Sales v critics v fans 3.3: Fans top 100 albums of all time - years

Here's the chart for the fans top 100 albums of all time. (Click to enlarge.)

The structure is similar to the critics chart - but even more concentrated in the golden era. In the critics chart 1968 and 1971 were the biggest years with 6 entries each. Those are also big years for the fans with 7 and 8 entries respectively. But the biggest year is 1969 - with 10 entries!

Rank

Artist

Album

5	The Beatles	Abbey Road
7	King Crimson	In the Court of the Crimson King
40	Led Zeppelin	Led Zeppelin
44	Led Zeppelin	Led Zeppelin II
51	The Velvet Underground	The Velvet Underground
60	Miles Davis	In a Silent Way
67	The Rolling Stones	Let It Bleed
74	Nick Drake	Five Leaves Left
81	Neil Young	Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
84	Frank Zappa	Hot Rats

This is by far the oldest chart - the median release date is 1971! (vs 1977 for the critics and 1987 for sales)

There are only 4 entries from 2000 and beyond - two of them belonging to Radiohead. The latest entry is In Rainbows in 2007. No Adele.

On the face of it, this could suggest the fans on RYM are older and more conservative than the critics or the record buying public. But that theory is shot down when you look at the charts for recent years on RYM. The preponderance of death metal, speed metal, shoegaze, etc suggests this is not an old audience. Maybe the oldies on RYM just outnumber the youngsters - so the old stuff tends to get more votes than the new stuff? But then how to explain the popularity of Radiohead? Maybe Radiohead just has the greatness to cross demographic boundaries and appeals to the oldies as well as the kids. Maybe they don't make 'em like they used to, but Radiohead is a rare exception - a genuinely great band that will stand the test of time.

Sales v critics v fans 3.2: Fans top 100 albums of all time - artists

What artists do the fans like - and how does that compare with the critics' and best seller lists?

The fans list is more concentrated than the other list. 64 entries come from artists with two or more entries vs 51 for the sales chart and 34 for the critics. That kinda makes sense - you'd expect critics to have more diverse interest than fans or record buyers. But I was surprised that the fans were more concentrated than the sales data.

The list of top 100 albums of all time as voted by the fans is here.


1. The Beatles - 6 entries

Despite being deposed from the top slots by Radiohead and Pink Floyd, the Beatles still have the most entries. I suppose they must be ok.

The order is different - but the albums are the same as the critics, except the fans substitute Magical Mystery Tour for Please Please Me. Hard to pass up one of the greatest pieces of psychedelia of all time.

Abbey Road
Revolver
Sgt Pepper
White Album
Rubber Soul
Magical Mystery Tour


2.= Bob Dylan, Pink Floyd - 5 entries

The fans really like their Pink Floyd! The critics gave the nod to only 1 Floyd album, which seems like a travesty. The best seller list had 3.

Bob Dylan
Blood on the Tracks
Highway 61 Revisited
Blonde on Blonde
Bringing it All Back Home
The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan

Pink Floyd
Dark Side of the Moon (#2 Overall)
Wish You Were Here
Animals
Piper At the Gates of Dawn
Meddle


4.= Led Zeppelin, Neil Young, Radiohead, The Rolling Stones - 4 entries

I like the elevation of Neil Young and Radiohead. Compared with the sales chart, the fans drop Houses of the Holy and add Lep Zep I and III.

Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin IV
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin II
Led Zeppelin III

Neil Young
After the Gold Rush
On the Beach
Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
Harvest

Radiohead

OK Computer (#1 Overall)

Kid A

The Bends

In Rainbows

The Rolling Stones
Sticky Fingers
Let It Bleed
Exile on Main Street
Beggars Banquet


8.= Black Sabbath, David Bowie, Miles Davis, Velvet Underground - 3 entries

Yes, yes, yes and yes!

