The Top 20 Music Books of All Time

Music Books: The Top 20

”Writing about music is like dancing about architecture.” – Martin Mull This quotation has been attributed to a variety of people, including musicians Frank Zappa, Elvis Costello, Thelonious Monk, and Laurie Anderson, but according to QuoteInvestigator.com, the line first appeared in the magazine Time Barrier Express in the September-October 1979 issue. Gary Sperrazza references the quotation, crediting it to actor/comedian Martin Mull. Regardless of who said it first, the point is clear. Music cannot be broken down and explained in written form. It is an aural experience which is meant to be heard. So why post a list of the best music books of all time? Music goes beyond the listening experience. It envelops social history and science and our fascination with the lives of the people who create the music. Those experiences can be analyzed, critiqued, and discussed in written form – and twenty of the most popular versions of that are introduced here. If that doesn’t cut it for you, seek these tomes out via audiobooks. I’ll leave it to the architects to address dancing. Click here to see other media-based lists, such as best videos and best music books of all time.

Chronicles Vol. 1

Rank: #1 Author: Bob Dylan Published: 2004 Dylan’s autobiography eschews a convential, chronological format opting for a disjointed tale which skips over many highlights in favor of more personal revelations. Buy at Amazon.

Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground 1981-1991

Rank: #2 Author: Michael Azerrad Published: 2001 Azerrad profiles the history of the rock music in the 1980s which owed a debt to punk rock and its DIY ethos. Buy at Amazon.

Life

Rank: #3 Author: Keith Richards with James Fox Published: 2010 Some have proclaimed that if the world is ever annihilated, all that will remain will be the cock roaches and Keith Richards, survivor extraordinaire and legendary guitarist of the Rolling Stones. Luckily for us mortals, he’s left us this candid, conversational glimpse into his roller coaster life. Buy at Amazon.

Revolution in the Head: The Beatles’ Records and the Sixties

Rank: #4 Author: Ian MacDonald Published: 1994 Amazon called this chronogical assessment of every one of the Fab Four’s songs the “Bible of the Beatles.” Buy at Amazon.

Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978-1984

Rank: #5 Author: Simon Reynolds Published: 2006 Reynolds’ book travels some of the same ground as Azerrad’s Our Band Could Be Your Life in dissecting some of the bands who grew out of the punk rock movement of the 1970s. Buy at Amazon.

Can’t Stop Won’t Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation

Rank: #6 Author: Jeff Chang Published: 2005 Amazon.com: “In a post-civil rights era rapidly transformed by deindustrialization and globalization, hip-hop gave voiceless youths a chance to address these seismic changes and…crystallized a multiracial generation's worldview, and forever transformed politics and culture.” Buy at Amazon.

England’s Dreaming: Anarchy, Sex Pistols, Punk Rock, and Beyond

Rank: #7 Author: Jon Savage Published: 1991 Amazon.com: “The ultimate book on punk…Savage brings to life the sensational story of the meteoric rise and rapid implosion of the Pistols through layers of rich detail, exclusive interviews, and rare photographs.” Buy at Amazon.

The Dirt: Confessions of the World’s Most Notorious Rock Band

Rank: #8 Author: Motley Crue with Neil Strauss Published: 2001 Rolling Stone magazine’s Joe Levy: “The most detailed account of the awesome pleasures and perils of rock & roll stardom I have ever read. It is completely compelling and utterly revolting.” Buy at Amazon.

Hammer of the Gods: Led Zeppelin Unauthorized

Rank: #9 Author: Stephen Davis Published: 1985 Amazon.com: Led Zeppelin’s “tours were legendary, their lives were exalted—and in an era well known for sex and drugs, the mighty Zeppelin set an unattainable standard of excess and mythos for any band that tried to follow them…A spellbinding, electrifying, no-holds-barred classic of rock 'n' roll history.” Buy at Amazon.

Just Kids

Rank: #10 Author: Patti Smith Published: 2010 Amazon.com: “The legendary American artist offers a never-before-seen glimpse of her remarkable relationship with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe in the epochal days of New York City and the Chelsea Hotel in the late sixties and seventies.” Buy at Amazon.

The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century

Rank: #11 Author: Alex Ross Published: 2007 Amazon.com: “In this sweeping and dramatic narrative, Alex Ross, music critic for The New Yorker, weaves together…an astonishing history of the twentieth century as told through its music.” Buy at Amazon.

Psychotic Reactions and Carburetor Dung

Rank: #12 Author: Lester Bangs Published: 1987 Amazon.com: “The wild and brilliant writings of Lester Bangs--the most outrageous and popular rock critic of the 1970s.” Buy at Amazon.

