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Top 100 debut albums of all time per Rolling Stone

tbone_

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Deej

Deej 76897

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Let's take a look at Rolling Stone's review of Led Zeppelin I...

 

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Jimmy Page, around whom the Zeppelin revolves, is, admittedly, an extraordinarily proficient blues guitarist and explorer of his instrument’s electronic capabilities. Unfortunately, he is also a very limited producer and a writer of weak, unimaginative songs, and the Zeppelin album suffers from his having both produced it and written most of it (alone or in combination with his accomplices in the group).

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In their willingness to waste their considerable talent on unworthy material the Zeppelin has produced an album which is sadly reminiscent of Truth. Like the Beck group they are also perfectly willing to make themselves a two- (or, more accurately, one-a-half) man show. It would seem that, if they’re to help fill the void created by the demise of Cream, they will have to find a producer (and editor) and some material worthy of their collective attention. 

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/led-zeppelin-i-187298/

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DalTxHornFan

DalTxHornFan 3116

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Very curious list.  I was expecting to see that the debut album of a certain Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band would make the cut.  Their debut album is also in the Grammy Hall of Fame.  This debut album was on the Billboard 200 for 171 weeks, a record at the time, and this album was also certified Double Platinum by RIAA.  This album also included 4 charted Top 40 singles.  Amazing that there are 100+ debut albums better than this one, but hey, Rolling Stone must know things.

CTA album.jpg

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destroya

destroya 380

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Gish is a weird one.  It’s by far my favorite Smashing Pumpkins album and is the only one I still listen too after 27 years.  It’s great raw early 90s rock and roll before Billy’s pretentiousness got in the way and stands apart from the rest of their discography just like the band stood apart from most alternative bands in the 90s. 

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hullabelew

hullabelew 3724

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The Strokes at 8?  Holy fuck.  That one song is a straight out ripoff of Tom Petty's "American Girl".  

And how could they leave off that debut Heartbreakers record.  That and Dire Straits are glaring omissions.  

Also, Joe Jackson's debut is WAY too low at 98.  Any debut album that starts off with this needs to be WAY higher.    It is in my top 10 debuts of all time.  

 

 

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Cheeseweasel

Cheeseweasel 26438

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1 hour ago, hullabelew said:

The Strokes at 8?  Holy fuck.  That one song is a straight out ripoff of Tom Petty's "American Girl".  

And how could they leave off that debut Heartbreakers record.  That and Dire Straits are glaring omissions.  

Also, Joe Jackson's debut is WAY too low at 98.  Any debut album that starts off with this needs to be WAY higher.    It is in my top 10 debuts of all time.  

 

Like every other music thread, I just wait for Hulla to post and say "Yeah. This".

He and I share a musical brain.

 

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Beau Vine

Beau Vine 54377

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1 hour ago, CooterBrown said:

As real music fans die off, expect these lists to get much worse to appeal to younger generations.

 

I look forward to Ke$ha, Bieber, and Face Tat 69 duking it out for the top spot in 10 years.

 

Face Tat 69 is pretty fucking transcendent.

 

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yoladu

yoladu 4094

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Licensed to Ill? Technically a debut album, but they had released an EP and a handful of singles as early as 3 years prior to Licensed to Ill? As some said, not even in the top 3 of their best albums.

The Pretenders at 13? The Pretenders are not exactly ground breaking.

You could make a case for The Ramones, Sex Pistols, REM, VU, Guns N' Roses, etc. as debut albums that changed things... but the Pretenders?

 

Psychocandy too low. That shit blew my mind in 1985. Basically simple pop songs with massive squalling, screeching, feedback - layered and layered , swirling around them.

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Onboard 2.0

Onboard 2.0 9083

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8 minutes ago, yoladu said:

Licensed to Ill? Technically a debut album, but they had released an EP and a handful of singles as early as 3 years prior to Licensed to Ill? As some said, not even in the top 3 of their best albums.

The Pretenders at 13? The Pretenders are not exactly ground breaking.

You could make a case for The Ramones, Sex Pistols, REM, VU, Guns N' Roses, etc. as debut albums that changed things... but the Pretenders?

 

Psychocandy too low. That shit blew my mind in 1985. Basically simple pop songs with massive squalling, screeching, feedback - layered and layered , swirling around them.

Yeah, I'm a big Pretenders fan, and saw nothing ground breaking or particularly riveting about their very solid debut album.  I'm still scratching my head that Tom Petty, and Dire Straits are not on that list, and fairly high up (Dire Straits that is).

