I have no idea what the "Top 5 Albums of All Time" are but I can name five of my favorites off the top of my head:

Several weeks ago I went out to a local club in Raleigh, NC one that is usually very loud. The next day I woke up with my right ear ringing. Nothing unusual there, it's happened before. Thing is, over two weeks later my ear is still ringing. I had recently had surgery to replace a tube in that ear and thought maybe the ringing could have been brought on by fluid buildup (the reason for the tube to start with). The only thing is, the ringing didn't start until that night at the bar so I figured that was probably the cause. After a hearing test (that was already planned as a followup for the tube surgery) and an examination by my ear doctor today, I was told that I have tinnitus. My doctor prescribed prednisdone and suggested I cut back on my salt and caffeine intake. None of those things will cure me of tinnitus and he didn't guarantee me that they would. That's the bad part, there is no cure. I have friends that always wear earplugs to shows but I've never really thought anything of it. I have been attending rock concerts since I was 14 or so years old and have experienced my ears ringing on many occasions before but it has always gone away. Not this time. I never thought there was anything wrong with wearing earplugs but I have also never done it. Even though it's too late, now I will just to preserve what hearing I have left. The most frustrating thing has been sharing this with friends. They listen and empathize but still don't wear earplugs. Well, there's really nothing I can do about that but I will say this is a condition that's preventable. I wish now that I had been wearing earplugs all along. If I had, I wouldn't have to be experiencing the hell on earth that is the constant ringing in my right ear that I'm told may never go away. Please take it from me and please start wearing earplugs to shows if you care anything at all about losing your hearing. Believe me, you don't want to end up like me with the constant ringing that may never go away.

CD/DVD

I'm a fan. Shake Hands with Shorty is a must.

That's only one list and it is in no way indicative of the past year in music overall. No single list ever is. Try checking several just to get a better, more rounded perspective. I actually enjoy seeing individual lists compiled by fellow music fans. What you're most likely to see here is how there is no good music being made anymore and if it is, it's too damn hard to find. Or that old favorite, "home come bands today don't sound like Led Zeppelin?" I don't think it's really all that hard, it's all just part of the discovery of music to me. Even back in the heyday of "album rock" stations there was always something to find off the beaten path either through friends or something I'd read about in a music magazine that was worth checking out. That hasn't changed in 2008, nowadays there's just more means to discover music in that way. Hell, it's even easier when you think about it. With a nearly endless resource like the interwebs at our fingertips most new musical discoveries are only a click away.

I know exactly what you mean. I always liked Johnny Cash but never owned any of his records. Back in the early 90s my nephew started to get into him and I suddenly found myself listening to Cash in a whole new light. Next thing you know I started picking up a few greatest hits compilations from the budget racks and then just couldn't get enough of his music. I grew up around his tunes thanks to my Dad and my uncle but it wasn't until years later that I became a full blown fan. That's the cool thing about music, there's always some artist (old or new) just waiting to be discovered and there's no predicting if or when it will happen.

I imagine it'll be a cold day in hell before Journey are ever inducted into the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame and for good reason, just who did they influence? I'm curious as to what bands you're referring to. Here is the complete list of inductees so far: http://www.rockhall.com/inductees/inductee-list That's a very strange way of wording that especially since it was a co-write by Springsteen and Patti Smith. As for the amount of records she's sold, that isn't even part of the criteria for induction, it's influence. If record sales mattered then you wouldn't even see bands like the Velvet Underground in there. And, just what does "international fame" have to do with anything? Not to even mention the fact that she is indeed internationally known. I guess you've never heard of the concerts she's performed in Paris and other locales around the world over the years. I'm not even going to touch "singing ability" as that also doesn't have anything to do with the criteria for induction. Hell, I'm not even a big Patti Smith fan myself but her influence on tons of artists is undeniable.

It is a large part of why artists are inducted. http://www.rockhall.com/inductees/induction-process Performers Artists become eligible for induction 25 years after the release of their first record. Criteria include the influence and significance of the artists’ contributions to the development and perpetuation of rock and roll.

I'd say Frampton Comes Alive! makes him well known not to mention his appearance on The Simpsons as well as a recent Geico commercial. In other words, it's not as though he's some obscure artist very people have heard of. That's kind of hard to do when you're known for having one of the biggest selling albums of all time.

Why would having curly hair have anything to do with liking the Who (or any band for that matter)? If you don't like 'em you don't like 'em. They're not for everybody. They had a "loudness battle" going on? If so, that's a new one on me. The main similarity I see is they both had one vocalist, one lead guitarist, a bass player and a drummer. Sure, lots of bands fit that same mold but not that many with as high of a profile as the Who and Zeppelin. As far as their sound I don't see where they sound all that similar. Then again, I've never seen them compared all that much either other than they were both big during roughly the same period of time and they both hailed from the U.K.

If so, I would agree with that. I've only heard a few things here and there over the years but what I've heard sounded like he's still deserving of the recognition brought on by Frampton Comes Alive!, at least as a guitarist. Frampton Comes Alive! was such a huge selling album it will always overshadow Frampton's career no matter what he does.

I wouldn't even name a Led Zeppelin album as my most favorite, something which is always changing anyway but one of my favorites at this very moment would be:

John Lennon loved her and Yoko loved him, that's enough for me. I also don't blame her for the breakup of the Beatles. Seems everyone needs a scapegoat and she just so happened to make a convenient one. There was much more at work that lead to their demise, it would have happened with or without Yoko. I'm not necessarily a fan of her art or her music, nor do I hate her. I have much more positive things to focus my energy on.

The number one slot remains the same, the rest of the list is always rotating. Beatles R.E.M. Whiskeytown Pearl Jam Bob Dylan

I'm curious how someone that had the first double album to go platinum could be considered "underrated".

I don't think there's anything wrong with it either but it does seem to be the nature of "classic rock" oriented boards. Believe me, there are email listservs and other boards out there where there are much broader and eclectic tastes in music expressed. Some of that does happen here but it tends to be on a very small scale.

Agreed. The all day Floyd special on VH1 Classic on Thanksgiving provided perfect after dinner nap music.

That, he was. I'm surprised there's been no mention (at least that I've seen) that we lost him back on this day in 2001.

I think he was one of the greatest at the time of Cream, he was right up there with Hendrix, Page, Beck, etc. That's not to say I'm not a fan of any of his solo stuff, a lot of it is great (and a lot of it is not so great) but it's not what earned him the "Clapton is God" status.

Not a bad song but if it were to come on the radio I'd change the station almost immediately because I've heard it so many times.

CCR "underrated"? In Italy I understand but in the U.S.? They're only considered one of the number one singles bands of all time and you can hardly turn on "classic rock" radio without hearing one of their songs every five minutes. "Underrated"? Far from it. I love 'em but they've definitely received their just due, particularly in the U.S.