Best Albums of All Time? I think so.

The concept of the Album struggles to be relevant in a time where the single has once again become important. Due to the ease at which songs can be purchased individually, the single has once again come into prominence as the best form of marketable music, much like the 3 minute single format used during the 20s to the 60s. The idea of an album as a complete work of art may eventually be lost. This post is an homage to the very best complete albums of all time. Much of my choices come from Elvis Costello's list from Vanity Fair of the 500 Albums You Need, and Rolling Stones 500 Greatest Albums. Im sure I missed some good stuff. This is a difficult kind of a list to make.  

AC/DC -

Back in Black (1980)

Bad Brains -
   Bad Brains (1982)
Bad Religion -

Recipe for Hate (1993)

The Band -

The Band (1969)

The Beach Boys -

Pet Sounds (1966)

Beastie Boys -

Paul's Boutique (1989)

Ill Communication (1994)

The Beatles -

Rubber Soul (1965)

Revolver (1966)

Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)

Beck -

Odelay (1996)

Bjork -

Debut (1993)

Black Flag -

Damaged (1981)

Black Keys -

The Big Come Up (2002)

Blues Traveler -

4 (1994)

Blur -

13 (1999)

David Bowie -

Ziggy Stardust (1972)

James Brown -

Live at the Apollo (1963)

Jackson Browne -

Saturate Before Using (1972)

Jeff Buckley -

Grace (1994)

The Byrds -

The Notorious Byrd Brothers (1968)

Johnny Cash -

Live from Folsom Prison (1968)

American Recordings (1994)

Ray Charles -

A Life in Music (1982)

Chemical Brothers -

Dig Your Own Hole (1997)

The Clash -

London Calling (1979)

Ry Cooder -

Paradise and Lunch (1974)

Sam Cooke -

Night Beat (1963)

Elvis Costello -

My Aim is True (1977)

Cream -

Wheels of Fire (1968)

Creedance Clearwater Revival-

Cosmo's Factory (1970)

David Crosby -

If Only I Could Remember My Name (1971)

Crosby Stills Nash and Young -

Deja Vu (1970)

Cypress Hill -

Cypress Hill (1991)

Dave Matthews Band -

Under the Table and Dreaming (1994)

Miles Davis -

Birth of Cool (1956)

Porgy and Bess (1958)

Doors -

Doors (1967)

Digible Planets -

Reachin' (1993)

Dr. Dre -

Chronic (1992)

Dr. John -

Dr. John's Gumbo (1972)

Dyke and the Blazers-

So Sharp (1983)

Bob Dylan -

Blond on Blond (1966)

Blood on the Tracks (1974)

Duke Ellington with Charles Mingus and Max Roach -

Money Jungle (1962)

Eminem -

Marshall Mathers (2000)

The Everly Brothers -

Its Every Time (1960)

Fairport Convention -

Liege and Lief (1969)

Fleetwood Mac -

Rumours (1977)

Tusk (1979)

Flying Burrito Brothers -

The Gilded Palace of Sin (1969)

Aretha Franklin -

I Never Loved a Man the Way I Loved You (1967)

The Fugees -

The Score (1996)

Funkadelic -

One Nation Under a Groove (1978)

Marvin Gaye -

Whats Goin On? (1971)

Gnarls Barkley -

St Elsewhere (2006)

Grateful Dead -

Workingman's Dead (1970)

American Beauty (1970)

Al Green -

Call Me (1973)

Green Day -

American Idiot (2004)

Guns n Roses -

Appetite for Destruction (1987)

Herbie Hancock -

Headhunters (1973)

Tim Harden -

Tim Hardin (1966)

Ben Harper -

Diamonds on the Inside (2003)

Richard Hell and the Voidoids -

Blank Generation (1977)

Jimi Hendrix -

Axis Bold as Love (1967)

Electric Ladyland (1968)

Lauryn Hill -

Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998)

Hole -

Live Through This (1994)

Billy Holliday -

Lady in Satin (1958)

Buddy Holly -

Buddy Holly (1958)

Michael Jackson -

Thriller (1982)

Bad (1987)

Jay-Z -

Black Album (2003)

Jefferson Airplane -

Surrealistic Pillow (1967)

Elton John -

Goodbye Yellowbrick Road (1973)

Wyclef Jean -
   The Carnival (1997)
Jorma Kaukonen and Tom Hobson -

Quah (1974)

Joy Division -
   Unknown Pleasures (1979)
The Killers -

Hot Fuss (2004)

Kings Of Leon -

Youth and Young Manhood (2003)

The Kinks -

Face to Face (1966)

