PS 100 Greatest Albums of All Time

100. Neil Young & Pearl Jam - Mirror Ball (1995)

Mirror Ball is a combination of Pearl Jam's heavy rock sound and Neil Young's light vocal. Young wrote a few catchy songs here and mostly were fast-beat rock and roll. The most interesting one is the 70s flashback, "Downtown", with a lyric reminisces the hippies and his peers ("Jimi's playin' in the back room/Led Zeppelin on stage/There's a mirror ball twirlin'/And a note from Page").

99. Dead Boys - Young, Loud, and Snotty (1977)

After moving from Cleveland to New York City and frequently played at CBGB, The Dead Boys soon released their debut album Young, Loud, and Snotty, an album full of explosive energy with sophisticated arrangement and melodies. The album has since been one of the early American punk classics.

98. JJ Cale & Eric Clapton - The Road To Escondido (2006)

Back in the 70s, Eric Clapton scored two big hits with two JJ Cale covers, "Cocaine" and "After Midnight". On this collaboration three decades later, Clapton brought the lesser-known master of Tulsa Sound, an infectious jump blues genre, to a wider audience. Most of the songs here were written by Cale and are still as refreshing as his old stuff.

97. U2 - The Joshua Tree (1987)

After a period of synth-rock era in the 80s, a roots rock revival was inevitable. Many roots rock albums enjoyed worldwide commercial breakthrough. Springsteen scored with Born in the U.S.A., Dire Straits with Brothers in Arm, R.E.M. with Out of Time and U2 with The Joshua Tree. Among these, The Joshua Tree's rhythmic gospel single, "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For", seems to has passed through the longest test of time, thus making this album timeless.

96. Sex Pistols - The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle (1979)

Like Rattle and Hum, The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle is a messy compilation. It was a fictitious documentation created by manager Malcolm McLaren and incoherently compiled tracks played in various musical styles - punk, rockabilly, disco and even orhestra - in a double album. There are some tracks that the band shouted louder than their original versions ("Anarchy in the U.K."). And there are tracks that prove punk can be taken solemnly with string arrangements ("E.M.I."). To enhance rebellion, they had exiled English prisoner Ronnie Biggs doing his vocal takes on two tracks in Brazil and, moreover, it was great fun to hear Sid Vicious turned "My Way" into raging punk rock.

95. The Kinks - Something Else by The Kinks (1967)

Something Else was a 60s Mods classic and is now regarded as a blueprint for Britpop. "David Watts" was an anthem and "Waterloo Sunset" stands as one of the most beautiful rock songs ever written.

94. Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti (1975)

In the 70s, every dinosaur rocker had taken turn in releasing a double album. In Led Zeppelin's turn, guitarist and producer Jimmy Page, like Jimi Hendrix, expanded the guitar sonic to its maximum level by utilizing as many sound effects as possible. The result was an ultimate hard rock album of an era.

93. The Jayhawks - Hollywood Town Hall (1992)

The sound is glossy but the mood is rootsy; the songs are sweet but the guitars are fierce. "Waiting for the Sun" is probably the best alternative-country song ever written and Hollywood Town Hall must be a pillar album for this genre.

92. Big Country - The Crossing (1983)

Those admirable guys from Scotland revolutionized rock & roll with a blend of country music and new wave and helped paving the way for the roots rock revival in a confusing period of rock and roll. They were ace players; singer and guitarist Stuart Adamson forged a trademark bagpipe sound by using E-bow on guitar that did create pictures for their music.

91. Brian Setzer - The Knife Feels Like Justice (1986)

So there came the roots rock revival, and the music made in that time frame was later termed as heartland rock. Inspired by Bruce the boss, Brian Setzer add country and folk flavor to his no-nonsense, fast-beat rock and roll and made this album featuring some of the best heartland rock classics.

90. Phil Ochs - I Ain't Marching Anymore (1965)

Phil Ochs read news and wrote them into songs before becoming a political activist. The songs of this album were written based on the topics of the era - President Kennedy, Vietnam War, racism, labor unions, etc. Though sung with a light and easy vocal, his songs reflect his burning desire of changing the world.

