This was never going to be an easy task. In fact, for a couple of us, it was darn arduous.
The idea of contributor Stan Cierlitsky, the four of us set out to put down in writing our 25 favorite albums of all time. These aren't the Best albums of all time -- We're not exactly Mojo Magazine around here! -- but they are our favorites. That said, some rules were in order at the outset.
1. No compilations.
2. No live albums.
3. Only one album per artist.
Even with those guardrails in place, we each faced this a bit differently. I know that for Stan and myself, there were bands who didn't make the cut because we like their singles far more than any album. In my case, there's no Cocteau Twins, mainly because the obvious choice for me would have been a compilation (The Pink Opaque). And maybe there's a record or two for each of us that meant the world to us 20 years ago, but which is now just something we remember fondly and don't actually play anymore.
Having known these guys more than 35 years each, I can see evolution in listening taste. That's a good thing. I can also see things that brought us together in the first place (3 out of 4 lists have the same Go-Betweens album). And, really, it doesn't seem so long ago that two of us were at the Record Co-Op and two of us were at Waxie Maxie's, and all of us were comparing notes on new records just like 16 Lovers Lane.
In alphabetical order by artist name...
Kenixfan's 25 Favorite Albums of All Time
1. Aztec Camera - High Land, Hard Rain (1983)
2. The Blue Nile - A Walk Across The Rooftops (1984)
3. David Bowie - The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars (1972)
4. The Chills - Submarine Bells (1990)
5. The Clash - London Calling (1979)
6. John Coltrane - Giant Steps (1960)
7. Elvis Costello and the Attractions - Imperial Bedroom (1982)
8. Echo and the Bunnymen - Ocean Rain (1984)
9. The Go-Betweens - 16 Lovers Lane (1988)
10. Hüsker Dü - Zen Arcade (1984)
11. Joy Division - Closer (1980)
12. The Kinks - The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society (1968)
13. Manic Street Preachers - Everything Must Go (1996)
14. New Order - Brotherhood (1986)
15. Prefab Sprout - Two Wheels Good (1985) (aka Steve McQueen)
16. Public Enemy - It Takes a Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back (1988)
17. R.E.M. - Reckoning (1984)
18. The Replacements - Tim (1985)
19. Split Enz - Waiata (1981) (aka Corroboree)
20. Squeeze - East Side Story (1981)
21. The Stone Roses - The Stone Roses (1989)
22. Throwing Muses - Throwing Muses (1986)
23. Stevie Wonder - Songs in the Key of Life (1976)
24. XTC - Black Sea (1980)
25. The Zombies - Odessey and Oracle (1968)
Stan Cierlitsky's 25 Favorite Albums of All Time
1. The Beautiful South - Welcome to the Beautiful South (1989)
2. Belle and Sebastian - If You're Feeling Sinister (1996)
3. Big Audio Dynamite - This is Big Audio Dynamite (1985)
4. Bon Iver - 22, A Million (2016)
5. Built to Spill - Keep It Like A Secret (1999)
6. The Cure - Disintegration (1989)
7. The Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (2002)
8. Frightened Rabbit - The Midnight Organ Fight (2008)
9. The Go-Betweens - 16 Lovers Lane (1988)
10. The Jesus and Mary Chain - Darklands (1987)
11. Modest Mouse - The Lonesome Crowded West (1997)
12. Morrissey - Viva Hate (1988) (aka Education in Reverse)
13. New Order - Brotherhood (1986)
14. Oasis - (What's the Story) Morning Glory (1995)
15. Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here (1975)
16. Pixies - Doolittle (1989)
17. Purple Mountains - Purple Mountains (2019)
18. Shout Out Louds - Howl Howl Gaff Gaff (2003)
19. Sigur Rós - Kveikur (2013)
20. The Smiths - The Smiths (1984)
21. The Stone Roses - The Stone Roses (1989)
22. The Twilight Sad - Fourteen Autumns & Fifteen Winters (2007)
23. The Wedding Present - George Best (1987)
24. We Were Promised Jetpacks - These Four Walls (2009)
25. Youth Lagoon - The Year of Hibernation (2011)
Jay Mukherjee's 25 Favorite Albums of All Time
1. The Bats - Daddy's Highway (1987)
2. Big Country - The Crossing (1983)
3. The Blue Nile - A Walk Across the Rooftops (1984)
4. Billy Bragg - Talking with the Taxman About Poetry (1986)
5. The Chameleons - Strange Times (1986)
6. The Chills - Brave Words (1987)
7. Close Lobsters - Foxheads Stalk This Land (1987)
8. Lloyd Cole & The Commotions - Rattlesnakes (1984)
9. De La Soul - 3 Feet High and Rising (1989)
10. Thomas Dolby - The Flat Earth (1984)
11. Peter Gabriel - Peter Gabriel (1980) (aka Melt, or Third)
12. The Go-Betweens - 16 Lovers Lane (1988)
13. Tommy Keene - Songs from the Film (1986)
14. Kraftwerk - Trans-Europe Express (1977) (aka Trans Europa Express)
15. Prefab Sprout - Two Wheels Good (1985) (aka Steve McQueen)
16. Sea Power (fka British Sea Power) - Do You Like Rock Music? (2008)
17. Simple Minds - New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) (1982)
18. Steel Pulse - True Democracy (1982)
19. Matthew Sweet - Girlfriend (1991)
20. Talk Talk - The Colour of Spring (1986)
21. U2 - Boy (1980)
22. The Verlaines - Bird Dog (1987)
23. The Waterboys - This is the Sea (1985)
24. The Wedding Present - Seamonsters (1991)
25. The Wild Swans - Bringing Home the Ashes (1988)
Donzig's 25 Favorite Albums of All Time
1. The Allman Brothers Band - The Allman Brothers Band (1969)
2. Beach House - Bloom (2012)
3. The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds (1966)
4. The Beatles - Revolver (1966)
5. David Bowie - The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars (1972)
6. The Byrds - Mr. Tambourine Man (1965)
7. Camera Obscura - Let's Get Out of This Country (2006)
8. case/lang/veirs - case/lang/veirs (2016)
9. Cocteau Twins - Treasure (1984)
10. Lloyd Cole & The Commotions - Rattlesnakes (1984)
11. Cream - Disraeli Gears (1967)
12. Miles Davis - Bitches Brew (1970)
13. The Dream Syndicate - The Days of Wine and Roses (1982)
14. The Jam - In the City (1977)
15. Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures (1979)
16. Love - Love (1966)
17. The Reds, Pinks & Purples - Uncommon Weather (2021)
18. The Rolling Stones - Sticky Fingers (1971)
19. The Smiths - The Queen is Dead (1986)
20. Rod Stewart - Every Picture Tells a Story (1971)
21. The Velvet Underground - The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967)
22. Scott Walker - Scott 4 (1969)
23. Junior Wells' Chicago Blues Band - Hoodoo Man Blues (1965)
24. The Who - Quadrophenia (1973)
25. XTC - Skylarking (1986)
[Photo: The Go-Betweens, 1988, EMI / Creative Commons]