This is the 11th post in this series. Click here to start from the beginning: Inhailer's Top 500 Albums of All-Time: (#500--476)
Every Friday, Inhailer is counting down our totally objective, completely undisputed, most-correct list of the Top 500 albums of all time. We're doing so in bite-size chunks of 25 albums (nobody has the energy in their thumbs to scroll through 500 albums in one sitting). Last week we continued our countdown with the likes of King Crimson, John Cale, and Outkast. This week we continue with Nos. 250-226. The ask was simple: excluding compilation albums, what are the 500 best albums of all-time, ranked? Here's the eleventh list in the countdown:
250. Jesus and Mary Chain - Pyschocandy (1985)
The Reid brothers drown in a buzzing fury of guitar feedback, forming a fusion of '60s pop and '70s alternative.
249. Cibo Matto - Viva! La Woman (1996)
One of the earliest trip hop records, Miho Hatori delivers a haunting package of tender vocals over a moonlight synth.
248. Buffalo Tom - Big Red Letter Day (1993)
Alternative rock found the most pensive, nuanced version of itself in Buffalo Tom's fourth record.
247. U2 - Achtung Baby (1991)
After the rootsy albums that came before it, Brian Eno and the band fully-adopted industrial rock, abandoning acoustic studio work in the process.
246. Aretha Franklin - Aretha: Lady Soul (1968)
Eric Clapton, Bobby Womack, and Spooner Oldham back up the Queen of Soul and her unmatched vocal persuasion and emotive capability.
245. Alexander "Skip" Spence - Oar (1969)
After being committed for 6 months due to "psychiatric delusion," Skip Spence stumbled into a Nashville recording studio (playing every instrument) to document his pained, but brilliant artistic vision.
244. Tim Buckley - Goodbye And Hello (1967)
While everyone was getting heavier, Buckley was getting weirder. This landmark piece of psychedelic folk is serene, jazzy, and bizarre.
243. Bill Withers - Just As I Am (1972)
Withers was 33 when he released his debut album, and was still working as a baggage handler at an airport when it hit the Top 40. That's his work lunchbox he's holding.
242. Traffic - John Barleycorn Must Die (1970)
Critical opinion has been mixed on the album. But, critical opinion can be wrong. Winwood/Capaldi's songwriting shines on this expressive, expansive work.
241. Cracker - Cracker (1992)
There are three main ingredients on the album, but they had a lot of help: Jim Keltner and Benmont Tench drop in for pure zest.
240. Okkervil River - The Stage Names (2007)
Will Shelf was unceremonious calling his concept album a concoction of "signals, signs, and bulls**t."
239. Moby - Play (1999)
Moby was so unsatisfied with the first mix of what would become the highest-selling electronica album of all-time that he figured he would have to go back to school to become an architect.
238. The Rolling Stones - Let It Bleed (1969)
Merry Clayton was eight months pregnant when she was called into the studio after midnight to sign backup on "Gimme Shelter." In her curlers, her apocalyptic howl kicked off one of the most complete albums in the Stones' catalog.
237. Hüsker Dü - Candy Apple Grey (1986)
Prolific bandleader Bob Mould showed Warner Brothers his stuff was more than ready for a major label debut.
236. Little People - Mickey Mouse Operation (2006)
Driven by a shimmering piano, this downtempo instrumental is meditative, cosmic, and charmingly cinematic.
235. The Byrds - Mr. Tambourine Man (1965)
Most people agree that folk rock began the moment the world heard Roger McGuinn's twelve-string introduction of Dylan's first #1 composition.
234. Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010)
Mr. West hit his creative peak with this progressive rap while critical on themes of race and class status.
233. Allen Toussaint - Southern Nights (1975)
Recording this R&B gem in Sea-Saint Studio in New Orleans was akin to recording a lion's roar from inside its mouth.
232. John Lennon - John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band (1970)
Lennon embraced exposure therapy as The Beatles were breaking up, allowing him to record soul-baring art that is still considered to be the first ever 'indie' album.
231. Blondie - Parallel Lines (1979)
The first three tracks on the album are "Hanging on the Telephone," "One Way or Another," and "Picture This." Oh, and don't forget about the smash success "Heart of Glass on Side 2.
230. Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique (1989)
The band's second album was a massive departure from Licensed to Ill and was considered disappointing upon release. Today its considered to "Sgt. Pepper of hip-hop."
229. Horace Silver - Song For My Father (1965)
"My mother was of Irish and Negro descent, my father of Portuguese origin," says Silver of his family ancestry. The lineage went go on to create one of the most essential hard bop albums ever.
228. Nina Simone - Pastel Blues (1965)
Although she did not compose a track on the album, she makes all of them undoubtably hers. Her sprawling take on Sinnerman is the best album closer ever.
227. Teenage Fanclub - Bandwagonesque (1991)
Nobody beat out Nirvana in 1991 until Spin declared the power pop masterpiece the dark horse album of the year.
226. Bruce Springsteen - Born to Run (1975)
After his first two records had been largely overlooked, Born to Run told Springsteen's quest to break free from the forsaken turnpikes of New Jersey.
Want to listen to our choice cuts from this list? Follow our countdown playlist on Spotify!
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