The Great Albums

Latest episodes

Showing 20 · updated from the feed

Meet the Team (w/ Ryan Hanratty and Bill Greenwood)

Bill and Brian welcome Ryan Hanratty and Bill Greenwood. Ryan and Bill have been handling all the cool social media content everyone's been seeing recently. Ryan edits vi

Sep 15
22 min

The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Are You Experienced

Bill and Brian talk about what makes Are You Experienced by the Jimi Hendrix Experience great! We examine how the power trio's debut expanded the possibilities of rock gu

Sep 1
1 h 07 min

The Promise Ring - Very Emergency (w/ guests Jim Hanke, Dan Didier)

Bill and Brian are very lucky to be joined by, not one, but TWO very special guests to discuss what we love about the Promise Ring's Very Emergency (1999, Jade Tree). Fir

Aug 1
1 h 33 min

Jimmy Eat World - Stay on My Side Tonight

Did you know the Great Albums has a Patreon with exclusive bonus content? Here's a sample of our first bonus episode in which Bill, Brian, and our good buddy Bill Greenwo

Jul 22
25 min

The Beths - Future Me Hates Me

Bill and Brian dive into what they love about the Beth's debut album Future Me Hates Me (2018, Carpark) with a track-by-track review, awarding the album with the kudos we

Jul 1
1 h 06 min

Vampire Weekend - Self-Titled

Bill and Brian discuss Vampire Weekend's self-titled debut (XL, 2008). We talk about what makes this album great, hand out some "awards," revisit what critics said, and d

Jun 1
1 h 06 min

Announcement - We're Back! A Podcast's Story

You heard it here first! Bill and Brian will be returning with all new episodes, a fresh format, and the same great taste on June 1st. Listen in for all the details!

May 1
30 min

Liner Notes - Bill's Listening Habits in 2019

Bill pulls up Spotify's curated 2019 playlist and sits down to talk about what he enjoyed (or just listened to) in 2019. Bill talks about the Weakerthans, the National, t

Dec 30 2019
38 min

Top 10 Albums of 2019 (Jeff)

Bill and Brian hang out with thegreatalbums.com blogger Jeff Fiedler as he counts down his favorite albums from 2019. Listen to find out where he ranked albums from: Lana

Dec 16 2019
1 h 18 min

Top 10 Albums of 2019 (Brian)

Brian lists his favorite albums of 2019! Bill listens. Listen in to find out where Brian ranked albums from: Black Belt Eagle Scout, Lana Del Rey, King Princess, Jenny Le

Dec 9 2019
1 h 27 min

Liner Notes - All Good Things...

Bill and Brian give thanks, list our top 10 episodes, and read a bunch of emails in the midst of our indefinite hiatus.

Sep 9 2019
1 h 32 min

The Replacements - Let It Be (Reprise)

In our final episode that'll be part of a regular release schedule, we take a look back at the first album we ever discussed, the Replacements' Let It Be (1984, Twin/Tone

Jul 1 2019
1 h 48 min

Radiohead - OK Computer

It's finally happening! As we reach the penultimate episode to be part of our weekly releases, Bill and Brian take the time to talk about what's great about Radiohead's O

Jun 24 2019
1 h 52 min

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Let Love In (w/ guest Doug Robertson)

Author and educator Doug Robertson, AKA the Weird Teacher, joins Bill and Brian to discuss Nick Cave and the Bad Seed's Let Love In (1994, Mute Records).

Jun 23 2019
2 h 03 min

The Hold Steady - Separation Sunday (w/ guest Sean Barna)

Musician Sean Barna drops by to discuss the Hold Steady's sophomore effort Separation Sunday (2005, Frenchkiss).

Jun 9 2019
2 h 09 min

Sonic Youth - Murray St. (w/ guest Scott Sylvester)

Musician Scott Sylvester (Meeko Brando) hangs out with Bill and Brian while we discuss Sonic Youth's Murray St. (2002, DGC Records).

