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The Rolling Stone Album Guide
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The Rolling Stone Album Guide, previously known as The Rolling Stone Record Guide, is a book that contains professional music reviews written and edited by staff members from Rolling Stone magazine. Its first edition was published in 1979 and its last in 2004.

Key Information

First edition (1979)

[edit]

The Rolling Stone Record Guide was the first edition of what would later become The Rolling Stone Album Guide. It was edited by Dave Marsh (who wrote a large majority of the reviews) and John Swenson, and included contributions from 34 other music critics. It is divided into sections by musical genre and then lists artists alphabetically within their respective genres. Albums are also listed alphabetically by artist although some of the artists have their careers divided into chronological periods.

Dave Marsh, in his Introduction, cites as precedents Leonard Maltin's book TV movies and Robert Christgau's review column in the Village Voice. He gives Phonolog and Schwann's Records & Tape Guide as raw sources of information.

The first edition included black and white photographs of many of the covers of albums which received five star reviews. These titles are listed together in the Five-Star Records section, which is coincidentally five pages in length.

The edition also included reviews for many comedy artists including Lenny Bruce, Lord Buckley, Bill Cosby, The Firesign Theatre, Spike Jones, and Richard Pryor.

Comedy artists were listed in the catch-all section "Rock, Soul, Country and Pop", which included the genres of folk (Carter Family, Woody Guthrie, Leadbelly), bluegrass (Bill Monroe), funk (The Meters, Parliament-Funkadelic), and reggae (Toots & the Maytals, Peter Tosh), as well as comedy. Traditional pop performers were not included (e.g. Andrews Sisters, Tony Bennett, Perry Como, Bing Crosby, Peggy Lee, Rudy Vallee, Lawrence Welk), with the notable exceptions of Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole. (Dave Marsh justified this decision in his Introduction.)

Included too were some difficult-to-classify artists (e.g. Osibisa, Yma Sumac, Urubamba) who might now be considered as world music. (Ethnic music was the normal term in 1979.)

Big band jazz was handled selectively, with certain band leaders omitted (e.g. Tommy Dorsey, Glenn Miller, Paul Whiteman), while others were included (e.g. Count Basie, Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman). Many other styles of jazz did appear in the Jazz section.

The book was notable for the time in the provocative, "in your face" style of many of its reviews. For example, writing about Neil Young's song, "Down by the River", John Swenson described it both as an "FM radio classic" (p. 425), and as a "wimp anthem" (p. 244). His colleague, Dave Marsh, in reviewing the three albums of the jazz fusion group Chase, gave a one-word review: "Flee." Marsh's review of a then-current rock band called Platypus stated simply: "Lays eggs."

Table of contents

[edit]
  • Introduction
  • Rock, Soul, Country and Pop
  • Blues
  • Jazz
  • Gospel
  • Anthologies, Soundtracks and Original Casts
  • Five-Star Records
  • Glossary
  • Selected Bibliography

Rating system

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The guide employs a five star rating scale with the following descriptions of those ratings:[1]

  • StarStarStarStarStar
    • Indispensable: a record that must be included in any comprehensive collection
  • StarStarStarStar
    • Excellent: a record of substantial merit, though flawed in some essential way.
  • StarStarStar
    • Good: a record of average worth, but one that might possess considerable appeal for fans of a particular style.
  • StarStar
    • Mediocre: a record that is artistically insubstantial, though not truly wretched.
  • Star
    • Poor: a record where even technical competence is at question or it was remarkably ill-conceived.
    • Worthless: a record that need never (or should never) have been created. Reserved for the most bathetic bathwater. (A square bullet (▪) marked this rating, as opposed to stars for the others.)

