YEEEESSS !! Someone called my a hipster for the first time in this forum ! At last I'm a hipster !!

Now I guess I know what it feels to be called a hipster by someone who just don't understand the music you genuinely love.

I was always sure it was as well. A lot of the lyrics posted say 'lies' but I listened back and it does sound more like 'life' to me at least...

60-51

I stopped paying attention to U2 after The Joshua Tree. I don't really know why. I have no memory of Achtung Baby except for One a great song I re-discovered through JOhnny Cah's cover.

I have nothing to add to Jackson's comment on The Doors (my #32). You summed it up.

Astral Weeks : to add to Jackson's pertinent comment, I will say that this album is very unique and special (Van's vocals, the arrangements), and like Tom Waits, can also repel. But like on Wait's albums, just take away the vocals and the musical setting and the album loses its appeal. The first seconds of "Beside You" always send a shiver down my spine. And the title track...

Graceland (#173) : a heart choice. I remember when it came out, in the climax of the anti-apartheid movement. I like how Paul Simon mixes Africa and America (great Louisiana influence too) here, without being too head-on politically. The music speaks for itself. that's why I could get over those beatboxes (why not using a real drummer ? or is it a real drummer with tons of effects and reverb on the drum sound? at last in 1995 they gave up putting reverb on the drums). And the invention of Vampire Weekend.

Yankee Hotel Foxtrot : Wilco second best album (Jonathon, I'm invoking you )

Murmur not my kind of R.E.M. album. I prefer the early 90s REM.

Low : Hipsters

Dummy I love the songs but Beth Gibbons is too depressed for me. Nah, it's beautiful.

Thriller : Hey, I like "The Girl Is mIne", even if it is a stupid song. This album is very difficult to rank. My criteria are usually 90 % pleasure and 10 % musical importance. THriller is more 50-50. Some songs are dated ("The Lady in My Life"), and Off the Wall is musically superior IMO but it was so huge when it came out that it symbolises the 80s to me. And "Billie Jean" is one of my very very favorite songs. The only record I remember being so huge was Nevermind. Everybody was talking about it. So it ended up at #114 in my list (behind Off the Wall)

Blue / Hipst.. (no, the best jokes are the shorter). I don't get that woman's music, but I recognize her trmendous influence. That said, Blue is my favorite Joni album (and all-time #441). Some great songs there ("Little Green" is a splendor). I'm a little irritated by her voice and her egocentrism, but I owe that record a new chance.

Wow Portishead's self-titled is good. I can see why Dummy and Third are ranked higher, but the gap shouldn't be nearly as wide. Anyone who likes Dummy should like the s/t. Can't believe it took me this long to hear it.

I'm pretty pleased with where Blue was placed in this list. I firmly believe it's my favourite record of all time.

There has never been such a geniune album like Blue. It's deeply personal and depicts Joni at her most fragile state. Joni says "The Blue album, there's hardly a dishonest note in the vocals. At that period of my life, I had no personal defenses. I felt like a cellophane wrapper on a pack of cigarettes. I felt like I had absolutely no secrets from the world and I couldn't pretend in my life to be strong. Or to be happy. But the advantage of it in the music was that there were no defenses there either."

I can understand why Joni would be irritated being compared to the likes of Bob Dylan as legendary as he may be - as Joni would put it: "We are like day and night, he and I". I love Bob Dylan's work but his career has been built on deception and numerous personas. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but if anything it's the complete opposite to Joni's music.

The lyric from "All My Friends" is definitely "I wouldn't trade one stupid decision for another five years of life."

I always thought it was this too but then a lyrics site convinced me otherwise. I like the line more with "life" anyway, so I should have put that. I really wish this forum had editing capabilities sometimes...

"Life" makes total sense with the lyrics. He's going back and forth in this midlife crisis between defiant defense of how he lived (as in that line) and exasperated fear about how fleeting it all is.

I guess it's not that simple, for instance I love Bridge Over Troubled Water (one of the 10 70s albums included in my top 200) but can not stand Rumours.
I might have to add that I would not consider BOTW as soft rock, more as folky pop.

I think the most "hipster" feature of this list is the fact that a certain album about Anne Frank seems to have reached the top 50 !

allright replace "soft rock" with "mainstream 70s pop/rock" or "records from your parents' collection"

and I might be the only one here who didn't know that "In The Aeroplane" was a concept album about Anne Frank

Here we go with the top 50:

"When a rocket ship explodes
And everybody still wants to fly"





[50] Prince | Sign 'O' the Times | 1987

Points: 2324 | Votes: 21 | AM Rank: 26 | 2009 Poll Rank: 53 (+3)
Biggest Fan: Moonbeam (6)



"The Earth looks better from a star
That's right above from where you are"





[49] Neutral Milk Hotel | In the Aeroplane Over the Sea | 1998

Points: 2376 | Votes: 22 | AM Rank: 490 | 2009 Poll Rank: 40 (-9)
Biggest Fans: Penguin, SR (1)



"We were born before the wind"





[48] Van Morrison | Moondance | 1970

Points: 2397 | Votes: 24 | AM Rank: 94 | 2009 Poll Rank: 68 (+20)
Biggest Fan: Otisredding (3)



"Well I stand up next to a mountain
And I chop it down with the edge of my hand"




[47] The Jimi Hendrix Experience | Electric Ladyland | 1968

Points: 2423 | Votes: 22 | AM Rank: 22 | 2009 Poll Rank: 31 (-16)
Biggest Fan: Billadama (3)



"It's just a shot away"




[46] The Rolling Stones | Let It Bleed | 1969

Points: 2588 | Votes: 27 | AM Rank: 36 | 2009 Poll Rank: 34 (-12)
Biggest Fan: Antonius (16)

I'm shocked Electric Ladyland and Let It Bleed both fell.

The thing about Tom Waits is, if rough vocals and noise are deal-breakers, you're just not going to like him. For me, he's a master at combining rootsy influences in his own idiosyncratic, textured way. He's got a massive emotional range, let everything he feels at you can come from nobody but him.

I do like Portishead's self-titled, I just don't think it stands out. It's similar to Dummy only comes off like they're trying harder and are less emotionally invested.

And of course, everyone who disagrees with me has nefarious motives!

I'm also shocked by their placements. Had both albums firmly in my top 100. I hope their remaining albums will fare better.

About Waits, his new album will be released shortly and you can already listen to it at badasme.com (if you have a code that is, if anybody needs one, just let me know).

ps. So now I am a hipster...?

Hey guys, don(t you think that "shocked" is a little too much of a word ? it's just a music list.



Chose the correct answer :an AMer is shocked

1)because of the Israelo-Palestinian conflict
2)because of the government debt rising and rising
3)because of the situation in Somalia
3)because Electric Ladyland has moved down to #47 in the all time album poll

It seems like we're seeing, with Hendrix and the Stone, alot of shake-up in this range compared to the last poll. It will be interesting to see if that favors 00s albums or if more older classics are seen better.

50-41

Sign O the times (my #53): Open house at Paisley Park. I love double albums, especially made by geniuses, but I'm also happy Purple Rain is ahead.

In the Aeroplane Over the Sea : I pass cause I think I only heard it once and I remember a mix of good and bad moments, but it was just one listen 4 years ago or so. One album I'd never heard of before joining AMF.

