I will say I was not expecting to see If You're Feeling Sinister or I Can Feel The Heart Beating As One on the list, so that's cool
A few scattered thoughts from scanning through the list. The top 10 is more interesting and diverse than the original 2003 one (which I think was 4 Beatles, 2 Stones, 2 Dylan, Clash + Beach Boys), and as silly a concept of "the best album of all time" is, What's Going On is a decent choice. Sgt Pepper dropping from 1st to 24th and being overtaken by 2 other Beatles records is interesting. As much as I (really) like the record, I'm surprised Joni Mitchell's Blue is all the way up to number 3. Lauryn Hill in the top 10 is cool, I think that's a great record. There's a real lack of music from outside of America + Britain, which is understandable but a bit of a bummer. Billie Eilish, the new Kid Cudi record + Harry Styles being in here is a bit of a head scratcher. Two Bjorks, which is always nice! Only album in the top 100 I haven't heard is the Missy Elliot one. Only 1 Cure album? Only 1 Kate Bush album? Greatest Hits are a bit of a cop out, sometimes it's unavoidable, but we've got Greatest Hits chosen for (at least) Al Green, Sam Cooke, Buzzcocks, The Temptations, Sly and the Family Stone + Abba, where their definitely are studio albums available. My Chem's Black Parade is here! Surprised at the lack of the mid-00s (ish) indie stuff, nothing from The National, no Bright Eyes, no Bloc Party, no Interpol, one Bon Iver album near the bottom, one Arcade Fire at the very bottom. The jazz stuff on the list is very much the classic stuff you expect - nothing here that seems to dig below the surface of the classic canon. Blackout by Britney? A shame there's no heavier stuff on here really, aside from a Metallica album. I know it's not really RS's domain, but something like Converge, Refused, Neurosis, Deftones etc could have snuck in at the back end of the list fairly seamlessly. Looking forward to listening to some of the stuff I don't know from the bottom end of the list!
I was going to avoid the debates about this list but then someone told me there was a George sighting. Good to see you post, my friend.
Came to post something along these lines tbh. Also absent is a lot of hardcore. Considering how much popular music cribs from punk and hardcore - at least aesthetically, if not musically - there are some ridiculous omissions. No Bad Brains on here is laughable
Was happy to see John Prine’s self titled album jumped from the low 400’s up to the mid 100’s. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot should be higher. Only one Tom Waits album and it’s in the mid 300’s?!? Cool to see Isbell’s Southeastern on there.
Here's the 2012 list if you wanna compare: https://genius.com/Rolling-stone-the-500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-2012-lyrics Here's the 2003 list: https://genius.com/Rolling-stone-the-500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-2003-lyrics
These lists are always, without fail, kind of ridiculous. There'll always be glaring omissions (loads mentioned on here already). I just look at it as a good place to delve into some classic albums and artists you've never listened to.
2000s albums from the 2003 List: 38. The Anthology (1947-1972) (2001) by Muddy Waters 106. Portrait Of A Legend: 1951-1964 (2003) by Sam Cooke 139. All That You Can't Leave Behind (2000) by U2 180. The Definitive Collection (2001) by ABBA 234. The Ultimate Collection (2000) by Patsy Cline 302. The Marshall Mathers LP (2000) by Eminem 316. Rock Steady (2001) by No Doubt 317. The Eminem Show (2002) by Eminem 324. The Very Best Of Linda Ronstadt (2002) by Linda Ronstadt 359. Stankonia (2000) by OutKast 367. Is This It (2001) by The Strokes 390. Elephant (2003) by The White Stripes 428. Kid A (2000) by Radiohead 432. Sleepless (2002) by Peter Wolf 440. Sea Change (2002) by Beck 452. Music (2000) by Madonna 464. The Blueprint (2001) by Jay-Z 467. Love And Theft (2001) by Bob Dylan 473. A Rush Of Blood To The Head (2002) by Coldplay 485. All Time Greatest Hits (2002) by Loretta Lynn 488. Voodoo (2000) by D'Angelo
Recent albums from the 2012 list: 336. In Rainbows (2007) by Radiohead 371. Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not (2006) by Arctic Monkeys 393. Kala (2007) by M.I.A 395. Sound Of Silver (2007) by LCD Soundsystem 430. Vampire Weekend (2008) by Vampire Weekend 437. Tha Carter III (2008) by Lil Wayne 451. Back To Black (2006) by Amy Winehouse 457. Z (2005) by My Morning Jacket 494. Oracular Spectacular (2007) by Mgmt 353. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010) by Kanye West 381. The Smile Sessions (2011) by The Beach Boys
Even with the trendy choices in 03/12, I don't think I've seen anything nearly as baffling as the Harry Styles album (Or Cudi or Eilish or IYRT...)
It’s super interesting to me how the consensus “best album” by some of the foundational artists from the original list have changed here. Abbey Road and Revolver passing Sgt Pepper, Blood on the Tracks passing Highway 61, Achtung Baby passing The Joshua Tree...kind of fascinating how some of those opinions have changed over time. I’m also surprised that Pet Sounds ended up being the only album to really hold its position between the lists. I don’t really get the sense that Beach Boys have a ton of cachet with younger listeners, whereas I think Bob, Bruce, Beatles, Stones, Prince, Fleetwood Mac, etc have all transcended their era a little more, at least from the music fans I’ve interacted with over the years.
I could maybe see including Eilish for cultural impact alone but the Cudi and Styles albums I have no argument for haha they might as well have picked anything.
There's 5 from that list I would still consider (I won't include Greatest Hits and you can't make me): All That You Can't Leave Behind, Stankonia, Kid A, The Blueprint, and Voodoo.