Friday, August 12, 2016

Top 100 Albums of All Time

How did The Beatles fare?

At long last, here's the first draft of my current 100 favorite albums. It's hardly a comprehensive list, but I'll do more research before I update it next year. Note: I didn't consider scores or soundtracks.

100. Love You to Death - Tegan and Sara

99. 5:55 - Charlotte Gainsbourg

98. Blue Valentine - Tom Waits

97. Dookie - Green Day

96. Red Roses for Me - The Pogues

95. Late Registration - Kanye West

94. Arular - M.I.A.

93. War - U2

92. You Could Have It So Much Better - Franz Ferdinand

91. In Rainbows - Radiohead

90. The Ecstatic - Mos Def

89. Tough Love - Jessie Ware

88. Invisible Touch - Genesis

87. La Roux - La Roux

86. Robyn - Robyn

85. Darkness on the Edge of Town - Bruce Springsteen

84. Secret Diary - College

83. Perpetual Surrender - DIANA

82. Back to Black - Amy Winehouse

81. Mule Variations - Tom Waits

80. The Bends - Radiohead

79. Treats - Sleigh Bells

78. Hello Nasty - Beastie Boys

77. Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix - Phoenix

76. good kid, m.A.A.d city - Kendrick Lamar

75. Live/1975-85 - Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band

74. Sainthood - Tegan and Sara

73. Boy in da Corner - Dizzee Rascal

72. The Joshua Tree - U2

71. Small Change - Tom Waits

70. Blue - Joni Mitchell

69. The College Dropout - Kanye West

68. The Lion and the Cobra - Sinead O’Connor

67. Rubber Soul - The Beatles

66. Jagged Little Pill - Alanis Morissette

65. Rock It to the Moon - Electrelane

64. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill - Lauryn Hill

63. Sandinista! - The Clash

62. Low - David Bowie

61. The Queen is Dead - The Smiths

60. Born to Run - Bruce Springsteen

59. Trouble in Paradise - La Roux

58. LP1 - FKA twigs

57. Nighthawks at the Diner - Tom Waits

56. Le Voyage Dans La Lune - Air

55. Debut - Björk

54. Highway 61 Revisited - Bob Dylan

53. Body Talk - Robyn

52. Nilsson Schmilsson - Harry Nilsson

51. Set List - The Frames

50. Twentysomething - Jamie Cullum

49. Pet Sounds - The Beach Boys

48. Bone Machine - Tom Waits

47. Elephant - The White Stripes

46. Time Out - The Dave Brubeck Quartet

45. White Light/White Heat - The Velvet Underground

44. Never Mind the Bollocks Here’s the Sex Pistols - Sex Pistols

43. Kid A - Radiohead

42. Stankonia - OutKast

41. The Clash - The Clash

40. Rockferry - Duffy

39. So Jealous - Tegan and Sara

38. Closer - Joy Division

37. Heartattack and Vine - Tom Waits

36. Nevermind - Nirvana

35. To Pimp a Butterfly - Kendrick Lamar

34. The Beatles (The White Album) - The Beatles

33. Sail Away - Randy Newman

32. The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan - Bob Dylan

31. The Velvet Underground - The Velvet Underground

30. Closing Time - Tom Waits

29. Kala - M.I.A.

28. In Utero - Nirvana

27. Licensed to Ill - Beastie Boys

26. Devotion - Jessie Ware

25. Siamese Dream - Smashing Pumpkins

24. Born in the U.S.A. - Bruce Springsteen

23. Revolver - The Beatles

22. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy - Kanye West

21. Achtung Baby - U2

20. The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars - David Bowie

19. Skylarkin’ - Mic Christopher

18. Rum, Sodomy & the Lash - The Pogues

17. Blood on the Tracks - Bob Dylan

16. Swordfishtrombones - Tom Waits

15. The Wall - Pink Floyd

14. Original Pirate Material - The Streets

13. OK Computer - Radiohead

12. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band - The Beatles

11. Phaedra - Tangerine Dream

10. The Velvet Underground & Nico - The Velvet Underground & Nico

9. Unknown Pleasures - Joy Division

8. The Con - Tegan and Sara

7. Kind of Blue - Miles Davis

6. Paul’s Boutique - Beastie Boys

5. If I Should Fall from Grace with God - The Pogues

4. The River - Bruce Springsteen

3. A Grand Don’t Come for Free - The Streets

2. London Calling - The Clash

1. Rain Dogs - Tom Waits

10 comments:

  1. Lots of great stuff, but I have a bone to pick with you. Such a list is impossible without Prince on it somewhere.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Wendell. If I included soundtracks, Purple Rain would probably land in my top 50 somewhere, but Prince is actually a HUGE blind spot for me. I'm definitely going to dig into his discography before I update my list, though.

      Delete
  2. Amazing! I never could post a list together like this. You've got a lot of awesome albums here, and some I've never listened to in full.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! It's probably harder making a top 100 albums list than it is a film one. And I still have SO many albums to check out!

      You should try some of the ones you haven't listened to in full. ;)

      Delete
  3. ROBYN!!!!

    I love so much of this because I can see all the places we'd match and all the MANY places we'd differ!

    The no Ed Sheeran hurts...or Mariah Carey (Butterfly!!!!) but LOVED seeing Dookie show up :-D

    Love that Tegan and Sara cap off the list. That album is better and better every time I listen to it...like...I listen to it ALL THE TIME NOW!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Robyn is EVERYTHING!!!

      Oh, I'd love to see some kind of list from you! Sheeran was totally in the running, but I'm more surprised that I couldn't find room for Ellie Goulding.

      I *still* haven't listened to Butterfly, so there's hope for Mariah when I update the list again. My listen list keeps growing, but I wanted to get SOMETHING posted already. I'll try to crank out another version by early next year. :)

      Ugh, YES!! It's still the album of the year for me, and I'm not sure what could beat it in the coming months. (Like, T&S will have 3 AOTY wins if it stays #1!) #100 seems a bit low on my list, but it's so new and ranking these was a nightmare.

      Delete
    2. Right now...I have a strong feeling that Banks' new album will play heavy into the Mouthis this year. I'm currently OBSESSED with both Gemini Feed and Fuck with Myself

      :-O

      Delete
    3. I'm highly anticipating that one as well. It could definitely factor into the SoundSpecs, but I'm keeping my distance until the album drops. I haven't even listened to those tracks yet. Either way, I'm glad I (finally) gave her a win for "Better" last year, as it's not on her new album. ;)

      Delete
    4. I have a feeling F*ck With Myself is getting into my SOTY...and possibly Songwriting...because the more I listen to it the more OBSESSED I become.

      She's coming for Rihanna :-O

      Delete
    5. WOW!! Can't wait for her album!

      Delete