OT #1 - Touch the Sky

[Angie]

Not that there aren't great albums, but doesn't something need some time to really soak in? Seems like many of those listed are highly influential and historically significant.

I think Kendrick in particular is one where you can maybe start off with the hits and then go in a bit deeper once you understand them. There are some other current acts (Chance the Rapper, Joey Purp, Kid Cudi, Childish Gambino) who have really catchy big songs as a way to get into it. Then it is a little easier to be able to appreciate an entire album.

 

[madguy30]

They are never, EVER going to acknowledge Garth, but your 100% right. When talking about the GOATs of American music, you can't have an honest conversation without including him. This is coming from a guy who is far and away from being any kind of a country fan. It's just not my thing.

Garth revolutionized the way pop country music was presented, and those songs were generally very good and really stayed close to traditional country music.

But I feel like him making a country concert into more of a rock show led us down the path to bro country. Kind of an unintended consequences type of thing.

 

[madguy30]

I think Kendrick in particular is one where you can maybe start off with the hits and then go in a bit deeper once you understand them. There are some other current acts (Chance the Rapper, Joey Purp, Kid Cudi, Childish Gambino) who have really catchy big songs as a way to get into it. Then it is a little easier to be able to appreciate an entire album.

Yeah I've only dabbled but all indications are they're really great.

Would it make more sense for them to be on a list like this in 10-20 years to be stacked up against the others?

 

[Angie]

I was inclined to agree with you on "Nevermind", but when I look back at that tracklist there are some tremendous songs on there. It's not just "Smells Like Teen Spirit."

"Come As You Are" "Lithium" "On a Plain" "Polly"...all great songs.

Absolutely. But is it empirically better than, say, Siamese Dream? Just listing the songs that are still huge, there's "Today," "Disarm," "Cherub Rock" in addition to the deeper cuts. And as much as I dislike Courtney Love, Hole's Live Through This is arguably more artistic in terms of statement. Or the diversity on STP's Core - even the big hits ("Plush," "Sex Type Thing," "Creep," and "Wicked Garden") are so dissimilar, and Scott Weiland was great. Chris Cornell had one of the best rock voices of the era.

I agree that all of those songs are great, and I think that they are all very raw and stripped-down, which is good - but also not incredibly complex overall.

 

[Angie]

Yeah I've only dabbled but all indications are they're really great.

Would it make more sense for them to be on a list like this in 10-20 years to be stacked up against the others?

Kendrick, I think so. I really do - I think he has some really important stuff to say, both artistically and societally. I love Gambino, so I think that he will be - partially because Donald Glover is sort of today's "jack of all trades." (Some previous ones were Michael Jackson, Justin Timberlake.) But he's also really got a lot to say about what is going on in society.

Some of the others? Probably not.

 

[jcyclonee]

REM's Automatic for the People probably belongs on the list.

Graceland by Paul Simon is pretty special, at least in my opinion, and I'd put it on there.

Thriller should be number 1. It's so good and so influential.

Also, I'm not a huge fan of The Boss but Born to Run is fantastic and should be way higher.

 

[cmjh10]

No Garth (No Fences, Ropin the Wind, or In Pieces) or Shania (Come on Over) is a travesty. Also a little surprised there is no George Strait, but he didnt have the peak of Garth or Shania I think.

 

[clonedude]

Just off the top of my head.... you HAVE to have Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and probably the Eagles on there somewhere. No Jimi Hendrix either?

And for me personally, take Kanye off of there for sure.

And I'd like to see U2 Joshua Tree and REM's Automatic for the People on there somewhere. Those two albums are amazing from top to bottom IMO.

 

[Angie]

REM's Automatic for the People probably belongs on the list.

Graceland by Paul Simon is pretty special, at least in my opinion, and I'd put it no there.

Thriller should be number 1. It's so good and so influential.

Also, I'm not a huge fan of The Boss but Born to Run is fantastic and should be way higher.

Automatic is my favorite REM album. I know many people believe Reckoning or Murmur are better, but Automatic hit me where I lived, and it dropped when I was early on in high school. Similarly, I loved Monster - our first dance at our wedding was "Strange Currencies."

I'm also just okay on most of The Boss, but that was a huge album.

 

[20eyes]

Just off the top of my head.... you HAVE to have Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and probably the Eagles on there somewhere. No Jimi Hendrix either?

And for me personally, take Kanye off of there for sure.

And I'd like to see U2 Joshua Tree and REM's Automatic for the People on there somewhere. Those two albums are amazing from top to bottom IMO.

I get that it's a tough job. And while I'm not a fan, Kanye on there doesn't bother me. I'm told he's remarkably talented. That's great. It's the same reason I wouldn't be bothered by Garth Brooks being on there...not my bag but I get it.

Also, I get that there's a difference between influence and a great record. If it were all about influence, Chuck Berry, Black Sabbath, and the Ramones would be on the list.

BUT...to omit any of Hendrix studio albums, it's crazy. Dark Side / WYWH? Any of LZ 1, 3, 4? Crazy.

 

[SCyclone]

No Led Zeppelin in the top 50 in case anyone was wondering. That seems...very wrong.

Led Zeppelin 2 was, to me, their finest effort. So many guitar licks and musical phrases that have been copied and re-used. Must have been cool to sit around in the studio and listen to Jimmy Page discover yet another fantastic riff while fooling around.

 

[SCyclone]

Can't believe Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon isn't there.....spent how many years consecutively on Billboard's Hot 100? GTFO

 

[Entropy]

I would put Badmotorfinger (Soundgarden) over Nevermind. There's a depth of complexity there that I find myself picking up that album over Nevermind. I still think In Utero was a better album as well. I don't like the polish of Nevermind.

