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.

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.

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".

The 90s could have been the greatest decade in music ever, and Britpop is indisputably one of the greatest genres in music ever. The Divine Comedy reminds me of Pulp, but more baroque. Neil Hannon has the same range and a very similar wit to Jarvis Cocker, so it was easy for me to enjoy this record.

This album caused a real fuss in the months before it came out. "GhettoMusick" sounded Outkast enough, but the divide between the next single, "Hey Ya", and "The Way You Move" on the very same day, was vast. But all of the fears ended when the record came out. It ranks third on my ranking of Outkast's albums, for whatever that's worth, just behind Aquemini and the G.O.A.T.ed Stankonia.

This record is like a Cormac McCarthy novel. The spareness and desolate beauty of this album will live on forever, like Mozart's Requiem. I grew up with Springsteen but my parents didn't have this record. I knew the raucousness of Born to Run and the bombast of Born In The USA, but it wasn't until high school that I discovered this record after hearing the devastating The Ghost Of Tom Joad. While I have a deeper connection to The Ghost of Tom Joad-- I grew up in the Southwest, where that album is set, I have grown to love Nebraska's American Gothic storytelling.

Fun fun fun on the Autobahn!

This is the first Radiohead record I ever bought, from Southwest Sound in Durango, Colorado during my Sophomore year of high school. It was just weeks before I would see the Paranoid Android music video on MTV Europe for the first time. An auspicious prophecy. I spent a lot of time with this record, in fact I still have the cd. It's not as trailblazing as OK Computer, but you can hear the band moving in that direction.

Rock bands in the 70s sure loved Tolkienesque high fantasy, didn't they? Queen's first two records have an element of fantasy whimsy that evolved along their amazing career. Case in point: “My Fairy Queen” from their eponymous debut is much, much different than the Highlander soundtrack, a movie where immortal warriors armed with swords butcher each other for supremacy. This record shows that evolution, regaling us with tales of an “Ogre Battle” followed by “The Fairy Feller’s Master-Stroke” and “The March of the Black Queen”. Much more Conan the Barbarian than A Midsummer’s Night Dream. This is a lovely record by the band that would soon give the world Sheer Heart Attack and A Night At The Opera.

This is Beck's most emo album, from an era when emo was finally cool. Thank you for giving us one of the saddest records ever recorded, Beck Hansen.

What a wonderful record. You can really hear how much Willie loves these songs that he grew up with. The arrangements are full without being too dense and the album flows beautifully from song to song. Standouts for me are "Georgia On My Mind", "Blue Skies", "On the Sunny Side of the Street", and "Someone to Watch Over Me".

Pantera is quite a controversial band, especially now in 2025. However you feel about them, this record permanently changed metal. They made it more aggressive, but more groovy at the same time. It has that Southern stank to it. "Mouth for War", "A New Level", "Walk", "Fucking Hostile", and "This Love" are all standout tracks.

This album is a sampler's goldmine. It will go down in history not only as a seminal jazz funk fusion record, but as one of the records that Growing up, I was exposed to a lot of jazz in it's various permutations via my dad's side of the family. When hip-hop stormed the charts in the late 80s, I found myself recognizing bits of songs that had been sampled. One of those was "Watermelon Man", sampled by a whole bunch of producers. We're talking over a hundred songs by the likes of LL Cool J, Madonna, Schooly D, Digable Planets, George Michael, Super Cat, 808 State, and a whole bunch of others. J Dilla in particular loved scooping all sorts of bits of flavor from that song. "Chameleon" is another that DJs love to sample. It's a true testament to how good this music is, how broad the appeal is.

This is one of the best records that has ever been put on tape. The hype surrounding its release is notorious, but well-deserved. This album made Depeche Mode into legends, for better or worse. I think better in the long term, even if the aftermath of this record had long-lasting negative effects. It perfectly encapsulates the cultural shift that happened from the 80s into the 90s. There is a moodiness and weight to the music of this era, from pop to alternative and beyond. The whole album is perfect, but my standouts are “Personal Jesus”, “Waiting For The Night”, “Enjoy The Silence”, and “Policy of Truth.

This was the first Pulp record I listened to. I'd heard a couple of other songs from them, I remember Common People specifically, but this album was my first introduction to what a Pulp record is. And what a record. 17-year-old me was sold. Even the lighter fare on this record has an edge or a darkness to it. There's nothing soft, which is of course entirely appropriate. Standouts for me are "The Fear", "Party Hard", "Help the Aged", "This is Hardcore", and "A Little Soul".

