100 Greatest Albums - past 20 years
 

I've been staring at this list a lot recently and thoughts I'd share.

Spin Mag (which is more "alternative" that Rolling Stone but still not terribly alternative in my opinion) just named their top 100 albums of the past 20 years.

Radiohead's OK Computer was #1 following a list of great, good, and boring selections. (Sorry, too many years of music made me picky.)

So, here's the list.....whatd'ya think? What's missing? WTF?

Remember this is 1985-2005. That cuts out a lot of "greats" for me that appeared 10 years earlier. Old fart punk rocker!

100. Strokes - Is This It
99. Afghan Whigs - Gentlemen
98. Cornershop - When I Was Born For The 7th Time
97. Neutral Milk Hotel - In The Aeroplane Over The Sea
96. The Pogues - Rum Sodomy & The Lash
95. Elastica - s/t
94. Slint - Spiderland
93. Pearl Jam - Ten
92. Big Black - Atomizer
91. XTC - Skylarking
90. Sonic Youth - Sister
89. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Fever To Tell
88. Stereolab - Emperor Tomato Ketchup
87. Blur - Parklife
86. Meat Puppets - Up On The Sun
85. REM - Automatic For The People
84. Soundgarden - Superunknown
83. At The Drive-In - Relationship Of Command
82. Jeff Buckley - Grace
81. Beck - Mellow Gold
80. D'Angelo - Voodoo
79. Moby - Everything Is Wrong
78. The Stone Roses - s/t
77. Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
76. Belle & Sebastian - If You're Feeling Sinister
75. Le Tigre - s/t
74. Portishead - Dummy
73. Pulp - Different Class
72. Raekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx
71. The Jesus & Mary Chain - Psychocandy
70. Jay-Z - The Blueprint
69. DJ Shadow - Entroducing...
68. Tricky - Maxinquaye
67. Slayer - Reign In Blood
66. Outkast - Aquemini
65. Basement Jaxx - Remedy
64. Eminem - The Marshall Mathers LP
63. Pavement - Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain
62. Missy Elliott - Supa Dupa Fly
61. Weezer - Pinkerton
60. De La Soul - De La Soul Is Dead
59. Modest Mouse - The Lonesome Crowded West
58. Metallica - Master Of Puppets
57. The White Stripes - White Blood Cells
56. PJ Harvey - To Bring You My Love
55. The Chemical Brothers - Dig Your Own Hole
54. The Breeders - Last Splash
53. Rage Against The Machine - The Battle Of Los Angeles
52. Beastie Boys - Licensed To Ill
51. Nirvana - In Utero
50. New Order - Low Life
49. Lauryn Hill - The Miseducation Of...
48. Radiohead - Kid A
47. Eric B. & Rakim - Paid In Full
46. The Fall - This Nation's Saving Grace
45. Kanye West - College Dropout
44. Green Day - Dookie
43. B.D.P. - Criminal Minded
42. Jane's Addiction - Nothing's Shocking
41. Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream
40. Run D.M.C. - Raising Hell
39. Lucinda Williams - s/t
38. A Tribe Called Quest - The Low End Theory
37. Guided By Voices - Bee Thousand
36. Pixies - Doolittle
35. Dr. Dre - The Chronic
34. Elliott Smith - Either/Or
33. Ice Cube - AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted
32. The Replacements - Tim
31. Dinosaur Jr. - You're Living All Over Me
30. The Notorious B.I.G. - Ready To Die
29. Fugazi - 13 Songs
28. Oasis - Definitely Maybe
27. The Cure - The Head On The Door
26. Bjork - Post
25. Nine Ince Nails - The Downward Spiral
24. Sleater Kinney - Dig Me Out
23. Outkast - Stankonia
22. My Bloody Valentine - Loveless
21. Public Enemy - Fear Of A Black Planet
20. Wu Tang Clan - Enter The Wu Tang (36 Chambers)
19. Hole - Live Through This
18. Guns N Roses - Appetite For Destruction
17. Nas - Illmatic
16. Beck - Odelay
15. Liz Phair - Exile In Guyville
14. Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation
13. Husker Du - New Day Rising
12. Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique
11. U2 - Achtung Baby
10. N.W.A - Straight Outta Compton
9. PJ Harvey - Rid Of Me
8. Prince - Sign O The Times
7. De La Soul - 3 Ft. High And Rising
6. Pixies - Surfer Rosa
5. The Smiths - The Queen Is Dead
4. Pavement - Slanted & Enchanted
3. Nirvana - Nevermind
2. Public Enemy - It Takes A Nation...
1. Radiohead - OK Computer

Does the fact that I don't even recognize some of those names mean I'm officially old?

