Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
"The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is a recurring opinion survey and music ranking of the finest albums in history, compiled by the American magazine Rolling Stone. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in a special issue of the magazine in 2003 and a related book in 2005.
The Beatles (pictured in 1964) had nine albums on the most recent list
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape, or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records collected in a bound book resembling a photo album; this format evolved after 1948 into single vinyl long-playing (LP) records played at 33+1⁄3 rpm.
Albums c. 2000 came on compact discs stored in jewel cases.
Early record albums from the first half of the 20th century resembled photo albums, being packaged in book form on multiple 78 rpm discs.
A vinyl LP on a turntable
A typical 8-track tape player