Best music
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