The Top 100,000 Records Of All Time!


#100,000:

Joyce - eponymous


Just kiding, I don't have time to compile a list like this, but if anyone wants to run with it, feel free.

Really, it won't be long before some magazine puts together a list like that. Hell, people love lists. Maybe VH1 can do a weekend countdown. "Comedians" can chime in with witty "off the cuff' comments. "When I want to hear some kick-ass rock with great flute solos, Jethro Tull is definitely in my top 3."

The new issue of UNCUT features "The 100 Greatest Debut Albums" You can tell it's a British magazine, because The Stone Roses are really high up there. I give 'em props for putting Television at #2.

Here are the Top #25:

25. The Mothers Of Invention - Freak Out!
24. Big Star - #1 Record
23. The Flying Burrito Brothers - The Gilded Palace Of Sin
22. R.E.M. - Murmur
21. The Smiths - The Smiths
20. The Specials - The Specials
19. The Sex Pistols - Never Mind The Bollocks...
18. Patti Smith - Horses
17. The Beatles - Please Please Me
16. New York Dolls - New York Dolls
15. The Rolling Stones - The Rolling Stones
14. Pink Floyd - The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn
13. The Byrds - Mr Tambourine Man
12. Ramones - Ramones
11. The Who - My Generation

10. The Stooges - The Stooges
9. Roxy Music - Roxy Music
8. Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures
7. Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin
6. The Clash - The Clash
5. The Band - Music From Big Pink
4. The Stone Roses - The Stone Roses
3. The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Are You Experienced
2. Televsion - Marquee Moon
1. The Velvet Underground & Nico - The Velvet Underground & Nico

You can read the whole list here: http://www.stereogum.com/archives/002877.html

Rolling Stone followed up their own web article on the Best Debut Albums with this list:

"The Best Second Albums Of All Time"

11. Public Enemy - It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back
10. Talking Heads - More Songs About Buildings and Food
9. Eminem - The Marshall Mathers LP
8. Blondie - Parallel Lines
7. Oasis - What’s the Story Morning Glory
6. Radiohead - The Bends
5. Bruce Springsteen - The Wild, The Innocent, The E Street Shuffle
4. Led Zeppelin - II
3. Elvis Costello - This Year’s Model
2. The Stooges - Fun House
1. Nirvana - Nevermind

There are a few things I find interesting about this list.

First of all, why did they decide to list eleven albums? They couldn't think of 9 more to make it a top 20? They couldn't agree on one to eliminate to make it a clean Top Ten?

I also find it interesting that more than half of the artists listed here also appear on Uncut's Best Debut List. Rolling Stone's criteria that their list feature albums that show significant improvement from the artist's debut. To me, this implies that the artist's first records either aren't very good, or don't tip just how great these artists are going to become. I suppose you could make a case for putting The Stooges, or Elvis Costello on both lists. But, in most cases, I would think that being included on one list would preclude you from appearing on the other.

You can read the Rolling Stone list and the reader's responses here: http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2006/07/10/no-sophomore-slump-the-best-second-albums-of-all-time/

So, naturally, these lists beg the question...

What are the best Third Albums of All Time?!

Now, I've always maintained that an artist's third release was really the signpost of where the band was headed, and would provide great insight into whether or not they were the real deal.
Of course, there are always exceptions, but think about it... Bands might spend years and years writing songs and honing their sound before they release that first record. Are they out of ideas by the time they get to the third record? I think the greatest bands of all time always have remarkable third albums. A lot of them have career-defining third records.

Here are some of my favorite Third Albums:

The Clash - London Calling
Radiohead - OK Computer
Big Star - Big Star's Third/Sister Lovers
Neil Young - After The Gold Rush
Patti Smith - Radio Ethiopia
Minutemen - Buzz Or Howl Under The Influence Of Heat
X - Under The Big Black Sun
Public Enemy - Fear of a Black Planet
Metallica - Master of Puppets
The Jam - All Mod Cons

The Pixies - Doolittle
Nirvana - In Utero
The Ramones - Rocket To Russia
The Who - Sell Out
PJ Harvey - To Bring You My Love
David Bowie - The Man Who Sold The World
Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
The Stooges - Raw Power
Alex Chilton - Like Flies On Sherbert
The Velvet Underground - The Velvet Underground



...and of course who can forget Joyce's Third Album!