Moondance (63) the more accessible nature of this album explains it is slightly above Astral Weeks. As a matter of fact, I placed it higher my self but it was a mistake (i f...ed up with Moonbeam's program and the middle of my list wasn't right). Fantastic moments here too and also a great blue-eyed soul unity and cohesion.

Electric Ladyland 21 : My favorite Hendrix. A fully accomplished and personal album where Hendrix moves away from the classic pop format. And what he does with a guitar (in terms of sound, not only virtuosity) is amazing.

Let It Bleed 94 : All the 1968-72 RS tetralogy is almost in my top 100 (Sticky Fingers is at #104). I place it third after Beggars end Exile. But all these albums are one. They revisit roots music like no one did.

Of course, one shouldn't take those words too seriously in this context. I hope readers here understand that without an explanation. If not, I'm shocked again.

yeah, and I was joking too about AMers, including myself in the process , so please do not take any of my words too seriously. I meant to entertain, not to judge.

1, 2, and 3 are certainly appalling, but not all that shocking, unfortunately.

That is beyond my vocabulary competences... Or not ?

Doesn't surprise me either.

Here are some omissions that I am surprised by so far (that I would be just as surprised if they popped up in the top 50):

AC/DC - Highway to Hell
Bob Dylan - Time Out of Mind; Love and Theft; Modern Times
Eminem - The Eminem Show
Green Day - Dookie; American Idiot
MGMT - Oracular Spectacular
Metallica - Metallica (The Black Album)
Alanis Morissette - Jagged Little Pill
Pink Floyd - Animals
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss - Raising Sand
U2 - All That You Can't Leave Behind; How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb; The Unforgettable Fire
Dennis Wilson - Pacific Ocean Blue

. Lost in translation ?

A shock involves some sort of surprise, which those really aren't.

Daniel: None of those are really surprising though.

"You used to be alright
What happened?"




[45] Radiohead | In Rainbows | 2007

Points: 2603 | Votes: 23 | AM Rank: 127 | 2009 Poll Rank: 65 (+20)
Biggest Fan: Gillingham (1)



"Ticking away the moments that make up the dull day"




[44] Pink Floyd | The Dark Side of the Moon | 1973

Points: 2618 | Votes: 24 | AM Rank: 21 | 2009 Poll Rank: 25 (-19)
Biggest Fan: Henry (4)



"I don't have to sell my soul"





[43] The Stone Roses | The Stone Roses | 1989

Points: 2625 | Votes: 23 | AM Rank: 55 | 2009 Poll Rank: 33 (-10)
Biggest Fan: Kingoftonga (1)



"People often change, but memories of people can remain"





[42] The Kinks | The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society | 1968

Points: 2627 | Votes: 25 | AM Rank: 187 | 2009 Poll Rank: 51 (+9)
Biggest Fan: Jackson (2)



"It's the freakiest show"





[41] David Bowie | Hunky Dory | 1971

Points: 2632 | Votes: 26 | AM Rank: 62 | 2009 Poll Rank: 66 (+25)
Biggest Fan: Fred (8)

My take on the last ten:

Sign o the Times: I really, really need to listen to this. Pretty sure I'd like it more than Purple Rain.

In the Aeroplane over the Sea: The first half of this album surprises me with just how good it is. "Holland, 1945" is a blistering track.

Moondance: I love Astral Weeks, but don't care for this at all. I want to like it, but the primal emotional intensity just isn't here with this outing.

Electric Ladyland: Some of his best tracks, but I rarely if ever listen to it all the way through. Maybe it's time for another spin.

Let it Bleed: The opening track is the Stones' all-time best, but you can give or take the rest.

In Rainbows: Radiohead's most overrated album by far. Only a few tracks (15 Steps, Reckoner, Jigsaw Falling into Place) are memorable and on the same plane as their 1997-2001 run.

Dark Side of the Moon: Meh.

The Stone Roses: Great songs, I just wish some of the sounds and production techniques weren't so dated. The last few songs rule.

The Kinks: What can I say, it's my #2 overall. I think Village Green has the best lyrics of any album. Often oversimplified to being an album about old English life, this album is a fascinating take on nostalgia and our place in the world. Davies is incredible at making his points through character studies and stories, and with this album he retains his wittiness while touching on serious issues. The title track, "Do You Remember Walter," and "Big Sky" are the lyrical standouts. It's unbelievable what this album accomplishes in such a short running time.

Hunky Dory: The only Bowie classic I don't like. Life on Mars is outstanding, the rest leaves me unmoved and often moves into cheesiness.

Humor and translation...
The French verb choquer has the same meaning as appal. He doesn't really implies any surprise. But I thought you'd get the picture. What was supposed to be a light joke about our nerdness became a big flop.


Now let's move on. All the comments are the property of their author.

In Rainbows so high seems a little exagerated, but that's my opinion and I'm no 00s expert. I'm shocked . Do Radiohead really deserve 3 albums in the top 50 ? Magnifying glass effect ? Or is it me ? Or did they come too late for me ? (possible explanation). But, to tell the truth, I find them too serious. Where's the fun with these guys ? I like when I sense that people take pleasure in making music. Not that I don't like this record (it should be in my top 400).

Dark Side is better than the sum of its parts. I have many good memories with this album. Incredible.

Stone Roses Who ????? pass

Village Green missed my list. Not by far though. As I said it's difficult to get the words without reading them, and listening to songs without paying attention to the lyrics has become a habit even if my English has improved.

Hunky Dory same comment as for Dark Side. one of the records of my twenties. I'm a big fan of early Bowie, before he turned into a machine.

And Dan, you're spot on about Tom Waits. He's the ultimate roots rock musician, because he could create something new and unique with old material.

Tom Waits: I can see why hipsters like his music. It’s theatrical and over-the-top in a weird enough way and his voice puts enough people off, so it’s cool to like him. But to associate a modern concept like “hipster” with music that often sounds as old as time itself doesn’t really make sense to me. It’s this ancient-sounding, earthy quality that I like most about Waits’ music. Rain Dogs and Swordfishtrombones may be surreal and obscure but at their core they are both roots records. And the wildly creative way Tom Waits twists and bends roots music is distinctive and unique and at its most thrilling on these two 80s gems. As for his “gravelly” voice, gravel = sand and rock = earth, so for me it compliments his music and just adds to his appeal.

Rumours and Bridge Over Troubled Water: Needless to say, there’s nothing hipster about either of these two, and it’s nice to see the relatively high placement of two such uncool but marvellous albums.

For me it was a case of expecting too much from Astral Weeks. Before listening to it for the first time, I was convinced that I was going to love it. I had read so many good things about it: “one of the most profoundly beautiful albums ever made”, “it’s impossible to articulate the beauty of the arrangements”, “it contains some of the most human moments in music”, “”you will be completely immersed and transfixed”, “a transcendental listening experience”, “a wonderfully ecclectic mixture of folk, blues, jazz, and classical music”. But when I listened to it, it just didn’t resonate with me emotionally and I thought most of the songs were too long. Appreciation of beauty is a very personal and subjective thing. Words like “profoundly beautiful” and “some of the most human moments in music” are words that I associate with other “sensitive” albums like Joni Mitchell’s Blue or Sufjan Stevens’ Illinois or Antony & The Johnson’s I Am a Bird Now, but sadly not Astral Weeks. I feel like I’m missing out on something powerful, and I hope the album will grow on me.

