✅ The Times (UK) - The Vulture's 100 Best Albums of All Time (1993)

Lists of all time (or back to the early rock years) that include all genres (or rock or pop music in a broad sense).
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✅ The Times (UK) - The Vulture's 100 Best Albums of All Time (1993)

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IT STARTED in the think-tank at Vulture HQ. As Born To Run came on the jukebox, someone blurted into his pint: ``This is the best record ever made!'' ``But it wasn't from his best album,'' snapped a colleague from the depths of his anorak. And off we went. Is Sergeant Pepper better than the White Album? How can you compare Dark Side of the Moon with Blonde On Blonde? Did the Stones ever make a classic album?

All the fundamental questions of 20th-century life were posed, debated and forgotten. But in the morning that wise old bird the Vulture announced his plans to list the Top 100 classic albums of all time. And he would need some help.

First, we had to define what constitutes a classic. These records had to have substance and longevity. At worst they had to be albums which made a memorable remark in the running conversation that is popular music. At best they would be records which changed musical history.

The hallmark of a classic album is that it is more than the sum of its parts. Unlike the humble old LP, which was either a collection of songs previously released as singles or a movie soundtrack, the album was a coherent whole. The Beatles started it in the early Sixties by studiously avoiding putting their hits on their albums. To emphasise that their work should be consumed in 40-minute chunks, Sergeant Pepper was released without any track spacing. The album had become an art form transcending the mere song.

Next we needed to define our musical parameters. The familiar categories can be misleading. To an American, ``rock 'n' roll'' means virtually anything with a guitar recorded since 1955. In the UK it applies to a specific period before the Beatles. The word ``rock'' was used in the Seventies to mean grown-up, serious popular music. Now it implies tattooed men with perms and spandex trousers making a horrible din. ``Pop'' goes in and out of fashion, but usually applies to something faddish and short-lived.

Perhaps the word ``album'' itself would be enough, suggesting as it does a way of making as well as marketing music. True, other styles and genres are available for consumption on vinyl or compact disc, but their method of delivery does not define their form. No one wrote a symphony to fit one side of a 12in record. Jazz at its best is created on stage, not in a studio. Some of the music the Vulture would choose could never be played live.

To make the list more readable there were some other rules.

No artist or band was allowed more than two entries in the Top 100. This would prevent the Beatles, Bob Dylan and a few others dominating the list, although watch out for Neil Young, Paul Simon and Eric Clapton.

To introduce an element of impartiality, the Vulture enlisted a panel of ``experts''. From journalism came David Sinclair, rock critic of The Times, and Simon Frith, now chairman of the Mercury Music awards. From broadcasting we recruited Annie Nightingale and Mark Radcliffe (BBC Radio 1FM), Richard Skinner (Virgin 1215) and Tracey MacLeod (BBC2's Late Show).

And from the other side of the microphone came three radio station heads of music - Richard Park (Capital Radio), Mark Storey (Piccadilly Radio) and Jon Myer (GLR) - and Sammy Jacob of XFM, which is bidding for a licence to broadcast indie music in London. Each week, one member of the panel will pick out their favourite from that week's compilation.

