- Better Than Ezra, “Under You”

“But I was caught, like a fleeting thought / Stuck inside Leonard Cohen’s mind”

- Mercury Rev, “A Drop In Time”

“Give me a Leonard Cohen afterworld / So I can sigh eternally”

- Nirvana, “Pennyroyal Tea”

It’s almost unbelievable now to think that we almost never heard Leonard Cohen, the singer. A well-regarded poet from the late 1950s through the mid-’60s, it was Judy Collins who encouraged the middle-aged Canadian writer to try his hand at performing his own songs, and the rest is history. She also had a successful cover of Cohen’s “Suzanne”.

Nearing half a century and 12 albums later, Cohen is one of the most celebrated and critically-acclaimed artists of the era. He’s also one of the most covered songwriters alive, with songs like “Suzanne” and “Hallelujah” registering several hundred different recordings alone. To celebrate the arrival of Old Ideas, his first new studio album in eight years, we’ve collected 30 great covers of Cohen songs for your listening pleasure.

For sake of brevity, this list sticks to a one-song-per-artist rule, with other exceptional covers by a musician cited in several cases. The list also doesn’t include any covers of “Hallelujah”, because everyone and their father has covered that one, and only a few come close to the Jeff Buckley version. (A few of the best ones are mentioned in the entries below, if you’d like to look them up for yourself.)

“Avalanche”

Who: Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds
Where: From Her to Eternity (1984)
What: Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds recorded a grim cover of “Avalanche”, which became the very first track on their debut album. Not losing a beat after the collapse of Cave’s former band, The Birthday Party, From Her to Eternity was as powerful a release as anything he had put out. (Cave has a number of Cohen covers to his name, including an excellent “I’m Your Man” from the soundtrack album of the same name, and a raucous version of “Tower of Song” on the I’m Your Fan tribute record.)

“Bird on a Wire”

Who: Johnny Cash
Where: American Recordings (1994)
What: Producer Rick Rubin revitalized Johnny Cash’s career with his first American album. Despite his status as a country icon, Cash was unable to find an audience for his new recordings. Rubin set up a studio at Cash’s home and recorded an acoustic set with him, which showcased the emotional power of his famous baritone voice on a combination of Cash originals and cover songs, Cohen’s classic “Bird on a Wire” among them.

Who: Willie Nelson
Where: Tower of Song: The Songs of Leonard Cohen (1995)
What: Tower of Song was a mid-’90s tribute album that featured contributions from an all-star cast including Elton John, Bono, Sting, Billy Joel, Don Henley, and Peter Gabriel. Nelson’s countrified cover of “Bird on a Wire” is a highlight among the bunch. (Nelson also covered “Hallelujah” on his Ryan Adams-produced album, Songbird.)

Who: Fairport Convention
Where: Heyday: The BBC Radio Sessions, 1968-1969 (recorded in 1969, released in 1987)
What: As its title spells out, Heyday was a collection of live radio recordings from early in Fairport Convention’s career. Early supporters of Cohen’s, the English folk rockers covered several of his songs in the late 1960s.

“Chelsea Hotel #2”

Who: Lloyd Cole
Where: I’m Your Fan: The Songs of Leonard Cohen (1991)
What: The ex-Commotions singer was in the studio working on his second solo album, Don’t Get Weird on Me, Babe, when he recorded this cover, which sounds like it could have been a B-side from his group’s breakout debut, Rattlesnakes. (Cole also performed a nice cover of “Famous Blue Raincoat” on KCRW, which appears on their Rare on Air, Vol. 2 compilation.)

“Everybody Knows”

Who: Concrete Blonde
Where: Pump Up The Volume Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1990)
What: The soundtrack for the Christian Slater pirate radio film Pump Up The Volume acts as a great time capsule for the era of college rock that immediately preceded Nirvana’s Nevermind, featuring tracks from Sonic Youth, Henry Rollins, the Pixies, and Soundgarden. While Cohen’s version was featured in the film – as the theme song for Slater’s radio show, no les – Concrete Blonde’s cover was included on the soundtrack and released as a single.

Who: Rufus Wainwright
Where: Leonard Cohen: I’m Your Man (2006)
What: Rufus Wainwright performed this excellent bossa nova-inflected rendition of “Everybody Knows” in the Leonard Cohen: I’m Your Man documentary/concert film. There’s a long history of friendship between the Wainwright and Cohen families—Cohen’s daughter Lorca is the mother of Wainwright’s child, Cohen is name-dropped in the song “Want”, and Wainwright and sister Martha are all over the I’m Your Man concert film. Wainwright also counts a superb version of “Hallelujah” amongst his covers of the older poet’s work.

Who: Julee Cruise
Where: The Art of Being a Girl (2002)
What: The first album from David Lynch’s musical muse in nearly a decade, The Art of Being a Girl marked Cruise’s split from the director of the weird and his long-time musical collaborator, Angelo Badalamenti. The album was a far stylistic leap from the spooky, ethereal dreampop with which she’d made her name, and included this strange, trip-hop cover of “Everybody Knows”.

“Famous Blue Raincoat”

Who: Tori Amos
Where: Tower of Song: The Songs of Leonard Cohen (1995)
What: In the year between the hit albums Under the Pink and Boys for Pele, Tori Amos contributed this beautiful piano cover of the popular Cohen song to the all-star tribute album Tower of Song. (Amos has also worked “Suzanne” into her live set at several points over the years.)

Who: Marissa Nadler
Where: Folk Off! (2006)
What: The Boston-based folkstress contributed this somewhat spooky cover of Cohen’s “Famous Blue Raincoat”, a regular piece of her live setlist, to this two-disc compilation that pitted North American and British artists against each other in a good-natured competitive “folk off.”

“First We Take Manhattan”

Who: R.E.M.
Where: I’m Your Fan: The Songs of Leonard Cohen (1991)
What: R.E.M. fans still in mourning can seek comfort in the large number of rare tracks and obscurities the band left behind. Among those is a cover of “First We Take Manhattan” from the I’m Your Fan Cohen tribute album, which was also included as a B-side on the U.K. single for “Drive”.

“Hey, That’s No Way To Say Goodbye”

Who: The Lemonheads (featuring Liv Tyler)
Where: Varshons (2009)
What: The Butthole Surfers’ Gibby Haynes spent years passing mix tapes to The Lemonheads’ Evan Dando, who later paid tribute by recording an album of covers consisting of songs from those tapes. Varshons includes perhaps the most surprising appearance on this list, when Dando duets with actress Liv Tyler (!?) on “Hey, That’s No Way to Say Goodbye”.

“I Can’t Forget”

Who: Jarvis Cocker
Where: Leonard Cohen: I’m Your Man (2006)
What: Highly lauded for his own lyrical skills, the Pulp frontman and solo artist performed this sincere cover of “I Can’t Forget” in the tribute documentary I’m Your Man. (Cocker provides a spoken-word, slight re-interpretation of Cohen’s “Avalanche” lyrics for the Boys Noize and Erol Alkan dance track, “Avalanche (Terminal Velocity)”.)

Who: Pixies
Where: I’m Your Fan: The Songs of Leonard Cohen (1991)
What: The Pixies were nearing the end of their recording career when they recorded this poppy cover of “I Can’t Forget” for a tribute album originally commissioned by French music mag Les Inrockuptibles. (Black Francis cited Cohen’s I’m You Man as one of his all-time favorite albums in the 33 1/3 volume on Doolittle.)

“If It Be Your Will”

Who: Antony
Where: Leonard Cohen: I’m Your Man (2006)
What: Antony Hegarty’s one-off performance in the I’m Your Man tribute documentary manages to make Cohen’s lyrics sound even more heartbreaking than on his original version. (Antony & The Johnsons also performed a great cover of “The Guests” live on BBC4 during the same year.)

“Joan of Arc”

Who: Anna Calvi
Where: B-side to the “Desire” single (2011)
What: British singer/shredder Anna Calvi paid tribute to Leonard Cohen by subtracting the thing he’s most famous from the song: his lyrics. Calvi found the song’s lyrics so atmospheric that she was inspired to write her own instrumental piece that followed the story that unfolds in Cohen’s verses.

“Lover, Lover, Lover”

Who: Ian McCulloch
Where: Mysterio (1992)
What: Singer Ian McCulloch included this very new wave-y cover of “Lover, Lover, Lover” on his second post-Echo and the Bunnymen solo album. (McCulloch must be a big-time Cohen fan, judging by his additional covers of “Hey, That’s No Way to Say Goodbye”, “Suzanne”, and “There Is A War” appearing on various compilations.)

“Master Song”

Who: Beck, Devendra Banhart, and MGMT
Where: Record Club: Songs of Leonard Cohen (2009)
What: Beck’s all-star covers/jam side project took on the entirety of Cohen’s debut album for their second outing. With the help of Devendra Banhart and MGMT, they transform “Master Song” from a tender, acoustic song-poem to a vulgar, old-school hip-hop joint.

“One Of Us Cannot Be Wrong”

Who: Harvey Milk
Where: Courtesy and Good Will Toward Men (1996)
What: The Athens, GA stoner rock group Harvey Milk unplugged for a quiet (uncommon, for them) rendition of “One Of Us Cannot Be Wrong” on their sophomore album. (Their cover of “Seems So Long Ago, Nancy” is included on the Japanese limited edition of Life… The Best Game in Town.)

“So Long, Marianne”

Who: James
Where: I’m Your Fan: The Songs of Leonard Cohen (1991)
What: The British band covered “So Long, Marianne” for an early alternative-era Cohen tribute album. At the time primarily known only in the U.K., it would still be two years before they released their breakout hit single “Laid”.

[Note: YouTube has blocked this song in most countries, so here's the Spotify link.]

Who: John Cale and Suzanne Vega
Where: Bleecker Street: Greenwich Village in the 60′s (1999)
What: Cale’s much more famous, of course, in the Cohen covers world for his sublime recording of “Hallelujah”, but his take on this track from Cohen’s debut record came almost a decade later and also features vocals from Suzanne Vega (of “Tom’s Diner” fame).

“Suzanne”

Who: Pearls Before Swine
Where: Balaklava (1967)
What: The first side of Tom Rapp’s surreal, heady sophomore album with Pearls Before Swine served as the singer/songwriter’s unsettling but powerful rail against the Vietnam War. The second side was perhaps more bizarre (if a bit less effective), beginning with this cover of “Suzanne” and ending with the Lord of the Rings-inspired song “Ring Thing” (for which Tolkien was given a joint songwriting credit).

Who: The Flying Lizards
Where: Top Ten (1984)
What: Known best for their bizarre new wave cover of “Money (That’s What I Want)”, The Flying Lizards’ cover of “Suzanne” is even further removed from the source material, featuring icy-cold synths, robotic drumming, and spoken word vocals. This is perhaps the second strangest cover on this list, after Beck’s Record Club entry.

Who: Nina Simone
Where: To Love Somebody (1969)
What: Clumped onto a rushed-out album that also contained three Bob Dylan tunes and two Bee Gees covers, Nina Simone’s cover of “Suzanne” is as bright and cheery as they get.

Who: Roberta Flack
Where: Killing Me Softly (1973)
What: The closing track to Roberta Flack’s Grammy Award-nominated album Killing Me Softly was a cover of the Cohen staple. Flack added orchestral flourishes and lingered on every lyric to create an extensive, nearly-10-minute rendition of the famous song.

Who: Neil Diamond
Where: Stones (1971)
What: While Neil Diamond’s Stones did contain his popular songs “I Am… I Said” and “Crunchy Granola Suite”, many of the tracks on the record are actually covers. Paired up with songs originally performed by Randy Newman and Joni Mitchell, it’s Diamond’s lush, pastoral Leonard Cohen cover that’s a standout.

“Who By Fire”

Who: Coil
Where: Horse Rotorvator (1986)
What: The name of the British industrial/experimental group’s landmark second album comes from a dream in which the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse tear out their steeds’ jawbones and graft them together to build a plow that will tear up the world. The cover of “Who By Fire” included there isn’t as terrifying as one might expect from such an album, but the atmospheric backing vocals are pretty haunting.

Who: The House of Love
Where: I’m Your Fan: The Songs of Leonard Cohen (1991)
What: The House of Love may not be as beloved a band to come out of Creation Records as, say, The Jesus and Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine, or Oasis, but their self-titled debut record really holds up as a great piece of pre-Britpop British indie rock. Their cover of “Who By Fire” was the lead track on the U.K. edition of I’m Your Fan.

“Winter Lady”

Who: Palace Songs
Where: Hope EP (1994)
What: Will Oldham, the man of many changing names, released this EP under the Palace Songs moniker. Chronologically part of a spurt of singles and EPs released between Days in the Wake and Viva Last Blues, it’s more in tune with the full band sound he’d use more in his Bonnie “Prince” Billy days than much of the Palace era. This startling cover is included among Oldham originals.

“You Know Who I Am”

Who: Mama Cass Elliot
Where: Dream A Little Dream (1968)
What: The final Mamas & the Papas single, “Dream a Little Dream of Me” became the first Mama Cass solo single after label execs wagered on Elliot being the group’s breakout member. Their bet was good, as the song became a smash hit for the singer. Most of the album’s material was written by Elliot’s friends and Laurel Canyon neighbors, but there’s a sweetly-sung version of Cohen’s “You Know Who I Am” that’s quite pretty, despite a few overbearing psychedelic effects.

Conclusion

And there are some of our favorites. Given how popular Cohen’s songs have been over the last four-and-a0half decades, there are quite literally thousands of covers we couldn’t even begin to include. Please feel free to share your favorites in our comments section.

Whenever I hear anybody do one of my songs, my critical judgments go into immediate, suspended animation. I’m just knocked out when anybody does a cover of mine … First of all, I’m happy that someone has heard the song and is moved to cover it. Second of all, it gives me a completely fresh take on the song, and I can then enter it into my own judgmental process … I think there are songs that are better done than I have done them.”

- Leonard Cohen to KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic, February 18, 1997

One second. Sometimes that’s all a photographer gets – and hardly in ideal conditions. At worst (and most likely), a photographer may be squeezed between 15 others in the pit, mere feet away from pyrotechnics, finding support from stress-rattled knees, while focusing on a spastic frontman and sheltering oneself from a downpour, which may or may not involve a hailstorm. Truth: A great photographer handles the unenviable task of capturing that one moment everyone goes home thinking about. Half-truth: There’s probably a statistic somewhere that discusses what the job does to the heart. If not, there should be a study. Double-truth: It’s just a sweaty, life-threatening task.

Hi, I’m Michael Roffman, President and Editor-in-Chief of Consequence of Sound. You may know me from such stories as “Look Out! The Gaslight Anthem is Coming!” or “Scratch that… Brian Wilson is not returning to The Beach Boys.” This year, I sent out dozens of writers and photographers to hundreds of shows and just about every major music festival this side of the Atlantic (some even overseas). Without a doubt, our eyes were everywhere.

More specifically, our photographers’ multiple weighty lenses. In the past 12 months, we’ve published countless, fully-stocked galleries, featuring some of the most awe-inspiring shots on the ‘net, all thanks to our brave and inordinately talented photographers. Actually, that’s an understatement. These artists bleed talent – to get somewhat histrionic. Look, we value words, but as Fred R. Barnard so famously wrote, “a picture is worth a thousand words.” Cliche, but you spend over four years putting these live and festival reviews together. You’ll quickly see how true that statement is. To date, I still feel like I’ve attended Bonnaroo.*

For our annual report, we put together our 100 favorite photos of the year. Lots of colors, lots of locales, and plenty of popular mugs to savor. So, throw on some tunes, grab a bag of chips, and enjoy the trip. You’ll go places, kiddo.

-Michael Roffman
President/Editor-in-Chief

* Would never happen. This guy in mud? Nah.

Weezer

Event: Weezer at Chicago’s Aragon Ballroom
Date: 1/7/2011
Photographer: Heather Kaplan

The Walkmen

Event: The Walkmen at Atlanta’s Variety Playhouse
Date: 1/13/2011
Photographer: Max Blau

Girl Talk

Event: Girl Talk at Atlanta’s Tabernacle
Date: 1/21/2011
Photographer: Max Blau

Sad Brad Smith

Event: Sad Brad Smith at Chicago’s Schubas Tavern
Date: 1/23/2011
Photographer: Brad Bretz

The Church

Event: The Church at Chicago’s Park West
Date: 2/11/2011
Photographer: Brad Bretz

Robyn

Event: Robyn at Chicago’s The Riviera Theatre
Date: 2/14/2011
Photographer: Meghan Brosnan

The Dismemberment Plan

Event: The Dismemberment Plan at Chicago’s Metro
Date: 2/19/2011
Photographer: Heather Kaplan

Ben Kweller

Event: Ben Kweller at Chicago’s Vic Theatre
Date: 2/23/2011
Photographer: Joshua Mellin

Bright Eyes

Event: Bright Eyes at Miami’s The Fillmore
Date: 3/2/2011
Photographer: Lauren Guagno

Raphael Saadiq

Event: Raphael Saadiq at SXSW 2011
Date: 3/16-20/2011
Photographer: Cap Blackard

Baby Headphones

Event: SXSW 2011
Date: 3/16-20/2011
Photographer: Heather Kaplan

Owen Pallett

Event: Owen Pallett at SXSW 2011
Date: 3/16-20/2011
Photographer: Heather Kaplan

The Strokes

Event: The Strokes at SXSW 2011
Date: 3/16-20/2011
Photographer: Cap Blackard

The Kills

Event: The Kills at SXSW 2011
Date: 3/16-20/2011
Photographer: Heather Kaplan

TV on the Radio w/ Yo Gabba Gabba!

Event: TV on the Radio w/ Yo Gabba Gabba! at SXSW 2011
Date: 3/16-20/2011
Photographer: Heather Kaplan

Matt & Kim

Event: Matt & Kim at SXSW 2011
Date: 3/16-20/2011
Photographer: Heather Kaplan

Odd Future

Event: Odd Future at SXSW 2011
Date: 3/16-20/2011
Photographer: Heather Kaplan

Odd Future

Event: Odd Future at SXSW 2011
Date: 3/16-20/2011
Photographer: Heather Kaplan

Hollerado

Event: Hollerado at Axis of Audio Showcase: SXSW 2011
Date: 3/19/2011
Photographer: Cap Blackard

Astronautalis

Event: Astronautalis (& Four Fists) at Axis of Audio Showcase: SXSW 2011
Date: 3/19/2011
Photographer: Cap Blackard

P.O.S.

Event: P.O.S. at Paid Dues Festival 2011
Date: 4/2/2011
Photographer: Winston Robbins

The Mountain Goats

Event: The Mountain Goats at Chicago’s Vic Theatre
Date: 4/5/2011
Photographer: Meghan Brosnan

Queens of the Stone Age

Event: Queens of the Stone Age at Oakland’s Fox Theatre
Date: 4/11/2011
Photographer: Karina Halle

The Strokes

Event: The Strokes at Coachella 2011
Date: 4/15-17/2011
Photographer: Debi Del Grande

Kanye West

Event: Kanye West at Coachella 2011
Date: 4/15-17/2011
Photographer: Debi Del Grande

The National

Event: The National, Arcade Fire at Chicago’s UIC Pavillion
Date: 4/24/2011
Photographer: Lauren Guagno

Arcade Fire

Event: The National, Arcade Fire at Chicago’s UIC Pavillion
Date: 4/24/2011
Photographer: Lauren Guagno

Battles

Event: Battles at Chicago’s Lincoln Hall
Date: 4/30/2011
Photographer: Brad Bretz

tUnE-yArDs

Event: tUnE-yArDs at Chicago’s Lincoln Hall
Date: 5/10/2011
Photographer: Wallo Villacorta

Lykke Li

Event: Lykke Li at Chicago’s Metro
Date: 5/23/2011
Photographer: Meghan Brosnan

The Gorge

Event: Sasquatch! 2011
Date: 5/27-30/2011
Photographer: Heather Kaplan

Death From Above 1979

Event: Death From Above 1979 at Sasquatch! 2011
Date: 5/27-30/2011
Photographer: Heather Kaplan

Robyn

Event: Robyn at Sasquatch 2011
Date: 5/27-30/2011
Photographer: Heather Kaplan

Fitz and the Tantrums

Event: Fitz and the Tantrums at Sasquatch! 2011
Date: 5/27-30/2011
Photographer: Heather Kaplan

The Flaming Lips

Event: The Flaming Lips at Sasquatch! 2011
Date: 5/27-30/2011
Photographer: Heather Kaplan

The Decemberists

Event: Sasquatch! 2011
Date: 5/27-30/2011
Photographer: Heather Kaplan

Melvins

Event: Melvins at Chicago’s Double Door
Date: 5/31/2011
Photographer: Katie Schuering

Bonnaroo Fan

Event: Bonnaroo 2011
Date: 6/9-12/2011
Photographer: Ben Kaye

Buffalo Springfield

Event: Buffalo Springfield at Bonnaroo 2011
Date: 6/9-12/2011
Photographer: Max Blau

Eminem

Event: Eminem at Bonnaroo 2011
Date: 6/9-12/2011
Photographer: Max Blau

Future Islands

Event: Future Islands at Chicago’s Subterranean
Date: 6/15/2011
Photographer: Meghan Brosnan

Florence + the Machine

Event: Florence + the Machine at Chicago’s Aragon Ballroom
Date: 6/18/2011
Photographer: Meghan Brosnan

Glastonbury

Event: Glastonbury 2011
Date: 6/22-26/2011
Photographer: Laura Page

Eddie Vedder w/ Glen Hansard

Event: Eddie Vedder at The Chicago Theatre
Date: 6/28/2011
Photographer: Heather Kaplan

Phish Heads

Event: Phish Super Ball IX
Date: 7/1-3/2011
Photographer: Jake Cohen

Fucked Up

Event: Fucked Up at Chicago’s Lincoln Hall
Date: 7/2/2011
Photographer: Jeremy D. Larson

Cold Cave

Event: Cold Cave at Pitchfork 2011
Date: 7/15-17/2011
Photographer: Jeremy D. Larson

OFF!