89. The English Beat - I Just Can't Stop It (1980)

The Beat's music was less radical and more accessible than The Specials'. So if The Specials triggered the ska movement, The Beat beautified it, much in the same way of The Sex Pistols and The Clash in punk.

88. The Velvet Underground - The Velvet Underground (1969)

Since their first album, Velvet Underground and Nico, was regarded as "beautiful" and their second album, White Light, White Heat, was regarded as "ugly", Lou Reed and John Cale parted and the band was purely Reed's. Reed made this third album "beautiful" again by writing many catchy songs. Among them, "Some Kinda Love" and "The Murder Mystery" resembled the first album sound and were undisputedly the blueprints for new wave.

87. Bob Dylan - Infidels (1983)

Folk and blues met reggae here. Mark Knopler was the producer of this album, and he and Mick Taylor played guitar on it. However, the appealing part of this album is on the rhythm section provided by reggae duo Sly Dumbar and Robbie Shakespeare. All those guys' contribution blended perfectly and created an interesting mercury rhythm which was new, fresh and clean for Dylan's songs.

86. Jimi Hendrix Experience - Electric Ladyland (1968)

This double album has a mysterious, druggy aura that his two previous albums didn't have, but it wasn't loosely produced like Dylan's The Basement Tapes or the Stones' Exile on Mainstreet because Hendrix had since turned to be a studio perfectionist. He made himself and bandmates repeating many takes on many tracks. The highlight here is his own arrangement of Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower" and the infamous "Voodoo Chile".

85. PJ Harvey - To Bring You My Love (1995)

84. Weezer - Weezer (1994)

Can be termed as heavy pop rock, Weezer's debut album is so tuneful yet so loud and heavy. Produced by Ric Ocasek of The Cars, it is able to bring the listener to a joy ride of low and high mood.

83. George Thorogood & The Destroyers - Bad To The Bone (1982)

Stiff vocal and crude blues rock is the given impression from this album. Beside a few fine covers, Thorogood recorded a few fine compositions of his own. Title-track "Bad to the Bone" has since been a classic-rock classic.

82. The Who - Quadrophenia (1973)

Double-album Quadrophenia is not The Who's best album but is their most coherent one. It was written by Pete Townshend with an opera or a movie in mind. The story was based on a split-personality Mods kid's troubled life and was made into film in 1979. With John Entwistle's aggresive bass lines and Keith Moon's explosive drumming, the album rocks solidly from the beginning till the end.

81. Sonic Youth - Goo (1990)

Goo is accessible yet still experimental. From the catchy opener "Dirty Boot" till the wonderful closer "Titanium Expose", the noise experimentation goes on with occasional Thurston Moore's and Lee Ranaldo's alternative-tuning guitars come ringing.

80. Jethro Tull - This Was (1968)

This Was is Jethro Tull's debut album and is more blues rock than progressive rock. Many standard blues songs are here; however, "Beggar's Farm" shows the progressive side of the band when flute solo was incorporated into the song. With this then innovative mix, there are many interplays between flute and guitar backed by an awesome drum work in between.

79. Big Audio Dynamite - No. 10, Upping St (1986)

Since leaving The Clash, Mick Jones formed Big Audio Dynamite and focused on dance-beat rock. On their second album, Joe Strummer offered some peace and co-wrote a song with Jones. The result was the great "Beyond the Pale", a song about Jones' roots. The rest are hummable dance songs written by Jones.

78. New York Dolls - New York Dolls (1973)

Emerged earlier than The Ramones, the New York Dolls played Stones-style R&B in New York City's pre-punk underground scene, notably in Max's Kansas City. Though noisy and sloppy, they wrote some highly memorable songs such as "Trash", "Subway Train" and "Jet Boy".

77. The Waterboys - Fisherman's Blues (1988)

After moving to Spiddal, west Ireland, for absorbing traditional Irish music, The Waterboys recorded The Fisherman's Blues in Irish folk rock style to replace their early new wave sound. With traditional instruments like violin, whistle, flute, accordion and backed by a rock and roll rhythm section, they forged a unique and accessible sound with the anthemic opener "Fisherman's Blues" and poetic stopper "The Stolen Child" being the highlight.

