# Best Pazz & Jop Critics Poll Album of All Time **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 30, 2015, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-pazz-jop-critics-poll-album-of-all-time/711352 "2015-01-30T17:55:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2015, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-pazz-jop-critics-poll-album-of-all-time/711352/1 "2015-01-30T17:55:42Z")
A bit disappointed with the way some of the voting went - there were much better albums to choose from than _Rumours_ and _21_ in their respective decades - but this is what it comes down to. While I love _Automatic for the People_, from this list there’s really only one option in my mind: The Clash. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2015, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-pazz-jop-critics-poll-album-of-all-time/711352/2 "2015-01-30T18:28:00Z")
London Calling, here as well. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2015, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-pazz-jop-critics-poll-album-of-all-time/711352/3 "2015-01-30T20:58:46Z")
> [@woodstockbirdybird](#): > > A bit disappointed with the way some of the voting went - there were much better albums to choose from than _Rumours_ and _21_ in their respective decades - but this is what it comes down to. While I love _Automatic for the People_, from this list there’s really only one option in my mind: The Clash. Yes to every word of this. (Except the part about _Automatic for the People_, since the only R.E.M. album I have is a greatest-hits compilation, so I don’t know one R.E.M. album from another. But that’s not a criticism of the OP, that’s my own shortcoming. Anyway, _London Calling_ it is, given the choices.) ---
**Author:** ![Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/angel_of_the_lord/32/2949_2.png) [@Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angel_of_the_Lord)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2015, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-pazz-jop-critics-poll-album-of-all-time/711352/4 "2015-01-30T23:04:03Z")
I went with REM, though there were three very good choices. But they just edged out The Clash and Radiohead. Mostly because it’s the one that holds up best as an album. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2015, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-pazz-jop-critics-poll-album-of-all-time/711352/5 "2015-01-30T23:45:49Z")
I didn’t vote for it ( I think _Remain in Light_ was my choice from that decade ), but _Rumors_ really is a bit of a soft-rock masterpiece. Which may seem like an oxymoron :D, but really it is best in class relative to its mostly crappy competitors in the field of laid-back 1970’s California rock. Better that than The Eagles’ _Hotel California_ any day. The Peter Green/Jeremy Spencer/Danny Kirwan FM remains the gold standard, but I actually can find something to like in most of its incarnations. All that said _London Calling_ crushes the opposition like little bugs. ---
**Author:** ![Nema98](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d2c977/32.png) [@Nema98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nema98)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2015, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-pazz-jop-critics-poll-album-of-all-time/711352/6 "2015-02-01T00:31:42Z")
The Clash gets my vote. ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2015, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-pazz-jop-critics-poll-album-of-all-time/711352/7 "2015-02-01T07:34:33Z")
_London Calling_ followed by _Automatic for the People_. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2015, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-pazz-jop-critics-poll-album-of-all-time/711352/8 "2015-02-02T10:48:21Z")
If it had been _Sandinista_ or\* Combat Rock\*, the Clash would get my vote. As it is, I voted for REM.