Edited by Brittany Flynn and Andy Phillips

Contributors: emscee, ivylander, Jonh Ingham, Eric5776, tynansanger, Cody B, Anna Zerkidou, Zoë Gholson, Brittany Flynn, Andy Phillips

In an age where hardcore music heads consistently bemoan the internet's lack of serious journalism, it's comforting to know that passionate writing is as alive as ever. Sure, things have changed since the hey-day of rock 'n' roll, a time when big-name music journalists ran around with notepads in a never-ending attempt to uncover the deeper meaning of music. But with the wealth of books about music out there - some entirely fictional, some biographies and first-hand accounts - it's clear that the age of the literate music nerd isn't over.

MOG's writers and editors have calculated, re-calculated, and argued into the late evening to painstakingly assemble MOG's guide to the Top 20 Music Books of all time. Some are well known, others are shamefully under-applauded, but they all share one thing in common: a deep and abiding obsession with the music and musicians of our age.

Today we reveal 20-11 before returning Monday with our top ten and a list of honorable mentions that simply cannot go unacknowledged. So, carve out a comfy spot, crank up the stereo, and get ready to... rock read!

20. Please Kill Me
by Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain (Buy It)

Punk is dead, and sometimes it seems like the legend is all we have left. Ensnaring the imagination with hedonistic tales from the movers and shakers of punk's original era, Please Kill Me succeeds as both an origin story and a chronicle of the movement's most outrageous anecdotes. A chronological, oral account cobbled together from countless insider interviews, the book is at times informative, hilarious, unsettling, and outrageous. Proof that punks can and will read, the book's unbound hedonism has inspired three decades' worth of gutter-reveling anarchists, bleacher smokers, mallrats, emo kids, metalheads, and purist punks (not to mention quite a few poseurs).

No, Please Kill Me isn't entirely accurate -- many of its accounts are embellished, taken out of context, or made up entirely. But, where it may err in specific facts and figures, the book's ramshackle, uncaring approach is ultimately an asset. After all, what better way to capture the spirit of a fragmented, unhinged musical movement than to discard truth and instead revel in the words of the scene's best bullshitters? -Andrew Phillips

19. Owning Up
by George Melly (Buy It)

True to his muse, beloved British jazz singer, surrealist, anarchist, critic, author, broadcaster and snappy dresser George Melly wrote his memoirs in reverse. Scouse Mouse (1984) limned his Liverpool childhood, while a middle volume, Rum, Bum and Concertina (1977), covered his Navy days. The first volume, 1965's Owning Up, is the real winner, outlining his itinerant career as a traditional jazz singer in the '50s with Mick Mulligan's band. (Melly saw his role as channeling the spirit of Bessie Smith. Nuff said….)

Owning Up pretty much defines "picaresque," with its blithe descriptions of dodgy provincial dance halls, dodgier vans ferrying the combo from gig to gig, the glorious misfits that trad jazz attracted, seedy lodgings, and copious lashings of alcohol and ready sexual favors from small-town bohemian-ettes. Melly's prose is insouciant, vivid, and hilarious. -ivylander

18. The Jazz Cadence of American Culture
edited by Robert G. O'Meally (Buy It)

If you look at the history of Jazz through the lens of a narrative like Ken Burns' documentary, it's a neat and tidy movement. The direct line from New Orleans to Wynton Marsalis is populated with the artists of the canon -- Satchmo, Bird, Lady Day, Miles, Trane, Monk, and a select few others. The essays pulled together by Robert G. O'Meally expand on, debunk, and demystify the traditional jazz history. Where Burns' history argues that jazz is American Classical music, the pieces in Cadence explore jazz as a metaphor for the American experience.

The words of players (Albert Murray, Bill Evans) blend with academics (Scott DeVeaux, Alan Merriam), cultural observers (Gerald Early, Amiri Baraka), and authors (Ralph Ellison, Zora Neale Hurston) to give real scope to the impact of jazz on American culture and society. Academic, artistic, concrete, and abstract, the essays are arranged by themes. The loose structure and cross-disciplinary approach mirror the dynamic that runs through jazz (and American culture): individuals working in the collective. O'Meally holds that Jazz is the "definitive sound of America in our time," and these varied voices make a strong case for that point. -CodyB

17. Music Lust
by Nic Harcourt (Buy It)

A glossary of known and unknown greats, former Morning Becomes Eclectic mastermind Nic Harcourt's Music Lust is an under-300-page account of the best artists and albums in existence. Dedicating a page to greats such as M. Davis, J. Hendrix, B. Dylan, N. Young, J. Mitchell, The Beatles and The Stones ensures that no 20th-century musician goes untouched.

While the theme of Music Lust is obviously "the artist," it also focuses on the value of the album itself. Wedged between traditional Desert Island Disc lists, Harcourt indulges the music junkie with collections like "Too Good For Words" (classic instrumental albums), "100 Essential Albums from the last half of the 20th century," and "20 Essential Hip-Hop Albums."

