The 100 Gayest Albums Of All Time?

By Luke Lewis

Posted on 11/09/08 at 11:00:44 am

As Manic Street Preachers' Richey Edwards once scrawled on his T-shirt, "All rock'n'roll is homosexual".

In recognition of that fact, Out.com have polled a panel of "gay experts", including Boy George, Rufus Wainwright and Cyndi Lauper, with a view to compiling a list of the "greatest, gayest albums of all time".

Rufus

continued...

Some of the choices are surprising, largely because the compilers opted to include, "not only records by queer musicians but also any records that have had relevance to those voting."

Hence straight acts such as Jeff Buckley and Nirvana rub shoulders with the likes of Queen and Antony And The Johnsons.

Here's their Top 100. You can read more about their criteria for inclusion at Out.com.

100 The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
99 Joni Mitchell - For The Roses
98 Ferron - Testimony
97 Janis Ian - Between The Lines
96 Nick Drake - Bryter Layter
95 Culture Club - Kissing To Be Clever
94 Hair Original Broadway Cast - Hair
93 Sade - Lovers Rock
92 Morrissey - Viva Hate
91 Grace Jones - Nightclubbing
90 Kate Bush - The Kick Inside
89 Fifth Column - To Sir With Hate
88 Hüsker Dü - Zen Arcade
87 Madonna - Confessions On A Dance Floor
86 Madonna - Madonna
85 Nina Simone - Anthology
84 Cyndi Lauper - True Colors
83 Bette Midler - The Divine Miss M
82 Cher - Believe
81 Scissor Sisters - Ta-Dah
80 Rufus Wainwright - Want One
79 T. Rex - Electric Warrior
78 Various - The Rocky Horror Picture Show Soundtrack
77 New Order - Substance
76 Ani DiFranco - Imperfectly
75 Carole King - Tapestry
74 Michael Jackson - Off the Wall
73 Various - Fame Soundtrack
72 Donna Summer - Once Upon a Time
71 Elton John - Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy
70 Rent Original Broadway Cast - Rent
69 Frances Faye - Caught In The Act
68 Nirvana - Nevermind
67 Hüsker Dü - Candy Apple Grey
66 Soft Cell - Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret
65 Le Tigre - Le Tigre
64 Patti Smith - Easter
63 Björk - Debut
62 Jeff Buckley - Grace
61 Sleater-Kinney - Dig Me Out
60 R.E.M. - Automatic For The People
59 Bronski Beat - The Age of Consent
58 Liz Phair - Exile in Guyville
57 Prince - Dirty Mind
56 Team Dresch - Personal Best
55 David Bowie - Diamond Dogs
54 Tori Amos - Little Earthquakes
53 Culture Club - Colour By Numbers
52 Kate Bush - Hounds of Love
51 Frankie Goes To Hollywood - Welcome to the Pleasuredome
50 Rufus Wainwright - Poses
49 Patti Smith - Horses
48 Cris Williamson - The Changer and the Changed
47 The Magnetic Fields - 69 Love Songs
46 Madonna - Ray of Light
45 Bikini Kill - Pussy Whipped
44 Pet Shop Boys - Very
43 Prince - Purple Rain
42 ABBA - Gold
41 Melissa Etheridge - Yes I Am
40 Pet Shop Boys - Behavior
39 Laura Nyro And Labelle - Gonna Take A Miracle
38 Dusty Springfield - Dusty In Memphis
37 Blondie - Parallel Lines
36 Madonna - Erotica
35 Yaz - Upstairs At Eric's
34 Donna Summer - Bad Girls
33 The Smiths - Hatful Of Hollow
32 The Smiths - Meat Is Murder
31 Sarah McLachlan - Fumbling Towards Ecstacy
30 Diana Ross - Diana
29 Pet Shop Boys - Actually
28 Queen - The Game
27 Eurythmics - Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)
26 Scissor Sisters - Scissor Sisters
25 k.d. lang - Ingénue
24 Sylvester - Living Proof
23 Deee-Lite - World Clique
22 The Gossip - Standing In The Way Of Control
21 David Bowie - Hunky Dory
20 Queen - A Day at the Races
19 The B-52s - The B-52's
18 George Michael - Listen Without Prejudice, Vol. I
17 Lou Reed - Transformer
16 Queen - A Night at the Opera
15 George Michael - Faith
14 Erasure - The Innocents
13 Ani DiFranco - Dilate
12 The Velvet Underground & Nico - The Velvet Underground & Nico
11 Various - Hedwig And The Angry Inch Soundtrack
10 Antony And The Johnsons - I Am A Bird Now
09 Cyndi Lauper - She's So Unusual
08 Madonna - The Immaculate Collection
07 Elton John - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
06 The Smiths - The Queen is Dead
05 Judy Garland - Judy at Carnegie Hall
04 Indigo Girls - Indigo Girls
03 Tracy Chapman - Tracy Chapman
02 The Smiths - The Smiths
01 David Bowie - The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars

