On The Beach was my top Neil Young album, but Tonight's the Night is a beast as well. Those two are head and shoulders above Harvest and quite a bit better than After the Gold Rush.

I'd bet you'd dislike Harvest. It's a great album, though. Superb songs and arrangements. But way uncool for 21st centrury hipsters. Not dark enough ? Dad's music ? Lol

There were 6 NY albums in my top 200

1. After The Goldrush
2. Harvest
3. Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
4. Zuma
5. Tonight's The Night
6. Rust Never Sleeps

On the Beach has a cool cover, but it's a minor album IMO. On The Beach is a lesser known album so it's cool to say you like it ?
I'm kidding guys.

PS : I could have put Tonight's The Night above Zuma (they were #111 and #115).

On The Beach is my favorite Neil Young, followed by Tonight's The Night. After The Gold Rush is pretty close to those two, though.

It's not that I dislike Harvest, so much as whereas all of Young's other critically acclaimed albums really stand out, Harvest is just kind of good craftsmanship with riskless songwriting. Hey, kind of like... (Not going there)

But no, I like Harvest. I'd put it in my top 1000. It's somewhere below Freedom and Ragged Glory, and just higher than his album from last year.

The only reason On The Beach isn't as acclaimed as other Neil Young albums is that it took the longest to be released on CD, which it did because Neil Young vetoed the CD release until he was happy with the mix.

Hrm, speaking of which, On The Beach is either outside the top 500 or in the top 200. It can't have gotten less than five votes, could it? I think I put it in my top 20.

My Top 5 Young albums:
1. After the Gold Rush
2. Rust Never Sleeps
3. Tonight's the Night
4. Harvest
5. Comes a Time (an underated gem in my opinion that also can be filed under the "kind of good craftsmanship with riskless songwriting" section)

Only the first three are in my Top 200 but I've included instead 2 other albums with strong Young involvement: "Déjà vu" (even more uncool than "Harvest") and "Buffalo Springfield Again"

Tu quoque mi fili...
Craftmanship, riskless songwriting ? I don't get taht (though i see what you mean) But country music and blues are craftmanship, noble popular craftmanship, when people didn' care if they were taking risks or not. What a strange notion in popular music...
Harvest is a fantastic country album.
I've just heard some songs from On The Beach. Fucking great songs there too. "Turnstiles", "See The Sky...". I'll have to hear it again.
I love depressed Neil Young too, but I was first introduced to Goldrush and Harvest in the late eighties and it was such a shock, a positive shock to hear this in 1988 during the worst era of music
What I love in NY (and Wilco too) is that they can make simple, "riskless" (lol) albums AND darker, less accessible stuff, but they don't make any differnece or hierarchy between them.

To me it's not all about "risk". Harvest is spotty. I love certain songs on the album, but I don't think it is very coherent.

In the case of Sky Blue Sky, I just think it's one of Tweedy's poorest songwriting showings, with one or two great songs, a couple of half good ones, and a bunch of stinkers.

For the record, I love The Band, I love Gram Parsons, I love The Grateful Dead's early 70s albums, I love After the Gold Rush, I love Nick Drake, I love the Fairport Convention. The fact that I don't like certain "pure" albums, doesn't mean I hate it all.

I'm a bit harsh on you guys because I remember this argument "Harvest vs. the rest of Neil Young" was still raging 25 years ago in musical mags. And I was already very upset because i really love that record : "Out On The Weekend", "Old Man", "Harvest", "Alabama", "THe Needle", Man Needs A Maid" . All classics. Fantastic songs

Time to start the top 200!

"I wish that I believed in fate"





[200] The National | Alligator | 2005

Points: 830 | Votes: 9 | AM Rank: 584
Biggest Fan:: Penguin (11)



"I'm running towards nothing again"





[199] The Cure | Seventeen Seconds | 1980

Points: 831 | Votes: 7 | AM Rank: 588 | 2009 Poll Rank: 191
Biggest Fan:: Henrik, Marc, Michel (7)



"If only I could
I'd make a deal with God"




[198] Kate Bush | Hounds of Love | 1985

Points: 835 | Votes: 9 | AM Rank: 186
Biggest Fan:: Tim E (7)



"They seek the truth before they can die"




[197] Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young | Deja Vu | 1970

Points: 845 | Votes: 10 | AM Rank: 160
Biggest Fan:: Honorio (28)



"I was dreaming when I wrote this
So sue me if I go too fast"




[196] Prince and The Revolution | 1999 | 1982

Points: 849 | Votes: 9 | AM Rank: 201 | 2009 Poll Rank: 143
Biggest Fan:: Moonbeam: 1



"Who said I lied to her?"





[195] The Smiths | Strangeways, Here We Come | 1987

Points: 851 | Votes: 10 | AM Rank: 599
Biggest Fan:: Dr. Robert (30)



"The rivers of our vision flow into one another"





[194] The Byrds | The Notorious Byrd Brothers | 1968

Points: 855 | Votes: 10 | AM Rank: 242 |
Biggest Fan:: Miguel (15)



"I saw her on the cover of a magazine"




[193] Kraftwerk | Die Mensch Maschine | 1978

Points: 860 | Votes: 8 | AM Rank: 262
Biggest Fan:: Kingoftonga (23)



"Maybe then I'll fade away
And not have to face the facts"




[192] The Rolling Stones | Aftermath | 1966

Points: 865 | Votes: 10 | AM Rank: 125
Biggest Fan:: Halley P (9)



"She's moving up slowly
Inertia creeps"




[191] Massive Attack | Mezzanine | 1998

Points: 867 | Votes: 11 | AM Rank: 351
Biggest Fan:: Gillingham (5)

Superb presentation "update"!

"Mezzanine" above "Blue Lines"? Food for discussion stuff!

I wish "1999" was a little higher but OK.

Simply a case of gaining confidence and becoming more consistent. The kind of thing that comes with age.

I don't know, both albums seem equally consistent to me (if there's such a thing like counting that factor in numbers). I think it's because the sound of "Mezzanine" is obviously darker and riskier, more experimental though experienced, the kind of sound that gets more love and appreciation for being "mature".

If you ask me it's a strong album but I still prefer "Blue Lines" (all that discussion makes me seem a huge Massive Attack fan though I'm not ).

Many of my favorite in the last 2 sections : Tonight's The Night, Bone Machine (what a fascinating record!), Ys (my #201), The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle, Layla...
Surprised to see Houses of The Holy so high. Not pleasantly so I mean.

In the top 200 : Very happy to see "17 Seconds", my favorite Cure record (very exotic), Déjà Vu and The Notorious Byrd Bros, 2 folk rock gems.

I'd like to hear why people voted for Deja Vu. I'm definitely not as folk-leaning as the board consensus, but I listened to a couple of songs and just couldn't stand this album. Seems like a you-had-to-be-there kind of thing to me. Never understood all the CSNY hype.

