[Edit: What I meant to ask in the first place, or what I am changing the question to be, is if you had to choose ONE musical artist's catalogue of music - i.e. their collected works - to bring to a desert island, with nothing else to hear, ever, what would you bring? My all-time favorite band is the Beatles, but if faced with the choice I am posing, I THINK that I would bring the collected works of Led Zeppelin.... without a doubt my second would be the Beatles... I remain conflicted, and might change my mind before being sent to the island... but, whatever... all you need is love, a whole lotta luv... )

It is with much trepidation (and self doubt and questioning) that I announce that my favorite band of all time is:

Led Zeppelin

(I HAVE to choose LZ based on the impact/memories it has on my teen/early lover years - and I am still with the same lover.)

Other favs (only microscopically less favorite than Led Zep, but I had to choose only one):

Beatles
Jimi Hendrix
Cream
Rod Stewart (old with Jeff Beck)
Who (Who's Next, Live at Leeds)
Black Sabbath (First three albums only)

and others...

But I could live on a desert island with nothing but:

Led Zeppelin

You have to name your first - Ok to name runners-up.

Black Sabbath
Devo
Led Zeppelin
Electric Wizard
Church Of Misery

Les Arts Florissants

Runners up:

Led Zep fer sure
Beatles
Rolling Stones

Not a band, but also David Bowie. Maybe Elton John.

Very predictable "classic rock," I know, but the sum of their excellent output far exceeds that of bands that I felt more personally attuned to as a younger man.
Les Arts Florissants is an "original instrument / historically informed" Baroque project that has released a huge number of exceptional recordings during the last 25 years or so, and are always incredible live. You didn't say it had to be rock didja?

Led Zep
Beatles
Bowie
Jay-Z
and Radiohead are getting quite the catalogue lately.

David Bowie should have definitely been on my list (I have more lps/cds by David Bowie than anyone else, except for Brian Eno )!!!
Also love King Crimson (Fripp), early Yes, and, yes, Steely Dan.

The tough choice is what ONE artist's colllection would you bring to a desert island? I still thing LZ covers most of the bases for me.

i am going to say angels of light very consistantly good stuff (though i guess i could just say micheal gira as i like nearly everything he has done.)

runners up would be
babyland
pig
einstruzende neubauten
merzbow

Folk Implosion
The Mummies
Slint (that one isn't difficult)

zeppelin rocks hard

but come on... in thru the out door has to take some points off the total score. YIKES

Buckethead

The tough thing is to choose just ONE... I should have left off the second guesses, close runs, off my initial post.

I can't decide though: Led Zep? Beatles? If someone put a gun to my head and made me choose, I would choose the Beatles in the end.

Gun Club/Jeffrey Lee Pierce
Alex Chilton/Big Star
Ramones

Agreed on Crimson and Eno. Good old Eno. I found some funny real-life photos of him on Flickr yesterday: http://www.flickr.com/photos/eno/782620 ... otostream/

I wonder if Crimson will ever reform? Fripp had been talking about one last go-around a few years ago, but more recently, he's been saying that he feels too old to tour and that he's starting to lose his manual dexterity. I don't think he'd re-form the group just for the money. It has to feel real or they don't do it.
Take heed, Police.

Some of my favorite songs are by Big Star ("I'm in love with a girl", "For you", etc.). Just great, and equal to anything by the greatest of the great!

Wow...I'm completely out of place...

Jamiroquai

Nobody is out of place. This is YOUR favorite, not a popularity contest.

Cheers!

edit: to all people: just pretend you had to actually live with your choice! What ONE artist would you bring? I just remembered how much I love Miles Davis - tough love. But you DO have a gun to your head, and you have to choose just ONE!!!

radiohead

but can i wait a few more years for them to release a couple more albums?

I clicked reply and actually had to sit there for a second, running over bands / artists in my head, weighing them each individually. I came to my conclusion because I've listened to his music since I was a youngster, I own pretty much all of his releases, and he's actually inspired me and means more to me than just liking his music.

Some runner-ups:
Richard D. James (and all of his pseudonyms)
Hocico

Richard D. is high on my list too. I could proly live off just the AFx Analord series... hot shit!

Siam Shade. Japanese glam rock!

That's a good one. Can I skirt the rules by choosing the stuff Thelonius and Coltrane did together as my 2nd?

I'd be repeating stuff pretty often....

Audioslave

Do you also like Chilton's solo stuff - post Big Star? BTW, interesting coincidence, i sold a Chilton solo record on ebay to William Eggleston's son - the dean, Sr. that is, of american color photography and the guy who took the cover photo for Radio City. Small world, eh?

I love equally portions of #1 Record, Radio City and 3rd - not one of these, by itself, is the perfect album but there are perfect tracks on each of them for sure.

KMFDM!

[quote=Do you also like Chilton's solo stuff - post Big Star? [/quote]

Yes, I do! His version of "I am the cosmos" for one example. Very moving, gutty music...

Richard D James has to be my number 1 as well! He's influenced and probably just about everyone else I listen to.

I also have to say Boards of Canada have not released a dog yet and I think I have all their stuff.