60 what?

I said I was going to do mixes with 60 songs as part of my 60@60 theme and I just posted one. So now I'm having second thoughts. I still like the theme of 60@60 but the 60 songs thing is a little unwieldy. I really need to do something efficiently to make it work in my time restraints. Heck, I'm not retired yet.

Putting 60 songs together in a quality mix is very time consuming. I have several of them in various stages right now and I need to get them posted.

Here is the process. I choose the songs and place them in a carefully selected sequence. I move them to a different directory and run them through a program that equalizes the sound volume of the songs which are coming from a wide variety of sources with sometimes drastically different sound quality. I put each song into a sound editor program, blend the songs together and then save the results as an MP3 file. The file is then uploaded to Mixcloud and I fill out an online form with the song titles and artists. It includes a graphic and tags. I also post the mix to Zero to the mixing community and also to this blog. Maybe Facebook too.

So I'm looking for ways to streamline the process and I decided to go back to my standard approximately hour long mixes that I've been doing for years... decades. It's what I've been used to doing and it will still fit into my 60@60 theme. It will be 60 minutes of songs instead of 60 songs. Yeah. That works.

I can still make the larger collections but they will be broken down to parts like I just did with the House Party 1968 mix. Recently I had created these very large playlist on various themes that go on for hours. I can break them up and get them here soon. I will also continue to put together my 60 albums by year lists and I will be doing some single artists mixes too.

I will also be going back to my old blog and grabbing some lists and ramblings to post here. It's the end of the year with lots of those end of the year lists that I love and I'll be making my own and commenting on others. It's also an election year coming up and I'll have a lot to day about that mess. This is going to be fun.

House Party 1968

This is my first posting of an actual mix of 60 songs to this blog. This is a throwback mix to my very early days spinning records as a high school kid in Philadelphia. I was an obsessive collector starting in the mid 60s. I visited record stores and read everything I could find on new music. I had my first job in 1968 making decent money back then working in a machine shop shoveling the hot chips flying off the lathes. Most of my pay went for buying records and going to shows. During that summer I was checking out the West Coast bands playing at the original Electric Factory down on Arch Street, hanging out downtown at the head shops on Samson Street and groovin' at the Be-Ins in Fairmount Park. There were also many house parties in the neighborhood and I was the guy with the music so I got invited along with my box of 45s.


I had playlist of stuff that worked good at these parties but this was not some DJ setup that would evolve later on. There would just be a record player with a changer that would play a stack of singles in the order they were placed on the spindle.

So long before mixes were created on mp3 playlist, burned CDs and cassettes there was the carefully selected stack of 7" 45 rpm singles sitting on a record changer. The mix listed here is taken from my collection of 45s from 1968 which I still have. In fact I probably still have every single, album, tape and CD that I have be accumulating for about 46 years now. I've never sold or gotten rid of anything from my collection much to my wife's chagrin.

This mix here is a sample of our neighborhood party music. Lots of soul music and especially Motown. We also played lots of what would later be called Nuggets. People loved to dance so everything here had the house shaking. Not all the parties were non stop dancing and more and more albums of head music were getting played but that is another post and another mix.

So here it is. House party music from my stack of 45s in 1968.

1. Sweet Soul Music - Arthur Conley
2. Ain't Too Proud To Beg - The Temptations
3. You Can't Hurry Love - The Supremes
4. Too Many Fish In The Sea - The Marvelettes
5. I Heard It Through The Grapevine - Gladys Knight & The Pips
6. I'll Be Doggone - Marvin Gaye
7. This Old Heart Of Mine - The Isley Brothers
8. There Is - The Dells
9. Knock On Wood - Eddie Floyd
10. I Thank You - Sam & Dave
11. Land Of A Thousand Dances - Wilson Pickett
12. Funky Broadway Pt. 1 - Dyke & The Blazers
13. Boogaloo Down Broadway - The Fantastic Johnny C
14. Ain't Nothin' But A House Party - The Showstoppers
15. Mickey's Monkey - Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
16. (Love Is Like A) Heat Wave - Martha & The Vandallas
17. Jenny Take A Ride - Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels
18. I Saw Her Standing There - The Beatles
19. Twist and Shout - The Beatles
20. Peppermint Twist - Joey Dee & The Starlighters
21. You Can't Sit Down - The Dovells
22. South Street - The Orlons
23. Keep On Dancing - The Gentrys
24. Dance Dance Dance - The Beach Boys
25. Barbara Ann - The Beach Boys
26. Shake A Tail Feather - Five Du-Tones
27. The 81 - Candy & The Kisses
28. Get On Up - The Esquires
29. Cool Jerk - The Capitols
30. Some Kind Of Wonderful - Soul Brothers Six
31. Gimme Some Lovin' - The Spencer Davis Group
32. Satisfaction - The Rolling Stones
33. Fire - The Jimi Hendrix Experience
34. I Got The Feelin' - James Brown
35. Think - Aretha Franklin
36. Reach Out I'll Be There - The Four Tops
37. Needle In A Haystack - The Velvelettes
38. Just A Little Misunderstanding - The Contours
39. Ain't No Mountain High Enough - Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
40. Uptight (Everything's Alright) - Stevie Wonder
41. Shake and Fingerpop - Jr. Walker & The All Stars
42. Expressway To Your Heart - The Soul Survivors
43. I'm A Man - The Spencer Davis Group
44. (We Ain't Got) Nothin' Yet - The Blues Magoos
45. Mony Mony - Tommy James & The Shondells
46. Nobody But Me - The Human Beinz
47. Over Under Sideways Down - The Yardbirds
48. Little Girl - Syndicate of Sound
49. 96 Tears - ? & The Mysterians
50. Suzie Q - Creedence Clearwater Revival
51. Little Bit O' Soul - The Music Explosion
52. Going To A Go-Go - Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
53. Dance To The Music - Sly & The Family Stone
54. Devil With The Blue Dress On/Good Golly Miss Molly - Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels
55. Louie Louie - The Kingsmen
56. Gloria - The Shadows of Knight
57. I Can't Help Myself - The Four Tops
58. Nowhere To Run - Martha & The Vandallas
59. I Heard It Through The Grapevine - Marvin Gaye
60. Ooo Baby Baby - Smokey Robinson & The Miracles