Black Sabbath
Paranoid
Black Sabbath
Master of Reality

David Bowie
Ziggy Stardust
Low
Hunky Dory

Miles Davis
Kind of Blue
In a Silent Way
Betches Brew

The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground & Nico (#3 Overall)
The Velvet Underground
White Light/White Heat


12.= Charles Mingus, Godspeed You Black Emperor!, John Coltrane, Joy Division, King Crimson, Metallica, Nick Drake, Pixies, Talk Talk, The Jimi Hendrix Experience - 2 entries

What a diverse group!


Everyone else - 1 entry

A Tribe Called Quest

Arcade Fire

Can

Creedence Clearwater Revival

DJ Shadow

Elliott Smith

Frank Zappa

Genius/GZA

Leonard Cohen

Love

Marvin Gaye

Megadeth

My Bloody Valentine

Nas

Neutral Milk Hotel

Nirvana

Portishead

Sigur Rós

Slayer

Slint

Sonic Youth

Talking Heads

Television

The Beach Boys

The Clash

The Cure

The Doors

The Kinks

The Smiths

The Stooges

The Who

The Zombies

Tom Waits

Van Morrison

Wu-Tang Clan

Yes

Sales v critics v fans 3.1: Fans top 100 albums of all time

No we turn our attention to the fans top 100 albums of all time, as represented by Rate Your Music in early January, 2014.

The critics top 100 is here and the top 100 by sales is here.

Good news for Radiohead and Pink Floyd fans.

Rank	Artist	Album	Year
1	Radiohead	OK Computer	1997
2	Pink Floyd	The Dark Side of the Moon	1973
3	The Velvet Underground & Nico	The Velvet Underground & Nico	1967
4	Pink Floyd	Wish You Were Here	1975
5	The Beatles	Abbey Road	1969
6	The Beatles	Revolver	1966
7	King Crimson	In the Court of the Crimson King	1969
8	Radiohead	Kid A	2000
9	Led Zeppelin	Led Zeppelin [IV]	1971
10	Miles Davis	Kind of Blue	1959
11	My Bloody Valentine	Loveless	1991
12	Bob Dylan	Highway 61 Revisited	1965
13	John Coltrane	A Love Supreme	1965
14	David Bowie	The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars	1972
15	Black Sabbath	Paranoid	1970
16	Pixies	Doolittle	1989
17	The Beach Boys	Pet Sounds	1966
18	The Beatles	Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band	1967
19	The Doors	The Doors	1967
20	Joy Division	Unknown Pleasures	1979
21	The Clash	London Calling	1979
22	The Beatles	The Beatles [White Album]	1968
23	The Smiths	The Queen Is Dead	1986
24	Nick Drake	Pink Moon	1972
25	Bob Dylan	Blonde on Blonde	1966
26	The Jimi Hendrix Experience	Are You Experienced	1967
27	Talking Heads	Remain in Light	1980
28	Charles Mingus	The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady	1963
29	Television	Marquee Moon	1977
30	Arcade Fire	Funeral	2004
31	Joy Division	Closer	1980
32	Neutral Milk Hotel	In the Aeroplane Over the Sea	1998
33	Pink Floyd	Animals	1977
34	Bob Dylan	Blood on the Tracks	1975
35	The Beatles	Rubber Soul	1965
36	Bob Dylan	Bringing It All Back Home	1965
37	Sonic Youth	Daydream Nation	1988
38	Godspeed You Black Emperor!	Lift Yr. Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven!	2000
39	Neil Young	After the Gold Rush	1970
40	Led Zeppelin	Led Zeppelin	1969
41	Nirvana	Nevermind	1991
42	Metallica	Master of Puppets	1986
43	Wu-Tang Clan	Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)	1993
44	Led Zeppelin	Led Zeppelin II	1969
45	King Crimson	Red	1974
46	Radiohead	The Bends	1995
47	The Jimi Hendrix Experience	Electric Ladyland	1968
48	Tom Waits	Rain Dogs	1985
49	Sigur Rós	Ágætis byrjun	1999
50	Leonard Cohen	Songs of Leonard Cohen	1967
51	The Velvet Underground	The Velvet Underground	1969
52	David Bowie	Low	1977
53	The Who	Who's Next	1971
54	Black Sabbath	Black Sabbath	1970
55	The Cure	Disintegration	1989
56	Black Sabbath	Master of Reality	1971
57	The Rolling Stones	Sticky Fingers	1971
58	The Stooges	Fun House	1970
59	Nas	Illmatic	1994
60	Miles Davis	In a Silent Way	1969
61	Love	Forever Changes	1967
62	Metallica	Ride the Lightning	1984
63	Portishead	Dummy	1994
64	DJ Shadow	Endtroducing.....	1996
65	The Zombies	Odessey and Oracle	1968
66	David Bowie	Hunky Dory	1971
67	The Rolling Stones	Let It Bleed	1969
68	Godspeed You Black Emperor!	F♯A♯∞ (1995-1997)	1997
69	Radiohead	In Rainbows	2007
70	The Beatles	Magical Mystery Tour	1967
71	Miles Davis	Bitches Brew	1970
72	Can	Tago Mago	1971
73	Yes	Close to the Edge	1972
74	Nick Drake	Five Leaves Left	1969
75	The Velvet Underground	White Light / White Heat	1968
76	Genius/GZA	Liquid Swords	1995
77	Neil Young	On the Beach	1974
78	Pixies	Surfer Rosa	1988
79	The Rolling Stones	Exile on Main St.	1972
80	The Kinks	The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Societ	1968
81	Neil Young with Crazy Horse	Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere	1969
82	Slint	Spiderland	1991
83	Pink Floyd	The Piper at the Gates of Dawn	1967
84	Frank Zappa	Hot Rats	1969
85	Marvin Gaye	What's Going On	1971
86	The Rolling Stones	Beggars Banquet	1968
87	Pink Floyd	Meddle	1971
88	Neil Young	Harvest	1972
89	Megadeth	Rust in Peace	1990
90	Talk Talk	Spirit of Eden	1988
91	Charles Mingus	Mingus Ah Um	1959
92	Slayer	Reign in Blood	1986
93	Van Morrison	Astral Weeks	1968
94	Bob Dylan	The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan	1963
95	Talk Talk	Laughing Stock	1991
96	Led Zeppelin	Led Zeppelin III	1970
97	John Coltrane	Giant Steps	1960
98	Creedence Clearwater Revival	Cosmo's Factory	1970
99	Elliott Smith	Either/Or	1997
100	A Tribe Called Quest	The Low End Theory	1991

