Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All-Time...

[Jerk Shapiro]

That's right. Here ya' go.


It's too long for me to type out, or even copy and paste, so I'll just link you bastards:

The Magic 500 (http://www.rhino.com/rs500/index.lasso)

What do you think?

For me, it's a small step up from most Rolling Stone's lists, maybe because this one they actually polled musicians and critics, and didn't have one of their own writer's bang out a shit-list like they did with the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All-Time". This list isn't exactly to my specifications, but then again, it's not supposed to be, is it?

Not a horrible list, but not perfect, in my opinion.

[Indiana Sev]

Very nice list!

Many classic rockers on there. I was especially happy to see The Beatles, Bob Dylan, The Eagles and The Band very prevalent in the top 50.

[bowieee]

What the fuck chuck?

Did fucking paul mcartney pick the fucking top ten?



*Gag*

[Lynn Minmei]

It's a merely okay list. It looks like one that I would've made if you added a dash of un-bias to my head.

[Jon Lyrik]

Excellent list, but how could Dark Side of the Moon be as low as #44? That is at LEAST in the Top 15.

Pink Floyd's albums really got the shaft on the entire Top 100.

[Morgana]

Originally posted by bowieee
What the fuck chuck?

Did fucking paul mcartney pick the fucking top ten?



LOL...that was my reaction as well. Actually, I thought maybe Rolling Stone owned some Beatles stock or something. ;)

Seriously though, I'm a Beatles fan, but the top 10 doesn't look right to me. Overall, I don't think this is a terrible list, but the order doesn't seem right. When Michael Jackson's Bad is placed before Pearl Jam's Ten, and Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill I have to ask myself whether I should take this list seriously. I haven't taken Rolling Stone seriously for about two decades now, so no...I won't start now.

[Lynn Minmei]

I liked how they gave The Beatles some love...I see so many people act pretentious by saying that they're overrated. A choice of opinion, but...overrated? No way. Anyone remember the British Invasion? They shaped modern rock music, if they still call it that.

[Haddonfield]

Rumors at 25...HAH....top 15 easy.

[POLYDISTORTION]

I Have 94 Out Of 500, Is It Good Or Bad?:confused:

[Tom Samborski]

Rolling Stone was being incredibly biased towards The Beatles in the top 10. I agree with Morgana, that list doesn't look right.

[notchreturns]

*Yawn*

Predictable and boring.

[Romero&Juliet]

Originally posted by bowieee
What the fuck chuck?

Did fucking paul mcartney pick the fucking top ten?



*Gag*

Ahhhh-greed!






Rolling Stones... Grow a pair! </cringeworthy pun>

[BadCoverVersion]

Originally posted by Lynn Minmei
I see so many people act pretentious by saying that they're overrated. A choice of opinion, but...overrated? No way. Anyone remember the British Invasion? They shaped modern rock music, if they still call it that.

So...if you reckon they're OVERRATED (which I do, as it happens) you're considered 'pretentious'!?

Hmmm...that's a pretty shitty assumption matey.

I just firmly believe The Yardbirds, The Zombies, The Who et all are CONSIDERABLY better than the 'fab four'.

Good choices, but should've been HIGHER...

Velvet Underground & Nico at #13
Love - Forever Changes at #40
The Zombies - Odessey & Oracle at #80
Prince - Sign 'O' The Times at #93
Joy Division - Closer at #157
T-Rex - Electric Warrior at #160
The Flying Burrito Brothers - The Gilded Palace Of Sin at #192
The Smiths - The Queen Is Dead at #216
Kraftwerk - Trans-Europe Express at #253

Transformer, Bryter Layter, Meat Is Murder, Berlin, Substance, Post, Rain Dogs...and a WHOLE lot of other crap.

SHIT list...safe, dull, predictable.

WHERE THE FUCK IS SCOTT WALKER!?

Jesus...

[Annie Hall]

Hey, I'm a big a fan of The Beatles as the next person...but...that top 10 is ludicrous. Just...absolutely boring and uninteresting...

Really Rolling Stone, what would Lester Bangs say of you now.

[bob]

I own 8 of the top 10, and a lot of my favorite artists are in there, but yeah, saying more than half of the ten best albums of all time were by The Beatles or Bob Dylan is bound to ruffle some feathers.