Harcourt nails such a wide range of classics, under-the-radar gems, and musician staples from so many genres that there's probably no need for another handbook like this. The wealth of knowledge covered in Music Lust will make even hardcore music fans think twice about the current state of their music collections. -Eric5776

16. This Wheel's on Fire
by Levon Helm (Buy It)

A particularly intriguing read for fans of The Band, autobiographer Levon Helm's fascinating, irreverent This Wheel's on Fire is an oft-controversial and refreshingly conversational account of his evolution from guitar-pickin' farm boy to key member of the most seminal country-folk-rock band in America. Nearly every sentence bears the hint of a wry grin, and the gritty, hilarious anecdotes flow like the whiskey that facilitated their evolution.

Helm, who played drums and contributed his incredible vocal and mandolin talents to masterpieces like 1969's self-titled The Band and 1968's Music from Big Pink, co-wrote this tome with Stephen Davis. The inside look at the Band's genesis and progression from Bob Dylan's backing band to Scorsese-documented superstars (The Last Waltz is often called the greatest concert movie ever made), the book is gripping for any rock-history enthusiast. A fascinating highlight, Helm offers a scathing illumination of band member Robbie Robertson's multiple conspiracies to steal limelight and songwriting credits from other members of the band, magnanimously tempered with his admiration for Robertson's skill as a musician and producer. -Zoë Gholson

15. But Beautiful
by Geoff Dyer (Buy It)

This is not a book on jazz, but a book about jazz. Dyer submerges us in the culture surrounding the '50s scene, dividing his symphony into fictional sections addressing a series of jazz legends. Reconstructing scenes from the lives of these great men, he mixes them up with photos, stories, music, history, and his own point of imagination.

Dyer himself sets this book apart from all others revolving around jazz. Very few contemporary writers can match his wit, his verbal artistry, his exemplary prose. He manages to mix fact with fiction to the point where the line separating them becomes irrelevant. -Anna Zerkidou

14. You Don't Have To Say You Love Me
by Simon Napier-Bell (Buy It)

Luckily for us all, Simon Napier-Bell is an utter scoundrel. Or was, anyway. Starting in the '60s, he he dove in and out of the pop music business, mostly as a manager of acts like the Yardbirds, Marc Bolan, and, later, Wham!. Thus, he's the perfect person to offer a flippant, riotous, loving, warts-and-not-much-else look at London's '60s pop scene.

Napier-Bell is a born raconteur and unapologetic charlatan - like Malcolm McLaren without the political subtext. He spins lurid, enchanting tales of record company scams, imbibes in endless alcohol-powered lunches, rescues Keith Moon from a brothel, and stages a Swinging London orgy for a television crew. He gives the most cynical possible tutorial on how the rock business works - or used to. In short, he makes it sound like the vilest, most romantic vocation that could ever be. In the process, he delivers a page-turner that swings more than London ever did. -ivylander

13. Rip It Up and Start Again
by Simon Reynolds (Buy It)

So you think you know everything about post-punk? Are you sure? In this seminal text, music critic and writer Reynolds documents the history of punk's artier child, shedding new light on bands we've never heard of, and on those we think we've heard of but may never read anything else about. His exhaustive account tells us everything we need to know about post-punk, before examining the intertwining pop and rock era that followed the early-'80s explosion.

Reynolds makes the case for the intellectual side of the music, puts it into context of time and place in history, and demonstrates just how much of a way of life it was. The book is absolutely perfect for the music nerd in you. And it's also painfully perfect for those of us who where born some years too late to experience weirdo rock's most exciting era. -Anna Zerkidou

12. Rythm Oil: A Journey Through the Music of the American South
by Stanley Booth (Buy It)

A mix of criticism and bizarro fictional accounts, Booth's collection of essays dramatize the tale of Robert Johnson being confronted by the devil, take a snapshot look at Janis Joplin, and delvs into Elvis, both at the height of his career and the later days when he was too successful for his own good.

The collection and histories had previously existed as articles published in Playboy, Rolling Stone, Esquire, etc. As a result, there is great variety in the ways we meet our music heroes, but whether through straight-up interview or an observational fly-on-the-wall account, the strength of the collection is never in question. Then again, when covering the compelling lives and personal stories of such greats as Otis Redding, Charlie Freeman, B.B. King, and even Keith Richards, there isn't much left for a blues fan to complain about. -Brittany Flynn

11. Da Capo Best Music Writing 2000-2009
Various eds. (Buy It)

A holy grail for music nerds and writers alike, Da Capo's Best Music Writing anthologies aren't just just required rock-critic reading, they're a pedestal to which we all aspire. Released each year, the book pairs a guest editor with the unenviable task of quantifying the past year's most "important" journalistic pieces. Upending the idea that blogs have killed lasting commentary, each anthology explores a wide range of subjects and scenes, all in the interest of reinventing music (and music criticism) in a new age.

The real power of the series is derived from its expertly curated mix of big names and utter unknowns. Each year's guest editor (past taskmasters have included Greil Marcus, Robert Chirstgau, and Nick Hornby) plumbs the depths, often pulling out articles that, at the time of their publication, went entirely unnoticed. Writers form the likes of the New Yorker and Rolling Stone sit comfortably next to obscure bloggers, reviewers, and, in some cases, completely unknown newbies. In an age of unending blog babble, it's refreshing to know that writers are still capable of thoughtful, illuminating critique, and that, if we really do something special, it is possible to actually get our work acknowledged (See, mom, this job is serious!). -Andrew Phillips

READ THE TOP 20 MUSIC BOOKS OF ALL TIME (20-11)

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