"I'm going hunting"





[100] Björk | Homogenic | 1997

Points: 1413 | Votes: 17 | AM Rank: 280 | 2009 Poll Rank: 102 (+2)
Biggest Fan: Petri (8)



"Quit these pretentious things and just punch the clock"





[99] Arcade Fire | The Suburbs | 2010

Points: 1434 | Votes: 14 | AM Rank: N/A | 2009 Poll Rank: N/A
Biggest Fan: drewcannon3 (1)



"Forever in debt to your priceless advice"





[98] Nirvana | In Utero | 1993

Points: 1437 | Votes: 15 | AM Rank: 126 | 2009 Poll Rank: 116 (+18)
Biggest Fan: Listyguy (9)



"Maybe I'm just too young to keep good love from going wrong"





[97] Jeff Buckley | Grace | 1994

Points: 1440 | Votes: 19 | AM Rank: 69 | 2009 Poll Rank: 82 (-15)
Biggest Fan: Listyguy (16)



"Something's wrong cause my mind is fading"





[96] Beck | Odelay | 1996

Points: 1457 | Votes: 15 | AM Rank: 57 | 2009 Poll Rank: 57 (-39)
Biggest Fan: Schwah (6)



"Congratulations on the mess you made of things"





[95] TV on the Radio | Dear Science | 2008

Points: 1515 | Votes: 18 | AM Rank: 338 | 2009 Poll Rank: 175 (+80)
Biggest Fan: Petri (18)



"You make me feel like I am free again"





[94] The Cure | Disintegration | 1989

Points: 1521 | Votes: 17 | AM Rank: 360 | 2009 Poll Rank: 111 (+17)
Biggest Fan: Moonbeam (4)



"All men shall be sailors until the sea shall free them"





[93] Leonard Cohen | Songs of Leonard Cohen | 1967

Points: 1524 | Votes: 13 | AM Rank: 162 | 2009 Poll Rank: 103 (+10)
Biggest Fan: Miguel (8)



"Nothing is real"





[92] The Beatles | Magical Mystery Tour | 1967

Points: 1537 | Votes: 15 | AM Rank: 988 | 2009 Poll Rank: 122 (+30)
Biggest Fan: ParticleAnalyst (5)



"You got to do it till you're through, so you better get to it"





[91] Elvis Costello | My Aim Is True | 1977

Points: 1558 | Votes: 15 | AM Rank: 116 | 2009 Poll Rank: 99 (+8)
Biggest Fans: Toni, OtisRedding (4)

Hooray for Homogenic and Disintegration! They are absolute wonders!

Not too happy with the way the top 100 starts off (yes, negative again) although I'm glad to see Leonard Cohen! Much too low of course though (my #24).

A crazy prediction for the top 10:

1. OK Computer
2. Revolver
3. Pet Sounds
4. London Calling
5. Funeral
6. The Velvet Underground & Nico
7. The White Album
8. Highway 61 Revisited
9. Abbey Road
10. Sgt. Pepper's

Love the fact that Odelay dropped a little, Beck himself has at least 3 albums that are better imo.

Funny quote for The Suburbs. With that album they managed to be more pretentious than ever AND merely punch the clock.

Gotta love Leonard Cohen rolling in with the fewest votes of any album in the top 100. Now THAT's a folk album I can get behind.

Also, TV on the Radio totally deserves this top 100 placement. Dear Science is the best indie album of the last five years.

100-90

Good morning America ! I've just had lunch

I don't want to see your list Stephan ! With the top 100 rolling now, spoliers time is coming

I'm happy both for Björk and Homogenic (my #54). Björk is one of the few artists I discovered through my wife. Usually it is the other way around. I'm the only one who plays music in the house, cause she never has time to !!

I really don't think Suburbs should be where it is. Magnifying glass effect ? It's a good album, especially the 3 first songs and in the end from "Month of May" to "Sprawl". "We Used to Wait" is my favorite Arcade Fire song, but the middle of the album is boring IMO. Anyway my personal ranking of their albums is the same as the poll ranking.

Grace (my #110) moves down a little in the poll history and in my list too, but it is an excellent album. Jeff B was an asteroid.

I really don't get the love for TV On The Radio. Absolute riddle to me to see them so high in people's list, even people which tastes I often support. I'm kind of indifferent to their smooth, cold and intellectual funk. And there is no silence, no breathing in their music (that is my problem with 21st century music. you don't hear the silence). So I'm gonna do like Henry "Please provide me with an explanation in 100 words as to why you feel enthralled to TV On The Radio"

Happy for the Cure, even if I prefer 17 Seconds or the Head On The Door to Disintegration. A band from the 80s that I like !!

Leonard Cohen is maybe the most urban, the less rootsy of the folk singers. No earth on his shoes. But I love his early works and his debut is my #186. A true poet.

Magical Mystery Tour is often left behind on the grounds that it's not a "true" album. Who cares ? The songs here are fantastic. My #72, and top 20 in the best collection of songs ever.

Elvis C is a mystery to me. I can't like his music. It probably has to do with his vocals and his detached attitude. You know the famous David Lee Roth quote.

Great run from 91-100, though a few I'm surprised aren't higher.

Dear Science is awesome, I think I put it in my top 100 though I might have put it slightly outside. I expected Grace and Disintegration in the top 50, but I'm glad they're in the top 100.

I love Costello, my only surprise with him is that Armed Forces isn't considered as highly as My Aim Is True and This Year's Model. For me, all three are very similar in quality.

No worries Stephan I just won't look at your list that's all

Good to see In Utero in the top 100. I didn't actually vote for it, but it's in my 100 and I considered it for my top 50.

I did vote for "Dear Science" -- I feel that it's a more rock and pop-based and accessible version of funk, a genre that I could never quite get into.

Also, has "Return to Cookie Mountain" placed already? If so, I haven't seen it.

I wasn't a fan of TV on the Radio until Dear Science came out and I still don't really like their previous work that much. But Dear Science and Nine Types of Light are the "coolest" albums I've heard in a long time.

I just want to take this opportunity to say that it's a shame Paul didn't participate this time. His love of all things country rock was sorely missed with incredibly low placements by Gram Parsons, The Flying Burrito Brothers and The Byrds.

I was reminded of this when listening to The Fantastic Expedition of Dillard & Clark, one of the greatest country rock albums ever made. It can be added to Have Moicy! and More A Legend Than A Band as albums I love that Paul has recommended to me. Cheers!

Oh boy. This could make alot of people unhappy because I don't have the Age of Adz on my list, and The Suburbs is top 75.

Gah, Mindrocker! (I kid of course)

I think TV On The Radio's real appeal comes from two things;

1) They merge what might be called "cold" funk with their own warmer sensibilities. When they funky they can do that, but if they want to be a bit more honest and hearty they can do that too; Tonight

Also I love the fuzz that they make, especially for example, at the beginning of Wolf Like Me. There's nothing like listening to this on full volume (you must listen to this at full volume, and especially when you're a bit angry, like waiting for a train) and shouting the lyrics. It reminds me a bit of "Born To Run" in that respect.

2) They sound a lot different to what's around them. As much as I love the National or other kind of indie rock bands, sometimes you need an escape from all that, and TVOTR are really ideal.

This talk about TV on the Radio gives me an excuse to post this live video of Wolf Like Me on Letterman:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikjDzye1BrQ (watch it in HD)

This is the version that convinced me Wolf Like Me is a great, not just good, song. Great energy and change of pace.

I just realized My Morning Jacket - Z is nowhere to be found in the top 500. That surprises me.

Everybody loved it when it came out but people seem to be forgetting about it the more time passes.

Also, I must say I'm loving watching these results. So much to be said but don't have time to post. So far, to summarize, I've had two specially hard deceptions: the huge fall of The Band and Odelay since the last poll, both albums from my top 20.
Boy, The Band is such a perfect album from the first to last second, with its woody feeling and it's pure, unpretensious mix of rock, folk and country... It's one of those rare albums where all the songs are perfect, and I agree with BillAdama, the instrumentation is great!

