Marquee Moon (my #2) is a absolutely wonderful album, and I don't envision it going down in future polls - indeed I think it will go up as its importance in shaping modern music will be more recognised. Aside from the amazing guitars, what I love about the album is its sheer attitude. Yes, even Tom Verlaine's vocals are part of it, so I can really apprectiate that, even if he can't hold a note to save his life. The most important things to me in determining whether an album comes high to me is personality and heart - while Marquee Moon doesn't have much heart, it certainly has bagloads of personality. Truly great.

And I'm really stuck about THAT album...I never have the memory for things...someone care to spoiler me (unless it's Illinois, but that really can't finish in the top 15, can it)?

I'd rather not see this list, to be honest...

Please no spoliers

Some people (like me) would still like to be shocked

or open another thread

Jackson, your reasoning regarding Forever Changes and Marquee Moon is quite strong. In a few years, I may see their fate the same way you do.

Consider the list deleted, all apologies.

Gillingham, Nick deleted the list - could you delete your reply, which also contains the list? Thanks!

Thanks Nick

Yes, one of the best features of this poll in comparison to the last ones, along with the higher rate of discussion, is that we've had almost no spoilers thus far.
Zorg, if THAT album is the one I have I mind, and considering the few things I know about your taste, than I think you would love it.

Well, even though I think some albums must really go lower on next decades, I don't think it applies to The Strokes or The Stone Roses. Is This It, beside its almost perfect tracklist, was an album that gave the start up for that 180º lurch that happened to rock ten years ago, defining all the decade's sound; and you know critics love this kind of things. The Stone Roses, well, kind of made the same thing for British '90s, as underrated as that period looks to be. I wasn't there when it was released, but still have never considered it dated. Besides the tipical '80s reverbs, the production, specially those shining guitars, put the album in a kind of those so discussed "musical time capsules". Maybe I'm a bit biased by my own love for the album, it's my #6, but 22 years are already a good period to know how the album has survived to the test of time.

Gillingham said he didn't wan't to see the spoiler but he was the one responsible to keep it stuck in the thread, hahahh!

Hard rock classics are dropping like flies.

Eh, not sure how hard classic rock is truly falling in this poll. For one thing, some of the most "classic-y" classic rock is rising - namely, Zeppelin IV. Two Rolling Stones albums rose, and two fell - not sure what that says about classic rock exactly. I'm not sure there's enough here to identify a significant trend. Albums of all genres are rising and falling, and I think it might have to do more with the randomness of who participates in the poll. It would be interesting to see if there are any trends in albums rising or falling consistently since 2005.

Well Illinois and Funeral as well as albums like Remain In Light suggest that "unconventional" (and I use the word in the loosest of terms) albums are rising, so surely as a result more "conventional" ones are falling? Even things like the fall of Pulp and the rise of Elliott Smith suggest it as well, lower down the list.

Is THAT album Remain In Light? I would love that.

Yeah the number of ballots never reaches a critical mass. One more ballot and the top 10 an still change, that's why we shouldn' pat so much attention in short range differences between rankings.

@Zorg : No, given Jackson's reaction, that must be a classic rock / basic rock album. Born to Run ?

I didn't mean they were going down in rank from last time, I meant they were falling short of the very top. All the names like Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin are falling short of the highest reaches. It looks like about two thirds alt-pop at the top.

The one I was thinking about was exactly this, but I agree with nicolas, after Jackson's reply, I think it's probably not it, although I would also love the fact.

Born to Run always does really well though. It could be Blood On The Tracks. Jackson isn't a huge fan of Dylan, I don't think.


Anyway I think it's time to start commenting on some of the albums that have gone past:

The Bends: I mean, it's not a bad album. It really does have good songs on it. It's not too front loaded - the best songs are probably actually in the second half. Street Spirit is possibly Radiohead's greatest ending song, and that's saying something. The problem is that it's nothing special, and everything, and I mean EVERYTHING is special in this top 50 at least. You listen to it the first time and you love it, but by the fifth, it dies away.

Dark Side of the Moon: Have never listened to this album properly, but the listens that I have had have left me somewhat unimpressed. It's too bloated to me really stick. I don't think it has that much personality or heart, even though it does flow well, and the songs are on the whole pretty good.

Kinks: What a wonderful album. The Kinks just keep going up in my estimations and it's such a shame that they were around in the shadows of the Beatles and other 60s bands, when they're completely different and arguably better. That whole nostalgia about living in 60s Britain, lamenting the loss of the good old days really does appeal to me, at times it's intentionally cheesy and other times it's incredibly sweet.

Beggars Banquet: I think I put this in the top 10, because as Nicolas said, it's a magnificent mix of the hits and good old country rock. It shows how they can do lyrics like Dylan and play far better than the Beatles. Jigsaw Puzzle really is a magnificent song, probably my favourite of 1968.

Led Zep IV: It's a really good album. Every song is a single, and the last two are stunning (Going To California and When The Levee Breaks). Led Zep in my mind were probably the most musically talented band there ever was.


Kid A: I do like it, (I can't remember where I put it, but it was in my top 100), but again it's nothing special. My problem with Radiohead is that it's too easy to say when you first listen to one of their albums that it's the greatest thing you ever heard (this is happening with me with The King OF Limbs atm) but none of their albums have real lasting power. Even Amnesiac my favourite is slowly slipping away to albums that are more exciting, more consistent and more listen-to-me-again.

And also, LONDON CALLING FOR TOP THREE

That's true. Some more recent albums have infiltrated the very top; of course it still has a very classical slant, but it has more unconventional selections than most all-time lists (RS).

Hey guys, I know I started talking about THAT album in the top 15, but it was not my intention to rise guesses for what it is, since it looked like everybody had agreed not to spoil anyone's surprises. Sorry if I unnintentionally led to this, but I suppose we agree not to tell the names of the albums that are still to come, right?

I'm also guessing "that" album is Automatic for the People (not a spoiler, since I don't actually know, just a guess).

edit: I can delete this if people think it's out of bounds.

I'm going to be out of town over the weekend, so the unveiling of the top 20 will resume late on Sunday.

As for your guesses, one person got it right, but I voted Blood on the Tracks and Remain in Light in my top 100, so I'm definitely not disappointed or confused by their rankings!

This, by the way, is a fantastic group of albums. The gain for Odessey and Oracle was one of my favorite developments of the poll.



"God knows where we're heading"





[25] Marvin Gaye | What's Going On | 1971

Points: 3128 | Votes: 27 | AM Rank: 6 | 2009 Poll Rank: 18 (-7)
Biggest Fan: Antonius (2)



"My God
What have I done?"





[24] Talking Heads | Remain in Light | 1980

Points: 3142 | Votes: 27 | AM Rank: 35 | 2009 Poll Rank: 37 (+13)
Biggest Fan: Andre (1)



"The warmth of your love's like the warmth of the sun"




[23] The Zombies | Odessey & Oracle | 1968

Points: 3168 | Votes: 28 | AM Rank: 316 | 2009 Poll Rank: 50 (+27)
Biggest Fan: Jackson (7)



"I was hoping it was a lie"




[22] Neil Young | After the Gold Rush | 1970

Points: 3237 | Votes: 28 | AM Rank: 44 | 2009 Poll Rank: 28 (+6)
Biggest Fan: Schwah (2)



"Has the world changed or have I changed?"




