If Iron Maiden’s ‘The Number Of The Beast’ Is The Best British Album Ever, What’s The Best American?
Longboats have been sighted, the evidence of war has begun
Many Nordic fighting men, their swords and shields all gleam in the sun
Call to arms, defend yourselves, get ready to stand and fight for your lives
Judgment day has come around, so be prepared, don’t run, stand your ground
So begins the greatest British album of all-time, Iron Maiden’s The Number of the Beast, at least according to those who responded to a survey put out by British retailer HMV. Number, which was released in 1982 and was the first album from the group to feature lead singer Bruce Dickinson, finished with an overwhelming 9.18% of the vote. That may not seem like much, but considering the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band got 5.69% and finished third, it’s actually pretty impressive. (Depeche Mode’s Violator was second.)
Now, I really like The Number of the Beast – every track escalates perfectly to that F*CK YEAH moment every metal song needs – but do I think it’s the best British album ever? No. I’d rank The Smiths, Rubber Soul, The White Album, Live at Leeds, The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society, London Calling, Station to Station…let’s just say I’d rank a lot of albums ahead of Number. But that’s the thing: taste is subjective, blah blah blah. So, I don’t want to talk about that — instead, I’m interested in, if some company did a nationwide poll here in the States to determine the Greatest American Album of All-Time, what would win?
To give you an idea of what people might say, I looked at the Best Albums Ever lists of 14 notable publications (note: not country-specific), and marked down what finished first and where the first American album placed. Only twice did something that was recorded by a “U.S. band” finish at the top.
Also, NME really loves the Stone Roses.
Rolling Stone‘s Top 500 Albums of All-Time
#1. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band by the Beatles
#2. Pet Sounds by the Beach Boys
VH1′s Top 100 Albums of All-Time
#1. Revolver by the Beatles
#2. Nevermind by Nirvana
NME‘s 100 Best Albums of All-Time
#1. The Stone Roses by the Stone Roses
#2. Doolittle by Pixies
Virgin All-Time Top 1,000 Albums
#1. Revolver by the Beatles
#6. Automatic for the People by R.E.M.
The Definitive 200 by the National Association of Recording Merchandisers
#1. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band by the Beatles
#3. Thriller by Michael Jackson
Q’s Top 100 Greatest Music Albums
#1. OK Computer by Radiohead
#3. Automatic for the People by R.E.M.
Mojo‘s 100 Greatest Albums of All-Time
#1. Pet Sounds by the Beach Boys
Melody Maker’s Top 100 Greatest Music Albums
#1. The Queen is Dead by the Smiths
#3. Nevermind by Nirvana
The Guardian’s 100 Best Albums Ever
#1. What’s Going On by Marvin Gaye
ABC’s Top 100 Albums
#1. The Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd
#2. Grace by Jeff Buckley
Channel 4’s Top 100 Greatest Music Albums
#1. OK Computer by Radiohead
#3. Nevermind by Nirvana
Sound and Vision’s Top 50 Albums of All-Time
#1. Revolver by the Beatles
#2. Highway 61 Revisited by Bob Dylan
Consequence of Sound’s Top 100 Albums Ever
#1. Abbey Road by the Beatles
#2. Pet Sounds by the Beach Boys
So, yeah, not much country, jazz, or rap, the three most American genres out there. If people were called in the middle of the day and were asked to name what they think is the greatest American album ever, I bet Nevermind would place #1. It may not be their favorite and they might not even believe it (the answer to both is In Utero), but that record is always in people’s minds, and I think most folks would say the first thing that came to them.
What would you answer with?
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Nobody’s ever heard of this, but “Trials and Errors” by Magnolia Electric Co.
SUCK IT, OBJECTIVE REALITY!
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, rap bxtches
Over S.O. Compton? Doggystyle? Paul’s Boutique? Nation of Millions? You make a bold statement.
Soundgarden: Badmotorfinger
I had you pegged as a Louder Than Love kind of a guy.
Almost went with that but…..Jesus Christ Pose.
Who will speak for Superunknown? The first time I listened to that album it got me pregnant.
Gold by Ryan Adams.
