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iPod Songs and albums I have to listen to before I die?

A

amd4me

macrumors 6502
Original poster
I am going on a long road trip and I want some good music.
If all of you guys could list some songs or albums I should go buy, I would appreciate it!🙂
 
If you like kind of ambient, instrumental music (pretty good for distance driving/random thinking/time wasting) check out:

El Ten Eleven - El Ten Eleven
El Ten Eleven - Every Direction is North
The Mercury Program - A Data Learn the Language

The Mercury Program has other albums but this is the only one I've extensively listened to. All three of those are on iTMS, too.
 
*edit* changing my post. i don't know about you, but these are ten albums i had to have listened to before dying. some notable tracks are listed in paranthesis. 🙂

  • u2 - joshua tree (with or without you, running to stand still)
  • oasis - (what's the story) morning glory (don't look back in anger, wonderwall)
  • death cab for cutie - plans (i will follow you into the dark, summer skin)
  • leona naess - leona naess (how sweet, christmas)
  • radiohead - the bends (my iron lung, fake plastic trees)
  • hole - live through this (softer, softest)
  • modest mouse - this is a long drive for... (custom concern, dramamine)
  • weezer - pinkerton (the good life, el scorcho)
  • eric clapton - unplugged (lonely stranger, old love)
  • the cure - disintegration (love song, lullaby)
 
I'll start some albums off for ya, though you haven't given any guidelines:

Kenna - "New Sacred Cow"
Sufjan Stevens - "Illinoise" (really every Sufjan Album though 🙄 )
Death Cab For Cutie - "Transatlanticism"
Tarkio - "Omnibus"
Medeski, Martin & Wood - "Combustication", "End Of The World Party (Just In Case", "It's A Jungle In Here", "Shack Man"
The Postal Service - "Give Up"
Return To Forever - "Where Have I Known You Before
Sigur Rós - "Takk..." (though you cannot go wrong with them)
The Whitest Boy Alive - "Dreams"

Then there's Bob Dylan. Robert Zimmerman is amazing in his 40+ year career, writing some of the most memorable and historic songs ever in American culture. You cannot go wrong with any of these albums, they all offer different spectrums of his ever-changing style and/or historical songs and I adore (Though I adore every Dylan album in its own way 🙂 ):

Bob Dylan - "Another Side Of Bob Dylan" , "Bob Dylan" , "Blonde On Blonde" , "Bringing It All Back Home" , "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan", "Good As I Been To You", "Live At The Gaslight 1962 (if you have to pick only a few, pick this as one), "New Morning", "Nashville Skyline", "Street Legal", "The Times They Are A-Changin' ", .... it goes on and on.
 
rockthecasbah said:
I'll start some albums off for ya, though you haven't given any guidelines:
Click to expand...

Damn, dude... I dig your taste in music. I knew Kenna, Death Cab, Sufjan, and Postal Service, but ALL the other groups listed I just checked out and I like every one of them!
 
knelto said:
Damn, dude... I dig your taste in music. I knew Kenna, Death Cab, Sufjan, and Postal Service, but ALL the other groups listed I just checked out and I like every one of them!
Click to expand...

Thanks, I can send you some more if you're that interested, some I love but wouldn't consider them "albums to listen to before I die" ... PM me if you want some more or if you want some artists similar to others I listed 🙂


I'll add a few more though 😛
Frou Frou - "Details"
The Decemberists - "The Crane Wife", "Picaresque", "Castaways And Cutouts" (every album is great but especially those)
The (International) Noise Conspiracy - "New Morning, Changing Weather", "Survival Sickness"
Sigmatropic - "16 Haiku & Other Stories (Songs Based On The Poetry Of George Seferis)"
Carla Bruni - "Quelqu'un m'a dit"
The Mars Volta - "Frances The Mute", "De-Loused In The Comatorium"
The Cinematic Orchestra - Any album
Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey - Any album
Modest Mouse - "We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank"
Sondre Lerche & The Faces Down Quartet - "The Duper Sessions"

That's enough for now 😀
 
1. M.I.A. - Arular
2. The Dandy Warhols - Welcome to the Monkey House
3. Peter, Bjorn and John - Writer's Block
4. Feist - Let It Die
5. Arcade Fire - Funeral
6. Broken Social Scene - Broken Social Scene
7. Dixie Chicks - Home
8. New Pornographers - Twin Cinema
9. The Stills - Logic Will Break Your Heart
10. Tegan and Sara - So Jealous

Honorable Mention goes to Mike Doughty's "Haughty Melodic."

CD's that were mentioned already but I strongly back-up:
Frou Frou - Details
Sufjan Stevens - Illinois
Postal Service - Give Up
Medeski, Martin and Wood - End of the World Party
Regina Spektor - Begin to Hope
Sigur Ros - Takk
Death Cab for Cutie - Transatlanticism
Bloc Party - Silent Alarm
 
Youll either love or hate these selections, but they are in my opinion the most talented bands and individuals out there right now...and if you really disagree you have not seen Chris Thile play pieces of J.S Bach on the mandolin live...but anyways here are my suggestions to you...