Not a surprise to hear you come out against Deja Vu. As I recall, you're not a big fan of Bridge Over Troubled Water either. If you weren't paying attention to the performances at Woodstock (where CS&N provided almost flawless harmonies) then indeed you may not have had the appropriate opportunity to appreciate CS&N in all their glory. If you haven't heard CS&N on the Woodstock album, I highly recommend that you do so. Is there any other incarnation of C, S or N that you care for? If not, then you may not want to bother listening to music that just isn't in your wheelhouse.

Deja Vu provides unvarnished classics in terms vocal delivery, composition, heart-felt sincerity and fun. Deja Vu was bit more pop than CS&N's debut album and had the benefit of Mr. Young's contributions.

The high-pitched vocals of Graham Nash may be an acquired taste; but he does seem to hit the notes better than most pop singers. Stills seemed to be more dominant on the debut album, while the artists contributions to Deja Vu appear to be a bit more balanced. So, if one were a Stills fan (I don't see this as describing Jackson ), I could see why one might find Deja Vu a bit disappointing in comparison to the debut album.

Some of the highlights of Deja Vu include:

Teach Your Children, Woodstock, and Our House. The first and third are clearly not rockers.

Other songs on the album that I thoroughly enjoy include: Carry On, Almost Cut My Hair, Helpless.

This is a so true.

Let's move on.



"There's many lost, but tell me who has won?"




[190] U2 | War | 1983

Points: 868 | Votes: 11 | AM Rank: 298
Biggest Fan:: Daniel (13)




"Nothing's gonna change my world"




[189] The Beatles | Let It Be | 1970

Points: 874 | Votes: 10 | AM Rank: 615
Biggest Fan:: Stone (21)



"Hello, is there anybody in there?"





[188] Pink Floyd | The Wall | 1979

Points: 875 | Votes: 11 | AM Rank: 138 | 2009 Poll Rank: 131
Biggest Fan:: Daniel (12)



"Once I had a love and it was divine"




[187] Blondie | Parallel Lines | 1978

Points: 875 | Votes: 12 | AM Rank: 121 | 2009 Poll Rank: 188
Biggest Fan:: Harold Wexler (28)



"Words are meaningless"




[186] Depeche Mode | Violator | 1990

Points: 892 | Votes: 9 | AM Rank: 459
Biggest Fan:: Slick (15)



"The child is the father of the man"




[185] The Beach Boys | Surf's Up | 1971

Points: 894 | Votes: 9 | AM Rank: 558 | 2009 Poll Rank: 192
Biggest Fan:: Miguel (1)



"How much fun it's been"





[184] The United States of America | The United States of America | 1968

Points: 902 | Votes: 8 | AM Rank: 837
Biggest Fan:: nj (3)



"I'm getting out of darkness
My light shines on"





[183] Primal Scream | Screamadelica | 1991

Points: 905 | Votes: 9 | AM Rank: 85 | 2009 Poll Rank: 136
Biggest Fan:: ParticleAnalyst (20)



"I still owe money to the money I owe"




[182] The National | High Violet | 2010

Points: 905 | Votes: 11 | AM Rank:
Biggest Fan:: Antonius (10)



"I was in another world"




[181] The Avalanches | Since I Left You | 2000

Points: 908 | Votes: 9 | AM Rank: 362
Biggest Fan:: Midaso 18



The United States of America placing top 200 is probably the biggest surprise of the poll. That record's grown on me a ton over the last month.

Same here - the more I listen to it, the more I love it. It's great to see it getting recognized.

A small correction - the line from "Bloodbuzz Ohio" is actually "I still owe money to the money to the money I owe." It's that extra layer that's the killer.

How the hell did Let It Be beat it's AM Ranking by over 400 places? To my ears,it's the worst thing they recorded. I remember reading a album review book one time that gave it one star out of five

Yellow Submarine and Please Please Me are worse than Let it Be, but either way, 99 percent of bands would kill to have these 3 albums as their worst. I've never understood the disdain for Let it Be especially since Abbey Road is so highly regarded. It's not as good as Abbey Road but it's a similar album with great tracks. If you don't like the production, listen to Let it Be Naked. Any Beatles fan should like one or the other- I prefer the Spector version.

In my view, Let It Be is very inconsistent. At it's best (Let It Be, Long and Winding Road, Get Back) it provides songs that exhilirate just like almost any Beatle's album (for most of us not named Moonbeam that is). There are some other very solid tracks including: Don't Let Me Down, I've Got a Feeling, and Two of Us. But, some of the other tracks don't move me or provide me with all that much enjoyment. I don't remember the naked versions of these songs being any better than Spector versions.

"Surf's Up" album cover really caught my eye. I'll admit, I've never listened to any of The Beach Boys discography beyond "Pet Sounds". I might give it a spin

I'm so glad "Since I Left You" made the top 200! What a terribly underrated album. The whole thing sounds like a sun kissed kaleidoscopic wonderland, not to mention its incredibly danceable tracks. Definitely a top 40 album of all time for me.

And "Summerteeth" hasn't even appeared yet! I'm crossing my fingers for a top 100 placement, but that's pretty much wishful thinking.

Same for me ! Though given its rank here, in some prestigious lists and in AM, I would say that "terribly underrated" is exagerated.

I'm glad to see Kraftwerk doing a bit better than usual, I'm really digging their music right now (had I made my list a bit later, It would have included Computer World and maybe the Man Machine or Radioactivity)

And High Violet higher than Alligator does not seem right to me (not that I really care, but I found High Violet very disappointing after 2 very good albums).

I'm in the same boat.

I totally second John's post on Let it be and am happy it found its plave in the top 200

And I really prefer Physical Graffiti's spontaneity to House of the Holy's inflated prog pretention (not to mention the pedophile cover art Promised, it's the last time I bash an album but no one did it in my place...

The proximity of the 60s poll left its trace here with forgotten albums like USAOA or Begin.

@BillAdama : blues, a club genre ? Well if you think of SR Vaughan or Duke Robillard, maybe so but blues to me is more Robert J, Skip J or Muddy W, so it's a lil bit more than that, just the father of rock. And a very risky business too, ask Robert J

Not only was "Let it Be" the Beatles worst album in at least 6 years ("Yellow Submarine" isn't an album), it wasn't produce by George Martin, it was done by the Phil Spector!

= best producer of all time? Yes, he's clearly not a nice man, but do try to separate man from music.

or Elisabeth S

"I am in paradise"




[180] The Kinks | Something Else by the Kinks | 1967

Points: 909 | Votes: 14 | AM Rank: 300 | 2009 Poll Rank: 156
Biggest Fan:: Marc (61)



"I'll take you down the only road I've ever been down"





[179] The Verve | Urban Hymns | 1997
Points: 910 | Votes: 12 | AM Rank: 238
Biggest Fan:: Stephan (45)




"They will take me away"





[178] Portishead | Third | 2008

Points: 911 | Votes: 12 | AM Rank: 279
Biggest Fan:: Pauldrach (13)




"I didn't mean to hurt you
I'm just a jealous guy"





[177] John Lennon | Imagine | 1971

Points: 912 | Votes: 12 | AM Rank: 93
Biggest Fan:: Daniel (5)




"Do you know what you're fighting for?"