My only huge beef with the list is having Pet Sounds at number two. Hmm, the same Beach Boys crap, only with sound effects? Alright!!

[Jon Lyrik]

Originally posted by notchreturns
*Yawn*

Predictable and boring.

It's better than spicing things up to gain attention. Like liberally including NSYNC albums.

[bowieee]

Lynn I'm going to leave that pretentious remark alone and not get into my loathing of beatlemania. (That was all covered in a thread where the gloves came off many months ago...) ;)

Anyways looking through the beatles work....It's criminal that Revolver, Rubber Soul, and Sgt. peppers are placed higher than the White album. That's the one damn album out of their whole catalougue that deserves praise heaped upon it.

[BadCoverVersion]

Originally posted by bob
My only huge beef with the list is having Pet Sounds at number two. Hmm, the same Beach Boys crap, only with sound effects? Alright!!

Funny thing is...Pet Sounds is possibly the ONLY album in the top 10 that I completely agree with.

[piglet5]

i would have replaced any doors album with any srv and b.b king album. :rolleyes:

[bob]

Originally posted by BadCoverVersion
Funny thing is...Pet Sounds is possibly the ONLY album in the top 10 that I completely agree with.

I'm not trying to start an argument, but I'd like some input from someone who is (presumably) a Beach Boys fan: What is it about that album that you find superior to anything else they made?

[horrorfreak13]

Do the Beattles work for Rolling Stone now or what. 4 fucking albums in the top 10. It was nice to see Nirvana's Nevermind in there at #17

[BadCoverVersion]

Originally posted by bob
I'm not trying to start an argument, but I'd like some input from someone who is (presumably) a Beach Boys fan: What is it about that album that you find superior to anything else they made?

Personally it's the stunning production that does it for me...and the flawless harmonies throughout.

God Only Knows, Wouldn't It Be Nice and Don't Talk are all amazing tracks...overplayed, but brilliant nonetheless. It's just fucking CHARMING (charm without 'whimsy' mind)...and the rich, dreamy melodies and tremendous lyrics ensure that the record stays sophisticated.

Surf pap, I think not.

The composition is like NOTHING else also...seriously, you've got to give the lads full marks for incorporating lush strings, bells, tin-can's, flutes...and erm, pet sounds...thus producing an album LIKE no other before it. It DOES sound splendid, cerebral and ethereal in parts...and whilst it would be easy to dismiss it as 'kitsch' nearly 40 years on, it would also be completely UNJUST.

God Only Knows is a truly transcendent slice of 'Baroque Pop'...and I'm a COMPLETE SUCKER for this Pop of sorts. Hazlewood, Nancy Sinatra, Love, Walker Brothers, Springfield...and with Pet Sounds, The Beach Boys are at the top of their game.

[notchreturns]

I tend to agree with BCV... I mean, for me, God Only Knows, Feel Flows, Wouldn't It Be Nice, Good Vibrations, etc., top just about any Beatles song I've heard... well, Happiness Is A Warm Gun is a fucking STUD of a song.

I'm incredibly awed by how far down some Radiohead material is, especially Ok Computer (#162) and Kid A (#428)...

Yeesh.... what the funk?

[Shakamaker]

From the site...

"The editors at Rolling Stone recently polled an array of musicians, critics, and influential industry figures to come up with these 500 Greatest Albums Ever Made. Nearly 300 such music experts responded, each with a list of 50 albums."

So less than 300 people in the industry responded, and provided their top 50 each?! Pretty small poll on which to base your publication's Greatest Albums Of ALL TIME!

Small, and ambiguous! Which musicians, critics, and 'industry figures' are we talking about? Were the musicians spread across many genres? Were the critics? Were the 'industry figures' (you can't get more ambiguous!) beefing up votes of the albums their companies released?

I disagree with the positioning of a great deal of the top 50; The names are there, but some are overly represented, whilst others are criminally under-represented. I can't be fucked even getting started on the other 450.

This poll has no weight, in my eyes. It's too small, casts suspicions about potential conflicts of interest, and doesn't include the people who actually buy the albums; You and me. If I were in charge of a major music magazine, and wanted to proclaim it's top 500 ALL TIME Albums, I'd want to organise a slightly more complex poll! Wankers.

