Showing posts with label Q magazine. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 2, 2021

Q Magazine: Top 200 Songs

Q Magazine:

Top 200 Songs

Q is a British music magazine which premiered in 1986 and ceased publication in 2020. Over the years, they published numerous best-of lists. Below is an exclusive Dave’s Music Database list in which sixteen different lists (sources at bottom of page) from Q have been consolidated into an aggregate list.

Click here to see other lists from publications and/or organizations.

Spotify Podcast:

Check out Dave’s Music Database podcast: Q Magazine: The Best Songs of All Time based on this list. It debuts November 2, 2021 at 7pm CST. Tune in every Tuesday at 7pm for a new episode based on the lists at Dave’s Music Database.

1. New Order “Blue Monday” (1983)
2. Nirvana “Smells Like Teen Spirit” (1991)
3. Sex Pistols “God Save the Queen” (1977)
4. The La’s “There She Goes” (1988)
5. The Jam “Going Underground” (1980)
6. The Specials “Ghost Town” (1981)
7. Prodigy “Firestarter” (1996)
8. Queen “Bohemian Rhapsody” (1975)
9. Oasis “Live Forever” (1994)
10. Massive Attack “Unfinished Sympathy” (1991)

11. Joy Division “Love Will Tear Us Apart” (1980)
12. Pulp “Common People” (1995)
13. The Undertones “Teenage Kicks” (1978)
14. The Verve “Bitter Sweet Symphony” (1997)
15. The Kinks “Waterloo Sunset” (1967)
16. Blur “Song 2” (1997)
17. Stone Roses “Fools Gold” (1989)
18. Robbie Williams “Angels” (1997)
19. Underworld “Born Slippy” (1995)
20. Donna Summer “I Feel Love” (1977)

21. Run-D.M.C. with Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler & Joe Perry “Walk This Way” (1986)
22. Bob Dylan “Like a Rolling Stone” (1965)
23. The Who “My Generation” (1965)
24. Black Sabbath “Paranoid” (1970)
25. The Kinks “You Really Got Me” (1964)
26. David Bowie “Heroes” (1977)
27. The Smiths “How Soon Is Now?” (1984)
28. U2 “One” (1992)
29. The Beach Boys “Good Vibrations” (1966)
30. Guns N’ Roses “Sweet Child O’ Mine” (1988)

31. Radiohead “Creep” (1993)
32. Kate Bush “Wuthering Heights” (1978)
33. The Smiths “This Charming Man” (1983)
34. Motörhead “Ace of Spaces” (1980)
35. M/A/R/R/S “Pump Up the Volume” (1987)
36. Bruce Springsteen “Born to Run” (1975)
37. Coldplay “The Scientist” (2002)
38. Prince “Kiss” (1986)
39. Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five “The Message” (1982)
40. The Beatles “She Loves You” (1963)

41. The Rolling Stones “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” (1965)
42. Soft Cell “Tainted Love” (1981)
43. Madonna “Into the Groove” (1985)
44. Oasis “Wonderwall” (1995)
45. Eminem with Dido “Stan” (2000)
46. Bob Marley & the Wailers “No Woman, No Cry” (1974)
47. The Beach Boys “God Only Knows” (1966)
48. The Stone Roses “I Am the Resurrection” (1989)
49. Frankie Goes to Hollywood “Relax” (1983)
50. Soul II Soul “Back to Life (How Ever Do You Want Me)” (1989)

51. Led Zeppelin “Stairway to Heaven” (1971)
52. 10cc “I’m Not in Love” (1975)
53. Michael Jackson “Billie Jean” (1982)
54. Depeche Mode “Personal Jesus” (1989)
55. Lonnie Donegan “Rock Island Line” (1956)
56. Public Enemy “Rebel Without a Pause” (1987)
57. The Clash “London Calling” (1979)
58. John Lennon “Imagine” (1971)
59. Slade “Cum on Feel the Noize” (1973)
60. Bee Gees “Stayin’ Alive” (1977)