[176] Janelle Monae | The ArchAndroid | 2010

Points: 923 | Votes: 11 | AM Rank:
Biggest Fan:: Toni (40)




"It takes courage to enjoy it"





[175] Björk | Debut | 1993

Points: 934 | Votes: 10 | AM Rank: 139 | 2009 Poll Rank: 151
Biggest Fan:: Honorio (16)




"I am a traveler of both time and space"




[174] Led Zeppelin | Physical Graffiti | 1975

Points: 935 | Votes: 13 | AM Rank: 98 | 2009 Poll Rank: 132
Biggest Fan:: Brad (28)




"It's just a dream he keeps having
And it doesn't seem to mean anything"





[173] Wilco | Summerteeth | 1999

Points: 939 | Votes: 10 | AM Rank: 611
Biggest Fan:: Jonathan (10)




"Tu t'appelles comment?"





[172] Serge Gainsbourg | Histoire de Melody Nelson | 1971

Points: 939 | Votes: 12 | AM Rank: 330
Biggest Fan:: Sonofsamiam, Nicolas (45)





"Music's got me feeling so free"





[171] Daft Punk | Discovery | 2001

Points: 940 | Votes: 10 | AM Rank: 312 | 2009 Poll Rank: 153
Biggest Fan:: Schwah (9)


Debut has been my favorite discovery of the poll. For some reason, I had thought I disliked Bjork before, but clearly that was a mistake.

So much to respond to:

1) Love the presentation, Jackson.

2) I always find it curious when Debut is placed above other Bjork albums. I happen to think Vespertine is Bjork's worst album (have yet to hear Biophilia), but it was a risky album and I know many of you consider it her masterpiece. Debut is catchy and clubby, but doesn't dig as deep emotionally as her other albums. Homogenic is likely to come up later as her top album, though, if the 2009 poll is any guide.

3) Houses of the Holy is a recent rediscovery, and a new entry on my list. I probably placed it too high at 67, but I have been replaying it a ton, because it's so much fun. It's hard to find music that my whole family can get into when it's playing around the house, and Houses of the Holy would up fitting the bill surprisingly well. It's super-tuneful hard rock.

4) Deja Vu is another climber for me (sitting at 61). I've been trying for a while to figure out how to state why the harmonies of the Beach Boys fail to move me, but those of the Band, CSNY, and even the Grateful Dead do. There is possibly a greater messiness, less blend in vocals of the latter bands. (Although maybe the problem with Beach Boys is how nasally their blend can be.) But there is also a greater directness. On most of the songs on Deja Vu, the harmonic vocals are not mere sonic wallpaper. They are strong, forceful, and out-front. The vocals thrill rather than soothe. (Well, maybe not so on "Our House.")

5) Nassim, it's funny because for me I wasn't buying into the National until High Violet, then it clicked for me. I've come around on Alligator since then, but High Violet is the one that wormed it's way into my heart.

6) I didn't place it on my list, but Let It Be is not a bad Beatles album. Leaving off the title track and the tracks that Spector most messed with, it's a quirky and kind of peculiar album and I enjoy that. As for Imagine, I refuse to apologize for liking that album. The title track is problematic, but John's songwriting on the album otherwise stands up with his best Beatles work.

Hey guys you were really busy while I was sleeping. Time to do some catch up...

Love the presentation, Jackson, especially the lyric quotes (fantastic the one from Debut: "It takes courage to enjoy it", it was from "Big Time Sensuality", isn't it?)

Of course I was joking, nicolas. I agree with you that the line between craft and genius is thin and somtimes blurred. And it's really difficult to write an original song in styles so consolidated as country and blues, contributing with something new without losing the essence of the style. Just like Clint Eastwood movies like “Unforgiven”, innovating inside the genre films. And don't forget that indie and electronica are built around musical patterns and conventions just like roots music.
And one more thing, I absolutely reject the notion that depressive-sounding music is more risky that happy-sounding music, innovation and risk got nothing to do with happiness, that after all it's something some of us spend our life looking for it. Like Vinícius de Moraes said (and sang): Sadness has no end / Happiness does.


I agree with you, Dan M, "Mezzanine" is more consistent and coherent. But maybe some of us prefer the variety when it comes to listen to an album, I love those albums when the artists strength themselves and discover the endless posibilities out there, that’s why albums like “White Album”, “London Calling” or “Blonde on Blonde” are in my Top 5. Maybe it’s not the case with “Blue Lines” but you can find there dub, house, hip-hop, deep reggae, soul, all the roots that created a whole new style that (yes, maybe) crystallized in "Mezzanine".


Henry, nicolas and Schwah explained so perfectly that, even as the fan #1 of this album, the only thing I can do is quote them: ”Déjà Vu provides unvarnished classics in terms vocal delivery, composition, heart-felt sincerity and fun” (Henry), “Sums up 1970 with all its good sides and excesses“ (nicolas), “On most of the songs on Deja Vu, the harmonic vocals are not mere sonic wallpaper. They are strong, forceful, and out-front. The vocals thrill rather than soothe” (Schwah). I'll just add, at the risk of sounding "too bland, too soft" that I particularly like "Our House", many love songs talk about love that begins or love that ends, not that many about that situation in the middle that some of us hope to last forever. But that was not the case with Graham Nash and Joni Mitchell.


Well, the three albums are in my Top 200. But I placed “Debut” higher for personal reasons, it was (quoting myself) "the very first electronica album that I really loved, cause it supposed a brand new use of the voice in a predominantly instrumental style or dominated by soul divas. And the voice of Björk is possibly the most unique in pop history, balancing perfectly the confidence and the vulnerability, the virtuosity and the spontaneity, the craft and the extravagance".

I’ve talked too much (again).

The White Album and Blonde on Blonde are my favourite Beatles and Bob Dylan albums too (#1 and #4 on my list respectively) and I love them for the same reason as you: because they are albums by ridiculously talented musicians who challenge themselves and successfully incorporate a great variety of genres into their music. One of the things I look forward to most about these poll results is to see which Beatles and Dylan album will end up on top.



Nice to see Hounds of Love finally cracking our top 200. It's British eccentricity in the best possible way. I look at the Lady Gagas of present-day music and wish there was a female artist as genuinely unconventional as Kate Bush was in the 80s with utterly original music to go with it. I guess the same could be said of Björk from the 90s onwards, or PJ Harvey to a certain extent, but they've always been popular in the forum.

I think Hounds of Love was in my top 20 it's an influential and artistic achievement. I'm not sure if it's true nowadays, but I think Kate Bush never really got enough recognition in the US. Perhaps it's my "englishness" coming through, but I firmly believe Hounds of Love and Aerial (Disk 2: A Sky of Honey) are masterpieces - I'm not a fan of Aerial (Disk 1: A Sea of Honey).

