Vibe’s 100 Essential Albums of the 20th Century

image from pixgood.com

In December of 1999, the urban-oriented American magazine Vibe published its list of the 100 essential albums of the 20th century, as determined by the Vibe staff. Surprisingly, a link to that list has proved elusive. However, you can find the original article through Google books here.

The albums were not ranked, so the list below is organized in alphabetical order by artist. Note: because many of these are compilations, the date of release may be adjusted to reflect the years represented by the collection instead. For example, Sam Cooke’s collection The Man and His Music was released in 1986, but only covers material through 1965, so the latter date is the one used.

1. Louis Armstong An American Icon (1998)
2. Eric B. & Rakim Paid in Full (1987)
3. The Beach Boys Pet Sounds (1966)
4. Beastie Boys Licensed to Ill (1986)
5. The Beatles The Beatles (aka “The White Album”) (1968)
6. Chuck Berry 20th Century Masters: The Millenium Collection (1999)
7. Bjork Post (1995)
8. Black Sabbath Paranoid (1970)
9. Mary J. Blige My Life (1994)
10. Boogie Down Productions Criminal Minded (1987)
    
    
11. David Bowie Station to Station (1976)
12. James Brown In the Jungle Groove (1971)
13. Johnny Cash I Walk the Line (1964)
14. Ray Charles Genius & Soul: The 50th Anniversary Collection (1997)
15. Chic Dance, Dance, Dance – The Best of (1982)
16. The Clash London Calling (1979)
17. Patsy Cline The Collection (1991)
18. Ornette Coleman The Shape of Jazz to Come (1959)
19. John Coltrane A Love Supreme (1965)
20. Sam Cooke The Man and His Music (1965)

21. Elvis Costello Armed Forces (1979)
22. Miles Davis Kind of Blue (1959)
23. De La Soul Is Dead (1991)
24. Dr. Dre The Chronic (1992)
25. Bob Dylan Blood on the Tracks (1975)
26. Duke Ellington The Centennial Edition (1927-1973)
27. Fleetwood Mac Rumours (1977)
28. Aretha Franklin Lady Soul (1968)
29. The Fugees The Score (1996)
30. Funkadelic One Nation Under a Groove (1978)

31. Marvin Gaye What’s Going On (1971)
32. Stan Getz/Joao Gilberto Getz/Gilberto (1963)
33. Dizzy Gillespie The Complete RCA Victor Recordings (1937-1949)
34. Al Green The Supreme Al Green (1992)
35. Woody Guthrie Library of Congress Recordings (1964)
36. Guy Guy (1988)
37. The Jimi Hendrix Experience Are You Experienced? (1967)
38. Billie Holiday..Quintessential (1940-1942)
39. Buddy Holly & the Crickets Collection: 50 Classic Recordings (1959)
40. Husker Du Zen Arcade (1984)

41. Ice Cube Death Certificate (1991)
42. Janet Jackson Control (1986)
43. Michael Jackson Thriller (1982)
44. Robert Johnson The King of the Delta Blues Singers Vol. 1 (1937)
45. B.B. King Live at the Regal (1964)
46. Kraftwerk Trans-Europa Express (1977)
47. Fela Anikulapo Kuti Zombie (1977)
48. The Last Poets This Is Madness (1971)
49. Leadbelly Last Sessions (1948)
50. Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin II (1969)

51. Little Richard 18 Greatest Hits (1985)
52. Bob Marley & the Wailers African Herbsman (1972)
53. Massive Attack Blue Lines (1991)
54. Curtis Mayfield Superfly (1972)
55. Charles Mingus Pithecantrophus Erectus (1956)
56. Joni Mitchell Blue (1971)
57. Thelonious Monk Genius of Modern Music, Vol. 1 (1947)
58. Van Morrison Moondance (1970)
59. Nine Inch Nails The Downward Spiral (1994)
60. Nirvana Nevermind (1991)

