Who are the best Canadian artists, and what is their best album? These are mine, in no particular order:
Joni Mitchell. The Hissing of Summer Lawns
Skinny Puppy. Too Dark Park
Richie Hawtin ( Plastikman). Consumed
Our Lady Peace. Clumsy
Neil Young. Decade
Broken Social Scene. You Forget it in People
Gordon Lightfoot. Cold on the Shoulder
Bachman-Turner Overdrive. So Far
Sloan. One Chord to Another
Rough Trade. Avoid Freud
The New Pornographers. Twin Cinema
Buffy Saint-Marie. Illuminations
IDK - but here's what BEA says: Bolded albums I also enjoy. Italicized kinda.
Fairly impressive when Canada and California have roughly the same sample size:
Rank Artist Albums Top Ranked Album Score
Canada 1 Arcade Fire 6 Funeral (7th) 173,042
Canada 2 Neil Young 62 After The Gold Rush (82nd) 96,883
Canada 3 Rush 35 Moving Pictures (154th) 41,238
Canada 4 Joni Mitchell 27 Blue (101st) 37,382
Canada 5 Godspeed You! Black Emperor 7 Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven (111th) 33,621
Canada 6 Leonard Cohen 25 Songs Of Leonard Cohen (174th) 29,366
Canada 7 The Band 18 The Band (218th) 23,956
Canada 8 Alanis Morissette 11 Jagged Little Pill (288th) 12,440
Canada 9 Broken Social Scene 7 You Forgot It In People (263rd) 10,874
Canada 10 Grimes 5 Visions (588th) 7,691
Canada 11 Mac DeMarco 10 Salad Days (568th) 7,671
Canada 12 Destroyer 15 Kaputt (621st) 6,022
Canada 13 The Tragically Hip 15 Fully Completely (1,223rd) 4,602
Canada 14 The New Pornographers 7 Twin Cinema (1,418th) 4,246
Canada 15 Drake 9 Take Care (1,096th) 3,949
Canada 16 Japandroids 6 Celebration Rock (891st) 3,511
Canada 17 Crystal Castles 4 Crystal Castles (1,088th) 3,459
Canada 18 Tim Hecker 13 Ravedeath, 1972 (1,580th) 3,394
Canada 19 Feist 6 The Reminder (1,099th) 3,389
Canada 20 The Weeknd 7 House Of Balloons (1,340th) 3,341
IDK - but here's what BEA says: Bolded albums I also enjoy. Italicized kinda.
Fairly impressive when Canada and California have roughly the same sample size:
Rank Artist Albums Top Ranked Album Score
Canada 1 Arcade Fire 6 Funeral (7th) 173,042
Canada 2 Neil Young 62 After The Gold Rush (82nd) 96,883
Canada 3 Rush 35 Moving Pictures (154th) 41,238
Canada 4 Joni Mitchell 27 Blue (101st) 37,382
Canada 5 Godspeed You! Black Emperor 7 Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven (111th) 33,621
Canada 6 Leonard Cohen 25 Songs Of Leonard Cohen (174th) 29,366
Canada 7 The Band 18 The Band (218th) 23,956
Canada 8 Alanis Morissette 11 Jagged Little Pill (288th) 12,440
Canada 9 Broken Social Scene 7 You Forgot It In People (263rd) 10,874
Canada 10 Grimes 5 Visions (588th) 7,691
Canada 11 Mac DeMarco 10 Salad Days (568th) 7,671
Canada 12 Destroyer 15 Kaputt (621st) 6,022
Canada 13 The Tragically Hip 15 Fully Completely (1,223rd) 4,602
Canada 14 The New Pornographers 7 Twin Cinema (1,418th) 4,246
Canada 15 Drake 9 Take Care (1,096th) 3,949
Canada 16 Japandroids 6 Celebration Rock (891st) 3,511
Canada 17 Crystal Castles 4 Crystal Castles (1,088th) 3,459
Canada 18 Tim Hecker 13 Ravedeath, 1972 (1,580th) 3,394
Canada 19 Feist 6 The Reminder (1,099th) 3,389
Canada 20 The Weeknd 7 House Of Balloons (1,340th) 3,341
Cool. The only ones I expected to match my list for sure were Neil Young and Joni Mitchell, but I matched 4 altogether. Thatt's not too bad
Lets get some of you members updated with new rock groups.
1. Billy Talent. Tour deForce.
You have to be living under a rock in the Arctic to not have heard of this powerhouse band. I seen a couple of videos, a couple of months ago, of them in Germany (they love these guys), where they head lined a rock festival with >250,ooo headbangers.
They have a very very unique sound. Either you love them or hate them. It took me >10 listens before I couldn't put down Billy Talent 2. These guys are the real deal. I now own 4 albums, and they are all amazing. the most under-rated band in the world right now. But not for long. They are just to good.
