wellnessfitproFrom the Archive, written by ChatGPT:
The clearest standouts are Loveless, Brazil Classics 1, Solo Monk, and the Louvin Brothers’ Tragic Songs of Life. Bach receives the strongest sustained endorsement across the years. Some of these recommendations were buried in country profiles and assorted links rather than music posts.
This selection draws on the Marginal Revolution archive from 2003 through October 2026, giving greatest weight to explicit all-time praise, repeated endorsements, and evidence of continued listening. It assesses the strength of Cowen’s recommendations; it is not a ranking he himself published. Dates below refer to his posts.
Amazon links are affiliate links. Editions and availability may vary.
1. My Bloody Valentine — Loveless
“Certainly my favorite album post-1970s, and possibly my favorite of all time.”
That is about as strong an album endorsement as the archive yields. It puts his enthusiasm for experimental popular music alongside his devotion to classical music. His praise for the band’s later mbv reinforces that this was a continuing attachment.
Source: March 11, 2017 — “My favorite things Ireland”. His praise for mbv appears in “Favorite popular music 2013,” December 15, 2013.
Amazon: Loveless — vinyl reissue; mbv.
2. Various artists, selected by David Byrne — Brazil Classics 1
“sometimes I feel it is my favorite CD period.”
He also places it among his ten desert-island discs. Especially revealing: Cowen thinks Brazilian popular music often works better as selected songs than as individual artists’ albums, so this compilation is his preferred introduction to an exceptionally rich musical tradition.
Source: December 28, 2006 — “My favorite things Brazil, music edition”.
Amazon: Brazil Classics 1: Beleza Tropical.
3. Thelonious Monk — Solo Monk
“My number one pick is Thelonious Monk’s Solo Monk”
This is his explicit first choice in an early discussion of the greatest jazz albums. Five years later, he again calls it “my favorite jazz album?” That repetition makes it a particularly solid recommendation. The original post also singles out Sun Ra and Cecil Taylor’s Silent Tongues.
Sources: October 5, 2003; May 14, 2008.
Amazon: Solo Monk; Cecil Taylor — Silent Tongues.
4. The Louvin Brothers — Tragic Songs of Life
“one of my favorite recordings of all time, any genre.”
This is an unusually unequivocal endorsement. He had already recommended it in 2008 and 2009; in the latter post, he emphasizes its unsettling, tragic character and argues that listeners can love it even if they ordinarily dislike country and bluegrass.
Sources: January 26, 2011; July 17, 2009 — “My favorite things Alabama”.
Amazon: Tragic Songs of Life.
5. Bach — The Art of the Fugue, played by Grigory Sokolov
“Best of all is the Art of the Fugue, for piano, by Grigory Sokolov.”
This comes within a detailed selection of essential Bach recordings, making “best of all” particularly significant. Cowen had also endorsed the recording in 2005 while discussing Thomas Schelling’s affection for it. For a single classical recommendation with both emphatic language and longevity, this is one of the strongest.
Sources: March 25, 2007 — “My favorite things German: J.S. Bach”; October 10, 2005.
Amazon: Sokolov — Bach: The Art of the Fugue.
6. Bach — Benjamin Alard’s keyboard recordings and Masaaki Suzuki’s cantatas
On Alard:
“These are some of the best recordings of the best music I have heard, ever.”
He calls Alard his biggest discovery of 2022. Suzuki receives similarly exceptional praise: in 2020 Cowen describes his complete cantata cycle as definitive, and the cycle remains prominent in his 2024 listening. These recommendations show that his Bach enthusiasm keeps generating new discoveries.
Sources: November 27, 2022; November 15, 2020; November 29, 2024.
Amazon: Alard — The Complete Works for Keyboard, Volume 1 (an entry point to the series, not the complete collection); Suzuki and Bach Collegium Japan — Complete Sacred Cantatas, 55-disc Japanese edition.
7. Bola Sete — Samba in Seattle: Live at the Penthouse 1966–1968; Doc Watson — Life’s Work: A Retrospective
He describes these two sets as:
“some of the best guitar recordings of all time.”
