My sister's blog asks a question: which rock artists do you know really well? The criterion is that you must know three of their albums inside and out.
Here's what I've got:
The Beatles
Meet the Beatles! (1964)
Rubber Soul (1965)
Revolver (1966)
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
The Beatles (White Album) (1968)
Abbey Road (1969)
Let It Be (1970)
I don't include Please Please Me (1963), Magical Mystery Tour (1967) or A Hard Day's Night (1964) as I only know those fairly well, since I've only had them for about a year each.
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin (1969)
Led Zeppelin II (1969)
Led Zeppelin IV (1971)
Houses of the Holy (1973)
Physical Graffiti (1975)
Bob Dylan
The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan (1963)
Bringing It All Back Home (1965)
Highway 61 Revisited (1965)
Blood on the Tracks (1975)
I don't often listen to Blonde on Blonde (1966) and two I just recently got, Time Out of Mind (1997) and Modern Times (2006).
The Rolling Stones
Beggar's Banquet (1968)
Let It Bleed (1969)
Sticky Fingers (1971)
Exile on Main Street (1972)
Not included is recent acquisition Aftermath (1966).
Pink Floyd
Dark Side of the Moon (1973)
Wish You Were Here (1975)
Animals (1977)
The Wall (1979)
Nick Drake
Five Leaves Left (1969)
Bryter Layter (1970)
Pink Moon (1972)
Stevie Wonder
Talking Book (1972)
Innervisions (1973)
Songs in the Key of Life (1976)
R.E.M.
Murmur (1983)
Out of Time (1991)
Automatic for the People (1992)
Not included is Document (1987).
Radiohead
The Bends (1995)
OK Computer (1997)
Kid A (2000)
So nine. Close contenders/future inductees will be:
The Who (four albums - The Who Sell Out (1967), Tommy (1969), Live at Leeds (1970), Who's Next (1971))
The Byrds (three albums - Mr. Tambourine Man (1965), Younger Than Yesterday (1967), Sweetheart of the Rodeo (1968))
The Jimi Hendrix Experience (three albums - Are You Experienced (1967), Axis: Bold as Love (1967) and Electric Ladyland (1968))
Creedence Clearwater Revival (three albums - Green River (1969), Willy and the Poor Boys (1969), Cosmo's Factory (1970))
Fleetwood Mac (three albums - Then Play On (1969), Fleetwood Mac (1975), Rumours (1975))
The Grateful Dead (three albums - Workingman's Dead (1970), American Beauty (1970), Europe '72 (1972))
Bob Marley and the Wailers (three albums - Catch a Fire (1973), Burnin' (1973), Natty Dread (1974))
Bruce Springsteen (three albums - The Wild, The Innocent and the E Street Shuffle (1973), Born to Run (1975), Born in the USA (1984))
U2 (three albums - War (1983), The Joshua Tree (1987), Achtung Baby (1991))
So that'll double the total. Not including things like Jazz (Duke Ellington, Miles Davis and John Coltrane, Ella Fitzgerald etc.).