Event: OFF! at Pitchfork 2011
Date: 7/15-17/2011
Photographer: Meghan Brosnan

Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti

Event: Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti at Pitchfork 2011
Date: 7/15-17/2011
Photographer: Meghan Brosnan

tUnE-yArDs

Event: tUnE-yArDs at Pitchfork 2011
Date: 7/15-17/2011
Photographer: Meghan Brosnan

Fleet Foxes

Event: Fleet Foxes at Pitchfork 2011
Date: 7/15-17/2011
Photographer: Meghan Brosnan

Soundgarden

Event: Soundgarden, Queens of the Stone Age, Mastodon at Washington’s Gorge Amphitheater
Date: 7/30/2011
Photographer: Karina Halle

Paul McCartney

Event: Paul McCartney at Chicago’s Wrigley Field
Date: 7/31/2011
Photographer: Heather Kaplan

Lolla Chicago

Event: Lollapalooza 2011
Date: 8/5-7/2011
Photographer: Brad Bretz

Le Butcherettes

Event: Le Butcherettes at Lollapalooza 2011
Date: 8/5-7/2011
Photographer: Heather Kaplan

Crystal Castles

Event: Crystal Castles at Lollapalooza 2011
Date: 8/5-7/2011
Photographer: Brad Bretz

Coldplay

Event: Coldplay at Lollapalooza 2011
Date: 8/5-7/2011
Photographer: Heather Kaplan

The Chain Gang of 1974

Event: The Chain Gang of 1974 at Lollapalooza 2011
Date: 8/5-7/2011
Photographer: Brad Bretz

Ellie Goulding

Event: Ellie Goulding at Lollapalooza 2011
Date: 8/5-7/2011
Photographer: Heather Kaplan

Foo Fighters

Event: Foo Fighters at Chicago’s Metro
Date: 8/6/2011
Photographer: Heather Kaplan

Foster the People

Event: Foster the People at Outside Lands 2011
Date: 8/12-14/2011
Photographer: Debi Del Grande

Muse

Event: Muse at Outside Lands 2011
Date: 8/12-14/2011
Photographer: Debi Del Grande

Arcade Fire

Event: Arcade Fire at Outside Lands 2011
Date: 8/12-14/2011
Photographer: Debi Del Grande

Bush

Event: Bush at Chicago’s Congress Theatre
Date: 8/18/2011
Photographer: Brad Bretz

Rubblebucket

Event: Rubblebucket at North Coast 2011
Date: 9/2-4/2011
Photographer: Lillian Cai

Pearl Jam

Event: Pearl Jam at PJ20 at Alpine Valley
Date: 9/3-4/2011
Photographer: Jeremy D. Larson

Erykah Badu

Event: Erykah Badu at New York’s Rock the Bells 2011
Date: 9/3/2011
Photographer: Jake Cohen

Lauryn Hill

Event: Lauryn Hill at New York’s Rock the Bells 2011
Date: 9/3/2011
Photographer: Jake Cohen

The Kills

Event: The Kills at Vancouver’s Commodore Ballroom
Date: 9/5/2011
Photographer: Karina Halle

James Vincent McMorrow

Event: James Vincent McMorrow at Chicago’s Hideout
Date: 9/15/2011
Photographer: Matt Hyland

Delta Spirit

Event: Delta Spirit at Austin City Limits 2011
Date: 9/16-18/2011
Photographer: Debi Del Grande

My Morning Jacket

Event: My Morning Jacket at Austin City Limits 2011
Date: 9/16-18/2011
Photographer: Nate Slevin

Kanye West

Event: Kanye West at Austin City Limits 2011
Date: 9/16-18/2011
Photographer: Nate Slevin

Randy Newman

Event: Randy Newman at Austin City Limits 2011
Date: 9/16-18/2011
Photographer: Nate Slevin

Incubus

Event: Incubus at Miami’s Bayfront Park
Date: 9/20/2011
Photographer: Lauren Guagno

Blink-182

Event: Blink-182 at West Palm Beach’s Cruzan Amphitheatre
Date: 9/23/2011
Photographer: Lauren Guagno

Deerhoof

Event: Deerhoof at Chicago’s Bottom Lounge
Date: 9/25/2011
Photographer: Katie Schuering

Radiohead

Event: Radiohead at New York City’s Roseland Ballroom
Date: 9/28/2011
Photographer: Nate Slevin

St. Vincent

Event: St. Vincent at Chicago’s Metro
Date: 10/5/2011
Photographer: Katie Schuering

Portishead

Event: Portishead at Chicago’s Aragon Theater
Date: 10/12/2011
Photographer: Jeremy D. Larson

Sims

Event: Doomtree at Minneapolis’ Fine Line Music Cafe
Date: 10/15/2011
Photographer: Harley Brown

The Stepkids

Event: The Stepkids at CMJ 2011
Date: 10/18-22/2011
Photographer: Jeremy D. Larson

Duran Duran

Event: Duran Duran at The Chicago Theatre
Date: 10/21/2011
Photographer: Brad Bretz

Deadmau5

Event: deadmau5 at Chicago’s Aragon Ballroom
Date: 10/22/2011
Photographer: Brad Bretz

Moby

Event: Moby at Moogfest 2011
Date: 10/28-30/2011
Photographer: Cap Blackard

Moby

Event: Moby at Moogfest 2011
Date: 10/28-30/2011
Photographer: Cap Blackard

Childish Gambino

Event: Childish Gambino at Moogfest 2011
Date: 10/28-30/2011
Photographer: Catherine Watkins

Suicide

Event: Suicide at Moogfest 2011
Date: 10/28-30/2011
Photographer: Cap Blackard

The Flaming Lips

Event: The Flaming Lips at Moogfest 2011
Date: 10/28-30/2011
Photographer: Catherine Watkins

Mayer Hawthorne & County

Event: Mayer Hawthorne & County at Moogfest 2011
Date: 10/28-30/2011
Photographer: Cap Blackard

M83

Event: M83 at Moogfest 2011
Date: 10/28-30/2011
Photographer: Cap Blackard

Zola Jesus

Event: Zola Jesus at San Francisco’s The Independent
Date: 11/1/2011
Photographer: Summer Dunsmore

Feist

Event: Feist at Chicago’s The Riviera Theatre
Date: 11/4/2011
Photographer: Brad Bretz

The Raconteurs

Event: The Raconteurs at Orlando Calling 2011
Date: 11/12-13/2011
Photographer: Cap Blackard

Pixies

Event: Pixies at Orlando Calling 2011
Date: 11/12-13/2011
Photographer: Cap Blackard

YACHT

Event: YACHT at San Francisco’s The Independent
Date: 11/17/2011
Photographer: Summer Dunsmore

M83

Event: M83 at Chicago’s Lincoln Hall
Date: 11/17/2011
Photographer: Jeremy D. Larson

The Cure

Event: The Cure at Los Angeles’ Pantages Theatre
Date: 11/23/2011
Photographer: Debi Del Grande

Tinariwen

Event: Tinariwen at Minneapolis’ Cedar Cultural Center
Date: 11/26/2011
Photographer: Harley Brown

Iggy Pop and the Stooges

Event: Iggy Pop and the Stooges at Hollywood’s Palladium
Date: 12/1/2011
Photographer: Debi Del Grande

On October 25th, Florida-based indie rockers Surfer Blood will follow up their top-notch debut, Astro Coast, with a four-track EP titled Tarot Classics. Kanine will release the EP on CD, vinyl, and as a digitial download, and among the tracks included is “I’m Not Ready”, which you can hear the band perform live in the clip below. The EP will also come packaged with bonus remixes from members of School of Seven Bells, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, and Baroness.

In support of the release, Surfer Blood will hit the road with the Pixies this fall. Maybe they’ll rock out to “Gigantic” together.

“I’m Not Ready” (Live)

Tarot Classics Tracklist:
01. I’m Not Ready
02. Miranda
03. Voyager Reprise
04. Drinking Problem

Surfer Blood 2011 Tour Dates:
08/13 – Bangor, ME @ Bangor Waterfront
08/27 – St. Louis, MO @ LouFest
08/31 – Seattle, WA @ Neumo’s
09/03 – Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater
09/10 – Orlando, FL @ Firestone
09/16 – Los Angeles, CA @ Echoplex
09/17 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Getty
09/21 – Tampa, FL @ Crowbar
09/22 – Gainsville, FL @ Double Down Live
10/27 – Montclair, NJ @ Wellmont Theatre *
10/28 – Asbury Park, NJ @ Asbury Park Convention Hall *
10/29 – Waterbury, CT @ Palace Theatre *
10/30 – Hampton Beach, NH @ Hampton Beach Ballroom *
11/01 – Portland, ME @ State Theatre *
11/02 – Rochester, NY @ The Armory *
11/03 – Easton, PA @ State Theatre Center *
11/05 – Huntington, NY @ Paramount Theatre *
11/06 – Wilmington, DE @ Grand Opera House *
11/08 – Greensboro, NC @ War Memorial Auditorium *
11/09 – Louisville, KY @ Louisville, KY @ Palace Theatre *
11/10 – Knoxville, TN @ Tennessee Theatre *
11/11 – Charleston, SC @ North Charleston Performing Arts Center *
12/09 – Minehead, UK @ ATP’s Nightmare Before Christmas

* = w/ Pixies

The mystery is over; the lineup for the inaugural Orlando Calling music festival is here. Set to take place November 12-13 at Orlando’s Citrus Bowl Park, the festival will feature an eclectic mix of modern and classic rock, R&B, and country, with acts like The Killers, The Raconteurs, Pixies, The Roots, Kid Rock, and Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band topping the bill.

The festival’s first day will feature mostly modern rock and indie acts. Joining The Killers, The Raconteurs, Pixies, and The Roots will be The Avett Brothers, Iron & Wine, Pete Yorn, Local Natives, Dr. Dog, Gogol Bordello, Jenny & Jonny, Drive-By Truckers, and The Felice Brothers.

Day two will offer a classic rock and country school slant, with Kid Rock and Bob Seeger performing alongside the likes of The Doobie Brothers, Buddy Guy, Warren Haynes, Robert Randolph & the Family Band, Blake Shelton, Blues Traveler, Justin Townes Earle, Michelle Branch, Chris Isaak, and Brandi Carlile.

Check out the entire confirmed bill at our Festival Outlook.

General admission field and reserved seat tickets go Saturday, July 23rd at 10 AM EDT via the festival’s website. Prices are $85 for single day tickets and $150 for both days, and $165/$265 for VIP seats and amenities.

Unbeknownst to concertgoers everywhere (including us), Pixies still have cities left that haven’t had a chance to witness 1989′s Doolittle live, as in on-stage and in the flesh. This fall, the Boston quintet wants to remedy that, and so they’re going on a fourth leg of tour dates, which, if you recall, originally started as a 20th anniversary celebration of the aforementioned album. So, technically, we’re celebrating its 22nd anniversary, but hey, who’s counting?

Dubbed the “Lost Cities” tour, Pixies will play 19 previously unvisited cities, beginning in Rochester, NY on October 27th. As the case for the trek’s previous three legs, each show will see the band play Doolittle and all the album’s B-sides in its entirety. Also of highlight will be an opening set from Surfer Blood. Update: Imaginary Cities will open the final six shows.

And with that, Black Francis has unofficially become the busiest man in music. Outside of Pixies touring and scoring silent films, Black recently released details about a complete Catholics box set and a collaborative album, all due out this fall. He’s also set aside a few dates this summer to play acoustic only solo sets, making it a wonder the man has any time to sleep. Or think.

Pixies 2011 Tour Dates:
10/27 – Montclair, NJ @ Wellmont Theatre *
10/28 – Asbury Park, NJ @ Asbury Park Convention Hall *
10/29 – Waterbury, CT @ Palace Theatre *
10/30 – Hampton Beach, NH @ Hampton Beach Ballroom *
11/01 – Portland, ME @ State Theatre *
11/02 – Rochester, NY @ The Armory *
11/03 – Easton, PA @ State Theatre Center *
11/05 – Huntington, NY @ Paramount Theatre *
11/06 – Wilmington, DE @ Grand Opera House *
11/08 – Greensboro, NC @ War Memorial Auditorium *
11/09 – Louisville, KY @ Louisville, KY @ Palace Theatre *
11/10 – Knoxville, TN @ Tennessee Theatre *
11/11 – North Charleston, SC @ North Charleston Performing Arts Center *
11/14 – Memphis, TN @ Orpheum Theatre #
11/15 – Oklahoma, OK @ Bricktown Events Center #
11/16 – Sante Fe, NM @ Santa Fe Center #
11/18 – Bakersfield, CA @ Fox Theatre #
11/20 – Napa, CA @ The Uptown Theatre #
11/21 – Santa Cruz, CA @ Civic Auditorium #

* = w Surfer Blood
# = w/ Imaginary Cities

The Catholics box set will include all six of the band’s studio albums, as well as rare digital-only tracks from their 2006 compilations Snake Oil and One More Road For The Hit. Mastering is said to be near completion, but a release date has yet to be announced. However, Black does promise “other goodies” to be issued concurrently.

As for Paley & Francis, the two wrote the album in Brooklyn over a three-day period while Francis was in town with the Pixies, although recording eventually took place in Nashville. This isn’t the first time these two songwriters have collaborated, however. Paley has opened for the Pixies frontman in the past, and Francis produced Paley’s 1999 album Lucky’s Tune. To hear what they’ve been cooking up more recently, you’ll have to wait until September 13th, when Paley & Francis hits stores (via Sonic Unyon) — though you can peep the tracklist below.

Stay tuned for more updates surrounding that box set, too.

Paley & Francis Tracklist:
01. Curse
02. On the Corner
03. Magic Cup
04. Ugly Life
05. Seal
06. The Last Song
07. Cresent Moon
08. Deconstructed
09. Praise
10. Happy Shoes

As part of AV Undercover‘s 25 Cover Songs, where today’s hottest indie acts are invited into the The Onion’s offices to choose a cover of their liking off a list, Florida’s Surfer Blood stopped by the Chicago location (you know, on their last visit), and went for the Pixies’ “Gigantic”. But, what’s that you say? Who in the all-male quartet would dare take on Kim Deal’s vocals? Well, according to vocalist John Paul Pitts, “[Drummer] T.J. does a really nice Kim Deal impersonation,” but, no, they opted for The Girls At Dawn’s Sarah Baldwin, instead. Not surprisingly, the punky fuzz outfit does a great job, nailing the song with ease and precision. Baldwin doesn’t stray too far and Pitts’ does his best to conjure up the grit and grime of one Frank Black. Given the small room, though, they deserve some applause. Now, will they play it ever on-stage? We’ll have to see.

Slicing Up Eyeballs reports that the latest leg of dates launch April 9th in Halifax and will see the band play 13 cities across Canada between then and May 3rd. Along the way, Pixies will also deliver three U.S. performances, with stops scheduled for Detroit, Milwaukee, and St. Paul in late April. Find all confirmed dates below.

Tickets will be available starting Friday, January 28th via your usual ticket outlets. A fan pre-sale will also occur on the band’s website.

Also, while we’re on the topic of the Pixies, be sure to check out our recent chat with frontman Frank Black.

Pixies 2011 Tour Dates:
04/09 – Halifax, NS @ Metro Centre
04/10 – Moncton, NB @ Casino Moncton
04/12 – Quebec City, QC @ Salle Albert-Rousseau
04/13 – Montreal, QC @ Metropolis
04/16 – Ottawa, ON @ Civic Centre
04/17 – Kitchener, ON @ The Center in the Square
04/18 – Toronto, ON @ Massey Hal
04/20 – Hamilton, ON @ Wentworth Room
04/22 – Detroit, MI @ Fox Theatre
04/23 – Milwaukee, WI @ Eagles Ballroom
04/24 – St. Paul, MN @ Roy Wilkins Auditorium
04/27 – Winnipeg, MB @ Centennial Concert Hall
04/29 – Saskatoon, SK @ TCU Place
04/30 – Calgary, AB @ Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium
05/01 – Edmonton, AB @ Shaw Conference Center
05/03 – Vancouver, BC @ Orpheum Theatre

Hey?

Waiting?

Oh, no, don’t worry about it.

I’m at a friend’s house, and I just wanted to transition into a space here that’s more for business. But there’s a very large black dog. We’ve not become friends yet. I’ll have to try not to talk too excitedly. Okay.

First, I was wondering about the history of The Golem, how you came to the project. I read that the San Fransisco Film Festival asked you to do something. Is that what prompted it?

Yeah. They had asked me to do something for a couple of years, and I was finally able to do it. It’s sort of a regular feature of their festival. Every year they have…in March, thereabouts… They gave me a short list of movies, and I think maybe I had heard of this particular film, or maybe at the very least of German Expressionism or whatever. So, that’s why I think I gravitated to that title. Anyway, it was the first time I’d ever done anything like that, and I enjoyed the whole experience. The writing, the recording, and finally, the performance in the orchestra pit, there, below the screen, which is something I’ve only ever seen on movies. To be there in that position, to be performing, was great. And, of course, not having to be communicating to the audience, not having to project. I liked that a lot.

I’d imagine that was pretty different.

Yeah. Totally. You do, I think, feel like you can get away with more, or something. I felt like I was…the pressure was on to be good. But I didn’t have to look good…or smile. I think I was wearing a hat, standing with my back to the audience. Everyone was so focused on the visuals, and, in a way, it had my visual attention too. When you’re all kind of looking at the same thing…that’s kind of interesting.

Was there any pressure to live up to the film, to fit the expectations it has, to be entirely faithful to what the film is?

Well, no. I mean, it’s an old film from another time. I was really just doing what I suppose other bands back in the day when they were performing to that silent film or other silent films would do, you know? Because the music was just the musicians down in the pit playing their repertoire with whatever new film was blowin’ through on the circuit. So there wasn’t any pressure. I didn’t feel much…I mean, I wanted it to be cool. I didn’t want it to be too precious. And I think I accomplished that. I mean, it was new for me to learn that’s what happened back in the day. With modern sound film, you have all these sounds going on, so the context of the music is totally different.

It’s almost like the music is competing with everything else for aural attention.

Right, right. And the music, in a subtle way, can emotionally change the mood of the scene. But back in the day, in silent films, it was just a local band playing their repertoire, which was much more of a raucous affair, not a cinematic, precious sound score… It was much more “Hit it boys!” Anyway, when they told me that, I was very encouraged. I didn’t feel like I had to…uh…change or anything, put on velvet gloves. I could just be myself.

Was the songwriting process very different from your other albums?

Well, certain things were different because I was timing scenes. Having said that, I didn’t feel restricted. I was trying to write songs, so sometimes the songs would carry over onto new scenes. So it wasn’t really different, but it was kind of different.

Did the process make you feel like you’d be interested in scoring another film?

Yeah, but I didn’t…Yes, but…yes and no…I didn’t…I wasn’t scoring a film. I mean, I was, but in a really abstract way. I wasn’t working with a filmmaker, trying to make his art more pleasing or working with movie producers or anything. A little film festival gave me a couple of bucks to bash out some music for one of their screenings. I’m not trying to minimize it; I’m just trying to say that it’s a totally different experience. I would love to continue to do this as I did. That’s great. Having to deal with the industry and movie producers…that just seems to be a lot of work [laughs]. I know people that do that, and I don’t think I’d want to do that.

There are two different versions of The Golem. There’s the big box with four discs and then the pared down “rock album.” Are there different audiences for each set?

No, I don’t think so. I mean, the special packaging has the original music and then a live recording from the festival. We edited down the score, made it more of a rock album, got rid of some of the smaller themes or incidental bits and pieces. We just kind of reduced it to the main songs and themes. But it is a film, so we put out the DVD. The DVD, of course, is the film with the full score. It isn’t like there are two different audiences; there are just two different experiences. Sitting down and watching a movie is different from driving around in your car and listening to a record.

Is there something in particular in The Golem that appealed to you? The supernatural?

Yeah. It’s beautiful. It’s mystical.

Are there any moments that you were particularly fond of?

When the rabbi has to go to the gentile court to plead his case for not throwing the Jews out of the ghetto. They’re looking at some of his visions, and it’s almost like a film within a film. They’re all sitting there, looking at the visions of the sages of yesteryear. They end up mocking some of the figures from the rabbi’s visions. They kind of cross a line, basically. This is when the building starts to shake, it’s about to collapse on them, and they’re kind of at the mercy of the rabbi, and that’s when he summons the golem, who comes in and supports the building. They’re about to go down like Sampson…That whole sequence there is really great. And it starts off in a very mystical place, with the rabbi consulting the stars.

At times, it feels like a combination of science fiction and traditional mysticism.

Right. He gets into all of the conjuring, the chanting with the golem. He gets out the old Babylonian texts or whatever that are hidden away in his closet. He brings the golem to life, or out of his inanimate state. He starts talking about…I forget which planet it is…maybe Uranus or something, but it all gets very…very…mumbo jumbo [laughs]. And the scene with the demon and the smoke is fabulous. I took particular pleasure in writing down a song over that stuff. I mean, that was just great. There was some sort of more modern referencing going on. The demon scene, the song that I put there for my soundtrack is something that’s very Rolling Stones, for me anyway. It had a Stones-y kind of vibe. I mean, we’ve got the devil here [laughs]. So, you know.

How many times did you wind up watching the film?

Not that many times…I mean, maybe three or four times as I was writing it, and then we watched it a lot as we were recording it. I didn’t watch it 50 times or anything.

So it’s not something you got sick of or anything?

No, no, no. When you start to look at something a lot, something that obviously had a lot of work that went into it, you start to pick up on more nuances. You start to get into the actors, and their faces, and the makeup, and their posture. And, of course, the actors in those kind of movies, there was so much physical acting going on because they didn’t need to worry about delivering lines. It’s all so…charade and pantomime. It’s very dramatic [laughs]. The guy who played the rabbi, he’s great. When he shudders in fear, it’s like he’s doing some sort of yoga move, just bending over backward and going “Oh no!”[laughs]. It doesn’t require the knowledge of any language. Anybody can watch it and get what’s going on.

Do you have any favorite scores or soundtracks?

You know, I always liked that one that Neil Young did for Dead Man. I suppose, probably, the opening scene that I did in The Golem is very much inspired by that.

I’d had a feeling that was the case.

I think we were trying to go for a Neil Young kind of vibe. I think it worked. That’s actually one of my favorite ones [on The Golem]. It’s very… bom bom bom bom BOM. It’s very matched to the scene.

I guess my last question is: What’s next on your agenda?

Well, my wife is producing the next Grand Duchy record, which is almost done. Right now, I’m in the studio with a British band called Art Brut. I’m with them right now eating breakfast, getting ready to go into work. And I made a record with a friend of mine from Brooklyn called Reid Paley. We recorded it in Nashville a couple of months ago, but we’re not sure when it’s coming out. We’re just trying to figure out how it’s going to be released. I’ve got this little website called The Bureau. We sort of self-released The Golem DVD and a few other products. It just sort of started off as a place to sell some shirts and CDs. But it slowly but surely started to grow into something. Slowly, without trying, it’s become a sort of record label. I’m not sure where it’s going to take us, but we’re taking baby steps to getting distribution in stores and that kind of thing. We didn’t mean to become a record company, but you go, “Well, how can we make it better?”, and then you go, “Well, I guess we’ve gotta become a record company” [laughs]. You know, we’ve got shelving and stuff. The Golem thing was our first real release. It has a catalog number and everything.

You can make as many CD-Rs as you want, but when it’s got a catalog number, that’s the big time.

Yeah [laughs].  That was the most satisfying moment, when we actually put catalog numbers on some of these new things we’re putting out. It felt really cool.

This got me thinking about so many contemporary songs that feature samplings or interpolations of previously recorded material. In today’s musical landscape, the use of another’s material is a bit ubiquitous and, at times, overwhelming. When samples are used with skill, the listener often doesn’t even realize that the song isn’t truly original; so, it’s almost forgivable (to a point) when mistakes like MIA vs. The Clash pop up.

Despite today’s prolific tendencies of borrowing, this is by no means a new phenomenon. Instead of sampling, artists just simply covered songs, especially if they had to fill up space on an album. Many times, though, the cover song became bigger than the original, to the point of overshadowing the original songwriters or performers. Below is just a small sampling.

“Crazy” – Patsy Cline / Willie Nelson

Willie Nelson wrote “Crazy” in 1961. At the time, he was a songwriter named Hugh, working his way up as a journeyman by providing material for artists like Faron Young and Billy Walker to perform. Patsy Cline, however, was one of the biggest names in country music. After years of developing his craft as a songwriter, Nelson’s “Crazy” would be the song that clinched it.

The song, as sung by Cline, is very obviously a ballad. However, Nelson’s original version somewhat defies a simple categorization. “Crazy” is not written like a traditional country song. Nelson borrowed heavily from jazz and classic pop songwriting when composing the tune. The verse and chorus smoothly meld into one another rather than standing rigidly separated like in most country songs. This jazz-like lean is most often recognized when Nelson performs the song live, never performing it the same way twice.

Originally intended for, but declined by, Walker, Nelson managed to get a demo of the song to Cline after meeting her husband, Charlie Dick, at a Music Row watering hole. Nelson’s style of speaking his lyrics rather than singing them did not sit well with Cline, who rejected the song upon initially hearing it. After her producer, Owen Bradley, rearranged the song as the ballad we’ve become familiar with, Cline fell in love with it, recording the vocals in a single take. Though it didn’t have the success of her previous hit, “I Fall To Pieces”, the song did signify Cline’s return to music after surviving a near fatal automobile accident. “Crazy” was released in 1962, peaking at number two on the country charts.

