VH1 Offers Best Album List

Revolver, which bridged the Beatles' moptop era with their experimental years in the studio, was judged the best album in rock 'n' roll history by experts in a VH1 poll released Thursday.

The Beatles accounted for five of the top 11 on VH1's list of the 100 greatest albums.

VH1 polled more than 500 journalists, music executives and artists. Wyclef Jean, Britney Spears, Carole King, Jackson Browne, Elvis Costello and Roberta Flack were among the respondents.

Revolver, which was released in 1966, included Eleanor Rigby; She Said She Said; Taxman; Here, There and Everywhere; and Tomorrow Never Knows.

"Revolver is just invulnerable," said Bill Flanagan, VH1 executive producer. "Every track is great. Every track is like a polished jewel."

Rubber Soul (No. 6), Abbey Road (No. 8) and The Beatles, also known as "the white album" (No. 11), were the other Beatles discs on the list.

Nirvana's 1991 Nevermind, which launched the grunge rock era, was No. 2 on the list, followed by the Beach Boys' 1966 Pet Sounds, which founder Brian Wilson performed in its entirety on a concert tour last year.

Works by two artists who died under tragic circumstances rounded out the top 5: Marvin Gaye's socially conscious What's Going On from 1971 and the Jimi Hendrix Experience's Are You Experienced? from 1967.

The oldest music on the list was from Elvis Presley's Sun Sessions, recorded in 1954-55 but not released as an album until 1976, and the newest was Lauryn Hill's 1998 The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (No. 37).

The Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan each had four albums on the list. Artists with three each included Led Zeppelin, The Who, Aretha Franklin, Hendrix, Prince, Paul Simon and Michael Jackson.

While mega-selling albums like Jackson's Thriller (No. 23) and Carole King's Tapestry (No. 39) made the list, many judged influential were poor sellers at the time.

Examples include Kraftwerk's 1977 Trans-Europe Express (No. 56), Television's 1977 Marquee Moon (No. 83) and the late Jeff Buckley's 1994 debut, Grace (No. 73).

"It reminds you of the fact that ultimately albums that stand the test of time mean a lot to people in isolation, millions of people in isolation," Flanagan said.

There's also a lot to be said for first impressions: 18 of the top albums were debuts, from The Doors to Lauryn Hill.

And newlywed Madonna has something else to celebrate. Her Like a Prayer album made it on the list, barely, at No. 100.

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