I think one of the albums which would have easily made my list (had I listened to it beforehand) was Steely Dan's - Aja. I just love this album so sooo much. Thanks Henrik by the way!

I'm pretty sure Blonde on Blonde will beat the White Album, as the Beatles suffer from vote splitting. Everyone loves different Beatles albums, whereas Bob's best album really falls under either Blonde or Highway 61. Only Beatles album that can really beat Blonde on Blonde imo is Revolver.

The White Album beat Blonde and Blonde and Revolver in the decade poll in June, so I wouldn't underestimate it.

The thing about Arcade Fire is that they have a larger audience than any other band on the board in the last twenty years. People who have heard fewer albums have all heard Funeral, Neon Bible, and The Suburbs, so the deck is stacked in their favor over other current bands.

@Nicolas

It's not about separation of genre, it's about what is extraordinary about the individual. I'd rather listen to a record that is majorly flawed but does one thing extraordinarily well than one that just does everything pretty good. Neil Young's 'extraordinary thing' is his emotion and personality, of which Harvest lacks compared to his other acclaimed albums. Which, I would add, is the same argument I would make in the Wilco debate.

Which is interesting, since Wilco, Interpol, Modest Mouse, and The Flaming Lips have all had levels of commercial success equal to Arcade Fire, and The Strokes and White Stripes have far exceeded them commercially.

I love The Arcade Fire, but I never saw them as "That" band. I got my hands on Funeral in the fall of 2004, and thought it was a great little indie rock record; about as important as The Shins' Chutes Too Narrow, or Broken Social Scene's You Forgot it in People. I didn't think it was a masterpiece, or a game changer.

Then I started to hear the ridiculous hyperbole being thrown around "The best album since OK Computer", "the greatest band since The Talking Heads stopped making sense", "The best debut since The Clash's first album". And it really turned me off to the band for a while.

It took me several years to accept that Funeral has that status, warranted or not. I feel a gross tickle in my throat when I think about it being ranked above every single album by artists as important as Stevie Wonder, Neil Young, Talking Heads, R.E.M., and Sonic Youth. It's great, but not THAT great imo.

Hey Jackson,

thanks once again for the presentation!

All these discussions about albums being positioned too high, or too low ... who cares? The resulting list just reflects our very own favourite lists, so it can only be great ... right?

Talking about great lists ... my favourite album lists are now also available on RYM:

all-time
per decade
per year

Similar list for songs and artists are in the making ...

Am I the only one who can't make Rate Your Music lists because I get very irritated if the covers look ugly next to each other?

I hate to be the one to say it, but what about Radiohead (or Nirvana for that matter)?

[170] Sigur Rós | Agaetis Byrjun | 1999

Points: 950 | Votes: 11 | AM Rank: 232 | 2009 Poll Rank: 140
Biggest Fan:: ChrisK (18)



"We'll see things they'll never see"




[169] Oasis | Definitely Maybe | 1994

Points: 951 | Votes: 12 | AM Rank: 105 | 2009 Poll Rank: 145
Biggest Fan:: Toni (3)



"Open my hands and let them weave onto yours"




[168] TV on the Radio | Return to Cookie Mountain | 2006

Points: 970 | Votes: 12 | AM Rank: 285 | 2009 Poll Rank: 177
Biggest Fan:: Nassim (33)



"I've seen and done things I want to forget"





[167] PJ Harvey | Let England Shake | 2011

Points: 971 | Votes: 12 | AM Rank: N/A
Biggest Fan:: Halley P (39)



"This world's crazy
Give me the gun"




[166] PJ Harvey | Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea | 2000

Points: 978 | Votes: 13 | AM Rank: 276 | 2009 Poll Rank: 193
Biggest Fan:: Stephen (18)



"I'm trying to turn a trick"





[165] Ramones | Ramones | 1976

Points: 979 | Votes: 13 | AM Rank: 37 | 2009 Poll Rank: 112
Biggest Fan:: Evan (22)



"Listening to you, I get the music"




[164] The Who | Tommy | 1969

Points: 986 | Votes: 10 | AM Rank: 113 | | 2009 Poll Rank: 162
Biggest Fan:: Stephan (14)



"In the days of my youth
I was told what it means to be a man"





[163] Led Zeppelin | Led Zeppelin | 1969

Points: 988 | Votes: 10 | AM Rank: 108 | 2009 Poll Rank: 157
Biggest Fan:: Slick (26)



"Confusion will be my epitaph"




[162] King Crimson | In the Court of the Crimson King | 1969
Points: 992 | Votes: 10 | AM Rank: 131
Biggest Fan:: Petri (19)



"It's better to burn out than to fade away"




[161] Neil Young | Rust Never Sleeps | 1979

Points: 1003 | Votes: 12 | AM Rank: 133 | 2009 Poll Rank: 97
Biggest Fan:: Kingoftonga (8)

I'm surprised I ended up as the Ramones' "biggest fan," but I certainly think it's a great, fun album. I'm glad my vote at least helped keep it in the top 200, as I don't think it would be a proper 200 without the first great punk album. Just a shame The Modern Lovers couldn't reach that threshold as well.

Great discussion, guys! The attention this has received has made the work in compiling it worth it.

Comments on that last section:

Return to Cookie Mountain: I ranked it, but it's dominated to an extent by "Wolf Like Me." Definitely some other standouts on there, but I often find myself skipping straight from "I Was a Lover" to "Wolf Like Me." That song is scary good (pun intended).

Let England Shake: perfectly deserving as the only 2011 album to crack our top 200. I think it will pass "Stories from the City" by the next poll. I need to give that one more listens, but it doesn't have the emotional and creative pull of Let England Shake or TBYML for me.

Ramones: Might be the most fun-to-listen-to album on the list. Used to think it was overrated, but then did a total 180.

In the Court of the Crimson King: Great placement for it here given that it didn't make T200 last time. If only "Moonchild" was either shorter or replaced with a better song! I will always prefer "Red" though, with its jazz fusion edge and heavy sound.

Rust Never Sleeps: Never listened to this before for whatever reason, but it's really good.

Now addressing some other issues:

Not going to comment on whether this is true, but "the Beatles suffer from vote-splitting" is the funniest comment in the thread. I wish the Kinks and Brian Eno suffered from that same "vote-splitting" problem that allows them to put multiple songs and albums in the top 20 of every poll we've ever done.




Also, I bet a lot of people will be disenchanted by where The Suburbs places. It's kind of embarrassing, really.



Whoever hasn't heard Surf's Up needs to ASAP. If you don't enjoy the first half, stick around for side 2, which is the best thing the Beach Boys ever did.


The Kinks' Arthur (along with a few other REALLY good albums) placed just outside the top 500. I just don't understand. Vital songwriting, fantastic instrumentation, standout songs, catchy songs...what's not to like for all of the 60s-70s rock fans on here?

I'm glad to see Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea do so well and beat Let England Shake. Also happy to see Ramones not completely fall off the map. They join Roxy Music, Kraftwerk, Siouxsie and the Banshees and Eurythmics as the most underrated artists by this forum, in my opinion.

