The Rolling Stone top 500 albums

[andrew_jorgensen]

Comfort food is making me uncomfortable. I rationalized the economy of my P. F. Chang's trip with the idea that I could stretch out my order of Kung Pao Chicken and Spicy Eggplant over several meals, and then proceeded to eat the entire thing.

It is my understanding that there exist, along with comfort food, comfort magazines, so I bought a couple. I got the new WIRED, for reasons that may later become apparent, and, inspired by the example of hermionesviolin, the current Rolling Stone. This is the Rolling Stone which contains its list of the 500 "Greatest Albums Ever Made." Hmmm. It seems like just six years ago that they were prying my money from my fingers for their list of the 200 "Greatest Albums Ever Made." I'm not buying another issue until they come out with the 10,000 greatest. Take that, exponential progression!

Perhaps because I've had the earlier list as a subconscious influence since 1997, I own a higher percentage (54 out of 200, compared to 87 of 500) of what was then the "definitive library of the best albums ever made). My suspicion is that the earlier list was actually superior (and thus, my tastes are actually superior). It was chosen by a smaller panel with more of an eye towards history, and thus contains selections by Ruth Brown and LaVern Baker. On the other hand, the later list has a lot more jazz on it (a surprising amount of which I own -- not that I listen to it -- not that the panelists listen to it either). The earlier list also has the advantage of being arranged chronologically instead of in some supposed order of quality, which prevents us from being consumed with inanities such as "Hotel California is only number thirty-seven? Damn it, that's a top thirty-five album in my book!" It also provides the benefit of disguising the Beatles fetishization by slotting the copious amounts of their records into their proper slot -- the 1960s -- rather than into nearly half of the top ten.

Anyway, what follows is the list of the albums from the new list which I own. Most of these I have on CD, some I bought back when I was primarily a casette consumer and have not updated since I got my first CD player in 1990 (make of that what you will), and a couple I only have because I ripped my girlfriend's CDs onto my MP3 player. I have not included tapes I made of CDs my high school friends had, mostly as a discriminatory measure designed to keep Pink Floyd off the list. I was a bit confused with how to count some of the anthologies: for example, I do not actually own Sly & the Family Stone's Greatest Hits, but I own Anthology, which contains all of Greatest Hits plus tracks off of there's a riot goin' on and Fresh. However, I have not checked whether or not the anthologies of Otis Redding, Sam Cooke, Howlin' Wolf and others correspond to what I have in any way.

1. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Beatles
6. What's Going On, Marvin Gaye
7. Exile on Main Street, The Rolling Stones
8. London Calling, The Clash
12. Kind of Blue, Miles Davis
13. Velvet Underground and Nico, The Velvet Underground
14. Abbey Road, The Beatles
15. Are You Experienced?, The Jimi Hendrix Experience
16. Blood on the Tracks, Bob Dylan
20. Thriller, Michael Jackson
23. Innervisions, Stevie Wonder
29. Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin
33. Ramones, Ramones
35. The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars, David Bowie
41. Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols, The Sex Pistols
47. A Love Supreme, John Coltrane
48. It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, Public Enemy
52. Greatest Hits, Al Green
53. The Birth of Soul: The Complete Atlantic Rhythm and Blues Recordings, 1952 - 1959, Ray Charles
54. Electric Ladyland, The Jimi Hendrix Experience
60. Greatest Hits, Sly and the Family Stone
61. Appetite for Destruction, Guns n' Roses
63. Sticky Fingers, The Rolling Stones
68. Off the Wall, Michael Jackson
69. Superfly, Curtis Mayfield
72. Purple Rain, Prince
73. Back in Black, AC/DC
75. Led Zeppelin II, Led Zeppelin
77. The Clash, The Clash
79. Star Time, James Brown
82. Axis: Bold as Love, The Jimi Hendrix Experience
83. I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You, Aretha Franklin
84. Lady Soul, Aretha Franklin
89. Dusty in Memphis, Dusty Springfield
90. Talking Book, Stevie Wonder
93. Sign 'o' the Times, Prince
94. Bitches Brew, Miles Davis
96. Tommy, The Who
98. This Year's Model, Elvis Costello
99. There's a Riot Goin' On, Sly and the Family Stone
105. Rocket to Russia, Ramones
109. Loaded, The Velvet Underground
113. The Who Sell Out, The Who
118. Stand!, Sly and the Family Stone
141. Live at the Regal, B.B. King
163. 1999, Prince
165. Let's Get It On, Marvin Gaye
168. My Aim Is True, Elvis Costello
170. Live at Leeds, The Who
177. One Nation Under a Groove, Funkadelic
179. The Anthology 1961 - 1977, Curtis Mayfield and the Impressions
186. Fresh, Sly and the Family Stone
196. Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era 1965 - 1968, Various Artists
204. Dirty Mind, Prince
213. New York Dolls, New York Dolls
217. Licensed to Ill, Beastie Boys
218. Look-Ka Py Py, The Meters
227. Paid in Full, Eric B. and Rakim
233. Bookends, Simon and Garfunkel
236. The Who Sings My Generation, The Who
246. The Shape of Jazz to Come, Ornette Coleman
266. Quadrophenia, The Who
269. Some Girls, The Rolling Stones
278. The Immaculate Collection, Madonna
293. Greatest Hits, Simon and Garfunkel
300. Fear of a Black Planet, Public Enemy
302. The Marshall Mathers LP, Eminem
305. Odelay, Beck
318. Back Stabbers, The O'Jays
343. Bat Out of Hell, Meat Loaf
346. 3 Feet High and Rising, De La Soul
358. Singles Going Steady, Buzzcocks
359. Stankonia, Outkast
377. CrazySexyCool, TLC
383. A Quick One (Happy Jack), The Who
398. Anthology, The Temptations
401. (Pronounced Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd), Lynyrd Skynyrd
403. Radio City, Big Star
431. Anthology, Diana Ross and the Supremes
438. #1 Record, Big Star
441. Tragic Kingdom, No Doubt
443. Live at the Harlem Square Club, 1963, Sam Cooke
449. The World Is a Ghetto, War
462. Here, My Dear, Marvin Gaye
482. Armed Forces, Elvis Costello and the Attractions
486. Maggot Brain, Funkadelic
493. That's the Way of the World, Earth, Wind and Fire

