My Favorite Music That Starts With "R"

My post frequency has been somewhere between between very infrequent and pathetically infrequent since the start of the calendar year. Reasons: 1) I have had a lot of school work, and 2) I have trouble thinking up new lists sometimes. Well, I don't have much school work this week! But I also still don't exactly have great list ideas; this batch of lists isn't exactly creative, but it's fun to look at and think about nonetheless.

If you didn't glean the idea from the title, this post showcases my favorite albums, artists and songs that start with the letter "R". Why R? It seems rather arbitrary, you might think. And you might think correctly. It is completely arbitrary; I just picked a random letter that wasn't too obscure (it'd be considerably harder to make a "Q" list). So, while there isn't a time period or genre or theme of any sort uniting these selections, there is a letter--and that letter is the glorious R.

Top 30 Albums

30. PJ Harvey--Rid Of Me

29. Can--Rite Time

28. Four Tet--Rounds

27. Sonic Youth--Rather Ripped

26. Wire--Read & Burn

25. Lee "Scratch" Perry--Roast Fish Collie Weed & Cornbread

24. Unwound--Repetition

23. Kraftwerk--Radioactivity

22. The Notorious B.I.G.--Ready To Die

21. Basement Jaxx--Rooty

20. Fenn O'Berg--Return Of Fenn O'Berg, The

19. Robert Wyatt--Rock Bottom

18. Deerhoof--Runners Four, The

17. The Pogues--Rum, Sodomy & The Lash

16. John Fahey--Requia

15. Terry Riley--A Rainbow In Curved Air

14. David Bowie--Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars, The

13. Dirty Projectors--Rise Above

12. John Fahey--Red Cross

11. Fugazi--Red Medicine

10. The Beatles--Rubber Soul

9. Aphex Twin--Richard D. James Album

8. The Ramones--Rocket To Russia

7. TV On The Radio--Return To Cookie Mountain

6. Devendra Banhart--Rejoicing In The Hands

5. Iggy & The Stooges--Raw Power

4. The Ramones--Ramones

3. Talking Heads--Remain In Light

2. Tom Waits--Rain Dogs

1. The Beatles--Revolver

A little bit of a no-brainer there. And Revolver is not only the greatest album ever to start with an R, but also the greatest one to end in an R.

Top 30 "R"tists

(For solo artists, last names and first names starting with R both count)

30. Rahsaan Roland Kirk

29. Rufus Thomas

28. Red Red Meat

27. Rivingtons, The

26. Richie Havens

25. Rapture, The

24. Raekwon

23. R. Kelly

22. Ry Cooder

21. Ronettes, The

20. Rakim

19. Richman, Jonathan

18. Rapeman

17. Residents, The

16. R.E.M.

15. Richard Hell & The Voidoids

14. Ride

13. Robert Wyatt

12. Replacements, The

11. Randy Newman

10. Rolling Stones, The

9. Roscoe Mitchell

8. Redding, Otis

7. Radiohead

6. Ray Charles

5. Riley, Terry

4. Ramones, The

3. Reich, Steve

2. Russell, Arthur

1. Reed, Lou

While his solo output isn't necessarily #1 "R"tist material, the fact that he was the principal member of The Velvet Underground puts Lou Reed at the top of this list.

Top 60 Songs

60. Roni Size &Reprazent--Railing

59. The Germs--Richie Dagger's Crime

58. Devendra Banhart--Red Lagoon, The

57. Link Wray--Run Chicken Run

56. Snap!--Rhythm Is A Dancer

55. Scott Walker--Rawhide

54. Devendra Banhart--Rejoicing In The Hands

53. Death From Above 1979--Romantic Rights

52. Buddy Holly--Ready Teddy

51. Outkast--Roses

50. John Fahey--Red Cross, Disciple Of Today

49. YACHT--Ring The Bell

48. Edan--Rock And Roll

47. The Minutemen--Roars Of The Masses Could Be Farts, The

46. Matias Aguayo--Rollerskate

45. Elvis Costello--Radio, Radio

44. Sonic Youth--Radical Adults Lick Godhead Style

43. Love--Ride That Vibration

42. Big Boi--Royal Flush

41. Miles Davis--Right Off

40. Basement Jaxx--Romeo

39. Dr. John--Right Place, Wrong Time

38. Lady Sovereign--Random

37. Buddy Holly--Rave On!

36. Built To Spill--Randy Described Eternity

35. R.E.M.--Radio Free Europe

34. The Rolling Stones--Rocks Off

33. New Order--Round & Round

32. Patti Smith--Rock N Roll Nigger

31. T. Rex--Rock On

30. Van Halen--Runnin' With The Devil

29. Public Enemy--Rebel Without A Pause

28. Lee "Scratch" Perry--Roast Fish And Cornbread

27. John Fahey--Requiem For Molly

26. Iron Maiden--Run To The Hills

25. Digable Planets--Rebirth Of Slick (Cool Like Dat)

24. Dirty Projectors--Rise Above

23. The Sugarhill Gang--Rapper's Delight

22. Ike & Tina Turner--River Deep, Mountain High

21. Herbie Hancock--Rain Dance

20. Frankie Goes To Hollywood--Relax

19. Nick Drake--River Man

18. Black Flag--Rise Above

17. Bob Dylan--Rainy Day Women #12 & 35

16. Hot Chip--Ready For The Floor

15. The Beatles--Revolution 9

14. Wire--Reuters

13. Boards Of Canada--Roygbiv

12. Serge Gainsbourg--Requiem Pour Un Con

11. The Velvet Underground--Rock And Roll

10. The Ramones--Rockaway Beach

9. Portishead--The Rip

8. Kate Bush--Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)

7. Terry Riley--A Rainbow In Curved Air

6. Nick Drake--Road

5. Creedence Clearwater Revival--Run Through The Jungle

4. The Shangri-Las--Remember (Walking In The Sand)

3. Chuck Berry--Roll Over Beethoven

2. Del Shannon--Runaway

1. The Modern Lovers--Roadrunner

That's what I think. I realize this list is a little ridiculous (another R word), but it's kinda fun, too. The picture at the top is of Terry Riley: one of the letter R's greatest sons. Something to note: The Ramones were in the top ten of each R category. Neat!