TIME Magazine just released a list of what they chose as the best 100 albums. Now, I’m not varied enough of a music listener to go through and critique all the albums they chose, but I’ve always had this question for people who deem an album to be “great”: What makes an album great?
It wasn’t until recently that I began listening to albums in their entirety. Radio singles have always been my forte, and 90% of the time the artist’s album is full of crap anyway. However, some albums are meant to be listened as a whole, from beginning to end. Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon” is a prime example of that. I’d be hard pressed to recommend a single track off the album for someone to determine whether they would like the album or not.
But I’m always seeing certain albums on these “best of” lists. Take for example U2’s “The Joshua Tree.” I finally got around to listening to it, and it sucks. Big time. The only songs on there that were any good were the singles that everyone knows and hears on the radio. And I ask people, “Really? You like that album? Are you sure you don’t mean you like four songs off that album?”
And Oasis’ “(What’s The Story) Morning Glory?” Everyone loves “Wonderwall,” and “Don’t Look Back in Anger” and “Champagne Supernova” are excellent songs, too. Heck, the TIME write-up even singles out those songs specifically. What about the rest of the album? I thought it sucked. Skip. Skip. Ooh I know this song. Skip. Skip. Bleh.
It’s time we drew a distinction between a “good album,” and an album that has a few awesome songs on it. What do I consider to be a good album? Albums that I can listen to from start to finish and not have horrible songs come up that make me scrambling for the skip button.
Some albums that would be on my list:
- Jimmy Eat World - Clarity
- Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
- Snow Patrol - Final Straw
- The Postal Service - Give Up
- The Killers - Hot Fuss
- Rilo Kiley - More Adventurous
- Death Cab for Cutie - Plans
- The Dave Brubeck Quartet - Time Out
- Death Cab for Cutie - Transatlanticism
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This coming from someone who would put the fey DCFC 3 times on your small list? . Anyway you show your age like TIME’s list did . However you are also right that Joshua Tree has 4 hits but it far from sucks. Listen to it again. Oasis made 2 good cd’s then sucked completely. Floyd is dead on but please if your going to make a short list don’t put on singers cd’s on it 3 times…you might as well be a dylan or beatles freak like Time’s 100 list. BTW OK computer over Dark Side is just dumb on that list.
Surely you didn’t fail to recognize the brilliance of “Hey Now!” on (What’s the Story) Morning Glory…