What is widely considered to be the first Trip Hop record, ‘Blue Lines’ is the debut album of Massive Attack and it’s a huge one. On this record, the band drew inspiration from concept album artists such as Pink Floyd, Herbie Hancock & Isaac Hayes. It was the perfect mix of rap, dub and soul. An album that knocks you off your feet, hitting you with sounds when you least expect it.

‘Loaded’ is essentially the last record to be released by The Velvet Underground. Lou Reed would leave before its release, while Maureen Tucker and Sterling Morrison would leave just after. John Cale, had, of course, left the band after their second release, ‘White Light/White Heat’ (#272). This album is definitely the band’s most accessible. Its title refers to Atlantic’s request that it be loaded with hits.

Recorded at the height of The Summer Of Love, three quarters of this album was tracked at Abbey Road Studios on the very equipment that tracked ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.’ When the studio became unavailable they moved to Olympic Studios, a studio just as important as Abbey Road where Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin & Hendrix had recorded. The recording was fraught with fighting.

This record surprised me majorly. I’ve mentioned previously the “complicated relationship” that I have with Kanye. This record complicated it even further; I actually quite enjoyed it. This album, marked by two major events in West’s life, saw his music take a complete change in direction. Following the death of his mother and the breakup with his fiancée, Alexis Phifer, West released this, an album distinctly lacking in raps. Instead, West sang through an Auto-Tune processor over sparse beats.

‘Heaven or Las Vegas’ was written and recorded during an incredibly tumultuous time for the band. Robin Guthrie’s cocaine habit had spiralled out of control. His partner and bandmate, Elizabeth Fraser was pregnant with their child. She and fellow Cocteau Twin, Simon Raymonde had hoped that the baby would encourage Guthrie to calm down on his drug use, but that was not to be.

LL Cool J’s fourth record. “Don't call it a comeback, I been here for years/I'm rockin' my peers, puttin' suckers in fear,” raps LL Cool J on the title track. The reality is that it was his comeback. With this record, he had regained the respect of his peers and his fans. Chris Rock named this as his sixth greatest Hip Hop record ever in an article he wrote for Rolling Stone and the album was named in multiple lists.

Amazingly, I’ve never actually listened to a Sade record in full. The first thing that immediately struck me was the clarity of the bass and the drums. Her voice is incredible, no doubt, but this is a record that NEEDS to be listened to on a decent pair of headphones or dynamic speakers.

This album was a major surprise for everyone and to be honest, it’s simply brilliant. A Punk Rock Opera for the 21st Century, this album transcends boundaries and genres to stand the test of time as one of the best Rock albums of our time.

The debut album by the 21-year-old Whitney Houston set the course for one of the greatest and most powerful vocalists of our time. The album would smash multiple records and shatter glass ceilings for both women and people of colour. The album was the first album by a black female artist to top the Billboard charts. It was also the first debut album and the first album by a solo female artist to produce three #1 singles. The album would go on to sell a staggering 22 million copies worldwide.

‘Singles Going Steady’ was intended to introduce Buzzcocks to the US market by compiling their 8 singles on Side A, followed by their corresponding B-Sides on Side B. The result is the “best album Buzzcocks never made,” according to NME. Of course, it is. It’s an album that’s cherry picked arguably the best songs from their career (singles aren’t always the best songs, but often they’re the most accessible).