Each panellist was sent a list of 200 albums, prepared by me, representing a range of music from ABC to ZZ Top. They were asked to award each album a mark between 0 and 10 and then add up to 20 of their own suggestions, to which they would award the maximum 10 points. I adjudicated over disputes and tried hard to fiddle the result, so the lack of Lyle Lovett and Frank Zappa is a measure of my own failure.
100 | U2 | The Unforgettable Fire | 1984
99 | Pink Floyd | The Wall | 1979
98 | Pet Shop Boys | Actually | 1987
97 | Michael Jackson | Thriller | 1982
96 | Donald Fagen | The Nightfly | 1982
95 | The Band | The Band | 1969
94 | Little Feat | Feats Don't Fail Me Now | 1974
93 | The Pogues | Rum, Sodomy & the Lash | 1985
92 | Free | Fire & Water | 1970
91 | Jackson Browne | The Pretender | 1976
90 | The Waterboys | Fisherman's Blues | 1988
89 | Elton John | Goodbye Yellow Brick Road | 1973
88 | Madness | One Step Beyond | 1979
87 | Ry Cooder | Paradise and Lunch | 1974
86 | Queen | A Night at the Opera | 1975
85 | Neil Young | American Stars 'n' Bars | 1977
84 | The Police | Synchronicity | 1983
83 | The Byrds | Sweetheart of the Rodeo | 1968
82 | Fairport Convention | Liege and Lief | 1969
81 | Eagles | Hotel California | 1976
80 | Love | Forever Changes | 1967
79 | George Harrison | All Things Must Pass | 1970
78 | Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young | Deja Vu | 1970
77 | Nirvana | Nevermind | 1991
76 | The Jam | All Mod Cons | 1978
75 | Paul McCartney & Wings | Band on the Run | 1973
74 | Creedence Clearwater Revival | Cosmo's Factory | 1970
73 | Stevie Wonder | Songs in the Key of Life | 1976
72 | The Stone Roses | The Stone Roses | 1989
71 | Stevie Wonder | Talking Book | 1973
70 | R.E.M. | Green | 1988
69 | Pretenders | Pretenders | 1980
68 | Leonard Cohen | Songs of Leonard Cohen | 1968
67 | The Doors | L.A. Woman | 1971
66 | Sly & the Family Stone | There's a Riot Goin' On | 1971
65 | The Jam | Sound Affects | 1980
64 | Blondie | Parallel Lines | 1978
63 | Van Morrison | Avalon Sunset | 1989
62 | The Police | Outlandos D'Amour | 1978
61 | Elvis Costello & The Attractions | Armed Forces | 1979
60 | Nick Drake | Five Leaves Left | 1969
59 | Paul Simon | There Goes Rhymin' Simon | 1973
58 | Marvin Gaye | Let's Get It On | 1973
57 | Simple Minds | New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) | 1982
56 | Janis Joplin | Pearl | 1971
55 | Rod Stewart | Every Picture Tells a Story | 1971
54 | Talking Heads | Stop Making Sense | 1984
53 | Steely Dan | Countdown to Ecstasy | 1973
52 | R.E.M. | Out of Time | 1991
51 | The Small Faces | Ogden's Nut Gone Flake | 1967
50 | The Smiths | The Queen is Dead | 1986
49 | Marvin Gaye | What's Going On | 1971
48 | The Stooges | Raw Power | 1973
47 | Prefab Sprout | Steve McQueen | 1985
46 | James Brown | Live at the Apollo | 1963
45 | The Clash | London Calling | 1979
44 | Cream | Wheels of Fire | 1968
43 | The Doors | The Doors | 1967
42 | Carole King | Tapestry | 1971
41 | Led Zeppelin | Led Zeppelin | 1969
40 | The Band | Music from Big Pink | 1968
39 | Roxy Music | For Your Pleasure | 1973
38 | Paul Simon | Graceland | 1986
37 | The Jimi Hendrix Experience | Electric Ladyland | 1968
36 | Talking Heads | Remain in Light | 1980
35 | Peter Gabriel | So | 1986
34 | Crosby, Stills, and Nash | Crosby, Stills, and Nash | 1968
33 | The Rolling Stones | Beggar's Banquet | 1968
32 | Elvis Costello | My Aim is True | 1977
31 | Bob Marley & The Wailers | Exodus | 1977
30 | Cream | Disraeli Gears | 1967
29 | Prince | Sign 'o' the Times | 1987
28 | Bob Dylan | The Times They Are A-Changin' | 1964
27 | The Who | Who's Next | 1971
26 | Joni Mitchell | Blue | 1971
25 | David Bowie | The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars | 1972
24 | The Sex Pistols | Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols | 1977
23 | U2 | The Joshua Tree | 1987
22 | Bruce Springsteen | Born to Run | 1975
21 | Fleetwood Mac | Rumours | 1977
20 | Simon & Garfunkel | Bridge Over Troubled Water | 1970
19 | John Lennon | Imagine | 1971
18 | Led Zeppelin | IV | 1971
17 | Pink Floyd | The Dark Side of the Moon | 1973
=15 | Prince and the Revolution | Purple Rain | 1984
=15 | Aretha Franklin | Lady Soul | 1968
(No #14 listed)
13 | Derek and the Dominos | Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs | 1970
12 | The Rolling Stones | Sticky Fingers | 1971
11 | The Velvet Underground | The Velvet Underground and Nico | 1967
10 | Otis Redding | Otis Blue | 1965
9 | The Wailers | Catch a Fire | 1973
8 | Neil Young | After the Gold Rush | 1970
7 | The Beatles | Revolver | 1966
6 | The Jimi Hendrix Experience | Are You Experienced? | 1967
5 | Bob Dylan | Highway 61 Revisited | 1965
4 | Lou Reed | Transformer | 1973
3 | Van Morrison | Astral Weeks | 1968
2 | The Beatles | Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band | 1967
1 | The Beach Boys | Pet Sounds | 1966
Music is a world within itself, with a language we all understand - Sir Duke (1976)
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Re: The Times (UK) - The Vulture's 100 Best Albums of All Time (1993)

Post by Henrik »

Already included.
Everyone you meet fights a battle you know nothing about. Be kind. Always.
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