May 27 2019
1 h 50 min

The Police - Synchronicity (w/ guest Maureen Zahn)

Writer, blogger, and vlogger Maureen Zahn joins Bill and Brian to discuss the Police's Synchronicity (1983, A&M). *There's a part in the show where we reference Synchroni

May 20 2019
2 h 08 min

Garbage - Self Titled (w/ guest Rachel from We Are Weezer)

Podcaster Rachel from We Are Weezer joins us from across the country to talk about one of her top 3 bands of all time, Garbage, and their debut self titled album (1995, A

May 13 2019
2 h 12 min

Liner Notes - Special Announcement

We're back from a month long break from the podcast with a Liner Notes episode. Bill and Brian discuss what they've been up to in their time off - check out Brian's new b

May 6 2019
49 min

The Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (w/ guest Matt Warren)

On another exciting episode of the Great Albums...Bill and Brian are joined by Matt Warren, Digital Content Manager for filmindependent.org, to discuss the Flaming Lips'

Apr 1 2019
2 h 02 min

Chart trend

Position in the Music Commentary chart (US), last 90 days.

#1#97#192JunJulAugSep

#31

all-time peak

days in the top 50 since Nov 2024

Chart positions

Where The Great Albums ranks today in each Apple Podcasts chart (US, Sep 21, 2026).

#150 ▲ 29 Music Commentary US

What listeners say

A curated, balanced selection of Apple Podcasts reviews.

I really enjoy getting some insight and background on albums I aleady know (Houses of the Holy) or albums I never really listened to, but have now become part of my audio library (Pet Sounds). I've been going back and listening to episodes I originally missed, and now I see you're doing some new content. It's great to have Bill and Brian as a temporary escape during the pandemic. Keep it up and how about a few of your High Fives?

billbixby · May 2020

I stumbled upon this podcast somehow a while ago and have since listened to a bunch. The Siamese Dream, Blue Album, amd Chutes Too Narrow eps were great. It also took me through some albums I’ve never actually dove into (Dark Side Of The Moon) and took me on a few nostalgic trips (Yield). Either way, I like their voices and ideas and opinions and stories (Playing the shins in front of a strange girl and your aunt!) and they seem like friends I Would kick it with. Well done gentlemen and thank you.

To11800th · Jun 2019

Great Podcast. As much as it exposes me to new music and fresh insights to music I already know...I enjoy to back and forth between the hosts and their guests. Keep pumping these out.

blaine63 · Apr 2019

This is one of my absolute favorites. I have recommended it to everyone I know who either loves podcasts or music. The key to my enjoyment, as a sixty-one year old who remembers the release of virtually all of these albums, is going back and listening again once I finish an episode. It opens up so many new possibilities and shows me so many things I missed. Musicians who are also fans are the only people that could pull this off, but anyone could derive something from what they have managed to create. Thank you for that.

Paul T in Boston · Jan 2019

There are a lot of 5-star reviews, and I felt like I was taking crazy pills. Then I scrolled down to see that there were a bunch of people who said what I was planning to say. Whew. I wanted a podcast with good research and thoughtful review of "great albums." When I finally tried this one out...it was what a lot of review complain about. Talking about everything but the album. For instance, in the Nothing Left to Lose Foo Fighters podcast...I learned what one host's girlfriend gave him for Christmas when he was 15. Castle Wolfenstein, the video game. I learned that they didn't expect that there were new viewers, but then they said maybe there WERE first time listeners listening. They said they shudder at how bad their early episodes were. They went over the fact that there was no real reason for doing that particular review except that they liked the album. They said there was no important anniversary or anything. And they, as they were saying that out loud, they put together that it was 20 years since the album came out, so it WAS an anniversary. Crap like this went on for THIRTY minutes before they started breaking down songs. Look, if hosts are witty or incisive or something, it's all well and good to listen to them say entertaining things...but this elevated uninteresting small talk to high art. And when they finally got into the background of the band, they kept having to correct each other on the facts. And when they tried to discuss equipment, they had trouble disguising that they had never seen the equipment they were GUESSING that the Foo Fighters used. SKIP IT.

Terry212am · Jun 2019

While their episode titles are not exactly mis-leading, be prepared to sit through 20-80% chatty filler while waiting for them to get around to it. The 2-hour No Doubt /Tragic Kingdom episode doesn't even start until hour 2. They could edit the thing down to 40 minutes and it would be pretty sharp.

Joe-KC · Jan 2019

We strive to present a balanced view by showing a diverse range of reviews from Apple Podcasts.