Wow -- it's impossible to pick the 5 best, since I'm listening to totally different stuff every couple of months. I'll leave the jazz alone (and Steely Dan), since they are so well covered already.
Here's 5 real good ones off the top of my head:
1. Grateful Dead - "Reckoning" - Excellent live acoustic set
2. Lyle Lovett - "Joshua Judges Ruth" - fantastic recording
3. Phish - "Picture of Nectar" - their most fun album and nice recording (not as quite as well recorded as Farmhouse, but tastier)
4. Bjork - "Homogenic" - astonishing blend of strings, electronica and Bjork's vocals (for jazz lovers who like Bjork's vocals, also check out "Gling-Glo" - a hard to find import with an Icelandic Jazz combo - sung in Icelandic!)
5. The Roots - "Things Fall Apart" -- I had to add this because this list has no hip hop on it (for good reason). But the Roots (I used to see them in Philly when they were known as the Square Roots) play their own instruments (even an acoustic upright bass!), and the album is one of the few well-recorded rap albums. One of the tracks features nice vocals from Erykah Badou (on their live album, the part is sung by Jill Scott).
Happy Listening!
Here's 5 real good ones off the top of my head:
1. Grateful Dead - "Reckoning" - Excellent live acoustic set
2. Lyle Lovett - "Joshua Judges Ruth" - fantastic recording
3. Phish - "Picture of Nectar" - their most fun album and nice recording (not as quite as well recorded as Farmhouse, but tastier)
4. Bjork - "Homogenic" - astonishing blend of strings, electronica and Bjork's vocals (for jazz lovers who like Bjork's vocals, also check out "Gling-Glo" - a hard to find import with an Icelandic Jazz combo - sung in Icelandic!)
5. The Roots - "Things Fall Apart" -- I had to add this because this list has no hip hop on it (for good reason). But the Roots (I used to see them in Philly when they were known as the Square Roots) play their own instruments (even an acoustic upright bass!), and the album is one of the few well-recorded rap albums. One of the tracks features nice vocals from Erykah Badou (on their live album, the part is sung by Jill Scott).
Happy Listening!