What a record. Bruce Dickinson's first with the band, and the first in the Unholy Trilogy. The whole album rips, but standout tracks are "Invaders", "The Prisoner", the title track, "Run to the Hills", and "Hallowed Be Thy Name".

Another formative album for me. I first heard Lauryn Hill on "Killing Me Softly" and like a lot of others of my generation, I was hooked. So many standouts on this one. "Ready Or Not", "Fu-Gee-La", "Family Business", "Killing Me Softly", the title track.

Ah, old friend. I bought a copy of this while I was in art school and it's still one of my favorite Dylan records.

Glossier than Pure Heroine, more produced. Same framework. Still leaning on vibe. My favorite moments are the ones that are as spare as Pure Heroine's stripped-down yet haunting sonics.

There's nobody like Miles. As George Wein once said, Miles wasn't ahead of his time, he was the time. This is such a wonderful step between the second great quintet era and the fusion era.

My first memory of this was listening to it in art class. Freshman year. Steven, the kid who sat in the back, waved me over. "You gotta listen to this. She talks about giving a blowjob in a theater!" The meaning of "You Oughta Know" has morphed for me over the years-- I didn't really get it when I was 15, but I get it now. My feelings about this whole record have changed as well. It is not just the record with "You Oughta Know" on it. It is a record that shouldn't have been successful in the fickle, misogynist music industry of it's day. It's a truly genuine record, the good and the bad, and it's a record that the industry tried to copy but just could not.

Not my introduction to The Black Keys, but this record is most definitely the one that got me into The Black Keys. Not as lo-fi as the earlier stuff, but I prefer that. We can hear all of the things that make this band so good, yet it still has that Rust Belt grunge on it. Stand out songs: "Next Girl", "Tighten Up", "Howlin' For You", "Never Gonna Give You Up".

What a debut. The first three Steely Dan records are pure magic. Listening to this music is always a real treat, like a pleasant day on the porch in the sun.

This is not a record I would usually listen to but it was a pleasant surprise. I do remember the lead single, Babylon. The album features a cool mix of genres that is very much of it's time, but not dated. Reading up on it a bit, I was impressed that David Gray recorded it all at his flat. It sounds fantastic.

I've never been to Carnival in Brasil, but this sounds like Carnival in Brasil to me. Fantastic Afro-Brasilian sounds. It sounds so alive.

The year, 1997. Grunge was dead. Pop, nu-metal and corporate rap were all over the airwaves. There was pop punk, sure, but it wouldn't really take off for another couple of years. Like many USAians, I was introduced to Blur via "Song #2". I didn't know that I needed Blur in my life, but did and they came through for me. After seeing the "Beetlebum" video on MTV Europe, I was sold. I dove deep into their back catalog and this record in particular really grabbed me. The first five tracks are just perfect, and the rest of the album is deep and timeless.

What a record. Bruce Dickinson's first with the band, and the first in the Unholy Trilogy. The whole album rips, but standout tracks are "Invaders", "The Prisoner", the title track, "Run to the Hills", and "Hallowed Be Thy Name".

What a debut. The first five tracks are all bops and bangers, especially "Mr. Brightside", "Somebody Told Me", "All These Things I've Done", and "Smile Like You Mean It". This record was definitely a part of the soundtrack of my life 20 years ago. It is always a treat to revisit this modern classic.

I don't really know what to say about this record other than it's just pure magic. Billy Bragg's songs are especially great. "California Stars" introduced me to this album, songs like "Walt Whitman's Niece" made me fall head over heels with it.

I get the concept but it is just not for me. Chris Squire's bass tone is sick, though.

What can I say, it’s Dr. Dre.

One of my favorite Wailers records. There are so many standouts-- "Concrete Jungle", "400 Years", "Stop That Train", "Stir It Up", "Kinky Reggae". The original Zippo lighter album cover is sick as well.

McCartney is my second favorite Beatle, just behind George, but "Maybe I'm Amazed" is one of my favorite songs of all time. It is interesting to hear it in the full context of this record. It is a fascinating exploration, a mix of light sketches and poignant ballads.

Big Star is the most power pop of all the power pop bands. The OGs. This record features my favorite Big Star song, "In the Streets". Other standouts are "Feel", "Thirteen", and "When My Baby's Beside Me"

Classic 90s West Coast rap. It really defined the genre going forward, and Tupac's lyricism is at it's best. "Dear Mama" will always be my favorite 2pac song, and there really isn't any filler on this record. Rest in Power.

Another formative album for me. I first heard Lauryn Hill on "Killing Me Softly" and like a lot of others of my generation, I was hooked. So many standouts on this one. "Ready Or Not", "Fu-Gee-La", "Family Business", "Killing Me Softly", the title track.