A bit late, but this list is making me re-explore the New Order catalog... and it's fantastic; much better than I originally thought.

"Harvest" reminds me of people watching mediocre popcorn fodder flicks while telling me to click my brain out and "just enjoy the ride".. but speaking of pure, mindless fun... still no Mark E Smith album in the t500?

how does that all match up anyway?

Sad, but it's true surely ("suffer" is probably the wrong word)? Most of the time I think to myself "Wow, Sgt Peppers' finished outside of the top 10???", or "Wow, Beatles didn't take all top 3 spots?" like it's some great seismic shock. We throw around a lot of hyperbole regarding the Beatles in this forum, and only a few albums can really penetrate this iron wall of Beatles, like London Calling and OK Computer and Pet Sounds. It's a shame really, but that's the nature of consensus, I guess.


I've been listening to Arthur a lot, because I adored Village Green, tried my best listening to Something Else but found myself always skipping to Afternoon Tea or Waterloo Sunset, and wanted more of a Kinks kick. Arthur truly is brilliant. That middle three of "Australia", "Shangri-La" and "Mr. Churchill Says" is soooooo huge.

Arthur and The Modern Lovers would have made my top 100 if I had submitted just a leeeetle later.


Last thing: I reckon Bruce will do really well in this poll. The Wild had a great finish (low in my estimations of course), and Born in the USA hasn't come yet, which surprises me a little bit. Darkness will (hopefully) top 100, and Born To Run will probably top 20. This is all great news!

Arthur is a pre-mbarrassing.Davies@the70s cheese-fest, but... yes... hilariously so... love it.

Not sure what you mean by this. Davies is still firing on all cylinders here. Maybe "Young and Innocent Days" and "Some Mother's Son" are a bit cheesy, but I still like them. And good god, "Shangri-La' and "Victoria" are incredible.

This Nation's Saving Grace was Mr. Smith's highest entry, placing 996th. We were two thirds of its voting base. But hey, there are some really good albums down there actually.

^Will we get an opportunity to see the spreadsheet after the results are revealed? Thanks for doing this by the way, great presentation so far.

I don't know how to post it directly to the forum, but if not I'll post it to a file-sharing site.

Also, I'll post at least the top 1000 after the list has been unveiled.

Let me echo the thumbs up for Something Else and Arthur. Both are very, very tasty.

The Beatles vote-splitting takes them down from #3 to #4. Neil Young's vote splitting keeps three or four of his albums out of the top 100.

Well yeah, Radiohead has a bigger audience than Arcade Fire here. Nirvana, yeah, but they're on the fringe of 'last 20 years', and get more backlash.

170-161

Sigur Ros missed my list but it was my #248 : great eerie music

You know that La Fontaine's fable about the frog that wants to be as big as a bull ? You know what happens to it ? That's Oasis to me (or i could take nj's comment about "Harvest" and rempace "Harvest" with Oasis)

PJ Harvey : I'm always nagging about not seeing pre-1977 music from a 21st century, indie vs mainstream point of vue. But I'm the first to admit that i do the same in reverse , seeing nowadays music from a 1969 point of view (and I wasn't even born in '69, but the following year). That's probably why I can't appreciate PJ's music, as if i heard it through a glass, darkly (to paraphrase Donna Leon). I like the woman, I find her very sexy (although skinny women are not usually my typ), but her music is too dry for me.

I realize I placed Tommy a little bit too high in my list (#61), above "Who's Next". That is a bit exxaggerated and i almost asked you Jackson to switch those 2 albums, but I didn't want to bother. Anyway that's a great album, full of memories for me. Full of fun indeed. Still about 1969's good sides and excesses too (1969 is my favorite musical year)

Crimson King missed my list too, but I need to get more familiar with this fascinating and unique album.

Rust Never Sleeps was my #140. I'm a Neil fan, especially because he did Harvest AND Rust. If he wanted to make mainstream records, he did without restraint or guilt or anything, and if he wanted to make a punk AND folk album, he did. A free man.

Just realized I spoke about Neil in the past tense. Killing my idols ?

Neil "Forever" Young ...

Another disappointment at "Definitely Maybe"'s low ranking. Beyond most people being pissed off by the Gallaghers' being such knobheads, it seems that their spectacular first two albums have an increasingly decreasing popularity, mainly because of the new meaning "alternative music" gained throughuout the '00s. Despite their career being all downhill after those two years (not so much with "Be Here Now" as with their '00s work which was just a bunch of albums you could listen at 3-4 times, maybe rank one or two among the 30 best of that year they came out but that's just about it), to me those records are undeniable classics with a brilliantly authentic rock sound, very introspective lyrics and overall those albums are much better than others of highly acclaimed artists of today (I won't mention names-let's just say LCD Soundsystem and The Strokes are definitely NOT among them).

Anyway, I quit whining, a very, very interesting list is getting formed.

I'm with you on 1999 being ranked too low, but now on Oasis. In my mind, there isn't a ranking too low for the Gallagher brothers.

"You are a past sinner, the last winner and everything we've come to"






[160] Interpol | Turn On the Bright Lights | 2002

Points: 1005 | Votes: 12 | AM Rank: 259 | 2009 Poll Rank: 125
Biggest Fan:: Octopus (8)



"Today is the greatest day I've ever known"




[159] Smashing Pumpkins | Siamese Dream | 1993
Points: 1006 | Votes: 14 | AM Rank: 150 | 2009 Poll Rank: 158
Biggest Fan:: Chris K (16)



"I'm gonna give you every inch of my love"




[158] Led Zeppelin | Led Zeppelin II | 1969

Points: 1007 | Votes: 12 | AM Rank: 63 | 2009 Poll Rank: 108
Biggest Fan:: Mindrocker (17)



"How does that old song go?"





[157] Mercury Rev | Deserter's Songs | 1998

Points: 1012 | Votes: 12 | AM Rank: 322 | 2009 Poll Rank: 119
Biggest Fan:: Zorg (22)



"Are you taking over or are you taking orders?




[156] The Clash | The Clash | 1977

Points: 1017 | Votes: 12 | AM Rank: 56 | 2009 Poll Rank: 91
Biggest Fan:: ParticleAnalyst (15)



"Where do we go now?




[155] Guns N' Roses | Appetite for Destruction | 1987

Points: 1023 | Votes: 10 | AM Rank: 60 | 2009 Poll Rank: 161
Biggest Fan:: Slick (13)



"It's all a mystery"




[154] The Flaming Lips | Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots | 2002

Points: 1023 | Votes: 11 | AM Rank: 231 | 2009 Poll Rank: 127
Biggest Fan:: Petri (12)



"I'm scared of the middle place between light and nowhere"




[153] Antony and The Johnsons | I Am a Bird Now | 2005

Points: 1034 | Votes: 12 | AM Rank: 218 | 2009 Poll Rank: 128
Biggest Fan:: Dr. Robert (18)



"Your prejudice won't keep you warm tonight"




[152] The Smiths | The Smiths | 1984

Points: 1038 | Votes: 12 | AM Rank: 192 | 2009 Poll Rank: 171
Biggest Fan:: Octopus (4)



"This crazy music drives you insane"




[151] Roxy Music | For Your Pleasure | 1973

Points: 1041 | Votes: 13 | AM Rank: 107
Biggest Fan:: Billadama (28)

150 albums left, and 143 from 2009's top 200 among them. What will be the "other 5" new entries (i.e., the ones that aren't The Suburbs and MBDTF)?

