Spin's 100 Greatest Albums of 1985-2005
Music magazines love making lists. No "greatest albums" list can please everyone, but they generally make for good discussion material, and they're fun. I like to think there are some people who will be motivated to check out the Pixies or The Smiths for the first time because of a list like this. The 100 greatest albums of the last 20 years, according to Spin:
1. Radiohead - OK Computer - 1997 (Radiohead - No Surprises, from OK Computer)
2. Public Enemy - It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back - 1998
3. Nirvana - Nevermind - 1991
4. Pavement - Slanted and Enchanted - 1992 (Pavement - Perfume-V, from Slanted and Enchanted)
5. The Smiths - The Queen is Dead - 1986 (The Smiths - There Is A Light That Never Goes Out , from The Queen is Dead)
6. Pixies - Surfer Rosa - 1988
7. De La Soul - 3 Feet High and Rising - 1989
8. Prince - Sign 'o' the Times - 1987
9. PJ Harvey - Rid of Me - 1993
10. N.W.A - Straight Outta Compton - 1988
11. U2 - Achtung Baby - 1991
12. Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique - 1989
13. Hüsker Du - New Day Rising 1985
14. Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation - 1988
15. Liz Phair - Exile in Guyville - 1993 (Liz Phair - Stratford-On-Guy, from Exile in Guyville)
16. Beck - Odelay - 1996
17. Nas - Illmatic - 1994
18. Guns N' Roses - Appetite for Destruction - 1987
19. Hole - Live Through This - 1994
20. Wu-Tang Clan - Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) - 1993
21. Public Enemy - Fear of a Black Planet - 1990
22. My Bloody Valentine - Loveless - 1991
23. Outkast - Stankonia - 2000
24. Sleater-Kinney - Dig Me Out- 1997
25. Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral- 1994
26. Bjork - Post-1995
27. The Cure - The Head on the Door - 1985
28. Oasis - Definitely Maybe - 1994
29. Fugazi - 13 Songs - 1989
30. The Notorious B.I.G. - Ready to Die - 1994
31. Dinosaur Jr. - You're Living All Over Me - 1987
32. The Replacements - Tim - 1985
33. Ice Cube - AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted - 1990
34. Elliott Smith - Either/Or - 1997
35. Dr. Dre - The Chronic - 1992
36. Pixies - Doolittle - 1989
37. Guided By Voices - Bee Thousand - 1994
38. A Tribe Called Quest - The Low End Theory - 1991
39. Lucinda Williams - Lucinda Williams - 1988
40. Run-D.M.C. - Raising Hell - 1986
41. Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream - 1993
42. Jane's Addiction - Nothing Shocking - 1988
43. Boogie Down Productions - Criminal Minded - 1987
44. Green Day - Dookie - 1994
45. Kanye West - College Dropout - 2004
46. The Fall - This Nation's Saving Grace - 1985
47. Eric B. & Rakim - Paid in Full - 1987
48. Radiohead - Kid A - 2000
49. Lauryn Hill - The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill - 1998
50. New Order - Low Life - 1985
51. Nirvana - In Utero - 1993
52. Beastie Boys - Licensed to III - 1986
53. Rage Against the Machine - The Battle of Los Angeles - 1999
54. The Breeders - Last Splash - 1993
55. The Chemical Brothers - Dig Your Own Hole - 1997
56. PJ Harvey - To Bring You My Love - 1995
57. The White Stripes - White Blood Cells - 2001 (The White Stripes - We're Going to Be Friends, from White Blood Cells)
58. Metallica - Master of Puppets - 1986
59. Modest Mouse - The Lonesome Crowded West - 1997 (Modest Mouse - Trailer Trash, from The Lonesome Crowded West)
60. De La Soul - De La Soul is Dead - 1991
61. Weezer - Pinkerton - 1996
62. Missy Elliott - Supa Dupa Fly - 1997
63. Pavement - Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain - 1994
64. Eminem - The Marshall Mathers LP - 2000
65. Basement Jaxx - Remedy - 1999
66. Outkast - Aquemini - 1998
67. Slayer - Reign in Blood - 1986
68. Tricky - Maxinquaye - 1995
69. DJ Shadow - Entroducing DJ Shadow - 1996
70. Jay-Z - The Blueprint - 2001
71. The Jesus and Mary Chain - Psychocandy - 1985
72. Raekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx - 1995
73. Pulp - Different Class - 1995
74. Portishead - Dummy - 1994
75. Le Tigre - Le Tigre - 1999
76. Belle and Sebastian - If You’re Feeling Sinister - 1997
77. Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot - 2002