This album, Violator, and Songs of Faith and Devotion are the holy trinity for me when it comes to Depeche Mode. There is such a wonderful metamorphosis that happens across those records, from synthpop masters to full on rock stars. Standouts on this album are "Never Let Me Down Again", "Strangelove", "Little 15", and "To Have and To Hold".

One really cool thing about this record for me is hearing the Krautrock ancestry. That DNA combined with the heavy injection of dance rhythms really makes Kraftwerk such a unique act.

Not my cup of tea, but I can hear the influence of this on so many industrial bands who came after.

One of the best albums of the 90s, hands-down. While Blur won my heart, Oasis deserves all of the respect they get, especially on this record. It's big, anthemic, full of great sing-alongs. Anyway, here's Wonderwall.

Classic Sinatra. I am not a fan of him as a person, but he sure had pipes.

Any Stevie Wonder album from the 70s is a good Stevie Wonder album. Standouts for me are "Boogie On Reggae Woman" and "You Haven't Done Nothin'".

I was not familiar with this record. I like the introspective yet laid-back vibes. It makes for a great background album, something that you are not obligated to really dig into, but the option is there.

Ritchie Blackmore ran so that Eddy Van Halen could run a bit faster. Mark II Deep Purple will always be my favorite.

Ziggy Stardust era Bowie is my favorite David Bowie. Aladdin Sane is the record I am least familiar with from this era-- I have listened to a hell of a lot of Rise and Fall as well as Diamond Dogs. The more that I listen to this one, the more I like it, though. Standouts are "Drive-In Saturday", "Panic in Detroit", "Let's Spend the Night Together", and "The Jean Genie".

I've never been a big The Doors listener but they've got some great songs. "Break On Through" and "Light My Fire" are my favorites from this album.

Björk knows how to do emotions. This is one of the saddest records I have ever heard-- in a good way.

Simple Minds were all over the radio when I was a kid so I am sure I had heard at least one of the songs on this album in my youth, but I am unfamiliar with their music outside of the ever-present "Don't You (Forget About Me)". This is a great record, I can see it was their breakthrough.

This is about as Roxy Music as it can get.

RIP Shane McGowan. This is the Pogues at their best. There's not much else to say.

One of the best records that has ever, and will ever, be made. This is where everything came together for Robert Smith and the lads. It has the perfect opener, "Plainsong", a song that immediately piques our interest-- what are these quiet little chimes all about? Then we're hit with the wall of sound, and our journey begins. There are so many amazing songs on this album. "Pictures of You" is one of the loveliest, most sentimental love songs ever, "Lovesong" followed by the raw honesty and yearning of "Lovesong". "Lullaby" is delightfully creepy, inviting the spider man in to have us for dinner tonight. "Fascination Street" is a punky rager in a raucous back-alley venue, reminding us that The Cure will always be a post-punk band. "Prayers for Rain" and "Same Deep Water as You" flow into each other like an English rainstorm. "Untitled" is an optimistic tune paired with devastating lyrics, a perfect closer to a perfect record.

I miss 80s Morrissey. This isn’t my favorite Smiths record but it’s still a fantastic album.

Jimi Hendrix was the primary force that made me want to learn how to play guitar.

Several of the songs on this record got a lot of airplay on KSUT, my local public radio station growing up. I especially recall the title track, a bold move for a seasoned bluesman. If I remember correctly, this album helped revitalize John Lee Hooker's career. All of the features on this record are fantastic. "I'm In The Mood" featuring Bonnie Rait and "Think Twice Before You Go" featuring Los Lobos are standouts for me.

So many classic songs, from the title track to Cecilia.

I wasn't a big fan of The White Stripes until this record came out. I remember it being polarizing at the time. Many fans said it was too polished, not lo-fi enough. I think it's fantastic, from the furious thump of "Seven Nation Army" to the sensuality of "In The Cold, Cold Night".

What a beautiful record. It always takes me back to a specific time and place. This is the record that opened the floodgates and inspired many other acts from Phantogram to London Grammar.

Roxy Music really knows how to party. Their albums are always ambitious and delightfully audacious. "The Thrill of it All" and "All That I Want is You" are the standouts for me.

Skunk Anansie is such an underrated band. Skin's voice is so powerful and versatile and the band is so locked in together. They are one of the several bands that I discovered shortly before or after breakup, and I can't help but wonder if they would have become more popular in the US if they had stuck it out a little longer. Thankfully they're back together, and Post Orgasmic Chill has rightfully taken the title off modern classic.

