Old97s.com

Hello everybody!

 I've got a question that has stumped me:  I recently met a guy who told me that he's *never* listened to popular music.  He didn't know who the Beach Boys are, and he had heard that the Beatles "wrote that yellow tambourine song."

He says that he wants to get into music now, and I don't know what to do.  What are albums that are definitive to popular music?  If you have only ten albums with which to define where good music comes from, what do you do?  Here are my ideas, but please if anyone can help, I'd really appreciate it.

The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds

The Beatles - Help!

 The Rolling Stones - Exile on Main Street

 Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited

 David Bowie - Ziggy Stardust

Johnny Cash - American V:  A Hundred Highways

Elvis - Top Ten Hits (discs 1 & 2)

CCR - Green River

Any suggestions?  As you can see, I'm focusing on foundational pop music (though my weakness for the American recordings interfered with my Cash pick).  I'll probably include a motown disc as well if I can find one.

You have a list of definitive pop, and you don't include "Thriller"???!  Just kidding. . . I think you picked out some really good stuff, and I guess it's hard to determine what is foundational and what is definitive.  If you're looking for the foundations, you might have to reach back even further, but if you want definitive, you should seriously include some stuff that has come out within the past thirty years (aside from the Cash pick)

Aside from some MJ, I would probably add Bruce's "Born To Run", The Ramone's self-titled, and Public Enemy's "Nation of Millions. . .".  But gah, there are still so many gaps to fill.

You can't really do it in 10 anyway :)

Yeah, the question of foundational v. definitive.  I guess I'm going to go for whatever best suits both categories.  And though I've tried to be objective, there's no denying that my heavy prejudices are on display (no Zeppelin, 'cause I class them as rock, without the roll).  Here's the updated list--covering twenty years, from 1954-1974.  After that, I don't feel confident that I'm picking the best ones.  So, narrowing the question a little, any changes that yall would suggest for this time period?

And since I can't really say anything on the subject, what about from 1974-1994?

(my updated list):

[1954]    Elvis Presley - the Sun Sessions

[1959]    Buddy Holly - greatest hits

[1964]    the Beatles - Help!

[1964]    Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited

[1966]    the Beach Boys - Pet Sounds

[1969]    Creedence Clearwater Revival - Willy and the Poor Boys

[1969]    the Rolling Stones - Let It Bleed

[1970]    Simon and Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled Water

[1972]    David Bowie - The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars

[1974]    Crosby Stills Nash and Young - So Far