My Five-Star Albums

I’ve rated these albums/recordings five out of five stars. They are presented in chronological order.  When there is a conflict between the recording date and the release date, I have used the recording date, or, in rare cases, both.  When the recordings on an album were made over a period of time, I have used the date of the earliest recording for purposes of chronology.  Classical music albums are placed after the main list.

  1. Various Artists – Ken Burns Jazz (rec. 1917-1995)
  2. Bessie Smith – The Collection (rec. 1923-1933)
  3. Louis Armstrong – The Complete Hot Fives and Hot Sevens (rec. 1924-1929)
  4. Lonnie Johnson – Steppin’ on the Blues (rec. 1925-1932)
  5. Jelly Roll Morton – Birth of the Hot (rec. 1926-1927)
  6. Blind Blake – Ragtime Guitar’s Foremost Fingerpicker (rec. 1926-1930)
  7. Fats Waller – Piano Solos: Turn on the Heat (rec. 1927-1941)
  8. Various Artists – An Anthology of Big Band Swing (rec. 1930-1955)
  9. Art Tatum – Piano Starts Here (rec. 1933, 1949)
  10. Django Reinhardt & Stéphane Grappelli – The Quintessential Django Reinhardt & Stéphane Grappelli: Le Quintette du Hot Club de France (rec. 1934-1940)
  11. Robert Johnson – King of the Delta Blues (rec. 1936-1937)
  12. Duke Ellington – The Blanton-Webster Band (rec. 1940-1942)
  13. Charlie Parker – The Complete Savoy & Dial Master Takes (rec. 1944-1948)
  14. Charlie Parker –  Yardbird Suite: The Ultimate Collection (rec. 1944-1953)
  15. Hank Williams – The Hits, Vols. 1 & 2 (rec. 1946-1953)
  16. John Lee Hooker – The Very Best of John Lee Hooker (rec. 1948-1987)
  17. Miles Davis – Birth of the Cool (rec. 1949-1950)
  18. Bud Powell – The Amazing Bud Powell, Vol. 1 (rec. 1949-1951)
  19. T-Bone Walker – The Complete Imperial Recordings (rec. 1950-1954)
  20. Elmore James – The Sky Is Crying: The History of Elmore James (rec. 1951-1961)
  21. Art Tatum – The Complete Pablo Solo Masterpieces (rec. 1953-1956)
  22. Jimmy Reed –  Big Boss Blues (rec. 1953-1961)
  23. Sarah Vaughan – Sarah Vaughan (with Clifford Brown) (1954)
  24. Elvis Presley – The Complete Sun Sessions (rec. 1954-1955)
  25. Various Artists – Atlantic & Atco Remasters Series: Sampler One (rec. 1954-1958)
  26. Buddy Holly – Memorial Collection (rec. 1955-1959)
  27. Chuck Berry – The Great Twenty-Eight (rec. 1955-1965)
  28. Frank Sinatra – Songs for Swingin’ Lovers! (1956)
  29. Sonny Rollins – Saxophone Colossus (1956)
  30. Thelonious Monk – Brilliant Corners (1956)
  31. Nat “King” Cole – After Midnight: The Complete Session (1956)
  32. Otis Rush – The Essential Otis Rush: The Classic Cobra Recordings (rec. 1956-1958)
  33. James Brown – 20 All Time Greatest Hits! (rec. 1956-1976)
  34. Original Broadway Cast – West Side Story (1957)
  35. Thelonious Monk – Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane at Carnegie Hall (rec. 1957, rel. 2005)
  36. The Everly Brothers – Cadence Classics: Their 20 Greatest Hits (rec. 1957-1960)
  37. Patsy Cline – 12 Greatest Hits (rec. 1957-1963)
  38. Cannonball Adderley – Somethin’ Else (1958)
  39. Champion Jack Dupree – Blues From the Gutter (1958)
  40. Stan Getz & J.J. Johnson – Stan Getz and J.J. Johnson at The Opera House (1958)
  41. The Dave Brubeck Quartet – Time Out (1959)
  42. Miles Davis – Porgy and Bess (1959)
  43. Miles Davis – Kind of Blue (1959)
  44. Ornette Coleman – The Shape of Jazz to Come (1959)
  45. Smokey Robinson & The Miracles – The Ultimate Collection (rec. 1959-1972)
  46. Art Farmer & Benny Golson – Meet the Jazztet (1960)
  47. Wes Montgomery – The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery (1960)
  48. Hank Mobley – Soul Station (1960)
  49. Freddie King – Hide Away: The Best of Freddy King (rec. 1960-1966)
  50. Etta James – The Sweetest Peaches: The Chess Years, Part 1 (rec. 1960-1966)
