The Sixty-Nine Greatest Rock Albums Of All Time
2-4-09
| So, I was sitting there watching those incredibly annoying but somehow irresistable VH-1 countdowns with way too much Hal Sparks, and for no good reason at all decided to make my list of the sixty-nine greatest rock albums of all time. Why sixty-nine? Hey, why not? Why is fifty or an even hundred a better number? Anyway, to be considered a great rock album, it has to be one that I don't only feel nostalgic about, but will listen to, right this second, all the way through and still love as much as I ever did. Which means not a record with 2 or even 5 great songs on it, but one that tells an exceptional story all the way through. What is rock? Let's just say everything that's not Blues, Jazz, Soul, or Classical and that could conceivably have been something you shook your ass to in high school. I realize most of these selections are 20-40 years old, but maybe it takes a few decades to decide if a selection of music can stand up to the constancy of fad and blather. There is no particular order, except the first one, which is unquestionably the greatest album ever made, rock or not. |
| 1. Electric Ladyland |
Jimi Hendrix |
| 2. Funhouse |
Iggy and the Stooges |
| 3. White Light/White Heat |
The Velvet Underground |
| 4. Maggot Brain |
Funkadelic |
| 5. Loveless |
My Bloody Valentine |
| 6. The Clash |
The Clash |
| 7. Lick My Decals Off, Baby |
Captain Beefheart |
| 8. Beggar's Banquet |
The Rolling Stones |
| 9. Los Angeles |
X |
| 10. Rock For Light |
Bad Brains |
| 11. Double Nickles On The Dime |
Minutemen |
| 12. New Train |
Paul Pena |
| 13. Legacy Of Brutality |
The Misfits |
| 14. Zen Arcade |
Husker Du |
15. Before And After Science
|
Brian Eno |
| 16. Up On The Sun |
Meat Puppets |
| 17. The Man Who Sold The World |
David Bowie |
| 18. Suicide |
Suicide |
19. Half Machine Lip Moves
|
Chrome |
20. The Slider
|
T. Rex |
21. Meet The Residents
|
The Residents |
22. White Album
|
The Beatles |
| 23. Sailin' Shoes |
Little Feat |
24. The Modern Lovers
|
Modern Lovers |
25. Desolation Boulevard
|
Sweet |
| 26. L.A. Woman |
The Doors |
| 27. Third |
Big Star |
| 28. Cheap Trick |
Cheap Trick |
| 29. The Record |
Fear |
| 30. Madcap Laughs |
Syd Barrett |
31. Cabbage Alley
|
The Meters |
| 32. No Depression |
Uncle Tupelo |
| 33. Tres Hombres |
ZZ Top |
34. Underwater Moonlight
|
The Soft Boys |
35. Kill 'Em All
|
Metallica |
36. Plastic Ono Band
|
John Lennon |
37. Regatta De Blanc
|
The Police |
| 38. Cannibalism |
Can |
39. Marquee Moon
|
Television |
40. Pretzel Logic
|
Steely Dan |
| 41. Singles Going Steady |
Buzzcocks |
| 42. Rumor And Sigh |
Richard Thompson |
| 43. Entertainment |
Gang Of Four |
44. Out Of Step
|
Minor Threat |
45. Led Zeppelin I
|
Led Zeppelin |
46. Pleased To Meet Me
|
The Replacements
|
47. Peaches En Regalia
|
Frank Zappa |
48. Thirds
|
James Gang |
49. Bo Diddley
|
Bo Diddley |
50. New York Dolls
|
New York Dolls |
| 51. Slanted And Enchanted |
Pavement |
| 52. A Night At The Opera |
Queen |
| 53. Nevermind |
Nirvana |
| 54. Non-Alignment Pact |
Pere Ubu |
| 55. Black Sabbath |
Black Sabbath |
| 56. Vs. |
Mission Of Burma |
| 57. Akuma No Uta |
Boris |
| 58. Swordfish Trombones |
Tom Waits |
| 59. Devil's Rumble |
Davey Allen And The Arrows |
60. My Aim Is True
|
Elvis Costello |
61. Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!
|
Devo |
| 62. Fresh Fruit For Rotted Vegetables |
Dead Kennedys |
63. Slinky
|
Link Wray |
64. New Rose
|
The Damned |
| 65. Prayers On Fire |
The Birthday Party |
| 66. The Golden Age |
Legendary Pink Dots |
| 67. Grieveous Angel |
Gram Parsons |
68. Songs About Fucking
|
Big Black |
| 69. The Sun Recordings |
Elvis Presley |
