NPR's 150 Albums Made by Women

joanna newsom - have one on me
taylor swift - red
rihanna - anti
miranda lambert - platinum
grimes - art angels
dj sprinkles - midtown 120 blues
rilo kiley - more adventurous
grouper - A I A
everything but the girl - walking wounded
chromatics - kill for love

I dunno if I'll actually vote, but here's ten.

The Shangri-Las - Myrmidons of Melodrama
The Slits - Cut
X-Ray Spex - Germfree Adolescents
Cocteau Twins - Victorialand
Björk - Homogenic
Crass - Penis Envy
Joanna Newsom - Ys
SubRosa - More Constant Than the Gods
Tanya Tagaq - Retribution
Lingua Ignota - All Bitches Die

xp i would've put dj sprinkles on mine but from what i've read thaemlitz seems to be genderfluid and/or genderqueer? i mean, she uses she/her pronouns personally (but he/him as sprinkles (not that each has to align w male & female respectively)), but it seemed to me that she at least hasn't embraced the label of "woman." i could v well be wrong obv

yeah i'm super conflicted about that too!! there's an interview with the guardian that kinda unpacks that

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/oct/25/dj-sprinkles-terre-thaemlitz

"The gender lines are blurred –Thaemlitz turns up for our interview wearing “boy drag” and suggests that, if pronouns really have to be used, Terre is “she” and Sprinkles is “he”."

so, an album performed by a man but made by a woman? idk

part of the reason i put it was because of that question mark, though

in an npr piece from 2011: "Thaemlitz doesn't identify as exclusively male or female."

that said, i mean, a large reason why such a "music by women" list exists is bc of the structural and receptive and etc boundaries women in music face, and for a trans not-male person like thaemlitz that v much applies, really more so. but still, idk, i don't quite feel comfortable considering her in this context

absolutely fair. a counter-canon like this one is both a really good opportunity to talk more about an album like this, and also entirely insufficient for properly engaging with it holistically

there's a lot in here, also from 2011, too much to quote, but here's a snippet:

Maybe this is kind of similar, but what gender do you most feel like? In your heart?

It seems most people can say, "In my heart I know I am a woman/man," but if I am honest with you, I can only say that in my gut I do not feel like either. Whatever illogical impulses or inexplicable physiological compulsions I may identify within myself, they only seem to take on associations of gender at the social level, and this "gut feeling" influences my actions every day. When I identify as "transgendered" (usually qualifying it with the phrase "non-essentialist"), I do so as a convenience because it signifies a range of identifications other than female and male, or feminine and masculine. However, I am also skeptical of the construction of transgendered identities, which do not emerge independent of patriarchal dominations, and are in that way also symptomatic of conditions of gender oppression. I am particularly concerned with the ways in which medical industries construct transgendered bodies within heterosexist patriarchies, and the sexism underlying the visual aesthetics of cosmetic surgery in general

it's a weird and funny and uncomfortable interview that probably doesn't clarify anything in this context, except perhaps that it's requisite for someone to think about her stated relation to gender while considering something like this

extra .html in that link, whoops

Terre definitely read Testo Junkie and I'm so into that

Cocteau Twins - Heaven Or Las Vegas
Erykah Badu - New Amerykah Part One: Fourth World War
Kate Bush - The Dreaming
My Bloody Valentine - Loveless
Minnie Riperton - Come To My Garden
Britney Spears - Blackout
Janet Jackson - Control
Fleetwood Mac - Rumours
Lizzy Mercier Descloux - Mambo Nassau
Aaliyah - Aaliyah

A list that I will contradict immediately:

Susanne Sundfør - Ten Love Songs
Laura Nyro - Christmas and the Beads of Sweat
Brigitte Fontaine - Comme à la Radio
Kate Bush - Hounds of Love
Javiera Mena - Otra Era
Carol Douglas - Midnight Love Affair
Margie Joseph - Makes A New Impression
Diana Ross - Surrender
Georgia Anne Muldrow - Olesi: Fragments of an Earth
Josephine Foster - Blood Rushing

