Beatles' 'Revolver' voted best album ever

The Beatles - from left, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, George Harrison and John Lennon

LONDON, England -- The Beatles' musical crown is under threat, according to a new ranking of the greatest albums of all time.

Radiohead's 1995 album 'The Bends' is ranked second behind The Beatles' 'Revolver' in a new survey of the 1,000 greatest albums of all time.

In fact, between them, Radiohead and the Fab Four hold the list's five top spots, with 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' third, Radiohead's 1997 disc 'OK Computer' fourth and The Beatles' 1968 'White Album' in fifth place.

The placings are revealed in a new book, 'Virgin All Time Top 1,000 Albums,' which compiles more than 200,000 votes cast by record buyers, music enthusiasts and journalists.

One of the main features of the list is how much it is dominated by some of rock and pop's elder statesmen.

As well as The Beatles, artists such as Bob Dylan, Pink Floyd, Van Morrison and the Beach Boys all feature in the Top 20. Joni Mitchell, in at 24 with her album 'Blue' is the highest-ranking female singer.

Radiohead's standing has surged since the last edition of the book in 1998, when 'The Bends' and 'OK Computer' came 10th and 21st, respectively.

"I think we've been searching for many years to look for a proper legitimate replacement to the dinosaur bands," said Colin Larkin, who compiled the book.

"I think it's Radiohead who have done it right and followed on from those giants like The Beatles, REM and Pink Floyd, moving into that status of bands who will last the course."

Other bands have been a victim of changing times. Nirvana's 'Nevermind,' ranked No. 4 in the 1998 edition, has slipped to 17, while The Beach Boys' 'Pet Sounds' has dropped from 6 to 18.

Oasis, credited with being at the forefront of the Britpop phenomenon of the 1990s, but whose popularity, and record sales, have waned recently, fare poorly in the chart.

Their 'Be Here Now,' album, ranked 36th in 1998, now sits at 459.

But The Beatles' position is "unassailable," said Larkin: "They are more than just a phenomenon and they have been a success for five decades," he said.

"It's a thing that even Elvis Presley has not been able to do."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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