A quick rundown of the list gives me 33 that would be on my own top 100.
Seven of them are in the top 10.
(and, remarkably, I have never heard of seven of the artists)
mmm
Way too many of these choices have a great track or two, but aren’t great albums, top to bottom. It’s a dated concept anyway.
Nah, it’s not even one of their best four albums (I’d go with, no order: Revolver, Abbey Road, Rubber Soul, White Album.) This is as good a list as any other. I would put Zep IV and even Zep III over II, but there was a time in my life where II was my favorite, so I get it. I’d put In Utero over Nevermind, but the latter was such an important album. I’m not sure there’s a single album on there I have a strong objection to.
Of my personal Top 10 (at least from 2007 – I don’t make such lists anymore, but I found an old thread), it looks like only four are included (Pet Sounds, Revolver, London Calling, OK Computer.) No Wire, no Zombies, no Kinks, no Gang of Four. But, hey, there’s so many great albums out there. My current list, were I to make one, might also have Kanye in the Top 10 – definitely in the Top 20.
As usual with those kind of lists, I like a bunch of the albums, I don’t like a bunch, and there are many I’ve never heard (though at least I’ve heard of the artists).
Could you give some examples? Every one I’m familiar with on that list is solid top to bottom and best taken in as an album rather than a collection of singles.
I’d guess “not as much as in the past” and “more than you might think”. Three thoughts spring to mind:
- Those big black CDs are the most popular form of physical media at the moment and while some people buy to put on their shelf, I think a lot of the True Fans are gonna spin them and expect a coherent musical experience
- I assume many musical artists still have the same vibe we once did when assembling our mix tapes and stuff. Only now they can do it with their own music!
- Best Album is still an awards category, after all
Obviously this is gonna vary from artist to artist. And, even back in the day, a lot of albums were just “Here’s twelve songs the label wanted us to write and sell” than a tightly crafted artistic statement. But it still happens. I do think that the modern musical landscape allows for a lot of artists to just put out some singles which floods the scene and pushes full albums to the background in just “what’s out there”.