Listed below are the overall rankings for the best albums in history as determined by their aggregate positions in over 58,000 different greatest album charts on BestEverAlbums.com! (Chart last updated: 3 hours ago).
"'Hardcore Nick Drake fan' are we? Not a chance if you don't like Bryter Layter. True, there's no unaccompanied tracks on this unlike Nick's other LPs, but to call the album 'overproduced' is ridiculous. Robert Kirby's string arrangements are sublime, especially for the 3 instrumentals (all of whi...""'Hardcore Nick Drake fan' are we? Not a chance if you don't like Bryter Layter. True, there's no unaccompanied tracks on this unlike Nick's other LPs, but to call the album 'overproduced' is ridiculous. Robert Kirby's string arrangements are sublime, especially for the 3 instrumentals (all of which Nick was extremely proud of), the female backing vocals you abhor are only on one track ('Poor Boy') and are totally in keeping with the mood of it, and the sax on ...City Clock works brilliantly to take the listener away from the countryside and into a 'London street' (most likely in Soho) with jazz clubs and smoke lingering in the air.
Couldn't agree more about 'Northern Sky' being the highlight, but to slag off the album that carries both the Hazey Jane tracks, Fly and especially One Of These Things First is nothing short of sacrilege. Understand some might like their Nick with a bottle of scotch in one hand and a handful of painkillers in the other but Nick was at his happiest here, and the true tragedy is that when this album - the one that Nick and everyone around him thought would bring wider public and critical acclaim - bombed he spiralled into depression (through a combination of failure and embarrassment) from which he never recovered.
As it is, we're left with the most perfect discography of any artist I can think of. I implore you to listen to Bryter Layter again, ideally whilst driving through the countryside. Like all things Nick, it's insanely beautiful and crushingly sad in equal measure."[+]Reply
"Great band cutting loose, recorded badly but what can you do. Even if you're sick of the title song, the first three sides are great for just hearing Clapton and Jim Gordon and all these guys doing their thing. Bobby Whitlock, of course, is the piano player and second singer on this album. If you...""Great band cutting loose, recorded badly but what can you do. Even if you're sick of the title song, the first three sides are great for just hearing Clapton and Jim Gordon and all these guys doing their thing.
Bobby Whitlock, of course, is the piano player and second singer on this album. If you go to YouTube and find his channel, he has in the last few months been doing a bunch of little talks sitting at a table with his wife, reminiscing about this album and All Things Must Pass especially, and his encounters with other rock stars, everybody from Keith Moon to Elvis. He has many, many stories and thoughts about this album, he's been putting up a video nearly every day recently; highly recommended.
He responds to comments sometimes, but I don't have the guts to ask him how he feels about the sound quality of the thing. The legendary producer Tom Dowd gets lots of respect, deservedly so for much of his other work. But this is a great album for the playing, not for the sound, which is famously bad. One thing Whitlock did take exception to was Dowd saying in his memoirs that they had run dry of inspiration after the first three songs and then Duane Allman came in and energized everything. Whitlock said that was totally false and is angry that Dowd wrote it and made it history. Anyway, in addition to being a natural born musician, he's a good storyteller and you might want to check out his channel.
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"Spoiler alert: The upcoming review is totally biased. I am not sure if I can maintain the slightest degree of objectivity (not a fan of the term when it comes to music, but you get the point) To my mind Kanye West is a godlike figure not only in hip hop but music in general. To say he single – ha...""Spoiler alert: The upcoming review is totally biased.
I am not sure if I can maintain the slightest degree of objectivity (not a fan of the term when it comes to music, but you get the point) To my mind Kanye West is a godlike figure not only in hip hop but music in general. To say he single – handedly ignited my interest for this particular genre would be a fair assessment. One might argue that he leans towards the poppier end of the spectrum, so it’s understandable that I find him more accessible than other hip hop greats. He is not too hip hop, but also not too non hip hop, if that makes sense. Maybe that’s the case. No matter how he did it, he opened a whole new world for me and made me realise the endless arising possibilities. Ok, I am a fanboy, point taken, let’s move on.
To follow up the widely acclaimed and commercially successful College Dropout was no easy task, but he delivered. Production is once more the major attraction, it’s head and shoulders above every other aspect of the album. Lyrics are often the center of attention in hip hop. Well, not here. For all I care, he could be mumbling random nonsense that nobody understands and it would still sound majestic nonetheless. I don’t mean to suggest that he does, there are many great lines here. In the space of a year he managed to reinvent the sound of his debut album. The themes are a bit more serious (though there are still some moments of fun) but he doesn’t hold anything back, he is as honest and ever. The sound is, well, massive. Bigger than a Hollywood blockbuster, more epic than Homer’s poems, you name it. The variety is also outstanding. Every song is unique. The core of his sound is still a pop take on soul/funk, but he has expanded in many different directions.