[21] The Smiths | The Queen Is Dead | 1986

Points: 3246 | Votes: 31 | AM Rank: 28 | 2009 Poll Rank: 14 (-7)
Biggest Fan: Midaso (1)

now, 25-21 starts with a real baad news

[25] Marvin Gaye | What's Going On | 1971

My #11

Nicolas is shocked

1. Because Qaddafi was shot yesterday
2. Because he got fired today
3. Because Marvin Gaye lost 7 spots to #26

Making this poll's list I realized how much I love What's Going On. A young French guy who started reviewing all AM albums from Pet Sounds made this negative comment about this album being naive in its lyrics. I think this is one of the most human, sincere and straightforward album I've ever heard. The call for help of a desperate man that wants to reconcile with his family and his country. An album about freedom too because he fought hard against Berry Gordy to have the album released like he wanted. And I didn't even mention the music, of this album playing like one long song (like Astral Weeks. there's so much to say about it...

[24] Talking Heads | Remain in Light | 1980
Unranked
Originally not my thing, but I've decided to fight my prejudices. So I'll have to get used to Byrne's robotic way of singing. The music is good though, full of world influences, so this album could be called invention of Vampire Weekend number 2. I'm not sure TH will remain in light in the next polls, or in 10 years when the 80's won't be cool anymore. But good album.

[23] The Zombies | Odessey & Oracle | 1968
My #86. Well, this high ? It's an excellent 60s pop album, but I suspect it's this high because of its lack of immediate success and its "lost gem" status. It's an excellent album, but it deserves IMO a spot near... 86

[22] Neil Young | After the Gold Rush | 1970
It was my favorite NY album long before I discovered this site, and I was surprised it was the most acclaimed. A wonderful collection of songs with sparse arrangements. Neil was burnt out by the CSNY adventure and he wanted something more straightforward, more simple. He wanted something made at once, like int eh 50s and early sixties. The title track with its horn is a wonder; well I'm not gonna list all the songs, they're all great.

[21] The Smiths | The Queen Is Dead | 1986
Ok this forum loves the Smiths. Even my man Greg loves the Smiths (BTW where are you man ? ). they lmust have something that I don't get. So as Hernry says "Please provide an explanation..."


And Jackson, thanks for giving us our Weekend off

***Warning: the following shit fit contains violent and explicit language.***
What the FUCK????
Are You Experienced fell 15 places, Forever Changes fell, and more importantly BOTH LOST TO KID A-WHICH SUCKS!
Glad to see LZIV move up though.

I could see Odessey & Oracle, The Queen Is Dead, and Remain in Light dropping substantially over the next decade.

I discovered the Smiths through this forum, even though I had heard some of their songs previously and enjoyed them. In my view, Morrissey's vocals are typically pitch perfect and heart felt. Before I listened intently his vocals didn't stand out to me as anything so special. But, the more I listen to the Smiths and to Morrissey's solo output, the more I appreciate his consistently superb vocal delivery.

Yes, I really wanted to. But I can't anymore... Kind of annoying. Sorry guys.

Speaking of counterproductive.

In the world of music critics, Remain in Light have always been a steady participant in many all-time album polls. So in 10 years, I reckon they still will be, it has nothing to do with the 80's being cool or not.

Hey, I kind of liked that. Give me that over about half of our top 100 at least! The spectacularly cheesy video put it over the top.

In terms of lame synth music in the 80s, I'd probably nominate something more along the lines of J. Geils Band and Huey Lewis and the News, but even they are somewhat rescued in my eyes because of the synths. Guess I'm just a synth junkie.

Guys, if you wanted more clues on what THAT album could be, just check out my ballot. 9 of my top 50 haven't shown up yet, and 4 of those are in my top 10. Every album that could be has been mentioned though, so all of you are great guessers.

But I guess looking at my ballot spoils the fun of it. All of the albums left anyway are classics.

I don't get this discussion. It's a half-guitar band...

Odyssey and Oracle is becoming a lost discovery in a lot of indie circles. The people on the old Metacritic forum loved it too. But, I'm surprised it got all the way to #23. I mean, I like it, but it's far from my top.

I think Funeral is going to hit top 10. It's awesome to see 3 Dylans in the top 20. I only expected two, and my third guess wouldn't have been that one.

My top ten prediction: Beatles x 5, Dylan x 2, Pet Sounds, Funeral, OK Computer

To all those perplexed by some of the albums moving up or down a significant amount of spots, I would guess it's not because tastes have changed that much in the two scant years since the last time an all-time poll was conducted, but it's because there are probably quite a few different voters this time around.

And yet I can't hear the guitar in spite of the guy on the right playing so intently. In any case, the synths are certainly predominant, and I find I'm much, much more forgiving of "bad" music with 80s production, and I probably slight "good" music from the 50s, 60s and perhaps 90s because of its production.

Let me put it this way. I like this far more than I probably should because that groove and those synths are just too much to resist. It probably has no rightful place in a list of the "best" 1000 songs ever, but it would unquestionably make my list.

The Queen Is Dead is my #96 album at the moment but I never used to get The Smiths either. There was something about the structure of their songs I just didn’t used to like (a lack of hooks and bridges are of course not necessarily a bad thing, but to me it felt like the melodies were going... nowhere. And did the lyrics and style of singing have to be so morbid?)

But sometimes it helps if you know more about the songwriters’ frame of mind at the time of recording, so I did some research on the Smiths and particularly on Morrissey. At the time (and probably still today) Morrissey was clearly very dissatisfied with politics and social norms. He saw them as having a destructive effect on individuals. So it’s no surprise that the characters in his lyrics were often lonely individuals who longed to be loved but ultimately felt confined by the world they lived in.

Suddenly the melancholic lyrics made sense to me. And what I perceived as “lack of direction” in Johnny Marr’s music also started to make sense – it’s only realistic that songs about characters who feel out of place in society should have an unconventional and slightly detached structure.

Of course, nicolas, if you are allergic to jangle pop you might never be bowled over by The Queen Is Dead. But next time you put it on, follow the same advice as you gave me about Dark Side of the Moon: listen to it as if you are spending time with a friend – in this case, a slightly fragile and sensitive friend who is disenchanted with social norms and who is kinda miserable but thankfully also sincere and not without humour. Spend enough time with him and you might be surprised by his emotional depth. But there lies the problem, doesn’t it? With so many albums at our fingertips we don’t spend “unnecessary” time with music which doesn't sound like it's our cup of tea.

Just to reiterate Henry’s point about Morrissey’s vocals, maybe give I Know It’s Over another go. The song is about a guy trying to come to grips with the fact that the woman he loves is marrying another man. The vocal delivery by Morrissey really makes you feel his pain (especially in the last minute of the song).

Sorry for the essay!

PS: Thanks for posting that Modern Talking clip. If you like synth music (and I do) it’s as beautifully straightforward as they come. So (even though you wanted a )

Great post, and high five for the synth love!

For me, Morrissey has some of the most beautiful, creative and addictive melodies going. His music solo and with The Smiths is some of my very favorite to sing with unwavering histrionics.

Excellent predictions! My change would be to move out one of the Beatles and move in the "beloved" VU (after all it was polled as the best album of the 1960's just a few months ago. I would also guess that the next five (16-20) will include: Doolittle, Blood on the Tracks (my favorite Dylan album), and Automatic for the People.

Great joke ! But once again, I don't think it was an intentional joke... love your humor Henrik

THAT is not a guitar . I meant synth-oriented pop from the 80's. It's not only synths, but those effects everywhere : on the vocals, the guitars, the drums.
The Smiths music is so full of these effects that I can't play the first song entirely. I have a problem with music relying too much on electronic devices.

