What music would I be limited to listening to if I were marooned on a desert island for the remainder of my life? I wondered aloud one day. I assumed this would be simple given the huge array of musical styles and inspirations I have. It has stopped being about being simple. Here are my top albums of all time as of May 17, 2024. I’m sure this list will evolve.
- ABC, The Lexicon of Love
- Alanis Morissette, Jagged Little Pill
- Amanda Marshall, Amanda Marshall
- Amy Winehouse, Back to Black
- Asia, Alpha
- Asia, Asia
- Barbra Streisand, A Star Is Born
- Barbra Streisand, Guilty
- Barbra Streisand, One Voice
- Barbra Streisand, Yentl
- Billy Idol, Rebel Yell
- Billy Joel, The Stranger
- Black Sabbath, Mob Rules
- Black Sabbath, Heaven & Hell
- Bruce Springsteen, Born to Run
- Cyndi Lauper, She’s So Unusual
- Def Leppard, Hysteria
- Def Leppard, Pyromania
- Dire Straits, Brothers in Arms
- Duran Duran, Arena
- Electric Light Orchestra, A New World Record
- Electric Light Orchestra, Out of the Blue
- Elton John, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
- Fleetwood Mac, Rumours
- Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Welcome to the Pleasure Dome
- Gary Moore, After the War
- Gary Moore, Still Got The Blues
- Gary Moore, Wild Frontier
- Genesis, Three Sides Live
- George Harrison, All Things Must Pass
- George Michael, Faith
- George Michael, Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1
- George Michael, Songs from the Last Century
- Iron Maiden, Brave New World
- Iron Maiden, Iron Maiden
- Iron Maiden, Killers
- Iron Maiden, Piece of Mind
- Iron Maiden, Powerslave
- Iron Maiden, Somewhere in Time
- Iron Maiden, The Number of the Beast
- Journey, Escape
- Journey, Frontiers
- Journey, Raised on Radio
- Kiss, Alive I
- Kiss, Alive II
- Kiss, Creatures of the Night
- Kiss, Destroyer
- Kiss, Dressed to Kill
- Kiss, Dynasty
- Kiss, Kiss
- Kiss, Lick it Up
- Kiss, Love Gun
- Kiss, Rock and Roll Over
- Kiss, Unmasked
- Madonna, Like a Virgin
- Madonna, True Blue
- Metallica, Master of Puppets
- Metallica, Metallica “The Black Album”
- Michael Jackson, Thriller
- Motörhead, Ace of Spades
- Ozzy, Blizzard of Ozz
- Ozzy, Diary of a Madman
- Ozzy, Speak of the Devil
- Paul McCartney, Band on the Run
- Paul McCartney, Venus and Mars
- Paul McCartney, Wings and the Speed of Sound
- Pet Shop Boys, Actually
- Phil Collins, Face Value
- Pink Floyd, Dark Side of the Moon
- Pink Floyd, The Wall
- Platinum Blond, Standing in the Dark
- Prince and the Revolution, Purple Rain
- Queen, A Night at the Opera
- Queensrÿche, Empire
- Queensrÿche, Operation Mindcrime
- Queensrÿche, The Warning
- Rod Stewart, Every Picture Tells a Story
- Rush, A Farewell to Kings
- Rush, Grace Under Pressure
- Rush, Hemispheres
- Rush, Moving Pictures
- Rush, Signals
- Sade, Diamond Life
- Saga, Detours
- Saga, Heads or Tails
- Saga, Images at Twilight
- Saga, In Transit
- Saga, Silent Night
- Saga, World’s Apart
- Selena, Amor Phohibido
- Shania Twain, Come On Over
- Shania Twain, The Woman in Me
- Shania Twain, Up
- Steely Dan, Aja
- Stevie Wonder, Songs in the Key of Life
- Sting, Brand New Day
- Sting, Ten Summoner’s Tales
- Sting, The Dream of the Blue Turtles
- Sting, Mercury Falling
- Sting, Nothing Like the Sun
- Styx, Equinox
- Styx, Cornerstone
- Styx, Crystal Ball
- Styx, Pieces of Eight
- Styx, The Grand Illusion
- Supertramp, Breakfast in America
- Suzanne Ciani, Neverland
- Suzanne Ciani, The Velocity of Love
- Taylor Swift, Red
- The Beatles, Abbey Road
- The Beatles, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
- The Beatles, The White Album
- The Cars, Candy-O
- The Cars, The Cars
- The Cure, Disintegration
- The Cure, Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me
- The Cure, Radio X
- The Cure, The Head of the Door
- The Pretenders, Learning to Crawl
- The Pretenders, Pretenders
- The Police, Ghost In The Machine
- The Police, Outlandos d’Amour
- The Police, Synchronicity
- The Police, Zenyatta Mondatta
- The Pretenders, Pretenders
- The Traveling Wilburys, Vol.1
- The Who, Who’s Next
- Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Damn the Torpedoes
- U2, October
- U2, The Joshua Tree
- U2, War
- Van Halen, 1984
- Van Halen, 5150
- Van Halen, Balance
- Van Halen, For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge
- Van Halen, OU812
- Van Halen, Van Halen
- Various Artists, Grease
- Various Artists, Saturday Night Fever
- Wham, Make It Big
- Whitney Houston, Whitney Houston
- Yngwie J. Malmsteen, Marching Out
- Yngwie J. Malmsteen, Rising Force
- Yngwie J. Malmsteen, Trilogy