It looks like most of the releasese on this "20 year" list are more on the older side. Does that mean that alternative is dying or the Spin editors are getting old...?

Ooh! Ooh! I know, I know! Pick me!

Ummmmm, GD, would you like to post next?

"Getting old!"

I see a whole buncha CRAP!!

I see some crap, some good stuff, and a lot of missing stuff.

I hate the timeframe - I see albums from bands I don't recognize becasue I stopped listening to them (i.e. they got boring). Just reminds me of my disconnect to contemporary pop culture. I think we should compile our own "best" lists.

We own only four of the 100.

Although there is a lot of good stuff on there that I may have individual songs from.

Now if Richard Marx was on there, my count would be a LOT higher!

I have more than half of these and still wouldn't put most of them in my own top 100...

Just two. XTC and Elliot Smith.

I don't own many of these.
Among the albums that I own, I do not consider these the best, they do not get played with any regularity, and indeed, there's only one there that I've listened to in the last 3 or 4 years.

I'm either musically unswank, or the list is, or a combination of both. I think it's both. I am swank enough to know that Cornershop ought to be higher than #98.

God do I hate top whatever lists. They always, always, always suck. Such subjective bullsh!t, and they do thier best to mix styles in an attempt to make everyone happy....when all that does is make a mediocre mishmash. At the very least, do a rock one, and a hiphop one....anyway, that said, here's my totally subjective take that I don't think anyone will agree with, which is fine by me - that's what personal taste is all about.

I do not f'n believe that this didn't make top 25.....and the fact that it's this low down means that the whole list is null and void! :p

I'm really happy these made the list....they're among my most played. I have no idea what order they should be in though.

On many of these I never owned the full albums, or when I did buy them, I didn't like their other stuff, so it's hard for me to judge. There are bands like Metallica, Rage, and the Beastie Boys, among many others, that I totally dig in some ways but not enough to own an album, and that I really feel deserve to be here even though they're not my own first choices.

Hell yeah!

I'm surprised Beck didn't place higher, but he wasn't too low down.

There's a lot on here I don't know well enough to judge too.

Oh, and screw Radiohead!!! :p I only say this because everyone loves them...I'm rebelling. For some reason it's one of those bands that everyone bowed too and I was like "huh? Oh, yeah, they're ok." Guess I missed the boat, since they made THE BEST ALBUM OF THE PAST 20 YEARS!!! ;)

So, I've stared at this list for several days now. The more I stare at it, the more I feel it is sadly lacking - which wasn't my first take on it at all.

I think, for me, my musical tastes are waaaaaay to extreme and diverse for a list like this. Greanted this is all supposedly Indy stuff and would probably suit me more than a Rolling Stones or Bam list, but there is too much on here that I find dull and boring.

First of all, get rid of 90% of the "grunge". It was boring and contrived then and it remins so today. (NM's goin to kill me.)

There are secondary albums listed by bands that have done WAAAAY better stuff.

A great example of what I think are an odd album choice:

The Fall - This Nation's Saving Grace, which made it under the 1985 line, but Live At The Witch Trials (1979) is a MUCH better album (granted it is too early to fit into this time frame).

I was happy to see a variety of bands included, but very few things stood out. I think if they have even gone back 25 years a lot more truely great stuff would be on the list.

If I took the time to go through my own collection I'd come up with a MUCH different list. I think it is amusing that, of the 100 albums, I own very few of them - and we have over 3000 albums. We may have earlier albums by some of the bands listed but not the ones chosen for the Top 100 list.

Of course this list is bogus: there isn't a single Celine Dion album on there!

Celine freakin' rocks!

93. Pearl Jam - Ten
85. REM - Automatic For The People
84. Soundgarden - Superunknown
82. Jeff Buckley - Grace
51. Nirvana - In Utero
44. Green Day - Dookie
19. Hole - Live Through This
18. Guns N Roses - Appetite For Destruction
5. The Smiths - The Queen Is Dead
3. Nirvana - Nevermind
1. Radiohead - OK Computer

Wow. I only have 11? I have cd's/albums by some of the artists, but not the ones listed. Or compilations.

Honestly, I wouldn't own most of them if you paid me. Wouldn't waste shelf space.

But, others I would LOVE to have...

Man, I gotta clear out my crappy cd's....What do you guys do with cd's you've purchased and then thought WTF? :confused:

No Mr. Bungle? Bogus list.

I only have one item on the list. Guess I'm not cool.

If you saw what's on NM's iPod, you'd kill him.....I came close myself. It'd be a mercy killing. ;)

ETA - Mr. Bungle rocks

half.com

I've been making a killing on it lately.

Ooo, thanks for the tip!! :snap:

Speaking of NM... where is that boy?