The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time

by Rolling Stone Magazine, Joe Levy, Steven Van Zandt (Introduction)

Now in paperback, a lush and lavish tribute to the greatest music of the last fifty years by the ultimate authority on rock & roll -- Rolling Stone

In the continuing tradition of Rolling Stone's in-depth coverage of the legends of music comes the paperback version of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

Compiled by the editors of Rolling Stone and a celebrity panel of nearly three hundred musicians and critics -- including U2's the Edge, Jackson Browne, Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong, and Metallica's James Hetfield -- The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time is the definitive collection of the best albums ever made.

With five hundred album covers, reviews from Rolling Stone writers and editors, and more than one hundred rare photos from the recording sessions where this memorable music was made, The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time is a must-own for the true music fan.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Reference, History, Pop Culture, Art, Coffee Table Books

224 pages, Paperback

First published October 24, 2005

About the author

Rolling Stone is a U.S.-based magazine devoted to music, politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner (who is still editor and publisher) and music critic Ralph J. Gleason.

Reviews

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this years ago and recall enjoying it.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very well produced book that lists out the Top 500 albums of all time. I thought it would make a great coffee table book for a music fan. I wish that every entry listed the notable tracks on the album, so I could download them and add them to my music libary!

[Paul Sutter]

Music is a language that is universal. It speaks to all of us, providing memories beyond words. Many of us remember pivotal moments of our lives all connected to a certain song. Growing up in the sixties, I consider that the greatest decade personally for music, especially the latter part of that decade.
Rolling Stone has been a vital part of the music world since it began publishing in 1967. It has seen hundreds of performers come onto the scene, with just as many leaving the scene. The magazine was often noted as the Bible for record reviews. If a record got a favorable review in the magazine, it was similar to when Oprah’s Book Club recommended a book. Sales skyrocketed.
There have been several editions of Rolling Stone’s THE 500 GREATEST ALBUMS OF ALL TIME. The latest is filled with 500 of what was considered some of the best of the best. The editors of the magazine connected with around 500 of the biggest in the business, whether performers, writers, reviewers, record label executives and the like to offer their fifty top albums of all time. The results were tabulated, and what has emerged are 500 albums past and present that left an indelible imprint in the music world.
Now of course not everyone agrees, as the records are listed in popular vote from 1 to 500. Many pointed to pivotal albums in the music world that were omitted, but in a book of this scope and magnitude, there is only so much space. As well, some argued that certain albums should have placed higher in the lists, causing great debate amongst people. Discussion and debate is good, but the main thing is many forgotten albums were once again noted.
Personally I counted 130 of the 500 albums that I at one time had in my collection. Most of them came from the sixties through the nineties, and looking at those covers again caused a rapid rush of nostalgia for the music of my life.
The number one album noted was Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On, released in 1971. Debate and argument among album purists immediately arose, as number 2 was Pet Sounds by the Beach Boys. Many called Pet Sounds the greatest of all time. The fact albums even made it to the book is recognition enough, and numbers should not totally tell the tale. It was still nice to see such albums as Tapestry from Carole King #25, Jimi Hendrix Electric Ladyland #53, Doors debut album #86, Otis Blue by Otis Redding #178, and Tommy by the Who #190, in the book.
These performers have defined the world of music many times over, and the opportunity to see so many recognized in the Greatest 500 Albums Of All Time, makes you want to hunt them down and crank up the turntable once again.

[Steven Peterson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Any publication that promises to deliver the 500 Greatest Albums of All. Time is going to face a lot of questions. Fans of one group or another that don't make the list are going to be aggrieved. Or people will disagree about how high or how low a selected work rates. If nothing else these simple facts are going to lead to people discussing this compilation of the best albums of all time.

For one thing, it is simply fun to see how many albums one recalls are listed. It is cool for me to recognize all of the top ten albums (although I am not sure that I would rate Beatles' albums as four of the top ten, but--of course--that kind of questioni8ng is a part of the pleasure of this). At the other end of the rankings, from 450 to 500 are some real gems: The Police, "Synchronicity"; Elvis Costello and the Attractions, "Armed Forces"; Mott the Hoople, "All the Young Dudes"; B.B. King, "Live in Cook County Jail"--and so on.

A couple comments. First, some classic blues albums are mentioned--but there are some stars in that firmament who do not show in the ratings. Second, some early greats in rock and roll don't appear--such as Chubby Checker.

Still, these are quibbles. I admire the chutzpah of “Rolling Stone” to try to pull this caper off! I end up enjoying looking at the ratings and questioning or accepting specific choices.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

For anyone who appreciates all genres of music, this book is a great conversation piece. There’s a short bit of text to tell about each album. It’s opinion, and I’m sure that music lovers have their own opinions. My favorite is number 5 on the list, quite an accomplishment. Believe it or not, my husband’s favorite is number 1. You need to read it, just so you can weigh in.

