LONDON – "Definitely Maybe," the debut album by Oasis, has beaten the Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" in a British vote for the greatest album of all time, organizers said Thursday.
The Beatles also took third place with "Revolver" and had three other albums in the Top 100 in the vote staged by British Hit Singles & Albums, an annual publication, and NME.com.
The vote was announced in last year's edition of British Hit Singles & Albums, said editor David Roberts. Anyone could vote for as many as 10 albums, in rank order, and probably 95 percent of the 40,000 votes came from Britain, he said.
The biggest surprise, in Roberts' view, was The Libertines' debut album, "Up the Bracket," at No. 15 — a strong showing he attributed to singer Pete Doherty's well-publicized involvement with supermodel Kate Moss and his arrests for alleged drug use.
Other albums on the list include U2's "The Joshua Tree" (No. 11), Michael Jackson's "Thriller" (No. 35), the Rolling Stones' "Exile on Main Street," (No. 42), The White Stripes' "Elephant" (No. 59), Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run" (No. 84) and the Eagles' "Hotel California" (No. 100).
The top 10:
1. "Definitely Maybe," Oasis.
2. "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," The Beatles.
3. "Revolver," The Beatles.
4. "OK Computer," Radiohead.
5. "(What's the Story) Morning Glory?" Oasis.
6. "Nevermind," Nirvana.
7. "The Stone Roses," The Stone Roses.
8. "Dark Side of the Moon," Pink Floyd.
9. "The Queen Is Dead," The Smiths.
10. "The Bends," Radiohead.
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