I discovered Billy Bragg through "California Stars" on Mermaid Avenue, his brilliant collaboration with Wilco. Imagine my delight as a 19-year-old punk rocker when I listened to the follow-up, Vol. 2, and heard bangers like "All You Fascists". It led me down the Billy Bragg rabbit hole. Billy, the unlikely hero of the British working class. This record is full of great songs all about the working class struggle, from love and relationships to finding power in trade unions. "Levi Stubbs' Tears" is a song that especially stook out to me this listen. Like Billy, I find much comfort in the music Levi made with the Four Tops. It's music that I grew up with and it evokes a simpler, safer time in my life.

A great return to form for Elvis and The Attractions.

Live albums are tricky. Sometimes they sound like they were recorded in a tin can. Sometimes they sound suspiciously clean and shiny. This one surprised me and to be honest it is one of the best live records I think I've heard. It feels like we're there at the Festival with Muddy and the ecstatic crowd. It is incredibly well-recorded and well-mixed without sounding fake. The musicians are tight, but in a dialed-in way. The performance is loaded with so much personality and character. Standouts for me are “I’m Your Hoochie Coochie Man”, “I Feel So Good”, and “I’ve Got My Mojo Working”.

This is where it all started. Black Sabbath wasn't necessarily the first heavy metal band, and there were other heavy metal songs before this record was unleashed, but this was where blues rock and hard rock crossed over to the other side, quite literally. Every single doom metal band to this day owes everything to the title track, and the gnarly, nasty funk of "N.I.B." inspired a litany of sub-genres. It was just about a week ago that these legends played their last show ever, sending off a career of over 55 years. Long live Black Sabbath.

This record is so emblematic of a time and space in music. Punk was becoming pop, so pop had to become punk. This is one of the best-sounding records recorded for under $10,000. It transcends the gritty, crusty, bluesy garage rock of their previous material with bits of psychedelia, americana, and gospel. The piano on this album fills out the sound in a very organic way and lends some sophistication to the White Stripes' simple sound. Standouts are "Blue Orchid", "My Doorbell", and "I'm Lonely (But I Ain't That Lonely Yet)"

When your band has, along with your friends, revived ska music and brought it to a whole new generation, what do you do next? What do you do when you've helped invent a whole new subgenre of music that would go on to influence underground music for nearly the next five decades? Why, you get weird and you make this record. Standouts are "Enjoy Yourself", "Rat Race", "Do Nothing", "Sock It To 'Em, J.B.", "Stereotypes/Stereotypes Pt. 2", and "I Can't Stand It".

I never got to see Alice In Chains play live while Layne Staley was still alive. When I finally did get to catch them in concert when they were touring for Black Gives Way To Blue, the band played quite a few songs off of this record. It was like Layne was being channeled through the music. Will DuVall of course did a great job at stepping up into Layne's old roll, and he sang Layne's parts with an obvious reverence and respect. It was haunting, just like this album is. Dirt is a very appropriate title for a record that has all of Layne's demons on display for us to see. It's not just the Layne show, though. Jerry Cantrell's “Rooster” is haunting in a different way, giving listeners a taste of what wartime in a foreign land is like. “Would” is a tribute to the late, great Andy Wood of Mother Love Bone. The whole record is haunting, and not just because of the ghost of Layne Staley. “Rain When I Die”, “Dam That River”, “Down In A Hole”, “Hate To Feel”, and “Angry Chair” are all standouts on a record that is very nearly perfect.

If any album best exemplifies the early to mid 90s, it is this one. Everything about it is perfect, and perfect albums are rare. From the opening declaration of “Mr. Self Destruct”, Trent Reznor sets the listener up for one dark journey. We truly are led down a fucked up downward spiral, like some kind of drug and alcohol-fueled waterslide into oblivion. From the furious opener we go to the surprisingly low-key “Piggy”, an arrogant declaration that “nothing can stop me now”. “March of the Pigs” is pure hardcore circle pit fury, followed by the greasy, sexy “Closer”. The brazen declaration of wanting to “fuck you like an animal” was a revelation to kids in the mid-90s—I remember hearing it for the first time during the summer leading up to my freshman year of high school. “Ruiner” and “I Do Not Want This” are full of desperation. We slide from the bravado of “Big Man with a Gun” into “A Warm Place” for just a moment of some kind of comfort before “Eraser” and “Reptile” cast us into pure darkness. The title track borrows themes and melodies from throughout the record to summarize this downward spiral, and “Hurt” is the storyteller’s uncomfortably intimate confession of self-harm. As dark as this record is, it is a kind of therapy. It saved lives by showing young people in the same dark places that nobody is alone in suffering. Being able to relate to the anger or desperation or sorrow or hopelessness is a strong kind of medicine. Trent Reznor apparently apologized when he delivered the record to Jimmy Iovine, but this was the record that the world needed in 1994.

