VH1: 100 Greatest Albums

by Jacob Hoye (Editor)

VH1's 100 Greatest Albums television series sparked much debate about the accuracy of its list, but it was a great guide for any serious or casual music fan as to which albums should be staples in any record collection. As a book, the 100 Greatest Albums will be the perfect reference for building a substantive and thorough collection, as well as just being an entertaining read about some of the most important works ever created in music history. The book follows the order of the list, starting at 100 and working towards number one. Each album is discussed thoroughly across a two-page spread and each spread will include; an image of the album cover, the year of release, the record label, production and engineering credits, band members and instruments played, appropriate quote or quotes about the album from other artists, an essay that gives context to the album by examining its historical significance and detailing what makes the album unique by diving into the songs.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, History

240 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2003

Reviews

[Doug Rost]

100 Greatest Albums VH-1/MTV Network copyright 2003
I found this used book for sale at the Village Library in Jacobus PA in 2022. It was written when popular music was delivered on a vinyl album basis and with much fanfare. Albums were a precious collection of songs often making a statement. The album jacket was an art form. Now the album is mostly dead! Now songs live on your phone as solitary tunes and only top artists get much full album interest.
It took me a year to read this book (probably longer) as my approach was to read a ranked album’s review and then listen on Spotify to the album’s every song. Most artists I was familiar with and there were many albums I played to death on my turntable. Some artists were in genres that I overlooked before. I am a huge Beatles fan so I believe that the high praise and ranking given to the Fab Four was well deserved:
1. Revolver 6. Rubber Soul. 8. Abbey Road
10. Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band (SPLHCB)
11. The Beatles (aka The White Album)
The Beatles registered 5 of the top 11 albums. Yeah, that is as it should be.
But one could argue that the songs on Magical Mystery Tour (MMT) are as good as those on SPLHCB when compared one by one in sequence. But SPLHCB came first and had a more interesting concept (a band coming another band of old). True MMT has Strawberry Fields and Penny Lane but it suffered from being released after SPLHCB - what do you do for an encore after Pepper?
Another Beatles album that could have been included was Let It Be. That album also lived in the mighty shadow of Abbey Road. Still songs like Get Back , Across The Universe, The Long And Winding Road, Let It Be and I Me Mine (an overlooked rocker!) are all classics but, yes, this is a book of albums not songs.
Because the Beatles ruled so mightily in these ratings it may be understandable (NOT) that some classic solo Beatles albums were totally overlooked. From George Harrison these two should have been included: Concert For Bangladesh and All Things Must Pass. From Paul McCartney (& Wings) the Band On The Run Album should have ranked. From John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band the album by the same name. We were robbed by John’s early exit from more great music.
Of course, lists such as this are always subjective but overall they included many worthy artists.
The other omission I am not happy about is no record was included by Steely Dan or the Byrds. Certainly Aja by Steely Dan is one of my all-time favorite records and such a fusion of pop, jazz and rock that it is a unique masterpiece for sure!

[Angela Maher]

Although this was published years ago, and any 'best of' list is bound to be subjective, this is an interesting read into a collection of 100 albums. Some I was familiar with, others not at all. This is a great resource for someone wanting to expand their musical knowledge.
I am disappointed Soundgarden doesn't appear in this book, though, especially when Nirvana and Pearl Jam are both represented.

[Jason Freng]

1-100 in playlist form: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3zK...

As a book, nothing too special, but as a collection of albums it really does shine. Found a handful of all-time favorites thanks to this:

Exile in Guyville
Bookends
So
Graceland
Sweet Baby James
Saturday Night Fever
Astral Weeks
Sign O The Times
London Calling
ITANOMTHUB
Exile on Main Street
The Beatles
Songs in the Key of Life

[Collette Irving]

Didn't entirely agree with the rankings but still a fun read for a music lover.

[HARRY Cullen]

Enjoyed this one although I don't agree with a few selection. No way is Nevermind the second greatest album of the rock genre.

[The_J]

Nice compilation

[Paul Lyons]

Published in 2005 by VH1, and edited by Jacob Hoye, the book details what their music writers/critics deems the 100 greatest albums of all time...Lots of the usual suspects are there...Revolver, Rubber Soul, The White Album, Abbey Road, and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club band by the Beatles...Bob Dylan albums galore, The Who, Van Morrison, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, David Bowie, Pink Floyd, Elvis, Aretha Franklin, U2 and more...

The strength in the book lies in its heartfelt essays for each and every album. The weakness in the book is its blatant absence of detail...specifically in the listing of songs from each album. How can you have a book listing the "100 greatest albums of all time" and NOT list the individual songs off of each album??? It wouldn't have taken much...just to list them. Yet, no, the folks at VH1 felt the essays were enough...Tsk,tsk....Context folks...It's all about context. Without a list of songs for each album (as a reference), the essays presented in the book come off as an empty tease. Silly book, don' t MAKE me look it up elsewhere! Oh well, at least the book was free...

[Liv]

Loving this so far. Each write-up is beautiful and heartfelt, yet so rock and roll. I have about half of the albums, and want to get all the others--some of them I'd never even heard of, so I'm excited about those. Who'd have thought the album Marquee Moon by Television would make it onto the top 100?

[Wayne Edwards]

An essential book for a avid music lover. I disagreed with half of it. But it also exposed me to so much music I never heard of.

[Kimi Strain]

Very cool little book. I just found it odd that out if the top 100 albums, Queen didn't rank at all. Weird

[Obscure Literary]

A who's who of predictable, old rock and roll.