Let me start off by saying that as an aspiring music journalist, I am also therefore a nerd who likes to make lists. What I am not is a hater. None of overrated albums on this list are, in fact, bad. Truth be told, they’re all very good, classics even, but their supposed grandeur has been a bit overblown. Filler has been forgiven and shortcomings have been overlooked. Sometimes epic record sales can make an album seem larger than life. Whatever the reason, each of the following has been hailed as a defining moment in music history when, frankly, they aren’t all they’re cracked up to be.
In any case, the point of this list is not to dis these albums (you should know and love all of them), but rather to hopefully introduce the causal listener to some other records that are just as great and in many cases even more deserving of love. That said, feel free to tell me all about how I’m an idiot in the comments section.
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5) Michael Jackson: Thriller
There is little doubt why Thriller gets the attention it does. It sold a bajillion copies and it’s practically a time capsule of what it was like to be alive in the early 80s. Quincy Jones’ production is mind-blowingly good. And even I have to admit, every song on this album is unforgettable. The problem is, unforgetable isn’t always a good thing.
“Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’,” “Billie Jean,” and “Baby Be Mine,” are stunning. Still, and here’s where some people are going to want to punch me in the dick, there are just as many moments on this record when Michael Jackson dives headlong into schmaltz. I, for one, don’t ever need to hear a lot of the tracks on this album ever again, “Thriller” especially. It offends on a level that I cannot fully articulate. Something about it reeks of Disney to me (though the video is still pretty great). Other examples of this record’s corniness are “Human Nature” and the (unintentionally?) hilarious duet with Paul McCartney, “The Girl is Mine.” Both of which have assumed their proper place on adult contemporary radio where all across America they are played by CEOs at a soft volume in corner offices and yachts.
Ultimately, it’s really hard to fault Thriller, which to be honest, is pretty terrific. It is laughable, though, that an album this campy is often hailed as the greatest musical achievement of the 80s. It’s not even the best R&B record of the 80s. For proof, check Prince’s discography: the best of the bunch, Dirty Mind, is so superior to Thriller it boggles the mind.
Janet Jackson too has always made bolder and more relevant records than her brother (and without the child-molester baggage that we’ve inexplicably forgiven of him). 1986’s excellent Control predicted New Jack Swing by half a decade and is far less cheesy and much more solid than any of Michael’s work.
Quincy Jones did better things too. As any Michael Jackson fan can tell you, Off The Wall is where it’s at. Even more on the D.L. is that Jones produced another of the 80s finest R&B albums: George Benson’s Give Me The Night (definitely not an overrated album). This completely superb record has been forgotten by history perhaps because it has an unashamed adult contempo vibe and was influenced by disco at a time when the genre was suffering a tremendous amount of backlash. The point is, 33 years on, Give Me the Night, sounds much fresher than Daft Punk and remains Quincy Jones’ finest hour.
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4) Marvin Gaye: What’s Going On
I’ll tell you “what’s going on”: this thing has A LOT of filler. Sure, and this cannot be overstated, three of the best soul cuts ever made are on this record. What about the other ⅔ of it, though? It’s almost as if Gaye had one really good idea that worked for three tracks, then realized he had to finish an entire album. So he did what any of us would do, he used the same formula over and over again, with diminished returns. It’s not that songs like “Save The Children,” and “Wholly Holy” are bad, there’s just nothing about them that grabs you either.
Should you ignore this record? Of course not! Were there better R&B records in the early 1970s? You bet your sweet ass there were. In fact, there’s so many that I’m just going to list a bunch of them (starting with the most obvious ones):
Sly and the Family Stone: There’s A Riot Goin’ On
Stevie Wonder: Innervisions and Talking Book.
Curtis Mayfield: Curtis, Roots, and especially Superfly
Al Green: Let’s Stay Together, I’m Still In Love With You, and Call Me.
Isaac Hayes: Black Moses and Hot Buttered Soul.
The Temptations: Sky’s The Limit.
The Delfonics: Self-Titled.
Esther Phillips: From A Whisper To A Scream.
Terry Callier: What Color Is Love and I Just Can’t Help Myself.
Labelle: Nightbirds.
Allen Touissaint: Southern Nights.
Bobby Womack: Understanding.
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3) Nirvana: Nevermind
Oh no I didn’t!!! Oh yes I did. Released on September 23rd, 1991, a lot of people act like Nevermind was the triumphant, out of nowhere, return of punk (it wasn’t). Or like “Grunge” was some stylistic improvement on punk rock (nope). Or as if nothing like it had ever been made before (puh-lease!). Or that it was the best record of the 1990s (not even close). It wasn’t even the best record released that day. That distinction goes quite easily to A Tribe Called Quest’s Low End Theory.
