"The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is a 2013 special issue of British magazine NME , available digitally or on newsstands on October 23. [1] The list presented was compiled based on votes from current and past NME journalists. [2]
The number one album was The Queen Is Dead by the Smiths. [3]
Made similarly to the Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, the list was voted for by NME journalists past and present, each of whom submitted a weighted list of 50 albums. [1]
This NME listing was criticized by the media. The Guardian noted that NME's Features Editor in 2013, Laura Snapes, rated in her top four spots four albums by the same band, the National. [4] Snapes included a fifth National album at number 7 in her top ten greatest albums of all time. [4] Similarly another NME journalist, Kevin EG Perry, also selected four albums by the same band in his top four spots, this time the Rolling Stones. [4]
Ben Kaye of Consequence of Sound wrote that "if Laura Snapes had her wish, the top four would all be The National albums". [5] He wrote:
The Smiths' The Queen Is Dead is the greatest album of all time. It's better than anything the Beatles ever did (though Revolver came close). Meanwhile, the band Queen is nowhere on the list at all, whereas Queens of the Stone Age shows up thrice (they also show up Thrice, who don't appear). Some other interesting highlights include Oasis' Definitely Maybe starting the top 10, PJ Harvey's Let England Shake making an impressive No. 15, Arcade Fire's Funeral (13) slotting higher than My Bloody Valentine's Loveless (18), and Outkast's Stankonia only good enough to slip in at 500.
More oddities: The highest ranked Michael Jackson album ( Thriller ) hits at 131, while LCD Soundsystem broke the top 50 with Sound of Silver (49). It's rad that Jimmy Eat World's Bleed American (429) made it on, but having it one spot below Bruce Springsteen's Born in the U.S.A. and two above Soundgarden's Badmotorfinger seems kinda crazy. Speaking of the Boss, Nebraska (148) isn’t quite as good as Frank Ocean’s Channel Orange (147), but slightly better than Elliott Smith's Either/Or (149) and The Streets Original Pirate Material (150). Also, apparently Arctic Monkeys' one-month-old AM (449) is already better than Big Star's Third (451). [5]
He also pointed out the differences between the list and the Top 100 British Albums Ever, released by NME in 2006. [5] Michael Nelson of Stereogum thought the top three albums were a good choice, but said the rest was "a waking nightmare." [6]
 |
| Artist | Number of albums | Highest album position |
|---|---|---|
| David Bowie | 10 | 3 |
| The Beatles | 7 | 2 |
| Bob Dylan | 7 | 36 |
| Bruce Springsteen | 5 | 85 |
| Elvis Costello | 5 | 256 |
| PJ Harvey | 5 | 15 |
| Radiohead | 5 | 20 |
| The Smiths | 5 | 1 |
| Beck | 4 | 307 |
| Blur | 4 | 22 |
| Nirvana | 4 | 11 |
| R.E.M. | 4 | 65 |
| The Rolling Stones | 4 | 24 |
| Tom Waits | 4 | 105 |
| The Who | 4 | 275 |
| The National | 4 | 162 |
| Neil Young | 4 | 56 |
| Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds | 4 | 165 |
| Arcade Fire | 3 | 13 |
| Beastie Boys | 3 | 32 |
| The Beach Boys | 3 | 26 |
| Björk | 3 | 46 |
| The Clash | 3 | 39 |
| Leonard Cohen | 3 | 232 |
| Daft Punk | 3 | 76 |
| Dexys Midnight Runners | 3 | 118 |
| Jay-Z | 3 | 186 |
| Kanye West | 3 | 21 |
| Kings of Leon | 3 | 212 |
| Kraftwerk | 3 | 57 |
| Manic Street Preachers | 3 | 44 |
| Michael Jackson | 3 | 131 |
| New Order | 3 | 122 |
| Pavement | 3 | 206 |
| Pixies | 3 | 8 |
| Prince | 3 | 91 |
| Public Enemy | 3 | 17 |
| Pulp | 3 | 6 |
| Queens of the Stone Age | 3 | 93 |
| Sonic Youth | 3 | 41 |
| Spiritualized | 3 | 156 |
| Stevie Wonder | 3 | 42 |
| Suede | 3 | 31 |
| Super Furry Animals | 3 | 92 |
| Velvet Underground | 3 | 5 |
| The Verve | 3 | 128 |
| The White Stripes | 3 | 77 |
| The Strokes | 2 | 4 |
| Arctic Monkeys | 2 | 19 |
| Massive Attack | 2 | 60 |
| Coldplay | 2 | 266 |
| Oasis | 2 | 10 |
| Primal Scream | 2 | 27 |
| John Lennon | 2 | 133 |
| Weezer | 2 | 108 |
Horses is the debut studio album by American musician Patti Smith. It was released by Arista Records on November 10, 1975. A fixture of the mid-1970s underground rock music scene in New York City, Smith signed to Arista in 1975 and recorded Horses with her band at Electric Lady Studios in August and September of that year. She enlisted former Velvet Underground member John Cale to produce the album.
"Smells Like Teen Spirit" is a song by the American rock band Nirvana. It is the opening track and lead single from the band's second album, Nevermind (1991), released on DGC Records. The unexpected success of the song propelled Nevermind to the top of several albums charts at the start of 1992, an event often marked as the point when grunge entered the mainstream. It was Nirvana's biggest hit, charting high on music industry charts around the world in 1991 and 1992, and was number one on the charts in Belgium, France, New Zealand and Spain. It was met with wide critical acclaim, and described as an "anthem for apathetic kids" of Generation X. Although Nirvana grew uncomfortable with the mainstream and commercial attention the song brought to them, listeners and critics continue to praise "Smells Like Teen Spirit" as one of the greatest songs of all time.