But I'll follow your advice Dan. I'll try to spend time with this guy in spite of his terrible clothes and hairstyle . I sense a lot of personality in Morrissey, something very british too, something endearing, but it's Marrs and these terrible guitars I can't get. Well, I'm not gonna ask Moonbeam to like bluegrass (and I think bluegrass is one of the most beautiful and pure musical styles ever). I love "There is A light". I like his depiction of teenage, and I was 16 when this record was released (the girls had huge earrings and strange hairdos and the guys wore their jeans very short with the bottom rolled up to their ankles). So it's more a question of style and aesthetics than a question of mere songwriting (although I agree about the loose song structures). Proof being that I totally prefer Morrissey's solo outings of the 00's.

And Moonbeam, we are really 2 faces of the same coin. The synth era artists you said you don't like (Huey Lewis, J. Geils Band) are both rootsy and rnr artists that turned to synths to make money. BTW I dodn't know JGeils Band had made synth music in the 80s. Are you sure ? Such a wonderful blues/rock band ? (I'm teasing you, but I love this band).

And guys, about Modern Talking, you're killing me !!

Now it's time to wash my ears with this

This is a very interesting discussion indeed! I also hated most of the fashion and style of the 90s. All of those grungey clothes and smug album covers or the obnoxious pop-punk whining like Green Day was just nauseating for me.

While it seemed most people were content wallowing in their flannels and extolling the god-like virtues of Pearl Jam, Green Day and Oasis (good God), I felt quite alone wearing Cross Colors and Hypercolor shirts and dancing along to Deee-Lite.

As for J. Geils Band, look no further than "Centerfold" and "Freeze Frame". It just didn't feel natural to them, like the synths in "Jump" felt like a crass tack-on for Van Halen.

And since you brought up Modern Talking, I will now hijack the thread for the moment to post some classics from a genre that is sadly completely absent from the AM ranks: italo disco!

Bagarre - "For Your Pleasure"
Tantra - "The Hills of Katmandu"
Kano - "It's a War"
Dharma - "Plastic Doll"
'Lectric Workers - "Robot Is Systematic"
Easy Going - "Fear"
Gazebo - "I Like Chopin"
Mr. Flagio - "Take a Chance"
Charlie - "Spacer Woman"
Zed - "Plastic Love"

Moonbeam don' miss my last post edit. there's a treat for you
And I'm no huge grunge fan. Still too much reverb on Pearl Jam's drums . An Oasis IMO is :

As small as a hen egg
An envious little frog
Seeing a bulky ox
Starts swelling and swelling
Trying to be as big as he is.
-“Look at me now - exclaims she puffed up:-
“Am I now as big as you are?”-”Not enough,
my old friend.”- And she keeps on swelling
And stretching and straining, enlarging
till she bursts as a bladder.
Folks all show and no substance,
Ambitious and brainless men,
Or people despising their own right place,
How many people as this frog are!

Jean de La Fontaine (1621-1695) (inspired by Aesop's fable

And speaking of Italo dance, you forgot this

That is a brilliant fable to describe Oasis! Well done! And I managed to get through all of "Streamline Cannonball", and I can say that while it is definitely not my thing, I'll take it over stuff like Chumbawamba or this abomination any day! And I had never heard Topo & Roby before! I did enjoy it, although the italo cut I wish I could find a proper version of is Klein & MBO's "Dirty Talk". I have decided that if AMF ever has a huge meetup and I'm able to attend, I should come decked out in that purple and silver cape in the Topo & Roby video. Yes.




Yes.











....And I should probably stop now. Here we are on the verge of unveiling the top 20 albums of all time according to this forum, and here I am giddily talking about tracks that would likely never make the top 20,000 songs of this forum.

that was a funny intermission but Jackson won't post the top 20 before sunday night. And that abomination was really one. Where did you get that ?

I heard it here about 3 years ago and it scarred itself into my memory. It's in my bottom 10 songs of all time, easily.

So many links to Italo Disco and yet none of these songs have been mentioned. I own this double LP and it's one of my favorites in my collection.

I think Jackson wants to start a new thread when he comes back for the top 20...

Back to the albums list...Nicolas, it has been a pleasure to read your opinions on each and every album. It feels as if you have got to know yourself a little more through the process, am I right?

45-41

"In Rainbows" is quite the shock. Probably the most unimaginative and cacophonous work of Radiohead with sort of an identity problem since it never feels like it has a certain style or that is spinning around many genres. Only two tracks I keep: "All I Need" and "Reckoner".

At least there is no hyperbole (or is there any?) at the placement of "Dark Side Of The Moon" while in other polls anywhere around the globe they are gonna choke you for not including it among the all-time Top 10. Atmospheric, with moments of ecstatic brilliance ("Eclipse", "Us And Them") but its sound effects seem dated to me and the lyrics, despite all the effort in the world of some critics to convince you for the opposite, are too simplistic. That said, I enjoy it quite a lot and it would probably made my Top 200, right around the 170-180 zone.

One of the few albums in exactly one rank that it deserves, "The Stone Roses" is one of those that can only be re-discovered from younger generations and furthermore gain some new chunks of love. Fresh, cheerful, with lots and lots of epic bass lines ("I Am The Ressurection", "Waterfall") and a truly original rebellious attitude in the lyrics of almost every single track (especially "Bye Bye Badman") it's very understandable why it rose a reprise of the '60s era and spirit at the time it was released, but it never feels like it borrows too much from them or being a nostalgia copy-paste. And that mix of funk and acoustic guitar sound can hardly be listed under a certain genre.

I tried to love "The Kinks Are The Vilage Green Preservation Society", even like it. So far I've listened to it almost two times. I don't know what exactly I don't get. It sounds corny and too optimistic for its own good for me. I think it belongs to the time of its release.

"Hunky Dory" is also pure brilliance. One of the best soft-pop rock albums of all time, a "prophecy" for a sound that would silently conquer the '70s (see "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road") and would be acceptable as a total mainstream-merchandise firecracker some time later, unfortunately not with artists and works of the same high quality (Meat Loaf, Queen etc.). Anyway, even if not as vastly epic as "The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars" it sounds and is perfect from the first to the last second and the classic ones from this ("Changes", "Life On Mars") haven't aged a bit.

thanks Henrik ! For once I have the time to do this. I'm having a lot of fun. Music is so important to me that it be came a reflection of my life, and that's why i have this very intimate relationship with these albums. That was the subject of my first and only novel. So yes talking about music I can't help talking about myself and following Socrates' principle (Know thyself). I wouldn't do that if I didn't feel that talking about the personal is sometimes the best way to reach the universal. So sorry Mr Jackson (comedy of repetition)for those endless digressings. It proves that those polls are the most fruitful events of our little community.

And Particle, great comment on "Hunky Dory". You nailed it. Bowie was a magician (at least during the 70's).

and Henrik, wow for your double LP. Miko Mission and Den Harrow !!!! Names that surged from nowhere (memory back alleys). We have to open a 80's pop thread. "Why Did You Do It" is great. Pure funk.