As for Odelay, it's even stronger the shock, since it had placed #31 in 2007-8 poll, after an heroical #4 in the '90s poll. Some of it's fall must be due to one fact that's marked the last 3 all time polls: the albums from the decade that's been dissected at the respective year always take a boom. I remember lots of nineties albums appeared in the top 100 in 2007, including some unexpected Mezzanine, Ten, Slanted and Enchanted and some others, if I'm not wrong. Well, that much explains the naughties "wave" this time, along with some surprisingly high positions from the '60s. All that said, I still can't digest Odelay's "low" position. It's not flawless like the above refered The Band, but it's so inventive and freakingly funny, with also some half dozen tracks that could arguably be the best thing Beck has done (Hotwax, Lord Only Knows, Where It's At, Sissyneck, High 5...).

The good surprises on this top 200, however, have been in a much higher number than the bad ones, specially in that 100-91 section, but I talk about this later.

Damn, I totally missed how low The Band, but also Music from the Big Pink, placed. I had the latter at #79, but I am partially to blame for the former because for some reason I seem to have submitted a list with The Band at #151 while it should be more like #56.

About TVOR : thanks for your answers. I think this band and their influences (Berlin era Bowie, Peter Gabriel, Talking Heads, Eno, a mix of electro and post-punk)is just too far from my musical alley. It's on the other side of town I recognizethat they make good music, but I don't personnally "stick" to their music. And when I want to hear something funky, I play Funkadelic or JB or Fela & Sons. Or Prince. Not funky for indie fans.

For some reason, I never considered The Band as a major act. And I'm realizing it's a major mistake !! And contrary to TVOR they live next door !! I'll have to cross the street with a bottle of wine and pay them a visit one day or another. I'm listening to "Rag Mama Rag" at the moment and it's brilliant. I love Levon Helm's drumming and the instrumental parts. I remember Paul saying that The Band took a loong time to grow on him. And Paul's absence is one reason for the fall of Roberston and Co. "The Night They Drove Ol'Dixie Down" is great too.

Yeah, you should definitely change your 3.5 star rating on RYM on that one. For shame!

Not as bad as John's half star rating though, that's practically Moonbeamesque!

John can be totally pitiless when it comes to RYM star rating

"In Utero" is better than "Nevermind", IMO. Great album.

Odelay is suffering some from vote splitting as awareness grows of how great Sea Change is. (And there is also a deserved mini groundswell for Mutations on this board.)

But I sense some growing weariness with Beck's white-man, dada lyrics, faux hip-hop, tongue firmly in cheek shtick. It's being viewed by some (again this is just my sense) as a relic... a silly cousin to the angry rap-rockers of the same period. And maybe some see him as a dilletante; someone who borrows heavily from many genres but never treats any of them with respect or seriousness.

Obviously, as it is my #6 album of all time, I reject these (potential) criticisms completely. I've written before on these boards how I think Beck is up to something simultaneously cannier and more personal than he is given credit for. The lyrics and sonic elements pile and swirl on top of one another in Odelay. As has been noted frequently, but cannot be overstated, Beck's career and his art is inextricably linked with the Fluxus art movement, of which his grandfather was an important member. Odelay was Beck's big commercial push to use that ingrained philosophy of art (use of everyday objects and sound, mixed media interplay, humor and fun) in a major label release.

That alone is not reason to love the album. (Some might think it reason enough to hate the album.) Odelay succeeds, at heart, because he has the chops and the songwriting skills to do so in a very interesting way. What felt fresh and exciting to me in 1996 still feels that way to me today. Increasingly, though, I think that sentiment is not shared.

This thread has made me want to dig out Return to Cookie Mountain again. I remember not being impressed when I bought it 5 years ago, but the beauty of polls like these is that they make you revisit.

Let me add that I'm sad that Paul has left. Even if I don't share his passion about country (and perhaps my aversion to it could have contributed somewhat to the reasons for his departure), he was a great poster here and is sorely missed. I know it can feel a little lonely trumpeting a particular artist, album, genre, etc., but this forum is generally a very friendly place.

Alright, we're back on track after adding VF1000's list. A few somewhat significant changes but nothing crazy happened. Here's the revised 94-500:

