IN SEARCH OF ROCK’S 10 BEST LPs

The winner and still champion: “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.”

That classic 1967 Beatles album finished first a decade ago when Paul Gambaccini, a British pop writer, asked critics and broadcasters (mostly in Britain and the United States) to select the best rock LPs of all time.

And “Sgt. Pepper” once more topped the field when Gambaccini posed the same question again a few months ago to another panel of 81 judges.

Several other albums and artists, however, gained or lost ground in the latest round of voting.

Bob Dylan’s “Blonde on Blonde”--No. 2 in 1977--fell one notch, while his “Highway 61 Revisited”--which was No. 3 last time--dropped all the way to No. 18. Van Morrison’s “Astral Weeks”--No. 4 a decade ago--slipped five places, while two other Beatles albums--”Rubber Soul” and “Revolver”--both tumbled from the Top 10.

Other albums that lost favor in the reassessment: Derek & the Dominos’ “Layla” (15 to 92), Jimi Hendrix’s “Are You Experienced” (17 to 97), Van Morrison’s “Moondance” (22 to 52) and John Lennon’s “Imagine” (28 to 85). Disappearing from the Top 100: Buddy Holly’s “Legends,” the reggae sound track “The Harder They Fall,” Led Zeppelin’s “Led Zeppelin IV” and the Velvet Underground’s “1969 Velvet Underground Live.”

In the other direction, Bruce Springsteen advanced on two fronts: His “Born to Run”--No. 10 in 1977--jumped to second place, while “Born in the U.S.A.” debuted at No. 5, the highest new entry. Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On”--the highly introspective 1971 look at urban life--leaped from No. 106 on the 1977 poll to No. 4.

Other big gainers: Stevie Wonder’s “Songs in the Key of Life” (41 to 14), Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon” (135 to 15) and James Brown’s “Live at the Apollo” (45 to 16).

After “Born in the U.S.A.,” the highest-ranking newcomer this time was the Sex Pistols’ “Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols” (19), followed by Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” (23), Fleetwood Mac’s “Rumours” (26), Roxy Music’s “Avalon” (27) and Elvis Costello’s “My Aim Is True” (28).

Here’s the 1987 Top 10, as contained in Gambaccini’s new book “The Top 100 Rock ‘n’ Roll Albums” (Harmony paperback):

1--The Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” (1977 ranking: 1).

2--Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run” (10).

3--Bob Dylan’s “Blonde on Blonde” (2).

4--Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On” (106).

5--Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the U.S.A.” (--).

6--Elvis Presley’s “Sun Sessions” (11).

7--”The Velvet Underground and Nico” (14).

8--The Beach Boys’ “Pet Sounds” (12).

9--Van Morrison’s “Astral Weeks” (4).

10--The Beatles’ “The Beatles” (18)

I love lists, so I enjoy books like “The Top 100 Albums,” but I also know enough about how they are put together to offer a caution before anyone accepts the proposition that “Sgt. Pepper” really is the best rock album ever made.

First, you’ve got to look at the credibility of the poll. In an attempt to lure readers with the names of high-profile broadcasters, Gambaccini has put far too many radio and TV personalities on the panel. Mark Goodman and Alan Hunter may delight MTV audiences, but their jobs have nothing to do with weighing good music.

So I narrowed the panel to the 27 people--mostly critics--whose work I’m familiar with. The list is nicely balanced between British and Irish writers (including Simon Frith, whose work appears in London’s Sunday Times; Charlie Gillett, author of “The Sound of the City”; Nick Logan, editor of Face magazine; Niall Stokes, editor of Hot Press; and Richard Williams, former editor of Melody Maker), and U.S. writers (including Ken Barnes, editor of Radio and Records and critics Chet Flippo, Kurt Loder, Dave Marsh and Greil Marcus).

