Albums vs. Playlists: The Great Debate
Albums vs. Playlists: The Great Debate
Plus: Pearl Jam, Lil Wayne, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Gang of Four, Grateful Dead, LIz Phair
Albums and playlists are two of the basic building blocks of listening to great music. But what are they, and which is better? It’s a more complicated question than you might think, so let’s dive in.
What is an Album?
An album is a collection of songs recorded and released by an artist or band that was most likely recorded at the same time, and is intended to fit together as one musical unit.
The term “album” comes from the original form of music distribution, the 78rpm record. These small discs were stored in books that looked like photo albums, which gave the records their name. An artist might release a group of songs together in one of these albums, with a record for each song.
The 78rpm record format didn’t last long because the 33rpm record - the kind we all know, made of vinyl and about 12 inches in diameter, and spinning at a slower speed of 33rpm - soon replaced them. But the name stuck.
Over time, the word “album” came to refer to a group of songs an artist recorded and released together. The earliest albums were often just collections of singles, or songs that were released individually for playing on the radio or at home on records. A record with multiple songs on it was known as a long-playing album, or LP, a term that’s still around today. A 12-inch 33rpm LP usually contained 20 minutes of music on each side, for a total of about 40 minutes of music.
The ability to record multiple songs onto one record gave musicians many new options for expressing themselves. It was now possible to record 20 minutes of songs and arrange them together in a way that made sense - you could your songs in whatever order you want and create a mood or effect that way. Soon musicians started playing with the ways their songs could fit together, and even using them to tell a story or express a theme that wasn’t captured in a single song - this idea came to be known as a “concept album.” The first concept albums included In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning by Frank Sinatra, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band by the Beatles, and Tommy by The Who. (Which was the first “real” concept album is up for debate, but these three typically appear in every conversation on the topic).
The idea of the album became the dominant way artists released music from the early 70’s until today. The start and end of the “Album Era” is up for debate, but it’s very likely that you favorite songs were released on an album with others by the artist, and that those songs were put together intentionally on an album.
There are some who say the album is dying because the way artists release music is changing. It’s sometimes seen as easier to make money as an artist, for example, by releasing a single song every month compared to one album a year. This is possibly true for artists whose music is played frequently on social media, where a single track is all you can fit into a TikTok or Instagram post. If you make money from a small part of one track going viral on a TikTok post, what’s the point in making an entire album? But in my experience, the majority of artists are still making albums today.
What is a Playlist?
A playlist is a group of songs just like an album, but they are usually chosen by someone other than the artist. Playlists also often include songs from multiple artists, or from different genres or time periods.
The modern idea of the playlists is more related to streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music, but the idea of the playlist started around the 1980’s, when radio DJ’s had to choose a sequence of songs to play for their audiences. The DJ’s recognized that they could keep people entertained by choosing interesting sequences of songs - this could be as simple as playing all songs in a certain genre like rock n’ roll, or by playing songs in a common theme like breakup songs or dance songs to create a mood.
The general idea has remained the same - a playlist is a way to group music together by a common theme. There are thousands of themes you could choose for your playlist, and many ways to make the playlist itself, but the concept is that music sounds better when played with other music that complements it.
Whether you’re talking about a radio DJ choosing a sequence of songs, a playlist on Spotify for a dance party, or an old-school mixtape from the 90’s you made for your crush, playlists have always been a great way to listen to music.
Which is Better - Albums or Playlists?
I’ve learned that listening to albums is an extremely pure and rewarding way to appreciate artists’ creative choices. An album illuminates the moment in time when the artist was in the studio fretting over each note and putting together the ultimate vibe that captures their life at that time. It’s like the difference between an interview and a biography - a single song might give you the same glimpse into an artist’s mind as a short interview, but the entire album gives you a much deeper and more nuanced view of the music, just like a biography might (or at least, a chapter in a biography).
But I’ve also found that listening to albums requires a bit more focus to appreciate those nuances. And sometimes, like when I’m at the gym or driving, I don’t really have the brainpower to dedicate to that kind of listening. In those situations I’m more prone to pull up a shuffled playlist of my favorite songs (or Spotify’s picks for me) and listen to that instead of an album, knowing that these playlists will require less brainpower to enjoy. They might even fade into the background, and I’m fine with that because I know I’m not missing parts of an overall story, I’m just missing little flashes in the playlist that have nothing to do with each other. And that’s exactly what I need when I’m cruising down the interstate focusing on avoiding all the idiot drivers and enormous trucks and massive potholes one finds in the American south.
So I thought it would be fun to have a mock debate - albums vs. playlists. Nothing too serious, just having some fun with it! I’d also love to hear what you all think, so let me know in the comments!
