WXPN's 885 All Time Greatest Albums - The Big Playback

You can check the complete list of albums and check out the message board at the xpn website. My annotated top ten is here. The last three weeks have been about the most fun one can have on the radio. It's been a great ride and it will be tough to go back to normal work tomorrow. Here are the top 25 as voted by the xpn community, followed by my daily reports, followed by a few stats. Click on photos to enlarge.

The Top 25

1. THE BEATLES - Abbey Road!!!!!!!!
2. THE BEATLES – Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
3. PINK FLOYD - Dark Side of the Moon
4. BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN – Born to Run
5. BOB DYLAN – Blood On The Tracks
6. THE BEATLES – The Beatles (White Album)
7. U2 – The Joshua Tree
8. THE CLASH – London Calling
9. THE BEATLES – Revolver
10. THE BEATLES – Rubber Soul
11. THE WHO – Who’s Next
12. THE GRATEFUL DEAD – American Beauty
13. JONI MITCHELL – Blue
14. MILES DAVIS – Kind Of Blue
15. RADIOHEAD – OK Computer
16. BOB DYLAN – Highway 61 Revisited
17. THE ROLLING STONES – Exile On Main Street
18. PAUL SIMON – Graceland
19. BOB DYLAN – Blonde On Blonde
20. VAN MORRISON – Moondance
21. THE BEACH BOYS – Pet Sounds
22. ALLMAN BROTHERS – Live At Fillmore East
23. CAROLE KING – Tapestry
24. DAVID BOWIE – Ziggy Stardust
25. COUNTING CROWS – August & Everything After

Bruce Warren & David Dye at Finale Broadcast

Monday 10/17 - The finale celebration at World Cafe Upstairs Live was a great way to end it. Everyone from xpn seemed glad to have the listeners there and the mutual good feelings, energy, and enthusiasm in the room brought the project home on a high note. We'll leave it to the message board denizens to debate whether Abbey Road is really better than Sgt. Pepper (I'll side with Pepper) but ultimately the top ten really represents the soundtrack of our lives, at least for most of the xpn community. At one point, Bruce Warren explained the vote tabulation process; ten points for a #1, nine points for #2, eight points for a #3 and so on, everyone's vote was equal. It took 37 points to make the list at #885, St. Pepper at #2 received 6,267 points, and Abbey Road at #1 received about 300 points more. Bruce, David Dye, and all the rest of the xpn staff, on and off air did a tremendous job producing the countdown; even with its flaws and flubs, radio is rarely so compelling a listen. All I can say is again THANKS XPN!


Helen Leicht & David Dye

Sunday 10/16 - Driving back from Indiana today the playback was done by the time I came back into signal range, but #15 to #11 included Radiohead, Miles Davis, Joni Mitchell, the Grateful Dead, and the Who, leaving two of my top ten still to come in the final top ten (Born to Run and Rubber Soul). No real surprises today, other than that Blue would be the highest placing Joni Mitchell album and that Miles Davis is so revered by the same xpn listenership that voted for Pearl Jam and Guns n' Roses.

The other really interesting thing is that there are no Beatles albums yet in the top fifty from #50 down to #11, meaning that we can expect to hear a fair number place tomorrow in the top ten. On further review, there were no Beatles at all in the top 100 down to #11, the last Beatles album played being Let It Be at #106. The other Beatles already placed are Magical Mystery Tour (#181), Meet the Beatles (#205), Help! (#298) and A Hard Day's Night (#390). So unless I missed one, it would seem that we still have Rubber Soul, Revolver, Sgt. Pepper, White Album, and Abbey Road still to come which would mean five out of the top ten, a remarkable feat for a band that broke up 35 years ago and only recorded for seven years (1963-1970).

We can also count on Bob Dylan's Blood on the Tracks, Springsteen's Born to Run, Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon, U2 - The Joshua Tree, leaving one more slot; some of the board speculation would include the Clash - London Calling. The final ten play out tomorrow. I'm looking forward to it.

Saturday 10/15 - Now that we're down inside the top 25, I'm only missing five albums per day, but it was nice to be able to connect via the web to check the results and the message board commentary. I have a new appreciation for the joys and frustration that the xpn online listenership around the country must experience being limited to this method of connnection. It would be so great if xpn could get a dedicated channel on Sirius satellite radio, thus having national availability.