[94] Elvis Costello | My Aim Is True | 1977
[95] The Cure | Disintegration | 1989
[96] TV on the Radio | Dear Science | 2008
[97] Arcade Fire | The Suburbs | 2010
[98] The White Stripes | Elephant | 2003
[99] Beck | Odelay | 1996
[100] Beck | Sea Change | 2002
[101] Nirvana | In Utero | 1993
[102] Kanye West | The College Dropout | 2004
[103] Björk | Homogenic | 1997
[104] Charles Mingus | The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady | 1963
[105] Animal Collective | Merriweather Post Pavillion | 2009
[106] Stevie Wonder | Talking Book | 1972
[107] The National | Boxer | 2007
[108] Pixies | Surfer Rosa | 1988
[109] Curtis Mayfield | Superfly | 1972
[110] The White Stripes | White Blood Cells | 2001
[111] Beastie Boys | Paul's Boutique | 1989
[112] Bruce Springsteen | Darkness on the Edge of Town | 1978
[113] Joni Mitchell | Court and Spark | 1974
[114] PJ Harvey | To Bring You My Love | 1995
[115] Neil Young | Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere | 1969
[116] Neil Young | Harvest | 1972
[117] Carole King | Tapestry | 1971
[118] Vampire Weekend | Vampire Weekend | 2008
[119] OutKast | Stankonia | 2000
[120] Pavement | Slanted and Enchanted | 1992
[121] Arcade Fire | Neon Bible | 2007
[122] Creedence Clearwater Revival | Cosmo's Factory | 1970
[123] Otis Redding | Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul | 1965
[124] Lou Reed | Berlin | 1973
[125] De La Soul | 3 Feet High and Rising | 1989
[126] Sufjan Stevens | The Age of Adz | 2010
[127] Blur | Parklife | 1994
[128] The Knife | Silent Shout | 2006
[129] The Replacements | Let It Be | 1984
[130] Sly and the Family Stone | Stand! | 1969
[131] Steely Dan | Aja | 1977
[132] Bruce Springsteen | Nebraska | 1982
[133] Robert Wyatt | Rock Bottom | 1974
[134] Bruce Springsteen | Born in the U.S.A. | 1984
[135] Sex Pistols | Never Mind the Bollocks - Here's the Sex Pistols | 1977
[136] The Flaming Lips | Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots | 2002
[137] Sly and the Family Stone | There's a Riot Goin' On | 1971
[138] The Velvet Underground | Loaded | 1970
[139] R.E.M. | Reckoning | 1984
[140] The Velvet Underground | White Light/White Heat | 1968
[141] The Magnetic Fields | 69 Love Songs | 1999
[142] The Beatles | Help! | 1965
[143] Kraftwerk | Trans-Europa Express | 1977
[144] The Jesus and Mary Chain | Psychocandy | 1985
[145] Bob Dylan | The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan | 1963
[146] Brian Eno | Another Green World | 1975
[147] Nick Drake | Bryter Layter | 1970
[148] Daft Punk | Discovery | 2001
[149] The Band | The Band | 1969
[150] Smashing Pumpkins | Siamese Dream | 1993
[151] Bob Marley | Exodus | 1977
[152] Neil Young | On the Beach | 1974
[153] Talking Heads | Fear of Music | 1979
[154] Interpol | Turn On the Bright Lights | 2002
[155] King Crimson | In the Court of the Crimson King | 1969
[156] Roxy Music | For Your Pleasure | 1973
[157] The Smiths | The Smiths | 1984
[158] Antony and The Johnsons | I Am a Bird Now | 2005
[159] Guns N' Roses | Appetite for Destruction | 1987
[160] Janelle Monae | The ArchAndroid | 2010
[161] The Clash | The Clash | 1977
[162] Mercury Rev | Deserter's Songs | 1998
[163] Led Zeppelin | Led Zeppelin II | 1969
[164] Neil Young | Rust Never Sleeps | 1979
[165] Led Zeppelin | Led Zeppelin | 1969
[166] The Who | Tommy | 1969
[167] The Avalanches | Since I Left You | 2000
[168] Ramones | Ramones | 1976
[169] PJ Harvey | Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea | 2000
[170] The Beatles | Let It Be | 1970
[171] PJ Harvey | Let England Shake | 2011
[172] TV on the Radio | Return to Cookie Mountain | 2006
[173] Oasis | Definitely Maybe | 1994
[174] Sigur Rós | Agaetis Byrjun | 1999
[175] The Beach Boys | Surf's Up | 1971
[176] Serge Gainsbourg | Histoire de Melody Nelson | 1971
[177] Wilco | Summerteeth | 1999
[178] Blondie | Parallel Lines | 1978
[179] Led Zeppelin | Physical Graffiti | 1975
[180] Björk | Debut | 1993
[181] John Lennon | Imagine | 1971
[182] Portishead | Third | 2008
[183] The Verve | Urban Hymns | 1997
[184] The Kinks | Something Else by the Kinks | 1967
[185] The National | High Violet | 2010
[186] Primal Scream | Screamadelica | 1991
[187] The United States of America | The United States of America | 1968
[188] Depeche Mode | Violator | 1990
[189] Dave Brubeck Quartet | Time Out | 1959
[190] Weezer | Weezer (The Blue Album) | 1994
[191] Pink Floyd | The Wall | 1979
[192] U2 | War | 1983
[193] Massive Attack | Mezzanine | 1998
[194] Air | Moon Safari | 1998
[195] The Rolling Stones | Aftermath | 1966
[196] Kraftwerk | Die Mensch Maschine | 1978
[197] Wu-Tang Clan | Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) | 1993
[198] The Byrds | The Notorious Byrd Brothers | 1968
[199] The Smiths | Strangeways, Here We Come | 1987
[200] Prince and The Revolution | 1999 | 1982
[201] Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young | Deja Vu | 1970
[202] Kate Bush | Hounds of Love | 1985
[203] The Cure | Seventeen Seconds | 1980
[204] The National | Alligator | 2005
[205] Led Zeppelin | Houses of the Holy | 1973
[206] Coldplay | A Rush of Blood to the Head | 2002
[207] Big Star | #1 Record | 1972
[208] Derek and The Dominos | Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs | 1970
[209] Bruce Springsteen | The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle | 1973
[210] Big Star | Radio City | 1974
[211] Miles Davis | Bitches Brew | 1970
[212] The Beatles | A Hard Day's Night | 1964
[213] Massive Attack | Blue Lines | 1991
[214] DJ Shadow | Endtroducing... | 1996
[215] Joni Mitchell | The Hissing of Summer Lawns | 1975
[216] Bon Iver | For Emma, Forever Ago | 2007
[217] R.E.M. | Document | 1987
[218] Franz Ferdinand | Franz Ferdinand | 2004
[219] Michael Jackson | Off the Wall | 1979
[220] Joanna Newsom | Ys | 2006
[221] Weezer | Pinkerton | 1996
[222] LCD Soundsystem | This Is Happening | 2010
[223] King Crimson | Red | 1974
[224] Radiohead | Amnesiac | 2001
[225] The Shins | Chutes Too Narrow | 2003
[226] Scott Walker | Scott 4 | 1969
[227] Tom Waits | Bone Machine | 1992
[228] Neil Young | Tonight's the Night | 1975
[229] Buena Vista Social Club | Buena Vista Social Club | 1997
[230] Hüsker Dü | Zen Arcade | 1984
[231] Iggy and The Stooges | Raw Power | 1973
[232] Spiritualized | Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space | 1997
[233] Björk | Post | 1995
[234] Slint | Spiderland | 1991
[235] Funkadelic | Maggot Brain | 1971
[236] Aretha Franklin | I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You | 1967
[237] M.I.A. | Kala | 2007
[238] Wire | Pink Flag | 1977
[239] Charles Mingus | Mingus Ah Um | 1959
[240] Nas | Illmatic | 1994
[241] David Bowie | Station to Station | 1976
[242] The XX | XX | 2009
[243] Pearl Jam | Ten | 1991
[244] Kraftwerk | Computerwelt | 1981
[245] Violent Femmes | Violent Femmes | 1982
[246] A Tribe Called Quest | The Low End Theory | 1991
[247] Björk | Vespertine | 2001
[248] Pink Floyd | The Piper at the Gates of Dawn | 1967
[249] George Harrison | All Things Must Pass | 1970
[250] R.E.M. | Life's Rich Pageant | 1986
[251] The Millennium | Begin | 1968
[252] Fever Ray | Fever Ray | 2009
[253] Jay-Z | The Blueprint | 2001
[254] The Who | The Who Sell Out | 1967
[255] Can | Tago Mago | 1971
[256] Gang of Four | Entertainment! | 1979
[257] Kanye West | Late Registration | 2005
[258] Bill Evans | Sunday at the Village Vanguard | 1961
[259] Guided by Voices | Bee Thousand | 1994
[260] Beck | Mutations | 1998
[261] The Mothers of Invention | We're Only in It for the Money | 1968
[262] James Brown | 'Live' at the Apollo | 1963
[263] Scott Walker | Scott 3 | 1969
[264] Leonard Cohen | Songs of Love and Hate | 1971
[265] The Jimi Hendrix Experience | Axis: Bold as Love | 1967
[266] LCD Soundsystem | LCD Soundsystem | 2005
[267] OutKast | Speakerboxxx/The Love Below | 2003
[268] Richard and Linda Thompson | I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight | 1974
[269] Queens of the Stone Age | Songs for the Deaf | 2002
[270] Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band | Trout Mask Replica | 1969
[271] Bruce Springsteen | The River | 1980
[272] The Streets | Original Pirate Material | 2002
[273] The Smashing Pumpkins | Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness | 1995
[274] Eagles | Hotel California | 1976
[275] Public Enemy | Fear of a Black Planet | 1990
[276] New Order | Technique | 1989
[277] Madonna | Like a Prayer | 1989
[278] The Beatles | Beatles for Sale | 1964
[279] Joni Mitchell | Hejira | 1976
[280] Miles Davis | In a Silent Way | 1969
[281] Simon and Garfunkel | Bookends | 1968
[282] Prince and The Revolution | Parade | 1986
[283] Elton John | Goodbye Yellow Brick Road | 1973
[284] The Cure | The Head on the Door | 1985
[285] Todd Rundgren | Something/Anything? | 1972
[286] Moby | Play | 1999
[287] The Wrens | The Meadowlands | 2003
[288] Elvis Costello | Armed Forces | 1979
[289] T. Rex | Electric Warrior | 1971
[290] XTC | Skylarking | 1986
[291] Minutemen | Double Nickels on the Dime | 1984
[292] Prefab Sprout | Steve McQueen/Two Wheels Good | 1985
[293] Rod Stewart | Every Picture Tells a Story | 1971
[294] The Go-Betweens | 16 Lovers Lane | 1988
[295] Tim Buckley | Starsailor | 1970
[296] Deerhunter | Halcyon Digest | 2010
[297] Curtis Mayfield | Curtis | 1970
[298] Talking Heads | Talking Heads: 77 | 1977
[299] The Beach Boys | Sunflower | 1970
[300] Paul McCartney and Wings | Band on the Run | 1973