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the smiths are gay! [Visitor] //September 11 2008 at 12:12

fact!

stephane narguet [Visitor] //September 11 2008 at 13:17

I love that list so much .... wouhhhhh ;)

The Smiths are Gay? [Visitor] //September 11 2008 at 13:30

really

markster [Visitor] //September 11 2008 at 13:59

Every swivel-hipped hettie-boy disco lothario dances on the shoulders of blacker, gayer and much hipper men that came before him, and for this reason no such list would be complete without "We Are Family" by Sister Sledge, "Risque" by Chic, "Saturday Night Fever", "The Original House Sound of Chicago Vol. I", "Live At The Paradise Garage" by Larry Levan, "Come Get It" by Rick James, and "Greatest Hits" by the mighty Sylvester, who - for a 13 year old from the provinces in the midst of both sexual and punk/disco confusion - was the most alarmingly/excitingly homosexual creature in the history of the universe.

gregory poinsenet and Romain Rosart [Visitor] //September 11 2008 at 14:15

Pearl Jam and Public Enemy are gay and they're not here!

The Smiths ARE gay... [Visitor] //September 11 2008 at 14:55

thought so!

4/100 [Visitor] //September 11 2008 at 16:07

I own 4/100 of these albums, does that mean i'm almost 1/20th Gay?

David Moynihan [Member] //September 11 2008 at 16:42

So what are the 100 Straightest Albums of all time? I propose a top 5 of: Bruce Springsteen, Metallica, Pigeon Detectives (it's so bad no gay would ever like it), Oasis, The Courteeners.

weird [Visitor] //September 11 2008 at 16:52

i agree with almost all of them except Nirvana, don't really see how its gay? Am i missing something?

stephane narguet [Visitor] //September 11 2008 at 17:16

what about chopin with his piano "a queue" ... ;)

markster [Visitor] //September 11 2008 at 17:28

...oh, and the top 5 gayest heterosexuals in rock are David Lee Roth, Prince, David Johansen, Iggy Pop and Nile Rogers, for being fearless, loose-limbed and "out there", for not giving a rat's twat if anyone thought they were gay, and for being more than just pucker-arsed gay tourists like Brett Anderson.

markster [Visitor] //September 11 2008 at 17:31

Michelle [Visitor] //September 11 2008 at 17:32

Scissor Sisters should have been much higher. Both Albums.

arcticsubways [Visitor] //September 11 2008 at 21:09

what a gay list why is gay a bad word. iam not gay but this list is stupid

jordan Rudderham [Visitor] //September 11 2008 at 21:42

stupid. morrissey is a little open i suppose, though if you dont respect johnny marr than go to hell. smiths albums are also included in other polls in the top 100 best albums of all time. if i were to re-edit this list i would, exclude sgt. peppers, move atleast two smiths albums off, and take all of lou reed's work away as well.. i was assuming it meant actual gay albums i guess, cause i didnt see the darkness or kaiser chiefs at all.

Swizzel [Visitor] //September 12 2008 at 02:18

I love how Sgt Pepper makes every list. Greatest albums,most over-rated albums,most influential albums etc. Sure enough,if theres an album list,Pepper will be there somewhere.

Brian [Visitor] //September 12 2008 at 02:55

Why the hell isn't Hercules And Love Affair on here?

[Visitor] //September 12 2008 at 09:37

Electric Warrior gay? Please, this is ridiculous. It is all about lust and sex but it is definitely not gay. I am surprised the members of the jury, who are experts left out Phranc on the other hand. Most lesbian folk-singer ever.

Hamish [Visitor] //September 12 2008 at 12:34

Where's Patrick Wolf?

