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top 10 albums last 20 years according to Spin


Pete

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Is there a summary of the criteria they used to select these top 10 albums (Folks can respond with their sarcastic comments that an album had to meet some silly criteria like crappiness or idiocy, but i think we can all assume that many think this list is silly and your pretend criteria merely lengthen the thread. Feel free to blast away but stating the reasons why you think their criteria suck would at least be a useful response).

 

In my mind sells do not mean quality but they certainly are a criterion I would use to judge a "best" album because even if I thought the music was bad, impact is determined by a lot of people buying the album. I can take a pass on the M Jackson album Thriller in terms of quality and rather than the music solely creating its massive impact it was the dancing on the videos and the long-form commercial directed by John Landis which also created much of the impact.

 

My judgments on music quality is such a big factor for me, even with its massive impact Thriller would not be at the top of my list of top albums in the last 25 years, but due to its massive impact and it really changing the nature of the record business with its innovative inspiration of vidoe and the dance moves it is one of the top 100 albums of all time for me easily (in fact I would not be shocked if Spin chose 20 years as a time period simply to avoid avoiding or including Thriller in its list.

 

Ironically one of my other key factors for judging both the impact of a top album and assessing its musical quality (music I thought was great when I was 10 or 20 I did not think the same thing of when I was 30 or 40 and staying power helps me judge this- In addition, music which did not strike me at all upon an intial listing has grown on me after a few listens and the impacts of an album are better judged with time.

 

Quite frankly I think choosing any album released only within the last 5 years is pretty silly,

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Top Posters In This Topic

Top Posters In This Topic

1. "OK Computer," Radiohead

2. "It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back," Public Enemy

3. "Nevermind," Nirvana

4. "Slanted and Enchanted," Pavement

5. "The Queen Is Dead," Smiths

6. "Surfer Rosa," PIxies

7. "3 Feet High and Rising," De La Soul

8. "Sign 'O' the Times," Prince

9. "Rid of Me," PJ Harvey

10. "Straight Outta Compton," N.W.A

 

http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/Music/06/2...0.ap/index.html

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You mean to tell me I own the greatest album ever made and all it's been doing is sitting in a CD rack gathering dust for the past 6-7 years?

 

You'd think if it was so great I'd have bothered to give it a listen from time to time.

 

New albums that should be on there:

White Pony - Deftones

Deja Entandu - Brand New

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I have a 19 yr old daughter that about 5 years ago

was real heavy into rap, and a few boy bands. Hell, I even

took her to see the Spice Girls. Although I myself was not into that

sort of music, I never knocked her choices of music.

I remember my dad totally freaking the first time I put Jimi

Hendrix on the turntable. I promised that I would never do that to

my kids.

 

Now my daughter is heavy into Zeppelin, The Beatles, The Who,

and the Dead.

Why she changed....who knows?

I just think that quality music will always take it's place when it is

discovered by young people.

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It's funny you should say that.

When i was in middle school(8-10 years ago), I was into alternative rock a lot until i started playing guitar and discovered hendrix, zeppelin, clapton etc... Around this time i was a bigtime "rap-hater", detesting amd criticizing this seemingly stupid form of music. As time went on I got really into the blues and other things too. Oddly enough, now at the age of 21, I find myself more interested in hip hop than anything else. I still listen to other things, but not nearly as much.

Anyone who calls it "rap" clearly doesn't listen to it, or at least not any of it that isnt on the radio or being force-fed via tv advertising. It's one of the most inventive and relevant forms of music out there right now. Its not that these people don't have music talent, they are just utilizing their talents in different ways than the generation before them.

"why don't rap artists play intstruments?" you ask. Well, some do as stated in an earlier post. Furthermore, instruments cost money, lessons cost money. Hip hop started in teh south bronx in the late 70s and early 80s. These were people not steeped in cash. So what do people do when they cannot create through traditional means? they use what they have around htem. Record Players, occasionally a microphone, these were the instruments of the hip hop artist.

 

Also, no matter what BF will tell you, even if she smoked some marijuana it wouldn

t be the end of the world.

 

and just because Bill O'Reilly says that hip hop is degenerative garbage doesn't make it true.

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Now my daughter is heavy into Zeppelin, The Beatles, The Who,

and the Dead.