Turned 60

Well, I've turned 60. Several people had been asking me what I was doing for my birthday since it was such a milestone. I had big parties at 30, 40 and 50 but I really didn't feel like a party. This birthday is different. Yes, it's a milestone but it is also the start of a new experience which is the approaching years of retirement and declining health. Best not to think about that. My health is pretty good right now and my accounts indicate that retirement is probably still a long way off. Oh well.

After a lot of thought and consideration I decided to mark my birthday and entrance into the decade of my 60's with this blog. I've had several previous blogs, personal websites and assorted online social media sites. I shut most everything down and I'm concentrating on this one blog which I'm calling 60@60. I added the Sounding Booth part because that was part of my last blog's title. The 60@60 came about because I decided to put together mixes and various other lists with 60 items. I've always been a great maker of lists and I have lots of resource material to draw from. I've also been a long time maker of mix tapes going back a few decades. I have literally hundreds of mix tapes stored in boxes and many more CD mixes shelved in my third floor music man cave.

So I thought I'd spend the year of 60 putting together various 60@60 lists. Most will be music oriented but there will also be lists of books, movies, etc. I'm also going to be continuing to make my rants and ramblings about politics. I started up this blog several weeks ago and began putting up some lists of 60 favorite albums from various years. This will continue for awhile. I will also be putting up playlists of 60 songs from a particular artist and theme mixes of 60 songs. There will be links to players that will allow you to listen to the mixes. I will also be creating more links and tweaking this site. This is where I'm going to document my experiencing the 60s's again.

I talked about the lists and the rankings in an earlier post here and I posted an intro to this blog here.

60 Albums 1971

1971 was another Navy year and much of it was spent at sea. I didn't have the opportunity to keep and collect many new albums except when we occasionally arrived back in Norfolk and I got some leave time.

Most of what I have listed here I acquired later in the '70s but there are a few scattered throughout the list that accompanied me on my voyages. Most of my time at sea was in the Caribbean sailing on the USS Portland. We spend time in Panama, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Aruba, Martinique, Curacao, Colombia, Venezuela and of course Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. We made several cruises back and forth and also took a quick trip to the Mediterranean Sea for my first of several crossings of the Atlantic. During this time I got to appreciate the cassette player.

So I did have a few of these albums on the ship in 1971. We could actually buy some albums from the ship store but of course they sold out very quickly. Cigarettes were .25 cents a pack.

Several great albums top this list starting with the Stones' first album using their tongue & lips logo and the controversial Andy Warhol crotch cover which wasn't Mick Jagger. My second pick could very easily be first. It is one of the greatest soul albums of all time.

1. The Rolling Stones - Sticky Fingers
2. Marvin Gaye - What's Going On
3. T. Rex - Electric Warrior
4. Sly & The Family Stone - There's a Riot Goin' On
5. Cat Stevens - Teaser and the Firecat
6. Van Morrison - Tupelo Honey
7. The Who - Who's Next
8. The Allman Brothers Band - At Fillmore East
9. America - America
10. Yes - Fragile
11. Rod Stewart - Every Picture Tells a Story
12. Mahavishnu Orchestra - The Inner Mounting Flame
13. John Lennon - Imagine
14. David Bowie - Hunky Dory
15. Elton John - Madmen Across the Water
16. Jimi Hendrix - The Cry of Love
17. The Beach Boys - Surf's Up
18. Flamin' Groovies - Teenage Head
19. Funkadelic - Maggot Brain
20. Joni Mitchell - Blue
21. Santana - Santana III
22. Isaac Hayes - Shaft
23. Carole King - Tapestry
24. Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin IV
25. War - All Day Music
26. Traffic - The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys
27. Laura Nyro & Labelle - Gonna Take a Miracle
28. The Kinks - Muswell Hillbillies
29. Janis Joplin - Pearl
30. Jimi Hendrix - Rainbow Bridge
31. Faces - A Nod Is as Good as a Wink... to a Blind Horse
32. Jethro Tull - Aqualung
33. The Doors - L.A. Woman
34. Badfinger - Straight Up
35. Can - Tago Mago
36. Miles Davis - A Tribute to Jack Johnson
37. John Prine - John Prine
38. Leonard Cohen - Songs of Love and Hate
39. Frank Zappa - Fillmore East - June 1971
40. Roy Harper - Stormcock
41. Traffic - Welcome to the Canteen
42. Pink Floyd - Meddle
43. John Martyn - Bless the Weather
44. Miles Davis - Live-Evil
45. Harry Nilsson - Nilsson Schmilsson
46. Elton John - 17-11-70
47. Bill Withers - Just as I Am
48. David Crosby - If I Could Only Remember My Name
49. Gene Clark - White Light
50. Curtis Mayfield - Roots
51. Mott the Hoople - Brain Capers
52. Townes Van Zandt - Delta Momma Blues
53. Hawkwind - In Search of Space
54. Gong - Camembert Electrique
55. The Moody Blues - Every Good Boy Deserves Favour
56. Alice Cooper - Love It To Death
57. Groundhogs - Split
58. Howlin' Wolf - The London Howlin' Wolf Sessions
59. Judee Sill - Judee Sill
60. Chicago - Chicago III

