Basically, it has to have a significant impact on its genre. That can either be through innovating on/inventing the genre or by having crossover appeal and bringing new life to the genre. Not only that, it has to be recognized as well. You can invent a genre, but if another band in your town carries that genre forward without pointing at where they got it from, they're more likely to gain that status as the genre classic.
I don't let how much I enjoy an album influence whether or not I consider it a classic, or at least ideally I don't. This is one of the few instances in music where you'll see me give popularity credibility as a relevant factor.
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Studies show that when a given norm is changed in the face of the unchanging, the remaining contradictions will parallel the truth.
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