[301] Paul Simon | There Goes Rhymin' Simon | 1973
[302] Pere Ubu | The Modern Dance | 1978
[303] Sufjan Stevens | Michigan | 2003
[304] Tindersticks | Tindersticks | 1993
[305] Liz Phair | Exile in Guyville | 1993
[306] Bob Dylan | Desire | 1976
[307] Dusty Springfield | Dusty in Memphis | 1969
[308] Suicide | Suicide | 1977
[309] Elliott Smith | From a Basement on the Hill | 2004
[310] Van Morrison | Veedon Fleece | 1974
[311] Steely Dan | Pretzel Logic | 1974
[312] The Band | Music from Big Pink | 1968
[313] Peter Gabriel | So | 1986
[314] Super Furry Animals | Rings Around the World | 2001
[315] Coldplay | Parachutes | 2000
[316] Queen | A Night at the Opera | 1975
[317] David Bowie | "Heroes" | 1977
[318] Cat Stevens | Tea for the Tillerman | 1970
[319] Leonard Cohen | I'm Your Man | 1988
[320] Yo La Tengo | I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One | 1997
[321] Grateful Dead | American Beauty | 1970
[322] Modest Mouse | The Moon & Antarctica | 2000
[323] Nirvana | MTV Unplugged in New York | 1994
[324] Radiohead | Hail to the Thief | 2003
[325] Simon and Garfunkel | Parsley, Sage, Rosemary & Thyme | 1966
[326] Talk Talk | Spirit of Eden | 1988
[327] Black Sabbath | Paranoid | 1970
[328] Primal Scream | XTRMNTR | 2000
[329] The Modern Lovers | The Modern Lovers | 1976
[330] Belle and Sebastian | Tigermilk | 1996
[331] Damien Rice | O | 2002
[332] Gorillaz | Demon Days | 2005
[333] Big Star | Third/Sister Lovers | 1978
[334] Talking Heads | More Songs About Buildings and Food | 1978
[335] Bob Marley | Catch a Fire | 1973
[336] Arctic Monkeys | Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not | 2006
[337] Prince | Dirty Mind | 1980
[338] Vampire Weekend | Contra | 2010
[339] The Antlers | Hospice | 2009
[340] Os Mutantes | Os Mutantes | 1968
[341] Sleater-Kinney | The Woods | 2005
[342] Elvis Costello and The Attractions | Imperial Bedroom | 1982
[343] New York Dolls | New York Dolls | 1973
[344] Billy Joel | The Stranger | 1977
[345] Pavement | Wowee Zowee | 1995
[346] Eric Dolphy | Out to Lunch! | 1964
[347] R.E.M. | Out of Time | 1991
[348] AC/DC | Back in Black | 1980
[349] The La's | The La's | 1990
[350] The Original Soundtrack | The Harder They Come | 1972
[351] PJ Harvey | Rid of Me | 1993
[352] The Beach Boys | The Beach Boys Today! | 1965
[353] Tricky | Maxinquaye | 1995
[354] Tracy Chapman | Tracy Chapman | 1988
[355] Sigur Rós | Takk... | 2005
[356] Belle and Sebastian | The Life Pursuit | 2006
[357] Animal Collective | Strawberry Jam | 2007
[358] N.W.A | Straight Outta Compton | 1988
[359] Johnny Cash | At Folsom Prison | 1968
[360] Sleater-Kinney | One Beat | 2002
[361] The Byrds | Sweetheart of the Rodeo | 1968
[362] David Bowie | Scary Monsters | 1980
[363] Miles Davis | Sketches of Spain | 1960
[364] The Cars | The Cars | 1978
[365] John Cale | Paris 1919 | 1973
[366] Sigur Rós | ( ) | 2002
[367] Fleet Foxes | Helplessness Blues | 2011
[368] Modest Mouse | The Lonesome Crowded West | 1997
[369] The Beatles | Please Please Me | 1963
[370] Richard and Linda Thompson | Shoot Out the Lights | 1982
[371] Roxy Music | Roxy Music | 1972
[372] Genius/GZA | Liquid Swords | 1995
[373] The Beatles | With the Beatles/Meet the Beatles! | 1963
[374] The B-52's | The B-52's | 1979
[375] Wire | Chairs Missing | 1978
[376] Sonic Youth | Sister | 1987
[377] Jacques Brel | Ces gens-la | 1966
[378] Dinosaur Jr. | You're Living All Over Me | 1987
[379] The Feelies | Crazy Rhythms | 1980
[380] Beach House | Teen Dream | 2010
[381] Brian Eno | Here Come the Warm Jets | 1973
[382] The Police | Synchronicity | 1983
[383] Big Boi | Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty | 2010
[384] The Original Soundtrack | Saturday Night Fever | 1977
[385] Lou Reed | New York | 1989
[386] Dire Straits | Brothers in Arms | 1985
[387] Tom Waits | Closing Time | 1973
[388] Al Green | Call Me | 1973
[389] The Doors | L.A. Woman | 1971
[390] Herbie Hancock | Maiden Voyage | 1965
[391] Can | Ege Bamyasi | 1972
[392] Cannibal Ox | The Cold Vein | 2001
[393] Morrissey | You Are the Quarry | 2004
[394] Brian Wilson | SMiLE | 2004
[395] Madonna | Ray of Light | 1998
[396] New Order | Power, Corruption & Lies | 1983
[397] Pharoah Sanders | Karma | 1969
[398] The Allman Brothers Band | At Fillmore East | 1971
[399] Animal Collective | Sung Tongs | 2004
[400] Joanna Newsom | The Milk-Eyed Mender | 2004
[401] Howlin' Wolf | Moanin' in the Moonlight | 1959
[402] My Bloody Valentine | Isn't Anything | 1988
[403] Eminem | The Marshall Mathers LP | 2000
[404] Joe Jackson | Look Sharp! | 1979
[405] Bob Marley and The Wailers | Natty Dread | 1974
[406] Burial | Untrue | 2007
[407] Wilco | Sky Blue Sky | 2007
[408] Ramones | Rocket to Russia | 1977
[409] Sinéad O'Connor | I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got | 1990
[410] Laura Nyro | New York Tendaberry | 1969
[411] John Coltrane | Ascension | 1966
[412] Paul Simon | Paul Simon | 1972
[413] Coldplay | Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends | 2008
[414] Chet Baker | Chet Baker Sings | 1954
[415] Metallica | Ride the Lightning | 1984
[416] The Tallest Man on Earth | The Wild Hunt | 2010
[417] Parliament | Mothership Connection | 1975
[418] Built to Spill | Perfect from Now On | 1997
[419] The Divine Comedy | Promenade | 1994
[420] Cults | Cults | 2011
[421] Boards of Canada | Geogaddi | 2002
[422] Stevie Wonder | Fulfillingness' First Finale | 1974
[423] Leonard Cohen | Songs from a Room | 1969
[424] Wilco | Being There | 1996
[425] Deerhunter | Microcastle / Weird Era Cont. | 2008
[426] Johnny Cash | American III: Solitary Man | 2000
[427] Stereolab | Emperor Tomato Ketchup | 1996
[428] Randy Newman | Sail Away | 1972
[429] Elvis Presley | Elvis Presley | 1956
[430] Frank Sinatra | In the Wee Small Hours | 1955
[431] Lauryn Hill | The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill | 1998
[432] The Who | Quadrophenia | 1973
[433] Godspeed You Black Emperor! | Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven | 2000
[434] Madvillain | Madvillainy | 2004
[435] The Shins | Oh, Inverted World | 2001
[436] Supergrass | I Should Coco | 1995
[437] Roxy Music | Avalon | 1982
[438] Van Dyke Parks | Song Cycle | 1968
[439] Portishead | Portishead | 1997
[440] Wire | 154 | 1979
[441] Fairport Convention | Liege and Lief | 1969
[442] Prefab Sprout | Jordan: The Comeback | 1990
[443] PJ Harvey | White Chalk | 2007
[444] Aretha Franklin | Lady Soul | 1968
[445] Bob Marley and The Wailers | Live! | 1975
[446] Red Hot Chili Peppers | Blood Sugar Sex Magik | 1991
[447] Radiohead | The King of Limbs | 2011
[448] Tindersticks | Tindersticks (II) | 1995
[449] Spoon | Kill the Moonlight | 2002
[450] Boston | Boston | 1976
[451] The Tallest Man on Earth | Shallow Grave | 2008
[452] Gram Parsons | Grievous Angel | 1974
[453] Pink Floyd | Meddle | 1971
[454] Patti Smith Group | Easter | 1978
[455] John Coltrane | My Favorite Things | 1961
[456] Van Halen | Van Halen | 1978
[457] Fela and Africa 70 | Zombie | 1977
[458] Bonnie "Prince" Billy | I See a Darkness | 1999
[459] Michael Jackson | Bad | 1987
[460] Tortoise | Millions Now Living Will Never Die | 1996
[461] Dexys Midnight Runners | Searching for the Young Soul Rebels | 1980
[462] The Byrds | Mr. Tambourine Man | 1965
[463] OutKast | Aquemini | 1998
[464] Sleigh Bells | Treats | 2010
[465] The Byrds | Younger Than Yesterday | 1967
[466] Pavement | Brighten the Corners | 1997
[467] Herbie Hancock | Head Hunters | 1973
[468] The Pains of Being Pure at Heart | The Pains of Being Pure at Heart | 2009
[469] Kurt Vile | Smoke Ring For My Halo | 2011
[470] Jorge Ben | A Tábua de Esmeralda | 1974
[471] Joanna Newsom | Have One on Me | 2010
[472] The Chemical Brothers | Dig Your Own Hole | 1997
[473] Animal Collective | Feels | 2005
[474] Bob Dylan | John Wesley Harding | 1967
[475] The Crickets | The "Chirping" Crickets | 1957
[476] Nine Inch Nails | Pretty Hate Machine | 1989
[477] Stan Getz and João Gilberto | Getz/Gilberto | 1964
[478] Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band | Safe as Milk | 1967
[479] Frank Zappa | Hot Rats | 1969
[480] White Noise | An Electric Storm | 1968
[481] The Boo Radleys | Giant Steps | 1993
[482] Gene Clark | No Other | 1974
[483] Pretenders | Pretenders | 1980
[484] Cream | Disraeli Gears | 1967
[485] Bloc Party | Silent Alarm | 2005
[486] Pere Ubu | Dub Housing | 1978
[487] Yes | Close to the Edge | 1972
[488] The Streets | A Grand Don't Come for Free | 2004
[489] Metallica | Master of Puppets | 1986
[490] Kraftwerk | Autobahn | 1974
[491] Neu! | Neu! | 1972
[492] Paul and Linda McCartney | Ram | 1971
[493] Creedence Clearwater Revival | Green River | 1969
[494] Camera Obscura | Let's Get Out Of This Country | 2006
[495] This Heat | Deceit | 1981
[496] Elvis Costello and The Attractions | Get Happy!! | 1980
[497] The Smiths | Meat Is Murder | 1985
[498] Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares | Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares | 1975
[499] Hüsker Dü | New Day Rising | 1985
[500] Led Zeppelin | Led Zeppelin III | 1970

