Several weeks ago, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writer Jim Higgins listed, in order of personal preference, 31 solo albums by Lou Reed. Each album is ranked, with a sentence-long comment. Find the list here.

I have a conflicted appreciation for the rock icon. As a music reviewer in college, I was awed by The Blue Mask (1982) and its followup Legendary Hearts (1983.) As manager of a record store, while attending grad school, I tried to collect Reed's solo stuff, only to shed much of it later. The newest release I still own is Magic and Loss (1992), which is powerful elegy.

I am pleased that Higgins has positive things to say about Growing Up in Public (1980) because I think this effort has staying power for its good writing, albeit its dated sound.