Seconding or thirding Elis Regina. What the fuck, NPR? No one has mentioned Joy of Cooking's first album, let alone their other 2 or the Terry Garthwaite solo stuff. No Esther Phillips, but, of course, Nina Simone. So I don't take it seriously at all, and then, their country stuff is also just lame. Very ahistorical list, the usual solemnities, etc. No fun.

https://www.npr.org/2018/04/09/600116052/turning-the-tables-the-150-greatest-albums-made-by-women-as-chosen-by-you

1. Joni Mitchell, Blue (Reprise, 1971)
2. Carole King, Tapestry (Ode, 1971)
3. Lauryn Hill, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (Ruffhouse/Columbia, 1998)
4. Kate Bush, Hounds of Love (EMI, 1985)
Pearl by Janis Joplin
5. Janis Joplin, Pearl (Columbia, 1971)
6. Patti Smith, Horses (Arista, 1975)
7. Amy Winehouse, Back to Black (Island, 2006)
8. Beyoncé, Lemonade (Parkwood/Columbia, 2016)
9. Tori Amos, Little Earthquakes (Atlantic, 1992)
10. Joni Mitchell, Court and Spark (Asylum, 1974)
11. Adele, 21 (XL/Columbia, 2011)
12. Liz Phair, Exile in Guyville (Matador, 1993)
13. Taylor Swift, 1989 (Big Machine Records, 2013)
14. Aretha Franklin, I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You (Atlantic, 1967)
15. Björk, Homogenic (One Little Indian/Elektra, 1997)
16. Lucinda Williams, Car Wheels on a Gravel Road (Mercury, 1998)
17. Tori Amos, Boys for Pele (Atlantic, 1996)
18. Tracy Chapman, Tracy Chapman (Elektra, 1988)
19. Taylor Swift, Reputation (Big Machine, 2017)
20. Joni Mitchell, Hejira (Asylum, 1976)
20. Joanna Newsom, Ys (Drag City, 2006)
22. Bonnie Raitt, Nick of Time (Capitol, 1989)
23. Hole, Live Through This (DGC, 1994)
24. Kate Bush, The Dreaming (EMI, 1982)
25. Sleater-Kinney, Dig Me Out (Kill Rock Stars, 1997)
26. Melissa Etheridge, Yes I Am (Island, 1993)
27. Tina Turner, Private Dancer (Capitol, 1984)
28. Neko Case, Fox Confessor Brings the Flood (ANTI-, 2006)
29. Dusty Springfield, Dusty in Memphis (Atlantic, 1969)
30. Aretha Franklin, Lady Soul (Atlantic, 1968)
31. Fiona Apple, The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do (Epic, 2012)
32. Alanis Morissette, Jagged Little Pill (Maverick, 1995)
33. Taylor Swift, Red (Big Machine, 2012)
34. Lorde, Melodrama (Republic, 2017)
35. Stevie Nicks, Bella Donna (Modern/Atlantic, 1981)
36. Fleetwood Mac, Rumours (Warner Bros., 1977)
37. Björk, Vespertine (One Little Indian/Elektra, 2001)
38. Björk, Post (One Little Indian/Elektra, 1995)
39. Janet Jackson, Control (A&M, 1986)
40. Tori Amos, Under the Pink (Atlantic, 1994)
41. Solange, A Seat at the Table (Columbia, 2016)
42. Carly Rae Jepsen, E•MO•TION (Interscope, 2015)
42. PJ Harvey, To Bring You My Love (Island, 1995)
44. Linda Ronstadt, Heart Like a Wheel (Capitol, 1974)
45. Fiona Apple, When the Pawn... (Epic, 1999)
