20 Albums That Meant Something To Me
This post is long overdue and has been sitting in my drafts for a while. A peer from my days at the University of Western Ontario who I have so much respect for — Chris Studer — published his list last year, and was the inspiration for wanting to get my list out there too (better late than never).
Rolling Stone recently re-published an updated vote of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time… a lot has changed since their first list.
It is an impossible task to put a top 20 or 50 or 500 list out for a vote. The spirit of this specific list - is to be a list of albums and honourable mentions that “meant” something to me. These aren’t necessarily the best albums (this is not a ranking in order), but rather music that vividly brings me back to specific times and places in my life that helped define my taste, and attitude toward life. It is crazy to think about what selections I have left off this list.
Enjoy. Reminisce. Debate.
Thanks for reading,
-Aaron
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*In no particular order*
1. Harry Belafonte — All Time Greatest Hits Vol. 1 (1988)
When I looked this album back up on Spotify, I went down a sort of Harry Belafonte worm-hole looking at his intimidatingly large discography of original songs, covers, music I had forgotten about, and anthems that have been played to death (for good reason). His range is so impressive: Feel-good songs that get everyone dancing — Jump in the Line, Banana Boat (Day-O), Matlida! and Hold’em Joe — to the heartbreaking and beautifully sung and orchestrated Don’t Ever Love Me, Jamaica Farewell, and Abraham, Martin and John among so many others.
2. The Tragically Hip — Yer Favourites (2005)
If writing this list is impossible, trying to describe Yer Favourites is even harder. This compilation is memories of summer, sitting on the porch of the baseball-turned-yoga-studio as a counselor at Camp Manitou with Lorne and Mike and Yossi. It is Canadiana, and the CNE (where I watched The Hip’s last concert on a live stream at Bandshell Park)…a cheat code that tries to distill an iconic band down to a 37-song hit list. I am unsure why, but Gus: The Polar Bear from Central Park is still probably my favourite Yer Favourite.
3. Miles Davis — Sketches of Spain (1960)
I think that I first came across Miles Davis, and this album specifically when I bought the original Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Little did I know that I was going to have my study soundtrack for so much of university (even to this day). This album is so far and away different than any of his other works. It’s almost like a soundtrack to an imaginary movie. The contrast between tone, speed, emphasis, and different types of horns is astounding and jarring. I work so well in while listening to this album in the background, and there is no rhyme or reason why.
4. Girl Talk — Feed The Animals (2008)
…This album is whatever the opposite of Miles Davis is. Someone will need to explain to me why Int’l Players Anthem (I Choose You) by UGK ft. OutKast mixes well with Gimme Some Lovin’ by Spencer Davis Group…but wow, 2009 me really liked kicking off a party with my friends with this album. Play Your Part (Pt. 1) before going to my favourite bars on Richmond Row in London at Western was a university necessity.
5. Ludacris — Word of Mouf (2001)
Grade 10 is definitely the first time I drank. Washington on a Social Studies trip. Smirnoff vodka from the bottle. Chaser wasn’t a thing. I wore one-size-too-big clothes before I understood how things were supposed to fit…
Among all the hits on this album, the hidden gem on this album is actually Growing Pains…apropos. “ And that’s how it went, when we were kids.”
6. Beck — Guero (2005)
One of my introductions to what a music video was — was Beck’s Girl. Lots of puns and excellently directed. Find me a better guitar riff. I’ll wait. Hold that thought... Black Tambourine is pretty great too. There’s so much to like about this album, and it was the hook to get me into all of Beck’s impressive range of homages to all genres of music. Guero has a special sort of funk and somehow I keep finding new songs to appreciate years later. I thought that Earthquake Weather was just another song on the album, but seeing Beck perform this song live in 2018, opened my eyes to the different sounds I hadn’t noticed before. That’s really all you can ask for in going to any concert — going home appreciating a new song you didn’t know you liked until you hear it live and in person.
7. The Beatles — Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
This album speaks for itself and stands alone. Not a lot needs to be said. My introduction to Sgt. Pepper was driving up Bathurst St. around 6:00pm every Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday when the springtime rolled around with my dad driving me up to Glen Shields softball and then baseball games (where he would coach my teams growing up). I am pretty sure that the cassette tape that we listened to it on had a habit of skipping and playing a song or two out of order. I just remember being amazed at all of the animal noises on Good Morning Good Morning, the grandeur of For the Benefit of Mr. Kite, and not fully appreciating the album as a whole until much later. It just reminds me of being a kid, and that’s kind of what this list is about.
8. Bedouin Soundclash — Sounding a Mosaic (2004)
This may have been the first CD that I bought with my own money. I had to have that hit song(s) of 2004 for my own — When the Night Feels My Song, Jeb Rand, Gyasi Went Home and Shadow of a Man are all pretty great. This album is just happiness in 15 songs. Self-reflective, relaxing, upbeat, humble, and Canadian. It was a treat to see them perform live at The Opera House in February earlier (my last concert before the world turned upside-down with COVID-19) this year with a full brass section that made their music even more lively than it already was.
9. Gipsy Kings — Greatest Hits (1994)
Bamboleo is a classic that so many people know, but maybe not who sings it. I distinctly remember weekday afternoons after school — hot chocolate at one of the first Starbucks to open in Toronto in Chapters — up at Yonge and Finch, and me pressing all the demos of The Gipsy Kings in their music section. Underrated are the covers of Hotel California, and a beautiful rendition of Sinatra’s My Way — A Mi Manera (Comme D’Habitude) that is now famously the backdrop for a brilliant montage in Better Call Saul.