Today's playback of #20 through #16 included two Dylan albums, one from the Stones, Van Morrison, and Paul Simon. No surprises there, except that Graceland's charm wore off for me some years ago due to radio overplay, and I think there are numerous albums by Simon with or without Garfunkel that are equally worthy if not more so. Onward and upward.

Friday 10/14 - Going out of town caused me to miss some of the playback today, but I did get to hear down to #37 before the xpn signal went out of range. After that I was limited to checking the list on the website and posting a few comments after the day's playback had ended. Friday's albums were classics all, however I'd still take exception to the high placement of Pearl Jam, Nirvana, and Jeff Buckley although I know they all have their proponents.

That Counting Crows finished in the top 25 was a real shock, I've never found them to be anything but annoying. The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds came in at #21, I think many had predicted that album for top ten. The message board is rife with predictions of what's left however the final order is anybody's guess.

Thursday 10/13 - All the speculation about Close to the Edge by Yes was answered in the 7am hour this morning when Michaela Majoun introduced #81 and started the set with "America" which was not from Close to the Edge but was included on the 2003 remaster as a bonus track, in the single edit short version; the complete "America" was a bonus track on Fragile (see Monday 10/10). Unlike Monday when the same mistake was made during Fragile, Bruce Warren was apparently not on hand to orchestrate a save, and the flub went without any on-air acknowledgement. Even though "America" was followed by a solid two song twenty minute set of "And You and I" and "Siberian Khatru" from Close to the Edge, the damage had been done and a firestorm was unleashed on the message board. My post was one of the more rational (I think):

Posted: 10-13-2005 08:35 AM Post subject: Close to the Edge
I don't think anyone really expected to hear three songs from Close to the Edge being that three songs is the complete album, but to repeat Monday's error with "America" (the short version single edit no less) is a real head-scratcher. It was also maddening to be in the car sitting in I-95 traffic during this with no way to post and getting the Helen-deflector message on the xpn studio line. To hear two songs (one original album side) of some of the best rock music ever recorded is a pleasure in any case, and since both Fragile and The Yes Album both got their due on the countdown, I guess we'll have to agree with Meatloaf that two out of three ain't bad.

For the record, Close to the Edge consists of these three tracks:
01 Close To The Edge (18:43)
02 And You And I (10:09)
03 Siberian Khatru (9:01)

After numerous complaints on any number of threads (one even calling it a "travesty"), David Dye posted a plea that we should all "move on." It wasn't to be as the Yes fans were flamed on the board for the rest of the day as "crybabies" and sarcastic posts requesting "America" appeared at random no matter what album was on. This was seemingly a simple dj error and not a time saver as Helen Leicht played a set a few hours later from Pink Floyd's Animals where the three songs encompassed all but three minutes of the entire album. It was kind of a shame that the Yes fiasco not only interfered with the enjoyment of the set that did air but overshadowed a lot of great music on the countdown today.

It was pretty much heavy hitters all day, but there were still a few surprises. Bruce Springsteen's Born in the USA came in at #80, I would've thought it would finish higher. That Guns n' Roses, Tori Amos, and two Dave Matthews albums finished in the top 100 seemed odd to me as well as David Gray's White Ladder finishing the day at #45. We're down to it now, tomorrow we'll get into the first five from the top 25.

Wednesday 10/12 - It's not as easy to mulitask the countdown and the message board while trying to be productive at work as it was to watch football and read the paper, but on the other hand work was never so much fun as having this radio drama playing out in the background. My first top ten pick came up on the countdown today, The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway by Genesis checked in at #113. Five more from my list are certain to place, however the light of hope has gone out for Del Amitri and Costello/Bacharach.

It's been surprising to me the degree to which artists not customarily played on xpn are showing up in the countdown. In addition to the progressive rock phenomenon I mentioned yesterday, it's amazing how many Beastie Boys albums are placing in the countdown, to name just one example. Yesterday's play of Meatloaf and this morning's play of Michael Jackson and Alanis Morissette generated a lot of heat on the message board this morning, both pro and con. I enjoyed someone pointing out that "rain on your wedding day" is only ironic if you are a weatherman, to which someone else chimed in with "you don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows." Dave Matthews was pretty universally bombed by the message board mafia, as was the Eagles' Hotel California (present company excepted).

