The real Johnny Cash

Forget about the silly 'live in prison' record, stay away from the deathbed albums, THIS is Johnny Cash. The greaser hair, the 50's sound, the young energy, the smooth face and the songs. Simply a finer collection of Americana you will not hear anywhere else. Bonus, "So Doggone Lonesome" is easily the best end of the night campfire song ever.

Killer album!

The Killers - Sam's Town
I kind of inadvertently discovered how good the Killers were. I had heard a couple of songs and then a friend took me to see them on their first big tour in 2004. They were amazing live and when this album came out they delivered on record! I loved it when I first heard it and still love it now. From start to finish, "Sam's Town" is as good as it gets. Not specifically a concept album, there is an underlying theme and the songs fit perfectly together. Definitely, one of my favourite records of the 00's. I just had the CD for years, then came across the picture disc and couldn't pass it up.

The other Black album

No question "99 Problems" is a great track. But this album is full of them, "Lucifer", "Dirt Off My Shoulder", "Encore", "Public Service Announcement". This is the Black album I listen to.

Nothing comes for Free!

Concrete Blonde - Free
The first time I heard "God Is A Bullet" on the radio I thought, "Finally, this is the music I've been waiting for!" It sounded so different and so good from everything else I heard in 1989. They became my new favourite band and I picked up "Free" on tape as soon as I could. To this day, easily one of my favourite albums. From start to finish, this is how you make a record.

AM

Arctic Monkeys - AM
I loved the Arctic Monkeys first album when it came out oh so long ago, but lost track of them soon after. I knew they were still putting out records, but just didn't hear much. Then a friend told me I should check out the video for "R U Mine" and my mind was effectively blown! Great video, great song and I would soon find out, a great album.

Whole lotta Love and Rockets.

Love and Rockets were a big band for me in the late 80's. They provided the perfect soundtrack for someone looking for something different, but not something crazy. This one is still my favourite record, although the first 3 are fantastic from start to finish. But "Express" has "Love Me", "All In My Mind", "American Dream" and "Yin and Yang and the Flower Pot Man". Plus, it came with a huge poster. I had the poster on my wall for many years, it's back in the album now.

Sports

Huey Lewis & The News - Sports
When I was first discovering music in the 80's, I heard "Heart and Soul" by Huey Lewis and it left a huge impression on me. I just loved that rocking guitar on the chorus and the song was as catchy as anything. My sister had a copy of "Sports" on cassette and I loved the whole album. But I never got my own copy and as the years moved on, I basically forgot about it. Several years later (over 10 years ago now) I finally picked up a copy of the record and every time I listen to it, it's like I'm 12 years old all over again. The hits are still the hits and the rest of the record is fantastic too, from "Walking On A Thin Line" to "Bad Is Bad". If only the rest of the 80's was this good.

Peter Gabriel - So

There are very few songs as good as "In Your Eyes". The rest of the album is pretty good too, still Peter's finest work and a must have for any music collection.

Live Stooges, the real one.

This is basically an authorized bootleg, the sound quality is pretty rough. But, listening to Iggy and the Stooges live in 1974 is an experience unlike no other. It's the only live album where you can actually hear a bottle thrown from the audience smash on the stage. It's not that they don't make em like this anymore. They just never made em like this!

Everybody plays the game.

One of my favourite Queen records and the one I remember most from when I was a young lad. I must have been 8 or 9 years old and I would love listening to this at my parents place. "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" and "Another One Bites The Dust" were huge hits of course, but for me this album has always been about "Dragon Attack"! Without question, it's one of my favourite Queen tracks and a song I never get tired of listening to.