Mini Reviews of Rolling Stone's Top 500 Albums: 450-441
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 450-441:
Rating: 6.5/10
McCartneys 2nd post-Beatles album was notoriously disliked by the other Beatles, with the usually docile Ringo even going so far as to say it made him "sad" that "there was not one tune on it." I don't feel THAT harshly about the record; it's still very sonically pleasing on the whole. That said, between the occasional over-experimentation and oft-goofy lyricism, it's far from Paul's best.
Rating: 7/10
This was Jack and Meg White's 4th studio album, but certainly their breakout success, which is bound to happen when the album kicks off with perhaps the most iconic rock song of the 21st century. The energy stays consistent from start to finish, but as much as I love to rock, I admit I found it a little screechy by about midway through.
Rating: 7.5/10
Though not technically the last album on his discography, this was the last album recorded before Redding's tragic death. He was taken far too soon, but this was a solid piece of work to leave the world with, consistently soulful and punchy from start to finish.
Rating: 8.5/10
Rolling Stone described this album as Bad Bunny's "bid to court new listeners to Latin sounds." It makes sense; with hints of Travis Scott, The Weeknd, and Burna Boy, X 100pre is a head-nodder from start to finish.
Rating: 5.5/10
Alice was not only the wife of famed jazz musician John Coltrane, she was a key part of his bands. Her talent is undeniable and on display in this trippy, lyric-less improvisational musical journey. That said, unless I feel like popping an edible on the beach on a summer day, I'm not sure I'll ever really be in the mood to listen to this again.
Rating: 9/10
How does a 3-song album land on the greatest albums of all time and force drummer Bill Bruford to quit band after recording it, "because it was so taxing"? When the three tracks average 13 minutes in length, that's how. Just like the previous album on this list, this was a unique, trippy listen, but unlike that one, I was loving every part of the prog-rock ride.
Rating: 7.5/10
This was, famously, a breakup album for Fiona Apple, which required a last minute re-record due to label issues, so it's understandable that this record would be considered legendary given that context. That said, I felt the same way about this album as I have every album of Apple's that I've listened to: there's no denying her lyrical genius or brilliant musicianship, but I also just can't see myself returning to it any time soon.
Rating: 8/10
According to Rolling Stone, this album "rips the 70s, a decade [Bowie] helped define." Lyrically and musically, it's an interesting listen, and while the album lacks a particularly memorable individual track, it becomes an increasingly engaging listen as it proceeds.
Rating: 7/10
I'll admit, I used to have a bit of a vendetta against this album since it came out while I was studying abroad, and one of my roommates in Budapest played this album every. single. day. (Jesse, if you're reading this, it's all love, dawg.) But I liked it more than I remembered! The tracklist is stuffed full with most of The Weeknd's biggest mainstream hits, but I actually thought those tracks were the inferior part of the album, finding a lot more quality in the other songs whose themes hinted at his future, high-concept albums to come.
Rating: 6.5/10
This has been described as Spears' most experimental work, as the closest she ever came to 'avant-garde pop'-- and it's true, it plays like something that should be situated between FutureSex-era Justin Timberlake and early Lady Gaga. Still, it would be a stretch to call Blackout "highbrow pop"; while there's certainly more good than bad on this record, there are still more than one forgettable clunkers.
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