Rolling Stone: Top 100 Albums of All Time

Rolling Stone: The Top 100 Albums

This is not an official Rolling Stone magazine list; rather it is an aggregate of nine major lists published by the magazine. (See the specific links at bottom of page). The best resource for reading more about these albums is Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time book, published in 2005 by Wenner Media, LLC. The list differs slightly from the original 2003, which was updated again in 2012 and 2020. It underwent very slight modifications in 2023. You can click on an album title to go to a DMDB page for more about that album. Also, check out Rolling Stone’s annual picks for album of the year. They have made such picks since 1978. However, the DMDB has expanded the list back to 1965 based on the lists aggregated here. Check out other publications and organizations’ best-of album lists here. 1. The Beatles Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) 2. Marvin Gaye What’s Going On (1971) 3. Velvet Underground & Nico Velvet Underground & Nico (1967) 4. The Rolling Stones Exile on Main Street (1972) 5. The Beach Boys Pet Sounds (1966) 6. The Beatles Abbey Road (1969) 7. The Clash London Calling (1979) 8. The Beatles The Beatles (aka “The White Album”) (1968) 9. Nirvana Nevermind (1991) 10. Bob Dylan Blood on the Tracks (1975) 11. Bruce Springsteen Born to Run (1975) 12. The Jimi Hendrix Experience Are You Experienced? (1967) 13. The Beatles Rubber Soul (1965) 14. Michael Jackson Thriller (1982) 15. The Rolling Stones Let It Bleed (1969) 16. Van Morrison Astral Weeks (1968) 17. The Who Who’s Next (1971) 18. Ramones Ramones (1976) 19. Sex Pistols Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols (1977) 20. Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin IV (1971) 21. The Jimi Hendrix Experience Electric Ladyland (1968) 22. The Rolling Stones Sticky Fingers (1971) 23. Bob Dylan Bringing It All Back Home (1965) 24. Bob Dylan Highway 61 Revisited (1965) 25. David Bowie The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972) 26. Bob Dylan Blonde on Blonde (1966) 27. Joni Mitchell Blue (1971) 28. Fleetwood Mac Rumours (1977) 29. Patti Smith Horses (1975) 30. Carole King Tapestry (1971) 31. The Band The Band (1969) 32. Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon (1973) 33. John Lennon Plastic Ono Band (1970) 34. Prince & the Revolution Purple Rain (soundtrack, 1984) 35. The Doors The Doors (1967) 36. Michael Jackson Off the Wall (1979) 37. The Clash The Clash (1977) 38. Sly & the Family Stone There’s a Riot Goin’ On (1971) 39. Neil Young After the Gold Rush (1970) 40. Aretha Franklin Lady Soul (1968) 41. The Rolling Stones Beggars Banquet (1968) 42. Van Morrison Moondance (1970) 43. Bruce Springsteen Darkness on the Edge of Town (1978) 44. Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin II (1969) 45. Bruce Springsteen Born in the U.S.A. (1984) 46. Various Artists (Jimmy Cliff et al) The Harder They Come (soundtrack, 1972) 47. Pretenders Pretenders (1980) 48. The Beatles Revolver (1966) 49. Jefferson Airplane Surrealistic Pillow (1967) 50. James Brown Live at the Apollo Volume 1 (live, 1962) 51. Neil Young Tonight’s the Night (1975) 52. Stevie Wonder Innervisions (1973) 53. Public Enemy It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (1988) 54. The Band Music from Big Pink (1968) 55. Guns N’ Roses Appetite for Destruction (1987) 56. U2 The Joshua Tree (1987) 57. Aretha Franklin I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You (1967) 58. Miles Davis Bitches Brew (1970) 59. Elvis Costello & The Attractions This Year’s Model (1978) 60. U2 Achtung Baby (1991) 61. Stevie Wonder Talking Book (1972) 62. Television Marquee Moon (1977) 63. Talking Heads Remain in Light (1980) 64. Dusty Springfield Dusty in Memphis (1969) 65. David Bowie Hunky Dory (1971) 66. Dr. Dre The Chronic (1992) 67. Ray Charles Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music (1962) 68. Black Sabbath Paranoid (1970) 69. The Who Tommy (1969) 70. John Lennon Imagine (1971) 71. The Smiths The Queen Is Dead (1986) 72. Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band Trout Mask Replica (1969) 73. R.E.M. Automatic for the People (1992) 74. Derek and the Dominos Layla & Other Assorted Love Songs (1970) 75. The Byrds Sweetheart of the Rodeo (1968) 76. Velvet Underground Loaded (1970) 77. Rod Stewart Every Picture Tells a Story (1971) 78. Sly & the Family Stone Greatest Hits (1970) 79. Pearl Jam Ten (1991) 80. R.E.M. Murmur (1983) 81. Elvis Costello My Aim Is True (1977) 82. Prince Dirty Mind (1980) 83. New York Dolls New York Dolls (1973) 84. Oasis (What’s the Story) Morning Glory (1995) 85. Randy Newman Sail Away (1972) 86. Madonna Like a Prayer (1989) 87. Miles Davis Kind of Blue (1959) 88. Various Artists Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era (compilation: 1965-68) 89. Creedence Clearwater Revival Willy and the Poor Boys (1969) 90. Nirvana MTV Unplugged in New York (recorded live 1993, released 1994) 91. Bob Dylan & The Band The Basement Tapes (recorded 1967, released 1975) 92. Stevie Wonder Songs in the Key of Life (1976) 93. The Flying Burrito Brothers The Gilded Palace of Sin (1969) 94. Pink Floyd The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967) 95. Bob Marley & the Wailers Legend (compilation: 1973-83, released 1984) 96. Chuck Berry The Great Twenty-Eight (compilation: 1955-64, released 1982) 97. Paul Simon Graceland (1986) 98. Elvis Presley The Sun Sessions (archives: 1954-55, released 1976) 99. Neil Young & Crazy Horse Rust Never Sleeps (1979) 100. AC/DC Back in Black (1980) Resources and Related Links: Dave’s Music Database: Best-of Album Lists by Publications/Organizations 8/27/1987: “The 100 Albums of the Last 20 Years” 5/16/1997: “The Definitive Library of the Best Albums Ever Made” Dec. 1997: “Top 100 Albums” (German edition of Rolling Stone) 10/17/02: “Reader’s Poll of the 100 Greatest Albums” Nov. 2003: “500 Greatest Albums of All Time” This list was created from the results of a poll of more than 270 artists, producers, industry executives, and journalists. This links to the original list and the commentaries on the album. Genius.com (2003): “500 Greatest Albums of All Time” List only of the 500 albums appearing on the 2003 “500 Greatest Albums of All Time.” 2005: 500 Greatest Albums of All Time This book was based on the 2003 list with slight modifications. Some compilations were eliminated if they repeated material found elsewhere on the list. The two volumes of Robert Johnson’s King of the Delta Blues Singers were also combined in the more readily available Complete Recordings. MusicBrainz.com (5/31/2012). “500 Greatest Albums of All Time” This is a link to the list only of the 2012 version of the “500 Greatest Albums of All Time.” 9/22/2020: “500 Greatest Albums of All Time” This fourth edition of the list was started from scratch. More than 300 artists, producers, critics, and music industry people were surveyed, each sending in a list of top 50 albums. The latest version offers 86 albums from the 21st century and 154 albums that didn’t appear on the 2003 or 2012 lists. The list was slightly modified in 2023 with seven new albums being added but they just replaced seven previous titles on the list. Otherwise the remaining 493 titles are ranked in the same positions. Wikipedia (1/1/2024). “500 Greatest Albums of All Time” A list of all 500 albums featured in the 2020 ranking. “40 Most Groundbreaking Albums of All Time” Lists albums in reverse chronological order from 2008 to 1940. Commentary on each album. No date given for publication of article. First posted 11/30/2003; last updated 11/21/2024.