  51. Bill Evans – Sunday at the Village Vanguard (1961)
  52. Bill Evans – Waltz for Debby (1961)
  53. John Coltrane – My Favorite Things (1961)
  54. Dexter Gordon – Go (1962)
  55. The Beatles – A Hard Day’s Night (1964)
  56. Lee Morgan – The Sidewinder (1964)
  57. Joe Henderson – Inner Urge (1965)
  58. Wayne Shorter – Speak No Evil (1965)
  59. Sun Ra – The Heliocentric Worlds of Sun Ra (1965)
  60. John Coltrane – A Love Supreme (1965)
  61. Bob Dylan – Bringing It All Back Home (1965)
  62. B.B. King – Live at the Regal (1965)
  63. The Beatles – Help! (1965)
  64. The Beatles – Rubber Soul (1965)
  65. Bob Dylan – Highway 61 Revisited (1965)
  66. Various Artists – Nuggets: Original Artyfacts From the First Psychedelic Era (rec. 1965-1968)
  67. The Beatles – Past Masters: Vol. 2 (rec. 1965-1970)
  68. Bob Dylan – Blonde on Blonde (1966)
  69. Bob Dylan – The Bootleg Series Vol. 4: Live 1966 – The “Royal Albert Hall” Concert (rec. 1966, rel. 1998)
  70. Larry Young – Unity (1966)
  71. Various Artists – Chicago/The Blues/Today! (1966)
  72. The Beatles – Revolver (1966)
  73. Albert King – King of the Blues Guitar (rec. 1966-1968)
  74. Jefferson Airplane – The Worst of Jefferson Airplane (rec. 1966-1970)
  75. Janis Joplin – Greatest Hits (rec. 1966-1970)
  76. The Velvet Underground – Peel Slowly and See (rec. 1966-1970)
  77. The Velvet Underground – The Velvet Underground and Nico (1967)
  78. The Beatles –  Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
  79. Aretha Franklin – The Very Best of Aretha Franklin: The ’60s (rec. 1967-1970)
  80. Van Morrison – Astral Weeks (1968)
  81. The Beatles – The Beatles [White Album] (1968)
  82. The Velvet Underground – White Light/White Heat (1968)
  83. Various Artists – Tropicália: A Brazilian Revolution in Sound (rec. 1968-1970)
  84. Dusty Springfield – Dusty in Memphis (1969)
  85. The Who – Tommy (1969)
  86. Crosby, Stills & Nash – Crosby, Stills & Nash (1969)
  87. The Band – The Band (1969)
  88. The Beatles – Abbey Road (1969)
  89. The Velvet Underground – The Velvet Underground (1969)
  90. Van Morrison – Moondance (1970)
  91. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young – Déjà vu (1970)
  92. Derek and The Dominos – Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs (1970)
  93. John Lennon – Plastic Ono Band (1970)
  94. Al Green – Compact Command Performances: 14 Greatest Hits (rec. 1970-1974)
  95. Hound Dog Taylor – Hound Dog Taylor and the Houserockers (1971)
  96. Carole King – Tapestry (1971)
  97. Joni Mitchell – Blue (1971)
  98. The Who – Who’s Next (1971)
  99. T. Rex – Electric Warrior (1971)
  100. Neil Young – Harvest (1972)
  101. Randy Newman – Sail Away (1972)
  102. Yes – Close to the Edge (1972)
  103. The Modern Lovers – The Modern Lovers (rec. 1972, rel. 1976)
  104. Bob Marley – Legend (rec. 1972-1983)
  105. Dave Holland – Conference of the Birds (1973)
  106. Pink Floyd – The Dark Side of the Moon (1973)
  107. Yes – Yessongs (1973)
  108. Paul Simon – There Goes Rhymin’ Simon (1973)
  109. The Who – Quadrophenia (1973)
  110. Yes – Tales From Topographic Oceans (1973)
  111. Joe Pass – Virtuoso (1974)
  112. Bob Dylan – Blood on the Tracks (1975)
  113. Bruce Springsteen – Born to Run (1975)
  114. Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here (1975)
  115. Patti Smith – Horses (1975)
  116. Bulgarian State Radio & Television Female Vocal Choir – Le Mystere des Voix Bulgares (1975)
  117. Renaissance – Live at Carnegie Hall (1976)
  118. Albert Collins – Ice Pickin’ (1978)
  119. Elvis Costello – This Year’s Model (1978)
  120. The Roches – The Roches (1979)
  121. Talking Heads – Fear of Music (1979)
  122. Talking Heads – Remain in Light (1980)
  123. Dire Straits – Making Movies (1980)
  124. Elvis Costello – Imperial Bedroom (1982)
  125. The Roches – Keep On Doing (1982)