Why she changed....who knows?

I just think that quality music will always take it's place when it is

discovered by young people.

362928[/snapback]

 

Do you really want to know?

 

Or do you already know?

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Yeah those are some really "great albums".  I'm sure all of about 500 people own a few of them.

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Maybe you ought to listen to them before you blather on. They ARE great albums.

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Great albums are a combination of things.  Album sales, album quality, lasting impact.  I'm sorry but none of the albums I've seen on the top of that list and the bottom have more than one of those qualities.  I take that back, Nevermind does.

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Get a clue. Just because an album isn't filled with teen angst doesn't mean it isn't good. Someday you'll grow up, though.

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This thread is really bugging the crap out of me because it just highlights what is wrong with music today. The Spin list isn't based on commercial radio heavy rotation. The Spin list isn't based on how many copies got sold out of WalMart. The point of the list was to list albums that came out in the last 20 years that had a distinctive impact on music at the time, and had an impact on the music and artists that followed. So you haven't heard of Big Black? Well you sure have heard the impact that Steve Albini had on mixing drums for countless records that followed. You don't like rap? Well when Public Enemy's "...Nation..." and NWAs "Straight..." came out in 1988, the intense imagery and brutal honesty (imagined or otherwise) was shocking to hear coming out of a pair of speakers. You can not deny how these records changed music, or served as benchmarks for entire genres. You can't like (or hate) what you've never heard.

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Exactly. I'm not a big fan of PJHarvey, but you have to look at impact, talent, quality of songrwriting, etc.

 

This thread is really bugging the crap out of me because it just highlights what is wrong with music today.  The Spin list isn't based on commercial radio heavy rotation.  The Spin list isn't based on how many copies got sold out of WalMart.  The point of the list was to list albums that came out in the last 20 years that had a distinctive impact on music at the time, and had an impact on the music and artists that followed.  So you haven't heard of Big Black?  Well you sure have heard the impact that Steve Albini had on mixing drums for countless records that followed.  You don't like rap?  Well when Public Enemy's "...Nation..." and NWAs "Straight..." came out in 1988, the intense imagery and brutal honesty (imagined or otherwise) was shocking to hear coming out of a pair of speakers.  You can not deny how these records changed music, or served as benchmarks for entire genres.  You can't like (or hate) what you've never heard.

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Do you really want to know?

 

Or do you already know?

362981[/snapback]

 

Humor attempt? Nah....

 

My 14, almost 15 year old daughter and her school friends frequently surprise me when they too dig out some oldies (Lep Zep is big) and tell me what a great old song they've come across. Then I turn on my PC and play it again for them.

 

Music that can transcend generations, that's a sign of truely great music. Yet, it's not the only sign. Influential effect is another. Again it's the lasting influence that counts. Trendy, hip, popular is fine, but that in and of itself does not attest to it's greatness.

 

Bottom line, whatever one's preference is, enjoy. That's what it's here for....

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I would classify Rap as being more of an endless complaint rather than music....

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You got that right, buddy.

 

Don't you think its funny that a "band" makes a CD called "It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back", which is makes that point that whitey wants to keep all the blacks down, and they end up being rich and make money hand over fist?

 

Kind of like Spike Lee talking about the "man" holding him back, and how racist america is, while he collects six figure checks from Nike and Disney.

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1. "OK Computer," Radiohead

2. "It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back," Public Enemy

3. "Nevermind," Nirvana

4. "Slanted and Enchanted," Pavement

5. "The Queen Is Dead," Smiths

6. "Surfer Rosa," PIxies

7. "3 Feet High and Rising," De La Soul

8. "Sign 'O' the Times," Prince

9. "Rid of Me," PJ Harvey

10. "Straight Outta Compton," N.W.A

 

http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/Music/06/2...0.ap/index.html

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I'm proud to say I own 9 of these 10 albums (all except the Prince). The Radiohead I don't listen to though because I think it sucks.

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Yup, I give in. You guys are right. Why listen to anything new when it's all crap, right? Why buy a new record when I can just drive around in my Astrovan cranking good' ole Led Zep? Maybe the Pink Floyd reunion will inspire them to make another record and tour? That would be awesome. Hey, man, is that the new Aerosmith single? Crank it up.

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