I remember as a child hearing stories about Cline (or someone in her camp) stealing this song from Nelson. I can’t remember if it was just my grandfather spinning a yarn, a Jessica Lange movie filling in my historical blanks, or what, but I found no such evidence indicating those sentiments. In 1993, Nelson said that he felt Cline’s version was his favorite song of his that anybody had recorded. Maybe at the time he got a little less than what he thought he should once the song became a hit. Regardless of any of the fine print, the success of Cline’s version not only cemented Nelson’s reputation as a songwriter, but it also opened the door to his own recording career. Based on the success of “Crazy”, Liberty records signed Nelson to his own recording contract.

“Head On” – Pixies / The Jesus and Mary Chain

Admittedly, this one might be stretching it somewhat, as most people might not even realize that an alternate version of this song exists. “Head On” originally appears on the Jesus and Mary Chain’s 1989 album, Automatic. Engineered by future shoegaze mastermind Alan Moulder, the song features the signature feedback sound that JAMC were known for, and it ups the tempo into a fabulous pop song. The ambiguity of its lyrics can give the impression that the song could either be a boy-meets-girl ditty or a psychedelic drug experience swirling around your head.

The true ambiguity of the song comes from the Pixies’ cover version. Around 1990, a year or so before the Pixies would release their fourth album, Trompe Le Monde, they had begun covering “Head On” in concert. The original version of the song started to achieve a moderate level of popularity on modern rock radio on its own merits, but with the Pixies covering it, an argument could be made that the song received a Colbert style “bump.” The Pixies version became slightly famous for the video and the production behind the making of the video. The band had agreed to provide a video for the single only if it was recorded live. Using 12 cameras divided among the four band members, the song was played, the video was recorded, and everybody was happy. I don’t know the reason for the band’s (or perhaps Black Francis’s) stubbornness regarding the making of the video. Maybe it stems from a time when the band was covering “Head On” during a show, and Francis looked down into the audience to see Jim and William Reid, the song’s writers, looking back at him. True story.

“There She Goes” – Sixpence None the Richer / The La’s

This misconception is more an American mistake, as I find it almost impossible to believe that anyone in the UK would not know that the La’s originally performed “There She Goes”. Originally written by Lee Mavers and performed by his band The La’s, the song was released at least three times before it finally achieved any kind of chart status. In fact, the third version was a remix by Steve Lillywhite, who produced the band’s self-titled debut in 1990. Helped by the song’s inclusion on the album, the band finally had a taste of success, peaking at 13 in the UK and just barely missing out on the US Top 40.

The song’s popularity throughout the 90s is most evident by its inclusion on at least four soundtracks from the era. The soundtrack to So I Married An Axe Murderer features both the La’s version and a Boo Radleys version, which bookend the album. Despite appearing in Hollywood heavy-hitters like The Parent Trap remake, Mavers found his biggest success when Austin, Texas, band Sixpence None the Richer included a version on their self-titled third album. The Sixpence version broke the US Top 40 and the Top 10 on most AOR charts. To this day, this is the version you will most likely hear on US AOR/Adult Contemporary radio stations. The Sixpence version also achieved a boost in popularity after appearing on yet another soundtrack, one for the film Snow Day. I find it darkly ironic that so many family oriented films have chosen to use a song that at one point in its history was accused of being an ode to heroin.

“I Want Candy” – Bow Wow Wow / The Strangeloves

The Strangeloves were a “band” comprised of 3/4 of the songwriting team behind “I Want Candy”.  The song was written by Bert Berns, Richard Goettehrer, Jerry Goldstein, and Bob Feldman, all of whom (sans Berns) were the Strangeloves. Assuming the personalities of three Australian ex-sheep-herding brothers named Giles, Miles, and Niles Strange, The Strangeloves recorded their hit in 1965. Oddly enough, though, all writing, recording, and performing credits are under the band members’ real names. The alter egos were just for publicity.

The song achieved a second bit of recognition when, later in the same year, Brian Poole and his band the Tremoloes hit the UK Top 25 with their cover. However, the song’s biggest boost in popularity came not from the mod scene or the swingin’ hipsters of the 60s but rather from new wavers of the early 80s and a cover version by a new British band, Bow Wow Wow.

Bow Wow Wow was a project assembled by Malcolm McLaren, the guiding force behind the Sex Pistols. Never one to shy away from exploiting the sexuality of a teenager, McLaren discovered his singer, a mohawked Annabella Lwin, in a launderette at the tender age of 14. With dollar signs in his eyes, he absconded with the Ants from Adam and the Ants to round out Bow Wow Wow’s lineup, leaving Adam all alone. The band had a series of minor hits in the UK, but “I Want Candy” was pretty much their only success State-side.  Appearing ubiquitously on “One Hit Wonder” lists and “Best of the 80s” types of countdowns, “I Want Candy”, with one of the most recognizable intros since the hand claps on “Car Wash”, may have provided Bow Wow Wow with a bit more immortality than it did the song’s creators, but I would place bets that Annabella is back doing her delicates at the launderette.

“After Midnight”/“Cocaine” – Eric Clapton / J.J. Cale

Clapton has recorded at least three J.J. Cale songs throughout his career: “Cocaine”, “After Midnight”, and “Travelin’ Light” are the most important three. The first two are so closely associated with Clapton that, unless you read the liner notes, you may never have even thought that they weren’t his songs. “After Midnight” was on Clapton’s solo debut in 1970 and immediately became a hot single for the guitarist.

An upbeat, slightly funky number, “After Midnight” features Clapton leaving the experimentation of Blind Faith and the heaviness of Cream behind for a smoother, simpler approach. Cale first recorded a demo of “After Midnight” four years earlier in 1966, which features Cale’s signature laid-back feel. When listening to Cale’s playing, it’s easily as relaxed as any of Clapton’s work. And when listening to Clapton, especially during this period, the influence of Cale is greatly felt.

When Clapton recorded his version in 1970, Cale, apparently, was totally unaware. Dirt poor, scraping by, and barely able to feed himself, Cale was nonetheless pleased to begin receiving royalty checks. In fact, Clapton’s success with Cale’s song led Cale back to the studio to record his own music once again. Cale’s own re-recording of “After Midnight” even managed to chart on Billboard at #42. Clapton would re-re-record the song for a Michelob beer commercial in the late 80s.

Ten years after penning “After Midnight”, Cale wrote “Cocaine” for his 1976 release, Troubadour. The style and arrangement on Cale’s and Clapton’s versions are pretty much the same, with the only major difference being that Clapton’s is a bit cleaner, Cale’s a bit rawer. The famous guitar riff opening the song (and carrying it throughout) is a bit grittier on Cale’s version. His songwriting allows for the music and lyrics to live on their own terms and provide the listener with a chance to absorb both. The message is rather clear in its anti-drug position; however, Cale is careful not to beat the message over the listener’s head. Clapton said once “…from a distance…it just sounds like a song about cocaine. But actually, it is quite cleverly anti-cocaine.”

Produced by Glyn Johns and appearing on Clapton’s 1978 Slowhand, the song was originally a B-side to “Lay Down Sally”, only to be re-released as its own single in 1980. “Cocaine” became one of Clapton’s (and by default, Cale’s) biggest hits, eventually becoming a concert staple and a fixture on contemporary classic rock radio.

“Me and Bobby McGee” – Janis Joplin / Kris Kristofferson

Kristofferson, much like his friend Hugh “Willie” Nelson, began his career in country music as a songwriting journeyman. The first recording of his song “Me and Bobby McGee” was actually by fellow country songwriter Roger Miller in 1969. Kristofferson himself recorded it for his self-titled solo album in 1970. There have been countless cover versions of this song, mostly by country artists; however, none stand out as much as Janis Joplin’s, featured on her final album, Pearl.

Joplin recorded the tune in October 1970, just a few days before her death. As a friend and lover of Joplin’s, Kristofferson had presented the song by singing it to her. She was taught the song by fellow singer Bob Neuwirth and recorded it with her group Full Tilt Boogie in the fall of 1970. Kristofferson was unaware of Joplin’s cover until he heard it a few days after she passed away. He claims that the song was not written for Joplin but that to this day the song is and will be associated with her. Her version of the song became only the second posthumous single in US chart history to hit number one (following Otis Redding’s “Sitting On the Dock of the Bay”).

“Respect” – Aretha Franklin / Otis Redding

Originally written in 1965 by soul legend Otis Redding, “Respect” was composed just as the artist was finishing up his third (and most critically acclaimed) album, Otis Blue. The song’s story is basically of a man pleading for respect from a woman (possibly a gold-digging, over-demanding woman, but I may be reading too much into it). Written as a blues number, Redding’s performance is far funkier than the Franklin version and even comes off a bit more aggressive. Redding’s phrasing often stagnates slightly between verses, delivering the pleading theatrics of the song’s protagonist, whereas Franklin’s impassioned rendering of the song takes the same lyrics and turns them into the strength of a woman announcing her independence and freedom.

Redding managed some chart success, breaking the Top 5 on the Black Singles chart and even crossing over to the pop charts for a second time (following the earlier chart success of “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long”), peaking at #35. True success for the song was found, however, with Aretha Franklin’s recording in 1967. Atlantic Records producer extraordinaire Jerry Wexler took the song to Franklin after hearing Redding’s version. Smelling a hit record, Wexler tweaked the Redding track ever so slightly. There were no lyrical changes, but the producers added a bridge and included King Curtis on saxophone. The overall production was far smoother at Atlantic Records than it was for the Stax production of Redding’s tune, helping to boost its popularity amongst the white audience.

The genius of this song is in Franklin’s delivery. The meaning the listener derives from listening to her version is a complete 180 from the original.  Where Redding’s song was more of a plea from a man to his significant other, Franklin’s version became a rallying cry for women and the feminist movement (and, to a lesser extent, the Civil Rights movement).

Franklin recorded “Respect” on February 14, 1967. Four months later at the Monterrey Pop Festival, Otis Redding, while introducing the song, described it as the song “that little girl done stole from me.” Joking of course, Redding knew the effect that Franklin’s version of his song had. As a result, Redding pretty much gave the song to Franklin (though I am sure he kept the writing credits). It almost begs the question as to just how many in the Monterrey audience knew that Redding had originally penned “Respect”.  Six months after his performance at Monterrey, in December 1967, Redding was killed in a plane crash. In the spring of 1968, Franklin claimed two Grammy awards for her recording of “Respect”. It is her recording of “Respect” that also appears on all of the “Greatest Songs” lists and was even inducted into the Library of Congress’s National Recording Registry in 2002.

“All Along the Watchtower” – Jimi Hendrix / Bob Dylan

To say that Bob Dylan is one of the most prolific songwriters in music history is an understatement’s understatement. Dylan wrote so much material in the 60s that it almost seemed as if any and every artist on CBS’s roster at the time had to cover at least one of his songs. Despite so many covers, more often than not, the listener was well aware that a Byrds or Baez song on the radio was originally penned by Dylan. Of all of Dylan’s songs (there are approximately 17,345,298, give or take eight), “All Along the Watchtower” stands out from the others not so much because of who wrote it but rather who performed it.

The original recording first appeared on Dylan’s 1968 comeback album, John Wesley Harding. After taking time off to recover from a horrific motorcycle accident, the songs on JWH marked a significant change in Dylan’s songwriting and topicality. Settling into family life, Dylan turned away from the excesses of the city and began to slow things down a little. He even began exploring biblical themes and imagery.

Dylan’s recording of the song was made on a single day in November, 1967. Five takes later, the song was completed by splicing in elements from the third and fifth take. “All Along the Watchtower” was the session’s first track and the second single released from John Wesley Harding. This recording session stands in stark contrast to Hendrix’s recording of the song.

Less than a month after Dylan released John Wesley Harding, Jimi Hendrix commented to Dave Mason of Traffic how he wanted to do a version of Dylan’s song. A few days later, the two men (along with Hendrix’s drummer Mitch Mitchell) entered the studio to do just that. Dylan’s slow-paced, relaxed number was about to get a facelift of raging guitar and psychedelia that would change the song’s appearance forever. The Jimi Hendrix Experience began their cover version in late January 1968.

Hendrix’s session was so chaotic and frustrating that bassist Noel Redding split the studio midway through, leaving Dave Mason to fill in. However, according to session engineer Eddie Kramer, Hendrix ended up playing the final bass part. In less than five days, the recording was complete and the problems began. Hendrix was immediately dissatisfied with the result of “All Along the Watchtower” and began re-recording and overdubbing parts. As he went on, he got increasingly frustrated and unhappy with the product. What began as a four-track recording ended up on a 16-track machine. Everytime Hendrix would listen to the recording, he would hear new nuances and subtleties that he would want to incorporate. The finalized version was released in September 1968, almost eight months after recording began, a far cry from Dylan’s single-day recording session.

The biggest culprit in mis-identifying Hendrix over Dylan as the song’s author is probably Dylan himself. Dylan once described his reaction to the Hendrix cover: “It overwhelmed me…He found things that other people wouldn’t think of finding in there. He probably improved upon it by the spaces he was using.” The first time Dylan performed “All Along the Watchtower” live was in 1974, four years after Hendrix’s death and a full seven years after the initial recording. Of the live performance, Dylan said, “I liked [Hendrix’s] record of this and ever since he died I’ve been doing it that way…I always feel it’s a tribute to him.”

“Hound Dog” – Elvis Presley / Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton

“Hound Dog” differs from the above songs most significantly in that neither the first performer of the song, Big Mama Thornton, or the performer who is most famous for it, Elvis Presley, actually wrote it.  The song was written by Jerry Leiber and Michael Stoller in 1952 for Thornton and was also the first record the songwriting team produced themselves. Thornton’s recording hit number one on the Rhythm & Blues charts in March 1953 and stayed there for over two months. In April 1953, five separate country versions for five separate labels were recorded. The song’s popularity was undeniable.

Thornton’s roots in the blues and jazz worlds lent perfectly to the call-and-response improvisations she added during Pete Lewis’ guitar solo. She even suggested the band bark and howl like dogs as the song ended. With her flexible phrasing and altering syncopations on top of drummer Johnny Otis’s (father of guitar legend Shuggie Otis) solid backbeat, Thornton would hop from the upbeat to the downbeat, stressing different parts of each line, never repeating where she would place the accent. With her straight to the point, no-nonsense delivery, Thornton belted out the innuendo and double entendre-laden lyrics. During the recording session, a Habanera variation as well as a Habanera-mambo arrangement were also recorded.

By the time Presley recorded his much more sanitized version of “Hound Dog” in 1956, numerous covers, sequels, follow-ups, and rip-offs had already filled jukeboxes and record shelves.  Ironically, because of all the other versions of “Hound Dog” around, when Presley made his famous recording, he was apparently unaware that Thornton’s recording even existed. History has shown us that countless black artists were robbed by white artists. However, in this case, I don’t think that was Presley’s intention.

Presley had based his version of “Hound Dog” not on Big Mama Thornton but on a cover version by Freddie Bell and the Bellboys. Bell had rewritten the lyrics slightly in an effort to appeal to a broader audience, and as a result, much of the original sexuality of the song was rendered limp. In yet another twist of irony, Presley was playing as a second billing in, of all places, Las Vegas. While in Vegas, Presley and his band would catch the Bellboys set nightly, and he eventually asked Bell for permission to cover the song. Presley’s version went on to top the charts until it was replaced by another Presley song, “Love Me Tender”.

Though Presley’s version of the song is certainly the most famous, much of its fame is not due to the recording but rather to its performance. Presley’s first performance of “Hound Dog” was on The Milton Berle Show. It was this performance that featured Presley vamping at half-tempo while staring at the audience, all the while rotating and thrusting his hips. It was here that “Elvis the Pelvis” was born, and it was here that Presley managed to restore, both physically and visually, the lyrical sexuality of Thornton’s original.

So a free live EP from Pixies isn’t going to run long — 9 minutes and 48 seconds to be exact — but it’s still free and fantastic and yours for the small price of your email address entered in the widget below (via Self-Titled). The EP , which features live performances of “Dancing The Manta Ray”, “Monkey Gone To Heaven”, “Crackity Jones”, and “Gouge Away” is released in celebration of their new site pixiesmusic.com. This release seems strikingly similar to the live EP they released last year around this time, but hey, who cares. Too much Pixies is never a bad thing.

For now, try and imagine the culture we live in. The idea of learning about someone through conversation, or even something as rudimentary as spending time together, is so “old-fashioned” and so “passe.” Nope. Anything that takes longer than 30 seconds isn’t worth your time. It’s the runoff from our Facebook culture, where identity depends on how well your profile looks. Do you have an underrated band next to an acceptable mainstream group? Is your bio too long or too short? Are you quirky without trying too hard? Do you look chubby in your profile photo?

Don’t shake your head. That’s how society works these days – at least our online culture here. We’re quick to pass judgment within seconds. That’s why we try to be on our toes at all times, ready for criticism and on the defensive. (Sometimes we try to just say, “Oh, fuck it” and ignore you. But that takes patience, which comes with time. Don’t ask.) Because of this difficult and remarkable situation, we turn to “the list.”

These days, lists have become synonymous with identity. Is that a surprise? It’s a collection of someone’s opinions on an easy-to-swallow topic. Whether it’s the Top 10 Solos by Ace Frehley or the Top 10 Feel Good Hits of the Summer, you’re leaving with an impression. This impression is incredibly valuable to you, the reader, and us, the publisher. It offers some clarity for you and some air for us. We may have to wash our shirts out from the rotten tomatoes, but hell, it feels good to know we tore down the proverbial curtains.

So, what about this specific list? Is it a bit much for us to lay out what we feel are the greatest albums of all time? Sure, you could argue that. (We did. Several times. Until we finally just…decided it’d be fun to do.) However, you’d be missing the point. Despite all the forthcoming disagreement, this list summarizes where we stand in our views on music. It’s sort of a, uh, take it or leave it approach, really. Are we expecting you to agree? No. Of course not. In fact, given that this is a collective endeavor, we don’t necessarily agree with every decision made here on a personal level. But, we’d all agree that this is the best representation of how we, as a staff, rank all the albums in music history.

Okay, so it’s a little egotistical, but lick it up, baby. Lick. It. Up.

-Michael Roffman
President/Editor-in-Chief

Artwork by Cap Blackard.

100. Kanye West – The College Dropout

The Kanye West of 2010 is eerily similar to the Kanye West of 2002. Whereas the Chicago MC of today is fueling his creative surge with a newfound sense of hunger (the result of a MTV publicity stunt gone wrong and a corresponding eight-month, self-imposed exile), eight years earlier West was equally determined to prove his critics wrong. Despite dropping out of college to focus entirely on his hip-hop career, West could not find a record contract to save his life. They said he lacked that gangsta image and if anything he was a producer and not an MC. Even future friend Jay-Z, whose Roc-A-Fella Records was the first to give West a bite, later admitted he had doubts as to whether West could be a successful rapper.

West responded with his 2004 debut, College Dropout, a definitive record that proved not only his talents as both producer and MC but also launched him into superstardom. The 21-track effort is nothing less than spectacular, combining wit, social commentary, and even religion with a bevy of old-school soul and funk samples one would never expect to hear on a hip-hop album. Blackjack’s “Power of Love”?  Luther Vandross’s “A House is Not a Home”? A sped up Chaka Khan? It was all there. The culmination, of course, came in the form of “Jesus Walks”, a track that managed to make Christianity sound as gangsta as “Straight Outta Compton”. West was on a mission and used College Dropout to not only redefine what it meant to be a rapper but also the concept of sampling and production. Not since Jay-Z’s The Blueprint had the hip-hop industry heard such a game changer.

The rest, of course, is history and one that most of us know pretty well. West further proved his abilities with 2005′s Late Registration and 2007′s Graduation and then changed the blueprint again with 808s and Heartbreak. And though he grew an ego along the way, his music never lost a sense of originality, and much like there would be no Kanye West without Jay-Z, there would be no Lil Wayne, Drake, and Cudi without Kanye. What’s more, much like eight years ago, West is hungry again, eager to prove the doubters and once again establish himself among the industry’s elite. If College Dropout is any evidence, then the next decade and beyond will continue to be ruled and shaped by West. -Alex Young

Essential Tracks: “Jesus Walks”, “Through the Wire”, and ”Never Let Me Down”

99. Talking Heads – Fear of Music

For their first two albums, Talking Heads met with warm reception towards their quirky, post-modern songwriting, but it was with Fear of Music that they established themselves as art-rock masterminds. By staying true to their punk and avant-garde beginnings, while progressing their sound with alternative rhythms and surreal yet accessible lyrics, Talking Heads crafted a powerful collection of songs ranging dramatically in scope and subject matter – paper to heaven, wartime to electric guitars. With the aid of Brian Eno, the band set out to make dark, dystopian disco music; the end result was a landmark collection of intellectual rock songs as cutting edge as anything hanging on a wall in the most revered modern art galleries. - Cap Blackard

Essential Tracks: “Cities”, “Life During Wartime”, “Air”, “I Zimbra”, and “Heaven”

98. Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti

There’s an old saying that promises, “Everyone will eventually get into Led Zeppelin.”  It may not start with Physical Graffiti, but for those already versed in their early days, this album rewards like no other. Zep embodies their own spirit of excess by giving us a double album packed with epic pysch-rockers, bluesy stompers, acoustic interludes, power ballads, and the closest they’d ever get to an alt-country song, all of which show Jimmy Page displaying some of his best work. “In My Time of Dying” is yet another microcosm of Zeppelin’s boisterousness, but it never feels indulgent, not for any of its 11 minutes. The sturdy drum work of Bonham in “Kashmir” and “Houses of the Holy” is the stuff of rhythmic head-nods everywhere. And while there are stand-out tracks and singles, Physical Graffiti stands alone in the Zep catalog as the album with the most ideas, most experiments, and greatest success rate of these risks. The latter half of the album never feels like filler, from the acoustic southern blues of “The Wanton Song”, to the aching ballad of “Ten Years Gone”, to the straight pop-rock of “Night Flight”. In 1975, Zeppelin released their longest album, arguably their last great album, but also one of their best. -Jeremy Larson

Essential Tracks: “In My Time of Dying”, “Houses of the Holy”, and “Kashmir”

97. Elliott Smith - Either/Or

Elliott Smith’s quivering whisper is so desperate; so defeated, it’s like listening to a child owning up to some horrid fault. On Either/Or, Smith mellows out his take on Beatles-esque folk-rock to the speed of a heroine high and owns up to his demons: alcohol, lethargy, and his ongoing depression. Even the semi-joyous, jaunty “The Ballad of Big Nothing” seeps with confetti-speckled agony. On “Between the Bars”, he paints a picture of a man imprisoned by his own addictions, trapped between beer taps–a cage keeping him from his passions, his lovers, and a real life. For all its misery, Either/Or is an apt title for a record that romanticizes depression-fueled indifference and pays passionate homage to the horrors of apathy.  -Drew Litowitz

Essential Tracks: “Between the Bars”, “The Ballad of Big Nothing”, “Rose Parade”, and ”Angeles”

96. Beck – Midnite Vultures

Beck has always been a pretty funky guy. However, Midnite Vultures took his groovier side to the highest degree. It’s as if Beck spent the year between Mutations and Vultures listening to Parliament-Funkadelic exclusively. The horns that start “Sexx Laws” are yet another display of how far he’s willing to push the envelope. This album can be seen as the last hurrah for the Beck of the ’90s, before Sea Change moved him into a less tongue-in-cheek career path. -Joe Marvilli

Essential Tracks: “Sexx Laws”, “Mixed Bizness”, “Get Real Paid”, and “Debra”

95. Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here

Five songs, 45 minutes, and all of them are awesome. Pink Floyd’s tribute to former member Syd Barrett (who coincidentally walked into the studio unnoticed during the making of this album), Wish You Were Here, is a mental ride through time and space, where one can dwell on whatever they see fit over this voyage of sound. Both segments of “Shine on Your Crazy Diamond” are perfect from start to finish, even though they both range well over 10 minutes of psychedelic wonder. The middle tracks include the bad-acid trip about conformity, “Welcome to the Machine”, and the funky live staple of Floydology, “Have a Cigar”. Pink Floyd’s five-song albums always seem to be mind-benders (see: Animals), but nothing was more classic than Wish You Were Here, and it will forever remain on my most-played list until I listen to it to calm my nerves on my deathbed. -Ted Maider