46. St. Vincent, St. Vincent (Loma Vista, 2014)
47. PJ Harvey, Rid of Me (Island, 1993)
48. Annie Lennox, Diva (Arista, 1992)
49. The Breeders, Last Splash (4AD/Elektra, 1993)
50. PJ Harvey, Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea (Island, 2000)
51. Rickie Lee Jones, Rickie Lee Jones (Warner Bros., 1981)
51. Lorde, Pure Heroine (Lava/Republic, 2013)
51. Blondie, Parallel Lines (Chrysalis, 1978)
54. Janelle Monáe, The ArchAndroid (Bad Boy/Wondaland, 2010)
55. Kate Bush, The Kick Inside (EMI, 1978)
56. Indigo Girls, Indigo Girls (Epic, 1989)
57. Joni Mitchell, The Hissing of Summer Lawns (Asylum, 1975)
58. Björk, Debut (Elektra, 1993)
59. M.I.A., Kala (XL/Interscope, 2007)
60. X-Ray Spex, Germfree Adolescents (EMI, 1978)
60. TLC, CrazySexyCool (LaFace, 1994)
60. Laura Nyro, Eli and the Thirteenth Confession (Columbia, 1968)
63. Rickie Lee Jones, Pirates (Warner Bros., 1981)
64. Sade, Diamond Life (Sony, 1984)
65. Dixie Chicks, Wide Open Spaces (Monument, 1998)
66. Laura Nyro, New York Tendaberry (Columbia, 1969)
67. Joni Mitchell, For the Roses (Asylum, 1972)
68. Madonna, Madonna (Sire, 1983)
68. Marianne Faithfull, Broken English (Island, 1979)
70. Fiona Apple, Tidal (Work Group/Clean Slate/Columbia, 1996)
71. Heart, Dreamboat Annie (Mushroom, 1976)
72. Brandi Carlile, The Story (Columbia, 2007)
73. Norah Jones, Come Away With Me (Blue Note, 2002)
74. St. Vincent, Strange Mercy (4AD, 2011)
75. Sarah McLachlan, Fumbling Towards Ecstasy (Nettwerk /Arista, 1993)
76. Madonna, Like a Prayer (Sire, 1989)
77. Melissa Etheridge, Melissa Etheridge (Island Records, 1998)
78. Erykah Badu, Baduizm (Universal, 1997)
79. Grimes, Art Angels (4AD, 2015)
80. Nina Simone, I Put a Spell on You (Philips, 1965)
81. Missy Elliott, Supa Dupa Fly (Elektra/The Goldmind Inc., 1997)
82. Florence + the Machine, Lungs (Island Records, 2009)
83. Madonna, Like A Virgin (Sire, 1984)
83. Sinead O'Connor, I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got (Ensign, 1990)
85. Janelle Monáe, The Electric Lady (Bad Boy/Wondaland, 2013)
86. Lana Del Rey, Born to Die (Interscope, 2012)
86. Joni Mitchell, Ladies of the Canyon (Reprise Records, 1970)
88. k.d. lang, Ingénue (Sire, 1992)
89. The Slits, Cut (Island Records, 1979)
90. Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Fever to Tell (Interscope, 2003)
90. Florence + the Machine, Ceremonials (Island Records 2011)
92. Laura Nyro and Labelle, Gonna Take a Miracle (Columbia, 1971)
93. Kate Bush, The Sensual World (Columbia Records, 1989)
94. Cocteau Twins, Heaven or Las Vegas (4AD, 1990)
94. Pretenders, Pretenders (Sire, 1980)
96. Bonnie Raitt, Luck of the Draw (Capitol, 1991)
97. Tegan and Sara, The Con (Sire , 2007)
97. Bonnie Raitt, Give It Up (Warner Bros., 1972)