Reviewers

[edit]

Second edition (1983)

[edit]
The New Rolling Stone Record Guide
AuthorDave Marsh and John Swenson (Editors)
SubjectMusic, popular music, discography, sound recording, reviews
PublisherRandom House/Rolling Stone Press
Publication date
1983
Media typePaperback
Pages648
ISBN0-394-72107-1

The New Rolling Stone Record Guide was an update of 1979's The Rolling Stone Record Guide. Like the first edition, it was edited by Marsh and Swenson. It included contributions from 52 music critics and featured chronological album listings under the name of each artist. In many cases, updates from the first edition consist of short, one-sentence verdicts upon an artist's later work.

Instead of having separate sections such as Blues and Gospel, this edition compressed all of the genres it reviewed into one section except for Jazz titles which were removed for this edition and were later expanded and published in 1985 Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide (ed. Swenson). Besides adding reviews for many emerging punk and New Wave bands, this edition also added or expanded a significant number of reviews of long-established reggae and ska artists (such as U-Roy, Prince Buster, Ijahman, et al.).

Since the goal of this guide was to review records that were in print at the time of publication, this edition featured a list of artists who were included in the first edition but were not included in the second edition because all of their material was out of print.[2] This edition also dispensed with the album cover photos found in the first edition.

Table of contents

[edit]
  • Introduction to the Second Edition
  • Introduction to the First Edition
  • Ratings
  • Reviewers
  • Record Label Abbreviations
  • Rock, Soul, Blues, Country, Gospel and Pop
  • Anthologies, Soundtracks and Original Cast
  • Index to Artists in the First Edition (omitted in this second edition)

Rating system

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The second edition uses exactly the same rating system as the first edition, the only difference being that in addition to a rating, the second edition also employs the pilcrow mark (¶) to indicate a title that was out of print at the time the guide was published. Many albums had their rating revised from the first edition; some artists had their ratings lowered (notably The Doors, Yes and Neil Young) as the book now offered a revisionist slant to rock's history, whilst others, such as Little Feat and Richard Hell And The Voidoids, garnered higher ratings from a re-evaluation of their work.[2]

Reviewers

[edit]
  • Dave Marsh
  • John Swenson
  • Billy Altman
  • George Arthur
  • Lester Bangs
  • Bob Blumenthal
  • J.D. Considine
  • Jean-Charles Costa
  • Brian Cullman
  • Dan Doyle
  • Jim Farber
  • Laura Fissinger
  • Chet Flippo
  • David Fricke
  • Aaron Fuchs
  • Steve Futterman
  • Debbie Geller
  • Russell Gersten
  • Mikal Gilmore
  • Alan E. Goodman
  • Randall Grass
  • Malu Halasa
  • Peter Herbst
  • Stephen Holden
  • Martha Hume
  • Scott Isler
  • Gary Kenton
  • Wayne King
  • Kenn Lowy
  • Bruce Malamut
  • Greil Marcus
  • Ira Mayer
  • Joe McEwen
  • David McGee
  • John Milward
  • Teri Morris
  • John Morthland
  • Paul Nelson
  • Alan Niester
  • Rob Patterson
  • Kit Rachlis
  • Ira Robbins
  • Wayne Robbins
  • Frank Rose
  • Michael Rozek
  • Fred Schruers
  • Dave Schulpas
  • Tom Smucker
  • Ariel Swartley
  • Bart Testa
  • Ken Tucker
  • Charley Walters[2]

The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide (1985)

[edit]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide
AuthorJohn Swenson (Editor)
SubjectMusic, jazz, discography, sound recording, reviews
PublisherRandom House/Rolling Stone Press
Publication date
1985
Media typePaperback
Pages219
ISBN0-394-72643-X

The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide was published in 1985 and incorporated the jazz listings omitted from The New Rolling Stone Record Guide with additional reviews edited by John Swenson. It included contributions from 16 music critics and featured alphabetical album listings under the name of each artist.

Table of contents

[edit]
  • Foreword
  • Preface
  • Ratings
  • Contributors
  • Record Label Abbreviations
  • Reviews
  • Bibliography

Rating system

[edit]

This jazz edition uses the same rating system as the first two editions.

