Rolling Stone Top 500 Albums

[Snake45]

Rolling Stone magazine has announced their "500 Best Albums of All Time." 

I started at the bottom and tried to work my way up, when I got to 450 I skipped right to the top 100. I MIGHT own 10 in their top 100. 

I'll bet I haven't even heard of half the albums on the list. Probably haven't heard of half the "artists." 

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-albums-of-all-time-1062063/

Couple I was glad to see in the top 100: Springsteen's Darkness on the Edge of Town and Hendrix's Electric Ladyland. They would both be in my personal Top 20, at least. 

[StevenGuthmiller]

I don't have a lot of confidence in a list of "the best albums of all time" that doesn't even include Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" album in the top 50.

An album that has sold over 45 million copies, (4th all time) and charted in the "Billboard" top albums chart for 950 weeks doesn't make the top 50?

Yeah, right.

 

 

 

 

Steve

[1972coronet]

While I didn't read their Top 500 Albums list , I can say that I've my own 'Top' list --- many which I'm almost certain are low on their list ; to wit :

- Velvet Underground White Light / White Heat (1968)

- MC5 Lick Out The Jams (1969) 

- Johnny Thunders' Heartbreakers L.A.M.F. (1977) 

- Small Faces Ogden's Nut Gone Flake (1968) 

- Arthur Lee & Love Forever Changes (1967) 

- Humble Pie Live Rockin' The Fillmore East (1971)

- Byrds Notorious Byrd Brothers (1968)

- Judas Priest Rocka-Rolla (1974) 

- Pink Floyd Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967) 

- New York Dolls New York Dolls (1973) 

- Miles Davis On The Corner (1972) 

- ad infinitum , ad nauseam... 

[1930fordpickup]

AC/DC Back in Black and Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon not in the top 10???   What had Rolling Stone became?  Now I remember why I stopped getting that rag years ago. 

When they put Dire Straights Brothers In Arms in the 400's they must have been high on something. 

Edited September 24, 2020 by 1930fordpickup

[DonW]

I've noticed that music critics and journos will praise unknown bands to the skies, then when they make it big and become well known the same bands become irrelevant dinosaurs.

And I forgot one of my all time top ten, Led Zeppelin II - oh, and Led Zep I. But I can't decide which ones to replace from the ten below! Which tells you something about 'top' lists.

My own current top ten - pretty much constant over the years.

Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - The Beatles

Dark Side of the Moon - Floyd

No Sleep 'til Hammersmith - Motorhead

Space Ritual - Hawkwind

Blood on the Tracks - Dylan

We sold our Soul for Rock and Roll - Sabbath

Sticky Fingers - The Stones

Uriah Heep Live - the Heep

Electric Ladyand - Hendrix

The White Room - The KLF

So we chime on at least one, Snake! I didn't look at the Rolling Stone list, it would probably make me cross.

Mr Young's Live Rust is the eleventh.

 

Edited September 24, 2020 by DonW

[iamsuperdan]

I don't put much faith in these types of lists. "Top" album lists are all subjective.

 

Anyway, I have three of their top ten albums, but not in my own top ten..

 

 

The Superdan Top Ten Albums of All Time In No Particular Order Except For Number 1

10. Portishead - Dummy

9. Metallica - Master of Puppets

8. The Police - Ghosts In The Machine

7. Depeche Mode - Songs Of Faith and Devotion

6. Nirvana - Nevermind

5. Pink Floyd - The Wall

4. Pop Will Eat Itself - This Is The Day...This Is The Hour...This Is This

3. Our Lady Peace - Naveed

2. U2 - The Unforgettable Fire

1. Faith No More - The Real Thing

[Muncie]

Snake, thanks for posting. A very interesting list

Top 500 music lists will always be a subject of debate.  My top album topped put at 413 but it's my favorite because so many things were happening  when it was on radio playlists. Always cranked it up!  I found the Rolling Stone list  helpful.  Before things shut down, I was thinking about some of the bands that I missed in the golden days of my youth -  Need to make a list and visit Music Millennium, I've heard  that they do curbside delivery.

Edited September 24, 2020 by Muncie

[Snake45]

12 hours ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

I don't have a lot of confidence in a list of "the best albums of all time" that doesn't even include Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" album in the top 50.

Steve

I don't have a lot of confidence in one that doesn't have any Warren Zevon or Foreigner.  (Was the list supervised by the same guy who said that neither one of them would ever get into the R&R HoF? 

And The New York Dolls make the list but Mott the Hoople doesn't? Joy Behar, Please! 

[StevenGuthmiller]

I guess you could say that there's a difference between a "Top Best" and "Top Favorites" list for this sort of thing.

I have my own personal favorites as well as everyone else.

But to not include some of the top charted, highest selling albums of all time at the very top of the list just shows you how unserious this list is.

 

No mention in the top 50 of albums like Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon", AC/DC "Back in Black", Meat Loaf "Bat out of Hell", and The Eagles "Hotel California", but they didn't miss stuff like "Jay-Z" and "Dr. Dre", (which isn't even music in my opinion) tells you all you really need to know.