60 Albums 1986

1986 was the last year I spent any time working in bars as a DJ. The end of an era for me and time to spend more quality time with my little girl. I was growing tired and bored with the bar scene especially when you had to be there regardless of what was going on. It was a job. The year was not particularly a good one for music in my opinion and putting together 60 favorite albums was a little more harder for this year. Of course part of the reason was I was not buying lots of records for both family reasons and there wasn't a whole lot out there I was interested in at the time. But with that being said there is lots of great music on this list.

XTC has always been one of my favorite bands and this is probably my favorite album of theirs. These are also some of the last albums I bought on vinyl on a regular basis. Yes, I bought a CD player in 1986 and the first album I purchased was the Beatle's Rubber Soul. I'll need to think about what my first new album was on CD.

The BoDeans album here is one of the few times I bought an album for it's cover without knowing what it might sound like. It turns out this is a great album and they are a wonderful unique sounding band. At this time I was very interested in everything that T Bone Burnette was producing and I saw him listed in the credits so I took a chance. Of course it wasn't a big financial chance because this album, like so many on these list, were in the used record bin at Play It Again Sam's on Elmwood which maybe around that time became Home of the Hits. It's amazing how many albums I still have with those little colored dots in the corner.

1. XTC - Skylarking
2. Steve Earle - Guitar Town
3. BoDeans - Love & Hope & Sex & Dreams
4. R.E.M. - Lifes Rich Pageant
5. Crowded House - Crowded House
6. World Party - Private Revolution
7. The Smithereens - Especially For You
8. Iggy Pop - Blah Blah Blah
9. Elvis Costello - King of America
10. Stan Ridgway - The Big Heat
11. T Bone Burnett - T Bone Burnett
12. Guadalcanal Diary - Jamboree
13. Paul Kelly - Gossip
14. New Order - Brotherhood
15. The Smiths - The Queen is Dead
16. Dwight Yoakam - Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc.
17. Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians - Element of Light
18. The Go-Betweens - Liberty Belle and the Black Diamond Express
19. Billy Bragg - Talking With the Taxman About Poetry
20. Bruce Springsteen - Live/1975-85
21. Husker Du - Candy Apple Grey
22. The The - Infected
23. Pretenders - Get Close
24. Lone Justice - Shelter
25. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Kicking Against the Pricks
26. Bad Brains - I Against I
27. Elvis Costello - Blood and Chocolate
28. Talking Heads - True Stories
29. Paul Simon - Graceland
30. Peter Gabriel - So
31. Solomon Burke - A Change Is Gonna Come
32. The Rainmakers - The Rainmakers
33. Sonic Youth - EVOL
34. Siouxsie & The Banshees - Tinderbox
35. Nanci Griffth - The Last of the True Believers
36. This Mortal Coil - Filigree & Shadow
37. Ennio Morricone - The Mission
38. True West - Hand of Fate
39. Let's Active - Big Plans for Everybody
40. The Flaming Lips - Hear It Is
41. The Del Lords - Johnny Comes Marching Home
42. Rubber Rodeo - Heartbreak Highway
43. Lyle Lovett - Lyle Lovett
44. Roky Erickson - Don't Slander Me
45. The Mekons - The Edge of the World
46. Bob Dylan - Knocked Out Loaded
47. Lyres - Lyres Lyres
48. Bruck Cockburn - World of Wonders
49. David & David - Boomtown
50. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Your Funeral... My Trial
51. That Petrol Emotion - Manic Pop Thrill
52. Van Morrison - No Guru, No Method, No Teacher
53. Love Tractor - This Ain't No Outerspace Ship
54. The Feelies - Good Earth
55. Yo La Tengo - Ride the Tiger
56. Arthur Russell - World of Echo
57. The Beat Farmers - Van Go
58. Beastie Boys - Licensed to Ill
59. John Fogerty - Eye of the Zombie
60. The Fabulous Thunderbirds - Tuff Enuff
61. John Lennon - Live In New York City
62. Lou Reed - Mistrial
63. Prince - Parade
64. The Triffids - Born Sandy Devotional
65. The Triffids - In The Pines
66. The Cure - Standing On The Beach
67. Eurythmics - Revenge
68. 54-40 - 54-40
69. Kate Bush - The Whole Story
70. Talk Talk - The Colour Of Spring
71. The Housemartins - London 0 Hull 4
72. Chris Isaak - Chris Isaak

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60 Albums 1990

Still not 60 yet but here is another list of 60 favorite albums from my collection released in 1990.

For me this was not a particular good year in music but of course I was also distracted with young kids. Sean was just a just a year old. I was still recovering from brain surgery and going to grad school. I wasn't going out to listen to a lot of music and buying tons of CDs. We didn't have the internet quite yet although I was going online for the first time back then and discovering some music forums. Many of the albums on this list I acquired later.