61. Cornershop “Brimful of Asha” (1997)
62. The Ronettes “Be My Baby” (1963)
63. The Beatles “A Day in the Life” (1967)
64. Marvin Gaye “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” (1968)
65. The Beatles “Strawberry Fields Forever” (1967)
66. Happy Mondays “Step On” (1990)
67. Sex Pistols “Anarchy in the U.K.” (1976)
68. N.W.A. “Fuck tha Police” (1989)
69. David Bowie “Life on Mars?” (1973)
70. The Jimi Hendrix Experience “All Along the Watchtower” (1968)

71. Tubeway Army “Are Friends Electric?” (1979)
72. Manic Street Preachers “Motorcycle Emptiness” (1992)
73. The MC5 “Kick Out the Jams” (1969)
74. The Smiths “There Is a Light That Never Goes Out” (1992)
75. Manic Street Preachers “A Design for Life” (1996)
76. R.E.M. “Everybody Hurts” (1993)
77. Radiohead “Paranoid Android” (1997)
78. Eagles “Hotel California” (1977)
79. The Police “Every Breath You Take” (1983)
80. U2 “Where the Streets Have No Name” (1987)

81. Rage Against the Machine “Killing in the Name” (1992)
82. Metallica “Enter Sandman” (1991)
83. Elvis Presley “Suspicious Minds” (1969)
84. The Rolling Stones “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” (1968)
85. Little Richard “Tutti Frutti” (1955)
86. Elvis Presley “That's All Right, Mama” (1954)
87. Roxy Music “Virginia Plain” (1972)
88. Eminem “My Name Is…” (1999)
89. Pet Shop Boys “West End Girls” (1985)
90. T-Rex “Get It On (Bang a Gong)” (1971)

91. The Beatles “Tomorrow Never Knows” (1966)
92. Madonna “Like a Prayer” (1989)
93. Kaiser Chiefs “I Predict a Riot” (2004)
94. The Jam “A Town Called Malice” (1982)
95. Dexy’s Midnight Runners “Come on Eileen” (1982)
96. The Rolling Stones “Gimme Shelter” (1968)
97. Marvin Gaye “What’s Going On” (1971)
98. Supergrass “Alright” (1995)
99. OutKast “Hey Ya!” (2003)
100. Streets “Dry Your Eyes” (2004)

101. The Rolling Stones “Sympathy for the Devil” (1968)
102. Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott “Get Ur Freak On” (2001)
103. Beyoncé with Jay-Z “Crazy in Love” (2003)
104. Led Zeppelin “Kashmir” (1975)
105. The Strokes “Last Nite” (2001)
106. Otis Redding “(Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay” (1968)
107. Marvin Gaye “Sexual Healing” (1982)
108. The Beatles “Something” (1969)
109. Jane Birkin & Serge Gainsbourg “Je T'Aime (Moi Non Plus)” (1969)
110. The Byrds “Mr. Tambourine Man” (1965)

111. Van Halen “Jump” (1983)
112. Kraftwerk “Autobahn” (1974)
113. The White Stripes “Seven Nation Army” (2003)
114. Blur “This Is a Low” (1995)
115. Cliff Richard & the Drifers “Move It” (1958)
116. Stevie Wonder “Superstition” (1972)
117. The Waterboys “The Whole of the Moon” (1985)
118. U2 “With or Without You” (1987)
119. Iggy Pop “Lust for Life” (1977)
120. So Solid Crew “21 Seconds” (2001)

121. Abba “Dancing Queen” (1976)
122. This Mortal Coil “Song to the Siren” (1982)
123. AC/DC “Whole Lotta Rosie” (1977)
124. R.E.M. “Losing My Religion” (1991)
125. The Monkees “Last Train to Clarksville” (1966)
126. House of Pain “Jump Around” (1992)
127. Madness “Baggy Trousers” (1980)
128. Billie Holiday “Strange Fruit” (1939)
129. The Jackson 5 “I Want You Back” (1969)
130. Lou Reed “Walk on the Wild Side” (1972)