The Yes Album was the beneficiary of a perfect set of "Starship Trooper," "Your Move/All Good People," and "Perpetual Change." It would be just about impossible to pick a bad set from The Lamb, but the three songs Helen played bypassed all the great progressive rock on the double album in favor of the title track, "Cuckoo Cocoon" and "The Carpet Crawlers." I'm hoping Helen saw my post inviting her to enjoy this original version of "Carpet Crawlers" and consider playing it again in the future instead of the cheesy fake reunion remake that she is partial to. It was nice to see Damien Rice place at #115.

At the end of the day Bruce Warren posted a schedule for the remainder of the countdown which sets up the top 25 to be played five per day on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with the final ten on Monday, culminating in a David Dye live broadcast from World Cafe Live Upstairs of the final album with the audience invited to come by and hang out. If I can break away from the office at that hour, I may do just that.

I don't know if it was the result of scheduling, but David seemed to be working under time pressure again today as he made a point to mention several times that he was determined to get four albums played in his 6pm hour, which may or may not have caused what I consider to be the signature track from Joni Mitchell's Hejira to be skipped ("Song for Sharon"). Based on the conduct of the countdown since Monday, I would have given high odds for Close to the Edge getting its full three songs but if the time press is back on, I'm not so sure. I guess we'll just have to hope it falls in the top 25 guaranteeing complete airplay regardless. It'll surely be interesting in any case.

Tuesday 10/11 - Subject: XPN, You Rock!
All Genesis, all the time! Today's 6:00 hour rivalled yesterday's Dead hour and Yes bonus track for countdown playback achieving all of it's potential. We could quibble about track selection - I'd have spun "Dance on a Volcano" rather than the slightly twee "Robbery Assault and Battery" but all the songs on A Trick of the Tail are good so you couldn't really go wrong no matter which songs aired.

But then to follow that with Selling England by the Pound, airing "I Know What I Like (in Your Wardrobe)," "Dancing With the Moonlit Knight," and then I had reached my destination but had to sit in the car to wait to see what the third track would be and David knocked it out of the park by playing "The Cinema Show." Bliss factor nine. Go xpn!

Regarding Meatloaf and the Sex Pistols, I'm having a really hard time imagining anyone, even those who enjoy these albums, considering them as one of the greatest albums of all time. I personally have no use for either, but I love that they're here on the countdown and getting their due with three tracks. It's diversity like this that really gives the countdown it's weight. If if was nothing but Beatles-Stones-Springsteen-U2-Neil Young, there wouldn't be much suspense.

All the progressive rock on the countdown has been revelatory. It's well known that Philadelphia was always a home away from home for bands like Yes, ELP and Genesis but it's really encouraging to see that the reverence for this music continues and flourishes within the xpn community. Seems to me music like this doesn't need to be such a stranger on the normal xpn playlist.
Posted: 10-11-2005 11:03 PM to the 885 message board.

Monday 10/10 - WXPN redeemed themselved big time today for all the shortened sets and missed opportunities to play the best tracks by throwing caution to the wind and letting the music become the prime directive. We had numerous three song sets pause and continue after breaks but best of all we're now getting the most definitve songs from each album regardless of length. The three tracks from Meet the Beatles sounded so great that most listeners (myself included) were wondering how they didn't put this in their own top ten. This generated a fun little argument on the board about whether or not the Beatles are "great." Perhaps the coolest moment came during the playback of Yes - Fragile. Earlier in the day while Simon & Garfunkel's "America" (from Bookends #207) was playing, I had posted a note saying:

Posted: 10-10-2005 10:33 AM Post subject: America
We won't hear this on the countdown because it wasn't on any of their regular albums, but Yes did a killer cover of "America."

Not long after, Fragile checked in at #198 in the 12:00 noon hour. The first track was "Long Distance Runaround" sounding awesome. Next up was Yes' cover version of "America" also sounding amazing, however I and several other listeners pointed out that it wasn't on Fragile; here's mine:

Posted: 10-10-2005 12:39 PM Post subject: America?
Not to complain, I absolutely love this track, but as a nitpick I must point out that this wasn't really on Fragile, it's a bonus track on the 2003 remastered cd as it was previously a non-album track. It's glorious and it's long and it may be one of the best cover version hijacks I've ever heard. Yes' version of the Beatles' "Every Little Thing" is similarly awesome. Enjoy! (and thanks xpn for this in any case).

