Best Albums By Women

[poorpete]

A tough competition, because I think both are not quite Top 32 worthy, but both are quality albums with just a few issues each. ESG is super fun and a genre I'd describe as garage disco but wikipedia equally describes as dance punk. But it's also very sloppy, which makes it endearing but hardly in the running for "greatest album." Now the Staple Singers has an album with a couple huge hits, some songs that are just as good, and a couple not-so-good-at-all songs. But sloppy, it ain't. It's got the Mussle Shoals players groovin soul with 100% accuracy and, of course, some awesome vocal work by Mavis et al. And I do like my 70s soul music! It also has the most crappy album title of any otherwise-good album. BeAltitude? A play on beatitude? But what's the play? I mean the cover is them on a jet engine, but, what? Is there something more? Was "altitude" a slang in the 70s? Urban dictionary has nothing on it. And BeAltitude: Respect Yourself. "Blessed are the altitudes for they respect themselves." OK, a random forum I found theorizes that altitude means being "above it all". So Respect Yourself = Be Altitude. Ooookay, fine.

Next:
Amy Winehouse – Back To Black
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list ... 2RFb6V_jbw
X-Ray Spex – Germfree Adolescents
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list ... iUre9Vn2xA

[poorpete]

These are two fun, top-tier albums, but Amy edges Poly Styrene by a hair (both had fabulous hair). Take nothing away from Poly and her band, who seemingly come out of nowhere and then quickly gave up on the industry, releasing one single then one album. She's not a powerhouse singer like Amy, but her lyrics and attitude (which hit similar notes to The Clash, in a good way) are better. And I love their fun punk style with a single sax as the lead instrument. Of the 70s punk albums on this list, it might be my fav.

Next:
Tracy Chapman – Tracy Chapman
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list ... cxQMWKkiOM
Sheila E. - Glamorous LIfe
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list ... Z54xOBJTmw

[poorpete]

This quick album has very little filler and a bunch of songs that I keep thinking is my favorite. Right now it's Oliver's House, but tomorrow it'll probably be "Next Time Wipe The Lipstick of Your Collar" or "The Belle of St. Marks" (a song written and produced by Prince about how mysterious and sexy he is). "Shortberry Strawcake" is the weakest, but it's still very listenable and over soon enough. The percussion is good but surprisingly never the focus (I'm still amazed how albums-by-drummers are so collaborative and not-show-offy, unlike albums by lead guitarists -- Santana a rare exception). But its hard to beat Tracy Chapman's amazing debut, which sounds original and folky and new and old with each listen.

Alanis Morissette – Jagged Little Pill
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list ... AqInJnhR1Y
Grace Jones – Nightclubbing
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list ... t-S8e1C-RY

[poorpete]

A tough competition as they are both high quality albums. Alanis' album is full of 90s pop alternative hits, it's absurd. But the non-singles are just as impressive. Sure, some of the earworms are agitating (my brain has been stuck on the line "wine dine sixty-nine" for days now) but we're to the point that we're beyond the oversaturation of Alanis -- I think we're beyond the backlash -- what backlash you say? When Rolling Stone first released their greatest albums list in 2005 they put Jagged Little Pill at #327. When they redid it in 2012 they kicked it off the list entirely, one of the few albums they kicked out (that wasn't at the bottom of the list or a greatest hits), and the lack of albums by women on the list was already an issue (that NPR sought to resolve). Anywho. #327 sounds about right.

Bonnie Raitt – Nick Of Time
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list ... 7-uM5ErXeU
Joanna Newsom – Ys
https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=cJ1yF ... ture=share
(Will "Ys" continue its rampage or get taken down by the only album I bought on CD in the last two years?)

[poorpete]

[Phoebe]

Okay well now I've got to go listen to more Joanna Newsom. I can handle this task.

[poorpete]

This is sandwiched in the album between "Be My Baby" and "Baby I Love You" and thus is the Empire Strikes Back of the Baby trilogy. These are mostly high quality pop songs, produced and written by Phil Spektor during his "I'm not insane yet" phase. Only an insane person would brag his production style made Brian Wilson insane. Oh and the whole every insane else about his life. Anyways this is a best album by women list so these girls have a great sound, and I'm happy Ronnie continued well after the end of her group and the end of her marriage to noted insane man Phil Spektor.

Missy Elliott – Supa Dupa Fly
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list ... DOaW_Fn56k
Cyndi Lauper – She's So Unusual
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list ... Cb0GdqDYZE

[poorpete]

Scandal strikes as Missy falls.