61. The Notorious B.I.G. Ready to Die (1994)
62. N.W.A. Straight Outta Compton (1989)
63. Charlie Parker Bird: The Complete Charlie Parker on Verve (1988)
64. Lee Perry & the Upsetters Blackboard Jungle Dub (1973)
65. The Police Message in a Box: The Complete Recordings (1977-1986)
66. Elvis Presley The King of Rock and Roll: The Complete ‘50s Masters (1953-1959)
67. Prince Purple Rain (1984)
68. Public Enemy It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (1988)
69. Sun Ra Heliocentric Worlds of Sun Ra, Vol. 1 (1965)
70. Ramones Rocket to Russia (1977)

71. Shabba Ranks As Raw As Ever (1991)
72. Otis Redding Otis! The Definitive Otis Redding (1993)
73. The Replacements Let It Be (1984)
74. The Rolling Stones Sticky Fingers (1971)
75. Sonny Rollins Saxophone Colossus (1956)
76. Roxy Music Siren (1975)
77. Rufus featuring Chaka Khan Ask Rufus (1977)
78. Run-D.M.C. Raising Hell (1986)
79. Mongo Santamaria Our Man in Havana (1959)
80. Santana Abraxas (1970)

81. Tupac Shakur Greatest Hits (1998)
82. Nina Simone Sugar in My Bowl: The Very Best of (1998)
83. Frank Sinatra Songs for Swinging Lovers (1956)
84. Slick Rick The Great Adventures of Slick Rick (1988)
85. Sly & the Family Stone There’s a Riot Goin’ On (1971)
86. Bessie Smith The Essential (1923-1933)
87. Patti Smith Horses (1975)
88. The Specials The Specials (1979)
89. Bruce Springsteen Born to Run (1975)
90. The Stooges The Stooges (1969)

91. The Supremes Anthology (1969)
92. Talking Heads Remain in Light (1980)
93. A Tribe Called Quest The Low-End Theory (1991)
94. Various Artists Saturday Night Fever Soundtrack (1977)
95. Sarah Vaughan The Complete Sarah Vaughan (1954-1967)
96. The Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967)
97. War Anthology (1970-1994)
98. Muddy Waters At Newport (1960)
99. Stevie Wonder Innervisions (1973)
100. Wu-Tang Clan Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) (1993)

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Santana hit #1 with "Smooth": October 23, 1999

Originally posted October 23, 2011.

When Santana hit #1 on the pop charts with “Smooth”, it marked the 30th anniversary of his chart debut on the Billboard 100 and the longest span in chart history between an artist’s chart debut and first trip to #1. ^SF In October 1969, “Jingo” became Carlos’ first hit, albeit it a minor one with a peak at #56. Over the next few years, he had notable hits with “Evil Ways” (#9), “Black Magic Woman” (#4), and Oye Como Va” (#13). He regularly landed top 40 hits during the 1970s, but by the 1980s, his success with singles had dwindled. He landed only five songs on the Hot 100 during the entire decade, although “Winning” and “Hold On” were top 20 hits.

Arista Records’ chief Clive Davis, who had worked with Santana at Columbia Records, signed him to record an album with an all-star guest roster. Santana had been fronted by many lead singers over the years, but this was a new approach. Among those lending their aid to Santana’s comeback were Eric Clapton, Cee-Lo Green, Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean, Dave Matthews, and Rob Thomas. Thomas was one of the hottest names around as the front man of pop-rock group Matchbox 20. His co-writing and singing on “Smooth” launched one of the most impressive career resurgences in chart history.

Itaal Shur, a songwriter and producer who had worked with Jewel and Maxwell, brought a song called “Room One Seven” to Arista. They liked the instrumental, but thought his lyrics were too sexual and tapped Thomas for a rewrite. ^SF Inspired by his wife’s Puerto Rican descent, Thomas crafted the new song with the Spanish-flavored lyrics. ^WK Thomas envisioned George Michael singing the, but recorded a demo to play for Santana. ^WK

With “Smooth”, Santana didn’t just land the biggest hit of his career, but the biggest pop single of 1999. WHC In its 2008 run-down of the biggest hits in the fifty-year history of the Hot 100, Billboard magazine named it the #2 all-time song on that chart. ^BB100 “Smooth” spent a dozen weeks at the chart pinnacle and a grand total of 30 weeks in the top 10.

