Australia's Favourite Albums
A very subjective poll
from 
JoeUser Forums
JoeUser Forums
Many of you who have gotten to know me over the past couple of years that I’ve been a JoeUser (as much as anyone can get to know another online) know I’m a bit of a music fan. You know I’m also prone to understatements.
The reality is I’m a music nut. I love playing, listening, reading, watching and discussing anything to do with music. I have a disturbingly good recollection of lyrics and melodies. The amount of music trivia I know is also disturbing, so much so I wonder what brain functions or memory I’ve sacrificed in order to retain such relatively useless information.
Segue #1: My brother has a similar recollection for trivia but his is worldlier. He remembers dates and events but has a tendency to also remember weird coincidences. Still, his recollection helps him win Trivial Pursuit more than mine does.
A couple of months ago, I wrote an article naming my favourite album of all time. To recap, I named ‘London Calling’ by The Clash. My reasons were included in the article so if you want to find out, click on this link Link In a nutshell, it was for a television show to find out Australia’s favourite album. I’m pleased to say my choice was number 26 in the Top 100, but the Top Ten, frankly, surprised the heck out of me. Following is the list:
Top Ten Albums
10. U2 - The Joshua Tree
9. Meatloaf - Bat Out Of Hell (highest selling album in Australia of all time)
8. The Red Hot Chilli Peppers - Blood, Sugar, Sex, Magik
7. Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin 4 (The Sticks Album) (more sheet music than any other rock song)
6. Nirvana - Nevermind
5. The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
4. The Beatles - Abbey Road
3. Radiohead - OK Computer
2. Jeff Buckley - Grace
1. Pink Floyd - Dark Side Of The Moon (15 Years on the Aussie charts)
The problem with these sorts of lists is the compiling is left to the public, or at least those who could be bothered voting. If the above list had been to compile the Top 10, oh let’s say, shrubberies, there is no way I would have been voting. Hell, I don’t think I would have even known about this sort of survey. As it happened, it was music, which as I stated early, I’m nuts about.
Saying this, I would expect the only people out there to cast a vote would be of two distinct demographics. The first would be, of course, teenagers (which covers massive ground). The teenage girl vote, for instance, is the only explanation as to how Anthony Callea (a former Australian Idol) got to Number 32. This is truly scary. It gets worse. This group includes such subsets as the Radiohead fans, the Tool fans and the Silverchair fans. The Silverchair fans bear particular watching as they voted every Silverchair album into the Top 100. God help us if they ever get behind some whacky evangelical politician.
The second and most considerably-numbered group, as this was an ABC program (for those of you who don’t know; the Australian Broadcasting Commission, the government-sponsored channel), would be people like me. Or at least somewhat like me in that they love their music. We are why albums by Miles Davis, Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, Neil Young, Carol King and other greats made it onto the Top 100. It still doesn’t explain Meatloaf, though.
The not-so-obvious point I am trying to arrive at is that a lot of Pink Floyd fans must have had a lot of time on their hands as this is the only way I can understand why ’Dark Side Of The Moon’ is at Number 1. Its not that I don’t think this is a fantastic, ground breaking, momentous album of proportions beyond the conceptual senses of most of us (phew, what a load of happy horse shit that was) but I just don’t see it as very representational of Australia’s top album. Don’t ask me what it would be as I haven’t a clue. Certainly not Nickelback, that’s for sure.
Number 2 was a big shock. Jeff Buckley is one of my favourite solo artists. I was shocked when the mighty Mississippi pulled him under. The world lost a truly gifted and unique talent. But when you put that up against someone with a prodigious back catalogue like David Bowie, a ground breaker, a trend setter and a superstar, Jeff Buckley was only really getting started. David, who doesn’t get a look in until Number 34, was a genius pioneer while Jeff didn’t have the chance to prove he could be. I wonder what people were really thinking.
Segue #2: I was a music journalist for about 10 years. One of the perks of this, besides lots of free music, is free tickets to shows. Over the years, I’ve seen so many great bands, I can hardly remember them all. One of the few times I ever turned down free tickets to see someone was to see Jeff Buckley. When I got the call, I had something already planned. At that time, I hadn’t heard much of him and thought “oh, well, there is always next time“. I’ve kicked myself ever since.