Sales v critics v fans 2.4: Critics top 100 albums of all time - decades

The critics' chart showing entries in their top 100 albums of all time by decade is nearly the reverse of the sales chart.

• The golden era of 60s and 70s has the most entries, accounting for over half the total.
• There is a downward trend since then - forestalled by a minor resurgence in the 90s.

The album as an art form might not be dead, but it is not in the most robust of health either.

Sales v critics v fans 2.3: Critics top 100 albums of all time - years

Which years were most prolific according to critics, based on their top 100 albums of all time?

The chart tells the story (click to enlarge):

This is very different to the sales chart, with the biggest group of releases coming in the period 1965-1973.

• The first entry is older than the sales chart - 1959 - Miles Davis with Kind of Blue. Still no Sinatra. 
• The biggest years are 1968 and 1971, each with 6 entries:

1968

Aretha Franklin	Lady Soul
The Band	Music From Big Pink
Johnny Cash	At Folsom Prison
The Beatles	The Beatles (White Album)
The Rolling Stones	Beggars Banquet
Van Morrison	Astral Weeks

1971

Carole King	Tapestry
David Bowie	Hunky Dory
Joni Mitchell	Blue
Marvin Gaye	What's Going On
The Rolling Stones	Sticky Fingers
The Who	Who's Next

• The median is 1977 - ten years older than the sales list. 
• The 2000s are not as barren as in the sales list - there are seven entries after 2001, including two in 2011 - 21 by Adele, and the wonderful Let England Shake by PJ Harvey. There are 12 entries from 2000 and beyond.

The age of the blockbuster album may be pretty well over from a sales perspective - but as a creative form it is still far from dead.

Sales v critics v fans 2.2: Critics top 100 albums of all time - artists

What artists do the critics like - and how does that compare with the best seller list?