For track three it was "Roundabout" in all its glory. The Yes fans on the message board begging for "Heart of the Sunrise" were seemingly out of luck. After the third track finished, Helen Leicht put Bruce Warren on the air to say that due to the mixup about "America" not really being on Fragile, in order not to upset "the three song police on the message board," that they would play one more song from Fragile to technically complete the three songs, and on came "Heart of the Sunrise," all ten minutes and thirty four seconds of progressive rock bliss.

All day long the sets did the albums justice without worry about the length (that problem would seem to be behind us now). King Crimson's In the Court of the Crimson King got the title track, "21st Century Schizoid Man" and "I Talk to the Wind," a good twenty-three minutes worth. But the day's biggest shock came during the 1:00 hour when Helen announced that this would likely sound like "the Grateful Dead Hour" when Live/Dead checked in at #196. Playback started with the sidelong "Dark Star" at 23:15 long and never looked back; three full tracks were played, taking most of the 1:00 hour.

What a great save from xpn; all is foregiven, and we can now look forward to the rest of the countdown to be played with the best possible song selection. Surely individuals will continue to argue which is the better track but no longer will tracks be skipped just because they are long. Based on today, I'd imagine they'd even give Yes' Close to the Edge the full three songs, thereby playing the complete album; I think we'll see soon. Strap in, the next week or so is going to be a fun ride.

Sunday 10/9 - It was a highly enjoyable day of multitasking: watching football, listening to the countdown, conversing with other similarly obsessed music lovers on the messsage board, and reading the paper too. Nothing too dramatic today, except the countdown reached its first Springsteen album which I found surprising that Tunnel of Love would be the lowest placing Bruce album on the countdown, but there it is at #225. Jackson Browne and Joni Mitchell checked in as did Van Morrison, Lucinda Williams, Elvis Costello, and John Mayer. The Who - Live at Leeds came in at #250, which I also found surprising that it didn't finish higher, being it's maybe the best pure rock music ever captured on record. I also found it odd that the Doors' Morrison Hotel at #230 finished so much higher than The Soft Parade at #656 and Strange Days at #533. Looks like the major six albums from my top ten will be the only ones placing in the countdown. We've gone through over 600 albums now and none of my picks have hit yet.

Saturday 10/8 - The station's unexplained need to hurry the countdown was put on the table when at noon today Matt Reilly apologized for only playing two songs from Elton John saying that "we're running behind and have to move on." In the next hour, opportunities to play long definitive tracks from Pink Floyd's Meddle ("Echoes") and Genesis' Foxtrot ("Supper's Ready") were skipped, apparently because xpn is trying to get the countdown completed by some arbitrary deadline. This generated some heat on the message boards, and although Bruce Warren was his usual accessible self, both on the air and engaging in dialogue on the boards, his explanations shed little light on the underlying problem.

Lots and lots of great music today as the intensity level increases as the countdown progresses. For a while today it seemed like the early seventies, with the above Floyd and Genesis albums played in the 1:00 hour, and Jackson Browne's For Everyman and Steely Dan's Prezel Logic both aired in the 3:00 hour. The Trinity Sessions by Cowboy Junkies sounded especially good in the car. A few musical surprises for me, including Television's "Marquee Moon" which sounded like a great old Stones song that I'd never heard before. Depeche Mode has eluded me over the years, but sounded really good when Bruce aired it late this afternoon. Toward the end of today's countdown I was in the car cranking the three tracks from Wheels of Fire by Cream, thinking that although I could drag out this cd on any given day, hearing it on xpn in the context of the countdown, made it sound immeasurably better.

Friday 10/7 - Most of the albums today were from the usual suspects, but the happy surprises included a Creedence Clearwater Revival album, Beth Orton, and Al Green & Stevie Wonder back to back. Kind of curious that John Lennon's Imagine placed no higher than #309, thus giving weight to the theory that the voting in last year's 885 greatest songs list would not necessarily carry over to the albums list. Help! and A Hard Day's Night finishing this low (#390 & #298) doesn't bode well for Rubber Soul. Today's countdown playback was extended for an extra two hours, to 9pm.