Lou Reed and David Bowie are a magical combination. This is the album of all albums for Lou Reed.

All of the guys in this band are assholes but there would be no heavy metal without Cream, and this record specifically. What a lovely sludgefest. "Strange Brew" and "Sunshine of Your Love" are especially tasty.

George Harrison wrote my favorite Beatles songs, but Sir Paul is my favorite Beatle because after the band broke up, he just kept carrying on.

Great workday music. There is not an Orbital release that I don't like. They are indeed the soundtrack of a generation.

One of my favorite Police records. You can really hear the growth of the band on this one.

One of those records that changed my life. There are so many fantastic songs on this record. "Bombtrack" is an explosive opener that sets the tone for the album. Hearing "Killing in the Name" uncensored for the first time opened my eyes. "Take The Power Back" is a rousing call to action. "Know Your Enemy" urges us to challenge the system. On "Wake Up", Zach de la Rocha gives us revolutionary-tinted glasses to and then gives us a history lesson through a different lens. This record is all killer, no filler, and it is just as relevant today as it was in 1991.

Ice T made gangsta rap classy.

I think the record overall is fine. It's no Graceland, but it is a stronger album than One Trick Pony. Standouts for me are the title track, "René and Georgette Magritte with Their Dog after the War", and "The Late Great Johnny Ace".

This album was life-changing. I was aware of Pink Floyd and heard their songs on the radio, but it was the radio-- there was little context for the grandiose nature of The Wall. So when I dug into it and took in the narrative, I was transported into the story. There are so many standouts. "In the Flesh?", "Another Brick in the Wall pt. 2", "Mother", "Young Lust", "Hey You", the soaring "Comfortably Numb" which has not one but two of the best guitar solos ever put to tape, and "Run Like Hell" would make a great album all on their own. In the greater scheme of things, they are the narrative hooks, the rising action, the climax.

I'm not much of an Elvis fan, but I do love his early work, especially the songs he recorded for Sun Records. This is an iconic record. It's not just the music, the album cover inspired my favorite Clash record, London Calling. "Blue Suede Shoes", "I Got A Woman", "I Love You Because", "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Cry (Over You)", and "Blue Moon" are my standouts.

Based on the album art, I was admittedly expecting a punk album, but that was not the case. This record is a good example of the early days of UK techno, but it's not my cup of tea. None of the tracks really stood out to me. It's good music to have on in the background while I work, though!

This is one of the most formative albums of my life. I remember when my dad brought this home. The sounds that Paul Simon captured with the amazing and talented South African musicians on this record really blew my mind. It's a record that transported me to another world. Standouts for me are "The Boy In The Bubble", "Graceland", "I Know What I Know" and "Diamonds On the Soles of Her Shoes", both about Carrie Fisher, "You Can Call Me Al", "Homeless", "Crazy Love, Vol II", and "All Around the World Or the Myth of Fingerprints".

My dad would love this record. I don't know what I was expecting, but this album is a pleasant surprise.

I don't quite remember how I discovered Britpop in high school, but I discovered Britpop in high school and it as though it was sent from on high. I probably heard Oasis first, then Blur, then Pulp. They all had their different vibes. Oasis was a bunch of coked-up soccer hooligans, Blur was snorting Ritalin and getting stoned, and Pulp was just stoned. Different Class is the record that put them on the map, and it is still a perennial favorite of mine. I am so glad they're back.

1999 will always be my favorite Prince album. It is a party from front to back, a celebration of life and living in the face of nuclear apocalypse. If the world is ending, baby, why not live every day like it's our last? I remember the music video for "Little Red Corvette" from my childhood. The iconic suit, the dramatic lighting, the energetic performance... nobody even cared that there wasn't an actual red Corvette in the video.

This record was the soundtrack of the twenty-teens. I remember hearing "The Mother We Share" for the first time. I was driving in my car and I immediately cranked it. I first heard Phantogram around the same time, as well. I feel like 2010-2019 was a ripe period for great pop music, especially more underground and synthy varieties.

I actually knew "Peaches" from this record! A very cool pub rock album with a lot of punk rock tendencies.

I didn't grow up with Curtis but I know Superfly and a few of his other big songs. It was a real treat to get acquainted with this record. It's definitely up there with What's Going On by Marvin Gaye as a seminal work of 70s Soul music.

Marvin Gaye is probably my favorite Motown artist. What a lovely album about getting it on. Whereas What's Going On dealt with sociopolitical struggles and civil rights, Let's Get It On is a celebration of sex and love during such turbulent times.

