British Columbia

All Killer, No Filler: CBC listeners let us know which albums are solid all the way through

We asked listeners which albums didn't have a single song that needed to be skipped — albums that were truly all killer and no filler. Here's what you had to say.

Hundreds of requests were made — here's what made the cut

Canadian musician Neil Young's album After the Gold Rush received numerous recommendations from listeners. (Darryl Dyck/Canadian Press)

In an age of iPods, Spotify and hit singles, CBC's On the Coast spent the last three weeks celebrating full albums.

Due to hundreds of album requests from listeners, the On the Coast music feature All Killer, No Filler was extended beyond the normal one-week stint and became one of the longest running music features in the radio show's history.

The request was put out by host Stephen Quinn for listeners to recommend albums that didn't contain a single track worth skipping. In other words, the album had to be made of all killer songs, and no filler songs.

Hundreds of suggested albums had to be boiled down. Records chosen were selected because they had received multiple recommendations.

Here are the albums that had songs played on the show:

  • R.E.M.'s Automatic for the People.
  • George Michael's Faith.
  • Neil Young's After the Goldrush.
  • The Flaming Lips' Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots.
  • Alanis Morrissette's Jagged Little Pill.
  • Radiohead's The Bends.
  • Paul Simon's Graceland.
  • Carole King's Tapestry.
  • Fleetwood Mac's Rumours.
  • Meat Loaf and Jim Steinman's Bat out of Hell.
  • AC/DC's Back in Black.
  • Lauryn Hill's The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.
  • David Bowie's Hunky Dory.
  • The Tragically Hip's Day for Night.
  • Amy Winehouse's Back to Black.

"It was so great to celebrate these groups' musicianship," said CBC music reporter and former Polaris Music Prize judge Lisa Christiansen. "I loved the opportunity to revisit these albums."

Stay tuned for On the Coast's music feature next week.

The show is aired in B.C.'s Lower Mainland on 88.1 FM, 690 AM Radio One every weekday from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. PT.

With files from On the Coast