Is Fleetwood Mac鈥檚 landmark album 鈥淩umours鈥� better than 鈥淭o Pimp a Butterfly鈥� by Kendrick Lamar? Should 鈥淭apestry鈥� by Carole King be ranked higher or lower than 鈥淭hriller鈥� by Michael Jackson?
Rolling Stone magazine has some answers in a new book that鈥檚 sure to spark conversations 鈥� It鈥檚 where you鈥檒l find that Bruce Springsteen鈥檚 鈥淏orn to Run鈥� fittingly sits just ahead of 鈥淩eady to Die鈥� by The Notorious B.I.G., at No. 21 and No. 22, respectively.
鈥淓very record on here is in some ways on for different reasons,鈥� said Jon Dolan, the reviews editor at Rolling Stone who helped create the book. 鈥淲e are really happy, to be honest, about the whole list.鈥�
But if you disagree with the rankings, don鈥檛 blame the folks at Rolling Stone. Blame Beyonc茅, Taylor Swift, Iggy Pop. Nile Rodgers, Questlove, Billie Eilish, Herbie Hancock, Saweetie, Carly Rae Jepsen, Lin-Manuel Miranda and members of Metallica and U2, among dozens of other artists. They were among the judges.
The book鈥檚 editors reached out to about 500 voters from the world of music 鈥� artists, journalists, record label figures and Rolling Stone staffers 鈥� and asked for their top 50 albums (Stevie Nicks kindly offered 80). They got some 4,000 albums and created a spreadsheet with weighed points.
On every page, the artists make a fascinating musical tapestry. Take a section in the lower Top 100 鈥� at No. 86 is The Doors鈥� self-titled debut, followed by 鈥淏itches Brew鈥� by Miles Davis, 鈥淗unky Dory鈥� by David Bowie and, at No. 89, is 鈥淏aduizm鈥� by Erykah Badu, connecting gems of classic rock, jazz, prog-rock and R&B.
鈥淚s there a person who loves all those things equally? Probably not. But we hope there鈥檚 people who could definitely want to try them all out and see what they think,鈥� Dolan said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the goal: making connections and being introduced to new things.鈥�
Dolan was impressed by some established artists embracing modern music, like John Cale of the Velvet Underground championing FKA Twigs and Nicks ranking Harry Styles鈥� 鈥淔ine Line鈥� quite high.
鈥淚t鈥檚 sweet when these people who have been around are not just pooh-poohing the younger generation,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 neat when people are voting for things outside of their genre and what you鈥檇 expect.鈥�
The book鈥檚 origins started in 2003 when the magazine published its first 500 list, putting The Beatles 鈥淪gt. Pepper鈥檚 Lonely Hearts Club Band鈥� at No. 1. It was a pretty Beatles-heavy list, with three more Fab Four albums making the top 10.
鈥淚t had kind of the perspective of a 45-year-old male rock fan who was open minded, who liked rap a little bit, but kind of patting it on the head, and liked R&B, but was kind of dismissive of the more recent stuff,鈥� he said.
鈥淲e really wanted to break away from that perspective and think the list could actually have many perspectives converging.鈥�
Joni Mitchell鈥檚 鈥淏lue鈥� shot up on the new list, going from No. 30 in 2003 to the top 10 now, and Prince and the Revolution鈥檚 鈥淧urple Rain鈥� went from No. 76 to No. 8. Another big gainer was Lauryn Hill鈥檚 鈥淭he Miseducation of Lauryn Hill,鈥� which zoomed up from the 300s in 2003 to Top 10 now.
鈥淐ertain albums become kind of new classics,鈥� said Dolan. 鈥淚t is something that鈥檚 kind of evolving and up for grabs. And we wanted to kind of at least imply that in doing this one.鈥�
The new list is more inclusive of genres other than rock and so pushed some iconic albums down, like AC/DC鈥檚 鈥淏ack in Black鈥� which went from No. 77 to No. 84, now nestled between 鈥淒usty in Memphis鈥� by Dusty Springfield and John Lennon鈥檚 鈥淧lastic Ono Band.鈥� (鈥淚鈥檓 pretty sure they would accept that company,鈥� Dolan said.)
Some artists鈥� catalogues have also shifted. Bob Dylan鈥檚 鈥淏lood on the Tracks鈥� leapfrogged his 鈥淏londe on Blonde鈥� and 鈥淗ighway 61 Revisited鈥� this time, and the Beatles鈥� 鈥淎bbey Road鈥� became their top album in the book, over 鈥淪gt. Pepper鈥檚 Lonely Hearts Club Band,鈥� 鈥淩ubber Soul鈥� and 鈥淩evolver.鈥�
鈥淭he warmth and the beauty and the sweetness of 鈥楢bbey Road鈥� maybe in a way wins out over this sort of landmark sonic inventiveness of 鈥楻evolver鈥� because people love to listen to it.鈥�
There鈥檚 been some online griping about the list, like that only 鈥淭he Stranger鈥� from Billy Joel made the list and no entries from non-Western artists, Fans of U2 might be mad that 鈥淭he Joshua Tree鈥� dropped out of the Top 100 and fans of electronic music might bemoan that there are only eight electronic albums.
But Rolling Stone says the list is a snapshot as music marches onward. While the albums were being tabulated this time, Taylor Swift鈥檚 鈥渇olklore鈥� and Bob Dylan鈥檚 鈥淩ough and Rowdy Ways鈥� came out, and Dolan suspects both might have made the book if they鈥檇 only come out earlier.
鈥淏ecause the list is so stylistically diverse and open-ended, I think we鈥檙e kind of implying that it鈥檚 always a work in progress,鈥� he said. 鈥淚n 20 years, Rolling Stone, whatever entity it is, will do this again at some point.鈥�
鈥擬ark Kennedy, The Associated Press
