“What really matters is what you like, not what you are like.”
– Nick Hornby, High Fidelity (1995)
Readers who have enjoyed our interviews from time to time know that we typically ask artists to share their five favorite albums of all time at the end of our conversations with them. No matter who the artist is, it’s always fascinating to discover which long players have impacted their personal and professional lives. A few of our interview subjects have even scoffed at the standard five album limit, rattling off upwards of a dozen or so titles and second-guessing if they’ve made the right choices.
Today, we’re excited to feature our writers’ respective lists of their 10 favorite albums, an exercise that proved agonizing for a few of us, even prompting a few rage-filled messages to be sent to our editor-in-chief who came up with the nutty idea. We all reserve the right to change our minds about these choices in the future, but for now, here are the indispensable albums that we can’t live without.
Check out Steven Ovadia’s picks below, click the “Next” button at bottom to browse the lists, or click here to return to the main index.
I began this list as the 10 albums I can't live without and noticed a number of them were live. From there, it was pretty easy to re-imagine the list as 10 live albums I can't live without, so I decided to go in a slightly different direction.
The Band | The Last Waltz | 1978 | Buy | The film, directed by Martin Scorsese is a wonderful train wreck, Neil Young allegedly having a coke smudge that needed to be removed in post-production, Muddy Waters' performance almost missed because cameras were changing film, and The Band seemingly completely disconnected from reality and each other. The album brings none of that baggage. It's just solid performances of iconic songs, a blinder to help you focus on the music and not the drama. Although the drama could give any season of The Bachelor a good run for its money.
Guns N' Roses | Live Era '87–'93 | 1999 | Buy | This was originally Appetite for Destruction, one of my all-time favorite albums. But Live Era is up there. Guns N' Roses were an exciting, if occasionally uneven, live band. Cherry-picking their best performances makes for an energizing record, that while lacking the chaos of one of their live shows, begins and ends at a much more reasonable, and predictable, hour.
George Harrison with Eric Clapton and Band | Live in Japan | 1991 | Buy | Not only did Clapton steal Harrison's wife, Pattie Boyd, he made a record about his love for her (1970’s Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs). And somehow Clapton and Harrison remained friends. This is a nice survey of Harrison's catalog, which is much deeper than people tend to think it is. In fact, I'd say, of all of the Beatles, Harrison's solo work is the strongest.
Ozzy Osbourne | Tribute | 1987 | Buy | Ozzy made just two albums with guitar player Randy Rhoads, before Rhoads died in a plane crash. Rhoads' studio guitar work is impeccable classically-influenced heavy metal, yet also soulful. Tribute is no different. I was also touched by how Ozzy made an album for a friend, making Rhoads work on the album, and its cover, prominent. It always struck me as a very sweet gesture.
Jimmy Page & The Black Crowes | Live at the Greek | 2000 | Buy | As a rabid Led Zeppelin fan, I spent most of my childhood and young adulthood lamenting that the band was broken up. Of course, whenever Zeppelin would reunite, the results were always disappointing. The electricity was gone. Hearing Page in a band, even if it's not his own, he sounds completely reinvigorated. And while Black Crowes’ lead singer Chris Robinson sounds nothing at all like Zeppelin's Robert Plant, that actually works in his favor.
The Smiths | Rank | 1988 | Buy | Smiths fans always get mad at me for loving this album so much. They seem to prefer the mopier studio albums. That's precisely why I love Rank, which has a wonderfully happy energy, even the slower tracks. It's a great album for people who like Smiths songs, but require a bit more mustard on their, of course, meatless hot dog.
Hound Dog Taylor and the HouseRockers | Beware of the Dog! | 1976 | Buy | Hound Dog always seemed to cut things live. None of his studio albums sound like Steely Dan. So a live album is a bit redundant, but the sun comes up every day and we don't get sick of that. The album features a cover of the iconic Elmore James slide tune "Dust My Broom." While no one will ever top James' original, Taylor delivers one of my all-time favorite versions of it.
Tesla | Five Man Acoustical Jam | 1990 | Buy | I first bought this on cassette and have probably owned it a few different ways since then. It's a great mix of originals and covers. Tesla was an ‘80s metal band, but this was their big breakthrough, on the strength of their "Signs" single and video. I could never get into their electric music, and I tried, but this album still holds up surprisingly well. It's not quite Americana, but it's definitely American, and has a lovely, surprisingly organic feel.
Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble | In the Beginning | 1992 | Buy | This is a live-radio recording of an early Stevie Ray Vaughan show (before he even used his middle name Ray professionally). It's an incendiary performance. The voice is there. The guitar playing is there. But he doesn't quite have his full swagger yet. There's something slightly reserved about the performance, which is ultimately what I love about it. It's the chance to hear a great artist moments before he becomes fully formed.
Various Artists | Bob Dylan: The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration | 1993 | Buy | This is a live tribute to the music of Bob Dylan. I love Dylan's songs but I'm not a huge fan of him as a performer. I take no pleasure in saying that, as I'm married to a committed Dylan fan. This album gives me his songs, but with performances that work better for someone of my disposition. Neil Young puts in some exceptional work on "Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues" and "All Along the Watchtower." Chrissie Hynde is fantastic on "I Shall Be Released." It's great artists tackling magical songs. Dylan also performs. That's all I'll say out of respect for my marriage.