The Quintessential _____ Album Is...

September 9, 2010 5:45 PM

Name a genre. Name its quintessential album. That's it.

I am a paramedic and I occasionally do long distance patient transfers in an ambulance. I'd like to ask my patients what their musical preferences are for the drive (and, of course, whether or not they care for music at all). But my iPod lacks many genres, so I'd like to fill it with a decent representative album from each. Help me help my patients!

posted by brandonjadams to media & arts (89 answers total)

Jazz. Bitches Brew
posted by dfriedman at 5:46 PM on September 9, 2010 [2 favorites]

Metalcore: Converge - Jane Doe OR Cave In - Until Your Heart Stops
Mathmetal: Botch - We Are The Romans OR Dillinger Escape Plan - Calculating Infinity
NWOBHM: Iron Maiden - Number of the Beast
Thrash: Slayer - Reign in Blood
Postmetal: Isis - Panopticon
Postrock: Mogwai - Young Team
Postpunk: Gang of Four - Entertainment!
Mashup: Girl Talk - Feed the Animals
No Wave: Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation
posted by The Michael The at 6:00 PM on September 9, 2010 [5 favorites]

Jazz: Kind of Blue.

Baroque: The Brandenburg Concertos.

Classical: Beethoven's 5th Symphony.

Grunge: Smells like Teen Spirit.

Punk: London Calling.

Shoegazer: Loveless.
posted by sien at 6:02 PM on September 9, 2010 [2 favorites]

Punk: London Calling
Pop: Thriller
posted by phunniemee at 6:02 PM on September 9, 2010 [1 favorite]

Shoegaze: Ride - Nowhere
posted by Flashman at 6:03 PM on September 9, 2010

And for jazz, well, what kind? Bitches Brew for fusion, maybe; I'd put Kind of Blue in for modal jazz and A Love Supreme for hard bop.
posted by The Michael The at 6:04 PM on September 9, 2010 [6 favorites]

C86: The Wedding Present - Seamonsters
posted by Flashman at 6:06 PM on September 9, 2010

Rock and Roll - The Rolling Stones, Exile on Main Street
Pop Rock - The Beatles, Abbey road
Alternative rock - Radiohead, OK computer
Prog rock - Yes, Close to the Edge
Hard Rock - Black Sabbath, Paranoid
Folk Rock - Bob Dylan, Highway 61 Revisited
Indie Rock - Pixies, Doolittle
Art Rock - The Velvet Underground & Nico, S/T
Glam Rock - David Bowie, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
Experimental Rock - Sonic Youth, Daydream Nation
Psychedelic Rock - Jimi Hendrix, Are You Experienced
Punk Rock - Television, Marquee Moon
Country Rock - Neil Young, After the Gold Rush
Garage Rock - The Stooges, Fun House
posted by Rinku at 6:07 PM on September 9, 2010 [17 favorites]

Hip Hop: Illmatic
posted by milarepa at 6:07 PM on September 9, 2010 [4 favorites]

Art song: Dichterliebe by Schumann
posted by chicago2penn at 6:09 PM on September 9, 2010

Classic Rock: Led Zeppelin — Physical Graffiti
Metalcore: Converge — Petitioning the Empty Sky
Mathcore: Botch — We Are the Romans
Mathrock: Maps And Atlases — You And Me And The Mountain
2-tone Ska: The Specials — The Specials
3rd wave Ska: Mighty Mighty Bosstones — More Noise and Other Disturbances
Breakcore: Venetian Snares — Rossz csillag alatt született
IDM: Aphex Twin — Richard D. James Album
Jazz-Fusion: Herbie Hancock — Head Hunters

Music: Miles Davis — Bitches Brew
posted by ifandonlyif at 6:14 PM on September 9, 2010 [2 favorites]

Orange County harmonic punk: Suffer or maybe No Control by Bad Religion.
posted by Ghidorah at 6:16 PM on September 9, 2010 [1 favorite]

Trip Hop: Portishead - Dummy
posted by sacrifix at 6:22 PM on September 9, 2010 [7 favorites]

Updated bluegrass: J.D. Crowe & The New South

Classic Country: Can The Circle Be Unbroken: Country Music's First Family (Carter Family compilation)

