Music

On Facebook, my brother listed his 25 most important albums--important for personal reasons; albums that you wore out listening to over and over again, for whatever rational or demented reason. He challenged others to come up with a list and since I have always treasured music, I decided to come up with my own personal list.

I quickly realized that 25 is not a whole lot, when you are going back 40 years. My list quickly reached into the 60-70 range. So in keeping with the spirit of the challenge, I subdivided my life in to the 8-Track Era and the Digital Era.

Even then, quite a few got left off the lists. BTO, Paul McCartney and Wings, Simon and Garfunkel, Charlie Daniels, Garth Brooks, George Strait, Deep Forest, Grand Funk Railroad, and a handful of others. If I do this a month from now, I'm sure my lists would change a bit. I also left off a few from groups already listed, particurily Jimmy Buffett, who could have his own top 25 list, Doobie Brothers -What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits (Great album, but is mentioned for the album title alone), Bruce Hornsby, Fiona Apple and a few others.

It was a fun project; it took a few days and involved a little research to refresh my faded memories, and I got reaquainted with a few old friends.

As a postscript, I still have a few of the 8-tracks and a working 8 track player stored back home in Georgia.

Doobie Brothers - Stampede
Boston - Boston
Mothers Finest' - Another Mother Further
Jackson Browne - Jackson Browne
Pablo Cruise - A Place in the Sun
Wet Willie - Keep On Smilin'
Marshall Turker Band - Searching for a Rainbow
Nantucket - Heartbreaker
Little River Band - Little River Band (8-track)
Atlanta Rythym Section - Are You Ready!
Peter Frampton - Frampton Comes Alive
Lynard Skynard - Platinum and Gold
Johnny Cash - Greatest Hits Vol 2
Tom Jones - Greatest Hits 1973
Meatloaf - Bat Out of Hell
Focus - Live at the Rainbow
Three Dog Night - Seven Seperate Fools
Willie Nelson - Greatest Hits and Some That Will Be.
Allman Brothers - Eat a Peach
Allman Brothers - Brothers and Sisters
Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes - Collector's item
Led Zepplin - In Thru the Out Door
Jethro Tull - Living in the Past
Jim Croce - Photographs and Memories
Foghat - Fool for the City

Digital Era

Tori Amos - Little Earthquakes
Branford Marsailles - Romances for Saxaphone
Grover Washington Jr. - Winelight
Peter Gabriel - So
Trout Fishing in America - My World
Lyle Lovett - Lyle Lovett and his Large Band
Dave Matthews Band - Under the Table and Dreaming
Jimmy Buffett - Off to See the Lizard
Pink Floyd - The Wall
Notting Hillbillies - Missing...Presumed Having a Good Time
99X-mas
Stan Ridgway- Mosquitos
Steve Windwood - Back in the High Life
Anita Baker - Rapture
Bruce Hornsby - The Way It Is
Fiona Apple - Tidal
Earl Klugh - Life Stories
Lowen and Navarro - Walking on a Wire
Robert Cray - Strong Persuader
Sarah Maclaclan - Fumbling Towards Exstacy
Crash Test Dummies - God Shuffled His Feet
Joan Osborne - Relish
Green Day - Dookie
Offspring - Smash
Paula Cole - This Fire