CLASSIFICATIONS
The best albums of all time according to Rolling Stone
The well-known specialized magazine Rolling Stone published in 2003 the list of the 500 best music albums of all time.
The list was determined through voting by a special jury composed of 273 musicians, critics, historians and personalities of the music industry. Each juror could express up to 50 preferences.
This ranking has then been updated twice, undergoing radical changes: the first change was in 2012, the second in 2020. In the latest version, 154 new albums have been added, 86 of them from the XXI century.
The best albums of all time according to Rolling Stone
The well-known specialized magazine Rolling Stone published in 2003 the list of the 500 best music albums of all time. The list was created through the vote carried out by a special jury composed of 273 musicians, critics, historians and personalities of the music industry. Each juror could express up to 50 preferences. This ranking has then been updated twice, undergoing radical changes: the first change was in 2012, the second in 2020. In the latest version, 154 new albums have been added, 86 of them from the XXI century.
10. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill - Lauryn Hill (1998)
In 2020, Rolling Stone entered the debut album of the singer Hip Hop and R&B Lauryn Hillinin tenth place. This album was also proclaimed as the best rap album of all time.
9. Blood on the Tracks - Bob Dylan (1975)
According to music critics, the songs on this album represent the reflection of the personal torments that Bob Dylan was going through in the first half of the seventies, linked in particular to the separation from his first wife. In fact, Dylan in his autobiography stated that the inspiration for this album did not come from personal experiences, but from reading some short stories by the Russian writer and playwright Anton Čechov.
8. Purple Rain - Prince (1984)
Purple Rain is the sixth album of Prince's career and is the soundtrack to the film of the same name. In fact, this album won the 1985 Oscar Award for Best Original Score.
7. Rumors - Fleetwood Mac (1977)
Rumors was recorded during a period of great tension in the group, linked to sentimental reasons and divorces between the members of the band. Despite this, this was the most successful album of the Fleetwood Mac: the album won the Grammy Award for best album of the year in 1978. Some of the band's most famous and beloved songs are Rumors : among them, Dreams, Don't Stop and Go Your Own Way.
6. Nevermind - Nirvana (1991)
The second studio work of Nirvana, Nevermind is considered one of the most important and influential albums of the music of the nineties. The album won the diamond record (more than 10 million copies sold), clearly exceeding the expectations of the record company, which had as its goal to reach 250,000 copies sold.
5. Abbey Road - Beatles (1969)
Abbey Road is the last studio album by Beatles: the next, Let It Be, (released in 1970), contains songs recorded earlier, in January 1969. On the A side of the album there are famous songs such as Come Together and Something, which together with Here Comes the Sun is among the most famous songs written by George Harrison. The B side consists almost entirely of a very long medley, also called The Long One.
4. Songs in the Key of Life - Stevie Wonder (1976)
This is Stevie Wonder's eighteenth album. The album was born after a period of crisis for the singer: at the end of 1975, in fact, Wonder considered the idea of abandoning music to emigrate to Ghana, with the aim of working in associations dedicated to helping disabled children. In addition, at that time the singer had publicly criticized the U.S. government for how it was leading the nation.
3. Blue - Joni Mitchell (1971)
Blue was born after a break from singer folk, who wrote many of the songs on this album during a long trip to Europe. Blue has been certified with three platinum discs: two in the UK and one in the US.
2. Pet Sounds - The Beach Boys (1966)
Pet Soundsis considered the most influential album in the history of modern music pop. The album did not sell the same number of copies asBeach Boys's early albums, but was equally critically acclaimed. The Beatles, for example, revealed that Pet Sounds was one of the main influences for the making of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Paul McCartney, moreover, He has repeatedly cited this record as one of his favorite albums.
1. What’s Going On - Marvin Gaye (1971)
The album deals with very sensitive issues such as drug abuse, poverty and the Vietnam War. The album was born after a period of deep depression for Marvin Gaye, who managed to turn all the pain into one of the most acclaimed albums ever, both by the public and by critics.
Rankings
03/12/2023
The well-known US magazine Rolling Stone in 2021 has updated the list of the 500 most beautiful songs of all time.
The ranking was first published on December 11, 2003 and was compiled by a jury chosen by the editorial staff, composed of 172 musicians, music critics and experts in the recording industry. Subsequently, the ranking was changed twice: the first in 2010, the second in 2021, when 254 songs that were previously not present were added.
Obviously, there is nothing more subjective than music: these songs are considered the best according to the criteria defined by Rolling Stonemagazine, but each of us has his own personal ranking of the best songs ever. Here, however, is the Top 20 of Rolling Stone.
Rankings
01/12/2023
In 2008, 'Rolling Stone' compiled a list of the 100 best singers of all time.
This ranking was compiled 15 years ago by 180 people, including several musicians (e.g. Bruce Springsteen, Rod Stewart, Justin Timberlake, George Michael, Keith Richards), journalists and music experts.
On 1 January 2023, however, 'Rolling Stone' published an update of the ranking that revolutionised the list, especially with regard to the Top Ten. As the well-known US magazine was keen to point out, this ranking does not only take into account technical and vocal abilities (it is not a list of the best voices of all time), but also the originality of the vocal timbre, the record catalogue, the writing ability and the musical legacy of the singers in question. Here are the top 20 positions.