JonC's 5 Top Albums Ever!

Thanks to my champion blogger of a friend - Anfiled Devotee, i have to bust my brains to come out with my own 5 absolute must have albums. Coming up with this list is harder than i think as the range of music i listen to is as wide as the freaking Grand Canyon! Anything from classical to jazz and rock will keep me entertained as long as the tune clicks with me brain.

1) Nirvana - Nevermind.
The first grunge rock band and song i ever listen to was Nirvana with their angst fueled "Smell Like Teen Spirit" back in '93. A slow starter but still an ardent fan of Kurt Cobain. I was intrigued by the band's start stop melodies before going all out with their guitars blaring. Being a teenager at that time i instantly click with the anti-establishment, social alienation and non-confirmity lyrics. Notable tracks that still relates to my erratic and fiery temper are - Lithium, Come As You Are and On a Plain.

2) The Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
The band that had everything in their repertoire - gothic rock, heavy metal, dream pop, psychedelic rock, arena rock and in some instances, electronica. I paid for this double disc album after struggling through a week on bread and instant noodles during my A-Levels college days in Taylor's back in '95. Paying about 70 bucks for this album was a monumental achievement in itself! The songs that got me through my first year in college consists of 1979, Tonight Tonight, Zero, Bullets with Butterfly Wings, We Only Come out At Night, Lily, Beautiful and By Starlight. Again, i was intrigued by the wide ranging arrangement and melodies used by Billy Corgan, James Iha and D'arcy Wretzky (one of the first rock chicks that i dig). I absolutely got blown away by the string arrangements in Tonight Tonight. The song that i relate to most was 1979, it was like listening to the story of my life and the struggle to find myself in the process of growing from a rebellious and somewhat anti-social youth.

3) Diana Krall - All For You - A Dedication to the Nat King Cole Trio.
One of the first Diana Krall cd i ever bought and still rank as my favourite among her albums. After starting my working life back in 2000, i wanted something to help me mellow down and relax after a crazy day at work. By chance i managed to listen to her song over the radio and got hooked on her unique and soothing voice. Had always been a fan of Nat King Cole thanks to me dad and to see the list of songs in this albums made me glee in delight. Favourites from this album consists of the happy songs like Frim-Frame Sauce, Hit That Jive Jack! and Deed I Do.

4) The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds
The American answer to the The Beatles onslaught. Most will question why on earth would i choose this American band who sings about nothing else but surfing, the beach, girls and cars. Well, if you've heard the most notable song from this album - God Only Knows, Wouldn't It Be Nice, Good Vibrations and Sloop John B, you'll understand why i am such a big fan of them. This album has been consistently rank as one of the most influential pop music album ever made. The catchy tunes and vocals arrangement by Brian Wilson (father to 2 of the girls from 90's girl group Wilson Phillips) is awesome and mind blowing. It's been widely publicised that The Beatles' Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album and one of their very best was a direct respond to challenge brought on by this ground-breaking album.

5) U2 - The Joshua Tree
U2 has to be in my list as they are one of my all time favourite band (especially their older stuff). I've always dig the politics infused lyrics by U2 but this album was different because it drew a lot of inspiration from the US - blues & folk music, geography and politics ( the album was specifically aim at the American market anyway). I instantly got hooked on to the 2 most famous songs from this album: With or Without You and I Still Haven't Found What I've Been Looking For. Another notable song was Where The Streets Have No Name. I can't seem to get enough of the hypnotic sounding guitar rifts by the Edge. The "Infinite Guitar" effect was fooking awesome and hounding. I still sing to these song's whenever i hear them over the radio and tv.

Thats the albums on my list at the moment. Countless that i can't seem to think of at the moment. So thanks, AD from making me waste most of my morning trying to crack me brain on the subject matter. :0P

PS - El Terrorista and Unker Bernard, you guys have been tagged to continue this discussion.

**Edited to include the album covers + the tagged bloggers.