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hullabelew

hullabelew 3724

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On the Pretenders....  I was a senior in HS when it came out and it was quite a different sound at the time.  Mainly because of a chick singer with a fresh, new sound.  It also got a lot of press because of the makeup of the band....a midwestern girl with a bunch of brits.  

I went back and looked at Christgau's list for 1980.  A lot of great 2nd albums for bands.  Costello, Talking Heads, Dire Straits and The Police.  Also, some other fantastic gems here.  T-Bone Burnett's "Truth Decay", X's "Los Angeles", Rockpile, Joan Armatrading's "Me, Myself, I", and a very underrated band in The Feelies.  I fucking LOVED that band.  

1. The Clash: London Calling (Epic) 1347 (89)
2. Bruce Springsteen: The River (Columbia) 973 (80)
3. Talking Heads: Remain in Light (Sire) 863 (77)
4. Pretenders: Pretenders (Sire) 702 (68) *
5. Public Image Ltd.: Second Edition (Island) 625 (51) **
6. Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band: Doc at the Radar Station (Virgin) 594 (56)
7. Elvis Costello & the Attractions: Get Happy!! (Columbia) 571 (53)
8. Stevie Wonder: Hotter Than July (Tamla) 400 (35)
9. Prince: Dirty Mind (Warner Bros.) 383 (38)
10. Gang Of Four: Entertainment! (Warner Bros.) 383 (30)
11. Peter Gabriel: Peter Gabriel (Mercury) 280 (31)
12. Steely Dan: Gaucho (MCA) 268 (24)
13. Michael Jackson: Off the Wall (Epic) 267 (24) *
14. Peter Townshend: Empty Glass (Atco) 251 (26)
15. Rockpile: Seconds Of Pleasure (Columbia) 232 (28)
16. X: Los Angeles (Slash) 229 (22)
17. The Feelies: Crazy Rhythms (Stiff) 221 (19)
18. Dire Straits: Making Movies (Warner Bros.) 209 (24)
19. David Bowie: Scary Monsters (RCA Victor) 186 (19)
20. The Rolling Stones: Emotional Rescue (Rolling Stones) 181 (19)
21. The English Beat: I Just Can't Stop It (Sire) 178 (22)
22. Joy Division: Closer (Factory import) 166 (13)
23. Smokey Robinson: Warm Thoughts (Tamla) 165 (17)
24. Squeeze: Argybargy (A&M) 153 (14)
25. Young Marble Giants: Colossal Youth (Rough Trade import) 152 (15)
26. T-Bone Burnett: Truth Decay (Takoma) 150 (15)
27. Van Morrison: Common One (Warner Bros.) 148 (19)
28. The Police: Zenyatta Mondatta (A&M) 146 (15)
29. Lydia Lunch: Queen of Siam (ZE) 143 (12)
30. Iron City Houserockers: Have a Good Time (But Get Out Alive) (MCA) 139 (14)
31. Professor Longhair: Crawfish Fiesta (Alligator) 138 (15)
32. The Specials: The Specials (Chrysalis) 125 (13)
  Neil Young: Hawks and Doves (Reprise) 125 (13)
34. Arthur Blythe: Illusions (Columbia) 122 (15)
35. Carlene Carter: Musical Shapes (Warner Bros.) 120 (15)
36. Graham Parker: The Up Escalator (Arista) 116 (12)
37. John Lennon/Yoko Ono: Double Fantasy (Geffen) 114 (12)
38. Joan Armatrading: Me Myself I (A&M) 108 (10)
39. Diana Ross: Diana (Motown) 106 (16)
40. Pink Floyd: The Wall (Columbia)
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jimmyjazz

jimmyjazz 46088

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10 minutes ago, Ollie Slatt said:

PJ's Ten and the Weezer Blue album are way too low.  I am not even a huge PJ fan but would probably put Ten at number one on this list. 

Notable omissions: Shake Your Money Maker, Ryan Adams Heartbreaker, Son Volt Trace

No way would I consider Ten anywhere near #1.  I like it, and it's grown on me quite a bit over the years, but it's basically classic hard rock, and not particularly ground-breaking.  Good enough to be on the list for sure, though.

I like your nominations of Black Crowes and Son Volt.  I'd add Wilco's debut.  Ryan Adams' "debut" was Phil Collins leaving Genesis part deux.  (One could argue against Son Volt & Wilco in a similar manner, but I think there was a pretty clear departure from Uncle Tupelo on both those records.  Speaking of Uncle Tupelo . . . nah.  Too obscure for Top 100.)

 

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