Top 10 albums of all time, voted by BBC Radio 2 listeners:
1. Coldplay - Rush Of Blood To The Head (2002)
2. Keane - Hopes and Fears (2004)
3. Duran Duran - Rio (1982)
4. Pink Floyd - The Dark Side Of The Moon (1973)
5. Dido - No Angel (1999)
6. The Rolling Stones - Sticky Fingers (1971)
7. The Pet Shop Boys - Actually (1987)
8. The Beatles - Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
9. U2 - The Joshua Tree (1987)
10. Queen - A Night At The Opera (1975)
All polls are open to abuse and may not be indicative of wider trends beyond the audience sample. That said, I've noticed a few trends recently in British musical tastes. Random observations:
Queen's popularity is on the wane. They were always mroe famous for singles than albums but even Bo Rap is not appearing at the top of many polls these days. There may be many reasons for this but I would suggest dreadful post-Mercury collaborations are tarnishing "Queen's" memory.
Why does Pink Floyd's The Dark Side Of The Moon get so much praise when Wish You Were Here is a far better album?
U2 will be forgotten about 10 years from now. Their music does not have lasting impact and the only reason they appear on this list is that BBC R2's audience is the older listener.
I am at a loss to explain the popularity of Keane, Duran Duran and Dido. Fan manipulation similar to Adam Lambert fan behaviour perhaps?
I am surprised Bat Out of Hell isn't on there, as it's tailored to R2's audience. Perhaps Meatloaf's recent bizarre behaviour is also tarnishing his memory (e.g. supporting Mitt Romney; that awful documentary about his backstage on tour routines).
Aside from Dido, the absence of albums by solo artists. Paul Simon's Graceland for example, or Elton John's Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. Weird.
Anyway, these are random observations and not scientific conclusions. Feel free to add to them.
Bo Rhap? It topped the nations favourite only a few months ago, and Freddie was well received at the 2012 Olympics.
That's an odd top ten anyway, especially looking at the top three. I wouldn't pay too much attention to that. Besides, it's not like Queen aren't in there.
And -
"Why does Pink Floyd's The Dark Side Of The Moon get so much praise when Wish You Were Here is a far better album?"
Because it's not.
Holly2003 wrote: Queen's popularity is on the wane. There may be many reasons for this but I would suggest dreadful post-Mercury collaborations are tarnishing "Queen's" memory .
- absolutely - 100-million percent agreement - Dr May has had no taste-compass with his music decisions in almost all of that time
Holly2003 wrote: Why does Pink Floyd's The Dark Side Of The Moon get so much praise when Wish You Were Here is a far better album?.
legend. people in high-school (grammar school, me) at that time were immersed in that album. no doubt WYWH is a much better album - i prefer it, but DSOTM is much more accessible to the casual listener
Holly2003 wrote: U2 will be forgotten about 10 years from now. Their music does not have lasting impact and the only reason they appear on this list is that BBC R2's audience is the older listener.
generally, yes agreed. but Joshua Tree and Rattle & Hum are good albums, which is why they'll still be remembered in the same way as queen are
Holly2003 wrote: I am at a loss to explain the popularity of Keane, Duran Duran and Dido. Fan manipulation similar to Adam Lambert fan behaviour perhaps?
- just imbeciles, that's all, or a R2 inside job - because some of those artists have got "interviews/exclusives scheduled?"
Holly2003 wrote: I am surprised Bat Out of Hell isn't on there, as it's tailored to R2's audience.
yes. a glaring omission on all scores. an epic album - as was fleetwood mac's rumours
Holly2003 wrote: Aside from Dido, the absence of albums by solo artists. Paul Simon's Graceland for example, or Elton John's Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. Weird.
and nothing by Costello - also on the omissions note why no other beatles album? always SPLHCB - no abbey rd, or revolver
I'm always surprised when I see these lists at the relative lack of cross over with what I would consider my top 10. Individual tastes matter greatly of course, but still when you ask enough people you expect the wisdom of the crowd principle to pick up at least a broad theme of the zeitgeist. But Duran Duran? Christ, I didn't even buy that album at the time! Albums like Rumors, Bat Out of Hell, Graceland, Boston and others though I've probably bought 12 or 15 times in combined total between loss, physical damage or availability in a new format. There are only like three or four albums on that list that I consider must haves, always, for me. With regard to Floyd, I also prefer WYWH though recognize DSOTM as a classic that has in part earned it's brilliant reputation and in part benefited from the meme of it's brilliant reputation, somewhat like Queen at Live Aid. On Meat Loaf, I can live with a guy from Texas singing horribly all for the love of Republicanism and Mitt Romeny but his freak out on celebrity apprentice was utterly insane. link
But in his heydey, man did he leave us some treasure. link
Senna wrote: U2 not being remembered in ten years. I take it you don't like them then?
I have 4 albums. I really like Zooroopa. Achtung Baby is okay. Aside from that, their music is all a bit basic and boring. 4-chord stuff, rearranged for different songs and masked by electronic effects. I've never really understood how or why they got so big, except that they were radio-friendly and America embraced their paddywhackery (in the same way they embraced The Cranberries, who were godawful bad).
But you're missing the point: it's not whether I like them or not -- in fact, I'm quite partial to a bit of 90s nostalgia a la Duran Duran -- it's why they're on the top 10 album list. Can you honestly say Rio deserves to be up there? U2's Joshua Tree is decidedly average, although it sold bucketloads at the time. Maybe it has some lasting value I'm missing, hence the invitation to respond.
I love Keane. They are my favorite band active today. Of course Queen is my favorite overall, but Keane is fantastic. This list? Interesting to say the least, considering it's ALL-TIME.
You British always have better music than us Americans. :)
I do agree with the popularity of Queen suffering a bit. I guess I'll just keep seeing The Beatles and Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd remain in the spotlight here and wonder where/why Queen continues to miss the mark?
Holly I agree with some of your observations but not the U2 thing, no lasting impact, forgotten in ten years, paddywhackery?? just a few semi talented Dubs who lucked out I guess. Why couldnt it have been Cruella de ville, tell me, why?! Anyway good to see ColdPlay or U2 mark 2 as I like to call them get the no.1 album.