All that said, Nevermind was the jam. It just wasn’t as groundbreaking as a lot of people would have you believe. Especially when you consider that the The Pixies, Sonic Youth, Fugazi and especially Talk Talk had already done everything Nirvana did (but better) prior to Cobain and Co. hitting the scene.
What Nirvana did accomplish was bring a certain style of music to MTV and therefore the masses. If you want to call that a positive achievement, that is. They also had a big hand in dealing the coup de grâce to hair metal, for which we all owe them a debt of gratitude. Then again, they also ushered in a long period of horrible “Alternative” music: Pearl Jam, Primus, Rancid, Creed, Soundgarden, and … oh yeah, *sigh* Nickelback. Not everything they paved the way for was awful (Smashing Pumpkins, PJ Harvey, Weezer and Radiohead were pretty awesome) but all things considered, the great bands that came after Nirvana would have probably came anyway and Nevermind might have very well caused more harm than good to popular music. Just sayin’.
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2) The Beatles: Abbey Road
You know what? Forget all the talk lamenting The Beatles’ break up. They called it quits at exactly the right time. The fact is,The Beatles were about as relevant in 1969 as Radiohead is now. Which isn’t to suggest that we should forget their many great achievements. We should not, however, pretend like Abbey Road is one of them. McCartney’s medley of a second half is often fun but ultimately gutless and the first side contains two tracks so bad that they made “Yellow Submarine” look like “She Said, She Said.” The biggest clue of all that this is The Beatles weakest and most overrated album: the two best songs on it were written by George Harrison.
In retrospect, pop music was going in a million different (and interesting) directions in 1969 but none of them were where The Beatles were headed. First of all, see what I wrote about the early 70s soul scene above. Second, Americana was exploding. Bob Dylan had completely reinvented himself on the brilliant Nashville Skyline. Gram Parsons was only beginning to find his sound, as was Neil Young. Townes Van Zandt had just given the world the best country record since Patsy Cline. Bowie, T-Rex and The Stooges were laying the foundation for glam and punk and the The Velvet Underground, Nick Drake, and Scott Walker were making music so ahead of it’s time that it’s influence wouldn’t fully be realized for over a decade. Lennon/McCartney, on the other hand, were giving us “Mean Mr. Mustard.” Pardon me for not giving that much of a fuck.
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1) Eminem: The Marshall Mathers LP
Okay. I lied when I said that none of overrated albums are dreadful. This one is quite heinus actually. Yet it is beloved by some otherwise savvy music lovers I know. This is why I’ve decided to give it the well-deserved distinction as easily the most overrated album of all time. It’s not compete shit. The production, handled in large part by Dr. Dre, is excellent (if a bit hokey). That doesn’t compensate for the presence of Eminem though.
I used to wonder why Dre would lend his name to something so weak. The fact is, Dre’s tendency to fuck with charismatic hacks was not unprecedented (see also Snoop Dogg, and note that Doggystyle almost made this list). No one ever accused Dre of being stupid. Propping up Eminem was perhaps the shrewdest move of his entire career; dude made a fuckton of cash selling this trash to a lot of people who were otherwise scared of rap music. That alone makes his involvement in this enterprise, if not ballin’, at least understandable.
I’ve often wondered if there’s something I’m missing here. I’ve heard people say that Em had a unique style of rapping that was hugely influential. Perhaps it was. All I know is, I have a tremendous amount of difficulty sitting through this insufferable prick’s verses.
Full disclosure, in 2000 I didn’t like hip hop–at all. You can fault me for that, but in retrospect (and as someone who loves rap now) it’s clear who Dre was trying to appeal to with this bonehead, who raps more about beating women on this thing than he does about any other subject. Furthermore, if Eminem hasn’t proven himself to be a complete douche in the years since this release then you haven’t been paying attention.
What follows is a non-exhaustive list of hip hop albums from around the same time that should prove to anyone with taste that Eminem wasn’t influencing any artists worth their salt.
The Soulquarians: D’Angelo, Slum Village, Erykah Badu, and Common
Ghostface Killah: Supreme Clientele
Jay-Z: The Blueprint
Outkast: Stankonia
Missy Elliott: Supa Dupa Fly
Dead Prez: Let’s Get Free
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