u/GaelicTuna

Albums that stand the test of time typically do very well on critic lists (see Abbey Road, Nevermind, DSOTM, and Rumours). Lately I have been trying to think of the most iconic albums that aren't very critically acclaimed. Please note that I am excluding compilations as otherwise they would make up the entire list.

Recent albums which are famous but not critically acclaimed include:

1. Divide by Ed Sheeran

2. Starboy by the Weeknd

They are currently 2nd and third all time in spotify streams respectively so they are clearly culturally significant yet neither has done very well in critic lists. Starboy is somewhat suprising as some of the Weekends other work has fared better. Of course, I also wanted to find some older albums. For those I found:

3. Hybrid Theory by Linkin Park

I can't say too much about this personally but I seems to be doing quite well both in Billboard 200 and streaming numbers. Critically, on the other hand, it hasn't made any recent best album lists that I've seen. It, like the fourth and fifth album, is on 1001 albums you must hear before you die.

4. Boston by Boston

5. Slippery When Wet by Bon Jovi

Both albums are among the best selling rock albums of all time and still get significant radio airplay. Neither was on the Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, or NME GOAT list. I kinda get why Slippery When Wet isn't on there is it was one of the big albums of the pre-grunge pop hair metal phase but Boston seems like it was quite influential on production standards of future rock.

Let me know what you think below.

As the title says, I am looking for albums that were at one time considered among the best albums of all time but have fallen in critical stature. I am especially interested ones that were critically acclaimed before 2003 as critic lists are more common after that point. I did look at some Rolling Stone rankings from the 20th century to get an idea and compared them to the Rolling Stone top five hundred rankings from 2012 and 2023. It should be noted that many of these albums are falling in ranking mostly due to newer albums being recognized. For that reason, I focused more on albums that have fallen relative to their contemporaries.

The most prominent example is probably Sgt. Pepper. Until some point in the 2010s the album was very commonly topping all time lists, including Rolling Stones 1987 Greatest Albums of the Last 20 Years (1967-1987). To me, the argument for it being number one always felt like, "you had to be there" because at the time it was very influential in the development of the concept album and the acceptance of rock and roll as an art. However, in hindsight, the concept album component is under-utilized and the section from Fixing a Hole to the Reprise isn't the Beatles best work. Revolver and Pet Sounds seem to be regarded these days as better and older albums that fell under the radar at the time. For that reason, it is quite natural that Sgt. Peppers's ranking will drop as we start having more critics that weren't sentient in 1967.

Other albums that fell quite a bit from the 1987 ranking to the 2012 and 2023 Rolling Stone rankings include Never Mind the Bollock Here's the Sex Pistols (#2 ->#41 -> #80) and Plastic Ono Band by John Lennon (#4 -> #23->#85). I don't have as much commentary on either of these as I haven't listened to it as much but I am curious as to why Never Mind the Bollocks dropped (After all, it's still the best Sex Pistols album and was extremely influential on punk) and why POB was ever regarded that highly in the first place.

Shoot Out The Lights by Richard and Linda Thompson (#24 in '87) and Trout Mask Replica by  Captain Beefheart And The Magic Band (#33) both were on the top five hundred in 2012 but fell off in 2020. Trout Mask Replica falling off is not a suprise as it is an Avant-Garde album that isn't on Spotify. It is a shame that these two great records appear to be getting more obscure as time goes on. Other (non-compilation) albums from the 1987 list that didn't make it to either of the 21st century lists include Green River by CCR, Howlin' Wind by Graham Parker, Get Happy by Elvis Costello, Hearts of Stone by Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, Fear of Music by Talking Heads, and Katy Lied by Steely Dan. The Rolling Stone top 80's album ranking had Diesel and Dust by Australian band Midnight Oil ranked at number 13 for the decade but seems to have faded into complete obscurity outside of Best Australian album rankings.

Note that the Rolling Stone ranking is simply one of many rankings. I choose it primarily so I could compare across different time periods. Let me know if you know of any other such albums in the comments. It would be especially interesting if some of the older redditors commented on their own personal experiences.

We all have different taste in music. Lately, I've been thinking about what causes these differences. Specifically, I want to hear what elements people think are really important and which ones people don't care about as much. I'll go first:

Melody: I like good melody, but it isn't the most important thing to me. There are some catchy hooks that I really enjoy such as I Can't Let Go by The Hollies and Our Lips are Sealed by The GoGos. As a whole though, there aren't that many songs with a strong enough melody to excite me. Most of my enjoyment comes from harmonic complexity (as we will see later).

Lead Vocals: I don't care very much whether or not an artist has a good voice. Annoying vocals are almost never a deal breaker (except maybe Frank Zappa). However,there are some soul artists, such as Otis Redding, whose vocals add a lot to the music.

Rhythm: If I want to dance to a song, having a good rhythm is nice. Otherwise, its not something I really notice.

Lyrics: I generally don't listen to lyrics nor do I typically register the story the song is telling. I wish I could focus on them more, but I have been this way since I was a child for some reason. That being said, there are about half a dozen songs whose lyrics really speak to me (including Innuendo by Queen and Blow Away by George Harrison). Ironically, even though I don't listen to lyrics, I still like Bob Dylan alot. I find that his lyrical choices add an interesting cadence to the song.

Song structure: Generally, I am fine with a wide variety of structures including AABA, Verse-Chorus, Western Classical music, etc. My favorite thing is when songs have an extended coda a la Hey Jude or Isn't It a Pity by George Harrison. I much prefer these to guitar solos due to the codas generally having more harmonic complexity. Alas, most rock listeners seem to feel differently.

Harmonic Complexity/Layering: Now that I've talked about all the things I don't care for, it is time for me to talk about what I love about music: Harmonic complexity. I should note that I am using harmonic complexity in a very broad sense that includes: harmony, counterpoint, backing instrumentals, chords, etc. In an overall sense, I love the layer of sounds that make a song what it is. Nearly all of my favorite artists are my favorites because of there use of harmony. The Beatles dazzled me with Everly Brothers style harmonies, Shimmering guitar tones, and brilliant production choices. The Beach Boys were defined by their five part harmony and wall of sound production. Stevie Wonder had jazz-like instrumentals that perfectly complemented his soulful lyrics. I could go on. Very often I will spend more time I will be more focused on the backing track than the main vocals themselves. One of my favorite exercises is listening to a song with many layered parts and trying to pick out and listen to each one to understand how it fits in with the larger piece.

Let me know what you listen for in the comments.

TL:DR My favorite part of music is the layering of many sounds into one. What's yours?

I have listened to quite a bit of classical before and now I'm deciding to get back into it after mostly listening to rock the past several months. One thing that is nice about listening to rock is the wealth of critic opinions that helped me find songs, albums, and artists to listen to. Two resources that I really liked were Rolling Stone's list of the Top 500 Albums of All Time and the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

While there is a lot of criticism over the Rolling Stone rankings and some of the albums chosen for 1001 Albums, they provide a good introduction to the most important and influential works of western popular music.

Unfortunately, I have never been able to find a similar resource for classical music and I wish I could. Specifically what I am looking is something that:

1. Has at least a few hundred pieces.

2. Focuses on what a wide consensus of historians, musicians, and critic view as the greatest pieces of western classical music.

3. Piece choices span all the way from the Renaissance to the modern day (preferably with a small sample of the most important medieval pieces).

4. Has a writeup about why the piece is important.

It doesn't have to meet all four criteria, but if there is something that does, that is excellent. Thank you so much for your help!