# Vancouver's Top 50 Albums



## LanceT (Mar 7, 2014)

The 50 albums that shaped Vancouver

Interesting snapshot of the last 50 years of Vancouver's music scene. A lot of it I've not heard of but it could be fun looking it up.


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## Hammerhands (Dec 19, 2016)

NoMeansNo, Wrong. That's very good. I haven't thought about Skinny Puppy in years. I had that Payolas album.

They have Victoria's NoMeansNo but not Dayglo Abortions. Bob's Your Uncle would make my list, and Salvador Dream.

Lists.


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## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

Not a horrible list. 

These things will never make everyone happy, but I think the exclusion of any Strapping Young Lad was shortsighted. They were one of the biggest metal acts while they were out there. They had impact on the metal community around the world. At least Skinny Puppy made it, another seminal, influential Van band.

A number of other very important bands/albums were not represented. And some of Vancouver's local musical royalty make comments after the article. There were also comments on the complete lack of rap/hiphop music - something I didn't notice. LOL

Another point to make, this is Vancouver musicians and their music, not great albums recorded in Vancouver. That list is much bigger and more international, with huge bands like Aerosmith recording major albums here. One of my favorites was Queensryche Empire, recorded a few blocks from a condo I lived in - and a studio we recorded in a few years later. That would be an interesting list too, but you'd probably need more than 50.


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## LanceT (Mar 7, 2014)

I realized I hadn't noticed the lack of Rap & Hiphop either. Perhaps neither were too influential in this local scene? I know I couldn't name a single artist in those genres.


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## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

Read the comments after the article. They mention a couple of important rap albums - that I've of course never heard of.

A certain Mr. Henderson makes some comments along with a few other luminaries.


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## Sid_V (Dec 27, 2016)

I saw Art Bergmann in Toronto 20 years ago during NxNE, it was a a great performance. One of the great characters. He hascmade a bit of a comeback over the past couple of years. 

Leaving Spirit of the West off was a glaring omission. SotW blazed a path for a number of other Canadian bands, bringing Celtic influences into the mainstream. To me, SotW and Doug and the Slugs, along with DOA, were seminal Vancouver bands.


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## Kerry Brown (Mar 31, 2014)

Lots of good bands and albums not on the list but I would have thought Heart - Dreamboat Annie would be on the list. I saw them at a high school dance a couple months before the album came out. They rocked Howe Sound Secondary.


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## Hammerhands (Dec 19, 2016)

No one's missing Loverboy.


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## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

Hammerhands said:


> No one's missing Loverboy.


LOL Or Nickelback. I guess anything that goes Gold need not apply.



Kerry Brown said:


> Lots of good bands and albums not on the list but I would have thought Heart - Dreamboat Annie would be on the list. I saw them at a high school dance a couple months before the album came out. They rocked Howe Sound Secondary.


I consider Heart a Seattle band and not a Vancouver band - although they did partially 'make it' here. And the list seems to be Vancouver-based bands. 

No 54-40 either. Quite a few what I would consider major influence bands not represented. But whatcha gonna do? We could all make up our own - and still no one would be 100% satisfied.


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## Kerry Brown (Mar 31, 2014)

High/Deaf said:


> LOL Or Nickelback. I guess anything that goes Gold need not apply.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Heart's original guitar player was a draft dodger and lived in Vancouver. The band lived and worked in Vancouver for several years before moving back to Seattle. They played local clubs and high school dances. Dreamboat Annie was recorded at Mushroom Studios in Vancouver. For at least four or five years in the early 70's they were a vital part of the Vancouver music scene.


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## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

Kerry Brown said:


> Heart's original guitar player was a draft dodger and lived in Vancouver. The band lived and worked in Vancouver for several years before moving back to Seattle. They played local clubs and high school dances. Dreamboat Annie was recorded at Mushroom Studios in Vancouver. For at least four or five years in the early 70's they were a vital part of the Vancouver music scene.


I don't disagree with you, but I think the general consensus is that they are a Seattle band. Wiki indicates that as well. Thus the reason for their exclusion, IMO.

Similarly, Nickelback is more precisely an Alberta band, I think. But they will forevermore be known as a Vancouver band.


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## LanceT (Mar 7, 2014)

In thinking of this more too, I wonder about bands like Prism and even Jerry Doucette (Mama Let Him Play). There was a brief moment in the late 70's when these bands were locally very popular, even influential.


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## Xelebes (Mar 9, 2015)

It's a pity that they didn't list their criteria and the weight of their consideration for albums being the best. Of course, that might make the article twice or thrice as long, but I think it would settle many of the questions.


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## Distortion (Sep 16, 2015)

pathetic. The only one worth listening to is Bryan Adams.


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## cboutilier (Jan 12, 2016)

LanceT said:


> I realized I hadn't noticed the lack of Rap & Hiphop either. Perhaps neither were too influential in this local scene? I know I couldn't name a single artist in those genres.


There's no way Swollen Members shouldn't have had an album on that list. They were as big as it got in the Canadian hip hop scene in the days before Classified and Drake.


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## 4345567 (Jun 26, 2008)

__________


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## doriangrey (Mar 29, 2011)

I think I've heard of maybe 5 or 6 albums o nthat entire list - I've lived in the Greater Vancouver area for my whole life of 40+ years.


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## fretzel (Aug 8, 2014)

Hammerhands said:


> Salvador Dream.


I don't know how many albums they put out but the one I have is fantastic. Back in the late 80's I really like the Sons of Freedom album. 






I offer up this single from Mushroom Trail.


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## BSTheTech (Sep 30, 2015)

Heh, I curled against one of the guys in NoMeansNo. Can't get much more Canadian than that. I also went to high school with one of the drummers from DOA.


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## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

BSTheTech said:


> Heh, I curled against one of the guys in NoMeansNo. Can't get much more Canadian than that. I also went to high school with one of the drummers from DOA.


LOL

My mom ordered tickets for the World Curling Championships in North Dakota (I think? about a decade ago?). She was talking to some Ticketbastard guy down in Louisiana or somewhere similar. This is what he thought she was buying tickets to:


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## Distortion (Sep 16, 2015)

nkjanssen said:


> Fixed that for you.


Actually have listened to 9 bands on the list but only Adams gets a pass . Ontario native.
HD the blocking feature works great got to thank Scott. LOL


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## Hammerhands (Dec 19, 2016)

Distortion said:


> the blocking feature works great


Yes it does.


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## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

Some people try for distortion and all they can muster is a farty little fuzz box sound.


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## LanceT (Mar 7, 2014)

Distortion said:


> Actually have listened to 9 bands on the list but only Adams gets a pass . Ontario native.
> HD the blocking feature works great got to thank Scott. LOL


Adams may have been an Ontario native, but he made his mark in the Vancouver scene.


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