10. Coldplay — A Rush of Blood to the Head (2002)
Watch the music video for The Scientist and try to not have this song impact you. It was one of the first I ever saw, and I must have played it about 1000 times on loop. What if we knew the future? What if we could stand in someone else’s shoes? This album reminds me of love, and love lost, happiness and daydreaming and brighter days ahead. Amsterdam has a way of getting to me in the same way. Underrated… God Put a Smile upon Your Face is a surprisingly great song to dance to when seen live at Rogers Centre after a few drinks.
11. Foo Fighters — In Your Honor (2005)
This album is a powerhouse. DOA, Best of You, No Way Back, The Last Song and Resolve… and and… the mellow, touching, beautiful Virginia Moon which is a song that would have been glossed over when this album was primarily used as pump up music for me when playing baseball in high school. It’s really tough to be more talented than Dave Grohl.
12. The Guess Who — Greatest Hits (1999)
Thinking that The Who and The Guess Who were the same band are just another lesson in Rock Music 101. There’s so much range on this album. Probably their most famous songs are These Eyes, and American Woman, but there are a number of other gems here: No Sugar Tonight / New Mother Nature and Sour Suite to name a few.
13. Led Zeppelin — In Through the Out Door (1979)
My *highly* controversial pick for best Zeppelin album is this one, and it’s hard to describe. There is a clear step outside of the boundaries toward what the 80’s would bring. This album came on my radar unexpectedly, and that may be half of its appeal. Thinking that their discography ended with Physical Graffiti, made South Bound Suarez and In the Evening seem that much more interesting. In the meantime, I’ll keep trying to learn how to play Fool in the Rain on the drums… “You swore that you’d never leave me baby…what ever happened to you?”
14. Bon Iver — Bon Iver (2011)
Another entry into the Amazing-Albums-to-Listen-to-While-Studying-Hall-of-Fame. It took me a while to come around on Bon Iver. I originally thought that their debut album was sappy and overplayed but listening to *all* of the songs on For Emma, Forever Ago was the right decision. Bon Iver’s self-titled album was a significant step forward from the debut. A wonderful album for snowy winter nights as it is for letting your mind drift off while staring off into the distance across the lake. One song leads into the next effortlessly — leading up to Beth/Rest (easily the best song on the album) which closes the album with staggering beauty, reminiscent of 80s power ballads. Their performance on Saturday Night Live is must-see...a band playing to its full potential.
15. Radiohead — OK Computer (1997)
A generation and decade-defining album that epitomizes 90s angst, and so many different musical arrangements. Chaotic, peaceful, rock-driven, computerized, minimalistic… the range is unbelievable What really hooked me as a teenage Radiohead fan was their complex, thought provoking and stylized music videos for Karma Police, No Surprises and Paranoid Android that got so much airtime (rightly so) on MuchMusic growing up.
16. Santana — Santana (1969), Abraxas (1970), Santana III (1971), Supernatural (1999)
Whenever anyone asks me who my favourite artist(s) are, it’s a toss up between, Beck, The Tragically Hip, and Santana. Words can’t even come close to describing how unbelievable Carlos Santana is. Rather than try to, I am just going to list off some songs that have left their mark on me, and hopefully will on you as well:
Evil Ways, Treat, You Just Don’t Care, Soul Sacrifice, Samba Pa Ti, Hope You’re Feeling Better, No One to Depend On, Everyone’s Everything, Everything is Coming Our Way, (Da Le) Yaleo, Migra, Corazon Espinado, Primavera, Just Feel Better
That is the tip of the iceberg. His work brings generations together. Pay any amount of money to see him perform live. There will never be another artist like him.
17. Red Hot Chili Peppers — Stadium Arcadium (2006)
Not many albums (or double albums for that matter) exist with no flaws. Every. Song. Is. Great. A lot of singles get airtime, but Slow Cheetah, Torture Me, Strip My Mind, Wet Sand, Desecration Smile, Make You Feel Better could all be their own singles on any other album. This album was specifically on repeat all throughout the summer of 2016 in Muskoka with a few MLSE colleagues. FYI, “Chili Peppers” go well with steaks, asparagus, and a good glass of red.
18. The Band — The Last Waltz (1978)
Tough to pick a place to start…My introduction to The Band, and The Weight came on my grandparents’ favourite mix CD, and then it took a *long* time for me to figure out that this band was THE band…Likely the best live album ever produced and recorded. The amount of collaborators and contributors is so impressive. Favourites here are: Dry Your Eyes (feat. Neil Diamond), Caravan (feat. Van Morrison), Coyote (feat. Joni Mitchell), and then Up on Cripple Creek, This Wheels on Fire, Don’t Do It.
19. Weezer — The Blue Album (1994)
My counselors at Camp Olympia only brought one album up one summer when I was growing up. It was this one. We probably listened to Buddy Holly about 753,000 times on repeat…Say it Ain’t So. The iconic album for a band that doesn’t take themselves too seriously.
20. Nellyville — Nelly (2002)
Wait…Maybe they also brought Nellyville with. Hot In Herre was played 753,001 times.
Very Honourable Mentions:
21. Kendrick Lamar — good kid, m.A.A.d city (deluxe) (2011)
22. Sam Roberts Band — We Were Born in a Flame (2002)
23. A Tribe Called Quest — Hits, Rarities and Remixes (2003)
24. The Rolling Stones — Exile on Main Street (1972)
25. Tom Waits — The Heart of Saturday Night (1974)
26. Beck — The Information (2006)
27. Hot Hot Heat — Elevator (2005)
28. J Cole — 2014 Forest Hills Drive (2014)
29. Dire Straits — Dire Straits (1978)
30. Chuck Berry — The Great Twenty Eight (1981)
31. Maggie Rogers — Heard it in a Past Life (2019)
32. Kacey Musgraves — Golden Hour (2018)