97. St. Vincent, MASSEDUCTION (Loma Vista, 2017)
100. Joni Mitchell, Clouds (A&M, 1969)
100. Dolly Parton, Jolene (RCA, 1974)
102. Etta James, At Last! (Argo, 1960)
102. Alabama Shakes, Sound and Color (ATO, 2015)
104. Lady Gaga, The Fame Monster (Interscope, 2009)
105. Sade, Love Deluxe (Sony, 1992)
106. Whitney Houston, Whitney (Arista, 1987)
106. Beyoncé, 4 (Parkwood/Columbia, 2011)
108. Pat Benatar, Crimes of Passion (Chrysalis, 1980)
109. Grace Jones, Nightclubbing (Island Records, 1981)
109. Aimee Mann, Bachelor No. 2 (V2, 1999)
109. Joan Osborne, Relish (Mercury Records, 1995)
112. The Pretenders, Learning to Crawl (Sire Records, 1984)
113. Janet Jackson, Rhythm Nation (A&M, 1989)
113. Mary Chapin Carpenter, Stones in the Road (Columbia Records, 1994)
115. Cyndi Lauper, She's So Unusual (Portrait/Sony 1983)
115. Madonna, Ray of Light (Warner Bros., 1998)
117. Courtney Barnett, Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit (Marathon Artists, 2015)
118. Sinead O'Connor, The Lion and the Cobra (Ensign/Chrysalis, 1987)
119. Whitney Houston, Whitney Houston (Arista, 1985)
120. Cat Power, Moon Pix (Matador, 1998)
121. Sarah McLachlan, Surfacing (Arista Records, 1997)
121. Emmylou Harris, Wrecking Ball (Elektra Records, 1995)
123. Mary Chapin Carpenter, Come On Come On (Columbia, 1992)
123. Tori Amos, Scarlet's Walk (Epic/Sony Records, 2002)
125. Angel Olsen, My Woman (Jagjaguwar, 2016)
126. The Go-Gos, Beauty and the Beat (I.R.S. Records, 1981)
127. Neko Case, Middle Cyclone (ANTI-, 2009)
128. Carly Simon, No Secrets (Elektra, 1972)
129. Sleater-Kinney, The Woods (Sub Pop, 2005)
129. Alice Coltrane, Journey in Satchidananda (GRP/Impulse!, 1971)
131. Erykah Badu, Mama's Gun (Motown/Puppy Love, 2000)
132. Jewel, Pieces of You (Atlantic, 1995)
133. PJ Harvey, Dry (Island Records, 1992)
133. Joan Baez, Diamonds and Rust (A&M, 1975)
135. Big Brother and the Holding Company, Cheap Thrills (Columbia, 1968)
136. Nico, Chelsea Girl (Verve, 1967)
137. HAIM, Days Are Gone (Columbia Records, 2013)
138. Donna Summer, Bad Girls (Casablanca, 1979)
139. Nina Simone, Pastel Blues (Philips, 1965)
140. Dolly Parton, Coat of Many Colors (RCA Records, 1971)
141. Dixie Chicks, Taking the Long Way (Open Wide/Columbia Nashville , 2006)
142. The Bangles, All Over the Place (Columbia Records, 1984)
143. Mariah Carey, The Emancipation of Mimi (Island Def Jam, 2005)
144. Joan Jett, Bad Reputation (Blackheart Records, 1980)
145. Annie Lennox, Medusa (Arista Records, 1995)
146. Kate Bush, Never For Ever (EMI, 1980)
147. Norah Jones, Feels Like Home (Blue Note Records, 2004)
148. Taylor Swift, Fearless (Big Machine, 2008)
149. Erykah Badu, New Amerykah Part One (4th World War) (Universal Motown, 2008)
150. Joanna Newsom, Have One On Me (Drag City, 2010)

