The 150 greatest albums made by women
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This list, of the greatest albums made by women between 1964 and the present, is an intervention, a remedy, a correction of the historical record and hopefully the start of a new conversation. Compiled by nearly 50 women from across NPR and the public radio system and produced in partnership with Lincoln Center, it rethinks popular music to put women at the center.
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97. Mariah Carey - Daydream (Columbia Records, 1995)
Mariah Carey could have become a glitter-laden version of the '80s pop princess who ruled the decade before, Whitney Houston. Instead, Carey and her six-octave spanning pipes smashed the "Best New Artist" Grammy curse and sashayed off with the rest of the '90s, scoring a No. 1 hit nearly every year that decade.
Daydream, released in 1995, was the fifth album into that run. The lead single "Fantasy" is a dreamy party-starter that, in part thanks to a remix featuring Ol' Dirty Bastard, came to define a whole genre of singles that followed its songbird plus gravelly-voiced rapper formula, a la Ja Rule and Ashanti. And on the track "One Sweet Day," all four members of Boyz II Men just barely match Carey's sole star power.
Despite being one of her best-selling albums, Daydream was shut out of that year's Grammys (she lost all six categories for which she was nominated). But it proved that Carey had the creative savvy to embrace a new sound, and it established a different template for success than that of her earpiece-and-costumed competitors. Ultimately Carey is still finding her footing as a legacy artist, but she's been too good for too long. At this point, she's only competing with herself.
Top 10
10. Carole King - Tapestry (1971)
9. Amy Winehouse - Back To Black (2006)
8. Janis Joplin - Pearl (1971)
7. Patti Smith - Horses (1975)
6. Beyoncé - Lemonade (2016)
5. Missy Elliott - Supa Dupa Fly (1997)
4. Aretha Franklin - I Never Loved a Man The Way I Loved You (1967)
3. Nina Simone - I Put A Spell on You (1965)
2. Lauryn Hill - The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998)
1. Joni Mitchell - Blue (1971)
(NPR)
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this_is_qhm from the Philippines wrote:
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While this does have a lot of essential recordings by the fairer sex, I still rebuke any list of such nature that includes just one Mariah, Janet, and Mary J album, only two Madonna albums, no sign of Lisa Stansfield's debut or self-titled album, Kylie Minogue's Fever or Body Language, Brandy's Never Say Never or Aphrodisiac, The Cardigans' First Band On The Moon, or even Lady GaGa's The Fame or The Fame Monster. Injustice.
(Wednesday 26 July 2017; 13:10)
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