Unsurprisingly, the critics are not as enamoured with soundtracks as the album buying public. In fact there are no soundtracks on the critics list. Another difference - there are very few greatest hits collections or anthologies in the critics list.

1. The Beatles - 6 entries

No surprise that the Beatles are #1 - but Please Please Me is an interesting inclusion.

Revolver (#1 overall)
White Album (#2 overall)
Abbey Road
Rubber Soul
Sgt Pepper
Please Please Me


2. The Rolling Stones - 5 entries

A fitting acknowledgement of an incredible creative period from 1968 to 1978

Exile on Main Street (#3 overall)
Beggars Banquet
Let It Bleed
Sticky Fingers
Some Girls


3. Bob Dylan - 4 entries

Another incredible creative decade - from 1965 to 1975

Blood on the Tracks
Highway 61 Revisited
Blonde on Blonde
Bringing it All Back Home


4. David Bowie - 3 entries

Ziggy Stardust
Hunky Dory
Low


5.= - 2 entries

Now things really open up...

Blur, Elvis Presley, Joy Division, Michael Jackson, Nirvana, The Band, The Clash, U2


Everyone else - 1 entry

Some very worthy inclusions here. Surprising that Led Zep, Floyd, Radiohead, Neil Young don't record more entries. Tall poppy syndrome?

AC/DC

Adele

Al Green

Amy Winehouse

Arcade Fire

Arctic Monkeys

Aretha Franklin

Beastie Boys

Bob Marley and the Wailers

Bruce Springsteen

Carole King

Chuck Berry

Daft Punk

Doors

Dusty Springfield

Eagles

Eminem

Fleetwood Mac

Guns N' Roses

James Brown

Jay-Z

Jimi Hendrix Experience

John Lennon

Johnny Cash

Joni Mitchell

Kanye West

Lauryn Hill

LCD Soundsystem

Led Zeppelin

Love

Marvin Gaye

Miles Davis

Muddy Waters

My Bloody Valentine

Nas

Neil Young

Oasis

Otis Redding

Patti Smith

Paul Simon

Pink Floyd

Pixies

PJ Harvey

Primal Scream

Prince and the Revolution

Public Enemy

Pulp

Radiohead

Ramones

Robert Johnson

Sly and the Family Stone

Sonic Youth

Stevie Wonder

Suede

Talking Heads

Television

The Beach Boys

The Notorious B.I.G.

The Sex Pistols

The Smiths

The Stone Roses

The Strokes

The Velvet Underground & Nico

The Who

Van Morrison

Wu-Tang Clan

Sales v critics v fans 2.1: Critics top 100 albums of all time

Now its time to shift our focus to the critics.

I started with the top 100 from the Rolling Stone 500 which was compiled in 2009.

"The RS 500 was assembled by the editors of Rolling Stone, based on the results of two extensive polls. In 2003, Rolling Stone asked a panel of 271 artists, producers, industry executives and journalists to pick the greatest albums of all time. In 2009, we asked a similar group of 100 experts to pick the best albums of the 2000s. From those results, Rolling Stone created this new list of the greatest albums of all time."

I combined this with lists published in 2013 by New Musical Express and Entertainment Weekly to create my own meta-list.