I suppose one could compare the above to the full list, then cross-reference with my preferences stated both in my user info and my response to shadowkat67's meme and come up with a reasonable approximation of an Amazon Wish List. And with the holidays just around the corner. Of course, on any list of the 500 things I need most, 413 albums have to come pretty low.

Comments

[lynnmonster.livejournal.com]

Or perhaps one could look up d'Herblay's cover identity on Amazon and discover that he's got no address listed there...

I don't imagine my Friends list would be interested, so I'll post it here

[cwx.livejournal.com]

If you could explain to me the virtue of Stankonia, which I know everybody loves, then I would be much obliged. I want to like OutKast, them being the only good mainstream hip-hop act at the moment, but I kept getting annoyed by the guest rappers on that one, as well as the several songs where Andre sings at the end, both of which I understand occur with much more frequency on their new one.

And as for Rhythm Nation and Jagged Little Pill, I'm sorry, but I sold those for a reason! Actually, I think I might have thrown away Rhythm Nation. The record store clerk all but laughed at me when I tried to sell it!!

17. Nevermind, Nirvana
133. Ready to Die, The Notorious B.I.G. (going to buy soon)
139. All That You Can't Leave Behind, U2
144. Straight Outta Compton, N.W.A
154. The Low End Theory, A Tribe Called Quest
275. Rhythm Nation 1814, Janet Jackson (sold)
312. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, Lauryn Hill (lost)
327. Jagged Little Pill, Alanis Morissette (sold)
359. Stankonia, OutKast (sold)
399. Californication, Red Hot Chili Peppers
464. The Blueprint, Jay-Z
477. The Score, Fugees
488. Voodoo, D'Angelo

Re: I don't imagine my Friends list would be interested, so I'll post it here

[dherblay.livejournal.com]

I absolutely cannot explain the virtue of Stankonia. I mean, I love "B.O.B.," and think the other singles are pretty good, but that album was so self-indulgent and over-long that I was concocting theories that there would never be another great rap album until technology somehow reversed its progress and reverted to a top length of about 45 minutes.

My response to Speakerboxxx/The Love Below has been to love Speakerboxxx straight through and skip to the stand out tracks ("Hey Ya!" of course, and "Roses," maybe) on The Love Below.

I like your tastes, as demonstrated here, but I'm very surprised that other than the sold Stankonia, we don't share any titles on the list! Why don't I have The Low End Theory, anyway?

Re: I don't imagine my Friends list would be interested, so I'll post it here

[cwx.livejournal.com]

You should get Low End Theory. Although, considering the MP3s of that album are SO much quieter than every other ripped album I have, I wonder if you shouldn't wait for the eventual remastered version. They remaster everything nowadays, right?

Speakerboxxx is better than The Love Below huh? I guess music-critic wise, experimental is supposed to be better. However, my reaction to Radiohead and some others has convinced me that I don't like purely "experimental" and I don't have to feel bad for not liking it. Just like I've tried to get down with jazz (I feel a little more bad for failing at this) but I like song structure dammit! Slave to the 3-5 minute song, hook included, yeah that's me. With important exceptions of course, don't hold me to that.

But isn't Speakerboxxx sorta plagued by that same curse of the posse cut? Sometimes I think that hip-hop has even worse levels of nepotism than corporate America. :P

I've been thinking about getting into some 70s soul, something I've missed by virtue of by birthdate. I've downloaded some interested songs in the course of searching out the originals for some of my favorite rap songs. Heh! Who and what do you recommend the most out of Aretha Franklin, Sly and the Family Stone, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Al Green, or any others? Also, which Public Enemy CD do you recommmend. How about Paid in Full? It's tricky to get into this "old" stuff because I have already bought too many dissappointing "sure-shot" albums like Stankonia and I basically just don't buy on faith anymore, ever! If you could point me in the direction of what to download and try out first (so as to buy if I like it), that'd be great!

