My Vinyl Countdown’s top rated albums

I started this blog in September of 2017 on the premise that I would review all of my 678 vinyl records. I set myself a fairly simple deadline — my death.

Diagnosed a year earlier with Lewy body dementia, I didn’t know if it was possible for me to live long enough to fulfill that vow or if it would be easy-peasy.

Well it hasn’t exactly been easy- peasy but I am alive, and this morning I paid $250 bucks to extend my blog site and keep my domain name until 2027.

I’m optimistic.

The formula seems to be working. Do something I enjoy so I’ll keep doing it, exercise my brain and help people understand the disease inside out from someone who has Lewy body dementia. OK, now that I’ve been through all my records, doing a little write-up on each one, I’ll tell you what I found. First thing I learned: That’s a lot of album reviews.

Today, I am distilling that 678 by listing my highest ranked albums. My rating system is a fairly simple 1-5 rating, 5 being a top album, or classic even. A more detailed look at ratings here.

I do half scores: 3.5 or 4.5 e.g. Today I have culled all the 5-rated albums.

There are 50 in here that have achieved the ‘5’ rating. If that sounds like a lot, remember these are records I shopped for and paid for. I’m shooting to buy a ‘5’ every time. If somebody else came by and dropped 678 records on me, the results may not be so heavy with 5’s.

I think this would be a pretty good list for those starting a record collection. I’ve said before, I’m not a collector as much as I am an accumulator; much of my collection came from bargain bins. Some were bargain bins from 40 years ago. Here we go:

Joseph Arthur ‘Temporary People.’ One of several unknowns in my collection who deserves more recognition.

The Beach Boys Pet Sounds. I didn’t get what was so special about this album at first but then after repeated listens to ‘God Only Knows,’ I caught the vibrations.

Chuck Berry ‘The Great 28.’ The closest to the Beatles in terms of influence in his day.

David Bowie The Rise of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. A chameleon.

Buzzcocks ‘Singles Going Steady.’ Punk power pop.

Bob Dylan Biograph 5-record box set and ‘Blood on the Tracks.‘ Dylan has a number of albums that might be 5’s but I don’t have them. These will give you a nice sample of his though.

Van Cliburn Tchaikovsky Concerto No. 1. Some highbrow music from the tall Texan.

Sam Cooke Live at the Harlem Club. One of the best live albums ever.

Creedence Clearwater Revival ‘Chronicle.‘ Keep on Choogling.

Miles Davis ‘Milestones.’ Trumpet player about to bust out.

Derek and the Dominos Layla and other assorted love songs. Eric Clapton and Duane Allman hit it off.

Electric Light Orchestra Ole’/ELO. Greatest early songs.

Peter Gabriel. His first solo album.

Marvin Gaye Every Great Motown Hit. Among the best soul singers.

Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five ‘New York, New York.’

Dexter Gordon. ‘One Flight Up.’ Tenor sax player, one of the best.

Al Green. Greatest. After an extraordinary string of hits, he became a pastor and sang in church.

Jimi Hendrix, Greatest Hits and Axis Bold as Love. Revered by some as the greatest rock guitarist ever.

Joe Henderson ‘Our Thing.’ Saxophone man.

Peter Himmelman ‘There is no Calamity. From the severely overlooked artist from Minneapolis.

Chris Isaak. ‘Chris Isaak’ Smooth singer informed by rockabilly.

The Kinks. Lola vs. Powerman and the Money Go-round. Quirky, smart, rock and roll.

Carol King, ‘Tapestry,’ One of the biggest selling albums of all time.

Led Zeppelin. Fourth album with ‘Stairway to Heaven.’

John Lennon Plastic Ono Band. Pain heartache catharsis.

Bob Marley Legend. Reggae great’s music is timeless.

Mekons ‘Rock and Roll.‘ Raucous rock with the hard stuff and the melodic stuff.

Van Morrison ‘Astral Weeks,‘ ‘Moondance.’The Irish Bard.

The Best of Dolly Parton (1975). Parton has three major ‘hits’ albums, this one, at the beginning of her peak is best.

Pink Floyd ‘Dark Side of the Moon.’ ‘Wish You Were Here.’ Tricked you into thinking they were noodling progressives. Then smack you with well arranged, well played, rock with a touch of noodling.

Bud Powell Bud Powell! Influential jazz pianist on Blue Note.*

Elvis Presley Sun Sessions. Pivotal record in history.

Prince ‘1999’ ‘Purple Rain.’ ‘Sign Of The Times’ also could have made it.

REM ‘Murmur.’ The subtle but groundbreaking debut for the band from Athens, Ga.

Rolling Stones. ‘Exile on Main Street.’ ‘Sticky Fingers.’ ‘Hot Rocks.’ Legends.

Bruce Springsteen. ‘Born to Run.’ ‘Born in the USA.’ Singer songwriter with amazing live shows.

Richard and Linda Thompson ‘Shoot Out the Lights.’ Why does love have to be so sad? (See Derek and the Dominos.’)

Al Stewart ‘Year of the Cat.’ Beautiful sound and lovely songs.

Tonio K. ‘Life in the Foodchain.’ Criminally underrated.

The Who ‘Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy.’ They could see for miles and miles.

Neal Young ‘Decade’ ‘After the Gold Rush.’ One of America’s most important artists for 50 years. And he’s from Canada.

Zombies. Odessey and Oracle. A 1960s classic falls out of the British Invasion.

Remember these are from my collection. Sgt. Pepper Lonely Hearts Club Band would likely be a 5 but I don’t have it. I did buy and receive a number of albums over the 4 years I was doing this blog but for the most part, the rule was that this was a list of 678 bought before I started this blog. There are exceptions.

<Correction, originally had Powell down as drummer.>