Happy Birthday Karla

This last Monday Robert of the Radish posted the top 20 best selling albums in the US on Yahoo. Feel free to check out his calculations and limitations to the equation HERE if you want to see the sausage being made.

His list is posted below.

After reviewing the list the first time I went through and said “want it”, “have it”, “need it” down the line.

After thinking on this list for the last few days I have come to the conclusion that the age of the album/cd is over. Yes, I am last to the party on this one. Producers and artists are hard pressed to put together an entire album that has vision and scope.

While the last full CD I bought was only a few weeks ago, it was a replacement of something so over played from the last two decades I finally had to get newer copies. Prior to that it had been a few years.

Now I am seeking great songs. Not so much pop and hits, although I won’t rule anything out, but great songs. I can put together my own CD, album or play list.

I was thinking the other day about a stroll through Oakland Mall with my brother in what must have been 1989 - 1990. He was telling me about the way record stores were going to change in the next few years. That I would be able to go to a record store and pick my favorite songs from a catalog, and for a $1 for each song the store would make a CD for me. It was a great idea. Who know that the brick and mortar store would be the thing we eliminated.

When think about this list even more I wonder who bought these albums? Does this represent the American taste for music? I can see the boomers drifting back in their minds eye to the good times they had listening to Fleetwood Mac. Those misunderstood and moody Gen X’ers rocking out to Van Halen or the hazy distant past of Pink Floyd.

Some on this list you will buy in every incarnation it appears in. Others on this list are handed down to children as the fond playtime memories singing Ricky Raccoon.

I am not surprised by the list. It is just a list. Given a few weeks there will be a new one. Maybe on that one there will music from the last 10 years, rap, country, or disco included. We all have our own list.

But keep in mind that the one list that counts is GME08. Start planning now, October is around the corner.

20. Faith - George Michael
19. Appetite For Destruction - Guns N' Roses
18. Purple Rain - Prince
17. Houses Of The Holy - Led Zeppelin
16. Born In The U.S.A. - Bruce Springsteen
15. Nevermind - Nirvana
14. Van Halen - Van Halen
13. Rumours - Fleetwood Mac
12. The Wall - Pink Floyd
11. The Joshua Tree - U2
10. Metallica - Metallica
9. Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin
8. Hotel California - Eagles
7. The White Album - The Beatles
6. Led Zeppelin IV - Led Zeppelin
5. Abbey Road - The Beatles
4. Physical Graffiti - Led Zeppelin
3. Thriller - Michael Jackson
2. Dark Side Of The Moon - Pink Floyd
1. Songs In The Key Of Life - Stevie Wonder

Oh, yeah, Happy Birthday Karla! You don't look a day over 52