Rolling Stone's top 500 albums of all time 2020

Flamencology said:
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/the-futility-of-rolling-stones-best-albums-list
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Yeah. I think 500 is kind of too big of a number to manage. And trying to get an old rockist dog to learn new poptimist tricks is probably not worth the effort—Rolling Stone has a historical authority as the rockist paper of record and I’m never gonna trust their poptimism or revisionism fully because that’s not what they’re good at. Also, the big list of canonical works is maybe inherently rockist as a pursuit? I mean, poptimist works get their glory in this life and don’t need the afterlife of critical approval. And contrarian moves re: lionizing unpopular popular music has never been the RS thing outside of a few writers’ pet projects.

I’m kinda bored with poptimism as the new default in pop music thinking. And, while laudable in intent, some of the “and what marginalized experience does X artist embody” just makes for some dumb/obvious/not-particularly-creative analysis. It’s nice that RS is now realizing that women and queer folks and people of color who aren’t dead blues dudes exist, but I’m not certain their constant pruning of their big ol’ list matters now.

I own a ton of the records on that list, btw. It’s a fine list as far as obviously solid shit that you should be familiar with. What’s Going On is an overrated record and is kind of boring. And the top ten includes the wrong Beatles record, the wrong Nirvana record, and the wrong Dylan entry. And Beggars Banquet or Let It Bleed (dealer’s choice) probably belongs in the top 10. You could easily boot Rumours which is beloved and glossy and not nearly as good as it is kind of passively enjoyable.

Also, Blue is the one Joni Mitchell album owned by all dudes who otherwise exclusively listen to dude music. And Miseducation is the one hip hop album in the “Everything but rap and country” starter pack. Some corny fucking choices there.
 
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Peen Simmons said:
Yeah. I think 500 is kind of too big of a number to manage. And trying to get an old rockist dog to learn new poptimist tricks is probably not worth the effort—Rolling Stone has a historical authority as the rockist paper of record and I’m never gonna trust their poptimism or revisionism fully because that’s not what they’re good at. Also, the big list of canonical works is maybe inherently rockist as a pursuit? I mean, poptimist works get their glory in this life and don’t need the afterlife of critical approval. And contrarian moves re: lionizing unpopular popular music has never been the RS thing outside of a few writers’ pet projects.

I’m kinda bored with poptimism as the new default in pop music thinking. And, while laudable in intent, some of the “and what marginalized experience does X artist embody” just makes for some dumb/obvious/not-particularly-creative analysis. It’s nice that RS is now realizing that women and queer folks and people of color who aren’t dead blues dudes exist, but I’m not certain their constant pruning of their big ol’ list matters now.

I own a ton of the records on that list, btw. It’s a fine list as far as obviously solid shit that you should be familiar with. What’s Going On is an overrated record and is kind of boring. And the top ten includes the wrong Beatles record, the wrong Nirvana record, and the wrong Dylan entry. And Beggars Banquet or Let It Bleed (dealer’s choice) probably belongs in the top 10. You could easily boot Rumours which is beloved and glossy and not nearly as good as it is kind of passively enjoyable.

Also, Blue is the one Joni Mitchell album owned by all dudes who otherwise exclusively listen to dude music. And Miseducation is the one hip hop album in the “Everything but rap and country” starter pack. Some corny fucking choices there.
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What's going on was an odd choice for number 1 indeed
 
DdBob said:
What's going on was an odd choice for number 1 indeed
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Well, it makes sense in that it’s a topical-ish record with “themes” and a narrative of a star who toiled in the trenches sticking it to EVIL LABEL HEAD Berry Gordy by doing some weird personal passion project that unexpectedly sold a bajillion records in an era when artist as auteur was the emerging model and the rock press/audience was becoming increasingly skeptical of records by committee—which is actually the process that created much of the the glorious Motown, Stax, Brit Invasion, girl group, and surf rock/pop stuff that kicked off the “rock” era.

I’d have no problem with Songs in the Key of Life in the top spot. Pet Sounds is also punching above its weight here and the time is right for a critical reassessment (I.e., a downgrade). But What’s Going on is a record like Astral Weeks. I’m glad it exists. You can get sucked into it when you’re in a mood. But ultimately it is the sound of a dude going on a trip into his own navel with occasionally riveting faux-jazz accompaniment. It’s a good record, but not the best record of all time.
 
WGO being number uno is prolly a little politically-driven.

I like it fine too, but it's not the best album of all time.
 
I could sit down and listen to Astral Weeks start-to-finish right now. The spoken bits and the everything-but-the-kitchen-sink instrumentation makes What's Going On a challenging and dated listen.
 
I’ve combed through the list. I physically own 182 of those records currently. I’ve probably listened more than once to 300+ of those records. And in some cases, I simply know the artists through other comps, etc.

Here’s a couple mind-benders, American Idiot outranks Dookie. And 3rd/Sister Lovers and Radio City both outrank #1 Record. Which is counterintuitive.

Also, I’m not sure what to make of the low placement of the Kinks. If we’re overvaluing Pet Sounds and putting second-tier Springsteen on this list (USA, E Street Shuffle), then Village Green is criminally underrated here.
 
dmn23 said:
I could sit down and listen to Astral Weeks start-to-finish right now. The spoken bits and the everything-but-the-kitchen-sink instrumentation makes What's Going On a challenging and dated listen.
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I’ve listened to Astral Weeks within the last two months. I likely haven’t seen my copy of Whats Going On in a couple years.
 
dmn23 said:
I could sit down and listen to Astral Weeks start-to-finish right now. The spoken bits and the everything-but-the-kitchen-sink instrumentation makes What's Going On a challenging and dated listen.
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I almost always opt for the Detroit mix of WGO.
 
Seriously, what's the deal with Pet Sounds topping all these best albums of all time lists? :shrug: I'm a life long fan of the BBs, but with the exception of Sloop John B, that fucking album is mediocre at best. That being said, Sloop John B is one of the best songs the BBs ever did, IMO. :old:
 
Rolling Stone is the TV Guide of rock.

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I went through the list. And I have 303 of the albums.

There are some more I may have had in the past or are stored away. And some on the list I just never got around to getting but are probably good.
 
With the exception of Zooropa, U2 is dead to me after that stupid free album keeps randomly playing through my Itunes.
 
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