The Kinks are the Village Green Preservation Society (1968)

Ray Lamontagne -
   Trouble (2004)
Led Zeppelin -

  3 (1970)
  4 (1971)

Houses of the Holy (1973)

John Lennon -

  Plastic Ono Band (1970)

Lil Wayne -

Tha Carter 3 (2008)

Little Feat -

Sailin Shoes (1972)

Little Richard -

Here's Little Richard (1957)

LL Cool J -

Baby Said Knock You Out (1990)

The Mamas and the Papas -

A Gathering of Flowers (1970)

Aimee Mann -

Whatever (1993)

Bob Marley and the Wailers -

Natty Dread (1975)

Live! (1975)

Massive Attack -

Protection (1994)

Curtis Mayfield -

Superfly (1972)

Metallica -

Master of Puppets (1986)

Charles Mingus -

Blues and Roots (1959)

Joni Mitchel -

Blue (1971)

Moby -

Play (1999)

Thelonious Monk -

Monk's Music (1958)

Moondog -

The Story of Moondog (1958)

Van Morrison -

   Astral Weeks (1968)
   Moondance (1970)

Jelly Roll Morton -

The Birth of the Hot (1995)
Ida Maria -
   Fortress Round my Heart (2008)

Mothers of Invention -

We're Only in it for the Money (1968)

Filmore East June 1971 (1971)

Willie Nelson -

Stardust (1978)

Countryman (2005)

Neutral Milk Hotel - 
   In the Aeroplane Over the Sea (1998)
New York Dolls -

New York Dolls (1973)

Nine Inch Nails -

Downward Spiral (1994)

Nirvana -

Nevermind (1991)

Unplugged (1994)

NRBQ -

NRBQ (1969)

Roy Orbison -

The Orbison Way (1966)

Gram Parsons -

Grievous Angel (1974)

Pearl Jam -

10 (1991)

Versus (1993)

Pink Floyd -

Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967)

Obscured by Clouds (1972)

Dark Side of the Moon (1973)

The Pixies -

Come on Pilgrim (1987)

Doolittle (1989)

The Pogues -

Rum, Sodomy, and the Lash (1985)

Iggy Pop -

The Idiot (1977)

Portishead -

Dummy (1994)

Elvis Presley -

The Sun Sessions (1976)

Pretenders -

Pretenders (1980)

Prince -

Around the World in a Day (1985)

John Prine -

John Prine (1972)

Queen -

Queen 2 (1974)

A Night at the Opera (1975)

Radiohead -

OK Computer (1997)

Kid A (2000)

Rage Against the Machine -

Rage Against the Machine (1992)

Bonnie Rait -

Give it Up (1972)

Ramones -

Rocket to Russia (1977)

Red Hot Chili Peppers -

Californication (1999)

Lou Reed -

Berlin (1972)

REM -

Reckoning (1984)

Green (1988)

Rolling Stones -

Let it Bleed (1969)

Sticky Fingers (1971)

Some Girls (1978)

Gil Scott-Heron -

Pieces of a Man (1971)

The Sex Pistols -

Never Mind the Bullocks (1977)

DJ Shadow -

Endtroducing (1996)

Paul Simon -

Graceland (1986)

Simon and Garfunkle -

Bookends (1968)

Nina Simone -

Little Girl Blue (1958)

Sly and the Family Stone -

Theres a Riot Goin On (1969)

Smashing Pumpkins -

Siamese Dream (1993)

Patti Smith -

Horses (1975)

Bruce Springsteen -

Born to Run (1975)

Steely Dan -

Countdown to Ecstasy (1973)

Sublime -

Sublime (1996)

Temptations -

Temptations Live! (1967)

TLC -

Fanmail (1999)

Tool -

Aenima (1996)

Tribe Called Quest

Midnight Marauders (1993)

U2 -

Joshua Tree (1987)

Achtung! Baby (1991)

Velvet Underground -

Velvet Underground and Nico (1966)

Verve -

Urban Hymns (1997)

Muddy Waters -

More Real Folk Blues (1967)

Doc Watson -

Live and Pickin (1979)

The Who -

My Generation (1965)

Tommy (1969)

Quadrophenia (1973)

Hank Williams and Hank Williams Jr -

Father and Son (1965)

Brian Wilson -

Smile (2004)

Wings -

Band on the Run (1973)

Stevie Wonder -

Talking Book (1972)

Innervisions (1973)

Wu Tang Clan -
36 Chambers (1993)

Neil Young -

Everybody Knows This is Nowhere (1969)

After the Gold Rush (1970)

ZZ Top -

Tres Hombres (1973)