Rolling Stone 100 Albums of the Decade

[Janet]

I have very little knowledge of her guitar playing.  I wasn't even really questioning her being on the list.  Her placement at 17 (guitarists of all times!!!) was what shocked me.

[mjkoehler]

Was that the same list that had Kurt Cobain as one of the top 5 or 10 guitarist ever? Really?

[mjkoehler]

Most of the list and order of rankings made me simmer in slow-boil anger. The top 10 gets posted tomorrow, but Elephant is #19. C'mon. It's a Top 5 or even #1.

Agreed.

[Jaimoe]

I have very little knowledge of her guitar playing.  I wasn't even really questioning her being on the list.  Her placement at 17 (guitarists of all times!!!) was what shocked me.

There's tokenism in there for sure. I'm old enough to know that Joan was very influential and popular when she left The Runaways. I haven't seen the list, but if Sister Rosetta Tharpe isn't on it, then it isn't a real list: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeaBNAXfHfQ

[mjkoehler]

What an awful list. Not only do they have the average Only By The Night KOL album on there, but do we need THAT much f'n Kayne and MIA? I.Don't.Get.It.

[Jaimoe]

The newest M.I.A. album is really good.

[capt. scotty]

2 Springsteen albums in the Top 20
M.I.A. has 2 on the list, 1 in the Top 10
;D

I still dont get the love at all for Is This It?

I too share the sentiment that once I saw RTCM at #98, I wasnt going to be impressed.

Surprising thing is, if you look at the artists they had vote for this list, its pretty respectable. One Jim James was one of the voters. Id be cool to see his personal list.

...that said, their song list is a little more in line with what Id have at the top than pitchfork's with 1,2, and 3 for me being Seven Nation Army, Hey Ya, and Crazy

The music mag I write for has a pretty snobby Top 50 of the decade list. Most of the list and order of rankings made me simmer in slow-boil anger. The top 10 gets posted tomorrow, but Elephant is #19. C'mon. It's a Top 5 or even #1.

I dont think the Stripes have released anything worse than good and probably all their albums deserve to be in the Top 100. Elephant is excellent, but I after listening to both last night ironically, I actually think Icky Thump might be my favorite of theirs.

[capt. scotty]

Rolling Stone's lists are crap.  I saw one a few years ago about the top 100 guilarists of all time and I believe Joan Jett was #17.  

Really?

Was it last year that they showed the artists ballots for selecting these things and included YY?

Joan Jett is the female non-Aretha that modern female "musicians" like to cite to.

EDIT: that's not to say that women can't be musicians; I'm referring to women who like to pretend to be musicians.

Last year they showed 20-25 musicians Top 20 vocalists and they showed JJ's entire list.

[capt. scotty]

What an awful list. Not only do they have the average Only By The Night KOL album on there, but do we need THAT much f'n Kayne and MIA? I.Don't.Get.It.

Pretty sure OBTN was the highest of the 3 albums too, with BOTT not even listed.

I dont get how they have Kanyes last album on there. Everything I heard from it was terrible, and I thought it got slammed by critics and fans alike

At the same time, I cant remember seeing anything on there that wasnt either very popular or indie-praised (ie like Phoenix's album this year)

[el_chode]

What an awful list. Not only do they have the average Only By The Night KOL album on there, but do we need THAT much f'n Kayne and MIA? I.Don't.Get.It.

Pretty sure OBTN was the highest of the 3 albums too, with BOTT not even listed.

I dont get how they have Kanyes last album on there. Everything I heard from it was terrible, and I thought it got slammed by critics and fans alike

At the same time, I cant remember seeing anything on there that wasnt either very popular or indie-praised (ie like Phoenix's album this year)

KOL make me cry. I feel abandoned by them. And such a great start, those first two albums are awesome, and the third one isn't anything to shake a stick at. I just don't like it because it feels likey recorded it while hungover from the antics of Aha Shake Heartbreak

[Murph]

What an awful list. Not only do they have the average Only By The Night KOL album on there, but do we need THAT much f'n Kayne and MIA? I.Don't.Get.It.

Pretty sure OBTN was the highest of the 3 albums too, with BOTT not even listed.

I dont get how they have Kanyes last album on there. Everything I heard from it was terrible, and I thought it got slammed by critics and fans alike

At the same time, I cant remember seeing anything on there that wasnt either very popular or indie-praised (ie like Phoenix's album this year)

KOL make me cry. I feel abandoned by them. And such a great start, those first two albums are awesome, and the third one isn't anything to shake a stick at. I just don't like it because it feels likey recorded it while hungover from the antics of Aha Shake Heartbreak

I hear ya man....It really is pretty startling in the disparity between Youth and Young Manhood and Aha Shake Heartbreak compared to the last 2 records they've made.  I feel like they've bought into themselves as being huge rockstars and creatively it has really hurt them.  I havent lost all faith yet though....those first two albums were enough to keep me interested in them for a longgg time.

[el_chode]

What an awful list. Not only do they have the average Only By The Night KOL album on there, but do we need THAT much f'n Kayne and MIA? I.Don't.Get.It.

Pretty sure OBTN was the highest of the 3 albums too, with BOTT not even listed.