Thursday 10/6 - Work was a little busy today so I couldn't focus on the countdown as much as I might have liked, but I did enjoy hearing A Hard Day's Night by the Beatles, surprised that it didn't finish higher on the list than #390. It was good to see Mary Chapin Carpenter's Come On Come On make the list, as well as John Lennon's Plastic Ono Band. But the happiest surprise this afternoon came when Joni Mitchell's Miles of Aisles came on and reminded me what a great live album this is, recorded during her assocation with Tom Scott and the L.A. Express, sparking a few related memories posted to the xpn message board:

Man that live Joni Mitchell really sounded great. I'd forgotten what a great record Miles of Aisles is. All or a large part of that record was recorded in our area - some of the older listeners may remember when Temple University's Ambler Campus had an open air music venue. The cover of Miles of Aisles is a picture of the Temple Ambler Music Festival. There were many great shows there in the seventies up until it closed; I recall seeing Bonnie Raitt, Chuck Mangione, an amazing concert by the David Bromberg Band (from the How Late'll Ya Play Till era) and others. I remember Chuck Mangione's dad manning the table at his show, selling records and signing people up to the mailing list.

Wednesday 10/5 - Tales From Topographic Oceans by Yes made the list today, checking in at #435, and if this was the only instance I guess we could forgive xpn for not playing the full three songs, since one track, "The Remembering" (side 2) did get played in its twenty minute entirety. However the countdown seemed to jump the track this morning as Chicago, John Coltrane, Yes, and Frank Sinatra (and possibly others) had less than their three song allotment. The two Sinatra songs were purportedly not even from the selected album. A David Dye post on the message board pleaded the case for shortening sets during morning drive for the sake of listenability and later on in the day one definitely got the impression that there was some kind of rush going on to get as many albums played as possible within the time frame (6am to 7pm).

This generated some spirited discussion on the message board, with most folks just so damn glad to hear any programming that is this varied that they're willing to forgive any transgressions. I'm more a stickler for a project like this to follow its own rules, even if it means forty minutes of dissonant Coltrane music during the heart of morning drive. I'd have gone with the full hour of Tales, and not just because I love the music (this double album consists of four sidelong tracks of about twenty minutes each) . We'll have the same problem with Close to the Edge if it doesn't make the top 25. Three songs is three songs. Anyone who chooses not to listen can simply enough switch to something else for a little while and come back for the next album in the countdown. I really don't get screwing with the format when the station's latest mantra is "it's all about the music."

Friday 9/30 - Starting the countdown during the recent fund drive may have helped the drive, but it was something of a slow start for the listener; now we can jump headlong into it. The scheme is two songs per album for the first 385. Starting at #500 it's three songs and the final top twenty-five will be played in their entirety.


Matt Reilly & David Dye, 10/17/05

Here's how my top ten did:
1. The Beatles - Rubber Soul (1965) - #10.
2. Bruce Springsteen - Born to Run (1975) - #4.
3. Yes - Close to the Edge (1972) - #81
4. Genesis - The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1974) - #113
5. Costello & Bacharach - Painted From Memory (1998) - No.
6. Del Amitri - Twisted (1995) - No.
7. The Who - Who's Next (1971) - #11
8. The Rolling Stones - Let It Bleed (1969) - #33
9. Once Blue - Once Blue (1995) - No.
10. Valerie Carter - Wild Child (1978) - No.

Here's how my top ten artists fared:
# 812 – THE ROLLING STONES – It’s Only Rock & Roll
# 805 – THE ROLLING STONES – Aftermath
# 774 – THE WHO – The Who Sell Out
# 741 – THE ROLLING STONES – Tattoo You
# 725 – GENESIS – Duke

# 704 – YES – Going For The One
# 653 – GENESIS – Wind And Wuthering
# 598 – THE WHO – The Who By Numbers
# 561 – GENESIS – Seconds Out
# 524 – ELVIS COSTELLO – Get Happy

# 435 – YES – Tales From Topographic Oceans
# 398 – ELVIS COSTELLO – King Of America
# 390 – THE BEATLES – A Hard Days Night
# 298 – THE BEATLES – Help!
# 292 – THE ROLLING STONES – Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out

# 279 – GENESIS – Foxtrot
# 250 – THE WHO – Live At Leeds
# 238 – ELVIS COSTELLO – Imperial Bedroom
# 225 – BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN – Tunnel Of Love
# 205 – THE BEATLES – Meet The Beatles

# 198 – YES – Fragile
# 181 – THE BEATLES – Magical Mystery Tour
# 177 – ELVIS COSTELLO & THE ATTRACTIONS – Armed Forces
# 155 – BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN – The River
# 140 – BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN – The Rising

