The Rock Album

Product Information

Year: 1995

"The Bends" was Radiohead's second album. Some of its songs were recorded at a studio owned by British billionaire Richard Branson, and others were done at London's Abbey Road Studios. "The Bends" was better received by critics than the debut Pablo Honey had been, but none of its songs matched the success of "Creep," the hit single from the first album.

#19. 'The Queen is Dead' by The Smiths

- Best Ever Albums score: 48,928
The cover artwork on "Revolver" was drawn by Beatles' friend Klaus Voorman, who would later play bass for the band Manfred Mann. It won a Grammy for best album cover. Uncredited singers doing vocals on "Yellow Submarine" included Marianne Faithfull, Donovan, guitarist Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones, and George Harrison's then-wife Pattie Boyd. The album was released before the Beatles stopped touring, but they never performed any of its songs live. The album was released the year that Beatles' manager Brian Epstein died of an accidental drug overdose at 32. Another classic band whose albums never score as highly in polls like this as you might think, The Who are possibly best loved for their extraordinary run of 60s singles than for their long-players. Which is odd, because a) they have made some classic albums and b) Pete Townshend is a man full of big ideas. Pink Floyd recorded "Wish You Were Here" at London's Abbey Road Studios. The release followed its hugely successful "Dark Side of the Moon.""Wish You Were Here" headed straight to the top of the charts in England and in America.

Although I would certainly agree with some choices, ( including some of the old chestnuts) that, without fail, will always turn up in these poles, there is a huge percentage of (IMO) important influential, some slightly left field albums missing ….

26: Queen – A Night at the Opera

Several bands appear multiple times on the list—unsurprising for acts that served as the most influential entertainers of their day—while other musicians who were undoubtedly significant didn't make the cut. Some of the winning albums are obscure and beloved by their fans, but little known much further afield. Others are laden with familiar hits. With Is This It?, The Strokes delivered New York punk for a new era, taking the best from the past – mainly the Cars, Stooges, and Velvets – and channeling them into songs that are invariably short and tasty (all under four minutes) and never quite linear. Originally catching on in late 2001, it became a welcome reminder that New York was never going to lose its attitude. 61: Motörhead– Ace of Spades What has made Nevermind arguably the most important release of that decade is the songs. They were uncompromising. Kurt Cobain was writing about his moment, but also about all our moments. His ‘secret’ was in talking directly to himself. As with Axl Rose on Guns N’ Roses’ Appetite For Destruction four years earlier, Cobain didn’t so much reach out to the disenfranchised masses as draw them into his world. Here were his agonies, his doubts, his frustrations, his rages – but opened up for everyone to see.

Dream Theater - Lost Not Forgotten Archives: A Dramatic Tour of Events - Select Board Mixes (InsideOut)Baba O’Riley and Won’t Get Fooled Again (the latter released in a chart-troubling single edit) stand strong on their own merits and, bookending the album, have come to define the band in their prime. Baba O’Riley’s trilling synth and organ-treated intro heralded another galvanising performance. Daltrey’s cries of ‘teenage wasteland’ seem like a genuine call to arms.

Many fans consider the double album "Exile on Main Street" to be the Rolling Stones' finest, with songs like "Tumbling Dice" and "Sweet Virginia." The Stones recorded it in a mansion in France, rented by sideman guitarist Keith Richards. Appetite for Destruction" was the debut album for Guns N' Roses. Reviewers said it was the perfect mix of blues, swinging rhythm, and the soulful, charismatic lead vocals of Axl Rose. Its popularity grew slowly, taking almost a year to reach the top of the chart at Billboard. Year: 1993

"In Utero" was Nirvana's third and last studio album. A Rolling Stone reviewer called it "brilliant, corrosive, enraged and thoughtful." Nirvana's frontman Kurt Cobain killed himself in 1994.

#51. 'Led Zeppelin I' by Led Zeppelin

- Best Ever Albums score: 23,961
Year: 1968

The Zombies recorded "Odessey and Oracle" at Abbey Road Studios after the Beatles finished recording "Sgt. Pepper." Guitarist and vocalist Chris White said the band members only had a thousand pounds among them to make the album. Its single "Time of the Season," with its recognizable opening bass notes and breathy vocals, remains hugely popular.

#84. 'Pinkerton' by Weezer

- Best Ever Albums score: 16,474

62: The Strokes – Is This It?

What's the Story) Morning Glory?" was Oasis' follow-up album to "Definitely Maybe" and sold more copies than the debut. Unlike the first album, "(What's the Story) Morning Glory?" was hugely popular in the United States, confirming the band's international hit status. Of course, it could still be argued that embarking on a project like this is increasingly difficult in an era of streaming and fragmented taste. But that was part of what made rebooting the RS 500 fascinating and fun; 86 of the albums on the list are from this century, and 154 are new additions that weren’t on the 2003 or 2012 versions. The classics are still the classics, but the canon keeps getting bigger and better. Written By In Utero" was Nirvana's third and last studio album. A Rolling Stone reviewer called it "brilliant, corrosive, enraged and thoughtful." Nirvana's frontman Kurt Cobain killed himself in 1994. R.E.M.'s "Automatic for the People" contains the unforgettable hits "Nightswimming,""Man on the Moon," and "Everybody Hurts." Lead singer Michael Stipe has said he has heard from untold numbers of fans that "Everybody Hurts" helped save their lives. The album was a darker, sadder sequel to the Athens, Georgia, band's hugely popular "Out of Time" featuring "Losing My Religion" and "Shiny Happy People." Portishead embraced the sound that came to be called trip-hop with its debut album "Dummy." The influential album won Britain's prestigious 1995 Mercury Music Prize.