Is There Just One Single Album That Does It For You, Completely? Just One.

These recurring threads are silly and fun at the same time. 

Aja? Walter Becker kept his platinum award in the outhouse to his Hawaii studio. And for good reason. It does not hold up. Add to that the simple fact that Donald Fagan was an anal-compulsive in the studio and that the pursuit of perfect musicianship from a technical perspective killed off the life of what could have been monumental recordings. I am a Dan-fan and for me Countdown to Ecstasy is their best, but it could have been so much better if Fagen had not obsessed over every aspect of the band's playing, mixdown, and production. 

The easy picks imho are Kind of Blue and Revolver. But being human I have sentimental favorites and for me they are ZZ's Tres Hombres and Alejandro's Real Animal. And for something no one or almost no one knows about there is Chuck Prophet's Age of Miracles and Southern Country on the Skids' Dirt Track Date. 

So I started by coming up with a short list of possible choices and came up with these, sticking with the heavyweights:

Grateful Dead - Live Dead OR Europe 72

Bob Dylan - Blood on the Tracks OR Blonde on Blonde OR Live at Royal Albert Hall

The Beatles - Abbey Road OR The White Album

Weather Report - Heavy Weather

Miles Davis - Bitches Brew

What it finally came down to was that I couldn't bear a life without Garcia, so my pick is Europe 72. I'm not sure why but I decided to exclude the Dick's Picks series and bootlegs in general; probably would have made the choice much harder than it already was.

I am thankful for NOT seeing;

Van the Man's Astral Weeks

Eagles (anything) but particularly HC

Fleetwood Mac's Rumours. 

Back to Steely Dan, as Aja is to them, Brothers in Arms is to Dire Straits. 

@fsonicsmith 

I'm in agreement with you, but sadly, the OP did choose Rumours.

tunefuldude,

I held back as long as possible...desert island>    Handel's   "Water Music"                                                                                                                                               Now, considering the mandate and having the world's best sound system at play, I'm going with Proprius "Jazz at the Pawnshop."  Yes, yes, the music itself can be argued with great veracity and passion from many angles.  My theory is that the album doesn't get its due based upon the fact that there is no apparent "order" to the cuts, no beginning, middle and end.  I've made my peace with that, simply enjoying the uplifting joyfulness of sitting in the club, bouncing my knees.  I'll settle for the vinyl, however, here, may as well ask for a continuous loop of the master tapes.

More Peace and Happy Holidays, Folks    Pin      (bold print for old eyes)