Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" (1 Viewer)

Interesting list. A few observations
3 Steely Dan Albums-Aja, Can't Buy A Thrill, and Pretzel Logic. Aja is definately the best of the three on the list. Can't Buy A Thrill is good but they hadn't really discovered their sound. It's a great album but not really a Steely Dan album. Pretzel Logic is decent but nothing spectacular. I'd say Katy Lied, Countdown to Ecstasy, or Gaucho(or even Donald Fagen's The Nightfly) would have been much better choices than Pretzel Logic.
4 U2 albums-Joshua Tree, All That You Can't Leave Behind, Achtung Baby, and Boy. Joshua Tree is a great disc but I think it's a bit overrated actually. I'd put War above it. Also All That You Can't Leave Behind is nowhere near as good as Achtung Baby or War. I'm really suprised to see that one ranked so high.
3 or so discs by the Meters. I've got their "Very Best Of" and it's good stuff. Maybe I'll look into some of their discs.
Alot of Rolling Stones discs, seemed like more than the Beatles(though in fairness the Stones do have more releases).
Interesting list but they seem to have neglected alot of 70's progressive rock(no Yes, Rush, ELP, etc) on the list.
Good to see Rolling Stone still has some taste, but that list is still a bit flawed IMHO.

My issues with the list:

Tool: Anema or Laterlaus
Queens of the Stone Age: Songs for the Deaf
Iron Maiden: Number of the Beast
Sarah Mclachlan: Fumbling Towards Ectasy
Rush: Moving Pictures or 2112
Stone Temple Pilots: Core
Aerosmith: Pump

Glad alot of my favs did make the list but the above titles are MIA unless I missed them

Top albums are severely skewed towards the sixties. Most of the selectors must be my age or older (47). "London Calling" is the newest album in that top group!?! It just can't be that way. Almost 40 years and nothing good enough to make top 10? I don't agree.

I only looked at the top 100, which seems to for the most part be the same old stadium-filling artists that are always on these lists. A really boring list, was it done by some sort of committee where only the blandest eventually got picked? Is there anything on the top 100 that wouldn't be perfect on "Golden Hits of the 50's - 90's" there?

I'm sure they're all fine records (i've only heard about a quaerter of them), but since these lists don't mean anything anyway, it would be more interesting to read a list that seemed as if it was written by someone who liked more than just the big-name artists.

Maybe the next list should be "The greatest albums not made by Bob Dylan, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones or The Clash?"

Some comments:

The love affair with Nirvana continues. IMO, "Nevermind" shouldn't be that high. Meanwhile, Pearl Jam's "Ten" should be much higher.

No Van Halen until the 400s? You must be kidding me, especially considering the albums in front of them.

Greatest Hits albums should not be on this list.

You shouldn't qualify if your album just came out a year or two ago. An "all time" list should have a bit more time to judge if you really deserve to be on the list, or if you are the flavor of the month.

Also disappointed that there is no Tool or Rush on the list.

Jason

Their list is an exercise in futility!!! It's shite....

I totally agree that greatest hits and soundtracks shouldn't be included in the list.

Good list, but some curious mis-steps. Yes' "Fragile" or "The Yes Album" belongs there IMO.

What the heck is "The Who Sell Out" doing so high? Many other Who albums are better; "Who Are You", "Who By Numbers", "Quadrophenia" (which is there, but lower), even "Odds and Sodds" are better than "Sell Out".

BTW, soundtracks and greatest hits collections do belong, if they represent "singles" bands. "Saturday Night Fever" is definitely in place there.

Also, McCartney's "Band On The Run" is as good as most Beatles albums, it belongs in the top 200 easily. It definitely belongs up there with Lenon's "Plastic Ono Band" and "Imagine".

I remember when Rolling Stone was edgy, hip, underground, and featured the best rock & roll writing and journalism around (I started collected it at issue #25; it was strictly a newspaper then). But, man, is this list off. Revolver deserves the Number One spot, among other things. Oh, I can't do this thread. My blood pressure...