2. July Talk. I have watched them 2x live. Both times I left the concert happy that I went to there show. the main singer has a real cool johnny cash voice . when he teams up with the girl in the band, they knock it out of the park every time. Good songs, young, hi energy, good fresh music. another band you will not be disappointed listening to.
3. The Arkells. This is a new band , couple of years old, that is played all over the fm sphere.
there not bad. true fm spirit. Young with huge potential. this band is just going to get better and better. They caught my attention with "leather jacket" and then, i started to take note.
4. Blue Rodeo.
An oldie but a goodie. Come on, these guys put out super incredible music. so many killer licks. Relaxing music that still sounds good after 20 years. I still listen to their greatest hits album.
Lets get some of you members updated with new rock groups.
1. Billy Talent. Tour deForce.
You have to be living under a rock in the Arctic to not have heard of this powerhouse band. I seen a couple of videos, a couple of months ago, of them in Germany (they love these guys), where they head lined a rock festival with >250,ooo headbangers.
They have a very very unique sound. Either you love them or hate them. It took me >10 listens before I couldn't put down Billy Talent 2. These guys are the real deal. I now own 4 albums, and they are all amazing. the most under-rated band in the world right now. But not for long. They are just to good.
2. July Talk. I have watched them 2x live. Both times I left the concert happy that I went to there show. the main singer has a real cool johnny cash voice . when he teams up with the girl in the band, they knock it out of the park every time. Good songs, young, hi energy, good fresh music. another band you will not be disappointed listening to.
3. The Arkells. This is a new band , couple of years old, that is played all over the fm sphere.
there not bad. true fm spirit. Young with huge potential. this band is just going to get better and better. They caught my attention with "leather jacket" and then, i started to take note.
4. Blue Rodeo.
An oldie but a goodie. Come on, these guys put out super incredible music. so many killer licks. Relaxing music that still sounds good after 20 years. I still listen to their greatest hits album.
I know Blue Rodeo and Billy Talent, but they just weren't in my top 10 Canadian artists, that's all. I know they're good. But I still want to see your top 10. Make a top 10 for us to see. And you don't have to put BTO because I already did.
top 10 canadian albums in no particular order. they are all 5 star albums.
1. Billy Talent - Billy Talent 2
There are many things I liked about this album, but the thing that stood out to me the most was the vocals. Ben Kowalewicz has one of the most unique sounding voices out there, as well as very very recognizable. His voice can be beautiful and haunting at the same time, which is probably why he is so different sounding.
Billy Talent's sound is purely pop-punk and simple sounding on this album, ut the music is actually quite complex in some songs (trust me, I've tried to play some of the chord progressions on the guitar, and can't do it). The band uses a wide variety of chords to hold the songs together.
2. Cowboy Junkies- Trinity Sessions
The songs were recorded in a church which gives the album a dark, hushed atmoshpere.
its their signature album and it is gLorious and mesmerizing. Anyone who can perform a cover of Lou Reed's "Sweet Jane" so beautifully deserves to be in my top 10. Margo Timmins soft voice is as good as Patsy Cline or Velvet Underground.
3. Robbie Robertson- Storyville
10 years after retiring as The Bands guitarist and main songwriter, Robbie created this masterpiece that had very little in common with his previous bands rustic soul sound.
4. Matthew Good Band - Beautiful Midnight
A total of fourteen incredible songs, and none fail to bring the energy and beauty Matt is famous for. Though all songs are incredible, there are the lucky few that make my "Favorite Songs" playlist- and that's pretty tough (Hello Time Bomb, Apparitions, Load Me Up). This is a smoking musician with a killer album.
5. Neil Young - Rust Never Sleeps
One side of acoustic folk elegy and the other side of unbelievably brutal crazy horse rampage.
His greatest songs are here: powder finger, Pocahontas, thrasher, "hey, hey , hey".
"ITS BETTER TO BURN OUT THAN TO FADE AWAY"
6. Rush- Permanent Waves You love it or hate it, there's no in betweens.
7. Blue Rodeo- Greatest hits Good solid rock
8. Tom Cochrane- Mad, Mad World Mega hit when it came out
9. Triumph - Rock and Roll Machine Will they ever get back together?
10. April Wine - Live at the El Mocambo The Stones showed up later in the set.
Others I probably/maybe like, but need to listen more:
MacDeMarco
BadBadNotGood
Andy Shauf (sounds great!)
Metric
Skinny Puppy
Feist
Tragically Hip
Tegan & Sara
deadmau5
Destroyer
...
This list is a supplement to my original list. They are Canadian acts that I wouldn't quite put on a "greatest" list, but they made albums that I really love and are worth mentioning;
Teenage Head
The Kings
Martha and the Muffins
Spoons
Junior Boys
Frozen Ghost
Rheostatics
Bran Van 3000
Chilliwack
Hot Hot Heat
Max Webster
Saga
Pursuit of happiness
Kid Koala
Ann Murray
Eric's Trip
MSTRKRFT
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