Not artists or songs, but albums. Sitting in Crackskull’s cafe in Newmarket, my brother Scott asked the question: what are the ten best albums?

It seems like it should be easier to pick ten albums than ten songs or artists – that the extraordinary ones would rise to the surface simply because I recall fewer of them than either artists or songs. Turns out, not so – at least for me. Some of my favorite songs are buried in albums whose other tracks I barely remember; some artists outshine the music they sing in some inexplicable way, dear to me for their overall artistry rather than a particular album.

Then there are the genre issues: how can I choose ten from classical, jazz, classic rock, metal, grunge, punk, broadway, folk, country, soul, and so on? If the music was created before albums, does it count? What about Live in Concert or Best of collections? And other questions: do I choose my favorites, or the ones I consider the best even if not my particular favorites? Should I choose ones that evoke a particular time, profound because of an association to particular places and people?

Scott’s question has stuck with me for two weeks now, and I’ve been sifting through albums that whole time. Whether I want to or not, I’m already on my way to answering the question.

How about you? What are the top ten albums?

On my list so far: Six Evolutions – Back: Cello Suites by Yo-Yo Ma.

This is the first in Top Ten-ish…