Picking some highlights would be close to impossible, it’s more or less the whole album (yes, even the skits were entertaining). In Heard’ em Say he struggles dealing with the difficulties of life (“So this is in the name of love like Robert say Before you ask me to go get a job today Can I at least get a raise of the minimum wage? And I know that the government administer AIDS So I guess we just pray like the minister say Allāhu Akbar and throw in some hot cars”) , but he accompanies it with none other than Adam Levine (crazy, I know). He makes a song with Adam Levine work, for that alone he deserves full credit, don’t know who else could have pulled that off. Touch the Sky comes with a pinch of disco, followed by the club/party oriented Gold Digger which provides tons of fun. Drive Slow has an irresistible jazzy vibe, the saxophone is on steroids. By the way, Paul Wall also belongs to the Adam Levine category (in the sense that Kanye makes these things work seemingly out of nowhere, even though they seem destined to fail). Crack Music is another cool tune with a wonderful gospel touch as the icing on the cake. Roses flows as smooth as anything I can think of. Kanye is on top form there (as a rapper I mean). Even the silly Addiction is so addictive (these cringeworthy puns are becoming a thing). Diamonds From Sierra Leone (Remix) is just a huge song. Not a fan of remixes in general, but this is exemplary. If I had to pick one track that represents the whole album the most accurate, it would most likely be this one. We Major features Nas and is considered one of the weaker tracks. This speaks volumes about the depth of the album. Hey Mama is the pinnacle of songwriting, one of the most emotional and touching songs you can possibly encounter (“I wanna tell the whole world about a friend of mine This little light of mine and I'm finna let it shine I'm finna take y'all back to them better times I'm finna talk about my mama if y'all don't mind”). Then, as the title suggests, it’s time for Celebration- and deservedly so. And after all this insane ride, it seems he saved best for last. Gone keeps improving verse by verse. That’s what it means to go out with a bang. It’s worth noting that what I usually complain about in other album, here works the other way around. The most obvious example is the duration. It is 70 minutes long and it feels so short, it leaves you thirsty for more."[+]Reply
"Look, I can't stand lots of what U2 have put out and bono gets on my tits but I can't deny this record. It contains some of the best singles of the 80s. This and achtung baby are just quality. Sunday bloody Sunday...wash the car, mow the lawn. Cheers Alan."Reply
"It's a stoner rock album, it's a psychedelic rock album, it's a progressive rock album, it's a heavy metal album, and it's an effing trippy album. All the performers are playing their instruments to the highest point anyone can play them. There is not a single flaw all across the 35 minutes of in...""It's a stoner rock album, it's a psychedelic rock album, it's a progressive rock album, it's a heavy metal album, and it's an effing trippy album. All the performers are playing their instruments to the highest point anyone can play them. There is not a single flaw all across the 35 minutes of intense music they provided.
Just board the bass line and close your eyes and let the graphics flow in. It will take you to one of the most intense and beautiful trips you'll ever go!"[+]Reply
"Slightly underrated since it's not iconic as Hunky Dory or Ziggy and not innovative as Station to Station or Low, but still a great David Bowie album. It follows the glam rock sound of Ziggy but with a more "americanized" sound and themes. Instumentally possibly Bowie's best, with incredible guit...""Slightly underrated since it's not iconic as Hunky Dory or Ziggy and not innovative as Station to Station or Low, but still a great David Bowie album. It follows the glam rock sound of Ziggy but with a more "americanized" sound and themes. Instumentally possibly Bowie's best, with incredible guitar playing from Mick Ronson who achieves such an amazing crunchy guitar tone on this one and sublime piano work from Mike Garson."[+]Reply
"This record will be considered off-putting by some, even by Portishead fans still in thrall to their first two, the second of which was over 10 years prior to this. They did make two great ones to begin their recording career in the 90s, but this blows them both out of the water. As great artists...""This record will be considered off-putting by some, even by Portishead fans still in thrall to their first two, the second of which was over 10 years prior to this. They did make two great ones to begin their recording career in the 90s, but this blows them both out of the water. As great artists carry on they challenge themselves to push the envelope. This record does that. It is jarring in places, but that just adds to the overall sense of tension and release. This record is like an aural record of Shakespeare's rising and falling action; I honestly feel it is worthy of such praise. Album of the decade."[+]Reply