Billboard Album Charts April 2008 and 1968: How Things Have Changed

This is a post that may have me branded an old man, a "rock curmudgeon", a "boomer triumphalist", etc, but....................

As April comes to a close I thought it might be interesting to compare the Billboard album charts now with 40 years ago:

Here's the Top Ten now:

1.Mariah Carey E=MC2

2.Leona Lewis Spirit

3.Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: The Best Of Both Worlds Concert

4.Lady Antebellum Lady Antebellum

5.Various Artists NOW 27

6.George Strait Troubadour

7.Soundtrack Alvin And The Chipmunks

8.Soundtrack Juno

9.R.E.M.Accelerate

10. Taylor Swift Taylor Swift


There's maybe one album worth a listen and the rest aren't really music at all:

Here's the chart in the first week of April 1968


1. The Graduate by Simon & Garfunkel/Soundtrack

2. Blooming Hits by Paul Mauriat and His Orchestra

3. Aretha: Lady Soul by Aretha Franklin

4. The Dock Of The Bay by Otis Redding

5. Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme by Simon & Garfunkel

6. Valley of the Dolls by Dionne Warwick

7. John Wesley Harding by Bob Dylan

8. Disraeli Gears by Cream

9. Axis: Bold As Love by the Jimi Hendrix Experience

10. The Good, The Bad and The Ugly soundtrack


At least four albums (in bold) that are historical milestones in rock and only one or two that are complete dross.

You could argue, maybe that the market has changed and alot of records go to tweens now rather than teens; lets have a look then at the current rock chart to see if we can avoid this:


1. R.E.M. Accelerate

2. Jack JohnsonSleep Through The Static

3. Daughtry Daughtry

4. ThriceThe Alchemy Index, Vol. 3 & 4: Air & Earth

5. RushSnakes & Arrows: Live

6. Children Of Bodom Blooddrunk

7. Panic At The DiscoPretty.Odd.

8. Colbie Caillat Coco

9. Tristan Prettyman Hello...X

10 The Raconteurs Consolers Of The Lonely

Any better ? Well, abit, any historical milestones, probably not.......