The Age of Adz obviously, no idea for the 4 others

I don't think we've seen Nick Drakes Bryter Layter. I placed it at #45 in my list.

Also Brian Eno's Another Green World is another album which I pushed quite strongly in the polls at #6

MPP will be among the new entries.

Both MPP and Bryter Layter were in the top 200 last time.

I forgot about The Age of Adz, which is more popular here than I thought.

Oh wow it most certainly was, and almost in the top 100 at that. Not sure how I missed it.

Still, I prefer DM and (WTS)MG slightly more than Prince's otherwise superb album.
Damn, they are all three among my Top 100, such comparison between these marvellous albums is somewhat pointless to me so I guess I stop here.

Seems I'm with the minority here believing The Clash's debut album is not only their greatest achievement, but also their most edgy and risky one which also captures with the most accurate way the true essence of the best punk band The Sex Pistols ever inspired and had as a successor. And " White Man In Hammersmith Palais" is still their finest song (yeah, it even surpasses "London Calling" if you ask me, though of course not by far).

Also "Appetite For Destruction" in such a high placement considering the little love in here for the kind of rock Guns N ' Roses represent was some kind of a surprise.

Oh, and Roxy Music are way too high there.

I am always surprised at the lack of affection for some of the albums that I grew to love in my teens. It is especially surprising to see all this lack of affection in view of the high rating of albums such as Big Star #1 Record which had almost no impact on me or any of my friends when it was released in 1972. What is so wonderful about this album compared to Deja Vu or Houses of the Holy? In my view, the Big Star album has three notable songs: September Gurls, In The Street, and Watch the Sunrise. Other decent songs include: The Ballad of El Goodo and Give Me Another Chance. But, none of these songs engage me nearly as much as the best tracks on Deja Vu or Houses of the Holy. Yet it appears that many others prefer Big Star over either of Deja Vu or Houses of the Holy. It's always interesting to determine why there are such preferences. So, please inform me as to why Big Star's album is so well loved.

In my book, Thirteen is the most wonderful love song ever written.

I'm also disappointed by the Replacements falling in the ranking, it is probably my favorite (re)discovery of the past poll.

154-153 looks strangely like the current bottom of my list for the 00s poll final round.

Psychocandy starts with a wonderful song but I still have some issues listening to the remaining of the album.

Some albums here I have never listened because they are from artists whose most acclaimed album (or pair of albums) I don't like much, like Neil Young for instance... might be a mistake though and "Fear of Music" is a good example of why.
I strongly dislike "Remain in Light" whose appeal I can not figure at all so it has taken a long time before I listened to any other album by the Talking Heads, but I have to say "Fear of Music" has lot of great intense moments, while real pleasing melodies and rythms.
I wish the Heads were one of the few artists for who we rank one album above the "critical consensus" one (like Pavement for who we tend to rank Crooked Rain Crooked Rain over Slanted and Enchanted)

Quite the oversight on my part. I think that Thirteen is the best song on the #1 Record Album. I wouldn't rate it nearly as highly as you do. But, it is a very good song.

this list definitely needs more Beatles albums. and nicolas would have Psychocandy in his t20 if it was recorded in 1938.

Henry : I see two reasons for Big Star

1) because it sounds like it could have been recorded in 2011
2) because it was not popular in the 70s, and because everybody knows Led Zep and CSNY but not Big Star. Critics love to praise bands that nobody knows, entertain the image of the cursed artist. That is cool, much cooler than loving Led Zep like anybody else and give you the impezssion of belonging to a group of happy few that understand it all. Not that I dislike Big Star, at their best (September Girls, 13, I'm in love with a girl) they could even be brilliant, but I never considered them as major actors of the rock history. I undeestand critics : like researchers, they want to discover hidden or underrated geniuses, but in the end theere are very few artists who were really influential and acclaimed after their time. the Velvet Underground for sure, Nick Drake, and a ha'dful of albums like Odyssey and Oracle or maybe Forever Changes come to my mind. But many so called hidden gems are some times a little overrated by critics and music fans; at least that's my humble opinio, even if I exagerate on purpose to launch the debate . If you like Big Sta please don't feel individually targeted by my words, it's a general trend that I'm nagging at : snobbism

@nj in 1938 Jesus and Mary Chain wouldn't have had guitar amps to fuck up with

but they would've been negroes though. that was some kind of pretty fuck up back then.

You guys do realize CSNY placed one album ahead of any Big Star album and LZ placed 5 albums ahead of any Big Star album...

I have no idea why I Am a Bird Now is ranked so highly. Even disregarding the fact that I don't like the album, it just seems like more of a candidate for the 300-400 section at best. Kind of like Vampire Weekend, Neon Bible, and MPP, come to think of it.

"You can't start a fire without a spark"





[140] Bruce Springsteen | Born in the U.S.A. | 1984

Points: 1105 | Votes: 12 | AM Rank: 152 | 2009 Poll Rank: 147
Biggest Fan:: Listyguy (4)



"Even the greatest stars live their lives in the looking glass"




[139] Kraftwerk | Trans-Europa Express | 1977

Points: 1106 | Votes: 12 | AM Rank: 92 | 2009 Poll Rank: 141
Biggest Fan:: Kingoftonga (4)



"You tell me that you're unboyfriendable"




[138] The Magnetic Fields | 69 Love Songs | 1999

Points: 1110 | Votes: 12 | AM Rank: 260 | 2009 Poll Rank: 117
Biggest Fan:: Penguin (3)



"If there's any other way to spell the word
It's fine with me"




[137] Vampire Weekend | Vampire Weekend | 2008
Points: 1115 | Votes: 13 | AM Rank: 339 | 2009 Poll Rank: 196
Biggest Fan:: Toni (7)



"Don't you know you'll stain the carpet?"