Pink Floyd: OMG can someone please explain their appeal?

I would focus on the title track, "Sweet Thing," and "The Way Young Lovers Do" the next time you listen to it. I would agree that a few of the other tracks might be a little long.

However, it sounds like you prefer albums with a simpler sound, while I think some of the most emotional albums (Astral Weeks, Starsailor, Loveless) often get their beauty from a complex, chaotic, or sonically dense arrangement. So you might not like it. I'm just surprised that, on the whole, the forum doesn't appreciate this album a little more.

Well, I don't know what to say.. I can't say why I love "Dark Side". I've heard it so many times. It's like asking me why I love my sister. Spend some time with someone, see his flaws, his good sides, and you realize they're just part of your life wherever you go. Some albums are the same. I guess "Dark Side" is a comforting album. It's home.

There are times when I listen to DSOTM and realize why it may be difficult for newer listeners to enjoy. There is a lot of slower paced effects that can leave those with shorter attention spans unsatisfied. There is no great beat or dance aspect to most songs on the album. The vocals aren't poppy like Madonna or Annie Lennox.

But, the messages provided in the album are worth digesting and the music is amazing at times. If you cannot appreciate the orgasmic female vocals in Great Gig In the Sky, you have my deepest sympathies (Moonbeam).

Not liking britpop is actually great, as is the difference in taste that discreets every human being and makes this nasty world a somewhat better place.

But calling it disposable? Really? Not only have the influences in modern "alternative" music been so obvious from the '00s and on according to the style of many current bands (Arctic Monkeys, Coldplay, Kaiser Chiefs, Franz Ferdinand, Kasabian, The Libertines, The Coral etc.) which is of course not always good since they sometimes imitate too much or others, not necessarily among the ones I mentioned, are worthless acts, but the fact is they wouldn't even exist without that noise. And yes, britpop helped guitar music a lot to gain a new "genre branch" after the ending of the grunge era. In general, despite it being a firework of a movement (starting impressively, then fading away suddenly) it gave a good amount of the '90s music status definiton and delivered a bunch of true masterworks, actually very different the one from the other and with something in every each one of them for anyone to like ("(What's The Story?) Morning Glory", "Urban Hymns", "Different Class", "Parklife", "Suede", "Definitely Maybe"). And since when heavy promotion by the british press makes an album less good (which "Morning Glory" didn't have in the first place since it gained lukewarm reviews at the time it was released)? "OK Computer" gained acclaim reaching borderline propaganda when it first came out, again by the british press, but does that mean it's not a mind-blowing masterpiece exploring depths with its experimental noise we could only imagine of during that era? Surely not.

Now about Sonic Youth, yeah, their music was influentual too, especially for the college rock genre, and kinda had some roots on The Velvet Underground as well. I just never was mad about them. "Daydream Nation" has quite some amazing moments ("Candle", "Teen Age Riot") but its repetition factor makes it somewhat tiresome after a while, and most of the lyrics feel like they tried too much to be "different" with a result that seems overblown (exceptions are "Hey Joni" and "Rain King"). Anyway, it's definitely their best work but severely flawed and since they don't mean that much to me this was my short, hackneyed, but honest verdict. Hope I didn't become too much of a bore

You might be surprised when the top 40 will be revealed. Don't say I didn't warn you! ;)

Well, since I am the 'biggest fan' of In Rainbows, let me say at least one or two things about it. I was already a big fan of Radiohead when In Rainbows was released. I really didn't expect them to pull off an album like this after the definitely-alright-but-not-fantastic Hail to the Thief. In my view, IR is Radiohead at their most mature. It's scarily faultless. Somehow, the sound of the album is just the way I like it, without even knowing that sound could exist. It's layered, sprawling, both beautiful and exciting, diverse but consistent and very well produced. Never mind the unheard of way of releasing it.

70-61

I like Pink Floyd ("The Wall" is their most mature and spellbinding work if you ask me) but all that bucketload talk from critics citing them among the greatest bands ever just isn't for me. Their early work hasn't aged that well and their latest (meaning everything they made after "The Wall") is too boring and unimaginative to be described. "Wish You Were Here" is very fine but yet not anything groundbreaking or shockingly perfect.

I dislike Belle and Sebastian but I won't expand this issue...

Though I should be happy for two of my all-time favorites making the 100 I am having a bitter aftertaste. "It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back" ultimately, finally, extraordinaringly defined the very standards of the hip-hop/rap sound. That of course wouldn't be much if it wasn't such an astounding explosion in terms of innovation in the structure of music itself. Never before has an album been so much centered to its lyrics. Few other albums have been so edgy in terms of views about politics and social issues, furthermore combined with the ingenious, full of rage and ready-to-attack-and-swipe-it-all tunes. And the gigantic amount of sampling works greatly as a touch of pop-culture referencial trivia, revealing not only their very own influences and roots but also blinking the eye to an older crowd. Since then, no Dr. Dre, Eminem or Kanye West has surpassed or will ever surpass this. Nor will anyone from any other music genre at least for a very long time.

Now about "This Year's Model", it's just so damn addictive. OK, far from being the only one reason it's in such a high place in my heart, it does contain the most creative, "songy", catchy, playful, exciting and energetic sum of songs than every other record I have ever listened to. 33 years on, it still sounds very ahead of its time. Aside the fact that Costello himself seems like he was born to do those vocals played on this music. From the very first seconds "No Action" plays, it drags me immediately down to a very special, almost outlandish music universe. "Radio Radio" personally is my favorite from this big collection of fabulous tunes, the most rebellious one, with absolutely perfect songwriting and being in general among my all time favorite songs (not that I have made a list or something, but I would include it if I had one anyway ).

To the rest, I'm far from being a Waits fanboy (with "Swordfishtrombones" able to be in my Top 20 "I don't get the love it gets" list, also if I had one ) but "Rain Dogs" is rightfully above the forementioned album, an atmospherical and very enjoayble piece of work, even to a person not very familiar with this singer.

Happy for the emotional and astounding "Sound Of Silver" being in such a high rank (though not the finest of the LCD Soundsystem's fantastic discography) and for "Bridge Over Troubled Water" of course, the magnus opus of a band which somehow belongs to the '60s mostly. "Loveless" is absolutely amazing too, although it could be somewhat lower.

60-51

OK, "Achtung Baby" touches a great amount of epicness especially at some moments ("Even Better Than The Real Thing", "The Fly") but it somewhat sounds too self-conscious like "Oh, come on babe, I'm a masterpiece" and therefore not as accomplished or balances as "War" and, obviously, "The Joshua Tree".

All hail "The Doors"! The ultimate listen to gain experience in pure psychedelic music and probably the best of its genre. Very dark but not depressive, totally ambitious but not overblown, it might just be also one of the greatest (if not THE greatest) album debuts of all time. So much that in fact no other of their works touched such levels of quality-though I have to admit I liked "L.A. Woman" a lot.

