Back in 2003, Rolling Stone created a list of their 500 favorite albums of all time. Back then I very much wanted to listen to all of the albums on the list in an attempt to enhance my musical education. But since in order to do that, I would have had to purchase almost all the albums, I restrained myself and decided not to. Now it's 2012, there are many ways to listen to almost any album you can imagine, and I've decided to embark on this monstrosity of a listening challenge. I've also decided to chronicle this adventure and give my takes on each of the 500 albums.
Let me make a few things clear. First of all, I'm not really a big fan of Rolling Stone, but I am a fan of lists. To me, Rolling Stone is filled with writers stuck in the past or have a great sense of hero worship, which is why any album featuring Bono, Mick Jagger, Bruce Springsteen or any of The Beatles will undoubtedly always make their end of the year list (SuperHeavy??? Really?) Around the time this list was released, I was much more of a SPIN fan, as I loved the writing of Chuck Klosterman, Sia Michel and the rest of the then writers. I feel like I have a great deal of knowledge on the last decade of music, but beyond that, it is pretty scattered, which will make this list fun for me.
I also plan on making my own list based around the albums that made the top 500. I will listen to, then write about ten albums in order at a time. Then I will post my top 10 albums that I've listened to at that point. Also to keep it fun, I don't plan on looking more than 10 albums ahead. Just enough to make sure I have the album or have access to the album. So without further ado, here are albums 500-491:
500. Eurythmics-Touch
For me, Eurythmics were one of those bands that I never really payed much attention to. I found Annie Lennox annoying and the song "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" was a constant irritation to any kid growing up in the nineties who listened to Top 40 radio. After checking out the track list to make sure "Sweet Dreams" wasn't on this album, I delved in and was surprised by the album. Touch is a consistently fun synth pop album that never really slows down. It actually hit a sweet spot that I didn't really know I had until LCD Soundsystem, which is dance music that is also quite emotional, as can be seen in "No Fear, No Hate, No Pain (No Broken Hearts)" and the hit single "Here Comes the Rain Again." I'll be honest, one of the detractions for me starting this list was seeing that I would have to start off with the Eurythmics, but I must say, I'm glad I gave Lennox and Dave Stewart another chance cause Touch is a fairly fun album.
Suggested Track: "Here Comes the Rain Again"
499. Albert King-Born Under A Bad Sign
There are a few genres of music that I don't hate, but that just don't really stand out for me. Funk, reggae and blues I don't have a problem with, but I rarely will listen to for fun. I knew little about Albert King's Born Under A Bad Sign with the exception that it was a blues album. I'll say this: Born Under A Bad Sign didn't change my opinion of blues but I do think it is a very good album. King's vocals, along with his phenomenal guitar that is clearly an inspiration for many a classic rock guitar player really elevate this album. There is a lot to like here and when King gets into a groove, it can get pretty fun. But one of my problems with blues, mostly an entire album of it, is that most of the songs feel like they drag into one long track. Once again, it doesn't sound bad, it just can be a bit boring. But at least King makes it sound fun.
Suggested Track: "Born Under A Bad Sign"
498. ZZ Top-Tres Hombres
Having grown up watching MTV and VH1, I was familiar with the videos of ZZ Top, yet I never really latched onto the music of ZZ Top. That really didn't change after listening to Tres Hombres. I'm also not a huge fan of Southern Rock, but like blues, I can appreciate it and there are a few exceptions. ZZ Top is blues mixed with Southern Rock that does give them a distinctive sound, which you can almost trace bands like Kings of Leon and My Morning Jacket going back to. That being said, I just kind of fell in the middle of this album. Nothing really grabbed my attention here, not that it was bad, just a bit underwhelming for my tastes.
Suggested Track: "La Grange"
497. Public Enemy-Yo! Bum Rush the Show
The first band I knew I actually do like, and first band I've seen live, to show up on the list is Public Enemy. I mean is there a more fun guy in the history of hip-hop than Flavor Flav? I think not. But of course the star here is Chuck D whose raps are clearly influential on the future of hip-hop. I found Yo! Bum Rush the Show to be much less aggressive than future albums from PE, but still has a sense of tension in their music that was still quite rare for the mid 80s. I'm very excited to listen to more of PE, which I'm assuming will show up on the list, after listening to their beginning. Chuck D's growth as a rapper will be great to note when we get a bit further on the list.
