Rolling Stone: The Readers' 100
 

The 100 greatest records of all time as chosen by the readers of Rolling Stone (with year of release):


100 Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here 1975
99 Madonna - The Immaculate Collection 1990
98 Jimi Hendrix - Electric Ladyland 1968
97 Beck - Odelay 1996
96 Stevie Wonder - Songs In The Key of Life 1976
95 Moby - Play 1999
94 Def Leppard - Hysteria 1987
93 Bob Marley - Legend 1984
92 Garbage - Version 2.0 1998
91 Weezer - Maladroit 2002
90 The Who - Quadrophenia 1979
89 Bob Dylan - Bringing It All Back Home 1965
88 Metallica - Master of Puppets 1986
87 The Smiths - The Queen is Dead 1986
86 Bon Jovi - Slippery When Wet 1986
85 Van Morrison - Astral Weeks 1968
84 Led Zeppelin - Houses of the Holy 1973
83 Queen - A Night at the Opera 1975
82 Pearl Jam - Vitalogy 1994
81 Depeche Mode - 101 1989
80 Soundgarden - Superunknown 1994
79 The Velvet Underground - The Velvet Underground & Nico 1967
78 No Doubt - Tragic Kingdom 1995
77 Pixies - Doolittle 1989
76 Marvin Gaye - What's Going On 1971
75 Counting Crows - August and Everything After 1993
74 The Sex Pistols - Never Mind the Bollocks Here's the Sex Pistols 1977
73 Michael Jackson - Off the Wall 1979
72 System of a Down - Toxicity 2001
71 Dave Matthews Band - Under the Table & Dreaming 1994
70 U2 - Zooropa 1993
69 Mariah Carey - Daydream 1995
68 The Rolling Stones - Let It Bleed 1969
67 Rage Against the Machine - Rage Against the Machine 1992
66 Prince - Purple Rain 1984
65 The Who - Tommy 1969
64 Bruce Springsteen - Born in the U.S.A. 1984
63 Bruce Springsteen - Darkness on the Edge of Town 1978
62 Madonna - Like A Prayer 1989
61 Miles Davis - Kind of Blue 1959
60 AC/DC - Back In Black 1980
59 Black Sabbath - Paranoid 1971
58 Linkin Park - Hybrid Theory 2000
57 The Strokes - Is This It 2001
56 David Bowie - The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust 1972
55 Nirvana - MTV Unplugged in New York (Live) 1994
54 Dave Matthews Band - Crash 1996
53 U2 - The Unforgettable Fire 1990
52 Madonna - Music 2000
51 Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin II 1969
50 Pearl Jam - Vs. 1993
49 U2 - War 1983
48 Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited 1965
47 Alanis Morissette - Jagged Little Pill 1995
46 Guns n' Roses - Use Your Illusion 1991
45 Red Hot Chili Peppers - Californication 1999
44 Jimi Hendrix - Are You Experienced 1967
43 Fleetwood Mac - Rumours 1977
42 Metallica - Metallica 1991
41 Oasis - Definitely Maybe 1994
40 Jeff Buckley - Grace 1994
39 Bob Dylan - Blood on the Tracks 1975
38 Green Day - Dookie 1994
37 Eminem - The Marshall Mathers LP 2000
36 The Who - Who's Next 1971
35 Red Hot Chili Peppers - BloodSugarSexMagik 1991
34 Bob Dylan - Blonde on Blonde 1966
33 Oasis - (What's the Story) Morning Glory? 1995
32 Bruce Springsteen - Born to Run 1975
31 Pink Floyd - The Wall 1979
30 The Rolling Stones - Sticky Fingers 1971
29 Madonna - Ray of Light 1998
28 Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream 1993
27 Tool - Aenima 1996
26 Radiohead - Kid A 2000
25 R.E.M. - Automatic for the People 1992
24 Eminem - The Eminem Show 2002
23 The Beatles - Rubber Soul 1965
22 Nirvana - In Utero 1993
21 Weezer - Weezer 1994 (Blue Album) & 2001 (Green Album) *
20 The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds 1966
19 Pearl Jam - Ten 1991
18 Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness 1995
17 Radiohead - The Bends 1995
16 Weezer - Pinkerton 1996
15 U2 - All That You Can't Leave Behind 2000
14 The Clash - London Calling 1979
13 The Rolling Stones - Exile on Main Street 1972
12 Michael Jackson - Thriller 1982
11 Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon 1973
10 U2 - Achtung Baby 1991
9 Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin IV 1971
8 Radiohead - OK Computer 1997
7 Guns n' Roses - Appetite for Destruction 1987
6 The Beatles - Abbey Road 1969
5 The Beatles - The Beatles (The White Album) 1968
4 U2 - The Joshua Tree 1987
3 The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band 1967
2 Nirvana - Nevermind 1991
1 The Beatles - Revolver 1965


* We combined votes for the Blue and Green albums, since there was no way of distinguishing them on ballots. If people had voted for Peter Gabriel's first three albums, we would have had the same problem.

