/kəh-rin'/, 22. A lonesome hobo and a freeloader.

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#16 Rumours / Fleetwood Mac
(Warner Brothers, 1977)

Rumours, in part, documents the slow painful breakups of the two romantic relationships in the band: that of the McVies, John and Christine, as well as Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. During recording, Nicks started seeing, of all people, Mick Fleetwood. 
- From VH1 100 Greatest Albums
#15 The Joshua Tree / U2 
(Island, 1987)

I was just nineteen, recently in love for the first or second time, so the lyrics grabbed my attention straight away. “Slight of hand and twist of fate / on a bed of nails she makes me wait.”  I was mesmerized. I wasn’t ready for a love song. I’d been expecting another stab at war, religion, or politics. 
- From VH1 100 Greatest Albums
#14 Blue / Joni Mitchell
(Warner Bros, 1971)

I think the album Blue was a real personal album. It felt like, gosh, I know everything about this girl just by listening to that album… she’s amazing. - Gwen Stefani
- From VH1 100 Greatest Albums
#13 Who’s Next / The Who 
(MCA, 1971)

Who’s Next in a lot of ways was a perfect record for The Who. It had humor, it had aggression, it had energy, it had color. And it was beautifully recorded. - Pete Townshend
- From VH1 100 Greatest Albums
#12 Exile on Main Street / The Rolling Stones 
(Virgin, 1972)

There are relatively few great songs here, and yet a whole raft of spectacular performances.  Never again would the band sound as cohesive, not anywhere near as anarchic. The paradoxes are many, but what is indisputable is that the Stones here deliver what rock ‘n’ roll forever promises; a vital toxicity and a sound powerful enough to wake — or bury — the dead. 
- From VH1 100 Greatest Albums
#11 The Beatles (The White Album) / The Beatles
(Apple, 1968)

The Beatles didn’t split up until 1970, but by the time of The White Album’s release, the seeds of their dissolution had already been sown. Over the course of this thirty-song, double-disc set, you can practically hear the personalities within the group pulling apart from one another. Such palpable tension could have produced a discouraging mess; instead it helped create one of their most enduring albums. 
- From VH1 100 Greatest Albums
#10 Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band / The Beatles 
(Capitol, 1967)

At the time of recording, the Beatles had matured and entered new phases in their lives.  They were starting families, exploring spirituality, and experimenting with drugs.  They bid farewell to the pop world with their most mature work yet. In doing so, they helped usher in a new genre of recordings: the concept record.  There’s a feeling of cohesiveness throughout this album; the songs seem sewn together, literally so in the epic suite that closes the album.  It is filled with adult themes that were a reflection of the time.
- From VH1 100 Greatest Albums
#9 Blonde on Blonde / Bob Dylan
(Columbia, 1966)

“I must have five copies of that record now.  And every time you play it it sounds exceptional.  It’s unusually constructed, as if all the unessential things have been stripped away.” Elvis Costello
- From VH1 100 Greatest Albums
#8 Abbey Road / The Beatles
(Apple, 1969)

“Rodgers and Hammerstein would’ve bowed to what was going on there in the shuffling of the tunes.  It’s very free and creative in how to break down traditional album making.” - Art Garfunkel
- From VH1 100 Greatest Albums
#7 Songs in the Key of Life / Stevie Wonder
(Motown Records, 1976)

“The first album that I could really remember in my household was Stevie Wonder’s Songs in the Key of Life. It was about love. It was about life. It was about what was going on in the world.” - Mary J. Blige
- From VH1 100 Greatest Albums