Well, now about "Thriller", what needs to be said that it hasn't been mentioned before? Just repeating the obvious: endless appreciation to Jackson's absolute killer tunes, not ignoring his soul past ("Human Nature") or the era's rise of the hard rock genre ("Beat It"). But "Thriller" is not an element combination work: at the end, what remains is a highly refreshing, very exhilarating pop sound that, unfortunately, had the bad luck to be copy-pasted a hundred-thousand times from very poor artists of the mainstream MTV kind in terms of "homage". Whatever, this one will remain a classic for the ages, those brats whoever their names are not. And no, this goes way back, a long time ago before Justin Bieber, just to mention.

"Graceland" to me is the classical case of lyrics being so mind-blowingly well written but the music being not as much epic. Anyway it's really great and admittedly Simon's best solo work. "Astral Weeks" is very melodical and beautiful too, but just not exactly my kind of preference.

I totally agree, I'm a pretty big britpop fan myself and I always get a little disheartened when people entirely write it off.

Bands like Blur and Pulp crafted excellent pop music while at the same time conveying very deep messages, primarily ones about the intricacies of British life in the 1990's.

While Oasis never made "smart" music, I wouldn't ever call them disposable. Apparently I'm the biggest "Morning Glory" fan on this site, so I think I should defend them.

Oasis don't have particularly deep lyrics. They don't have bad lyrics, just ones that are (for the most part) kind of meaningless. And that's okay. Because to me it's not about the lyrics, it's about the way the songs make me feel. "Morning Glory" could be the definitive guide to how to craft a pop song. You have the sprawling "Champagne Supernova", the soaring ballad of "Don't Look Back in Anger", the life affirming anthems of "Roll With It", and "Some Might Say", the endearing "Wonderwall", and 5 other really great pop songs. Everything sounds like it could be a single. The album sounds just like a greatest hits album would.

What separates "Morning Glory" from disposable pop? For one thing the bold attitude that the songs convey. Some might say (no pun intended) that the music is loud and rude, however I disagree. To me it simply sounds like the music of a couple of guys who are really really excited about life and about being alive. If there's one consistent message of theme that runs through the album it's about being happy. That sounds mundane, but when I listen to the album the term that instantly comes to mind is "life affirming".
The album is loud. Everything part of the instrumentation (particularly the guitars) creates spirited atmosphere. To borrow a term from Phil Spector, there's like a "wall of sound" that envelops the album. I don't know how else to explain it. Maybe it's in the layered guitars. Just everything about the album sounds big and bold. This isn't some faint disposable pop we're hearing, these are big audacious anthems.

Another common criticism is that the music is "derivative". First of all, maybe this is just out of pure ignorance, but I have never ever heard any albums that sound like "Definitely Maybe" or "Morning Glory". No other albums have managed to capture that same distinctive "wall" of sound that I hear when I put on either of those albums. I understand that Oasis are influenced by The Beatles, but I honestly would never mistake a Beatles song for an Oasis one. Furthermore, britpop itself is heavily based on the music of bands like The Stone Roses, Happy Mondays, and especially, The Smiths. Oasis sound like none of these bands.

In the end, there are albums that are smarter than "Morning Glory". There are albums that are more experimental. There are albums that are more complex, more deep, and made by more likable people. But in terms of pure fun, great hooks, and a bold, unashamed love of life, "Morning Glory" does it for me.

Actually, I would have expected Pacific Ocean Blue to land somewhere in the 300-400 range, based on it's success in the first Moderate.

I'm surprised to see Village Green Preservation Society as high as it is.

Oasis has lots of great singles, but in my opinion, no complete great albums.

The problem with Britpop is that whenever there's a great Britpop band, the British recording industry decides that every Britpop album must copy it. Meanwhile the British press is putting so much pressure on them to carry the Beatles flag that anything the record industry will let them record is automatically a disappointment.

@Nicolas

You know The Bends hasn't come out yet, right?

I was hoping NMH would crack the T30, I guess it wasn't meant to be. I'm also surprised by drops from Jimi Hendrix and The Rolling Stones. The high finish by Village Green Preservation Society is nice though.

50-45

Prince at his most mature and contemplative moment, with an impressively minimalistic use of beats ("Sign 'O' The Times" itself as the greatest example of that, awesome lyrics too) and yet it's 50? OK it's not like the Sex Pistols thing but I expected it just a lil' bit higher. I think Moonbeam agrees too

Moondance>Astral Weeks glad to see it in the poll too.

"Electric Ladyland" to me is a monument to rock 'n' roll music. A masterpiece. Not only it is witness to Hendrix at the absolute perfection of his guitar technique, there are a lot of songs that test the very barrier between mainstream, commercial guitar sound and highly experimental, difficult-to-get additions that are so harmonically combined they can be hardly imagined as separate ("1983... A Merman I Should Turn To Be", "Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)". I would rank it into a Top 20 without a doubt.

"Let It Bleed" is also exceptional and the Stones' record with the most authentic rock'n'roll feeling of them all (despite the elements of country and soul in "You Can't Always Get What You Want" which of course are not unwelcome at all). Better to me than "Exile In Main St.".

I shouldn't have written the whole genre off, In fact I probably have 5-6 Brit pop albums in my top 200, I just think many of the bands from that movement are criminally overrated on AM. I just don't consider Blur or Oasis nearly as important as a lot of people do. If I was putting them where I think they'd be fairly ranked, it would be in the maybe 90-120 of all time range, rather than the 45-55 range in which they reside on AM.

Many of the bands you listed are pretty derivative. Franz Ferdinand is kind of cool, but the Arctic Monkeys never did very much for me, nor do the Libertines. The other bands never grabbed me long enough to even give them a second listen.

Wow, that's all actually very well said. I have nothing else to add, just that probably you covered it all in the aspect of this album (though I'd only say that some partial influences are obvious like The Stone Roses-they surely don't sound exactly the same but "Champagne Supernova" would sound somewhat different, at least in its opening without them and "Roll With It" is a brilliant and lively homage to the sound of The Beatles with the Gallaghers' touch of course).

I agree with BillAdama too about how music industry finally "forces" britpop albums especially to succeed with disappointing results overall.

I think it's also the sickening overreaction to new music that's prevalent in the british press.

Maybe the american rock press is a little conservative and classic based, but I always roll my eyes when the NME puts out a greatest albums of all time list and there's an album that hasn't even come out yet by a bunch of kid who are not yet 21. That to me is utter madness.

On an unrelated note, I'm a huge Radiohead fan, but 4 Radiohead albums in the top 50 is a little extreme for my tastes.

I love Nation of Millions... but I think I think it takes much of the credit, especially in regards to the growth of lyrical sophistication in rap, that Eric B. and Rakim's Paid in Full deserves. But that album didn't even make the top 500 here.

Paid in Full was the first true step-up in rhyme structure and delivery. When you listen to Run DMC and the Def Jam stuff just a year earlier, it sounds like child's play. But when you listen to both, you see why Public Enemy is seen as bigger. Paid in Full is a total party record, while Public Enemy were the first political rappers. Eric B's beats have nothing, and I mean nothing on what the Bomb Squad and Chuck D were making.

OK, I can understand that. There are genres and bands that I consider overrated or not that memorable too, and so everyone else so I can understand you. Not sure if I'll mention them now since this is not the subject but your opinion is well written and stated.

