"The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is a 2013 special issue of British magazine NME , available digitally or in newsstands on October 23. [1] The list presented was compiled based on votes from current and past NME journalists. [2] The list and writer's choices voting several times for the same act, were criticized by several papers including The Guardian . [3]
The number one album was The Queen Is Dead by the Smiths. [4]
Made in a similar fashion 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. [3] Snapes included a fifth National album at number 7 in her top ten greatest albums of all time. [3] 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. [3]
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 |
| Coldplay [7] | 2 | 266 |
| Oasis | 2 | 10 |
| 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 English rock band Oasis, released by Creation Records on 29 August 1994. The band booked Monnow Valley Studio near Rockfield in late 1993 to record the album and worked with producer Dave Batchelor, whom lead guitarist and chief songwriter Noel Gallagher knew from his time working as a roadie for the Inspiral Carpets, though sessions were unsatisfactory and Batchelor was subsequently fired.
The Queen Is Dead is the third studio album by the English rock band the Smiths. It was released on 16 June 1986 in the UK by Rough Trade Records, and on 23 June 1986 in the US by Sire 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.
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, dance music, reggae and dub. Its lyrics and artwork reflected the band's left-wing political concerns. It would be an influential release in the burgeoning post-punk movement.
Grace is the only studio album by American singer-songwriter Jeff Buckley, released on August 23, 1994, by Columbia Records. The album had poor sales and received mixed reviews at the time of its release. However, in recent years it has dramatically risen in critical reputation. An extended version of the album, celebrating its tenth anniversary, was released on August 23, 2004, and peaked at number 44 in the UK.
XTRMNTR is the sixth studio album by Scottish rock band Primal Scream. It was first released on 31 January 2000 in the United Kingdom by Creation Records and on 2 May 2000 in the United States by Astralwerks. It peaked at number 3 on the UK Albums Chart.
"Bizarre Love Triangle" is a song 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.
"Dumb" is a song by the American rock band, Nirvana, written by vocalist and guitarist, Kurt Cobain. It is the sixth song on the band's third and final studio album, In Utero, released in 1993.
"No One Knows" is a song by American rock band Queens of the Stone Age written by band members Josh Homme and Mark Lanegan. It was the first single and second track from their third album, Songs for the Deaf, and was released on November 26, 2002. "No One Knows" was a chart success, becoming the band's first single to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 and their only single to top the US Alternative charts. The song was also critically acclaimed, receiving a nomination for Best Hard Rock Performance at the 2003 Grammy Awards.
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.
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.
"All My Friends" is a song by American rock band LCD Soundsystem. It was released as the second single from their second studio album Sound of Silver on May 28, 2007 and was written by Pat Mahoney, James Murphy, and Tyler Pope. The song received acclaim from critics and was on many year-end lists. It peaked at #41 on the UK Singles Chart. B-sides for the single include covers of the song by Scottish indie rock band Franz Ferdinand and former Velvet Underground member John Cale.
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.