 

 

 

 

 

Steve

[Snake45]

6 minutes ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

No mention in the top 50 of albums like...Meat Loaf "Bat out of Hell"...

I don't recall seeing Meaty on the list at all. 

Personally, I like BoH2 much better than 1 (and the live VH1 Storytellers album even better), but can see that 1 should have been SOMEWHERE in the top 500. 

[StevenGuthmiller]

30 minutes ago, Snake45 said:

I don't recall seeing Meaty on the list at all.

I've seen it on lists of top selling albums of all time.

Right up there in the 40 to 50 million copies list with Michael Jackson "Thriller", AC/DC "Back in Black" and Pink Floyd "Dark Side of the Moon". (top 4).

 

I don't remember seeing Dr. Dre or Jay-Z anywhere on those lists.

But I guess with a paltry 3 million or so albums sold, I guess you wouldn't! 

 

 

 

 

 

Steve

Edited September 24, 2020 by StevenGuthmiller

[Snake45]

2 hours ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

I've seen it on lists of top selling albums of all time.

Right up there in the 40 to 50 million copies list with Michael Jackson "Thriller", AC/DC "Back in Black" and Pink Floyd "Dark Side of the Moon". (top 4).

I don't remember seeing Dr. Dre or Jay-Z anywhere on those lists.

But I guess with a paltry 3 million or so albums sold, I guess you wouldn't! 

Steve

You of all people should understand that there's a BIG difference between quantity and quality? 

[Snake45]

Okay, I've now been through the full list and made note of which ones I actually own. Looks like about 26 of them: 

24 The Beatles, 'Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band' 1967

30 Jimi Hendrix, 'Are You Experienced' 1967

40 David Bowie, 'The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars' 1972

53 Jimi Hendrix, 'Electric Ladyland' 1968

55 Pink Floyd, 'The Dark Side of the Moon' 1973

69 Alanis Morissette, 'Jagged Little Pill' 1995

88 David Bowie, 'Hunky Dory' 1971

92 Bruce Springsteen, 'Darkness on the Edge of Town' 1978

93 The Jimi Hendrix Experience, 'Axis: Bold as Love' 1967

101 Led Zeppelin, 'Led Zeppelin' 1969

121 Elvis Costello, 'This Year’s Model' 1978

123 Led Zeppelin, 'Led Zeppelin II' 1969

139 Black Sabbath, 'Paranoid' 1970

163 Various Artists, 'Saturday Night Fever' 1977

214 Tom Petty, 'Wildflowers' 1994

226 Derek and the Dominos, 'Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs' 1970

231 Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, 'BLAH_BLAH_BLAH_BLAH the Torpedoes' 1979

234 Black Sabbath, 'Master of Reality' 1971

292 Van Halen, 'Van Halen' 1978

298 Tom Petty, 'Full Moon Fever' 1989

301 New York Dolls, 'New York Dolls' 1973

303 ABBA, 'The Definitive Collection' 2001

353 The Cars, 'The Cars' 1978

355 Black Sabbath, 'Black Sabbath' 1970

366 Aerosmith, 'Rocks' 1976 (Not 100% sure but I THINK I have it)

430 Elvis Costello, 'My Aim Is True' 1977

 

I also have quite a few anthologies/"Best of" and live albums that would cover the music of another 10 or 20 albums on the list. 

Are You Experienced better than Electric Ladyland? Uh, no. 

This Year's Model better than My Aim Is True? No. 

Master of Reality better than Black Sabbath? No. 

I think they had Led Zep IV ahead of I and II. Just no. 

And I think there were at least one, maybe two early Springsteen albums ahead of Darkness on the Edge of Town. Not even! 

Aladdin Sane or Diamond Dogs or even The Man Who Sold the World should have been on instead of Hunky Dory. 

Good to see Tom Petty made the list three times, anyway. (Not sure I would have ranked Wildflowers the highest, though.) 

No Queen Sheer Heart Attack? Absolutely shameful. 

And no ZZ Top at all? Rio Grande Mud should be on here. As should Johnny Winter's Johnny Winter And. 

Edited September 24, 2020 by Snake45

[Can-Con]

3 hours ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

they didn't miss stuff like "Jay-Z" and "Dr. Dre", (which isn't even music in my opinion) tells you all you really need to know.

 

Aw Steve, of cores it's music ... someone elses music that they sampled. ?

 

 

 

Steve

 

[webestang]

Since I disagree with just the top 10 I'll pass on looking at the others on the list. 

[Can-Con]

Thee think about all of these kind of lists is it's just someone's opinion. Not a verifiable list like "best selling" that can be backed up with solid numbers.

Still fun to see where your favorites land on their list though.

Here are the albums I own that made their list,,

Pet Shop Boys, 'Actually' #435

Dire Straits, 'Brothers in Arms #418

Blondie, 'Blondie' #401

The Cars, 'The Cars' #353

Peter Gabriel, 'So' #297

Devo, 'Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!' #252

The Police, 'Synchronicity' #159

George Michael, 'Faith' #151

Blondie, 'Parallel Lines' #146

Bruce Springsteen, 'Born in the U.S.A.' #142

But there are some on the list I really should have like the Elvis Costello albums.

