Other than Radiohead there's not a single album that's even remotely non-mainstream. I suppose they were all dropped to make room for the 5 Beatles albums . Also I love how these lists always have 90 rock album out of 100, and then one or two blues, jazz or rap albums are added to give the impression the list is actually varied and unbiased. Either justice to other genres or just call it "greatest ROCK albums" and be done with it. The way it is you might think Miles Davis and John Coltrane are the only jazz musicians of any merit.

Isn't it sad that this list still seems less contrived than any "Greatest of All-Time" list that Rolling Stone has ever come out with? I mean, at least TIME isn't a MUSIC publication, so they have an excuse to screw up...(props for the Stone Roses inclusion, I mean, for an American magazine, that's a REALLY good move)

Oh, and by the way...when has Pavement ever been MORE mainstream than Radiohead?? I mean, Radiohead's been on South Park!!

Here's the whole list for when Time kills the link...

2000s
The Essential Hank Williams Collection: Turn Back the Years - Hank Williams
The College Dropout - Kanye West
Portrait of a Legend 1951 - 1964 - Sam Cooke
Elvis: 30 No. 1 Hits - Elvis Presley
The Anthology, 1947 - 1972 - Muddy Waters
Kid A - Radiohead
Stankonia - OutKast
Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea - PJ Harvey
The Marshall Mathers LP - Eminem

1990s
Sunrise - Elvis Presley
Car Wheels on a Gravel Road - Lucinda Williams
OK Computer - Radiohead
Time Out of Mind - Bob Dylan
Endtroducing... - DJ Shadow
(What's the Story) Morning Glory - Oasis
Live Through This - Hole
My Life - Mary J. Blige
Ready to Die - The Notorious B.I.G.
Slanted and Enchanted - Pavement
The Chronic - Dr. Dre
Achtung Baby - U2
Nevermind - Nirvana
Out of Time - R.E.M.
Phil Spector, Back to Mono (1958 - 1969) - Various Artists
Ropin' The Wind - Garth Brooks
Star Time - James Brown
The Low End Theory - A Tribe Called Quest

1980s
Like a Prayer - Madonna
Paul's Boutique - Beastie Boys
The Stone Roses - The Stone Roses
It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back - Public Enemy
Straight Outta Compton - N.W.A.
Document - R.E.M.
Paid in Full - Eric B. and Rakim
Sign O' The Times - Prince
The Joshua Tree - U2
Graceland - Paul Simon
Master of Puppets - Metallica
Raising Hell - Run-DMC
Legend - Bob Marley and the Wailers
Purple Rain - Prince
Stop Making Sense - Talking Heads
The Great Twenty-Eight - Chuck Berry
Thriller - Michael Jackson
Back in Black - AC/DC

1970s
London Calling - The Clash
One Nation Under a Groove - Parliament / Funkadelic
Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols - The Sex Pistols
Rumours - Fleetwood Mac
Hotel California - The Eagles
Ramones - The Ramones
Songs in the Key of Life - Stevie Wonder
Born to Run - Bruce Springsteen
Horses - Patti Smith
Red Headed Stranger - Willie Nelson
Call Me - Al Green
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road - Elton John
The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust - David Bowie
Exile on Main Street - The Rolling Stones
Talking Book - Stevie Wonder
The Harder They Come - Jimmy Cliff and Various Artists
Blue - Joni Mitchell
Coat of Many Colors - Dolly Parton
Hunky Dory - David Bowie
Led Zeppelin IV (a.k.a. Zoso) - Led Zeppelin
Paranoid - Black Sabbath
Sticky Fingers - The Rolling Stones
Tapestry - Carole King
What's Going On - Marvin Gaye
Who's Next - The Who
After the Gold Rush - Neil Young
Bridge Over Troubled Water - Simon and Garfunkel
Plastic Ono Band - John Lennon
Moondance - Van Morrison

1960s
Abbey Road - The Beatles
Bitches Brew - Miles Davis
Stand! - Sly & the Family Stone
The Band - The Band
Astral Weeks - Van Morrison
At Folsom Prison - Johnny Cash
Lady Soul - Aretha Franklin
The Beatles ("The White Album")- The Beatles
Are You Experienced - The Jimi Hendrix Experience
I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You - Aretha Franklin
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - The Beatles
The Velvet Underground and Nico - The Velvet Underground
Blonde on Blonde - Bob Dylan
Pet Sounds - The Beach Boys
Revolver - The Beatles
Highway 61 Revisited - Bob Dylan
Otis Blue - Otis Redding
Rubber Soul - The Beatles
A Love Supreme - John Coltrane
Live at the Apollo (1963) - James Brown
Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music - Ray Charles
King of the Delta Blues Singers - Robert Johnson

1950s
Kind of Blue - Miles Davis
Here's Little Richard - Little Richard
Songs for Swingin' Lovers - Frank Sinatra
In the Wee Small Hours - Frank Sinatra

Well, I suppose I've been listening too much to the likes of Sonic Youth or Talk Talk and now even Pavement seems mainstream to me. Still, it is a good deal more accessible the most other indie classics. Also, music lists need to be interesting. If you're going to make the same old boring list with all the classic rock albums and no surprise selections, no obscure favourites or hate'em-or-love'em controversial picks don't make one at all.

Can't be right. Where's Steely Dan ? The greatest USA rock/pop/jazz/blues band of all time !!

of course some albums (the likely suspects) are gonna pop up on a number of lists. How would they get to be as acclaimed as they are if they didn't? :) Can't have every list being drastically varied and such!

What's the deal with the R.E.M. albums? Document and Out of Time over Murmur and Automatic for the People? Document I can live with, but Out of Time? Bizarre...

The 00's is an absoloute joke. Most of them are just old compilatiosn. Which for one are not even albums, and when will RS and Time learn that it's 2006 and not 1979 FFS!!!

have to do with anything? They're broken down by decades, so each decade is represented. Looks like the 70s have more albums than the 80s + 90s, but the music overall probabluy was stronger- it's tough to be as innovative and fresh as time goes by, after all.

Although I agree with most of your comments, I don't think this list is so bad. Since it's not from a music magazine, I think it's OK with a predictable list. After all, these are great records and a lot of people reading TIME have probably not heard about all of them before.

Thanks JR & HA!

Wow can't believe The Smiths didn't get an album in. Still an interesting list though.