[bob]

Originally posted by notchreturns
I tend to agree with BCV... I mean, for me, God Only Knows, Feel Flows, Wouldn't It Be Nice, Good Vibrations, etc.,

Good Vibrations isn't on Pet Sounds. It was a stand alone single issued at the same time.

I dig what you guys are saying, though. I've just never been a Beach Boys fan, and the idea of one of their discs being the second best album of all time seemed a bit laughable.

[bowieee]

Originally posted by bob
I've just never been a Beach Boys fan, and the idea of one of their discs being the second best album of all time seemed a bit laughable.


Now you know EXACTLY how I feel about the beatles.

[Sigur509]

I was very glad to see:
Radiohead's O.K Computer at #162,
Dookie - Green Day at #193
The Downward Spiral - Nine Inch Nails #200

But WHY THE FUCK was The Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness all the way at #487.

Are they telling us that No Doubt's Rock Steady is better this this album? Rock Steady is at #316.

And MotherFucking Eminem's The Marshall Mathers LP at #302.

Fucking Bull Shit list.


Phew, Im glad I got that off my chest, I go crazy when people try to FUCK with the Smashing Pumpkins.

[BakeTheMooCow]

I saw this issue in a store yesterday and I bought it, and there was a cool free CD with it. The tracks are all pretty good.

Bob Dylan - Simple Twist of Fate
Pink Floyd - Money
The Who - Pinball Wizard
Herbie Hancock - Watermelon Man
Norah Jones - Come Away With Me
Elton John - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
Billy Joel - Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)
Miles Davis - Blue In Green
Aerosmith - Sweet Emotion

Especially Herbie Hancock's Watermelon Man which I hadn't heard before, but it is a great addictive piece of jazz/funk music.

Back to the top 500.. what a crock of shit. I am so sick and fucking tired of the motherfucking Beatles everywhere. Let's see - there's a new CD out to cash in on all the "die-hard" fans who feel like if they don't have every single Beatle release, they'll be outcast from society. They have 11 albums in the top 500 of all time according to Rolling Stone! And the music forum has not one, but TWO tournaments dedicated solely to their old wrinkled assholes. I swear, if the two dead hippies hadn't croaked yet, I'd line them up alongside the living ones and kill them all myself. The only influence they had on music was allowing hype and clever marketing to determine the popularity of a record. How do you even come up with a top 500 anyway? I can understand a top 10 or a top 100, but 500? If I say, do you like Portishead's Dummy, do you say, yeah it's #419 in my top 500 albums of all time? LAME.

[BubbaStrangelove]

Not understanding how they could have 4 in the top 10 either. It seems a bit unright.

The top of the list is seriously lacking modern artists. Rock and roll does not revolve around The Beatles no more than The Beatles revolved around John Lennon.

I digress, their music appeals to me, but I also like Survivor, so you probably don't care what I like and do like.

I Want To Hold Your Hand Vs. Let Me See That Tootsie Roll.

Really, it's a close call.

[bob]

Since when did people stop at least respecting The Beatles? I swear, every thread about the greatest this or the best that has at least 10 Beatles' slams. Sure, I don't want Pet Sounds at #2, but at least I still respect the Beach Boys for their contribution to music. It seems like a lot of people are trying to black out the most important (I'd like to hear a good argument otherwise) band of all-time.

[FeverDog420]

I've got seventy-some albums from the list. Owning the entire Springsteen and U2 catalogs makes up for not owning a single Beatles or Rolling Stones record.

Originally posted by POLYDISTORTION
I Have 94 Out Of 500, Is It Good Or Bad?

I'm right there with you. I consider myself a music collector, so I should have more, right?