40-36

Like it or not, U2 are among the few bands out there after the '70s that can be proud they invented a sound which is 100% their own. What I love about "The Joshua Tree" is that it is the album-establisher of that sound and at the same time the peak of their form. Everything has the quality of a classic, from the bigger-than-life, stadium-filling arena rock of "Where The Streets Have No Name" to the quiet, whispering elegy and gentle sadness of "With Or Without You" or the darker, more introspective "Bullet The Blue Sky" and the joyful, seemingly out of nowhere happy, joyful folk of "One Tree Hill" it's a rare thing, a masterpiece both embraced by a bigger, mainstream crowd, a monster in commercial performances and also one that can touch the emotional chords of persons which prefer a less straightforward, more quirky and adventurous sound. And yes, if we say there are two works from them that can be widely regarded as the "antagonists" in what is the best among them, "The Joshua Tree" beats "Achtung Baby" any time of the day. Yeah, even breakfast.

"Beggars Banquet" might just be the most colorful and polymorphic from the Stones' so called "Big Four" albums. It begins splendidly with one of the most epic funky tunes ever which gains a touch of rock'n'roll only until its very end ("Sympathy For The Devil"), then has a taste of folk/country/blues ballads ("No Expectations"), and of course the much beloved, exciting and simply irresistible raw rock power which characterises the majority of their tunes ("Street Fighting Man") when it finally ends with beautiful acoustic guitar ("Salt Of The Earth"). Overall a desrved classic and I'm disappointed, more than "Let It Bleed", that it failed to top "Exile On Main St." which I think, for reasons I'll explain later, is the weakest among the "Big Four" elite.

Instead, I'd say that this title belongs to "Sticky Fingers" which automatically makes it my favorite Stones record. At the same time, it gives me the impression of being the most mature one, and the one that flirts and connects the most with the country sound that influenced this band so deeply. Somehow ironic then that it begins with the most frenetic, addictive song of pure rock they ever composed (even the best one? I don't know-competition with "Jumpin' Jack Flash" is harsh and tough), the famous "Brown Sugar". From the rest now it's hard to pcik a favorite, though I always grew an endearing affection to "Moonlight Mile". Anyway, it's a little pointless discussing about songs when it's about an album you must listen to the whole of it and not just one time (not of course to get it, but for multiple experiences of musical enjoyment!).

OK, we all know "Blonde On Blonde" is gonna rank the highest. I don't have a problem with that, it's a towering achievement in the history of music. But it's a little sad that a record as good as that, maybe even better by a sub-atomic particle distance is below the 20 mark at least. Beyond his superhuman ability to write such beautiful poetic lyrics which with a first, pedestrian look don't make any sense at all yet they hit emotional ground instantly, "Bringing It All Back Home" is also the one where Dylan's characteristic voice gets tested the most, changing from excitement ("Subterranean Homesick Blues"), to despair ("It's All Over Now, Baby Blue"), joy ("Mr. Tambourine Man"), and back to the space between all this started as a crossroad ("Love Minus Zero"), with the latter being for a reason I can't explain among my favorites of his. I haven't even mentioned the melodic quality of the guitar sound and the, oh, so harmonical inclusion of the other instruments as well and the fact that, from all the records in the world, this maybe is the one that has influenced the likes of Bruce Springsteen the most.

"The Bends" is actually one of the best forms Radiohead have been at-really very good songwriting (especially "High And Dry") and although their experimental phase hasn't even begun, their sound is still very different from the ordinary but in a good manner. Still, it has some flaws and it really is way too high already, although certainly most deservingly than other unbelieable to me entries. It's better than "Kid A" too.

I wouldn't be too sure about that; last time Highway 61 Revisited (in my opinion deservedly) beat out Blonde on Blonde. That said, I do agree Bringing it All Back Home should be ranked higher, but for me that's true of all Dylan albums.

About the comments that The Kinks are "corny and too optimistic", that is exactly what many people love about The Beatles while The Kinks did it with better songwriting and much more cohesive and even albums.

Here's how I see the top 20 falling out:

20. Illinois
19. Blood on the Tracks
18. Doolittle
17. Innervisions
16. Nevermind
15. London Calling
14. Rubber Soul
13. Automatic for the People
12. Funeral
11. Sgt. Pepper
10. Born to Run
9. Blonde on Blonde
8. The White Album
7. Ziggy Stardust
6. Abbey Road
5. Highway 61 Revisited
4. Revolver
3. VU & Nico
2. Ok Computer (wishful thinking)
1. Pet Sounds

I keep coming back to Bob Dylan's Blonde on Blonde, but for some reason I can't seem to enjoy it as much as his other well known albums (Highway 61 Revisited, Bringing It All Back Home, Blood on the Tracks). I find it is quite a difficult and sprawling album and I've already expressed my distaste for overly-long albums. I feel like there may be a misunderstanding somewhere, can someone explain why they think Blonde on Blonde is Bobby's best work?

All right so now everybody knows which albums are left

These are some of the reasons I love Blonde on Blonde:

1) It was the first Dylan I listened to. It holds a special place in my heart as a result - I Want You was the first Dylan song I loved, Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands was the second. Of course deciding to make the step of listening to an incredibly acclaimed artist and getting "Rainy Day Women 12 and 35" is incredibly jarring, but of course it grew on me very quickly

2) As Nicolas says, it's a garage sale. It's everything that Dylan could muster from that year, and it's all chucked in there. This is one way I think it's better than Highway 61 Revisited - it feels like he hasn't tried hard on it, he's not being meticulous - he's just playing and recording it and slapping it on a disc. To me you can hear he sounds a bit more liberated. A lot of the songs are just funny or silly and it shows in his voice.

3) The history. One of the first double albums ever, no one dared to make a 70 minute album before him and so many have done it since. It was a good decision

4) Lyrics. They really are incredible.

5) Crescendos. There's one in One of Us Must Know (Sooner or Later) and of course there's one in "Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands". Musically it's just amazing.

I have to say, I think the overly long nature is at the crux of why it's my favourite Dylan album. There's just so much to discover.

Here is what the final tally will end up looking like:

BY ARTIST

The Beatles - 12

Bob Dylan - 7
Radiohead - 7

David Bowie - 6
Led Zeppelin - 6
R.E.M. - 6
Bruce Springsteen - 6
Neil Young - 6

Elvis Costello - 5
PJ Harvey - 5
Pink Floyd - 5
Prince - 5
The Rolling Stones - 5

Animal Collective - 4
The Beach Boys - 4
Björk - 4
The Byrds - 4
Leonard Cohen - 4
Miles Davis - 4
Kraftwerk - 4
Bob Marley & The Wailers - 4
Joni Mitchell - 4
Pavement - 4
The Smiths - 4
Talking Heads - 4
The Velvet Underground - 4
Tom Waits - 4
The Who - 4
Wilco - 4
Stevie Wonder - 4

Arcade Fire - 3
Beck - 3
Belle & Sebastian - 3
Big Star - 3
Coldplay - 3
John Coltrane - 3
The Cure - 3
Nick Drake - 3
The Jimi Hendrix Experience - 3
Michael Jackson - 3
LCD Soundsystem - 3
Van Morrison - 3
The National - 3
Joanna Newsom - 3
Nirvana - 3
OutKast - 3
Portishead - 3
Lou Reed - 3
Roxy Music - 3
Sigur Rós - 3
Paul Simon - 3
Simon & Garfunkel - 3
Elliott Smith - 3
Sufjan Stevens - 3
U2 - 3
Kanye West - 3
Wire - 3

The Band - 2
Can - 2
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band - 2
Johnny Cash - 2
The Clash - 2
Creedence Clearwater Revival - 2
Deerhunter - 2
The Doors - 2
Brian Eno - 2
The Flaming Lips - 2
Fleet Foxes - 2
Aretha Franklin - 2
Herbie Hancock - 2
Hüsker Dü - 2
Iggy & The Stooges - 2
Joy Division - 2
King Crimson - 2
The Kinks - 2
John Lennon - 2
Madonna - 2
Massive Attack - 2
Curtis Mayfield - 2
Paul McCartney - 2
Metallica - 2
Charles Mingus - 2
Modest Mouse - 2
My Bloody Valentine - 2
New Order - 2
Oasis - 2
Pere Ubu - 2
Pixies - 2
Prefab Sprout - 2
Primal Scream - 2
Public Enemy - 2
Ramones - 2
The Shins - 2
Sleater-Kinney - 2
Sly & The Family Stone - 2
Smashing Pumpkins - 2
Patti Smith - 2
Sonic Youth - 2
Steely Dan - 2
The Streets - 2
The Tallest Man on Earth - 2
Richard & Linda Thompson - 2
Tindersticks - 2
TV on the Radio - 2
Vampire Weekend - 2
Scott Walker - 2
Weezer - 2
The White Stripes - 2
Frank Zappa/The Mothers of Invention - 2

BY YEAR

1954 - 1
1955 - 1
1956 - 1
1957 - 1
1958 - 0
1959 - 4
1950s - 8

1960 - 1
1961 - 2
1962 - 0
1963 - 5
1964 - 4
1965 - 9
1966 - 7
1967 - 16
1968 - 19
1969 - 22
1960s - 85

1970 - 20
1971 - 20
1972 - 16
1973 - 18
1974 - 14
1975 - 12
1976 - 8
1977 - 17
1978 - 12
1979 - 11
1970s - 148

1980 - 11
1981 - 2
1982 - 7
1983 - 5
1984 - 8
1985 - 8
1986 - 7
1987 - 8
1988 - 9
1989 - 9
1980s - 74

1990 - 5
1991 - 10
1992 - 3
1993 - 8
1994 - 10
1995 - 11
1996 - 7
1997 - 12
1998 - 9
1999 - 6
1990s - 81

2000 - 10
2001 - 9
2002 - 12
2003 - 6
2004 - 10
2005 - 10
2006 - 6
2007 - 10
2008 - 7
2009 - 5
2000s - 85

2010 - 13
2011 - 5
2010s - 18

More albums from 2010 than any year of the 80s, 90s and 00s. The recency effect?

This very well could be. But then again, 2011 only has 5 albums.

Those shouldn't even be there though; it takes some time to digest new albums. So in that perspective, 5 is quite a lot.

It's recency effect, but it's also that a lot of people started listening to more albums in 2010 because they found this site.

Absolutely. There is some recency effect for each of the past 4-10 years. Definitely most pronounced for 2010. The 2010 albums are the most likely to drop down or out in the next poll.

Actually, I think 5 albums is quite a lot for a year that hasn't ended yet. The end-of-the-year lists haven't even started yet. I was quite surprised to see five of them in this list.
Also, what Stephan says.

80s haters.

...gonna...

I don't know, the "optimistic" period (their first 4 albums) of The Beatles gave a couple of my all time favorite records and I think that the happiness and joy of life reflected upon their songs at the time has aged far better than the one of The Kinks (who I do not despise as a band-they gave lots of great singles). About songwriting, the quote that Jackson used for the presence of "Help!" in the Top 200 from the s/t track is an example that proves my preference to McCartney's/Lennon's lyrics. Let's not also forget about their "mature" period, something The Kinks never had.

Now about the Dylan stuff, "Highway 61 Revisited" is a masterpiece. I'd still pick "Blonde On Blonde" though not by a long shot-it's like having to pick between "Vertigo" and "Psycho", do you know what I mean?

35-31

I hoped that "Are You Experienced?" would replace for lost ground in the Jimi Hendrix issue. Unfortunately it didn't. I wonder why-it's one of the greatest albums in the history of music. Apart from the fact that it was the one to start the guitar-solo-mania that characterised almost every hard rock band during the '70s and '80s and that it pushed electric sound along with "Revolver" further than anything at the time, it's epic. It has a tendency for instant listening gratification which is a little restrained in the more sophisticated "Electric Ladyland", but that definitely doesn't make it a worse album, just different in the way it approaches the Hendrix sound, rawer and with more power. While the album's most beloved songs ("Foxey Lady", "Manic Depression", "Are You Experienced") follow that norm, there are many exceptional moments of "calmness" with more complicated sounds and psychedelia ("Third Stone From The Sun"), while the classic masterpiece "Purple Haze" works both as an extraordinary synopsis of the whole album and an amazing, totally representive of Hendrix's music song. And it also seems that records we haven't seen this far will soon appear, making "Kid A" better than this. Oh, well, to each his own taste.

The Who are really great but this is their only album I coulf fit in my Top 100, not meaning that the others are worthless but because there are simply other records I love more. This, the most grandiose attempt of a band that always had great ambition could be overblown, or even completely difficult to get, but it works perfectly. Keith Moon's absolutely perfect drumming offers a generous company to every each one of the songs in here, which pretty much all follow a mix of electric sounds and basic rock'n'roll a la Stones, but they never listen the same. And that achievement, making an album with a steady trademark sound without falling in the trap of repetition or boredom is more than great. Anyway, expected entrance, fabulous record, but if it was a little lower, say in the Top 50, I wouldn't mind much.

"Forever Changes" is a very nice reminiscence of good '60s music, but what beyond that? A lot of hype for just another good album among the way too many that decade had. It's also kind of annoying everyone trying to interpret deeper meanings in lyrics so freely written, maybe not because of pretentiousness but just to be part of an equally hazy era. Whatever, an enjoyable, if quite overrated work. Best tracks: "Old Man" and "Maybe The People Would Be The Times Or Between Clark And Hilldale".

Very happy for "Is This It". My second favorite album of the '00s and a promise which sadly wasn't fulfilled by the band's at best OK discography afterwards. Those weird, telephone conversation alike vocals by Julian Casablancas give an extra layer of quality throughout the album which brings in mind a touch of The Velvet Underground, especially the colossal "Sunday Morning" during the suprisingly melancholic "Is This It?". The rest of the record undermines that sadness underlined by that track but it stays there during all the songs, which makes a superb, divine contrast with the seemingly happy, shiny tunes of rock tunes like "Last Nite" and "Soma". With a few words, a milestone for the decade that recently passed away and a record that many bands wouldn't have made even if they dared to kill (see White Stripes). Greatest moments include "Someday" (among the greatest songs of the '00s too if you ask me), "Hard To Explain" and "Take It Or Leave It".

Never got the praise around "Marquee Moon" too. Good guitar playing and drumming, mediocre vocals and a track of epic length with the word "classic masterpiece for the ages" wanting to be carved on its forehead just because it lasts too long (however it is indeed the best moment on the album and totally great, even if it never touches the perfection it wants to have). Again an enjoyable record given the status of a classic not without a bunch of doses of hyperbole.

Amen. And The Kinks didn't have such godawful vocals.

Love that song! And yes, it seems that the 80s are always destined to be criminally underrated.

Personally I cringed in horror when I first listened to the line "weeee are the village greeeeeeeen preservation societyyyyyy" because of the saccharine overdose but whatever.

I tend to not like corny Beatles songs like "Michelle" and "Yellow Submarine". Meanwhile, "Lola" is the corniest song I've ever heard (but I love it anyway ).
I personally feel the Beatle's albums are more consisent than the Kink's. But 5 in the top 20 is way too extensive. Like Rolling Stone extensive.

Yes, 5 in the top 20 is too much, but let's keep in mind that it's nobody's list.
I doubt that anybody placed 5 Fab 4 album in his top 20 (i only have 2 but in the top 10)
And Btw I love Yellow Submarine.

There are. Three people have 4 in their top 20, two have 5 and one person has 7.

Mature period? If you're talking about 1965-1969, then I'd relisten to Drive My Car, The Word, Taxman, Yellow Submarine, Doctor Robert, basically all of Sgt. Peppers, half of the White Album, Maxwell's Silver Hammer, and much of the Abbey Road medley. Now I like a lot of these songs. But you can't call it their mature phase because it's more mature than their stupid love songs phase 1963-1965.

For sure, The Kinks had lots of silly songs. That was part of their persona. Village Green Preservation Society wouldn't be the same without songs like Phenomenal Cat etc, but that's them trying to tell their story of the nostalgia of Old Britain. Those Beatles songs, they're just joshing you, seeing how far they can get.

I dont give a shit about influence

All I care is if it sooooouuuuuuunds goooooooooooooood

Oh God that's too much (and i'm a Beatles fan)



Someone with sense !

Last week for me has been a (truly exhausting) busy one so I completely missed the live presentation of the results. The first time I’ve been able to sit and read the list and all the interesting discussions it has raised has been this Sunday evening (oh how I envy the ones that can peep now and then to the Internet during their daily works).
Now, after going through those thousands of words the main feeling I got right now is indigestion , so one brief comment only.
Everyone has his opinion about the list (you know, opinions are like a...), while some think that it’s too classic rock oriented some other think the opposite. And that’s what it’s the list: balanced. Maybe except the small percentage of non-US non-UK (and non-Canada non-Australia) albums. But no more than any other given list. Going through the 33 albums that Henrik pointed we have:
- 22 albums from Europe (7 from Iceland and Germany, 4 from Sweden, 3 from France and 1 from Bulgaria)
- 9 albums from America (5 from Jamaica, 3 from Brazil and 1 from Cuba)
- Only 1 album from Africa (!)
- And none from Asia.
So you all know, Africa and Asia are the unkown continents on our Forum. There are no even AMers from this part of the world (Dan M, you lived in South Africa but you’re British, am I right?)

Many of us post a lot of African albums in the decade polls.
but Asia and its billions of inhabitants is almost terra incognita for us (musically speaking I mean)

I've been mulling over some kind of unknown album game in World Cup format where I would upload the albums of the week to Rapidshare. I think this sort of thing would greatly increase our knowledge of these unknown regions, but I'm not entirely sure how to decide which albums get to participate. This might not be the perfect place, but we do have a lot of people watching this topic so I'll just start a small discussion:

I've considered two options:
- Underrated albums, having people select their favorite albums that don't have a lot of votes on RYM
- Foreign albums, excluding all English-language albums. If the rule were kept this simple Björk et al. might dominate though, and she's not exactly unknown.

As an extension of that last option, we could divide the world into several sections, nominate albums that will play in the preliminaries and then continue on to the global world cup to play each other. Just thought of that, and it actually sounds quite awesome.

Any thoughts?

In the interests of expansion, listen to some of these:
Baaba Maal and Mansour Seck - Djam Leelli, my number 19,
Boubacar Traore - Mariama another amazing African guitarist. The bigger sound of King Sunny Ade's JuJu Music.
From Asia, is anyone else listening to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (Devotional Songs I find very accessible). A recent find is Japanese shakuhachi album by Goro Yamaguchi A bell Ringing in the Empty Sky (my number 200).
There are great albums out there to find.

And my number 9 album, Gurrumul by Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu is a great album by Australia's most popular indigenous musician. Born blind on an island off the north of Australia, he sings in the Yolngu language and speaks little English. He is also Australia's greatest vocalist.

I will start a new thread for the top 20 but first I have to defend my number 2 album. "Corny and optimistic?" Sounds like someone dismissed the music without putting much effort into listening to it.

Songs like "Big Sky" and "Do You Remember Walter" have more complex and "mature" lyrics than any song written by Lennon or McCartney. Lyrics on these tracks and the whole album are far deeper than they seem on the surface, check out this analysis of "Big Sky". The title track one of their wittiest--totally tongue-in-cheek and full or wordplay.

People who don't like or understand this album needs to realize that the village green is merely a device by which Davies analyzes himself and the world around him. The record is intensely nostalgic, emotional, and personal. A record about old English life has such appeal to a modern American teenager because of my relation to Davies' worldview. That, and the variety of arrangements and instrumentation on this record is delightful.

Another thing--I'm increasingly deciding that optimism and positivity are the most underrepresented emotions within serious music, particularly the more experimental records that I am typically drawn to. Given that, Odessey and Oracle is even more of a gem. It is much harder to make a 'happy' record artistically viable than a 'sad' record. O&O is one of the best-written and constructed albums of the 60s, but replaces the disillusion found in many of the decade's most acclaimed records with an extremely positive vibe throughout. Village Green, despite the downbeat vibe of many of its lyrics, does the same through bouncy songs like "Picture Book." The ability to intersect art with a positive atmosphere is what really makes these records great.

Agreed on all accounts, Jackson! Here's my token of gratitude to The Kinks Are Village Green Preservation Society.

I've never been to England. I'm more than a decade removed from having any first-hand knowledge of the 1960s. I like modern gadgets and big cities. Yet somehow, The Kinks are able to make me not only understand the bucolic charm of the halcyon days revered in The Kinks Are Village Green Preservation Society, but feel like I belong there. It is this transformative power that makes listening to this album such a rich experience.

The Kinks Are Village Green Preservation Society presents itself as a sort of sequence of brief daydreams, each one providing just enough detail to convey a particular feeling. "Village Green Preservation Society" serves as the prologue, calling for the preservation of various cultural touchstones of the then-recent English past. Thereafter the album opens up like a pop-up book of scrapbook memorabilia from past, present and future perspectives in jumbled order. There are childhood fantasies and horror stories ("Phenomenal Cat" and "Wicked Annabella"), wide-eyed memories of young adulthood ("Do You Remember Walter?", "Village Green"), abstract contemplations about life's transition ("The Last of the Steam-Powered Trains") and purpose ("Big Sky"), allusions to awestruck idol worship from both sides ("Johnny Thunder", "Starstruck"), blissful escape ("Sitting by the Riverside", "Animal Farm") and frustration about the inability of pictures to truly capture the past ("Picture Book", "People Take Pictures of Each Other") covering all sides of human relationships in under 40 minutes. Baroque instrumental drapery gives the entire project a cinematic feel to enhance each feeling, making for a potent emotional tug that never has the chance to overstay its welcome in any particular setting.