76. Neil Young and the Crazy Horse - Rust Never Sleeps (1979)

This half-solo acoustic and half-full band album is an important album for the 1977 punks. "My My Hey Hey" saw Neil Young saluting Johnny Rotten with the lines "the king is gone but he's not forgotten, this is the story of Johnny Rotten" and to Sid Vicious with "It's better to burn out than to fade away". The latter line was made famous again 15 years later by Kurt Cobain, who wrote it on his suicide note. With punk spirit, the album was recorded crudely and the electric numbers were played with heavy-distortion riffs that further had him immortalized as the mentor of grunge.

75. Ten Years After - Cricklewood Green (1970)

The songs are simple but good enough for showcasing Alvin Lee's speedy guitar licks and occasionally an organ jam by Chick Churcill.

74. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - Deja Vu (1970)

Everyone contributed two tracks here. The most impressive ones are "Carry On" and "Woodstock" recorded by the vocal harmony of David Crosby and Stephen Stills.

73. Ron Wood - Gimme Some Neck (1979)

The best track here is "Seven Days" given by Bob Dylan, but Ron Wood's own compositions are equally good. With less powerful vocal and uplifting rhythm, this album set a standard for a guitarist album.

72. The Rolling Stones - Black and Blue (1976)

Black and Blue was recorded when Ron Wood started to join the Stones. It has a semi-glossy sound that signifies a transition of their 70s sound into the Miss You and their 80s sound.

71. Patti Smith Group - Easter (1978)

Though Horses is the critics' choise, Easter is more rocking and accessible. It must be a more influential album than Horses for the fans. "Because the Night" was co-written with Bruce Springsteen.

70. Bob Dylan - The Basement Tapes (1975)

The materials were informal recordings by Bob Dylan, who was recovering from a motorcycle accident, and The Band at the basement of a rented house in Woodstock, New York. They were later released as a double album and became a masterpiece. From track to track, the recording captured their joyful and sometimes drunken atmosphere while playing the American traditional music, night after night.

69. James Gang - Rides Again (1970)

James Gang best era was when Joe Walsh was in the band. Walsh made two studio albums and one live album with the band and Rides Again was their best. It contains two monster funk-rock hits, "Funk #49" and "The Bomber", which has since become two of the classic rock staples till today.

68. The Clash - The Clash (1977)

What happened when great songwriters emerged in the punk era? Well, they wrote great songs and played it short and simple. Joe Strummer and Mick Jones wrote load of great songs for their debut album, and they made them awesomely obnoxious but incredibly tuneful. Blast like machinegun, track after track, tune after tune, it's obviously the greatest punk album ever made.

67. Creedence Clearwater Revival - Cosmos Factory (1970)

In the era when many music was created under the influence of narcotics and hallucinogens, CCR churned out straight-forward rock and roll songs with John Fogerty's soulful vocal and the band's steady rhythm section. Cosmos Factory was an influential albums for many country, folk, and soul rockers as well as pop music listeners.

66. Lynyrd Skynyrd - Second Helping (1974)

Lynyrd Skynyrd's second album features "Sweet Home Alabama", their only song that went to the Top 10. The song was also the answer to Neil Young's "Southern Man" and "Alabama", on which Young criticised some southerners' behavior. There're plenty of blues riffs on this harder blues-rock album. The swamp-blues "Swamp Music" and the swinging "Call Me the Breeze" are two infectious tracks.

65. The Specials - The Specials (1979)

The Specials' first album was an important album that sparked the ska revival. Not only the music, the fashion such as baggy trousers, white sock and black shoes infected the world throughout the 80s. "A Message to You Rudy" was a ska punk classic; the rest of the album include some nice ballads as well as the energetic, stomping "rude-boy" music.

