The New Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums List • Page 22

That Billie album is probably going to be making these lists 10 years from now too (definitely lower though)

 

I agree about both albums being much higher than I’d rank them. But most of the ranking on this list is banana sandwich. But I get why they’re on the list.

I can get down with the placements of Kacey and Lana much more. Great modern classics that are on the list, but haven’t had a chance to last the rest of time yet.

 

Golden Hour was just one of those albums that everyone seemed to love immediately. Rave reviews everywhere, a huge amount of crossover appeal and attention, despite the fact that her first two albums had been very, very country. It didn't have any hits, but I can't remember many albums that seemed to have a higher approval rating.

Notably, I was extremely into country music at the time and had been trying to get other people on this website and IRL in my corner for 2-3 years. I made some progress with Isbell and Sturgill and Stapleton, but not a ton. Then Golden Hour came out and was exactly the gateway album that I'd been waiting for. I didn't have to push that one at all; everyone got it immediately.

 

I don't have much to say about a lot of these albums, and I don't care much about how they're ranked, it's more interesting what made the top 100.

Golden Hour is definitely a modern classic and deserving of making the list.

1989 is basically the point that Taylor crossed the rubicon and of course they're going to give it to her version, not the original.

But Master of Puppets being the Metallica album they chose is an absolute load of horseshit.

 

I don’t see which Metallica album would’ve been better. the black album and everything after is just subpar compared to their 80s run which master of puppets is probably the most widely beloved of the bunch

 

I hoped that Southeastern might sneak on there for a lot of the same "gateway album" reasons I'm talking about with Golden Hour, but no such luck.

 

Yeah I think it took a while to see my normal friends latch on, but they all get it at this point. I might have been more plugged into the critics convo at the time, rather than the general public. Goes to show how building the canon is as much a popularity contest (fans or artists who borrow from it) as it is a critics game.

I may not be the person to prove this, but Golden Hour definitely played a role in the rise of folks ranging from Noah Kahan, Zach Bryan, Maggie Rogers, Isbell, Tyler Childers, even Wednesday and Waxahatchee at a smaller scale. The staying power of whatever wave those folks are in may raise or lower Golden Hour’s long term GOAT stock

 

Ride the Lightning is the one I see most lauded among metal fans, but Master of Puppets is the more popular of their 80's output. It just feels like a no-win compromise because they wouldn't dare put the black album (the real winner if we're going with popularity and also a better album than it gets credit for these days).

 

Critics adored Golden Hour too. I remember some of the trad-country snobs on the internet being real bothered by how much every mainstream was "jumping on the bandwagon" for Kacey and calling it the best country album in ages when a lot of those writers/editors probably didn't have the knowledge of the genre to make those claims. But it was just undeniable in a way that no country album had been since Taylor Swift was playing in that sandbox.

Isbell and Musgraves both broke through in 2013, and I've always maintained that the two of them shaped the next decade (and now, beyond) of what happened in that world. Zach Bryan being probably the nexus of their two paths of influence. And Zach Bryan feels like someone who could absolutely be making it onto lists like this in another few years.

 

it's wild how "indie rock" got shut out of this list - Bon Iver, Sufjan, Death Cab, Arcade Fire, The National etc

 

Country did as well other than the Musgraves album. Which I think is why I’m not a fan of Musgraves on this list. If you are only going to choose one album from the entire genre it certainly isn’t that one.

 

also no White Stripes?

 

I actually think this is an illustration of why it should be there. Country music tends not to be a casual interest. It’s more of a “love it or hate it” genre than most of what is represented on this list. The easy assumption is that the people who voted here are way more tuned in to pop, rap, the rock n roll canon, etc. They’re probably not people with a super deep knowledge of country music. But despite that, Kacey’s album broke through and resonated. It’s a genuine crossover in an era that, until the last couple years, didn’t produce a whole lot of those from the country music world.

 

Arguing against GKMC is a battle I am too old to fight now

 

I suppose if you look at it from that perspective then yes it makes sense. I immediately jumped to thinking of albums like Red Headed Stranger or Live at Folsom Prison that have help up for years and years,or even Car Wheels on a Gravel Road, or Time the Revelator that also have a couple decades on them, but I agree they probably don’t appeal to as wide an audience Golden Hour.

 

Meh I think the black album is kinda mid

 

I did think Car Wheels might sneak on there.

 

well at least their number 1 is good

 

Replace Confessions with Country Grammar.

Only half serious

 

Where the fuck is Significant Other?

 

That's what I'm saying!

Where are other timeless classics of the genre like Follow The Leader, White Pony, and Iowa?

Where are the always welcome musical stylings of Papa of the Roach?

One day nu-metal will get the respect it truly deserves.

 

Equating White Pony with Jonathan Davis' nightmare scatting is a choice.

 

Did anything Paul Simon end up on this list? I feel like no, but maybe I was mistaken?

 

I mean, they’re two of the most influential nu-metal bands, and two of its forefathers. Fair comparison.