50 years 500 albums

50 years 500 albums

Originally uploaded by sdennehey

I like music.

I like lists.

I like a challenge.

So I started this music appreciation project I’m calling 50 years 500 albums.

The objective is to discover new (old) music and develop a better understanding of how musical style has progressed through the last 50 years.

I plan to listen to albums that I’ve heard about but never taken the time to investigate. I want to experience the selected music in context, so I plan to start in 1960 and listen to all of the albums consecutively, in the order they were created, until I’m caught up with current music here in 2009.

Lately I’ve been so obsessively listening to new releases and emerging bands that I haven’t taken the time to appreciate music that’s already out there. This project will force me to stop looking for the next new thing in music and shift my focus to the great music that’s already been recorded.

About a month ago I made the lists. Each containing ten albums worth listening to from the past 50 years. To build the lists I started with the book 1001 Albums To Listen To Before You Die then I filled in the blanks with the help of Wikipedia and a couple of Google searches.

Today I began stage two of my little music project, I started listening.