Rolling Stone: 500 Greatest Albums of All Time - Updated in 2012

I just picked this up. I think the last one came out about a decade ago, right?

I don't care a bit about the ratings and rankings, though many members of this board will be happy to note that the Beatles (still) occupy 4 of the top 10 spots.

The only reason I picked up a copy is that I'm hoping it might serve as an introduction to some "new" old music.

Of course, these lists are totally subjective but I have to admit that my jaw dropped to the floor when I saw The Piper at the Gates of Dawn ranked as low as #347. I mean, c'mon, that's even old album, and is it not considered perhaps -- alongside Sgt. Peppers -- to be THE classic of psychedelic music?

Anybody else pick this up? Its supposed to be on display until July 25, 2012.

***oops, title should say 500 greatest albums of all time. Will ask a Gort to change accordingly.

 

Maybe this will help start some discussion about the idiotic actions of Rolling Stone:

THE DELETED:

Beach Boys: Sunflower
Beatles: With the Beatles
Boogie Down Productions: Criminal Minded
David Bowie: ChangesOneBowie
James Brown: 20 All Time Greatest Hits
Buena Vista Social Club: Buena Vista Social Club
Byrds: Greatest Hits
CCR: Green River
CCR: Cosmo's Factory
Def Leppard: Pyromania
Nick Drake: Five Leaves Left
Nick Drake: Bryter Layter
Eminem: The Eminem Show
Merle Haggard: Branded Man
PJ Harvey: To Bring You My Love
Jane's Addiction: Ritual de lo Habitual
Elton John: Elton John
Robert Johnson: King of the Delta Blues Singers
Robert Johnson: King of the Delta Blues Singers, Vol. 2
Madonna: Music
Mamas and the Papas: Greatest Hits
Massive Attack: Mezzanine
Alanis Morissette: Jagged Little Pill
No Doubt: Tragic Kingdom
No Doubt: Rock Steady
Elvis Presley: The Sun Sessions
Public Enemy: Yo! Bum Rush the Show
Rage Against the Machine: The Battle of Los Angeles
Otis Redding: Live in Europe
Otis Redding: Dreams to Remember
Linda Ronstadt: Heart Like a Wheel
Roxy Music: Country Life
Roxy Music: Avalon
Paul Simon: There Goes Rhymin' Simon
Simon and Garfunkel: Greatest Hits
Smashing Pumpkins: Mellon Collie
Bruce Springsteen: Greetings from Asbury Park, N. J.
Hank Williams: The Complete Hank Williams

THE NEWLY ELEVATED:

Arcade Fire: Funeral
Arctic Monkeys: Whatever People Say I Am
Beach Boys: Smile
Manu Chao: Proxima Estacion Esperanza
Leonard Cohen: Songs of Love and Hate
CCR: Chronicle Vol. 1
Bob Dylan: Modern Times
Green Day: American Idiot
Merle Haggard: Down Every Road
PJ Harvey: Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea
Jay-Z: The Black Album
Robert Johnson: The Complete Recordings
B. B. King: Live in Cook County Jail
LCD Soundsystem: Sound of Silver
Lil Wayne: Tha Carter III
Magnetic Fields: 69 Love Songs
MGMT: Oracular Spectacular
M. I. A.: Kala
My Morning Jacket: Z
OutKast: Aquemini
Elvis Presley: Sunrise
Radiohead: Amnesiac
Radiohead: In Rainbows
Raekwon: Only Built 4 Cuban Linx
Bonnie Raitt: Give It Up
Boz Scaggs: Boz Scaggs
Paul Simon: Paul Simon
Sleater-Kinney: Dig Me Out
Bruce Springsteen: The Rising
Stone Roses: The Stone Roses
Vampire Weekend: Vampire Weekend
Various Artists: The Indestructible Beat of Soweto
Kanye West: The College Dropout
Kanye West: Late Registration
Kanye West: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
White Stripes: White Blood Cells
Wilco: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Amy Winehouse: Back to Black

 

Time for MikeB to resurrect his thread! It was one of the most entertaining three weeks on this board!

 

"Idiotic" is a little strong for what is inescapably a fickle, transitory, fashionable, and massively arbitrary exercise on canon-making, conspicuous consumption, and shopping advice from a wholly superannuated magazine, but different strokes. The editorial/commercial bias toward the recent is always bound to assassinate many a classic.

Nevertheless, these supplementary in/out lists are extremely helpful and illuminating — thanks!

I've highlighted the deletions I think are particularly ill-advised and the additions that I think are particularly worthy. Such things are highly subjective, needless to say. Ixnay on the Ennerway...

 

Too much Kanye

 

But they said ALL TIME.

 

There are about a dozen on the deletions list I would keep, but none are singles collections.

 

Have to agree with those three. "Stories" is simply a brilliant record. Only Bruce would/could make the statement on 9/11 that is "The Rising". "YHT" is probably the weirdest album I love.

 

Hmm...of the "deleted" I own 21 of the "elevated" I own 23 so I guess I don't care either way...LOL

 

I'm impressed that Massive Attack's Mezzanine was even in their 500 in the first place.

 

If they have to include comps, they might as well just have CCR's Chronicle vol. 1 instead of any individual albums.

 

Given their replacements and that these lists are supposed to be objective (or near as can be possible in popular music), choosing the above for deletion makes absolutely no sense to me.

 

Seconded.

What a joke, deleting CCR and Simon/Garfunkel, Elton John, et.al for this.

 

I don't normally threadcrap, but when I do, it's when Kayne west has 3 of the "Top 500" Albums of all time.

Stay thirsty my friends.

 

The 2012 list is even more laughable than the previous one

Within a few years Kayne West and M.I.A will be just as "remembered" as No Doubt or Alanis Morrisette

Too much of the same overrated stuff like Radiohead.

Also, the inclusion of Greatest Hits/ Best ofs is plain ridiculous.
And of couse, no progressive rock

Stupid and frankly offensive list.

 

As much relevance to me as who gets in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame....

 

PJ Harvey's To Bring You My Love is still better than any of the newly added albums.

 

Maybe three Kanye West albums is a bit excessive but there's no denying that at least one of them deserve to get in.

And by virtually any objective standard Radiohead are one of the top 20 rock bands of all time and not including any of their albums would be a travesty.

I hope this thread isn't going to turn into another of those excuses to bash new(er) music...

 

I can think of 200,000 albums that are better than anything by Kayne West. This is my opinion of course.

 

I'm a Harvey fan but that's my least favourite of her albums. I'd put Rid Of Me in there instead, or possibly Is This Desire?

 

My wife bought it for me. I noticed 'Pipers' and many others that should have been rated higher. At that point RS lost all credibility, their team don't have a clue.
And how could Avalon get dropped from the list, insane.
Regards, Trevor.

 

Boogie Down Productions' Criminal Minded should never have been kicked off if Kanye is still on there (just to join the ranks of those bitching about his overexposure on the list).

 

I think Radiohead have now 4 or 5 albums on the RS list, right?

And yet no progressive rock on the list, other than Pink Floyd. Now THAT'S a travesty!

Dropping Def Leppard - Pyromania and Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie is just an insanity. Those 2 albums were the peak of rock music at the time.

As for the new music: soon it will be forgotten, after being so much overrated all these years.