[Varmint · Rating 1 out of 5]

Found this lying on the table at my dentists. Never understood the whole epic mythos surrounding Rolling Stone. It's just a magazine for people so insecure they need to be told what music to like.

[Karl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Everyone has the right to express their opinion. Music can't please everyone

[Sophie Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Music is a beautiful thing 😇This book entirely educated me on music, lyrics, genres, producing, the instruments and voices. The albums I recognised were lovely to read about and I agreed with every the descriptions. I learned some new things about artists’ and bands’ lives that I didn’t know about and also learned about covers and who did them as it was a very popular thing to do. This also brought some underrated albums to life and included most music genres. I was also glad to see a hint of 2010’s albums such as blonde, nfr, fine line and red. Going to listen to every single one of these albums and have an amazing time doing it 🫦

[Gerrod Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

How can one create a definitive list of the 500 greatest albums of all time? In their attempt to answer that question, Rolling Stone came up with a list equally divisive and controversial as it is excellently curated. Agree with their choices or not, "The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time" excels through the brief blurbs that accompany and justify their selections. Effortlessly, Rolling Stone illustrates the ethos and significance to both culture and art of each record they’ve chosen through bitesized, yet critical, servings.

[Christian · Rating 2 out of 5]

The list is interesting, the essays (for the top-rated albums) spark discussion -- although more comprehensive info can be found at Wikipedia -- but the fact of the matter is that the book doesn't really need to exist physically, as it is available in its entirety at http://www.rollingstone.com/news/stor...

[Kirby Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful presentation of an interesting list. Setting aside the age of the publication (and all the albums that have come out since then), the list surprises as much with its inclusions as its exclusions. Of course, that's the nature of the beast. The book boasts a wonderful presentation with full color thorughout.

[Crystal Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent pictures of artist. Excellent album cover pictures.

[Noah Dommaschk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good for music Nerds like me.

[Madame Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked up a lot of music recommendations.

[Fred Pinkerton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Somehow neither Trespass nor Selling England By the Pound (by Genesis) is on this list. But a Kiss album is included.

[Janice · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is really fun. Listening to all the albums on this list and reading about them.

[Michael Cawley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too many obscure albums, too few classics.

[James S. · Rating 2 out of 5]

A glorified list. Extremely superficial and cursory.

[Michael Dunn · Rating 4 out of 5]

The thing with doing a big “Best Of” list like this is there’s always blind spots in the people making the list. That’s natural because no matter how much music we play and love, we’re always going to have styles or artists/groups we just don’t have the full frame of reference for, so honestly a part of me commends Rolling Stone for even attempting a task like this: Going through decades and decades of music and choosing a mere 500 to call the best of the best.

I could mention how this might not pay as much love to electronic music, country, Metal, instrumental music or music not performed in English, but as I said earlier, there will never be a perfect list to satisfy everyone (a fact Rolling Stone is no doubt aware of given the response to pretty much any list they make), so as someone that’s trying to love as much music as possible, this is a pretty handy guide to a lot of noteworthy records.

Now the natural thing to do is play all of them.

[Jim Townsend · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was one of those "impulse borrows" from the local library. A redundant coffee-table book version of an article and list readily available at http://www.rollingstone.com/, it is a purely subjective ranking of what the musicians, writers, producers, industry insiders, and other critics who voted for them think are the greatest albums of all time. I went through my CD collection and found that I own only 96 of them; including the top seven; nine of the top ten; and ten of the top twelve. Right or wrong, this list is sure to start arguments. I personally found the list interesting for the inclusion of a lot of albums that are so-called "critics' darlings" (albums that were influential but didn't sell well), such as Television's *Marquee Moon* at #129.

[JANET · Rating 2 out of 5]

In a word: meh...

Never particularly cared for this magazine, their opinions, or the opinions of their readers. That I borrowed this book from an elibrary was out of curiosity only, and free.

The only good news was that most of the now classic albums by the best band of all time took several spots on the list with their historic, industry-changing sounds and songs. Without them leading the way in the first place, many or most of the others represented here wouldn't have gotten out of the garage and garden party circuit. Yes I said it. You figure it out.

[Charles James · Rating 4 out of 5]

A interesting run through of the top 500 albums of all time according to Rolling Stone industry insiders . It helps that one of my favourite albums of all time is at number one . The only downside is that if you have a copy of the Top 500 listing from the magazine I am not sure the books adds a great deal . However an ideal loo read .

[Ray Cullen · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very American view of the album world. Some of the choices here will be marked embarrassing in decades to come. They tend to be albums that have not stood the test of time. I have no qualms about number 1.

[Dustin C.]

An argument starter!

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh, Rolling Stone magazine sucks ass.

[StephenPaul ChaseJr · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love music, fucking sweet as honey!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! No bullshit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Persia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve been slowly making my way through these albums since the start of the year and finally finished! Decent list