Why Albums Are Better Than Playlists
We all know about how the album has been a celebrated unit of music for decades now, so I won’t even get into all the history of the concept album, the different ways artists have turned that form into genius works of art, or the joy we feel when listening to one album, uninterrupted, start to finish. We all know that, right? I mean, come on, nobody’s ever going to make a list of the “500 greatest playlists of all time,” because the act of making a playlist is just as important to musicians as the act of collecting comic books is to Spiderman. Albums have reigned supreme for decades, and I think they should continue to do so.
And there’s an even bigger case for albums these days; the world is losing its attention span, and listening to randomized playlists over and over is just making that problem worse. Which would you rather your kids do - read a book, or watch a TikTok? Listening to music on shuffle is just as bad as scrolling through micro-videos. You end up with all the mental stability of a squirrel. Reading books, and listening to albums, is much better in the long run.
Why Playlists Are Better Than Albums
Look, all of us know the power of a good mixtape, even if some of us are too young to really know what a mixtape is. But just imagine you have a little cassette tape that can hold, oh I don’t even remember, maybe 8 songs. And you have to choose exactly the right sequence of sounds that’s going to accomplish your goal with this mixtape - most likely to impress a potential love interest. What are the odds that an existing album is going to nail that sequence of songs exactly right and communicate all the love that’s in your heart at that moment? Basically none, not to mention it just comes off as lazy and not thoughtful to give someone an album by somebody else to tell them how you feel. A mixtape is personal, and it makes the music more you than just listening to it from the source.
There’s also a very low likelihood that any album, no matter how awesome, is going to apply to every situation where you might want to jam. Sure, there are plenty of good albums out there that can get you pumped up for the gym, but the last thing you want to hear when you’re pounding away on the treadmill is a band’s experimental “glue” song that’s just there to keep the album flowing, or even worse, to let the energy of the album relax a little bit before a big climactic finale. If you’re at the gym, you want all energy, all the time, and albums just don’t flow that way. Now, music at the gym is just one example, but you can see how the same logic could apply to many other situations - romantic times, hanging out in the backyard with friends, getting relaxed before a big meeting, trying to fall asleep. Albums aren’t designed for those purposes, but playlists can be, and they do the job of adapting to any situation extremely well.
So what do you think? Are you team album or team playlist? Let me know in the comments!
Project BAE - Best Albums Ever
Each week I review a few albums from my current listening project. This week’s group is a randomized selection from the Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list. You can find the complete project and latest reviews at www.jamwise.org.
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Ten - Pearl Jam
I’ll be honest here, as always. I have heard this album more times than any other except maybe Led Zeppelin II and III. I’ve had 4 generations of the Ten T-shirt, replacing it each time the old one wears out.
Brain Rating: 8.5
Taste Rating: 10
Jams:
“Once”
“Alive”
“Black”
“Garden”
“Release”
Axis: Bold As Love - The Jimi Hendrix Experience
Another artist I grew up with in constant rotation on the good ol’ Walkman. I love Jimi and his textured guitar parts that sound like they’re dripping with moisture. And “She’s So Fine” was a song I wasn’t familiar with that was great, sung by Noel Redding instead of Jimi. This one’s going in the collection without a doubt.
Brain Rating: 9
Taste Rating: 8.5
Jams
“Wait Until Tomorrow”
“Little Wing”
“Castles Made Of Sand”
“Bold As Love”
“She’s So Fine”
Tha Carter iii - Lil Wayne
I feel like you can define your generation by which rapper got you addicted to hip hop. This is One of the albums that got me addicted to hip hop, and I imagine I’m not alone. What a freaking album. It went beyond reminding me of my high school and college days - this guy is a genius.
Brain Rating: 9.5
Taste Rating: 9
Jams
“Let The Beat Build”
“3 Peat”
Entertainment! - Gang Of Four
A band I’d never even heard the name of before now. From 1978 - pre punk pop with a driving drumbeat. Thats been a neutral genre for me but this was above average enjoyment level. I think it helped I was working out while listening.
Brain Rating: 7.5
Taste Rating: 7
Jams
“Return The Gift”
“I Found That Essence Rare”
Exile in Guyville - Liz Phair
Girl boss shit, and obviously I mean that in the best way. For some reason none of the individual songs grabbed me, but this entire album is such a vibe. It’s from 1993, and I feel like I can hear so many big-personality female artists of future years in this music, and it was super fun trying to connect all the dots to the artists I know and love.
Brain Rating: 9
Taste Rating: 4.5
Jams
“Help Me Mary”
Workingman’s Dead - Grateful Dead
I know I’m a generic fan by only picking the two most famous songs as Jams here, but I am what I am. The rest of the album is stellar, but not as easy to separate from the whole.
Like many members of my personal demographics, I went through a jam band phase in my youth. Although that phase is over for me personally, these guys were obviously godfathers of the jam band movement, and that’s a pretty cool legacy. That doesn’t mean I’m ever going back to an Umphreys McGee concert, though.
Brain Rating: 8
Taste Rating: 6.5
Jams
“Uncle John’s Band”
“Easy Wind”
“Casey Jones”