131. Big Star “September Gurls” (1974)
132. The Beastie Boys “You Gotta Fight for Your Right to Party” (1986)
133. Prince “Sign ‘O’ the Times” (1987)
134. Ramones “Blitzkrieg Bop” (1976)
135. Jefferson Airplane “White Rabbit” (1967)
136. The Small Faces “Itchycoo Park” (1967)
137. The Beatles “In My Life” (1968)
138. Kylie Minogue “Can’t Get You Out of My Head” (2001)
139. The Beatles “Paperback Writer” (1966)
140. Cream “Sunshine of Your Love” (1968)

141. Dinosaur Jr. “Freak Scene” (1988)
142. Britney Spears “Baby One More Time” (1998)
143. The Tornadoes “Telstar” (1962)
144. Franz Ferdinand “Take Me Out” (2004)
145. The Temptations “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone” (1972)
146. Blur “Parklife” (1994)
147. Foo Fighters “Monkey Wrench” (1997)
148. U2 “Sunday Bloody Sunday” (1983)
149. Dizzee Rascal “Fix Up Look Sharp” (2003)
150. Ike & Tina Turner “River Deep, Mountain High” (1966)

151. Link Wray & His Men “Rumble” (1958)
152. The Beatles “Help!” (1965)
153. The Clash “White Riot” (1977)
154. Primal Scream “Loaded” (1990)
155. Wayne Smith “Under Me Sleng Teng” (1985)
156. Deep Purple “Smoke on the Water” (1973)
157. Radiohead “Fake Plastic Trees” (1995)
158. Desmond Dekker & the Aces “The Israelites” (1969)
159. Led Zeppelin “Rock and Roll” (1971)
160. Grandmaster Flash & Melle Mel “White Lines (Don’t Do It)” (1983)

161. Coldplay “Yellow” (2000)
162. The Strokes “Hard to Explain” (2001)
163. Oasis “Champagne Supernova” (1996)
164. Rod Stewart “Maggie May” (1971)
165. Derek & the Dominos “Layla” (1971)
166. Rhythim Is Rhythim “Strings of Life” (1987)
167. Jeff Buckley “Hallelujah” (1994)
168. Baddiel & Skinner & Lightning Seeds “Three Lions” (1996)
169. Fairport Convention “Who Knows Where the Time Goes?” (1969)
170. James Brown “Get Up (I Feel Like Being a Sex Machine)” (1970)

171. Bill Haley & the Comets “We’re Gonna Rock Around the Clock” (1954)
172. The Shadows “Apache” (1960)
173. The Who “Won’t Get Fooled Again” (1971)
174. The Beatles “Hey Jude” (1968)
175. Pink Floyd “Comfortably Numb”
176. Amy Winehouse “Rehab” (2006)
177. The Beatles “Let It Be” (1970)
178. Oasis “Don’t Look Back in Anger” (1995)
179. Billy Bragg “A New England” (1983)
180. The Specials “Gangsters” (1979)

181. Arctic Monkeys “I Bet You Look Good on the Dance Floor” (2005)
182. The Troggs “Wild Thing” (1966)
183. Morrissey “Everyday Is Like Sunday” (1988)
184. Spice Girls “Wannabe” (1996)
185. Frankie Goes to Hollywood “Two Tribes” (1984)
186. Radiohead “Karma Police” (1997)
187. Ray Charles “What’d I Say” (1959)
188. Guns N’ Roses “Paradise City” (1987)
189. The Verve “The Drugs Don’t Work” (1997)
190. The Jam “Down in the Tube Station at Midnight” (1978)

191. The Smiths “The Queen Is Dead” (1986)
192. The Beatles “Penny Lane” (1967)
193. David Bowie “Starman” (1972)
194. Gnarls Barkley “Crazy” (2006)
195. Elton John “Rocket Man (I Think It’s Gonna Be a Long Time)” (1972)
196. Elvis Costello “I Don’t Want to Go to Chelsea” (1978)
197. The Pixies “Debaser” (1989)
198. Culture Club “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?” (1982)
199. The Jimi Hendrix Experience “Purple Haze” (1967)
200. Keane “Everybody’s Changing” (2004)