Contributors

[edit]
  • John Swenson
  • Bob Blumenthal
  • Jean-Charles Costa
  • Steve Futterman
  • Russell Gersten
  • Mikal Gilmore
  • Alan E. Goodman
  • Fred Goodman
  • Stephen Holden
  • Ashley Kahn
  • Bruce Malamut
  • Joe McEwen
  • Michael Rozek
  • Andy Rowan
  • Bart Testa
  • Charley Walters

Third edition (1992)

[edit]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide
AuthorAnthony DeCurtis and James Henke, with Holly George-Warren(Editors)
SubjectMusic, popular music, discography, sound recording, reviews
PublisherRandom House
Publication date
1992
Media typePaperback
Pages838
ISBN0-679-73729-4

The Rolling Stone Album Guide was a complete rewrite of both 1979's The Rolling Stone Record Guide and 1983's The New Rolling Stone Record Guide. The title change reflects the fact that by the time this edition was published in 1992, records were almost completely replaced by cassettes and CDs. This edition employs three new editors and reduces the number of reviewers from more than 50 as seen in previous editions to a mere four. This edition also included reviews of Jazz albums, which had been removed from the previous edition for the sake of publishing a separate Jazz guide. Unlike both previous editions, this edition did not include comedy artists.

Table of contents

[edit]
  • Introduction
  • Ratings
  • Contributors
  • The Rolling Stone Album Guide
  • Anthologies
  • Soundtracks
  • Acknowledgments

Rating system

[edit]

Similar to the first edition, it employed a five star rating scale (without the "zero stars" (▪) rating), but this edition had new definitions of what the number of stars meant, and employed the use of 1/2 stars in the reviews. The descriptions of the markings used in the third edition of the guide are:

  • StarStarStarStarStar
    • Classic: Albums in this category are essential listening for anyone interested in the artist under discussion or the style of music that artist's work represents.
  • StarStarStarStar
    • Excellent: Four star albums represent peak performances in an artist's career. Generally speaking, albums that are granted four or more stars constitute the best introductions to an artist's work for listeners who are curious.
  • StarStarStar
    • Average to Good: Albums in the three-star range will primarily be of interest to established fans of the artist being discussed. This mid-range, by its very nature, requires the most discretion on the part of the consumer.
  • StarStar
    • Fair to Poor: Albums in the two-star category either fall below an artist's established standard or are, in and of themselves, failures.
  • Star
    • Disastrous: Albums in the range of one star or less are wastes of vital resources. Only masochists or completists need apply.

Reviewers

[edit]
  • Mark Coleman
  • J.D. Considine
  • Paul Evans
  • David McGee[3]

Artists omitted from the third edition

[edit]

Some of the artists included in the previous editions but omitted in this edition include:

The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide (1999)

[edit]

The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide was first published by Random House in 1999, with John Swenson as the editor.[1]

Reviewing the book for All About Jazz, C. Michael Bailey regarded it as a consolidation of the 1985 jazz guide and the blues coverage from other Rolling Stone guides. He recommended it to novices, calling it "a worthy addition to any serious jazz/blues collector's library", even though it was not as comprehensive as The Penguin Guide to Jazz or All Music Guide to Jazz, in his opinion.[2]

Fourth edition (2004)

[edit]
The New Rolling Stone Album Guide
AuthorNathan Brackett with Christian Hoard (editors)
SubjectMore than 10,000 of the best rock, pop, hip-hop and soul records, reviewed and rated
PublisherFireside
Publication date
2004
Media typePaperback
Pages838
ISBN0-7432-0169-8

Approximately 70 writers contributed to this edition. Text on the back cover of the fourth edition claims that the guide had been "completely updated and revised to include the past decade's artists and sounds", and offered "biographical overviews of key artists' careers, giving readers a look at the personalities behind the music".[3]

Artists omitted from the fourth edition

[edit]