The top of my list was something that hit me right away. The La's album is one of my favorite all time albums and the song There She Goes is a stone classic. I recently got the deluxe version of this album with three differently produced versions of each song and of course I had to have the La's BBC sessions album too. An awful lot of product for a band with one album even if the leader was an obsessive perfectionist.

1. The La's - The La's
2. The House of Love - The House of Love
3. Los Lobos - The Neighborhood
4. John Hiatt - Stolen Moments
5. Blue Rodeo - Casino
6. Luka Bloom - Riverside
7. World Party - Goodbye Jumbo
8. Mazzy Star - She Hangs Brightly
9. Sun Dial - Other Way Out
10. The Cure - Mixed Up
11. Sinead O'Connor - I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got
12. Uncle Tupelo - No Depression
13. Cocteau Twins - Heaven or Las Vegas
14. Gang of Four - A Brief History of the Twentieth Century
15. Squeeze - A Round and a Bout
16. Ride - Nowhere
17. Galaxie 500 - This Is Our Music
18. Neil Young - Ragged Glory
19. Pixies - Bossanova
20. Lou Reed & John Cale - Songs for Drella
21. Sonic Youth - Goo
22. Robyn Hitchcock - Eye
23. Yo La Tengo - Fakebook
24. Iggy Pop - Brick By Brick
25. Midnight Oil - Blue Sky Mining
26. The Black Crowes - Shake Your Money Maker
27. Angelo Badalamenti - Twin Peaks Soundtrack
28. Traveling Wilburys - Traveling Wilburys, Vol. 3
29. Roseanne Cash - Interiors
30. The Flaming Lips - In a Priest-Driven Ambulance
31. Marianne Faithful - Blazing Away
32. Peter Murphy - Deep
33. The Rembrandts - The Rembrandts
34. Happy Mondays - Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches
35. Deee-Lite - World Clique
36. The Waterboys - Room to Roam
37. The Goo Goo Dolls - Hold Me Up
38. The Posies - Dear 23
39. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - The Good Son
40. Steve Earle - The Hard Way
41. John Wesley Harding - Here Comes the Groom
42. Hindu Love Gods - Hindu Love Gods
43. The Replacements - All Shook Down
44. The Breeders - Pod
45. Jellyfish - Bellybutton
46. Dread Zeppelin - Un-Led-Ed
47. Jane's Addiction - Ritual de lo Habitual
48. Bob Dylan - Under the Red Sky
49. Spacemen 3 - Dreamweapon
50. Cowboy Junkies - The Caution Horses
51. The Chills - Submarine Bells
52. The Charlatans - Some Friendly
53. Paul Simon - The Rhythm of the Saints
54. The Seers - Psych Out
55. The Northern Pikes - Snow in June
56. Ultra Vivid Scene - Joy 1967-1990
57. Tom Russell - Poor Man's Drean
58. Prefab Sprout - Jordan: The Comeback
59. Enigma - MCMXC A.D.
60. Indigo Girls - Nomads Indians Saints

The GOP Clown Car

OK, here they are. I just have to say something about these clowns. This is it. This is the best they can do?

Watching these guys has been really scary and clearly illustrates the dumbing down of conservative America. I am especially amazed at the way these people attack science and their utter lack of knowledge about the world including economics, geography, history and diplomacy.

It's been pretty funny watching the conservatives scramble around looking for someone to latch on to that isn't a Mormon. It looks like they have a flavor of the month or is it week. Bachmann is on her way out and Perry doesn't look to good now either. Cain is riding high now but for how long with the sexual harassment accusations. There's Santorum and Newt waiting in the wings for their turns at the top of the Tea Party's anyone but Mitt campaign.

60 Albums 1970

Here they are. My favorite albums from my collection released in 1970. I spent most of the year on one Navy base or another and there was always plenty of time (except for those months in boot camp) to listen to music and get albums. It was also a time when I was first getting cassette tapes which were newly available and becoming widespread. Some of the guys were buying reel to reel tape players and there were actually some albums available in that format.

I kept waiting to be shipped out to sea but that wasn't to happen until early '71. I also saw a lot of shows that year and many of them at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago when I was stationed nearby at Great Lakes Naval Training Center.

One of the great experiences of the year was my exposure to a variety of different kinds of music and in particular country and western. Back then they all called in that. Previously the closest I ever got to country music was the Byrds but I was sent to basic training in San Diego, California and I was only one of a couple of people from the East and definitely the only person from an Eastern city. Now I grew up in Philadelphia on Doo-Wop, Soul and Rock 'n Roll. I was shocked when the company commander pulled out a tiny radio for the entire barracks and we got to vote on the one channel that would be played in the evening during the hour we had to ourselves. The vote was overwhelmingly in favor of the country music station. I would have been happy with either a rock/pop or soul station but... not a chance. I was surrounded by Southern and Western boys. It was a real eye opener and most of that country music in 1970 sucked. I did get to like George Jones though.

Anyway... Neil Young was one of my favorites from that year and saw him in concert a couple of times. Once with Crosby, Stills and Nash in Chicago and once by himself. I think the George Harrison album was my first pre-recorded cassette album. It was a double one too.

A lot of these albums I heard at friends houses or down the shore while visiting on leave. I went on to get them for myself over the following few years.