Vibedoctor [Visitor] //September 12 2008 at 13:44

No Kylie!!!!!!!!!

vespagirl [Visitor] //September 12 2008 at 14:07

I think this is pretty close to right-on, but no Mika??? That is a glaring omission, the gay just pours out of the speakers from the first note of Life in Cartoon Motion. (btw...this list doesn't necessarily mean that the artists themselves are gay, just that the albums resonate with gay people, don't freak out, people)

Alex [Visitor] //September 12 2008 at 14:10

How is Nirvana gay, no offence? Agree with the rest of the list anyhoo!!! Surely they missed out 'Mika'?!

markiechops [Visitor] //September 12 2008 at 14:38

""""Electric Warrior gay? Please, this is ridiculous. It is all about lust and sex but it is definitely not gay."""" Can we have a bit of perspective here? If you were young, gay and adrift in a sea of meatheaded cockrock in the early 1970's, what would YOU think if a fey, pouting pretty boy in glitter, make up and ballet pumps suddenly appeared on TOTP singing HOT LOVE. You would immediately cling to anyone who dared to play with gender roles so openly at a time when to do so in the "real world" would have rendered you unemployable and about as smackable as a man can get. Of course it was quickly obvious that he WAS heterosexual, but he was still going to be written off as a poof by every thug in the playground and his father, and for making the provocative statement that he did by appearing in this way, is it any surprise that young gays and lesbians from the time felt an affinity with him?

EC [Visitor] //September 12 2008 at 14:49

Was there really any need to compile a list of 100 albums!? It all gets a bit meaningless after the top 10 or 20. Sgt Pepper is the 100th gayest album of all time .... well woopy f*cking doo! What the hell does that mean ....

Zorro [Visitor] //September 12 2008 at 16:15

No ABC Lexicon of Love. But Frankie goes to Hollywood Makes up for it since it's basically the same album. Thanks Trevor Horn.

Kevin, Ireland [Visitor] //September 12 2008 at 16:32

WHERE THE SHITE ARE THE FEELING?!?!?!?!?!?! Gayest music today! Gayest GOOD music!

Jess [Visitor] //September 12 2008 at 19:42

OMG!!how can The Smiths be up there!!its insane!!

kat [Visitor] //September 13 2008 at 15:43

I think all the people going "ZOMG!! Why is such-and-such a gay album??" are cute. And anyone who thinks that The Smiths could not have any relevance to growing up and being gay should probably take a listen to This Charming Man again. Like the person who noted on it above, the inclusion of Sgt. Peppers is a nice touch, and a nod to the fact it appears on every "Top Whatever" list ever.

OK [Visitor] //September 15 2008 at 02:12

What's the purpose of this?

L-Ro [Visitor] //September 16 2008 at 17:14

Where's 'Liza Minelli sings the Pet Shop Boys Greatest Hits'? Yes, that really is an album!

K Cat [Visitor] //September 16 2008 at 17:44

People are surprised by The Smiths being classed as gay? Theyre my fave band ever, and its quite easy to see how Morrissey flirts with homosexuality in his music...

Andy Cairns [Visitor] //September 16 2008 at 18:41

To be honest, I have to be frank...what's the bloody point? Plus who cares if an album is gay or not anyhow? Isn't this just a true representation of the conservatism and homophobia that still lies dormant in British society. The very nature that we are debating his surely represents this. Although if we have to comment upon this then I suppose it's a fair list. Also quite amusing how some of the greatest albums of all time are in there but I emphasise the word "some".

SillyCatFace!!! [Visitor] //September 16 2008 at 20:05

Nirvana higher up list than Scissor Sisters? Someone needs to get their ears checked.

Whit [Visitor] //September 24 2008 at 06:29

"not only records by queer musicians but also any records that have had relevance to those voting." So, basically, this is the stupidest, broadest list ever. This isn't "gayest albums," this is "list created by some people who are gay." Next up: most left-handed albums ever, most 5' 10" albums ever, and most allergic to strawberries album ever! Plus, shouldn't Cindy Lauper be automatically be excluded from this list, since she helped write it?

Barton Young [Visitor] //September 24 2008 at 09:23

ridiculous

fivelongdays [Visitor] //October 5 2008 at 22:21

No Judas Priest? Macho heavy metal with really quite blatant lyrics about gay sex. SOMETHING should be done.

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The 100 Gayest Albums Of All Time?

By Luke Lewis

Posted on 11/09/08 at 11:00:44 am

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