MjWorld Music Page
Hi its me, Mj. I have been inspired by a few of my friends to release my own ranking of Rolling Stones' top 500 albums of all time. I will be updating the list as I go, since I intend to listen to each album in full before I rank it. Also please note that you can click each album title to reveal my thoughts on the album.
Mj's Top 500 Albums
Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys [2 on their list]
This is simply a gorgeous, lush sounding record. Wilson manages to balence melancholy with sweetness and hope in way that I feel truly reflects how it feels to move through life. I still remember well how, the summer after eighth grade, basically all I did during a two week period over the summer was listen to the Beach Boys, play Skyrim, and read. Due to a series of upsetting events in my personal life, I think that this two-week span was the first experience I had with the rockiness of life. The Beach Boys helped me understand the emotions I was feeling. "Don't talk, put your head on my shoulder." "I guess I just wasn't made for these times." "I may not always love you, but long as there are stars above you, you'll never need to doubt it." I will always remember where I was, listening to "Surf's Up," when I learned of Brian Wilson's passing. To me, Wilson will always embody the power of an artist to connect with others through their craft. Pet Sounds was Wilson at the top of his game. Even if it doesn't have "Good Vibrations," it will always mean the world to me.
Abbey Road by The Beatles [5 on their list]
Abbey Road has forced me to confront how influenced by others I can be, particularly when it comes to music. Before starting this project, I did not particularly care for Abbey Road. Wasn't my favorite Beatles, mostly because I never listened to it. After listening to the album a few times, and hearing Alex and Andrew articulate why they like it, it is now second on my list. There are quite a few albums where I have started out not liking them, and slowly listened to them more and more after hearing my friends talk posotivley about them. I guess that the conclusion I have come to is...that is completely fine with me. What, am I not going to listen to After the Gold Rush because Alex put me on it? Why cut off my nose to spite my face. I am not an island, and part of the joy of commraderie is learning about new things that your friends enjoy. I don't care that I didn't care about Abbey Road before making this list. It's a good album.
Blood on the Tracks by Bob Dylan [9 on their list]
My relationship with Blood on the Tracks is a little strange, I will admit. I listen to it daily. Many of the songs, particularly "You're a Big Girl Now," "You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go," and "If You See Her, Say Hello" move me to tears. Bob Dylan understands what it means to feel like you have ruined the posotive relationships in your life, but also they are not beyond repeair, but also they are. Now, I do not feel this way all the time, thank God. But I think Dylan captures them well. His prose is literary, sorrowful, beautiful, gorgeous. "And I'm just like that bird, Oh, singin' just for you." Jesus Christ. The guitar and harmonica is the best on this album that it has ever been. I also think "Idiot Wind" is very funny. "I can't help it, if I'm lucky" always gets a chuckle out of me. This album is maybe music at the best it ever was outside of the Beatles and the Beach Boys and Kate Bush. Speaking frankly, I think this album requires a certain amount of willingness to hear Bob and absorb the deeply upsetting emotions he's expressing. If you can meet Bob where he's at, this album is magical. "I can make it through, You can make it too." The only reason this album is not number one or two on my ranking is that, to be quite frank, I do not like "Meet Me in the Morning." Too twangy. What's Going On by Marvin Gaye [1 on their list]
What's Going On is simply a great sounding album. I almost find it difficult to articulate why I enjoy the album so much because my sense of enjoyment is so pure. It is the same struggle as, for example, explaining why I find the color blue soothing or why I like smelling flowers. It simply feels nice to listen to Marvin Gaye sing. I do not mean to make light of the heavy subject matter of several songs on the album. Rather, I think it is a testament to Gaye's talent and genuine emotion that the lyrics always come across as a genuine plea, demand, question, etc. "Who's willing to try to save the world?" When Gaye sings it, you are genuinley implored to stop what you are doing and consider how you can get involved. At least, that's how I feel. For one brief moment, listening to What's Going On makes me feel like I am part of something bigger than me.
Blue by Joni Mitchell [3 on their list]
I cannot beleive that I used to dislike how prevalent Mitchell's voice was in the mix. This album has grown on me tremendously! Mitchell's lyrics are beautiful, and I also think the melodies of her songs are tragic and beautiful. Also, I love how she keeps returning to the theme of "blue." Who ever thought a concept album for a color would be this good?
