50. The Black Keys - Attack & Release
49. Todd Rundgren - Arena
48. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - "Dig Lazarus, Dig!!"
47. Thunder - Bang!
46. Tesla - Forever More
45. Viking Skull - Doom, Gloom, Heartache & Whiskey
44. The Jim Jones Revue - s/t
43. Girlschool - Legacy
42. Stonerider - Three Legs Of Trouble
41. Black Tide - Light From Above
40. Diagonal - s/t
39. Dirty Penny - Take It Sleezy
38. Glenn Hughes - First Underground Nuclear Kitchen
37. Bob Dylan - Tell Tale Signs
36. Graveyard - s/t
35. Lethargy - Purification
34. Testament - The Formation Of Damnation
33. Blood Ceremony - s/t
32. The Mars Volta - The Bedlam In Goliath
31. The Hold Steady - Stay Positive
30. Kings Of Leon - 0nly By The Night
29. Rose Kemp - Unholy Majesty
28. The Clash - Live At Shea Stadium
27. Joe Bonamassa - Live From Nowhere In Particular
26. Endeverafter - Kiss Or Kill
25. Uriah Heep - Wake The Sleeper
24. Rose Hill Drive - Moon Is The New Earth
23. Drive-By Truckers - Brighter Than Creation's Dark
22. Queen & Paul Rogers - The Cosmos Rocks
21. Thin Lizzy - UK Tour 1975
20. Judas Priest - Nostradamus
19. Marillion - Happiness Is The Road
18. Pride Tiger - The Lucky Ones
17. Alice Cooper - Along Came A Spider
16. Motorhead - Motorizer
15. Black Crowes - Warpaint
14. Stone Gods - Silver Spoons & Broken Bones
13. The Gaslight Anthem - The '59 Sound
12. The Raconteurs - Consolers Of The Lonely
11. Opeth - Watershed
10. Motley Crue - Saints Of Los Angeles
9. Journey - Revelation
8. Big Linda - I Loved You
7. Whitesnake - Good To Be Bad
6. Def Leppard - Songs From The Sparkle Lounge
5. Airbourne - Runnin' Wild
4. Black Stone Cherry - Folklore & Superstition
3. Guns N' Roses - Chinese Democracy
2. Metallica - Death Magnetic
1. AC/DC - Black Ice

That Metallica one is showing up on more than I expected. I might have to check it out.

AC/DC released an album this year?

Death Magnetic is Metallica's attempt to sound like they did in the 80s, with partial success. Just the mere fact that they actually have guitar solos makes it their best release in 17 years.

Is that list from this year or from 1978?

That top ten is absolutely hilarious. Def Leppard, Motley Crue and Whitesnake? It's a who's who of '80s hair metal.

I expected nothing different from a magazine called Classic Rock.

What makes me sad is that The Hold Steady and Nick Cave are on the list. I would have felt better if they'd just ignored them instead of saying Uriah Heep put out a better album this year.

that's what we call difference and plurality
Not that I back this (although the ACDC album is ok and the Metallica very good)....
Do you think it is normal that every list has the same groups (Hold Steady, Nick Cave et al, although I love both of these albums), given the huge number of releases in one year ?
I'm just asking
I think (like every other year) that critics are only interested in critics rock and ignore a large part of the musical producton (world music, jazz, metal, rap, "classic rock", country, folk, blues).

again, agreed. nic, it's good having you around.

I'm actually more interested in checking out that Uriah Heep album, than the Hold Steady album.

You're right nicolas. I think this list is sorta amusing in how expected it is from such a magazine, but I'm also glad. Better than seeing every list containing the same acclaimed music.

It's the only EOY list that mention the overlooked last Todd Rundgren record "Arena" which is an excellent rock album.

I also am glad to see an album list that looks outside the usual list of "20 popular alternative rock albums, 10 'college rock/indie' albums, 10 pop albums, 5 best-selling rap albums (so it doesn't look too 'white') and 5 'weird' picks (just to show we aren't conformist).

I'm not saying I'll rush right out and pick up that Def Leppard album...but I won't discount it before having heard it either.