Mini Reviews of Rolling Stone's Top 500 Albums: 420-411
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! Hell, maybe the next edition of the "500 Greatest Albums" will be out before I finish this one. 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 420-411:
Rating: 6.5/10
I love Earth, Wind and Fire inasmuch as I know them (which, before this, was probably limited to about 5 songs). But I found this album just okay; there are some tracks that exhibited the irresistible funk that made them famous, but just as many that grew tiresome in their slow-plodding falsetto.
Rating: 8/10
I'll admit, Church's particular type of modern, twangy Country is one of the few musical styles I don't particularly care for. That said, the man's a Tar Heel megafan, so I was already prone to cutting him some slack, and musically he's got a couple things going for him as well: his music is legitimate, salt-of-the earth country, not the gross, "bro-Country" pop blend that infects the radio too often, and this album has a number of rockin', instantly catchy tunes. For personal taste reasons, it's not one I'm likely to re-listen to any time soon, but I can absolutely see how a mainstream Country fan would love this record.
Rating: 9/10
Amidst such classics as the title track and "Money For Nothing," this is just a groovy, timeless listen from start to finish. Some tracks stand out less, but you'd be hard-pressed to find a skip amongst the tracklist.
Rating: 2.5/10
I feel an obligation to see an album all the way through as I work through this ranking, but this was the closest I've come to just turning one off and moving on to the next. I'm sure there's plenty of history with Mr. Coleman and/or this album that I'm missing, but just based on the music itself, I can't do squeaking horns and spazzy trumpets, I'm sorry.
Rating: 7/10
At 70 minutes, this album isn't without filler. But still a largely enjoyable listen from the classic rap group; Black Thought, one of my favorite voices in all of hip-hop is in peak form, especially in tracks like "Double Trouble."
Rating: 8.5/10
No lyrics at all, and none needed. Just sweet, sweet, groovy funk from start to finish. Maybe it was just the good mood I was in when I listened to this album, but man, I could listen to this kind of thing for hours.
Rating: 8.5/10
Listen, if you think I’m gonna rate a disco-funk record lower than an 8 at the worst, brother, you’ve got another thing coming. None of the ensuing tracks quite reach the highs of the iconic opener, “Good Times,” but this is a sweet, 30-minute hit of serotonin.
Rating: 8/10
I have heard the name Creedence Clearwater Revival much more often than I have actually ever heard songs by Creedence Clearwater Revival. This was actually my first-ever listen of a CCR album. And? I like! The few songs I recognized are of course classics, but it's great blues rock from start to finish.
Rating: 7.5/10
A very smooth, if unspectacular, listen from Smokey and co., from the iconic opener "Tracks Of My Tears" to the sweet closing chords of "A Fork In The Road."
Rating: 7/10
If you like Bob Dylan, you likely found this his bluesiest, swingiest record in some time, and enjoyed it, even if it was short on memorable individual tracks. If you don’t like Bob Dylan, this album would do nothing to change that opinion. Pretty much as simple as that.
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