The Best

So Spin magazine this month has a list of what they call the 100 Greatest Albums since 1985, since Spin didn't start publication until 1985. It got me thinking.

That's a big endeavor, 100 Greatest Albums since 1985. It appears they picked titles that changed a genre or really influenced following artists. And that's fine, and I guess that's specifically what the list is supposed to be about the "greatest" albums. But I don't know the criteria and am a little puzzled by some of their choices.

I don't see how Radiohead's OK Computer scored at #1. I don't see how Public Enemy has two albums in the top 21, especially one in the coveted #2 spot. Nirvana's Nevermind only came in at #3, which I thought Spin magazine would be all over. Pearl Jam's Ten only came in at #93, and I bet if this list came out a decade ago that that would have been much higher. I don't see how the Beastie Boys scored #12 for Paul's Boutique when Licensed to Ill only came in at #52. Wilco doesn't rate until #77, and that for the subpar Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (I'm sorry, but that album sucks, especially in comparison with Summerteeth and Being There). And there is a lot of rap and hip hop, which I just cannot attest to at all because they aren't my cup of tea. I want to be fair to those, but I just personally cannot rate those at all in comparison to the others. So I wish Spin had listed exactly how they came up with the list, although they do say, "Each album on the list finds a sweet spot between artistic brilliance, stylistic innovation, and cultural relevance."

So I am going to start listing MY GREATEST ALBUMS. I'm also going to branch off into MY GREATEST MOVIES. These are going to be those things that I have HAD to have with me. My greatest albums are chosen as ones that I had to listen to a million times, or had to have with me on car trips. These albums are also going to be the ones that mean certain things at certain times. For instance, U2's Achtung Baby (which scored at #11 on Spin's list). That's an album that makes you rock out at times, or times driving home late at night where you just have to listen to the B side--the last four tracks--that really mellows you out. Something about that album holds up individually for each song, yet comes together as an inseparable whole. That's an album. Here's my greatest list:

(To be continued...)