Essential Tracks: “Wish You Were Here” and “Shine on Your Crazy Diamond (Parts I-V)”

94. Metallica - Kill ‘Em All

In truth, this album should not have been completed. Thrash metal was little more than an underground phenomenon in its time; tensions in the band had reached their peak as bassist Ron McGovney quit before future Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine was unceremoniously ejected; the original title, Metal Up Your Ass, was not thought marketable by record executives. It was 1983 when Kill ‘Em All finally struck — a biting LP full of punk and classic rock roots mashed together with a bloody hammer. Satriani student and former Exodus guitarist Kirk Hammett lent a melodic mid-section to “The Mechanix” (co-written by Mustaine) later titled “The Four Horsemen”; the late Cliff Burton was enlisted, performing his now-iconic bass solo on “Anesthesia (Pulling Teeth)”. In death to all those who would have passed them over, thrash metal — and what is believed by many to be Metallica’s definitive lineup — was born. -David Buchanan

Essential Tracks: “Anesthesia (Pulling Teeth)”, “Whiplash”, and “The Four Horsemen”

93. Parliament Funkadelic – The Mothership Connection

It all comes down to those eight timeless groove-demanding words, “We need the funk, gotta have that funk!” This record was made for every drug-laced, over-sexualized experience in need of a smooth gyrating bass line. Opening like the late-night radio shows of the 70’s, it plays through as the soundtrack from that decade. The songs are full of hilarious and ridiculous one-liners (“Make my funk the P. Funk, I want to get funked up”), and the track names carry the same eccentric good-times feel. As a record, Mothership is a party. Parliament throws down a steady, funky rhythm all the way through to the end of “Night of the Thumpasorus Peoples” like the life of that party depends on it. Mothership… is the record that put George Clinton on the map as the new godfather of funk and in just seven tracks had us all bouncing along with him decade after decade. -E.N. May

Essential Tracks: “Give Up The Funk (Tear The Roof off the Sucker)”, “P. Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up)”, and “Supergroovalisticprosifunkystication”

92. Pavement – Slanted & Enchanted

Nineties indie rock will be discussed in music history books in another 15 years. This seems like an offhand attempt to sound profound, but all the indie that exists now will someday need to be documented, and the nineties will be the first chapter in said biographical accounts. One record that will be continuously referenced in the creation of modern-day music is Stockton-based Pavement’s first album, Slanted & Enchanted, with its lo-fi recording, intellectually deep lyricism from singer and lead guitarist Steven Malkmus, and percussion and backing vocals from a bizarre character named Bob Nostanovich. Together, these five relatively average dudes put together a cult classic and consistently rad album, with songs like the fantastic and triumphant “Trigger Cut/Wounded Kite at :17”, the sludge-like “In the Mouth a Desert”, the beautiful and elegant “Here”, and the fist-pumping “Two States”.  At the end of the day, Slanted & Enchanted will continue to get better with age, much like the wine that comes from the band’s neighboring Northern Cali territories. -Ted Maider

Essential Tracks: “Summer Babe (Winter Version)” and ”Here”

91. The Clash – The Clash (US Version)

When the Clash released their self-titled debut album in 1977, the band’s label, CBS Records, refused to release it in the United States, citing it as “not radio friendly.” After becoming the largest selling import of the year, CBS released a US print in July 1979. With a slightly altered tracklist, removing four songs and adding five non-album British-only singles and an altered version of “White Riot”, The Clash, with its blend of old-flavor rock and roll, Jamaican rhythms, ska-like tones, and punk fury, set the stage for the band’s masterpiece, London Calling. The US release benefits from the altered tracklist and results in a stronger overall album, with stompers like “Clash City Rockers” opening the record and the atypical “(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais” helping to explore the diversity of the band and their influences. Lyrically, Strummer and Jones are very rooted in the actual events of the day; however, they project their message forward 30 years to modern-day America, where an economy is teetering on a cliff, unemployment is high, the youth are continually disenfranchised, and the ennui that affected the youth of the UK has nothing on the combined sense of complacency and malaise that currently seeps throughout our land. I can’t think of a more perfect album much less a more perfect time to revisit it.  -Len Comaratta

Essential Tracks: “(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais”, “Police and Thieves”, “White Riot”, and “Career Opportunities”

90. Refused – The Shape of Punk to Come: A Chimerical Bombination in 12 Bursts

In 1998, a hardcore band from Umea, Sweden, released one of the greatest, if not the greatest, hardcore/punk albums of all time. Refused’s The Shape of Punk to Come remains to this day one of the most assaulting and unpredictable albums I’ve ever heard. The album’s theme is based on the idea that hardcore and punk bands who have a political message are completely counterproductive if they keep packaging their anti-establishment message in poppy punk songs for the masses. So Refused came along to fix that by having on-a-dime tempo changes, synth-jazz beats and breaks, and vintage recording interludes all combined with raw and angry vocals and guitar riffs and some of the best hardcore drumming of any record ever. “New Noise” encapsulates the album’s message, while “Liberation Frequency”, “Refused Party Program”, and “Protest Song ‘68” drive home Refused’s political ideologies into your brain like a Ginsu blade. The band members put so much effort and anger into this album that it would be their last as a band. Shape of Punk to Come caused the band to famously explode during an American tour in support of the album—as seen in their documentary Refused are Fucking Dead. The epic disintegration of the band left behind a larger-than-life myth for Refused that still lives on in their final, and greatest, album. -Nick Freed

Essential Tracks: “New Noise”, “Liberation Frequency”, and “The Deadly Rhythm”

89. Beastie Boys - Paul’s Boutique

Whenever the Beastie Boys were namedropped in teenage conversation, the pinnacle of my knowledge sat on any one of numerous singles from Licensed To Ill and a few scattered hits about the radio stream. I thought they were funny in the way that ICP is funny or Biz Markie is funny, so whatever, right? Wrong. A couple of years ago, I saw this used copy of Paul’s Boutique in CD Warehouse for about $10 after having heard the name come up before. I played this album in the van and started picking out familiar samples – Jaws theme, Pink Floyd, Average White Band, Afrika Bambaata, The Eagles, James Brown. Beastie Boys were juvenile rappers for most of their career, but look close at 1989′s Paul’s Boutique, the predecessor to mash-ups before samples were monitored like drug traffic and WMG-censored YouTube. Lyrically, Paul’s Boutique is goofy and unintentionally clever, but musically, it has more layers than a Grand’s biscuit. -David Buchanan

Essential Tracks: “Looking Down The Barrel Of A Gun”, “High Plains Drifter”, and ”B-Boy Bouillabaise”

88. Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral

Trent Reznor has come a long way since his one-man studio band Nine Inch Nails injected 1994′s The Downward Spiral into mainstream radio. Taking some pop aesthetic from 1989′s dance-oriented Pretty Hate Machine and grinding it up with the legendary middle finger known as the Broken EP, Reznor spat out a suicidal concept record with industrial metal roots (not to mention its ’95 remix companion). The Downward Spiral spearheaded a wave of industrial pop, nu-metal, mid-90s alternative, and the like, all alongside a leviathan called grunge rock. While the overall sound and motivation of Nine Inch Nails and its sole creator has taken dramatic shifts post-’99, despite a “fist fuck” here and a marriage there, Trent Reznor will go down in history as Mr. Self Destruct — the man who brought us “closer to God” in so many words. On that note, you know you’re awesome when Johnny Cash makes one of your songs his own personal, unplanned eulogy. -David Buchanan

Essential Tracks: “March Of The Pigs”, “Heresy”, and ”Hurt”

87. N.W.A. – Straight Outta Compton

Although they probably owe Schoolly D and the Park Side Killas some credit for pioneering gangsta rap, N.W.A. can proudly say that they brought this style of über-catchy, ultra-violent hip-hop to the mainstream. Released in 1988, Straight Outta Compton featured what would eventually become some of the genre’s biggest names — Ice Cube, Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, and MC Ren – spinning tales of life in one of Los Angeles’s roughest neighborhoods over minimalist beats and scratching provided by DJ Yella and Arabian Prince. Cuts like “Fuck Tha Police” and the title track came to epitomize the West Coast sound and paved a road that led to rap music infiltrating every household in America. Even if you were from the most tranquil corners of suburbia, you tensed up, clenched your fists, and pretended you were popping off rounds when you listened to Ice Cube open the record by declaring, “When I’m called off/I get a sawed off/squeeze the trigger/and bodies are hauled off.”  N.W.A. made you feel hard even though you still had to turn the volume down when your mom was home. -Ray Roa

Essential Tracks: “Straight Outta Compton”, “Fuck Tha Police”, and “Dopeman (Remix)”

86. Elton John – Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

After already releasing six standout records, Elton John’s lucky number seven slapped us with piano glam rock at its finest, strutting a supersonic sound with prowess and ease. It opens with back-to-back blowouts “Funeral For a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding” that set in motion what is still John’s most prized record to date. John had successfully become the biggest hit-maker since The Beatles, and this double record was his magnum opus. “Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting” easily finds itself in the top echelon of fist-pumping rock songs that get your blood boiling and your head banging. The grandiose rock is filled with an energy unlike any of his other works, giving us a new side to the piano man. Ballads “Candle in the Wind” and the title track, along with every other hit off this record, have since become staples in pop, turning the record into an early greatest hits collection. Beyond that, deep cuts like “Grey Seal” carry the same huge presence, showing just how stacked this record really is. All of this could only come from the man in the glittery glasses who knew no limits to where his piano could take him, and thank God for it. -E.N. May

Essential Tracks: “Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting”, “Grey Seal”, and “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road”

85. Michael Jackson - Off the Wall

I’ve never been one of those purists who claims that all “new” music is woefully shamed by all “old” music. For one, even prior to the Internet, the standard for “old” was nebulous at best, and two, the claim simply doesn’t hold up when you consider how inventive, or how life-altering, many records have been since we entered the modern era (whenever that was). But, if I’ve ever been tempted to cozy up to that idea, it’s been while listening, or rather, while being transfixed by a record like Off the Wall. Released in the fall of 1979, the record almost immediately affirmed the late Michael Jackson as the preeminent pop talent of his day, an instant classic that married the prevailing sounds of the funk, soul, and disco-inflected 70′s with an innovative zeal that, I’ll concede, has rarely been seen since.

Having met producer Quincy Jones while filming The Wiz, Jackson knew he’d met the man who would help him step out as a true solo artist, someone who could actualize his expansive vision in the wake of a young lifetime performing alongside his brothers. From the opening string-laced groove of “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough”, which is perhaps the catchiest, most vibrant song I’ve ever heard, it was obvious that their creative union was nothing short of magical, a serendipitous collaboration that would subsequently yield the highest-selling album of all time, Thriller, in 1982. Contributions from Stevie Wonder on the smooth funk of “I Can’t Help It”, Paul McCartney on the tropical soul of “Girlfriend”, and Ron Temperton on the dance floor-igniting “Rock With You”, “Off the Wall”, and “Burn This Disco Out” further shaped Off the Wall into the Grammy Hall of Fame-inducted masterpiece that it is, a groundbreaking pop record for the masses that continues to be transformative even today. - Ryan Burleson

Essential Tracks: “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough”, “Rock With You”, and “Girlfriend”

84. The Who – Tommy

There have been many attempts at the rock opera, but none will come close to the epic that is Tommy. By 1969, The Who had already gained substantial recognition for being the loudest band, so with Tommy they decided to flex their creative muscle and write a story. In doing so they gave us some of the most recognizable riffs and themes in rock. From the anthemic strums of “Pinball Wizard” to the last notes of “Amazing Journey”, they raise the hair on the back of your neck like only The Who can do. Just how a “deaf dumb and blind” kid can actually play pinball is only one part of the story. They would try and save Tommy with Jesus and give him acid. Tommy would be ridiculed and tortured, all the while crying out, “See me, feel me, touch me, heal me”. There’s a strong and rare theatrical quality in the music when it comes to tracks like “Tommy Can You Hear Me”, “Go to The Mirror Boy”, and “Smash the Mirror”. That writing style combined with The Who’s lush instrumentals and imaginative story line have given us the gold standard for rock operas. Others have tried, but when it comes down to it, there will be only one Tommy. -E.N. May

Essential Tracks: “The Acid Queen”, “Pinball Wizard”, and “I’m Free”

83. John Lennon - Imagine

The second album by John Lennon, Imagine, stands as his best release. While the songs are less experimental and more commercial, at least in comparison to his debut, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, you can’t argue that ”Imagine” might be one of the best songs ever written. No religion, no prejudice, and the world living as one was Lennon’s dream on this track. He would also claim that this song was as good as anything he had written with his former band The Beatles. He wouldn’t be alone in these sentiments. On later track “How Do You Sleep?”, which actually features George Harrison on the guitar, Lennon takes a jab at former collaborator Paul McCartney, as he sings, “The only thing you done was yesterday/And since you’ve gone you’re just another day,” letting the world know that there wasn’t peace between the former bandmates. While one can argue that’s hypocritical of his album’s title track, you have to look at it in a different light. This album represents a freedom for Lennon. After one listen, it’s rather apparent he still had a lot to say about his life and the world he lived in. History will always peg him as a Beatle, but on Imagine, he lets you know there was more to that. – Kevin Barber

Essential Tracks: “Imagine”, “Jealous Guy”, and ”How Do You Sleep?”

82. Smashing Pumpkins – Siamese Dream

Terrible afflictions such as pain, loneliness, and insecurity have produced some of the finest art in the world, and the Smashing Pumpkin’s 1993 album, Siamese Dream, is no exception. Frontman Billy Corgan, drummer Jimmy Chamberlain, guitarist James Iha, and bassist D’Arcy Wretzky were facing some of their darkest demons while making this album, including heroin addiction, heartache, and writer’s block, all paired with Corgan’s intensely perfectionist personality and unyielding management. But with the help of producer Butch Vig, who produced their first album, Gish, as well as Nirvana’s Nevermind, they somehow managed to stick together as a band and create an album that would shape and mold the landscape of 1990’s alternative rock. -Karina Halle

Essential Tracks: “Cherub Rock”, “Hummer”, and “Soma”

81. Neil Young – Harvest

Neil Young’s 1972 solo release, Harvest, was his commercial breakthrough. Riding the wave of the number one song “Heart of Gold”, Harvest gave Young a success and credibility to his solo career that would solidify him as one of rock and folk music’s greatest artists. The album, though uneven at times, contains some of the best work of Young’s career. “Heart of Gold”, “Old Man”, and “The Needle and the Damage Done” are three of his strongest songs, and “Heart of Gold” remains Young’s only number one hit. Young instituted the help of former band mates David Crosby, Stephen Stills, and Graham Nash, as well as friends James Taylor and Linda Ronstadt for Harvest. The success of the album allowed Young to keep pursuing his solo work, and his output in the next few years would become the best work he’d ever done. -Nick Freed

Essential Tracks: “Heart of Gold”, “Old Man”, and “The Needle and the Damage Done”

80. Paul Simon – Graceland

When Simon and Garfunkel broke up in 1970, there was little doubt that Paul Simon would go on to have a successful solo career. His angelic-voiced partner Art Garfunkel had little part in writing the songs, and it was apparent from Simon’s own pleasing voice that he could do it all on his own. Simon’s first solo album, Paul Simon, was a critical success and showed that he could dabble in alternative cultural music styles such as reggae. This curiosity and willingness to explore other types of music eventually led Simon to create the greatest album of his career, the Grammy-winning Graceland. Instead of the Jamaican, Puerto Rican, and gospel-influenced beats from his previous albums, Graceland was conceived after Simon visited South Africa and soaked up the pulsing flavor of the pre-apartheid country. Influenced by the many different musical styles of the area, such as isicathamiya and mbaqanga, Simon took these newly discovered sounds and successfully matched them to his trademark songwriting. He recorded with African artists Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Okyerema Asante and US staple Linda Rondstadt, creating an explorative and unique album, unlike any the world had heard before, that went onto be highly influential in the pop-rock world; one look at Vampire Weekend and you can see where the connection lies. -Karina Halle

Essential Tracks: “Diamonds on the Soles of her Shoes”,  “Graceland”, and “You Can Call Me Al”

79. Björk – Post

Björk is one of few artists who could put out an album juxtaposing blistering electro-pop with big band, club-ready tribal dance with downtempo trip-hop and find both critical and commercial success. Her second album (of her adult career), Post, the title signifying a “letter” to her Iceland self after her move to England, is everything Debut was and more. She brought back Debut producer Nellee Hooper but also worked with Tricky, Howie B., and others and did plenty of production work herself. What resulted is an album where every song contributes its own voice to create a much larger sound. It’s tempting to call what Björk does on Post pop experimentation, but it never feels like she’s experimenting. The scattered, whispering minimalism on her tribute to music, “Headphones”, comes just as naturally to her as the pop hooks on angry industrial opener “Army of Me”. -Harry Painter

Essential Tracks: “Hyperballad”, “It’s Oh So Quiet”, and ”Headphones”

78. Sly And The Family Stone - There’s a Riot Going On

You know all that hot fun you had in the summertime with Sly & The Family Stone? Well, watch out, ’cause summer turns cold. Taking a page out of Bitches Brew‘s book, Sly came into the ’70s with a new plan, albeit a drug-addled one. Emotions are running high, narcosis seeps and slithers throughout the album, and militant disaffection with the then state of affairs is all but pounded into ears. The lyrics “feel so good/don’t wanna move” speak to the continuum connecting the hubris of the late 60s and the stasis of Sly and his mind/society in the early 70s. Outside of its timely relevance, the origins of hip-hop, funk, R&B, and fusion are present throughout the album. The ur-synth beat on the beginning of “Africa Talks To You ‘The Asphalt Jungle’” might just be the herald of 808s to come. Sadly, There’s A Riot Going On also heralds Sly’s descent into addiction. But the best album of Sly and his band’s career came in on a cloudy, groovy haze of sex, drugs, and, yeah, rock and roll, and few albums are as honest and heartbreaking and funky as this. -Nick Freed

Essential Tracks: “Family Affair”, “(You Caught Me) Smiling”, and “Africa Talks To You ‘The Asphalt Jungle’”

77. Cat Stevens – Tea for the Tillerman

1970’s Tea for the Tillerman continued Cat Stevens’ transition from mop-top teen idol to introspective singer-songwriter — a goal he began reaching for earlier that year with Mona Bone Jakon. However, Tillerman is more than an attempt at transformation. It’s a calling card to those entering adulthood — a warning and reminder pertaining to the thrills and challenges of leaving home. “Wild World” reminds that pretty girl from high school that “it’s hard to get by just upon a smile.” “Miles from Nowhere” and “On the Road to Find Out” provide spiritual signs along life’s highway. “Hard Headed Woman” is about finding those people who will tell you like it is and love you just as fully, while “Sad Lisa” is about the person you love who is too wrapped up in his or her own past to embrace that love. The jewel of Tillerman is “Father and Son”, which is the ultimate in awkward father-son chats, with Stevens’ stunning, alternating bass and tenor vocals painting the conversation. How is Cat Stevens (now Yusuf Islam) not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame again? – Justin Gerber

Essential Tracks: “Hard Headed Woman”, “Wild World”, and “Father and Son”

76. Sigur Rós – Ágætis Byrjun

Densely layered with white noise, strings, choirs, the saw of a cello bow against a guitar, and sublimely indecipherable lyrics, Ágætis Byrjun is both intense and ethereal and always unabashedly gorgeous. As Jónsi Birgisson howls in what is too uniquely otherworldly to be merely labeled as falsetto in both Icelandic and Vonlenska, a nonsensical language made and used by Birgisson on the title track and “Olsen Olsen”, the soundscapes that are divinely crafted by Sigur Rós on Ágætis Byrjun are transformed into something completely alien. With so much feeling behind both languages, it doesn’t matter what the band is, or isn’t, saying. -Frank Mojita

Essential Tracks: “Viðrar vel til loftárása”, “Starálfur”, and “Olsen Olsen”

75. Jay-Z – The Blueprint

Only eight percent of this list consists of hip-hop, so when we say Jay-Z’s The Blueprint belongs on this list, you better believe we mean it. What can be said about Jay-Z that hasn’t already been said about Pac and Biggie? No-holds-barred, the Jiggaman is widely considered the best rapper alive. Jay arrived on the scene in the early 90′s and has remained a solid presence in the rap game ever since. All 11 of his albums have debuted in the top 25, and all have achieved at least platinum status. But none was more notable than The Blueprint. Aptly named, The Blueprint laid the foundation for the future of all hip-hop. The album was a deviation from the power-hook radio hits Jay-Z and his contemporaries had been accustomed to cranking out, and it ended up being all for the best.

Instead, the album utilizes rich, intelligently placed soul-sampling that boosted not only the beats of the songs but built an immovable foundation for Jigga to throw down on. The production on this album was pioneering to say the least, and it couldn’t have been done without the cunning skills of Jay-Z to accompany it. It also helped further establish the career of an up-and-coming producer, one Kanye West, who, as we all know, has now become one of the most prominent rappers in the game. Thanks to genius production and masterful rhyming by the best rapper alive, the rap game was permanently changed for the better with the release of The Blueprint. -Winston Robbins

Essential Tracks: “Heart of the City (Ain’t No Love)”, “Never Change”, “Song Cry”, and ”Izzo (H.O.V.A.)”

74. Bob Dylan – Blood on the Tracks

All things considered, the 70’s were not Bob Dylan’s best period. Sure, Desire was solid, and Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid produced one of his most beloved tracks (“Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door”), but the decade also saw him release some relative clunkers like Self Portrait, Planet Waves, and Street Legal. Luckily, all the sub-par 70’s releases are overshadowed by one of Dylan’s masterpieces, 1975’s Blood on theTracks. Widely regarded as Dylan’s most personal record, even if he denies the claim, there’s no arguing the fact that the album is filled with pain. The recording sessions in 1974 came just off the heels of his messy divorce with then-wife Sara. The songs that came out of these sessions are timeless songs of heartache, loneliness, and anger that still resonate with listeners 35 years later. –Carson O’Shoney

Essential Tracks: “Tangled Up In Blue”, “Simple Twist of Fate”, and “Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts”

73. Radiohead - Kid A

Everything was in its right place. But, clearly that wasn’t enough for Radiohead. No, these five lads had to rewrite their perfect formula. They had to take everything they knew about how to be a great rock band–which they most certainly were–and throw it down the garbage disposal, flipping the switch till it was growling and coughing up an almost entirely new entity. Few guitars, vocals filtered through ondes martenots, analog synthesizers, digital drums, clamoring traffic jam horns, and lush strings make up one the most jarring stylistic shifts of the past 20 years, and one of the finest records of the past 10. Somehow, whether by sheer, anxious determination or pure creative genius, by doing everything backwards, everything was in its right place again on Kid A, but the place just looked a hell of a lot different. -Drew Litowitz

Essential Tracks: “Kid A”, “The National Anthem”, “How to Disappear Completely”, “Idioteque”, and “Motion Picture Soundtrack”

72. Red Hot Chili Peppers – Blood Sugar Sex Magic

Today, the Red Hot Chili Peppers stand as royalty on the radio. But back in the ’80s, the only thing you knew about “red hot chili peppers” was that, depending on the Mexican stand, you either could or couldn’t stomach them. Hardy har har. But it’s true. Unless you were hip to the California music scene, or caught a George Clinton show, you’d never know who the hell they were. Well, that’s only half true. Mother’s Milk did chart at number 52 on the Billboard Top 200, but overall? No. That is, until Blood Sugar Sex Magik. Everything just…fell into place. It would be the band’s first release with Warner Bros. Records, producer Rick Rubin would take over the controls from Michael Beinhorn, and all members had finally become comfortable with one another. For recording, the band shacked up in what’s now called The Mansion, which at the time was an old Laurel Canyon estate that had once belonged to Errol Flynn. Both drummer Chad Smith and guitarist John Frusciante, to this day, claim they felt a ghostly presence while living there – so much so that Smith eventually left. (Look in the album artwork. There’s a “supernatural” surprise in one of the photos!) Over a month, they spent time writing and recording and consulting one another. This sort of bonding experience washed over into the album.

