Side Quest: The Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time

Every few years the Rolling stone put out a curated list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. I have toyed with the idea of listening to them all in the past but backed off. Adding challenge to an enjoyable pastime is often a good way to spoil the party. However, recently me and a few friends got started making our way through the IMDB top 250 film list. It has been hugely enjoyable to be pushed into a position where you dive into something you wouldn't necessarily have chosen to watch at your own volition. Then, thoroughly enjoy the film.

Now, 500 albums is a lot of albums. We are not watching the top 250 films more than once. However, to fully appreciate a whole album, you need to listen to it multiple times and often read the lyrics whilst listening or listen to the album in multiple settings. Letting an album grow on you can be a big part of the experience. So there is no time frame for this side quest. Me and friend who I was discussing the list with decided we listen to each album for as long as we needed, then only when both of us are ready to move on, do we get the next album off the shelf.

What makes a great album?

Is it the instrumentation, lyricism, influence, impact, production. Something which only an individual can answer for themselves only.

I will be writing a review of each album. Then trying to give them my own rank and try justify that rank. The list of reviews will be on the music section of my blog.

The desired outcome of this activity is to force me to listen to music which others enjoy and I have overlooked in one way or another. Hopefully I can find some real gems amongst this selection of music some "randoms" decided where the greatest of all time.