Album List

It’s quite ambitious to compile a list of the 100 best albums released between 1983 and 2008. But the not so reputable music authority, Entertainment Weekly, gave it a shot. Not surprisingly, its list is fairly narrow minded and mainstream oriented. However, there are some they got right (at least according to this writer).Let’s start with the top 10 because these are the ones that warrant the most scrutiny. In the coveted number one slot is Purple Rain by Prince. While not a huge Prince fan (please forgive me), I can appreciate his talent and vision and I accept this placement, although my number one would probably lean toward a record by the Smith’s (The Queen is Dead – #73), R.E.M. (Lifes Rich Pageant – #35), Belle and Sebastian (If You’re Feeling Sinister – #45) or Tom Waits (Raindogs – #16). Can you tell what type of music I like?

THE TOP 10: WHAT WENT WRONG – A short survey of the top 10 and who doesn’t belong there:

Amy Winehouse (Back to Black – #9)
Are you kidding me? Rehashing the classic sounds of the Ronettes and other soul stars of the 1950s and 1960s does not a brilliant album make, especially when the original performances she’s aping are far superior. Without the crack and bad girl shenanigans, Amy Winehouse is just another retro songstress.

Green Day (American Idiot – #6)
Another derivative band whose power pop/punk is ho-hum compared to orginals like the Buzzcocks and the Undertones. In addition, the topical subject matter of American Idiot, while admirable, doesn’t rise to level of the biting political commentary spewed from the likes of the Clash and the Jam, two bands that paved the way for Green Day’s massive success.

Madonna (Madonna – #5)
It seems as if EW is confusing culturally important with high quality. There’s no denying the significance of Madonna’s 1983 debut, but it’s a little far fetched to list it as the fifth best album of the last 25 years.

Kanye West (The College Dropout – #4)
Considering that rap music came of age during the 80’s portion of this list (1983-1989), it’s hard to believe that there are no rap albums from this fertile time represented in the Top 10. Public Enemy (It Take a Nation of Millions…- #55), the Beasties Boys (Paul’s Boutique – #43) and Run DMC (Raising Hell - #38) are all better candidates than Kanye for top 10 honors.

ARE YOU SERIOUS? – There are definitely some head scratchers among the list:

In Rainbows (#10) ahead of OK Computer (#62)
I personally love In Rainbows, but it’s a little too fresh to evaluate accurately and it’s very bold to declare it Radiohead’s best album.

Kelly Clarkson’s Breakaway (#29) and Mariah Carey’s Emancipation of Mimi (#21) in the top 30
Are these two records really better than albums by Radiohead (OK Computer – #62); Beastie Boys (Paul’s Boutique – #43); Wilco (Yankee Hotel Foxtrot – #56); the Pixies (Surfer Rosa – #58); Bruce Springsteen (Born in the USA - #75); Jeff Buckley (Grace – #82); New Order (Low-life – #84); My Bloody Valentine (Loveless – #86) or anything else on the list in a lower slotting?

Legend by Bob Marley & the Wailers (#42)
Is it really fair to have a greatest hits collection of songs recorded in the 1970s on a top 100 list of albums released between 1983 and 2008? I would argue that any compilation of material originally recorded before 1983 should be excluded. If not, then career-spanning compilations from Bob Dylan, the Who, Leonard Cohen, Velvet Underground, Joni Mitchell (and on and on and on…) would dominate the top 20.

GLARING OMISSIONS:

Sonic Youth – Daydream Nation (1988)
Talking Heads – Speaking in Tongues (1983)
Lloyd Cole & the Commotions – Rattlesnakes (1984)
R.E.M. – Murmur (1983); Document (1987) and/or Automatic for the People (1992)
Neutral Milk Hotel – In the Aeroplane Over the Sea (1998)
XTC – Skylarking (1986)
Michelle Shocked – Short Sharp Shocked (1988)
Lou Reed – New York (1989)
Lucinda Williams – Car Wheels on a Gravel Road (1998)

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