Actually the examples I mentioned are somewhat randomly scattered, but I have to admit though that, "X&Y" excepted, Coldplay is to me a guilty pleasure though of course not being among the "one of the greatest rank" I also think "Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not" and "Up The Bracket" are very good, solid works.

I totally agree, "Paid In Full" is probably the first to change the rules of the game and it was in my Top-100 as well. So rythmic and with extremely addictive use of multiple, VERY different sounds in one track (the title song is a brilliant example) it is one of the ground-breakers as well.

Run-D.M.C. was from the first place a more straightforward representation of its genre so I think the comparison is a little unfair (and also because I like them ) but I see the point you make and I don't misunderstand you at all, "Paid In Full" is far more adventurous and risk-taking.

...In Rainbows? Really? Ahead of albums like Sign O The Times? Wow.

And there's three more to come...

I'm guessing the Bends will come out in the next batch, Kid A in the 25-30 batch, and Ok Computer in the last batch.

So Let It Bleed is considered the worst of the 1968-1972 Stones albums? Very interesting, because I utterly love Let it Bleed (Midnight Rambler is as close to perfect as you can get, epitomising everything I love about the Stones), and I've yet to really listen to Sticky Fingers and Exile.

I've bitched about it before, and I'll probably bitch about it again:
Radiohead is soooo overrated.
In Rainbows coming close to beating The Dark Side of the Moon, and Beating some great album (In utero, Grace, The Doors, ect.) is sickening.
And the Bends and Kid A are both unworthy of the top 50.
And Ok Computer shouldn't be number 1.

My guess is that Ok Computer will probably take the top spot *Roll of the eyes*. I like Radiohead, but I think we have a little bit of unbalance here.

@BIllAdama : No, I didn't realize that The Bends were in the top 40. that's even more ridiculous IMO. But not surprising. Thank you for telling me I won't be shocked
That just means that like the Beatles, the Stones or Dylan, Radiohead has become a solid reference and common ground for a lot of us (I only had OK Computer in the 70-80 section, especially the youngest (I wish there were age/country statistics). And that they released a sufficient number of acclaimed albums to place 4 of them in the top 50.
I'm really happy that the 4 great Rollling Stones albums of the 68-72 tetralogy are in the top 50 (or 60 I don't remember).

@Jackson : I'd love to have the spreadshett when this will be over. You can send it to Henrik and he'll post it on the site.

I think I had never listened to Astral Weeks, because Moondance made a weak impression of me. Obviously it was a mistake, the best songs on Astral Weeks sound like uplifted Nick Drake tracks. I guess this could become a strong grower (and become the 11th 60s album in my top 200 ?)

By the way, there would be 2 new entries if I did my list today : Pieces of a Man by Gil-Scott Heron and Computer World by Kraftwerk.

Another thing : with Björk kicked out after the Vanillafire update, there is no album from outside the Anglo-saxon world in the top 100.

That doesn't feel right.

1 people like this.

"I want to tear down the walls that hold me inside"




[40] U2 | The Joshua Tree | 1987

Points: 2668 | Votes: 25 | AM Rank: 38 | 2009 Poll Rank: 36 (-4)
Biggest Fan: Chris K, Marc (5)



"Please allow me to introduce myself"




[39] The Rolling Stones | Beggars Banquet | 1968

Points: 2704 | Votes: 25 | AM Rank: 30 | 2009 Poll Rank: 49 (+10)
Biggest Fan: Gillingham (3)



"I won't forget to put roses on your grave"




[38] The Rolling Stones | Sticky Fingers | 1971

Points: 2762 | Votes: 25 | AM Rank: 43 | 2009 Poll Rank: 47 (+9)
Biggest Fan: Listyguy (7)



"You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows"





[37] Bob Dylan | Bringing It All Back Home | 1965

Points: 2808 | Votes: 29 | AM Rank: 73 | 2009 Poll Rank: 41 (+4)
Biggest Fan: DavidM (2)



"If I could be who you wanted all the time"




[36] Radiohead | The Bends | 1995

Points: 2812 | Votes: 25 | AM Rank: 86 | 2009 Poll Rank: 44 (+8)
Biggest Fan: Dr. Robert (1)

great to see The Joshua Tree in the top 40! it's #8 on my all time list and has grown on me a lot! i still haven't heard The Unforgettable Fire, but i guess it's pretty damn close to it.

I was happy to see two album in my top 10 (Bringing it All Back Home and Sticky Fingers) until I saw The Bends right ahead of them.
At least Sticky Fingers took 2 for the Stones albums.

[40] U2 | The Joshua Tree | 1987
My number 187. The first side is impressing. I'm happpy it beat Achtung. nj, are you all right ?



[39] The Rolling Stones | Beggars Banquet | 1968
My number 27 and favorite Stones album, not only for the hits (Sympathy, Street Fighting) but for the fantastic acoustic blues songs (Dear Dr and Prodigal Son)


[38] The Rolling Stones | Sticky Fingers | 1971
My number 108. Great album, more produced than the others of the tetralogy. More electric.



[37] Bob Dylan | Bringing It All Back Home | 1965
my number 137 and the 5th of 6 Dylan albums in my list.



[36] Radiohead | The Bends | 1995
This is too much.

#37... well, i don't mind Beat musicians at all. i truly love Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich and The Paintermen.
But this Dylan guy really stretches it with his "demanding" voice and his cold lyrics... well, i guess, i'm not underground enough after all to get his "grooves"

"Great Gig in the Sky" and "Any Color You Like" are the only tracks on there that I can appreciate.

Oh, and Eurythmics and Annie Lennox may have had a number of hits, but I would hardly call Annie's voice "poppy".

I'm not getting the high placement of In Rainbows either. I'm warming up to Radiohead somewhat (although I feel that Björk does their kind of thing far, far better) and OK Computer and Amnesiac are slowly inching their way up my list. I gave In Rainbows a spin, and while it's decent, it would perhaps just make my top 500. Maybe with time my perception of it will grow, but it's got a fair way to go to even catch up with those 2 other albums of theirs for me.

On Oasis:

begin{troll}

My musical history seems to follow somewhat of a different path to most. While many people cite their teenage years as the pinnacle of music, the 1990s proved to be a rather barren wasteland for me. Before the Internet provided universal access, MTV and the radio were my only sources for new music, and I largely tuned out from both early in the decade. Of course, the biggest successes were unavoidable. Oasis, and particularly "Wonderwall", were one such example, and their ubiquity did nothing but confirm my disdain for contemporary pop music. I eventually came around to appreciate some of what was popular during the 1990s, but listening to (What's the Story) Morning Glory? in its entirety merely reminded me that I was by and large correct in my original assessment.

