One at a Time: "Number One Record" (1972) by Big Star

#439 "Number One Record" (1972) by Big Star

Even though I'm pretty sure that they're not going to end up that close on this list, it's hard for me to figure out in my mind which Big Star album is the best one. It might be because I blend them a little bit in my head because the CD that I've always had was some re-issue that had both "Number One Record" and "Radio City" on it together.
But when I look at them separately and listen to just "Number One Record" right now, I think it edges its way ahead. Big Star has a classic sound, real simple and clean, but never glossy or over-produced.

Songs like "The Ballad of El Goodo," "Don't Lie To Me," "Thirteen," and "In The Street," are the prime examples of the light but still quite solid songs that make up most of Big Star's discography, including this album. And those songs are some of the best of their career, and here they are all on "Number One Record."

There's more to all of this than the bare bones of "Bookends," but I find it hard to put it above "Car Wheels on a Gravel Road" or "Tea for the Tillerman."

1. "Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ" (1973) by Bruce Springsteen 
2. "Tapestry" (1971) by Carole King
3. "Tea for the Tillerman" (1970) by Cat Stevens 
4. "Car Wheels On a Gravel Road" (1998) by Lucinda Williams
5. "Number One Record" (1972) by Big Star
6. "Bookends" (1968) by Simon and Garfunkel
7. "The Bends" (1995) by Radiohead
8. "Stop Making Sense" (1984) by The Talking Heads
9. "Honky Chateau" (1972) by Elton John 
10. "Burnin'" (1973) by The Wailers 
11. "The Rolling Stones Now!" (1965) by The Rolling Stones
12. "Born Under A Bad Sign" (1967) by Albert King
13. "The Slim Shady LP" (1999) by Eminem