50 Fun Facts About Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums

Which 1967 album, with a cover crowd of famous faces designed by Peter Blake, topped Rolling Stone's 2003 list?

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band held first place again in 2012, then fell to 24th when the list was rebuilt from a new vote in 2020.

Which Marvin Gaye album, a song cycle narrated by a returning Vietnam veteran, topped Rolling Stone's 2020 list?

What's Going On rose from sixth place in 2003 to first in 2020, in a revision where rap albums figured three times as much as before.

Which 1969 album, its cover showing four bandmates on a zebra crossing, ranked fifth on Rolling Stone's 2020 list?

Abbey Road rose from 14th in 2012 to fifth in 2020; it was the last album its makers recorded together, though another was released after it.

Which Nirvana album, with a swimming baby on its cover, ranked sixth on Rolling Stone's 2020 list?

Nevermind rose from 17th in 2003 to sixth in 2020; its label had hoped it would sell around 250,000 copies.

Which Fleetwood Mac album, made amid the band's romantic breakups, ranked seventh on Rolling Stone's 2020 list?

Rumours jumped from 25th in 2003 to seventh in 2020; John and Christine McVie had divorced shortly before the sessions began.

Which Michael Jackson album, produced by Quincy Jones, ranked 20th on Rolling Stone's 2003 list?

Thriller placed 20th in 2003 and again in 2012, and it remains the best-selling album of all time.

Which Beach Boys album, crafted by Brian Wilson while his bandmates toured, ranked second on Rolling Stone's 2003 list?

Pet Sounds was placed second in recognition of its influence on the album ranked first, and the top of the list stayed unchanged in 2012.

Which artist made the highest-ranking hip-hop album on Rolling Stone's 2020 list, placed 10th overall?

Lauryn Hill's The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, made after the Fugees went on hiatus, credits her with writing and producing almost every track.

Which pop artist designed the banana cover of The Velvet Underground & Nico, 13th on Rolling Stone's 2003 list?

Andy Warhol made the banana a sticker on early pressings, which buyers could peel back to find a flesh-coloured banana underneath.

Which rap group, produced by the Bomb Squad, had the highest-ranked hip-hop album on Rolling Stone's 2003 list?

Public Enemy's It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back placed 48th in 2003, the only hip-hop album in that list's top 100.

Which Prince album, the soundtrack to a 1984 film he starred in, ranked eighth on Rolling Stone's 2020 list?

Purple Rain exists because Prince told his manager he would not renew their contract unless he got to star in a studio film.

Which Bob Dylan album, tied to the breakdown of his marriage to Sara, rose to ninth on Rolling Stone's 2020 list?

Blood on the Tracks climbed from 16th in 2003 to ninth in 2020; its 17 candidate songs were completed on a farm in Minnesota.

Which Stevie Wonder double album leapt from 56th in 2003 to fourth place on Rolling Stone's 2020 list?

Songs in the Key of Life nearly never happened: in 1975 its maker was seriously considering quitting music and emigrating to Ghana.

Whose album Blue, written partly on an Appalachian dulcimer, ranked third on Rolling Stone's 2020 list?

Joni Mitchell made the record after her breakup with Graham Nash, having discovered the dulcimer at the 1969 Big Sur Folk Festival.

Which trumpeter's Kind of Blue, a landmark of modal jazz, ranked 12th on Rolling Stone's 2003 list?

Miles Davis handed each player a set of scales to improvise within, and the magazine called the result one of the most important albums in jazz.

Which Clash album, its cover showing a bassist smashing his guitar, ranked eighth on Rolling Stone's 2003 list?

London Calling was the only record under 40 years old in the 2012 top ten; the bass smashed on its cover went on display at the Museum of London.

Which Rolling Stones album, taped in a villa basement in France, ranked seventh on Rolling Stone's 2003 list?

Exile on Main St. was made after the band left England over unpaid taxes; it slipped to 14th in 2020 but stayed their highest-ranked album.