For one, it’s a very cohesive experience – each song blends into the next – and what’s more, it’s all incredibly tight. Once “The Power of Equality” kicks off the funky fellowship, it’s clear that this isn’t the band who once sang about “…Coyotes” or “Magic Johnson”. (Technically it wasn’t.) Instead, this was a band ready to take itself seriously, while having fun doing it. Despite what detractors say, they didn’t go soft here. They took their ferocity and channeled it into something that could affect or change people…not just make ‘em laugh and shake. This wouldn’t be more obvious than on “Under the Bridge”, the single that still has folks turning up the dial whenever rock radio decides to plug it, which hasn’t changed much in the past 20 years. And while Californication nearly rivals it, Blood Sugar Sex Magik remains the watermark that set the Chili Peppers’ flag high above the rock and roll scene. Modern day Rolling Stones? Pretty close. Pretty, pretty…pretty close. -Michael Roffman

Essential Tracks: “The Power of Equality”, “Suck My Kiss”, and “Under the Bridge”

71. Tom Waits – Rain Dogs

While most albums in this list fit this criterion, in the grand scheme of things it’s pretty rare to have an entire album that does not contain a single bad track. It’s even more rare to have an album like that when it spans 19 tracks, but that’s exactly what Tom Waits did with Rain Dogs. Some of the songs may be a little too far out there for some listeners, but every song is just as effective as the next. After years of playing the club scene with just his voice and a piano, Waits shocked everyone when he came out with the jangled and insane Swordfishtrombones in 1983. This shift in his musical style would eventually define his career, even after he moved into new territory once again. While Swordfishtrombones saw him dive off the deep end, it wasn’t until his next album that he perfected his new brand of music that was all his own.

To describe it is useless; it’s something that begs to be experienced. Waits has always had an obsession with the down-and-out deadbeats on the streets, but it was never as obvious as it is on Rain Dogs – the name itself being a reference to these same type of “urban dispossessed”, as Waits describes it. And while the lyrics often deal with the bizarre side of things (“The captain is a one-armed dwarf/he’s throwing dice along the wharf”), they’re often as universally affecting as his earlier work (“Tear the promise from my heart, tear my heart today/ You have found another, oh baby I must go away”). Waits’ songwriting ability is also put on display on tracks like “Downtown Train”, which eventually became a top-five hit when Rod Stewart covered it four years later. There are many essential records in Tom Waits’ long and storied career, but Rain Dogs might be the most essential of them all. –Carson O’Shoney

Essential Tracks: “Singapore”, “Anywhere I Lay My Head”, and “Big Black Mariah”

70. The Beatles – Rubber Soul (UK Version)

It’s difficult to make one of the greatest albums of all time (understatement of this and the previous century). The Beatles made several, and Rubber Soul is undoubtedly amongst them. That tremendous bass and guitar to open up “Drive My Car”, courtesy of legends (again, an understatement) Paul McCartney and George Harrison. The only Lennon/McCartney/Starkey credit in the band’s discography, “What Goes On” is one of Ringo’s finest moments. “I’m Looking Through You” is one of McCartney’s finest offerings, with the scream of “You’re not the same!” providing one of the highlights of an album chock-full of them. However, this is John Lennon’s album. Picture Rubber Soul without the sitar-infused “Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)”, the somber “Nowhere Man”, the sensual “Girl”, the dark “Run for Your Life”, and arguably the greatest love song of them all, “In My Life”. It’s hard to imagine that later Beatles records actually managed to top it. -Justin Gerber

Essential Tracks: “Drive My Car”, “Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)”, and “In My Life”

69. The Smiths – The Smiths

“It’s time the tale were told/Of how you took a child/And you made him old.” From the initial lyrics of “Reel Around the Fountain”, we knew The Smiths’ self-titled debut was destined for classic status. Morrissey’s dour lyrics juxtaposed against Johnny Marr’s lifting guitar only made this more apparent. The theme of child abuse is prevalent throughout (“Reel Around the Fountain”, “The Hand That Rocks the Cradle”, “Suffer Little Children”) but somehow made bearable by that aforementioned guitar, soothing our fears while Morrissey recites nightmares both fact and fiction. The singer’s ambiguous persona is on display, as well, whether in the passenger seat of “This Charming Man” or arm-in-arm in “Hand in Glove”. Given the success of The Smiths, the multitude of fantastic singles, and a couple more classic albums, it’s hard to believe just three years later it would be over. Genius band, genius album. -Justin Gerber

Essential Tracks: “Reel Around the Fountain”, “Hand in Glove”, and “What Difference Does it Make”

68. Lauryn Hill- The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill

Looking back to ’98, Lauryn Hill seemed primed to have a huge solo career ahead of her, especially after her stint with The Fugees. Instead, there was nothing. Well, not nothing. There’s always The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, which notched eight Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year and Best New Artist, earning Hill all the praise from the industry and media she wanted. Instead of following up, she just, well, quit. Only recently has her name come up as she plans her follow-up. 12 years for a follow-up is one hell of a hiatus. But what an album to follow. It could be considered one of the best solo female albums ever recorded. Full of soul and passion, you can hear and feel the messages she tries to get across about God, love, motherhood, and life. “To Zion”, one of the album’s finest songs, speaks of putting family first over the music business, which she eventually did. With a perfect blend of hip-hop, R&B, gospel, and soul, Hill brings this album to life, working from a vocal range that (arguably) still goes unmatched today. -Kevin Barber

Essential Tracks: “Doo Wop (That Thing)”, “To Zion”, and “Everything is Everything”

67. Leonard Cohen – Songs of Leonard Cohen

Infinitely imitated and infinitely respected, Songs of Leonard Cohen sounds like an apocalypse when we listen to it today. His mellow, dejected folk mapped out a hollow blueprint for what Jack Black referred to as “sad bastard music” in High Fidelity. Ironically, it was Judy Collins who first cut and recorded the immortal “Suzanne”, the album’s memorable lead track. Spare and affected, Cohen’s delivery worked all the more because of the late 60s psychedelia his music eschewed. Recently crowned indie-rock royalty The National accidentally swapped instruments with Cohen before a show in Brooklyn this past summer and patently refused to use Cohen’s instruments out of respect for his songwriting. There’s a certain command that Cohen’s music respects at this point in his career, and that says just as much about Songs of Leonard Cohen as his unassuming guitar lines and his pensively personal lyrics. Like his contemporaries Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen’s debut clued us in that he was here to stay. -Eric Vilas-Boas

Essential Tracks: “Suzanne”, “So Long, Marianne”, and ”Sisters of Mercy”

66. Devo – Duty Now For the Future

Duty Now For the Future doesn’t feature any songs about whipping, monkey men, or the illusion of a “beautiful world”, but the album is pure Devo. Duty Now is first and foremost a punk-rock album, flirting lasciviously with the mysterious force that would become new wave, and was among the first rock albums from a major label to heavily feature synthesizers. Guitars and electronic instruments have never purred so sweetly together before or since. The album set precedents for how raw art-house rock can be and how surrealist punk rock can get. Everything from the government to burger commercials are touched upon, and many songs are steeped in sexual tension and masculine fury. Duty Now harbors the manic sensibilities of every underground comic ever published, with the cartoon horniness of Tex Avery’s Big Bad Wolf – pop art and punk rock’s plastic-wrapped bastard baby, a perfect specimen of devolution. -Cap Blackard

Essential Tracks: “Smart Patrol/ Mr. DNA”, “Clockout”, “Wiggly World”, and “The Day My Baby Gave Me a a Surprize”

65. Arcade Fire – Funeral

At the beginning of my senior year in college, my new neighbor, future music guru, and inevitable lifelong friend invited me up to his apartment because there was something I had to hear. The song was “Rebellion (Lies)”, and it was like nothing I had heard at that point. The pulsing drumbeat, the slow build, the giant finish, the words “sleeping is giving in” that rang too true. The wild ride Arcade Fire had on the horizon sounds like PR hype, but it came from people we knew, straight from our friends’ mouths. The performances with motorcycle helmets and flashlights, the sunset Coachella set that every other music festival performance seems to stand in the shadow of, performing with David Bowie, and ultimately living up to the promise with two more impressive and career-building records. But none will ever be Funeral, a record that really needed none of the mythology. It worked in a tiny bedroom with two dudes quietly listening and being taken aback. With showstopping moments including the aforementioned track, future NFL anthem “Wake Up”, and album opener “Tunnels (Neighborhood #1)”, it took no time to grow on listeners and never has gotten old. At six years old, it still sounds fresh and exciting, yet it’s also comfortable on a list with the rock and roll classics. Unlike them, however, the ripples of this one are still being felt. At the very least, this album was instrumental in me meeting my dear friend. Either way it’s a win. -Philip Cosores

Essential Tracks: “Wake Up”, “Rebellion (Lies)”, and ”Haiti”

64. The Doors – The Doors

The self-titled debut album from acid-rockers The Doors was released in 1967, climbing to #2 on the Billboard charts and achieving multi-platinum status. Featuring 11 tracks mostly penned by the poetic frontman Jim Morrison, the album has stood up to the test of time and is an essential component of any serious music collection. Featuring the hit single “Light My Fire” and covers of the scat-filled “Alabama Song (Whiskey Bar)” and “Back Door Man”, this album launched The Doors into their current status as classic rock icons. The fittingly titled “The End” closes out the album with nearly 12 minutes of singing, talking, storytelling, and guttural screaming over haunting guitar riffs. This album was just the beginning for the band that created music that has endured long after Morrison’s untimely death just four years after the release of this debut album. Its influence is rampant. Just look at old performances by Ian Curtis, or ask Iggy Pop. –Kelly Quintanilla

Essential Tracks: “Break on Through (To the Other Side)”, “Light My Fire”, and “The End”

63. R.E.M. – Document

If you were young in the 90′s, R.E.M. was a gigantic enigma that didn’t tour and seemed to continually increase in popularity without capitalizing on any of it. Like U2, they were larger than life, thus making it hard to believe that at one point they were shy southern boys who made jangly college rock that was indebted to The Velvet Underground. We live with indie bands rising to fame all around us, but in the early 80′s, it was weird to be a musician and be understated. Also, remember that this wasn’t the era of overnight sensations, and it wasn’t a swift shift from indie darlings to pop juggernaut, it was a metamorphosis over five albums, and Document would be their last as an “indie.” Purists may cite Murmur or Reckoning as the more influential album, and pop historians could point out Out of Time or Automatic for the People as greater crowd pleasers, but Document is about the only time you will ever please both camps. It was their first platinum release and contained their first top 10 hit with “The One I Love”, yet this R.E.M. still had the balls to throw a cover of Wire’s “Strange” on side one. And then there is a little song called “It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)”, R.E.M.’s signature song in a back catalog full of signature songs. It was the tune that took us from the 80′s straight through to Y2K. After the world didn’t end with the year 2000, you seemed to hear it a little less, but go see R.E.M. in concert and there is a good chance you’ll here it at the end. -Philip Cosores

Essential Tracks: “Exhuming McCarthy”, “It’s the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)”, and ”The One I Love”

62. Wu-Tang Clan – Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)

The definitive Bible of underground hip-hop. No album was rawer, grittier, or better-crafted than Wu-Tang Clan’s opus, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). They were a group to fear (after all, they knew karate) and made it known in the first 20 seconds of “Bring Da Ruckus”. On the opening track, Wu-Tang sounds like they’re begging you to bring on the heat, because they know as a collective crew, they could hold together through anything. This album showed the kind of ethic they would keep for the rest of their careers both on group and solo efforts. The way Raekwon and Ghostface trade off lines together on “Can It Be All so Simple” is some of the finest swapping in hip-hop. The flow and beat from Inspectah Deck and RZA on “C.R.E.A.M.” will forever stand as one of hip-hop’s finest lyrical and production achievements. Not to mention the raw and fantastic verses spit by legends Ol’ Dirty Bastard on “Shame on a Nigga” and Method Man on his biographical track stand as some of the best rhymes in hip-hop to date. Wu-Tang created an empire, and this was the first and most essential brick within it. -Ted Maider

Essential Tracks: “Protect Ya Neck”, the only track on the album to feature almost all members.

61. Green Day – Dookie

Green Day broke into the mainstream with Dookie, perfectly timed to arrive hot on the Doc Martens heels of the grunge scene. The California-based band fronted by Billie Joe Armstrong and rounded out by bassist Mike Dirnt and drummer Tre Cool found success by fusing the anti-establishment nature of its punk rock roots with a grunge appearance, backed by catchy pop melodies and hooks. Exploring everything from panic attacks to masturbation to bisexuality, the lyrics struck a chord with fans of all ages and positioned Green Day as the modern punk band for the masses. Released in 1994, the band’s third and best-selling album found commercial success, reaching number two on the Billboard charts and scoring a Grammy for Best Alternative Music Album. The band was accused of “selling out” by previous followers of the underground punk scene, but Dookie found a way to reinvigorate interest in the original punk legends by serving as an entry-level punk record and giving a voice to rebellious teens who didn’t actually have a lot to rebel against in the relatively placid mid-1990s. –Kelly Quintanilla

Essential Tracks: “Basket Case”, “When I Come Around”, and “Longview”

60. The Band – Music From Big Pink

The Band never quite fit in with the 60s and 70s rock scene. They weren’t political, they constantly switched instruments, and they loved their families. Sure, there were drugs and women, but while other groups made songs out of such decadent behavior, The Band remained firmly rooted in tradition, filtering all of their lyrical subject matter (even the love songs) through a lens of mountainous, archaic Americana, spinning yarns about courageous settlers and the Civil War. What kept it from being corny was their sense of communal musicianship, their chestnut lyrics set ablaze by each member’s skills, and their debut album, Music From Big Pink, which captured them at the peak of their powers, before all the legal squabbles, back when they were just five fellas playing music in a cavernous house in the Catskills (the namesake of the album). Listen to Big Pink and you can feel each member in the room. There are no stage hogs and everyone stands out. You remember Garth Hudson’s Captain Nemo organ solo on “Chest Fever” just as well as you remember the stacked harmonies and traded leads of Levon Helm and Rick Danko on “The Weight”. And let’s not forget the back bayou thump of their rhythm chops either. Robbie Robertson really cooks on “Caledonia Mission”, and Richard Manuel’s aching pipes drench the entire album in earnest, alcoholic tears, especially on closer “I Shall Be Released”, inevitably performed by some of the surviving members at his funeral in 1986. Behind the tumble and prophecy of Big Pink‘s elaborate orchestration was a heart so wonderfully simple in times that were not. -Dan Caffrey

Essential Tracks: “Chest Fever”, “The Weight”, and ”I Shall Be Released”

59. My Bloody Valentine – Loveless

Talk about turning the card on the sophomore slump. Today, My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless stands as a testament to the beauty of sonic chaos. Originally believed by the band’s label, Creation, to be recorded in five days, the 48:36 seconds of absolute sonic bliss came to fruition after a series of catastrophic incidents. The laundry list includes dementia, bankruptcy, tinnitus, and isolation. One label head’s hair even turned gray. But like anything in art, perfection never surfaces without its share of consequences. Under a multitude of churning, whirly guitars and a bookshelf of harmonies, the diamond-like sequencing of Loveless sucks you into the madness, as well. But, it’s a beautiful trip that’s unique to the creative mind of Kevin Shields and one that nobody’s been able to replicate since. -Michael Roffman

Essential Tracks: “Soon”, “To Here Knows When”, and ”Only Shallow”

58. Fleetwood Mac – Rumours

Many bands break up because of infighting, but Fleetwood Mac may have been the first to be threatened by insleeping. When recording for Rumours began, the band dynamic was heading straight to hell. One band couple (Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks) broke up. A second (John and Christine McVie) got divorced. Emotional/sexual bonds formed, broke, then reformed in new configurations. Everyone cheated on everyone else in a series of many-strings-attached encounters. By the time the band hit the studio, pretty much no one was speaking to anyone else. Unlike the more collaborative effort of previous albums, Buckingam, Nicks, and Christine McVie wrote most of the songs separately. In perhaps the most brutal moment, McVie wrote “You Make Loving Fun” about her affair with Fleetwood Mac’s lighting designer and made her cuckolded husband play bass on it. As devastating as the lyrics are to these songs, the pop production lifts them above dreary anguish. The tune of “Go Your Own Way” bounces along, seemingly oblivious to its heart-wrenching lyrics. “The Chain” turns bitter rejection into a series of sing-along hooks. This tension between pain and pleasure infuses the album with its conflicted character. Never has heartbreak been so much fun. –Ray Padgett

Essential Tracks: “Second Hand News”, “The Chain”, and “Oh Daddy”

57. Genesis – Genesis

As both a prog-rock band and a pop-rock band, Genesis never produced anything short of incredible albums, but it was when they straddled both genres equally that the band showed its greatest strengths. Genesis’ cusp period is the very definition of art-pop, and no record evokes this more clearly than their 1983 self-titled album. Genesis is a tour de force of the Collins-era band at their most creative. Every facet of the band is represented:  dark pulpy narratives like “Mama” and “Home by the Sea”, goofy but brilliant tracks like “Illegal Alien” and “Silver Rainbow”, and masculine pop hits “That’s All” and “Just a Job to Do”. The production is crisp and inspired, from the opening sound collage of “Illegal Alien” to the mystical synth noises of “Silver Rainbow” and the funky breakdowns of “Just a Job to Do”; every track is simple, honest, brilliance. In this day and age when every new act gets hung up on who they’re taking inspiration from and who they hope to sound like, it’s albums like this that listeners can turn to to remind themselves what a truly original art-pop record sounds like. - Cap Blackard

Essential Tracks: “Mama”, “Home by the Sea”, “Just a Job to Do”, and “That’s All”

56. The Who – Quadrophenia

Tommy may be their most well-known album, and Who’s Next is the record that propelled them to superstardom, but for many Who fans, Quadrophenia is the British quartet at their most ambitious. Released in 1973, Pete Townshend and company put together a brilliant coming-of-age story of a young mod in Britain during the band’s formative years. From the tenacity of “The Real Me” to the overwhelming power of “Love Reign O’er Me”, Quadrophenia truly encapsulates Townshend’s genius as a songwriter. Unlike Tommy, this album is a straightforward, no-frills rocker that gives Roger Daltrey the ability to show his incredible vocal range and elevates him to rock god, while John Entwistle’s rock-solid bass and Keith Moon’s manic drumming lay the perfect foundation that allows for their bandmates to shine. Townshend is one of the only musicians to have the ability to add a synthesizer without sounding out of place. His tactical use of synthesizers on songs like “5:15” and “The Sand and The Sea” adds depth and becomes an essential addition for each track. Though it doesn’t feature any songs on the CSI soundtrack, it’s fair to say that Quadrophenia is The Who at the top of its game, and that’s saying something. –Daniel Kohn

Essential Tracks: “The Punk and The Godfather”, “5:15”, and “Love Reign O’er Me”

55. Prefab Sprout – Steve McQueen

Steve McQueen has been called both the Pet Sounds of the 80s and one of the most perfect pop albums ever made – serious praise that it rightly deserves. The album is an example of incredible songwriting given the gift of likewise incredible and intelligent production, a once-every-planetary-cycle happenstance. The tracks are written in a classical style, derived directly from the high-water mark set by George Gershwin and Brian Wilson but mimicking neither. Frontman and songwriter Paddy McAloon’s unique personality shines through in lyrics laced with clever cynicism (“I hear you’ve got a new girlfriend. How’s the wife taking it?”) and heartfelt irreverence (the spite shown towards Heaven in“When the Angels” for the murder of Marvin Gaye). Each song was handpicked from McAloon’s back catalog by producer and keyboardist Thomas Dolby, turning simple acoustic tracks into lavishly produced and timeless pop masterpieces. ­-Cap Blackard

Essential Tracks: “Faron Young”, “Goodbye Lucille #1”, “Bonny”, and “When the Angels”

54. The Strokes – Is This It (UK Version)

In the years that spanned the close of the ’90s and the beginning of the millennium, it seemed as though all music would be electronic in this brave new century we found ourselves in. Bands like The Prodigy and The Chemical Brothers were burning up the dance charts, the rock charts, the pop charts—all of the charts, really—with their fledgling new genre, electronica. Guitars and amplifiers would most certainly be a thing of the past in 2001. Is This It? put that school of thought to rest with the first few new notes of its title track. It boasted fuzzy amps, an organically monotone voice, and catchy self-loathing lyrics for those who loved Lou Reed both ironically and sincerely. In just under an hour, Is This It? managed to make New York City music cool again and saved rock and roll at one of the most crucial points since the advent of disco. -Christine DiPaolo

Essential Tracks: “Soma”, “Hard to Explain”, and ”NYC Cops”

53. Bob Marley & the Wailers – Exodus

I kid you not, the following events are 100% true. I was in a gas station near the University of Utah, waiting to hand the cashier my money, when on comes the Bob Marley song “Waiting In Vain”. No big deal, right? Happens all the time. Well, this particular afternoon was a different story. A very large, bearded African American man in the back of the store (who was most unmistakably inebriated) began to sing along with the song at the top of his lungs. After a few lines, he staggered up one of the aisles and began serenading myself and the cashier, who looked as though he was certainly part of some sort of biker gang. The cashier laughed in confusion and looked at me like I knew how to handle this sort of situation. I looked back at the drunk man to find that he’d changed his path to sing to a confused cyclist who had just stumbled into the store. When I looked back at the cashier, I found, much to my surprise, that he, too, had begun singing and swaying emphatically. And then the guy pointed at me to join in. I did so hesitantly, and much to my relief, so did the cyclist. It was seriously a real-life, feel-good moment straight out of Newsies, and one that I’ll remember forever. My point in telling you this is that Bob Marley spans every demographic. I don’t care who you are, where you’re from, or what you do, you know the words to all these songs, and they all make you feel good. Honestly, any BM album could have made this list, but Exodus plays more like a greatest hits collection than a standard LP. Bob Marley (along with help from Bunny Wailer, Peter Tosh, and others) put reggae on the map and legitimized the genre in world culture, simultaneously making it accessible to every demographic. Exodus is the most candid example of Marley’s timeless charisma and musicianship. -Winston Robbins

Essential Tracks: “Jammin’”, “Waiting In Vain”, and “One Love”

52. The Replacements – Let It Be

Who would have thought four twenty-somethings from Minneapolis could produce something so timeless, so vital, and so vivid? Back in 1984, when The Replacements dished out their magnum opus, Let It Be, nobody did. While all eyes were on Prince at the time, Paul Westerberg, Tommy Stinson, Chris Mars, and Bob Stinson created pure, unadulterated rock and roll. With his heart on his sleeve, Westerberg poured his love, his loss, and his inhibitions into each and every lyric, note, chord, and yelp. On “Androgynous”, the first hit of the piano strikes your nerves, tugging at your eyes, and by the time Westerberg sings, “Future outcasts, they don’t last”, you’re right there beside him – in the dusty bar, within the late hours of a week night, and with nobody to hold onto but the music. That’s everything The Replacements were meant to be…and here they do that in every note, over 11 tracks, and for 33 minutes and 31 seconds. It’s not an album, it’s a life preserver. -Michael Roffman

Essential Tracks: “Sixteen Blue”, “Unsatisfied”, and “Androgynous”

