The best Canadian albums of all time, according to readers | Canada Voices

Just in time for Canada Day, The Globe’s arts team compiled a list of the 101 best Canadian albums of all time. From Indigenous artists to jazz musicians to Francophone rock to indie-rock stars, those albums help tell a story about Canada.

But the list doesn’t tell the full story. Since Canada is full of artists that have released iconic albums over the decades, we asked Globe readers to tell us what albums we missed on our list.

From dreamy synth-pop to punk rock to classic Canadiana, here are some highlights, in our readers’ own words.

Submissions have been edited for length and clarity.

Antisocialites by Alvvays

Shoegaze pop with subtle Cape Breton influences paired with sorrowful and sometimes biting lyrics about life, love and loss. – Evan Acs, St. Catharines, Ont.

Future Nostalgia by The Sheepdogs

Any album by The Sheepdogs should be included in this list. The Sheepdogs have been arguably one of Canada’s premier rock bands for the last 10-plus years. In addition to being the only unsigned band to grace the cover of Rolling Stone (2011), they’ve won multiple Juno awards and have continued to churn out outstanding rock ballads while touring all across this vast country. – Jared Nylander, Toronto

Play by Great Big Sea

Wonderful blend of traditional Newfoundland & Labrador music with a fresh rock sound and layered harmonies together with Allan Doyle’s strong voice. One of their best albums and very representative of a fresh take on the traditional. – Lynette De Maries, Penticton, B.C.

Everything I Long For by Hayden

The deeply introspective, raw and melancholy vibe, slapped together with ridiculously low but entirely appropriate production, captures the DIY zeitgeist of the golden age of Canadian indie. Plus, Neil Young thinks the world of him. – Dan Munro, Ottawa

Apologies to the Queen Mary by Wolf Parade

While there are a dozen albums that could be on this list from the amazing, incestuous cluster of Canadian indie rock bands that exploded in the early/mid 2000s, few captured the energy and enduring influence of the scene like Apologies to the Queen Mary. – Maura O’Sullivan, Toronto

Salad Days by Mac DeMarco

A true pioneer of the modern day, lofi sound that’s permeated much of today’s alternative scene. A great modern Canadian artist with a strong talent for not only songwriting, but the lost art of analog recording and producing! – Michael Hopton

Other Songs by Ron Sexsmith

A definitively Canadian musician: sly, beautiful, underrated. Nothing Good was performed on the Juno broadcast. Fantastic. – Andrew Sneddon, Ottawa

Perfect Foot by Manteca

Stellar musicianship, lively Cuban Afro Whatever jazz fusion. This band was a joy to see live, lots of fun. The production quality on the album is astonishing. Honourable mention to their NoNet album, a live recording they didn’t actually intend to do. – Rob Wheeler, Ottawa

All the Right Reasons by Nickelback

“I am not a fan, but Nickelback should be on there.” – Dave Popowich, Calgary

“Love to hate them, but they were the biggest band in the word at this time.” – Tim Faveri, Guelph, Ont.

“Also, the Nickelback album with Rock Star on it? I hate to be the one to say Nickelback, but …” – Stephen Hunt, Calgary

Crawl With Me by Art Bergmann

The first of his three early solo albums. Bergmann is a poet with a rock ‘n’ roll heart and a guitar slinger extraordinaire. His intimate songs have universal appeal. He may not have the same recognition as Gord Downie, Joel Plaskett or Leslie Feist but he is one their peers. – Mike Burns, Regina

Stompin’ Tom and the Hockey Song by Stompin’ Tom Connors

You might think its goofy, but do we get any more Canadiana than Stompin Tom? He sings about our country coast to coast, and I’m sure his hockey song is the second most sung tune after our National Anthem. – Tony Henriques, Newmarket, Ont.

You Were Here by Sarah Harmer

Lodestar is one of the most perfect songs in the English language – a song about a late night canoe paddle. it starts off slow and builds into something majestic and magical. – Anita Moeller, Montreal

1974 by Beau Dommage

I’m surprised that you didn’t include any album from Beau Dommage in 70s. La Complainte Du Phoque En Alaska is an anthem in Quebec and for French speakers outside Quebec. It should have been mentioned. Merci beaucoup! – Chantale LaPlante, Victoria

Frantic City by Teenage Head

Definitely one of my top fives. More rockabilly then punk, but always lumped into the punk genre. Produced by ex-David Bowie guitarist, Stacey Hayden. Great album. Legendary Ontario Place Forum concert. I’m 60 and to date it is the best concert I’ve seen. Absolutely bonkers. – Cary Auwaerter, Toronto

Les Antipodes by Les Cowboys Fringants.