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Awards:

• one of the top 1000 songs of all time
  
• DMDB song of the year
  
• Biggest #1 Pop Songs in U.S. Chart History
  
• Grammy Award for Record of the Year
  
• Grammy Award for Song of the Year
  
• one of the RIAA’s top 365 songs of the 20th century
  
• one of the top 100 songs of the 1990s
  

Resources and Related Links:

• the DMDB page for “Smooth”
  
• Santana’s DMDB Encyclopedia entry
  
• ^BB100 Billboard (9/08). “All-Time Hot 100”.
  
• ^JA David A. Jasen. (2002). A Century of American Popular Music: 2000 Best-Loved and Remembered Songs (1899-1999). Routledge: Taylor & Francis, Inc. Page 176.
  
• ^SF Songfacts.com
  
• ^TB Thunder Bay Press (2006). Singles: Six Decades of Hot Hits & Classic Cuts. Outline Press Ltd.: San Diego, CA. Page 289.
  
• ^WHC Joel Whitburn (1999). A Century of Pop Music. Menomonee Falls, WI; Record Research, Inc. Page 130.
  
• ^WK Wikipedia.org
  

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Creed hit #1 with Human Clay: October 16, 1999

Originally posted October 16, 2012.

“Creed burst out of Florida with 1997’s My Own Prison, a dark but commercial debut reminiscent of the early-‘90s Seattle sound. Creed’s moody guitar grunge and ardent lyrics, coupled with singer Scott Stapp’s passionate vocals, helped My Own Prison sell millions.” ^KT Human Clay proved even more successful, debuting at #1 in the U.S. and selling 17 million copies worldwide.

The first single, Higher, “is typical Creed – safe, emotive guitar rock for the masses, but with a slight edge.” ^KT It spent a then-record 17 weeks atop the album rock tracks chart. The third single, With Arms Wide Open, reached even higher, going all the way to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, a rare occurrence for a rock band at a time when boy bands ruled the charts.



The group didn’t mess with the success of their first album, turning out a “a sophomore outing rife with evocative moodiness, soaring guitars, and a dark, roiling, intense vibe.” ^KT “Nobody could figure out why this group managed to not just survive, but thrive…After all, at the time, not only were post-grunge bands dying, but so were such grunge heavyweights as Pearl Jam and Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell.” ^STE

When one listens to the album, though, “a realization sets in: Unlike their influences – from Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains to Stone Temple Pilots – Creed is happy to be a rock band.” ^STE “Their music may not be particularly joyous and they may even favor foreboding, heavy riffs, but they’re not trying to stretch into political causes or worldbeat like Pearl Jam; they’re not reveling in dark psychedelia like Soundgarden; nor are they attempting a glam Abbey Road like Stone Temple Pilots.” ^STE This “a straightforward grunge and hard rock band, embracing everything that goes along with that.” ^STE “They might not have as strong an identity as their forefathers, but they’re not faceless.” ^STE It makes “Human Clay at once compelling and effectively redundant.” ^KT

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Awards:

• one of the top 1000 albums of all time by Dave’s Music Database
  
• Rock and Roll Hall of Fame/NARM’s Definitive Albums
  
• one of the top 100 albums of the 1990s
  

Resources and Related Links:

• Creed’s DMDB Encyclopedia entry
  
• the DMDB page for Human Clay
  
• ^STE Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
  
• ^KT Katherine Turman, Amazon.com
  

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Q Magazine – The 100 Greatest Stars of the 20th Century

image from angelfire.com

Toward the close of the 20th century, British music magazine Q asked its readers to vote on the greatest stars of the 20th century. Here were the results:

1. John Lennon
2. Paul McCartney
3. Kurt Cobain
4. Bob Dylan
5. Elvis Presley
6. David Bowie
7. Madonna
8. Noel Gallagher
9. Liam Gallagher
10. Michael Stipe

11. Keith Richards
12. Bob Marley
13. Freddie Mercury
14. Frank Sinatra
15. Jimi Hendrix
16. Thom Yorke
17. Aretha Franklin
18. Bono
19. James Brown
20. Brian Wilson

