Album Club

Classic Albums Club

In 2019, I (Dave Whitaker) formed the Classic Albums Club through Meetup. The group meets in person in the Kansas City metropolitan area once a month, discussing a different classic album each time. You can see more at the Classic Albums Club Meetup page here. The albums eligible for discussion include: 1 albums featured in The Top 100 Albums of All Time book published 2014 2 albums featured in The Top 100 Albums of the 20th Century book, published 2024 3 the top ten albums featured in the upcoming book The Top 100 Albums of the 21st Century 4 albums picked by group members in December 2024 Albums Already Discussed Or Scheduled for Discussion June 2026: My Chemical Romance The Black Parade (2006) 4 May 2026: Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin II (1969) 1 Apr. 2026: Olivia Newton-John/John Travolta/Various Artists Grease (soundtrack, 1978) 1 Mar. 2026: Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young Déjà Vu (1970) 1 Feb. 2026: Eminem The Marshall Mathers LP (2000) 3 Jan. 2026: Alice in Chains Dirt (1992) 4 Dec. 2025: The Rolling Stones Let It Bleed (1969) 1 Nov. 2025: Amy Winehouse Back to Black (2006) 3 Oct. 2025: The Who Tommy (1969) 1 Sept. 2025: Red Hot Chili Peppers Blood Sugar Sex Magik (1991) 2 Aug. 2025: King Crimson In the Court of the Crimson King (1969) 4 July 2025: Bruce Springsteen Born in the U.S.A. (1984) 1,2 June 2025: The Jimi Hendrix Experience Are You Experienced? (1967) 1,2 May 2025: The Replacements Let It Be (1984) 4 April 2025: Robert Johnson The Complete Recordings (compilation: 1936-37, released 1990) 2 March 2025: The Pixies Doolittle (1989) 2 Feb. 2025: Pink Floyd Wish You Were Here (1975) 1,2 Jan. 2025: The Beatles Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) 1,2 Nov. 2024: Various Artists The Sound of Music (cast album: 1959, soundtrack: 1965) 1,2 Oct. 2024: Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band Trout Mask Replica (1969) 1 Sept. 2024: Alanis Morissette Jagged Little Pill (1995) 1,2 Aug. 2024: Ramones Ramones (1976) 1,2 June 2024: The Doors The Doors (1967) 1,2 May 2024: Bob Dylan Blood on the Tracks (1975) 1,2 Apr. 2024: John Lennon Plastic Ono Band (1970) 1 March 2024: Meat Loaf Bat Out of Hell (1977) 1,2 Feb. 2024: Love Forever Changes (1967) 1,2 Jan. 2024: The Smiths The Queen Is Dead (1986) 1,2 Dec. 2023: Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein II (composers) South Pacific (cast album: 1949, soundtrack: 1958) 1,2 Nov. 2023: Massive Attack Blue Lines (1991) 1 Oct. 2023: The Who Who’s Next (1971) 1,2 Sept. 2023: U2 Achtung Baby (1991) 1,2 Aug. 2023: Elvis Presley The Sun Sessions (archives: 1954-55, released 1975) 1 July 2023: Neil Young Harvest (1972) 1,2 June 2023: The Police Synchronicity (1983) 1,2 May 2023: Joni Mitchell Blue (1971) 1,2 April 2023: Beck Odelay (1996) 1,2 March 2023: The Allman Brothers At Fillmore East (live, 1971) 1 Feb. 2023: Bee Gees/Various Artists Saturday Night Fever (soundtrack, 1977) 1,2 Jan. 2023: Van Morrison Astral Weeks (1968) 1,2 Dec. 2022: Pink Floyd The Wall (1979) 1,2 Nov. 2022: The Stone Roses The Stone Roses (1989) 1,2 Oct. 2022: Bruce Springsteen Born to Run (1975) 1,2 Sept. 2022: Marvin Gaye What’s Going On (1971) 1,2 Aug. 2022: Guns N’ Roses Appetite for Destruction (1987) 1,2 Sept. 2022: The Clash London Calling (1979) 1,2 June 2022: Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin I (1969) 1,2 May 2022: Fleetwood Mac Rumours (1977) 1,2 April 2022: Public Enemy It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (1988) 1,2 March 2022: Black Sabbath Paranoid (1970) 1,2 Feb. 2022: Pearl Jam Ten (1991) 1,2 Jan. 2022: Dire Straits Brothers in Arms (1985) 1,2 Dec. 2021: Leonard Bernstein & Stephen Sondheim (composers) West Side Story (cast album: 1957, soundtrack: 1961) 1,2 Nov. 2021: Derek and the Dominos Layla & Other Assorted Love Songs (1970) 1,2 Oct. 2021: The Beatles Rubber Soul (1965) 1,2 Sept. 2021: Jeff Buckley Grace (1994) 1,2 Aug. 2021: David Bowie The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972) 1,2 