The Top 25 Guitar Albums You Must Own!

duotone

Sifting through some old Total Guitar magazines, I came across this from TG Magazine (Issue 39, January 1998) by the TG reviews team. 

Here Goes...

25) ABRAXAS (1984) by Santana 
Highlight: Black Magic Woman

24) WHO'S NEXT (1971) by The Who 
Highlight: Won't Get Fooled Again

23) MACHINE HEAD (1972) by Deep Purple 
Highlight: Highway Star

22) BAD MOON RISING (1984) by Sonic Youth 
Highlight: Death Valley '69

21) WAR (1983) by U2 
Highlight: New Year's Day

20) NEVERMIND (1991) by Nirvana 
Highlight: In Bloom

19) SURFING WITH THE ALIEN (1987) by Joe Satriani 
Highlight: Surfing With The Alien

18) MR TAMBOURINE MAN (1965) by The Byrds 
Highlight: I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better

17) THE BENDS (1994) by Radiohead 
Highlight: Just

16) FIRE AND WATER (1970) by Free 
Highlight: Fire And Water

15) REGATTA DE BLANC (1979) by The Police 
Highlight: Message In A Bottle

14) DEFINITELY MAYBE (1994) by Oasis 
Highlight: Supersonic

13) LIVE AND DANGEROUS (1978) by Thin Lizzy 
Highlight: Don't Believe A Word

12) THE STOOGES (1969) by The Stooges 
Highlight: I Wanna Be Your Dog

11) EXILE ON MAIN STREET (1972) by The Rolling Stones 
Highlight: Happy

10) WHITE LIGHT, WHITE HEAT (1968) by The Velvet Underground 
Highlight: I Heard Her Call My Name

9) EVERYBODY KNOWS THIS IS NOWHERE (1969) by Neil Young 
Highlight: Cinnamon Girl

8) BLUES BREAKERS (FEATURING ERIC CLAPTON) (1966) by John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers 
Highlight: All Your Love

7) TEXAS FLOOD (1983) by Stevie Ray Vaughan 
Highlight: Pride And Joy 

6) DARK SIDE OF THE MOON (1973) by Pink Floyd 
Highlight: Money

5) HATFUL OF HOLLOW (1984) by The Smiths 
Highlight: William It Was Really Nothing

4) BACK IN BLACK (1980) by AC/DC 
Highlight: Back In Black

3) VAN HALEN I (1978) by Van Halen 
Highlight: I'm The One

2) LED ZEPPELIN II (1969) by Led Zeppelin 
Highlight: Heartbreaker

1) ARE YOU EXPERIENCED (1967) by The Jimi Hendrix Experience 
Highlight: Love Or Confusion


So 22 years later how do you think the list holds up? Which ones influenced you back then or still influence you now? How many have you listened to over the years?

P.S. The magazine + CD cost £4.25 back then!

ArchtopDave

I've owned 6 of the above. In recent years, I've played 3 of these albums : Beano Album, Exile On Main Street, and Dark Side Of The Moon. I doubt if any have influenced my own guitar playing as such.

Philly_Q

I've got 12 of the 25.  I didn't initially notice it was from 1998 and wouldn't be surprised to see some guitar magazines producing a very similar list now.  Others would probably come up with some hipper stuff which wouldn't necessarily be any better.

Winny_Pooh

Including Oasis, Nirvana, Velvet Underground & Radiohead says more about when the article was published than the albums' must own quality. Interesting that Surfing w the alien is on, but no Passion & Warfare, plus no Metallica.

The Who, Byrds & Stooges... so overrated.

I'd pick Band of Gypsys over Are you experienced. And Neil Young's Zuma instead.

Then add an Allan Holdsworth, Pat Metheny and Michael Hedges album... but then that's why I don't write for crappy guitar magazines. 

ICBM

Irrespective of any of the other choices, it was wrong even in 1998 because Black Sabbath, Hotel California and Passion & Warfare aren't on the list, and I'd probably add either the first Dire Straits album or Alchemy.

Black Sabbath is arguably the single most influential guitar album of all time, so missing it off entirely is ridiculous.

I've listened to pretty much all of them - all the songs I think, although some just on compilations rather than the albums - and I currently own 11 of the albums. But I don't really listen to music for the guitar playing. (Not even Steve Vai, really.)