I wouldn't consider myself a Beck fan, but I absolutely adore Sea Changes, however contradictory that may sound. I just haven't been able to get into his other albums. Sea Changes is just a completely different direction in comparison to his previous works.

And then we have this...

"I'm never going to know you now
But I'm going to love you anyhow"





[93] Elliott Smith | XO | 1998

Points: 1589 | Votes: 16 | AM Rank: 565 | 2009 Poll Rank: 137
Biggest Fan: John (9)

then this...

[92] The Beatles | Magical Mystery Tour | 1967
[91] Leonard Cohen | Songs of Leonard Cohen | 1967

And then the rest we haven't seen yet. But VF1000's list actually did shake things up now that I look more into it. The number 10 album passed the number 9 album in what we certainly be a controversial move for some, an album snuck into the top 15 that absolutely perplexes me, and there was some other shuffling in the 20-50 range. Now back to business...

Glad to be of service

"Out of my mind on a Saturday night"





[90] The Stooges | Fun House | 1970

Points: 1601 | Votes: 17 | AM Rank: 83 | 2009 Poll Rank: 95 (+5)
Biggest Fan: Beefsupreme (16)



"I met myself in a dream"





[89] The Velvet Underground | The Velvet Underground | 1969

Points: 1607 | Votes: 18 | AM Rank: 172 | 2009 Poll Rank: 114 (+25)
Biggest Fan: Brad (14)



"The present is well out of hand"





[88] Joy Division | Closer | 1980

Points: 1608 | Votes: 15 | AM Rank: 41 | 2009 Poll Rank: 56 (-32)
Biggest Fan: Kevin, Michel (2)



"You'll never fail like common people"




[87] Pulp | Different Class | 1995

Points: 1625 | Votes: 16 | AM Rank: 153 | 2009 Poll Rank: 67 (-20)
Biggest Fan: Octopus (1)



"Maybe I'm just too young to keep good love from going wrong"





[86] Jeff Buckley | Grace | 1994Points: 1440 | Votes: 20 | AM Rank: 69 | 2009 Poll Rank: 82 (-4)
Biggest Fan: VanillaFire1000 (4)



"Where I am not human"





[85] Patti Smith | Horses | 1975

Points: 1665 | Votes: 17 | AM Rank: 19 | 2009 Poll Rank: 79 (-6)
Biggest Fan: Antonius (11)


"A love supreme, a love supreme, a love supreme, a love supreme, a love supreme..."





[84] John Coltrane | A Love Supreme | 1965

Points: 1604 | Votes: 16 | AM Rank: 67 | 2009 Poll Rank: 110 (+26)
Biggest Fan: Sonofsamiam (1)



"Who'll hear what I say?"




[83] Nick Drake | Pink Moon | 1972

Points: 1655 | Votes: 18 | AM Rank: 270 | 2009 Poll Rank: 109 (+26)
Biggest Fan: Pauldrach (3)



"As soon as you're born they make you feel small"




[82] John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band | John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band | 1970

Points: 1721 | Votes: 19 | AM Rank: 68 | 2009 Poll Rank: 75 (-7)
Biggest Fan: David M (4)



"I've got the spirit, but lose the feeling"




[81] Joy Division | Unknown Pleasures | 1979

Points: 1724 | Votes: 19 | AM Rank: 64 | 2009 Poll Rank: 98 (+17)
Biggest Fan: Andre (21)

Now that is a great group of albums! Fantastic rises for Fun House, A Love Supreme, The Velvet Underground, and Pink Moon. I'm really surprised at how low some of those finished last time.

One thing that's strange to me is that Transformer beat out all VU records besides the obvious. I personally disagree with this, and it just feels intuitively wrong. Besides the big songs ("Perfect Day," "Walk on the Wild Side," and "Satellite of Love") I can't really see what's classic about the other material, while the s/t is great all the way through in a refreshingly different way from their first two albums.

94-81 : wow, here comes the heavy stuff !

XO made a spectacular comeback to my list at 178 (and it could even move up). What a great songwriter ! The 00's poll made me listen to great albums like Figure 8 but nothing beatsthat one. And I don't know Either/Or.

A bunch of albums that I placed at 200-400 : Fun House, Closer, Different Class, Horses, Pink Moon, Plastic Ono Band. Cutting at 200 was kinda painful. It left a lot of great albums behind. If I look at my list, 400 is better.

A Loe Supreme is an album I still need to get to now. I do prefer the more melodious My Favorite Things.

And while Closer is one of the very few post punk albums that I love, I disapprove Unknown Pleasures being higher. It looks like the draft of the following album and it's postpunk at its most sinister and skeletal.