Radiohead’s “Ok Computer“, is a genius album by a band who consistently push the envelope when it comes to what they do. I really like this band and this album, although there are times when the whining simpering of Thom Yorke’s vocals have me wanting to smack him upside the head and tell him to stop being such a melancholy sop. This is another album I don’t see it as representational of the whole. It’s a niche album and Radiohead fans made sure their favourite band was well represented, with 3 albums in the Top 30.
Numbers 4 and 5 are both classic albums, even antiquities, as one of the hosts called them. They bookend the second half of The Beatles career, when they became a studio band. The problem with picking The Beatles, though, is everyone has their favourite. These two were neither of mine. My favourite is The White Album, which came in at Number 12. But while there were 4 albums by The Beatles in the Top 20, The Rolling Stones only had one album, Sticky Fingers, in the Top 100 and it came in at Number 95. This also surprised the hell out of me.
Nirvana’s Nevermind at Number 6 is another one of those classic albums, well loved and supported and which became an instant classic. I remember when it broke, Nirvana were touring Australia. This album was everywhere that summer, in cars, at parties and all over the radio. Nirvana were never to have the same impact with any of their following releases. They defined a genre, rewrote the rules and introduced the idea that an indie band could crossover to the mainstream and be huge.
At Number 7 is my favourite Led Zeppelin album, simply known as Led Zeppelin 4. It is the album with ‘Stairway To Heaven’ on it, but it is also the album with ‘Black Dog’, ‘Rock and Roll’, ‘Misty Mountain Hop’ and ‘When The Levee Breaks’. In fact, the whole album is all killer, no filler. It had an incredible, indelible influence on me growing up, as a young man, and even today. I am still blown away by how damn rockin’ it is and how damn rockin’ it’s not too.
Segue #3: When I was about 14 or 15, way back in ‘77 or ‘78, I remember listening to Led Zeppelin 2 at my friend’s house. What was extra cool was his parents had an awesome Quadraphonic stereo. We’d lie on the wooden floor in the middle of the lounge, drop the needle on side one and wait for ‘Whole Lotta Love’ to start. We’d listen as Jimmy Page’s guitar would scream over our heads. This definitely helped shape in my mind the idea of wanting to be a musician.
At Number 8 is a band who could well have been from Australia. In fact, one of them is Australian-born. They’re the sort of blokes I see everyday in my suburb. Tattooed, rowdy lads who happen to be in one of the world’s most popular bands. The Red Hot Chilli Peppers’ “Blood, Sugar, Sex, Magik” is a genuinely great piece of funk-a-fied party music combined with some beautiful pop moments. It is also the album most commonly stolen (or borrowed and not returned, you bastards!) from my collection.
Number 9 is one of those records very few will ever admit to owning but most of us know it better than we think we do. Meatloaf’s ’Bat Out Of Hell’ was a record of gigantic proportions with epic songs of teen love, fast cars and rock and roll, three of the primary ingredients of any rock legend. It dominated the charts in Australia for far too long, squashing any other artist who tried to take over its dominating position. Even today, it invokes very different emotional responses from people. Some love it and won’t stand for it to be disparaged while others make retching noises only equalled by consuming an enormous amount of alcohol and a very suspect Indian curry.
Finally, at Number 10, is U2’s “Joshua Tree”. What do you say about U2 without mentioning god-like complexes and egos the size of universes, Bono? Oops, did I say Bono? Yes, I said it and I mean it. For four scrappy lads from Dublin, they sure have done well for themselves. I really liked U2 when they first released this album. But I can remember sitting in my lounge room listening to it for the first time and being reminded of all my favourite bands. There was so much scope and substance to this record and it certainly uped the ante for them. It was the album that took them from being popular to being superstars. It was also the album that started Bono on his mission to change the world. And he’s being annoying us ever since.
Segue #4: The thing that pissed my wife off the most about the Top Ten is it did not feature a single woman, or a married woman, for that matter. I’m am sure there are very few of you who would disagree that many of the best vocalists in the world, both today and in the past, are women. Where is Aretha? Where is Billie or Dusty or Nina? I guess it still proves the theory that it is indeed ‘a man’s world’ when it comes to popular music.
Finally, those of you who are like me will have probably noted there are no Australian bands in the Top Ten either. I’m okay with this except when it comes to AC/DC. I can’t believe there is not at least one AccaDacca album in the Top 10. I would have even settled for Back In Black, which came in at Number 25, behind the first two Australian entries; Midnight Oil at 23 (the classic “10, 9, 8...”) and Silverchair’s “Diorama” at 24. But it would have been nice to see a Bon Scott sung album in there. And while I loved them when I was a kid, and still sort of secretly love them even today, I am happy to say there was no Kiss in the Top 100.