Definitely Maybe is the debut studio album by the English rock band Oasis, released by Creation Records on 29 August 1994. The album features Noel Gallagher on lead guitar, backing vocals and as chief songwriter, Liam Gallagher on lead vocals, Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs on rhythm guitar, Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan on bass guitar and Tony McCaroll on drums.
The Queen Is Dead is the third studio album by the English rock band the Smiths. It was released on 16 June 1986 through Rough Trade Records.
13 Songs is a compilation album by the American post-hardcore band Fugazi, released on September 1, 1989 by Dischord Records. The album consists of all the songs from the band's first two EPs, Fugazi and Margin Walker.
Zen Arcade is the second studio album by American punk rock band Hüsker Dü, released in July 1984 on SST Records. Originally released as a double album on two vinyl LPs, Zen Arcade tells the story of a young boy who runs away from an unfulfilling home life, only to find the world outside is even worse. Zen Arcade and subsequent Hüsker Dü albums were instrumental in the creation of the alternative rock genre, and it is considered by some to be one of the greatest rock albums of all time.
Pretenders is the debut studio album by British-American band The Pretenders, released in January 1980. A combination of rock and roll, punk and new wave music, this album made the band famous. The album features the singles "Stop Your Sobbing", "Kid" and "Brass in Pocket".
The Stone Roses is the debut studio album by English rock band the Stone Roses. It was recorded mostly at Battery Studios in London with producer John Leckie from June 1988 to February 1989 and released later that year on 2 May by Silvertone Records.
Entertainment! is the debut album by English post-punk band Gang of Four. It was released in September 1979 through EMI Records internationally and Warner Bros. Records in North America. Stylistically, it draws heavily on punk rock but also incorporates the influence of funk, reggae and dub. Its lyrics and artwork reflected the band's left-wing political concerns. Entertainment! became a seminal album in the post-punk movement.
Either/Or is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Elliott Smith. Either/Or was recorded in several locations, mostly in Portland, Oregon – while Smith was still a member of Heatmiser – and was produced by Smith, Tom Rothrock and Rob Schnapf. Either/Or was released on February 25, 1997, on the Kill Rock Stars record label, following Heatmiser's dissolution. Book-ended by its two singles, "Speed Trials" and "Ballad of Big Nothing", Either/Or did not chart in the US, but was acclaimed by critics.
Megan Martha White is a retired American musician who served as the drummer and occasional singer of the rock duo the White Stripes. A key artist of the 2000s garage rock revival, White is noted for her "primal" style of playing and elusive media image. Though she typically performed backing vocals for the band, she occasionally sang lead for one song on each album, including "In the Cold, Cold Night" and "Passive Manipulation".
Weezer is the debut studio album by the American rock band Weezer, released on May 10, 1994, by DGC Records. It was produced by Ric Ocasek of the Cars.
"Bizarre Love Triangle" is the thirteenth single by English rock band New Order, released as a single in November 1986 from their fourth studio album, Brotherhood (1986), which reached the top five on the US Hot Dance Music/Club Play Singles chart, and No. 5 on the Australian ARIA Charts in March 1987. It failed to enter the top 40 of both the UK Singles Chart and the US Billboard Hot 100; however, a new mix included on The Best of New Order was released in 1994 and charted at No. 98 on the Hot 100. In 2004, the song was ranked No. 204 on Rolling Stone's "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time."
Funeral is the debut studio album by Canadian indie rock band Arcade Fire, released on September 14, 2004 by Merge Records. Preliminary recordings for Funeral were made during the course of a week in August 2003 at the Hotel2Tango in Montreal, Quebec, and the recording was completed later that year all in an analogue recording format.
"(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais" is a song by the English punk rock band the Clash. It was originally released as a 7-inch single, with the b-side "The Prisoner", on 16 June 1978 through CBS Records.
"There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" is a song by the English rock band the Smiths, written by guitarist Johnny Marr and lead vocalist Morrissey. Featured on the band's third studio album The Queen Is Dead (1986), it was not released as a single in the United Kingdom until 1992, five years after their split, to promote the compilation album ...Best II. It peaked at No. 25 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 22 on the Irish Singles Chart. The song has received considerable critical acclaim; in 2014, NME listed it as the 12th-greatest song of all time. In 2021, it was ranked at No. 226 on Rolling Stone's "Top 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".
"The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is a recurring opinion survey and music ranking of the finest albums in history, compiled by the American magazine Rolling Stone. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in a special issue of the magazine in 2003 and a related book in 2005.
"The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring song ranking compiled by the American magazine Rolling Stone. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2004 in a special issue of the magazine, issue number 963, a year after the magazine published its list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". In 2010, Rolling Stone published a revised edition, drawing on the original and a later survey of songs released up until the early 2000s.
Kala is the second studio album by British hip hop artist M.I.A. It was released on 8 August 2007 by XL Recordings. M.I.A. named the album after her mother and said her mother's struggles in life are a major theme of the recording. It was mainly written and produced by M.I.A. and Switch, and features contributions from Timbaland, Diplo, Afrikan Boy and The Wilcannia Mob.
Teen Dream is the third studio album by American dream pop duo Beach House. It was released on January 26, 2010 as the band's debut album on the record label Sub Pop. Internationally, the album was released by Bella Union in Europe, Mistletone Records in Australia, and Arts & Crafts in Mexico. The album was produced by the band and Chris Coady.