1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die (part 10)
by EyeKanFly

Part 8: Ritchie Valens through ZZ Top

Published in 2008 by author and critic Tom Moon, "1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die: A Listener's Life List" presents essential musical recordings alphabetically (by last name). For the most part the artist is credited for modern works, and the composer is credited for classical works (with some exceptions where the performer of the classical work is listed, for some works with a featured solo performer). For example, the entries for The Beatles are followed by The Beau Brummels, (Sidney) Bechet, Beck, (Ludwig van) Beethoven, (Bix) Beiderbecke, (Harry) Belafonte, etc.

These recordings can be very diverse in genre, medium, and accessibility. Included are not just albums, but operas (some of which are only available on video), collections of classical pieces, "two-fer" albums, lots of compilations, and some individual songs.

Moon indicated that he tried to give preference to recordings that are widely available, but CDs (or DVDs in some cases) that were easily accessible in 2008 may no longer be so today as streaming has come to be the dominant medium for music listening.

For these reasons, not every "recording" can be presented here on BEA as they are in the book. I've decided that if a compilation is already in BEA's database, I've included it here. If not, I've included another work by the artist. For individual songs, I try to include the album they were released on. For operas or musicals released on video with no audio-only soundtrack available, I've included an alternate option. For some recordings that I know EXIST but for some reason I just can't get my hands (or ears) on, I've included what I believe to be an appropriate alternate option by the same artist.

Please enjoy!
There are 0 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and this chart has not been rated yet. Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.

View the complete list of 58,000 charts on BestEverAlbums.com from The Charts page.

Share this chart
Collector's summary (filtered) Help The maximum rank used by the Collector's Summary is configurable from your profile (top 26 is currently selected). Log in or register to discover the great albums that are missing from your music collection!
This chart is currently filtered to only show albums from the 1970s. (Remove this filter)
Sort Sort by
Year of Release:
1977
Appears in:
Rank Score:
581
Rank in 1977:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Tom Moon credits this to Various Artists
Year of Release:
1971
Appears in:
Rank Score:
434
Rank in 1971:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Year of Release:
1976
Appears in:
Rank Score:
4
Rank in 1976:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Included instead of the compilation The Mighty Two by Various Artists, from 1990. The Mighty Two collects Jamaican dub singles produced by Joe Gibbs and Errol Thompson.
Year of Release:
1975
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1
Rank in 1975:
Rank in 1970s:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Year of Release:
1972
Appears in:
Rank Score:
366
Rank in 1972:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Year of Release:
1977
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,092
Rank in 1977:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Year of Release:
1976
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1
Rank in 1976:
Rank in 1970s:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Year of Release:
1973
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1
Rank in 1973:
Rank in 1970s:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Year of Release:
1975
Appears in:
Rank Score:
72
Rank in 1975:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
52. NEW
Included instead of the compilation Take My Hand, Precious Lord by The Clara Ward Singers, released in 1996. This compilation includes some of the same recordings.
Year of Release:
1973
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1
Rank in 1973:
Rank in 1970s:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 26. Page 1 of 3
Don't agree with this chart? Create your own from the My Charts page!

1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die (part 10) composition

TitleSourceTypePublishedCountry
BEA 100 (One Album per Artist) BozoTyrannusCustom chart2020
If The BEA Overall Chart Had A One Album Per Artist Rule... RomanelliCustom chart2025
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums Detroit Rock CitizenOverall chart2024
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums SandinistarOverall chart2019
BEA Top 500 Reorganized According To My TastebonnequestionCustom chart2025
Top 100 Greatest Music Albumstim0505Overall chart2026
BEA+RYM Overall RankImaybeparanoidCustom chart2017Unknown
Ya joking? Should've been higher! All Time edition PurplepashCustom chart2026
BEA Top 100 Reorganized According To My TastebonnequestionCustom chart2025
Top 100 Greatest Music AlbumsMcMac333Overall chart2016Unknown

1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die (part 10) similarity to your chart(s)


Not a member? Registering is quick, easy and FREE!


Why register?


Register now - it only takes a moment!

EyeKanFly has shared 106 more fun charts with the community. Browse them all here.
TitleSourceTypePublishedCountry
BEA's Top 100 re-ranked EyeKanFlyCustom chart2020
50 States EyeKanFlyCustom chart2021
Best Album of Every Year 1940-2021 EyeKanFlyCustom chart2021

1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die (part 10) ratings

Not enough data Help Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AV
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.
Please log in or register if you want to be able to leave a rating

1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die (part 10) favourites

Please log in or register if you want to be able to add a favourite

1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die (part 10) comments

Be the first to add a comment for this Chart - add your comment!

Please log in or register if you want to be able to add a comment

Your feedback for 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die (part 10)

Anonymous
Let us know what you think of this chart by adding a comment or assigning a rating below!
Log in or register to assign a rating or leave a comment for this chart.
Recent Member  Charts
1. Top 100 Music Albums of 2014 by CryingGameDahlin (2026)
2. Top 71 Music Albums of 1998 by Tilly (2026)
3. Top 100 Music Albums of 2025 by cestuneblague (2026)
4. Top 27 Music Albums of 2004 by VanillaBean (2026)
5. Top 55 Music Albums of 1966 by baystateoftheart (2026)
6. Top 100 Music Albums of 1975 by Skerns (2026)
7. Top 100 Music Albums of 2022 by baystateoftheart (2026)
8. Top 96 Music Albums of 2016 by Skerns (2026)
9. Top 21 Music Albums of 2026 by AwaitingAndrew (2026)
10. Under The Radar: Australia Pt7 by Moondance (2026)
11. Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by TerryTezza (2026)
12. Micro-genres: NWOBHM by Repo (2026)
13. 20th Century by jdizzle123456 (2026)
14. Best Of Rest 4 by Rivera (2026)
15. 21st Century by jdizzle123456 (2026)
16. Top 100 Music Albums of the 2020s by jdizzle123456 (2026)
17. Top 22 Music Albums of 2018 by Exist-en-ciel (2026)
18. Top 100 Music Albums of 2025 by Exist-en-ciel (2026)
19. Top 53 Music Albums of 2026 by BurndenAce (2026)
20. Top 21 Music Albums of 2005 by Exist-en-ciel (2026)