51. Sonic Youth – Daydream Nation

The farther we get from the the 80′s, the harder it is to explain Sonic Youth, because to each generation the sound loses a bit of its edge while still remaining difficult and, at times, even abrasive. And most kids don’t want a history lesson telling them why Sonic Youth is good and important. They want to simply hear it and like it, as music tends to be one of the most self-explanatory likable things we have. But not Sonic Youth.  They had a lot to reconcile. How would you create meaningful music in their hardcore circles while remaining true to what often seemed like polarized leanings? Looking to The Velvet Underground for inspiration as much as Black Flag and Minor Threat, Sonic Youth were in the punk circle yet could dwell on finding beauty in noise rather than just in rebellion. It’s not easy to use these established musical platforms to create something that can make you uncomfortable, enthralled, excited, and heartbroken within the same improvised jam. And while no one will ever tell you that Sonic Youth is for everyone, no one will deny that maybe their goals for their art were a little loftier than their contemporaries, and appropriately, on Daydream Nation, when their sound became fully realized, their lofty goals yielded lofty results. But don’t let this scare you. If Sonic Youth was that hard to get, we wouldn’t be celebrating them. Daydream Nation was their most listenable record at that point, an album even casual music listeners could approach and enjoy. And with “Teen Age Riot”, they had themselves an honest-to-god anthem. One of the best of all time, perhaps. Could they have just made more tunes like this and pleased a hell of a lot of people? I imagine, but where would the fun be in that? Doing things their way, Sonic Youth have managed to stay relevant for nearly 30 years. And it’s because of Daydream Nation that the relationships, the public interest, and the continually adventurous sounds have held together. -Philip Cosores

Essential Tracks: “Teen Age Riot”, “Hey Joni”, and “The Sprawl”

50. Prince and The Revolution – Purple Rain

In the summer of 1984, Purple Rain dropped as a soundtrack to the cult film of the same name and instantly cemented the status of one Prince Rogers Nelson as a superstar. Having already tasted crossover success with 1999, it is with Purple Rain that Prince made his full-fledged foray into the worlds of rock and pop by fusing them with funk, r&b, and even a touch of heavy metal. From the creepy organ solo at the beginning of “Let’s Go Crazy” to the bass-free dance floor hit “When Doves Cry”, Purple Rain is an album that defies convention. After all, the most lascivious song on this sensual album ends with a backwards coda containing the hidden message of the Lord’s imminent return. Ambition and genre-bending weirdness aside, Purple Rain is also memorable for its infectious hooks and riffs that represent pop music at its most delightful. 26 years later, Purple Rain still sounds fresh and gripping and remains the greatest soundtrack of all time. -Frank Mojica

Essential Tracks: “Let’s Go Crazy”, “When Doves Cry”, and “Darling Nikki”

49. Black Sabbath – Paranoid

This is the reason metal exists. While Black Sabbath’s debut was pretty good, it’s Paranoid that supplied the spark for everyone from Metallica to Slayer. This is a more immediate and rockier album than the scary, sometimes sluggish mood of their first LP. The one-two opening punch of “War Pigs” and “Paranoid” is one of the best in all of metal. But the eerie nature of their debut still had its place on songs like “Electric Funeral”.  Dealing with everything from drugs to apocalyptic warfare, it created the blueprint that all future thrashers followed. -Joe Marvilli

Essential Tracks: “War Pigs”, “Paranoid”, “Iron Man”, and ”Electric Funeral”

48. Iggy & the Stooges – Raw Power

Although credited as the unofficial birth of punk rock, The Stooges’ third (and last great) album was largely dismissed at the time of its release, and it’s easy to see why.  The original cut was tinny and poorly mixed, drenched in nothing but James Williamson’s shark tooth guitar and the Asheton brothers’ speedball rhythm section, which left Iggy Pop’s snarling vocals largely drowned out.  It wasn’t until the various subsequent remasters that listeners realized just how nasty this thing really was, all spit and apocalyptic imagery with napalm classics like “Search And Destroy” and the rusted tambourine jangle of the title track.  The steady, acoustic pace of “Gimme Danger” may convince some that Detroit’s favorite bastard son was going soft, but listen to the lyrics. “There’s nothing alive but a pair of glassy eyes” is as romantic as this album gets. -Dan Caffrey

Essential Tracks: “Search And Destroy”, “Gimme Danger”, and ”Raw Power”

47. Dr. Dre – The Chronic

Rap music was already shaking the ground in the early 90s, but Dr. Dre’s solo debut, The Chronic, brought the fucking house down. The warnings to play this album on home stereos, preferably in a residential area, were no joke. The Chronic bumped louder and harder than anything else in hip-hop up to that point (except for maybe Dre’s six-four). Nothing beats a sonic introduction of Calvin Broadus, aka Snoop Doggy Dogg, who at the time was unknown to most ears around the world. But when “Fuck Wit Dre Day (And Everybody’s Celebratin’)” starts out, you know his voice was perfect, complimenting Dr. Dre’s low, slow flow on the entire album. That track is stellar, as Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg call out all those who have fucked with Dre in the past, showing that the new Dre is even harder. Not to mention several head-turning glimpses of hood-life like “Rat-Tat-Tat-Tat”, “Lyrical Gangbang”, and “Lil’ Ghetto Boy”. On this album, Dr. Dre and Snoop showed the world how united their crew was in a place where everything else seemed divided, and that they were not the people to mess with. -Ted Maider

Essential Tracks: “Nuthin’ But a G’ Thang”, “Lyrical Gangbang”, and “Lil’ Ghetto Boy”

46. The Rolling Stones – Exile on Main St.

The Stones’ 10th album came during their most decadent and hedonistic period. With the band settling in France in 1971 to avoid tax troubles in England, the Stones set up shop near Nice where Keith Richards rented a villa and recorded songs that were written between 1968 and 1972. These legendary sessions defined the adage “sex, drugs and rock and roll” before it became cliché. From these drug-fueled sessions came some of the best work of the band’s career and the album that defined early ‘70s rock and roll. Exile takes the best elements of country, blues, and R&B and makes them the band’s own. This, combined with the warm feeling of having been recorded in Richards’ basement, puts you in a manic frenzy that hits you so hard and fast that you have no choice but to listen. Mick Jagger’s charisma and frustration with the band’s legal situation are evident from the get-go when he sings, “I only get my rocks off while I’m sleeping” on the record’s opener. Songs like “Tumbling Dice” and “Happy” remain staples in the band’s live set, while others like “Shine A Light” and “Soul Survivor” sound as energetic and powerful as they did when recorded 38 years ago. The Rolling Stones’ angst and tension within their personal lives during this tumultuous period were channeled musically, and Exile is one of the most revered albums of the band’s illustrious career. –Daniel Kohn

Essential Tracks: “Tumbling Dice”, “Rip This Joint”, and “Happy”

45. Nick Drake – Pink Moon

Be it posthumous mythicism or…Volkswagen, Nick Drake finally became recognized in the 21st century, the least of which was that his songs wound up on everyone’s “Night Driving” mix, the most of which was his deserved recognition as a true father of folk. His third album, Pink Moon, strips away all the production of his previous efforts so much so that the piano tinkling on the title track almost sounds a little too much. Even with this album clocking in at under 30 minutes–undoubtedly the shortest album on this list–Drake’s songs conjure up the pith of melancholy, loneliness, and sparsity with just an acoustic guitar, his whispered British baritone, and his chilling lyrics. You put on this album at night, alone, and you can almost feel Drake at the end of his rope. Like Jeff Mangum after him, you feel anxious entering into his world, like his parasite could actually attach to you. It’s probably good this album is only 30 minutes. -Jeremy Larson

Essential Tracks: “Pink Moon”, “Know”, and “Parasite”

44. Miles Davis – Bitches Brew

One of the geneses of fusion, this is an album of ideas. Cool ideas born from Miles’ years as a bebop jazz blower and flung into Columbia’s 30th St. recording studios and simmered for three days straight. What’s ironic is that the sonics on this album are anything but fused. Layers of Wayne Shorter’s sax, Chic Corea’s keys, and the amazing Jack DeJohnette on percussion cohere at points, but it’s the struggle of the band to absorb the musical ideas, the push and pull of the polyrhythms and modal soloing that make Bitches Brew so rewarding. Signifying a shift in jazz, the roots of fusion and funk, and displaying Davis’s range as a musician, this 1970 staple demands a lot from the listener whether they’re versed in jazz or not, but the fruits of the work taste so sweet. Also of note, it’s not the possessive Bitch’s Brew, so the directive of the album title makes the music all the more ferocious. -Jeremy Larson

Essential Tracks: “Bitches Brew” and “Miles Runs the Voodoo Down”

43. David Bowie – The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars

Let’s just be honest here: This is the definitive glam-rock record. There are plenty more great ones from T. Rex’s Electric Warrior to Mott the Hoople’s All the Young Dudes, but no one did it quite as well as David Bowie. By letting his alter-ego, Ziggy Stardust, take over, Bowie ascended to new heights. In doing so, he also just so happened to make one of the best concept records ever. Who else could make an album about an androgynous alien from Mars who becomes a huge rock star in the final years of Earth’s existence and make it one of the most loved and revered albums ever? The correct answer is no one. David Bowie is a singular personality (albeit, he’s gone through multiple personalities), and his Ziggy Stardust years remain one of his most popular stylistic periods. The album, with all its funk, glam, rock, pop, and soul, was unlike anything anyone had heard at that point, and it has never been replicated since.  –Carson O’Shoney

Essential Tracks: “Suffragette City”, “Moonage Daydream”, and “Ziggy Stardust”

42. Bruce Springsteen – Darkness On The Edge Of Town

If you trace the lyrical arc of Bruce Springsteen’s career, each of his early albums got progressively more optimistic, culminating in the comet urgency of Born To Run. Even the more tragic characters of that record radiated some sense of hope. This all changed with Darkness On The Edge Of Town, kicking off a string of records that would examine the more dismal aspects of American working life, a haunted despair that would reach its apex on 1982′s Nebraska. While there are still some celebratory moments on Darkness (each side kicks off with a whiplash cry for escape – “Badlands” and “The Promised Land”), the majority of the songs introduce us to characters or situations devoid of all hope. We know that the protagonist of “Candy’s Room” will never get through to the drug-addled object of his affection. We know that the marriage in “Racing In The Streets” will eventually succumb to the narrator’s hazardous lifestyle and the banalities of domestic life. Even the E Street Band, so orchestral on Born To Run, are stark and stripped down here, with most songs driven by the rainfall echo of Roy Bittan’s piano. The guitar work is sparse as well, centering around Springsteen’s and Steven Van Zandt’s singular solos as opposed to the wall of guitars that trumpeted their last outing.  Sax titan Clarence Clemons has plenty to do on “Badlands” but mainly stays on handheld percussion elsewhere. Tonally, Darkness was the beginning of the end until Born In The U.S.A., a fascinating portrait of a musician beginning to lose hope in his own dream. -Dan Caffrey

Essential Tracks: “Something in the Night”, “Candy’s Room”, and ”Adam Raised a Cain”

41. Patti Smith – Horses

“Jesus died for somebody’s sins, but not mine.” Those eight words, the first spoken on Horses, encapsulate the album’s major themes. Rebellion. Irreverence. A middle finger to society. If etiquette demands that girls wear dresses and shave their armpits, etiquette can suck it. The attitude on this debut earned Patti Smith the title “Godmother of Punk,” but the nickname is misleading. From the beginning, Smith was more poet than punk. Her hyper-literate lyrics referenced Rimbaud and Verlaine, imbuing each syllable with meaning. The album opens with a quasi-cover of Them’s frat-rock classic “Gloria”. In it, Smith becomes a woman on the prowl, her sexually predatory verses stalking boys, girls, and anyone else she takes a lusting to. Just listen to how she yowls “G-L-O-R-I-A”, spitting out the letters ahead of the beat as if ridding herself of a foul taste. Her ferocious delivery gives Horses its fire, but often overlooked in the equation is the backing band. Anchored by longtime associates Lenny Kaye and Jay Dee Daugherty on guitar and drums, the crack combo show an unusual diversity for a punk band. They slip effortlessly from the island reggae of “Redondo Beach” to the raucous thrash of “Free Money”. The band’s ebb and flow help Smith push two songs to the 10-minute mark: the stream of consciousness “Birdland” and the rape-rocker “Land”. The album celebrates life even as it condemns it, marveling at society’s hypocrisies. “Because the Night” made Smith famous, but Horses made her a legend. –Ray Padgett

Essential Tracks: “Gloria”, “Free Money”, and “Land: Horses / Land of a Thousand Dances / La Mer (De)”

40. The Beatles – Revolver

No list of greatest albums would be complete without Revolver. It’s the first curveball of The Beatles’ back catalog – a set of pop songs dressed up in reverse guitar, feedback, loops, and strings. Where to begin? There is George Harrison’s sneering commentary and Paul McCartney’s genius bass/lead guitar work on “Taxman”. Lie down for the night to John Lennon’s hazy “I’m Only Sleeping”, and jump out of bed the next morning to “And Your Bird Can Sing”. For classical music, the album provides the eerie strings of “Eleanor Rigby” against the big bouncy horns of “Got to Get You into My Life”, both McCartney highlights. The standout, of course, is Lennon’s “Tomorrow Never Knows”, a track that clocks in under three minutes yet features the likes of a sitar, organ, tape loops, tambourine, piano, guitar, bass, and drums. Revolver is The Beatles’ bridge record — a display of what they once were and what they were about to become. – Justin Gerber

Essential Tracks: “Tomorrow Never Knows”, “Eleanor Rigby”, and “Taxman”

39. Meat Loaf – Bat Out of Hell

I rarely remember where I buy a record, but I remember precisely where I got Bat Out of Hell: the Virgin Megastore in Times Square. I cannot imagine a more fitting place to discover this album. Like Times Square, Bat Out of Hell represents American culture taken to the limit. Both are flashy, neon, larger-than-life to the point of absurdity. Bat Out of Hell often gets compared to Born to Run, but it took Springsteen’s masterpiece even further. Sure, it features the same small-town themes, epic production, and even personnel (the E Street Band’s Max Weinberg and Roy Bitten play on Bat), but where Born to Run provides a nuanced look at the trials and triumphs of kids bursting out of small town America, Meat Loaf throws subtlety out the window. Everything here is bigger. “Bat Out of Hell” turns “Born to Run” into a 10-minute roar, throwing motorcycle sound effects and “Leader of the Pack” melodrama into the pot. The three-part “Paradise by the Dashboard Light” echoes “Jungleland” but adds in a baseball announcer to narrate the backseat hookup. Even as things get increasingly ridiculous, Meat Loaf never cracks a smile. The utter lack of irony adds an endearing charm. At some point during your teenage years, there’s probably a brief moment where all this will seem deadly serious. The rest of the time, it’s just fun to join the ride. –Ray Padgett

Essential Tracks: “Paradise by the Dashboard Light”, “Bat Out of Hell”, and “All Revved Up with No Place Go”

38. Pink Floyd – The Wall

Some will call this bassist Roger Waters’ personal soapbox while pinning the Floyd’s magnum opus dedication to Dark Side Of The Moon, and in truth, this is probably best. If Dark Side is meant to tread the full spectrum of humanity’s emotional expanse, then The Wall is a magnifying glass on the heart of isolation and insanity. I know explaining the concept in detail will seem redundant by now (see: Rock History 101), so I won’t ramble on about that, but here’s a better point to make. Why did The Wall make our list? Its story is frantic yet cathartic, the music is theatrical, the chaos is tangible, and the film version features a talking anus and Bob Geldof in key roles without seeming too unstable. All of you probably know someone a bit like The Wall’s main character, someone depressed and withdrawn and ready to explode; this is The Wall, a psychiatrist’s wet dream and my favorite concept album to date. -David Buchanan

Essential Tracks: “Mother”, “Another Brick In The Wall (Pts 1-3)”, and “Comfortably Numb”

37. The Police – Synchronicity

The Police’s swan song is also arguably their best. While every record was chock full of hits, Synchronicity puts the rest to shame with the amount of classics. Not only does it include the worst wedding song ever in “Every Breath You Take”, it also moves through various moods in every track. From the social commentary of “Synchronicity II” to the dark, dramatic “King of Pain”, Sting’s songwriting is at its peak here. While it was a shame when the group called it quits, there’s no better closing soundtrack to their career than Synchronicity. -Joe Marvilli

Essential Tracks: “King of Pain”, “Synchronicity II”, and “Every Breath You Take”

36. Stevie Wonder – Talking Book

Name a Stevie Wonder album from the 1970s, and it could probably be on this list. As the second in his five-album “classic period”, Talking Book deserves its place on our list for a number of reasons. Despite this being his 15th album, the record sees Wonder access new and often unfound creative freedoms from the strict confines of Motown R&B. With the addition of synthesizers to his piano playing, not to mention clear-cut elements of funk, Talking Book has it all, musically speaking.  From the simple yet soulful “I Believe (When I Fall In Love It Will Be Forever)” to the raucous jam “Superstition”, this 1972 album still speaks volumes and was just the beginning of the reinvigoration of a man and several musical genres. Whether it’s soft and sweet or full of bluesy energy, Talking Book is one album that will continue to speak to fans for years. -Chris Coplan

Essential Tracks: “I Believe (When I Fall In Love It Will Be Forever)”, “Superstition”, and “Maybe Your Baby”

35. Guns N’ Roses – Appetite for Destruction

Say what you will about modern rock today, but back in 1987, people had every right to turn up their speakers and blast what we consider “oldies” today: “Welcome to the Jungle”, “Paradise City”, and “Sweet Child o’ Mine”. Oh, Guns N’ Roses…the great rock and roll tragedy. Until the Smashing Pumpkins recently, there wasn’t a more depressing story in the genre. Five rock stars. The world’s greatest selling debut album. Twenty-eight-million fans. They had the look, they had the sound, and they had the edge. But they couldn’t hold it together. Instead of marching on, they ran straight into the ground, spoiling just about everything that had made the band so goddamn successful from the start. Long ago, Axl Rose could saunter onstage four hours late, and people would still throw roses at his feet. Today? He’s lucky if he doesn’t get pelted with bottles for making it on time. But that’s another argument, altogether. Regardless of the lineup changes or the drama that continues to ensue, Appetite for Destruction remains absolutely flawless. It’s the type of record every rock and roll band should aspire – or at least attempt – to create. Is it timeless? Not as much as it should be, but its crossover appeal is far greater than you’d like to believe. Think of it this way, every night (and, no, that’s not an exaggeration) tracks off this record are not only playing on some PA, but literally moving people. Whether it’s at a sports arena, at some teenager’s house party in Oshkosh, WI, or at a shitty, hipster dive bar in Brooklyn…people still can’t get enough of this album. Hell, you’d have to pay Chuck Klosterman $5,001 to never listen to it ever again. Whether or not that’s a compelling argument is up to you. Bottom line: It’s a diamond album, end of story. -Michael Roffman

Essential Tracks: “Welcome to the Jungle”, “Rocket Queen”, and “Sweet Child o’ Mine”

34.  U2 - Joshua Tree

Arguably the biggest album of the 1980s. Joshua Tree shipped platinum thanks to tracks like “Where The Streets Have No Name”, “ I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”, and “With or Without You”. Most importantly, the album was the first glimpse of what U2 would go on to become. The lads were out of the UK and here in the states and ready to do more than be just another group of rowdy punks from the other side of the pond. They were here to make good music, and they were here to make sure that some day they would be the biggest band in rock music. More than 20 years after its release, Joshua Tree is proof that lightning can be captured in a bottle. -Christine DiPaolo

Essential Tracks: “Where The Streets Have No Name”, “Bullet the Blue Sky”, and “With or Without You”

33. Simon & Garfunkel  – Bridge Over Troubled Water

A simple analogy will explain why we chose Bridge Over Troubled Water for our top 100: Peanut butter and jelly are to sandwiches as Simon & Garfunkel are to folk/rock music of the 60′s. Apart they’re average (arguable on all four counts), but together, they’re an unstoppable force to be reckoned with. Despite a shaky personal relationship, they had a fruitful career penning transcendent songs that still garner significant airplay even today. In 1970, they released what would be their final album together and arguably their magnum opus, Bridge Over Troubled Water. The iconic and anthemic opening and title track, “Bridge Over Troubled Water”, is one of the finest pieces of modern music ever composed and has been covered by the likes of Aretha Franklin, Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Perry Como, Johnny Cash, Stevie Wonder, Andrea Bocelli, etc. My point is, some of the greatest artists/singers of our time have covered the song, and it’s not hard to see why upon listening to it. Starting out as a sweet piano ballad with deeply pensive lyrics, the track follows Garfunkel’s beautiful falsetto into an earth-shattering climax that sends chills down your spine and leaves you wondering whether you should applaud or weep. The album on the whole is a wonderful testament to what a wonderful songwriting pair these two were. -Winston Robbins

Essential Tracks: “Bridge Over Troubled Water”, “Celia”, and “The Only Living Boy In New York”

32. Nirvana – Nevermind

It’s hard to write about Nirvana’s 1991 album, Nevermind, without feeling the whole concept is cliché: The naked baby in a swimming pool cover, the pep rally gone wrong video a la “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, a morose Kurt Cobain smashing his guitar on TV. But when you make the effort to really examine the album for what it is, there is a quiet genius about it. The sound is exceedingly simple. At a time when rock and roll consisted of long-haired macho men and insipid ballads, Nevermind took rock back to its roots and started all over again. They brought indie-punk pop to the masses and cemented Seattle’s grunge scene across the world with a few power chords, a dose of distortion, and Cobain’s gravelly screams over nonsensical lyrics. Cobain wasn’t the best guitar player either, but that helped give off the “I don’t care” vibe that resonated with an emerging Generation X. On the album’s landmark single, Dave Grohl’s hammering drums, Krist Novoselic’s prominent bass line, and Cobain’s cynical slurring, “I find it hard/it’s hard to find/oh well/whatever/nevermind” are quintessential Nirvana. Though Nevermind was Nirvana’s first album on a major label, the folks at Geffen weren’t sure how well it was going to be received. The label’s president Eddie Rosenblatt said their marketing plan was to just “get out of the way and duck.” It worked. Nirvana was left to do things their own way and the result was incendiary. -Karina Halle

Essential Tracks: “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, “In Bloom”, and “Territorial Pissings”

31. The Ramones – Rocket to Russia

The idea of punk rock is an argumentative one…and it should be, given its intended nature. However, despite what your rejected school bully told you in detention class, it’s a bullshit genre that’s incredibly hypocritical. The mere thought of putting eggs in your hair, wearing tight, ripped denim, or not showering for days does nothing but make you less approachable. And an asshole. What’s worse, most of the anti-establishment ideas and themes that these “punks” support actually limit a population. Oh, at the end of the day, the methodology behind being a punk is no different than a group of jocks wearing a jersey to support a team or a few rich kids rocking the Polo. It’s just a uniform subscription. In hindsight, punk rock has always been tagged to a shitty scene, just with one hell of a soundtrack. Sort of like the film 200 Cigarettes or Empire Records. Yeah.

