After a few drinks last week with my good friend Michael Volitich we got to talking about music, in particular what our favorite albums are of all time. This was inspired ever so slightly by the show Desert Island Discs, whereby celebs talk about the 5 records that they would take with them to a desert island if they were going to be stranded, only we decided to look at albums instead. Naturally I couldn’t select straight off the top of my head but having had time to think, here are the 5 which I would probably settle on.

Simon and Garfunkel – Bridge Over Troubled Water

This is the most beautiful album which has ever been made in my view, a glorious collection of songs which were written brilliantly by Paul Simon and sang with the powerful and angelic voice of Art Garfunkel. There is not a bad song on this album and it more than deserves its spot as one of the finest albums that has ever been made, two men at the peak of their powers.

Queen – Live at Wembley 1985

The greatest frontman of all time is Freddie Mercury for me and I worry that there will never be another quite like him. Queen and Mercury didn’t really receive the credit that they deserved until that famous Live Aid concert in 1985, the following year the band went back to Wembley to perform their hits to a sell out crowd, and it was just as magical as that short Live Aid performance which thrilled the world.

Beatles – Please Please Me

Please Please Me was the debut album of the Fab Four and whilst I could have easily selected just about any of their albums that they produced since, for me this is the one that I will always come back to. Announcing their intentions from the opening chords of I Saw Her Standing There before delivering future classics such as Love Me Do, Anna, Chains and of course their brilliant cover of Twist and Shout. I love the sound of these 4 young men who had no idea what their music was about to do to the world, a brilliant album.

Fleetwood Mac – Rumours

This album from Fleetwood Mac is one which I would refer to as flawless, it has multiple layers, emotions, musical genius and outstanding songwriting from track to track and each member of the band stripped themselves bare to show the world. From Stevie Nicks’ rasping voice to the solid rhythm section of Mick Fleetwood and John McVeigh and of course the delicate guitar work of Lindsey Buckingham and those sultry backing tones of Christie McVeigh, this is an absolute masterpiece.

Alice in Chains – Dirt

Grunge was a scene which I fell in love with very quickly and my love affair for the genre lead me to my favorite band, Alice in Chains. Beyond the usual favorites of Pearl Jam and Nirvana, it was the album Dirt which convinced me that this was the greatest album of the era. The album stomps through with grunge rock guitar and emotional lyrics throughout, capped by the snarling and raging tones of the outstanding Layne Staley.

And so here are mine, but what would your 5 favorite albums be?