.

Frank Zappa. Check out www.zappa.com, and listen to Zappa Radio (they play albums).

Cheers
Drifter

[Drifter]

3. Ok, I lied ...

I did go look at the list, but I was right, he does not appear on the list (which does not give it much credit).

It is hard to believe that not a single Zappa album made the top 500 albums of all time. I would have a hard time putting less than 30-40 of his albums on this list. He was a pioneer of so many things, in so many ways.

Cheers
Drifter

[SnowGoose]

4. That's just silly.

It's not as though I'm a huge fan, but let's be fair - he was profoundly influential. Sheik Yerbuti deserves honorable mention for the name alone!

It seemed to me that your best bet if you're determined to use this list is to start near the bottom, where I noticed Funkadelic's Maggot Brain, and a coupla Tom Waits and Brian Eno albums (not my favorite ones, but at least something).

But an even better idea is to go up to the address bar of that browser window and type in www.camelproductions.com, where you can listen to several songs by the obscure but worthy band Camel (in the "jukebox" section). Click on "Ice" or "Sahara", and just let them roll while you're reading DU.

If you find nothing of value there, I'll be happy to give you a double refund of my consulting fee.

For what it's worth, my favorite Camel record is "the Snow Goose".

[Bossy Monkey]

11. 243. Freak Out!, The Mothers of Invention, and...

296. We're Only In It For the Money, The Mothers of Invention

[Drifter]

21. Thanks for pointing that out ...

I search the lists for the name Zappa. I guess I should have known better.

Thanks for pointing them out. It still does no justice to the list. I like both of these albums, but there are surely others that should be on the list.

I agree with the poster who mentioned Sheik Yerbouti (his highest selling album).

Cheers
Drifter

13. well they also left off

King Crimson.

How you could have a list that doesn't have Zappa or Fripp on it is beyond me, but it does indicate a certain sort of reverse bias.

& that has 3 Eminem albums and 3 Radiohead!!! seems a bit much.

They also "cheat" and put greatest hits albums on (such as the Byrds) which doesn't really seem fair.

[Screaming Lord Byron]

14. They should never have allowed Greatest Hits.

Fripp's not on because he's been tarred (unfairly IMO) with the Prog Rock brush.

[peekaloo]

5. *moan* 'Rust Never Sleeps' is # 350?

Jebus, short attention span, did Gram Parsons' 'Grievous Angel' make the list?

One of "country-rock's" founding fathers.

[GumboYaYa]

6. #138, Rejuvenation by The Meters.

George Porter, Jr. on bass, Art Neville (the funky Neville) on Hammond B, Leo Nocentelli on lead guitar, and Zigaboo Modeliste on drums form the funkiest band ever to play together.

[Bridget Burke]

7. A quick run through the bottom 200....

314 Velvet Underground: "Velvet Underground" (They say that not many people bought this one originally--but everybody who did started a band)

333 Richard & Linda Thompson: "Shoot Out the Lights" (Also #479 "I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight"--BEFORE the divorce. Richard is a wonderful songwriter & guitar player; he's done well after the split but Linda's voice added beauty.)

397 Tom Waits: "Rain Dogs" ("I've seen it all, I've seen it all, through the yellow windows of the evening train.")

402 Dr John: "Gumbo" (New Orleans Rock & Roll!!!)

429 Gram Parsons: "Grievous Angel" (Available on a CD with "GP"--his 1st solo album. Not really the "inventor" of country rock but one of the originals. These albums also introduced us to Emmylou.)

458 John Prine: "John Prine" (His first & for a long time only album. Every song a gem, including "Your Flag Decal Won't Get You Into Heaven Any More".)

461: Los Lobos: "Will the Wolf Survive?" (Later, they got more deeply into their Mexican roots / more avant garde. This one just rocks out.)

--Lots more on the list, these just "popped up".

[Screaming Lord Byron]

8. Nick Drake - Five Leaves Left, Pink Moon

Jesus and Mary Chain - Psychocandy
My Bloody Valentine - Loveless
The Go-Betweens - Liberty Belle and the Black Diamond Express

[felonious thunk]

10. Yes!

Nick Drake wrote amazing poetry with both his words and his instruments. It's a shame that we lost him as early was we did.

[Screaming Lord Byron]

12. It's amazing to think that I'm older than all these people were at death

Nick Drake
Jimi Hendrix
Kurt Cobain
Ian Curtis
Brian Jones

and I'm only 27.

That is tragic

[felonious thunk]

9. Getz/Gilberto

I'm so glad to see this one in there. Looking through the bulk of that list, you'd think that Miles Davis and John Coltrane were the only relevant jazz musicians. They are both great, but they overlooked so many great jazz records by others.

The Getz/Gilberto sessions produced some of the most beautiful music ever recorded. It's inventive jazz fused with latin music and is masterful.

[UCLA02]

15. Thanks for all the input!

Gonna go browse the local Tower Records in a few.

[RandomKoolzip]

16. The Minutemen, "Double Nickels on the Dime."

Best album of the eighties. After that, you should check out all the other bands on SST from the mid-80's, like Husker Du, Black Flag, early Sonic Youth, Bad Brains, etc.

The minutemen are the band in my sig pic below...very inspirational band to me; they got me through high school without killing myself.

18. yes

I was a bit surprised they acknowledged the Minutemen.

guess they're becoming harder to ignore.

[RandomKoolzip]

19. You can only ignore such amazing music when it's being made, sadly...

RS never gave half a shit for ANY of the SST/indie bands in the early-mid-80's (I think there as one feature in 85 about SST, Flag never got reviewed, THe minutemen only got reviewed after D. Boon died.)until AFTER Nirvana hit, then suddenly they were acknolledged as being influential. I fuckin' hate Rolling Stone; always chasing that pin-up major label pop market, and ignoring the good, important rock music until it's too late. Always too late. Fuckers.

Consult Joe Carducci's "Rock and the Pop Narcotic" for any more info on this subject.

20. come to think of it

I'll have to go and see if they have any Meat Puppets on that list.
I don't think I saw any earlier.

[FrankBooth]

17. #403 and #438

You can buy both these Big Star albums together on once CD- they are great, highly reccomended.

[Screaming Lord Byron]

22. There were a lot of glaring emissions. Was there any P-Funk?

Certainly no Screamadelica by Primal Scream or The Specials.

[RandomKoolzip]

23. Rolling Stone has been totally out of touch since they moved to New York

in 77. They even tried to squelch the Punk movement! Always behind the times, they'll review anything on a major, while there's all this great independent music happening. All they do is perpetuate the status quo. Jann Wenner can eat a dick.

No P-Funk. Assholes.