Re: I don't imagine my Friends list would be interested, so I'll post it here

[dherblay.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure The Love Below is any more experimental than Speakerboxxx, actually. More eccentric, sure, but Big Boi is the one who plays with techno and gospel and Parliament and Prince; Dre mostly just does skits. The Love Below is also more misogynistic than Speakerboxxx, which threw all sorts of music-critic expectations out of whack. Speakerboxxx does have quite a few guest appearances on it. Mostly, they work -- "Last Call," with a cast of thousands, is one of my favorites -- and though the least memorable tracks are definitely some of the collaborations, the album doesn't really suffer from them. Of course, I would be remiss not to point out that I don't buy a lot of current records (the only hiphop albums over the last ten years I've bought new near their releases were OutKast albums), so I may not be the best judge. I may just think Speakerboxxx is a great album because I don't know anything better.

I think you may be lucky in your birthdate: being born in the lull after the baby boom means I grew up in an atmosphere of enforced nostalgia for things I didn't live through. If you liked music in my high school, you listened to Zeppelin or the Who or Pink Floyd or the Dead; if you didn't like music you listened to Billy Joel. I was shocked to get to college and learn that people had spent the eighties listening to music released in the eighties. It was an alien concept! I had never even heard of The Smiths. So I've never really been immersed in current music: the vast majority of what I listen to was old when I discovered it. Which is sort of sad. But I'll listen to great music without worrying about whether it's too old or too new or whatever. Which is sort of happy.

Let me take the easy questions first: the best Public Enemy album is definitely It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back. Paid in Full is sparse. Rakim's delivery is pretty cold, and the backing is pretty much just scratching and a drum machine. It creates an inviting tension, but I wouldn't recommend it for novices. Of course, you're no novice, but it's still a very middle-80s record. Now, middle-80s rap -- Run-DMC, LL Cool J, the Beastie Boys -- is the rap I came up with, so it seems normal to me, but you would probably expect more complicated flows. Maybe you should start with the more accessible Run-DMC instead.

I love all the soul artists mentioned. I love Sly a little more than the rest, but I'm weird that way. If you can find Anthology (http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&uid=UIDSUB040312060148040875&sql=A4e61mpz39f6o) by Sly, get that (or just download the component tracks). I think it's out of print, but its successor loses some key tracks and contains some not particularly interesting tracks from after Sly had completely broken down. If you're really shopping I'd get Al Green's Greatest Hits (http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&uid=UIDSUB040312060151351236&sql=Ajm7zefukhgf3), I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You (http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll) by Aretha, and one of the Parliament best-ofs (http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&uid=UIDSUB040312060154141486&sql=Atyc8b5c4bsq4).

I'm not quite sure whether or not any of that will suit you. This is why I need a CD burner -- I could just send you 400 MP3s and see what you like! See, buying me technology benefits everyone!

Then again...

[cwx.livejournal.com]

I bought plenty of albums in the 1990s, and they were all albums of the 90s. The problem is, they mostly sucked. In 2000 I bought Common's Like Water for Chocolate, a new album, but from there I started on my mad quest to relive the 90s the "right" way. I bought Sublime, but mostly I lost all faith in "rock," whatever that is, and turned completely towards hip-hop instead. Low End Theory is another album I bought in 2000, since I was only 10 when it came out, but more importantly, when I did start listening to music, I followed the radio WAY too much. I think the radio has gotten worse, but I've also become cynical after all the crap I bought.

So I love 90s music to a fault, but not necessarily the music I bought at the time! It is good that I'm not ashamed to like the music from my own youth, but it is amusing that I'm trying to recreate it.

I will admit that 80s rap really isn't my thing. Even though growing up I only heard the 90s commercial rap singles rather than the actual album tracks, which were more representative of the actual style, there was still a different motif at work in "old school" rap in both beats & rhymes. Also, I have to confess a bit of a bias for what I would call more "musical" beats.

But now, I would kinda like to get into the 70s. What the heck, huh? ;) Time to start romanticizing. I only wish my parents didn't have such a white record collection, they are no help at all in this soul thing!

Finally, you could always get on SoulSeek and we could swap some music or something. I don't know how much of a connection or how much of a hard drive you have, however. Not to mention my hard drive isn't exactly full of empty space right now (say what?).

Re: Then again...

[dherblay.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, while I have plenty of hard drive space, I'm still on dial-up.

Re: Then again...

[cwx.livejournal.com]

Oooh, ouch! Then again, when I have to pay for the Internet myself and not along with 4 roommates, I'll be on dial-up too! D'oh.

[lynnmonster.livejournal.com]

Hey, check out Rat Funeral icon #1, if you want it: dherblay1. (The year may be incorrect, but I thought it was funny!)

Let me know if you have any specific requests.

[dherblay.livejournal.com]

Absolutely magnificent! I think the year is correct, at least as per the event referenced, though I believe I've been thinking about death since 1980!

[lynnmonster.livejournal.com]

He likes it! He likes it!

Whooooooooo!