19. Taylor Swift, Reputation (Big Machine, 2017)
20. Joni Mitchell, Hejira (Asylum, 1976)

definitely the best part

19. Taylor Swift, Reputation (Big Machine, 2017)

what the flying fuck

loool

73. Norah Jones, Come Away With Me (Blue Note, 2002)
127. Neko Case, Middle Cyclone (ANTI-, 2009)
^^nice!

The quote in the article about hounds of love as “quintessential to being” is otm

Lots of great albums here if erring on the polite and MOR a little too much. hoped there might be room for throwing muses but I guess we could all insert our favorites.

Amelia Fletcher snubbed again

Happy to see Homogenic in the top 20!

No Paramore, but Grimes made it in at least.

I was hoping we could sneak Ten Love Songs in there somewhere. Overall, it's a surprisingly good list. Very happy to see Erykah Badu and Bjork do well. Cocteau Twins and Grace Jones are nice surprises too.

The biggest shock for me is no Madonna until number 68 and that the debut is her highest. It's my favourite, but I would have put money on Ray Of Light or Like A Prayer being much higher.

awesome artists missing here:

Danielle Dax
The Shangri-Las
The Raincoats
Dawn Richard
Ann Peebles
Ane Brun
Aimee Mann
Angel Haze
Au Revoir Simone
Barbara Morgenstern
Catherine Ribiero
Chelsea Wolfe
Claire Hamill
Dead Can Dance/Lisa Gerrard
El Perro del Mar
Electrelane
Maria Minerva

and where tf is suzanne vega

Interesting to see TBYML placing over ROM, even if it's just lol 5 places.

I voted for Electrelane but didn't expect them at all to place, and if the krautrock spot was going to be repped on this list, it would've been Stereolab.

smh no avril lavigne

i'm also a bit mad missy elliott got bumped all the way down to 81 from no. 5 in the original

I appreciated this paragraph from Ann Powers:

Other current mainstream artists with notoriously passionate fan bases, strangely, didn't see as much gain. Lemonade did come in at 8, but only one other Beyoncé album charted, and there's not even a whisper of Rihanna here. That omission, alongside the absence of most jazz and R&B musicians and any Latinx artist, may say more about who this poll reached, and the demographics of NPR Music readers, than those artists' legacies. (This is how a list becomes a signal to the organization that publishes it, to consider its own blind spots.) Legends whose careers peaked before 1960 also mostly dropped off the list or ranked low. I'm curious about what happened to Nina Simone. Her I Put a Spell on You, No. 3 on the original list, drops to 80 here. It makes me wonder: Has her re-emergence as a major historical figure been mostly symbolic? Is her music as resonant as her biography — and if not, should those of us with the power of playlists be doing more to get it out there?

I count about 30/150 albums being from women of color, many of whom were R&B musicians. Seems reasonably inclusive?

Also she probably doesn't need to say Latinx if she's specifically talking about Latina women. Agree about their absence, although Mariah Carey is part Venezuelan.

I can't believe I didn't include A Raw Youth by Le Butcherettes on my list though.

why does nobody ever vote for the best Laura Nyro album

Eli?

Continuing the series, The 200 Greatest Songs by 21st Century Women.

Liking J Shep’s contributions of non-American acts in my quick look at this so far.

"women+" is a non-starter for me. rules for this one were bizarre too

"Standing in the Way of Control" is way too low on the list.

tons of good songs

Khia too low :P

Sick to death of lists tbh.

I like playlists

200-101 probably more interesting than 100-1, as usual

personal faves not on the list: cat power, neko case, cupcakke, eleanor friedberger, fiona apple, jessie ware, weather station, weyes blood, selena gomez, melanie de biasio, alvvays

oh yeah and joan shelley but I realize she may be niche

cat power, neko case, fiona apple

all debuted before 2000 so they'd never appear on this list

the best part about that rule is that it would probably add like twenty names total and the actual cost would be like "I can't believe we have to have mention Missy Elliott instead of two Jenny Lewis/CARLY FUCKIN RAE JEPPERS songs" or "which of these completely forgettable Brooklyn/Philly/Boston indie rock bands won't make the cut"

Or just making the list 250 songs!

Yes. 70 plus contributors and it looks like none of them are listening to afropop -- sorry Yemi Alade but you did not make the list. The NPR "whirled music" person did get Noura Mint Seymali on this list of mostly Americans and Brits.

The NPR "whirled music" person did get Noura Mint Seymali on this list of mostly Americans and Brits.

Tanya Tagaq, too.

Completely erasing Missy Elliott, Aaliyah, Destiny’s Child, Erykah Badu, Mary J Blige and Sade from the canon in favor of a murderer's row of white privilege Pitchfork bands and a Tune-Yards song called "Powa" and then branding it all with THEY SLAY and "REWIND. REMIX. REPRESENT." and "Turning the Tables" is some real neoliberalism on parade