Male County Artist: At Folsom Prison Johnny Cash

Classic Female Country Artist: Coat of Many Colors Dolly Parton

Updated Female Country: Car Wheels on a Gravel Road Lucinda Williams
posted by Ideefixe at 6:28 PM on September 9, 2010 [1 favorite]

Funk: Stevie Wonder, Talking Book
Soul:James Brown, Get On the Good Foot
Motown: The Supremes, Where Did Our Love Go
posted by Sara Anne at 6:33 PM on September 9, 2010 [2 favorites]

Punk/Funk: The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Mother's Milk
posted by Sara Anne at 6:35 PM on September 9, 2010

Funk: Parliament - Mothership Connection
Soul: Curtis Mayfield - Roots
Ambient: Brian Eno - Music for Airports
Country (classic): Johnny Cash - At Folsom Prison
Mambo: Tito Puente - Dance Mania, Vol. 1
Classic Rock: The Who - Who's Next

...and seconding "Ziggy Stardust" for glam rock.
posted by Vervain at 6:36 PM on September 9, 2010 [1 favorite]

Emo punk: Jawbreaker -- 24 Hour Revenge Therapy
Indie* rock: Superchunk -- No Pocky For Kitty
* note: original 80s/90s definition of indie

Grunge: Nirvana -- Smells like Teen Spirit.

Ugh, please.

Grunge: Nirvana -- Bleach
posted by intermod at 6:40 PM on September 9, 2010

Female Singer-Songwriter: Joni Mitchell's "Blue"
posted by waxpancake at 6:43 PM on September 9, 2010

Great idea about giving your patients some choice when it comes to their ambulance music.

Ambient: Brian Eno and Harold Budd, Ambient 2: The Plateux of Mirror
Ambient-drone: Stars of the Lid, The Tired Sounds of...
Slowcore: Low, Things We Lost in the Fire
Lo-fi indie: Guided by Voices, Bee Thousand
Alt-country: Wilco, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Art pop: Talk Talk, Laughing Stock
American Primitivism: John Fahey, The Yellow Princess
Minimal Techno: The Field, From Here We Go Sublime
Noise: Merzbow, 1930
Modern classical: Arvo Part, Tabula Rasa
posted by ianK at 6:45 PM on September 9, 2010 [4 favorites]

Although I gave "Illmatic" a +1, I'm going to have to say:
Hip hop: "The Low End Theory"
posted by notjustfoxybrown at 6:48 PM on September 9, 2010 [1 favorite]

Gangsta rap: N.W.A., Straight Outta Compton
posted by mhum at 6:51 PM on September 9, 2010

'90s Pop -- Achtung Baby
posted by freshwater at 6:56 PM on September 9, 2010 [1 favorite]

Urban Blues: BB King - Live at the Regal
Country Blues: Robert Johnson - King of the Delta Blues Singers
Modern Blues: Stevie Ray Vaughan - Texas Flood
posted by wabbittwax at 6:57 PM on September 9, 2010

American Punk - Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables
posted by doublesix at 7:05 PM on September 9, 2010 [2 favorites]

Punk, Hip-Hop, R&B, Musical: The Archandroid by Janelle Monae.
posted by InterestedInKnowing at 7:15 PM on September 9, 2010 [3 favorites]

Dubstep: Skream - Skream!
IDM: Autechre - Tri Repetae++
Minimal techno: Plastikman - Sheet One
Ambient: Biosphere - Substrata
posted by zer0render at 7:16 PM on September 9, 2010

No, no, no.

You ask, "You like music?"

They answer, "Yes..."

You play the first Ramones album.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 7:17 PM on September 9, 2010 [10 favorites]

Sorry, but modern classical would (at least by any objective standard) be Gorecki's 3rd Symphony, performed by the London Sinfonietta and featuring Dawn Upshaw. That recording alone has sold a ridiculous number of copies.

I agree with Joni Mitchell's "Blue" for the solo-female singer-songwriter category.

I'd include a film score in your collection, in which case it would be hard to overlook Bernard Herrman's score to "Psycho" which stands out musically among historical orchestral scores, but in terms of the modern film score, it would be similarly impossible to overlook the way John Williams has shaped the genre - and of course nothing is more iconic than Star Wars.
posted by jph at 7:26 PM on September 9, 2010

I think if I was in an ambulance, I'd rather listen to Star Wars than Psycho. You know, if I had the option.
posted by exceptinsects at 7:30 PM on September 9, 2010 [6 favorites]

Remember, I'm all about the Irish music.

