A Short Bit About Me
Simply put, I am a recorded music enthusiast who has been compelled to make a big ol' greatest albums list. Some Guy’s Top 1000 Albums is a celebration of these 1100 plus remarkable achievements from over 900 different artists, including the Newer Albums page.
While I feel somewhat proud of my recorded music knowledge I embrace the fact that there are many other music-heads out there. Some that are wordsmith reviewers. Some are collectors with thousands more records than I have. Engaging with or reading from these aficionados, and my enthusiast friends, continues to bring me the pleasure of discovering more great music. This thirst for sonic discovery has been with me most of my life and is the impetus in creating this here site.
About The List
Some Guy’s Top 1000 Albums list has taken me over seven years to compile and create. I still move titles up, down, or replace them with others I might find slightly more fitting. This list is a pretty eclectic gathering of musical styles. Classic rock, soul, jazz, hip hop, blues, country, reggae, pop, folk, funk, R&B, hard rock, heavy metal, early rock & roll, gospel, soft rock, southern rock, proto-metal, prog, post-punk, shoegaze, Celtic punk, krautrock, glam, proto-punk/garage, grunge, trip-hop, power pop, jangle pop, psychedelic, experimental, indie-rock, art rock, alternative, African (Mbaqanga, Afrobeat, Ethio jazz and Malian folk), rockabilly, do-wop, no-wave, Jamaican dub, dance hall, ska, son cubano, salsa, ambient, baroque-pop, chamber pop, zydeco, Tex-Mex, fusion, groove, bossa nova, tropicália, gothic, EDM, industrial, crooners, alt country/Americana, new wave and punk genres are all mixed into one big salad. I decided to not include Asian World, classical and musical soundtracks. Also, I don't have many records from the late 1920s to earlier 50s. To be honest I have a limited knowledge of this period beyond the greats like Bix Beiderbecke, Sidney Bechet, Hot 5 and 7s, Fats Waller, and the known pre-1950s blues, country and folk. Most of what I know from these periods comes from collection CDs. There are a few of these collections I have included in my top 1000. Here is a great list of the early days of LPs; 100 Best Albums of the pre-50's. Some Guy’s would have to be a much higher number than 1000 in order to accommodate these categories.
Because the majority of the entries here are between 5 and 60 years old I've added newer reviewed records in the "Newer Albums" section with an array of recordings from within the last seven plus years. Of course the titles in this section are in addition to the 1000 albums list.
While going through this list, you might find yourself asking, where the hell is ______. If so, you might find it in the section, below, entitled Glaring Omissions, where I have explanations as to why 7 commonly loved albums and artists where removed from Some Guy's Top 1000 Albums.
A majority of the first 300 or so are records that have appeared on other great lists like Rolling Stone Magazine's Top 500 Albums, and have been widely acclaimed for many years.. the "of course" selections. As far as these well known albums, the order in which I have placed them will be where I differ from other best albums lists.
Though I do have some big issues with the new 2020 Rolling Stone Top 500 list, the 2003/2012 version of the R.S. list was still the main inspiration for me making this site. What are your thoughts on the ‘update’? Here are, my favorite Youtube album reviewer, Anthony Fantano’s thoughts about the 2020 list (Youtube channel: The Needle Drop).
I would like to give a shout out to the other amazing music-head websites and magazines out there that have, along with Rolling Stone, been very helpful and inspiring in creating this site. 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die is pretty great. It took me a while to read it because, It’s too close in number so, to be honest, I felt intimidated. The same goes for Chief Editor of Encyclopedia of Popular Music Colin Larkin’s 1000 album list. The rags and websites that I check out quite often are AllMusic, Music Aficionado, Pitchfork, Best Ever Albums, NME, Mojo, and, of course, Wikipedia. Aside from Wikipedia, I don't always agree with them, but they all have talented writers with impressive musical knowledge.
I am hoping, as this evolves, that Some Guy’s Top 1000 Albums will become a somewhat collaborative effort. I will place anyone's legitimate review on any album, with your name and part of the world you are from. At the bottom of each page is a form with a field to write your reviews. Please fill in the name and location section so I can write something like, Joe Shmo from AnywhereTown, writes: in front of your review. Or course I will insert any links to your blogs or sites.
I plan on having a page next to ‘Newer Albums’ called ‘Your Albums’ once I collect enough reviews of albums from you all that are not on this site. I will make it a post with album art and your wording. Write as much or as little as you please.
With all the negativity and criticism in the world today I really want to keep this as positive as possible. Though to make my point I may occasionally mention stuff I don't care for. On the same note, I will probably not place writings from others that are too negative...unless it’s damn good writing.
Each album, has its own extended content post. I hope to fill these with more words from myself and others, along with videos and images. As you can see, populating these content posts is gonna be daunting. Shit, this may never end.
Some Guys Top 1000 is intended to celebrate each entire album, which, of course, includes the album art. So scrolling on a computer or iPad (in landscape mode) might be a better experience than on a smart phone. Smart phones place the album covers thumbnails stacked single-file (lots of scrolling), as opposed to 4 per row on computers and iPad like devices.
Over the years I have really enjoyed being introduced to great recordings I haven't heard AND introducing folks to recordings they haven't heard. I guess I wanted see what would happen if I were to bring that to a bigger stage. Thanks for stopping by and checking out my top 1000 albums list. Let’s keep spinning.
GLARING OMISSIONS
Here are a handful of commonly loved records and artists that are not on Some Guy’s list. I have great respect for these artists and hate none of these recordings. All of them have appeared on my list at one time or another. The reasons for their removal will be explained below.
This list is subjective, of course. The cultural significance or popularity of albums, while still a factor, is less of a factor than my own taste when it comes to choosing what makes it on this the Top 1000 and what doesn't. We all have different ears, so let me explain below why the brain between these particular ears decided to leave these great achievements off of Some Guy’s Top 1000.