While each song is worthy of its own lengthy description, I'll only focus on a few of the most striking moments. The dichotomy of doughy-eyed nostalgia and jaded reality is perhaps best captured in "Do You Remember Walter?". It is clear that Davies looked up to his long lost friend as he fondly recalls how popular Walter was with girls, the fun times they spent smoking and playing cricket, and their plans to change the world with the surety of youth, but all the while he laments how the world has changed and surmises that Walter now would likely be a tubby, dutiful husband who would not care about such past endeavors. It serves as a powerful statement about the change of perspective, as youthful dreams give way to tough reality in a way that can warp the illusion of both the past and the present. Elsewhere, the humor in what I'll call gnome singing on the childhood myth of "Phenomenal Cat", the way that the murky "Wicked Annabella" is presented as an exaggerated warning from parents about a social outcast to keep their kids in line and the nightmare of hyperbolic public embarrassment in front of all of your friends in "All of My Friends Were There" ensures that the album has its light moments, too. I'm no fan of country music, but the dirty swing of "The Last of Steam-Powered Trains" is nonetheless a favorite for its anthropomorphic depiction of the last steam train's final hurrah and the way its sound is mimicked by three falsetto voices converging in an elongated "steeeeeam!". "Starstruck" and "Picture Book", meanwhile, are perfectly hummable pop songs that get me moving beyond what I thought 60s pop/rock was capable. The unquestioned highlight, though, is the song which inspired the entire project. At just over 2 minutes, "Village Green" is the most lushly orchestral track present, with harpsichords, horns and an oboe unraveling the picturesque beauty of the humble countryside. Davies narrates from the perspective of broken disillusionment after the call of the big city proves unfulfilling, focusing on just the right elements to make the song universal by highlighting the things he misses: morning dew, fresh air, a church, an old oak tree. He then reveals the loved-her-left-her fate of his relationship with Daisy in a mere two lines. Things quickly turn sour as he mocks tourists marveling at the very same quaintness he remembers so fondly before he nonchalantly states that Daisy married a local grocer. Although the song finishes with the image that upon his return he and Daisy will "sip tea, laugh and talk about the village green", the wistful way in which the song is performed and sung gives the direct resignation of the lyrics its own twist, as if he doesn't want to say too much in order to prevent himself from completely losing it. In the end, you get the feeling that the narrator will be dying on the inside as he feigns a smile and a laugh drinking tea with Daisy.

Only one other artist I've encountered has demonstrated this ability to leapfrog over my musical prejudices to transport me into a world of which I know nothing and color in the lines so vividly - Sufjan Stevens. And as with Illinois, The Kinks Are Village Green Preservation Society has proven to be such a thoroughly invigorating and informative listen that it feels like a personal milestone. Adjacent albums Something Else by The Kinks and Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) likewise chronicle this sort of baroque photo gallery through the mundane but important lives of John and Jane Doe, but it is at its most well-developed here.

I wouldn't say they shouldn't be there. My list contains a couple of album that came out this year that I have listened to countless times already. The list is a snapshot of what I'm feeling at the time right now. Period. I don't see anything wrong with that. If anything, I think some of those albums will move up with time (then again, some will inevitably move down as well).

That's awesome that you enjoy Village Green so much now Moonbeam. Where would it rank if you made your list today? Also, I'm reciprocating by finally listening to Sign o the Times.

As far as 2010 goes, I think that while it might be slightly overvalued in the poll 1) If you look at it by total points, not total albums listed (which I'll post after the results are finalized), I bet several other years would leap over it and 2) 2010 was a fantastic year for music, and I think it will be looked at as one of the best of this era a couple decades from now. Just a hunch.

I just rank em how I hear em.

Which is alright by me, I personally have 4 Dylan albums in my top 20, I've just come to think of The Beatles as more of a singles band.

Hmm. I've never thought of them as a singles band and I think you'd be one of the few who have that opinion. I'm not going to say they lay claim to creating the rock album but surely they were a part of the transition in the 60's from focusing on albums above singles.

I know it's a bit of a dissenting opinion, and I have to be careful with those regarding The Beatles (we don't want those lurkers to come back and go mental again), but I feel that they don't really have any complete album. Every single one has quite a bit of fluffy filler, to quote a very old netjade post:
Hey, I agree with netjade on something!

that's alright by me too. I meant it's too much in my (new) standards. I'm not in a position to speak, as I am the guy who used to have 3 Springsteen in my top 10, 3 Beatles and 3 Brassens in my t20. Now I use Moonbeam's album ranker, I realize there are other albums that I want to place in my top 20 (mostly 70s classics).

I'm on the verge of thinking of The Beatles as a singles band as well. One big problem (in my opinion) with, for example, their four biggest albums is that they all have at least one totally ridiculous song in their midst.

Revolver - Yellow Submarine
Sgt. Pepper's - When I'm Sixty-Four
The Beatles - Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da (CD1) / Revolution 9 (CD2)
Abbey Road - Maxwell's Silver Hammer

Maybe this has something to do with my disgust for McCartney's tendency to force some of his fiddle-faddle songs on each album, but seriously, c'mon...

I love the Beatles' childish songs. They're part of the charm of every album. My kids LOVE Ob-La-Di, and that's great. The Beatles were found of comedy records, which was George Martin's field before he met them.
They didn't take themselves seriously and that's what I love in them. John was the band's buffon (I love those spoken voices he makes) before he got intersted in modern art

You probably know that Lennon was pissed by McC's "fiddle-faddle" as much as Paul was pissed by "Revolution 9"

I'm aware a lot of people really love those songs, otherwise all those albums wouldn't be where they are now. I can imagine kids love a song like that. Well, that also counts for something, I guess.

And yes I know about the animosity during the recording of The Beatles. That album does have an interesting background.

It made a huge jump from 400+ to 130. I can see it breaking into my top 100 at some point, but it's too difficult for me to tell whether my recent love affair with it has reached its apex or not. I know it won't fall below 200 for quite some time and that's pretty amazing for a 60s pop/rock album. I really, really, REALLY love all of my top 200.

I also agree about 2010 being a fantastic year worthy of many placements in the list. I may not agree with all of the ones chosen, but I'm happy that 2010 has been recognized as a particularly strong year.

30-26

Almost done, so I'm not gonna annoy any of you anymore with those hackneyed paragraphs

I'm not the biggest fan of LZ out there (although I love "Led Zeppelin II" along with that record), but "IV" is a tour de force. It's amazing the level of perfection it reaches if you consider there are only like, what, eight tracks on it. Even if you dislike the band completely, you must at least hear to this because it is the one that pretty much sums up everything they've done. As lame as it might sound, "Black Dog" is one of those beats you can't resist headbanging to and the most exciting one possible to drag you to the universe this album creates. One "complaint" though I always had is that, in my honest opinion, the last track (and I mean the one that closes the album, that it should on the second side of it) should be "Stairway To Heaven". Unavoidably, when you include it "halfway" through and it is actually the greatest song using multiple genres of music ever written and performed, almost like translating Schubert or Strauss to rock'n'roll, the rest is gonna sound inferior, even when they are actually brilliant songs (with "Going To California" being my favorite). Whatever, it's an undeniable classic but even if it wasn't, I'd adore it anyway.

And now for something that fewer people will agree with. I love the Stones and I mentioned before how much I appreciate "Sticky Fingers", "Beggars Banquet" and "Let It Bleed" ("Out Of Our Heads" also, but it didn't even make the Top 500 so I didn't have a chance to mention it). I think that "Exile On Main St." actually gets the most of the recognition because it represents more accurately what that band really sounded like, their roots, influences and what they finally produced. I don't object that it is great, very energetic and doesn't water down a good weirdness factor in its sound at some parts. But its loud noise starts to become tiresome after 5-6 tracks and it doesn't know when to slow down. Thankfully, when it does ("Sweet Virginia") only to start after a while again ("Happy"), it gets more balanced and easy to enjoy. Favorites: "Rocks Off", "Sweet Black Angel" and "All Down The Line".

"Kid A", although definitely much better than, say, "In Rainbows" (haven't listened to "The King Of Limbs" yet), is too much whimsical for whimsicality's sake. When it gets slightly more accesible ("Everything In Its' Right Place", "How To Disappear Completely", "Kid A") it's brilliant it feels like a breath of fresh air, but unfortunately it doesn't leave many chances like that for the listener to chill. But when it pushes it to the limit ("The National Anthem", "In Limbo"), it's borderline unlistenable.

