Thank you all. Thanks to everyone that messaged me, liked any story, shared their thoughts, laughed at a joke, or sent their ideas over. It seriously means the world, and this was genuinely so extremely fun to write. Even more thanks to everyone that’s dedicated some time to listening to albums on here, and shared their experience with me. Special thanks to Artie & Liam, who both wrote some absolutely fantastic reviews. Shout out to Ben May who guessed 10/30 albums in the top 30.

Music is so extremely special. It’s how we use art to spend time. Music is supposed to be a direct way to communicate an experience and emotions in a way that is so raw you have to contort your voice or use new tools to explain it. I hope somewhere on this list there is an album or song that makes you feel that power and raw feeling. I hope you can find music that makes you feel emotion so raw your own lived experience can expand.

Some additional thoughts:

• People asked me all the time if it was harder to do the albums in the 1 to 20. It wasn’t. That territory it mostly reserved for stuff that has really stood the test of time, or albums that we know will. What was VERY hard was the 80 – 100 – there’s so many albums that are excellent and worth mentioning I could have probably easily done a top150 instead.
• The most LIKED album on Instagram was Big Thief’s Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You (17 likes). Had no idea ya’ll messed with Big Thief like that.
• The whole “2 albums per artist” rule was very directly imposed. A bunch of people who knew me well asked if it was self-imposed for Kanye, but it was actually imposed for Pink Floyd. Pink Floyd has 4 albums that can and easily should make lists like this. The Beatles also have 4 if you’re a White Album fan. If you’re a sicko: Danny Brown has 3, Swans has 3, Charli XCX has 3, Young Thug fans argue he’d have like 6, New Order is kinda Joy Division so they actually have 4, you can see how semantics can blow this up fast.
• A lot of you picked up on how I heavily emphasized different genres. I do wish I included something from the indie sleaze era (probably AM), LA punk (X’s Las Angeles), or another really excellent r&b or vocal record. I have no idea what I would have cut. There is no full album from the soundcloud-era of hip hop that I think will make it on these lists, and it’s a shame.
  • Lil Peep and Juice Wrld have as many horrible songs as they do good ones, but I’m of a firm believer they would have released a classic by now.
• I will not be doing any other list anytime soon. I might do a revisit of this in like 5ish years.
• A few people asked what my top songs ever would look like. It’s genuinely impossible to try and even rank 100+ individual songs, but my top10 would be something like:
  • Purple Rain, When Doves Cry, I Want You (She’s So Heavy), Ms. Jackson, m.A.A.d city, A Day in the Life, Runaway, Bad Romance, Age of Consent, Forever, Adam’s Song, The End of Heartache, Juicy

Some albums I recommend you listen to by artists that were on the list:

• David Bowie: Low
• Pink Floyd: Animals
• Pink Floyd: The Wall
• Any Beatles record between A Hard Day’s Night and Let it Be
• Kanye: Yeezus
• Kanye: The Life of Pablo
• Danny Brown: Atrocity Exhibition
• Outkast: Aquemini
• MF DOOM: mmmmfoood
• Fiona Apple: Fetch the Bolt Cutters
• System of a Down: Steal This Album!
• Rage Against the Machine: The Battle of Los Angeles
• Nirvana: In Utero
• A Tribe Called Quest: Midnight Marauders
• A Tribe Called Quest: The Low End Theory
• Radiohead: Kid A
• Carly Rae Jepsen – EMOTION B-Sides
• My Chemical Romance – Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge
• Lady Gaga – Dawn of Chromatica (I cannot believe she released this)
• Charli XCX – Charli
• Charli XCX – brat
• Bruce Springsteen – Born to Run
• Bruce Springsteen – The River
• Parkway Drive – Horizons
• Swans – Soundtracks fo rthe Blind
• Swans – The Seer
• The Wonder Years – The Hum Goes on Forever
• New Order – Power Corruption and Lies
• Deafheaven – New Bermuda
• Ween – Chocolate & Cheese