The 500 Greatest Albums of All Times

Wonderful selection. The list could be improved by adding more British (European) artists (like Deep Purple) but in any case it is a beautiful collection! The only problem is that the book is worth nothing if you don't have the music. To read about Paris is one thing and to see it is absolutely different. If you feel the same way, search the collectibles section for the 500 Greatest Albums book and get the ultimate bundle BOOK + MUSIC for under $150! I bought it and I love it!

Naming a book The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time is just asking for trouble. While influence and popularity can be charted and traced, greatness is simply a matter of opinion and hardly anyone shares the exact same opinion with someone else. While it's nice that the editors of Rolling Stone magazine, with their terrible review skills, were not the only people in charge of selecting these picks, it can be argued that many of the albums featured here are not necessarily "great." Many of these albums are merely influential, whether it be in the broader mainstream sense or the bizarre, obscure independent sense. Some of the older rock n' roll, soul, blues, and r & b acts may have been "great" back in the day but with the gigantic leaps made in the production of music, most of these releases only have good lyrics to go on which is not enough to sustain "greatness." Had the name of this magazine been changed to "The 500 Most Influential Albums of All Time" then they would most certainly have a welcome spot here but when put in with the greats they just don't seem to mix. As with any list there are going to be many faults. Rolling Stone seems to heavily favor folk, alt-country, and old rock n' roll and r & b music and they seem to shy away from a lot of British music (apart from the obvious), independent rock, newer genres, and newer rock--throwing in The Strokes and The White Stripes is hardly a satisfying representation of these genres. As it stands, Rolling Stone's guide is, just like the introduction stated, a great conversation starter. It serves its purpose in that regard and is a great starting point for musical research and discovering new music. (As for the inclusion of every Beatles album, that is untrue: neither Beatles for Sale nor Magical Mystery Tour made it onto the list.)

This book is almost the same as the magazine article that came out a while ago but now there are 8 albums that were not on the previous list (493 to 500). That means they took out 8 of the original albums. Other than that its like having a nicer hardcover version of the magazine. Agree or not with the albums listed or their order this is a nice reference book.

Basically this is a book version of Rolling Stone Issue 937 from December 2003. All the same text from the issue plus the same side-bars are featured in this book. Larger, clearer pictures of the album covers are nice, as is having the list in a hardcover book that won't crumble like my magazine. My only qualm is that I wish they had expanded the text more for the book edition. Have I heard of all the groups? No. Are there artists who wrote amazing songs not featured on the list? Yes, but great songs do not always make a great album. The voters tryed to make a list of the best albums as cohesive works of art, not just what had all the hits. Do I agree with the list? Not wholly, but the thing I love is that it taught me about new music I hadn't heard of. If they made a list of 500 albums that I knew, it wouldn't be worth reading. Overall, this is a must own for any serious fan of Rock n' Roll and Rolling Stone Magazine. I only hope they release hardbound editions of the 500 Greatest Songs, 50 Greatest Artists, and 50 greatest moments issues.

I disagree with the person above me. Obviously they were not there. ALL of the Beatles albums should have been there, and if you were not there in the sixties, you would not understand why. I grew up with Rock N Roll, right from the beginning. It was and still is my life. While I agree that Bob Seeger should be here, I don't believe that some of the rap should have been. But it is about selling books also. This is the definite book on albums, it is about Dylan, and the Stones, and the Who, and the Mamas and the Papas, and Smokey Robinson, Aretha, the Pretenders, and Bruce, and James Brown. They are the founders. And I thank God that I grew up at a time when music was the best, lovely and positive, for the most part. I do have some bitches with the book. The Supremes Greatest Hits and most of all the Temptations Greatest hits were in the 400 area, when they should have been included int he top 10. NO doubt about it, but hey, everybody has an opinoin.