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Top 10 Rock Albums of All Time

I love music. I especially love Rock and Roll. That's why doing a list like this is both extremely difficult and enormously rewarding. It forces me to make tough decisions between beloved songs and albums, but also elicits so many memories and positive feelings, and simply reminds me of so much good music that I can't help but smile and feel all warm and fuzzy as I write this.

But enough of that crap. You want to know what I think are the 10 best rock albums of all-time? For better or worse, here's what I came up with:

OK, as always, I put a couple rules in place. Obviously these must be rock albums, which is admittedly a broad category, as it technically could include many kinds of rock, such as Oldies, Classic, Hard, Pop, Punk, and Soft. But the album must be an actual album, as in studio release, not including singles/EPs/compilations. Also, this is a list of favorites, not meant to be a list of the most important or most technically sound. Just the top 10 rock albums I'd want on a desert island. Without further ado, here we go...

I. The First Cut (great albums, but not legendary)

As I did with similar Top 10 lists, the easiest way for me to come up with this list was to just start putting albums down on paper, and then cut them into sections. I came up with 20 without having to go dig, so I figured that was where to start: after all, great albums should stick with you, and you shouldn't have to go searching for them. They leave a lasting impression on you that you don't soon forget. However, here are the 10 that didn't make the cut:

Dookie (Green Day, 1994)
Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (The Smashing Pumpkins, 1995)
Pinkerton (Weezer, 1996)
II (Led Zeppelin, 1969)
Tommy (The Who, 1969)
American Idiot (Green Day, 2004)
Throwing Copper (Live, 1994)
Ten (Pearl Jam, 1991)
Rubber Soul (The Beatles, 1965)
The Joshua Tree (U2, 1987)

II. Must Have Albums

OK, we're getting into rarified air here. These are career-best performances by some of the best bands of all-time, reaching musical pinnacles that most bands will never experience...

10. Superunknown (Soundgarden, 1994)

The best offering from the most overlooked band of the 90's grunge explosion. So many hits here: Fell On Black Days, Black Hole Sun, Spoonman, and My Wave. Not to mention The Day I Tried To Live, a song that never was a single or received much notoriety, but which I believe is Soundgarden's finest effort. The album is chocked full of heavy yet catchy guitar hooks, thunderous drums, and of course, Chris Cornell's amazing voice. It is so heavy, yet so musically talented and fun. If I had to throw a single album into a time capsule to explain to futuristic humans how good grunge was, this would be it.

9. Are You Experienced? (Jimi Hendrix, 1967)

Jimi Hendrix wasn't around for long, but this was his finest hour. This isn't a greatest hits compilation, but it sure feels like it, since Purple Haze, Fire, Hey Joe, The Wind Cries Mary, Foxey Lady, Highway Chile, and Manic Depression are all found on this blockbuster album. I put in this disc and get to marvel at Jimi's genius for over an hour, getting lost in his insurmountable guitar talents and soulful lyrics.

8. Metallica (Metallica, 1991)

This entry is likely to draw ire from any hardcore Metallica fans, who might argue that this album (also known as The Black Album) is when the band deviated from their true roots and began to sell out. Whether or not there is any validity to this claim, the fact remains that this album is tremendous, and is possibly the defining hard rock album of our generation. It certainly opened the doors for hard rock to become accessible to a more mainstream audience, and in that sense, its importance cannot be diminshed. Like most of the albums on this list, the number of hits here are just staggering: Enter Sandman, Sad But True, Holier Than Thou, The Unforgiven, Wherever I May Roam, Don't Tread On Me, and Nothing Else Matters... and that's only through the first 8 tracks on the album! This is one of my all-time favorite driving albums, because it is so musically sound, absolutely ferocious, and just so darn good.

7. Rage Against the Machine (Rage Against the Machine, 1992)

Speaking of driving albums... this is the mother of them all. Rage's self-titled debut is an utter tour-de-force. I'm not sure any band has burst on the scene with more passion, more vitriol, or more skill than RATM. Yet again, a solid album from start to end: Bombtrack, Killing In The Name, Take The Power Back, Know Your Enemy, and Wake Up light up this album like firecrackers. It's the most emotionally charged CD in my collection, always a good choice when I need to get the adrenaline flowing. Despite the off-kilter political ramblings of lead singer Zack de la Rocha, he is completely overshadowed by the guitar prowess of Tom Morello, the best guitarest of the modern era.

