Most Acclaimed Albums of All Time
The 100 albums that critics, collectors and time itself have agreed on. No crowd scores, no algorithms — a curated shortlist built on influence, craft and longevity.
Ranked by our editorial tier score, which weights consistent cross-genre and cross-decade critical recognition. See the About page for full methodology.
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1RevolverThe Beatles
Revolver
The pivot from pop group to studio explorers: tape loops, backwards guitar and Indian drones sit beside some of their sharpest songwriting. It is short, varied and astonishingly forward-looking for 1966, closing with the proto-psychedelic 'Tomorrow Never Knows'. Many fans rate it the single best Beatles record, and it is the natural place to start.
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2The Dark Side of the MoonPink Floyd
The Dark Side of the Moon
A seamless suite on time, money, madness and mortality, built from sighing synths, saxophone, heartbeat pulses and tape collage. It spent years on the charts for good reason: the production still sounds vast and the sequencing flows as one continuous piece. The benchmark for hi-fi demonstration and a cornerstone of any collection.
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3Abbey RoadThe Beatles
Abbey Road
The Beatles' last recorded album and arguably their most polished, balancing Lennon's bite, McCartney's melody and a side-two medley that ties loose song fragments into one sweeping finale. Harrison contributes two of his finest in 'Something' and 'Here Comes the Sun'. A warm, confident farewell from a band at the peak of its studio craft.
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4Led Zeppelin IVLed Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin IV
Untitled and adorned only with runic symbols, this is the band's most complete statement, from the folk delicacy of 'The Battle of Evermore' to the slow build of 'Stairway to Heaven'. Bonham's drum sound on 'When the Levee Breaks' alone has been sampled for decades. Heavy, mystical and endlessly influential.
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5What's Going OnMarvin Gaye
What's Going On
A seamless song-suite on war, poverty and the environment, Gaye's defiant break from Motown's hit factory. Lush, jazzy and politically urgent, it reframed what soul could address. Often called the greatest soul album ever.
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6OK ComputerRadiohead
OK Computer
A prescient album about alienation in a wired, accelerating world, expanding rock with electronics, odd time signatures and dread. 'Paranoid Android' and 'No Surprises' anchor a record that still sounds like the future arriving. Frequently named among the greatest ever made.
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7Pet SoundsThe Beach Boys
Pet Sounds
Brian Wilson's orchestral pop masterpiece, a fragile, intricate song-cycle of longing that reshaped what a pop album could be. Endlessly influential, not least on the Beatles. One of the greatest records ever made.
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8Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club BandThe Beatles
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
The album that reframed the LP as a complete artistic statement rather than a singles vehicle, dressed in orchestral flourishes, music-hall whimsy and studio trickery. Its influence on production and album-as-concept thinking is hard to overstate. Best heard start to finish, the way it was designed.
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9Blonde on BlondeBob Dylan
Blonde on Blonde
Often called the first great double album, a sprawling, mercurial set of wild imagery and 'thin, wild mercury' sound. Dense and brilliant. A peak of his electric trilogy.
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10Songs in the Key of LifeStevie Wonder
Songs in the Key of Life
A double album of staggering range and generosity, the centrepiece of Wonder's golden run. Funk, jazz, ballads and social commentary all sit comfortably together. Exhaustive, joyous and essential.
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11The Velvet Underground & NicoThe Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground & Nico
Commercially ignored on release and quietly one of the most influential records ever made, pairing pop melody with feedback, drone and unflinching lyrics. Nico's icy vocals and Reed's street poetry still feel startling. Countless bands started after hearing it.
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12Kind of BlueMiles Davis
Kind of Blue
The best-selling jazz album of all time and the gateway record for countless listeners, built on modal improvisation and an unmatched band. Cool, spacious and endlessly calming, it never wears out. If you own one jazz record, start here.
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13BlueJoni Mitchell
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14Exile on Main St.The Rolling Stones
Exile on Main St.
A loose, murky double album cut largely in a French villa basement, where blues, country, gospel and rock'n'roll bleed into one another. It sounded ramshackle on release and is now widely held to be their masterpiece. Let it wash over you a few times before its depth reveals itself.
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15A Love SupremeJohn Coltrane
A Love Supreme
A four-part spiritual suite of overwhelming intensity and devotion, recorded by Coltrane's classic quartet. It moves from searching to ecstatic to serene. A towering statement that rewards close, uninterrupted listening.