I have a special love for The Velvet Underground and its eerie and mellow songs, but there's no way it's above Transformer. I never understood why some people tend to despisr Lou Reed's solo stuff and put the VU only on a pedestal. Transformer is a wonderful album, fresh, colorful, and an immaculate collection of songs. Of course, the Wild Side/Satelitte/Perfect Day trio outshines the rest (and by the sole presence of those 3 Transformer is already a classic), but the rest is excellent too. I love "Hanging Round" and the other rockers like "I'm so free", and the hilarious "NY Conversation". You're in a movie. The Bowie/Ronson production makes it the ideal companion to Ziggy Stardust. And I still haven't mentionned the lyrics, all around and about New York. Nothing beats The VU & Nico and its tremendous importance, but Transformer comes second in my Lou Reed pantheon. Lou Reed doesn't seem to take himself too seriously on that one, it's less gloomy than Berlin and it captures an era (70s) and a place (The Big Apple).
But you gotta appreciate simple things and consider than a masterpiece is not necessarily dark, complicated, ambitious, and, most of all, different.

@DanM : argh that's . Will they ever understand ? I'm lucky to work at home now, so i can play music and follow the results of this great poll while my wife's away. But today she's home so I gotta go before starting WWIII

Enter the Wu-Tang back in the top 200, that's great news, it sure has too many skits but beside that all songs are great.

Hey Moonbeam, have you noticed how now Neon Bible is 5 places above The Age of Adz ? (Yeah, I know, I should not feed the troll )

I'm glad XO cracked the top 100 (though remaining at the same level as the previous poll would already have been fine)
It shows Elliott getting more ambitious with much richer orchestrations, but it does not forget to have great melodies (while Figure 8 sometimes do).
I still prefer Either/Or which is plain perfect in my book, but the first half of XO is close to the same level of perfection, especially thanks to Waltz #2 my favorite song ever. The second half is not completely up to par, sometimes over orchestrated, but it displays some nice tricks you might not have expected Elliott to be able to pull.

The revised version is really much better! "Let It Be", "Help!", and even "Please Plase Me" rose astoundingly in more deserving positions representing their quality according to me "Lady Soul" is finally included, with two Aretha Franklin albums now representing this fabulous singer in the Top 500, even in such low rankings. "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" and "Straight Outta Compton" also took serious benefit from this "update" especially the first one. And "Document" is above "Life's Rich Pageant" as well. Whoah, even the Sex Pistols are higher, even not to a rudicilously big rate which should ! Anyway, awesome!

OK, "In Utero" going out for the sake of "Sea Change" is so totally not my cup of tea but it's VanillaFire's preferences, not mine. Some others sadly fell too ("The Clash", "Screamadelica", "Definitely Maybe", "Imagine") but thankfully not much.

The rankings were right, the points weren't. Should be fixed for the rest of the list.

"I'm in love with the world through the eyes of a girl"




[80] Elliott Smith | Either/Or | 1997

Points: 1725 | Votes: 15 | AM Rank: 422 | 2009 Poll Rank: 107 (+27)
Biggest Fan: Nassim (1)



"The world is alive now"





[79] Fleet Foxes | Fleet Foxes | 2008

Points: 1732 | Votes: 19 | AM Rank: 249 | 2009 Poll Rank: 81 (+2)
Biggest Fan: Toni (16)



"I don't suppose it's meant for me"





[78] Nick Drake | Five Leaves Left | 1969

Points: 1831 | Votes: 17 | AM Rank: 151 | 2009 Poll Rank: 89 (+11)
Biggest Fan: Petri (4)



"The sound they made was love"




[77] The Flaming Lips | The Soft Bulletin | 1999

Points: 1834 | Votes: 21 | AM Rank: 155 | 2009 Poll Rank: 48 (-29)
Biggest Fan: nj (1)



"Until we dream of life and life becomes a dream"




[76] Stevie Wonder | Songs in the Key of Life | 1976

Points: 1849 | Votes: 20 | AM Rank: 46 | 2009 Poll Rank: 55 (-21)
Biggest Fan: Nicolas (6)



"Don't put your life in the hands
Of a rock and roll band"





[75] Oasis | (What's the Story) Morning Glory? | 1995

Points: 1864 | Votes: 19 | AM Rank: 87 | 2009 Poll Rank: 86 (+11)
Biggest Fan: Nick (12)



"My presence is a present
Kiss my ass"




[74] Kanye West | My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy | 2010

Points: 1872 | Votes: 17 | AM Rank: N/A | 2009 Poll Rank: N/A
Biggest Fan: Kingoftonga (13)



"You can never quarantine the past"





[73] Pavement | Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain | 1994

Points: 1912 | Votes: 17 | AM Rank: 223 | 2009 Poll Rank: 73 (No Change)
Biggest Fan: Schwah (1)



"You're going to reap just what you sow"




[72] Lou Reed | Transformer | 1972
Points: 1919 | Votes: 19 | AM Rank: 78 | 2009 Poll Rank: 87 (+15)
Biggest Fan: Otisredding (14)



"Spirit desire
We will fall"




[71] Sonic Youth | Daydream Nation | 1988

Points: 1938 | Votes: 17 | AM Rank: 72 | 2009 Poll Rank: 59 (-12)
Biggest Fan: Beefsupreme (9)

There are some fantastic albums in there!

Let me add to the earlier set that I totally agree that Unknown Pleasures is definitely better than Closer.

I'm sad to see Songs in the Key of Life fall so much, and to see it behind (What's the Story) Morning Glory? makes me very, very sad.

Hooray for Transformer's boost. nicolas is right - it captures a scene so well, and there are great songs beyond the big 3. My picks are "Vicious", "Wagon Wheel" and "I'm So Free".

Viva Pubilc Enemy, #1 rap album! Much deserved.

80-71

some of my favorites in there

Fleet Foxes (22) : IM folky O the best album of the 00s. You'll notice that it beats TVOR while the competition between the 2 of them looks very very tight in the 00s poll. A great folk rock record, maybe one of the best that ever was, and it's from 2008. This is absolutely a-temporal and could have been made anytime since 1966. As I grow old, I'm more interested in family records, I mean a record that your grandma would like. I know that one of the purposes of rock is to shock your parents ((that's what Elvis, the Pistols, Nine Inch Nails or now Animal Collective did, right ?). But now the history of this genre spreads over 3 generations, so concensual records like this one appear. For the peace of families . The songwriting, the instrumentation, the vocal parts, all is perfect here. The only little flaw is that some songs could have used a little simplification in their structure. BUt it's also part of its charms.

Five Leaves left (38 : another great folk record. I think the cover art totally captures the essence of the music inside. Light and darkness. And what an acoustic guitarist.

Songs in The Key Of Life (6) : I've already spoken about that one, joking that it was good because it was long. I love double albums, "garage sell" albums in which the artists express all of their creativity in various ways, even if it is unfocused. Here every song is a potential single. I know some people find it a bit cheesy (especially certain keyboard sounds). I like it like it is, with all of its flaws. Albums are like people sometimes. At each listen I'm always moved by a different song. last time it was the very first one, "love's In Need...". ANd when you're a father for the first time, "Isn't she lovely ?" suddenly has a different taste.

I already told you about "Transformer". I like that record and how Lou uses humor to hide the pains of life.

Others : Either/or is a record I still have to discover. It's good to know that those kind of albums are there waiting for you.

Soft Bulletin and MBDTF are OK but didn't make my list. I prefer Goo to daydream Nation, and the former made my list.

Oasis and Pavement (for opposite reasons) are bands I don't like.

2 of my all time favorite here, one that I consider the great father of the other.

So yeah, Either/Or is still my favorite album ever and I am glad more and more AMers seem to enjoy it (shame on you nicolas, like if I had not already talked far too much about it !)

I'm not a huge fan of Crooked Rain Crooked Rain but it has one of the very best ending song I have ever heard, this Fillmore Jive gives me the chills every time I listen to it.
And I still don't enjoy the Soft Bulletin, except for Waiting for a Superman.

Great showing again by Fleet Foxes and Kanye. I kind of remember during the 2009 list that most people thought the album would fall down a little in the next list once it got less fresh in our minds, but its still sticking in. Such a great folk record. Pecknold has the best voice in music now.

