It's Vinylly Friday!

Apple Music got some clickbait attention this week by publishing a list of the “100 best albums of all time”. Apple claims this list was compiled by “artists and experts”, though none of these people are called out by name.

Music fans have weighed in on this list and many of them are not happy by the rankings, by what’s in and what’s out, etc. I have my thoughts on all of these issues as well, but rather than get into all that for now, I decided to just plunge into the list, playing one album per day. Starting at 100, working my way to #1, which should happen around August 27.

I am going to embrace each album on the list, at least for one listen. I’ve been posting daily Instagram posts about this, but I’m going to write weekly updates here as well. As part of this, I’ll be reconstructing the list, week by week, ranking them in my own order of favorite to least favorite.

In addition to the musical aspect, this project is a trick to get me back to taking walks to the river each day. Thus, the daily river photo.

And away we go! Here is my summary of Apple’s 100 Best albums, #100-#96, followed by my rearranged ranking of said albums.

Apple Music 100 Best Albums List, #100 - #95

100. Body Talk – Robyn (2010)

Genre: modern dance pop

Do I currently or have I ever owned this album in a physical format? No.

General thoughts? This is a good album with which to launch this quest. It’s a bit long, but it’s filled with bright, shiny pop songs that are catchy and danceable if you want to dance (for inspiration, as Madonna once noted. I had not heard this album, other than “Dancing on My Own” before this, but I’m a fan now.

Favorite tracks: “Dancing on My Own,” “Fembot,” “U Should Know Better” (featuring Snoop Dogg!), etc.  

What did I learn from this album? “Fembots have feelings too.” “Even the Vatican knows better than to fuck with me”

Will I dive deeper into this album? Yeah, for sure!

99. Hotel California – Eagles (1976)

Genre: classic rock, AOR

Do I currently or have I ever owned this album in a physical format? Yes, I have owned this on vinyl but currently do not. 

General thoughts? I’ll be honest: I don’t love Eagles and I didn’t love Eagles before The Big Lebowski. But I don’t hate them either. I think Hotel California is quite front-loaded. The title track and “New Kid in Town” both hit #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 singles chart and “Life in the Fast Lane” peaked at #11, which isn’t bad for a harder rocking song. But, based on comments I received, many people, prefer the deeper cuts that dominate the rest of the album. Me? I’m going for the hits here.

Favorite tracks: “Hotel California”, “Life in the Fast Lane”

What did I learn from this album? “You can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave.” “They had one thing in common, they were good in bed,” but then, “He was too tired to make it, she was too tired to fight about it.”

Will I dive deeper into this album? I feel like I am contractually obligated to check into Hotel California now and then.

98. Astroworld – Travis Scott (2018)

Genre: rap

Do I currently or have I ever owned this album in a physical format? no

General thoughts? Thanks for my older son, Jimmy, I’ve known about this album for a while, though I’ve never listened to it beginning-to-end until now. I like it, though it feels like the kind of album that demands more than one listen before it sinks in. Also, I’m a melody guy, which makes it challenging for me to appreciate albums where rhythms are intrinsically more important than catchy tunes.

Favorite tracks: “Stargazing”, “Sicko Mode”, “Coffee Bean”

What did I learn from this album? “Got new money, got new problems, got new enemies/When you make it to the top, that’s the amenities.” “It’s been a week and a half since we ain’t been speaking, and that meant you’re feeling free in my absence.

Will I dive deeper into this album? Now and again, I just might.

97. Rage Against the Machine – Rage Against the Machine (1992)

Genre: hard rock, alt rock

Do I currently or have I ever owned this album in a physical format? No.

General thoughts? This album was released just a few weeks after Donna and I got married, which might in part explain why it’s not an album I have any listening experience with at all. I had been through my noisy alt rock phase – I loved, and still love Pixies – but in late 1992, I just wasn’t going to fall for an intensely noisy, overtly political band.

Favorite tracks: “Bombtrack”, “Killing in the Name of.”

What did I learn from this album? There were many things that Rage Against the Machine was not pleased with in 1992. And probably still aren’t.

Will I dive deeper into this album? These guys had some important ideas and I unique way of expressing them, particularly with Tom Morello’s guitar playing, but this is not an album I need to pursue further.

96. Pure Heroine – Lorde (2013)

Genre: indie pop, synthpop

Do I currently or have I ever owned this album in a physical format? No.

General thoughts? I’ve known “Royals”, since it was the big hit from this album, even since it made the charts, but I had never listened to this whole album. The synthpop fan in me likes Pure Heroine very much. I do think most of the songs are variations of “Royals”, but I’m OK with that.

Favorite tracks: “Royals”,

What did I learn from this album? “We might be hollow, but we’re brave”, “And we’ll never be royals/It don’t run in our blood/That kind of love just ain’t for us/We crave a different kind of buzz.”

Will I dive deeper into this album? I’ll be returning, yes.

Rich’s Reordered Apple Best 100 Albums List (updated 5/24/24)

1.     Body Talk – Robyn

2.     Pure Heroine – Lorde

3.     Astroworld – Travis Scott

4.     Hotel California – Eagles

5.     Rage Against the Machine – Rage Against the Machine