What is the Greatest Album in Rock history?

It has been a long time since we have really talked about music. A long while back I promised to have a post on the greatest rock album of all time. This is obviously another huge debate. I have thought about it long and hard and I think that there are 5 major criteria for greatness when it comes to a great album.

1) Wholeness – Some albums have a great start, or great parts, but it is hard to listen to the whole thing. A truly great rock album will be demand a full listening to. It will suck you in, hold your imagination and leave you wanting more.

2) Excellence – Excellence on these albums will be demonstrated in one or two or even more songs that truly shine forth and make this a legendary album. They take it from being an average, good or really good album to be a must have album. Many great albums never had the really great song to push them over the top. These albums will be way over the top of greatness.

3) Context – Sometimes the significance of an album is connected to the time when it was released. Was something significant happening in the world that the album captured? Was this a turning point in the life of the band? Did it clearly outshine other albums that came out at the same time?

4) Sustainability – Does this album continue to sell copies and remain popular? Is there a track record of excellence that goes beyond just the original time and place when it was released?

5) Magic – What mysterious qualities and legend surround the album? Sometimes in Rock there are albums whose aurora takes them to a different place. Sometimes it is because of controversy, drama, or just some mysterious magic at work in their production. This is the X factor for any album.

The following things won’t be the ultimate evaluative measures.

1) Billboard Hits – A lot of great Rock never did well on the charts. That is fine. Mass public appeal isn’t the ultimate measure of greatness. But, there will need to be some name recognition among those who really love rock.

2) Album Art- This can add to the X Factor, but ultimately won’t be what puts one over another.

3) Other great albums by the same artist – Some artists are legendary because of the scope of their work over many decades, but never had a legendary album. They may have had huge hits from albums, but the whole product wasn’t quite as legendary. Some groups were a flash in the pan, but for one album they had it. They had the greatness we are looking for.

4) Don’t even think about nominating a greatist hits album, don’t test me on this!

That is the criteria. Here are the beginning of the list as I have compiled.

Born in the USA – The Boss

Back in Black – AC/DC

Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band – The Beatles

Dark Side of the Moon – Pink Floyd

Highway 61 Revisited – Bob Dylan

Are you Experienced – Jimi Hendrix

Dejavu – CSNY

Appetite for Destruction – Guns N Roses

Led Zepplin II  and IV- Led Zepplin

Joshua Tree – U2

Who’s Next – The Who

Boston – Boston

Ziggy Stardust – David Bowie

Parnoid – Black Sabbath

Ten – Pearl Jam

Van Halen – Van Halen

Harvest – Neil Young

The Black Album – Metallica

Hotel California -The Eagles

Rumors – Fleetwodd Mac

Pronounced Leh’-nerd Skin-’nerd – Lynyrd Skynyrd

Toys in the Attic – Aerosmith

Strange Days – The Doors

Running on Empty – Jackson Browne

London Calling – The Clash

Velvet Underground and Nico – The Velvet Underground

Blood on the Tracks – Bob Dylan

Never mind the bollocks, here’s the Sex Pistols – The Sex Pistols

Sticky Fingers – The Rolling Stones

At Folsom Prison – Johnny Cash

Remain in Light – The Talking Heads

Aja – Steely Dan

Pretenders – The Pretenders

(More to come later today)

Let’s hear what you got….