Blonde on Blonde by Bob Dylan [38 on their list]
Blonde on Blonde may be my new favorite Dylan. It is Bob Dylan at his most arrogant, I beleive. "Won't you come with me, baby, I'll take you where you wanna go. And if it don't work out, you'll be the first to know." "You say my kisses are not like his." "Your magazine husband who just had to go." I mean, come on! He's arrogant. And yet, "I Want You" and "Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands" are so gorgeous and romantic, I could never hold these lyrics against him. I shouldn't focus on Dylan's lyrics too much--there's a great George Harrison interveiw where he jokes that he wished that he could sing as incomprehensibly as Dylan when Harrison got tired on tour. The agitated guitar, vibrant harmonica, and wailing organ are beautiful. It is no wonder that "Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands" influnced "Long, Long, Long," one of my favorite songs on the White ALbum. Blonde on Blonde, to me, is an album that rewards every re-listen, as you get more acquainted with Bob's emotions and lyrics.
To Pimp a Butterfly by Kendrick Lamar [19 on their list]
To Pimp a Butterfly is a great example of an album that really deserves to be listened to in order, as a cohesive project. Songs lead in to one another, and lines are made ironic or sincere based on their follow-ups on other tracks. Lamar's performance is painfully genuine--"U" and "Blacker the Berry" are standouts. But also, the songs sound really good. Thundercat's bass on "Hood Politics" is so great. Sufjan Stevens is sampled. Neat.
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy by Kanye West [17 on their list]
Kanye West's career will never recover from what it was, for good reason. He released a song called "Heil Hitler" and has several pending sexual assault lawsuits against him. Candidly, I beleive that Kanye West is too big to ever be truly removed from the public eye. He has done tremendous harm and moved the needle on both antisemetism and misogyny (look at how his fans construe Kim Kardashian, who has her own problems but is probably a better parent than a bipolar Nazi). I do not beleive there is an utility in avoiding Kanye's music because he makes so little revenue from individual steams, already has millions and could easily make more, and has cemented his position in the public eye. If all of what I described above is enough to make listening to his music too unpleasant for you to bear... yeah I get that. Despite it all, I still love My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy for being a literary, great-sounding concept album about the mind of a man who recognizes his faults, yet feels powerless to stop himself when the world seems ready to indulge his every whim. Kayne on this album is not strong enough to resist the temptations placed at his feet. I like listening to his songs because... could I do any better than 2010 Kanye? Could you turn down the drugs and money and sex? Give "Power" a listen and ask yourself this question again.
Revolver by the Beatles [11 on their list]
I think that I had previously been too hard on this album because I'm not a huge fan of "Eleanor Rigby." Just doesn't do much for me, and its one of their bigger tracks and the second song on this album, so it colored how I thought of Revolver. Well, I was over-hating on this album, it's actually really good. "For No One" is certainly the best song ever written in a ski resort bathroom. It was one of John's favorites that Paul wrote, and I get why--it's so gorgeous and melancolic. "And Your Bird Can Sing" was another song that stuck out to me, I really like the guitar melody. Frankly, its a great album that shows how, even early on, these four lads from Liverpool knew what was what. The cover weirds me out, through.Loveless by My Bloody Valentine [73 on their list]
"Sometimes" and "When You Sleep" are two of the greatest achivements in song writing. In my mind, at least. I love the way that one of the guitars on "Sometimes" slowly rises, reaching higher and higher, sounding almost like an organ. And "When You Sleep?" Gosh, it sticks with you! "Only Shallows" has my favorite vocals of the album. It's a little difficult for me to articulate why I enjoy shoegaze so much. It feels heavy, like a warm blanket that weighs you down into a matress. It's cozy.
Folklore by Taylor Swift [170 on their list]
My list is a reflection of my own personal tastes. To make an objective list would be a fool's errand. Such a task is not possible, and to pretend it is is an insult to your and my intelligence. I like Folklore. I like "mirrorball," "invisible string," "Autumn," and "this is me trying" a lot. I think "this is me trying" is honestly Swift at her most vulnerable and interesting. Her writing is at its best on this album. The most interesting thing I can point out to you, and probably the most revealing about myself, is t"hat I like Folklore for the same reason I love Blood on the Tracks: it explores how it feels to let down and hurt the people around you. This is a great wallowing album, and I fundementally connect with that emotion.