I may be persuaded that original, soundtrack albums (like SNF) can be considered but no way do greatest hits albums belong on a list of albums.
It completely undermines the whole idea and is just a way for them to put Elvis, Chuck Berry, Robert Johnson on there.

If that is the case, why isn't Beatles #1 or Hot Rocks in the top 2?

Dumb list by a tired magazine. I'm only buying it for the SACD bonus.

Doug

I think I would have swapped Nebraska and Born to Run, but that's just me......

I wonder how the actual sampling of the 273 participants was conducted... that's enough statically but the sampling method can make a big difference.

What in gods name? Why are there 42 albums before "The Dark Side of the Moon?"

Look who is in front of them!!!

Terrible a$$ list......for TDSOTM they said total album sales is 6.3 million....

try close to 60 million since 1973, RS Magazine

I agree with Jack that Revolver is the the musically superior album to Pepper, but in measuring impact, the Sarge is still #1.

Yeah, I personally favor both Revolver & Abbey Road over Sgt. Pepper, but that's me.

The list has a lot of problems, yes, there is some 60s skew, but there is a big disregard of music forms that transformed a lot of genres.

"Legend" (Bob Marley) should be higher; this album is the root of much of the modern rock/soul/rap market, and deserves to be recognized as such. "Legend" brought Reggae to the mainstream, and paved a pathway for numerous artists behind it.

I don't understand "Plastic Ono Band" being so high; and there are some names totally absent from the list that could be; Some so low it makes me wonder where they were.. Paul Simon's "Graceland" at 81? Please.

I think you do one of these list where you say "greatest albums" and you are missing a lot of points; I could easily argue that one of the greatest albums I've ever listened to was Opera, and yet, it has no chance on this list Since they include Rockability, Punk, some Metal, Alternative, and Rap, you see that they are -trying- to be all inclusive, but those kind of comparisons are worthless.

If you want an all around "greatest albums of all time" I would easily argue that the greatest "Album" of all time was _Bassie Swings_ which was one of the first nation wide presses of an album anywhere and encouraged people to buy record players.

They would have been better to break this up: 100 Greatest Rock/ 100 Greatest Rap / 100 Greatest Alternative

The problem with the list is that it is one kind of listening style, and therefore you get one kind of results.

Colin Jacobson:

That figure is from one of the most reliable sources in the world. It is extremely close to 60 million copies sold world-wide; I know an older couple who is about 60 years old who has had a 30 year relationship with one of the band members (can't say which one).

That number is 100% accurate....

I had a subscription to RS in the 70's and they sure as hell recommended different music back then.

Conspicuously missing from the list, or I didn't notice them:

Free & Bad Company
Savoy Brown
Johnny & Edgar Winter
Spirit
Isley Brothers
Iron Butterfly
Peter Frampton
Livingston Taylor
Leon Russell...think about how many folks cover his songs!!! If he wasn't an influential musican, who was?!?
Al Kooper or Blood, Sweat & Tears
E.L.O.
New Riders Of The Purple Sage
Poco
Buffalo Springfield
Yes
Box Of Frogs
Boz Scaggs
Steve Miller
UFO
Wishbone Ash
John Cougar Mellancamp
Roy Wood
Foghat
Seatrain
Blues Project
Electric Flag
Red, White & Bluegrass
Area Code 615
Barefoot Jerry
Dwight Yoakam
Taj Mahal
Marc Benno
Gary Wright
Janis Joplin & Big Brother and the Holding Company
Marrianne Faithful
B.A.D.
Marshal Tucker Band
Duran Duran
Robert Palmer & Power Station
Gap Band
Marshall Creenshaw
Dixie Dregs
Dave Mason (how can ALONE TOGETHER not be on the list?)
Traffic
Donovan
...the ORIGINAL Fleetwood Mac and how 'bout the magnificent album they made with Otis Spann just prior to his death...?

My list is the kind of stuff they used to recommend. The current list is nothing but an industry mouthpiece, the titles that the big five most want you to buy.