Washington, DC is paradise to me! 51 albums of DC history
by EyeKanFly

Washington DC is home to some of the most powerful institutions and people on the planet, yet this is in stark contrast to the 700,000+ people who live within the District's borders: utterly powerless to change all but the most basic tenets of their local government.

These 51 albums encapsulate the artists, producers, venues, labels, and genres most important to the history and legacy of the District of Columbia. Some are by local DC artists, some are by artists who grew up in DC never to return in adulthood. Some are by foreigners who have made this city home, or maybe just passed through on a tour. Some are by artists who experienced DC at its best, and some are by artists who have experienced DC at its worst.

In addition to the 51 albums, here are a handful of honorable mentions, mostly songs or other recordings which don't fit into the "album" format. All however are important to the past, present, and future of Washington, DC:
- "A 1000 Times" - Hamilton Leithauser
- "Crew" - GoldLink
- "Embassy Row" - Pavement
- "Ghost of Old D.C." - J. B. Beverley & The Wayward Drifters
- "God Bless America" - Kate Smith
- "One Mint Julep" - The Clovers
- "Reunited" - Peaches & Herb
- "Summertime" - Billy Stewart
- "Swanee" - Al Jolson
- "The District Sleeps Alone Tonight" - The Postal Service
- "The Hustle" - Van McCoy
- "Ugly Man" - Danny Gatton
- "Washington D.C." - The Magnetic Fields
- "Washington D.C. Hospital Center Blues" - Skip James
- Library of Congress recordings - Jelly Roll Morton; Woody Guthrie
- Native American music of the Eastern Woodlands - Piscataway Conoy Tribal Nation musicians

• Chart updated: 04/22/2021 14:15
• (Created: 04/21/2021 18:09).
• Chart size: 51 albums.

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1. (=)

What's Going On 

 Marvin Gaye

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DC born and raised, Marvin Gaye spent almost none of his adult life in his hometown. That said, What's Going On is an important project in music history. It's told from the point of view of a Vietnam veteran returning to the US only to experience racism, poverty, and drug dependence. It's also one of the first mainstream music projects to promote awareness of ecological issues. These issues all resonate with Washington, the seat of power of the country. The city where decisions get made which result in war, mistreatment of veterans, mistreatment of minorities, and mistreatment of the environment.

I would recommend listening to the 2001 30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition of this album, which features a live performance of (nearly) the whole album (plus some extras) at the Kennedy Center in 1972. [First added to this chart: 04/22/2021]

Year of Release:

1971

Appears in:

1,637 charts

Rank Score:

18,956

Rank in 1971:

4

Rank in 1970s:

15

Overall Rank:

49

Average Rating:

 85 (1,951 votes)

Comments:

145

2. (=)

Ellington At Newport 
Live

 Duke Ellington And His Orchestra

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DC's other famous son. Ellington was a famous bandleader from the late 1920s to early 1940s, and this album helped revitalize his career in the late 1950s. Newport 1956 was one of the best recorded performances of Ellington's whole career. [First added to this chart: 04/22/2021]

Year of Release:

1956

Appears in:

228 charts

Rank Score:

1,647

Rank in 1956:

4

Rank in 1950s:

26

Overall Rank:

1,052

Average Rating:

 79 (207 votes)

Comments:

6

3. (=)

Minor Threat (Compilation) 
Compilation

 Minor Threat

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Other than maybe Marvin Gaye and Duke Ellington, no one looms quite as large over the DC music scene as Ian MacKaye. This is one of MacKaye's first projects, and it set the stage for the DC punk scene. Unlike punk scenes in London or New York (perhaps the only cities with larger punk scenes than DC), DC punk rockers were known for promoting their "straight-edge" lifestyle: abstinence from drugs and alcohol. While this album is a great collection of punk songs, I do feel I need to mention "Guilty of Being White": on the surface it appears to be white supremacist in nature, but according to MacKaye the (admittedly hard to comprehend) lyrics actually relate to being white in a black-majority school, neighborhood, and city. While it appears to me to be misguided, the intent is that MacKaye sympathizes with the plight of minority Americans. [First added to this chart: 04/22/2021]

Year of Release:

1984

Appears in:

74 charts

Rank Score:

509

Rank in 1984:

51

Rank in 1980s:

452

Overall Rank:

2,967

Average Rating:

 80 (98 votes)

Comments:

2

4. (=)

13 Songs 
Compilation

 Fugazi

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This is MacKaye's most famous project. Fugazi are THE DC punk band, credited with developing the post-hardcore genre. Their music is what put MacKaye's record label (Dischord, which he still runs) on the map. [First added to this chart: 04/22/2021]

Year of Release:

1989

Appears in:

246 charts

Rank Score:

1,401

Rank in 1989:

17

Rank in 1980s:

198

Overall Rank:

1,236

Average Rating:

 80 (300 votes)

Comments:

6

5. (=)

Any Other Way To Go? 
Live

 Chuck Brown & The Soul Searchers

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Go-go is DC's official music genre, and there's no better place to go for go-go than Chuck Brown. This live set was recorded at the Crystal Skate in Temple Hills, just outside of DC (fun fact: it's still around, I had to go to the hospital with a sprained knee after roller skating there). This album features a surprise rap cameo by then-mayor of DC Marion Barry (on the song "Go-Go Drug Free", ironic considering his later prison sentence for being caught smoking crack). [First added to this chart: 04/22/2021]

