Lydia's top 20 favorite albums

With the exception of a few random selections, my list will make up for the anti-smag list Alex just posted.  In the end, we average out in smagginess.  These are listed roughly in the order they impacted my LIFE (since clearly, I have "no musical taste") - if just favorites, BSB would be #1... I'm not ashamed!  Also, unlike Alex, I didn't restrict myself to any cutoff date, and I even included compilations.  Here goes:


1. Janet Jackson - "Rhythmnation" (1989) or "Janet" (1993) - it's a tie!
3. Beach Boys - "Pet Sounds" (1966)*
4. Backstreet Boys - "Millennium" (1999)
5. Chris Tomlin - "Arriving" (2004) <--- requisite twinkie-christian album
6. Original London Cast - "Crazy For You" Soundtrack" (1993?)
7. Kelly Clarkson - "Breakaway" (2004)
8. Missy Elliott - "Under Construction" (2002)
9. Alicia Keys - "As I Am" (2007)
10. Taylor Swift - "Fearless" (2009)
11. The Fray - "How to Save a Life" (2005)
12. Queen - "Greatest Hits" (1981)**
13. Shakira - "Donde Estan Los Ladrones" (1998)
14. Harry Connick, Jr. - "When My Heart Finds Christmas" (1993)
15. Chris Brown - "Chris Brown" (2005)
16. MIT Logarhythms - Natural Logs (2006)
17. Cheap Trick - "(Live) At Budokan" (1978)
18. Carrie Underwood - "Some Hearts" (2005)
19. Backstreet Boys - "Backstreet Boys" US release (1997)
20. Jay-Z/Linkin Park - Collision Course" (2004)


* Note: I was actually looking for a release that had the same songs from my favorite audio tape as a little kid - but I don't know if it exists - couldn't find it.  Will settle for "Pet Sounds" cuz it was pretty awesome anyways.  Otherwise it would be "Sounds of Summer - The Very Best of the Beach Boys" (2003) because that one really had every song.  It's a good road trip album.
** Note: no single album has encapsulated all of my favorite Queen songs just yet, but I have hope it'll come out soon.  All the Greatest Hits compilations come close, but the 1981 US release is the closest.  In an un-smaggy move, I've declared "Fat-Bottomed Girls" as my personal anthem.


I chose most of these albums for being the best sing-along type albums, but here are some other notes about my selections: Janet and Missy E helped me find my inner hiphop (which makes me wish I was more BFABB - go watch Step Up 3 if you have no idea what I'm talking about).  "If" was the first song I ever did a 'choreographed' dance to, and "Gossip Folks" was one of the audition songs when I made it into our dance group at school.  See? Big things.  #5, #7, #8, #11, #15, #16, and #18 really bring me back to college days and fun times, so I know they're albums that will stay on the list, even if not so deserving as time goes on.  (Also #15 is an MIT a capella group that I loved while in college, yes... very SMAG of me.) I also feel bad for still loving Chris Brown, but I will always love that first album. How's that for smag-iness? A mixture of pop and pop-hiphop and some old school rock... I think that sums it all up.