I was tagged on Facebook by a friend "interested in the list [of 15 great albums] you would put together." And I thought this might be a meme worth transplanting to the Landing.

Don't take too long to think about it. Fifteen albums that you've heard that will always stick with you. List the first fifteen you can recall in no more than fifteen minutes. Tag fifteen friends, including me because I'm interested in seeing what albums my friends choose.

Now, the request assumes that I listen to entire albums, which has never been my favourite way to listen to music. (Maybe I'll follow this up with a "10 Best Mixtapes" meme. Or "10 records that shaped your taste in music." Or "10 Videos Most Like a Weird Recurring Dream.") Some of these are excellent actual albums; others are excellent DJ mixes; still others just have a lot of excellent material. But all of them are excellent start-to-finish listening experiences (except maybe Substance). I thought I'd cross-post this, because good music is worth sharing, contrary to what the litigious labels say.

My list (in no particular order, except maybe the first):
1. Johann Sebastian Bach, The Brandenburg Concertos (ca. 1721)
2. Messiah, 21st Century Jesus (American, 1994)
3. Dogwhistle, The Life and Times of an After-Hours DJ (Quality, 1995)
4. The Jesus and Mary Chain, Darklands (Blanco y Negro, 1987) ...won a toss-up with Honey's Dead (1992)
5. The XX, XX (Rough Trade, 2010)
6. Enya, The Celts (WEA, 1987) ...that's right, Enya. Deal.
7. The Master Musicians of Jajouka, Apocalypse Across the Sky (Axiom, 1992)
8. New Order, Substance (Factory, 1987)
9. Dr. Dre, The Chronic (Death Row, 1992)
10. Liz Phair, Exile in Guyville (Matador, 1993)
11. Pink Floyd, Dark Side of the Moon (Capitol, 1973)
12. Delerium, Semantic Spaces (Nettwerk, 1994)
13. Elizabeth Mitchell, You Are My Little Bird (Smithsonian Folkways, 2006)
14. R.E.M., Eponymous (IRS, 1988)
15. Jimmy Cliff et al, The Harder They Come (Island, 1972)

Honourable mention (a.k.a. "cheating by adding more"):
Digable Planets, Reachin': A New Refutation of Time and Space (Elektra, 1993)
Gordon Downie, Coke Machine Glow (Zoe, 2001)
Bob Geldof, The Vegetarians of Love (Atlantic, 1990)
Seefeel, Polyfusia (Astralwerks, 1994)
The Velvet Underground, Loaded (Cotillion, 1970)