Favourite Albums in My Record Collection

As I close in on two years of record collecting, I see that my shelves boast a fairly wide range of genres and artists. Rock, pop, metal, a bit of jazz, classical, folk, and country, and some film soundtracks. I've worked hard at assembling a set of albums that represent my favourite types of music as well as some new ones that I feel are worth exploring. There is certainly some overlap with the recordings on my good old CD shelves. Even early on in this new (renewed) hobby of mine, I felt it was important to have my very favourite albums on vinyl, even if I already owned them on compact disc. So I made sure I picked up LPs like Heaven and Hell by Black Sabbath, Crime of the Century by Supertramp, and Rumours by Fleetwood Mac... just to name a few.

Strange album cover, but timeless amazing music

I also made a point of adding albums I have never owned before by artists I've always liked... like The Cars' first album, Agents of Fortune by Blue Oyster Cult, and Cosmo's Factory by CCR. I have CD compilations - "Best Of" collections - by some of these artists, and I'd often aim to get a notable studio album by each of them on the vinyl format. Occasionally, I'd opt to just get a "Best Of" on vinyl, like my ChangesOneBowie by David Bowie, which for me, seemed a good place to start. But more often than not, I'd try to choose a studio album over a compilation. Like Devo's Freedom of Choice... sure, a comp would be a better career retrospective, but this particular album was a milestone and did contain a lot of great tracks from that genre, era, and the band.

Now... the point of this post: my favourite albums in my record collection. I can easily point to the records that are most special to me, regardless of how often I play them. Then there are the ones that I do play - and enjoy - more than all the others. I'll consider all of these in my little list:

Heaven and Hell, by Black Sabbath
Crime of the Century, Supertramp
Rumours, Fleetwood Mac
Greatest Hits Volume II, Elton John
Music Express - K-Tel compilation (1975), various artists
the first four Max Webster studio albums

These ones, above, were among the very first albums I ever bought as a kid. They were on vinyl back then, too, but along the way over the years, I replaced those original LPs with cassette tapes and later on with CDs. Well, all but that K-Tel comp, which never made it to the digital format. I have fond memories of playing those classic rock albums on my cheap little stereo in my basement bedroom. Those painful tween and teen years were made bearable and perhaps even special by those private listening sessions. It's funny how music captures a moment in time. I can still clearly picture my teen self listening to the Rumours and High Class in Borrowed Shoes albums while the old man's lawnmower hummed faintly in the backyard. Whenever he exited, the stereo went on.

So I don't listen to this bunch of albums a whole lot nowadays, but I do pop them on when the mood strikes me. I've listened to them hundreds of times already, so they aren't high in the rotation. I was fortunate to find these oldies either as original or early pressings, so there's been no tampering with the recorded music I know and love through the remastering/re-issuing process or anything.

Black Noise, FM
Black Sabbath (debut), Black Sabbath
Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?, Megadeth
The Wake, Voivod
Fragile, Yes
Time Out, The Dave Brubeck Quartet
Metal Heart, Accept
Restless & Wild, Accept

This next little group is a mixed bunch. The FM album entered my life just a little later in my teen years, and it was an eye-opener for a prog-rock neophyte. Here was an even more highly experimental approach to prog... with a jazzy fusion style... and NO GUITARS at all! Instead, FM's Nash the Slash played electric violin, mandolin, and other assorted devices to provide both melody and atmosphere to the proceedings. Fascinating and entrancing, and far better sound on vinyl than on the tape and CDs I've had for years.

I think it was around this same time that I started getting into the music of Yes, one of the pioneers of UK progressive rock. Fragile was their biggest album, and it was my favourite for many years. It may not be quite as favoured today, as I've taken a real shine to Going For the One for the last few decades, but I consider it important enough to make this list. And it sounds like magic on vinyl.

A snapshot of some of my vinyl records logged in my Discogs database

Time Out by Mr. Brubeck and his band was the first full jazz album I ever listened to. This would have been back in the late 80's or early 90's. I dubbed my girlfriend's dad's LP to audio tape for my own listening pleasure. Though I really liked Time Out, it did not spur me to further explore the jazz genre. Not a for a long time. It wasn't until the mid-to-late 90's that I began to try out other jazz artists. And that took me on a journey through jazz festivals and classic recordings on CD. Time Out has remained my favourite of all, and to have it in vinyl format makes me happy.

The Accept records were the first two studio albums I've ever owned by the band. I have had a compilation CD hanging around for a few years, but though I've always known and liked a handful of their songs, I had never bought anything by them until that comp. Anyway, it was time I properly checked out an Accept album. Metal Heart was my first acquisition, and since I was already a fan of some of those cuts, it was a hit. Great 80's guitar-shredding metal. Restless & Wild equalled, if not surpassed, Metal Heart. These frequently find their way onto my turntable, definitely among my most-listened-to LPs.

The really odd one out here is The Wake, by Quebec progressive thrash metal band Voivod. Only one Voivod song made an impression on me back in the 80's, and that was their cover of Pink Floyd's Astronomy Domine. I loved both the song and its music video (which I recorded onto VHS tape from Canada's MuchMusic TV channel for future mindbending viewings). In more recent years, I discovered that I was ready for this band's often noisy and chaotic brand of metal. More receptive to their off-kilter guitar chords and tempos, I dug into their early catalogue and found some true gems. And when the 'Vod gang dropped this new release last year, I was on it pronto... pre-ordered on vinyl... and was more than pleasantly surprised at how their current music was so strong, powerful, and still relevant. The very generous packaging sure helped, too, with colourful cover art, more inside the gatefold, the lyric sheet with photos, the poster (cover art reproduction), and the record etched with the Voivod logo! By far the best album in my vinyl collection as far as overall presentation.

And I guess it goes without saying that hearing these albums on vinyl is special in itself. The format provides a different and unique listening experience. The sound, at least to my ears, is richer, fuller, and warmer than CD or digital. I've listened to albums like Rumours and Crime of the Century on CD countless times over the years, and when I put on my recently purchased vinyl records, I notice a definite difference. I find that I am listening to records far more than CDs now, preferring that open sensation, as though you can feel the air of the room, hall, or recording studio. As though you are IN the room with the musicians.

Keep on spinning...