# Best Rolling Stones Album? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 20, 2010, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rolling-stones-album/533130 "2010-03-20T13:45:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mixolydian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@Mixolydian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mixolydian)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2010, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rolling-stones-album/533130/1 "2010-03-20T13:45:45Z")
There is an old thread [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=277637](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=277637), but it was a while ago… (before polls). I’ve excluded the live albums, and (hopefully) the hits packages. IMHO, _Exile On Main Street_ stands head and shoulders above the rest. _Sticky Fingers_ is really good, but not in the same league. ---
**Author:** ![Ian\_D.Bergkamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Ian\_D.Bergkamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ian_D.Bergkamp)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2010, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rolling-stones-album/533130/2 "2010-03-20T14:14:22Z")
I voted for _Let It Bleed_, which is a personal favorite thanks to “Gimme Shelter” and “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” but it was a close contest among that one, _Beggar’s Banquet_, _Exile on Main Street_, and _Sticky Fingers_. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2010, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rolling-stones-album/533130/3 "2010-03-20T14:24:16Z")
I’ll go with Let It Bleed, but it only just edges out SF and Exile. A great cast of players and the last album with Brian on it. The tour in support of that album gave us Get Yer Ya Ya’s Out, one of the best rock documentaries ever, and Stanley Booth’s memoir The True Adventures of the Rolling Stones . ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2010, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rolling-stones-album/533130/4 "2010-03-20T14:26:21Z")
I voted for _Beggar’s Banquet_, but it was almost a coin flip between that and _Let it Bleed_. (I tried selecting both, but it wouldn’t let me.) ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2010, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rolling-stones-album/533130/5 "2010-03-20T14:39:51Z")
I voted for _Beggar’s Banquet_, but, if it is the same album that was originally issued in Britain as just _The Rolling Stones_, then _England’s Newest Hit Makers_ is an underappreciated gem. What happened to [Between the Buttons](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Between_the_buttons)? Also, [Flowers](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flowers_%28The_Rolling_Stones_album%29) was a compilation album never released in Britain. As you are not listing any of the other many greatest hits/compilation albums, how come that one gets in? ---
**Author:** ![Mixolydian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@Mixolydian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mixolydian)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2010, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rolling-stones-album/533130/6 "2010-03-20T14:52:16Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > What happened to [Between the Buttons](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Between_the_buttons)? Also, [Flowers](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flowers_%28The_Rolling_Stones_album%29) was a compilation album never released in Britain. As you are not listing any of the other many greatest hits/compilation albums, how come that one gets in? Yeah, I just noticed that too :smack:…I rushed through this I guess, and trusted Allmusic’s listings - my apologies. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2010, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rolling-stones-album/533130/7 "2010-03-20T15:04:11Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > if it is the same album that was originally issued in Britain as just _The Rolling Stones_, then _England’s Newest Hit Makers_ is an underappreciated gem. Essentially the same album, but the U.S. version omits “Mona (I Need You Baby)” and adds “Not Fade Away.” ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2010, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rolling-stones-album/533130/8 "2010-03-20T15:06:11Z")
Close raced between “Let it Bleed” and “Beggar’s Banquet,” but I prefer “Let it Bleed.” ---
**Author:** ![In\_Winnipeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a8b319/32.png) [@In\_Winnipeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/In_Winnipeg)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2010, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rolling-stones-album/533130/9 "2010-03-20T15:06:50Z")
This is a very hard question, primarily because of the longevity of the band, and the fact that we are really talking about two or three (at least) eras in music. The Stones’ career can easily be divided up into similar eras, for example, “The Early Era” which would go up to, say, 1967, followed by “The Middle Era” which would go from 1968 to about 1980 and the _Still Life_ album, which would herald in “The Touring Era”, in which while there was new product, it was few and far batween, and the main focus of the band turned to touring, even more so than before. It would be quite easy to pick the best album out of each of these eras, and these albums would, predictably, be very different from one another, almost like they were from completely different bands. ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2010, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rolling-stones-album/533130/10 "2010-03-20T15:12:42Z")