Ringleaders to the punk scene could technically be traced back to The Who – Buddy Holly even – but, in all honesty, it goes back to New York City’s rag-tag quartet: The Ramones. Over sloppy repetitive chords and popcorn drumbeats, Joey Ramone, easily the ugliest frontman in the history of rock ‘n’ roll, won the hearts of every teenager who ever wanted to throw a rock at their parents, their school teachers, or their nagging siblings. Sure, it started with “Blitzkrieg Bop”, and rightfully so, but it all culminated on Rocket to Russia. For only $25,000, the New York brats were able to punch every kid, critic, and rocker in the face from 1977 until the end of time. Everthing about The Ramones dwells here. One of their earliest demos, “I Don’t Care”, crudely surfaces to become one of their most anthemic tunes (even despite its simplicity); that is, until three tracks later when “Teenage Lobotomy” kicks in, which just might be their greatest song in their infinite catalogue. Tommy Ramone’s marching percussion and Dee Dee Ramone’s thudding basslines do nothing more than inspire. It sort of brings clarity to the whole bullshit punk scene, come to think of it. Then there’s “Sheena is a Punk Rocker”, but that song’s jarring for a whole other reason. You can blame director Mary Lambert and a semi-truck for that one. Look it up. -Michael Roffman

Essential Tracks: “Teenage Lobotomy”, “I Wanna Be Well”, and “Cretin Hop”

30. Bob Dylan – Highway 61 Revisited

The sneering put-down “Like a Rolling Stone” is arguably rock and roll’s greatest revelation, but Highway 61 Revisited is perhaps best described by a lyric from the album’s own “Ballad of a Thin Man” on which Dylan sings, “Because something is happening here, but you don’t know what it is.” This record is nearly an hour of mostly electrified blues that places the listener in a room with no less than Jack the Ripper, Lady Jane Grey, and Einstein disguised as Robin Hood. From the surreal romp of the title track to the delicate strumming of the record’s epic closer, “Desolation Row”, precise meaning always seems just out of reach, and yet a nerve is always touched somehow. The language, both musically and lyrically, of Highway 61 Revisited is poetic, sarcastic, and ironic—tongues that have always spoken to some essential part in the human makeup. And while listeners may never quite get Dylan, everyone comes away with something worthwhile. -Matt Melis

Essential Tracks: “Like a Rolling Stone”, “Desolation Row”, and “Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues”

29. AC/DC – Back In Black

In the wake of Bon Scott’s death, Back In Black could have easily been both the band’s funeral march for its fallen leader and its official goodbye to its legion fans. Instead, with new lead singer Brian Johnson at the helm, the band proved that there was still plenty of life, screams, and killer riffs left in the band – if not more. Opening solemnly with the haunting toll of the bell on “Hells Bells”, the album is a tribute to Scott’s songwriting, as well as the endurance of a truly great band. Today, we celebrate its material like it’s a national anthem. “Shook Me All Night Long” tends to soundtrack any victory (both personal or public), while “Back in Black” signifies every one of our triumphant returns. It doesn’t look like that’s going to change. Ever.  -Christine DiPaolo

Essential Tracks: “Shoot to Thrill”, “Shook Me All Night Long”, and “Back in Black”

28. Joni Mitchell – Blue

Joni Mitchell’s Blue opened a floodgate for thousands of other imitators in 1971. It took obvious and not-so obvious cues from Miles Davis, offered heartfelt ballads still heard on radio stations across the country today, and strung together so much unadulterated Joni that it catapulted her into Canadian Americana like few other artists since or hereafter. Fragile, precious songs like “All I Want” and “River” are rock-solid singer-songwriter jewels spangled across the folk spectrum. By the time she had released it, Mitchell had spent six years professionally making music over the course of four studio albums. Like Leslie Feist, another female Canadian singer-songwriter with a heart of gold, who released a critically acclaimed fourth album in 2007, Blue’s success just feels right. Unlike Feist’s The Reminder, Joni Mitchell’s Blue has long since turned timeless. On the album’s first song “All I Want,” Mitchell sings, “I want to belong to the living / Alive, alive…” Forty years later, her album still is. -Eric Vilas-Boas

Essential Tracks: “All I Want”, “Blue”, and “A Case of You”

27. Jimi Hendrix Experience – Are You Experienced (US Version)

Shaking hands is a polite way to introduce one’s self to someone, but Jimi Hendrix left the prim and proper behind on his 1967 debut. Instead, Hendrix, with the help of Noel Redding on bass and Mitch Mitchell on drums, took the world by the ears and rattled them out of their cozy, folked-out cocoons. Released just three months after the UK version, the stateside release of Are You Experienced introduced Americans to a sound that was hard and psychedelic at the very same time. Having been influenced by legends like B.B. King, Muddy Waters, and Little Richard, Hendrix used the hour-long album to pack legendary songs like “Foxey Lady”,“The Wind Cries Mary”, and “Purple Haze” in between lesser known, revolutionary tracks like the title track and “Manic Depression”, which finds Hendrix unearthing a new style of guitar playing while singing a line that any music lovers of any degree can get behind: “Music sweet music/I wish I could caress in a kiss.” -Ray Roa

Essential Tracks: “Are You Experienced”, “Purple Haze”, and “Red House”

26. Johnny Cash – Live at Folsom Prison

This live record begins with a simple “Hello, I’m Johnny Cash” followed by resounding applause. The catch, of course, is that the cheering audience members are all inmates of California’s Folsom State Prison. The idea of playing a prison show had always appealed to Cash, and with his career floundering in 1968 due in large part to drug abuse, the time seemed opportune for an unlikely comeback. Accompanied by June Carter, Carl Perkins, and the Tennessee Three, Cash rolled out every prison song he knew over two sets at Folsom. Two elements make this recording so remarkable. The first is Cash’s conviction while singing these songs. When he confesses, “But I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die,” part of the listener believes him, and when he sings about a prisoner who misses his wife and wishes to know his young son on “Give My Love to Rose”, it’s easy to forget that, unlike his audience, Cash gets to go home after the show. The other element that resonates is Cash’s interaction with the inmates. Not only did he pick a set list that they could relate to, but he constantly pauses to speak and joke with them. This human touch coupled with the way he openly carried his own troubles and shortcomings on his sleeve create a camaraderie that the listener can’t help but notice. And, as Cash himself admitted, those two shows in prison resurrected his career. -Matt Melis

Essential Tracks: “Folsom Prison Blues”, “Give My Love to Rose”, and “25 Minutes to Go”

25. Peter Gabriel – So

Peter Gabriel’s two albums before So, both called Peter Gabriel, were landmark prog rock albums. On those albums, Gabriel used the latest music hardware to compose with sampled sounds as well as music and rhythms from cultures who’d never before been integrated into Western music. Gabriel was breaking breathtaking new ground, and with So he brought his sonic discoveries to the mainstream. So is a landmark pop album that overwhelms listeners with emotional and rhythmic songs drawing from the heart of the human spirit. Case in point, the #1 song to play outside someone’s window, “In Your Eyes”. Gabriel’s voice and lyrics are raw and passionate with simple but overwhelmingly powerful imagery. African rhythms keep the song alive and away from the sappy path so many love songs tread, and the soaring vocals of Senegalese singer Youssou N’Dour transcend language with pure celebration.

This theme of emotional, boundary-breaking, human communication permeates all of Gabriel’s works but is strongest in So, where it continues to touch the most people. When Gabriel screams “only love can make love” in “That Voice Again” even the most cynical listener can’t help but feel some tingle of truth. Tracks like “Red Rain”, “Mercy Street”, and “Don’t Give Up” (a duet with Kate Bush) operate on the opposite end of the spectrum, discussing vulnerability, weakness, and the chance to carry on. So even accommodates a couple avant garde tracks such as the unnerving “We Do What We’re Told (Milgram’s 37)” and the moody “This is the Picture (Excellent Birds)” written and performed with Laurie Anderson. And of course, everybody knows “Sledgehammer” and its outstanding music video. No heady concept there, just pure fun and a brilliant renvisioning of Motown soul. Depending on your state of mind going into listening to it, So will either leave you charged or worn-out. Either way, it’s a good feeling. - Cap Blackard

Essential Tracks: “Sledgehammer”, “Red Rain”, “This is the Picture (Excellent Birds)”, and “In Your Eyes”

24. Neil Young – After the Goldrush

Neil Young was a busy man in the late 60’s and early 70’s. After recording three albums with his first band, Buffalo Springfield, he went solo – only to join another group, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, after two solo albums. That didn’t hinder his solo output though – in fact, his best solo album came the same year that CSN&Y put out their first album. After the Gold Rush was not immediately universally recognized as a brilliant album – Rolling Stone was especially critical when it first came out – but over the years even initial naysayers have changed their mind. Now, 40 years later, even Rolling Stone has realized the error of their ways, and now call the album what it should be called – a masterpiece. The entire album is full to the brim with classic songs of heartbreak and mystery. From the hard rock of “Southern Man” and the balladry of “Birds” to the twangy folk of “Cripple Creek Ferry”, there’s something for fans of every side of Neil Young on After the Gold Rush. Some of Young’s best songwriting can be found here as well, from the otherworldly “After the Gold Rush” to the always-poignant “Only Love Can Break Your Heart”. While Young has had a long and storied career filled with multiple near-perfect albums, this one stands above the rest as his absolute masterpiece.
-Carson O’Shoney

Essential Tracks: “After the Gold Rush”, “When You Dance I Can Really Love”, and “Don’t Let It Bring You Down”

23. Public Enemy – It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back

Music, as we know it, has its origins at least partially rooted in a revolutionary soil. And Public Enemy’s sophomore record, It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, is one of music’s all-time great political game changers. With this record, Public Enemy singlehandedly changed the idea of what a hip-hop group and rap album could be and influenced an entire generation of socially conscious black and white youth. Chuck D booms like a play-by-play sportscaster while hype man extraordinaire Flavor Flav manically interjects on driving tracks like “Bring the Noise” and “Don’t Believe the Hype”, which are equal parts PSA and house party. Chuck D is backed by the Bomb Squad’s innovative production, which samples everything from funky James Brown horns and drums to spoken-word clips of Malcolm X and Louis Farrakhan. On “Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos”, Chuck D details a fictitious prison escape over a teetering Isaac Hayes piano sample; it’s a bone-chilling commentary on the effects of both American racism and the country’s prison system. Chuck D, perhaps, said it best:  “Hip-hop is the CNN of the black community, and nobody broadcasts louder than Public Enemy.” -Matt Melis

Essential Tracks: “Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos”, “Louder Than a Bomb”, and “Bring the Noise”

22. The Beatles – The Beatles (White Album)

Detractors often call The Beatles an overstuffed mess. In this accusation, they are entirely correct. It is an overstuffed mess. That’s why it’s great. Sure, you could pare the tracks down to a dozen or so classics. “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” and “Blackbird” along would certainly hold up any single album. Do so, though, and you lose what makes The Beatles special. The other songs, the non-classics, give the album its unique character. From Harrison’s hippie harpsichord on “Piggies” to Lennon’s horndog howl on “Everybody’s Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey,” you can’t lose a single moment without making the rest collapse. The confounding moments, the ones that only work in context, lift the album from pop to art. Taken alone, the ambient-noise “Revolution 9” seems a sick joke, but in context the joke makes perfect sense. You can’t explain it, but somehow you know why it’s there. The Beatles is the sound of the biggest band ever breaking all the rules. It’s a messy process. –Ray Padgett

Essential Tracks: “Happiness Is a Warm Gun”, “Cry Baby Cry”, and “Helter Skelter”

21. Van Morrison – Astral Weeks

It’s hard to believe that Astral Weeks was only the second album in Van Morrison’s career. Its loose, combustible jazz sound still ranks as one of the most innovative things he’s done. But this display of the singer-songwriter’s early genius was birthed not from meticulous musical planning, but rather circumstances that were dire and stressful. After a dispute with his record label, founder Bert Berns died of a heart attack, which his wife blamed Morrison for, going as far to try and deport him back to Europe. Morrison avoided this by marrying his then girlfriend (now ex-wife) Janet Minto, moving to Cambridge, Massachusetts with her where he worked on the club circuit, playing with a group of student musicians as his backing band. Although he would only bring along the bass player for the recording sessions of his next album, it was in Cambridge (and from producer Lewis Merenstein) that Morrison was heavily exposed to jazz, something he was unfamiliar with at that point. The improvisational atmosphere was the perfect musical fit for Morrison’s mindset at the time. He’s stated in interviews that he was broke, tired, and simply did not know what to do. He didn’t want to think about it and he wanted musicians skilled enough to just follow him.

And thus came Astral Weeks, a gorgeous, freewheeling meditation on life and looking forward, a kaleidoscopic, sylvan soundscape focused on images and feelings rather than a coherent narrative. The only constant is the gentle strum of Morrison’s acoustic guitar as the nodding lull of the upright bass, horns, and I-didn’t-know-it-could-actually-be-cool jazz flute swirl around it, always on the verge of floating away, but preferring to stay in place to catch Morrison on his next musical shift.  His vocals are constantly morphing (a practice he would take up in later live performances), sometimes crooning, sometimes clipping the words, and sometimes not even finishing sentences at all as he floats through the optimistic, string-soaked “Madame George”, the whimsical harpsichord of “Cyprus Avenue”, through ferry boats and forests all the way until the baroque Nashville pluck of the closing title track. Morrison may have been high strung at the time, but you would never know it listening to such a dazzling and relaxed album. -Dan Caffrey

Essential Tracks: “Madame George”, “Cyprus Avenue”, and “Sweet Thing”

20. Neutral Milk Hotel – In the Aeroplane Over the Sea

What in God’s name do you think Jeff Magnum is doing right now? He’s not promoting a clothing line, or a new album, or counting money, that’s for damn sure. However, he still gets to bask in the glow of the fact he, along with his outfit Neutral Milk Hotel, made one of the best records in the past 20 years. But what’s so great about In the Aeroplane Over the Sea? It sounds like it was made in a garage for one, but still, everybody ate it up like cake. The majority of this record’s instrumentation was an acoustic guitar, yet other instruments included accordions, trumpets, and a trombone solo. And the songs fit perfectly. “King of Carrot Flowers Pt. 1” is one of the best starting tracks of all time, while its proceeding song, “King of Carrot Flowers Pt. 2 and 3”, is one of the most furious and sonically opposite songs on the album. The gritty yet poetic title track is a beautiful and lulling acoustic number (recently covered by Phish), and “Holland 1945” could get a hipster mosh pit started any time it comes on the stereo at a dive bar. In all honesty, Neutral Milk Hotel doesn’t even need to record another album, it’s better that for the one moment they shone through, they caused people’s brains to explode. -Ted Maider

Essential Tracks: “Two-Headed Boy Pt. 1″, “King of Carrot Flowers Pt. 2 and 3″, and “Holland 1945”

19. Marvin Gaye – What’s Going On

Marvin Gaye only lived to be 44-years-old, but this album is proof that his contribution to popular music still rings loud and will most definitely live on forever. Those who took the bait and bought What’s Going On thanks to gems like “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved You)” and  “Let’s Get It On” were surprised to find social commentaries like the title track and “Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)” buoying this classic album. Although the nine-song set was released in 1971, the two tracks find Gaye soulfully singing a narrative that is still eerily relevant in this day and age. Hearing Gaye – who died in 1984 – sing “Oil wasted on the oceans and upon our seas…oh mercy, mercy, me” is proof that even after nearly 30 years, we’re still getting angry about the same old crap. -Ray Roa

Essential Tracks: “Let’s Get It On”, “Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)”, and “What’s Going On”

18. David Bowie – Hunky Dory

Released in 1971, Hunky Dory was David Bowie’s fourth album and the first to feature the line-up that would become the Spiders from Mars. Setting aside the blues-rock and psychedelic angles of his previous release The Man Who Sold the World, Bowie instead favored a lighter, more acoustic pop approach with Hunky Dory. The themes and ideas scattered throughout the songs’ lyrics and arrangements set the stage for not only Ziggy Stardust, but for much of Bowie’s output in the ’70s. At times Bowie wears his influences on his sleeve, as in his obvious titular odes to idols Dylan and Warhol or a direct sound connection to the Velvet Underground with “Queen Bitch”. Other times the songs have to be listened to a bit more closely and possibly even deconstructed to notice the heavier occult related themes via Aleister Crowley in songs like “Quicksand”. Bowie’s desire to approach the album from a more old-time pop, acoustic direction creates a merry-go-round of songs, all a little different but connected by a common grounding. Hunky Dory is not a concept album, but the concepts within would eventually solidify and manifest in the character of Bowie’s spaceman and perhaps even in his personal philosophies. If anything, Hunky Dory is a testament to the grand scope and vision that David Bowie had as a young artist.  -Len Comaratta

Essential Tracks: “Changes”, “Oh, You Pretty Things”, and “Life on Mars”

17. Kate Bush – Hounds of Love

Before Hounds of Love, Kate Bush’s previous albums suggested that she was certainly a brilliant and daring songwriter. Hounds revealed her to be a musical prophetess. A friend once asked me, “Is it weird that I feel like Kate Bush is some sort of mystical being from another place – that she’s come here to teach us something?” I told him I’d always felt the same way. I think a lot of people do. Hounds is a musical achievement and a testament to Bush’s unprecedented dedication to crafting an album until it’s ready. It was entirely self-produced and composed in her own private studio space. Her seclusion caused rabid tabloid speculation and rumors only to be quickly silenced by Hounds release, knocking Madonna’s Like a Virgin out of the #1 slot in the UK charts.

Hounds of Love is an exaltation to light and darkness. It’s a practice in walking the tightrope between pop and experimental music. Just look at the titular track: the music and Bush’s passionate voice are wild with trembling beauty, amidst dark beats, threatening strings, and lyrics that are both affectionate and sinister, with a chorus backed by vocals mimicking baying hounds. The song shouldn’t work, but it does and it’s perfect. One listen and you’re running through the woods, terrified but exhilarated, chased by a passion that leaves your heart soaring. The rest of the album is an experience to say the least and it’s no wonder that Hounds of Love has inspired an expansive breadth of modern artists, everyone from Coldplay to Big Boi. From the opening, haunting chord of “Running Up That Hill” to the last hopeful string pluck of “Morning Fog”, Hounds of Love is a musical tapestry and a visionary album. -Cap Blackard

Essential Tracks: “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)”, “Hounds of Love”, and “Cloudbusting”

16. The Who – Who’s Next?

Out of all the legendary albums on this list, I doubt many of them had their origins as an abandoned rock opera. Many arrangements and scraps of Pete Townshend’s abandoned Lifehouse project were the origins of Who’s Next, an album that had no underlying theme or storyline. This sense of freedom allowed The Who to focus on making great individual songs rather than an overarching story.

The result is The Who growing up in public. The songs combine the hard-hitting energy of the band in their youth with their more experimental elements explored on Tommy. The most noticeable improvement is Roger Daltrey’s voice, reaching heights that were only hinted at in the past. Keith Moon’s drum solo followed by Daltrey’s scream at the end of “Won’t Get Fooled Again” remains as one of rock’s greatest moments. While everyone knows about the singles, from the opening keyboard of “Baba O’Riley” to the building acoustics of “Behind Blue Eyes”, every song on this record is a potential hit. Listen to the explosive chorus of “Bargain”. Check out a rare lead vocal from bassist John Entwistle on “My Wife”. With tracks like these, it’s easy to see why Who’s Next moved The Who from a great band of the ’60s to a rock superpower in the ’70s. -Joe Marvilli

Essential Tracks: “Baba O’Riley”, “Behind Blue Eyes”, and “Won’t Get Fooled Again”

15. Joy Division – Unknown Pleasures

Unknown Pleasures arrived in June 1979, cementing itself as the worst summer album of all time. There’s nothing about Joy Division’s debut that’s sunny, peachy, or even remotely positive. It’s one of the most depressing records in music history, second only to the band’s follow-up, 1980′s Closer. But that’s what makes it so unique. With its stark, iconic album cover – the eerie sound waves that look all too similar to a jagged razorblade – and its rough-yet-precise production by Martin Hannett, you can’t help but feel isolated, alone, and distorted while listening. Although most of its rhythm is catchy and ironically poppy (“Disorder”, “Transmission”), the morbid lyrical imagery, thanks to the late Ian Curtis, keeps things in perspective. But what makes this all so compelling is that this album is less a collection of music and moreover a snapshot of thoughts and feelings. Everyone tears at their own soul here.

You have Curtis’ soul-scraping vocals, Peter Hook’s top-heavy basslines, Bernard Sumner’s heart-piercing guitar lines, and Stephen Morris’ highly-concentrated beats, all moving together with the same emotion and gravitas. Once you reach the first guitar line on “Disorder”, a mere 18 seconds in, you can’t help but think this was a group of young men who needed the sound more than we did. Of course, decades and decades later, we now know how dangerous this music was to them – especially Curtis. But, to this day, regardless of its consequences, it stands as the most influential record of all time. We should only be so happy that Factory Records’ own Tony Wilson sank all his life savings into it. He didn’t see the returns (possibly ever, really), but rest assured, it paid off. Big time. -Michael Roffman

Essential Tracks: “Disorder”, “Transmission”, and “She’s Lost Control”

14. Pixies – Doolittle

Try to ignore the Pixies’ false obscurity as that little ’80s indie band everyone knows about. Try to ignore their play-count in Kurt Cobain’s tape collection and the “Where Is My Mind” Fight Club appearance now lost to the annals of pop culture. Once you can ignore all that, you’ll listen to the lyrics and opening chords of “Debaser” the same way Kurt did – as playfully diabolical power pop perverting Salvador Dali’s surrealist film Un chien andalou. And “Debaser” is just the tip of the iceberg. “Here Comes Your Man”, “Tame”, “Monkey Gone to Heaven”, and every other two to four minute gold nugget on Doolittle find a comfortable balance between angry distortion and some of the bounciest sunshine music this side of flower power. The Pixies’ lead single “Here Comes Your Man” was so accessibly happy, in fact, that when asked to play it on the Arsenio Hall Show, the band refused, opting to play the more abrasive “Tame”. It was rejected after Arsenio Hall’s people heard about it, which in retrospect feels appropriate, given Arsenio Hall’s current standing versus the Pixies’ standing in the pop culture lexicon. Doolittle moves almost imperceptibly. It jigs, jumps, and jives…and by now everyone knows why. -Eric Vilas-Boas

Essential Tracks: “Monkey Gone to Heaven”, “Here Comes Your Man”, and “Wave of Mutilation”

13. Led Zeppelin – IV

When Led Zeppelin IV was released in 1971 it became an instant worldwide hit. It’s been almost 30 years and its status hasn’t changed one bit. It is a still a massive, influential juggernaut of an album that has made many of the “top albums of all times” lists over and over again. One look at the eight tracks listed and it’s easy to see why; aside from the underrated “Four Sticks”, we’ve got “Black Dog”, “Rock and Roll”, “The Battle of Evermore”, “Stairway to Heaven”, “Misty Mountain Hop”, “Going to California”, and “When the Levee Breaks”, all of which are instantly recognizable on their own as Led Zeppelin, if not rock music, at its finest.

Before the album, the band was a well-established mover and shaker in the music world, with Robert Plant’s overtly sexual posturing and wailing voice, Jimmy Page’s spectral presence, John Paul Jones’ unassuming skills, and John Bonham’s ridiculously inhuman drumming. But the release of IV cemented Led Zeppelin in the critic’s hearts (who were slow to warm up to the British rockers) and proved to be one of the most durable, commercial successes in their catalogue. The poetic, often Tolkien-influenced lyrics combined with a musical orgy of metal, progressive rock and even country was a winning formula to stand the test of time. Interestingly, there were only two singles from IV: the swaggering “Black Dog” and the aptly-titled “Rock and Roll”. The epic saga that is “Stairway to Heaven” and the soulful strumming of “Going to California” would find their iconic notes into the ears of the population anyway, proving that Led Zeppelin IV was the ultimate earworm of the rock and roll genre. -Karina Halle

Essential Tracks: “Rock and Roll”, “Stairway to Heaven”, and “Going to California”

12. The Rolling Stones - Let It Bleed

There are quite a few Rolling Stones records we could tack onto this spot, if not higher up, and that would be justified by one simple fact: The Rolling Stones always rock and roll, no matter if the tunes are jangly honky tonk or straight-up heavy blues or pop. Personally, I’ve always leaned toward a mish-mash of the first two genres regarding the Stones (or even December’s Children); it’s a Bob Dylan lo-fi and folky vibe on a ’50s rock slant…from some British guys who are now the butt of numerous geriatric jokes at their expense.

1969′s Let It Bleed is very blues and country heavy with the exception of closing pop single “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” and iconic psychedelic opener “Gimme Shelter”; it really shows the (ehem, pardon the pun) bare bones of this band’s ’60s era material, book-ended with two of the most notable songs in the Stones’ canon to this very day.