I dont get how they have Kanyes last album on there. Everything I heard from it was terrible, and I thought it got slammed by critics and fans alike

At the same time, I cant remember seeing anything on there that wasnt either very popular or indie-praised (ie like Phoenix's album this year)

KOL make me cry. I feel abandoned by them. And such a great start, those first two albums are awesome, and the third one isn't anything to shake a stick at. I just don't like it because it feels likey recorded it while hungover from the antics of Aha Shake Heartbreak

I hear ya man....It really is pretty startling in the disparity between Youth and Young Manhood and Aha Shake Heartbreak compared to the last 2 records they've made.  I feel like they've bought into themselves as being huge rockstars and creatively it has really hurt them.  I havent lost all faith yet though....those first two albums were enough to keep me interested in them for a longgg time.

It's going to be extremely hard to change their personalities though. So many interviews where they resent their old fans abandoning them and then in the same interview ask why no one respects them.

I don't respect them since they've stopped buttoning their sparlky shirts past the nipples and allowed their label to market them to teenagers and their moms.

It reminds me of seeing incubus in the 90s. Before Make Yourself came out, they were just fun shows to go to. Then after "drive" hit the airwaves, the crowd shifted to little girls screaming for brandon to take his shirt off, and Mom's calling security over people smoking, moshing, etc. But Incubus didn't start blaming their fans for being disloyal

[capt. scotty]

Didnt KoL say something along the lines this was their "pop" album and then theyre going to go back to something along the lines of their earlier sound? Either way, im not holding my breath and ill believe it when I see it.

...as for Incubus, I hate that Drive is their biggest hit, although I dont think they necessarily "sold out" as much as KoL has (then again, KoL are pretty hard to beat at this point  ;D). You could probably give them credit though bc Im pretty sure Pardon Me and Stellar were both the singles before Drive, and both successful singles, that once Drive came around they just blew up into a whole nother level. Their sound from Fungus Amongus, to SCIENCE, to Make Yourself seemed to be honed each album, and Make Yourself had so many catchy songs on it, it was hard to miss. I quit listening to them after Morning View, but what Ive heard off their last couple albums is pretty good and I dont think they ever dictated their sound to fans or money

[mjkoehler]

KOL's first 3 are fantastic. I think BOTT is an excellent album even if it shies away from the shambly swagger of the first 2. At least it went to a better place then OBTN. OBTN is average, it's ok, but sure as hell does not belong in a best 100 of the last 10 years and certainly not in front of their previous 3 albums (or anything the Jacket have done IMO). It saddens me to see all the new, screaming fans, who have not a fucking clue about anything prior to Sex On Fire or Use Somebody and they think themselves true fans. If their next is in the same vein as OBTN, I'm done I think.

[el_chode]

Re: Incubus - they didn't sell out, they mellowed out. If they sold out they would have gone the way of RHCP and made generic anthem rock about California for 4 albums straight. I also met the guys at a screening of the Pick of Destiny and they were beyond normal. They were throwing popcorn at each other during the movie.

Re: Only by the Night. I got it after hearing Sex on Fire, which I liked, and good will of the band, and I think it lasted a whole week in my rotation. And then Use Somebody was co-opted by the OC or something that infected the popular psyche like mind-numbing wildfire.

If it's their pop album, great. But they owe me an album with grungy bass, vaginal cover art, and songs full of hookers and blow.

[MarkW]

KOL make me cry. I feel abandoned by them. And such a great start, those first two albums are awesome, and the third one isn't anything to shake a stick at. I just don't like it because it feels likey recorded it while hungover from the antics of Aha Shake Heartbreak

For me, it never got any better than Trani.  That song blew (blows) my mind.  That being said, their entire catalogue beats most of that top 100 hands down...

[weeniebeenie]

KOL's first 3 are fantastic. I think BOTT is an excellent album even if it shies away from the shambly swagger of the first 2. At least it went to a better place then OBTN. OBTN is average, it's ok, but sure as hell does not belong in a best 100 of the last 10 years and certainly not in front of their previous 3 albums (or anything the Jacket have done IMO). It saddens me to see all the new, screaming fans, who have not a fucking clue about anything prior to Sex On Fire or Use Somebody and they think themselves true fans. If their next is in the same vein as OBTN, I'm done I think.

I totally agree with this. BOTT had some great songs (Arizona, True Love Way, Knocked Up, hell all of it was good) but OBTN was boring compared to their other albums.

[bicyclejoe]

This list was mainly crap. MMJ should have had all albums on there, as they are all pretty different and all groundbreaking. Green day should never be on any "top" list, they just started bashing bush to sell records and become relevant again. It just seems they left off a lot, mainly MMJ.

That's a silly comment. American Idiot was definitely in my top 5 of the decade. A classic album.
There's a lot of great music on that list.

[The DARK]

RS are a bunch of burnouts trying to be hip while insisting that Springsteen, Dylan, and U2 are still making the best albums of the decade. Kid A at #1 seems like a cop-out to me; each best-of list should have its own distinct tone (for better or worse), and a Pitchfork emulation seems to be the only thing they could come up with.

While it's nice to MMJ getting some recognition, I wonder if the magazine will survive after people stop caring about Woodstock.

[bicyclejoe]

Yet another silly statement.
Who would have been in your Top 10? At least offer that before throwing out a bunch of negative stereotypes and generalities.