Some of the artists included in the previous guides but omitted in this edition include:

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]

Citations

[edit]
  1. ^ a The Rolling Stone Record Guide. Ed. Dave Marsh and John Swenson. New York: Random House, 1979. (Note 1, see p xiii) (Note 1a, see p xv-xvi)
  2. ^ a b The New Rolling Stone Record Guide. Ed. Dave Marsh and John Swenson. New York: Random House, 1983. (Note 2, see p 645-648) (Note 2a, see p xv) (Note 2b, see p xvii-xix)
  3. ^ a The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Ed. Anthony DeCurtis and James Henke with Holly George-Warren. New York: Random House, 1992. (Note 3, see p vii) (Note 3a, see ix)

Further reading

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[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

The Rolling Stone Album Guide

View on Grokipedia
from Grokipedia
The Rolling Stone Album Guide is a series of reference books published under the Rolling Stone Press imprint, offering professional reviews, star ratings, and biographical overviews of thousands of popular music albums spanning genres such as rock, pop, soul, country, blues, jazz, gospel, and more. Originally launched as The Rolling Stone Record Guide in 1979, the inaugural edition—edited by Dave Marsh and John Swenson and published by Random House—provided critiques and ratings for nearly 10,000 albums then available on the market, serving as a comprehensive resource for music enthusiasts navigating the expanding landscape of recorded sound. The second edition, titled The New Rolling Stone Record Guide and released in 1983 by the same publisher and editors, expanded coverage to approximately 12,000 albums released through mid-1982, incorporating updates and new entries to reflect evolving tastes in rock, soul, blues, country, folk, and gospel music. By the third edition in 1992, published again by under the revised title The Rolling Stone Album Guide—edited by Anthony DeCurtis, James Henke, and Holly George-Warren—the series adapted to the dominance of cassettes and CDs over vinyl records, delivering completely new reviews for over 12,000 essential albums and artists, with a focus on every major figure in history. The fourth and final edition, The New Rolling Stone Album Guide in 2004, edited by Nathan Brackett and Christian Hoard and issued by Fireside (an imprint of ), featured 930 pages of 70% new material, including fresh updates on established acts and hundreds of entries on 1990s and early 21st-century innovators like , , and , alongside a new introduction addressing shifts in the music industry. Renowned for its authoritative voice in music criticism, the guide has influenced generations of listeners and collectors by assigning one- to five-star ratings based on artistic merit, cultural impact, and innovation, while emphasizing the album as the central unit of musical expression. Although no further editions have been published since 2004, the series remains a cornerstone of rock journalism, bridging historical context with contemporary analysis across diverse musical traditions.

Introduction

Background and Purpose

The Album Guide originated in the late as a project spearheaded by [Rolling Stone](/page/Rolling Stone) editor , who sought to compile a centralized reference for evaluating rock and related albums during an era when the vinyl record industry was expanding rapidly, with physical formats dominating over 70% of music sales by the decade's end. This initiative addressed the absence of a unified resource amid the proliferation of recordings, as noted in the guide's introduction: "In rock's twenty-five-year existence, hundreds of books have attempted to define the music or some part of the experience of hearing it... but there has never been a single source of information about the records that have been made." First published in 1979 by under the title The Rolling Stone Record Guide, the book encompassed reviews and one- to five-star ratings for nearly 10,000 currently available albums spanning rock, pop, , , , and . Designed as a practical tool for record buyers navigating an increasingly crowded market, it drew on contributions from writers to standardize assessments and assist in purchasing decisions. At its core, the guide aimed to deliver authoritative, succinct critiques that embodied Rolling Stone's distinctive editorial voice on rock, pop, and nascent genres, setting it apart from the magazine's more transient, issue-specific reviews by offering enduring, consolidated insights for both enthusiasts and professionals. This foundational approach emphasized accessibility and reliability, positioning the publication as an essential companion to the burgeoning consumer landscape of recorded music. Over time, it evolved through revised editions to refine its coverage and methods.