Anyway, here's what I got:

12. Kind of Blue, Miles Davis
13. Velvet Underground and Nico, The Velvet Underground
17. Nevermind, Nirvana
18. Born to Run, Bruce Springsteen
19. Astral Weeks, Van Morrison
25. Rumours, Fleetwood Mac
26. The Joshua Tree, U2
29. Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin
30. Blue, Joni Mitchell
40. Forever Changes, Love
43. The Dark Side of the Moon, Pink Floyd
46. Legend, Bob Marley and the Wailers
62. Achtung Baby, U2
69. Superfly, Curtis Mayfield
72. Purple Rain, Prince
73. Back in Black, AC/DC
75. Led Zeppelin II, Led Zeppelin
85. Born in the U.S.A., Bruce Springsteen
87. The Wall, Pink Floyd
110. The Bends, Radiohead
131. Saturday Night Fever Original Soundtrack, Various Artists
132. The Wild, the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle, Bruce Springsteen
135. Greatest Hits, Elton John
139. All That You Can't Leave Behind, U2
146. Surrealistic Pillow, Jefferson Airplane
151. Darkness on the Edge of Town, Bruce Springsteen
162. OK Computer, Radiohead
180. The Definitive Collection, Abba
193. Dookie, Green Day
197. Murmur, R.E.M.
200. The Downward Spiral, Nine Inch Nails
207. Ten, Pearl Jam
209. Wish You Were Here, Pink Floyd
213. New York Dolls, New York Dolls
217. Licensed to Ill, Beastie Boys
221. War, U2
224. Nebraska, Bruce Springsteen
245. Bryter Layter, Nick Drake
247. Automatic for the People, R.E.M.
250. The River, Bruce Springsteen
261. Tracy Chapman, Tracy Chapman
275. Rhythm Nation 1814, Janet Jackson
283. Five Leaves Left, Nick Drake
293. Greatest Hits, Simon and Garfunkel
297. Weezer (Blue Album), Weezer
303. Grace, Jeff Buckley
305. Odelay, Beck
309. Nothing's Shocking, Jane's Addiction
320. Pink Moon, Nick Drake
325. Slowhand, Eric Clapton
327. Jagged Little Pill, Alanis Morissette
328. Exile in Guyville, Liz Phair
337. Aqualung, Jethro Tull
343. Bat Out of Hell, Meat Loaf
347. The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, Pink Floyd
351. Brothers in Arms, Dire Straits
357. Honky Chateau, Elton John
360. Siamese Dream, The Smashing Pumpkins
367. Is This It, The Strokes
376. (What's the Story) Morning Glory?, Oasis
379. Greetings from Asbury Park, Bruce Springsteen
389. The End of the Innocence, Don Henley
396. Eliminator, ZZ Top
399. Californication, Red Hot Chili Peppers
406. I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got, Sinead O' Connor
417. Boy, U2
419. Dummy, Portishead
428. Kid A, Radiohead
439. In Utero, Nirvana
466. Live Through This, Hole
470. Document, R.E.M.
472. Hysteria, Def Leppard
475. Tunnel of Love, Bruce Springsteen
487. Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, The Smashing Pumpkins
492. Vitalogy, Pearl Jam

[BubbaStrangelove]

True that, bob. If 4 of their albums were voted above above 494 other albums in all of that which is popular music, that has little to do with the Beatles. They deserve respect, if anything.

[BadCoverVersion]

Originally posted by bob
Since when did people stop at least respecting The Beatles? I swear, every thread about the greatest this or the best that has at least 10 Beatles' slams.

Erm...you're overreacting a wee bit there.

I personally didn't 'slam' The Beatles per se...I also consider it FAR MORE insulting to read that an individual lack of love for the boys indicates a 'pretentiousness' of sorts.

10 Beatles slam's per thread?

Where?

C'mon...they represent a whopping 40% of an ALL-TIME Top 10, surely that‘s cause for debate!? Scott Walker - a HUGELY influential artist, see Bowie, Cave, Gainsbourg - doesn't even get a look-in, out of 500 fucking album's!? He's the 13th most INFLUENTIAL artist of all-time according to NME, just below Bowie and The Beatles and slightly above Dylan and The Velvet Underground.

I'm questioning whether they are insane, mundane or just plain fucking ignorant!?

The Drifters!? No Doubt!? Whitney fuckin' Houston!? But NO Walker for the love of GOD!?

Say, if a CRITIC'S film-list went something like this...

1.) 2001: A Space Odyssey
2.) Citizen Cane
3.) A Clockwork Orange
4.) Casablanca
5.) Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
6.) The Godfather
7.) Gone With The Wind
8.) It's a Wonderful Life
9.) North By Northwest
10.) The Shining

Now, that'd be definite cause for debate surely?