Thriller by Michael Jackson [12 on their list]
Several of the best singles of all time, with a few songs I think are okay. "Thriller" and "Pretty Young Thing" are just... so fire. Any lesser singer and producer pair would make a song with werewolf howls feel corny. And I have two words to end on: That Girl is Mine.Rumors by Fleetwood Mac [7 on their list]
Rumors has grown on me even more! While I still am not huge on many of the tracks Lindset Buckingham sings lead vocals on, the songs where McVie and Nicks lead are so catchy. "You Make Loving Fun" is just SO good. "Dreams" and "The Chain" are also standouts. I have generally found that the highs of an album stick with me longer than the lows, which rewards albums that have a couple of phenomenal tracks mixed in with a few "meh" ones. But also, what album is banger after banger? I like all the albums on this list thus far, and I would only say that the top ten (approximately) are where you hit non-stop bangers. So Rumors rises like a pheonix, not because it has non-stop hits, but because its standout tracks have continued to grow on me. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill by Ms. Lauryn Hill [10 on their list]
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill is beloved for a reason! Hill wrote the album while pregnant, and turned her tumultuous emotions from her extremely public pregnancy into a great-sounding, cleverely-written 78 minute-long album. My only critiscm is that I think the album is front-loaded, which makes the back half feel extra long. That being said, a long listening experience is a small price to pay for the brilliant run of the first five tracks--yeah, that's right, I like the intro skit. Kanye West said it best: "Lauryn Hill said that her heart was in Zion. I wish her heart was still in rhymin'." Hill managed to write a complex, thought-provoking album about being a highly-visible young Black woman.
Highway 61 Revisited by Bob Dylan [18 on their list]
I don't think this album is going to persaude anyone who is not a fan of Dylan to suddenly like him, but, well, I like him. "Like a Rolling Stone" is probably one of my favorite of Dylan's songs--I don't think this is a rare opinion--and the rest of the album is pretty good, too. While I think Dylan's writing got a lot sharper as he aged, this is a perfectly good Dylan album. Songs in the Key of Life by Stevie Wonder [4 on their list]
Songs in the Key of Life is a great album and yet I cannot help but feel as though I am missing something. 4th on Rolling Stone's list, 2nd on Andrew's, and 13th on Alex's (impressivley long) list. One of my favorite parts of listening to the album was recognizing samples I had heard dozens of times and having a "oh, that's where that's from" moment. Great album, it just isn't sticking in my head like I expected it to. But, I cannot stress this enough, great album.
Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen [21 on their list]
After listening to Born in the USA, I appreciate Born to Run more--but I really like both albums! The production on this album is simply too good. "Jungleland" and "Born to Run" are particularly great. I honestly don't have more to add, it's a good album.Purple Rain by Prince [8 on their list]
Good album! Good album! Prince manages to make an album of great pop songs that are all unique from one another. Also, the album cover is really great. The lyrics and production do not immediatley invite great introspection upon listening to Purple Rain, but I think I would be a fool for suggesting that there is any album on this list that does not reveal more when read closely. For now, I have not read Purple Rain closely.Ready to Die by the Notorious B.I.G. [22 on their list]
This album, without a doubt, came out exactly 9 years before I was born. But that's not the only kind thing I have to say! Biggie is really good at telling stories you want to keep listening to. Whether I was hearing about the exotic fishes he can now purchase, or the way he eats women out, or his beef with Xscape, I leaned in. While many rappers have been able to produce beats that are extremely easy to listen to, it takes a real talent to write compelling lyrics. It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back by Public Enemy [15 on their list]
It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back is a great, evocative title. It makes clear the political project of this album, which I would vaguely describe as "to advance the consciousness of Black Americans and maybe also the Third World Movement." Really, you should listen to Public Enemy make their case, which they do on every single track extremely bluntly, with few changes in their flow. This album feels like poetry that plays with form, not content, so your millage may very. I liked it! Mostly, I liked the beats. "Don't Beleive the Hype" is hype. "She Watch Channel Zero" has a great beat. "Rebel Without a Pause" has maybe one of the hypest beats I've heard lately. You get the idea. -
Off the Wall by Michael Jackson [36 on their list]