Suggested Track: "Sophisticated Bitch"
496. Kiss-Destroyer
I don't think it is hard to discount Kiss. I mean they are notoriously known for spectacle over their music. So just on reputation alone, I had never really payed attention to Kiss. This was foolish. Since I'm a huge fan of many artists that are an exaggeration of the craziness and sensibilities of heavy metal bands of the seventies and eighties, like The Darkness, Andrew W.K. and Tenacious D. Kiss was my biggest surprise in the first ten albums, but I realize now that it shouldn't have been. Destroyer is a party in an album. It's an album that never takes itself too seriously and it's hard to hate because of that. Destroyer is simply fun and I had a ton of fun with it.
Suggested Track: "Beth"
495. Husker Du-New Day Rising
I was also pretty excited about checking out Husker Du, since for years I knew the name but didn't know the music. New Day Rising is a great example of 80s punk rock and the expansive scope of the album is impressive. However like Born Under A Bad Sign and Tres Hombres, by the end I felt like many of the songs really drew together in a way that felt a bit too similar. I appreciate their sound and would like to check out their other albums like Zen Arcade, at the very least I can say I'm interested.
Suggested Track: "New Day Rising"
494. Cyndi Lauper-She's So Unusual
Another artist I really ignored due to early 90s radio overexposure was Cyndi Lauper. Not to mention she's one of those musicians whose public persona has become more popular than her musical career. But much to my surprise, She's So Unusual is a very strong pop album. The album has no problem just being fun, as with the hit singles "Girls Just Want To Have Fun" and "Time After Time", but also deals with interesting gender roles in tracks like "When You Were Mine." The album does take a left turn towards the last few tracks that becomes grating on the nerves, such as "He's So Unusual" and "Yeah Yeah", but the album is too strong at that point to be shaken.
Suggested Track: "Time After Time"
493. Earth, Wind & Fire-That's the Way of the World
For me, Earth, Wind & Fire are one of those artists you ignore because your parents made sure you knew they loved them when they were your age. However like most of those artists, with age you realize they are kind of great. That's the Way of the World probably sounds so great to me now because almost any R&B or funk artist I've ever listened to has been influenced by them. On some tracks, I even thought, "so this is where Andre 3000 gets it from." That's the Way of the World is pretty brilliant, not only for its historical context, but because it's just so much fun.
Suggested Track: "Shining Star"
492. Pearl Jam-Vitalogy
OK, so I intentionally do not like Pearl Jam. Let me get that out there. However I do appreciate the musician that Eddie Vedder has become in the last few years, mostly on the Into the Wild soundtrack and his ability to experiment with his sound in weird ways, like releasing an entire ukelele-based album. Vedder's experimentation is why I came away at least enjoying that experimentation in Vitalogy. The album is all over the place in terms of style, throwing a bunch of stuff at a wall and seeing what sticks. Songs like "Bugs" and "Stupidmop" seem more inclined to see how far it can test its audience. But when it is successful, you can easily see why Pearl Jam was such a big deal in the nineties. Vitalogy didn't exactly win me over, but Vedder and co. do leave me intrigued.
Suggested Track: "Better Man"
491. Mott the Hoople-All the Young Dudes
Mott the Hoople is one of those unfortunate bands that will always be more well known for the name they've chosen rather than what their music sounds like, kind of like Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. or Fucked Up. But All the Young Dudes is a exceptional glam rock album that changed the band's focus due to David Bowie's production. It's hard to not hear Bowie's influence on this album and it's probably better that he was there than not. I would like to hear their pre-Bowie work to compare and contrast, but I do enjoy what I hear in All the Young Dudes.
Suggested Track: "All the Young Dudes"
So with the first ten albums of the Rolling Stone Top 500 Albums, here's how my personal list compares. Original chart placement in parenthesis:
1. Kiss-Destroyer (496)
2. Earth, Wind and Fire-That's the Way of the World (493)
3. Public Enemy-Yo! Bum Rush the Show (497)
4. Cyndi Lauper-She's So Unusual (494)
5. Husker Du-New Day Rising (495)
6. Mott the Hoople-All the Young Dudes (491)
7. Eurythmics-Touch (500)
8. Pearl Jam-Vitalogy (492)
9. Albert King-Born Under a Bad Sign (499)
10. ZZ Top-Tres Hombres (498)
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