I'm also a bigger fan of Innervisions (Stevie Wonder) over Songs in the Key of Life. "Living for the City" just hits so hard and resonates to this day.

 

[SouthJerseyCy]

Nirvana may have been more important as a pivoting point, but this list isn't asking what the most important albums were in society. If it did, Meet the Beatles (which is what brought them to the US) would be the highest on their list, rather than the better albums musically. I think Nirvana is top 50, but not in this narrow group. And Nirvana is empirically NOT better than Prince.
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Isn't that what many at the top of this list are though? A voice for the generation/race/gender/sound. I mean, I always see the top 3 high on all these lists, but there are some truly terrible songs on those albums(IMO). However, the album as a whole was very influential for its time.

 

[20eyes]

I would put Badmotorfinger (Soundgarden) over Nevermind. There's a depth of complexity there that I find myself picking up that album over Nevermind. I still think In Utero was a better album as well. I don't like the polish of Nevermind.

I'm also a bigger fan of Innervisions (Stevie Wonder) over Songs in the Key of Life. "Living for the City" just hits so hard and resonates to this day.

I bought BMF the week that it came out...school>work>record store>home>cd player. It blew me away. It's SGs best, imo and the best "grunge" record that was made. I went back and bought it again when they packaged it with the SOMMS EP which you probably know has one of the greatest covers ever, SGs cover of Sabbath's Into the Void.

 

[Cybyassociation]

Also, the Eagles Hotel California album is left off this list too.

As it should be. The Eagles suck.

 

[Entropy]

I bought BMF the week that it came out...school>work>record store>home>cd player. It blew me away. It's SGs best, imo and the best "grunge" record that was made. I went back and bought it again when they packaged it with the SOMMS EP which you probably know has one of the greatest covers ever, SGs cover of Sabbath's Into the Void.

My friend had the CD with SOMMS and I've never been able to find another. The Devo and Stones cover are excellent as well, but Into the Void blew the top of my head off.

 

[1UNI2ISU]

Three big omissions for me: Dark Side of the Moon, Hotel California, Graceland.

All just absolutely fantastic front to back.

 

[Sigmapolis]

Led Zeppelin 2 was, to me, their finest effort. So many guitar licks and musical phrases that have been copied and re-used. Must have been cool to sit around in the studio and listen to Jimmy Page discover yet another fantastic riff while fooling around.

Yeah. Page was totally original all the time.

"Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" - A folk song by Anne Bredon, this was originally credited as "traditional, arranged by Jimmy Page," then "words and music by Jimmy Page," and then, following legal action, "Bredon/Page/Plant."
"Black Mountain Side" - uncredited version of a traditional folk tune previously recorded by Bert Jansch.
"Bring It On Home" - the first section is an uncredited cover of the Willie Dixon tune (as performed by the imposter Sonny Boy Williamson).
"Communication Breakdown" - apparently derived from Eddie Cochran's "Nervous Breakdown."
"Custard Pie" - uncredited cover of Bukka White's "Shake 'Em On Down," with lyrics from Sleepy John Estes's "Drop Down Daddy."
"Dazed And Confused" - uncredited cover of the Jake Holmes song (see The Above Ground Sound Of Jake Holmes).
"Hats Off To (Roy) Harper" - uncredited version of Bukka White's "Shake 'Em On Down."
"How Many More Times" - Part one is an uncredited cover of the Howlin' Wolf song (available on numerous compilations). Part two is an uncredited cover of Albert King's "The Hunter."
"In My Time Of Dying" - uncredited cover of the traditional song (as heard on Bob Dylan's debut).
"The Lemon Song" - uncredited cover of Howlin' Wolf's "Killing Floor" - Wolf's publisher sued Zeppelin in the early 70s and settled out of court.
"Moby ****" - written and first recorded by Sleepy John Estes under the title "The Girl I Love," and later covered by Bobby Parker.
"Nobody's Fault But Mine" - uncredited cover of the Blind Willie Johnson blues.
"Since I've Been Lovin' You" - lyrics are the same as Moby Grape's "Never," though the music isn't similar.
"Stairway To Heaven" - the main guitar line is apparently from "Taurus" by Spirit.
"White Summer" - uncredited cover of Davey Graham's "She Moved Through The Fair."
"Whole Lotta Love" - lyrics are from the Willie Dixon blues "You Need Love."
I'm not listing covers that the band credited to the actual authors ("You Shook Me") or the less blatant ripoffs (the "Superstition" riff in "Trampled Underfoot").

http://www.warr.org/zep.html



My favorite Led Zepplin album is actually Houses of the Holy. I think they nailed the balance of "hard" with "folksy" there, and it doesn't have some of the bombast of their first few albums. Even when it does (e.g., "The Ocean"), it is played for laughs... and actually pretty funny.

 

[Angie]

Isn't that what many at the top of this list are though? A voice for the generation/race/gender/sound. I mean, I always see the top 3 high on all these lists, but there are some truly terrible songs on those albums(IMO). However, the album as a whole was very influential for its time.

I don't disagree that the top 3 are more of a representation than a standalone "greatest" (with the possible exception of Pet Sounds). I definitely disagreed with each of them. I think that there are better artistic representations of each genre/time/sound/whatever (except again maybe PS) that just weren't as popular/visible.

That was sort of what I was trying to get around to - I don't think that this list really is doing a great job at the best albums, but much more at the biggest statements.