Now as of the start of this bracket I figured Cyndi had the chance to upset, but it wasn't predestined, as Missy is a fun listen still and She's So Unusual sorta falters into over-sillyness with its Betty-Boop-imitations in the last two songs. I never really got Betty Boop or her fetishness. Feel either it must be due for a comeback or will never come back. Anyhow. Missy really shines here, and she's really good at hooks and rhymes, but it didn't speak to me and much as Timbaland's production felt to me. So refreshing and so re-imitated. I get why this is #5, but there are many more falters here than on She's So Unusual, and as much as Cindi can grate when she's not great (and sometimes both at the same time), I feel She's So Unusual is the better ALBUM. It feels like a complete whole. Anywho, a tough one. Though Missy no doubt will live on in the losers round where it will face.... Solange?! Oh no, poor Missy. I'm sorry. Please don't hit me with a hee.

Nina Simone – Nina Simone Sings the Blues
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list ... HplewhLHYk
Kate Bush – Hounds Of Love
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list ... 1EK2XLmJLE

[poorpete]

I remember being told in high school, after completing my Beatles collection, that The Rolling Stones were a singles band, and I shouldn't bother with the albums. Then I heard more than enough Rolling Stones albums to prove that wrong (at-least Beggars Banquet to Some Girls). Also around that time, and until recently, I believed the same about Aretha, and oh boy were they/I wrong about that. That's all to say, that for now, IMO, Nina is a singles artist. Her greatest hits double album is undeniable. But I have found her individual albums to be mixed with great heights and good stuff and questionable decisions. That said, this is Blues, and it's great. When it hits, like above.... it pleases me. So good. Full of sexy and sad blues, with a sound that reminds me of a mix between Ray Charles and electric Dylan. Anywho, although as an album, the concept (the blues) is there in spades, the quality of the songs vary, so it's not quite up-to-par with a purposeful work like Hounds of Love.

Next:
Erykah Badu – Baduizm
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list ... 3YYk2SwhJc
Linda Ronstadt – Heart Like A Wheel
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list ... StvQI3V-bI

[poorpete]

A pretty close one, and though I dunno if either of these are top 30-worthy, they both are lots of fun and definitely great albums. This album has grown on me, though I do wonder if I still like Mama's Gun better.... probably. I love the sound of the album, and her voice, though it doesn't always add up to a great song. Like, I'll put this album on for a mood, I don't think I'll put an individual song on... I guess that means it's a better album than a song collection? Maybe. Anyways, certainly a fab album, though not #12 for me.

Next:
Heart – Dreamboat Annie
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list ... mAnD5Z4Lck
Alicia Keys – Songs In A Minor
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list ... T_TPh6FZi0

Btw, in the loser's bracket, way too soon in, it's Solange vs. The Breeders. They have the worst luck.

[poorpete]

This is a tough one! Both have surprised me how much I liked them. Alicia's album is full of great songs but some forgetable ones and it's bloated holey moley. Heart has three brain-melting guitar-shredding vocal-soaring classics and everything else is fine. It's also over all too soon. Dang. Gonna give it to Alicia.


I love how this album blew people's minds. It's undeniable. The Wilson Sisters totally kick ass here. I can understand too, why people thought this style of 70s hard rock was the pinnacle of music. I mean, it's not, but there's something special about the sound that I'll always dig. And their acousticy songs are fun too.

Next:
Lauryn Hill – The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list ... nOpxmXvKhw
Miriam Makeba – Pata Pata
https://open.spotify.com/album/5k4B9CuTA46b8yjzfIEz4S

[Phoebe]

You're hitting into some difficult pairings here! I don't even know what I would do with these.

[poorpete]

This one is a bit easier of a decision. Miriam impressed me from the start (last year at some point). Love her voice, love her mood, love her style. I may not agree with her political views (where's her biopic, people?) but she was definitely a strong woman. I may like her debut album better (featuring Harry Belafonte's ensemble) -- but that's a minor quibble -- also the album gets confusing over whether it's new songs or a compilation -- still not 100% sure as the wikipedia article for this is like a sentence long. But nearly each song is great, and it has two classics (the title track, and the click song). Anywho, Miriam had a chance, but that Lauren Hill album just gets clearly better and better with each listen, maybe like no other album on this list. I went from unimpressed on my first listen in the 90s, to being blown away today.