The reality is I’m a music nut. I love playing, listening, reading, watching and discussing anything to do with music. I have a disturbingly good recollection of lyrics and melodies. The amount of music trivia I know is also disturbing, so much so I wonder what brain functions or memory I’ve sacrificed in order to retain such relatively useless information.
Segue #1: My brother has a similar recollection for trivia but his is worldlier. He remembers dates and events but has a tendency to also remember weird coincidences. Still, his recollection helps him win Trivial Pursuit more than mine does.
A couple of months ago, I wrote an article naming my favourite album of all time. To recap, I named ‘London Calling’ by The Clash. My reasons were included in the article so if you want to find out, click on this link Link In a nutshell, it was for a television show to find out Australia’s favourite album. I’m pleased to say my choice was number 26 in the Top 100, but the Top Ten, frankly, surprised the heck out of me. Following is the list:
Top Ten Albums
10. U2 - The Joshua Tree
9. Meatloaf - Bat Out Of Hell (highest selling album in Australia of all time)
8. The Red Hot Chilli Peppers - Blood, Sugar, Sex, Magik
7. Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin 4 (The Sticks Album) (more sheet music than any other rock song)
6. Nirvana - Nevermind
5. The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
4. The Beatles - Abbey Road
3. Radiohead - OK Computer
2. Jeff Buckley - Grace
1. Pink Floyd - Dark Side Of The Moon (15 Years on the Aussie charts)
The problem with these sorts of lists is the compiling is left to the public, or at least those who could be bothered voting. If the above list had been to compile the Top 10, oh let’s say, shrubberies, there is no way I would have been voting. Hell, I don’t think I would have even known about this sort of survey. As it happened, it was music, which as I stated early, I’m nuts about.
Saying this, I would expect the only people out there to cast a vote would be of two distinct demographics. The first would be, of course, teenagers (which covers massive ground). The teenage girl vote, for instance, is the only explanation as to how Anthony Callea (a former Australian Idol) got to Number 32. This is truly scary. It gets worse. This group includes such subsets as the Radiohead fans, the Tool fans and the Silverchair fans. The Silverchair fans bear particular watching as they voted every Silverchair album into the Top 100. God help us if they ever get behind some whacky evangelical politician.
The second and most considerably-numbered group, as this was an ABC program (for those of you who don’t know; the Australian Broadcasting Commission, the government-sponsored channel), would be people like me. Or at least somewhat like me in that they love their music. We are why albums by Miles Davis, Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, Neil Young, Carol King and other greats made it onto the Top 100. It still doesn’t explain Meatloaf, though.
The not-so-obvious point I am trying to arrive at is that a lot of Pink Floyd fans must have had a lot of time on their hands as this is the only way I can understand why ’Dark Side Of The Moon’ is at Number 1. Its not that I don’t think this is a fantastic, ground breaking, momentous album of proportions beyond the conceptual senses of most of us (phew, what a load of happy horse shit that was) but I just don’t see it as very representational of Australia’s top album. Don’t ask me what it would be as I haven’t a clue. Certainly not Nickelback, that’s for sure.
Number 2 was a big shock. Jeff Buckley is one of my favourite solo artists. I was shocked when the mighty Mississippi pulled him under. The world lost a truly gifted and unique talent. But when you put that up against someone with a prodigious back catalogue like David Bowie, a ground breaker, a trend setter and a superstar, Jeff Buckley was only really getting started. David, who doesn’t get a look in until Number 34, was a genius pioneer while Jeff didn’t have the chance to prove he could be. I wonder what people were really thinking.
Segue #2: I was a music journalist for about 10 years. One of the perks of this, besides lots of free music, is free tickets to shows. Over the years, I’ve seen so many great bands, I can hardly remember them all. One of the few times I ever turned down free tickets to see someone was to see Jeff Buckley. When I got the call, I had something already planned. At that time, I hadn’t heard much of him and thought “oh, well, there is always next time“. I’ve kicked myself ever since.
Radiohead’s “Ok Computer“, is a genius album by a band who consistently push the envelope when it comes to what they do. I really like this band and this album, although there are times when the whining simpering of Thom Yorke’s vocals have me wanting to smack him upside the head and tell him to stop being such a melancholy sop. This is another album I don’t see it as representational of the whole. It’s a niche album and Radiohead fans made sure their favourite band was well represented, with 3 albums in the Top 30.