1. Neil Young - After the Gold Rush
2. George Harrison - All Things Must Pass
3. Derek and The Dominos - Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs
4. Miles Davis - Bitches Brew
5. Traffic - John Barleycorn Must Die
6. Van Morrison - Moondance
7. Santana - Abraxas
8. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - Deja Vu
9. Cat Stevens - Tea For The Tillerman
10. The Who - Live at Leeds
11. Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin III
12. Joe Cocker - Mad Dogs & Englishmen
13. Simon & Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled Water
14. Eric Clapton - Eric Clapton
15. The Velvet Underground - Loaded
16. Grateful Dead - American Beauty
17. The Beatles - Let It Be
18. Jimi Hendrix - Band of Gypsys
19. John Lennon - Plastic Ono Band
20. David Bowie - The Man Who Sold the World
21. The Moody Blues - A Question of Balance
22. Jethro Tull - Benefit
23. The Kinks - Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround (Part One)
24. Grateful Dead - Workingman's Dead
25. Elton John - Tumbleweed Connection
26. Stephen Stills - Stephen Stills
27. Dave Mason - Alone Together
28. The Temptations - Psychedelic Shack
29. Paul McCartney - McCartney
30. Creedence Clearwater Revival - Cosmo's Factory
31. Hot Tuna - Hot Tuna
32. Joni Mitchell - Ladies of the Canyon
33. Curtis Mayfield - Curtis
34. John McLaughlin - Devotion
35. Funkadelic - Funkadelic
36. John Cale - Vintage Violence
37. Isaac Hayes - The Isaac Hayes Movement
38. The Band - Stage Fright
39. Jesse Winchester - Jesse Winchester
40. Buddy Miles - Them Changes
41. Eric Burdon and War - Eric Burdon Declares War
42. Seatrain - Seatrain
43. Little Feat - Little Feat
44. Savoy Brown - Raw Sienna
45. The Guess Who - American Woman
46. The Doors - Morrison Hotel
47. The Byrds - (Untitled)
48. Syd Barrett - The Madcap Laughs
49. The Pretty Things - Parachute
50. The Stooges - Fun House
51. Spirit - Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus
52. Pearls Before Swine - The Use of Ashes
53. James Taylor - Sweet Baby James
54. Nick Drake - Bryter Layter
55. Badfinger - Magic Christian Music
56. Chicago - Chicago III
57. Rod Stewart - Gasoline Alley
58. Andrew Lloyd Webber & Tim Rice - Jesus Christ Superstar
59. Tim Buckley - Starsailor
60. Captain Beefheart - Lick My Decals Off, Baby
61. Sly & The Family Stone - Greatest Hits
62. Exuma - Exuma II
63. Soft Machine - Third
64. Nico - Desertshore
65. The Allman Brothers Band - Idlewild South
66. Aretha Franklin - Spirit in the Dark
67. The Beach Boys - Sunflower
68. Syd Barrett - Barrett
69. Funkadelic - Free Your Mind and Your Ass Will Follow
70. Groundhogs - Thank Christ for the Bomb
71. Pink Floyd - Atom Heart Mother
72. King Crimson - In the Wake of Poseidon
73. Tyrannosaurus Rex - A Beard of Stars
74. Elton John - Elton John
75. Heron - Heron
76. Van Morrison - His Band and the Street Choir
77. Badfinger - No Dice
78. Creedence Clearwater Revival - Pendulum
79. Melanie - Candles in the Rain
80. Delaney & Bonnie - Delaney & Bonnie & Friends on Tour with Eric Clapton
81. Todd Rundgren - Runt
82. Gil Scott-Heron - Small Talk at 125th and Lenox
83. J.D. Blackfoot - The Ultimate Prophecy
84. Booker T. & The M.G.'s - McLemore Avenue
85. Mandrill - Mandrill
86. The Incredible Stringband - U
87. The Rolling Stones - Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out!
88. James Brown - Sex Machine
89. Bob Dylan - New Morning
90. Alice Cooper - Easy Action
91. Kraftwerk - Kraftwerk
92. The J. Geils Band - The J. Geils Band
93. Fleetwood Mac - Kiln House
94. Shuggie Otis - Here Comes Shuggie Otis
95. The Guess Who - Share the Land
96. Poco - Poco
97. Atomic Rooster - Atomic Rooster
98. Ten Years After - Cricklewood Green
99. Mountain - Climbing
100. Bob Dylan - Self Portrait

60 Albums 2007

This was one of my favorite years in music and here is my 60 favorite albums from my collection released in 2007. I'm not sure why I went for so many albums in 2007. I think maybe it was because it has become so much easier to find out about albums from more obscure artist and to actually hearing the music before committing to getting it. I ended up listing over 200 albums on this page. Much more than most years. I also had made several mixes throughout that year using songs from the year.

I have the Besnard Lakes as my top album of the year and there probably weren't many end of the year list featuring this group at the top. I picked them because I kept going back to that album throughout the year and playing it. When you get as many albums a year as I do it is hard to make time for repeat listens but these guys were worth it. They had that great mix of Beach Boys vocals and Jesus and Mary Chain guitars. I also got to see them perform live at the Mohawk Place.

A close second was Robert Plant which was also an album I went back to again and again. It was great hearing that familiar voice in this Americana setting with Alison Krauss.

I also added another list at the end of this particularly long one... my favorite albums released in 2007 that were various artists collections, greatest hit compilations, tribute albums, box sets, and concert live albums not in my main list. Yeah, it was a good year for music.