Which Bob Dylan album, home of the hit single Like a Rolling Stone, ranked fourth on Rolling Stone's 2003 list?

Highway 61 Revisited kept fourth place in 2012 and was re-ranked 18th in 2020; the magazine called it one of those albums that changed everything.

Which band placed four albums in the top ten of Rolling Stone's original 2003 list, including numbers one and three?

The Beatles filled first, third, fifth and tenth place in 2003 and 2012; by 2020 only one of the group's albums was left in the top ten.

Which Bruce Springsteen album, modelled on Phil Spector's Wall of Sound, ranked 18th on Rolling Stone's 2003 list?

Born to Run took sessions stretching from January 1974 to July 1975, six months of them on the title track alone; it stood 21st in 2020.

Which Pink Floyd album, in Storm Thorgerson's prism sleeve, was the band's top entry on Rolling Stone's 2003 list?

The Dark Side of the Moon ranked 43rd in 2003 and 2012 and 55th in 2020; all four members picked the prism from seven sleeve designs.

Whose Tapestry, a winner of four Grammys in 1972, climbed to 25th on Rolling Stone's 2020 list?

Carole King became the first solo female artist to win the Grammy for Record of the Year with the record, her second studio album.

Which punk band's only studio album, the subject of an obscenity case, ranked 41st on Rolling Stone's 2003 list?

Sex Pistols had already been fired from two record labels and banned from playing live in parts of Britain when the album came out.

Which guitarist's debut, Are You Experienced, produced by Chas Chandler, ranked 15th on Rolling Stone's 2003 list?

Jimi Hendrix had struggled as a backing guitarist on the R&B circuit before signing with Chandler in 1966; the album stood 30th in 2020.

Whose debut Horses, produced by former Velvet Underground member John Cale, rose to 26th on Rolling Stone's 2020 list?

Patti Smith recorded the album at Electric Lady Studios in September 1975; it had ranked 44th on both the 2003 and 2012 lists.

Which band's Hotel California, its first album with Joe Walsh, fell from 37th to 118th on Rolling Stone's 2020 list?

Eagles saw the album drop 81 places in the 2020 revision, even though it has sold over 42 million units worldwide.

Which band's Appetite for Destruction, the best-selling debut album in the US, was 62nd on Rolling Stone's 2020 list?

Guns N' Roses held the same position on the 2012 and 2020 lists with the album, which is certified 18 times platinum in the United States.

Which singer's greatest-hits set Legend, the best-selling reggae album ever, ranked 46th on Rolling Stone's 2003 list?

Bob Marley and the Wailers' collection has sold an estimated 27 million copies worldwide; the original list also admitted greatest-hits sets.

Which rapper's Bad Boy Records debut, Ready to Die, ranked 22nd on Rolling Stone's 2020 list?

The Notorious B.I.G. also topped the magazine's ranking of the greatest hip-hop albums with this debut, part-produced by label founder Sean Combs.

Which Nas album, his debut about growing up in the Queensbridge Houses, ranked 44th on Rolling Stone's 2020 list?

Illmatic was chosen by the Library of Congress for the National Recording Registry the year after the 2020 list placed it 44th.

Whose solo debut The Chronic, released on Death Row Records, jumped from 138th to 37th on Rolling Stone's 2020 list?

Dr. Dre built the album on a smooth, bass-heavy production style and the laid-back delivery of a then-unknown Snoop Doggy Dogg.

Which Radiohead album, a turn from guitars to electronic music, ranked 20th on Rolling Stone's 2020 list?

Kid A was also ranked the greatest album of the 2000s by the magazine, after its singer hit writer's block and could not finish songs on guitar.

Which U2 album, with sleeve photos of the band in the American desert, ranked 26th on Rolling Stone's 2003 list?

The Joshua Tree won the Grammy for Album of the Year in 1988, beating records by Whitney Houston among others.