Folk Celtic - Dubliners, At It Again
Trad Fiddle - Tommy Peoples, Tommy Peoples
Trad Singing - Paddy Tunney, The Stone Fiddle
Trad Band - Planxty, Planxty
New-Agey Trad - Clannad, Dulaman (or Legend, for their TV work)
Rock Trad - The Horslips, The Tain, or Thin Lizzy, Shades of Blue and Orphanage
Punk Trad - The Pogues, Rum Sodomy and the Lash
Modern Punk Trad - The Dropkick Murphys, the Meanest of Times
Classical Trad - Shawn Davey, The Brendan Voyage

Did you want Scottish and Welsh, too?
posted by LN at 7:36 PM on September 9, 2010 [5 favorites]

Power-pop: Big Star - #1 Record
Krautrock: Can - Tago Mago
posted by mrjackalope at 7:45 PM on September 9, 2010 [1 favorite]

For musicals, it's probably "Les Miserables" all the way. Though arguments for longevity might be made in favor of Rent or Phantom of the Opera. We won't really entertain those arguments though, will we?

For traditional opera, in terms of sheer recognition and general popularity, you probably want Puccini's "La Boheme."

As for Psycho - I absolute agree that it is a terrible choice for an ambulance ride, but it cant be overlooked!
posted by jph at 7:58 PM on September 9, 2010

Alternative Rock - They Might Be Giants - Flood
Country - Johnny Cash - Folsom Prison Blues
Emo - Sunny Day Real Estate - Diary / Rites of Spring - End on End
Emotional Hardcore - Boy Sets Fire - After the Eulogy
Post Hardcore - At The Drive In - In Casino/Out
Indie Rock - Modest Mouse - Lonesome Crowded West / Built to Spill - Carry the Zero
Indie Pop - Belle and Sebastian - If You're Feeling Sinister
East Coast Rap - Nas - Illmatic / Notorious B.I.G. - Ready to Die
West Coast Rap - Dr Dre - The Chronic
Southern Rap - Outkast - Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik
Backpacker Hip Hop - Blackstar - S/T
Screamo - Pg 99 - Document 5
Powerviolence - The Locust - S/T
Metal - Slayer - Reign in Blood
Grindcore - Charles Bronson - Complete Discocrappy
Gore - Entombed - Left Hand Path
Pop Punk - Descendents - Milo Goes to College
Skate Punk - Suicidal Tendencies - S/T
Crust Punk - Amoebix - Arise
Pop - Michael Jackson - Thriller / Beatles - Rubber Soul / Beach Boys - Pet Sounds
Anarcho-Punk - Conflict - The Ungovernable Force
Peace Punk - Crass - Feeding of the Five Thousand
Math Rock - Don Caballero - American Don
Post Punk - Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures
Rock & Roll - Bruce Springsteen - Born to Run
First Wave Ska - Desmond Dekker - 007 Shanty Town
2 Tone Ska - The Specials - S/T
3rd Wave Ska - Less Than Jake - Losing Streak

That's about what i can come up with definitively. Really Great Idea.
posted by drbalderas at 8:11 PM on September 9, 2010 [6 favorites]

Chillwave - Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Before Today

Hypnagogic pop - Lamborghini Crystal - 1992 Cool Runnings a.k.a. Grippers Nother Onsers (At Slimer Beach)

Ambient - Brian Eno - Music for Airports
posted by porn in the woods at 8:18 PM on September 9, 2010

English folk: Nic Jones, Penguin Eggs
posted by transient at 8:19 PM on September 9, 2010

Post Rock - Slint, Spiderland
posted by whiskeyspider at 8:47 PM on September 9, 2010 [2 favorites]

I don't know how this works without a therapeutic filter.
Should a headbanger with a neck injury be listening to metal ?
Should I be asked what I want to listen to or have something prescribed ?
I appreciate that I may be more comfortable with what I like, but, since music can have profound effects, what I like may not be what I need at a particular moment. As exceptinsects notes, Psycho, however enjoyable when healthy, may not suit the occasion. I don't know the song Suicidal Tendencies, but I'll still guess it may not be what I need to hear when in pain. It would be interesting if someone has links for musical therapy strategies. Perhaps :
Rate Of Progress of Knitting of Bones During Exposure to Country Music .
posted by llc at 8:49 PM on September 9, 2010