And a list of mixes of songs from many of these albums at the end.

1. The Besnard Lakes - The Besnard Lakes Are the Dark Horse
2. Robert Plant & Alison Krauss - Raising Sand
3. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
4. Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings - 100 Days, 100 Nights
5. The Swell Season - Once: Music From the Motion Picture
6. The National - Boxer
7. Oakley Hall - I'll Follow You
8. Various Artists - I'm Not There
9. Deerhunter - Cryptograms
10. Ryan Shaw - This Is Ryan Shaw
11. Pinback - Autumn of the Seraphs
12. Band of Horses - Cease to Begin
13. Wilco - Sky Blue Sky
14. Richard Thompson - Sweet Warrior
15. Field Music - Tones of Town
16. Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam
17. Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
18. Radiohead - In Rainbows
19. Jose Gonzalez - In Our Nature
20. Panda Bear - Person Pitch
21. Iron & Wine - The Shepherd's Dog
22. Grinderman - Grinderman
23. Fields - Everything Last Winter
24. Josh Ritter - The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter
25. St. Vincent - Marry Me
26. Akron/Family - Love is Simple
27. Keren Ann - Keren Ann
28. Dungen - Tio Bitar
29. The Detroit Cobras - Tied & True
30. Cloud Cult - The Meaning of 8
31. Joe Henry - Civilians
32. Wooden Shjips - Wooden Shjips
33. The Shins - Wincing the Night Away
34. Great Lake Swimmers - Ongiara
35. The Felice Brothers - Tonight at the Arizona
36. Maps - We Can Create
37. PJ Harvey - White Chalk
38. Battles - Mirrored
39. Lightning Dust - Lightning Dust
40. Ryan Bingham - Mescalito
41. The Pines - Sparrows in the Bell
42. Nicole Atkins - Neptune City
43. Menomena - Friend and Foe
44. Will Hoge - Draw the Curtains
45. AIR - Pocket Symphony
46. Eleni Mandell - Miracle of Five
47. Bettye Lavette - The Scene of the Crime
48. Life on Earth - Look! There's Life on Earth!
49. Blanche - Little Amber Bottles
50. Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha
51. Mary Gauthier - Between Daylight and Dark
52. Joseph Arthur - Let's Just Be
53. The Black Hollies - Casting Shadows
54. Patty Griffin - Children Running Through
55. Mavis Staples - We'll Never Turn Back
56. Jesse Sykes & The Sweat Hereafter - Like, Love, Lust & the Open Halls of the Soul
57. A.A. Bondy - American Hearts
58. Patti Smith - Twelve
59. Nina Nastasia & Jim White - You Follow Me
60. Devendra Banhart - Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon

• Marissa Nadler - Songs III: Bird of the Water
• Stars - In Our Bedroom After the War
• The Dreadful Yawns - Rest
• Frank Black - Bluefinger
• The Pillbugs - Monclovia
• Jim White - Transnormal Skiperoo
• Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Baby 81
• Over The Rhine - The Trumpet Child
• Son Volt - The Search
• Gnarls Barkley - St. Elsewhere
• Robert Wyatt - Comicopera
• Luka Bloom - Tribe
• Sam Baker - Pretty World
• The New Pornographers - Challengers
• Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank
• The Rosebuds - Night of the Furies
• The Acorn - Glory Hope Mountain
• The Holmes Brothers - State of Grace
• Liars - Liars
• Bowerbirds - Hymns for a Dark Horse
• Deer Tick - War Elephant
• The White Stripes - Icky Thump
• Yeasayer - All Hour Cymbals
• Steve Earle - Washington Square Serenade
• Pete Case - Let Us Now Praise Sleepy John
• Lucinda Williams - West
• Vic Chesnutt - North Star Deserter
• Greg Brown - Yellow Dog
• Angels of Light - We Are Him
• Castanets - In The Vines
• The Sadies - New Seasons
• Frog Eyes - Tears of the Valedictorian
• The Aliens - Astronomy For Dogs
• Joan Osborne - Breakfast in Bed
• World Party - Best in Show
• Nurse & Soldier - Marginalia
• Ideal Free Distribution - Ideal Free Distribution
• Sea Wolf - Leaves in the River
• Hem - Home Again, Home Again
• Feist - The Reminder
• Soulsavers - It's Not How Far You Fall, It's the Way You Land
• John Mellencamp - Freedom's Road
• The Everybodyfields - Nothing is Okay
• Fela Kuti - Anthology
• Au Revoir Simone - The Bird of Music
• Southern Culture on the Skids - Countrypolitan Favorites
• The Assemble Head in Sunburst Sound - Ekranoplan
• Wildbirds and Peacedrums - Heartcore
• Sarah Borges - Diamonds in the Dark
• Dolorean - You Can't Win
• Ghost Stories - Quixoticism
• Bruce Springsteen - Magic
• Grace Potter & The Nocturnals - This is Somewhere
• Breathe Owl Breathe - Canadian Shield
• Caribou - Andorra
• Joe Ely - Happy Songs from Rattlesnake Gulch
• Levon Helm - Dirt Farmer
• The Raveonettes - Lust Lust Lust
• Tunng - Good Arrows
• Bodies of Water - Ears Will Pop & Eyes Will Blink
• The Roches - Moonswept
• Anitbalas - Security
• Julian Cope - You Gotta Problem With Me
• Dean & Britta - Back Numbers
• Architecture in Helsinski - Places Like This
• White Rabbits - Fort Nightly
• Pop Levi - The Return to Form Black Magick Party
• Richard Swift - Dressed Up for the Letdown
• Future Clouds & Radar - Future Clouds & Radar
• Rilo Kiley - Under the Blacklight
• The Clientele - God Save the Clientele
• LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
• The Lovetones - Axiom
• Damien Dempsey - To Hell or Barbados
• Richard Hawley - Lady's Bridge
• Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer
• Marnie Stern - In Advance of the Broken Arm
• The Heavy - Great Vengeance and Furious Fire
• The Coral - Roots & Echoes
• David Vandervelde - The Moonstation House Band
• Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Underground
• Ozomatli - Don't Mess With the Dragon
• Interpol - Our Love to Admire
• Sigur Ros - Hvarf / Heim
• Black Moth Super Rainbow - Dandelion Gum
• Deerhoof - Friend Opportunity
• Laura Veirs - Saltbreakers
• Neil Young - Chrome Dreams II
• Yellow Swans - At All Ends
• Pieta Brown - Remember the Sun
• Paul McCartney - Memory Almost Full
• The Avett Brothers - Emotionalism
• The Warlocks - Heavy Deavy Skull Lover
• Parts and Labor - Mapmaker
• The Broken West - I Can't Go On, I'll Go On
• Buriel - Untrue
• Okkervil River - The Stage Names
• Magnolia Electric Co. - Sojourner
• Dinosaur Jr. - Beyond
• Mice Parade - Mice Parade
• Ian Hunter - Shrunken Heads
• Explosions in the Sky - All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone
• Kevin Drew - Spirit If
• Suzanne Vega - Beauty & Crime
• The Twilight Sad - Fourteen Autumns & Fifteen Winters
• Great Lakes Myth Society - Compass Rose Bouquet
• Super Furry Animals - Hey Venus
• The Good, The Bad & The Queen - The Good, The Bad & The Queen
• The Finches - Human Like a House
• Rickie Lee Jones - The Sermon on Exposition Boulevard
• The Horrors - Strange House
• Ray Davies - Working Man's Cafe
• Joan Armatrading - Into the Blues
• Great Northern - Trading Twilight for Daylight
• Citay - Little Kingdom
• Josh Rouse - Country Mouse City House
• Phosphorescent - Pride
• Midnight Movies - Lion the Girl
• Dirty Projectors - Rise Above
• The Bird and the Bee - The Bird and the Bee
• Taken By Trees - Open Field
• The Hives - The Black and White Album
• Thurston Moore - Trees Outside the Academy
• Cary Brothers - Who Are You
• The Electric Soft Parade - No Need to Be Downhearted
• Low - Drums and Guns
• Delta Spirit - Ode to Sunshine
• The Ladybug Transistor - Can't Wait Another Day
• Film School - Hideout
• Arbouretum - Rites of Uncovering
• Stars - Do You Trust Your Friends?
• Handsome Furs - Plague Park
• Mount Eerie - Mount Eerie, Parts 6 & 7
• Spindrift - The Legend of God's Gun
• Dr. Dog - We All Belong
• Vietnam - Vietnam
• Xavier Rudd - White Moth
• Art Brut - It's a Bit Complicated
• The Ponys - Turn the Lights Out
• The Bees - Octopus
• The Earlies - The Enemy Chorus
• Grand Atlantic - This is Grand Atlantic
• Myracle Brah - Can You Hear the Myracle Brah?
• Travis - The Boy With No Name
• The Thrills - Teenager
• Sky Cries Mary - Small Town
• Ruthie Foster - The Phenomenal Ruthie Foster
• Birdie Busch - Penny Arcade
• Wintersleep - Welcome to the Night Sky
• The Greencards - Viridian
• Beirut - The Flying Club Cup
• Joan as Police Woman - Real Life
• Rising Appalachia - Scale Down
• Fink - Distance and Time
• Julie Doiron - Woke Myself Up
• Beastie Boys - The Mix-Up
• James Blackshaw - The Cloud of Unknowing
• The Redwalls - The Redwalls
• Blonde Redhead - 23
• Throw Me The Statue - Moonbeams
• !!! - Myth Takes
• The Wildbirds - Golden Daze

Here are some favorite collections, compilations and concerts albums released in 2007 not included in the main list.