21. Robert Johnson
22. Mick Jagger
23. Iggy Pop
24. Joe Strummer
25. Marvin Gaye
26. Ringo Starr
27. Little Richard
28. Chuck D
29. Joni Mitchell
30. George Michael

31. Richard Ashcroft
32. Richey Edwards
33. Kate Bush
34. Patti Smith
35. Bruce Springsteen
36. George Harrison
37. Stevie Wonder
38. Jarvis Cocker
39. Marc Bolan
40. Dr. Dre

41. Morrissey
42. Cerys Matthews
43. Nick Drake
44. Charlie Parker
45. Neil Young
46. Debbie Harry
47. Pete Townshend
48. John “Johnny Rotten” Lydon
49. Ray Davies
50. Captain Beefheart

51. Paul Weller
52. Miles Davis
53. Ian Curtis
54. Brian Eno
55. Rod Stewart
56. Nicky Wire
57. Hank Williams
58. Jimmy Page
59. Lou Reed
60. Duke Ellington

61. Phil Spector
62. Paul Simon
63. Woody Guthrie
64. Ralf Hutter
65. Sam Cooke
66. Jim Morrison
67. Prince
68. Shaun Ryder
69. Lee “Scratch” Perry
70. Syd Barrett

71. Brian Jones
72. Keith Moon
73. Youssou N’Dour
74. Roger Waters
75. Buddy Holly
76. Billie Holiday
77. Robert Plant
78. Bez
79. Diana Ross
80. Sting

81. Louis Armstrong
82. Igory Stravinksy
83. Eric Clapton
84. John Squire
85. Liam Howlett
86. Lauryn Hill
87. Fela Kuti
88. Serge Gainsbourg
89. Damon Albarn
90. Sylvester “Sly Stone” Stewart

91. Muddy Waters
92. Claudy Debussy
93. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
94. Elvis Costello
95. Johnny Marr
96. Ozzy Osbourne
97. Frank Zappa
98. Ian Brown
99. Bryan Ferry
100. Ravi Shankar

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Resources:

• rocklistmusic.co.uk: The 100 Greatest Stars of the 20th Century

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In Concert: Roger Waters

image from watersish.com

Venue: Kemper Arena; Kansas City, MO
Tour: In the Flesh Tour
The Players: Roger Waters (vocals, guitar, bass), Andy Fairweather-Low (guitar), Doyle Bramhall II (guitar, vocals), Jon Carin (keyboards), Graham Broad (drums), Katie Kissoon (backing vocals)

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The Set List:

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1. In the Flesh
2. The Thin Ice
3. Another Brick in the Wall Part 1
4. The Happiest Days of Our Lives
5. Another Brick in the Wall Part 2
6. Mother
7. Get Your Filthy Hands Off My Desert
8. Southampton Dock
9. Pigs on the Wing Part 1
10. Dogs
11. Welcome to the Machine
12. Wish You Were Here
13. Shine on You Crazy Diamond Part 1-4
14. Shine on You Crazy Diamond Part 5-8
15. Speak to Me
16. Breathe
17. Time
18. Breathe Reprise
19. The Great Gig in the Sky
20. Money
21. Every Stranger’s Eyes
22. The Powers That Be
23. What God Wants Part 1
24. Perfect Sense Part 1 and 2
25. It’s a Miracle
26. Amused to Death
27. Brain Damage
28. Eclipse
29. Comfortably Numb
30. Each Small Candle

Fairweather-Low has played and/or recorded with Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Stevie Nicks, and Kate Bush, among others; has worked with Waters since the 1984 Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking tour. Bramhall has played professionally since he was 15. He was one of the few musicians the late Stevie Ray Vaughan would invite to sit in with him and, at 19, was invited to join Jimmie Vaughan's Fabulous Thunderbirds. Broad has worked with Procol Harum, Bill Wyman & the Rhythm Kings, and on Waters’ Amused to Death. Jon Carin has played with The Who, Pete Townshend, Bryan Ferry and others. Kissoon has worked with Eric Clapton, Van Morrison, George Harrison, and the Pet Shop Boys among others.

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BBC 100 Favourite Songs of the Century

image from theimcmagazine.com

Paul Gambaccini invited the public and music personalities to submit their choices for the best songs of the century and then broadcast the results over BBC Radio 2 over Easter weekend, 1999. The list only lists song titles. The DMDB has included the act for the highest-ranked version of the song according to the DMDB.

1. Yesterday…The Beatles (1965)
2. Star Dust…Artie Shaw (1941)
3. Bridge Over Troubled Water…Simon & Garfunkel (1970)
4. White Christmas… Bing Crosby with the Ken Darby Singers (1942)
5. Unchained Melody…The Righteous Brothers (1965)
6. Imagine…John Lennon (1971)
7. My Way…Frank Sinatra (1969)
8. Summertime…Billie Holiday (1936)
9. Over the Rainbow… Judy Garland (1939)
10. As Time Goes By…Dooley Wilson (1943)

11. Smoke Gets in Your Eyes…Paul Whiteman with Bob Lawrence (1933)
12. You’ll Never Walk Alone…Frank Sinatra (1945)
13. Candle in the Wind 1997 (Goodbye England’s Rose)…Elton John (1997)
14. Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer…Gene Autry (1949)
15. Hey Jude…The Beatles (1968)
16. In the Mood…Glenn Miller (1939)
17. Alexander’s Ragtime Band…Arthur Collins with Byron Harlan (1911)
18. Bohemian Rhapsody…Queen (1975)
19. (We’re Gonna) Rock Around the Clock…Bill Haley & the Comets (1954)
20. Ol’ Man River…Paul Robeson (1928)

21. Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye…Benny Goodman with Peggy Mann (1945)
22. Blowin’ in the Wind…Bob Dylan (1963)
23. We’ll Meet Again…Vera Lynn (1954)
24. I Heard It Through the Grapevine…Marvin Gaye (1968)
25. When I Fall in Love…The Lettermen (1961)
26. Heartbreak Hotel…Elvis Presley (1956)
27. You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’…The Righteous Brothers (1964)
28. A Whiter Shade of Pale…Procol Harum (1967)
29. My Heart Will Go On…Celine Dion (1997)
30. St. Louis Blues…Bessie Smith with Louis Armstrong (1925)

31. My Blue Heaven…Gene Austin (1927)
32. Santa Claus Is Coming to Town…Bing Crosby with the Andrews Sisters (1947)
33. Night and Day…Fred Astaire with Leo Reisman’s Orchestra (1932)
34. September Song…Walter Huston (1939)
35. Stairway to Heaven…Led Zeppelin (1971)
36. Moonlight Serenade…Glenn Miller (1939)
37. What a Wonderful World…Louis Armstrong (1967)
38. I Will Always Love You…Whitney Houston (1992)
39. Let It Be…The Beatles (1970)
40. There’ll Be Bluebirds Over the White Cliffs of Dover…Kay Kyser (1941)

41. Begin the Beguine…Artie Shaw (1938)
42. American Pie…Don McLean (1971)
43. Moon River…Henry Mancini with Audrey Hepburn (1961)
44. Always on My Mind…Willie Nelson (1982)
45. Without You…Harry Nilsson (1971)
46. Hound Dog…Elvis Presley (1956)
47. Unforgettable…Natalie Cole with Nat “King” Cole (1991)
48. The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face…Roberta Flack (1970)
49. The Little Drummer Boy…Harry Simeone Chorale (1958)
50. Baker Street…Gerry Rafferty (1978)

51. Tennessee Waltz…Patti Page (1950)
52. Hotel California…Eagles (1976)
53. Lili Marlene…Perry Como (1944)
54. Mack the Knife…Bobby Darin (1959)
55. I Only Have Eyes for You…The Flamingos (1959)
56. I’ve Got You Under My Skin…Ray Noble (1936)
57. Someone to Watch Over Me…Gertrude Lawrence (1927)
58. The Power of Love…Celine Dion (1993)
59. God Only Knows…The Beach Boys (1966)
60. I Believe…Frankie Laine (1953)

61. I Just Called to Say I Love You…Stevie Wonder (1984)
62. Crazy…Patsy Cline (1961)
63. Deep Purple…Larry Clinton with Bea Wain (1939)
64. Wind Beneath My Wings…Bette Midler (1989)
65. Strawberry Fields Forever…The Beatles (1967)
66. It’s a Long, Long Way to Tipperary…John McCormack (1915)
67. Blue Moon…Glen Gray with Kenny Sargent (1935)
68. All the Things You Are…Tommy Dorsey with Jack Leonard (1939)
69. Like a Rolling Stone…Bob Dylan (1965)
70. Singin’ in the Rain…Cliff Edwards (1929)

71. Nights in White Satin…The Moody Blues (1967)
72. (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction…The Rolling Stones (1965)
73. Send in the Clowns…Judy Collins (1975)
74. What’s Going On…Marvin Gaye (1971)
75. Stormy Weather (Keeps Rainin’ All the Time)…Ethel Waters (1933)
76. Walk on By…Dionne Warwick (1964)
77. The Folks Who Live on the Hill…Guy Lombardo (1937)
78. Keep the Home Fires Burnin’…James F. Harrison (1915)
79. Every Breath You Take…The Police (1983)
80. Winter Wonderland…Guy Lombardo (1934)

81. Killing Me Softly with His Song…Roberta Flack (1973)
82. Some Enchanted Evening…Perry Como (1949)
83. Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay…Otis Redding (1968)
84. Roses of Picardy…Lambert Murphy (1918)
85. I Say a Little Prayer…Aretha Franklin (1968)
86. Let Me Call You Sweetheart…Peerless Quartet (1911)
87. Everything I Do I Do It for You…Bryan Adams (1991)
88. Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?...Rudy Vallee (1932)
89. The Way We Were…Barbra Streisand (1973)
90. A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square…Glenn Miller with Ray Eberle (1940)

91. Somewhere…Marni Nixon (1961)
92. Tea for Two…Marion Harris (1925)
93. Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina…Madonna (199)
94. Something…The Beatles (1969)
95. The Way You Look Tonight…Fred Astaire (1936)
96. MacArthur Park…Richard Harris (1968)
97. Georgia on My Mind…Ray Charles (1960)
98. Sweet Adeline (You’re the Flower of My Heart)…Haydn Quartet (1904)
99. Take Five…Dave Brubeck Quartet (1999)
100. Stand by Me…Ben E. King (1961)

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Resources and Related Links:

• BBC 100 Favourite Songs of the Century (4/4/1999)

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Eminem released his debut album, The Slim Shady LP: February 23, 1999

“The audacious debut from the snot heard round the world.” ^ZS “Hip-hop had never heard anything like Em’s brain-damaged rhymes…which earned Em respect, fortune, fame and a lawsuit from his mom.” ^RS He was “more shocking than Marilyn Manson, more offensive than Andrew Dice Clay” ^ZS with detractors arguing that “his talent doesn’t outweigh the misogynistic lyrics.” ^ZS Indeed, he served up “lacerating insights with vigor and venom, blurring the line between reality and parody, all seemingly without effort.” ^AMG

“The Slim Shady LP bristles with this tension, since it’s never always clear when Marshall Mathers is joking and when he’s dead serious.” ^AMG “Nowhere is this more true than on ’97 Bonnie and Clyde, a notorious track where he imagines killing his wife and then disposing of the body with his baby daughter in tow. There have been more violent songs in rap, but few more disturbing, and it’s not because of what it describes, it’s how he describes it – how the perfectly modulated phrasing enhances the horror and black humor of his words.” ^AMG

“In the first single, My Name Is, he’s self-deprecating, rapping about his poor upbringing and his hairy palms. But on the very next song, Guilty Conscience, he plays the devil to Dr. Dre’s angel – that is, until Eminem brings up an incident from Dre’s devilish past, rapping, ‘You gonna take advice from someone who slapped Dee Barnes?’” ^AZ

“But he isn’t a straight-up gangsta.” ^AZ “At a time when many rappers were stuck in the stultifying swamp of gangsta clichés, Eminem broke through the hardcore murk by abandoning the genre’s familiar themes and flaunting a style with more verbal muscle and imagination than any of his contemporaries.” ^AMG “Years later…it’s those lyrical skills and the subtle mastery of the music that still resonate, and they’re what make The Slim Shady LP one of the great debuts in both hip-hop and modern pop music.” ^AMG

