USA Today's Top 40 albums

[Michael Jones]

USA Today's Top 40 albums

A great album functions as a self-contained universe. USA TODAY music critic Edna Gundersen salutes 40 that stand as cohesive bodies of work — not just fine collections of songs. Some guidelines have been applied to separate this from the many best-of lists. History's most frequent list-topper, The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club, has been excluded, as have live albums (James Brown's Live at the Apollo), formal concept albums (The Who's Tommy), soundtracks (Superfly, The Harder They Come) and greatest-hits sets. This top 40, listed chronologically, spans 50 years to cull works that made the album configuration such a success:

1. Frank Sinatra, In the Wee Small Hours (1954). The jazzy and melancholy collection of ballads arranged by Nelson Riddle focuses on a failed love affair and forms one of the earliest concept albums.

2.Miles Davis, Kind of Blue (1959). The iconic trumpeter rewrote the jazz rulebook with this liberating celebration of improv and mood. It's still a primer for both jazzbos and rockers.

3. Johnny Cash, Ride This Train (1960). Though not his best songs, the country growler's ruminations on America's railroad history prove intriguing.

4. The Beatles, Revolver (1966). Though less acknowledged, this psychedelic, adventurous predecessor to 1967's Sgt. Pepper is a superior work.

5. The Beach Boys, Pet Sounds (1966). Brian Wilson's intensely personal tour de force inspired The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper.

6. Jimi Hendrix, Are You Experienced? (1967). The guitar prodigy's inventive and cosmic psychedelia continues to influence new waves of rockers.

7. The Who, The Who Sell Out (1967). Potent power pop compensates for an unsteady commercialism concept replete with phony radio ads and jingles.

8. Aretha Franklin, I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You (1967). Producer Jerry Wexler coaxed the previously muted fire from the Queen of Soul on this R&B masterpiece, the touchstone for diva wannabes.

9. Love, Forever Changes (1967). A stunning achievement in majestic folk-rock by Arthur Lee's underacknowledged cult band.

10. Van Morrison, Astral Weeks (1968). This rock monument actually draws from jazz, folk and blues to showcase Morrison's bewitching voice.

11. Dusty Springfield, Dusty in Memphis (1969). What started out as a simple batch of songs became a gold standard of blue-eyed soul, thanks to the alchemy between the British pop queen and visionary producer Jerry Wexler.

12. Marvin Gaye, What's Going On (1971). The soulster shattered Motown's pop formula with his powerful social commentary on race, war and the environment.

13. Sly and the Family Stone, There's a Riot Goin' On (1971). Cynicism and decadence seep into drug-hazed stories set in dense funk, a radical departure from the party vibe of Stand! two years earlier.

14. Joni Mitchell, Blue (1971). The singer exposes a fragile, battered heart in an exquisitely sad and lovely song cycle.

15. The Rolling Stones, Exile on Main St. (1972). The band's scrappy, ramshackle blues-rock manifesto foreshadowed grunge.

16. David Bowie, The Rise & Fall of Ziggy Stardust (1972). Bowie's androgynous extraterrestrial conveys the panic and paranoia of a coming apocalypse in glitzy, theatrical glam-rock with a heavy undertow.

17. Pink Floyd, Dark Side of the Moon (1973). The seeds of madness that lurk in the dreary predictability of daily life are magnified by the band's foreboding melodies and lush textures.

18. Stevie Wonder, Innervisions (1973). The summit of the wunderkind's blend of funk-addled synth-pop and socially conscious lyrics.

19. Bob Marley, Catch a Fire (1973). Marley and his phenomenal band ushered reggae into the mainstream with this sunny and sexy island carousal.

20. Bob Dylan, Blood on the Tracks (1975). Dylan's failed marriage fueled pained and poignant songs that brought a new emotional depth to his legacy.

21. Patti Smith, Horses (1975). The punk poetess and her crack band blazed a new trail in this brazen hybrid of literary smarts and feral rock.

22. The Ramones, The Ramones (1976). A 29-minute explosion of bratty speedy unschooled punk knocked the wind out of art-rock.

23. Fleetwood Mac, Rumours (1977). Internal romantic tumult is grist for confessional pop-rock gems.

24. The Clash, London Calling (1979). The punk band's third album embodies the genre's thrilling fury and blind devotion to rock 'n' roll's revolutionary powers.

25. Michael Jackson, Thriller (1982). The Jackson 5 pipsqueak emerges as an unstoppable star on this mature, feisty and hit-laden pop set helmed by Quincy Jones.

26. Paul Simon, Graceland (1986). World music found a global stage with the former folkie's rich and exotically fanciful collaborations with such African talents as Ladysmith Black Mambazo.

27. Metallica, Master of Puppets (1986). The heavy-metal outfit explores the tyranny of drugs in whiplash rhythms and stinging guitars.

28. Prince, Sign O' the Times (1987). After winning fans over with seductive balladry and guitar sizzle, Prince pushes his own boundaries on a sprawling rock-soul soundscape dotted by searing messages and wild mood swings.

29. Bruce Springsteen, Tunnel of Love (1987). The Boss has executed concept marvels from Nebraska to The Rising, but Tunnel ranks as a personal best for its anguish and intimacy.

30. Guns 'N Roses, Appetite for Destruction (1987). Exquisite pain, uncorked rage and pure rebellion meet in a full metal racket of howler Axl Rose and the smoking Guns.

31. NWA, Straight Outta Compton (1988). Gangsta rap stormed through pop's delicate barricades with the divisive (Expletive)Tha Police and snarling diatribes about racism, injustice and murderous rage.

32. Public Enemy, Fear of a Black Planet (1990). The Bomb Squad production team's dazzling and intricately layered sonics provide a vibrant platform for Chuck D's seething but articulate raps.