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16NevermindNirvana
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17RumoursFleetwood Mac
Rumours
Recorded as the band members' relationships disintegrated, the tension fuels every track, turning heartbreak into impossibly hooky soft-rock. The harmonies, the songwriting balance across three writers and the crystalline production made it one of the best-selling albums ever. Comfort listening with real emotional undertow.
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18ThrillerMichael Jackson
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19The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from MarsDavid Bowie
The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
Bowie's glam-rock concept album about a doomed alien rock star turned him into a superstar and changed what a pop performer could be. The songs are tight and theatrical, the playing sharp, the whole thing over in 38 thrilling minutes. The essential entry point to his catalogue.
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20Born to RunBruce Springsteen
Born to Run
The make-or-break record where Springsteen poured everything into a widescreen, Spector-sized vision of escape and longing. Every track strains for transcendence and mostly reaches it, from the title song to the closing 'Jungleland'. Romantic, exhausting and thrilling.
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21IllmaticNas
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22To Pimp a ButterflyKendrick Lamar
To Pimp a Butterfly
An ambitious fusion of hip-hop, jazz, funk and spoken word, wrestling with race, fame and self-worth. Challenging on first listen and richer with every return. Widely considered a landmark of the 2010s.
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23The Low End TheoryA Tribe Called Quest
The Low End Theory
Jazz-rap perfected, marrying upright bass and crisp drums to relaxed, conscious rhymes. Hugely influential on alternative hip-hop. One of the genre's most beloved albums.
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24LovelessMy Bloody Valentine
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25London CallingThe Clash
London Calling
A sprawling double album that blew punk wide open, folding in reggae, ska, rockabilly and soul without losing its urgency. Politically charged and endlessly tuneful, it is regularly named among the greatest rock records ever. The ideal entry point to the band.
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26Blood on the TracksBob Dylan
Blood on the Tracks
Often called the great break-up album, its songs of love gone wrong are among the most affecting Dylan ever wrote. The arrangements are spare and the storytelling extraordinary, especially 'Tangled Up in Blue'. Mature, wounded and beautiful.
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27Purple RainPrince
Purple Rain
Equal parts soundtrack and statement, blending rock, funk, pop and gospel into Prince's commercial breakthrough. The title track and 'When Doves Cry' are era-defining. A dazzling display of a singular talent.
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28Blue LinesMassive Attack
Blue Lines
Often credited with inventing trip-hop, a slow, soulful blend of hip-hop, dub and soul that set a template for the decade. Smooth and innovative. A genuine pioneer.
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29StankoniaOutKast
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30Station to StationDavid Bowie
Station to Station
A transitional masterpiece between funk and the Berlin era, anchored by the ten-minute title track and the Thin White Duke persona. Cold, propulsive and brilliant. A pivotal record.
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31Unknown PleasuresJoy Division
Unknown Pleasures
Stark, cavernous post-punk shaped by Martin Hannett's spacious production and Ian Curtis's haunted baritone. It still sounds isolated and modern decades on. A foundational record for goth, post-punk and everything that followed.
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32Remain in LightTalking Heads
Remain in Light
Afrobeat polyrhythms meet art-rock and Eno's production on a dense, ecstatic landmark led by 'Once in a Lifetime'. Layered and danceable, it expanded what a rock band could be. A high point of the era.
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33It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us BackPublic Enemy
It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back
A dense, furious wall of sound from the Bomb Squad behind Chuck D's righteous fury and Flavor Flav's chaos. Politically explosive and sonically revolutionary. One of rap's most important records.
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34Let It BleedThe Rolling Stones
Let It Bleed
A dark, swampy classic bookended by 'Gimme Shelter' and 'You Can't Always Get What You Want', capturing the Stones at their most ominous and assured. Country, blues and gospel all feed in. A peak-era essential.
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35DiscoveryDaft Punk
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36Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)Wu-Tang Clan
Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)
A gritty, kung-fu-soaked debut that introduced nine distinct voices over RZA's raw, dusty production. It rewrote the rules for group dynamics in hip-hop and launched a dynasty of solo careers. Essential East Coast canon.
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37Kid ARadiohead
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38Rid of MePJ Harvey
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39The Miseducation of Lauryn HillLauryn Hill
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
A genre-blurring masterpiece of hip-hop, soul and reggae, deeply personal and beautifully sung and rapped. It swept the Grammys and still feels singular. One of the great solo debuts.
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40Highway 61 RevisitedBob Dylan
Highway 61 Revisited
Dylan plugs in fully and the results are electric in every sense, opening with 'Like a Rolling Stone' and never letting up. The wordplay is savage and funny, the band loose and wild. A foundational rock record that still sounds dangerous.