Numbers 4 and 5 are both classic albums, even antiquities, as one of the hosts called them. They bookend the second half of The Beatles career, when they became a studio band. The problem with picking The Beatles, though, is everyone has their favourite. These two were neither of mine. My favourite is The White Album, which came in at Number 12. But while there were 4 albums by The Beatles in the Top 20, The Rolling Stones only had one album, Sticky Fingers, in the Top 100 and it came in at Number 95. This also surprised the hell out of me.
Nirvana’s Nevermind at Number 6 is another one of those classic albums, well loved and supported and which became an instant classic. I remember when it broke, Nirvana were touring Australia. This album was everywhere that summer, in cars, at parties and all over the radio. Nirvana were never to have the same impact with any of their following releases. They defined a genre, rewrote the rules and introduced the idea that an indie band could crossover to the mainstream and be huge.
At Number 7 is my favourite Led Zeppelin album, simply known as Led Zeppelin 4. It is the album with ‘Stairway To Heaven’ on it, but it is also the album with ‘Black Dog’, ‘Rock and Roll’, ‘Misty Mountain Hop’ and ‘When The Levee Breaks’. In fact, the whole album is all killer, no filler. It had an incredible, indelible influence on me growing up, as a young man, and even today. I am still blown away by how damn rockin’ it is and how damn rockin’ it’s not too.
Segue #3: When I was about 14 or 15, way back in ‘77 or ‘78, I remember listening to Led Zeppelin 2 at my friend’s house. What was extra cool was his parents had an awesome Quadraphonic stereo. We’d lie on the wooden floor in the middle of the lounge, drop the needle on side one and wait for ‘Whole Lotta Love’ to start. We’d listen as Jimmy Page’s guitar would scream over our heads. This definitely helped shape in my mind the idea of wanting to be a musician.
At Number 8 is a band who could well have been from Australia. In fact, one of them is Australian-born. They’re the sort of blokes I see everyday in my suburb. Tattooed, rowdy lads who happen to be in one of the world’s most popular bands. The Red Hot Chilli Peppers’ “Blood, Sugar, Sex, Magik” is a genuinely great piece of funk-a-fied party music combined with some beautiful pop moments. It is also the album most commonly stolen (or borrowed and not returned, you bastards!) from my collection.
Number 9 is one of those records very few will ever admit to owning but most of us know it better than we think we do. Meatloaf’s ’Bat Out Of Hell’ was a record of gigantic proportions with epic songs of teen love, fast cars and rock and roll, three of the primary ingredients of any rock legend. It dominated the charts in Australia for far too long, squashing any other artist who tried to take over its dominating position. Even today, it invokes very different emotional responses from people. Some love it and won’t stand for it to be disparaged while others make retching noises only equalled by consuming an enormous amount of alcohol and a very suspect Indian curry.
Finally, at Number 10, is U2’s “Joshua Tree”. What do you say about U2 without mentioning god-like complexes and egos the size of universes, Bono? Oops, did I say Bono? Yes, I said it and I mean it. For four scrappy lads from Dublin, they sure have done well for themselves. I really liked U2 when they first released this album. But I can remember sitting in my lounge room listening to it for the first time and being reminded of all my favourite bands. There was so much scope and substance to this record and it certainly uped the ante for them. It was the album that took them from being popular to being superstars. It was also the album that started Bono on his mission to change the world. And he’s being annoying us ever since.
Segue #4: The thing that pissed my wife off the most about the Top Ten is it did not feature a single woman, or a married woman, for that matter. I’m am sure there are very few of you who would disagree that many of the best vocalists in the world, both today and in the past, are women. Where is Aretha? Where is Billie or Dusty or Nina? I guess it still proves the theory that it is indeed ‘a man’s world’ when it comes to popular music.
Finally, those of you who are like me will have probably noted there are no Australian bands in the Top Ten either. I’m okay with this except when it comes to AC/DC. I can’t believe there is not at least one AccaDacca album in the Top 10. I would have even settled for Back In Black, which came in at Number 25, behind the first two Australian entries; Midnight Oil at 23 (the classic “10, 9, 8...”) and Silverchair’s “Diorama” at 24. But it would have been nice to see a Bon Scott sung album in there. And while I loved them when I was a kid, and still sort of secretly love them even today, I am happy to say there was no Kiss in the Top 100.
