The New Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums List • Page 4

Very interesting. The 03 list only had 1 album from the 90s (Nevermind) in the top 50.
2012 had 3: Sunrise by Elvis (Not even on the new list), Nevermind, and the Complete Recordings of Robert Johnson (also not on the new list, lol)
2020 has 9: Nevermind, Miseducation, Ready to Die, Enter the Wu Tang, The Chronic, OK Computer, The Low End Theory, Illmatic, Aquemini

 

Never heard the U2 album, but I'd definitely keep the others. I'd also keep an Eminem tape if only for legacy/influence. Maybe Is This It too

 

The first hip hop album to rank in 03 was Public Enemy's It Takes a Nation of Millions... at 48. Same place in 2012.
Then: Raising Hell at 120, Ready to Die at 133, The Chronic at 137, Straight Outta Compton at 144, The Low End Theory at 154, Paul's Boutique at 156.

7 hip hop tapes in the top 200 (I did that fast, I could have missed 1-2)

Other hip hop to make the list:
217. Licensed To Ill (1986) by Beastie Boys
227. Paid In Full (1987) by Eric B. And Rakim
240. Run-DMC (1984) by Run-DMC
248. Reasonable Doubt (1996) by Jay-Z
273. The Slim Shady LP (1999) by Eminem
300. Fear Of A Black Planet (1990) by Public Enemy
302. The Marshall Mathers LP (2000) by Eminem
312. The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill (1998) by Lauryn Hill
317. The Eminem Show (2002) by Eminem
346. 3 Feet High And Rising (1989) by De La Soul
359. Stankonia (2000) by OutKast
377. CrazySexyCool (1994) by TLC
386. Enter The Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers (1993) by Wu-Tang Clan
400. Illmatic (1994) by Nas
459. Strictly Business (1988) by EPMD
464. The Blueprint (2001) by Jay-Z
477. The Score (1996) by Fugees
478. Radio (1985) by LL Cool J

By my count, 24/500 were hip hop albums

 

Briefly looking at the 2012 list, Public Enemy is the only hip hop tape in the top 100, which is so wild! Late Registration is next at 118.

The rest:
123. Raising Hell (1986) by Run-D.M.C
134. Ready To Die (1994) by The Notorious B.I.G
138. The Chronic (1992) by Dr. Dre
144. Straight Outta Compton (1988) by N.W.A
153. The Low End Theory (1991) by A Tribe Called Quest
156. Paul's Boutique (1989) by Beastie Boys
219. Licensed To Ill (1986) by Beastie Boys
228. Paid In Full (1987) by Eric B. And Rakim
242. Run-DMC (1984) by Run-DMC
244. The Marshall Mathers LP (2000) by Eminem
250. Reasonable Doubt (1996) by Jay-Z
252. The Blueprint (2001) by Jay-Z
275. The Slim Shady LP (1999) by Eminem
298. The College Dropout (2004) by Kanye West
302. Fear Of A Black Planet (1990) by Public Enemy
314. The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill (1998) by Lauryn Hill
346. 3 Feet High And Rising (1989) by De La Soul
349. The Black Album (2003) by Jay-Z
353. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010) by Kanye West
361. Stankonia (2000) by OutKast
379. CrazySexyCool (1994) by TLC
387. Enter The Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers (1993) by Wu-Tang Clan
393. Kala (2007) by M.I.A
402. Illmatic (1994) by Nas
437. Tha Carter III (2008) by Lil Wayne
453. Strictly Business (1988) by EPMD
469. The Score (1996) by Fugees
470. Radio (1985) by LL Cool J
476. Life After Death (1997) by The Notorious B.I.G
480. Only Built 4 Cuban Linx (1995) by Raekwon
500. Aquemini (1998) by Outkast

33/500

 

2020 has 11 hip hop tapes in the top 50, a huuuge jump. Raising Hell, previously the #1 and #2 hip hop album, dropped to #209, a place behind Tha Carter III

 

This overall changing of the guard has been super interesting to me to observe

A local poll a few years back had BOTT over H61R and I figured it was just MN bias with that being his most "Minnesotan" album but it seems to be the prevailing wisdom as of recent

I'd imagine younger critics connect with it more maybe? Or maybe H61R's rep has just fallen? Super interesting regardless

 

I always find these types of lists to be very interesting. On any “best all time” list I’m definitely not a fan of recency bias though and that’s where my eyes roll on this list a bit. I love TPAB For example, but having a 5 year old album in the top 20 is crazy to me.

 

I feel like there used to be this "old guard" mentality where we have to lionize the classics while discounting newer record, and seemingly the pendulum has swung too far in the other direction

 

I'm the exact opposite. Pretending there is some arbitrary timeline before you can consider art worthy of looking at its legacy is ridiculous. I think about that with film a lot and how many times I see only one or two films from the last decade on people's lists.

 

Funny, Revolver - The Beatles is of the records I’m trying to sell. It’s my least favorite of the Beatles records I have.

 

laugh react

 

Madvillainy is on there too. Which is insane to me haha

 

Ah missed it!

 

I will say I personally gravitate more toward BOTT. It’s more personal and more emotionally engaging, versus Highway 61 which is more influential and more historically important.

 

madvillainy rules

 

I need to listen to The Band apparently.
Illmatic is way too low.
Pink Moon is WAY too low.
808s below Graduation is basically a war crime.
In Rainbows is laughably low.
One Bon Iver and it's For Emma and it's at the end of the list smh
Greatest Hits albums shouldn't count.
One REM and it's Automatic for the People.

hmmmmmmmmmm. no.

Some of these are too high but most shouldn't be on the list.

 

Red absolutely belonged on this list.

 

Indeed! Easily one of my favourite albums of all time. Surprised to see it on there over other hip hop albums, though

 

Agreed. Idk that I'd put Red at 99 with 1989 100+ spots below it though.

 

Acknowledges For Emma as massively influential on mainstream artists higher on the list - #461

Billie Eilish's album that came out last year - #397

OK

Also, its undeniably fantastic and influential, but I'm hardpressed to believe that To Pimp A Butterfly launched itself into the top 20 albums of all time inside of 5 years lol

 

that’s fair, I guess my thought is just that It just makes more sense in my brain for a piece of art to grow in importance over time then to have potential to come in hot and then drop dramatically down the road.

 

Yeah the ones that came out only two years ago were a little silly, especially because they weren't close to the best stuff from that year. But like, I'll see lists like this that will only include a couple since 2000 and that's just flat out silly.

 

Fair enough, honestly! I know not everybody preferred Red the way I do (I say as someone who adores 1989 and realizes it's probably the better album in terms of cohesiveness).

 

It's solidly a top three TSwift album for me. Most people I know actually say Red is their favorite. Sometimes it's mine. Usually 1989 or, more recently, Folklore though.

 

Folklore actually unseated Red as my fave, but I assumed they weren't putting 2020 albums on their list. They better not have been.