How Does The New Rolling Stone Top 500 Albums Of All Time Stack Up?
There may be some impressive classics that have gotten their just due, but there has been an elephant in the room concerning the amount of new releases. Granted, while there was some representation for the ‘00s on the previous list, most of the new entries are dominated with albums from the ‘90s onward. Even though it seems treasonous putting so many newer albums at the top of the totem pole, it actually serves as a good time capsule as to where music has been going in the past few years.
Sure, it might seem a bit strange putting something like Jagged Little Pill by Alanis Morissette at No.69, but concerning the landmark record it was for a woman in the alternative sphere, it more than deserves a spot amongst the most important records. This new list also tends to point towards the new school of mainstream music as well, with Billie Eilish’s latest album When We All Fall Asleep...earning the young star a spot amongst the best in the world. It might seem a little premature to put these (relatively) recent albums on the list, but it speaks to a broader message about what the list is trying to do.
Even though many of the bands from the previous list have been influential in their own way, these new recruits have proven that you don’t have to bow down to past heroes all the time. Rolling Stone may have started off as a bit of a rock-focused publication, but this feels like the logistical next step if they want to remain a dominant force in the music world.
More than just being about the greatest of all time, there is a lot more representation for a lot of different musical backgrounds throughout the entries here. While there is the occasional questionable entry like Harry Styles getting a spot (even though his album isn’t even a year old), there's something to be said about a list that isn’t afraid to throw a few curveballs at you from time to time. It would have been easy to just pick the most highly-rated albums from each decade and throw them on this list, but the fact that the running order offers a little something for everyone speaks to how far we’ve come as music listeners. Though you may have thought that something like the Miseducation of Lauryn Hill slapped back in the day, the fact that it was able to notch its way into the Top 10 speaks volumes about how Rolling Stone are transitioning into a different animal.
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