Top Five Rock Albums

This list is just one man's opinion about his favorite albums. I do not in any way maintain that they represent the greatest albums in the history of music. Three or four good songs do not put an album on this list -- it must be amazing from top to bottom. Also, greatest hits albums or other compliations do not qualify.

1. Pink Floyd, Dark Side of the Moon
I was introduced to this album by synching it up with The Wizard Of Oz movie placed on mute. You don't even need to be particularly intoxicated to see that it works. But aside from the Oz coincidence, Dark Side is an intense, haunting, synaesthetic experience.

2. Pink Floyd, The Wall
It's no accident that Pink Floyd holds the top two spots on this list. The Wall is theater through music. It's a brilliantly cynical collection of music best enjoyed with the volume cranked up while speeding down the highway. It's one of the best ways I know to channel and rid yourself of aggression.

3. U2, Achtung Baby
This album has sentimental value to me. Not only was it the first U2 album I listened to, but it was the first rock album altogether that I got to know. While people tend to hold up The Joshua Tree as U2's most iconic piece of work, I believe that Achtung is U2's most consistent album. There isn't a single bad song on there.

4. The Rolling Stones, Some Girls
I never could understand why people are so willing to plunk down $300 to see Mick Jagger and the Stones live in concert. Then I listened to this album. I'm still not sure Mick and the boys can bring it the way they used to, but if what they do on stage nowadays comes anywhere close to what they were able to do on this album, they're worth the money.

5. The Beatles, The White Album
It's another classic in the history of music. The Beatles' self-titled two-disc set, affectionately known as The White Album, displays both how talented The Beatles were and how they were able to create a repetoire that was amazingly diverse.