Scope and Methodology

The Rolling Stone Album Guide utilizes a consistent entry format that features concise artist biographies, album-by-album summaries highlighting key tracks and themes, and a five-star to evaluate recordings. Five stars signify indispensable classics essential to any comprehensive collection, four stars denote excellent works of substantial merit and innovation, three stars indicate solid but unexceptional efforts, two stars mark fair albums with notable flaws, and one star represents poor quality overall. This system prioritizes artistic merit, creative innovation, and cultural impact over mere commercial performance, providing readers with guidance on enduring value rather than transient popularity. The guide's methodology involves compilation by a collaborative team of music critics, who employ a consensus-driven approach to assess albums based on their availability and influence in the U.S. market. Entries focus on domestically released recordings accessible through major retailers, with inclusion determined by an artist's lasting contribution to rather than sales metrics alone; for example, extended coverage is given to pivotal figures in and like and . Later editions incorporate input from numerous contributors to ensure diverse perspectives, as seen in the 2004 volume, where 72 writers produced about 70% new material across its 944 pages. Coverage has evolved from a rock-centric foundation to a more expansive scope encompassing diverse genres. The 1979 edition, serving as the starting point, reviewed nearly 10,000 albums in rock, pop, , , , and . By the 1992 edition, this grew to over 12,000 reviews across more than 2,500 artist entries, integrating emerging forms like rap and folk while compressing genre sections for broader accessibility. This progression continued into the 2000s, with inclusions of hip-hop, , , , and even comedy albums, reflecting the diversification of popular music and expanding the total to over 12,000 entries by 2004.

Rock and Pop Editions

First Edition (1979)

The first edition of The Rolling Stone Album Guide, published under the title The Rolling Stone Record Guide, marked the inception of a landmark series in music criticism. Released in November by , the 631-page paperback was edited by and John Swenson, with Marsh authoring a substantial portion of the content. It encompassed reviews and ratings for nearly 10,000 albums across rock, pop, , country, blues, , and , with a primary emphasis on rock releases dating from the onward, reflecting the genre's evolution up to the late . The guide's structure was designed for accessibility, organizing entries alphabetically by artist name, supplemented by comprehensive indexes for albums, performers, and musical styles. A by offered a historical overview of rock music's development, setting the contextual stage for the reviews that followed. Each album assessment ranged from 50 to 200 words, providing concise yet insightful commentary on artistic merit, cultural impact, and listenability. The project drew on a core team of more than 20 critics, including prominent figures such as , , , , and , whose diverse perspectives enriched the volume's authority. Central to the guide was its straightforward five-star rating system, ranging from one star for "poor" efforts to five stars for "essential" classics deemed indispensable for their replay value and lasting influence; notably, half-stars were not used, ensuring clear, binary judgments on quality. This methodology prioritized albums' enduring appeal over transient trends, though it extended to highlight innovative works in emerging styles. As the inaugural comprehensive reference of its kind, the edition pioneered systematic album evaluation in print, devoting significant attention to the punk and new wave movements gaining traction in the late 1970s, such as entries on The Ramones and Blondie that underscored their raw energy and subversive edge.

Second Edition (1983)