78. The Stone Roses - The Stone Roses - 1989
79. Moby - Everything is Wrong - 1995
80. D'Angelo - Voodoo - 2000
81. Beck - Mellow Gold - 1994
82. Jeff Buckley - Grace - 1994
83. At the Drive-In - Relationship of Command - 2000
84. Soundgarden - Superunknown - 1994
85. R.E.M. - Automatic for the People - 1992
86. Meat Puppets - Up on the Sun - 1985
87. Blur - Parklife - 1994
88. Stereolab - Emperor Tomato Ketchup - 1996
89. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Fever to Tell - 2003
90. Sonic Youth - Sister - 1987
91. XTC - Skylarking - 1986
92. Big Black - Atomizer - 1986
93. Pearl Jam - Ten - 1991
94. Slint - Spiderland - 1991
95. Elastica - Elastica - 1995 (Elastica - Car Song, from Elastica)
96. The Pogues - Rum, Sodomy, and the Lash - 1985
97. Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane over the Sea - 1998
98. Cornershop - When I was Born for the 7th Time - 1997
99. Afghan Whigs - Gentlemen - 1993
100. The Strokes - Is This It - 2001
The Queen is Dead is one of my all-time favourite albums, so I'm glad it placed so high. Radiohead, Nirvana, The Pixies... all worthy choices. I wouldn't have ranked Pavement's Slanted and Enchanted nearly as high as Spin did. Glad that My Bloody Valentine's Loveless got the props it deserves. I would muck around with the order some. XTC's Skylarking deserves to place higher in my mind, but it's such a matter of personal taste. The Stone Roses should be much higher, and that somehow isn't just a matter of personal taste. Ditto for R.E.M. ranking below Soundgarden, and several of the other artists. It just seems wrong.
Unjustly missing: Rilo Kiley, Franz Ferdinand, They Might Be Giants, Saint Etienne, garbage, and others to occur to me when I am nowhere near a computer.
1. Radiohead - OK Computer - 1997 (Radiohead - No Surprises, from OK Computer)
2. Public Enemy - It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back - 1998
3. Nirvana - Nevermind - 1991
4. Pavement - Slanted and Enchanted - 1992 (Pavement - Perfume-V, from Slanted and Enchanted)
5. The Smiths - The Queen is Dead - 1986 (The Smiths - There Is A Light That Never Goes Out , from The Queen is Dead)
6. Pixies - Surfer Rosa - 1988
7. De La Soul - 3 Feet High and Rising - 1989
8. Prince - Sign 'o' the Times - 1987
9. PJ Harvey - Rid of Me - 1993
10. N.W.A - Straight Outta Compton - 1988
11. U2 - Achtung Baby - 1991
12. Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique - 1989
13. Hüsker Du - New Day Rising 1985
14. Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation - 1988
15. Liz Phair - Exile in Guyville - 1993 (Liz Phair - Stratford-On-Guy, from Exile in Guyville)
16. Beck - Odelay - 1996
17. Nas - Illmatic - 1994
18. Guns N' Roses - Appetite for Destruction - 1987
19. Hole - Live Through This - 1994
20. Wu-Tang Clan - Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) - 1993
21. Public Enemy - Fear of a Black Planet - 1990
22. My Bloody Valentine - Loveless - 1991
23. Outkast - Stankonia - 2000
24. Sleater-Kinney - Dig Me Out- 1997
25. Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral- 1994
26. Bjork - Post-1995
27. The Cure - The Head on the Door - 1985
28. Oasis - Definitely Maybe - 1994
29. Fugazi - 13 Songs - 1989
30. The Notorious B.I.G. - Ready to Die - 1994
31. Dinosaur Jr. - You're Living All Over Me - 1987
32. The Replacements - Tim - 1985
33. Ice Cube - AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted - 1990
34. Elliott Smith - Either/Or - 1997
35. Dr. Dre - The Chronic - 1992
36. Pixies - Doolittle - 1989
37. Guided By Voices - Bee Thousand - 1994
38. A Tribe Called Quest - The Low End Theory - 1991
39. Lucinda Williams - Lucinda Williams - 1988
40. Run-D.M.C. - Raising Hell - 1986
41. Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream - 1993
42. Jane's Addiction - Nothing Shocking - 1988
43. Boogie Down Productions - Criminal Minded - 1987
44. Green Day - Dookie - 1994
45. Kanye West - College Dropout - 2004
46. The Fall - This Nation's Saving Grace - 1985
47. Eric B. & Rakim - Paid in Full - 1987
48. Radiohead - Kid A - 2000
49. Lauryn Hill - The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill - 1998
