What is the Best Brian Eno Album and or Collaboration?

I'm sadly very uninformed about Eno's back catalog. I certainly like his work with Roxy Music, Bowie, etc. I finally checked out Music for Airports for the first time earlier this year, and it left me lukewarm at best. I suppose I need to put it in the context of the time period, but most of it seemed way too minimal for my tastes.

Eno has a large catalog of recordings so you are bound to find a wide range of opinions on what is best but here is my take:

If you are looking for his woks in the pop genre I recommend 'Here Come the Warm Jets' and 'Before and After Science'. If you are looking for pre-ambient works I recommend 'No Pussyfooting' and 'Evening Star' with Robert Fripp. Can't tell how many hours I spent listening to those 2 albums back in the day. Really struck a resonance with me and were a great influence on my musical sensibilities. For ambient works I'd recommend 'The Pearl' with Harold Budd, but Eno has many ambient albums so you may do well to listen on Amazon and You Tube to discover what catches your ear.

Another Green World '75

There are many good ones.
There was a period where he released a number of ground-breaking recordings.

"Another Green World", was considered one of the best and had many interesting musicians on it.


Brian Eno — vocals, synthesiser, bass guitar, guitar, percussion, drum machine, piano, keyboards, Hammond and Farfisa organ, Yamaha bass pedals, sound effects, producer
John Cale — viola on "Sky Saw" and "Golden Hours"
Phil Collins — drums, percussion on "Sky Saw", "Over Fire Island", and "Zawinul/Lava"
Robert Fripp — electric guitars on "St. Elmo's Fire," "I'll Come Running," and "Golden Hours"
Percy Jones — fretless bass on "Sky Saw", "Over Fire Island", and "Zawinul/Lava"
Roderick Melvin — Fender Rhodes piano, piano on "Sky Saw," "I'll Come Running," and "Zawinul/Lava"
Paul Rudolph — bass, bass guitar, guitar, snare drum on "Sky Saw," "I'll Come Running", and "Zawinul/Lava"
Brian Turrington - bass guitar, piano on "Everything Merges With the Night"

Another good one:
The Pearl

The Pearl is an album by ambient musicians Harold Budd and Brian Eno, which was released in 1984. This album is similar to Budd and Eno's previous collaboration Ambient 2: The Plateaux of Mirror, consisting mostly of subtly treated piano textures, but this time with more pronounced electronic treatments and nature recordings. This album was produced with Daniel Lanois, who is also credited on the front cover.

I've always found his work to be very hit and miss, the one exception (that I've heard/got) is the still utterly sublime collaboration with David Byrne > My Life in the Bush of Ghosts from 1981. Simply put, one of the best albums I've ever heard and bears repeated listening without my getting fed up of hearing from first track to last.

A honourable mention has to go to the previously mentioned No Pussyfooting with Bob Fripp The first side still makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end, tho' I was never that keen on the second side.

Every single one of them - however:


"Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks" (1983) - Eno with his brother Roger and Daniel Lanois

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZnRe6e20xE

I like his newest stuff too:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZ5mVkipqZ4

Low.

its a bit like "whats the best vegetable?" so many different styles but some standouts...
my life in the bush of ghosts (with david byrne)
discreet music
here come the warm jets
and yup, david bowies "low"

also check out some of his work with cluster and harmonia...

there are many more great albums, but i do find the above mentioned will give a new listener some interesting bits, before getting on to the more esoteric stuff, that may leave some non fans cold :shrug;

My favourite, and therefore the best for everyone else too, is:

Here Come the Warm Jets.

Ambient 4 : On Land

Yeah, end of discussion really.

It's predecessor Taking Tiger Mountain... is great (personally prefer it to ...Warm Jets)

Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks is my favourite 'ambient' work.

My Life in the Bush of Ghosts is the best collab.

Talking Heads - Remain in Light is the best production job.

Recent albums Small Craft on a Milk Sea and Another Day on Earth are both great too (especially Bone Bomb on the latter...)

All IMHO.


To avoid: wouldn't recommend The Drop to anyone, meandering new age meanderings...

Windows 95 startup jingle.

Personal favorites-
Discreet music
Another green world
Low (Bowie)
Apollo
4th world possible musics- w/Jon hassell

my top 5
Another Green World
Talking Heads - Remain in Light
Bowie - Low
Apollo
Eno & Fripp - No Pussyfooting