Folk Metal - Ödemarkens son, by Vintersorg
posted by spinifex23 at 9:02 PM on September 9, 2010 [1 favorite]

If I were being picked up by a paramedic, I would want to hear "Revolution Rock" off of London Calling, what with its "Everything's gonna be all right" on repeat.
posted by kimota at 9:04 PM on September 9, 2010 [2 favorites]

I would disagree with Dummy for Trip Hop, and say Blue Lines by Massive Attack. But if I were in an ambulance, I would want to hear zero7.

And, if you happen to be transporting a toddler, Backyardigans (Born to Play) and Wiggles (Here Comes the Big Red Car) are popular right now.

Also, I think it's really great of you to do this for your patients!
posted by hammurderer at 9:23 PM on September 9, 2010

Ska: The Specials - The Specials
Funk: Sly & the Family Stone - Stand!
Syncopated funk: Head Hunters - Head Hunters
posted by furtive at 9:23 PM on September 9, 2010

Trance - Paul Van Dyk - Out There and Back
posted by empath at 9:26 PM on September 9, 2010

British Invasion: Help! - The Beatles
Classic Rock: II - Led Zeppelin
Pop-Rock: Boston - Boston
Southern Rock: Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd - Lynyrd Skynyrd
Grunge: Ten - Pearl Jam
Disco: Saturday Night Fever OST - The Bee Gees, et al.
Hair Metal: Slippery When Wet - Bon Jovi
posted by Guernsey Halleck at 9:30 PM on September 9, 2010

I know that everyone is having fun with the actual question, but I honestly think a better solution to the stated problem (finding music that patients will like) is to just ask them who their favorite band is and put it in Pandora on an iPhone, if you have one. I really doubt somebody experience trauma is going to be like, do you have any neo-ska-funk-grind-core?
posted by empath at 9:31 PM on September 9, 2010 [1 favorite]

drbalderas, while I respect your ska selections, I think you might have missed a key one,

ska-punk: Slapstick and their collected discography. I love, love, Less Than Jake, but Slapstick.
posted by Ghidorah at 9:39 PM on September 9, 2010

LN:
70's trad: Bothy Band, Old Had You Have Killed me
Modern/original Trad: Liz Carroll/John Doyle, Double Play

Psychedelic: Jimi Hendrix, Electric Ladyland
Pre-metal Metal: Cream, Disraeli Gears
Drone/Psychedelic/poetic: The Doors, The Doors
posted by dbmcd at 10:38 PM on September 9, 2010 [1 favorite]

Black Metal - Emperor, In The Nightside Eclipse
Indie Pop - Yo La Tengo, I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One
posted by nicolas léonard sadi carnot at 11:38 PM on September 9, 2010

Synthesized classical music: Switched on Brandenburgs, Wendy Carlos
posted by Hardcore Poser at 11:40 PM on September 9, 2010

Goth: Sisters of Mercy - First & Last & Always
Industrial: Nine Inch Nails - Pretty Hate Machine
Apocalyptic Folk: Current 93 - Thunder Perfect Mind
Post-punk: Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures
Post-rock: Godspeed you Black Emperor - Lift yr Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven
Drone: Suicide - Suicide

Oh, and one more:

WTF?: Nurse With Wound - Sugar Fish Drink

note that this doesn't mean i necessarily endorse these albums, or am willing to get into nitpicky disputes over genres. in particular, for Goth you could easily put Bauhaus above the Sisters, but First & Last & Always is almost universally loved, whereas Bauhaus's albums are kinda patchy & it's hard to pick a really outstanding one. and i'm not even going to get into debates over what is/isn't industrial. i'd far prefer some Front 242 or Einsturzende Neubauten, but again, NiN is generally popular & liked by all. similarly, the Fall are easily better than Joy Division, but Joy Division have a broader fanbase.
posted by UbuRoivas at 12:09 AM on September 10, 2010

Industrial: Nine Inch Nails - Pretty Hate Machine

I was just going to say...
Industrial: Nine Inch Nails - Broken
posted by knave at 12:13 AM on September 10, 2010

Broken is an EP, not an album.
posted by UbuRoivas at 1:24 AM on September 10, 2010

Drum and bass: Goldie - Timeless

On postrock I prefer both young Team and Lift Yr Skinny Hands but I think you have to agree Spiderland is the definitive album.