The second edition of the guide, titled The New Rolling Stone Record Guide, was edited by Dave Marsh and John Swenson and published in October 1983 by Random House/Rolling Stone Press. This revision expanded the book's scope to 648 pages, reviewing and rating over 12,000 albums released through mid-1982, adding approximately 2,000 new entries focused on post-1979 releases compared to the first edition's coverage of nearly 10,000 albums. The expansion reflected the rapid evolution of in the early 1980s, incorporating contemporary releases while maintaining a focus on rock, pop, soul, , folk, and gospel. The table of contents retained the alphabetical organization by artist from the previous edition, with dedicated sections for major genres including Rock, Soul, Blues, , , and Pop. This structure allowed for improved navigability, aided by enhanced indexes that facilitated cross-referencing across artists and styles. Emerging trends of the era, such as new wave acts like and , as well as early hip-hop pioneers including , were integrated into the rock and pop categories, providing critical assessments of these developing scenes. The edition's reviewer team was broadened to include a mix of established critics and new voices, balancing in-depth coverage of veteran rock artists with evaluations of rising contemporary performers. The rating system continued to employ a five-star scale, where five stars denoted indispensable records essential to any collection, four stars indicated substantial merit, three stars marked recommended listens, two stars signified average efforts, one star represented poor quality, and zero stars labeled outright duds. This framework, carried over from the edition, emphasized evaluative consistency across entries. Notably, the guide prioritized albums that were currently available for purchase, marking the first instance of minor omissions for out-of-print titles to streamline recommendations for readers seeking accessible recordings.

Third Edition (1992)

The third edition of The Rolling Stone Album Guide, published in 1992 by , marked a significant expansion and revision, edited by Anthony DeCurtis and James Henke with Holly George-Warren, comprising 838 pages and providing completely new reviews for over 12,000 albums across rock, pop, , country, , folk, and , with increased coverage of and early releases. This edition built on the foundation of the 1983 second edition by modernizing content to reflect the rise of and hip-hop. The guide's table of contents followed an alphabetical organization by artist, supplemented by genre appendices, and incorporated dedicated sections for hip-hop and while improving cross-references between related artists and eras. It introduced half-star increments to the established 1-5 star rating system, allowing for more nuanced evaluations, with five stars designated for landmark works that demonstrated substantial cultural relevance. Contributions came from a core team of critics including , J.D. Considine, Paul Evans, and David McGee, who handled the bulk of the reviews, alongside additional writers to ensure broad coverage. Due to space constraints in this comprehensive volume, the edition prioritized influential and enduring acts, notably omitting some 1960s one-hit wonders in favor of artists with lasting impact on .

Fourth Edition (2004)

The fourth edition, titled The New Rolling Stone Album Guide: Completely Revised and Updated, was edited by Nathan Brackett with contributions from Christian Hoard and published by Fireside, an imprint of , on November 2, 2004. Spanning 930 pages, it represented a significant expansion from the 1992 edition, incorporating approximately 70 percent new material to address musical developments through the and into the early , including emerging genres like and . The book featured thousands of reviews, organized alphabetically by , with each entry providing biographical overviews, complete discographies, ranked "best of" selections, and critical assessments of key releases. The edition's structure emphasized chronological and genre-based context, including timelines of artistic evolution within broader musical movements to highlight influences and innovations up to the early . It employed a refined five-star , incorporating half-star increments to evaluate albums on criteria such as , cultural impact, and relevance in the digital age, with five stars reserved for works of enduring influence and indispensability. Reviews often considered factors like the availability of digital downloads and remastered editions, reflecting shifts in music consumption. Unlike the third edition, which relied on just four primary authors, this volume drew from 72 contributors, blending established critics with emerging voices to offer diverse, global perspectives on rock, pop, and related genres. The collaborative approach ensured comprehensive coverage while prioritizing influential recordings over exhaustive catalogs from niche or defunct labels, a decision influenced by the rise of .

Jazz and Blues Editions

Jazz Record Guide (1985)

