Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums of All Time

Skimmed through it as it was hammering my laptop (Safari really wasn’t liking it). I think the fact we are talking about shows it’s worth, rather than the actual running order of the list. Meh.
 
NathanRicaud said:
To Pimp A Butterfly is such an impactful album that I won't be surprised if it's ranked within the top 10 in the 2028 updated RollingStones list! To Pimp A Butterfly was that much of a strong album that is really was seen as an instant classic when it was released!
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Using that same logic, Sgt. Peppers needs to go back to number one where it belongs.
 
NathanRicaud said:
To Pimp A Butterfly is such an impactful album that I won't be surprised if it's ranked within the top 10 in the 2028 updated RollingStones list! To Pimp A Butterfly was that much of a strong album that is really was seen as an instant classic when it was released!
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Yeah I think 2028 is probably too soon for it too. I think that come 2030/2035 it is definitely a modern album that you could predict being on such a list. However, I still think that you have to have ended an era before you can definitively say that something is a statement from it and has transcended it. It’s too soon for me on a list like this.

I do welcome the beginnings of a move away from 60s/70s + Radiohead, R.E.M. & Nirvana, the inclusion of more diverse genres is definitely a positive, it just has to be done right and with perspective. I think this list is using such picks to pose as cool instead.

My biggest positive take is that Blue absolutely deserves to be as high as three and it’s taken Joni far too long to get the equal, and greater, acclaim for her work when compared with her male peers of the era.
 
Joe Mac said:
Do you think that an album has had enough weight of history behind it after 5 years to be in the top 20 albums of all time? Can you can realistically decree that when it’s not even had the opportunity to transcend its era, because it’s era is still ongoing.
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TPAB is eerily more significant in 2020 than it was when it was released in 2015. It's an incredible album and the magnum opus of arguably the best hiphop artist of the last 10 years so yes I do. Its a better album than Illmatic for me and Nas is No.2 in my time rappers list but thats all subjective of course 💯
 
gaporter said:
Fine Line is on there? Wow... that's something. And I liked that album but... wow

And I can understand what you're saying about the inclusion of more hip-hop and pop music, but that also speaks to the problem with a list like this: while some might champion Rolling Stone for updating their list to include records that more modern audiences would appreciate, the traditionalists see it as outright offensive. I think there are albums from the past decade that could go on to be considered all-time greats, and some that already have somewhat cemented that status, but it comes off to me as just feeling empty and cynical in this context. I hope that hip-hop continues to become a genre that's taken more seriously as a whole but I doubt that TPAB being included in a Rolling Stone list is going to be what makes that happen :/
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Yeah, I gagged when I saw Harry Styles too! Fine Line is at #491! Certainly not a bad album, I was just really surprised to see it in there, especially when there aren't albums like Justin Timberlake's FutureSex/LoveSounds in there, nah mean!?

Frank Ocean's Blonde was ranked in the top #100, while both a Kanye and Kendrick album was ranked in the top #20! So crazy!

Yeah, what you said is so true! This list is controversial because traditionalists would be outraged that you have Destiny's Child and Britney Spears making the list but more modern audiences would be very appreciative, especially as albums like Kate Bush's Hounds Of Love is finally included in the list, and in the top #100, as well as some PJ Harvey albums! I like this list but boy was I gagging every 10 seconds scrolling down this list! Couldn't believe it! But I am very happy with this list overall! Shoutout to Laura Nyro having an album in the top #500 too! She has a stunning voice and is lyrically so potent, moving and poignant!
 
Joe Mac said:
Do you think that an album has had enough weight of history behind it after 5 years to be in the top 20 albums of all time? Can you can realistically decree that when it’s not even had the opportunity to transcend its era, because it’s era is still ongoing.
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This is my thing with Billie being on there - that's just the example I gravitated to because I saw it mentioned. I love the album and while many have certainly pegged it as being an album capable of changing the music landscape... critics have been wrong on things like that before. For all we know, Billie could end up being a one-album-wonder. I doubt it but it could happen. And then years down the line, it's placement on a list of the greatest albums of all time would seem head scratching.

I think an album needs five years to sit before it can be called a classic, at least. To Pimp a Butterfly, despite only being five years old, I think can reasonably be called a classic of sorts. It's stood the test of time so far and I don't really see that changing considering the album's themes and the way it is almost purposefully constructed to be painfully relevant beyond the point it was first released. But even then, that's a grey area - I can see it becoming a classic, but does that really make it classic?
 
Jmcg85 said:
TPAB is eerily more significant in 2020 than it was when it was released in 2015. It's an incredible album and the magnum opus of arguably the best hiphop artist of the last 10 years so yes I do. Its a better album than Illmatic for me and Nas is No.2 in my time rappers list but thats all subjective of course 💯
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It’s not my bag but I agree with what you say. It was definitely one of the albums of the 2010s as judged at the end of that decade. What I’m trying to say is that all time lists allow a larger perspective, to separate what, with hindsight, defined an era rather than what appears to be defining it now. I think an album needs 15, probably 20, years marinading in the subconscious before you can definitively say that.
 
HiFi Guy said:
Using that same logic, Sgt. Peppers needs to go back to number one where it belongs.
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Marvin Gaye's What's Goin' On is a much more relevant album that has aged better and deserves the #1 spot! I've always found the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds to be a better album too and am glad it's still ranked #2! The song 'What's Going' On' is honestly a heavenly, powerful, rich, painfully accurate song that speaks so much to what's actually going on in this world right now!
Jmcg85 said:
TPAB is eerily more significant in 2020 than it was when it was released in 2015. It's an incredible album and the magnum opus of arguably the best hiphop artist of the last 10 years so yes I do. Its a better album than Illmatic for me and Nas is No.2 in my time rappers list but thats all subjective of course 💯
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Agreed! I prefer To Pimp a Butterfly more than Illmatic too! And yes, it is definitely more significant even now as an album than it was when it was first released! It's such a rich album musically, emotively and the poetry and overall message it conveys is nothing but beautiful! 🌈 ❤
 
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