From the Beastie Boys to Slayer to his landmark recordings with Johnny Cash, Rick Rubin has manned the boards for some of the most important albums of the past 20 years. The 2007 Grammy ceremonies saw him take home honors in no less than five categories, including “Producer of the Year, Non-Classical.” Most recently, he oversaw the recording of Jakob Dylan’s forthcoming solo album, Seeing Things. As shown by the list below, Rubin’s all-time favorite albums run a gamut as broad as his production work.
1) The Beatles: The Beatles (white album)
“This one may not be as polished as some of the other Beatles albums, but I like how personal it feels, and the fact that you can hear the individual styles of each of the guys. It sounds as much like four separate people, as it does a band. I like seeing their individual personalities coming through in the music and in the playing.”
2) Neil Young: After the Gold Rush
“I like the natural mood of this one. Like the Beatles' ‘White Album,’ it has almost a documentary feel. It feels like it’s capturing a moment in time, and not trying to be perfect. It's not trying to be glossy, or pretty. It has a real, soulful truth in it.”
3) Black Sabbath: Black Sabbath
“This album is really the beginning of riff-rock, which I really like. It sounds huge and scary, and slow and sludgy, and has a kind of otherworldly aspect to it that moves me.”
4) AC/DC: Highway to Hell
“A timeless and natural-sounding rock album.”
5) Run-D.M.C: Run-D.M.C.
“This album is very bare bones. It probably influenced my hip-hop production more than anything else.”
6) Gang of Four: Entertainment!
“I like the sparseness of this one, and the emotion behind it. It sounds like something really important is happening on this album.”
7) The Ramones: Ramones
“This one is a sort of document of a moment as well. It’s raw, powerful, and it doesn’t sound like anything else.”
8) Devo - Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!