As you may have seen, this week’s NME features the 2013 edition of their 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time. For this one, they also accepted votes from a bunch of the mag’s alumni, including me, so I thought it’d be an easy, albeit self-indulgent, blog to reproduce my Top 50 albums here. As I’ve said before, I find these lists a lot harder to compile as I get older and, I hope, become a bit less didactic in the way I think about the music I like and the music I dislike. This is what my Top 50 looked like in early September, anyhow: rather canonical, a little nostalgic, no doubt fatally undermined by the absence of records I will soon be mortified to have forgotten, but generally resembling one of those Rock Snob pisstakes from ten or so years back. I do remember, though, poring over an NME Greatest Albums list that was published in the mid-‘80s, and discovering a horde of extraordinary albums – like “What’s Goin’ On”, for a start – that broadened my perspective way beyond the world of Aztec Camera and Echo & The Bunnymen that I probably lived in at the time. It was a critical tool that allowed me to see the bigger picture, and whenever I see people treating all magazine lists with the same blanket disdain, thinking about it reassures me; at their best, they can have a profound effect. Be interested, as ever, to hear your thoughts: about the NME list as much as mine, of course. Follow me on Twitter: www.twitter.com/JohnRMulvey 1. The Beach Boys – Pet Sounds 2. Neil Young – Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere 3. Television – Marquee Moon 4. Fairport Convention – Liege And Lief 5. Terry Riley – A Rainbow In Curved Air 6. My Bloody Valentine – Loveless 7. Gil Evans – The Individualism Of Gil Evans 8. Joni Mitchell – Hejira 9. The Rolling Stones – Exile On Main Street 10. Dexys Midnight Runners – Don’t Stand Me Down 11. The Go Betweens – Spring Hill Fair 12. Neil Young – On The Beach 13. Marvin Gaye – What’s Goin’ On 14. Steely Dan – Countdown To Ecstasy 15. Linda Perhacs – Parallelograms 16. Led Zeppelin – 4 17. Neu! – Neu! 75 18. Bob Dylan – Highway 61 Revisited 19. REM – Murmur 20. The Smiths – The Queen Is Dead 21. Van Morrison – Astral Weeks 22. Sonic Youth – Daydream Nation 23. The Grateful Dead – Europe 72 24. Brightblack Morning Light – Motion To Rejoin 25. Love – Forever Changes 26. Elliott Smith – Either/Or 27. Gram Parsons – Grievous Angel 28. Robert Wyatt – Rock Bottom 29. The Rolling Stones – Sticky Fingers 30. Alice Coltrane – Journey In Satchidananda 31. The Stooges – Funhouse 32. GZA – Liquid Swords 33. Gillian Welch – Time The Revelator 34. Red House Painters – Red House Painters 35. Funkadelic – Maggot Brain 36. Robbie Basho – Venus In Cancer 37. The Waterboys – Fisherman’s Blues 38. Big Star – Third/Sister Lovers 39. Tim Buckley – Happy Sad 40. The Band – The Band 41. Leonard Cohen – The Songs Of Leonard Cohen 42. MC5 – High Time 43. Slint – Spiderland 44. Prince – Around The World In A Day 45. Kraftwerk – Trans Europe Express 46. Joanna Newsom – Ys 47. White Stripes – White Blood Cells 48. The Fall – This Nation’s Saving Grace 49. Pavement – Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain 50. Boredoms – Vision Create Newsun UPDATE 7/11/13: Responding to all your comments and interest, I've found the 131-strong longlist that I used to come up with my Top 50 (it mostly involved skimming through my iTunes, plus a cursory look at my shelves). A good few records that some of you have mentioned are in this lot, plus hopefully a few less well-known things that deserve a wider audience. Let me know what you think, anyhow (they're not in any order, I should point out): The Beach Boys – Pet Sounds AC/DC – Back In Black The Beach Boys – Surfs Up The Beach Boys – Smile The Beatles - Revolver Aphex Twin – Selected Ambient Works Volume II Alice Coltrane – Journey In Satchidananda Archie Shepp – Attica Blues Gil Evans – The Individualism Of Gil Evans Pharaoh Sanders – Black Unity Smog – Knock Knock Bill Fay – Bill Fay Neu! – Neu! 75 Bjork – Vespertine Led Zeppelin – 2 Led Zeppelin – 4 Led Zeppelin – Houses Of The Holy Boredoms – Vision Create Newsun Brightblack Morning Light – Motion To Rejoin Bruce Springsteen – The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle Caetano Veloso – Caetano Veloso (2) Can – Tago Mago Public Enemy – It Takes A Nation Of Millions GZA – Liquid Swords Robbie Basho – Venus In Cancer Boards Of Canada – Geogaddi Bob Dylan – Highway 61 Revisited Bob Dylan – John Wesley Harding Bob Dylan – Blood On The Tracks Comets On Fire – Avatar Creedence Clearwater Revival – Cosmo’s Factory Lemonheads – It’s A Shame About Ray Rocket From The Crypt – Hot Charity The Byrds – Younger Than Yesterday David Bowie – Heroes David Bowie – Station To Station Dennis Wilson – Pacific Ocean Blue Dexy’s Midnight Runners – Don’t Stand Me Down The Waterboys – Fisherman’s Blues Sonic Youth – Daydream Nation Steely Dan – Countdown To Ecstasy Funkadelic – Maggot Brain Duke Ellington – Far East Suite Patti Smith – Horses Television – Marquee Moon Elliott Smith – Either/Or Os Mutantes – Os Mutantes (1st) Fairport Convention – Liege And Lief Fairport Convention – Unhalfbricking The Fall – This Nation’s Saving Grace Gram Parsons – Grievous Angel Tim Buckley – Blue Afternoon Tim Buckley – Happy Sad Linda Perhacs – Parallelograms Gillian Welch – Time The Revelator Neil Young – Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere Neil Young – Ragged Glory Neil Young – On The Beach The Rolling Stones – Sticky Fingers The Rolling Stones – Exile On Main Street The Grateful Dead – Europe 72 Nick Cave – The Good Son The Stooges – Funhouse MC5 – High Time LCD Soundsystem – Sound Of Silver Jim O’Rourke – Eureka Joanna Newsom – Ys Joni Mitchell – Hejira Joni Mitchell – Court & Spark Red House Painters – Red House Painters Sun Kil Moon – Ghosts Of The Great Highway Julian Cope – Peggy Suicide The Go Betweens – Spring Hill Fair The Go Betweens – Before Hollywood Aztec Camera – High Land Hard Rain Kraftwerk – Trans Europe Express Richard & Linda Thompson – I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight Leonard Cohen – The Songs Of Leonard Cohen Leonard Cohen – I’m Your Man Cluster – Sowiesoso Love – Forever Changes Mike Oldfield – Hergest Ridge My Bloody Valentine – Loveless The Necks – Mosquito/See Through PJ Harvey – Dry The Pop Group – Y Pulp – Different Class Queens Of The Stone Age – Songs For The Deaf REM – Murmur Robert Wyatt – Rock Bottom Roy Harper – Stormcock Royal Trux – Accelerator Sandy Bull – E Pluribus Unum Scritti Politti – Songs To Remember Shirley & Dolly Collins – Death And The Lady Sly & The Family Stone – Fresh Pavement – Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain Terry Riley – A Rainbow In Curved Air Terry Riley – Persian Surgery Dervishes The Velvet Underground – The Velvet Underground Scott Walker – Scott 4 Wilco – A Ghost Is Born Nick Drake – Five Leaves Left The Band – The Band Spiritualized – Lazer Guided Melodies The Monkees – Head Jeff Buckley – Grace Pixies – Surfer Rosa The Feminine Complex – Livin’ Love Ali Farka Toure & Toumani Diabate – By The Light Of The Moon Youssou N’Dour – Immigres Four Tet – Pause Fennesz – Endless Summer Marvin Gaye – What’s Goin’ On Isaac Hayes – Hot Buttered Soul Screaming Trees – Dust Love As Laughter – Destination 2000 Stereolab – Emperor Tomato Ketchup The Smiths – The Queen Is Dead Slint – Spiderland Van Morrison – Astral Weeks Van Morrison – The Common One Van Morrison – Into The Music Husker Du – Candy Apple Grey Big Star – Third/Sister Lovers Prince – Around The World In A Day Van Dyke Parks – Song Cycle Lauryn Hill – The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill D’Angelo – Voodoo Donald Fagen – The Nightfly White Stripes – White Blood Cells