And I'm torn between Dummy and Blue Lines for trip hop.
posted by ninebelow at 2:36 AM on September 10, 2010

I am not sure whether this would fit on most people's "punk" spectrum, especially if put on the spot (East Coast Indie punk?) but - Minutemen, Double Nickles on the Dime is absolutely essential.

Kraut- Amon Düül II, Yeti

Classic Metal - Black Sabbath, Black Sabbath

If I were ever injured and someone played any of those albums in the ambulance, I would be eternally grateful.
posted by louche mustachio at 2:52 AM on September 10, 2010 [2 favorites]

I am also unsure what genre Captain Beefheart's Clear Spot falls into, but I am sure that the right kind of poor injured freak would love you for playing it.
posted by louche mustachio at 2:57 AM on September 10, 2010

For musicals, it's probably "Les Miserables" all the way.

Really? Not West Side Story?
posted by chill at 4:47 AM on September 10, 2010

In case you happen to have a lover of classical music with you:

Medieval: Guillaume Du Fay: Missa Se la face ay pale (Diabolus in Musica)

Renaissance: probably best to take Allegri's Miserere by the King's College, because it's a legendary rendition of a very popular piece (though I like albums like Richarfort's requiem for Josquin by the Huelgas Ensemble much, much better).

Baroque: I'd go with (any one of) Bach's Harpsichord Concertos by Leonhardt, because it seems to satisfy all the different kinds of Baroque music lovers.

Later periods are not my expertise, see above (and hopefully also below).


And here's some modern genres that haven't been mentioned yet:

American pre-war folk: Harry Smith's Anthology of American Folk Music

American Primitive: John Fahey - The Legend of Blind Joe Death

Japanese noise: I think this patient would be satisfied with anything by the Incapacitants. You however...
posted by mahershalal at 5:17 AM on September 10, 2010 [1 favorite]

Ctrl F: Illmatic

All is right with the world.
posted by 2bucksplus at 6:08 AM on September 10, 2010

Britpop: Parklife - Blur
posted by jontyjago at 6:14 AM on September 10, 2010 [2 favorites]

Some dancey music from a UK perspective. Not necessarily my favourite albums, but I reckon they're the genre classics.

Classic rave hardcore: The Prodigy - Experience
Trip-hop: Portishead - S/T
90s drum 'n' bass: Roni Size - New Forms
90s big beat: Fat Boy Slim - You've Come A Long Way, Baby
90s UK "techno": Underworld - Second Toughest In The Infants
French house/filter house: Daft Punk - Discovery
Electroclash: Fischerspooner - #1
Modern minimal techno / electronica: Nathan Fake - Drowning In A Sea of Love
Electro-house: Justice - † (AKA Cross)
What gets called "Electro" (i.e. indie/electro-house crossover): MSTRKRFT - Fist of God, or Digitalism: Idealism
Late 00s electropop: La Roux - S/T

And finally, if you only know one thing about British music in the 00s:
Franz Ferdinard - S/T
posted by iivix at 6:25 AM on September 10, 2010 [3 favorites]

You also might consider Stereomood for those who say, "I dunno, something happy/hopeful/sad/healthy, etc."
posted by cross_impact at 6:56 AM on September 10, 2010

Post-Rock: Gospeed You! Black Emperor - Lift yr Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven
Post-Hardcore: At the Drive In - In Casino/Out
Chiptune: Anamanaguchi - Power Supply
Ska-Punk: Link 80 - 17 Reasons
posted by cirrostratus at 8:47 AM on September 10, 2010

Psychedelic Rock - Jimi Hendrix, Are You Experienced

Oh, god, yes but no. This is a really difficult choice, but I'd go with The Dark Side of the Moon, by Pink Floyd.
posted by omegar at 9:24 AM on September 10, 2010

90's alternative radio - Smashing Pumpkins - mellon collie and the infinite sadness

Irony - That's it. [more inside]
posted by WeekendJen at 9:55 AM on September 10, 2010

I am not sure whether this would fit on most people's "punk" spectrum, especially if put on the spot (East Coast Indie punk?) but - Minutemen, Double Nickles on the Dime is absolutely essential.

not sure how watt from pedro would classify it but i'm pretty sure "East Coast" would be part of it
posted by nequalsone at 10:38 AM on September 10, 2010

would not be
posted by nequalsone at 10:38 AM on September 10, 2010

Psychedelic Rock - Jimi Hendrix, Are You Experienced

Oh, god, yes but no. This is a really difficult choice, but I'd go with The Dark Side of the Moon, by Pink Floyd.

