There is a certain amount of blasphemy about to be put forth in this space. Saturday night, I was having a conversation about music--a wide ranging, animated, completely engaging conversation, by the way--and my friend was putting forth that there are certain artists that, although you may never want to buy an entire album of their work, they have an album's worth of brilliant material scattered over the course of their career. He specifically brought up Leonard Cohen.

I have to agree. "Suzanne" is one of the most tender, poignant fragile songs ever recorded, but I don't know if I necessarily need to hear the rest of that album. But put "Suzanne" together with "Hallelujah", and "Everybody Knows", and "Dance Me to the End of Love", and you're on to something interesting. Leonard Cohen is one of those artists that people tend to discover through covers of his songs; oftentimes, the cover is far superior to the original . I hold Jeff Buckley's version of "Hallelujah" up as case in point. End of discussion. Lou Reed could go here. Cherry pick Lou's catalog, and you'll find one of the greatest rock albums ever. Neil Young, same guiding principle. Some artists are meant to be known, and I will go so far as to say, better realized, by other artists shining a light on their work. See? Blasphemy.

Who makes your list? Discuss in the comments.

Labels: jeff buckley, leonard cohen, lou reed