6. IV (Led Zeppelin, 1971)

This album contains Black Dog, Rock and Roll, Misty Mountain Hop, When the Levee Breaks, and the Grandaddy of Them All, Stairway to Heaven. Need I say more? I thought not.

III. The Pantheon of Rock

This is as good as it gets. I wouldn't sell or get rid of these albums for anything. These are all albums that:

• Are solid from start to finish
• I listen to frequently, and sometimes, multiple times in a row
• Blew me away by their greatness the first time I heard them, and continued to do so on repeated listenings

Here is the gravy:

5. The Bends (Radiohead, 1995)

OK Computer is Radiohead's critical darling of an album, but I will argue to the death that The Bends is their best album, not to mention the best the 90's have to offer. Unlike the previous 5 entries in this list, there are few popular singles here: only Just got serious radioplay, while High and Dry and Fake Plastic Trees were moderate successes. But Radiohead has never been popular with the common radio-listening masses: they are a refined sound for a more discriminating audience. Despite this, The Bends is a pure, unadulterated, great rock album. There are no weak tracks here, and it is lyrically and musically transcendant. It is an inspired album that really defies definition - just go listen and enjoy it.

4. Aqualung (Jethro Tull, 1971)

The most amazing thing about this one is that I just discovered this album about a month ago, yet I'm already convinced that it is one of the best albums ever made. It all started when I heard Locomotive Breath on the radio, and I thought it was fantastic, which led me to find out more about the song and its album. What I discovered was a complex, mysterious, and exciting album called Aqualung, a concept album criticizing those who abuse God and religion for selfish reasons. The album is an enigma, because for each hard rocking jam, there is a smooth and bluesy folk song. To top it all off, Jethro Tull is best known for their lead singer, who is a flutist, and he blends the flute into the hard rocking songs so perfectly that it's a wonder no one else has tried doing it since. This album absolutely knocked me off my feet.

3. Physical Graffiti (Led Zeppelin, 1975)

Despite the popularity of other albums such as II and IV, I believe the sprawling double-disc Physical Graffiti is Led Zeppelin at their most creative and talented. They display a range of musical ability which is just stunning, covering so many genres in a way that lesser bands (read: all other bands that ever existed) could only dream of. Hard rock, blues, folk, reggae, country, and surf rock are all represented here, and all are done well. All the hits are on the first disc, including The Rover, Trampled Under Foot, and of course, Kashmir. But the second disc really displays their prowess, including beautiful ballads like Ten Years Gone, mystical rockers like In the Light, and fun folky experiments like Black Country Woman. Not the best album for a new Led Zeppelin initiate, but for the veterans, listen and admire.

2. Boston (Boston, 1976)

Holy crap. This album is insane. Pound for pound, probably the most fun album ever made. And it is so strong from start to finish. Look at the evidence: 8 songs here. The first four tracks are classic rock radio staples (More Than a Feeling, Peace of Mind, Foreplay / Long Time, and Rock and Roll Band). 3 others get pretty serious airplay (Smokin', Something About You, and Let Me Take You Home Tonight), and even the final song, Hitch a Ride, can be heard on the radio occasionally, and is a fantastic song in its own right. Boston's trademark vocals and unique guitar riffs are so engrossing, so infectious, that if you don't get fired up by listening to this album, you might be dead. It misses out on the #1 spot by the smallest of margins, supplanted instead by...

1. Who's Next (The Who, 1971)

This isn't even fair. Similar to Boston, this album lives on through radio: of the 9 tracks, five (Baba O'Riley, Bargain, Going Mobile, Behind Blue Eyes, and Won't Get Fooled Again) are radio staples. But the rest are just as solid. This album gets the edge over Boston for several reasons. First off, the mentioned songs aren't just radio staples, they are bonafide rock classics. Baba O'Riley and Won't Get Fooled Again in particular are transcendant hits, among the best rock songs ever made. But a close look at the album shows the great range that The Who has on display here: there are monstrous rock jams, softer, excellent ballads, and even a hilarious ode to significant others (My Wife) which might be the funniest rock song ever written. Not only is every track strong, I would argue that each track is a classic, whether it got radio airplay or not. Plus, it helps that I consider Won't Get Fooled Again to be the best rock song ever written. To me, this album is the best example of pure genius in action, one of the rare times in history when four people got together, all world-famous for their musical abilities and at the top of their game, and made an album better than anyone could have imagined possible. It simply does not get better than this.

So, any comments from the peanut gallery?

Posted by sdishman at December 29, 2005 1:56 AM

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