Great for Kanye as well. Always great to have more hip-hop in the top 100. Just need to move for jazz there as well.

Yeah! Fleet Foxes keep their position in the top 80. It's really good to see that gem of an album ranking among stablished classics like Daydream Nation, Soft Bulletin, Transformer and Morning Glory. The most impressive thing of their music is that they make it seem so easy for everyone to compose and perform those tracks. The first time I heard it in 2008, my first active year on AM, I thought to myself: great to know good albums like this are things that appear every now and then. But no, since then nothing with the same flow and effortless musicality has appeared anymore, even though there are a few more recent albums above it in my own list. And, nicolas, I don't consider that their "jam" moments hurt the album, in fact, it makes for the audition always turning into a pleasing travel. I consider "He Doesn't Know Why" my favorite song of last decade.

Time to make some comments about the top 200-101:

- I don't remember where Fear of Music placed last times, but it was an awesome surprise to see it near the top 150. For me it's one of the most underrated albums ever, topping even the unique Remain In Light. The Heads appear there at their most urgent, creating a threatening climate that I have never found in another album. Sometimes it really seems the music is persecuting you (Cities, Memories Can't Wait, Air), while Heaven must be their most poignant song.
- Didn't expect to see Reckoning so high. I also consider it R.E.M's best album after their 2 big ones.
- Well, even if I had a little hope of seeing Parklife back to top 100, I accept it's rank. At least it looks to have stablished a position among the classic ones, in the contrary of other Britpop acts that seem to be fading as time passes. It has been my all time #2 for half a decade (I began listening to "music" in 2005) and can't see it going down.
- Of course the hugest surprise of it all is Vampire Weekend at #118. I always thought I was a bit alone in liking that album so much. Like VanillaFire1000 has said, much of it's appeal comes from it's way of combining afropop melodies and textures to their new wave influences, creating a beautiful musical landscape as well as a fresh and clean sound. Now get this style and with it create perfect pop tracks like "Boston", the synthy "One", the running "Walcott", the soaring-savannah-feel "The Kids Don't Stand a Chance", not to mention the 5 leading and almost equally acclaimed tracks, and then you have one of the masterpieces of last decade. Many may consider I'm exagerating for such a recent album, but it has been slowly rising in my all time list since it's discovery until surprisingly reaching the top 10 this time.
- Glad to see Paul's Boutique as the 2nd best '80s rap album. Another one I didn't expect to see this high.
- Last, another of my deceptions was the fall of Surfer Rosa, which had been near number 50 in the last two polls. I consider it a much better and more cohesive piece than Doolittle.

Very sad Kraftwerk haven't done particularly well this time round - TEE around 140, and The Man Machine around 200! they're so incredibly relistenable to, it surprises me that they are falling down people's lists. Both are electronic/synth pop masterpieces.

I'm ashamed to say that I've never heard a Fleet Foxes album in it's entirety. I have heard bits of pieces from friends but I've never felt influenced enough to listen to their albums; until today that is! Thanks to the strength of these polls I've given their albums a few spins and I'm stunned by the quality and beauty of their music.

Truth be told, I think I have an unintentional bias towards the early 70's/late 60's releases and it's clouded my judgement on newer releases. I still feel distant from the cesspool of todays music industry, but Fleet Foxes are a breath of fresh air.

Speaking as someone with three Kraftwerk albums in my top 25, I'm also a bit disappointed. But perhaps there was some vote-splitting with this group as well? They still managed three albums in the top 250 here, which is better than their status on the actual AM site, even if none of those albums made it into the Top 100.

"We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl year after year"





[70] Pink Floyd | Wish You Were Here | 1975

Points: 1939 | Votes: 20 | AM Rank: 170 | 2009 Poll Rank: 63 (-7)
Biggest Fan: Marc (2)



"Nobody writes them like they used to
So it may as well be me"





[69] Belle and Sebastian | If You're Feeling Sinister | 1996

Points: 1976 | Votes: 18 | AM Rank: 234 | 2009 Poll Rank: 64 (-5)
Biggest Fan: Tim E (3)



"Will you ever win?"





[68] Fleetwood Mac | Rumours | 1977

Points: 1987 | Votes: 17 | AM Rank: 58 | 2009 Poll Rank: 88 (-20)
Biggest Fan: Stephen (2)



"Never could stand that dog"





[67] Tom Waits | Swordfishtrombones | 1983

Points: 1997 | Votes: 19 | AM Rank: 100 | 2009 Poll Rank: 93 (+26)
Biggest Fan: Antonius (3)



"In the land of the blind the one-eyed man is king"




[66] Tom Waits | Rain Dogs | 1985

Points: 2029 | Votes: 20 | AM Rank: 114 | 2009 Poll Rank: 78 (+12)
Biggest Fan: Pauldrach (2)



"I got a letter from the government"





[65] Public Enemy | It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back | 1988

Points: 2029 | Votes: 19 | AM Rank: 17 | 2009 Poll Rank: 54 (-11)
Biggest Fan: ParticleAnalyst (4)



"I wouldn't trade one stupid decision
For another five years of lies"





[64] LCD Soundsystem | Sound of Silver | 2007

Points: 2033 | Votes: 21 | AM Rank: 137 | 2009 Poll Rank: 76 (+12)
Biggest Fan: Nick (7)



"Close my eyes"





[63] My Bloody Valentine | Loveless | 1991

Points: 2043 | Votes: 20 | AM Rank: 74 | 2009 Poll Rank: 45 (-18)
Biggest Fan: Jackson (1)



"Every time I phone you, I just want to put you down"




[62] Elvis Costello | This Year's Model | 1978

Points: 2133 | Votes: 23 | AM Rank: 79 | 2009 Poll Rank: 72 (+10)
Biggest Fan: ParticleAnalyst (8)



"I am just a poor boy, though my story's seldom told"




[61] Simon and Garfunkel | Bridge Over Troubled Water | 1970

Points: 2137 | Votes: 21 | AM Rank: 118 | 2009 Poll Rank: 96 (+35)
Biggest Fan: Miguel (2)

Funny, I don't remember that rare alternative album cover for "If You're Feeling Sinister"

I am disheartened at the drop of Loveless. Absolutely the disappointment of the poll for me; I was hoping it would rise at least into the top 40.

Even after 40+ listens, by far more than any other album since in the last three or so years, Loveless is a magical experience every time. Its sound is simply more beautiful, more fully realized than any album I've heard. It flows together incredibly well as a front-to-back experience while also having massive standouts "Soon," "To Here Knows When," and "Sometimes." This album is number one with a bullet for me, far ahead of the rest of my top 10. It's hard to anticipate it being passed for any reason other than wearing it out. Not to say nothing could ever be better, but it would take true musical paradise to beat this out.

I cringe every time a journalist compares a new band to MBV. Give me a break. No one's come close to this. Other dream-pop/shoegaze standouts like Souvlaki or A Strangely Isolated Place may use similar techniques, but nothing can capture the emotional intensity or production of Loveless for me.

PopMatters had a great article about Loveless as part of its recent series on Nevermind and 1991 music. I usually am turned off by this much hyperbole being applied to music, but Loveless really deserves it.

70-61

I'm quite surprised by Wish you Were Here in the top 100, but if it's your choice...

Rumors and Bridge Over Troubled Water prove that soft rock has a real place here in this forum. It seems there's a silent group of soft rock lovers (because we hear many comments about albums from the 00's but few about the others.

