The Comprehensive Music collection -- the A's

So, since I now have a decent paying job, and have rediscovered my love of actual CD's – going the other way of others on the board apparently – I have decided to reach out and discover the gobs and gobs of music I've missed along the way. Anything that came out this decade, I'm all over, but honestly, my musical tastes before that were poor, at best.

So, i'm doing this one letter at a time. And since I know you guys love this list stuff…

Artists that start with A, who should I be listening to, and what albums are important? Some artists are best covered by a Greatest hits album, others have one important album. All genres, all years, assume I know much less than I actually do. Let 'er rip…

appleseed cast - low level owl volumes 1 and 2

ambient type stuff that sometimes gets labeled under the dreaded "emo" label even though its not. recommended.

The Adverts - any comp would probably do. I have this one and love it.
Laurie Anderson - Big Science
The Allman Brothers - Eat A Peach
AC/DC - Anything before "For Those About To Rock"
The Art of Noise - Who's Afraid of the Art of Noise?

Get an Animals greatest hits.

afghan whigs - "congregation", "gentlemen"
al green - you could probably do with "greatest hits"
albert ayler - "spiritual unity"
alex chilton - "top 30" (compilation)
the allman brothers band - "at fillmore east" or "the fillmore concerts"
aphex twin - "selected ambient works 85-92"
apples in stereo - "fun trick noisemaker"
archers of loaf - "icky mettle"
aretha franklin - her box set "queen of soul" is awesome, but if you're looking for a 1-disc you can't go wrong with "the best of …"
arrested development - "3 years, 5 months …"
art tatum - hard to say, but "the complete pablo group masterpieces" is pretty great

aphex twin/AFX - tough to pick just one, "Selected Ambient Works 85-92" was probably his most "important".

edit: dang, beaten by hoya… again. <shakes fist in the air> some day i'll get you, hoya, if it's the laaaaaaaaaast thing i ever do!!! </fist shaking, walks away with shoulders hunched>

i just realized that any true anal-retentive dewey-decimal-system music-obsessive should have filed half of my rec's under their last names, as they're solo artists … damn itunes doesn't play that game …

Originally posted by Bombay Chutney:
The Allman Brothers - Eat A Peach

reasonable minds can obviously quibble here, but wouldn't you think they're best consumed live, especially with an album that defined the "live rock album"

Originally posted by redsock:
I have decided to reach out and discover the gobs and gobs of music I've missed along the way. Anything that came out this decade, I'm all over, but honestly, my musical tastes before that were poor, at best.

you should really think about getting some box sets / compilations in addition to the plowing through the alphabet strategy … a lot of 70s punk is going to be hard to collect individually, same goes with 50s-60s r&b/soul

I concur with Bombay Chutney on his Adverts and AC/DC suggestions.

I would recommend Aztec Camera's High Land, Hard Rain also.

Originally posted by Hoya Paranoia:
i just realized that any true anal-retentive dewey-decimal-system music-obsessive should have filed half of my rec's under their last names, as they're solo artists … damn itunes doesn't play that game …

It does now. You can assign a "sort" name, e.g. Bob Dylan displays as "Bob Dylan" but sorts as "Dylan Bob". You don't have to change each by hand; you can assign the sort name to one item and then apply it globally to matching items. It's not obvious how it works and it's somewhat tricky so you may want to change only a couple of things at first to see how it works.

I'm happy to sell you my entire collection of A CD's…

Originally posted by beetsnotbeats:
You can assign a "sort" name

awesome! just figured that out, had never seen it before bc it doesn't show up when editing multiple tracks at the same time … thanks a bunch

Originally posted by Hoya Paranoia:

Originally posted by Bombay Chutney:
The Allman Brothers - Eat A Peach

reasonable minds can obviously quibble here, but wouldn't you think they're best consumed live, especially with an album that defined the "live rock album"

There's no question that they're best consumed live, but if you're not really a big fan and you're only going to get one cd, I think this might be a more palatable choice. A few hits, some great jams, and a live "Mountain Jam" that's pretty darn fine.

But yeah - you can't go wrong with any of the Fillmore releases. They're classics, for sure.

apocalyptica. either "reflections" for a bit of variety, or their metallica covers album if that suits your fancy. finnish cello metal.

ac/dc - anything up to 1982
acid king - busse woods
afghan whigs - congregation/gentlemen/black love
agitation free - malesch/2nd
aguaturbia - both albums are essential
aislers set - the last match
allman bros - idlewild south/eat a peach/live at fillmore east
almendra - s/t
amon duul - paradieswaarts duul
amon duul 2 - phallus dei/yeti
art ensemble of chicago - anything
greg ashley - medicine fuck dream
ash ra tempel - self-titled/schwingungen/join inn
at the gates - slaughter of the soul
au pairs - playing with a different sex/sense and sensuality
albert ayler - anything except for "new grass"

aguaturbia - both albums are essential

I've seen them live, amazing show…

im not in front of my itunes at the moment, so this is all i got for now.

Seriously. ABBA