July 2021: The Band The Band (1969) 1,2 June 2021: John Coltrane A Love Supreme (1965) 1 May 2021: Bob Marley & the Wailers Legend (compilation: 1973-83, released 1984) 1,2 April 2021: Elton John Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1973) 1,2 March 2021: Prince Sign ‘O’ the Times (1987) 1,2 Feb. 2021: Van Halen Van Halen (1978) 1,2 Jan. 2021: The Beatles Revolver (1966) 1,2 Dec. 2020: Talking Heads Remain in Light (1980) 1,2 Nov. 2020: Stevie Wonder Innervisions (1973) 1,2 Oct. 2020: Lauryn Hill The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998) 1,2 Sept. 2020: Joy Division Closer (1980) 1,2 Aug. 2020: Velvet Underground & Nico Velvet Underground & Nico (1967) 1,2 July 2020: Bob Dylan Highway 61 Revisited (1965) 1,2 June 2020: The Rolling Stones Sticky Fingers (1971) 1,2 May 2020: Johnny Cash At Folsom Prison (live, 1968) 1 April 2020: Television Marquee Moon (1977) 1,2 Feb. 2020: Radiohead OK Computer (1997) 1,2 Jan. 2020: Paul Simon Graceland (1986) 1,2 Dec. 2019: Carole King Tapestry (1971) 1,2 Nov. 2019: James Brown Live at the Apollo Volume 1 (live, 1962) 1,2 Oct. 2019: R.E.M. Automatic for the People (1992) 1,2 Sept. 2019: Oasis (What’s the Story) Morning Glory (1995) 1,2 Aug. 2019: Miles Davis Kind of Blue (1959) 1,2 July 2019: Prince & the Revolution Purple Rain (1984) 1,2 June 2019: The Beach Boys Pet Sounds (1966) 1,2 May 2019: Patti Smith Horses (1975) 1,2 April 2019: Queen A Night at the Opera (1975) 1,2 Feb. 2019: Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon (1973) 1,2 Albums Still Up for Discussion AC/DC Back in Black (1980) 1 Adele 21 (2011) 3 The Beatles A Hard Day’s Night (soundtrack, 1964) 2 The Beatles The Beatles (aka “The White Album”) (1968) 1 The Beatles Abbey Road (1969) 1 Bon Jovi Slippery When Wet (1986) 2 David Bowie Hunky Dory (1971) The Clash The Clash (1977) 1 Coldplay A Rush of Blood to the Head (2002) 3 Cream Disraeli Gears (1967) 4 Crosby, Stills & Nash Crosby, Stills & Nash (1969) 4 The Cure Disintegration (1989) 4 DJ Shadow Endtroducing… (1996) 4 Bob Dylan Blonde on Blonde (1966) 1 Eagles Hotel California (1976) 1 George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin, Dubose Heyward (composers) Porgy and Bess (opera/musical, composed 1935) 4 Green Day Dookie (1994) 2 The Jimi Hendrix Experience Electric Ladyland (1968) 1 Whitney Houston/Various Artists The Bodyguard (soundtrack, 1992) 2 Michael Jackson Off the Wall (1979) 2 Michael Jackson Thriller (1982) 1 Norah Jones Come Away with Me (2002) 3 Judas Priest British Steel (1980) 4 Kendrick Lamar To Pimp a Butterfly (2015) 3 Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin IV (1971) 1 Led Zeppelin Physical Graffiti (1975) 1 John Lennon Imagine (1971) 1 John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers/Eric Clapton Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton (1966) 4 Metallica Metallica (aka ‘The Black Album’) (1991) 1 Van Morrison Moondance (1970) 1 Nirvana Nevermind (1991) 1 Radiohead The Bends (1995) 1 Radiohead Kid A (2000) 3 R.E.M. Murmur (1983) 2 The Rolling Stones Beggars Banquet (1968) 1 The Rolling Stones Exile on Main Street (1972) 1 The Sex Pistols Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols (1977) 1 Simon & Garfunkel Bridge Over Troubled Water (1970) 1 Steely Dan Aja (1977) 4 The Strokes Is This It (2001) 3 Taylor Swift 1989 (2014) 3 Shania Twain Come on Over (1997) 2 U2 Under a Blood Red Sky (live, recorded 1983) 4 U2 The Joshua Tree (1987) 1 The White Stripes Elephant (2003) 3 Wilco Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2001) 4 Lucinda Williams Car Wheels on a Gravel Road (1998) 4 Stevie Wonder Songs in the Key of Life (1976) 1 Neil Young After the Gold Rush (1970) 1

Resources and Related Links: Dave’s Music Database book The Top 100 Albums of All Time, published 2014 Dave’s Music Database book The Top 100 Albums of the 20th Century, published 2024 Dave’s Music Database book The Top 100 Albums of the 21st Century (not yet published) Classic Albums Club Meetup page First posted 6/16/2025; last updated 4/19/2026.