The Grateful Dead??

By--Tor wrote: American Beauty is one of the all time great albums. It was the first Dead album I ever heard and to this day its the one I still listen to the most.

Yeah - wow, Sugar Magnolia, Ripple, Attics of my Life - they sure knew how to write a song.  Precious album for sure, but AoxomoxoA is my obsession with them (or Live Dead).

Volumes 3 and 7 of the DP series are my faves, fwiw

^ Exactly. My favourite combo. 

I love the Dead...but am unusual in that I like their studio albums much more than the live ones.  AOXOMOXOA, Workingman's, American Beauty, Wake of the Flood, and my favourite - Mars Hotel are all excellent.  I always considered "Unbroken Chain" and "China Doll" to be prog tracks and laughingly refer to the Dead as my favourite prog-boogie band 

Wake?  Workingman's?  Terrapin? 

for live, Dead Set and Reckoning, or maybe Europe '72

k so I want some album suggestions
So far I've heard everything from Anthem of the Sun to American Beauty, Blues for Allah, and Skeletons from the Closet, and my favorites from those have been Blues for Allah, Live/Dead, and American Beauty.
Try to recommend me something based on that, or anything you think is really exceptional.

Tom Ozric wrote: dr wu23 wrote: Tom Ozric wrote: dr wu23 wrote: Tom Ozric wrote: Anthem, AoxomoxoA and Live Dead are my Dead.  Blues For Allah is also amazing...........hmmm, even Wake Of The Flood with its rustic feel.  American Beauty has some terrific toons as well.  Can't go around amassing any more Dead albums coz life's too short...........   That works for me.....but I usually will play Aoxomoxoa the most , but I have to be in a 'certain mood'.   AoxomoxoA - there are 2 versions of this album - original mix, and a 1971 re-mix.  They both have their pros and cons.  A story here : I originally had purchased the 1971 re-mix album back in the late 80's and, to cut a long story short, after a few years, I accidentally dropped a 'Boss' bass-pedal right on the album (butter-fingers.....) and it virtually cracked in half (the record, not the pedal) .  It took me several years to come across another copy, this time, lo and behold, a French pressing with the GD writing in white (not the black heading) and the original mix - for a measley 7 bucks.  Really, a treasure to enjoy.  'What's Become Of The Baby' is so way different and superior to the re-mix.  I do recall on the later version, Lesh's bass was more up-front, but the original is superb.  And I am always in that 'certain mood' these days - permanently.................(no quite a Barrett case luckily.........).......   My vinyl copy is an original purchased about 6 months  after it came out so I assume it's the orignal mix..? Must be !!  If it has Lesh's bass chords and the A-Cappella bit at the end of 'Doin' That Rag' then for sure it's the original (they left that completely off the re-mix).  Far more spontaneous and psychedelic overall.  And you're so lucky to have been around for its release.  I wasn't even thought of then.  I absolutely love that album - kicks the ass off a lot of Prog really. The Airplane's 'After Bathing At Baxter's' is easily as good, and Quicksilver's debut.  I wish I lived in the States................

Tom Ozric wrote: dr wu23 wrote: Tom Ozric wrote: Anthem, AoxomoxoA and Live Dead are my Dead.  Blues For Allah is also amazing...........hmmm, even Wake Of The Flood with its rustic feel.  American Beauty has some terrific toons as well.  Can't go around amassing any more Dead albums coz life's too short...........   That works for me.....but I usually will play Aoxomoxoa the most , but I have to be in a 'certain mood'.   AoxomoxoA - there are 2 versions of this album - original mix, and a 1971 re-mix.  They both have their pros and cons.  A story here : I originally had purchased the 1971 re-mix album back in the late 80's and, to cut a long story short, after a few years, I accidentally dropped a 'Boss' bass-pedal right on the album (butter-fingers.....) and it virtually cracked in half (the record, not the pedal) .  It took me several years to come across another copy, this time, lo and behold, a French pressing with the GD writing in white (not the black heading) and the original mix - for a measley 7 bucks.  Really, a treasure to enjoy.  'What's Become Of The Baby' is so way different and superior to the re-mix.  I do recall on the later version, Lesh's bass was more up-front, but the original is superb.  And I am always in that 'certain mood' these days - permanently.................(no quite a Barrett case luckily.........).......

dr wu23 wrote: Tom Ozric wrote: Anthem, AoxomoxoA and Live Dead are my Dead.  Blues For Allah is also amazing...........hmmm, even Wake Of The Flood with its rustic feel.  American Beauty has some terrific toons as well.  Can't go around amassing any more Dead albums coz life's too short...........   That works for me.....but I usually will play Aoxomoxoa the most , but I have to be in a 'certain mood'.

AoxomoxoA - there are 2 versions of this album - original mix, and a 1971 re-mix.  They both have their pros and cons.  A story here : I originally had purchased the 1971 re-mix album back in the late 80's and, to cut a long story short, after a few years, I accidentally dropped a 'Boss' bass-pedal right on the album (butter-fingers.....) and it virtually cracked in half (the record, not the pedal) .  It took me several years to come across another copy, this time, lo and behold, a French pressing with the GD writing in white (not the black heading) and the original mix - for a measley 7 bucks.  Really, a treasure to enjoy.  'What's Become Of The Baby' is so way different and superior to the re-mix.  I do recall on the later version, Lesh's bass was more up-front, but the original is superb.  And I am always in that 'certain mood' these days - permanently.................(no quite a Barrett case luckily.........).......

I've been thinking about my answer for a long time, and I still don't have a good answer.  I feel like I should have an opinion on this, but I just don't.  Keyboards have always kind of been a background thing for the Dead.  Each of them made their subtle but substantial contributions to the group while they were there, and pretty much helped define the various eras the band went through.