Liz Phair – Exile In Guyville
https://open.spotify.com/album/444zYF83XQOTXmjke2JWU9
Shakira – ¿Dónde Están los Ladrones?
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list ... zcc-vqujqU

[poorpete]

Shakira surprised and impressed me, with fun songs and her Alanis-en-espanol stylings. This definitely sounds like a 90s post grunge rock pop album, using the cruchy guitars, like above, to sound both angry and pretty. There's even a harmonica solo. Dang. So, this a completely solid album, and a fun listen, and one that my family liked when I put on too. Very good, but not best ever, so we'll keep moving on.

Diana Ross and the Supremes – Where Did Our Love Go
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list ... OOuVZ2axSk
Hole – Live Through This
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list ... C0DugOLYd8

[poorpete]

Tough one. One is full of hits and produced within-an-inch-of-its-life. The other has the advantage of being made 30 years later, full of hits, and an emotive powerhouse. This album they were right to highlight, and shows them at their peak, as Barry Gordy demanded they never record a song that couldn't go to #1. They only got the good stuff, and it shows (though there are a few duds in here nonetheless). I've heard more than one person go off on the Motown sound, but I love it. It's a comfortable blanket. It's literally eating ice cream (and listening to Motown while eating ice cream -- those 50s and 60s playlists do work creating state-dependent-memories). Anywho, a lovely collection, anyone else's greatest hits, but maybe a little overranked at #15 (though underranked on the reader poll where it's not listed at all).

Lucinda Williams – Car Wheels On A Gravel Road
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list ... no6x4JHu2I
Celia Cruz – Son con Guaguanco
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list ... 9WoBczIecQ

[poorpete]

A joyful listen from beginning to end. Usually I like albums that mix things up, but this really stays the course and I'm happy it doesn't calm down too much (even the slower songs, like Es La Humanidad, have a wonderfully dancable beat that puts joy between any of the longing). Anywho, before they released their album list, NPR wrote a great article on this album, that added heft and meaning to an already great dance album.
https://www.npr.org/2018/02/13/58400451 ... e-in-exile
I feel it's all up to me to make a wikipedia article for this, though.

Next
Labelle – Nightbirds
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list ... pvypPHarbA
Siouxsie and the Banshees – The Scream
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list ... kJEeKe_gIM

[poorpete]

Hmmm, I did say Horses vs. Scream was a tough decision, but Horses is breezing through the losers bracket, while this one didn't impress me on listen number 6 and 7 as much as it did on 4 and 5. I mean, it's very good, and I like every song, but maybeeeee I should have picked Horses instead. Anyways that's why we got a losers bracket. And what a debut album! The confidence and the hooks. Maybe it'll all add up to a top tier album again, but it doesn't right now.

TLC – CrazySexyCool
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list ... HKhhGnmwQU
Gillian Welch – Time (The Revelator)
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list ... u4LPG63d-A

[Phoebe]

You have so much Wikipedia material, that would certainly be great! The world needs more Celia Cruz. I probably would go with Shakira, but then, not sure that album as a whole is that great. Liz Phair faded for me quickly and Hole faded less quickly, but still feels dated now. That album is underrated though, probably caught up in whatever people think of Courtney's public persona. Catchy, satisfyingly growly songs though.

[poorpete]

I really want to go through and improve a bunch of these pages. Someday... maybe next year.



Minus some unneeded interludes (although I do like Phiphe and Busta's, and I get they wanted to show that they had cred), especially the half-funny half-unlistenable prank call, this is a high-quality 90s hip hop album. Half of the songs are hits and the other half could have been. Creep is still a classic. Waterfalls is still a classic. Red Light Special is still makes me blush -- I don't need to hear it again, and stuff like Switch (above) and Somethin Wicked This Way Comes (with a young Andre 3000 killing it) are tons of fun. And the album, impressive from the first listen, still grows on me after each listen. But... those interludes... is enough to take it out of contention.

Carole King – Tapestry
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list ... QH8XdMrnR8
The Go-Gos – Beauty And The Beat
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list ... JbX09cDCDA
(Two titanic albums that I hold in high esteem. One I admire more than love, and the other I love more than admire. So we'll see... advice wanted!)

[Phoebe]

OMG I probably love the Go-Go's more than the next person but they are not playing on the same field, league, or even in the same game as Carole King. The Go-Go's have some fun songs and are far better than people might have thought at first, but Tapestry is a work of Genius!