# 132 – GENESIS – A Trick Of The Tail
# 131 – GENESIS – Selling England By The Pound
# 123 – YES – The Yes Album
# 121 – BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN – Nebraska
# 116 – THE ROLLING STONES – Some Girls

# 113 – GENESIS – The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway
# 106 – THE BEATLES – Let It Be
# 97 – ELVIS COSTELLO & THE ATTRACTIONS – This Year’s Model
# 81 – YES – Close To The Edge
# 80 – BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN – Born In The USA

# 67 – ELVIS COSTELLO – My Aim Is True
# 56 – BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN – Darkness On The Edge Of Town
# 55 – THE WHO – Tommy
# 53 – THE ROLLING STONES – Beggars Banquet
# 47 – BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN – Greetings from Asbury Park, New Jersey

# 41 – THE WHO – Quadrophenia
# 37 – THE ROLLING STONES – Sticky Fingers
# 33 – THE ROLLING STONES – Let It Bleed
# 26 – BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN – The Wild, The Innocent…
# 17 – THE ROLLING STONES – Exile On Main Street
#11 – THE WHO – Who’s Next

#10 – THE BEATLES – Rubber Soul
# 9 – THE BEATLES – Revolver
# 6 – THE BEATLES – The Beatles (White Album)
# 4 – BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN – Born To Run
# 2 – THE BEATLES – Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
# 1 - THE BEATLES - Abbey Road!!!!!!!!


Michaela Majoun & David Dye Announce #1

Here's a few interesting entries and surprises:
# 873 – JOHN LENNON – Double Fantasy (873???)
# 871 – DAN FOGELBERG – Souvenirs
# 868 – ALLMAN BROTHERS – Idlewild South
# 836 – LOREENA MC KENNITT – Book Of Secrets
# 834 – EVERYTHING BUT THE GIRL – Amplified Heart

# 809 – JOHN HIATT – Perfectly Good Guitar
# 803 – ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA – Eldorado
# 797 – ROBIN TROWER – Bridge Of Sighs
# 795 – STRAWBS – Bursting At The Seams
# 792 – THE ALAN PARSONS PROJECT – I Robot

# 776 – DIRE STRAITS – Love Over Gold
# 762 – JOHN HIATT – Stolen Moments
# 759 – E. FITZGERALD/L. ARMSTRONG – Ella & Louis
# 740 – GREY EYE GLANCES – Eventide
# 732 – DADA – Puzzle

# 726 – MARK KNOPFLER – Sailing To Philadelphia
# 722 – THE DAVID BROMBERG BAND – How Late’ll Ya Play Till?
# 716 – VINCE GUARALDI TRIO – A Charlie Brown Christmas
# 707 – THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND – The Allman Brothers band
# 706 – BRUCE COCKBURN – The Charity Of Night

# 695 – DAVID AND DAVID - Boomtown
# 689 – ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA – Out Of The Blue
# 680 – MARK KNOPFLER – Shangri-La
# 677 – COWBOY JUNKIES – Lay It Down
# 666 – MARY CHAPIN CARPENTER – Stones In The Road

# 665 – THE EAGLES – On The Border
# 664 – CHICAGO – Chicago II
# 662 – JELLYFISH – Spilt Milk
# 656 – THE DOORS – The Soft Parade
# 645 – EMERSON, LAKE & PALMER – Brain Salad Surgery

# 641 – JAMES BROWN – Live At The Apollo
# 636 – EMERSON, LAKE & PALMER – Emerson, Lake & Palmer
# 627 – JETHRO TULL – Stand Up
# 619 – TOM WAITS – Nighthawks At The Diner
# 608 – IRON BUTTERFLY – In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida

# 603 – JACKSON BROWNE – Jackson Browne
# 594 – JONI MITCHELL – Clouds
# 585 – WARREN ZEVON – The Wind
# 583 – FIONA APPLE – When The Pawn…
# 582 – OTIS REDDING – Otis Blue

# 579 – ARETHA FRANKLIN – I Never Loved A Man The Way I Love You
# 571 – WARREN ZEVON – Warren Zevon
# 565 – BONNIE RAITT – Luck Of The Draw
# 564 – IT’S A BEAUTIFUL DAY – It’s A Beautiful Day
# 561 – GENESIS – Seconds Out