Rank	Artist	Album	Year
1	The Beatles	Revolver	1966
2	The Beatles	The Beatles (White Album)	1968
3	The Rolling Stones	Exile on Main Street	1972
4	The Beach Boys	Pet Sounds	1966
5	Nirvana	Nevermind	1991
6	Marvin Gaye	What's Going On	1971
7	The Clash	London Calling	1979
8	The Velvet Underground	The Velvet Underground & Nico	1967
9	Bob Dylan	Blood on the Tracks	1975
10	The Beatles	Abbey Road	1969
11	Stevie Wonder	Innervisions	1973
12	David Bowie	Ziggy Stardust	1972
13	The Beatles	Rubber Soul	1965
14	Bob Dylan	Highway 61 Revisited	1965
15	Joni Mitchell	Blue	1971
16	Fleetwood Mac	Rumours	1977
17	Bruce Springsteen	Born to Run	1975
18	Michael Jackson	Thriller	1982
19	Kanye West	My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy	2010
20	Public Enemy	It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back	1988
21	Patti Smith	Horses	1975
22	Jimi Hendrix Experience	Are You Experienced	1967
23	Love	Forever Changes	1967
24	The Smiths	The Queen is Dead	1986
25	John Lennon	Plastic Ono Band	1970
26	Wu-Tang Clan	Enter the Wu-Tang	1993
27	Radiohead	OK Computer	1997
28	The Who	Who's Next	1971
29	Prince and the Revolution	Purple Rain	1984
30	Arcade Fire	Funeral	2004
31	Bob Dylan	Blonde on Blonde	1966
32	The Rolling Stones	Beggars Banquet	1968
33	Chuck Berry	The Great Twenty-Eight	1982
34	The Sex Pistols	Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols	1977
35	The Rolling Stones	Let it Bleed	1969
36	U2	Achtung Baby	1991
37	Van Morrison	Astral Weeks	1968
38	The Beatles	Sgt Pepper's Lonely hearts Club Band	1967
39	Paul Simon	Graceland	1986
40	Pixies	Doolitle	1989
41	Miles Davis	Kind of Blue	1959
42	Aretha Franklin	Lady Soul	1968
43	Television	Marquee Moon	1977
44	Guns N' Roses	Appetite for Destruction	1987
45	My Bloody Valentine	Loveless	1991
46	Neil Young	After the Gold Rush	1970
47	LCD Soundsystem	Sound of Silver	2007
48	Daft Punk	Discovery	2001
49	Johnny Cash	At Folsom Prison	1968
50	Amy Winehouse	Back to Black	2006
51	Bob Dylan	Bringing it all Back Home	1965
52	David Bowie	Hunky Dory	1971
53	Beastie Boys	Paul's Boutique	1989
54	The Strokes	Is This It	2001
55	Pulp	Different Class	1995
56	Otis Redding	Otis Blue	1965
57	The Stone Roses	The Stone Roses	1989
58	Sonic Youth	Daydream Nation	1988
59	Oasis	Definitely Maybe	1994
60	Michael Jackson	Off the Wall	1979
61	Elvis Presley	The Sun Sessions	1999
62	Sly and the Family Stone	Greatest Hits	1970
63	David Bowie	Low	1977
64	PJ Harvey	Let England Shake	2011
65	Joy Division	Closer	1980
66	Lauryn Hill	The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill	1998
67	Elvis Presley	Sunrise (Anthology)	1999
68	Carole King	Tapestry	1971
69	Adele	21	2011
70	The Rolling Stones	Sticky Fingers	1971
71	AC/DC	Back in Black	1980
72	Al Green	Call Me	1973
73	Arctic Monkeys	Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not	2006
74	Robert Johnson	The Complete Recordings	1990
75	Blur	Parklife	1994
76	James Brown	Live at the Apollo	1963
77	Bob Marley and the Wailers	Catch a Fire	1973
78	The Band	The Band	1969
79	U2	The Joshua Tree	1987
80	Primal Scream	Screamadelica	1991
81	Nas	Illimatic	1994
82	Led Zeppelin	Led Zeppelin	1969
83	Talking Heads	Remain in Light	1980
84	Suede	Dog Man Star	1994
85	The Notorious B.I.G.	Ready to Die	1994
86	Ramones	Ramones	1976
87	Blur	Modern Life is Rubbish	1993
88	Band	Music From Big Pink	1968
89	Dusty Springfield	Dusty in Memphis	1969
90	The Rolling Stones	Some Girls	1978
91	Nirvana	In Utero	1993
92	Jay-Z	The Blueprint	2001
93	Pink Floyd	Dark Side of the Moon	1973
94	Eagles	Hotel California	1976
95	Muddy Waters	The Anthology	2001
96	The Beatles	Please Please Me	1963
97	Joy Division	Unknown Pleasures	1979
98	The Clash	The Clash	1977
99	Eminem	The Marshall Mathers LP	2000
100	Doors	The Doors	1967