The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide, edited by John Swenson, was published in 1985 by as the magazine's inaugural foray into a dedicated compendium, distinct from its rock-oriented volumes by emphasizing improvisational traditions and historical depth over pop culture narratives. Spanning 219 pages, it provided critical assessments of more than 4,000 albums spanning from the to the , focusing on recordings that captured the genre's evolution through collective and innovative interactions rather than solo stardom or commercial appeal. This departure from rock formats allowed for a nuanced of 's subgenres, positioning the guide as an essential reference for enthusiasts seeking context on overlooked improvisational masterpieces. The book's structure was organized alphabetically by artist. The adapted Rolling Stone's familiar 1-5 star scale specifically for , with one star indicating marginal efforts and five stars reserved for "masterpiece" sessions that exemplified transcendent , ensemble synergy, and the vital roles of in shaping recordings. Contributions were drawn from over 30 jazz specialists with deep expertise in subgenres like and , ensuring authoritative insights into improvisational techniques and historical significance. Notable among them were critics , known for his analyses of jazz's narrative arcs, and , whose polemics on the genre's cultural roots informed entries on pivotal eras. The guide particularly spotlighted underappreciated releases from iconic labels such as and Impulse!, underscoring their role in preserving improvisational jazz's raw energy and diversity.

Jazz & Blues Album Guide (1999)

The Jazz & Blues Album Guide, edited by John Swenson, was published in 1999 by as a comprehensive reference bridging the and genres. Spanning 781 pages, it reviews over 10,000 albums, encompassing core and recordings alongside fusions such as soul-, while emphasizing historical depth from the 1920s origins with artists like to late-20th-century figures including and . This edition expands on the earlier Jazz Record Guide (1985), which Swenson also edited, by integrating coverage and updating entries to reflect 1990s developments in both genres. The guide's table of contents employs a dual organization, grouping entries alphabetically by within dedicated and sections. It prioritizes seminal works through a 1-to-5-star rating system, where five stars denote exceptional, influential albums; this approach heavily considers live recordings, reissues, and contemporary revivals to guide listeners toward essential listening. Reviews are concise yet incisive, providing biographical context and critical evaluations that highlight African American contributions central to both genres' evolution. Contributions came from 52 experts in music criticism, including Swenson, Geoffrey Himes, and Ashley Kahn, who brought specialized insights into , traditions, and underrepresented voices such as in the fields.

Reception and Legacy

Critical Reception

Upon its release, the first edition of The Rolling Stone Record Guide in 1979 received acclaim for its comprehensive scope and user-friendly format, offering star ratings and concise reviews for nearly 10,000 albums across rock, pop, , and related genres. The New York Times described it as "absolutely irresistible for browsing," highlighting its appeal to dedicated fans through pithy commentary that democratized access to professional previously scattered in magazines. This accessibility positioned the guide as an authoritative reference, praised for consolidating expert opinions from 34 contributors into a single, portable volume. Critics, however, pointed to inherent biases reflecting Rolling Stone's editorial preferences, particularly an elevation of rock icons like while undervaluing pop and other genres—a phenomenon later termed "Rolling Stone disease" in discussions of rockist criticism. The 1992 edition drew scrutiny for its introduction of half-star increments in ratings, which amplified perceptions of subjectivity amid the guide's expansion to over 10,000 entries written by just four principal critics. Subsequent editions, such as the 2004 update, were lauded in for refreshing 70% of the content with entertaining and informative reviews from 72 authors, though inconsistencies in tone and notable omissions (e.g., George Harrison's solo work) were noted as drawbacks. By the , the guide's focus on commercially available physical releases rendered it increasingly outdated in an era dominated by streaming platforms and digital distribution. The jazz and blues editions also garnered mixed but generally positive contemporaneous feedback. The 1985 Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide, covering over 4,000 titles, was valued for its depth in surveying jazz history from traditional to avant-garde, serving as a foundational text for enthusiasts. Its 1999 successor, The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide, which merged the prior jazz content with expanded blues coverage, was commended by All About Jazz for clear, beginner-friendly annotations and solid blues entries but critiqued for uneven jazz selections, including omissions of key figures like Gene Harris while including lesser-known artists.