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41The BlueprintJay-Z
The Blueprint
Released to instant acclaim, it paired Jay-Z's confident writing with soul-sampling production from a young Kanye West and Just Blaze. Cohesive, quotable and influential. A peak of early-2000s rap.
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42DoolittlePixies
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43The Queen Is DeadThe Smiths
The Queen Is Dead
Morrissey's wit and Marr's chiming guitars at their combined peak, swinging from biting satire to aching tenderness. Widely held to be their masterpiece and a cornerstone of British indie. Funny, sad and gorgeous.
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44HarvestNeil Young
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45TapestryCarole King
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46SuperunknownSoundgarden
Superunknown
A heavy, psychedelic grunge peak of dark melody, home to 'Black Hole Sun'. Ambitious and huge. Their masterpiece.
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47BaduizmErykah Badu
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48AqueminiOutKast
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49The College DropoutKanye West
The College Dropout
The debut that broke the gangsta-rap mould with soul samples, humour and middle-class anxiety. Warm and witty, it announced a major new voice in production and persona. Still his most likeable record.
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50Rubber SoulThe Beatles
Rubber Soul
The hinge between the early pop group and the studio innovators, folding in folk-rock, soul and a new lyrical maturity. Cohesive and warm, it set the template for the album as a unified work. A turning point that still charms.
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51Live at the ApolloJames Brown
Live at the Apollo
An electrifying live document that captured Brown's raw command. Thrilling and historic. One of the great live albums.
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52Bitches BrewMiles Davis
Bitches Brew
The album that birthed jazz-fusion, a dense, electric, studio-assembled brew of rock rhythm and free improvisation. Divisive on release and now revered. Demanding, hypnotic and unlike anything before it.
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53BlondeFrank Ocean
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54Are You ExperiencedThe Jimi Hendrix Experience
Are You Experienced
A debut that rewrote the rules of electric guitar, full of fuzz, feedback and psychedelic invention. Revolutionary and thrilling. Where modern rock guitar begins.
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55Sound of SilverLCD Soundsystem
Sound of Silver
Dance-punk with genuine heart, balancing irony and real feeling on 'All My Friends' and 'Someone Great'. Smart, propulsive and emotional. A defining record of its decade.
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56Agaetis byrjunSigur Rós
Agaetis byrjun
An ethereal, glacial breakthrough of bowed guitar and falsetto, otherworldly and beautiful. Immersive and singular. The album that made them famous.
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57Selected Ambient Works 85-92Aphex Twin
Selected Ambient Works 85-92
A foundational ambient-techno record, melodic and warm beneath its machine textures. Hugely influential and still beautiful. The gateway to Aphex Twin's world.
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58Wish You Were HerePink Floyd
Wish You Were Here
A grieving, beautiful record shaped by absent friend Syd Barrett and disillusion with the music business, anchored by the sprawling 'Shine On You Crazy Diamond'. Warmer and more human than Dark Side, it rewards patience and a good pair of speakers. One of the great headphone albums.
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59Rain DogsTom Waits
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60The Man-MachineKraftwerk
The Man-Machine
Pristine, melodic electro-pop of robots and cities, home to 'The Model'. Clean and iconic. A peak of their catalogue.
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61After the Gold RushNeil Young
After the Gold Rush
A fragile, beautiful set balancing piano ballads and ragged electric rock, more haunted than Harvest. A quiet favourite among devotees. Timeless.
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62DummyPortishead
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63PostBjörk
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64Sign o' the TimesPrince
Sign o' the Times
A sprawling double album that shows the full range of Prince's genius, from stark social commentary to ecstatic funk and tender soul. Often cited as his masterpiece. Dense, generous and rewarding.
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65Hounds of LoveKate Bush
Hounds of Love
A two-sided masterpiece, pop singles up front and the experimental 'Ninth Wave' suite behind. Inventive and emotional throughout. Her crowning achievement.
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66The SmithsThe Smiths
The Smiths
A jangly, literate debut that announced a singular partnership. Sharp and beloved. A British landmark.
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67ViolatorDepeche Mode
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68Catch a FireBob Marley and the Wailers
Catch a Fire
The album that took reggae worldwide, polishing the Wailers' roots sound for an international audience without losing its message. 'Stir It Up' and 'Concrete Jungle' lead the way. A landmark of crossover without compromise.
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69Is This ItThe Strokes
Is This It
The lean, effortless debut that sparked the 2000s garage-rock revival, all taut riffs and detached cool. Short and near-perfect, it influenced a generation of guitar bands. Still sounds fresh.
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70Entertainment!Gang of Four
Entertainment!
A jagged, danceable post-punk landmark of funk bass and Marxist critique. Angular and influential. A genre cornerstone.
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71Ege BamyasiCan
Ege Bamyasi
A funky, hypnotic krautrock peak, home to 'Vitamin C'. Inventive and beloved. A high point.
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72SuicideSuicide
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73Marquee MoonTelevision
Marquee Moon
Twin-guitar interplay and lean songwriting that pushed punk toward art-rock, peaking in the ten-minute title track. Precise and thrilling. A foundational record.
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74TransformerLou Reed
Transformer
Reed's glam-era breakthrough, produced by Bowie, home to 'Walk on the Wild Side' and 'Perfect Day'. Witty, seedy and tuneful. His most accessible record.
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75“Heroes”David Bowie
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76Heaven or Las VegasCocteau Twins
Heaven or Las Vegas
A luminous dream-pop peak of ethereal vocals and chiming guitar. Beautiful and beloved. Their masterpiece.
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77Astral WeeksVan Morrison
Astral Weeks
A mystical, free-flowing fusion of folk, jazz and soul, unlike anything before or since. Improvisational and transcendent. Frequently named among the greatest albums ever.
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78SpiderlandSlint
Spiderland
A quiet, eerie, hugely influential record that effectively invented post-rock. Tense and singular. A cult landmark.
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79Daydream NationSonic Youth
Daydream Nation
A double album of tuned-down guitar epics, balancing noise and melody at the band's peak. Sprawling and influential. An alt-rock cornerstone.
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80Murder BalladsNick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Murder Ballads
A darkly funny collection of violent narratives, home to a famous Kylie duet. Bold and beloved. A cult favourite.
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81BoxerThe National
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82For Emma, Forever AgoBon Iver
For Emma, Forever Ago
Recorded alone in a remote winter cabin, its falsetto and layered harmonies feel both raw and otherworldly. The origin myth fits the music. A quietly influential debut.
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83Fleet FoxesFleet Foxes
Fleet Foxes
A lush, harmony-drenched debut of pastoral baroque folk. Timeless and beautiful. A defining record of its indie moment.
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84IllinoisSufjan Stevens
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85DAMN.Kendrick Lamar
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86My Beautiful Dark Twisted FantasyKanye West
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
A maximalist, operatic statement that reassembled Kanye's career after public disgrace, stacking lush production, A-list guests and raw confession. Ambitious to the point of excess and almost flawless. Frequently named the best album of its decade.
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87Reasonable DoubtJay-Z
Reasonable Doubt
A coolly confident debut of mafioso storytelling and effortless flow. Polished and assured. Many fans' favourite.
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88All Eyez on Me2Pac
All Eyez on Me
A sprawling double album of West Coast swagger and contradiction, recorded in a burst of energy. Hit-laden and definitive. Peak Pac.
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89On the BeachNeil Young
On the Beach
A bleak, beautiful record of disillusion and fragile beauty. Raw and beloved. A devotee favourite.
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90Songs of Leonard CohenLeonard Cohen
Songs of Leonard Cohen
A debut of literary, world-weary folk that introduced 'Suzanne' and 'So Long, Marianne'. Spare and poetic. The foundation of a long, great career.
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91Sounds of SilenceSimon & Garfunkel
Sounds of Silence
An early peak built around its hushed, electrified title hit. Tuneful and beloved. A breakthrough.
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92Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and ThymeSimon & Garfunkel
Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme
A peak of intricate, literate folk-pop. Beautiful and beloved. A high point.
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93The Joshua TreeU2
The Joshua Tree
The album that made U2 the biggest band in the world, widescreen and spiritual, anchored by its towering opening trio. Anthemic and assured. Their masterpiece.
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94Tea for the TillermanCat Stevens
Tea for the Tillerman
Warm, melodic folk-pop of searching and faith, home to 'Father and Son' and 'Wild World'. Gentle and enduring. His defining record.
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95Solid AirJohn Martyn
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96TenPearl Jam
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97ExodusBob Marley and the Wailers
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98JoleneDolly Parton
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99At Newport 1960Muddy Waters
At Newport 1960
A landmark live document of electric Chicago blues at its hottest. Thrilling and historic. A genre cornerstone.
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100Howlin' WolfHowlin' Wolf
Howlin' Wolf
The 'rocking chair' album of foundational Chicago blues classics, Wolf's voice an elemental force. Raw and essential. A blues cornerstone.