R.I.P. Ozzy Osbourne, the Prince of Darkness. The story behind this record is that it was really difficult to get done because everyone was jacked up on cocaine—they were having it smuggled in via speaker boxes. They were going to call it Snowblind but Vertigo Records thought that was too edgy, so they changed the name and album cover at the last minute while Black Sabbath was on vacation. It’s got two of my favorite Sabbath songs on it: “Changes” and “Supernaut” are the songs that I think shine particularly bright, but the whole album is cohesive. It’s the first Black Sabbath album that Lester Bangs had anything good to say about. While I like Master of Reality and Paranoid a bit better, the first five Sabbath records were all so wonderful and worthy of high praise, no matter what Lester Bangs said.

Phrenology is probably my favorite The Roots album. It's adventurous, spanning hardcore punk to chill neo soul to hard trance thanks to Rahzel. The first song I remember hearing from this record is “The Seed 2.0”, specifically the music video. It got me to listen to the rest of the album right away. I think it is their best work, creatively speaking. Everyone is at their best. The flow, the vibe, the lyricism is all there. “Rock You”, “!!!!!!!”, “Sacrifice”, “The Seed 2.0”, “Break You Off”, and “Complexity” are all favorites of mine from this album.

Charles Mingus was known as the “Angry Man of Jazz”, yet he created music with incredible depth of beauty. This album is widely regarded as one of the best jazz compositions ever created, and it took two listens for me to wrap my head around it. I am sure I’ve heard it before, my dad’s side of the family are jazz fanatics and my uncle even plays jazz bass. I did not follow in those footsteps. I turned out a punk, but I still love jazz even though I do not fully understand it. Do we need to fully understand something, or someone, in order to love them? I don’t understand why the transition from “Mode E – Single Solos and Group Dance” to “Mode F – Group and Solo Dance” works, but it does. Mingus was a proponent of collective improvisation and that really shines through on this record. He referred to it as “ethnic folk-dance music” and it really does feel like an improvised piece with dancers from different cultures around the world performing interpretive dance to the music.

What an ass-shaking good time. I don't know what else to say.

If I ever had to introduce someone to funk, it would be with this record. This is the quintessential Sly and the Family Stone album, and the album that wrote the handbook for funk. "Stand", "Sing a Simple Song", "Everyday People", "You Can Make It if You Try" are all standouts from one of the essential funk records. R.I.P. Sly, you are missed.

Exodus is a record that proves that, even in a political firestorm, there must be space for Love, for Joy, and for Community. The most beloved songs on this record are songs centered around those things: "Jamming", "Three Little Birds", and "One Love/People Get Ready". It's difficult for me to pin down what my favorite Bob Marley record is. Bob, and the Wailers had such a storied career, going from Ska favorites to writing the book on roots reggae. Although I miss the presence of Bunny Wailer and Peter Tosh on this record, there is no denying that it very well may be the Wailers' best.

I was a fan of Taylor Swift's songwriting before this album. 1989 made me a full-on Taylor fan. I have complex feelings and opinions about T-Swizzle, but generally I think she is the among the best songwriters of her generation and I admire her for standing up against corporate greed in the music industry via her fight to reclaim the master recordings to her first six albums. A fight that she ultimately won in such a big way that it has literally changed the way the music industry works. Anyway, this record is full of bangers. Banger after banger after banger. It is an album that gave Taylor the confidence to become the cultural icon she was meant to be, for better or worse.

I grew up with this album. Despite that second verse of "Money For Nothing" not aging very well, the rest of the record very much does.

Paul's Boutique changed everything, and we're not just talking rap and hip-hop. It blew everyone's minds, despite being a disappointment on the charts. The clarity we have all these years later shows us that this was one of the best rap albums of it's day, inspiring generations to come after. It's not even my favorite Beastie Boys record and I still feel this way. Paul's Boutique walked so that artists like J Dilla and RJD2 could run. My favorites from this record are "Shake Your Rump", "The Sounds of Science", and "Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun".