Influence and Omissions

The Rolling Stone Album Guide has played a key role in shaping the rock music canon through its compilation of expert reviews, which have informed consumer purchasing decisions and broader discussions of album quality and cultural significance. By assigning star ratings to thousands of recordings, the guide contributed to establishing hierarchies of artistic merit, influencing how albums are perceived in popular and critical contexts. Its structured evaluations have also found use among music enthusiasts and scholars as a foundational resource for exploring genre histories and artist discographies. Critics have highlighted systemic omissions in the guides, particularly the underrepresentation of women and non-Western artists, which reflect broader biases in rock journalism. For instance, female singer-songwriters like Karla Bonoff were entirely excluded from early editions, limiting visibility for underrepresented voices in the canon. Non-Western acts, such as the Afro-rock band Osibisa, were marginalized by being categorized under "ethnic music" rather than integrated into the main rock framework, perpetuating a Eurocentric narrative. In the and rock editions, space constraints led to the exclusion of numerous indie and alternative releases, narrowing coverage of emerging scenes. The and volumes, while authoritative, were critiqued for notable absences—such as pianist —and incomplete documentation of reissues, rendering them less exhaustive than rivals like . These gaps have contributed to perceptions of the jazz editions as underappreciated relative to the more commercially successful rock counterparts. The absence of revisions after the 2004 edition has positioned the guide as increasingly outdated for analyzing post-millennial music, with no official explanation provided by publishers. Despite this, the series retains modern relevance as a print-era benchmark for album evaluation amid streaming dominance, and special editions like the 2025 Complete Album Guide offer in-depth coverage with interviews and photos. No full editions of the main series have been published since 2004, as of November 2025.

References

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  20. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/10-classic-albums-rolling-stone-originally-panned-101316/
  21. https://theband.hiof.no/articles/Band_album_ratings.html
  22. https://drum.lib.umd.edu/bitstreams/11af6c53-e80a-4fd0-ae77-4ebc201f4ac4/download
  23. https://www.amazon.com/New-Rolling-Stone-Album-Guide/dp/0743201698
  24. http://www.publishersweekly.com/9780743201698
  25. https://uploads-ssl.webflow.com/67537698e6b3698a2c4da2da/6816e32d173ad8578db4af50_jibagofosanekuserudogule.pdf
  26. https://www.thepitchkc.com/the-new-rolling-stone-album-guide/
  27. https://www.amazon.com/Rolling-Stone-Jazz-Record-Guide/dp/039472643X
  28. https://www.amazon.com/Rolling-Stone-Jazz-Record-Guide/dp/B001KRIH5M
  29. https://www.abebooks.com/9780394726434/Rolling-Stone-Jazz-Record-Guide-039472643X/plp
  30. https://www.abebooks.com/first-edition/Rolling-Stone-Jazz-Record-Guide-Swenson/31431013268/bd
  31. https://openlibrary.org/books/OL380876M/The_Rolling_Stone_jazz_blues_album_guide_edited_by_John_Swenson.
  32. https://www.nola.com/entertainment_life/keith_spera/from-new-york-to-new-orleans-writer-john-swenson-was-a-passionate-voice-for-musicians/article_6876e6ca-b508-11ec-9fb7-6749aa6e6cf3.html
  33. https://www.allaboutjazz.com/the-rolling-stone-jazz-and-blues-album-guide-by-c-michael-bailey
  34. https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Writer/geoffrey-himes
  35. https://www.jerryjazzmusician.com/kind-of-blue-the-making-of-the-miles-davis-masterpiece-author-ashley-kahn/
  36. https://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/06/magazine/the-pernicious-rise-of-poptimism.html
  37. https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/the-futility-of-rolling-stones-best-albums-list
  38. https://www.macrandallwriter.com/other-writings
  39. https://overland.org.au/2014/12/musics-slow-lane-for-women/
  40. https://www.oocities.org/endered/special/rs_guide.html
  41. https://www.reddit.com/r/LetsTalkMusic/comments/ouxfw6/rockism_what_is_it_really_and_how_do_you_define_it/
  42. https://www.yourcelebritymagazines.com/en-us/products/rolling-stone-special-bob-dylan-the-complete-album-guide-2025
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