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Mini Reviews of Rolling Stone's Top 500 Albums: 340-331

  • Daniel Woodiwiss
  • Apr 4
  • 5 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:

 

Here are my thoughts on numbers 340-331:


Rating: 8/10













I'm such a sucker for this throwback West Coast hip-hop sound, and Snoop has one of my favorite voices in all of Rap music. My head was noddin', foot tappin', face stankin', from start to finish.




Rating: 7/10













Having never really listened to much of Janet's stuff, I was struck by how much this album and her voice sounded like her brother Michael, and I of course mean that as a compliment. None of the other individual songs gripped me the way the title track did, but this was a fun, pleasant, funky listen.




Rating: 6/10













Growing up on U2, I have heard Brian Eno's name for as long as I can remember, but I confess I know very little about Eno the musician vs. Eno the producer. There was some good prog-rock in here, but I think it was a little too experimental to really land with me. I'd rather relisten to his collaborations with  U2, Bowie, even Coldplay than to this album, in other words.



Rating: 5.5/10













Continuing in the theme of "music I was raised on," we have our second Dylan album of these rankings. John Wesley Harding was a return to more folk Americana roots after his foray into rock and roll. Truth be told...it's just alright. One of those albums that is remembered for its significance in the discography in perhaps the most significant musical figure of the 20th century, but apart from "All Along The Watchtower," short on anything memorable, unless you count an extremely shrill harmonica as memorable.



Rating: 7.5/10













Continuing in the theme of "music I was raised on," we have our second Brian Eno album of these rankings, and second of this selection of ten. This one came in the form of Eno's original band Roxy Music, fronted by the equally famous Bryan Ferry, and I will say, I was a lot more partial to this than to Eno's solo album from a couple spots above. It retained plenty of the experimentation while combining it with a more pleasant, palatable classic 80s New Wave sound.



Rating: 7/10













Continuing in the theme of "music I was raised on," we have our third Bob Dylan album of these rankings, and second of this selection of ten. (Seriously, what happened between #s 340 and 331?) Anyways, the lore behind this album was much different than the one above: this one was recorded sneakily fresh off the motorcycle accident that almost killed Dylan, and features the famous artist with a new backing band and a completely different vocal style. I dug it! It's a little long and grows a little weary, but in general, it's got a good bluesy swing.




Rating: 8.5/10













This may have been some 30-odd years before his smash hit "Smooth," but this album was still some smooth listening. Groovy, rockin', etc. There's a reason Carlos Santana is a guitar legend.



Rating: 8.5/10














Bill Withers feels like someone that's just always been there. I myself wasn't raised on his discography, nor was anyone I know, and yet, everyone knows and loves some Bill Withers. And for good reason- he just always delivers, as is the case with this 35-minute easy ride of smooth listening, including the timeless "Lean On Me."




Rating: 8/10













I know the Elvis classics much better than I know his discography, so it was fun to start at the beginning with his debut album. It's crazy how clear his voice sounds in a recording from over 60 years ago. This was a nice introduction to him, and a little insight into why he became such a huge star; nothing too mind-blowing, but an alternatively rocking and smooth half-hour listen.



Rating: 7.5/10













I've known of Madonna as far back as I can remember, of course, but she was anointed the "Queen of Pop" a little before my time (and my parents weren't exactly fans) so she doesn't hold much personal significance for me. That said, I was excited for my perhaps first-ever full album listen of hers. And Like a Prayer delivered-- it's a great Pop record! I will say, though, it's a bit of a victim of its own strong start; the title track is one of the all-time great pop songs, and the album naturally falls off a bit after opening with the one-two punch of that and "Express Yourself."


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