Here are my favourite 20 albums in three categories.

When asked to name what album I would take with me to a deserted island (if it had a CD player) I will say Beethoven’s 9 Symphonies. When asked to name my favourite song I will say John Lennon’s Imagine.

Soundtracks

• Klaus Badelt — Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
• John Barry — Dances With Wolves
• Christophe Beck — Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Score
• Tan Dun — Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
• Cliff Eidelman — Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
• Danny Elfman — Batman
• Michael Giacchino — Up
• Jerry Goldsmith — Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
• James Horner — Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
• Trevor Jones — Dark City
• Michael Kamen — Brazil
• Dennis McCarthy — Star Trek: Generations
• Ennio Morricone — The Mission
• Thomas Newman — WALL-E
• John Powell — How to Train Your Dragon
• Howard Shore — The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
• Alan Silvestri — Back to the Future Part III
• Yann Tiersen — Amélie
• John Williams — Jurassic Park
• Hans Zimmer — The Rock

Popular

• Abba — Gold
• Lily Allen — Alright, Still
• The Arrogant Worms — C’est Cheese
• Barenaked Ladies — Gordon
• The Beach Boys — The Greatest Hits
• The Beatles — 1262-1966
• Holly Cole Trio — Don’t Smoke in Bed
• Phil Collins — No Jacket Required
• The Essentials — …And Then Some
• Fine Young Cannibals — The Raw & the Cooked
• Garfunkel & Oates — All Over Your Face
• INXS — Kick
• Michael Jackson — Thriller
• Billy Joel — River of Dreams
• Huey Lewis & the News — Sports
• Moxy Früvous — Bargainville
• The Nylons — Run For Cover
• The Police — Greatest Hits
• Paul Simon — Greatest Hits: Shining Like a National Guitar
• The Temptations — The Best of, Volume 1: The 60s (The Millenium Collection)

Classical

• 300 Years of Classical Music (Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Modern & Opera) — various artists
• Canadian Brass — Best of the Canadian Brass

• Johann Sebastian Bach — Violin Concertos — Akiko Suwanai, Chamber Orchestra of Europe
• Ludwig van Beethoven — Piano Concerto No. 5, Piano Sonata No. 15 — Stefan Vladar, Capella Istropolitana
• Ludwig van Beethoven — Piano Sonatas, Vol. 1 (Pathétique, Moonlight, Appassionata) — Jenö Jandó
• Ludwig van Beethoven — Symphonien 1 – 9 — Herbert von Karajan, Berliner Philharmoniker
• Hector Berlioz — Symphonie Fantastique, Lélio ou le retour à la vie — Michael Tilson Thomas, San Francisco Symphony
• Brahms — The Symphonies, Orchestral Works and Concertos (Symphonies 1 – 4, Hungarian Dances) — Eduardo Marturet, Berlin Symphony Orchestra
• Aaron Copland — Copland Conducts Copland (Appalachian Spring, Rodeo, Fanfare For The Common Man) — Columbia Symphony Orchestra
• Antonín Dvorák — New World Symphony (Symphony No. 9, Slavonic Dances, Stabat Mater) — Libor Pesek, Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra
• George Gershwin — Rhapsody in Blue, An American in Paris, Porgy & Bess — Libor Pesek, Slovak National Philharmonic Orchestra
• George Frideric Handel — Music for the Royal Fireworks & Water Music — Sir Neville Marriner, Academy of St. Martin In the Fields
• Gustav Holst — The Planets — Andrew Davis, the Toronto Symphony
• Aram Khatchaturian – Gayne & Masquerade Suites — Aram Khatchaturian, Philharmonia Orchestra
• Gustav Mahler — 10 Symphonien — Rafael Kubelik, Symphonie-Orchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart — Eine kleine Nachtmusik, Serenata notturna, Lodron Night Music No. 1 — Peter Sundkvist, Swedish Chamber Orchestra
• Modest Mussorgsky — Pictures at an Exhibition — Carlo Maria Giulini, Chicago Symphony Orchestra [with Maurice Ravel — Ma Mère l’Oye – Rapsodie Espagnole]
• Sergei Prokofiev — Favourite Orchestral Suites (Lieutenant Kijé Suite, Romeo & Juliet) — Sir Neville Marriner, London Symphony Orchestra & others
• Bedrich Smetana — Má Vlast — Antoni Wit, Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra
• Antonio Vivaldi — The Four Seasons — Alberto Lizzio, Baroque Festival Orchestra