Year of Release:

1987

Appears in:

4 charts

Rank Score:

15

Rank in 1987:

525

Rank in 1980s:

5,345

Overall Rank:

44,831

Average Rating:

 73 (1 vote)

Comments:

0

6. (=)

Chocolate City 

 Parliament

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Funk band Parliament's tribute to DC and "chocolate" (majority black) cities all over the USA. Now just under 50% black, at the time this album was released DC was around 70% black. Currently the US state with the highest percentage of Black Americans is Mississippi at a little under 40%. Among all US states and territories, only the Virgin Islands have a higher percentage of Black Americans (75%) than DC. [First added to this chart: 04/22/2021]

Year of Release:

1975

Appears in:

58 charts

Rank Score:

126

Rank in 1975:

133

Rank in 1970s:

1,405

Overall Rank:

9,559

Average Rating:

 75 (54 votes)

Comments:

2

7. (=)

Bad Brains 

 Bad Brains

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Other than Fugazi, Bad Brains is probably the most important band of the DC punk scene. However, Bad Brains were banned from playing at all the DC clubs at the beginning of their career, largely because they were the only black punk band around, and they fused genres like reggae and metal into their punk music. Hence the song "Banned in D.C.". Fortunately the de facto ban was lifted and Bad Brains became major players in the DC punk scene. Lead singer H.R. (Human Rights) was actually born in Liverpool, England, but grew up in DC. He's a devout Rastafari, but he holds some...antiquated views about gender and sex that don't jive with either his belief system or his stage name. [First added to this chart: 04/22/2021]

Year of Release:

1982

Appears in:

268 charts

Rank Score:

1,498

Rank in 1982:

19

Rank in 1980s:

187

Overall Rank:

1,161

Average Rating:

 77 (306 votes)

Comments:

15

8. (=)

The March King: John Philip Sousa Conducts His Own Marches And Other Favorites 
Live compilation

 John Philip Sousa

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Before there was rock, before there was jazz, there were marches. I guess. As the Romantic era began trending towards the Modern era, Sousa helped bridge the gap with his mastery of the genre. He conducted the US Marine Band, the oldest professional musical organization in the United States. Sousa was very resistant to having his music recorded, nevertheless some recordings of his conducting finesse have survived, and they're collected in this compilation. [First added to this chart: 04/22/2021]

Year of Release:

1999

Appears in:

2 charts

Rank Score:

3

Rank in 1999:

1,958

Rank in 1990s:

16,354

Average Rating:

 72 (1 vote)

Comments:

0

9. (=)

Emergency & I 

 The Dismemberment Plan

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Formed in DC in 1993, The Dismemberment Plan is one of the most important indie and experimental rock bands of the 90s. Look no further than their best album. [First added to this chart: 04/22/2021]

Year of Release:

1999

Appears in:

464 charts

Rank Score:

3,579

Rank in 1999:

9

Rank in 1990s:

85

Overall Rank:

479

Average Rating:

 81 (526 votes)

Comments:

33

10. (=)

Ambition 

 Wale

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One of DC's most well-known rappers, Wale has no shortage of songs that pay tribute to DC and its cultural institutions (like go-go). Ambition is on the list for the track "DC or Nothing", but The Mixtape About Nothing is probably the best of Wale's work, drawing heavy influence and samples from Seinfeld. [First added to this chart: 04/22/2021]

Year of Release:

2011

Appears in:

5 charts

Rank Score:

6

Rank in 2011:

1,744

Rank in 2010s:

17,947

Overall Rank:

69,823

Average Rating:

 68 (7 votes)

Comments:

0

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Total albums: 51. Page 1 of 6

Washington, DC is paradise to me! 51 albums of DC history composition

Country	Albums	%
	47	92%
	1	2%
	1	2%
	1	2%
	1	2%

Washington, DC is paradise to me! 51 albums of DC history chart changes

Washington, DC is paradise to me! 51 albums of DC history similar charts

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Washington, DC is paradise to me! 51 albums of DC history similarity to your chart(s)

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BEA's Top 100 re-ranked	EyeKanFly	Custom chart	2020
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EyeKanFly

Washington, DC is paradise to me! 51 albums of DC history ratings

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Rating	Date updated	Member	Chart ratings	Avg. chart rating
75/100  !	06/30/2022 21:50	MadhattanJack	260	85/100
100/100  !	08/04/2021 19:51	travelful	208	99/100
100/100  !	05/27/2021 22:46	LedZep	1,104	84/100
100/100  !	05/06/2021 18:27	Hayden	32	100/100
100/100  !	04/23/2021 14:06	Patman360	73	100/100

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Washington, DC is paradise to me! 51 albums of DC history comments

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From travelful 08/04/2021 19:52 | #272256

John Fahey Visits Washington DC...now that's something I need to hear!

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

100/100

From Hayden 05/06/2021 18:32 | #269433

Appreciate it EyeKanFly. Was definitely a bit of fun to make. Always wanted to and never got around to it until this year. Not going to kid myself and say it's done, but I'll admit I've stopped digging around the twoonie bins for a sec.

Oddly, Canada just released a 'Canada-based playlist' for people to 'do our census to', and there's a lot of suspicious overlap. I'm assuming the government has stolen my idea (as usual).

(I kid of course, but just a coincidence).

Hoping people pluck a few records from the list, whether or not they like them. The 70s folk scene in particular was very strong, and I'd double down on the northern indigenous work.

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

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