If we have to stick Floyd in there, I'd call them "symphonic rock" and use Wish You Were Here.

I also which I had stuck Led Zeppelin's Houses of the Holy (which beats IV any day of the week, for me) under "classic rock" in my comment earlier.
posted by Rinku at 10:47 AM on September 10, 2010

Hmm Illmatic does seem like the obvious choice for quintessential hip-hop album. It is a classic and it introduced the world to Nas. But I consider it more of an extremely solid (and kinda short) effort rather than a masterpiece. Nothing really groundbreaking, but nothing bad about it either: just mainstream hip-hop really well done. That said, let me suggest three alternative candidates for quintessential hip-hop album.

1. Common Sense: Resurrection. Released in the same year as Illmatic, Common's sophomore effort is sort of like the Chicago version of Nas' debut. Instead of Queensbridge themes and narratives we have Southside Chicago ones. While Nas was quite advanced as an MC, especially for a teenager, when he recorded a lot of the songs on Illmatic, Common already had a full album under his belt and was a couple years older than Nas. This is reflected in Common's lyrics. We have more mature and personal themes and advanced rhyme structures. More extended metaphor and more subtle imagery and word play. The Common on Resurrection was at the top of his game and lyrically there might not have been a better MC before or since. The production was all handled by one producer and is very solid throughout. Just an extremely underrated album and one that I return to much more often than Illmatic and after hundreds of listens still get something new out of it every time.

2. Aceyalone: A Book of Human Language. This came out in 98 and is Aceyalone's second album. It is a masterpiece. One producer, one MC, no guests. Just Aceyalone riffing and diving into themes such as life, death, time... Pure poetry and cinema. If Common in 94 was the epitome of lyricist, Aceyalone in 98 was the epitome of an MC. The production completely complements Acey's performance. Just flawless. It is as close to a perfect hip-hop album as you will probably ever encounter.
posted by AceRock at 10:49 AM on September 10, 2010

3. A book of human language again.
posted by AceRock at 10:50 AM on September 10, 2010

Reggae: Bob Marley Legend
posted by Four Flavors at 10:55 AM on September 10, 2010

Vintage Strip Club / Stag Party: Las Vegas Grind
posted by ouke at 11:05 AM on September 10, 2010

70's trad: Bothy Band, Old Hag You Have Killed me
Modern/original Trad: Liz Carroll/John Doyle, Double Play

Nice ones!

Some more:
Trad Flute: Paul McGrattan, The Frost is All Over
Trad Fusion: Kila, Tog e go Bog e
Trad hip-hop: Beltaine's Fire, The Weapon of the Future
posted by LN at 11:10 AM on September 10, 2010

Oh man, Stevie Wonder's Innervisions really needs to be in there somewhere, Pop Funk? "Don't you Worry About a Thing" and "Higher Ground"!

wikipedia..: "'Ground' was recorded just before Wonder was involved in a near-fatal accident in August '73 that left him in a coma. Early in Wonder's recovery, his road manager sang the melody of 'Ground' into the singer's ear; Wonder responded by moving his fingers with the music."
posted by okbye at 12:06 PM on September 10, 2010 [1 favorite]

drbalderas, you pretty much nailed that. I came in to add Crass and a few others, and you hit them all.
posted by thegreatfleecircus at 12:15 PM on September 10, 2010

For musicals, it's probably "Les Miserables" all the way.

Really? Not West Side Story?

It's unquestionably West Side Story, with Carousel, Sunday in the Park with George, and Hair running close seconds.

