Mini Reviews of Rolling Stone's Top 500 Albums: 400-391
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 400-391:
Rating: 6.5/10
If somebody said, "70s girl-rock group," this is the exact sound you would conjure up in your head, so The Go-Gos must have helped pioneer the sound. Fun listen, but even at just 35 minutes, it felt a little tiresome.
Rating: 8/10
Rarely are the lyrics nor any of the individual songs memorable, but Brian Wilson's musical genius is on full display here. An equal-parts soothing and wild listen, it's terrific experimental pop from the music legend.
Rating: 3.5/10
I know this sort of clash-bang alt-rock was starting to have a moment in the 70s, but the somewhat-singing-but-mostly-yelling-or-talking vocal style is so grating to me. High-energy, for sure, but I was ready for it to be over after about two songs.
Rating: 8/10
I like this album as much as I did in 2019, when I named it among my favorite albums of the year. Billie has only gotten bigger and better in the 5 years since this record, but it holds up as a completely original, groundbreaking full-length pop debut.
Rating: 7/10
I dedicate this mini-review to my mom, who has had to suffer enduring teasing from my jealous dad over her love of Todd Rundgren. In truth, I had never listened to a Rundgren album, but I get it! He's got a good sound, and this album exhibits a wider variety of pop-rock styles than I perhaps anticipated.
Rating: 6.5/10
I remember listening to this album back in 2015 when people spoke nearly as breathlessly about it as they did Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp A Butterfly, also out that year. I was somewhat underwhelmed then, and upon re-listen, frankly, that hasn't changed in the nine or so years that have passed. Lyrically and thematically it's phenomenal, but musically, it just doesn't hold my interest outside of a couple terrific tracks.
Rating: 9/10
I've been aware of Diana Ross for as far back as I can remember. But she was so before my time, and my pasty-white evangelical upbringing didn't include a lot of Diana Ross listening, so this was, essentially, my introduction to the disco-pop queen. Boy have I been missing out- this was an absolute blast from start to finish, so much so that I proceeded to listen to the 2-hour deluxe edition re-release of the album from 2001.
Rating: 5.5/10
I literally laughed out loud when I saw this album on this list, let alone rated this highly. There's much about the near-decade of Swiftmania that hasn't made sense to me, but chief among them is the breathless way people discuss this album and her latest, Midnights; massively popular, to be sure, but pretty standard pop fare from an artist whose songwriting and business chops vastly outweigh her vocal and musical talent. Still, not an OFFENSIVE listen, to be clear; there's a banger or two to be found in here.
Rating: 7/10
By this point, I've made my stance clear on compilation/greatest hits albums being included on this ranking. So there's that. As a listening experience, it was fun and energetic but in truth, it grows a little tiresome. I mean no disrespect to Ms. Tina, and there's no doubting hers and Ike's talent, but an hour and a half straight of the scream-singing does reach a point of diminishing returns. Hell of a "Come Together" cover, though, among other highlights.
Rating: 7/10
After enjoying my first-ever Kelis album, I feel bad that I literally only knew Kelis from her milkshake bringing all the boys to the yard (though in fairness, it was a crucial facet of my coming of age story). The production by the Neptunes on this cut is immaculate, and while there's a little bit of filler near the tail-end of the record, this was a great, funky R&B groove from the top.
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