Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums: The Top 100

The top 100 of Rolling Stone’s 2020 list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. What’s Going On at #1 — how far down does your collection go?

100 titles

  1. What's Going On (1971), Marvin Gaye
  2. Pet Sounds (1966), The Beach Boys
  3. Blue (1971), Joni Mitchell
  4. Songs in the Key of Life (1976), Stevie Wonder
  5. Abbey Road (1969), The Beatles
  6. Nevermind (1991), Nirvana
  7. Rumours (1977), Fleetwood Mac
  8. Purple Rain (1984), Prince
  9. Blood on the Tracks (1975), Bob Dylan
  10. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998), Lauryn Hill
  11. Revolver (1966), The Beatles
  12. Thriller (1982), Michael Jackson
  13. I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You (1967), Aretha Franklin
  14. Exile on Main St. (1972), The Rolling Stones
  15. It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (1988), Public Enemy
  16. London Calling (1979), The Clash
  17. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010), Kanye West
  18. Highway 61 Revisited (1965), Bob Dylan
  19. To Pimp A Butterfly (2015), Kendrick Lamar
  20. Kid A (2000), Radiohead
  21. Born to Run (1975), Bruce Springsteen
  22. Ready to Die (1994), The Notorious B.I.G.
  23. The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967), The Velvet Underground
  24. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967), The Beatles
  25. Tapestry (1971), Carole King
  26. Horses (1975), Patti Smith
  27. Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) (1993), Wu-Tang Clan
  28. Voodoo (2000), D'Angelo
  29. The Beatles (1968), The Beatles
  30. Are You Experienced (1967), Jimi Hendrix
  31. Kind of Blue (1959), Miles Davis
  32. Lemonade (2016), Beyoncé
  33. Back To Black (2006), Amy Winehouse
  34. Innervisions (1973), Stevie Wonder
  35. Rubber Soul (1965), The Beatles
  36. Off the Wall (1979), Michael Jackson
  37. The Chronic (1992), Dr. Dre
  38. Blonde on Blonde (1966), Bob Dylan
  39. Remain in Light (1980), Talking Heads
  40. The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972), David Bowie
  41. Let It Bleed (1969), The Rolling Stones
  42. OK Computer (1997), Radiohead
  43. The Low End Theory (1991), A Tribe Called Quest
  44. Illmatic (1994), Nas
  45. Sign o' the Times (1987), Prince
  46. Graceland (1986), Paul Simon
  47. Ramones (1976), Ramones
  48. Exodus (1977), Bob Marley & The Wailers
  49. Aquemini (1998), OutKast
  50. The Blueprint (2001), Jay-Z
  51. The Great Twenty-Eight (1982), Chuck Berry
  52. Station to Station (1976), David Bowie
  53. Electric Ladyland (1968), The Jimi Hendrix Experience
  54. Star Time (1991), James Brown
  55. The Dark Side of the Moon (1973), Pink Floyd
  56. Exile in Guyville (1993), Liz Phair
  57. The Band (1969), The Band
  58. Led Zeppelin IV (1971), Led Zeppelin
  59. Talking Book (1972), Stevie Wonder
  60. Astral Weeks (1968), Van Morrison
  61. Paid in Full (1987), Eric B. & Rakim
  62. Appetite for Destruction (1987), Guns N' Roses
  63. Aja (1977), Steely Dan
  64. Stankonia (2000), OutKast
  65. Live at the Apollo (1963), James Brown
  66. A Love Supreme (1965), John Coltrane
  67. Reasonable Doubt (1996), Jay-Z
  68. Hounds of Love (1985), Kate Bush
  69. Jagged Little Pill (1995), Alanis Morissette
  70. Straight Outta Compton (1988), N.W.A
  71. RENAISSANCE (2022), Beyoncé
  72. Harvest (1972), Neil Young
  73. Loveless (1991), My Bloody Valentine
  74. The College Dropout (2004), Kanye West
  75. Lady Soul (1968), Aretha Franklin
  76. Super Fly (1972), Curtis Mayfield
  77. Who's Next (1972), The Who
  78. The Sun Sessions (1976), Elvis Presley
  79. Blonde (Frank Ocean album) (2016), Frank Ocean
  80. Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols (1977), Sex Pistols
  81. Beyoncé (2013), Beyoncé
  82. There's a Riot Goin' On (1971), Sly & the Family Stone
  83. Dusty in Memphis (1969), Dusty Springfield
  84. Back in Black (1980), AC/DC
  85. Plastic Ono Band (1970), John Lennon
  86. The Doors (1967), The Doors
  87. Bitches Brew (1970), Miles Davis
  88. Hunky Dory (1971), David Bowie
  89. Baduizm (1997), Erykah Badu
  90. After the Gold Rush (1970), Neil Young
  91. Darkness on the Edge of Town (1978), Bruce Springsteen
  92. Axis: Bold as Love (1967), The Jimi Hendrix Experience
  93. Supa Dupa Fly (1997), Missy Elliott
  94. Fun House (1970), The Stooges
  95. Take Care (2011), Drake
  96. Automatic for the People (1992), R.E.M.
  97. Master of Puppets (1986), Metallica
  98. Car Wheels on a Gravel Road (1998), Lucinda Williams
  99. Red (2012), Taylor Swift
  100. Music from Big Pink (1968), The Band