Last Night a DJ Saved My Life: The History of the Disc Jockey

Rank: #13 Author: Bill Brewster and Frank Broughton Published: 1999 Amazon.com: “The first comprehensive history of the disc jockey, a figure who has become a powerful force shaping the music industry…The inside story on some of music’s most memorable moments…A lively and entertaining account of musical history and some of the most legendary parties of the century.” Buy at Amazon.

How Music Works

Rank: #14 Author: David Byrne Published: 2012 Amazon.com: “Drawing on his work over the years with Talking Heads, Brian Eno, and myriad collaborators—along with journeys to Wagnerian opera houses, African villages, and anywhere music exists—Byrne shows how music emerges from cultural circumstance as much as individual creativity. It is his magnum opus, and an impassioned argument about music’s liberating, life-affirming power.” Buy at Amazon.

This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession

Rank: #15 Author: Daniel J. Levitin Published: 2006 Amazon.com: “This groundbreaking union of art and science…explores the connection between music - its performance, its composition, how we listen to it, why we enjoy it - and the human brain.” Buy at Amazon.

Slash: The Autobiography

Rank: #16 Author: Slash with Anthony Bozza Published: 2007 Amazon.com: “Slash tells…how the legendary band Guns N' Roses came together, how they wrote the music that defined an era…and, ultimately, how it all fell apart. Slash is a window into the world of the notoriously private guitarist and a front seat on the roller-coaster ride that was one of history's greatest rock 'n' roll machines, always on the edge of self-destruction, even at the pinnacle of its success.” Buy at Amazon.

The Last Party: Britpop, Blair and the Demise of English Rock

Rank: #17 Author: John Harris Published: 2003 Amazon.com: “Beginning in 1994 and closing in the first months of 1998, the UK passed through a cultural moment as distinct and as celebrated as any since the war. Founded on rock music, celebrity, boom-time economics and fleeting political optimism - this was 'Cool Britannia'. The Last Party charts the rise and fall of the Britpop movement.” Buy at Amazon.

Scar Tissue

Rank: #18 Author: Anthony Kiedis with Larry Stoman Published: 2004 Amazon.com: “The Red Hot Chili Peppers, against all odds, have become one of the most successful bands in the world. Though the band has gone through many incarnations, Anthony Kiedis, the group's lyricist and dynamic lead singer, has been there for the whole roller-coaster ride. Kiedis shares a compelling story about the price of success and excess…a story that could only have come out of the world of rock.” Buy at Amazon.

Perfecting Sound Forever: An Aural History of Recorded Music

Rank: #19 Author: Greg Milner Published: 2009 Amazon.com: “Milner takes us through the major breakthroughs and glorious failures in the art and science of recording…From Les Paul to Phil Spector to King Tubby, from vinyl to pirated CDs to iPods, Milner pulls apart musical history to answer a crucial question: Should a recording document reality as faithfully as possible, or should it improve upon or somehow transcend the music it records? The answers he uncovers will change the very way we think about music.” Buy at Amazon.

Wonderland Avenue: Tales of Glamour and Excess

Rank: #20 Author: Danny Sugerman Published: 1989 Memoir of Doors’ publicist Danny Sugerman. GoodReads.com: “Excessive, scandalous, comic, cautionary and horrifying, it chronicles the 60s dream gone-to-rot and the early life of a Hollywood Wild Child who was just brilliant at being bad.” Buy at Amazon.

Resources/Related Links

Dave’s Music Database: “Other Media-Based Lists” AllDylan.com “The 10 Best Memoirs Written by Musicians” Amazon.com “Best Sellers in Music History & Criticism” BrainPickings.org “7 Essential Books on Music, Emotion, and the Brain” Classicalcdguide.com “Top 10 Books About Classical Music and Classical Music Recordings” EveryRecordTellsAStory.com “The Top 50 Music Books of All Time” GoodReads.com “Popular Music Biography Books” GoodReads.com “Popular Music History Books” Google.com “Books Frequently Mentioned on the Web” TheGuardian.com “Bob Stanley’s 10 Best Music Histories” NME.com “20 Essential Music Books” OneMinuteMusicLesson.com “Top 10 Music Theory Books” PasteMagazine.com “The 20 Best Memoirs Written by Musicians” PasteMagazine.com “The 12 Best Music Books of the Decade 2000-2009” Pitchfork.com “Words and Music: Our 60 Favorite Music Books” Quora.com “What Are the Best Books to Read About the Music Industry and Its History” Slate.com “The Top 50 Music Books” XFM.co.uk “50 Best Music Books” First posted 3/31/2015; last updated 7/14/2025.