[136] The Velvet Underground | White Light/White Heat | 1968

Points: 1115 | Votes: 11 | AM Rank: 190 | 2009 Poll Rank: 113
Biggest Fan:: Kevin (5)



"Maybe everything that dies someday comes back"




[135] Bruce Springsteen | Nebraska | 1982

Points: 1126 | Votes: 14 | AM Rank: 123 | 2009 Poll Rank: 166
Biggest Fan:: Nicolas (23)



"The wise man built his words upon the rocks
But I'm not bound to follow suit"





[134] R.E.M. | Reckoning | 1984

Points: 1130 | Votes: 14 | AM Rank: 617
Biggest Fan:: Brad (16)



"Villains always blink their eyes"




[133] The Velvet Underground | Loaded | 1970

Points: 1130 | Votes: 14 | AM Rank: 211 | 2009 Poll Rank: 124
Biggest Fan:: Evan (31)



"You can't leave cause your heart is there"




[132] Sly and the Family Stone | There's a Riot Goin' On | 1971

Points: 1148 | Votes: 15 | AM Rank: 51 | 2009 Poll Rank: 126
Biggest Fan:: Sonofsamiam (16)



"There is no future in England's dreaming"




[131] Sex Pistols | Never Mind the Bollocks - Here's the Sex Pistols | 1977

Points: 1155 | Votes: 13 | AM Rank: 10 | 2009 Poll Rank: 77
Biggest Fan:: ParticleAnalyst (3)

Quite a shock for one of my absolutely all-time favorites. Hell, words certainly are not enough for this. At least it invented a whole music genre, influenced hundreds, sounds still fresh after 34 years, created a bunch of true anti-establishment 20th century modern anthems and is considered a classic by almost everyone, even the ones who despise it. I think I'll overcome this, but then again I'm not that mature.

To the rest now... I always thought "Born In The U.S.A." as the greatest '80s work of The Boss, so I am a bit surprised seeing it below inferior albums like "Nebraska" (uneven, some great songs in it, like the Dylanesque "Atlantic City", others are incredibly pretentious low-profile ballads like the title track) and, yeah, "Darkness On The Edge Of Town" ("Born To Run"-the more folky remake). "Reckoning" is good, but that's it. My favorite R.E.M. '80S record is "Document".
I'm happy to see "Stand!" above "There's A Riot Goin' On"; justice done.
Also two pleasant surprises on the high ranking of "Parklife" and "Stankonia, especially the second one considering hip-hop as an unpopular genre here.
And since "Cosmo's Factory" entered the Top 200 why not "Green River"? I always thought of them as almost equally splendid, the latter one a little more.
My all time favorite is a Velvet Underground collaboration album, but nothing else by them has really amazed me, "Loaded" is a really very strong album but the rest is at the best just good.

2 sections late, and my numbers 1 and 2 are out !!

"Rock Bottom" is moving up. Goood. It takes a long time to get into that otherwordly record. Listening to it is like taking a walk under the sea and realizing you can breathe. Jackson, you didn't pick the original 1974 cover ! (kidding)

"Darkness On The Edge Of Town", on the contrary, lost some support (Beans why did you want to be a doctor ). Too bad but I'm happy it's still in the top 150. I understand that people can prefer Born To Run, my #5 , with all its arrangements and all, but Darkness is more mature. Bruce has finished playing Phil Spector. the sound is more simple, compact, live. The lyrics don't only deal with people who want to escape, but also with those who realized there was nowhere to go.

they made my list :

"Berlin" (126), "The Kids" is very very scary especially when you have kids, Berlin reads like novel but I prefer "Transformer" because you don't want to commit suicide after hearing it lol (ain't no sin to be glad you're alive)

Cosmo's Factory (24) : what a great rnr album in one of the ugliest covers ever printed ! You're almost in the studio with them when you hear that great record. A fantastic tribute to the 50s and 60s

Harvest (25) :enough said about that one. A masterpiece of mainstream country rock. I'm happy it is so high, feel less lonely (you could have helped me with the discussion you f...ers ). I thought it was outside the top 500 !!

Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere (60). Another great NY record, live and raw.

They almost made my list :

Stand ! (227). I only discovered that album last year, and it was a very exciting encounter. I need to give it more spins to tell if it's better than Riot

3 Feet High (262). Il est midi. C'est l'heure de déjeuner.


Otis Blue (234) because The Dock Of the Bay is my heart choice

I prefer Speakerboxx to Stankonia and Elephant to White Blood Cells (but no huge fan of the Stripes anyway)


I'm incompatiblewith The Knife (no shit), Slanted and Enchanted, Tapestry (for opposite reasons), PJ Harvey and... Joni Mitchell (Those two are cool but their music doesn't do it for me, Joni's voice and egocentrism irritate me).

I'd love to hear Aja and The Adge of Adz, especially the latter. Hope I'll get past my synth allergy because I think Sufjan is one of the greatest songwriters of the past 10 years, but as you say Nick, sometimes he has this tendancy to overload his arrangements. Apparently this is a love it or hate it album. Mmmmmmm...

@Nassim : we have our allergies to certain types of vocals. Me it's the way some indie rockers whisper with a faint voice as if singing normally with a clear voice was absolutely has-been or painful

I think it will give you even a bigger headache than it gives Henrik, so take some paracetamol before listening to it. Most of the album’s potentially beautiful melodies are suffocated by excessive and unnecessary noise. I’d be surprised if you are anything but disappointed, but do let us know.



Then again, it appears that I’m the biggest fan of White Blood Cells, and I’m sure plenty of people find that album noisy and grating. But to my ears there are few things more pleasing than the album’s stripped-down, elemental rock and blues. It sends the happy hormones raging through me every time I listen to it.

Haha Nicolas brilliant. Ya feel bad that I couldn't get a list in on time. Meant to get to work on it and but lifes been a bit hectic lately. Darkness and Rock Bottom would definitely have been comfortably top 100 albums for me.

"I rock a house party at the drop of a hat"




[110] Beastie Boys | Paul's Boutique | 1989

Points: 1325 | Votes: 13 | AM Rank: 119 | 2009 Poll Rank: 133 (+23)
Biggest Fan:: Kingoftonga (2)



"This could be such a beautiful world"





[109] Curtis Mayfield | Superfly | 1972

Points: 1342 | Votes: 13 | AM Rank: 145 | 2009 Poll Rank: 104 (-5)
Biggest Fan:: Sonofsamiam (8)



"I don't mean to seem like I care about material things"




[108] Animal Collective | Merriweather Post Pavillion | 2009

Points: 1344 | Votes: 15 | AM Rank: 128 | 2009 Poll Rank: 106 (-2)
Biggest Fan:: Chris K (24)



"You get mistaken for strangers by your own friends"





[107] The National | Boxer | 2007

Points: 1352 | Votes: 11 | AM Rank: 346 | 2009 Poll Rank: 197 (+90)
Biggest Fan:: Penguin (2)



"This town is crazy
Nobody cares"




[106] Beck | Sea Change | 2002

Points: 1353 | Votes: 14 | AM Rank: 405 | 2009 Poll Rank: 85 (-21)
Biggest Fan:: Harold Wexler (10)



"I was swimming in the Caribbean"




[105] Pixies | Surfer Rosa | 1988

Points: 1357 | Votes: 15 | AM Rank: 96 | 2009 Poll Rank: 58 (-47)
Biggest Fan:: Toni (24)



"Let this take away from my spins"




[104] Kanye West | The College Dropout | 2004

Points: 1372 | Votes: 13 | AM Rank: 217
Biggest Fan:: Nassim (5)



"Thirteen month old baby broke the looking glass"




[103] Stevie Wonder | Talking Book | 1972

Points: 1403 | Votes: 16 | AM Rank: 111 | 2009 Poll Rank: 115 (+12)
Biggest Fan:: Henry (5)



"And that ain't what you want to hear
But that's what I'll do"





[102] The White Stripes | Elephant | 2003

Points: 1406 | Votes: 16 | AM Rank: 101 | 2009 Poll Rank: 80 (-22)
Biggest Fan:: Billadama (5)






[101] Charles Mingus | The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady | 1963

Points: 1412 | Votes: 13 | AM Rank: 418 | 2009 Poll Rank: 135 (+34)
Biggest Fan:: Sonofsamiam (3)

And there we are. We now know what the top 100 albums are going to be, we just don't know the order. One artist has three albums in the top 100, three have four, one has six. Looking forward to seeing it unfold.