Harmonica here, fiddle there, the final appearance of Brian Jones, this record is definitive blues Stones if not definitive Rolling Stones altogether. While not my all-time choice for ‘em (that honor goes tied between December’s Children and Beggar’s Banquet), it stands as testament to the raw aforementioned jangle that I have always loved about this notable classic relic of a band. -David Buchanan

Essential Tracks: “Gimme Shelter”, “Monkey Man”, and ”Let It Bleed”

11. Bob Dylan – Blonde on Blonde

He would go on to record again that decade, but make no mistake about it: Blonde on Blonde was the swan song of 60s Bob Dylan. The iconic hipster depicted with wild hair and a checkered scarf on the 1966 album’s blurry front sleeve would not be seen or heard from again. It’s perhaps fitting then that this particular incarnation of Dylan went out with arguably the finest record of the decade and one of the first double albums in rock history. Blonde on Blonde documents Dylan expanding upon the blues-rock sound of Highway 61 Revisited. Tracks like “Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again” and “I Want You” borrow the surreal imagery and character types of the subdued “Desolation Row” and set them to up-tempo, glowing arrangements of harmonica, guitars, and swirling organs. “Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I’ll Go Mine)” and “Obviously 5 Believers” sound like natural, more polished and eclectic extensions of earlier blues rockers like “From a Buick 6”. But then there are new, less predictable songs with no real predecessor like the achingly beautiful “Visions of Johanna” and “Rainy Day Women #12 & 35” with its carnival sound and saloon atmosphere. And, of course, there is the sprawling “Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands”, which consumes an entire album side and sweetly reveals pieces of Dylan’s relationship with his wife, Sara. Per Dylan, Blonde on Blonde was the closest he ever came to achieving the sounds he heard in his head. And then he was gone. -Matt Melis

Essential Tracks: “Visions of Johanna”, “Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again”, and “One of Us Must Know (Sooner or Later)”

10. Radiohead – OK Computer

You are driving home in the midnight darkness. In a fast German car, you rocket into the night on a country one-lane.  Then you crash. Into what is irrelevant, but an airbag saves your life. Gaps in bass notes, clanking break beats, and a stinging, howling, wholly consuming falsetto relays this information. Needless to say, when you come to, bloody and scraped, in an interstellar burst, you are back to save the universe. You spend most of the next 49 minutes hopelessly paranoid; of materialist yuppy androids, alien abduction, dubious friends, perilous love, paternal wrath, electoral tomfoolery, impending madness, suburban monotony, the overwhelming state of a circuit board drenched humanity. With an army of alien guitar tones, screeching solos, chugging bass, scatterbrained percussion, and otherworldly atmospherics, you explode, sink, coo, ravage, and cogitate. Somewhere in there, there’s a “Let Down”, and it’s perfect.  A computer tells you how to live your life, to which you respond, “OK.” It’s almost too much to handle, like the crazy, techno-savvy but morally incompetent world we call our home. But by the end, you and your car slow down, slow down, slow down, just in time for you to put it back into gear and have the same impeccably crafted epiphany the next time you choose to.

OK Computer, Radiohead’s 1997 masterpiece, may not have saved the universe, but there’s a large population of pigs in cages on antibiotics who will argue otherwise to the death…before their father hears them, of course. -Drew Litowitz

Essential Tracks: “Airbag”, “Paranoid Android”, “Karma Police”, “Let Down”, and “Climbing up the Walls”

09. Talking Heads – Remain in Light

Some will disagree, but David Byrne might be the last true genius in music experimentation. Sure, there have been followers, and, yeah, they’ve come close, but no one has dethroned this Scottish royalty. He’s too sincere. His music too genuine. Whatever comes close feels derivative – something you can never say about Byrne’s music, altogether. Even if you don’t understand the Talking Heads, which you will (it just…hits you), you can’t help but appreciate it. Why? Because you appreciate something that’s unique, original, and, above all, bizarre. Those are sort of the general rules with anything relating to art. Just ask anyone who ever promoted Andy Warhol.

Remain in Light sits as the Heads’ fourth album, but it’s their best. The facts: It holds one of the greatest songs of all time (“Once in a Lifetime” – yes, their most famous song), it expanded the band’s sound dramatically, and it saved them in the end. Let’s focus on that last part, as its the most interesting (and integral to this argument). Prior to recording, Byrne had just finished his incredibly groundbreaking side project with producer Brian Eno, My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, and things for the Heads seemed bleak. Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth flirted with the idea of leaving, having grown tired of Byrne’s ever-growing control, while Byrne had little interest in recording with the band again, especially after the tiring sessions of the band’s previous albums. However, what eventually saved them were two things: Frantz and Weymouth’s trip to Jamaica, where they discovered new avenues of percussion, and the highly evolving musical landscape of the ’80s, which basically screamed, “Opportunity!”. After an instrumental recording session in the Bahamas, where the band reconvened, they made the conscious decision to champion on. Thank. God.

The recording behind this album reads like a James Bond film gone overbudget. They went everywhere. What started in Nassau slowly traced back to the concrete confines of New York City, and eventually over to Los Angeles. At one point, Byrne bailed and exiled himself in Africa, where he worked off a case of writer’s block with a portable tape player and some nonsensical phonetics. If that weren’t enough, the band worked off of state of the art equipment, some of which created new sonic environments and platforms to explore in. Altogether, however, these technologies and locales only influenced what many critics justly consider to be a quintessential snapshot of world music. Lay back and listen…it’s all there. On “Listening Wind”, trademark ’80s tones coagulate with what sounds like  spirits and animals in a far off jungle, all while Byrne croons, “He has the knowledge of the wind to guide him…on.” It’s obscure on paper, but within the world they create, it makes absolute sense. And who can ignore album closer “The Overload”? With its ominous beat and foreboding lyrics,the song resonates well these days, in a time where we all complain about how “the center is missing.” Sigh, it’s comforting to know nothing’s changed in 30 years…and that we’re still bound for destruction. -Michael Roffman

Essential Tracks: “Crosseyed and Painless”, “Once in a Lifetime”, and ”Listening Wind”

08. The Beatles – Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band

It’s known as one of the most influential records in rock history. It is also as important musically as its place in pop culture. The world’s most popular band took aliases, and recorded their eighth studio album, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Released in June 1967, Sgt. Pepper became a concept album that The Beatles hoped could do their touring for them. They had grown weary of the road and the screaming fans, so they had quit gigging, and became a studio-based band. Paul McCartney came up with the idea for the quartet to perform as a fictitious band. This would allow them to experiment with new sounds and ideas that would not necessarily be found on any other Beatles’ album. (John Lennon would later claim that every song he wrote for this album was not in character and not in theme with the whole Sgt. Pepper concept.) Of course, as with anything they tested, the idea proved quite successful, as the album went on to become one of their greatest successes. There’s a good reason for this success, however. It flows seamlessly together. The tightly knit transition in between songs is something that had not really been used before and therefore considered groundbreaking at the time. Then again, in hindsight, everything these four lads did was groundbreaking.

For Sgt. Pepper…, the Fab Four  experimented with jazz, rock, traditional Indian music, and…mustaches. Yes, not surprisingly, the band’s appearance factored into this album big time. It essentially flipped the coin on the band – at least stylistically. They all grew long hair, they all sported different mustaches, and they donned outfits, all of which would be emblazoned on the album’s cover art. In fact, just by looking at history, the cover of Sgt Pepper… is truly iconic. How many times have you seen it parodied? Dozens. If not more.

As for the album itself, some of the best songs they’ve ever written surface. The beautiful and vivid “Lucy In the Sky with Diamonds”, which was written out of  inspiration from a drawing Lennon’s son Julian created, plays out like a dream. “Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!” is musically complicated, working with organs, guitar, and some harmonicas that create this quasi-carnival atmosphere. “A Day in the Life”,  widely thought of as The Beatles’ best song, and with verses shared by Lennon and McCartney, each separated by an 40 piece orchestra in between verses, is the perfect way to end this magnum opus. Truly epic. -Kevin Barber

Essential Tracks: “Lucy In the Sky with Diamonds”, “Within You Without You”, and “A Day in the Life”

07. Pink Floyd – Dark Side of the Moon

When it comes to sonic exploration and experimentation Pink Floyd picked up where The Beatles left off, and eclipsed them. Dark Side of the Moon expanded music beyond the ears and as corny and psychedelic as it sounds, into the mind. The cinematic, surround-sound experience of the album puts you directly into the music. Floyd’s sublime music layered with thought-provoking interview clips and sound effects create a unique and never-before-heard soundscape. All you have to do is close your eyes and your mind takes you into a dark and eerie montage of the human condition – terrifying, moody, cynical, and heart-wrenchingly beautiful. The album is an unsurpassed listen. To this day, few records are as well conceptualized and as tightly produced – especially an experimental album. Floyd and producer Alan Parsons pushed the audio technology of the time to the brink and freed music beyond passive listening and into a full immersion of sound.

What’s made Dark Side such a lasting album, beyond all this technical and aesthetic praise, is that it also contains some of the best rock singles of all time. “Money” with it’s funky bass line, biting lyrics, and distinct sound collage, is immortal. “Time” and “Brain Damage” set the bar for how complex you could make a successful pop song. Without them there would be no OK Computer, no “Karma Police”. Anyone who writes off Dark Side as merely stoner music has clearly never listened to it. The sonic landscapes it paints are so lush and moody it’s no wonder that potheads frequently frolic in them, but the concept is so much bigger. In Dark Side, Floyd documents the fragility of the human mind in the modern world – tormented by societal contrivances and the futility of running against time (“all you touch and all you see is all your life will ever be”). It’s an unbroken, continuous body of music, starting with heartbeats and ending with heartbeats. From start to end, when the last beat fades out, you know you’ve gone on a profound journey and each time you hear something new. The album’s connection with listeners is profound, but if the proof is in the numbers, observe this: Dark Side of the Moon remained in the music charts from 1973 to 1988, 741 weeks straight – longer than any other album in history. -Cap Blackard

Essential Tracks: “Time”, “The Great Gig in the Sky”, and “Money”

06. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band – Born to Run

In 1975, Bruce Springsteen had two albums under his belt noted for the feral, jazz-like musicianship of his E Street Band and his own brand of quirky, urban street poetry. But it wasn’t until Born To Run that he distilled his music into something cohesive and relatable, a love letter to every loser and working class anti-hero from Jersey and beyond. Whereas his previous lyrics had been rooted in imagery and little else, Born To Run had stories to tell, stories that painted everyday people with broad strokes and high stakes, giving the record a sense of epic narrative that had never been heard in American rock and roll.

Songs like “Thunder Road”, “Backstreets”, and the bombastic title track are really just about bored kids hanging out and wanting to escape their town, but with lyrics like “the ghosts in the eyes of all the boys you sent away, they haunt this dusty beach road and the skeleton frames of burned out Chevrolets”, you’d think Springsteen was filming his own Spaghetti Western (which, in a way, he was). Adding to the grand scope of it all was his first collaboration (but far from the last) with producer Jon Landau, who aided him in achieving the Wall Of Sound atmosphere the singer yearned for. The guitars are towering, Clarence Clemons’s saxophone slices into the shadows of every song, Danny Federici’s and Roy Bittan’s dueling organ and keys lend a celebratory, church-like quality to just about everything, and boy does the band know how to use that glockenspiel.

Columbia Records viewed Born To Run as Springsteen and company’s last chance to craft a commercially viable record, and this go for broke outlook infects everything on the album, especially “Jungleland”, the nearly 10 minute closing track that still holds the title for the most lush, grandiose thing The Boss has ever recorded. Like many songs on the album, it acts as a mini-suite, starting off with the tear-filled croon of Suki Lahav’s violin before each instrument twinkles in one by one, detailing the downfall of The Rat, a common street hood looking for a little romance. As a gang war erupts, the lyrics and instrumentation explode into a diesel fueled anthem that could fill a hundred stadiums. By the end of the song, The Rat is gunned down with the whisper of Bittan’s piano (the only instrument still playing before the band kicks back in for the finale), “the streets are on fire in a real death waltz”, and we are exhausted, having been through a whirlwind of stories that we’ve probably experienced ourselves without even realizing it. -Dan Caffrey

Essential Tracks: “Born to Run”, “Jungleland”, and ”Thunder Road”

05. The Velvet Underground & Nico – The Velvet Underground & Nico

Produced by Andy Warhol, The Velvet Underground’s 1967 self-titled debut would take more than a decade before its influence would come to fruition. At the time of its release, it was art rock at its finest; however, that’s all it was. Topics such as prostitution, drug abuse, and living in the squalor of NYC were so isolating that no one really knew about it or cared to for that matter, even with the controversial Warhol at the helm.

With Lou Reed’s heroin addiction as the centerpiece, the record is explicit and rough, unflinching and chaotic as it held a mirror to life in New York City during the late sixties. The ode to Reed’s dealer, “I’m Waiting For The Man” and the obvious “Heroin”, use irony to its fullest with catchy guitar licks, the latter building and pounding as Reed exclaims that the drug is the only thing that makes him “feel like a man.” Alcoholism makes an appearance on “Run, Run, Run” as it screeches and drives on skittish bluesy riffs. With tracks like those, Nico inducted into music a style of rock that was so ahead of its time not even its creators knew what would become of it.

As the years go by, this album continues to evolve into even more of a masterpiece. Nico has since become the bible of what we now call “indie” rock with nearly every band emerging as part of that modern scene taking their cues from this record, not to mention a certain music festival taking “All Tomorrow’s Parties” as their namesake, aptly becoming a mecca for the experimental and daring. What the Beatles are to modern pop, The Velvet Underground is to alternative rock. They are the archetypes of that style, their debut so ground breaking that during their existence it only sold a few hundred copies. Yet, here in the 21st century, they are one of the most important bands in the history of rock with this record serving as the unlikeliest of masterpieces. -E.N. May

Essential Tracks: “I’m Waiting For The Man”, “The Black Angel’s Death Song”, and “All Tomorrow’s Parties”

04. Michael Jackson – Thriller

Released in 1982, Michael Jackson’s sixth studio album was instantly one for the ages, and it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to suggest that you probably bought five copies of this on cassette. It’s the best selling album of all time and clocking in at just under 45 minutes, Thriller could have easily spent five years in your tape deck. Even though it only had nine tracks, the album spawned seven singles and you’’d be lying if you said “Wanna Be Startin’ Something” didn’’t have you rolling around the skating rink singing, “Mama-sey-mama-sa-mamaku-sa.”

Everyone remembers the title track’s epic music video, and you might have even dressed up as zombie Michael Jackson for Halloween, but what’s really great about the LP is that despite all of the catchy hooks and Quincy Jones’ sick production, the King of Pop still managed to squeeze in cameos from the not-yet-knighted Paul McCartney and none other than Eddie Van Halen. Macca duets with MJ on “The Girl Is Mine” and “Beat It” finds Van Halen’s namesake laying down a guitar riff so addicting that it’’s no surprise the album spent years on the charts selling over 100 million units worldwide. We didn’t even mention “Billie Jean”, but a certain dance came out of it. Have you tried it before? It’s called the moon-something?

No idea. It’s lost on me. -Ray Roa

Essential Tracks: “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’”, “P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)”, “Beat It”

03. The Clash – London Calling

This is probably the most important hour of punk rock history. The cover says it all: bassist Paul Simonon smashing his axe on the stage in a truly emotional candid photograph. All the fury, politics, curiosity, and grit of punk were personified on this record, even if not all of it sounded “punk.” But, that was the point. With their third album, the Clash proved two things: anything within alternative music is 100% possible, and they truly were the only band that really matters. It was after a record like this that punk suddenly didn’t become all about fashion, or how much you spit on the crowd, or how fast you could hammer out a four-chord masterpiece. When Joe Strummer, Mick Jones, Paul Simonon, and Topper Headon laid down this record in 1979, they had no idea they were about to break barriers and define their entire careers, and the genre of music they virtually helped spawn.

The album begins with the driving, classic commencement title track, drilling away with every chord, which would become the signature of Strummer’s style. There’s the almost gangster-reggae and political sensation “The Guns of Brixton”, a song sampled countless times in rap and hip-hop. Then there’s the passionate and beautiful “The Card Cheat”, which can make any punk cry, as well as the rocking and perky glory of “Spanish Bombs”. Every single song on the record is flawless, unique, and still makes heads turn. On top of that, the album wields classic songs like “Train in Vain”, “Clampdown”, and the extremely surreal “Lost in the Supermarket”. It’s just a consistently, sonically diverse, and powerful record, which arrived at the right point in time. In 1979, The Clash showed the world that anything was possible, even for dirtiest, loudest, and political musicians. -Ted Maider

Essential Tracks: “Death or Glory”, “Train in Vain”, and “Guns of Brixton”

02. The Beach Boys – Pet Sounds

Brian Wilson claims he went into 1965′s Pet Sounds trying to live up to the perfection of the Beatles’ Rubber Soul. Like most musicians with integrity, he wanted to make a great record and was driven to do so by his contemporaries. But unlike most, Wilson wasn’t screwing around. He was dead serious, even if he wasn’t all there. Well, Mr. Wilson, I think even sir Paul would agree that Pet Sounds takes the cake. Finding a mistake of any kind would be a daunting task, especially since there aren’t any.

Staked out in a Los Angeles studio, Wilson and the Boys Beach painstakingly crafted a sincere, desperately sad, love-torn piece of pop perfection. With Pet Sounds, they took the candy-coated surfer-pop that made them popular and turned it orchestral, baroque, even psychedelic, grounding the crushing, soaring sounds with earnest, down-in the dumps narratives sung by five of the smoothest, brightest voices in music history. Instead of having “Fun, Fun, Fun” they were covering seasick Caribbean folk songs and pleading, “Oh, Caroline, no.” Attempting to rival mentor Phil Spector’s sound (apparently the title is a nod at Spector’s initials), Wilson enlisted a group of musicians dubbed “The Wrecking Crew” and piled heaps of whistles, bicycle bells, strings, harpsichords, and whatever else fit in onto the record. Soaring, infectious harmonies, reverb drenched guitars, and pounding tympanis lay the groundwork for Pet Sounds’ lovesick grandiosity, a sound which would show up almost everywhere in modern pop from Grizzly Bear to Animal Collective to Beck.

Oh, Pet Sounds, you break our hearts, but mostly because few records will ever sound this good again. -Drew Litowitz

Essential Tracks: “Wouldn’t it Be Nice”, “God Only Knows”, and “Caroline, No”

01. The Beatles – Abbey Road

The hardest part about compiling a list of the 100 greatest albums ever made isn’t necessarily deciding what classic makes the list, or whether X is better than Y, Y is better than Z, etc. The hardest part about compiling this list is figuring out whether X is better than every other album ever pressed (or uploaded). Lists are sent in to our editors and analyzed. Surveys are produced to gage our writers’ reactions and a general consensus if formed.

Consequence of Sound features over 50 staff members of varying positions. Some of us have been writing from the get-go, while others are just getting their feet wet. Most of us have never met one another. A lot of us have never communicated with each other in any medium. So how is it that no matter our age, location, ethnicity, class, sexual orientation, religion, height, weight, ad nauseum, we find The Beatles’ Abbey Road as the greatest album of all time?

Opinions. This writer sent out a simple question to a number of people asking: “What makes Abbey Road great?” The quotes aren’t from Chuck Klosterman or Rob Sheffield. Our Chicago writers didn’t track down Greg Kot or Jim Derogatis for a quick blurb. The quotes peppered throughout this article are from people of varying ages and backgrounds who have never written a word for our site, but who share that common passion in their love for The Beatles’ last hurrah. People who may share that passion with you, the reader.

This was really the last time we’d see songwriting like this from John. He became an incredibly straightforward lyricist in his solo career, ditching psychedelia for more declarative and emotional pieces like “Mother” and “Imagine”.” – Walter, Orlando, Fla.

Abbey Road’s opener, John Lennon’s “Come Together”, has been covered by everyone from Michael Jackson to Aerosmith, despite its impenetrable lyrics and dirty demeanor. It’s Paul McCartney’s bouncing bass line and Ringo Starr’s rumbling drumming that call out to music acts across the world, “Now you try!” Unfortunately for those brave souls who attempt such a task, they can’t hope to match the aforementioned musicians, especially Lennon’s pointed vocals. His other contributions to Abbey Road are just as valuable to making the album what it is. The smoky haze of “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” features not only one of the greatest outros ever, but thanks to CD and MP3s, it now has one of the greatest transitions of all time (into “Here Comes the Sun”). “Because” continues to haunt listeners over 40 years later, with its ethereal harmonies from Lennon, McCartney, and that other guitarist…

It was their last album and George’s best songs were on it. “Something” and “Here Comes the Sun” were a preview of the quality of his songwriting to come.” – Charles, Cornelius, N.C.

It’s also George’s coming out party. His songwriting reached full maturation in Abbey Road with both “Something” and “Here Comes the Sun”, which Lennon considered the two best songs on the album.” – Walter

“Here Comes the Sun” is a perfect song that is the essence of who George Harrison was.” – Tom, Tampa Bay, FL

In addition to Abbey Road finding a place at the top of our list, George Harrison can be considered as the greatest number three of all time. Never showy, Harrison still managed to steal Abbey Road from his frequently dominating bandmates (when asked, Frank Sinatra answered “Something” as his favorite Lennon/McCartney composition). “Something” is one of those songs perfect from the start, a love song to end all love songs. “Here Comes the Sun” is the song to pick you up no matter your circumstance, no matter your lot in life. Both songs are such classics, it’s hard to fathom what else Harrison had tucked away in his pockets (see: All Things Must Pass).

Medley, done.” – Chris, Chicago, IL.

It’s ability to destroy everything negative in your bones with that medley. “Something” will always give me butterflies every time I hear it.” – McKenzie, Chicago, IL.

[Abbey Road] is also a final literal and stylistic testament to what the band was and represented. Of course, I could have simply answered, “Side B.”" – Paul, Chicago, IL.

“Golden Slumbers”…”The End” that closes the album is their greatest musical achievement. Period.” – Brady, Fort Wayne, IN.

Paul McCartney and producer (and good choice for “Fifth Beatle” in my book) George Martin created what is referred to as “The Medley”; eight tracks that segue directly into each other of different styles and temperaments, occupying most of Side B. Instead of discarding unfinished songs, the old cut-and-paste method was used to save the Pacific-Coast-sounds-by-way-of-Spanish-vocals of Lennon’s “Sun King”, as well as the mid-tempo “Mean Mr. Mustard” and furious “Polythene Pam”. They all lead to McCartney’s country-tinged “She Came in Through the Bathroom Window”, which lead to the finest trilogy, well, ever.

A medley within a medley? Madness. But does it ever work. “Golden Slumbers” is a gorgeous piano/orchestration with lyrics of longing and comfort. McCartney’s words and vocals alternate between cool and practically howling without ever losing hold of the listener. They take us to “Carry That Weight”, the sing-a-long anthem with the “You Never Give Me Your Money” reprise. Everything culminates with “The End”, a three-guitar attack never heard before or since. There is joy found in Starr’s pulsating drum solo and figuring out who is playing what guitar on what part on what section. The only words of the song remind us “the love you take is equal to the love you make.” Words to actually live by, another rare feat accomplished by The Fab Four from Liverpool.

The darker undertones are playfully overshadowed by the warm comfort of possibility. In short it’s catchy and inspiring.” – Tracylee, Holly Springs, N.C.

The best thing about Abbey Road is that we are still talking about it.” – Charles

I can’t sum up the importance or the greatness of this album without the assistance of our editor-in-chief, Michael Roffman, who wrote in his review of the remastered Abbey Road last year that “there isn’t a collective work by The Beatles, and probably any act out there, that is this perfect, this cohesive, and this iconic and lasting. How many times have we heard “Sun King” today in any indie act’s debut? Where would shoegaze be without “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)”? How many secret tracks do we find on a weekly basis? Like it or not, scoff or smile, Abbey Road is hands down thee greatest piece of musical work on this godforsaken planet, and you know what, it actually makes us look like decent human beings.”

Disagree? Hey. Don’t look at me. They said it. – Justin Gerber

Essential Tracks: The whole damn thing.