33. Sinead O'Connor, I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got (1990). The stark cover of Prince's Nothing Compares 2 U pulled listeners into the startling confessions and brutal catharsis of a complicated singer whose gorgeous voice conveys vulnerability and defiance in equal measures.

34. Nirvana, Nevermind (1991). Smells Like Teen Spirit crashed the hair-band party and anointed Kurt Cobain the Elvis of the grunge movement.

35. R.E.M., Automatic for the People (1992). Eloquent examinations of death and loss are countered by graceful arrangements, soothing melodies and Michael Stipe's achingly beautiful vocals.

36. U2, Achtung Baby (1992). After the triumphant Joshua Tree, Rock's revered idealists detour into the darker realms of irony, decay and turmoil on accessible avant-garde rock tunes recorded in Berlin.

37. Nine Inch Nails, The Downward Spiral (1994). Trent Reznor's endlessly intriguing one-man show distills wide-ranging styles and mesmerizing sound effects into his singular brand of brooding computerized art-rock.

38. Radiohead, OK Computer (1997). Themes of alienation and dysfunction bubble up through the band's fearlessly experimental textures and Thom Yorke's astonishing vocal prowess.

39. Eminem, The Marshall Mathers LP (2000). Rap's superlative wordsmith blurs the line between autobiography and cartoons in hilarious and vulgar high-velocity rhymes.

40. Neil Young, Greendale (2003). The latest in Young's long series of daring concept albums spins a cinematic yarn about a small-town family coping with a murder.

[otisredding]

EEEEEEEKKK! How the hell did the Neil Young 'Greendale' pukefest make that list?!! It's gotta be excluded on a couple of grounds. Mostly 'cause it's obvious crap but it's also a 'concept' album which I thought they excluded from this list......... bloody journalists! Also can think of a few better works by that particular neo-conservative hippy.

I also reckon the Hendrix album that summed him up was NOT 'Are You Experienced'. 'Axis: Bold As Love' gets my vote followed closely by 'Electric Ladyland'.

And WHAT, no Tom Petty? Surely 'Damn The Torpedoes' should be in the top 40? Ahead of bloody Sinead O'Popebasher surely??!!

go figure.........

PS> Good to see Bob Dylan hasn't made an album worthy of their list either??? OMG

[Michael Wong]

Haven't heard any new Neil Young in a long time but if it's a pukefest them I'm in no hurry too...

And why exclude concept albums ?
When done properly they ARE a self contained universe.

Yeah where's the iconic Tom Petty ?
Wildflowers instead of Damn... though



The order is chronological not in order of merit, hence Sinead's position.

She's OK but metallica and all that (c)rap stuff ???



And if you look carefully the Zimmerman is at #20.


cheerio
t o M

[otisredding]

Whoops...... and they got the right Dylan album at least.

[Coops]

Same ol same ol isn't it ??

blah blah blah Hendrix, blah blah blah Nirvana, blah blah blah Bob Dylan, blah blah blah The Clash, blah blah blah Joni Mitchell...............I'm beginning to think all these albums are listed somewhere in a 'what albums to feature in your top 40 to appear credible' list given out to magazine publishers & they simply change the order.

The Clashs 'London Calling' never used to feature in anyones top 40 until Rolling Stone magazine pulled one completely out of leftfield & named it best album of the last 25 years in an issue about 3-4 years ago, it was a real bolter that had most american music journo's in a complete spin, a) they'd never heard it & b) they weren't American.

Ever since then it's been in every top 40 I've seen

[Callum]

The idea of a TOP 40 album list is moronic in the first place - a lot of people in this forum probably couldn't pick a top 40 from their own collection, let alone from the MILLIONS of available albums. These lists should really be called "40 albums I think are great" (too puerile for sophisticated journos of course) or perhaps "40 titles to rubber stamp my pretentiousness". Ho hum, up yer b...

Callum

[mycenius]

Plus, even if it's a "40 albums I like" list, having a Mafia Mobster at number one is really a bit much!

[PartTimer]

Michael,

Good gawd. How can you use the words Metallica, and Crap, in the same sentence? I guess you arent from the late 60's, or 70's?

[Craig F]

Originally posted by PartTimer
How can you use the words Metallica, and Crap, in the same sentence?

It can be done many ways, (God, what are they teaching in English these days!) but my personal favourite would be, "Everything produced by Metallica is crap." There are many variations.

Cheers,

Craig.

[Michael Wong]

Nice one Craig

You are forgiven for P. Barber et al

[otisredding]

Originally posted by Craig F
It can be done many ways, (God, what are they teaching in English these days!) but my personal favourite would be, "Everything produced by Metallica is crap." There are many variations.

Cheers,

Craig.

They speak very highly of your work though......


DW

[Coops]

"Everything produced by Metallica is crap."

mad: :mad

no it isn't

[PartTimer]

Heheh heheh, thats a good one. Its like saying All Rock is crap, or all jazz is crap. Kind of a wide brush to use with a band like Metallica I thought. While I have quite a few of their albums, I have not heard everything they have produced. Their latest style is similar to early 90's 'Danzig', while their early 90's music was pure Heavy Rock. Sort of what Black Sabbath and Led Zep would have been producing if they were around, fully, in the 90's.

Coops....Different strokes for different (read: deaf, devoid of hearing) folks.

[Craig F]

Originally posted by PartTimer
Heheh heheh, thats a good one. Its like saying All Rock is crap, or all jazz is crap.

G'day PT,

Mate, I was only having a dig. Can't say that I know a lot of Metallica's music off the top of my head. As long as people enjoy music of any sort it's better than the other option.

Cheers,

Craig.

[Michael Jones]

No insulting of people's musical tastes on this forum please.