The Geek Girl's Favorite: Billy Joel's Albums

My interest in collecting vinyl records began at least three Christmases ago, with my Dad gifting me a handful of Billy Joel's records. At the time, the extent of my original interest in vinyl was only to keep up with my dad's collection he had started sometime before, with hopes in what I might get someday. So, vinyl wasn't anything I had asked for, nor expected at the time. So, the records were a wonderful surprise! Not to mention, Dad and I would travel to see Billy Joel perform in concert at Cleveland, Ohio that next summer—which was even more reason to enjoy them!

Nowadays, I only try to keep up with Dad's vinyl to figure out what he wants next. He has me well-surpassed in the volume of his collection. He must have well over a hundred by now, while I only have 34 of my own, as of this writing—though about 12 of mine are all of Billy Joel's studio albums I had all acquired by the very next Christmas, after my collection started! In celebrating the milestone, I determined my top-five favorites. Determined to return to my blogging hobby—and possibly even because Billy Joel's former wife, Christie Brinkley, is cast on this season's Dancing with the Stars—I decided to polish up my list.

Who is Billy Joel?

If perchance the name is unfamiliar to you, Billy Joel is a rockstar piano player, whose heyday began in the 1970s. Having played piano since he was four years old, his talent has sold over 150 million records in his career; garnered several hits, awards, and Grammy nominations; earned himself many hall of fame and honorary degree accolades; and given himself the nickname of the "Piano Man," which is also one of his best-known songs.

His appeal reaches a broad audience, with a music style dominantly soft-rock, but is also versatilely influenced by jazz, oldies, pop, and even classical music, depending on the song or album. His own lyrics draw from parts of his own life, making his music relatable to just about anybody. The musicality and songs are touched on more later in the list (and possibly even on another one).

A born New Yorker, some of his songs capture "Big Apple" city life, while others embrace where his life on the road had taken him. Country star Garth Brooks covered Joel's song, "Shameless," and reached Number 1 on the country charts. Panic! At the Disco had even covered Billy Joel's "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" on a concert recording. He's toured with Elton John, and collaborated with Tony Bennet, Cyndi Lauper, and Paul McCartney. His songs often grace the soundtracks of many TV shows and movies, (including "Oliver and Company"), and were even the basis of a Broadway musical at one point. In short, Billy Joel's music is pretty all-encompassing to all generations, locations, personal tastes, and walks of life.

1. '52nd Street' (1978)

52nd Street is Billy Joel's sixth studio album, giving us hits like “Big Shot," “Honesty," and “My Life," but I really enjoy the album's jazz theme carried by its deeper cuts, or “B-side songs." Like, “Rosalinda's Eyes," which has a Cuban percussion beat, and Caribbean references as a tribute to his mother. “Half a Mile Away” is a big-band hopeful bound towards more in life, and I try to snap along in an attempt to keep with the snappy, sharp funk beat, punctuating “Stiletto!"

2. 'Glass Houses' (1980)

Glass Houses followed 52nd Street into the 80s with a rock-and-roll and bad-boy streak in popular songs like, “You May Be Right," “Sometimes a Fantasy," and “Still Rock and Roll to Me." “Fantasy,” and the B-side's “I Don't Want to Be Alone,” were cheeky surprises I fell in love with!

3. 'Streetlife Serenade' (1974)

Streetlife Serenade is Billy Joel's third album. Maintaining some roots from his first album, Streetlife Serenade has a touch of simplicity and a mellowness for enjoyable easy listening—nothing too slow or too fast, nothing too preppy or too sad. Just the right amount of those qualities balance between tracks like, “Root Beer Rag” and “The Entertainer,” "The Great Suburban Showdown,” “Last of the Big Time Spenders,” and "Streetlife Serenader"—the album's title song and only hit. This album, along with Glass Houses and 52nd Street, were the first records in my collection. A bit of random trivia: this is the first album where Joel uses the synthesizer on any of his albums.

4. 'Cold Spring Harbor' (1971)

Cold Spring Harbor is Billy Joel's first album as an independent artist (after previously working with groups called the Hassles and Atilla). Cold Spring Harbor gives us “She's Got a Way” and “Everybody Loves you Now." A sense of simplicity is heard throughout the album, with the piano or keyboard as the predominant instruments on every track.

5. 'Kohuept' [Russian for 'concert'] (1987)

For some reason, I am most fascinated by Billy Joel's performances in the USSR, from which this album comes. The Kremlin invited Billy Joel to perform concerts in Russia, as the government carefully opened the cultural horizons for its people. With regard to Western rock in particular, Billy Joel was one of the first artists allowed to perform there, and even he knew he would make an impact on the Cold War. A little more trivia: the track “Leningrad” on 1989s Storm Front is about a friend Billy Joel made while on this tour. Additionally, the concert recording is packaged as A Matter of Trust: The Bridge to Russia as a DVD, Blu-ray, and/or CD set, which includes the concert to watch and listen to, and a feature documentary of the event.