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Monday, January 6, 2014

The 100 Best Albums: 100-50

Part one of two.

The album was a product of the rock revolution, which might be summed up as the idea that popular music could be legitimate artistic expression. The Beatles became emblematic of this change, and they set the standard for rock. Artists should write their own songs and play their own instruments, in contrast to the production mill-Brill Building approach that had dominated the music business previously.

The idea of composing a group of thematically related songs, that worked together as-a-set,  brought the  album to its' pinnacle of cultural currency around 1980. Shortly thereafter, new formats like CDs and 12" singles began to erode the album format, and today it may be truly an anachronism, because of itunes and the prevailing pattern of consumption; people just grab their favorite songs.

Artists of course continue to create albums. Any group of music files in a folder constitutes 'an album',  but the era of the album as a distinct art form  is over. 'Rock' was the dominant idiom during the ascendency of the album, and so dominates this list. House music, as important and creative as it was, was a form not productive of great albums, due to its' intended-for-the-dancefloor nature and the prevalence of the 12" single format.

This list is, of necessity, a simple expression of my own personal taste, albeit a taste informed by a lifetime of heavy listening and obsessive collecting, and a background in art history.

Love.

Part two of this article is HERE. 



                                           50. Lee Perry and The Upsetters Super Ape 1976


                                        51. Bob Dylan The Basement Tapes 1968 (unreleased)


52. Scientist Rids the World of the Evil Curse of the Vampires 1981


                                           53. Jefferson Airplane Surrealistic Pillow 1967



54. Psychic TV Allegory and Self  1986  (unreleased, unexpurgated version)



                                       55. Happy Mondays Pills Thrills and Bellyaches 1990



56. The Clash The Clash 1977



57. Paul McCartney Ram 1971 


                                          58. The Byrds Younger Than Yesterday 1967


59. Nurse w/ Wound The Sylvie and Babs Hi-Fi Companion 1985


                                                    60. Led Zeppelin  the Four Symbols logo  1971
 

61. The Doors L.A. Woman 1971


62. Coli Horse Rotorvator 1986


63. The League Unlimited Orchestra Love and Dancing 1982 




64. Toro Y Moi Causers of This 2009

 

                                                   65. The Smiths The Smiths 1984


66. Steely Dan Can't Buy A Thrill 1972


                                                            67. KLF Chill Out 1990



68. The Pop Group Y 1979


69. Throbbing Gristle 20 Jazz Funk Greats 1979 


 70. Washed Out Life of Leisure 2009



71. Fleetwood Mac Rumours 1976




                                                72. Malcolm McLaren Duck Rock 1983


 73. The Orb Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld 1991


74. Led Zeppelin Houses of the Holy 1973


75. Tears For Fears Songs From the Big Chair 1985



                                            76.  Echo and the Bunnymen Ocean Rain 1984


 77. Chris and Cosey Techno Primitiv 1986


                                                      78. The The Soul Mining 1983


                               79. Throbbing Gristle D.o.A. The Third and Final Report 1978


                                                       80.  The Beatles Abbey Road 1969


                                              81. Book of Love Book of Love 1986



                                                 82. John Lennon Plastic Ono Band 1970


                                                  83. Rolling Stones Exile On Main St. 1972


                                                           84. Vektroid Neo Cali 2011


                                           85. Death In June The World That Summer 1986



86. Various Artists This Is Acid New Beat  1988 (Belgian)



                                                     87. New Order Brotherhood 1986


                                88. Memoryhouse The Years (original 'bedroom' version) 2010


                                                   89. Steely Dan The Royal Scam  1975


                         90. Orchestral Manoeuveres in the Dark (OMD)  Architecture and Morality 1981



                                                        91. Lou Reed Transformer 1972



                                                     92. The Stooges The Stooges 1969



                                                93. Current 93 Swastikas For Noddy 1987



94. Teen Daze Four More Years  2010



                                                            95. Suicide Suicide 1977



 96. Various Artists North; The Sound of the Dance Underground 1988



97. Van Halen Van Halen 1978


                                              98. Cabaret Voltaire The Conversation 1993


99. David Bowie (with Brian Eno) Heroes 1978 


                                                100. Blackbird Blackbird Summer Heart  2010

                                                                  PART TWO 

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