So good. Michael Jackson simply was the king of pop. I really love "Girlfriend," which is so gentle and was incedentally written by Paul McCartney. "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" is also a classic. God that song is so good. Fun album to listen to, even if the single don't feel as timeless as the singles I like on, say, Rumors. Nevermind by Nirvana [6 on their list]
I think I do not care enough for grunge. I like a bunch of Nirvanna's songs as singles, but when listened to as an entire album, I got kind of tired of listening to them. My ambivalence towards grunge as a genre is likely why both Nirvanna and Hole are lower on my list than they are on Rolling Stone's. Oh well. The only reason Nirvanna edges out Hole for me is because, while I enjoy Hole's "Doll Parts" more than anything on Nevermind, I like Nevermind more overall and found their music less same-y. Born in the U.S.A. by Bruce Springstein [142 on their list]
Although Born in the U.S.A. may lack the awe-inspiring production of Born to Run, I would argue that this album had its own charm. Springstein delivers vinnettes of American lives. The highway worker, the soldier, the deadbeat. The album has a powerful sense of dread that runs through it that made "I'm on Fire" one of my favorite tracks to listen to at dusk as a child. The album also has optimistic moments that makes it an utterly-fitting encapsulation of one man's attempt to paint a picture of the American Dream from his own perspective. Born in the U.S.A. hasn't become iconic for no reason.Tapestry by Carole King [25 on their list]
Melodically compelling, most of the time. Lyrically boring. The Joni Mitchell influence makes me yearn for Blue. Of course, King had a huge influence on how Blue turned out... probably...Sign o' The Times by Prince [45 on their list]
Well, if you liked Purple Rain, the good news is that you are also probably going to like Sign o' The Times, which is more mature material-wise but a little less interesting melodically, in my opinion. It doesn't help that this is a double album, so already simular-sounding tracks feel like they go on forever. That being said, Prince's exploration of sensuality and androgeny feels so refreshing. "If I Was Your Girlfriend" imagines Prince in the role of male best friend and female lover simultaneously, blurring the lines between platonic affection and romantic overreach. I really like it. Its a sad, beautiful song that epitomizes the best parts of Sign o' The Times as a whole.-
John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band by John Lennon [85 on their list]
It's pretty good! "Hold On," "Remember," and "Love" all made a pretty strong impression. "Love" specifically is a pretty beautiful song. Otherwise, I found this album a little forgettable outside of a few great songs. I actually want to take a moment here to address the lack of Wings or other McCartney music more generally on Rolling Stones' list: what gives? They have Ram at like 450 and that's it! First off, Ram is really good. But second off, I am a huge fan of Paul's solo career in general. Maybe this is a sign of his music being considered less serious than the solo work of his fellow Beatles, but still. I'm miffed! Wings at the Speed of Sound would be high on my list. I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You by Aretha Franklin [13 on their list]
I got really excited when "A Change is Gonna Come" started playing because I thought maybe Aretha Franklin originated it, but it is just a cover. I really prefer Sam Cooke's version, though, it is just so beautiful. Anyways, this was a good album. I appreciate its brevity, and how gorgeous Franklin's voice is. "Respect" is, obviously, solid. The album just didn't strike me. -
Live Through This by Hole [106 on their list]
"Doll Parts" is soooo good on an otherwise forgettable album. That being said, reading the Wikipedia page for "Doll Parts," and then for Courtney Love, and then for a few other topics gave me a new appreciation for Kim Gordon. She was a real trailblazer for women in rock, and on top of it I'm a fan of a few Sonic Youth songs.
Exile on Maine Street by The Rolling Stones [14 on their list]
I like The Rolling Stones! I do! I did not feel like any song on this album had the sensetvity of "Wild Horses," the awesome melody of "Can't You Hear Me Knocking," or the writing of One Piece. Maybe a future Stones album will do better for me. *shrugs and steps out of your way*Take Care by Drake [95 on their list]
I need to say something controversial: I like listening to Drake songs. I find it fun to indulge in a version of myself that is as incompetent socially and pathetic as Drake. Doesn't it feel a little nice to know that, when we feel our most pathetic, our most incompetent, that not only is Drizzy there with us, but actually that he manages to weaponize his patheticness to amazing career success? Ok, maybe you don't agree, but at least I've articulated myself. Anyways, that is how I feel about Drake singles. Drake albums are a different beast.Take Care felt 8000000 million trillion hours long. But "I think I'm addicted to naked pictures"? The "I hope no one heard that" line? Those are classics of pathetic music. 