RateYourMusic’s new charts algorithm has finally been implemented and to be honest, I’m relatively happy with the result. Part of me wishes I was a subscriber as I’d adjust the popularity weighting to be quite low as I value consistent ratings from a small group over albums prone to review bombing, positive or negative. At least the new album charts have seen some major shifts, Dark Side of the Moon has dropped all the way to 10th, below Wish You Were Here which I personally prefer anyway. It’s pretty interesting, the top 10, as there’s possibly only 1 or 2 I’d put in my personal top 10. Obviously more popular albums will be the ones rising to the top but it’s good that this new algorithm might help some great bands be rediscovered by a new generation.
The new top 10 is:
1. OK Computer - Radiohead
2. In the Court of the Crimson King - King Crimson
3. Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd
4. Kid A - Radiohead
5. Loveless - My Bloody Valentine
6. The Velvet Underground & Nico - ditto lmao
7. Abbey Road - The Beatles
8. The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars - David Bowie
9. The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady - Charles Mingus
10. Dark Side of the Moon - Pink Floyd
Not a bad list of albums by any stretch of the matter, although it does feel that if you got a group of middle-class guys in their mid 30s to create a list, that would be it. I reckon To Pimp A Butterfly will creep in at number 10 in the next couple of years, as more users join from a younger generation. It continues to be a fascinating site of interest to anyone who loves music, both to find new and interesting music and to revisit older classics.
@nessisonett Bleurgh, Revolver is better than Abbey Road. I have an aversion to Radiohead because my Dad used to play it on repeat in the '90's and it did my head in.
@nessisonett I have been listening to JW Francis today, a New York tour-guide influenced by film and literature, hence the name (like C.S. Lewis) I think you would enjoy his debut We Share A Similar Joy. Have a listen and let me know what you think if you can.
"Even in the face of death, the samurai stands unwavering, for honour is a blade sharper than steel".
@johncalmc The problem is that when these things are decided by an algorithm that collects public votes and sorts them through some sort of magic/maths, more people will rate the albums that are near the top creating a sort of self fulfilling prophecy. The Radiohead albums have way more ratings than most albums on the whole site for example. It’s a flawed concept and personally I find most of the albums in the following hundreds a lot more interesting than the top 10 but it is what it is.
@Kidfried I really like parts of In Rainbows but there are other parts where it kinda drags for me. Kid A is still probably what I consider my favourite of theirs, it sounds so incredibly ahead of its time even now, 20 years after it released. It’s also their most coherent whole, most of their other albums have a strange song or two which don’t quite fit the tone or sound of the rest of the album, like when they decided to drag OK Computer down with songs like Electioneering. I wouldn’t say I’ve really been ‘into’ Radiohead since I was like 15 though, they’re a good gateway into a whole bunch of other genres but not a band I feel like I have to revisit on occasion.
@nessisonett Yeah, it's the same with any system like that. It's pretty much the same with any list ever. Nobody ever agrees with a list. If you agree with a list of the best albums ever it'd be pretty boring. The last thing we need is everyone agreeing on the White Album etc.
@johncalmc I think the only thing everyone agrees about the White Album is that if those bloody long-haired tw*ts made the album a bit shorter then it wouldn’t cost over £35 on vinyl.
@Kidfried Cheers for the tip, I’ll give them a listen. I think the song that really did it for me was Paranoid Android. He’d play it on repeat to taunt me! I quite like experimental stuff depending on my mood. Usually prog rock type stuff I guess.
@nessisonett What would your personal non-algorithm top 10 be?
@mookysam Oof, that’s a tough one. I think to be perfectly honest, my personal top 10 probably isn’t what I think the 10 best albums ever are, more that they’re my 10 favourite albums. I’ll exclude live albums and EPs and focus on just studio full releases.
1. Fishmans- Long Season
2. Godspeed You Black Emperor!- F#A#∞
3. Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp A Butterfly
4. Charles Mingus - Black Saint and the Sinner Lady
5. Pharaoh Sanders - Karma
6. The Microphones - Microphones in 2020
7. Radiohead - Kid A
8. Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane Over The Sea
9. Slint - Spiderland
10. Oneohtrix Point Never - Replica
Honourable mentions go to The Microphones - The Glow Pt 2 and Mount Eerie, of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer and Red House Painters - Rollercoaster.