Fun. T. Rex was always about fun and this record is no different. Standouts are "Metal Guru" and "Telegram Sam", which would later be recorded by Bauhaus.

The soundtrack to my high school and college years. This record is a banger from front to back. Thank goodness Al Jourgensen got pissed!

British Grime is such a treat.

One of my favorites. "War Pigs", "Paranoid", and "Iron Man" are absolute bangers, and "Electric Funeral" inspired another renowned doom metal band's name. This record still holds up 55 years later.

This record may not have the same renown as Ironman or Supreme Clientele, but it is just as good. In a time when Wu-Tang was inactive, the solo offerings from the Clan satiated our appetite. This record holds up today, even. "Shakey Dog", "The Champ", "Crack Spot", "Back Like That", and "Underwater" are standouts.

I’m mostly familiar with the Temptations’ older work, but I have a long history with “Papa Was a Rolling Stone”. I love the flow of this album, from the joyous “Funky Music Sho Nuff Turns Me On” to the delicate “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” to the Temptations’ parting advice on this album, “Do Your Thing”.

Fun fact: the Humpty Dance was invented by Tupac Shakur. Straight from Queen Latifah's mouth.

This is definitely one of the records you play someone who hasn't yet been introduced to Soul music. Backed by the legendary Stax house band, this album really showcases Otis' energy, even on songs like "Change Gonna Come". His version of "Respect" is much different than the one Aretha Franklin would go on to record, and his cover of "Satisfaction" by the Rolling Stones transform the song in an incendiary way.

Transgressive art is an interesting thing. Sometimes it ages well, often times it does not. This, as an album, hasn't aged well. Even Eminem thinks so. He apologizes for his older material on Kamikaze-- a record that, when it came out in 2018, sounded like good ol' Eminem again. Eminem used to really like slurs. Especially homophobic ones and this album is chock full of them. It honestly makes it borderline difficult to listen to in 2025. But, the record does have a couple of great songs that still hold up, especially "Stan" and "The Real Slim Shady".

I grew up with the Rascals-- they were one of my mom's favorite groups. There was more than one mix tape featuring a Rascals song. "Good Lovin'", "In The Midnight Hour", and "Groovin'" are all songs I recall from my childhood. Revisiting this stuff was such a treat. Their sound is refreshing and holds up still today.

This record is the Pogues coming into their own. It is clear that they have a reverence for the material and a drive to have fun playing it. RIP Shane McGowan.

Nothing compares to Van Halen's original run with David Lee Roth. DLR was so unhinged and Eddie's virtuosity was so focused. There are so many bangers on this record: "Jump", "Hot For Teacher", and "Panama" have rightly become rock radio staples. Rest in peace, Eddie. We miss you.

This record came out just months after I first discovered Prodigy. It was a departure from their previous records and, as a kid who was getting into punk and industrial, a revelation. This record defined big beat. A cyberpunk magnum opus, one of the great masterpieces of late-90s EDM. From the opening jolt of "Smack My Bitch Up", complete with a video that was banned by MTV, to "Breathe", to "Funky Shit" (a song I always associate with the sci-fi horror masterpiece Event Horizon), to "Firestarter", to the frantic finale, "Fuel My Fire", this album was made to be played life. There are still some classic Prodigy moments, though. "Mindfields", "Narayan", and "Climbatize" offer moments of relief from the relentless beats and Maxim & Keith Flint's sneers.

This record is a road trip. It goes this way, it goes that way, it meanders, it takes a few direct routes, it meanders more, always with the attitude that it's not the destination that matters, it's the journey. Every song is under 3 minutes and that's part of the beauty of this-- if you don't like something, another thing will come along in a minute or two.

This was an apropos album following the death of Brian Wilson. The Beach Boys were one of the sounds of my childhood, and not long after I finished art school I rediscovered Pet Sounds. You can hear Brian getting there with this record. The songwriting is magical and the arrangements are huge. There is an obvious Phil Spector Wall of Sound influence on this record. It is an album that truly put The Beach Boys in the category of artists, not just a rock & roll and surf band. Highlights for me are "Do You Wanna Dance", "When I Grow Up To Be a Man", "Help Me, Rhonda", and "Dance, Dance, Dance".

There has been a lot of discourse over the years about the Sex Pistols and their place in punk. Some argue that the Pistols were a boy band assembled by Malcom McLaren rather than a true punk band. There's also a lot of talk about Sid Vicious as well as Johnny Rotten. Discourse will exist until the end of time, but so will this record. This is the album that started it all, by the band that started it all in the UK. Standouts are "Bodies", "God Save the Queen", "Anarchy in the U.K.", "Submission", and "Pretty Vacant".