50 years ago: The Supremes hit #1 with “Stop! In the Name of Love”

Stop! In the Name of Love The Supremes

Writer(s): Brian Holland/Lamont Dozier/Eddie Holland (see lyrics here) Released: February 8, 1965 First Charted: February 20, 1965 Peak: 12 US, 11 CB, 11 GR, 11 HR, 2 RB, 7 UK, 3 CN, 42 AU, 1 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, 0.12 UK, 1.12 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 2.0 radio, 10.9 video, 104.52 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: This song grew out of an argument between Lamont Dozier – one of the songwriters – and his girlfriend. She was about to head out the door when he yelled “stop, in the name of love!,” a slight variation of the phrase “stop, in the name of the law.” TB It broke the tension and they both starting laughing over the silliness of the line. TC Of course, Dozier was one-third of the famed Holland-Dozier-Holland writing team at Motown. They crafted many of Motown’s biggest hits, but were more associated with the Supremes than any other act. “’Stop!’ moves with the grace of HDH’s greatest productions.” DM Initially, the Supremes – Diana Ross, Mary Wilson, and Florence Ballad – thought the song was “insufficiently feminine, too forthright.” TC Once in the studio, however, they had fun with it. TC As for the signature choreography, they were making a live appearance before having the moves for the song worked out. Moments before they went on stage, they worked with Motown head honcho Berry Gordy and a couple of the members of the Temptations to come up with the moves – in the mens’ room! SJ The song became the trio’s fourth #1 out of five consecutive chart-toppers. In fact, they amassed a dozen #1 songs from 1964 through the end of the decade, giving them more trips to the top than any other American act in the 1960s. It also made them the most successful Motown act of the decade. TB Resources: TC Toby Creswell (2005). 1001 Songs: The Great Songs of All Time. Thunder’s Mouth Press: New York, NY. Page 570. DM Dave Marsh (1989). The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made. New American Library: New York, NY. Pages 496-7. SJ Bob Shannon and John Javna (1986). Behind the Hits: Inside Stories of Classic Pop and Rock and Roll. Warner Brothers, Inc.: New York, NY. Pages 126-7. TB Thunder Bay Press. (2006). Singles: Six Decades of Hot Hits & Classic Cuts. Outline Press Ltd.: San Diego, CA. Page 76. Related Links: First posted 4/15/2020; last updated 4/2/2023.

Today in Music (1965): Roger Miller “King of the Road” hit #1 on the country chart

King of the Road Roger Miller

Writer(s): Roger Miller (see lyrics here) Released: January 1965 First Charted: January 29, 1965 Peak: 4 BB, 3 CB, 2 GR, 4 HR, 110 AC, 15 CW, 11 UK, 3 CN, 7 AU, 3 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, 0.2 UK Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 3.0 radio, 24.7 video, 84.05 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Roger Miller was born in Texas in 1936. He left school after eighth grade to become a ranch hand. When he joined the Army in 1956, he became friends with Bill Anderson, a future country songwriter. In 1958, Miller launched his singing career with “City Lights,” a song written by Anderson. In 1960, Miller landed his first top-10 country hit with “When Two Worlds Collide,” which he co-wrote with Anderson. SS By 1964, Miller had moved to California where he made multiple appearances on television to showcase “his light, amiable style.” SS After switching to Smash Records, he “began a string of hits with the clever, goofy ‘Dang Me.’ The high point of his hot streak was ‘King of the Road.’” SS Glenda West, a family friend of Miller’s, said he wrote the song on the back of a credit card application. She said he got stuck after writing one verse but finished the song after seeing a picture of a hobo at an airport. TC It is “country music storytelling at its most brilliantly incisive, sketching character, situation and narrative in the minimum number of words with maximum effect.” SS Merle Travis, himself a country songwriting legend, said, “I’d have to rate him higher than Hank Williams.” SS Author Toby Creswell called the song “the layabouts’ national anthem” TC that is “a good-natured update of Huckleberry Finn.” TC “King of the Road” drew strongly from Miller’s life experiences about growing up in poverty and leading a gypsy lifestyle after his discharge from the Army. It dpecited his “hard-scrabble lifestyle with warmth and humor, its flavorful narrative matched by an engaging melodyand lazy finger-snapping rhythm.” SS Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Roger Miller TC Toby Creswell (2005). 1001 Songs: The Great Songs of All Time. Thunder’s Mouth Press: New York, NY. Page 584. SS Steve Sullivan (2013). Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings (Volumes I & II). Scarecrow Press: Lanham, Maryland. Pages 316-7. First posted 1/31/2024.