Anyway, I digress (much like Bubba)...

Yourself, Lynn, Sev, Ms. Hall and others all seem more-than-a-wee-bit fond of The Beatles...they garner an equal amount of appreciation and criticism as far as I can make out.

Originally posted by bob
It seems like a lot of people are trying to black out the most important (I'd like to hear a good argument otherwise) band of all-time.

MOST important, not in my eyes...MOST popular, certainly were (and still are). Sorry to disappoint ya! Joy Division, The Smiths, The Ramones...now they WERE important, but why argue the toss? My efforts would be wasted...and I mean NO offence by that. It's just...these kids are lauded by all, so my measly opinion wouldn't make a jot of difference at the end of the day.

[bowieee]

To build on the last post I'm going to post my top ten most influential artists in my eyes...


1. David Bowie
2. The Stooges
3. The Velvet underground
4. Robert Johnson
5. James Brown
6. The Ramones
7. Neil Young
8. Bruce Springsteen
9. The Smiths
10. Parliment

[BakeTheMooCow]

I strongly agree with BCV and bowieee. Joy Division, The Smiths, The Velvet Underground, David Bowie, Neil Young - were all much more influential, in my eyes, than The Beatles ever were.

..and The Pixies, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, The Grateful Dead, The Misfits, Black Sabbath and Buddy Holly.

As for the old fallback argument that if The Beatles didn't exist, none of the rock bands today would either, I like to quote a certain Seinfeld episode:


JERRY: So I guess it's fair to say you've set different goals for yourself than say, Thomas Edison, Magellan, these types of people.
GEORGE: Magellan? You like Magellan?
JERRY: Oh, yeah. My favourite explorer. Around the world. Come on. Who do you like?
GEORGE: I like DeSoto.
JERRY: DeSoto? What did he do?
GEORGE: Discovered the Mississippi.
JERRY: Oh. like they wouldn't have found that anyway.

[tbone]

Too much Beatles in top ten and some of Madonna's latest? No Dave either? At least Crash and Before These Crowded Streets should be on it and The Colour and the Shape from Foo Fighters should also be on the list. Oh well.

[bob]

I didn't mean to sound insulting to anybody in my previous post, and I'm sorry if I did. Looking back at the post, I probably did overreact a little.

I just wanted to make the point (which I will, this time using more sensible words) that I'm fine with you not liking The Beatles, or finding them overrated, but I don't see how you can write them off.

The argument about popularity vs. importance is a valid one, but I see it like this: When The Beatles came over to America in February of 1964, 75% of EVERYONE IN AMERICA WITH A TV watched them on the Ed Sullivan Show. They were played non-stop on the radio. Yes, that at a glance denotes only popularity, but think about it this way:

The Beatles stimulated more thought and attention to music than anyone after them, and only Beethoven and Mozart before them. In their heyday, music came to the forefront in America and Britain.

I'm a music freak (not just a Beatles' freak, which probably surprises a lot of you), and the thought of music being the most important thing around the world, even if only for a moment, seems undeniably influential and (for lack of a better word) special to me.

THAT is why I was angry about the lack of Beatle-respect.

[Haddonfield]

No one can ever convince me that the Beatles are not the all time greatest thing to ever happen to music. And no, they are not my fave band of all time. If you think about what they did, in only a decade, they shaped music. They took everything before them and molded it it into everything after them...NO ONE can deny that.

That is not to say that there isnt other bands out there who have influenced the musical landscape, but no band has ever done what the Beatles did...hands down, no question....I dont care if people think they are boring or overrated...because they might be boring to people, and thats fine...but that in no way affects the influence they had on music.

[cupajoe]

i think it's a little better then there 100 most enfluential guitarists of all time list after reading that i definately had murder on my mind.

[jmcpher_007]

Originally posted by cupajoe
i think it's a little better then there 100 most enfluential guitarists of all time list after reading that i definately had murder on my mind.

Yes, that list was horrendous.

[cupajoe]

it's like they took all the guitarists that where supposed to be in the list and did a raffling of where they are going to be, it made me wanna puke.