Music: Ranking the Best Albums of All Time

[Shareefruck]

So are you saying that because my tastes traditionally run towards arena rock, I would be ok in blasting this list for ignoring the likes of Journey, REO Speedwagon, Asia, Night Ranger and countless others while giving the Beatles multiple passes? And while also allowing compilation albums to be considered?

I don't get it. To each their own I guess. I find this list completely lacking as I am aware of much of what was presented but not a fan of it by any means....but I am also thankful that it might help me expand my musical horizons by being the deciding the factor on purchasing some new music. I just find the "Best 100" thing completely distasteful and completely inaccurate.

Unobjectively, I hope we can all agree that these lists sorta suck. Your mileage will very greatly depending upon the author. No stock should be placed on these things. If an alien came to earth and wanted to understand us as humans and his 100 albums did not include a single Jimmy Buffett (escapism), Hank Williams Sr., George Strait, George Jones, Alabama or any other real country artist, I'd be heartbroke. You might not be. To each their own...these lists are just so incredibly biased that I find them somewhat distasteful...even if they do introduce me to good tunes. I'd much rather wade through a post of people talking about their favorite song, artist, album and why it means so much to them. Perspective...that can add to the experience. Some random list of 100 albums with less than a paragraph (many of which do not do justice to the work) is just plain sloppy and click-bait. Something to fill an hour of my time by clicking through and searching on youtube for songs and albums. It's by no qualitative measure a coherent or even adequate list of the best albums of all times.

All that being said...your multiple posts about Miles Davis combined with the little knowledge of him that I possess plus this article combined to me ordering the "Sketches of Spanish Rain." I haven't been a fan of free-form jazz....just not to my personal tastes yet...but I imagine it could be like whiskey or scotch...it might grow on me. I'm hoping something good comes of this ordeal.

No, I'm not saying that. I'm not sure where you're getting that from. I'm saying that while I agree that subjective biases are something that one should be mindful of and give the benefit of the doubt to when criticizing a list for not matching our preferences, there are still other possible flaws within its own established internal logic that can be objectively blasted-- The fact that it's inevitably going to be biased and subjective and should be expected to be doesn't make any scrutiny of a list completely pointless, is what I'm getting at.

I think we can all agree that these lists suck if they are in fact trying to claim objective authority about something. If they're to be treated as just one person's opinion on what their idea of the greatest albums of all time are, according to what they think makes a great album, I can't get enough of that sort of thing, personally (provided that I respect that person's opinions/tastes), and I don't see how THAT'S distasteful.

 

[Shareefruck]

In my predictable OCD ways, I gave it a shot. Couldn't help myself. Just based on what I'm personally blown away by and find most satisfying. Don't give a rat's ass about cultural impact or objective influence. Just a favorites list/the closest thing that I can get to a best of list based on my limited knowledge/what little I happen to appreciate (which is the way that I like these things to be done, rather than factoring other people's opinions into consideration and filling genre quotas).

1. White Light White Heat (Mono) by Velvet Underground
2. Possible Musics by Jon Hassel & Brian Eno
3. Lick My Decals Off Baby by Captain Beefheart
4. Bootleg 4: Live 1966 by Bob Dylan
5. Interstellar Space by John Coltrane
6. Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy by Brian Eno
7. Selected Ambient Works Vol. II by Aphex Twin
8. Complete Live at the Plugged Nickel by Miles Davis Quintet
9. Metal Box by Public Image Ltd.
10. The Ascension by Glenn Branca

11. Future Days by Can
12. Outside the Dream Syndicate by Tony Conrad & Faust
13. Point of Departure by Andrew Hill
14. Music For 18 Musicians by Steve Reich
15. Ambient 4: On Land by Brian Eno
16. Atlantis by Sun Ra
17. Live at the It Club by Thelonious Monk
18. Animals by Pink Floyd
19. Three Ragas by Ravi Shankar
20. Faust by Faust

21. Rock Bottom by Robert Wyatt
22. Bringing It All Back Home (Mono) by Bob Dylan
23. In a Silent Way by Miles Davis
24. A Love Supreme by John Coltrane
25. *****es Brew by Miles Davis
26. Out to Lunch by Eric Dolphy
27. Trout Mask Replica by Captain Beefheart
28. The Velvet Underground and Nico (Mono) by Velvet Underground
29. Tago Mago by Can
30. Revolver (Mono) by The Beatles

