Rolling Stone's Top 500
Nov. 26th, 2003 11:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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bratman, here are my favorites from Rolling Stone's top 500 albums of all time, with some commentary (numbers in parentheses are their rankings). You can see the generation gap between me and whoever made up this list because there are lots of albums on here that I never listened to all the way through although I've heard at least a song or two from them. I also think they should have excluded greatest hits collections because those aren't real albums.
Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1) and Revolver (3) - When I was 9 or 10, I got a stereo in my room and I appropriated all of my dad's old Beatles albums. These two were my favorites. RS gave the Beatles 4 of the top 10 slots, which seems like a bit much, but they're all good albums.
Miles Davis - Kind of Blue (12) - this is one of my favorite jazz albums.
Nirvana - Nevermind (17) - this is the first thing on the list that was actually new when I first listened to it.
U2 - The Joshua Tree (26) - this was huge when I was in junior high, I think. I stopped paying attention to new U2 albums sometime in high school, but this one is good.
Joni Mitchell - Blue (30) - this was one of the first things I bought on CD, senior year of high school (for some reason, my father was always an early adopter when it came to computers but it took years for us to get a CD player). It helped me get through high school intact.
Simon and Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled Waters (51) - I used to play this on vinyl along with the Beatles albums.
Guns n' Roses - Appetite for Destruction (61) - this was one of the first bands I got into during my metalhead phase (6th grade to 10th grade or so), this was really a pretty good record. Nothing else they put out afterwards was as cool.
Bitches Brew - Miles Davis (94) - why is there no jazz on this list except Miles? This one is good, but so is Blue Train and it didn't make the top 100 (although Giant Steps comes in at 102)
Court and Spark - Joni Mitchell (111) - this is a more recent favorite. It's one of my favorite driving CDs, but Kelly doesn't really like Joni Mitchell so I can't play it on road trips.
Raising Hell - Run DMC (120) - this came out right when I first started watching MTV. Sometimes I don't think rap music has improved all that much in the past 20 years.
The Downward Spiral - Nine Inch Nails (200) - I sometimes put this one on when I'm in a really foul mood. I saw Trent play at Roseland after this came out and it was pretty cool until my friend got a concussion in the mosh pit.
Tracy Chapman - Tracy Chapman (261) - pretty much everything on this album is good. I didn't like it when it came out (I was too busy listening to Poison and Run DMC) but I picked it up in college shortly after I came out.
Not too many albums that I really loved in the second half of the list, except for the Smashing Pumpkins' Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. (487)
Overall, I think they included too many greatest hits collections and a bit too much Bob Marley. In the striking omissions section, there's Blue Train (John Coltrane) and Living Colour's Vivid, anything by the Indigo Girls (Strange Fire or Rites of Passage would have been my pick), Pretty Hate Machine, and something by Ani Difranco (probably Imperfectly or Puddle Dive, maybe one of the more recent less folky albums).
bratman, here are my favorites from Rolling Stone's top 500 albums of all time, with some commentary (numbers in parentheses are their rankings). You can see the generation gap between me and whoever made up this list because there are lots of albums on here that I never listened to all the way through although I've heard at least a song or two from them. I also think they should have excluded greatest hits collections because those aren't real albums.Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1) and Revolver (3) - When I was 9 or 10, I got a stereo in my room and I appropriated all of my dad's old Beatles albums. These two were my favorites. RS gave the Beatles 4 of the top 10 slots, which seems like a bit much, but they're all good albums.
Miles Davis - Kind of Blue (12) - this is one of my favorite jazz albums.
Nirvana - Nevermind (17) - this is the first thing on the list that was actually new when I first listened to it.
U2 - The Joshua Tree (26) - this was huge when I was in junior high, I think. I stopped paying attention to new U2 albums sometime in high school, but this one is good.
Joni Mitchell - Blue (30) - this was one of the first things I bought on CD, senior year of high school (for some reason, my father was always an early adopter when it came to computers but it took years for us to get a CD player). It helped me get through high school intact.
Simon and Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled Waters (51) - I used to play this on vinyl along with the Beatles albums.
Guns n' Roses - Appetite for Destruction (61) - this was one of the first bands I got into during my metalhead phase (6th grade to 10th grade or so), this was really a pretty good record. Nothing else they put out afterwards was as cool.
Bitches Brew - Miles Davis (94) - why is there no jazz on this list except Miles? This one is good, but so is Blue Train and it didn't make the top 100 (although Giant Steps comes in at 102)
Court and Spark - Joni Mitchell (111) - this is a more recent favorite. It's one of my favorite driving CDs, but Kelly doesn't really like Joni Mitchell so I can't play it on road trips.
Raising Hell - Run DMC (120) - this came out right when I first started watching MTV. Sometimes I don't think rap music has improved all that much in the past 20 years.
The Downward Spiral - Nine Inch Nails (200) - I sometimes put this one on when I'm in a really foul mood. I saw Trent play at Roseland after this came out and it was pretty cool until my friend got a concussion in the mosh pit.
Tracy Chapman - Tracy Chapman (261) - pretty much everything on this album is good. I didn't like it when it came out (I was too busy listening to Poison and Run DMC) but I picked it up in college shortly after I came out.
Not too many albums that I really loved in the second half of the list, except for the Smashing Pumpkins' Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. (487)
Overall, I think they included too many greatest hits collections and a bit too much Bob Marley. In the striking omissions section, there's Blue Train (John Coltrane) and Living Colour's Vivid, anything by the Indigo Girls (Strange Fire or Rites of Passage would have been my pick), Pretty Hate Machine, and something by Ani Difranco (probably Imperfectly or Puddle Dive, maybe one of the more recent less folky albums).
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no subject
Date: 2003-11-27 12:13 am (UTC)This one I actually agree with.
134. Slanted and Enchanted, Pavement
This album is a bit all over the place, I think, but it has some really good moments ('Here' and 'Conduit for sale', for example).
180. The Definitive Collection, Abba
Too many compilations, indeed. Looks like they had this in just to keep someone happy. Or because they didn't think it was cool to pick 'Super Trouper'.
210. Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain, Pavement
The only album I've ever bought two copies of because I really needed to.
216. The Queen Is Dead, The Smiths
Not sure I remember what's on this one, but it is good.
419. Dummy, Portishead
445. Rum Sodomy and the Lash, The Pogues
Except it's hard these days to listen to records like this without thinking about how they've become overplayed classics...
471. Heaven Up Here, Echo and the Bunnymen
This is interesting - Echo and the Bunnymen finally back amongst the critics' favourites.
500. Touch, Eurythmics
Quite a remarkable album really. Probably the Eurythmics' best moment.
no subject
Date: 2003-11-27 07:00 am (UTC)Poison? You listened to *Poison*??!! I have even more respect and admiration for you now.
Oh, and Kelly gets two thumbs up for banning the Joni Mitchell!
They were weak on the Jazz too, Betsy Carter should've been on that list, Nina Simone too.
And Ani Difranco, but only her album "Dilate", which I listen to all the time and scream along with (err... I mean "sing" along with.)
Considering the plethora of possibilities though, I think they did a pretty good job. Definitely tailored it to popular music and rock, which of course is why they're called "Rolling Stone" and not "Snazzy Jazzy".
no subject
Date: 2003-11-27 08:59 am (UTC)