# 549 – CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL–Willy & The Poor Boys
# 545 – SHELBY LYNNE – I Am Shelby Lynne
# 543 – TODD RUNDGREN – A Wizard, A True Star
# 539 – THE SHINS – Oh Inverted World
# 538 – JOHN MAYALL – Turning Point

# 535 – SPIRIT – Twelve Dreams Of Doctor Sardonicus
# 533 – THE DOORS – Strange Days
# 525 – EMERSON, LAKE & PALMER - Trilogy
# 517 – DUSTY SPRINGFIELD – Dusty In Memphis
# 516 – BLACK SABBATH – Paranoid

# 515 – THE BAND – Stage Fright
# 513 – JOHN HIATT – Slow Turning
# 512 – DONALD FAGEN – The Nightfly
# 493 – THE GRATEFUL DEAD – Wake Of the Flood
# 492 – THE GRATEFUL DEAD – Mars Hotel

# 490 – PROCOL HARUM – A Salty Dog
# 488 – THE ZOMBIES – Odyssey And Oracle
# 479 – PAUL MC CARTNEY & WINGS – Band On The Run
# 477 – BRUCE HORNSBY & THE RANGE – The Way It Is
# 471 – LAURA NYRO – New York Tendaberry

# 464 – STEELY DAN – Gaucho
# 463 – JETHRO TULL – Benefit
# 461 – LITTLE FEAT – Sailin’ Shoes
# 442 – JOHN COLTRANE – My Favorite Things
# 439 – SHERYL CROW – Tuesday Night Music Club

# 438 – PRINCE – 1999
# 437 – CHICAGO TRANSIT AUTHORITY – Chicago Transit Authority
# 434 – FRANK SINATRA – In The Wee Small Hours
# 433 – STING – The Soul Cages
# 432 – STING – Nothing Like The Sun

# 425 – LITTLE FEAT – Feats Don’t Fail Me Now
# 416 – THE EAGLES – Desperado
# 413 – RENAISSANCE – Ashes Are Burning
# 411 – KEANE – Hopes And Fears
# 409 – VAN HALEN – Van Halen

# 397 – JONI MITCHELL – For The Roses
# 390 – THE BEATLES – A Hard Days Night (Should be higher)
# 388 – AL STEWART – Past Present Future
# 380 – CROWDED HOUSE – Woodface
# 374 – JONI MITCHELL – Miles Of Aisles

# 372 – MARY CHAPIN CARPENTER – Come On Come On
# 370 – JEFF BECK – Blow By Blow
# 369 – JOHN LENNON – Plastic Ono Band
# 363 – LITTLE FEAT – Dixie Chicken
# 349 – AIMEE MANN – Whatever

# 344 – CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL – Cosmo’s Factory
# 341 – BETH ORTON – Central Reservation
# 309 – JOHN LENNON – Imagine
# 289 – TELEVISION – Marquee Moon
# 282 – PINK FLOYD – Meddle

# 277 – TOM WAITS – Small Change
# 273 – JACKSON BROWNE – For Everyman
# 271 – STEELY DAN – Pretzel Logic
# 267 – BLOOD, SWEAT & TEARS–Child Is Father To The Man
# 265 – DEPECHE MODE – Violator

# 264 – COWBOY JUNKIES – The Trinity Sessions
# 260 – CREAM – Wheels Of Fire
# 252 – THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND – Brothers And Sisters
# 242 – TOM WAITS – The Heart Of Saturday Night
# 241 – JACKSON BROWNE – Running On Empty

# 240 – SUBLIME – Sublime
# 239 – JOHN MAYER – Room For Squares
# 235 – DAVE MASON – Alone Together
# 230 – THE DOORS – Morrison Hotel
# 227 – LUCINDA WILLIAMS – Lucinda Williams

# 221 – JONI MITCHELL – Ladies Of The Canyon
# 220 – BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB – Buena Vista Social Club
# 217 – ELTON JOHN – Tumbleweed Connection
# 212 – FAIRPORT CONVENTION – Liege And Leaf
# 210 – KING CRIMSON – In The Court Of The Crimson King

# 208 – BONNIE RAITT – Give It Up
# 203 – THE DAVE BRUBECK QUARTET – Time Out
# 197 – JACKSON BROWNE – The Pretender
# 196 – THE GRATEFUL DEAD – Live Dead
# 195 – BOZ SCAGGS – Silk Degrees

