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Mini Reviews of Rolling Stone's Top 500 Albums: 300-291

  • 3 days ago
  • 4 min read


Back in September of 2020, Rolling Stone did something rather audacious and released out to the world a ranking of, in their estimation, the Top 500 albums ever made. By any musician, any band, anywhere.


It's a mammoth undertaking, of course, and one that is never going to be without controversy, dispute, and backlash. But Rolling Stone has to have known that by now, as this is actually their third go-round with this; the original "Greatest 500" was released to much furor in 2003, and then an updated list came in 2012. What sets this ranking apart is it's not just Rolling Stone contributors; this time, they sought input from some of the biggest artists and producers on the scene, to essentially make this ranking more of an aggregation of what are generally considered the greatest albums, than just a compilation ranking by the staff of one entertainment outlet, I suppose.


Anyways! I was always aware of this list, but at the outset of 2022, being ever the musichead, ever the listophile, I made a plan to complete what some might argue is just as audacious an undertaking: I want to listen to all 500, regardless of my familiarity (or lack thereof) with a particular album, regardless of my feelings towards its artist. I'm going to listen to all 500, in order. And I'm going to share my thoughts on them, but because there are literally hundreds of albums to get through, I pledge to keep said thoughts to a sentence or two.


I recognize this is going to take me ages. It's a marathon, not a sprint! In fact, as I imagined might be the case, there's already been a revision to the"500 Greatest Albums" before I even finished this edition. But regardless of whether you will take this epic journey with me, I hope you will check in on me from time-to-time, to gauge how I feel about what Rolling Stone deemed the 491st-best album of all time.


In case you need the link to reference the source material:



And in case you missed my previous entries, here were my rundowns on:


Now, here are my thoughts on the Top 300!:


Rating: 8/10













I'm not a woman, and hardly remember the 90s, so I kinda missed Shaniamania. But listening to this, I get it! There were a couple skips in there, but for the most part, a rollickin' good time.




Rating: 9/10













I mean, it's live blues, with a rapturous crowd, from maybe the best bluesician to ever do it! What's not to like?




Rating: 7.5/10













Hard to not be a great album when you start off with two of the greatest songs ever, I suppose! Most of the album doesn't rediscover the heights of arguably his 3 most famous songs (I had no clue they were all on the same record!), but a consistently good, Cali-rock sound. 



Rating: 8/10













It's funny, having not listened to much Peter Gabriel, I was trying to think of who he reminded me of, when it hit me "oh, Phil Collins!" I guess I should really dive a little deeper into Genesis's discography? Anyways, I dig this sound, and the album kicks up from 'mostly pleasant' to 'banger' on the last track, which I appreciate.



Rating: 6/10













I grew up on Neil Young, and am fully appreciative of his genius and have loved how much Neil has been on this list. That said, the last couple entries of his have been just okay by his lofty standards. I like that the buns of this short album are two different (both rockin') live versions of "Hey Hey My My," but the meat of it is fairly meandering.



Rating: 9.5/10













Man, what an album. I actually can’t believe it’s not ranked much higher. I held a (not undeserved, in fairness) grudge against this album for beating Kendrick Lamar's good kid, m.A.A.d city out for Album of the Year in 2013, but once I finally listened to it through, I was hooked. Wall-to-wall funk electropop excellence.




Rating: 8.5/10













It's been years since I listened to them consistently, but wow, this album brought back up so many childhood memories; between older siblings and plugged-in friends, Weezer was one of my early faves. This album rocks-- I forgot how many of their early bangers were on this one alone. It essentially plays like a Greatest Hits compilation.



Rating: 5.5/10













I've referenced this before, but this genre of rock isn't my favorite. I don't love either vocalist, and the music in general is uptempo but feels pretty meat and potatoes. I bet they make a good live show, but this album won't live long in the memory.




Rating: 6.5/10













This, too, is an era and genre of rock that grates on me after a while. This was hella energetic, at least, and made for a great pump-up soundtrack! If your thing is face-melting guitar solos, you won't be disappointed by this.


Rating: 6.5/10













First Beyoncé representation on this list let's gooooooooo!! I was crying laughing at the mobster intro, and the spoken word interludes are classic 'late 90s/early 00s earnest and dramatic' R&B. This is definitely pleasant listening, but honestly, maybe it's just because I've been spoiled by the level of artistry in the last decade of Bey's solo career, I found this record just fine as a whole. I did get off my feet for the back-to-back of "Jumpin', Jumpin'" and "Say My Name," though.


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