Resources/Related Links:

Dave’s Music Database: “Lists from other publications and/or organizations”
Readers’ poll (2/99).
Top 100 songs of all-time according to Q readers.
The 50 Most Exciting Tunes Ever (1/02).
100 Songs That Changed the World (1/03).
1001 Best Songs Ever (1/04).
Don’t know details of how list was compiled.
The Music That Changed the World (2004).
3 special editions in January (covering 1954-69), February (covering 1970-1979), and March 2004 (covering 1980-2004). Each featured a top 20 album list and a top 20 song list.
1010 Songs You Must Own! (9/04).
Multiple unranked lists for one-hit wonders, air guitar, duets, short & to the point, epics, instrumentals, cover versions, ballads, remixes, best of the 21st century so far, Getting Wasted: 60 Songs for the Tired & Emotional, Chilling Out: 60 Songs to Soothe the Furrowed Brow, Girls & Boys: 60 Songs for Love’s Little Ups & Downs, On the Move: 60 Songs to Soundtrack the Open Road, On a Downer: 60 Songs for Long Dark Night of the Soul, and The Perfect 10. Finally, there are celebrity lists from Dave Grohl, ?estlove, Basement Jaxx, Jeremy Vine, Travis Barker, Lucinda Williams, Beenie Man, Tim Westwood, Tim Rice, and Katie Melua.
50 Greatest British Tracks (10/04).
Ultimate Music Collection (4/05).
Multiple lists of essential albums and tracks by genre (rock, pop, punk/new wave, rap, country, blues, soul, metal, reggae, jazz, folk, electronic, and indie). Also had five essential artists (The Beatles, Madonna, Bob Dylan, U2, and Velvet Underground) with one album choice each and selected songs. Finally, the collection is rounded out with tracks selected by musicians Alex Kapranos of Franz Ferdinand, Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age, Brandon Flowers of the Killers, Jeff Tweedy of Wilco, and Johnny Borrell of Razorlight. Finally, there was a list of the basics one should be sure to have.
Best of the ‘80s (8/06).
A list of the 40 best albums and 40 best tracks.
The 100 Greatest Songs Ever (10/06).
Top 100 songs of all-time according to Q readers.
Top 20 Albums and Singles of the Lifetime of Q Magazine (20 Years) (11/06; issue 244)
50 Years of Great British Music (3/08).
Chronological listing with 10 tracks and 10 albums for each decade (no album list for the ‘50s).
50 Ultimate British Songs (4/11).
Top 50 ranked list with commentary. As chosen by songwriters, singers, & readers.
156 Most Influential Records of All Time (4/19).
A list of albums and songs.

First posted 4/14/2011; last updated 11/2/2021.

Tuesday, December 31, 2019

Q Magazine: Albums of the Year

First posted 12/31/2020.

Q Magazine:

Albums of the Year, 1965-2019

The British music magazine Q launched in 1986 and ceased publication in July 2020. They published year-end lists from 1986 through 2019, but this list includes albums dating back to 1965 based on best-of-all-time lists also published by the magazine. In some cases, the year-end lists did not rank the albums. In such cases, the album of the year was determined by which album on the list ranked highest in Dave’s Music Database.

Check out other album of the year awards here.

