im goin with lennon
i dont think macartney released an album anywhere near as good as plastic ono band
plus i love imagine and double fantasy
lennon it is

If Paul really has anything comparative to it I'd love a suggestion!

Gimme 6 good to amazing records over 10 absolute shite to good records ANYDAY. Lennon it is.

have you not heard Ram??

In the end, I prefer McCartney's silly crap over Lennon's self-righteous crap.

I sorta hate Ram. While it's not as awful as McCartney or Red Rose Speedway, or London Town, or McCartney II (as much as it's loved on this board), it's really not very great.

McCartney put out crap, no doubt.
But so did Lennon.
In the end, I prefer McCartney's silly crap over Lennon's self-righteous crap.

Meh, crap's crap no matter how you cut it. I guess something inane like "Let 'Em In" is at least tuneful, and "Silly Love Songs" has a nice bassline, but in the end I listen to them as frequently as Mind Games, which is virtually never.

Two Virgins >>> Back To The Egg

I'm just saying - if I had to listen to one of those, but only one, I'd pick the John & Yoko LP. I've actually heard it before. It's not too bad, for what it is - Musique concrète. I get it. Just an experimental sound recording that was never mass-marketed. (It was originally released on Zapple, which was to be their 'fringe' label)

I've made it through about one third of Back To The Egg. It's just terrible, and in the worst way. Thinking about it now, I would probably switch my vote to Lennon.

you people keep saying Lennon released less crap through 1970 - 1980.
Macca released one real full on stinker, and that is Back To The Egg.
Lennon released Two Virgins.

Lets put THAT into perspective here.

Comparing their solo stuff is strange because Paul has a long and mostly unexciting solo career, whereas Lennon's was obviously shorter but, in my opinion, had a higher peak:

what was that high peak?

IMO Lennon has nothing has great as RAM.

John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band is my favorite post-Beatles album. I think it's still a bit overrated (I've seen it in several best albums of all time lists), but I still think it's an excellent album. As for Paul, I love Ram and Band on the Run, but I prefer the Lennon/Plastic Ono Band. I will admit, though, that I haven't heard Ram in a while. I should probably pull that one out and give it a few spins today.

I put forth the proposition that the first two LP's of "All Things Must Pass" are better than any two Lennon solo albums OR any two McCartney solo albums.

thats incorrect.

OK then, what two single Lennon solo LP's are better, IYHO?

Mind Games? Really? A good arguement can be made for the other two. Imagine and Ono are both pretty damn good records.
As far as my personal taste, I'd take ATMP over McCartney I and II anyday. Sorry Paves and Sausage.

Alot of people may balk at the idea of claiming John Lennon to be a humanitarian; a man accused of abandoning his first wife and neglecting his first child, and being addicted to heroin, a man who was accused of murder, accused of subversive activities, accused of engaging in homosexual acts, accused of having affairs. And although Lennon wasnt a humanitarian in the sense that he saved starving orphans in Africa, he did use his fame to advertise/spread the idea of love and peace. Big Deal, you say? Well, it might be hard to imagine a time when a musician could have an impact on society the way Lennon did. Today musicians rarely even speak of politics and when they do (for example someone like the Dixie Chicks making a few offhand comments against Bush) we see how much crap they get in return. And Lennon was protesting at 100 times the rate and at 100 times the scrutiny of anyone today. He was so feared by the US government in fact that Feds were tapping his phones and secretly following him around. One concrete example of Lennon's influence was when he debuted his song "John Sinclair" at a protest rally and within hours Sinclair was released from jail--instead of serving the ten year sentense he was due.

But Lennon's "work" as a humanitarian was best felt in a more personal way. Afterall, what can one person really do to change the world beyond being the best possible person that he or she can? And that was what Lennon was all about. Realistically Lennon had issues he had to deal with. He was concieved and born amidst the hieght of destruction during World War II. His old man was a horny old sailor who abandoned him and his teenage mother ended up leaving him with his aunt. Most of us know the story of how Lennon married young (namely because he got Cytnthia pregnant) and how he was thrush onto the world stage at a young age. Later in life Lennon tried to repare his relationship with his son Julian and from all accounts Julian has nothing but kind things to say about his father. Perhaps Julian realizes that the world was a better place because Lennon followed his muse and gave us all of this great music (even if it was at the temporary expense of a happy family life for Julian). And maybe Julian also knows that Lennon's legacy goes beyond just the music.

There are several examples of how Lennon touched individuals in a deep way. Many of the examples the media dwell on are the more negative ones like the Charles Manson's Helter Skelter theories or the sordid details around Lennon's own assasination. Both of these examples illustrate the way Lennon connected with the outcasts of society, but despite these few bad apples, Lennon has given comfort to plenty of outsiders over the years (myself included) in a much more positive way.

Perhaps it is this personal way he affects people that impacts society at large. And perhaps this is why when we think of his death we look at it in the larger context of society as a whole. The timing of Lennon's death in 1980 happened just weeks after Ronald Wilson Reagan was elected president (if you recall the Beatles British Invasion is often linked to the Kennedy assasination, because the nation was in such a deep state of mourning that people were desperate for some upbeat, good-natured fun and the Beatles seemed to be the only ones capable of providing at the time). Its also relevent that Lennon's death happened at the begining of a decade known for alot of the things that Lennon spoke out against, namely excessive materialism, greed, commercialism, etc. Then beyond that, there is a more direct comment that Lennon's death seems to make about our culture and the bizarre obsession that certain people have of wanting to be close to those who are famous.

But in the end Lennon's life far overshadows his death. Lennon's ultimate gift was that he simply touched people in a very direct and intense way. Surely he will be remembered in part because he wrote some great fucking songs, and also because he lived a truly mythical life, but to many it was the manner in which he unflinchingly examined and expressed the complicated inner search for truth that he was constantly struggling with that really seems to resonate with anyone who has ever attempted to attain a deeper understanding of life. For those people Lennon will always serve as a touchstone...

It did nothing to advance society or the human race.

Clearly, this is how all music should be judged.

thats like saying U2 is one of the most important bands going right now because Bono does humanitarian work.

also, i expected this poll to be a runaway landslide for Macca.