HOTEL CALIFORNIA: OK, so I don't hate the Eagles. I am not like The Dude in Big Lebowski when he is kicked out of a cab. The cabby is playing, "Peaceful Easy Feeling", and The Dude says, "man come on.. I had a rough night and I hate the fucking Eagles, man!” This spot-on dialog by the Cohen Brothers is so fitting to the Dude's character.. Of course he hates the Eagles. To The Dude they are the antithesis to Creedence California.
Omitting one of the more ubiquitous records in the Western World might be a, what the fuck?! to the five of you that read this. But I can't put something on my site that I am so completely tired of. I think this album was on my list 3 different times. At one time it was in the high 100s. But I had it there because of how it's been regarded over the last four decades, not how I truly felt. I do still like some of the musical highs on Hotel California. "Wasted Time" is one of the great break up songs. I remember listening to a past girlfriend play it on repeat in our final days of living together. It's songs like "Hotel California", "Life In The Fast Lane" and "New Kid In Town" that I have heard 500 times too many (not always by choice) that have lead me to say "nay" to Hotel on Some Guy’s Top 1000. Great song writing yes. Culturally significant yes. Just not for me anymore. One Of These Nights did make the list. I always thought this was a more dynamic and moving recording than Hotel. If you don't agree I say, "yeah, well, that's just, like, you know, your opinion, man".
BAT OUT OF HELL: This was on my list twice. I think the main reasons for ousting Bat is, while I appreciate opera and some musicals, I don't like songs with what seems like 20 choruses. I love producer Todd Rundgren, who I have well represented on this list. I love Bruce Springsteen (of course) who Bat Out of Hell strongly emulates. I guess I have just always found it a little boring and over-bloated (not you Meat). I have much respect for what Meatloaf and Jim Steinman put together here. It just never was for me.
YE: From 2015: The Rolling Stone Magazine Top 500 albums (2003/2012 list) was my main inspiration to making this site. But I feel they had some major glaring omissions. Meanwhile there are THREE, count them, THREE Kanye albums. You only have 500 albums and THREE of them are Kanye albums?!
2020 Update: Rolling Stone Magazine Top 500 list has, get this, DOUBLED their Kanye entries on the new 2020 list. They now have SIX KANYE ALBUMS FOLKS! So many great artists albums omitted, or just not on their list…..SIX!. This, BTW, is the SAME number as how many Rolling Stones albums they have on their new list. You know, the band that has been around for almost 60 years and released some of the most monumental and influential records of all time.
As great as Ye is I have two of his records on my list. So this is not an omission, just far fewer. The albums I chose are My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy at #194 and Late Registration at #289. There are some pretty strong moments on those platters.
MAMA’S AND THE PAPA’S: I have really never been moved by their sound. They came from a great place within the world of The Wrecking Crew, the musicians behind many of the biggest recordings of the 60s, like Pet Sounds. I guess to me they always sounded kinda corny.. like a groovy swingin' Peter, Paul and Mary. Good vocal harmonies, just not my favorite sound.
APPETITE FOR DESTRUCTION: Question: Should an album grace my list purely because of how well it is loved by others? Or how many 1000s of times the beginning roar of its opening track has been played over NFL game P.A. systems for the last 2 decades? Or its high standing on Rolling Stones Top 500 list? To this I say, that the name of this site is Some Guy’s Top 1000 Albums, and this guy doesn’t the have the Appetite for this album anymore.
I was a teenager when it hit the airwaves and MTV. It was impossible to miss its impact. Throughout the years I have found myself bobbin' to its ass kickin’ rock. There are moments these days I still do... Except "Mr Brownstone" I’ve never liked that cut. It has one of the worst choruses in rock history.
Guess you could say I have had my fill of "eye-ah-yh-eye". Maybe I am unable to divorce their debut from their less than good later material, like their horrible covers of Dylan and Wings on the subsequent albums Use Your Illusion 1 and 2. Use Your Illusion also has that over-produced mess ‘November Rain’ (song and video).
Before Seattle grunge hit the scene and obliterated the glitzy-hairspray-spandex-show-rock of the late 80s there was G n’ R, the only group that seemed to rise above that pond of diarrhea. But if you are the best polka band, you are still a polka band.
GREEN DAY: Green Day albums have awesome powerful moments. Then tracks like "Wake Me Up When September Ends" or "Time of Your Life" show up and that's where my boat gets off. I guess pop-punk isn't really my thing. Groups like Blink 182, Offspring and Fallout Boy really turn me off. Green Day is definitely the most known successful band in this genre and I do sometimes like these fellas. I like watching them play. They're incredibly tight. During the 90s I lived in Seattle and there was a lot going on musically, so my ears weren't pointed in Green Day's direction. Dookie and Kerplunk just never really reached my radar. I do remember the youthful charge it had on my younger brother... 'cause suburban kids have angst to you know.
The “Jesus Of Suburbia” suite on American Idiot is pretty damn good though…
TEN: The 90s scene in Seattle was palpable. And perhaps the biggest thing was Ten. Almost bigger than Nevermind. This was still the era of videos. I won 3 bets with my roommates that the "Jeremy" video would be playing when we switched on the TV, that was often set to MTV during that period. They were everywhere... I mean how many bands grace the cover of Time Magazine.
I do like Ten. It brings back some good nostalgia. But, even in the day, their second and third albums spoke much more to me (#183 and #463). And Ten would not fit in below the 400s.
These are just a number of these records that came to mind. If you have a, what the fuck, you don't have________?! on your list?..feel free to drop me a note (form below) about this "glaring omission" and why you believe it should be on Some Guy's Top 1000 Albums.