My 150 Favorite Albums – A Pandemic List

During the COVID-19 pandemic, I began a list on Facebook of some of my favorite albums, posting one (sometimes four) albums per day.  I stopped posting albums after I reached 142 in August 2020.  For the Make Lists, Not War version of the list, I have added eight more albums to provide a round number of 150.  To be honest, these are not my only favorite albums, but this is a good sampling of some of my favorites.  They are organized chronologically.  For classical works, I have used the date of composition; for compilations, I use the earliest recording date; otherwise I use the date the album was released.

  1. Various Composers  – Music of the Gothic Era (composed 1150-1380) (David Munrow & Early Music Consort of London, 1975)
  2. Josquin des Préz – Missa “Ave maris stella”; Motets & Chansons (composed c. 1485-1521) (Taverner Consort & Choir/Andrew Parrott, 1992)
  3. Claudio Monteverdi – Orfeo (composed 1607) (Ensemble Vocal et Instrumental de Lausanne/Michael Corboz, 1968)
  4. Henry Purcell – Dido and Aeneas (composed 1688) (The English Concert/Trevor Pinnock, 1988)
  5. Johann Sebastian Bach – St. Matthew Passion (composed 1727) (Philharmonia Orchestra/Otto Klemperer, 1961)
  6. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Le Nozze di Figaro (composed 1786) (London Philharmonic Orch./Sir Georg Solti, 1981)
  7. Joseph Haydn – String Quartets, Op. 76 (composed 1797-1798) (Takács Quartet, 1990)
  8. Ludwig van Beethoven – The Late String Quartets (composed 1825-1826) (Tokyo String Quartet, 1992)
  9. Frédéric Chopin – Piano Music (composed 1835-1846) (Sylvia Toran, 1994)
  10. Franz Liszt – Sonata in B Minor and Late Works (composed 1853-1883) (Maurizio Pollini, 1990)
  11. Richard Wagner – Tristan und Isolde (composed 1859) (Bayreuth Festival Orchestra/Karl Böhm, 1966)
  12. Rimsky-Korsakov – Scheherazade (composed 1888) (London Philharmonic/Mariss Jansons, 1995)
  13. Claude Debussy – Images, Etudes (composed 1890-1915) (Jean-Yves Thibaudet, 2000)
  14. Béla Bartók – The Six String Quartets (composed 1909-1939) (Emerson String Quartet, 1988)
  15. Alban Berg – Wozzeck (composed 1922) (Staatskapelle Berlin/Daniel Barenboim, 1994)
  16. Louis Armstrong – The Complete Hot Fives and Hot Sevens (rec. 1924-1929)
  17. Blind Lemon Jefferson – Blind Lemon Jefferson (rec. 1926-1929)
  18. Blind Blake – Ragtime Guitar’s Foremost Fingerpicker (rec. 1926-1930)
  19. Blind Willie Johnson – The Complete Blind Willie Johnson (rec. 1927-1930)
  20. Fats Waller – Turn on the Heat: The Fats Waller Piano Solos (rec. 1927-1941)
  21. Bob Wills & the Texas Playboys – Take Me Back to Tulsa (rec. 1932-1950)
  22. Memphis Minnie – Hoodoo Lady (rec. 1933-1937)
  23. Art Tatum – Piano Starts Here (rec. 1933-1949)
  24. Blind Boy Fuller – East Coast Piedmont Style (rec. 1935-1939)
  25. Dmitri Shostakovich – Complete String Quartets (composed 1938-1974) (Emerson String Quartet, 2000)
  26. Charlie Parker – The Complete Savoy & Dial Master Takes (rec. 1945-1948)
  27. Benjamin Britten – Peter Grimes (composed 1945) (Royal Opera House/Colin Davis, 1978)
  28. Hank Williams – The Hits, Vol. 1 (rec. 1947-1952)
  29. John Cage – Sonatas and Interludes for Prepared Piano (composed 1948) (Aleck Karis, 1998)
  30. Clarence Gatemouth Brown – The Original Peacock Recordings (rec. 1948-1959)
  31. Bud Powell – The Amazing Bud Powell, Vol. 1 (rec. 1949-1951)
  32. T-Bone Walker – The Complete Imperial Recordings (rec. 1950-1954)
  33. Bill Monroe – Country Music Hall of Fame (rec. 1950-1990)
  34. Elvis Presley – The Sun Sessions CD (rec. 1954-1955)
  35. Buddy Holly – The Memorial Collection (rec. 1954-1959)
  36. Johnny Cash – The Essential Johnny Cash (rec. 1954-1993)
  37. Chuck Berry – The Great Twenty-Eight (rec. 1955-1965)
  38. Nat “King” Cole – After Midnight: The Complete Session (1956)
  39. Frank Sinatra – Songs for Swingin’ Lovers! (1956)
  40. Otis Rush – The Classic Cobra Recordings (rec. 1956-1958)
  41. Jimmy Reed – Upside Your Head (rec. 1956-1961)
  42. Thelonious Monk – Brilliant Corners (1957)
  43. Original Broadway Cast – West Side Story (1957)
  44. Patsy Cline – 12 Greatest Hits (rec. 1957-1963)
  45. Champion Jack Dupree – Blues from the Gutter (1958)
  46. Wes Montgomery – The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery (1960)
  47. Etta James – The Sweetest Peaches: The Chess Years, Part One (rec. 1960-1966)
  48. Bill Evans – Sunday at the Village Vanguard & Waltz for Debby (1961)
  49. Bob Dylan – The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan (1963)
  50. Various Artists – Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era (rec. 1963-1968)
  51. Herbie Hancock – Maiden Voyage (1965)
  52. Various Artists – Chicago/The Blues/Today! (1966)
  53. Bob Dylan – Blonde on Blonde (1966)
  54. The Beatles – Revolver (1966)