Michael Jackson is a tough one for me. Although he has been acquitted of any alleged crimes, the dark cloud of many sexual abuse allegations still hangs over his legacy. Many have chosen to ignore it, but I am of the mind that if there’s more than three people coming forward, there is a good chance that there is truth to those stories. People abusing their positions of power is a difficult thing for me personally, but there is no denying that despite all his shortcomings, Michael Jackson was one of the best pop artists that the world has ever seen. This album came well before any allegations, and it is a testament to MJ’s musical genius. Thriller is the definitive Michael Jackson record, the one that vaulted him from stardom to being christened the King of Pop. From “Wanna Be Starting Something” to “Human Nature”, the album is packed with killers, as Michael put it. Other standouts are “The Girl is Mine”, the title track with narration from Vincent Price and its iconic and enduring music video, “Beat It” with its also iconic video, and “Billie Jean” with its also iconic video (there is a theme here, isn’t there?).

From the opening stabs of “Good Times Bad Times”, you know this album is going to rock. Led Zeppelin strolled seductively across the stage so that heavy metal bands could run. There would not be an Iron Maiden feature Bruce Dickinson and his eternal and youthful energy without Led Zeppelin’s greasy, heavy blues rock. Other standouts include “Babe I’m Gonna Leave You”, the simultaneously sexy and trippy “Dazed and Confused”, and “Communication Breakdown”.

This is one of the gayest albums ever, and I say that with all of the love and admiration. I mean, Attitude magazine named it the top gay album of all time in 2006. I am not gay or queer in any sense, just a regular ol' neurodivergent cis guy who experiences queer joy vicariously via his queer friends. I discovered this record at the downtown Virgin Records in Denver (RIP). I clearly remember hearing “Take Your Momma” for the first time. It’s such a fun song with its bouncy acoustic guitar opening and the honkytonk piano. When the chorus kicks in, all you want to do is shake your ass. “Comfortably Numb” becomes a disco anthem at the hands of the Scissor Sisters. I don’t know if another band could transform a song in that way and make it work. These songs made something click, and I just got my queer friends on a level I hadn’t before. Other standouts for me are album opener “Laura”, “Tits on the Radio”, “Better Luck Next Time”, and “It Can’t Come Quickly Enough”.

There are banner years in music for me, as I assume there are for everyone who enjoys music. 2002 is one such year, the year Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was officially released. This album has so much lore behind it, like the Rolling Stones’ Exile on Main St. or Fleetwood Mac’s Rumors or Nine Inch Nails’ The Downward Spiral. It’s the record that transformed Wilco from alt country & roots rock stalwarts into indie rock darlings. It’s the record that led to multi-instrumentalist Jay Bennett exiting the band and drummer Glen Kotche entering. It was their first collaboration with former Sonic Youth member Jim O’Rourke as producer. But the most fascinating part of the story of this album is the release. Reprise Records hated it, so Wilco left Reprise. It was originally slated to come out on September 11th, 2001. We all know how that went. Wilco released it for streaming on their website on the 18th of September and went on to sign with Nonesuch Records. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was officially released in April of 2002. It was one of the first records that I didn’t buy a physical copy of. 23 years later, I find myself older and wiser, and suddenly compelled to find this record on vinyl (to join the 3 digital versions I have). Standout songs for me are “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart”, “Kamera”, “Jesus, Etc.”, “Heavy Metal Drummer”, and “I’m the Man Who Loves You”.

This isn't where it all started, but it's where The Only Band That Matters asserted that they are just that. We're shown from the opening shuffle of “Janie Jones” that this record isn’t pulling punches. There’s a lot of discourse around the role of punk in the USA vs the UK, and how the music became mainstream in the hands of these bands. The Clash was a band that was always at war with itself, but they lasted a decade which is a lot better than most punk bands. Joe Strummer was the sociopolitical firebrand, countered by Mick Jones’ industry savviness and Paul Simonon’s cool and fashion sense. But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. This record is the blueprint for so much punk and alternative music, and it isn’t even their best one. Standouts are the opening track, “I’m So Bored with the U.S.A.”, “White Riot”, “Hate & War”, “London’s Burning”, “Career Opportunities”, the Junior Murvin cover “Police & Thieves”, and “Garageland”.

This record reminds me of my mom. I have fond memories of helping her cook in the kitchen as a young child, and whenever a recipe called for any of the herbs named in the record's title, she would sing the line from "Scarborough Fair". I do the same thing in my head to this day.

After so many albums and genres I am already familiar with, it was a breath of fresh air to hear something completely different. I have no knowledge about traditional/classical Indian music so I am very glad that this was recommended.