With a complete and highly successful wedding now behind us, we now return to our regularly scheduled programming but with a twist:

From here on out, I aim to have much more frequent posting. However, most of these posts will be more bite-size in nature, while larger, in-depth posts (i.e. Ear Training Revisions) will be interwoven as seen fit.

On with the show:

Today I share my newest iteration of the classic list of Top Bands. Usually one would expect a nice, even top 10 list, but with so many great groups/artists out there, I can’t bring myself to whittle it down to less than 15. Bear with me – the additional five deserve to be on here and then some.

To go along with the bands (and to provide a bit of visual interest), I’ll be posting album covers of my favorite album(s) from each group.

Here we go:

#15 Bob Marley – Albums: Too many to cho0se from, so here’s my favorite, four-disc set that sums his massive catalog of work up nicely: Songs of Freedom

#14 Jimi Hendrix – Album: Axis: Bold as Love

#13 Creedence Clearwater Revival – Albums: Cosmo’s Factory and Willie and the Poor Boys

#12 The Kinks – Album: The Kinks are The Village Green Preservation Society

#11 Bob Dylan – Album: The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan

Not a bad 11-15, no? Now onto to the heavy hitters:

#10 The Clash – Albums: The Clash and London Calling

#9 The White Stripes – Albums: Elephant and Icky Thump

#8 Led Zeppelin – Albums: Led Zeppelin I and Led Zeppelin IV

#7 Pink Floyd – Albums: The Piper at the Gates of Dawn and Dark Side of the Moon

#6 Radiohead – Albums: Kid A and In Rainbows

#5 The Rolling Stones – Albums: Beggar’s Banquet and Exile On Main Street

#4 The Velvet Underground – Albums: The Velvet Underground and Nico, The Velvet Underground, and Loaded

#3 The Flaming Lips – Albums: Clouds Taste Metallic, The Soft Bulletin, and Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots

#2 Eels – Albums: Daisies of the Galaxy and Blinking Lights and Other Revelations

#1 The Beatles – Albums: The White Album and Abbey Road

So there you have it: 15 bands and 28 albums. If you haven’t had the good fortune to partake in any of these, all I can say is drop whatever activity you currently find yourself participating in, flips on your speakers, and prepare your ears for sheer brilliance.

-Spurrier