  55. The Supremes – I Hear a Symphony (1966)
  56. The Moody Blues – Days of Future Passed (1967)
  57. The Velvet Underground – The Velvet Underground and Nico (1967)
  58. The Beatles – The Beatles [The White Album] (1968)
  59. Various Artists – Tropicália: A Brazilian Revolution in Sound (rec. 1968-1970)
  60. John Lennon – John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band (1970)
  61. Original London Cast – Jesus Christ Superstar (1970)
  62. Joni Mitchell – Blue (1971)
  63. Marvin Gaye – What’s Goin’ On (1971)
  64. Neil Young – Harvest (1972)
  65. Genesis – Foxtrot (1972)
  66. The Modern Lovers – The Modern Lovers (rec. 1972-1973)
  67. Elton John – Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1973)
  68. Yes – Yessongs (1973)
  69. The Who – Quadrophenia (1974)
  70. Bruce Springsteen – Born to Run (1975)
  71. Bob Dylan – Blood on the Tracks (1975)
  72. Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here (1975)
  73. Patti Smith – Horses (1975)
  74. Steve Reich – Music for 18 Musicians (composed 1976) (Ensemble Modern, 1996)
  75. Albert Collins – Ice Pickin’ (1978)
  76. Elvis Costello – This Year’s Model (1978)
  77. Talking Heads – Fear of Music (1979)
  78. The Roches – The Roches (1979)
  79. Betty Carter – The Audience with Betty Carter (1980)
  80. Dire Straits – Making Movies (1980)
  81. Elvis Costello – Imperial Bedroom (1982)
  82. Talking Heads – Speaking in Tongues (1983)
  83. Tom Waits – Rain Dogs (1985)
  84. Koko Taylor – Queen of the Blues (1985)
  85. Bulgarian State Radio & Television Female Vocal Choir – Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares (1987)
  86. U2 – The Joshua Tree (1987)
  87. R.E.M. – Green (1988)
  88. Public Enemy – It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (1988)
  89. k.d. lang – Shadowland (1988)
  90. Liz Phair – Exile in Guyville (1993)
  91. Aimee Mann – Whatever (1993)
  92. Oumou Sangare – Ko Sira (1993)
  93. Marcia Ball – Blue House (1994)
  94. Shoukichi Kina – Asia Classics 2 – The Best of Shoukichi Kina: Peppermint Tea House (1994)
  95. Garbage – Garbage (1995)
  96. Emmylou Harris – Wrecking Ball (1995)
  97. Beck – Odelay (1996)
  98. Radiohead – OK Computer (1997)
  99. Various Artists – Buena Vista Social Club (1997)
  100. Lucinda Williams – Car Wheels on a Gravel Road (1998)
  101. Lauryn Hill – The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998)
  102. The Magnetic Fields – 69 Love Songs (1999)
  103. Tom Waits – Mule Variations (1999)
  104. Jim Hall and Pat Metheny – Jim Hall & Pat Metheny (1999)
  105. Steve Earle – Transcendental Blues (2000)
  106. Susana Baca – Eco de Sombras (2000)
  107. James Carter – Chasin’ the Gypsy (2000)
  108. Mariza – Fado em Mim (2000)
  109. PJ Harvey – Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea (2000)
  110. Jason Moran – Black Stars (2001)
  111. Macy Gray – The Id (2001)
  112. Shemekia Copeland – Talking to Strangers (2002)
  113. Wilco – Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002)
  114. Terry Riley – Sun Rings (composed 2002) (Kronos Quartet, 2019)
  115. The New Pornographers – Electric Version (2003)
  116. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Fever to Tell (2003)
  117. John Adams – The Dharma at Big Sur/My Father Knew Charles Ives (composed 2003) (BBC Symphony Orchestra/John Adams, 2006)
  118. Juliana Hatfield – In Exile Deo (2004)
  119. Bob Dylan – Modern Times (2006)
  120. The Hold Steady – Boys and Girls in America (2006)
  121. Camera Obscura – Let’s Get Out of This Country (2006)
  122. Toumani Diabate’s Symmetric Orchestra – Boulevard de I’Independance (2006)
  123. Glen Hansard & Markéta Irglová, et al. – Once: Music From the Motion Picture (2007)
  124. Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago (2007)
  125. M.I.A. – Kala (2007)
  126. Tinariwen – Imidiwan: Companions (2009)
  127. Arcade Fire – The Suburbs (2010)
  128. PJ Harvey – Let England Shake (2011)
  129. The Decemberists – The King Is Dead (2011)
  130. Ryan Adams – Ashes and Fire (2011)
  131. The Roots – Undun (2011)
  132. Grimes – Visions (2012)
  133. The New Pornographers – Brill Bruisers (2012)
  134. Angel Olsen – Burn Your Fire for No Witness (2014)
  135. FKA Twigs – LP1 (2014)
  136. Courtney Barnett – Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit (2015)
  137. Kamasi Washington – The Epic (2015)
  138. Angel Olsen – My Woman (2016)
  139. Anderson .Paak – Malibu (2016)
  140. Blood Orange – Freetown Sound (2016)
  141. Bombino – Azel (2016)
  142. Lydia Loveless – Real (2016)
  143. Alvvays – Antisocialites (2017)
  144. SZA – Ctrl (2017)
  145. Lucy Dacus – Historian (2018)
  146. Soccer Mommy – Clean (2018)
  147. Angelique Kidjo – Remain in Light (2018)
  148. Big Thief – U.F.O.F. (2019)
  149. Bartees Strange – Live Forever (2020)
  150. beabadoobee – Fake It Flowers (2020)