One listen to L’Amérique Pleure and you’re hooked. They’re brilliant. Musical and lyrical, witty and catchy. – Heather Purdy, Callander, Ont.

Something Green and Leafy This Way Comes by SNFU

Where’s the punk? Canada’s SNFU (Vancouver) inspired some of the biggest punk and metal bands globally from Green Day and NOFX to Propagandhi (Winnipeg), No Use for a Name, Lagwagon, and Strung Out. James Hetfield of Metallica wore an SNFU T-shirt on their Garage Days Re-Revisited Album and Duff McKagan of GNR has often mentioned SNFU as an early influence on his love of punk. – Ian Barr, Toronto

Gordon by Barenaked Ladies

An absolutely iconic Canadian Album and needs a spot on this list! – Jenna Russell, Victoria

Yes, it’s silly. But you know as well as I do that you’d be singing along to If I Had $1000000 the moment it starts. – Emily Plunkett, Gatineau

BNL helped pave the way for pop rock bands in Canada and have become an iconic Canadian band that has stayed true to Canada over the years. – Christopher Houston, Edmonton

VIVIsect VI by Skinny Puppy

Seriously now: Skinny Puppy was a huge HUGE influence on basically ever single industrial metal band, and, arguably, invented the genre. They never get mentioned on best Canadian band lists and I believe they deserve their recognition! The album I would choose is VIVIsect VI, as many music journalists consider it the first real industrial metal album. – Lila Green, North Vancouver

Melville by the Rheostatics

It is stunningly original, deeply Canadian (not just for its blistering reworking of The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald) and consistently brilliant and weird from start to finish. Christmas aliens, mystical parades in Saskatchewan, violent labour uprising – with wild, unhinged guitars throughout. The first song alone is an entire novel of childhood anxiety in under two minutes. There’s nothing like it anywhere. – Skot Caldwell, Kingston

Save This House by Spirit of the West

Energetic, great blend of folk-celtic-alternative-pop. And contains Home for a Rest. (which, In 2005, was also named the 22nd greatest Canadian song of all time on CBC Radio One’s 50 Tracks: The Canadian Version.) – Dave Stephen, Chilliwack, B.C.

Racine by Sass Jordan

This album deserves a spot among Canada’s top 20 albums for its raw, soulful blend of blues-rock and its profound influence on female rockers. With Jordan writing all her own lyrics – gritty, heartfelt explorations of love, betrayal, and resilience like You Don’t Have to Remind Me and Make You a Believer – the album stands out for its authenticity in an era of formulaic rock. Certified gold in Canada (100,000 copies sold), its anthemic tracks became sports arena staples and inspired artists like Melissa Etheridge and Alanis Morissette to embrace unfiltered songwriting. Jordan’s powerful vocals and creative control, paired with her global exposure via the Bodyguard soundtrack, cement Racine as a Canadian rock landmark that redefined women’s place in the genre. – Philip Parsons, Toronto

Shakespeare My Butt by the Lowest of the Low

This is a perfect album that I have listened fully through ten thousand times. It is truly a Canadian rock classic of gorgeous guitar-work and compelling lyrical storytelling. The assertion that they were primarily a “Toronto” or “Ontario” band only argues for their inclusion so others can discover them. Richly-felt narratives of politics and heartbreak and really filthy sleeveless jean jackets. – Skot Caldwell, Kingston

The truly egregious miss is the best Canadian album of all time: Shakespeare My Butt by Lowest of the Low. – Kevin Gould, Montreal

National Melodies by Stringband

I would have liked to have seen that one or Thanks to the Following by Stringband. These albums are filled with fabulous melodies written by Bob Bossin and Marie-Lynne Hammond. They feature wonderful songs of Canadiana like Dief Will Be The Chief and Lunenburg Concerto. Please give Stringband a listen, if you haven’t already. – Greg Archibald, Castlegar, B.C.

Porgy & Bess by Miles Davis and arranged by Gil Evans

Leave it to Canadian Gil Evans to refashion George and Ira Gershwin, and DuBose Heyward’s opera into something that stands apart from the source material and creates its own dramatic sweep while remaining deeply respectful to this landmark of 20th-century music. Evans’s charts are lush and rich, complementing Davis at the peak of his powers. A landmark of fifties jazz. – Robert Gilbert, Oshawa, Ont.

Ongiara by Great Lake Swimmers

Debut album from one of Canada’s most successful folk bands. A distinctive Canadian sound with lyrics that resonate with our unique geography. – Chris Kennedy, Ottawa