The Rolling Stone top 500 albums
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.
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.