 

[StevenGuthmiller]

2 hours ago, Snake45 said:

You of all people should understand that there's a BIG difference between quantity and quality? 

Yes, but when the people vote with their wallets and buy 45 million albums, it seems to me that it's probably a better indicator of what's a "great" album than what some egg head at Rolling Stone thinks.

 

 

 

 

Steve

[StevenGuthmiller]

1 hour ago, Can-Con said:

 

I suppose if you consider talking, (unintelligibly I might add) with nothing in the background but ear splitting base, yeah.......you "might" be able to call it music.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Steve 

[StevenGuthmiller]

1 hour ago, Can-Con said:

The Cars, 'The Cars' #353

The Cars first album and Candy-O.......two of my all time favorite albums!!!

 

Dire Straights, Brothers in Arms and The Police Synchronicity are both great albums as well.

Although almost anything from The Police or Mark Knopfler is great stuff!

If I had to pick my 10 favorite songs of all time, Dire Straights "Sultans of Swing" would be in the top five!

 

 

 

 

 

Steve

[StevenGuthmiller]

I decided to go through all 500 albums listed and found these that I have, or have had in the past.

 

Dire Straits    Brothers in Arms

Led Zeppelin   Houses of the Holy

Pink Floyd     Wish You Were Here

Tom Petty    Wild Flowers

Cyndi Lauper    She's So Unusual

Police     Synchronicity

Black Sabbath     Paranoid

Pink Floyd     The Wall

Led Zeppelin  II

Eagles    Hotel California

Led Zeppelin    Led Zeppelin

AC/DC     Back In Black

Neil Young       Harvest

Led Zeppelin    IV

Pink Floyd      Dark Side of the Moon

Beatles       White Album

Beatles     Revolver

Prince      Purple Rain

Fleetwood Mac      Rumors

Nirvana      Never Mind

 

 

I was very surprised to see that a great album like Aerosmith  "Toys in the Attic" didn't even make the list!!!

Well, actually I'm not surprised.

There's a whole lot of garbage on this list!

 

 

 

 

Steve

[Matt Bacon]

I only went through the top 100. I guess I’ve listened to around 90 of them at some point, and I own more than half. Not liking Dylan, Joni or Carole reduces my score a bit; not writing off the entire rap genre in one go improves it. They’re wrong about their Beatles albums: Abbey Road isn’t better than Revolver or Rubber Soul. I might argue about the order of the Top 10, but not really what’s in it... As ever with these things (and my first Rolling Stone Best 100 albums of all time was in the late 70s) they pick more variable recent product than classics, just ‘cos it’s not clear yet what’s faddish and what will stand the test of time. Any list that’s got London Calling, Never Mind the Bollocks, What’s Going On and Sign O the Times on it is OK by me...

best,

M.

[Can-Con]

3 hours ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

I suppose if you consider talking, (unintelligibly I might add) with nothing in the background but ear splitting base, yeah.......you "might" be able to call it music.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Steve 

Actually, I was referring to the real music they sampled from other real artists to use on their "works" 

For example, Puff Daddy using The Police's "Every Breath You Take" for his "I'll be Missing You"  or Vanilla Ice using the bass line from Queen's "Under Pressure" for "Ice Ice Baby". 

Edited September 25, 2020 by Can-Con

[StevenGuthmiller]

1 hour ago, Can-Con said:

Actually, I was referring to the real music they sampled from other real artists to use on their "works" 

For example, Puff Daddy using The Police's "Every Breath You Take" for his "I'll be Missing You"  or Vanilla Ice using the bass line from Queen's "Under Pressure" for "Ice Ice Baby". 

Yeah, I got your meaning.

Some call it "sampling".

I would lean more towards "butchering".

 

 

 

 

 

Steve 

[Snake45]

32 minutes ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

Yeah, I got your meaning.

Some call it "sampling".

I would lean more towards "butchering".

Steve 

But every once in a great while, it kinda sorta works out, more or less. I rather like Kid Rock's use of Metallica in his "American Badass." 

[stitchdup]

Glad to see the outkast aqumini album there, its rap but not the usual type and I'm sure some of you would actually enjoy their stuff. I tend to take these lists with a grain of salt, usually it turns out to be which companies paid the most advertising. I'm a rap fan and have been for 25 years since the run dmc aerosmith crossover track walk this way, then there was a movie soundtrack that was all crossovers that really opened me up to rap music (being on a small scottish island it was totally mind blowing to me that there was something more than just rock, folk and country (isn't all country just songs about beating your wife cos your dog shot your truck(joke)). I've only looked through the top 50 and I have 38 of them on original vinyl. I still listen to lots of other music styles too and recently bought willie nelsons new album but it not up to his older stuff imo. But then isn't music more about how it makes you feel rather than the content? it would be a pretty boring place is we were all stuck with one style of music. the more styles of music there are, the more they help each other. Just like building models really, wouldn't it suck if we only had one kit? dont we all take inspiration from other places? and read the producer credits on your rock albums, some of you might be surprised how many rock groups are produced by rap deejays