Friday Fun: Your TOP3 Favorite Records 📀🎧

I am inviting all music lovers to the discussion.

This is one of my favorite questions in the world, so I must ask it here: What are TOP3 music albums you can't live without?

Of course, choosing only three records can be incredibly hard, but let’s try (or extend it a bit ;)).

So, without further ado, here are my picks:

Grace by Jeff Buckley
Parachutes by Coldplay
Carrie & Lowell by Sufjan Stevens

Usually, I listen to them through streaming services, but I want to buy a record player and have these LPs on vinyl someday.

Please share your list down below and add something about your listening habits if you want 🙂

Have a great day!

Photo by Miriana Dorobanțu on Unsplash

16 comments

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I tend to listen to a small number of albums "on repeat" for a while before retiring them for a while, but I'd probably pick the Hamilton soundtrack, Made of Bricks by Kate Nash, and then I wish I could make a playlist of certain Lana del Rey songs into an album for my third...haha!

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I also don't have many albums that I listen from start to finish.

Love Lana del Rey songs too. Thanks for your picks Amanda :)

I only could come up with two. These are the ones I listen from start to finish. No shuffle.

1. The Joshua Tree, U2

2. Hamilton Soundtrack, Original Broadway cast

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Thanks @Robert Wen_Cprime_

Definitely, I need to get familiar with Hamilton soundtrack.

Well, no. 1 was easy, but afterwords it got difficult. I'd pick

1. The Nightfly by Donald Fagan

2. A Charlie Brown Christmas by Vince Gueraldo Trio

3. Love Over Gold by Dire Straits

I have to admit that no. 2 and 3 are quite a random choice. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by The Beatles and Porgy And Bess by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrongs are close calls, to say the least. I have to point out, that those are favorites of my vinyl collection (I bought a record player just two or three years ago). On vinyl I buy mostly classic jazz and blues records, also some rock classics though.

My CD collections ranks back to '92. When I consider that, there probably will be something by Dream Theater in the Top 3, probably "Scenes From A Memory". My first two CDs were "If You Want Blood, You've Got It" by AC/DC and "Operation Mindcrime" by Queensryche. Hey, how about yours?

Zuzanna, have you made up your mind yet what kind of record player to buy? I have an english-made Rega planar three. The models by Rega (also P1 or P2 if you want to spend less money) are quite a good choice if you like a simple manual player.

To those who choose the Hamilton Soundtrack: Good choice, I dig that, too.

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@Michael Karl you have great music taste! Thank you so much for sharing a bit about your collections and record player.

I bought a cheap portable player (vinyls for dummies yey) and it was a big mistake :(

So I want to be more serious and thoughtful with my next purchase. Definitely I will check these models of Rega.

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Billy Joel, Cold Spring Harbor
Shania Twain, Come on Over
Darius, Dive In

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Thank you for sharing. Another reminder for me to dig in more on Billy Joel ... he really is a great musician who brought lots of treasures to the world, but I only have one album which is "Storm Front". It was published about a month before I celebrated my 18th. birthday, and "We didn't start the fire" and "Leningrad" were running on heavy rotation on MTV Europe.

And weeks later, one day after my 18th. birthday, the German Wall came down. Those were hopeful days when I thought, maybe mankind at last reached a state of maturity. Little did I know that decades later politicians (esp. those in the largest economical power of the world) would act like children in a sandbox.

Anyway, my neighborhood friend had the CD and got me a copy on tape. I bought the CD myself years later. I like it a lot, but I think, maybe it is not even the best choice for my personal taste when it comes to Billy Joel, and I want to find out.

One song by Billy Joel I particularly like is "Good Night Saigon". I came across this because of the Song "Mixtape" from the musical "Avenue Q".

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@Michael Karl Cold Spring Harbor was one of Billy Joel's early albums. I know it from back in the day when we just listened to one album side then turned it over for the other side, so you heard all the songs, not just those played on the radio. Some of my favorite songs have always been the ones that never got radio play.

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1. Lateralus - Tool

2. Arrival - Abba

3. The Rocky Horror Picture Show - Original soundtrack

I have a basic Audio Technica turntable, which does the job nicely if you don't want to spend a lot of money. The money is in the vinyl, it doesn't come cheap but is so much fun to collect, both second hand and new.

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Tool <3 Thanks for your picks @Sherilyn Tasker and for sharing what record player you have. I heard lots of good opinions about Audio Technica players.

I bought a cheap portable player and it was a big mistake. Got broken after couple of weeks and scratched some of my vinyls. So I want to be thoughtful with my next purchase.

Moondance - Van Morrison
Feed the Animals - Girl Talk
Saturdays = Youth - M83

Carrie & Lowell by Sufjan Stevens is a good one too.