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Awards:

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Resources and Related Links:

• the DMDB page for The Slim Shady LP
• the DMDB Music Maker Encyclopedia entry for Eminem
• ^AMG All Music Guide review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
• ^AZ Amazon.com review by Randy Silver
• ^RS Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
• ^ZS Zagat Survey Music Guide: 1,000 Top Albums of All Time. Coordinator: Pat Blashill. Music Editor: Holly George-Warren. Editors: Betsy Andrews and Randi Gollin. Zagat Survey, LLC: New York, NY. (2003). Page 96.

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Britney Spears topped the U.S. album and singles charts: January 30, 1999

Originally posted January 30, 2012.

>

The late ‘80s and early ‘90s saw the quick rise and fall of teen acts like Debbie Gibson, Tiffany, and New Kids on the Block. Genres like grunge and alternative rock dominated for most of the decade, but by the end of the ‘90s, teen pop made a comeback – and no one was bigger than Britney Spears.

Max Martin, who also produced the Backstreet Boys, was “the mastermind behind Spears’ debut. He has a knack for catchy hooks, endearing melodies, and engaging Euro-dance rhythms” ^STE which powered hits like Sometimes, You Drive Me Crazy, Born to Make You Happy, and From the Bottom of My Broken Heart. Of course, nothing was bigger than the “white-funk smoker ...Baby One More Time.” ^RW

That dance-pop hit topped the charts in more than a dozen countries, ^AB40 sold more than 9 million copies worldwide, and established her as “the most iconic popular music star of the turn of the century.” ^TB The song owed a large chunk of its success to an iconic video directed by Nigel Dick in which Spears is portrayed as Catholic high school student in a “bare-midriff package.” ^CR The “decidedly sexual tone” ^AB40 of the video raised eyebrows with the contradiction of a former star of The New Mickey Mouse Club strutting about like “a modern-day Lolita.” ^TB

Critics tended to dismiss the album as “silly and premature.” ^WK Jane Stevenson of the Toronto Sun said it “threatens to turn your brain into mush” ^WK while The Hamilton Spectator’s Craig McDennis said the album “offers a glib compendium of soul/pop clichés.” ^WK In the end, though, “the singles, combined with Britney’s burgeoning charisma, make this a pretty great piece of fluff.” ^STE Regardless of what critics thought of the music, the album launched Spears’ career selling 14 million in the U.S. and another 14 million around the world.

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Awards for the Song:

• one of the top 1000 songs of all time
  
• one of the world’s best-selling songs
  
• one of the top 100 songs of the 1990s
  
• VH1’s top 100 songs of all time
  
• one of the top 100 videos of all time according to the DMDB
  

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Awards for the Album:

• one of the top 1000 albums of all time
  
• one of the top 100 All-Time World’s Bestsellers
  
• one of the top 100 albums of the 1990s
  

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Resources and Related Links:

• the DMDB page for “Baby One More Time” (song)
  
• the DMDB page for …Baby One More Time (album)
  
• the DMDB Music Maker Encyclopedia entry for Britney Spears
  
• ^AB40 About.com (2007?) Top 40 Pop Songs: The Best of the Best. By Bill Lamb. (song)
  
• ^CR Toby Creswell (2005). 1001 Songs: The Great Songs of All Time. Thunder’s Mouth Press: New York, NY. Pages 175-6. (song)
  
• ^STE Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide (album)
  
• ^JA David A. Jasen. (2002). A Century of American Popular Music: 2000 Best-Loved and Remembered Songs (1899-1999). Routledge: Taylor & Francis, Inc. Page 15. (song)
  
• ^LW Alan Lewens (2001). Popular Song – Soundtrack of the Century. Billboard Books: New York, NY. Pages 180-1. (song)
  
• ^TB Thunder Bay Press (2006). Singles: Six Decades of Hot Hits & Classic Cuts. Outline Press Ltd.: San Diego, CA. Page 280. (song)
  
• ^WK Wikipedia.org (album)
  
• ^RW Rickey Wright, Amazon.com (album)
  

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