  126. Paul Simon – Hearts and Bones (1982)
  127. Orchestra Baobab – Pirates Choice (1982)
  128. Tom Waits – Rain Dogs (1985)
  129. Elvis Costello – King of America (1986)
  130. Peter Gabriel – So (1986)
  131. Paul Simon – Graceland (1986)
  132. U2 – The Joshua Tree (1987)
  133. Alison Krauss – Now That I’ve Found You (rec. 1987-1994)
  134. k.d. lang – Shadowland (1988)
  135. The Sundays – Reading, Writing and Arithmetic (1990)
  136. They Might Be Giants – Flood (1990)
  137. Sinéad O’Connor – I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got (1990)
  138. World Party – Goodbye Jumbo (1990)
  139. Rosanne Cash – Interiors (1990)
  140. Van Morrison – Enlightenment (1990)
  141. Throwing Muses – The Real Ramona (1991)
  142. R.E.M. – Out of Time (1991)
  143. U2 – Achtung Baby (1991)
  144. My Bloody Valentine – Loveless (1991)
  145. R.E.M. – Automatic for the People (1992)
  146. Master Musicians of Jajouka – Apocalypse Across the Sky (1992)
  147. Liz Phair – Exile in Guyville (1993)
  148. Aimee Mann – Whatever (1993)
  149. Johnny Cash – American Recordings (1994)
  150. Letters to Cleo – Aurora Gory Alice (1994)
  151. PJ Harvey – To Bring You My Love (1995)
  152. Alanis Morissette – Jagged Little Pill (1995)
  153. Various Artists – Party Girl Soundtrack (1995)
  154. Garbage – Garbage (1995)
  155. Emmylou Harris – Wrecking Ball (1995)
  156. Aimee Mann – I’m With Stupid (1995)
  157. Beck – Odelay (1996)
  158. Radiohead – OK Computer (1997)
  159. Yo La Tengo – I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One (1997)
  160. Sarah McLachlan – Surfacing (1997)
  161. The Sundays – Static & Silence (1997)
  162. Bob Dylan – Time Out of Mind (1997)
  163. John Scofield – A Go Go (1998)
  164. Garbage – Version 2.0 (1998)
  165. Lucinda Williams – Car Wheels on a Gravel Road (1998)
  166. Jim Hall & Pat Metheny – Jim Hall & Pat Metheny (1999)
  167. Wilco – Summerteeth (1999)
  168. Tom Waits – Mule Variations (1999)
  169. The Magnetic Fields – 69 Love Songs (1999)
  170. Greg Osby – Invisible Hand (2000)
  171. Shelby Lynne – I Am Shelby Lynne (2000)
  172. Mariza – Fado em Mim (2000)
  173. PJ Harvey – Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea (2000)
  174. U2 – All That You Can’t Leave Behind (2000)
  175. Buddy Guy – Sweet Tea (2001)
  176. Macy Gray – The Id (2001)
  177. Jason Moran – Black Stars (2001)
  178. Wilco – Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002)
  179. Beck – Sea Change (2002)
  180. Sleater-Kinney – One Beat (2002)
  181. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Fever to Tell (2003)
  182. The New Pornographers – Electric Version (2003)
  183. Arcade Fire – Funeral (2004)
  184. Petra Haden – Petra Haden Sings: The Who Sell Out (2005)
  185. Sufjan Stevens – Illinois (2005)
  186. My Morning Jacket – Z (2005)
  187. The Hold Steady – Boys and Girls in America (2006)
  188. Camera Obscura – Let’s Get Out of This Country (2006)
  189. Arcade Fire – Neon Bible (2007)
  190. The New Pornographers – Challengers (2007)
  191. Glen Hansard & Markéta Irglová – Once: Music From the Motion Picture (2007)
  192. PJ Harvey – White Chalk (2007)
  193. Los Campesinos! – Hold On Now, Youngster… (2008)
  194. Tune-Yards – Bird-Brains (2009)
  195. Arcade Fire – The Suburbs (2010)
  196. Superchunk – Majesty Shredding (2010)
  197. Dengue Fever – Cannibal Courtship (2011)
  198. Tom Waits – Bad As Me (2011)
  199. Yuck – Yuck (2011)
  200. The Decemberists – The King Is Dead (2011)
  201. PJ Harvey – Let England Shake (2011)
  202. Grimes – Visions (2012)
  203. The New Pornographers – Brill Bruisers (2012)
  204. Frightened Rabbit – Pedestrian Verse (2013)
  205. Alvvays – Alvvays (2014)
  206. Angel Olsen – My Woman (2016)
  207. Alvvays – Antisocialites (2017)
  208. Angélique Kidjo – Remain in Light (2018)