Nickel Creek-the album "Why Should the Fire Die"
Chris Thile & The How to Grow a Band (Mandolinist of Nickel Creek, awsome solo albums such as, "Deciever", and "How to Grow a Woman From the Ground")
Sean Watkins (guitar player of Nickel Creek, also has awsome solo albums such as, "26 Miles", and "Blinders On")
Patrick Watson- the album "Close to Paradise"
Andrew Bird-the album "Armchair Apocrypha"
 
Wired All Wrong - Break Out The Battle Tapes
Keane - Under The Iron Sea
The Faint - Wet From Birth
Hot Hot Heat - Make Up The Breakdown
Ima Robot - Monument To The Masses (First 5 songs off the album)
Living Things - Ahead Of The Lions (Bom Bom Bom, God Made Hate)
 
If your road trip is to be at some considerable speed, any Rage Against the Machine works very well. Otherwise;
Happy Mondays - Pillsn'thrills'n'bellyaches, or even better Squirrel & G-man
Kaiser Chiefs - Employment
Snow Patrol - Eyes Open
Barenaked Ladies - Maroon
The Levellers - Green Blade Rising
Tracy Chapman's good for mile munching too

If you do political, Chumbawamba (Tubthumper and UN are the best) and David Rovics (you can download free on soundclick) are great
 
Rodrigo Y Gabriela

Red Lights Flash - check out "The Red Tape"

Roots Manuva
Roots Manuva - Dreamy Days
Roots Manuva - Witness (1 Hope)

Aphex Twin - Avril 14th - Not offical video
Aphex Twin - Boy Girl Song - Not offical video
Aphex Twin - Come to Daddy



The top three links are links to myspace pages so you can listen to a sample of their music. The last set of links are to a youtube video for the artist in question. Aphex Twin is extremely wide and the provided videos show this, thoroughly worth checking out. If you like Roots Manuva you basically have to own Run come save me
 
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
pink floyd - the wall
weezer - green
beatles - revolver
beach boys - pet sounds (your impression of them based on their radio hits are totally misleading)
Procol Harum - shine on brightly
Tom Waits - blood money
frank zappa -we're only in it for the money
violent femmes - violent femmes
the white stripes - elephant
led zeppelin - 4 (zoso)
jimi hendrix - are you experienced

Gosh, where would the list stop? There's so much friggen amazing recoded music out there!

I'm assuming you already know more of the recent stuff, so I'm mostly listing older amazing music.
 
amd4me said:
I am going on a long road trip and I want some good music.
If all of you guys could list some songs or albums I should go buy, I would appreciate it!🙂
Click to expand...

You need these…

Tom Waits (Raindogs, Black Rider, etc.)
Tool (Undertow, Aenima, 10k days)
Prince (Sign `o´ the Times, Parade, Rainbow Children, Musicology, etc.)
Alice in Chains (Dirt, Jar of Flies)
George Clinton (Any)
Nirvana (Bleach, Incesticide, In Uthero, etc.)
Blur (Think Tank, 13, Parklife))
Smashing Pumpkins (Any)
Pink Floyd (Works, The Wall, etc.)
Rammstein (Any)
RHCP (Out in L.A.)
Beyoncé (None)
 
amd4me said:
Songs and albums I have to listen to before I die?
Click to expand...

"Ten thousand billion bottles of beer on the wall.."

But seriously.. I second Rodrigo y Gabriela, though they're far, far, far better live.
 
 
Before you die, definitely listen to the soundtrack for the movie Amelie, most of the music is by Yann Tiersen. The music on that album is so inventive and well constructed it blows my mind.

I listen to a variety of stuff... here are some others to check out:

Jawbox - Novelty
Metric - Live It Out
Mos Def - Black on Both Sides
Sunny Day Real Estate - Diary
both albums by "The Most Secret Method"
Hot Water Music - Forever & Counting
 
Counting Crows - This Desert Life
Counting Crows are often considered a really commercial poppy band, but this album shows what they're really like. Listening to this album all the way through is a quite weird experience. Get to know it, and once you do, sit down and listen all the way through on a good system, and you'll see what bliss is.

Fleetwood Mac - Rumours
Again, another group who are often considered to be trash-rock. Sadly, they did get a bit trashy towards the end of their careers, but this album is them in their golden era. Truly a remarkable album and absolutely one of my favourites.

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
No need to mention who this is by. Probably the most important album in history. Still an absolute dream to listen to.

Vaughan Williams - The Lark Ascending
Amazing piece of music. Well leave you soooooooo chilled out you wouldn't believe it.

Pink Floyd - Dark Side Of The Moon
Probably second in the list from Sgt. Pepper's as the most influential and important albums in the history of music. Amazing experience to listen to all the way through, really takes you to some incredible places.

Radiohead - The Bends
Stunning album. I wish I hadn't been 5 years old when this album first came out, as it really must have been something else to listen to.

Radiohead - OK Computer
A stunning (and IMO superior) follow-up to The Bends. Really amazing soundscapes and puts some fantastic messages across.

Sibelius - Finlandia
One of the most fantastic pieces of music ever, IMO! Incredibly moving, so much so that it was banned due to the uprisings it caused.

Boards of Canada - Geogaddi
I recently bought this on Vinyl, and it honestly is the most amazing thing I've heard emanating from my stereo. Incredibly relaxing, and 'Corsair' is the most played thing in my iTunes library (1200+ plays).

Adam F - Colours
The album which invented Drum 'n Bass, but did it with style. Amazing soundscapes and very, very very stylish!

Bob Marley & The Wailers - Exodus
The most important reggae album of all time! Essential music...


Those are some of my top albums, but there are so many others.

What you should do, is get SimplifyMedia, and add as many people as you can as friends. My screen name is 'killyp', and you can have a listen to my iTunes library. 🙂
 
Killyp said:
Sibelius - Finlandia
One of the most fantastic pieces of music ever, IMO! Incredibly moving, so much so that it was banned due to the uprisings it caused.
Click to expand...

Yes, but which version of the hundreds available 😉

My choice(s) would be:
Neeme Järvi: Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra (With original chorus ending)
or
Herbert von Karajan: Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra…
 
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