31. Spiritual Unity by Albert Ayler
32. Station to Station by David Bowie
33. Closer by Joy Division
34. After Bathing at Baxter's by Jefferson Airplane
35. Complete Live at the Village Vanguard by John Coltrane
36. Third by Soft Machine
37. Unknown Pleasures by Joy Division
38. Complete Live at the Village Vanguard by Bill Evans Trio
39. Plastic Ono Band by John Lennon
40. Ambient 3: Days of Radiance by Laraaji & Brian Eno

41. The Black Saint and Sinner Lady by Charles Mingus
42. Songs of Love and Hate by Leonard Cohen
43. King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown by Augustus Pablo
44. Neu! by Neu!
45. The Velvet Underground (Closet Mix) by The Velvet Underground
46. Highway 61 Revisited (Mono) by Bob Dylan
47. Marquee Moon by Television
48. We're Only in it For the Money by Frank Zappa
49. E2-E4 by Manuel Gottsching
50. God in Three Persons by The Residents

51. Are You Experienced by The Jimi Hendrix Experience
52. The Clash UK by The Clash
53. A Tribute to Jack Johnson by Miles Davis
54. Loveless by My Bloody Valentine
55. Safe as Milk by Captain Beefheart
56. Bach: Goldberg Variations (1981) by Glenn Gould
57. It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Down by Public Enemy
58. Unit Structures by Cecil Taylor
59. Another Green World by Brian Eno
60. Kind of Blue by Miles Davis

61. Black Monk Time by The Monks
62. King of the Delta Blues Singers by Robert Johnson
63. The Modern Dance by Pere Ubu
64. Free Jazz by Ornette Coleman
65. In C by Terry Riley
66. Nail by Scraping Foetus Off the Wheel
67. The Real McCoy by McCoy Tyner
68. Rubber Soul (Mono) by The Beatles
69. Neu!2 (Side A Only) by Neu!
70. Entertainment by Gang of Four

71. Here Come the Warm Jets by Brian Eno
72. Suicide by Suicide
73. Debussy: Preludes by Arturo Michelangeli
74. Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd
75. Hex Enduction Hour by The Fall
76. Live at Leeds by The Who
77. Follow the Leader by Eric B and Rakim
78. Not Available by The Residents
79. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band (Mono) by The Beatles
80. Opposite People by Fela Kuti

81. Hosianna Mantra by Popol Vuh
82. More Songs About Buildings and Food by Talking Heads
83. Scientist Meets the Space Invaders by Scientist
84. Giant Steps by John Coltrane
85. Complete Jazz at Massey Hall by The Quintet
86. Mu: First & Second Part by Don Cherry
87. Ambient 1: Music For Airports by Brian Eno
88. Zuckerzeit by Cluster
89. Freak Out! by The Mothers of Invention
90. Mingus Ah Um by Charles Mingus

91. East of the River Nile by Augustus Pablo
92. Y by The Pop Group
93. Live w/ Ginger Baker by Fela Kuti
94. Kink Kontroversey by The Kinks
95. Spirit of Eden by Talk Talk
96. Ege Bamyasi by Can
97. Rainbow in Curved Air by Terry Riley
98. The Beatles (Mono) by The Beatles
99. Music with Changing Parts by Phillip Glass
100. Disintegration Loops by William Basinski

I'd love to get more Blues and Country in there, but I just haven't found any that I've recognized on that level.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

I don't understand how you can make such lists. I'd be hard pressed of making a top 10 of my favorite novels, stories, movies and songs without driving myself insane and being fearful of having forgotten something.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

Screw it, within the spirit of this thread I'll make a top 5 of my favorite songs as of this moment (I'm bad at albums).

1. Tape Kebab by Can (the only song that's made me shed tears because of how good it is)
2. Ceremony by Joy Division (with Ian Curtis vocals)
3. Leave Me Alone by New Order
4. Nathalie by Jean Leloup
5. Peon by Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band

Honorable mention: Alger by Jean Leloup

 

[Shareefruck]

I don't understand how you can make such lists. I'd be hard pressed of making a top 10 of my favorite novels, stories, movies and songs without driving myself insane and being fearful of having forgotten something.

I mean, the order's going to be constantly shifting (I'm editing like a maniac right now), but it's just a snapshot of what my gut says anyways, so it doesn't matter if it's not 100% accurate.

Also, maybe it's because I don't love as much music as fully/completely as some of you guys do, but the thing with me is that I always see massive separation between albums (the quality of the #1 spot and the #50 and the #100 spot are not remotely close for me). There are only about 20-30 that I think are completely untouchable, and then it drops off for me. If I've experienced hundreds and hundreds of albums that I've loved that much, then yeah, it would be an impossible task. But they all hit me on various differing levels, so there are at least easily separable tiers that I have no trouble capping off (albums within those tiers are tough to choose between, though).