CLASSICAL MUSIC (organized chronologically by composer’s date of birth)

  1. Anonymous Composers (9th & 10th Centuries) – Adorate Deum: Gregorian Chant from the Proper of the Mass (Nova Schola Gregoriana/Alberto Turco) (1993)
  2. Various Composers (12th-14th Centuries) – Music of the Gothic Era (Early Music Consort of London/David Munrow) (1976)
  3. Perotin (c. 1200) – Perotin (The Hilliard Ensemble) (1989)
  4. Josquin des Préz (c. 1450-1521) – Missa “Ave maris stella”; Motets & Chansons (Taverner Consort & Choir/Andrew Parrott) (1992)
  5. Tomás Luis de Victoria (c. 1548-1611) – Requiem: Officium Defunctorum (1605) (Gabrieli Consort/Paul McCreesh) (1995)
  6. John Dowland (1563-1626) – Complete Lute Works, Vol. 1 (Paul O’Dette) (1995)
  7. Various Composers (15th-16th Centuries) – Song of Songs: Music of Renaissance Spain and the New World (Convivium Musicum/Scott Metcalfe) (2004)
  8. Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643) – Orfeo (Ensemble Vocal et Instrumental de Lausanne/Michael Corboz) (1968)
  9. Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643) – Monteverdi (Magdalena Kožená, La Cetra/Andrea Marcon) (2016)
  10. Dietrich Buxtehude (c. 1637-1707) – Opera Omnia X: Organ Works 5 (Ton Koopman) (2008)
  11. Henry Purcell (1659-1695) – Dido and Aeneas (English Concert and Choir/Trevor Pinnock, Anne Sofie von Otter, Stephen Varcoe, Lynne Dawson, Nigel Rogers) (1989)
  12. Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) – Complete Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin (Arthur Grumiaux) (rec. 1960)
  13. Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) – St. Matthew Passion (Philharmonia Orchestra & Choir/Otto Klemperer, Peter Pears, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Elizabeth Schwarzkopf, Christa Ludwig) (1961)
  14. Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) – The Well-Tempered Piano, Part 1 (Christiane Jaccottet) (1989)
  15. Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) – Cello Suites (Mstislav Rostropovich) (1991)
  16. Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) – Mass in B Minor (Gächinger Kantorei & Bach-Collegium Stuttgart/Helmuth Rilling; Sibylla Rubens; Juliane Banse; Ingeborg Danz; James Taylor; Andreas Schmidt; Thomas Quasthoff) (2000)
  17. Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757) – Best Sonatas (Scott Ross) (rec. 1984-1985, rel. 1991)
  18. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) – Le Nozze di Figaro (London Philharmonic Orchestra/Georg Solti; Thomas Allen, Lucia Popp, Samuel Ramey, Frederica von Stade; Kiri Te Kanawa) (1982)
  19. Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)/Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) – Heifetz: Beethoven/Brahms Concertos (Jascha Heifetz; Boston Symphony Orchestra/Charles Munch; Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Fritz Reiner;) (1955)
  20. Franz Liszt (1811-1886) – Sonata in B minor (Maurizio Pollini) (1990)
  21. Richard Wagner (1813-1883) – Tristan und Isolde (Bayreuth Festival Orchestra/Karl Böhm; Birgit Nilsson; Wolfgang Windgassen; Christa Ludwig; Martti Talvela; Eberhard Waechter) (1966)
  22. Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) – Otello (National Philharmonic Orchestra/James Levine; Placido Domingo; Renata Scotto; Sherill Milnes) (1978)
