The 150 Greatest Albums Made By Women
100. Buffy Sainte-Marie
It's My Way! (Vanguard Records, 1964)
Buffy Sainte-Marie, who was born into the Cree Tribe in Canada, released her debut album, It's My Way! in 1964. The cover photo showed Sainte-Marie herself with a mouth bow — an image that was at once foreign, innocent, and intense, and a mere foretelling of the depths contained within the music. From the power of her warbling voice on "Cod'ine" to the insistence with which she commanded the lyrics on "Now That the Buffalo's Gone," It's My Way! is unusual, urgent debut oozing with an anger barely contained. While the album didn't hit it big on the charts, its influence goes far beyond it, with dozens of artists — including Janis Joplin, Glen Campbell, Roberta Flack and Joni Mitchell — covering her songs over the years. It's My Way! also launched Sainte-Marie's remarkable career; she continues to break new ground as the decades pass (she released an early electronic album, Illuminations, in 1969) while maintaining steadfast roots in advocacy for indigenous peoples of the Americas. —Jessie Scott (WMOT)
99. Taylor Swift
Fearless (Big Machine Records, 2008)
No listenership is cast aside with the same fervent damnation as young women—their interests are frequently written off with complete critical derision. Challenging that notion is best accomplished, a Nashville-via-Pennsylvania talent whose ideation reached its full fruition on , a self-written country-pop album of immeasurable catchiness. In "Fifteen," she writes from a place of newfound maturity, adopting a big sister role for those most affected by being young and vulnerable (everyone). In "Love Song," fantasy is grounded in intimate reality, a metaphor imbued with restraint — she avoids grandiose gestures and instead offers timeless confessions. manages to play to Taylor's admiration for her female pop forbearers ( is mentioned in interviews), the narrative songwriting of the country music she grew up on and her own personal hybridity. At its simplest, displays Swift as a brilliant songwriter. At its truest, the album shines with an explosive voice, an ineffable gift. No one can question Swift's success now, and proved it then. Just ask a girl.