I may complain about many of these rankings, but there's one thing I support: the number 101 album is better than every album below it. Awesome improvement for an album that just missed the top 100 by 0.7 points.

Wow, I never realized that "Dear Science" was so beloved in this forum. It looks like it just made the top 100.

So many incredible albums in that stretch. Absolutely loaded. Surfer Rosa outside the T100 is a surprise indeed. Seeing Paul's Boutique and Supafly out is painful though.

Also, Suburbs in the T100 :(

Edit: Is seems morel ikely to me that Dear Science missed the T500 rather than it being in the T100.

I wouldn't count on it. Last poll, "Dear Science" cracked the top 200.

How did Surfer Rosa and Elephant fall so far? Great run, 101-110.

I think I can stomach MBDTF being in the top 100, so long as It Takes A Nation Of Millions does better. If it doesn't, you guys are seriously insane.

I don't have anything against The Suburbs, it's just kind of 'unspecial'.

Love the placement of "Boxer" this time -- it really is a subtle masterpiece. I also like that its stature is rising each year; it's great that more and more people are starting to appreciate it.

Our incessant fan boy antics are paying off!

Rap is one of the few genres that I can't seem to enjoy, and I've really tried with it. Seriously, I wouldn't even be able to suggest even a single rap album which I've enjoyed, and that concerns me for some reason.

I've noticed that it's not uncommon to meet people who find the Rap genre distasteful in the UK. I think critics are usually more positive with Rap records in the US than they are over here (not that Rap records never get positive reviews in the UK), so I was wondering whether that it's just a coincidence or whether it's just a culture thing? Perhaps could you can suggest a Rap record which you think I'll find accessible?

You could check out some A Tribe Called Quest or maybe The Roots.

110-101

First impressions : many records from the 00's ! Too much ? Maybe. May I call that a lack of perspective ?

I agree with Harold : what the fuck if one album is 110th and not 90th. Better discuss albums that numbers.

Now Negative Nancy, go home to your garden gnomes !

I'm happy to see Super Fly and Talking Book (respectively my #76 and 66): still some great soul classics left to come (2 Stevie, 1 Marvin, and I got no hope for On Nation Under A Groove anymore). I have a special love for Talking Book. Heart factor places it slightly above Innervision;

I should try Merriweather once again, but I'm afraid (I should rename this album "Fear Of Music"). "My girls" irritates me because of the high pitched synths. I remember some good melodic moments though, but kind of wasted by that production. Genetically modified music is not my cup of tea;

Boxer was a good discovery of the 00s poll : great , deep album indeed, but to soon to make my top 200. As I said before, I don't know "Se"Lost Cause" is a fantastic songa Change" well enough, but it sounds great too. Beck obviously listened to some Gainsbourg, the British Gainsbourg of the seventies.

Happy to see a jazz album like "The Black Saint" so high, even if I prefer the rootsier "Ah Hum". I should give Black Saint a couple more listens. That is the big problem of the Internet era : so many records are available that you don't spend enough time listening to one album, and sometimes you miss the most challenging ones.

And Stephen, I support Stephan's rap recommendations. Try these groups if you haven't heard them yet. About rap in the UK there's a British rap scene, right ? I didn't know that rap didn't get good critics there. Here in France we have a lively -if not always talented- rap scene and rap records get good critics sometimes.

Well if you enjoy neither It Takes a Nation of Millions, the College Dropout, Original Pirate Material, Enter the Wu-Tang, Paul's Boutique, Stankonia and 3 Feet High and Rising, you should probably give up ^^
(It Takes a Nation... is, by far, the album I like the least in this list, looks like I'm insane)

I would have liked to see Paul's Boutique and College Dropout in the top 100, but those are already very good results for hip-hop albums.
I think College Dropout remains Kanye's best album, but if MBDTF's acclaim helps put more lights on his previous albums it's fine with me.

I will join the ""the Suburbs" and "Dear Science" are good but no top 100 material" club

Anyway, best news : 2 Elliott Smith albums in the top 100 !

I find it amazing that everyone seems to know what albums are coming,just not in what order. I try not to think about what albums haven't come yet so I can be surprised by the appearance of something I hadn't expected

Midaso, I'm like you ! Like watching a magician do his tricks without trying to figure out how he does.

Same here. I love to be surprised now and then.

Looking forward to the top 100!

I don't keep track of the 100 albums, it just happens that one of the 2 Elliott Smith albums is my all time #1, so I'm keeping a close eye on this one ! (and the other contains my favorite song ever).

Just to keep the Age of Adz debate alive, one of the interesting things about its high score is how few voters listed the album, just 9 voters and it made 124. The other Top 200 albums with 9 votes all sit in the 180 to 200 zone. So it has a few fans that like it a lot. Will it fall from grace in the next poll or rise to sit alongside Illinoise as a second masterwork?
I saw Sufjan perform the album live earlier this year and still can't decide what I think of it. An amazing live concert, though that's different from an amazing album.

That's it; seems our agony is coming to an end . I like White Stripes but not to a great extent- in a way, it's better they are off the Top 100. However I think " Talking Book" should be in as Wonder's greatest achievement- seriously, is "Songs In The Key Of Life" that better? I still wonder though about "Different Class" and if, along with the traditional and righteous inclusion of the usual suspects called Dylan and Beatles in the top 10 will be also Radiohead. I also think that " Funeral" will be in the Top 20 though not deserving it if you ask me ( not that I do not like it at all of course).

I'm probably not the biggest Stevie Wonder fan here, but he is in my top 20. Songs in the Key of Life is my favorite album from the 70s. It contains everything I love about Stevie. I enjoy every song and feel enriched whenever I listen to it. Talking Book is good and Innervisions is great, but neither one matches up with the wall-to-wall excellence of Songs in the Key of Life for me.



There goes my lunch.

See, there's a common ground between Moonbeam and me !!!

Songs In The Key is top 10 for me. It's better than Talking Book because it is... longer

Hark! Common ground!

Despite your allergy to synths and mine to roots music, I think we approach music in somewhat of a similar way.

As for Songs in the Key of Life, its length does indeed work in its favor, but I also think it is stunningly even more consistent than Talking Book and Innervisions despite its length.

Haters gonna hate