  23. Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) – Das Lied von der Erde (New Philharmonia Orchestra & Philharmonia Orchestra/Otto Klemperer; Christa Ludwig; Fritz Wunderlich) (1964-1966)
  24. Richard Strauss (1864-1949) – Der Rosenkavalier (Karajan; Schwarzkopf; Ludwig) (1956)
  25. Erik Satie (1866-1925) – Erik Satie (Anne Queffélec) (1990)
  26. Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951) – Verklärte Nacht, Piano Pieces, Five Orchestral Pieces (Chicago Symphony Orchestra/Daniel Barenboim) (1995)
  27. Charles Ives (1874-1954) – Four Sonatas (Hilary Hahn; Valentina Lisitsa) (2012)
  28. Béla Bartók (1881-1945) – 6 String Quartets (Emerson String Quartet) (1988)
  29. Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971) – The Great Ballets (London Philharmonic Orchestra/Bernard Haitink; London Symphony Orchestra/Igor Markevitch) (rec. 1963; 1973)
  30. Alban Berg (1885-1935) – Wozzeck (Staatskapelle Berlin & German States Opera Choir Berlin/Daniel Barenboim; Franz Grundheber; Waltraud Meier; Endrik Wottrich; Günther von Kannen) (1994)
  31. Michael Tippett (1905-1998) – A Child of Our Time (City of Birmingham Symphony/Michael Tippett; F. Robinson; S. Walker; J. Garrison; J. Cheek) (1991)
  32. Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975) – String Quartets (Emerson String Quartet) (1994-1999)
  33. Elliott Carter (1908-2012) – The Four String Quartets (Juilliard Quartet) (1991)
  34. Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990) – Mass (Baltimore Symphony Orchestra/Marin Alsop; Jubilant Sykes) (2009)
  35. Steve Reich (1936- ) – Music for 18 Musicians (Ensemble Modern) (rec. 1996; rel. 1998)
  36. John Adams (1947- ) – The Dharma at Big Sur/My Father Knew Charles Ives (BBC Symphony Orchestra/John Adams; Tracy Silverman) (2006)
  37. Various Composers (19th and 20th Centuries) – In the Clearing (Coro Allegro, David Hodgkins) (1997)

4 thoughts on “My Five-Star Albums”

  1. Pingback: A New Way of Making Lists | Make Lists, Not War

  2. aforhapsody

    Thank You So Much!
    And I Love All Artists In This List, Especially Artists After 2000.

    (I’m Vietnamese, Sorry About My Bed English).

    Reply ↓
  3. jameswharris

    I’ve always wanted to do this. And since your tastes and mine have a great deal of overlap, I’m going to use this list as my starter list. Plus you offer me a lot of albums to try that I should like.

    By the way, I don’t see an about page. How old are you? You have consumed a lot of creative works, I wonder how long that has taken. I’m 68 and it’s taken me a lifetime to get to all these albums.

    Reply ↓
    1. beckchris

      Glad you like it, James! I grew up on rock, pop & folk and taught myself about blues, jazz and classical as an adult. It never occurred to me to do an about page. I’m a little nervous about putting too much personal info on the Internet, but I can tell you that I was born in the Kennedy administration (NJ); finished elementary school in the Ford administration (NJ); graduated high school in the Carter administration (NY); graduated college in the Reagan administration (Ohio); got married during Bush I (Mass.); and graduated law school in the Clinton years (Mass.).

      Reply ↓

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