Allow me to start it off...

What a load of CRAP!

Oh, who really cares anymore.....

God there are some morons out there voting..

U2 - Zooropa??? Every U2 fan I know counts that as their worst album.

I guess the Weezer Fan Club stuffed the boxes on this one.

Once again, Nirvana is greatly overrated.

Since this is just people's opinions, I see no reason to complain one way or the other.

It's interesting that so many Beatles albums are in the top ten. Usually "professional" critics try to make their top ten lists include a wide range of artists, and pick one album by an artist that's representative of the entire catalog.

I think it's even more interesting that some of the usual fodder for these kinds of lists (Bitches Brew, Parliment/Funkadelic, Public Enemy, Ramones, etc.) are absent. No out of place blues or country artists to make the list "balanced" either.

I thought this was a pretty good list. Most of my favorite albums are on there, not necessarily in the order I would rank them.

But then again I have pretty narrow music tastes, mainly listening to early 90's grunge/alternative, some classic rock and a little bit of other stuff.

Ack. Bite your tongue. I, for one, absolutely love "Zooropa." Personally I think "Rattle and Hum" is their weakest release. Especially coming as it did on the heels of their critical and commercial breakthrough "The Joshua Tree." Nothing was more depressing than sitting down in my dorm room with the brand-new U2 album and listening to some of the pretentious over-the-top showboating that's on that album. (The choir? The crummy lyrics of "Angel of Harlem?" Oy.)

And I've already gone on at length in this forum as to why Nirvana is as exalted as they are. And deservingly so.

Guess you don't know many U2 fans then.

Yeah, if you only like rock music, this is the list for you. I find it hard to get worked up by these things. This list makes me yawn.

I didn't expect anymore or any less. It certainly isn't a list I would make, but these are opinions anyway.

I agree with Yancey, it seems like these lists keep on getting re-hashed over and over again. There are so many incredible records you never hear about because they just keep plugging the same ones.

I'd like to see a wider variety of genres and less bands having more than at least 2 (preferably one) record on the list. But I guess I can't complain until I make a list myself...

I know quite a few and all of them, myself included, can barely make it thru the whole Zooropa album.

I find it rather interesting to note how many albums are ahead of the first Rolling Stones album (esp. given that it's Rolling Stone magazine ;)). 3 U2 albums, Eminem for gods sake, Weezer??? I'm actually not a big Stones fan, but I know enough to know that is just wrong. Worse than wrong, it's downright silly!

2 Eminem albums (37 & 24) + System of a Down(72) + Linkin Park(58) = a list to which i will pay no mind

Yeah I take these fan lists with a grain of salt (any list that has "What's Going On?" at 76 can't be taken seriously) but come on, Weezer?

As for Zooropa it's one of my favorites. POP would be the U2 cd I can't make it through.

It seems there is one constant with recent top 100 album polls, Nirvana's Nevermind is ranked near the top and invariably there is always criticism that it is highly overrated.

Wow. The greatest mainstream rock albums of the last 40 years.

I guess most people don't listen to that much music.

Far too many bands not originating from the British Isles!

;)

The thing that intrigued me (only slightly) was that Revolver was ranked #1. I've seen Revolver ranked #1 on critics' lists before, but I've always thought that was just because it was a way to prove that they were too hip to vote for Sgt. Pepper's. I'm amazed that it appeared #1 on a fans' list.

Yeah, the list is what it is. Amusing to look at, but not worth much.

Maybe it works out that way because Sgt. Peppers is not a great album and Revolver is?

Complaint on Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Albums of All Time
 

Not 1 mention of Elvis Presley! NOT ONE!?!

What are these readers, on crack???

2 Eminem records, Green Day, System Of A Down. I'm not saying these are bad records, but c'mon, I'm talking about The King here.

I don't think I'm off base with this.

No Doors album?

No Stevie Ray Vaughn?

Aerosmith?

But they have f**king Moby.

This issues going in the trash.

I'd say that about half of those albums belong in the top 100. The order is definitly out of whack.

Agreed. While I don't think it's their best album (I'd rank it 4th), I'll go so far as to call it their most interesting, as far as experimentation and expanding the limits of "a band" are concerned.

what a surprise....Beatles at #1 -rolleyes-

I like System an all, but when they are above Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here....somethings wrong.