The rise of Tom Waits is an excellent thing. I never understood why Swordfishtrombones, although excellent (my #211 but only my 5th favorite Tom Waits album) is his most acclaimed album. Rain Dogs IMO is far more better, and this forum knows it too. An incredible album, like an aquarium of strange and beautiful songs and characters. Like Ry Cooder, Tom is an archeologist of music, and in Rain Dogs you can hear the music of all the different nations that made America. It's rock, it's country, it's blues, it's Gypsy, and as in any good Tom Waits the ballads ("Time", "Hang Down Your Head") are highlights. And Tom Waits is a fantastic lyricist too. BTW it was my #7. Nad as a gift, Marc Ribot's guitar (ahh "Jockey Full Of Bourbon") inspired by Waits' strange instructions in the studio ("play that song like it's the bar mitzvah of a dwarf")

Sound Of Silver (#191) : epic and hectic, another great NY album. The last track, in contrast with the rest, is totally beautiful.

Public Enemy (214) was almost in my top 200 and I'm happy to see them here.

I have a problem with Costello and after reading such a vibrant review of "Loveless" by jackson, I'm a little embarrassed to say that it's my second least favorite album of this top 100 (after Unknown Pleasures). You can't like everything, can you ?

Great group of albums here. I wouldn't say I'm the biggest Tom Waits fan (no albums in my top 200) but I understand his importance to music. Loveless and Wish You Were Here are two albums that have grown on me considerably in the past year. After disliking Pink Floyd my entire life, something just clicked with me. Maybe that will happen soon with Zeppelin, but I doubt it. But MBV created a record that is just a sonic assault to your head. Just hearing the intro to "Only Shallow" is like getting synesthesia.

Good to see Bridge over Troubled Water move up this year.

Someday Tom Waits will stop being the hip artist to like just like Beefheart used to be. His music annoys me to no end. Yes, even here like Rym I am ruthless!

Jackson, you managed to pick the only good Fleetwood Mac song ("Rhianon") not from Rumours for the quote.

Tom Waits ? Hip artist ? Find something else, John ! I'm a fan since 1986
Among roots musicians, he's a sort of God. And he's much more talented than Beefhart. Probably one of the best on stage. Too bad you can't get past his voice Henry. My grandma was like that too. Seriously, he's probably the living artist I admire the most along with the Boss. A scholar on music. And what a funny guy !
Hey guys am I gonna be the only 1 to defend Tom Waits ? Rise up and speak !

I actually Tom Waits a lot more than Beefheart. Both "Rain Dogs" and "Swordfishtrombones" were in my top 200. The first Tom Waits song I heard was "Underground" and the instant the vocals kicked in I wanted nothing more than to shut the song off. Now I love his vocals. His music sets a very particular scene, and his vocals are essential for that scene to properly work. I guess all I can say is that his vocals are an acquired taste.

Apparently the critic Daniel Durchholz described his vocals as sounding like "like it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months, and then taken outside and run over with a car."

This just goes to prove that nj is actually Marvel Comics' Dead Pool.

I'm pretty sure the "forum" doesn't exist at all.
Try to find it when the morphine wears off.

I like Swordfishtrombones more than Rain Dogs, only for the reason that there were attempts of creating something accessible. Swordfishtrombones was career defining for Waits, and Rain Dogs was an extension of that success. The thing is, (as unreasonable as it may sound), I don't enjoy long albums, especially ones which are intended to be difficult and messy/sprawling. Double albums are usually only bearable if they are intended to be seperate pieces of art like Hounds of Love. One of the reasons why I love Nick Drake's Pink Moon is the running length of 28 minutes!

ps: no Nick Cave album in the t500 (both 1.0 and 1.1)...... sooo
is he the REAL VOTESPLITTER after all?? (shushh.... don't tell Hasbro)

Hooray for Sound of Silver and This Year's Model! Great, great albums, those!

As for Tom Waits, I much prefer Swordfishtrombones to Rain Dogs. Rain Dogs is good, but Swordfishtrombones makes me feel like I've woken up in a twisted carnival with no way out, and I like the feeling!

"We shine like a burning star"





[60] U2 | Achtung Baby | 1991

Points: 2144 | Votes: 22 | AM Rank: 82 | 2009 Poll Rank: 52 (-8)
Biggest Fan: Penguin (10)



"You know the day destroys the night"





[59] The Doors | The Doors | 1967

Points: 2149 | Votes: 26 | AM Rank: 24 | 2009 Poll Rank: 71 (+12)
Biggest Fan: Listyguy (13)



"In another world, in another time"





[58] Van Morrison | Astral Weeks | 1968

Points: 2213 | Votes: 23 | AM Rank: 15 | 2009 Poll Rank: 35 (-23)
Biggest Fan: Antonius (1)



"I want a shot at redemption"





[57] Paul Simon | Graceland | 1986

Points: 2228 | Votes: 20 | AM Rank: 76 | 2009 Poll Rank: 69 (+12)
Biggest Fans: Marc, VanillaFire1000 (1)



"You were right about the stars
Each one is a setting sun"





[56] Wilco | Yankee Hotel Foxtrot | 2002

Points: 2231 | Votes: 22 | AM Rank: 71 | 2009 Poll Rank: 70 (+14)
Biggest Fan: Jonathan (6)



"Not everyone can carry the weight of the world"




[55] R.E.M. | Murmur | 1983

Points: 2258 | Votes: 21 | AM Rank: 65 | 2009 Poll Rank: 46 (-9)
Biggest Fan: Andre (3)



"I will sit right down, waiting for the gift of sound and vision"




[54] David Bowie | Low | 1977

Points: 2258 | Votes: 24 | AM Rank: 89 | 2009 Poll Rank: 39 (-15)
Biggest Fan: Stephen (7)



"Give me a reason to love you"




[53] Portishead | Dummy | 1994

Points: 2258 | Votes: 25 | AM Rank: 70 | 2009 Poll Rank: 60 (+7)
Biggest Fan: Henrik (2)



"She was more like a beauty queen from a movie scene"




[52] Michael Jackson | Thriller | 1982

Points: 2264 | Votes: 23 | AM Rank: 27 | 2009 Poll Rank: 62 (+10)
Biggest Fan: Georgie (9)



"I want to belong to the living"




[51] Joni Mitchell | Blue | 1971

Points: 2292 | Votes: 21 | AM Rank: 48 | 2009 Poll Rank: 61 (+10)
Biggest Fan: Stephen (1)

My two cents on the last bunch:

Achtung Baby: Listening to it for the first time now. The presence of "One" had turned me off to it, but thankfully there are much better songs on here. I definitely like it more than The Joshua Tree.

The Doors: This album is a classic in every sense of the word. Sublimely psychedelic at times.

Astral Weeks: In what world is this worse than Moondance? This should be a universal classic that finishes in the top 20. "Sweet Thing" and the title track are just ridiculously good. I'd like to hear why anyone doesn't like this album.

Graceland: Not my cup of tea, but I definitely see why people like it.

Yankee Hotel Foxtrot: This towers over the rest of their output IMO. One Beat passed it recently as my favorite of 2002, but this album still finished as my number 70.

Murmur: Never gotten into it. I've always like R.E.M.'s big songs but never their albums. More on that later in the poll.

Low: Bowie's best IMO. One of the few albums that successfully pulls off having two completely different sounding sides.

Dummy: This album will only rise with time. The perfect nighttime listen.

Thriller: No one else will say it, so I'm going to: this is an important, massive album, but not a great one in this kind of company. The singles are great of course, but too many songs are just unlistenable.

Blue: Jury's still out on this one, only heard it for the first time recently.
Low:

This is a bit of a meh bunch. Low is fantastic and I also really like The Doors, although it is slipping a bit in my esteem. I agree that Thriller is out of its depth here. MJ has at 3 albums better than it, I think. Dummy is a funny one. I enjoy it more than I expect when it's on, but I never get the urge to play it. Achtung Baby is good and better than The Joshua Tree, but I like Zooropa even better.

61-70 is a great bunch. I'm surprised how high both the big Waits albums finished, but they're both in my top 20. Wish You Were Here is easily my favorite Floyd.

51-60 isn't as strong. I love Blue, but generally that group, IMO, are 'Most acclaimed albums' by groups who have much better albums.