How to make a boring list of the greatest albums of all time.
I finally broke down and bought the issue of Rolling Stone with the list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. I usually love looking at these kinds of list. They challenge me to listen to albums that I had not thought about in a while. They make me think about what I like about albums.
This list is not a good list. My first reaction is that Rock N Roll was perfected in 1968, why should we even try any more. What Rolling Stone did was have a lot of people, writers, musicians, record industry people, vote on their favorite album. That is why this list looks like a popularity contest and not a examination of greatness. That is also why the Beatles have four albums in the top 4. I love the Beatles and I think this is too much. They were great albums, but this does not make a good list. It is like nothing else happened after the Beatles broke up.
Underrated
#48 It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (1988) Public Enemy
This album has to be in the top 10, no question. This album rewrote the rules of rap music. Hard sounds and hard rhymes are all over this album. The first time I heard this album I knew something was changing. There is a revolutionary feeling to this record. Public Enemy just has a combination of sound and word that is amazing.
The Album Should be Ranked #8
# 72. Purple Rain, Prince
# 136. Tim, The Replacements
# 197. Murmur, R.E.M.
# 210. Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain, Pavement
# 333. Shoot Out the Lights, Richard and Linda Thompson
# 365. Louder Than Bombs, The Smiths
# 395. Blue Lines, Massive Attack
# 455. Synchronicity, The Police
# 470. Document, R.E.M.
Overrated
# 5. Rubber Soul (1965) The Beatles
# 22. Plastic Ono Band, John Lennon
# 59. Meet the Beatles (1964) The Beatles
# 139. All That You Can't Leave Behind, U2
# 278. The Immaculate Collection, Madonna
# 399. Californication, Red Hot Chili Peppers
# 408. Time Out of Mind, Bob Dylan
# 420. With the Beatles, The Beatles
Not On The List
Wowee Zowee, Pavement
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, Wilco
Anodyne, Uncle Tupelo
Candy Apple Grey, Husker Du
Tell me if there should be anything else on this list.
I finally broke down and bought the issue of Rolling Stone with the list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. I usually love looking at these kinds of list. They challenge me to listen to albums that I had not thought about in a while. They make me think about what I like about albums.
This list is not a good list. My first reaction is that Rock N Roll was perfected in 1968, why should we even try any more. What Rolling Stone did was have a lot of people, writers, musicians, record industry people, vote on their favorite album. That is why this list looks like a popularity contest and not a examination of greatness. That is also why the Beatles have four albums in the top 4. I love the Beatles and I think this is too much. They were great albums, but this does not make a good list. It is like nothing else happened after the Beatles broke up.
Underrated
#48 It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (1988) Public Enemy
This album has to be in the top 10, no question. This album rewrote the rules of rap music. Hard sounds and hard rhymes are all over this album. The first time I heard this album I knew something was changing. There is a revolutionary feeling to this record. Public Enemy just has a combination of sound and word that is amazing.
The Album Should be Ranked #8
# 72. Purple Rain, Prince
# 136. Tim, The Replacements
# 197. Murmur, R.E.M.
# 210. Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain, Pavement
# 333. Shoot Out the Lights, Richard and Linda Thompson
# 365. Louder Than Bombs, The Smiths
# 395. Blue Lines, Massive Attack
# 455. Synchronicity, The Police
# 470. Document, R.E.M.
Overrated
# 5. Rubber Soul (1965) The Beatles
# 22. Plastic Ono Band, John Lennon
# 59. Meet the Beatles (1964) The Beatles
# 139. All That You Can't Leave Behind, U2
# 278. The Immaculate Collection, Madonna
# 399. Californication, Red Hot Chili Peppers
# 408. Time Out of Mind, Bob Dylan
# 420. With the Beatles, The Beatles
Not On The List
Wowee Zowee, Pavement
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, Wilco
Anodyne, Uncle Tupelo
Candy Apple Grey, Husker Du
Tell me if there should be anything else on this list.
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