Sete receives the greater individual emphasis: Cowen judges the release’s contribution and historical importance across all musical genres. His admiration for Sete was already explicit in 2006, fifteen years earlier. Watson’s set is also judged substantially better than other Watson collections.
Sources: December 10, 2021; December 28, 2006.
Amazon: Bola Sete — Samba in Seattle; Doc Watson — Life’s Work: A Retrospective.
8. Beethoven — piano sonatas played by Yves Nat; complete piano music played by Martino Tirimo
On Nat:
“it stands as one of my desert island discs.”
Cowen values Nat’s directness and depth. Fifteen years later, Tirimo’s complete Beethoven piano recordings enter his two or three favorite sets ever. These are especially useful recommendations because he identifies particular performers after comparing interpretations, rather than merely recommending Beethoven.
Sources: February 6, 2005; November 15, 2020.
Amazon: Yves Nat — Beethoven piano sonatas; Martino Tirimo — Beethoven: Complete Piano Works.
9. Cécile McLorin Salvant — Dreams and Daggers, Ghost Song, and Mélusine
“Her track record (and consistency) at this point is simply staggering”
This is one of the strongest sustained recommendations of a contemporary performer. He recommends her work in 2013, calls her the new Ella Fitzgerald in 2017, includes Ghost Song in 2022, and places her alongside the greatest female jazz vocalists in 2023. Start with Dreams and Daggers or Mélusine.
Sources: August 15, 2013; December 24, 2017; December 18, 2022; November 27, 2023.
Amazon: Dreams and Daggers; Ghost Song; Mélusine.
10. Mozart — the operas, particularly Don Giovanni conducted by Teodor Currentzis
“If I had to choose the operas, or all the rest of Mozart put together, I would go for the operas.”
That establishes the strength of his preference within Mozart. Currentzis’s Don Giovanni wins his top classical-recording prize for 2016, and he returns to it approvingly in 2021.
Sources: August 7, 2017; January 10, 2017; December 27, 2021.
Amazon: Currentzis — Mozart: Don Giovanni.
11. Andrés Segovia — Bach recordings
“some of the best musical interpretations of Bach by anyone playing any instrument.”
The breadth of that comparison makes this much stronger than a recommendation for guitar enthusiasts. Cowen treats these recordings as permanent additions to a collection.
Source: February 20, 2008.
Amazon: The Segovia Collection, Volume 1: The Legendary Andrés Segovia in an All-Bach Program.
12. Bruckner — the symphony cycle conducted by Marek Janowski
“the best Bruckner overall.”
This is a particularly strong recent recommendation, backed by his explicit comparison with numerous competing recordings. It also demonstrates that his preferred classical performances continue to change.
Source: March 9, 2026.
Amazon: Janowski and Orchestre de la Suisse Romande — Bruckner: Complete Symphonies.
Strong endorsements from the annual listening posts
His annual listening posts add several emphatic recommendations worth distinguishing from those all-time judgments.
| Music and Amazon link | Strength of endorsement | Dated source |
|---|---|---|
| Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu — Gurrumul | Calls it deeply moving and says the unusually expensive purchase was worthwhile. | December 21, 2008 |
| Kanye West — Yeezus | “His best album by quite a bit.” | December 15, 2013 |
| Beyoncé — Lemonade | “a clear first choice” among his albums of the year. | December 12, 2016 |
| Brian Eno — Another Green World; Van Morrison — Astral Weeks | The two CDs he most enjoyed that year, despite both being older recordings. | December 9, 2018 |
| Billie Eilish — When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?; Janelle Monáe — Dirty Computer | His two clear favorites; Monáe’s album continued improving with repeated listening. | November 23, 2019 |
What the recommendations reveal
The most revealing pattern is the combination of repeat listening and highly specific performances. His strongest recommendations often concern a particular interpretation, compilation, or recovered concert recording. And his clearest statement about actual listening habits is simple: “Bach gets the most listening time.” February 26, 2024 — “How I listen to music”.
The post Tyler Cowen’s strongest musical recommendations, 2003–2026 appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.
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