Film Score: On the Waterfront

Baroque - Glenn Gould's recordings of the Well Tempered Clavier
Classical - Mozart Sym. 40 & 41, Levine Recording
Early Romantic - Toscanini's recording of Beethoven's Ninth
Late Romantic - Bernstein's recording of Mahler's Ninth
Early 20th Century tonal - either the Boulez recording of Stravinsky's Rite of Spring or Reiner's recording of Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra
Serial - Boulez/Schafer recording of Pierrot Lunaire
Expressionism - Kurt Weil, The Threepenny Opera
Early century Experimentalism - Varse, Ionisation, Boulez Recording
Mid-century Experimentalism - John Cage's Music of Changes, Kubera recording
Minimalism: Terry Riley/Bang on a Can - In C, or maybe Reich's Music for 18 Musicians
Neo-Classicism - Orff, Carmina Burana, Rattle Recording
Neo-Romanticism - Tavener, The Protecting Veil, Yo-Yo Ma
Post-Minimalism - Bang on a Can Classics
Spectral - Tristan Murhail, Random Access Memory
posted by Lutoslawski at 1:05 PM on September 10, 2010 [1 favorite]

Another vote for West Side Story for musicals. I'd argue for Gypsy second and The Music Man third. But certainly WSS.
posted by still_wears_a_hat at 2:47 PM on September 10, 2010

Cuban: Buena Vista Social Club, Buena Vista Social Club.
posted by d11 at 7:39 AM on September 11, 2010

As much as I love Low End Theory for Hip-Hop, Midnight Marauders is a masterpiece. Look at the album cover. It doesn't get any more quintessential than that.
posted by jasondigitized at 1:15 PM on September 11, 2010

Industrial: I'd have a hard time choosing between Skinny Puppy - Too Dark Park and Ministry - The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste
Rhythmic Noise: Terrorfakt - Cold Steel World
Dark Ambient: Atrium Carceri - Cellblock
posted by velvet winter at 11:21 PM on September 11, 2010

Jeez, do you live in a city populated solely by conservatory graduates, DJs, and fanzine collectors? If you were driving an ambulance in Chicago, I'd recommend the following:

Contemporary R&B: R. Kelly - R., Whitney Houston - Whitney Houston
Reggaeton: Daddy Yankee - Barrio Fino
Salsa: Rubén Blades and Willie Colón - Siembra
Merengue: Wilfrido Vargas - Raices
Norteño: Ramón Ayala y sus Bravos del Norte - Antologia De Un Rey
Tejano: Selena - Amor Prohibido
House: Frankie Knuckles - The Godfather of House Music: Trax Classics

I make no claims that these are quintessential albums. I'm not a fan of most of them, but I believe a fan would be happy.
posted by hydrophonic at 10:24 PM on September 12, 2010 [4 favorites]

Big Beat: The Chemical Brothers - Exit Planet Dust
posted by Sutekh at 2:52 AM on September 13, 2010

Industrial: Einstürzende Neubauten's Halber Mensch.
posted by everichon at 11:07 AM on September 13, 2010

AceRock, I think don't think Illmatic is the Best Thing Ever, but not even Common or Aceyalone think their albums are better/more classic than Illmatic.
posted by milarepa at 7:39 AM on September 14, 2010

Noise Pop: The Jesus and Mary Chain - Psycho Candy
Lo-Fi Indie Rock: Guided By Voices - Bee Thousand
posted by symbollocks at 8:21 AM on September 16, 2010

Southern Rock: Allman Brothers - A Decade of Hits.

Why a compilation album? Because: 1) It's their best-selling album and it's the album that most listeners know the Allman Brothers by; and 2) It's impossible to choose between Live at Fillmore East, Eat A Peach and Brothers and Sisters.
posted by marsha56 at 12:04 AM on September 17, 2010

This is as broad yet specific a list of the best album of each genre as you could wish for.
posted by malapropist at 4:25 AM on September 24, 2010

Breaks - Roc Raida's 52 Beats
Beat-juggling - World Famous Beat Junkies Vol. 2
Turntablism - Wave Twisters

Dub reggae - King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown
Lee Perry - Heart of the Congos
Nyabinghi- Dadawah
posted by box at 6:35 PM on October 4, 2010

Acoustic Doom: Svarte Greiner's Man Bird Dress
posted by dobbs at 6:39 PM on October 4, 2010

Riot Grrrl - Team Dresch's Personal Best
Bebop - The Quintet (Parker/Gillespie/Mingus/Powell/Roach)'s Jazz at Massey Hall
posted by box at 6:41 PM on October 4, 2010