The All-TIME 100 Albums: London Calling by The Clash

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The All-TIME 100 Albums

47 of 101

By Josh Tyrangiel Published: November 13, 2006

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ALBUM: London Calling

YEAR RELEASED: 1979 LABEL: Sony ARTIST: The Clash

TIME 100 ALBUMS PODCASTS

PODCAST: Welcome to the All-TIME 100 Albums - the musical compilations of the last half-century that need no introduction. That said, listen in below as music critics Josh Tyrangiel and Alan Light introduce the list and talk about the top albums of the 1950s and '60s.

PODCAST: We know. Twenty-nine of the 100 greatest albums of all time come in the 1970s, and Pink Floyd isn't there. Play this podcast to learn why we picked the titles we did, and if you have something to say, tell us about it using the talkback link below.

PODCAST: Maybe it's a Sign O' The Times that you're listening to critics' audio recordings about great music, but this podcast about how we chose the best albums of the 1980s really is a Thriller. Give it a listen below.

PODCAST: Here's music even the younger set will know by heart. Listen to selected clips from the 1990s through present day as music critic Josh Tyrangiel discusses his picks.

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There were more than a few outraged faithful who thought their heroes had sold out because the sound was too smooth to be punk, but London Calling proved that a band could be anti-establishment and pro-melody. Joe Strummer and Mick Jones kept their collective pen focused on the issues of contemporary England and (they hoped) late capitalism ("I'm all lost in the supermarket/ I can no longer shop happily/ I came in here for that special offer/ a guaranteed personality") but they also had enough maturity to realize that, while politics was inseparable from life, it was not life's entirety. The cover features the most famous photo in rock, Paul Simonon the moment before his guitar becomes thousands of expensive toothpicks, bracketed by the same font and colors used on Elvis Presley's debut.