Whose album about Ziggy Stardust, an androgynous rock star sent to Earth, ranked 35th on Rolling Stone's 2003 list?

David Bowie built the loose concept album around his alter ego, a rock star who arrives as a saviour before an impending apocalypse.

Whose album Blonde, released one day after his video album Endless, ranked 79th on Rolling Stone's 2020 list?

Frank Ocean first issued the album in August 2016 as a timed exclusive on the iTunes Store and Apple Music.

Which Beyoncé album, surprise-released with an HBO film of the same name, ranked 32nd on Rolling Stone's 2020 list?

Lemonade arrived with a 65-minute film in April 2016; the magazine praised how it drew on all of the country's music traditions.

Which Kendrick Lamar album, steeped in jazz, funk and soul, ranked 19th on Rolling Stone's 2020 list?

To Pimp a Butterfly earned seven nominations at the 2016 Grammy Awards, winning Best Rap Album and contending for Album of the Year.

Which English singer's second and final studio album, Back to Black, ranked 33rd on Rolling Stone's 2020 list?

Amy Winehouse worked with producers Salaam Remi and Mark Ronson to capture the sound of 1960s girl groups, and won the Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Album.

Whose 1967 album with a hit cover of Otis Redding's Respect leapt from 83rd to 13th on Rolling Stone's 2020 list?

Aretha Franklin made the album as her first for Atlantic, after eight unsuccessful albums of jazz standards at Columbia.

Whose first live album, recorded inside a California state prison, ranked 88th on Rolling Stone's 2003 list?

Johnny Cash taped At Folsom Prison on January 13, 1968; it kept 88th place in 2012 and fell to 164th in the 2020 revision.

Whose compilation The Sun Sessions, produced in Memphis by Sam Phillips, ranked 11th on Rolling Stone's 2003 list?

Elvis Presley made these recordings at Sun in 1954 and 1955; RCA gathered them on this compilation in 1976, and it still ranked 78th in 2020.

Whose Graceland, partly recorded in Johannesburg with local musicians, rose to 46th on Rolling Stone's 2020 list?

Paul Simon began the project in 1984 after becoming fascinated by a bootleg cassette of mbaqanga, South African street music.

Which punk band's self-titled debut, recorded in seven days for $6,400, ranked 33rd on Rolling Stone's 2003 list?

Ramones spent three days on the instruments and four on the vocals; the album slipped to 47th in the 2020 revision.

Which rapper's The Blueprint, released on September 11, 2001, soared to 50th on Rolling Stone's 2020 list?

Jay-Z built the album on soul-based sampling, a contrast with his earlier sound; it had already climbed to 252nd in the 2012 revision.

Whose first live album, recorded in Harlem in 1962 at his own expense, ranked 24th on Rolling Stone's 2003 list?

James Brown and the Famous Flames taped the show at the Apollo Theater on October 24, 1962; the album was re-ranked 65th in 2020.

Whose second album, Astral Weeks, a blend of folk, blues and jazz, ranked 19th on Rolling Stone's 2003 list?

Van Morrison, a Northern Irish singer known until then for pop hits, kept 19th place in 2012 before the album dropped to 60th in 2020.

Whose Voodoo, recorded with the Soulquarians collective, vaulted from 488th to 28th on Rolling Stone's 2020 list?

D'Angelo won the Grammy for Best R&B Album with the record, which had ranked only 488th in 2003 and 481st in 2012.

Which accounting firm devised the points system that weighed votes for 1,600 titles for Rolling Stone's 2003 list?

Ernst & Young weighed the ballots of 273 musicians, critics and industry figures, each of whom had ranked 50 albums.

Which E Street Band member wrote the introduction to the 2005 book edition of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums?

Steven Van Zandt introduced an amended list: some compilation albums had been removed, making room for eight new entries.

Which former Rolling Stone editor answered the 2003 list with Kill Your Idols, a book attacking classic albums?

Jim DeRogatis published the book in 2004; many of the albums its writers argued against had been included in the list.