Well, after reading the rest of that Spin Top 100 Records list, I decided that any list people have to pay for isn't worth reading, because they've always got an agenda to push.

So I decided that, today, right here and now, for your amusement, I will name what I consider to be MY top ten records of all time.

1) U2 - Joshua Tree (1987)

This is, without question, the greatest record ever made by a band that was, at the time, bigger than any band had ever become. The whirwind that surrounded U2 following "The Unforgettable Fire" and the fact that you knew that you were seeing a band move from one stratosphere to one never before seen on a pre-internet planet earth. If you're 35-45 years old, you remember the songs, the videos (like "Where the Streets Have No Name" and "Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For") that shut down streets and city blocks to be made, and how we were riveted to MTV and couldn't believe the energy and the power of the band.

I have listened to this record, I don't know, a blazillion times, and I never get tired of it. The lyrics of songs like "One Tree Hill" (a song written in honor of a friend of Bono's that died) are powerful:

I don't believe in painted roses
Or bleeding hearts
While bullets rape the night of the merciful
I'll see you again
When the stars fall from the sky
And the moon has turned red
Over One Tree Hill

Same goes for the lyrics of "Running to Stand Still:"

In through a doorway she brings me
White gold and pearls stolen from the sea
She is raging
She is raging and the storm blows up in her eyes
She will suffer the needle chill
She is running to stand still

And the concerts were religious experiences. I saw them twice: once for The Unforgettable Fire tour and once for Joshua Tree. If you don't believe me, ask anyone that was at one of the two shows in Atlanta in December of 1987. Here's the setlist from the night I was there:

Where The Streets Have No Name, I Will Follow, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, MLK, One Tree Hill, Gloria, Exit, In God's Country, Helter Skelter, Help, Bad, Bullet The Blue Sky, Running To Stand Still, Sunday Bloody Sunday, New Year's Day, Pride (In The Name Of Love)
encores: With Or Without You, People Get Ready, 40

Tell me where the drum solo moment or the "hey...wanna go take a piss?" moment or moments were in that setlist? There wasn't one. I was physically and emotionally spent after that concert. We sat for half an hour in our seats, just sort of staring at the stage in disbelief of what we had just witnessed and, to a small degree, been a part of.

If I had a time machine, the first thing I'd do after going back and winning a few lottos and meeting folks like Martin Luther King Jr., Abraham Lincoln and Johnny Cash, would be to follow the entire Joshua Tree tour or possibly be a fly on the wall as that record was being made.


1A) Guns N' Roses - Appetite For Destruction (1987)

This was a tough call, but in the end, the reason this record falls below Joshua Tree is the tiebreaker: Compare the bodies of work of the two bands.

3) Prince - Purple Rain (1984)
This record was beyond great. There's not a bad song on it. Hell, the record was so great that they managed to make a half decent movie based on it. Think that's easy? Ask Kiss how their movie worked out. This was also a top five concert, which adds to its allure.

4) REM - Life's Rich Pagent (1986)
Politics aside, this band has been about 100 things thru their history and they've been amazing at reinventing their sound. I was in college when this record came out, and after seeing all of the frat party bands and bar bands, these guys put out a record that captured that sound that every one of those bands was trying to find.

5) Tesla - Mechanical Resonance (1986)
This record came out the summer I was going to college. A buddy picked me up and had it in the tape deck, we were on our way to pick up another friend, and I mad Ronnie take me to the mall to buy it. I was totally blown away. We then picked up Paul and Tom, and it was back to the mall again. By that night, it sold 20 copies in our neighborhood alone. And the funny part is that it still holds up today. Songs like Little Suzy, Modern Day Cowboy, Comin' Atcha Live, Changes, EZ Come EZ Go and Cover Queen are amazing. I saw these guys at the Fox in Atlanta with (get this) Great White and Kix as the opener. The dueling guitars of Skeoch and Hannon were amazing and the whole show was just kick fucking ass.

6) Edwin McCain - Honor among Thieves (1985)

Before you crap on this, ask yourself what you look for in your music. One thing I really enjoy is a guy that, while a talented performer, is a songwriter to the core. That’s Edwin McCain. We went to Chastain to see Hootie and the Blowfish and found these little handbills in our seats about the opening band, so we decided to quit screwing around and pay attention.

What we got was an incredible show both performance wise and lyrically.

Before we left that night we bought the CD, and it’s been with me ever since. Well, I take that back. I’m on my third copy, as I’ve worn out the first two. If you want to hear some stuff that, beyond the production, is just plain powerful, check this one out. You can tell these aren’t songs “bought” from songwriters in some mill. These are songs that matter to the guy with his name on them. (And if you like this one, check out another Edwin McCain CD, “The Austin Sessions.”

7) Hootie and the Blowfish - Cracked Rearview (1994)

Before you even say, just shut the fuck up. This is MY list. Not yours. The Blowfish are a guilty pleasure. I’m not going to apologize for enjoying this CD to the point of wearing two of them out altogether. And I’m not the only one. They sold about 50 gojillion of them. So go listen to your radiohead cd’s and leave me alone. And before you ask, I am NOT drinking, nor have I ever had Chardonnay.

8) Don Henley - The End of the Innocence (1989)

I was tempted to put the Eagles Greatest Hits here, but since I knew it’d draw a shit storm, I did the next best thing: Added a Don Henley record.

This CD is lyrically about half a step behind Edwin McCain’s, and to me that’s saying something. Plus, you had the title track, which to me is a top tenner lyrically. Oh, and if you missed it before, shut up. This is my list.

9) AC/DC - Back In Black (1980)

So, you have a band that’s pretty successful. They put out some kickass records including Highway to Hell, Dirty Deeds and High Voltage, and then the lead singer up and drinks himself to death. What do you do? Do you break up, split the cash, and call it a day?

Hell no. You hire Brian Johnson (who might possibly have been the only guy on the planet that could even hold Bon Scott’s jock) and put out possibly the baddest fucking rock record Australia’s ever seen. Don’t think so? Check out the songlist (and this is yet another Mutt Lange production like Def Leppard’s Pyromania, AC/DC, XTC, Cars, and much more. (Like it or not, that guy's produced records that've sold about 150 million copies). Anyway, here's the list:

Hell’s Bells

Shoot to Thrill

What Do You Do For Money Honey

Giving the Dog A Bone
Let Me Put My Love Into You

Back In Black

You Shook Me All Night Long

Have A Drink On Me

Shake A Leg

Rock and Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution

I mean, come on!! That’s a fucking hammer of a record.

10) Kiss - Kiss Alive II (1977)

This is another one of those “I don’t care what you thinks,” but this record changed my life. I was 9 years old and I saw that album cover in the store and I had to have it. And after listening to it, I knew what rock n’ roll was supposed to do. KISS, while thought to be a goof by some, were master marketers, performers, and creators as well. Kiss might well be the ultimate musical guilty pleasure (unless you’ve got a closet full of New Kids on the Block CD’s).

That’s all for now boys and girls. I’ll be back soon with some great pictures of my urchin doing something cute.