# 188 – STEELY DAN – Can’t Buy A Thrill
# 187 – TOM WAITS – Closing Time
# 186 – CREAM – Disraeli Gears
# 178 – THE GRATEFUL DEAD – Terrapin Station
# 175 – HALL & OATES – Abandoned Luncheonette

# 172 – DIRE STRAITS – Brothers In Arms
# 167 – STEELY DAN – The Royal Scam
# 166 – WILCO – Being There
# 165 – TODD RUNDGREN – Something / Anything?
# 158 – TRAFFIC – The Low Spark Of High-Heeled Boys

# 148 – STEELY DAN – Katy Lied
#144 – THE MOODY BLUES – Days of Future Passed
# 138 – TRAFFIC – John Barleycorn Must Die
# 137 – JEFFERSON AIRPLANE – Surrealistic Pillow
# 133 – ELTON JOHN – Madman Across The Water

# 128 – GEORGE HARRISON – All Things Must Pass
# 115 – DAMIEN RICE – O
# 105 – STEVIE WONDER – Innervisions
# 90 – THE EAGLES – Hotel California
# 88 – JONI MITCHELL – Hejira

# 86 – NORAH JONES – Come Away With Me
# 85 – CAT STEVENS – Tea For The Tillerman
# 82 – THE GRATEFUL DEAD – Europe ’72
# 77 – DIRE STRAITS – Making Movies
# 76 – ELTON JOHN – Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

# 73 – JACKSON BROWNE – Late For The Sky
# 72 – LITTLE FEAT – Waiting For Columbus
# 57 – MARVIN GAYE – What’s Going On?
# 54 – STEVIE WONDER – Songs In The Key Of Life
# 47 – BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN – Greetings from Asbury Park, New Jersey

# 46 – LUCINDA WILLIAMS – Car Wheels On A Gravel Road
# 44 – JONI MITCHELL – Court & Spark
# 26 – BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN – The Wild, The Innocent…

And a few headscratchers:
# 846 – ORIGINAL CAST – Rent (soundtrack)
# 766 – BEE GEES – Odessa
# 729 – DJ SHADOW – Endtroducing
# 566 – THE BEASTIE BOYS – Ill Communication
# 554 – ZAP MAMA – Seven

# 551 – AT THE DRIVE IN – Relationship Of Command
# 541 – THE STOOGES - Funhouse
# 530 – THE STROKES – Is This It
# 474 – THE BEASTIE BOYS – Check Your Head
# 368 – DAR WILLIAMS – The Honesty Room (Message board agrees)
# 367 – ANI DIFRANCO – Little Plastic Castles (Back to back w/Dar)

# 358 – INTERPOL – Turn On The Bright Lights
# 356 – THE WHITE STRIPES – Elephant
# 337 – MY BLOODY VALENTINE – Loveless
# 328 – FRANZ FERDINAND – Franz Ferdinand
# 258 – PHISH – Rift

# 234 – Garden State (soundtrack) (Nice collection, but Greatest of all time?)
# 233 – INDIGO GIRLS – Swamp Ophelia
# 229 – CITIZEN COPE – The Clarence Greenwood Recordings
# 228 – JETHRO TULL – Living In the Past (Compilations were not allowed)
# 209 – PUBLIC ENEMY – It Takes A Nation Of Millions…

# 135 – SEX PISTOLS – Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols
# 134 – MEATLOAF – Bat Out Of Hell
# 125 – THE BEASTIE BOYS – Paul’s Boutique
# 122 – RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS – Blood Sugar Sex Magik
# 84 – GUNS N’ ROSES – Appetite For Destruction
# 25 – COUNTING CROWS – August & Everything After


World Cafe Upstairs Live, The Finale Broadcast

Album Counts:
Bob Dylan - 19
Neil Young - 12
Sting/Police - 11
U2 - 11
The Beatles - 10
The Grateful Dead - 10
The Rolling Stones - 9
Bruce Springsteen - 9
Joni Mitchell - 8

Genesis - 7
Van Morrison - 7
Pink Floyd - 7
Elvis Costello - 6
Dire Straits/Mark Knopfler - 6
Led Zeppelin - 6
The Who - 6

The Allman Brothers Band - 5
Billy Joel - 5
Yes - 5
John Lennon - 3
Paul McCartney - 3
George Harrison - 2