64. Tom Petty - Full Moon Fever (1989)

After the Traveling Wilburys project, Tom Petty got the inspiration and mood to continue the acoustic rock sensation. Produced by fellow Wilbury Jeff Lynne, Full Moon Fever obtained massive success. "I Won't Back Down" was one of the best songs ever written by Petty.

63. Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin IV

It's Led Zeppelin's most famous album which is hard rocking and folkish. The famous hard rockers are "Black Dog", "Rock and Roll" and "When the Levee Breaks". Mystical folk songs include "The Battle of Evermore" (with vocal contribution by Sandy Denny) and "Going to California". The monumental hit, "Stairway to Heaven", is what Jimmy Page described as the band's milestone that since then became the most-played classic rock song.

62. Peter Tosh - Legalize It (1976)

Ex Wailer Peter Tosh's debut solo album sounds rootsy and druggy. He shunned hypocrisy and praised the use of marijuana. "Burial" is a great song.

61. The Georgia Satellites - In The Land Of Salvation And Sin (1989)

During the late 80s southern rock revival, The Georgia Satellites forged a modern sounthern-rock sound. This third album of them offers plenty of good southern-fried rock and roll. "Sweet Blue Midnight" is so good that you might take it as another gem by Lynyrd Skynyrd.

60. Thin Lizzy - Jailbreak (1976)

Jailbreak contains two best-known songs by Thin Lizzy - "Jailbreak" and "The Boys Are Back in Town". The latter one borrowed a line from Bruce Springsteen"s "Kitty Back" to be its chorus. The songs are tuneful, simple and intense while the music features plenty of double guitar-lead interplay.

59. Bob Dylan - Bringing It All Back Home (1965)

It was Bob Dylan's first album with a band, though the B side was still acoustic. This album paved a long, great folk rock movement for him and many other bands that followed.

58. The Rolling Stones - Sticky Fingers (1971)

This album was made to sound decadent, a sign of the time in rock back to the era, particularly on "Sway", "Wild Horses", "You Gotta Move", "Sister Morphine" and "Moonlight Mile". Probably inspired by The Allman Brothers Band on long jamming tracks, The Rolling Stones made the jazzy "Can't You Hear Me Knocking" with an extended, infectious saxophone and guitar solo.

57. Robbie Robertson - Robbie Robertson (1987)

The Band's guitarist and main songwriter who never sing lead on any Band's song was singing on his own solo album. There're plenty of good songs here and Robertson was backed up by some of the well-known guest musicians of the era. The most memorable tracks are "Fallen Angel" and "Broken Arrow", a collaboration with Peter Gabriel, and "Sweet Fire of Love" and "Testimony" with U2 as backing band.

56. Pink Floyd - The Dark Side of the Moon (1973)

The alarm and cash-register sound are impressive but the core of this album are around three very good songs which are "Time", "Money" and "Us and Them".

55. The Doors - Morrison Hotel (1970)

The boogie-rock tracks are great, as heard on "Roadhouse Blues", "Ship of Fools" and "Land Ho!". The funky "Peace Frog" and "Maggie McGill" are equally great. This is The Doors' harder-rocking album compared to their other ones.

54. Guns N' Roses - Appetite for Destruction (1987)

If The Clash's debut is called the Beatles of punk, then Appetite for Destruction is the Beatles of heavy metal. Both albums consists of short, fast, melodic and invigorating rockers.

53. Lucinda Williams - Car Wheels on a Gravel Road (1998)

With slide and acoustic guitar, dobro, 12-string, accordion, mandolin and small-town stories, Lucinda Williams wrote and sang the country blues songs and even forged a rap blues style on "Can't Let Go" and "Joy". All tracks were mixed by rap metal producer Rick Rubin.

52. Steve Earle & the Dukes - The Hard Way (1990)

Steve Earle played his country rock heavier than the others. There is a solemn moment with "Billy Austin", a haunting ballad about a young man on death row.

51. Social Distortion - Social Distortion (1990)

Vocalist and guitarist Mike Ness created a new concept by singing slow, tuneful country songs on fast rockabilly beats. It does raise adrenalin. The band made some great songs here including single "Ball and Chain" and their version of Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire".