Updated Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums - Music

Skinny
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Cyrax wrote:

It seems it's mostly the stuff they see on other list. Like, does half of the OutKast catalog need to be included? Why include compilations, i.e. The Immaculate Collection while they had Madonna's self-titled debut on their 1980s top 100 at #50? Rolling Stones still loves Mary J. Blige who doesn't often appear but The Emancipation of Mimi over Butterfly?

And they are "making a statement" with The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill at #10 but still only 7 solo female albums in the top 10. Nice to see Purple Rain that high but why only the usual 4 Prince albums instead of adding Around The World In A Day or Parade?

Yes.
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theblueboy

CA Dreamin wrote:

This list is nowhere as good as our BEA list but it's a step in a better direction.

I'd say it's better. More diverse than BEA and a better reflection of cultural impact. It feels like a much needed corrective to ye olde lists of days gone by. I really like it tbh.

Skinny
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Skinny wrote:

Cyrax wrote:

It seems it's mostly the stuff they see on other list. Like, does half of the OutKast catalog need to be included? Why include compilations, i.e. The Immaculate Collection while they had Madonna's self-titled debut on their 1980s top 100 at #50? Rolling Stones still loves Mary J. Blige who doesn't often appear but The Emancipation of Mimi over Butterfly?

And they are "making a statement" with The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill at #10 but still only 7 solo female albums in the top 10. Nice to see Purple Rain that high but why only the usual 4 Prince albums instead of adding Around The World In A Day or Parade?

Yes.

That said, depends which half. I haven't seen the list. Although you could make the argument for any and all of their first five.
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Yann

Gender: Male
Location: France

Here's the list in text only: http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/rs200.ht...lbums_2020

I'm happy with the number 1 & 2 : two religiously good albums (literally for the first) !

baystateoftheart
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Age: 29
Location: Massachusetts

Hot take: people on this website are way too hard on pretty much all publication lists. If the top 100 here were a user's chart, it would have a high rating. But because it's Rolling Stone, everyone is complaining about various aspects of it. This is lightyears better than their last attempt.
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Spyglass
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baystateoftheart wrote:

Hot take: people on this website are way too hard on pretty much all publication lists. If the top 100 here were a user's chart, it would have a high rating. But because it's Rolling Stone, everyone is complaining about various aspects of it. This is lightyears better than their last attempt.

I might be new here, but I think the difference between a publication list and a user list is reputation. Magazines make make their publications seem like more "reliable" lists, obviously due to journalism and "research." In this new lists' case, they had many musicians, employees of record labels, journalists and I think some of their own staff vote on the new list. In other words, if there's an "official" list to take recommendations from, it would probably be Rolling Stone's top 500, or something more comprehensive like 1001 Albums you Must Hear Before You Die. Journalists = expertise, which makes user lists seem less reliable despite the end result still coming down to opinions. It reminds me of that quote from Animal Farm: "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others." Obviously, there's going to be some tension, but I wouldn't say that the tension is unjustified. How many people are perfectly happy with these lists?

Skinny wrote:

Cyrax wrote:

It seems it's mostly the stuff they see on other list. Like, does half of the OutKast catalog need to be included? Why include compilations, i.e. The Immaculate Collection while they had Madonna's self-titled debut on their 1980s top 100 at #50? Rolling Stones still loves Mary J. Blige who doesn't often appear but The Emancipation of Mimi over Butterfly?

And they are "making a statement" with The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill at #10 but still only 7 solo female albums in the top 10. Nice to see Purple Rain that high but why only the usual 4 Prince albums instead of adding Around The World In A Day or Parade?

Yes.

My top two hip hop artists are Jay-Z and Outkast. Both artists are given proper recognition on the new list. If I remember this right, Jay-Z's three most beloved albums are on it. It makes sense to me since I think all three of them are flawless. In Outkast's case, my favorite rapper (differently treated from a "hip hop artist") is Andre 3000. Jay-Z makes the better albums but Andre's voice is better.
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Skinny
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Spyglass wrote:

I might be new here, but I think the difference between a publication list and a user list is reputation. Magazines make make their publications seem like more "reliable" lists, obviously due to journalism and "research." In this new lists' case, they had many musicians, employees of record labels, journalists and I think some of their own staff vote on the new list. In other words, if there's an "official" list to take recommendations from, it would probably be Rolling Stone's top 500, or something more comprehensive like 1001 Albums you Must Hear Before You Die. Journalists = expertise, which makes user lists seem less reliable despite the end result still coming down to opinions. It reminds me of that quote from Animal Farm: "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others." Obviously, there's going to be some tension, but I wouldn't say that the tension is unjustified. How many people are perfectly happy with these lists?

Skinny wrote:

Cyrax wrote:

It seems it's mostly the stuff they see on other list. Like, does half of the OutKast catalog need to be included? Why include compilations, i.e. The Immaculate Collection while they had Madonna's self-titled debut on their 1980s top 100 at #50? Rolling Stones still loves Mary J. Blige who doesn't often appear but The Emancipation of Mimi over Butterfly?

And they are "making a statement" with The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill at #10 but still only 7 solo female albums in the top 10. Nice to see Purple Rain that high but why only the usual 4 Prince albums instead of adding Around The World In A Day or Parade?

Yes.

My top two hip hop artists are Jay-Z and Outkast. Both artists are given proper recognition on the new list. If I remember this right, Jay-Z's three most beloved albums are on it. It makes sense to me since I think all three of them are flawless. In Outkast's case, my favorite rapper (differently treated from a "hip hop artist") is Andre 3000. Jay-Z makes the better albums but Andre's voice is better.

Which three Jay albums made the list? I'm guessing Reasonable Doubt and The Blueprint (correct choices, if so) and then maybe The Black Album or 4:44 (which would both be bad choices, in lieu of some of his other records).
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baystateoftheart
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Age: 29
Location: Massachusetts

Skinny wrote:

Which three Jay albums made the list? I'm guessing Reasonable Doubt and The Blueprint (correct choices, if so) and then maybe The Black Album or 4:44 (which would both be bad choices, in lieu of some of his other records).

The Blueprint at #50, Reasonable Doubt at #67, and The Black Album at #155. What's your third favorite of his?

Also, the OutKast choices were Aquemini at #49, Stankonia at #64, and Speakerboxxx/The Love Below at #290.
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Skinny
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baystateoftheart wrote:

The Blueprint at #50, Reasonable Doubt at #67, and The Black Album at #155. What's your third favorite of his?

Also, the OutKast choices were Aquemini at #49, Stankonia at #64, and Speakerboxxx/The Love Below at #290.

Volumes 2 and 3 (and 1, to a slightly lesser extent) are the next best. The Dynasty is also really brilliant, far more so than The Black Album.

As for Outkast, I'm a bit stunned there's no ATLiens.
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Spyglass
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Skinny wrote:

baystateoftheart wrote:

The Blueprint at #50, Reasonable Doubt at #67, and The Black Album at #155. What's your third favorite of his?

Also, the OutKast choices were Aquemini at #49, Stankonia at #64, and Speakerboxxx/The Love Below at #290.

Volumes 2 and 3 (and 1, to a slightly lesser extent) are the next best. The Dynasty is also really brilliant, far more so than The Black Album.

As for Outkast, I'm a bit stunned there's no ATLiens.

I wasn't that impressed with Volumes 2 and 3. They seemed to carry less "spirit" than The Black Album. I havejm't heard every Jay-Z album just yet. I only have three more to go I think, but I can safely say that I've exhausted the prime cuts. My choices go as follows: The Blueprint is one of the ten greatest albums ever and my favorite hip hop album, Reasonable Doubt may or may not be in my top 100, and The Black Album is easily top 300. American Gangster was also brilliant and that 4:44 was almost brilliant.

But I'm with you on the Outkast choices. Their double album shouldn't be there. It's probably the more highly appreciated one among the voters because of its pop sound, including the fact that "Hey Ya" is on that album. The better choice would definitely be ATliens. Aquemini is practically obligatory if they're going to include the band (or maybe even any Southern hip hop acts). Either that or maybe a Denzel Curry or Cunninlynguists album.
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