I’m going with _Let it Bleed_. Plus it has an awesome album cover. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2010, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rolling-stones-album/533130/11 "2010-03-20T15:21:15Z")
I’m going to go with Aftermath (American version), which is the best of the classic Stones period. Later albums had some fantastic songs on them but Aftermath is the album that created the image of the Stones for eternity. ---
**Author:** ![NineToTheSky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5a626/32.png) [@NineToTheSky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NineToTheSky)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2010, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rolling-stones-album/533130/12 "2010-03-20T15:50:16Z")
When I clicked on ‘Satanic Majesties’, I had a funny feeling that I’d be the only one. My excuse? I’m not really a Stones fan, but I did think that ‘Satanic Majesties’ was a very successful and interesting counterpoint to Sgt Pepper’s and all that was going on then. And, yes, I still listen to it from time to time. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2010, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rolling-stones-album/533130/13 "2010-03-20T16:00:37Z")
_Exile_ wins for sheer brilliance even though the greatest Stones song ever is on _Let It Bleed._ ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2010, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rolling-stones-album/533130/14 "2010-03-20T16:09:42Z")
After long thought, I picked _Let It Bleed_. But I really love [Big Hits (High Tide & Green Grass)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Hits_(High_Tide_and_Green_Grass)#American_track_listing). A collection of my favorites recorded before they tossed Brian into the pool… ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2010, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rolling-stones-album/533130/15 "2010-03-20T17:57:51Z")
So far _Exile_ is winning the voting but _Let it Bleed_ is winning the thread posts. I listened to a lot of Stones for a very long time (I have about 2/3 of the ones on the list above), and then one day I just got completely, utterly sick of them…some sort of musically toxic critical mass was reached. But I find I can still listen to LiB, because a lot of what made it great was he wide range of styles of song, and how great they are individually. Heck, I still startle my kids occasionally by singing “yes I am a monkey man…I’M A MONKEY!!” ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2010, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rolling-stones-album/533130/16 "2010-03-20T19:57:01Z")
_Let It Bleed_ is actually a slightly (very slightly) better album than _Exile on Main Street_, but my emotional connection to the latter is so much greater than I voted for it anyway. _Sticky Fingers_ is just a hair behind the two of them. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2010, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rolling-stones-album/533130/17 "2010-03-20T20:04:03Z")
I can’t vote because the list doesn’t include their best album. **Between The Buttons** ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2010, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rolling-stones-album/533130/18 "2010-03-20T20:13:13Z")
> [@NineToTheSky](#): > > When I clicked on ‘Satanic Majesties’, I had a funny feeling that I’d be the only one. My excuse? I’m not really a Stones fan, but I did think that ‘Satanic Majesties’ was a very successful and interesting counterpoint to Sgt Pepper’s and all that was going on then. And, yes, I still listen to it from time to time. You’re almost not the only one- TSMR isn’t my fave, but it’s in my top five Stones albums. I still listen to it often, and IMO it has aged surprisingly well. For my personal travel copy, I added “Child Of The Moon” which was from the same sessions and fits in nicely, as well as “We Love You” and “Dandelion” which obvously belong with it. . ---
**Author:** ![Linty\_Fresh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Linty\_Fresh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Linty_Fresh)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2010, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rolling-stones-album/533130/19 "2010-03-20T20:54:13Z")
I chose Exile on Main Street, but really my thoughts are _Exile_ and _Let It Bleed_ are tied for first, and _Sticky Fingers_ and _Beggar’s Banquet_ are tied for second. Decisions, decisions. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2010, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rolling-stones-album/533130/20 "2010-03-20T21:12:12Z")
My view of the Stones is that they were pretty much a singles band, but I have to say _Let it Bleed_ is pretty much flawless. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rolling-stones-album/533130.md?page=2)