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For me, it’s tough to narrow it down, but I’d go with:

“The Dark Side of the Moon” by Pink Floyd – Timeless and immersive.
“Rumours” by Fleetwood Mac – Perfect blend of pop and rock.
“In the Aeroplane Over the Sea” by Neutral Milk Hotel – Unique and emotional.
I usually listen through a mix of vinyl and digital. There’s something special about the crackle of vinyl, but streaming is great for convenience. Can’t wait to hear what others choose!

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Such a fun topic!! Good one @Zuzanna Patocka_Deviniti_ 🥹

Music is one of my most fond passions, and Coldplay's "Parachutes" is also one of my top records (high five!!), although I'm not into what Coldplay has become.

I'm not going to number my top because it constantly changes depending on my mood, but I could list these:

Pennywise - "Live @ The Key Club"
The Weeknd - "Live of Balloons"
Ye & Jay Z - "Watch The Throne"
Box Car Racer - ~~Self-titled~~

I listen to music as it comes, depending on the situation, it can be on the computer, on my phone, at a disco, in the car, on CDs, Cassettes, Vynil... everything goes, you name it. Music is the soundtrack for each moment 😉

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I like the variety of how you listen to music. Streaming is convenient, I also like it for discovering new music (most of the times "new to me", not really new). I have small stacks of vintage audio devices in my livingroom, bedroom and kitchen. The oldest components are a cassette deck and a receiver by Technics from '86. I also have a minidisc recorder I sometimes use to make "hardware playlists". I'd really like to have a reel-to-reel-recorder, but they're expansive. My father used to have one, and I like the soothing sight of those spinning reels...

But I sometimes miss that almost nobody makes mixtapes any more. I loved swopping cassettes with my friends, I still have a lot of those tapes my friends gave me. Today, we just can create playlists (because a lot of the people don't have cassette decks or CD-Players any more and don't care), but it doesn't feel the same...

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That was another time, @Michael Karl !! Creating playlists with cassettes, omG. That was so cool, but also a lot of work. I remember I used to try to catch the song on the radio, to tape it

As with everything, it matters to adapt to the new and keep going with those other great music-related activities. Thanks for sharing, man!!

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Thanks @Huwen Arnone _Deiser_ glad to meet another old Coldplay fan :) I love the variety of music devices you listen music on.

Big <3 for your answer @Michael Karl Mixtapes had been something special.

I don't have favorite albums, but I have favorite songs. When it comes to preferences I like string music, and prefer listening to compilations of it on YouTube

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Yeas, I too like compilations on YT. Had discovered tons of great music there.

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At the moment the ones I am most likely to listen to are:

Guardians of the Galaxy 🎇 (Awesome Mix) volume 1 & 2
Piano Man, Billy Joel
Staying at Tamara's, George Ezra

They may be a mix of different genres, but sometimes you need that

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Wow, this is incredibly complicated for me, but I'm trying

1.- Zucchero --> Spirito divino
2.- Bon Jovi --> New Jersey
3.- Aerosmith --> Get a Grip

Wonderful day to all

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My current top 3 albums in random order:

Alchemy: Dire Straits Live (Remastered) by Dire Straits (1984)
Fallen by Evanescence (2003)
Terlingua by Mono Inc. (2015)

It's incredibly hard to limit to 3 albums only. This list would change daily.

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I also love Evanescence @Dave Mathijs!

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Thanks Dave, great picks! Yeah, it is hard to limit ;)

Do you often return to albums that you like or do you focus more on discovering new music?

Great question @Zuzanna Patocka_Deviniti_ and there are some great ones in the comments! Even though this is a HUGE struggle, mine would be :

Journey - Greatest Hits
Green Day - American Idiot
Cranberries - No Need to Argue

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🔥 Definitely near the top of my list, too.

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Thanks Summer. I really like your picks. I have been listening No Need to Argue on repeat when I was in high school. Time to get back this album :)

I'm with @Avery

Dark side of the Moon - Pink Floyd

Rumors - Fleetwood Mac

Boston - Boston

Escape - Journey

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"Dark Side of the Moon" is one of my favorites, too. But for me it's hard to choose between "Dark Side" and "Wish You were here". "Dark Side" might be the better album, considering the whole work. But "Shine on you crazy Diamond" is such a masterpiece...

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@Michael Karl I agree but I had to pick 3.

Styx: Kilroy Was Here

Huey Lewis and the News: Sports

Statler Brothers: The Best Of

How's that for a little variety.

I would also give an Honorable Mention to ABBA: Gold

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ABBA - yes!

This is more historical than current, but here are my three.

Nirvana - MTV Unplugged in New York
Pearl Jam - Ten
Candlebox - Candlebox

These are seared in my consciousness.

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Great picks @Andy Gladstone Nirvana and Pearl Jam have a special place in my <3 And I think that they + Alice in Chains gave the best MTV Unpluggeds.

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Friday Fun: Your TOP3 Favorite Records 📀🎧