There’s an American flag on the cover and everything.
It’s about 9/11, right?
It came out just a couple of weeks after 9/11, so “New York, New York” was a coincidence. But I’m pretty sure he used it to raise money for a 9/11 charity.
I kid. That album’s great, as is Heartbreaker. The rest of his output: very, very spotty.
My Internet sarcasm meter is busted today.
But yeah, I think Ryan is too prolific for his own good. He just sort of puts out everything he records, and some of it probably doesn’t need to be released.
I love Ashes and Fire, though.
@Patty great pick. I listened to that album way too much.
Iron Maiden over Led Zeppelin? NEVER! I would have voted Led Zeppelin IV Best British Album Ever. American? KISS Alive!
I would second Zep IV as the best of the Brits.
Are You Experienced?
Next question.
Musically, I hear you but controversial pick as an “American” album.
best british album – spice girls
best american album – britney spears
best North American album – BEIBER ……..my pants just got wetttttttttttttttt
It’s not my favorite, but Born To Run would probably win.
The first one that pops into my head is Tom Petty’s Damn the Torpedoes. I may have to recant that after some thought.
/before I hit “Post” I thought hmmm maybe Nas’ Illmatic should be my pick
Woah. In the morning, while I was thinking about this post, I considered choosing Damn the Torpedeos. It’s just straight-forward, no frills rock ‘n’ roll. Other potential choices: anything by Superchunk.
GREAT album.
This is a pretty impossible question, but because I don’t expect anyone else to say it (and also because I listened to it again recently) my vote goes to The Score by The Fugees.
Hard to argue against Illmatic either, as Jarret Myer mentioned above.
I wouldn’t argue too much with The Score. I might go with Enter The Wu-Tang instead.
Best British album, I would go with Animals or Disraeli Gears.
the Rocky 4 soundtrack is the greatest American album ever.
Suddenly I hear Norm McDonald saying “Frank Stallone!” in my head.
this question is damn near impossible. i started looking at buddy holly, dylan, and then the ramones. you can’t have this discussion without tom petty or the beach boys. the problem is that this question is soooo subjective. what is the criteria? do you give bonus points for how old the album is/how well it holds up? influence on other artists could factor as well. wouldn’t you just base it on units moved? isn’t that the definition of best?
whatever, my vote is for king missile-happy hour.
I like Iron Maiden but they aren’t even in my top 10 metal acts. I don’t like the Beatles but I understand people’s attachment to them. I’m totally burnt out on Nirvana.
Here are my current top 3, given that the human brain is fallible and that I’ll probably remember something else in ten minutes….
#1… AC/DC – Back in Black
#2… Soundgarden – Badmotorfinger (Good call, Chino… It didn’t pop into mind first but it should have)
#3… Queensrych – Operation Mindcrime
Which come to think of it makes Badmotorfinger my #1 “American” album, Mindrime #2, and probably Alice-in-Chains “Dirt” at #3.
Dirt would be my personal pick, but that’s because I’m an Alice in Chains junkie (no pun intended)
I can’t argue against Highway 61 Revisited or Nevermind for America, both albums were game changers.
Rap album is definitely Aquemini.
The Brits confuse me. The Beatles are obviously pop favorites, but nowhere to be found are The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd or Led Zeppelin. Most of those three bands’ albums are better than anything Iron Maiden put out.
This is completely subjective so I’m just going to put down American Records that caused a before/after I heard it in my life.
1. Band of Gypsies
2. Master of Puppets
3. Straight Outta Compton
I like the before/after way of looking at this. The Stooges’s Fun House made me realize that “classic rock” was a lie I’d been told for 25 years.
But American album of all time you probably have to go Dylan. And England does not deserve the Rolling Stones. Fuck it, Exile wasn’t recorded there anyway.
I’m going with the album that three of those “Top Albums” polls listed as the best American album: Pet Sounds.
That album helped reinvent what we expect from an album. To quote Brian Wilson, it was “all good stuff.” It’s the album that inspired (and challenged) The Beatles to write Sgt. Pepper.
If not, Pet Sounds, then Smile by Brian Wilson, or Weezer’s Pinkerton.