Entertainment Weekly‘s 100 Greatest Albums Ever
Here we are, end of June 2013, as appropriate a time as any to take stock of the entire history of popular music. Well not us, but Entertainment Weekly, who just published a double issue with “100 Best” lists of just about every artistic medium known to man. We’re just here to pick apart their choices! Naturally any list of the 100 Greatest Albums Ever is going to have one of maybe three possible Beatles albums in the top spot (unless it’s NME doing the list-making, in which case it’s either the first Stone Roses record or the first Oasis record); also to be expected in the top 10 are Pet Sounds and Nevermind and London Calling and Thriller and My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy … sorry, come again? FIFTY ONE spots higher than Master Of Puppets? SEVENTY ONE spots higher than Zep 4? EW, why you gotta be such trolls? Also, where the heck is [insert OOP black metal obscurity that maybe 2,000 people have ever heard]? Check the list for yourself below; find reasons to feel outraged, reasons to feel vindicated; share those feelings in the comments.
Entertainment Weekly’s 100 Greatest Albums Ever
100. Ramones, Ramones
99. Erykah Badu, Mama’s Gun
98. Queens of the Stone Age, Songs for the Deaf
97. Dusty Springfield, Dusty in Memphis
96. Dixie Chicks, Home
95. Various Artists, Saturday Night Fever
94. Beyonce, B’Day
93. N.W.A. Straight Outta Compton
92. Elliott Smith, Either/Or
91. Sly and the Family Stone, There’s a Riot Goin’ On
90. The White Stripes, White Blood Cells
89. Sleater-Kinney, Dig Me Out
88. New Order, Power, Corruption and Lies
87. Dolly Parton, Coat of Many Colors
86. PJ Harvey, Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea
85. Tom Waits, Rain Dogs
84. Patti Smith, Horses
83. James Brown, In the Jungle Groove [anthology]
82. Pavement, Slanted and Enchanted
81. Pixies, Doolittle
80. Elton John, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
79. Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin IV
78. Bjork, Post
77. My Bloody Valentine, Loveless
76. Talking Heads, Remain in Light
75. Elvis Costello, My Aim is True
74. Amy Winehouse, Back to Black
73. Various Artists,The Harder They Come
72. Beastie Boys, Paul’s Boutique
71. The Kinks, The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society
70. Iggy and the Stooges, Raw Power
69. Sonic Youth, Daydream Nation
68. Public Enemy, It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back
67. Neil Young, After the Gold Rush
66. Hole, Live Through This
65. Love, Forever Changes
64. Nine Inch Nails, The Downward Spiral
63. Television, Marquee Moon
62. The Replacements, Let It Be
61. De La Soul, 3 Feet High and Rising
60. Beck, Odelay
59. Metallica, Master of Puppets
58. Dr. Dre, The Chronic
57. Alicia Keys, Songs in A Minor
56. Arcade Fire, Funeral
55. Nas, Illmatic
54. R.E.M., Lifes Rich Pageant
53. The Flaming Lips, The Soft Bulletin
52. A Tribe Called Quest, The Low End Theory
51. Chuck Berry, The Great Twenty-Eight [anthology]
50. The Smiths, The Queen is Dead
49. LCD Soundsystem, Sound of Silver
48. Outkast, Stankonia
47. The Cure, Disintegration
46. The Beatles, Rubber Soul
45. Radiohead, OK Computer
44. Michael Jackson, Off the Wall
43. Madonna, Madonna
42. AC/DC, Back in Black
41. Eminem, The Marshall Mathers LP
40. John Lennon, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band
39. The Who, Who’s Next
38. The Velvet Underground, The Velvet Underground & Nico
37. Pink Floyd, The Dark Side of the Moon
36. Jay-Z, The Blueprint
35. The Rolling Stones, Some Girls
34. David Bowie, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
33. Wu-Tang Clan, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)
32. Guns N’ Roses, Appetite for Destruction
31. The Notorious B.I.G., Ready to Die
30. Otis Redding, Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul
29. Fleetwood Mac, Rumours
28. Lauryn Hill, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
27. Bob Dylan, Highway 61 Revisited
26. Jimi Hendrix Experience, Are You Experienced
25. Bob Marley and the Wailers, Catch a Fire
24. Daft Punk, Discovery
23. U2, Achtung Baby
22. The Beatles, Abbey Road
21. Stevie Wonder, Innervisions
20. The Rolling Stones, Beggars Banquet
19. Al Green, Call Me
18. Paul Simon, Graceland
17. Adele, 21
16. Elvis Presley, Sunrise [anthology]
15. Bruce Springsteen, Born to Run
14. Johnny Cash, At Folsom Prison
13. Marvin Gaye, What’s Going On
12. The Beatles, The White Album
11. Joni Mitchell, Blue
10. Nirvana, Nevermind
9. The Beach Boys, Pet Sounds
8. Kanye West, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
7. Aretha Franklin, Lady Soul
6. Bob Dylan, Blood on the Tracks
5. The Clash, London Calling
4. Michael Jackson, Thriller
3. The Rolling Stones, Exile on Main Street
2. Prince, Purple Rain
1. The Beatles, Revolver