My Top Ten Albums

This list is not meant to be an assertion that these albums are the best ever produced. It is simply a declaration that these albums did more to shape my musical tastes than any others in my large collection (accumulated over the course of 30 years). I love music of all kinds and there are many more albums that I could list here but this is the distillation of my knowledge and love of music into a refined set that I would not hesitate to recommend to anyone.

Put simply: these albums, upon first listen and on each subsequent listen, informed and shaped my taste in music. Each one of these albums made an enormous impact on my life and continue to do so.

Here goes (in ascending order):

10. Ella Fitzgerald, The Cole Porter Songbook

9. Steely Dan, Aja

8. Dave Brubeck, Time Out

7. Elvis Costello, My Aim Is True

6. Stevie Wonder, Innervisions

5. John Williams/London Symphony Orchestra, the soundtrack to Star Wars: A New Hope

4. Paul Simon, Graceland

3. Leonard Bernstein/New York Philharmonic, Beethoven's Symphony No. 3 ("Eroica")

2. Miles Davis, Kind of Blue

1. Cat Stevens, Teaser and the Firecat