Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

"The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is a recurring opinion survey and music ranking of the finest
album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...
s in history, compiled by the American magazine ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in a special issue of the magazine in 2003 and a related book in 2005.
Related news articles: * *
Critics have accused the lists of lending disproportionate weight to artists of particular races and genders. In the original list, most of the selections were albums by white male rock musicians, with the top position held by
the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
' '' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' (1967). In 2012, ''Rolling Stone'' published a revised edition, drawing on the original and a later survey of albums released up until the early 2000s. Another updated edition of the list was published in 2020, with 269 new entries replacing albums from the two previous editions. It was based on a new survey and did not consider the surveys conducted for the 2003 and 2012 lists. The 2020 list featured more artists of color and female artists, topped by
Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gaye Jr. (; April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984) was an American Rhythm and blues, R&B and soul singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He helped shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player an ...
's '' What's Going On'' (1971). It received similar criticisms as the previous lists. Another revision was published in 2023. Since 2020 ''Rolling Stone'' has also produced a weekly podcast called ''Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums'', which, according to magazine, is based on an "updated version of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums list". The podcast is hosted by Brittany Spanos, a staff writer at the magazine.


Background

The first version of the list, published as a magazine in November 2003, was based on the votes of 273 rock musicians, critics, and industry figures, each of whom submitted a ranked list of 50 albums. The accounting firm
Ernst & Young EY, previously known as Ernst & Young, is a multinational corporation, multinational professional services partnership, network based in London, United Kingdom. Along with Deloitte, KPMG and PwC, it is one of the Big Four accounting firms, Big F ...
devised a point system to weigh votes for 1,600 submitted titles.
The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
' 1967 album '' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' topped the list, with ''Rolling Stone''s editors describing it as "the most important rock 'n' roll album ever made".
The Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their f ...
' ''
Pet Sounds ''Pet Sounds'' is the eleventh studio album by the American Rock music, rock band the Beach Boys, released on May 16, 1966, by Capitol Records. It was produced, arranged, and primarily composed by Brian Wilson with guest lyricist Tony Asher. R ...
'' (1966) was ranked second in recognition of its influence on ''Sgt. Pepper''. The list also included compilations and "greatest hits" collections."It's Certainly a Thrill: Sgt. Pepper Is Best Album"
''USA Today'', November 17, 2003.
An amended list was released as a book in 2005, with an introduction by guitarist
Steven Van Zandt Steven Van Zandt (né Lento; born November 22, 1950), also known as Little Steven or Miami Steve, is an American musician and actor. He is a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, in which he plays guitar and mandolin. He has appeared i ...
. Some compilation albums were removed, and
Robert Johnson Robert Leroy Johnson (May 8, 1911August 16, 1938) was an American blues musician and songwriter. His singing, guitar playing and songwriting on his landmark 1936 and 1937 recordings have influenced later generations of musicians. Although his r ...
's '' The Complete Recordings'' was substituted for both of his '' King of the Delta Blues Singers'' volumes, making room for a total of eight new entries on the list. On May 31, 2012, ''Rolling Stone'' published a revised list, drawing on the original and a later survey of albums up until the early 2000s. It was made available in "bookazine" format on newsstands in the US from April 27 to July 25. The new list contained 38 albums not present in the previous one, 16 of them released after 2003. The top listings remained unchanged. On September 22, 2020, another revision of the list was published. It drew upon a new survey conducted with "more than 300 artists, producers, critics, and music-industry figures", including: * Craig Kallman *
Daft Punk Daft Punk were a French electronic music duo formed in 1993 in Paris by Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. They achieved popularity in the late 1990s as part of the French house movement, combining house music, funk, disco, tech ...
*
Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of Beyoncé, ...
*
Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Known for her autobiographical songwriting, artistic versatility, and Cultural impact of Taylor Swift, cultural impact, Swift is one of the Best selling artists, w ...
*
Billie Eilish Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O'Connell ( ; born December 18, 2001) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She first gained public attention in 2015 with her debut single "Ocean Eyes (song), Ocean Eyes", written and produced by her broth ...
* H.E.R. * Tierra Whack * Lindsey Jordan * Adam Clayton * The Edge *
Raekwon Corey Woods (born January 12, 1970), better known by his stage name Raekwon ( ), is an American rapper. He rose to prominence as a founding member of the hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan, which achieved mainstream success following the release of the ...
*
Gene Simmons Gene Simmons (born Chaim Witz; ; born August 25, 1949) also known by his stage persona "The Demon", is an Israeli-born American musician. He was the bassist and co-lead singer of the hard rock band Kiss (band), Kiss, which he co-founded wit ...
*
Stevie Nicks Stephanie Lynn Nicks (born May 26, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter, known for her work with the band Fleetwood Mac and as a solo artist. After starting her career as a duo with her then-boyfriend Lindsey Buckingham, releasing the album ...
*
Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon-on-Thames, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band members are Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Gre ...
Each voter was asked to submit a ranked list of 50 favorite albums. This time, the list included more musicians who were female and people of color, with many such artists represented at higher rankings than on the previous lists. Eighty-six of the entries were 21st-century releases; 154 new entries were not on either of the two previous editions, and rap albums figured three times as much.
Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gaye Jr. (; April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984) was an American Rhythm and blues, R&B and soul singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He helped shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player an ...
's '' What's Going On'' (1971) was featured at the number one spot. A revision to the 2020 list was created in 2023, replacing some older albums with newer releases from the 2020s.