There are many things I dislike about Oasis' sound, but foremost is undoubtedly the vocals. I imagine I may have to consult a thesaurus to fill out the rest of this review in describing their particular combination of "bratty" and "jarring", but needless to say that Liam Gallagher's vocals are incredibly irritating. From the way that he replaces the consonant "t" with "ch", to the way he sometimes tacks on a "z" at the end of "d" sounds, to the general slurring of the lyrics that creates a tone best described as snotty repugnance (no thesaurus yet!), the result is a delivery that is positively horrifying. Consider, for instance, the opening line of the aforementioned abomination "Wonderwall": "Choodayyy iz gunna Bee tha dayy that they're gunna throw it Back choo yeewww. Byyy nowww you shoulda somehowww realiiized what ya gotta dzoo." And that's before he painfully extends the vowels in the chorus! Sheer horror. Add to that the unrelenting loudness of the production, pretentious aspirations to revive the sound of The Beatles and lyrics that sound like an endless whiny diatribe and the result is one giant, drunken mass of smug obnoxiousness. The band seems to garner most of its acclaim from its sense of melody that should theoretically permit them to stretch the songs into the mini-epics that they aspire to be, but with such abhorrent delivery and production, my hatred for these songs only grows with the runtime. Softer moments such as "Cast No Shadow" and the beginning of "Hello" are tainted by that annoying acoustic strumming that was so prevalent in the latter half of the 90s, and the opportunity for a reprieve when Noel Gallagher steps in to mercifully provide some more palatable lead vocals on "Don't Step Back in Anger" is ruined by the most hamfisted send-up of limp Beatles anthemizing on the record. The least offensive tracks here such as "She's Electric" and "Morning Glory" are nonetheless at least mildly churlish.

As expected, then, (What's the Story) Morning Glory? is a titanic catastrophe of an experience. Fellow Britpop ambassadors Blur and Pulp thankfully fare much better, and this album is so aggravating that it gives me a sick sort of pleasure knowing how much such a statement would infuriate the incendiary Gallagher boys. I alluded to referring to a thesaurus in this review, so I'll close with an entry for "snotty", as "bratty" was not available:

Main Entry: snotty
Part of Speech: adjective
Definition: arrogant
Synonyms: cheeky, cocky, conceited, fresh, haughty, high and mighty, highfalutin', impertinent, know-it-all, la-de-da, pompous, pretentious, puffed up, sassy, self-important, smart-alecky, smug, snippy, snobby, snooty, stuck-up, uppity

Right on.

end{troll}

wait... is this how gay closet people imagine a female orgasm??

We've reached the point of the list where very few of my favorites remain (I think only #40 and #41 remain from my top 50), so I'll seize the moment and say hooray for The Kinks Are Village Green Preservation Society! Hooray for Sign o' the Times in the top 50!

Imagine these posts 4000 years from now...

AMer: Giggling Monkey
Posting about: A.R. & Machines - Die grüne Reise
"It's SHOCKING that this krautrock work of genius has dropped 1 spot from #71 to #72!"

AMer: Jammin' Dinosaur
Posting about: Horace Andy - In the Light
"Wow, I'm thrilled how popular this underrated reggae gem is on this forum."

AMer: Funny Vampire
Posting about: Cecil Taylor - Conquistador!
"Fuck! This free jazz gives me a hard-on!"

nj, sometimes I think you were born 4000 years too soon.

me and 1 other grand clone of mine like this. great scott..

Please provide a clearer description of Annie's powerful voice. I realize that she extends her notes and attempts to be as soulful as possible. Hits alone don't make a voice poppy in my view - but the clarity and strength of Ms. Lennox's vocals lend them to appropriately characterized in that manner, compared to the more subdued vocal styles of Pink Floyd.

This top 100 has been much more surprising than I expected.

- The Suburbs: After Jackson's statement about how mouth-opening was its position to come, I assume 99 was less than I was expecting, although before reading that I think any position in the top 150 would be satisfying. And, Moonbeam, I don't think it's pretentious. On the contrary, it's their lightiest album; I agree with what was written on Pitchfork at the time of it's release, claiming that "for the first time in their carreer, Arcade Fire didn't sound like they had to carry the weighs of the world". Although I also like Funeral and love Neon Bible with their spiritual and heartfelt climate, I guess this is how I prefer Arcade Fire, when they sound prosaic.
- Dear Science: Great to see it in the top 100!!! One of my best surprises so far. I don't agree with it being looked as a funky album, come on. It's of course impregnated by a lot of afro-american influence, but I go for it when I feel like hearing some multi-layered, futuristic but insanely cathcy indie music. Lover's Day, in spite of its intense lyric is the only bad song of the album, with it's monotonous drive and specially those annoying metals all over it, but since it's the last track, the listening as a hole isn't hurt. DLZ, Golden Age, Dancing Choose and Shout Me Out are thrilling in every audition, not to mention the apocalyptic begining with Halfway Home. I'm amazed that 2008 managed to crack 4 albums in my top 25, being one of them this masterpiece (beside Vampire Weekend, Fleet Foxes and Viva La Vida).
- My Aim Is True: My #4. I love this album since the first time I heard it. The catchyness of it's songs is impressive. They all sound sofisticated, refined in spite of the simple, almost primary production. And I love albums that sound homogeneous like this.
- Either/Or: Nobody expected Elliott Smith to appear this high. It has fallen in my concept lately, but it's begining continues to get me everytime. Alameda is one of my very favorite songs ever.
- Kanye: Although I don't like it that much and it was far from making my list, it's always good to presenciate classics being born. It will surely go gradually up this list on the next polls. Don't worry, BillAdama, I think already in the next poll it will have passed Nation of Millions, .
- This Year's Model: I agree with Particle Analist on this, not with the same enthusiasm, though. The best thing was seeing it so proportionally high, right above milestones like Loveless, LCD, Public Enemy, and both Tom Waits records.
- Achtung, Baby: Three years since the last time I listened to it. Great album, must have been a shock ( ) at it's time, specially for U2 fans. One of the most refreshing records I know.
- Yankee Hotel Foxtrot: Wilco (the album) and Being There are more pleasing to me (I still haven't heard A Ghost Is Born and Sky Blue Sky), but this album is also wonderful.
- Graceland: Contains some flaws near the end, but is still a record I visit every now and then. The title track and "I Know What I Know" are the peak of the disc. I like these albums that flirt a little with African music, I think I should check out that continent's native music that's being recommended by some people here lately.

Well, tired of writing. Top 50 latter.

What of the talk of art school kids drinking his blood and wanting to go hang with the "modern" kids, then?

How can you call a band overrated if this is a fan poll? I'd understand if we were talking about critical ranking but an album in a fan poll is rated exactly where it should be.

Well, I assume I don't know the songs lyrics. I don't to listen to the album reading lyrics, so I only know the few parts I understand with my more-or-less English fluence. That's one of the reasons I love listening to foreign music: I can completely dissociate the music from the lyrics. I'm not saying it's a good thing, it's just my way of appreciating this art. I'm just more a music than a lyrics guy.

Sorry Moonbeam, but it looks like I'm going to have to disagree.

"Businessmen drink my blood. Like the kids in art school said they would."

I've always interpreted these lyrics to be sarcastic, I mean, look at what he has to say about these kids later.

"All the kids have always known. That the emperor wears no clothes. But they bow to down to him anyway. It's better than to be alone."

And as for....

"Let's go downtown and talk to the modern kids. They will eat right out of your hand. Using great big words that they don't understand."

If anything, these lyrics are entirely against being pretentious.

You don't think the results of this poll are influenced by critical opinion of these albums?

Obviously nothing is over or underrated from what are forum opinion is--unless I made a mistake tabulating the scores (and we know that's possible). But I think it's perfectly legitimate to say, for example, that we, as a forum, overrated The Joshua Tree or underrated The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady.