2019: Lana Del Rey Norman Fucking Rockwell
2018: Arctic Monkeys Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino
2017: Kendrick Lamar Damn.
2016: David Bowie Blackstar
2015: Tame Impala Currents
2014: The War on Drugs Lost in the Dream
2013: Arctic Monkeys AM
2012: Bobby Womack The Bravest Man in the Universe
2011: Florence + the Machine Ceremonials
2010: Arcade Fire The Suburbs
2009: Kasabian West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum
2008: Kings of Leon Only by the Night
2007: Arcade Fire Neon Bible
2006: Arctic Monkeys Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not
2005: Coldplay X & Y
2004: Streets A Grand Don’t Come for Free
2003: The White Stripes Elephant
2002: Coldplay A Rush of Blood to the Head
2001: Travis The Invisible Band
2000: Coldplay Parachutes
1999: The Chemical Brothers Surrender
1998: Madonna Ray of Light
1997: Radiohead OK Computer
1996: Manic Street Preachers Everything Must Go
1995: Pulp Different Class
1994: Oasis Definitely Maybe
1993: Nirvana In Utero
1992: R.E.M. Automatic for the People
1991: Primal Scream Screamadelica
1990: Depeche Mode Violator
1989: The Stone Roses The Stone Roses
1988: Public Enemy It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back
1987: U2 The Joshua Tree
1986: The Smiths The Queen Is Dead
1985: Kate Bush Hounds of Love
1984: Prince & the Revolution Purple Rain (soundtrack)
1983: Def Leppard Pyromania
1982: Michael Jackson Thriller
1981: The Human League Dare!
1980: Joy Division Closer
1979: The Clash London Calling
1978: The Jam All Mod Cons
1977: The Sex Pistols Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols
1976: Ramones Ramones
1975: Pink Floyd Wish You Were Here
1974: Kraftwerk Autobahn
1973: Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon
1972: David Bowie The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
1971: Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin IV
1970: Nick Drake Bryter Layter
1969: The Rolling Stones Let It Bleed
1968: The Beatles The Beatles (aka “The White Album”)
1967: The Beatles Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
1966: The Beatles Revolver
1965: The Beatles Rubber Soul

Resources and Related Links:

Dave’s Music Database: “Other Year-End Album Awards”
Q magazine: “Lists – End of Year”

Saturday, January 6, 2018

50 years ago: Cream “Sunshine of Your Love” charted

Sunshine of Your Love

Cream

Writer(s): Peter Brown, Jack Bruce, Eric Clapton (see lyrics here)

Released: December 1967

First Charted: January 6, 1968

Peak: 5 US, 6 CB, 4 HR, 1 CL, 25 UK, 3 CN, 18 AU, 1 DF (Click for codes to singles charts.)

Sales (in millions): 1.0 US

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 33.0 video, 300.94 streaming

Awards:

Click on award for more details.

About the Song:

In 1966, Eric Clapton had established himself as the premiere blues guitarist in Britain, thanks to stints in the Yardbirds and John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers. Feeling confined by the latter group, he and fellow Bluesbreaker Jack Bruce formed a power trio with drummer Ginger Baker, who’d worked with Bruce in the Graham Bond Organisation. The resulting supergroup, Cream, only lasted two years but had a lasting impact on rock music.

“No song illustrates this better than “Sunshine of Your Love,” which mixed hard rock with aspects of psychedelia to wonderful effect. The song centers around what is perhaps one of the most simplistic guitar riffs of all time, courtesy of ‘Slowhand’ himself, Eric Clapton. In many ways though, restraint is what propels “Sunshine of Your Love” forward, although Clapton’s remarkable skill with the guitar are on prominent display throughout the solo section.” ^UCR

“Vocal duties are shared between Clapton and Jack Bruce, as the latter’s menacing bass gives the song it’s hefty low end. Drummer Ginger Baker cuts slightly loose during the song’s chorus, but otherwise keeps time as if he were in a military band.” ^UCR The lyrics were written by Peter Brown, a beat poet who was friends with Baker and Bruce. He also wrote the words for Cream’s songs “I Feel Free” and “White Room.” ^SF

Bruce based the song a distinctive bass riff he developed after seeing Jimi Hendrix in concert on January 29, 1967, at the Saville Theatre in London. ^WK As Clapton said, “it was strictly a dedication to Jimi.” ^WK After Cream released “Sunshine of Your Love,” “the guitar legend began adding the song to his concert setlists,” ^UCR Unaware that he’d inspired the song. ^SF

According to Bruce, Booker T. Jones and Otis Redding heard the song before its release and both said it would be a smash. ^SF Atlantic Record’s Ahmet Ertegun initially dismissed it as “psychedelic hogwash,” ^SFSF

Resources:

^SF Songfacts
^UCR UltimateClassicRock.com (6/20/2013). “Top 100 Classic Rock Songs”
^WK Wikipedia

Thursday, December 3, 2015

Today in Music (1965): The Beatles “In My Life” released on the Rubber Soul album

In My Life

The Beatles

This post has been moved here.

Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Q Magazine: Songs of the Year, 1953-2013

Originally posted 4/15/2019.

Q is a British music magazine which has published numerous best-of lists over the years. Based on those lists (sources at bottom of page) and year-end lists, here are the best songs from each year.

2013: Arctic Monkeys “Do I Wanna Know?”
2012: Plan B “Ill Manors”
2011: Adele “Someone Like You”
2010: Plan B “Stay Too Long”
2009: Kasabian “Fire”
2008: The Fall “Senior Twilight Stock Replacer”
2007: Amy Winehouse “Rehab”
2006: Gnarls Barkley “Crazy”
2005: Arctic Monkeys “I Bet You Look Good on the Dance Floor”
2004: Franz Ferdinand “Take Me Out”
2003: OutKast “Hey Ya!”
2002: Coldplay “The Scientist”
2001: The Strokes “Last Nite”
2000: Eminem with Dido “Stan”
1999: Pharoahe Monch “Simon Says”
1998: Britney Spears “Baby One More Time”
1997: The Verve “Bittersweet Symphony”
1996: The Prodigy “Firestarter”
1995: Underworld “Born Slippy”
1994: Oasis “Live Forever”
1993: Nirvana “Heart-Shaped Box”
1992: Radiohead “Creep”
1991: Massive Attack “Unfinished Sympathy”
1990: The Charlatans “The Only One I Know”
1989: The Stone Roses “Fools Gold”
1988: The La’s “There She Goes”
1987: Guns N’ Roses “Sweet Child O’ Mine”
1986: Run-D.M.C. with Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler & Joe Perry “Walk This Way”
1985: Madonna “Into the Groove”
1984: The Smiths “How Soon Is Now?”
1983: New Order “Blue Monday”
1982: The Jam “A Town Called Malice”
1981: The Specials “Ghost Town”
1980: Joy Division “Love Will Tear Us Apart”
1979: The Specials “Gangsters”
1978: Kate Bush “Wuthering Heights”
1977: David Bowie “Heroes”
1976: Sex Pistols “Anarchy in the U.K.”
1975: Queen “Bohemian Rhapsody”
1974: Kraftwerk “Autobahn”
1973: Slade “Cum on Feel the Noize”
1972: Stevie Wonder “Superstition”
1971: John Lennon “Imagine”
1970: Black Sabbath “Paranoid”
1969: The Rolling Stones “Gimme Shelter”
1968: The Beatles “Hey Jude”
1967: The Kinks “Waterloo Sunset”
1966: The Beach Boys “Good Vibrations”
1965: Bob Dylan “Like a Rolling Stone”
1964: The Kinks “You Really Got Me”
1963: The Beatles “She Loves You”
1962: The Tornadoes “Telstar”
1961: Ben E. King “Stand by Me”
1960: The Shadows “Apache”
1959: Ray Charles “What’d I Say”
1958: Cliff Richard & the Drifters “Move It”
1957: Wee Willie Harris “Rockin’ at the 2 I’s”
1956: Lonnie Donegan “Rock Island Line”
1955: Fats Domino “Ain’t That a Shame”
1954: Elvis Presley “That’s All Right, Mama”
1953: Hank Williams “Your Cheatin’ Heart”

Q Magazine Lists:

Readers’ poll (2/99). Top 100 songs of all-time according to Q readers.
1001 Best Songs Ever (1/04). Don’t know details of how list was compiled.
The Music That Changed the World (2004). 3 special editions in January (covering 1954-69), February (covering 1970-1979), and March 2004 (covering 1980-2004). Each featured a top 20 album list and a top 20 song list.
The 100 Greatest Songs Ever (10/06). Top 100 songs of all-time according to Q readers.
Top 20 Albums and Singles of the Lifetime of Q Magazine (20 Years) (11/06; issue 244)
50 Years of Great British Music (3/08). Chronological listing with 10 tracks and 10 albums for each decade (no album list for the ‘50s).
50 Ultimate British Songs (4/11). Top 50 ranked list with commentary. As chosen by songwriters, singers, & readers.

Monday, February 28, 2011

Q Magazine's Top 100 Albums of All Time

First posted 2/28/2011; updated 8/12/2020.

Q Magazine:

The Top 100 Albums

Q magazine is a British magazine that has been around since the mid-‘80s. While its U.S. counterparts seem dead-set on always putting a scantily clad babe on their covers or shoving in non-musical content that supposedly fits the same demographic, Q is all music. Over the years, they’ve put out a number of best-of-all-time album lists. I’ve aggregated 16 of them (see the links at the bottom of the page) for a ranking you won’t find in any of their magazines.

Also, check out annual picks for album of the year.

1. Radiohead OK Computer (1997)
2. Oasis Definitely Maybe (1994)
3. The Stone Roses The Stone Roses (1989)
4. The Verve Urban Hymns (1997)
5. Primal Scream Screamadelica (1991)
6. Blur Parklife (1994)
7. Oasis What’s the Story Morning Glory (1995)
8. Radiohead The Bends (1995)
9. Nirvana Nevermind (1991)
10. U2 Achtung Baby (1991)

11. The Smiths The Queen Is Dead (1986)
12. Sex Pistols Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols (1977)
13. Massive Attack Blue Lines (1991)
14. The Beatles Revolver (1966)
15. The Clash London Calling (1979)
16. Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon (1973)
17. U2 The Joshua Tree (1987)
18. R.E.M. Automatic for the People (1992)
19. David Bowie The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972)
20. Coldplay A Rush of Blood to the Head (2002)

21. Manic Street Preachers Everything Must Go (1996)
22. Pulp Different Class (1995)
23. The Beatles Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
24. Jeff Buckley Grace (1994)
25. Kate Bush Hounds of Love (1985)
26. The Rolling Stones Let It Bleed (1969)
27. Guns N’ Roses Appetite for Destruction (1987)
28. Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin IV (1971)
29. Manic Street Preachers The Holy Bible (1994)
30. Velvet Underground & Nico Velvet Underground & Nico (1967)

31. David Bowie Hunky Dory (1971)
32. Nirvana In Utero (1993)
33. The Prodigy Fat of the Land (1997)
34. Prince Sign ‘O’ the Times (1987)
35. Portishead Dummy (1994)
36. Public Enemy It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (1988)
37. The Strokes Is This It (2001)
38. The Beatles The Beatles (aka “The White Album”) (1968)
39. Bob Dylan Blood on the Tracks (1975)
40. The Rolling Stones Exile on Main Street (1972)

41. Van Morrison Astral Weeks (1968)
42. Coldplay Parachutes (2000)
43. The Beach Boys Pet Sounds (1966)
44. Chemical Brothers Dig Your Own Hole (1997)
45. Alanis Morissette Jagged Little Pill (1995)
46. Depeche Mode Violator (1990)
47. Madonna Ray of Light (1998)
48. Pearl Jam Ten (1991)
49. Beck Odelay (1996)
50. Stereophonics Word Gets Around (1997)

51. The Beatles Abbey Road (1969)
52. Radiohead Kid A (2000)
53. The Beatles Rubber Soul (1965)
54. Queen A Night at the Opera (1975)
55. Joy Division Unknown Pleasures (1979)
56. The Pixies Doolittle (1989)
57. Joy Division Closer (1980)
58. Red Hot Chili Peppers Californication (1999)
59. Smashing Pumpkins Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (1995)
60. Fleetwood Mac Rumours (1977)