In the critics’ balloting, “Blonde on Blonde” finished first. It edged out “The Velvet Underground and Nico”--the first and most influential album by the New York band whose moody music and daring subject matter have been a model for many post-punk groups. “Sgt. Pepper” slipped to sixth. Replacing “Born in the U.S.A.” and “The Beatles” on the critics’ Top 10: James Brown’s “Live at the Apollo” and the Rolling Stones’ “Exile on Main Street.”

Results of the critics’ panel:

1--”Blonde on Blonde” (148 points).

2--”The Velvet Underground and Nico” (139).

3--”Sun Sessions” (136).

4--”Astral Weeks” (113).

5--”What’s Going On” (105).

6--”Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” (93).

7--James Brown’s “Live at the Apollo” (81).

8--”Born to Run” (80).

9--The Rolling Stones’ “Exile on Main Street” (67).

10--”Pet Sounds” (64).

Here’s how I cast my ballot in Gambaccini’s poll:

1--Elvis Presley’s “Sun Sessions” (RCA)--When you listen to these tracks (all recorded on Sun Records before Elvis went to RCA), you hear rock being born. Elvis--working with producer Sam Phillips, but mostly pursuing his own instincts--mixed his favorite country and blues strains in a way that no one had quite done before him. He also introduced in songs like “Baby, Let’s Play House” and “Mystery Train” the sense of youthful energy and excitement that became the dominant attitude of rock. Almost everyone who followed in rock was affected in some way by Presley. But “Sun Sessions” isn’t just a history lesson. Holding up far better than debuts by the Beatles or the Stones, this album still reflects the innocence, celebration and outlaw quality of early rock.

2--Bob Dylan’s “Highway 61 Revisited” (Columbia)--A good case can also be made for “Blonde on Blonde,” but this 1965 album best combines Dylan’s literary style with the lean, renegade energy of early rock. He elevated songwriting to a new level of ambition, turning rock from a strictly teen-age style into a more flexible and artfully designed one. Whichever album you take, Dylan was the second essential step in the evolution of rock.

3--John Lennon’s “Plastic Ono Band” (Apple)--I’d rank Chuck Berry or Little Richard over Lennon as a key figure in the development of rock, but there is no major album by either artist--their legacy was written in singles rather than albums. So Lennon deserves the third spot on the album list. In his best moments, he combined the rock instincts of Presley (his own hero) with Dylan’s penetrating writing style. Despite everything he accomplished with the Beatles, I find this deeply introspective and confessional solo album his most compelling work.

4--The Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” (Capitol)--The Beatles changed the perception of rock, both within the rock community and outside of it. This isn’t my favorite Beatles album, but it represented the high point of their experimentation--and caused a generation of other bands to expand their own ambitions.

5--Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run” (Columbia)--Springsteen reunited the visions of Presley and Dylan in what was the purest example of American rock ‘n’ roll passion in a decade, and he added his own blue-collar perspective, infusing the music with an integrity and purpose that seemed to have disappeared from rock culture in the early ‘70s.

6--The Band’s “The Band”(Capitol)--Turning its back on rock fad and fashion, this 1969 album was a classy, inspired look at the American experience--combining marvelous songwriting craft and musical punctuation.

7--Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Green River” (Fantasy)--John Fogerty would have been a star in any rock era: a splendid singer, a writer of marvelously compact and detailed songs, a solid musical arranger. Whenever everything else in rock fades, the songs remain--and Fogerty had the songs.

8--Stevie Wonder’s “Songs in the Key of Life” (Tamla)--Perhaps the ultimate musician of the modern pop era, Wonder (greatly influenced by Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On”) mixed social consciousness and Motown pop tradition in what may well stand as the most complete musical package of the last 20 years.

9--The Rolling Stones’ “Exile on Main Street” (Rolling Stones)--This compelling two-record set both celebrates and recoils from the excesses of the rock life style.

10--The Who’s “Who’s Next” (Decca)--There are several other great Who albums, but none sounded better than this one. A triumph of recording technique and reconciliation of youthful intensity and more mature reflection.

Readers are invited to submit their own list of the Top 10 Best Rock LPs, along with brief explanations for their picks. Send them to Rock Top 10, Los Angeles Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles 90053.