The other day on Reddit I came across an interesting question: “If you were stuck on a desert island and can only listen to five albums for the rest of your life, which would you choose?” Figured I’d list out my choices on here, and elaborate on each. Before I begin, however, allow me to stress that these are NOT my favorite albums of all-time (you can find those here if you’re curious), but rather the five that I feel would be most effective if I could never listen to anything else ever again. There’s a difference…
With that out of the way, here you go:
Honorable Mention: Led Zeppelin - Mothership (2007)
This was a close-call for me, as this box set includes most of the band’s best work. Alas, I’m just not as big of a 60’s/70’s guy as I am an 80’s/90’s guy.
5.Outkast - Big Boi & Dre Present… Outkast (2001)
Yes, even a big rock fanatic like me needs to still listen to some rap every now and then, and everyone who knows me can tell you that Outkast is my favorite hip-hop group, by far. Not sure why. I guess Big Boi and Andre 3000 compliment each other well, yet also contrast each other well, if that makes sense. Either way, if I could only listen to one of their records again for the rest of my life, their greatest hits (a.k.a. Big Boi & Dre Present… Outkast) simply makes the most sense to me. Random aside, but Big Boi did a free show near me back in 2013, but I didn’t go, cause I was still a snobby rock purist back then. I missed out…
4.Red Hot Chili Peppers - Stadium Arcadium (2006) - isolated guitar tracks
Once again, anyone who knows me can tell you that the Chili Peppers are among my favorite music artists ever, so if I could only keep one of their releases, their big double album Stadium Arcadium is a no-brainer for me. That said, if I could have it my way, I would take just the isolated guitar tracks from this entire album, cause I feel like I should have at least one instrumental entry on this list, and guitarist John Frusciante basically created an entire new universe with his guitar on this album (no offense to the other members, cause they’re all still great too). I suppose the songs themselves on here don’t have as much range as they could, but the guitar alone is so good that it makes up for it.
3.Guns N’ Roses - Use Your Illusion: Super Deluxe Edition (2022)
This was my first favorite band, so they had to show up on this list somewhere just for nostalgia alone. The 1991 double album Use Your Illusion has a lot of range, in terms of song styles and whatnot, and the 2022 box set expansion comes with two complete concerts that include some interesting covers, live renditions of Appetite for Destruction classics, etc. Both shows also have a lot of contrast from one another. New York 1991 is very raw, and features Shannon Hoon from Blind Melon on some songs, while Vegas 1992 is long and “bombastic” (mainly thanks to the backing musicians that were part of the band that year). Honestly, though, this album was always gonna make the cut just for “November Rain” alone (and the updated version on this box set in particular is pretty awesome, not gonna lie).
2.The Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie & the Infinite Sadness: Deluxe Edition (2012)
Another 90’s double album (and a box set expansion of a double album, on top of that!). When it comes to range, I don’t think I’ve ever heard more of it than on this album right here. You get soft songs, hard songs, weird songs, short songs, long epics, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, piano, synths, orchestra, and so on. James Iha even sings a song here, and the whole band sings on the end of the main album. The whole thing really takes you on quite a journey!
1.White Zombie - Let Sleeping Corpses Lie (2008)
Most of you are probably shocked that this is my #1, but let me explain! I need heavy music to function. Heavy music is like caffeine for my ears, and when it comes to heavy stuff, White Zombie is my favorite, by far, and this box set right here contains their entire catalog (all the albums, b-sides, etc.). Honestly, I could probably survive on just the 1995 album Astro-Creep: 2000 alone (I listen to it almost every day on my way to work), but I might as well have this right here, since it’s an option!
So there you have it! Mostly 90’s stuff (or 90’s adjacent), but I guess that should be expected, coming from me. I also wanted to include the Kiss Alive! box set from 2006, as Kiss is another one of my favorites, but even a diehard like me can admit that a lot of their songs sound the same. I’m sure artists like Hendrix and Sabbath also have a good box set or two. Oh, well…
Peace!
Related: List Repository
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