Bucket

Passion and Warfare should be on there.

And Pornograffitti.

TTony

I’ve got 20 of the 25.

But I’ve also got a few thousand others that aren’t on the list.

As with any “Top N” lists, it only reflects the tastes or knowledge of the people who compile the list.  Given that I always assume that TG writes for a certain demographic, I think the list is quite wide ranging.

Wrong, obviously, but quite wide ranging!

Caffeine_Vampire

Link Wray?

tone1

10/25 for me....

Philly_Q

So should any albums released since 1998 make an updated list?

proggy

No Frampton Comes Alive. Shocking

lasermonkey

I have eight from that twenty five. I'm kinda surprised that MBV's Loveless isn't on there. Not because I love it (and I do), but because it did something completely different with the guitar, way more than many that are on the list.

And yes, Black Sabbath should have been on there. And Marquee Moon.

Winny_Pooh

Philly_Q said:

So should any albums released since 1998 make an updated list?

Influential picks
White Stripes - Elephant
The Darkness - permission to land
Yeah yeah yeahs - Fever to tell
John Mayer - Continuum
Khruangbin - the universe smiles upon you

More obscure but excellent
Julian Lage - Arclight
Bill Callahan- Apocalypse 
Kurt Rosenwinkel - Star of Jupiter
Bonnie Raitt - Fundamental 
Plant & Krauss - Raising sand
Jim Campilongo - Heaven is Creepy
Gillian Welch - Time(the revelator)
(Many things with Derek Trucks on)

fandango

I have numbers 7 and 8 on the list but don’t listen to them. I far prefer A Hard Road with Peter Green than the ‘Beano Album’. SRV, like Jimi Hendrix now proving unlistenable other than the odd track.

But where’s Zappa, anything with Peter Green, The Allman Brothers Band, ZZ Top, Jeff Beck, The Eagles, Bob Dylan, to name but a few? Travesty, especially since Zappa even released an album called “Guitar”.

viz

There is no question that Passion and Warfare should be on the list. In fact it should be on any list of top 10 guitar or guitarist albums. Bizarre. 

ICBM

Winny_Pooh said:

Philly_Q said:

So should any albums released since 1998 make an updated list?

Influential picks
White Stripes - Elephant
The Darkness - permission to land
Yeah yeah yeahs - Fever to tell
John Mayer - Continuum
Khruangbin - the universe smiles upon you

More obscure but excellent
Julian Lage - Arclight
Bill Callahan- Apocalypse 
Kurt Rosenwinkel - Star of Jupiter
Bonnie Raitt - Fundamental 
Plant & Krauss - Raising sand
Jim Campilongo - Heaven is Creepy
Gillian Welch - Time(the revelator)
(Many things with Derek Trucks on)

Santana - Supernatural
Steve Vai - The Ultra Zone
Muse - Origin Of Symmetry
Tool - Lateralus
Red Hot Chili Peppers - By The Way
Ben Harper - Diamonds On The Inside
Calexico - Feast Of Wire
Evanescence - Fallen
The Killers - Hot Fuss
Dinosaur Jr - Farm

Not saying they should all be on the list, but there are plenty of candidates there.

SidNewton

If it was done today Oasis would not be in there. Definitely.....not maybe.

Philly_Q

@ICBM @Winny_Pooh thanks for those more up-to-date selections.  I've only got 6 of those.

Most of the stuff I listen to nowadays has been released since 1998 but I'm not sure I would suggest anyone else "must own" it.

ICBM

Philly_Q said:

Most of the stuff I listen to nowadays has been released since 1998 but I'm not sure I would suggest anyone else "must own" it.

Nor me, but I think pretty much everything mentioned so far both from the original list and the other suggestions is worth at least listening to.

I'm probably one of the least "guitaristy" people on the forum too - I really don't listen to music for the instrumental playing at all, not even Vai... in the same way as when I listen to a Beethoven piano sonata, I don't normally pay that much attention to the pianist's technique, I listen to the music. Sorry if that sounds pretentious, but it's true .

There are also three albums on the original list that I *have* owned, but don't now because I didn't actually like them.

not_the_dj

Edited due to my inability to read dates!

Carry on.

guitars4you

I have 8 out of 25 on the list - Plenty of albums owned that did not make the list

No Pete Green/Fleetwood Mac for starters or BB King