• Neil Young - Live at Massey Hall 1971
• T. Rex - The Electric Boogie: 1971
• Miles Davis - The Complete On The Corner Sessions
• Bruce Springsteen - Live in Dublin
• Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - The Abattoir Blues Tour
• Marc Bolan - Bolan at the Beeb
• Fela Kuti - Anthology
• Captain Beefheart - Live at the Bickershaw 1972
• Emmylou Harris - Songbird: Rare Tracks and Forgotten Gems
• R.E.M. - Live
• Frank Black - 93-03
• World Party - Best in Show
• King Tubby - The Essential King Tubby
• Lloyd Cole & The Commotions - Live at the BBC Volume One
• Robert Forster / Grant Mclennan - Intermission: The Best of the Solo Recordings 1990-1997
• Jefferson Airplane - Sweeping Up The Spotlight: Live at the Fillmore East 1969
• Todd Snider - Peace, Love and Anarchy: Rarities, B-Sides and Demos
• Buzzcocks - 30
• Various Artists - Endless Highway: The Music of The Band
• John Hiatt - Live at the Hiatt
• Fairport Convention - Live at the BBC
• Various Artists - Love Is In The Song We Sing: San Francisco Nuggets 1965-1970
• Over The Rhine - Discount Fireworks: A Collection
• The Doors - The Very Best of The Doors
• Chuck Berry - Johnny B. Goode: His Complete '50s Chess Recordings
• Michael Penn - Palms & Runes, Tarot & Tea: A Collection
• Miles Davis - Evolution of the Groove
• Ani DiFranco - Canon
• Over The Rhine - Live From Nowhere Volume 2
• Jackie Greene - The Dig Years: 2001-2005
• Ken Boothe - Everything I Own: The Definitive Collection
• Garbage - Absolute Garbage
• Louis Prima - Jump, Jive an' Wail: The Essential
• J.J. Cale - Gold
• Various Artists - Soulsville Sings Hitsville: Stax Sings Songs of Motown Records
• The Church - Deep in the Shallows: The Classic Singles Collection
• Various Artists - A Tribute to Joni Mitchell
• Paul Simon - The Essential Paul Simon
• Aretha Franklin - Rare & Unreleased Recordings From the Golden Reign of the Queen of Soul
• Judee Sill - Live in London: The BBC Recordings 1972-1973

• Songs 2007 Vol. 1 - Are You Really There - List 
• Songs 2007 Vol. 2 - Baby I've Got Some Words For You - List 
• Songs 2007 Vol. 3 - You're Not The Only One - List 
• Songs 2007 Vol. 4 - In The Dark - List 
• Songs 2007 Vol. 5 - Start To Dreaming - List 
• Songs 2007 Vol. 6 - Tomorrow It's Only Yesterday - List 

60 Albums 1997

Here is another list of 60 favorite albums from my collection and this time the year of release is 1997. The year was another interesting mix of the various types of music that I'm drawn to and I have picked Radiohead as my favorite followed by Bob Dylan. I'm not sure I would have picked Radiohead as the top album if I was making the list back in late 1997. I really liked the album but I think it has really stood the test of time and is something that I come back to over and over. I always enjoy listening to it. It's also interesting that it is probably the commercial high point of Radiohead and they followed it up with a series of exciting but noncommercial albums since then. They continue to be one of my all time favorite bands.

It was wonderful to see Bob Dylan making great albums again and Time Out of Mind is one of my favorites . I recently looked at my collection to see which band or artist I had the most albums in my collection and it was Bob Dylan by far with over 30 albums. I think almost everything he's released is worth having.

The other album here I'll comment on is that 60's soul box set. I usually don't put box sets in my list of 60 but this was such a great collection. It was an essential addition even though I already had a lot of the songs. Six CDs of soulful bliss from the 60s.

Lots of old favorites reappear again along with some new additions to my collection of artist.

1. Radiohead - OK Computer
2. Bob Dylan - Time Out of Mind
3. Various Artists - Beg, Scream & Shout: The Big Ol' Box of 60's Soul
4. The Brian Jonestown Massacre - Give It Back
5. Yo La Tengo - I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One
6. Steve Earle - El Corazon
7. Elliot Smith - Either/Or
8. Greg Brown - Slant 6 Mind
9. Chris Whitley - Living With The Law
10. Buena Vista Social Club - Buena Vista Social Club
11. Pixes - Death to the Pixies
12. Built To Spill - Perfect From Now On
13. Whiskeytown - Stranger's Almanac
14. Calexico - Spoke
15. Oasis - Be Here Now
16. Lee 'Scratch' Perry - Arkology
17. Sarah McLachlan - Surfacing
18. Blur - Blur
19. Son Volt - Straightaways
20. Pavement - Brighten the Corners
21. Bob Marley - Dreams of Freedom: Ambient Translations in Dub
22. The Verve - Urban Hymns
23. The Walkabouts - Nighttown
24. Morphine - Like Swimming
25. David Bowie - Earthling
26. Jim White - The Mysterious Tale of How I Shouted Wrong-Eyed Jesus!
27. Guided By Voices - Mag Earwhig!
28. Tindersticks - Curtains
29. John Hiatt - Little Head
30. Galaxie 500 - Copenhagen
31. Teenage Fanclub - Songs From Northern Britain
32. Spiritualized - Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space
33. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - The Boatman's Call
34. Love Spit Love - Trysome Eatone
35. The Charlatans - Tellin' Stories
36. Modest Mouse - The Lonesome Crowded West
37. Richard Buckner - Devotion & Doubt
38. Paul McCartney - Flaming Pie
39. Portishead - Portishead
40. Tarnation - Mirador
41. The Jayhawks - Sound of Lies
42. Gorky's Zygotic Mynci - Barafundle
43. Ani DiFranco - Living in Clip
44. Old 97's - Too Far To Care
45. Ray Wylie Hubbard - Dangerous Spirits
46. 16 Horsepower - Low Estate
47. Superchunk - Indoor Living
48. Dar Williams - End of Summer
49. Neko Case & Her Boyfriends - The Virginian
50. Super Furry Animals - Radiator
51. John Fogerty - Blue Moon Swamp
52. Robert Wyatt - Shleep
53. Bjork - Homogenic
54. Mogwai - Young Team
55. Primal Scream - Vanishing Point
56. Holly Golightly - Painted On
57. The Apples in Stereo - Tone Soul Evolution
58. The Chemical Brothers - Dig Your Own Hole
59. Freedy Johnston - Never Home
60. Daft Punk - Homework