Since not everyone has heard every album that got votes, and we all know critical opinion and other factors play a role in who has listened to what, some albums may be actually underrated or overrated compared with what the results would be if everyone had heard more albums. Just my two cents.

@Toni

I'm sure it'll fall down as soon as people get bored of his pre-planned 'spontaneous' media stunts. Remember, this is the album that people declared a classic before they even heard it, and that critics give 10/10 reviews to without once referencing the music. If we took this poll the week before it came out it would have finished thirty places higher.

Really, I'm not mad about College Dropout doing well. Soon people will remember it's much better than MBDTF.

A lot of hard rock 60's albums are finishing lower than I would have expected.

The thing about this particular fan poll is that a lot of people explored this music by starting at the top of the AM list and working down.

"Excuse me while I kiss the sky"





[35] The Jimi Hendrix Experience | Are You Experienced? | 1967

Points: 2922 | Votes: 25 | AM Rank: 12 | 2009 Poll Rank: 20 (-15)
Biggest Fan: BillAdama: (1)



"Meet the new boss
Same as the old boss"





[34] The Who | Who's Next | 1971

Points: 2953 | Votes: 26 | AM Rank: 33 | 2009 Poll Rank: 27 (-7)
Biggest Fan: Henry (2)



"This is the time and life that I am living"




[33] Love | Forever Changes | 1967

Points: 2967 | Votes: 29 | AM Rank: 49 | 2009 Poll Rank: 23 (-10)
Biggest Fan: Fred (2)



"We're not enemies
We just disagree"




[32] The Strokes | Is This It? | 2001

Points: 2973 | Votes: 31 | AM Rank: 45 | 2009 Poll Rank: 42 (+10)
Biggest Fan: Nick (8)



"I recall lightning stuck itself"





[31] Television | Marquee Moon | 1977

Points: 2984 | Votes: 25 | AM Rank: 25 | 2009 Poll Rank: 29 (-2)
Biggest Fan: Fred: (1)

Is it just me or do the Strokes look WAY out of place among the other albums in that group? Still,more people voted for Is This It than any of those other 4...

Sorry, but I find the fact that a 30-year old man is ripping into people half his age who are fans of his music to be quite distasteful.

Yeah, it's better than those other 4.

Is This It is also the only one of the five that's moving up -- new blood. Maybe won't stay this high over time, but I personally enjoy seeing it so high (although not above Are You Experienced? -- not sure what's up with that one falling so far). I think Is This It is the most important album of the 21st century, especially in Britain, so it's justified in its position.

Are You Experienced is one of the more surprising falls of the poll. No idea why, it seems like its standing is as good as it ever was here. Then again I didn't vote for it...

To me Who's Next is the worst album here; I don't get why that's the most-acclaimed Who album here. Besides "Baba O'Riley" I don't care to listen to any of its songs. They were much better in the 60s.

Forever Changes is a psychedelic masterpiece. I voted it 16th. Love the lyrics, personality, and creativity displayed here.

Couldn't disagree with you more on Who's next. Baba O'Reilly is a great song and so are 4 others on the album: Behind Blue Eyes, Won't Get Fooled Again, Story In Your Eyes and Bargain.

I am not at all surprised that this poll lowered Who's Next's ranking. It's part of the disdain for classic rock and the over-rating of many albums that will likely not be near the top 100 30 years from now.

I will also not be at all surprised to see Radiohead and Velvet Underground as 2 of the top 3 albums in the poll.

None of this bothers me. Everyone is entitled to their uniquely valid opinions. There is no amount of strident articulation that will convert their opinions to objectively verifiable facts.

I have no idea. Why do you ask this question? Are you having some mixed feelings.

Isn't this the Moody Blues?

Song is Over, not Story in Your Eyes - the mind does wander, sometimes mid-keystroke

I'm arguably the biggest pop fan here, but I wouldn't put Annie Lennox anywhere near the same category as Madonna. Annie's voice may be strong and powerful, but it also has a lot more depth, texture and bite than just about any "pop" singer out there.

You want depth? Check out 3:46 of "My True Love".

You want range of texture? Try "Revenge" on for size!

You want bite? She's got plenty of that. A few examples:

"Paint a Rumour" (particularly the seething end!)
"No Fear, No Hate, No Pain (No Broken Hearts)"
"Somebody Told Me"

I can't see many female pop singers capable of all of that.

It’s interesting to look back at some of the really readers old polls and see how albums vanish, artists thin out, and some are re-discovered.

The 1988 NME Readers Top 100 albums had 6 albums by Smiths in the top 100, including The Queen is Dead at number 1. Imperial Bedroom was the top Elvis Costello album (number 14), The King of America (1986) at 22. Other recent releases in their Top 100 included Infected by The The (number 34), London 4 Hull 0 by The Housemartins (at 88).

The 1996 Mojo poll looks more like this poll (without Radiohead), though still had Springsteen’s Tunnel of Love at 66. The Rolling Stone 2002 Readers list had Weezer’s Maladroit at 90 and Linkin Park – Hybrid Theory at 58.

The results here are way more interesting. Congratulations on your careful listening and voting, it will send me back to many albums for a new listen and some for a first listen!

Another thing that we have in common. I had the same musical history ten years earlier. Just replace the 90's with the 80's and you get the picture. And there was no such thing as MTV in 80's France (but a great TV show called "Les Enfants du rock"). So I was most of the time buried under the synths. Hence my synth trauma. History retained the good, but there was a lot of bad in everyday synth music in the 80s. I was abused by synths when I was a teenager.

Now, my two (Euro) cents about the new group of 5



[35] The Jimi Hendrix Experience | Are You Experienced? | 1967

My number 62. One of the most stunning debuts ever ( The Doors, Fleet Foxes, La Mauvaise réputation, Five Leaves Left, the VU & Nico, Rufus Wainwright ranked better in my list).

[34] The Who | Who's Next | 1971

My #42. It went down in my list since 2009, but it's still a brilliant album. No throwaway here.


[33] Love | Forever Changes | 1967
my #155. Here unlike "Who's Next" I don't like every song but there are pure masterpieces. The first 3 songs are stunning but the whole is better than the sum of its parts. It has to do with this unique sound, mixing folk, Spanish influences, strings. Very



[32] The Strokes | Is This It? | 2001
My #125. A classic. IMO they succeded to make a lasting effort where Oasis failed. Their sound is more focus. But that's my opinion. Not really innovative but this album, just like "Dark side of the moon " to me is part of the scene. It's just like a piece of furniture that you can't remove. Or the room wouldn't be the same anymore.


[31] Television | Marquee Moon | 1977
My #259. Great album, especially for its guitar parts. Television was a punk band in attitude but no Attila : they played those loong and amazing guitar solos. But I'm not a huge fan of Verlaine's vocals that tend to irritate me. ANyway top 300 stuff is stil very good stuff in my list. In Marquee Moon's intensity there is something of LCD Soundsystem.

Impossible!

Disdain for classic rock??? The album finished in the top 35, and another classic rock giant is about to hit at number 30. 3 Stones albums, 4 Dylan albums, and 5 Beatles albums made the top 50. I'm not claiming that all of these don't deserve their placements, I'm just pointing out that what you perceive as disdain is actually dominance.