Personally I prefer "Sign 'O' The Times" as a more inventive and gently pleasing record but I can see why "Purple Rain" gains more popularity, besides being totaly awesome. It's like a chocolate too tasty to resist to, and because, you know, it's the '80s, it happens to be probably the most inspired moment for the genre of pop with dance beats, after "Thriller". What is also masterful is the playful mood which characterises all the album through, even in its' most romantic parts ("The Beautiful Ones"). And, please, find me one artist today that has such variety of emotions in his vocals like Prince had in this. It also has one of the best closing songs in the history of music and therefore it's its' biggest highlight. Other classics to me are "Take Me With U", "Computer Blue" and "When Doves Cry".

I think I also have mentioned something small before commenting on John Coltrane's "A Love Supreme" but jazz is so not my kind of music and so is Miles Davis. Generally I have a very short attention span and the repetitive sounds used in jazz don't help me concentrating on the music, instead, they "lose" me pretty much soon. "Kind Of Blue" though is a good album even if it doesn't get away from the norm and is in fact at times boring ("All Blues"), but I like it. Definitely better than, say, "Bitches Brew" (which had a very cool cover though if I can recall it well) and very beautiful at times ("Freddie Freeloader", first "half" of "So What").

I try to avoid comparison with their songs before 1965 (though "Yesterday" for example definitely wouldn't fit into the "silly" category), because even beyond that, it is very realised and yes, mature (especially for its time) songwriting. "A Day In The Life", "Strawberry Fields Forever", "Eleanor Rigby", "Happiness Is A Warm Gun", "In My Life" (many list it among the corny ones, though I believe a deep melancholy lies in it, something proven by the reason why Lennon decided to write it), "The Long And Winding Road" etc..

I am a British citizen now but I was born in South Africa and spent all my childhood there. And as much as I try to keep track of developments in African music, it's just not the same as when you live there and see how culture and natural surroundings shape the music.

Asia is a complete void on my music map.

25-21

Although he had a bucketload of classic soul singles, all of them very beloved songs and quite a few of them my favorites too, admittedly in terms of albums his career was uneven. Of course that doesn't matter because "What's Going On" is maybe the greatest confession of a single artist in one album, a chance to get to know his inner world and passions better and altogether the most important disc soul music ever created. Above everything else, the political, social and ecological statements expressed through every song (simplicity is the key word and the power of the record too, not "naive") it's the beauty of the music itself that's so breathtaking in the point of heartbreak. Gaye was without a doubt one of the greatest voices ever lived on planet Earth, and with the company of such carefully composed and beautiful melodies gives his masterpiece which I'm happy to see that high since the cynicism of nowadays doesn't leave much for appreciation. "Right On" and "Wholy Holy" are my favorites.

"Remain In Light" is one of the cases where I don't dig a genre a band represents, yet I find the album surprisingly enjoyable and with a playful tendency towards experimentation. It's just that I don't find it that good and that it lacks a certain weight in terms of importance: it never felt as groundbreaking to me as for others and it's too homogenised, making it difficult for some tracks to be separated from others as standouts. That said, it's a very interesting experience, especially when hearing to it for the first time and it's probably their finest achievement.

The biggest surprise of them all is here. An album heard by only a few people by a band considered by the most an one-hit-60's-wonder for "She's Not There". To me it's what Public Enemy had wisely said: Don't believe the hype. Way too dated, lacking a necessary sophistication in lyrics for standing the test of time and only two truly worthy tracks on the whole LP ("Maybe After He's Gone", "Time Of The Season" which I swear I had heard some time ago as a sampler in an awful contemporary song I can't remember its name right now).

I'm not the man with a taste for Neil Young either. In terms of songwriting and vocals the men for folk to me were always and will forever be Bruce and Bob. "Harvest" and "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere" are very good, but nothing else excites me that much, including this. Especially the way he sings in some parts as in the s/t track is unbearable. Anyway it has its moments and a gift for creating a special atmosphere.

In contrast, I always liked The Smiths and "The Queen Is Dead" is the point where they have mastered their abilities and pretty much conquer a part of their own in the history of british music. Their sinister, dark but also strangely affectionate sound had always a powerful effect on me and in here they are more confident than ever in terms of handling it. Also having a singer like Morissey couldn't be less of a tremendous benefit for any band that could have him. They dare to play blues too ("I Know It's Over") but they are better when they are improving their characteristic way of making music not leaving the fun aside ("Bigmouth Strikes Again") but also not forgetting they have some serious business to do in here, so they better compose something totally masterful and incredibly pitch-perfect ("Cemetary Gates", the legendary "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out"). A fantastic British album.

I have been less than enthusiastic about many of Neil Young's recording over the years, but After the Gold Rush worked best for me. Other albums had great tracks, like Alabama and Old Man and many others. But, for consistent quality throughout the entire album After the Gold Rush is by far my favorite Neil Young effort. The most exciting song for me on the album is Southern Man. Lofgren is great on guitar in this song. I find Young's vocals on the title track work just fine for me. I wonder if you are as distracted (annoyed) by Dylan's vocals as I am on his most recent albums including: Modern Time and Love and Theft. My friends who say Dylan perform about 2-4 years ago in Austin, were thoroughly disappointed and compared his vocal efforts to that of a dying goat. I wonder whether you find Young's vocals on After the Gold Rush to be as annoying, or just annoying enough to put you off a little bit.

Sorry for not responding that long, real-life business had me going away from the forum for a while. Anyway I'm back

Well some tracks in it are really superb and you could say they make the album ("Don't Let It Bring You Down", "When You Dance, I Can Really Love", "Only Love Can Break Your Heart") but I don't think it's that consistent since often Young exaggerates ("After The Gold Rush", "Birds") or ends up being so annoyingly deadpan ("Till The Morning Comes") in his vocals, something happening in the weakest songs there, and the rest is good but not mind-blowing. That's of course only me. As a hardcore fan of the '60s era of Dylan I have to admit I'm disappointed by the weariness of his voice in the last decade (especially "Modern Times"-glad I didn't buy it). I always found his voice exciting, multi-layered and entertaining and was critical of anyone saying he "sounded funny" if we stay in the first two decades of his career. But it's all pretty much downhill from there. He still has the gift for gentle songwriting in terms of lyrics and music (the reason I actually kinda liked "Love And Theft") but you can't avoid to imagine how better it would be with a decent voice. If I had to pick between those two, yes, it would be early Young any time of the day.

Thanks for sharing your perspective.

Our view of Dylan appears to be quite similar.

I need to listen to After The Gold Rush", "Birds" and "Till The Morning Comes" again with your comments in mind. I have thorougly enjoyed each of these songs for more than three decades, but value your perspective and want to make sure that I consider it.

Although I don't see myself enjoying these songs any less in the future, it's frequently enlightening to consider the superb insights that you and others provide in this forum and keep these insights in mind as they apply to the particular songs they are initially applied to and perhaps other songs where they seem to fit in my view.

Always welcome

Well, I think that my comments won't change your way of enjoying these songs too I never have in mind changing somebody else's opinion with my writing since I don't have other purpose doing that than exposing my own taste. Anyway, thanks a lot for the consideration and the compliment in the last paragraph, even though I never thought that my insights were any good, how about superb !

I'm pretty much a noob in this forum, but the amount of knowledge (not speaking about taste because judging a thing like that is pointless in my opinion) by the members is unbelievable making it instantly a website of quality.