Reception

The original ''Rolling Stone'' 500 was criticized for being male-dominated, outmoded and almost entirely Anglo-American in focus. Writing in ''
USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...
'', Edna Gundersen described the list as predictable and "weighted toward testosterone-fueled vintage rock". Following the publicity surrounding the list, rock critic Jim DeRogatis, a former ''Rolling Stone'' editor, published ''Kill Your Idols: A New Generation of Rock Writers Reconsiders the Classics'' in 2004. The book featured a number of critics arguing against the high evaluation of various "great" albums, many of which had been included in the list. Jonny Sharp, a contributor to ''NME''s own 500 greatest albums list, described the 2012 ''Rolling Stone'' list as a "soulless, canon-centric istof the same tired old titles", adding: "looking at their 500, when the only album in their top 10 less than 40 years old is '' London Calling'', I think I prefer the ''NMEs less critically-correct approach." Responding to the 2020 revision, ''
Consequence of Sound ''Consequence'' (previously ''Consequence of Sound'') is an independently owned New York-based online magazine featuring news, editorials, and reviews of music, movies, and television. History ''Consequence of Sound'' was founded in Septem ...
''s Alex Young wrote that the lesser representation of white male rock musicians was "the biggest takeaway". According to CNN's Leah Asmelash, "The change represents a massive shift for the magazine, moving to recognize more contemporary albums and a wider range of tastes." Conversely, Jonathan McNamara of ''
The Japan Times ''The Japan Times'' is Japan's largest and oldest English-language daily newspaper. It is published by , a subsidiary of News2u Holdings, Inc. It is headquartered in the in Kioicho, Chiyoda, Tokyo. History ''The Japan Times'' was launched by ...
'' criticized the list for underrepresenting Asian and non-Anglophone artists, stating that "It seems a shame then that ''Rolling Stone'' musical brain trust of writers and industry contributors ..didn't take the opportunity to hold up albums from the world's non-English-speaking artists and bands."


Statistics


Number of albums from each decade


Artists with the most albums

The following table lists the artists who had at least three albums included on at least one edition of the list (71 artists in total).


Artists gender distribution through the decades


See also

*
Album era The album era (sometimes, album-rock era) was a period in popular music, usually defined as the mid-1960s through the mid-2000s, in which the album—a collection of songs issued on physical media—was the dominant form of recorded music expr ...
* '' All Time Top 1000 Albums'' * '' Apple Music's 100 Best Albums'' * '' Critic's Choice: Top 200 Albums'' * ''NMEs The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time * '' 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die'' * ''Rolling Stones 500 Greatest Songs of All Time * ''Rolling Stones 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time * ''Rolling Stones 100 Greatest Artists of All Time * ''Rolling Stones 200 Greatest Singers of All Time


Notes


References


Further reading

* Paul Donoughue
"Rolling Stone's 500 'greatest albums of all time' list makes us question the meaning of classic"
Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...
, September 26, 2020.
"Internet reacts to Rolling Stone's more inclusive 500 Greatest Albums list"
Radio X, September 24, 2020.
"'Rolling Stone' Updates Its List of the Greatest Albums of All Time"
National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...
, September 25, 2020. * Sheldon Pearce
"The Futility of Rolling Stone's Best-Albums List"
''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...
'', October 2, 2020.


External links


500 Greatest Albums of All Time (2023 edition)
by ''Rolling Stone'' {{DEFAULTSORT:500 Greatest Albums Of All Time Lists of albums Rolling Stone articles