As far as the Who goes, I used to listen almost exclusively to classic rock and they never clicked with me then. Just personal taste, I definitely realize why people love Who's Next.

I'd like to hear what albums you think won't make the top 50 a few decades from now (if it's In Rainbows, I would agree with you).

"Crying won't help you, praying won't do you no good"




[30] Led Zeppelin | Led Zeppelin IV | 1971

Points: 3024 | Votes: 26 | AM Rank: 31 | 2009 Poll Rank: 38 (+8)
Biggest Fan: Listyguy (1)



"The sunshine bores the daylights out of me"




[29] The Rolling Stones | Exile on Main St. | 1972

Points: 3027 | Votes: 28 | AM Rank: 8 | 2009 Poll Rank: 15 (-14)
Biggest Fan: Jonathan (5)



"This is really happening"




[28] Radiohead | Kid A | 2000

Points: 3036 | Votes: 28 | AM Rank: 52 | 2009 Poll Rank: 24 (-4)
Biggest Fan: Petri (3)



"We are gathered here today to get through this thing called life"






[27] Prince and The Revolution | Purple Rain | 1984

Points: 3065 | Votes: 26 | AM Rank: 50 | 2009 Poll Rank: 30 (+3)
Biggest Fan: Stone (2)





[26] Miles Davis | Kind of Blue | 1959

Points: 3076 | Votes: 26 | AM Rank: 39 | 2009 Poll Rank: 32 (+6)
Biggest Fan: DavidM (1)

Indeed! This forum is far more of a classic rock sausage fest than an indie sausage fest, although both are well represented.

Kid A behind Illnois is quite a shocker.

Sausage fest... Appropriate for a no-girl forum

[30] Led Zeppelin | Led Zeppelin IV | 1971

My number 14. This is the ultimate early 70s album (with What's Going On). I love everything on IV, even the Dungeons & Dragons lyrics (I'm a heroic fantasy fan). Let alone the "bloody wedding song" (dixit Plant) I love "Rock and Roll", "Going To California" and the great "When The Levee Breaks" inspired by an old Delta blues song from the 20s. While I can see why people can love some of the albums I hate, I can clearly see why people can hate that one. I love turn-the-other-cheek albums.


[29] The Rolling Stones | Exile on Main St. | 1972
My number 46. I should do a list of garage sell double albums, from the White one to this one. I love big books, big films, big meals... every now and then. I bet this album will be even higher in my next list.



[28] Radiohead | Kid A | 2000

My number 491. I think I prefer In Rainbows to that one. A little too cold and experimental. But beautiful at times. Maybe it will grow on me. I can understand its appeal. But I'm also happy it's not in the top 20.


[27] Prince and The Revolution | Purple Rain | 1984
Prince was such a good news in the 80s. I remember when I heard my first Pince song, "When Doves Cry". I was camping with my cousin in the garden of my parents' country house. I love everything in Purple Rain. It's like a Thriller with much better taste.


[26] Miles Davis | Kind of Blue | 1959
my #168 and the oldest record of the top 100. It's not my favorite Miles album (Sketches Of Spain has my preference).

Well hey, its not my fault more people didn't vote for the Buena Vista Social Club. Its in my top 50. If anything, I listen to more music outside of the English speaking world here, just not much of it comes from Scandinavia.


I'm actually pretty surprised at how the top 25 is shaking out. Sufjan going in, Talking Heads, The Zombies...pretty good.

Dominance of classic rock in absolute numbers compared to other categories/eras is likely accurate. However, please consider assessing the status of the classic rock offerings in this poll compared to the last poll and compared to the AM ratings, RS ratings and I believe that you will see a trend away from the classic rock offerings. Furthermore, my view of classic rock is apparently not as inclusive of yours. For example, while Dylan certainly was recording and making great music during the classic rock era, I would not consider his music as part of the classic rock catalogue. I would also place Television, Love and VU outside the classic rock category.

As to the albums that may be outside the top 50 in the next few decades, I would agree with you that a couple of the Radiohead albums will move down. I could also see the Strokes declining, and perhaps the Stone Roses, Neutral Milk Hotel, Television and Love offerings. Perhaps some of the yet to be revealed albums will also be declining; but they would have a lot further to travel to escape the top 50.

So, what are our favourite albums from outside the non-anglo-saxon world? I don't know if it should be called anglo-saxon or not, but I decided to include the (ridiculously low) Jamaican albums as well.

There are about 10 albums in each section of 100 except the top 100 which has zero albums. Even though most of these artists are well-known here in this forum, I think this has to do with that these albums have not been canonized over the years by UK and US media.

I'm not saying that all these albums are underrated, but they are probably heard by fewer people, so for many there are probably a number great discoveries to be made from this list.

[103] Björk | Homogenic | 1997
[128] The Knife | Silent Shout | 2006
[143] Kraftwerk | Trans-Europa Express | 1977
[148] Daft Punk | Discovery | 2001
[151] Bob Marley | Exodus | 1977
[174] Sigur Rós | Agaetis Byrjun | 1999
[176] Serge Gainsbourg | Histoire de Melody Nelson | 1971
[180] Björk | Debut | 1993
[194] Air | Moon Safari | 1998
[196] Kraftwerk | Die Mensch Maschine | 1978
[229] Buena Vista Social Club | Buena Vista Social Club | 1997
[233] Björk | Post | 1995
[244] Kraftwerk | Computerwelt | 1981
[247] Björk | Vespertine | 2001
[252] Fever Ray | Fever Ray | 2009
[255] Can | Tago Mago | 1971
[335] Bob Marley | Catch a Fire | 1973
[340] Os Mutantes | Os Mutantes | 1968
[350] The Original Soundtrack | The Harder They Come | 1972
[355] Sigur Rós | Takk... | 2005
[366] Sigur Rós | ( ) | 2002
[377] Jacques Brel | Ces gens-la | 1966
[391] Can | Ege Bamyasi | 1972
[405] Bob Marley and The Wailers | Natty Dread | 1974
[416] The Tallest Man on Earth | The Wild Hunt | 2010
[445] Bob Marley and The Wailers | Live! | 1975
[451] The Tallest Man on Earth | Shallow Grave | 2008
[457] Fela and Africa 70 | Zombie | 1977
[470] Jorge Ben | A Tábua de Esmeralda | 1974
[477] Stan Getz and João Gilberto | Getz/Gilberto | 1964
[490] Kraftwerk | Autobahn | 1974
[491] Neu! | Neu! | 1972
[498] Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares | Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares | 1975

Good to see Purple Rain in the top 30! And it also compensates a bit for the unfairly low placement of Sign O' the Times.

And, wow, I can't believe "THAT" album still hasn't appeared. I was hoping it could appear in the top 40 and it's still to come.

So since only the top 30 was left I started wondering if it was about THAT album that Jackson was talking about. (bitting nails)

THAT album won't be controversial to most of the forum. While I personally don't understand its appeal, it's definitely not coming out of nowhere.

@Henry I think the high rankings for Forever Changes and Marquee Moon suggest that they won't decline. Albums that are more popular now than when they were released seem like the least likely candidates to decline. I agree about the Stone Roses and the Strokes; those might strike future generations as 'you had to be there' albums to some extent, though both feature great timeless pop songwriting.