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.
There are 2 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Washington, DC is paradise to me! 51 albums of DC history has an average rating of 89 out of 100 (from 5 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.
View the complete list of 56,000 charts on BestEverAlbums.com from The Charts page.
This chart is currently filtered to only show live albums. (Remove this filter)
Buy album
- #Sponsored
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:
Rank Score:
1,516
Rank in 1956:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
6
Buy album
- #Sponsored
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]
8. (=)
Buy album
- #Sponsored
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:
Rank Score:
3
Rank in 1999:
Rank in 1990s:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
While DC is largely known for its punk and go-go music, the city was also once known for its eclectic bluegrass music. The Seldom Scene are the finest example of progressive bluegrass, and this live album recorded at DC's Kennedy Center features guests like Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris, and John Fogerty.
[First added to this chart: 04/22/2021]
Year of Release:
1988
Appears in:
Rank in 1988:
None
Rank in 1980s:
None
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
The Cellar Door was once a burgeoning nightclub in DC which attracted musicians like Neil Young. While I tried to limit this list to one album per artist, the other album credited to the Seldom Scene is largely a tribute album, so I included this too since features the prog bluegrass band in their prime.
[First added to this chart: 04/22/2021]
Buy album
- #Sponsored
The Bohemian Caverns was one of the greatest jazz venues not just in DC, but in the world. This is one of the greatest albums recorded there. Unfortunately the venue fell under hard times and closed in the late 2010s, but there are attempts at revitalizing it as a venue.
[First added to this chart: 04/22/2021]
Buy album
- #Sponsored
Another fantastic album recorded at Bohemian Caverns.
[First added to this chart: 04/22/2021]
Year of Release:
1967
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2
Rank in 1967:
Rank in 1960s:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
Another great jazz album recorded in DC, this one at Howard Theater.
[First added to this chart: 04/22/2021]
Buy album
- #Sponsored
Gospel singer Richard Smallwood graduated from Howard U, and founded his own gospel singing group in DC after graduating. This live album was recorded at his alma mater.
[First added to this chart: 04/22/2021]
Total albums: 9. Page 1 of 1
Don't agree with this chart? Create your own from the My Charts page!
Washington, DC is paradise to me! 51 albums of DC history composition
| Decade | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
 |
|
|
| 1930s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1940s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1950s | 1 | 2% | |
| 1960s | 5 | 10% | |
| 1970s | 9 | 18% | |
| 1980s | 10 | 20% | |
| 1990s | 7 | 14% | |
| 2000s | 7 | 14% | |
| 2010s | 12 | 24% | |
| 2020s | 0 | 0% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
 |
|
|
| The Seldom Scene | 2 | 4% | |
| Rahim AlHaj | 1 | 2% | |
| The Richard Smallwood Singers | 1 | 2% | |
| Me'shell Ndegeocello | 1 | 2% | |
| Parliament | 1 | 2% | |
| The Muppets | 1 | 2% | |
| Trouble Funk | 1 | 2% | |
| Show all | |||
Washington, DC is paradise to me! 51 albums of DC history chart changes
There have been no changes to this chart.Washington, DC is paradise to me! 51 albums of DC history similar charts
| Title | Source | Type | Published | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| State Lists: District of Columbia |  briggs54 | Custom chart | 2015 | |
| Top 14 Music Albums of 1982 | GeorgeW49 | 1982 year chart | 2020 |  |
| Top 20 Greatest Music Albums | arcynic | Overall chart | 2017 | |
| Top 20 Greatest Music Albums | peteedwards | Overall chart | 2016 |  |
| Top 20 Greatest Music Albums | rockplan | Overall chart | 2017 |  |
| Top 22 Greatest Music Albums | Solason | Overall chart | 2017 | |
| Top 22 Greatest Music Albums | reDEFinition | Overall chart | 2015 | |
| Top 20 Greatest Music Albums | dinodeniz42 | Overall chart | 2021 | |
| Top 24 Greatest Music Albums | spacey43 | Overall chart | 2015 | |
| Top 15 Music Albums of 2011 | Januscl | 2011 year chart | 2016 |  |
Washington, DC is paradise to me! 51 albums of DC history similarity to your chart(s)
Not a member? Registering is quick, easy and FREE!
Why register?
Join a passionate community of over 50,000 music fans.- Create & share your own charts.
- Have your say in the overall rankings.
- Post comments in the forums and vote on polls.
- Comment on or rate any album, artist, track or chart.
- Discover new music & improve your music collection.
- Customise the overall chart using a variety of different filters & metrics.
- Create a wishlist of albums.
- Help maintain the BEA database.
- Earn member points and gain access to increasing levels of functionality!
- ... And lots more!
Register now - it only takes a moment!
Other custom charts by EyeKanFly
Washington, DC is paradise to me! 51 albums of DC history ratings
89/100 (from 5 votes)
where:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.
N.B. The average rating for this chart will not be reliable as it has been rated very few times.
Showing all 5 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
75/100  | 06/30/2022 21:50 |  MadhattanJack | | 85/100 |
100/100 | 08/04/2021 19:51 |  travelful | | 99/100 |
100/100 | 05/27/2021 22:46 |  LedZep | | 84/100 |
100/100 | 05/06/2021 18:27 |  Hayden | | 100/100 |
100/100 | 04/23/2021 14:06 |  Patman360 | | 100/100 |
Please log in or register if you want to be able to leave a rating
Washington, DC is paradise to me! 51 albums of DC history favourites
Please log in or register if you want to be able to add a favourite
Washington, DC is paradise to me! 51 albums of DC history comments
Showing all 2 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Maximum Rated First |
Longest Comments First
(Only showing comments with -2 votes or higher. You can alter this threshold from your profile page. Manage Profile)
100/100
From travelful 08/04/2021 19:52
travelful 08/04/2021 19:52
John Fahey Visits Washington DC...now that's something I need to hear!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
100/100
From Hayden 05/06/2021 18:32
Hayden 05/06/2021 18:32
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)
Please log in or register if you want to be able to add a comment
Your feedback for Washington, DC is paradise to me! 51 albums of DC history
Let us know what you think of this chart by adding a comment or assigning a rating below!
If you enjoy our site, please consider supporting us by sparing a few seconds to disable your ad blocker.
A lot of hard work happens in the background to keep BEA running, and it's especially difficult to do this when we can't pay our hosting fees :(
We work very hard to ensure our site is as fast (and FREE!) as possible, and we respect your privacy.
A lot of hard work happens in the background to keep BEA running, and it's especially difficult to do this when we can't pay our hosting fees :(
We work very hard to ensure our site is as fast (and FREE!) as possible, and we respect your privacy.
| Best Ever Artists | |
|---|---|
| 1. The Beatles | |
| 2. Radiohead | |
| 3. Pink Floyd | |
| 4. David Bowie | |
| 5. Bob Dylan | |
| 6. Led Zeppelin | |
| 7. The Rolling Stones | |
| 8. Arcade Fire | |
| 9. Nirvana | |
| 10. The Velvet Underground | |
| 11. Kendrick Lamar | |
| 12. Neil Young | |
| 13. Miles Davis | |
| 14. The Smiths | |
| 15. The Beach Boys | |
| 16. Kanye West | |
| 17. R.E.M. | |
| 18. Pixies | |
| 19. Jimi Hendrix | |
| 20. Bruce Springsteen |