Rolling Stone Rattles Cages With Revamped List of 500 Greatest Albums of All Time

Rolling Stone has updated its famed list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Times "from scratch" -- is anything more divisive than a ranking of music?! -- and while it's hard to take seriously a "greatest" list that includes a solo effort by a member of One Direction, I will say I still eat stuff like this up. 

After years of crying over the placement of personal favorites like Blondie's "Parallel Lines" (now a paltry #146), the classic Pretenders debut (#152) and the Go-Go's "Beauty and the Beat" (#400), I finally accepted that inclusion -- rather than ranking -- is ultimately what matters here. (I'm sorry, but there's no way Beyonce's "Lemonade" is better than Joni Mitchell's "Court and Spark" and the complete works of Phil Spector no matter what some queer activist on Hornet says.) 

With streaming taking over the music business -- even for me -- I thought it was interesting to note which of these I owned when you actually had to pay money for a particular grouping of songs (aka "an album") -- and was surprised to see that even budget-constrained Kenny had purchased 75 of these mostly as a kid, including five of the Top 10. 

Read 'em and weep HERE!

Albums I bought:

Note: My list is 100% honest, so no pretending for coolness's sake that I owned every Ramones, Stooges and Joy Division album back in the day (I didn’t.) Working in a movie theater concession stand only paid $3.35 so I was lucky to get what I had!

496. Shakira, 'Dónde Están los Ladrones'

Columbia, 1998

494. The Ronettes, 'Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes'

Philles, 1964

490. Linda Ronstadt, 'Heart Like a Wheel'

Capitol, 1975

489. Phil Spector and Various Artists, 'Back to Mono (1958-1969)'

ABKCO, 1991

474. Big Star, '#1 Record'

Ardent, 1972

466. The Beach Boys, 'The Beach Boys Today!'

Capitol, 1965

456. Al Green, 'Greatest Hits'

Hi/EMI, 1975

452. Diana Ross and the Supremes, 'Anthology'

Tamla/Motown, 1974

435. Pet Shop Boys, 'Actually'

EMI Manhattan,, 1987

431. Los Lobos, 'How Will the Wolf Survive?'

Slash/Warner Bros., 1984

430. Elvis Costello, 'My Aim Is True'

Columbia, 1977

425. Paul Simon, 'Paul Simon'

Columbia, 1972

410. The Beach Boys, 'Wild Honey'

Capitol, 1967

401. Blondie, 'Blondie'

Private Stock, 1977 (actually 1976 and re-released in '77 on Chrysalis)

400. The Go-Go’s, 'Beauty and the Beat'

I.R.S., 1981

399. Brian Wilson, 'Smile'

Nonesuch, 2004

398. The Raincoats, 'The Raincoats'

Rough Trade, 1979

394. Diana Ross, 'Diana'

Motown, 1980

392. Ike and Tina Turner, 'Proud Mary: The Best of Ike and Tina Turner'

EMI, 1991

359. Big Star, 'Radio City'

Ardent, 1974

354. X-Ray Spex, 'Germfree Adolescents'

EMI, 1978

353. The Cars, 'The Cars'

Elektra, 1978

336. Roxy Music, 'Avalon'

E.G./Warner Bros., 1982

331. Madonna, 'Like a Prayer'

Sire, 1989

320. X, 'Los Angeles'

Slash, 1980

303. ABBA, 'The Definitive Collection'

Universal, 2001

294. Weezer, 'Weezer (The Blue Album)'

Geffen, 1994

293. The Breeders, 'Last Splash'

Elektra, 1993

288. The Modern Lovers, 'The Modern Lovers'

Beserkley, 1976

285 Big Star, 'Third/Sister Lovers'

PVC, 1978

266. The Beatles, 'Help!'

Capitol, 1965

262. New Order, 'Power, Corruption & Lies'

Factory, 1983

247. Sade, 'Love Deluxe'

Epic, 1992

231. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, 'Damn the Torpedoes'

Backstreet, 1979

229. Patsy Cline, 'The Ultimate Collection'

Universal, 2000

222. Madonna, 'Ray Of Light'

Maverick, 1998

220. Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, 'Déjà Vu'

Epic, 1970

200. Sade, 'Diamond Life'

Epic, 1984

198. The B-52's, 'The B-52's'

Warner Bros., 1979

184. Cyndi Lauper, 'She’s So Unusual'

Portrait, 1983

182. James Taylor, 'Sweet Baby James'

Warner Bros., 1970

172. Simon and Garfunkel, 'Bridge Over Troubled Water'

Columbia, 1970

165. R.E.M., 'Murmur'

I.R.S., 1983

163. Various Artists, 'Saturday Night Fever'

RSO, 1977

161. Crosby, Stills & Nash, 'Crosby, Stills & Nash'

Atlantic, 1969

152. The Pretenders, 'Pretenders'

Sire, 1980

150. Bruce Springsteen, 'Nebraska'

Columbia, 1982

146. Blondie, 'Parallel Lines'

Chrysalis, 1978

141. Pixies, 'Doolittle'

4AD/Elektra, 1989

138. Madonna, 'The Immaculate Collection'

Sire, 1990

124. U2, 'Achtung Baby'

Island, 1991

118. The Eagles, 'Hotel California'

Asylum, 1976

113. The Smiths, 'The Queen Is Dead'

Sire, 1986

110. Joni Mitchell, 'Court and Spark'

Asylum, 1974

107. Television, 'Marquee Moon'

Elektra, 1977

106. Hole, 'Live Through This'

Geffen, 1994

96. R.E.M., 'Automatic for the People'

Warner Bros., 1992

83. Dusty Springfield, 'Dusty in Memphis'

Atlantic, 1969

56. Liz Phair, 'Exile in Guyville'

Matador, 1993

48. Bob Marley and the Wailers, 'Legend'

Island, 1984

46. Paul Simon, 'Graceland'

Columbia, 1986

38. Bob Dylan, 'Blonde on Blonde'

Columbia, 1966

35. The Beatles, 'Rubber Soul'

Parlophone, 1965

29. The Beatles, 'White Album'

Apple, 1968

26. Patti Smith, 'Horses'

Arista, 1975

25. Carole King, 'Tapestry'

Sony, 1971

24. The Beatles, 'Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band'

Capitol, 1967

23. The Velvet Underground, 'The Velvet Underground and Nico'

Verve, 1967

13. Aretha Franklin, 'I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You'

Atlantic, 1967

11. The Beatles, 'Revolver'

Apple, 1966

7. Fleetwood Mac, 'Rumours'

Warner Bros., 1977

6. Nirvana, 'Nevermind'

Geffen, 1991

5. The Beatles, 'Abbey Road'

Apple, 1969

3. Joni Mitchell, 'Blue'

Reprise, 1971

2. The Beach Boys, 'Pet Sounds'

Capitol, 1966