61. Pink Floyd: Wish You Were Here (1975)
62. Michael Jackson Thriller (1982)
63. Led Zeppelin Physical Graffiti (1975)
64. The Who Who’s Next (1971)
65. The Specials The Specials (1979)
66. Marvin Gaye What’s Going On (1971)
67. Pink Floyd The Wall (1979)
68. Muse Origin of Symmetry (2001)
69. The Human League Dare! (1981)
70. The Jam All Mod Cons (1978)

71. The Cure Disintegration (1989)
72. The Prodigy Music for the Jilted Generation (1994)
73. Happy Mondays Pills ‘N’ Thrills and Bellyaches (1990)
74. Leftfield Leftism (1995)
75. Travis The Man Who (1999)
76. Metallica Metallica (aka “The Black Album”) (1991) 77. Moby Play (1999)
78. R.E.M. Out of Time (1991)
79. PJ Harvey Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea (2000)
80. The Rolling Stones Sticky Fingers (1971)

81. Arctic Monkeys Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not (2006)
82. Muse Black Holes & Revelations (2006)
83. Gorillaz Demon Days (2005)
84. The White Stripes White Blood Cells (2001)
85. Roxy Music For Your Pleasure (1973)
86. Radiohead In Rainbows (2007)
87. Pink Floyd The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967)
88. The Jimi Hendrix Experience Electric Ladyland (1968)
89. The Libertines Up the Bracket (2002)
90. Bob Dylan Highway 61 Revisited (1965)

91. Nick Drake Bryter Layter (1970)
92. Amy Winehouse Back to Black (2006)
93. The Small Faces Ogden’s Nut Gone Flake (1968)
94. Bruce Springsteen Born to Run (1975)
95. Eminem The Marshall Mathers LP (2000)
96. Rage Against the Machine Rage Against the Machine (1992)
97. My Bloody Valentine Loveless (1991)
98. David Bowie Low (1977)
99. Oasis Be Here Now (1997)
100. Dexy’s Midnight Runners Searching for the Young Soul Rebels (1980)

Resources and Related Links:

January 1995: In Our Lifetime: Q’s 100 Best Albums
Critics picked 99 and readers picked the 100th. Link has an incomplete list; only 88 titles are listed.
February 1998: All Time Top 100 Albums
Readers’ poll.
June 2000: The 100 Greatest British Albums Ever
Writers’ picks.
October 2001: The Best 50 CDs of the Last 15 Years
Readers’ poll covering the lifetime of Q magazine, 1986-2001.
January 2003: Readers’ 100 Greatest Albums Ever
January-March 2004: The Music That Changed the World
3 special editions in January (covering 1954-69), February (covering 1970-1979), and March 2004 (covering 1980-2004). Each featured a top 20 album list and a top 20 song list.
July 2004: 50 Best British Albums Ever!
April 2005: Ultimate Music Collection
Featured lists of must-have albums (from 4 to 11 picks) and tracks (roughly 50) in multiple genres including rock, pop, punk, rap, country, blues, soul, metal, reggae, jazz, folk, electronic, and indie.
February 2006: Best Albums Ever
Readers’ poll. Top 100 list.
November 2006: Top 20 Albums and Singles of the Lifetime of Q Magazine
Covers 1986-2006, the first 20 years of Q magazine’s existence.
November 2007: 21 Albums That Changed Music
21st anniversary issue. List is chronological.
March 2008: 50 Years of Great British Music
Chronological listing with 10 tracks and 10 albums for each decade (no album list for the ‘50s).
May 2008: Best British Albums (Readers’ poll)
February 2011: 250 Best Albums of Q’s Lifetime
Readers poll of best albums from 1986-2011. In celebration of Q Magazine’s 25th anniversary.

Saturday, October 29, 2005

Arctic Monkeys “I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor” hit #1 in the UK