50. New Order - Low Life - 1985
51. Nirvana - In Utero - 1993
52. Beastie Boys - Licensed to III - 1986
53. Rage Against the Machine - The Battle of Los Angeles - 1999
54. The Breeders - Last Splash - 1993
55. The Chemical Brothers - Dig Your Own Hole - 1997
56. PJ Harvey - To Bring You My Love - 1995
57. The White Stripes - White Blood Cells - 2001 (The White Stripes - We're Going to Be Friends, from White Blood Cells)
58. Metallica - Master of Puppets - 1986
59. Modest Mouse - The Lonesome Crowded West - 1997 (Modest Mouse - Trailer Trash, from The Lonesome Crowded West)
60. De La Soul - De La Soul is Dead - 1991
61. Weezer - Pinkerton - 1996
62. Missy Elliott - Supa Dupa Fly - 1997
63. Pavement - Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain - 1994
64. Eminem - The Marshall Mathers LP - 2000
65. Basement Jaxx - Remedy - 1999
66. Outkast - Aquemini - 1998
67. Slayer - Reign in Blood - 1986
68. Tricky - Maxinquaye - 1995
69. DJ Shadow - Entroducing DJ Shadow - 1996
70. Jay-Z - The Blueprint - 2001
71. The Jesus and Mary Chain - Psychocandy - 1985
72. Raekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx - 1995
73. Pulp - Different Class - 1995
74. Portishead - Dummy - 1994
75. Le Tigre - Le Tigre - 1999
76. Belle and Sebastian - If You’re Feeling Sinister - 1997
77. Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot - 2002
78. The Stone Roses - The Stone Roses - 1989
79. Moby - Everything is Wrong - 1995
80. D'Angelo - Voodoo - 2000
81. Beck - Mellow Gold - 1994
82. Jeff Buckley - Grace - 1994
83. At the Drive-In - Relationship of Command - 2000
84. Soundgarden - Superunknown - 1994
85. R.E.M. - Automatic for the People - 1992
86. Meat Puppets - Up on the Sun - 1985
87. Blur - Parklife - 1994
88. Stereolab - Emperor Tomato Ketchup - 1996
89. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Fever to Tell - 2003
90. Sonic Youth - Sister - 1987
91. XTC - Skylarking - 1986
92. Big Black - Atomizer - 1986
93. Pearl Jam - Ten - 1991
94. Slint - Spiderland - 1991
95. Elastica - Elastica - 1995 (Elastica - Car Song, from Elastica)
96. The Pogues - Rum, Sodomy, and the Lash - 1985
97. Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane over the Sea - 1998
98. Cornershop - When I was Born for the 7th Time - 1997
99. Afghan Whigs - Gentlemen - 1993
100. The Strokes - Is This It - 2001
The Queen is Dead is one of my all-time favourite albums, so I'm glad it placed so high. Radiohead, Nirvana, The Pixies... all worthy choices. I wouldn't have ranked Pavement's Slanted and Enchanted nearly as high as Spin did. Glad that My Bloody Valentine's Loveless got the props it deserves. I would muck around with the order some. XTC's Skylarking deserves to place higher in my mind, but it's such a matter of personal taste. The Stone Roses should be much higher, and that somehow isn't just a matter of personal taste. Ditto for R.E.M. ranking below Soundgarden, and several of the other artists. It just seems wrong.
Unjustly missing: Rilo Kiley, Franz Ferdinand, They Might Be Giants, Saint Etienne, garbage, and others to occur to me when I am nowhere near a computer.
posted by trill42 | 3:14 PM
2 Comments:
Thanks for posting the list! I was gonna have to buy the mag, and I don't like giving money to Spin--especially when they produce such a deeply, deeply flawed list. You're spot on with the Stone Roses comment--I'd put it at #1. And Neutral Milk Hotel a paltry #97? What strange universe this? (De La Soul at #7 is kind of a nice surprise, though.)
No problem! It is a strange universe. I almost expect to see cats and dogs living together. I would have loved the Stone Roses at #1. Maybe Spin thought that wouldn't sell enough magazines.
I wonder whether putting some artists like Neutral Milk Hotel anywhere on the list is intended to give it some credibility, while reserving most of the top spots for the usual suspects. Sure, they're usual suspects for a reason, and it's not a list of underrecognized great albums. Just working on a conspiracy theory.
I'd also add to the "missing" list: The The, Teenage Fanclub, and Luna.
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