Taking Issue: The Top Albums of All Time
~ Responding to Rolling Stone’s list of “The Top 500 Greatest Albums of All Time” published on September 22, 2020. ~
Disclaimers: It’s Rolling Stone, a magazine with a history in rock and so-called classics. So, inevitably, there’s going to be issues top weighting the charts with material that I personally disagree with. In short, the RS list is clearly not modernized; put another way, stuck in the past. That being said, a lot of great music is in the past. On the plus side, there are a few surprise appearances on this list; unfortunately, some of those same surprise appearances I suspect may not make a Top 500 list in a not so distant future. It goes without saying we all have our own biases. Bearing that in mind, I’m focusing on stuff that I was at least somewhat pleased or else somewhat irritated to see on this list.
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Problem #1:
The weight of artists/bands with too many exceptional albums…
Examples include – Kanye West, The Beatles, Radiohead, Michael Jackson, Taylor Swift, David Bowie, Nirvana, Drake.
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Problem #2:
Things I wasn’t psyched to see on this list…
Sonic Youth – Goo (even Sonic Youth fans have acknowledged this is a bad album)
Red Hot Chili Peppers – Californication (I hate this band)
Red Hot Chili Peppers – Blood Sugar Sex Magik (I really hate this band)
T. Rex – Electric Warrior (I tried to get into this band more than once unsuccessfully)
Pearl Jam – Ten (I hate this band)
The Doors – The Doors (I hate this band)
AC/DC – Back in Black (Heavily overrated, lacks staying power at this point)
The Who – Who’s Next (I don’t know who listens to The Who any more…seriously)
Van Morrison – Astral weeks (Not a fan)
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Problem #3:
Potentially weighted by proximity to the present (much like the IMDB Top 250).
Daft Punk – Random Access Memories
SZA – ctrl (Don’t get me wrong, I like this album. Maybe history will prove me wrong.)
Lorde – Melodrama (Again, I like it. But Top 500?)
Madvillain – Madvillainy
Massive Attack – Mezzanine
Tame Impala – Currents (Hard because I personally like many tracks on this album.)
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Pleased to see recognition of the following:
Belle & Sebastian – If You’re Feeling Sinister
Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago
Jason Isbell – Southeastern
Pixies – Surfer Rosa
Radiohead – In Rainbows
Neutral Milk Hotel – In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
Tom Waits – Rain Dogs
The Cars – The Cars
Weezer – The Blue Album
New Order – Power, Corruption & Lies
Kendrick Lamar – DAMN.
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These artists/bands certainly deserve to have at least one album on the Top 500 list:
Taylor Swift – 1989
Eminem – The Slim Shady LP
Green Day – Dookie
Peter Gabriel – So
Big Star - #1 Record
Nirvana – MTV Unplugged in New York (this pisses off hardcore Nirvana fans)
Radiohead – The Bends
The Velvet Underground – White Light/White Heat
Kanye West – Yeezus
Pavement – Wowee Zowee
Beastie Boys – Check Your Head
Herbie Hancock – Head Hunters
Pavement – Slated and Enchanted
Michael Jackson – Bad
Sonic Youth – Daydream Nation
Billy Joel – The Stranger
Depeche Mode – Violator
REM – Murmur
Oasis – (What’s the Story) Morning Glory (no one wants this but we have to have it)
Jay Z – The Black Album
Metallica – Master of Puppets
REM – Automatic for the People
Drake – Take Care
David Bowie – Hunky Dory
Frank Ocean – Blond
Kanye West – The College Dropout
My Bloody Valentine – Loveless
Neil Young – Harvest (#72) …not Top 100
Jay Z – Reasonable Doubt #67
Guns N’ Roses – Appetite for Destruction #62 …not Top 100
Jay Z – The Blueprint
Paul Simon – Graceland
Nas – Illmatic
Radiohead – OK Computer
David Bowie – The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars
Beyonce – Lemonade #32
The Notorious BIG – Ready to Die
Radiohead – Kid A
Kanye West – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Michael Jackson – Thriller
Fleetwood Mac – Rumors #7
Nirvana – Nevermind #6
The Beatles – Abbey Road #5