Intro

What: This blog will serve as my short form reviews and thoughts on every album in Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time (the 2012 version, which was updated from the original lists in 2003 and 2009).

Why: My friend Tom Osborn, whenever an intern asks what they should be listening to, suggests they work their way through the RS500. I’ve already listened to at least half of these albums in their entirety, many of them multiple times. And I’ve already listened to probably 75% of them at least partially. But it’s time to methodically, systematically, make my way through these albums from start to finish, in order. It’s an exercise in discipline, but also an exercise in attention — one of my main goals this year is to improve my attention, and this is a great way to practice that.

When: As I work my way through each album, but probably not as regularly as I want.

Where: Right here, duh.

How: I’m going to create some ranking systems. This is completely unscientific, but it works for me. Here’s how it works:

1. Scale of 1–5, increments of 0.5 if I feel like it. I can also assign a zero in certain cases where it makes sense.
2. Categories: Overall rating; Level of familiarity (with the release, the artist, etc. prior to my listening)
3. I’ll do my best to include album cover, record label, and year of release
4. I’ll also include a Spotify embed if it exists, or some other form of listening link
5. Notes on how I listened (i.e. format, location, continuity, etc.)
6. Plus any notes or thoughts I might have, in whatever format I choose

Rules: Listen to every album regardless of prior familiarity, front to back, no shuffling.

Preferred: Listen in the foreground, all in one sitting.

No rules: Any listening device is fine, in any location, and transferring between device/location is allowed.

I’d love your feedback as I progress through this journey. Here goes nothin’.