The Top Albums from A to Z

My wife is a coolfind buzzkill. For a couple weeks before the release of Vampire Weekend's debut album, it was highly anticipated by the half of the Lauve household that tries to be on the front edge of the indie scene. When the album came out, it was great---it will take an absolute masterpiece to unseat it as the best album of 2008---and it was like my little discovery. Until Brandi one day said, "You know that Vampire Weekend album is really hot right now." I looked it up, and sure enough, it was #2 on both Amazon and iTunes. So maybe it wasn't the undiscovered gem I thought it was. But it is, in my opinion, the greatest "V" album of all time, not there is much competition for that title (unless you're a Velvet Underground fan). Which got me to thinking about the greatest albums beginning with the other 25 letters. So here are my top albums from A to Z:

Abbey Road (The Beatles)
Rolling Stone naming this album the 14th greatest of all time is like Sports Illustrated naming Michael Jordan the 14th greatest athlete. Or like TV Guide naming Johnny Carson the 14th greatest talk show host of all time. Or like Cigar Aficionado naming Cuba the 14th greatest cigar-producing nation of all time.
Bookends (Simon & Garfunkel)
"A light and tumble journey from the East Side to the park"..."counting the cars on the New Jersey Turnpike"..."hear the Salvation Army band"...It always amazes me how Mr. Simon puts together these seemingly effortless and uniquely American images that just sort of spill together. There are two Simon lyrics from his solo career, "she makes the sign of a teaspoon, he makes the sign of a wave" and "I'm gonna stand guard like a postcard of a Golden Retriever," that sounded oddly appropriate even though I have no idea what they mean. I think those kind of lyrics have their root in "At the Zoo," which really doesn't get enough credit as a truly inventive song.
Catalogue of Generous Men (Modern Skirts)
Greatest debut album ever? The songwriting and harmonies are something to behold on this record, and they're even better in person.
Dark Side of the Moon (Pink Floyd)
I've tried all 26 of these albums as the soundtrack to The Wizard of Oz, and this is the only one that makes a lick of sense.
Eldorado (Electric Light Orchestra)
This one was a little impenetrable for me at first, but now I absolutely love it. I even listen to it at the gym. I bet I'm the only one.
Flood (They Might Be Giants)
A perfect combination of the out-of-left-field, Dial-A-Song quality of their early albums and the musical maturity and increasingly varied arrangements of their later stuff.
Green (R.E.M.)
This album got me thinking about direction in a way I hadn't before. Wonder why.
Her Majesty the Decemberists (The Decemberists)
This might not even be the best Decemberists album, but I'm giving it the nod over Help!, A Hard Day's Night, and the Bees' High Society as the best "H" album. Of course, any Decemberists album is like a combination of David Copperfield and Hot Words for the SAT.
Illinois (Sufjan Stevens)
This one really blew me away. I picked it up after Paste magazine called it the best album of 2005 (as many others did), and after listening to it I think it might be the best album of the last 20 years. Sufjan put an unbelievable amount of time into researching Illinois history and crafting some amazing arrangements, and it shows.
John Henry (They Might Be Giants)
The Johns finally show what they can do with a full band.
Keep Your Wig On (Fastball)
Not a hit to be found, but this is far and away their best album from beginning to end.
Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs (Derek and the Dominos)
Personally, I think "Layla" is the 4th or 5th best song on the record.
Magical Mystery Tour (The Beatles)
First Beatles album I ever owned, though it isn't really an album in the strictest sense. Still a great collection of incredible songs from the lads at their peak.
Not the Tremblin’ Kind (Laura Cantrell)
I fell in love with Laura Cantrell way before I even knew what alt country was.
Odessey and Oracle (The Zombies)
It's easy to look at the track listing and stop at "Time of the Season," as I did for a long time, but this is one of the great psychedelic albums of the 60s. The first time I heard "This Will Be Our Year," which was only a couple months ago, I thought, "How on earth have I never heard this before?"
Paul Simon (Paul Simon)
Stands beside McCartney and All Things Must Pass (both released two years earlier) as evidence that sometimes maybe it's just time for people to go their separate ways.
A Quick One (The Who)
Edges out Quadrophenia. Not a lot of "Q" albums to choose from, but for some reason the best ones are from The Who.
Rubber Soul (The Beatles)
Yes, I realize that Revolver also begins with an R. But this one has always been a half notch ahead for me.
Songs We Sing (Matt Costa)
This album is the result of the most serendipitous skateboarding accident in human history.
Tommy (The Who)
Easily a top five album in rock history, maybe the best ever. Whoever says that the Rolling Stones were the greatest contemporaries of the Beatles wasn't paying attention.
Undiscovered (James Morrison)
The 1995 me is angry with the 2008 me right now for not picking Under the Table and Dreaming, but this is such a great album. Just one song, "You Give Me Something," got any American radio play, but it's remarkable all the way through.
Vampire Weekend (Vampire Weekend)
What a unique sound---I hope their ability to make interesting music is a sign of things to come.
The Who Sell Out (The Who)
The fact that The Who released, within the space of two years (and consecutively), the greatest concept album (I'm not counting Sgt. Pepper's as a concept album) and the greatest rock opera ever never fails to blow my mind. This record is woefully underrated.
X&Y (Coldplay)
Needed something for "X." This is actually a surprisingly strong choice.
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (Wilco) I'm not sure if this is my favorite Wilco album, but it definitely is one of the most consistently good all the way through.
Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, The Rise and Fall of (David Bowie)
A little bit of a cheat, but the selection for "Z" is really thin. This one doesn't have very many of my favorite Bowie songs, but I suppose it will have to do. Not a big Zooropa or My Morning Jacket fan.