Also very very honourable mention to Phil Spector’s Christmas album, if that doesn’t make you believe in Christmas spirit then I don’t know what will. Basically every 60s Christmas song is from that album.
@nessisonett Yeah, I just like what I like regardless of whether it could be technically classed as the best or not. Music is quite personal and evokes a stronger emotional reaction than visual media. I haven't heard of most of the acts in your list, but it looks eclectic. Charles Mingus was brilliant! Phil Spector music just makes me think of his criminal trial. I do like his distinct wall of sound technique though.
My own list would probably change depending on my mood.
1. Joni Mitchell - Blue
2. Joni Mitchell - Hejira
3. Kate Bush - Hounds of Love
4. The Beatles - Revolver
5. David Bowie - Hunky Dory
6. Ella Fitzgerald Songbooks (I can't choose just one! I lost my digital copy so have been slowly rebuying them individually)
7. Bob Dylan - Blonde on Blonde
8. Janis Joplin - Pearl
9. Rufus Wainwright - Release the Stars
10. Prince and the Revolution - Purple Rain
Almost in the top ten: Elton John - Follow the Yellow Brick Road; Bob Dylan; Blood on the Tracks; David Bowie - Aladdin Sane; more Joni and The Beatles.
I like lots of individual songs by many artists but struggle to listen to a whole album, so these are some of the album's I enjoy listening all the way through.
@mookysam Your own list is definitely more classic but no less brilliant! I do love Revolver but I think personally I couldn’t choose between that, Sgt Peppers, Rubber Soul and Magical Mystery Tour as they all have a fantastic collection of songs. I love a bit of Elton too, specifically Yellow Brick Road and Honky Chateau are his highlights imo. I was also very tempted to put Purple Rain in there, that’s just hit after hit right the way through.
Fair point about Phil Spector, it’s hard not to think of the whole murdery stuff. Truth be told, my enjoyment of The Smiths and The Stone Roses have been somewhat tainted over the years by their respective frontmen and their antics so it’s always a shame when good music becomes hard to listen to due to external factors.
@nessisonett I loved Rollercoaster by Red House Painters when I first heard it, particularly the song Funhouse(s?) but that was a while ago that I listened to them. Still, very emotive music. From a lyrical perspective, Biffy Clyro's Simon Neal cites them as an influence. Into Biffy? From your neck of the woods, you pretty much have to be, right? 'mon the biff!
"Even in the face of death, the samurai stands unwavering, for honour is a blade sharper than steel".
@nessisonett Cheers. I tend to like older, more classic stuff. Most of The Beatles stuff is brilliant, so it's quite hard to choose. I really like Sgt. Pepper and Magical Mystery Tour, largely because of how adventurous and weird they are. The singles on the second half of Mystery Tour are wonderful and the first half is probably as close as I'll ever get to taking LSD. I guess I prefer Revolver because it's a little more defined, and I can pick out individual tracks as clear favourites. I'm Only Sleeping is probably my personal theme song. 😂 Rubber Soul is another favourite as you can really hear the Bob Dylan influence, and they were getting a lot more adventurous with their instrumentations. You can certainly hear the technical skill and accomplishment in their playing, too. It's just a nice midway point between the early rock-and-roll and the latter half of their career.
I got into Joni Mitchell at university and slowly bought her albums when I had a spare couple of quid. I always liked Prince, but only listened through his albums in full a few years ago. Purple Rain is very, very strong.
Then there's a load of proper crap I listen to that I enjoy but wouldn't classify as my favourite. 😂 A friend recommended I listen to Kylie's new album and I rather enjoyed it.
Yeah, it can sometimes be hard to separate the artist from the art when they're either a complete tool, or far, far worse. And it's always disappointing when someone who's work you love is an absolute horrible person. I like some of The Smiths' music (especially Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now), but Morrissey is such a complete and utter plonker I'm not sure I could bring myself to actually buy any of his work.
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