1,001 albums you must hear before you die. chosen by a panel of music critics to be the most important, influential, and best in popular music between the 1950s and the 2010s.

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• ↺ blood sugar sex magick, red hot chili peppers (1991)
• ↺ the doors, the doors (1967)
• ↺ physical graffiti, led zeppelin (1975)
• innervisions, stevie wonder (1973)
• ↺ superunknown, soundgarden (1994)
• 2112, rush (1976)
• ↺ at folsom prison, johnny cash (1968)
• ↺ odelay, beck (1996)
• ↺ young americans, david bowie (1975)
• she's so unusual, cyndi lauper (1983)
• ella fitzgerald sings the george and ira gershwin song book, ella fitzgerald (1959)
• fun house, the stooges (1970)
• oedipus schmoedipus, barry adamson (1996)
• the velvet underground, the velvet underground (1969)
• ↺ ke*a*h** (psalm 69), ministry (1992)
• cloud nine, the temptations (1969)
• jazz samba, stan getz & charlie byrd (1962)
• ↺ lust for life, iggy pop (1977)
• songs in the key of life, stevie wonder (1976)
• ↺ appetite for destruction, guns n' roses (1987)
• green river, creedence clearwater revival (1969)
• pieces of the sky, emmylou harris (1975)
• ↺ if you're feeling sinister, belle & sebastian (1996)
• snivilisation, orbital
• ↺ 21, adele
• all mod cons, the jam (1978)
• stardust, willie nelson (1978)
• ↺ rumours, fleetwood mac (1977)
• imagine, john lennon (1971)
• infected, the the (1986)
• groovin', the young rascals (1967)
• live at the star-club hamburg, jerry lee lewis (1964)
• home is where the music is, hugh masekela (1972)
• ↺ i do not want what i haven't got, sinead o'connor (1990)
• ↺ abbey road, the beatles (1969)
• ↺ definitely maybe, oasis (1994)
• ↺ like a prayer, madonna (1989)
• ↺ ray of light, madonna (1998)
• lady soul, aretha franklin (1968)
• (pronounced 'leh-'nérd 'skin-'nérd), lynyrd skynyrd (1973)
• 1989, taylor swift (2014)
• so, peter gabriel (1986)
• paul simon, paul simon (1972)
• music has the right to children, boards of canada (1998)
• atomizer, big black (1986)
• when i was born for the 7th time, cornershop (1997)
• hot buttered soul, isaac hayes (1969)
• ↺ rhythm nation 1814, janet jackson (1989)
• the visitors, abba (1981)
• talking book, stevie wonder (1972)
• love and devotion, nusrat fateh ali khan (1988)
• ↺ people's instinctive travels and the paths of rhythm, a tribe called quest (1990)
• the stooges, the stooges (1969)
• ↺ the suburbs, arcade fire (2010)
• surrealistic pillow, jefferson airplane (1967)
• here's little richard, little richard (1957)
• electric music for the mind and body, country joe & the fish (1967)
• os mutantes, os mutantes (1968)
• liquid swords, gza (1995)
• the chronic, dr. dre (1992)
• ↺ that's the way of the world, earth, wind & fire (1975)
• legalize it, peter tosh (1976)
• ↺ ok computer, radiohead (1997)
• sticky fingers, the rolling stones (1971)
• cut, the slits (1979)
• ↺ mellon collie and the infinite sadness, the smashing pumpkins (1995)
• slippery when wet, bon jovi (1986)
• five leaves left, nick drake (1969)
• pictures at an exhibition, emerson, lake & palmer (1971)
• ↺ figure 8, elliott smith (2000)
• ↺ regatta de blanc, the police (1979)
• reign in blood, slayer (1986)
• seventeen seconds, the cure (1980)
• killing joke, killing joke (1980)
• highly evolved, the vines (2002)
• heartbreaker, ryan adams (2000)
• ↺ led zeppelin iv, led zeppelin (1971)
• don't stand me down, dexys midnight runners (1985)
• tapestry, carole king (1971)
• music in exile, songhoy blues (2015)
• repeater, fugazi (1990)
• here come the warm jets, brian eno (1974)
• blood and chocolate, elvis costello & the attractions (1986)
• ↺ "heroes", david bowie (1977)
• frampton comes alive, peter frampton (1976)
• coles corner, richard hawley (2005)
• ↺ at san quentin, johnny cash (1969)
• evermore, taylor swift (2020)
• copper blue, sugar (1992)
• ↺ mama's gun, erykah badu (2000)
• ↺ garbage, garbage (1995)
• another music in a different kitchen, buzzcocks (1978)
• ↺ the marshall mathers lp, eminem (2000)
• risque, chic (1979)
• the real thing, faith no more (1989)
• the scream, siouxsie and the banshees (1978)
• grace, jeff buckley (1994)
• ↺ black sabbath, black sabbath (1970)
• ↺ is this it, the strokes (2001)
• ↺ tigermilk, belle & sebastian (1996)
• ↺ debut, björk (1993)
• happy sad, tim buckley (1969)
• the lamb lies down on broadway, genesis (1974)
• black monk time, the monks (1966)
• ↺ dookie, green day (1994)
• ↺ led zeppelin ii, led zeppelin (1969)
• ↺ the queen is dead, the smiths (1986)
• the kinks are the village green preservation society, the kinks (1968)
• ↺ hounds of love, kate bush (1985)
• real life, magazine (1978)
• head hunters, herbie hancock (1973)
• abattoir blues / the lyre of orpheus, nick cave & the bad seeds (2004)
• younger than yesterday, the byrds (1967)
• ↺ a rush of blood to the head, coldplay (2002)
• ↺ blunderbuss, jack white (2012)
• the healer, john lee hooker (1989)
• buffalo springfield again, buffalo springfield (1967)
• the stranger, billy joel (1977)
• ↺ music for the masses, depeche mode (1987)
• neu! 75, neu (1975)
• sheer heart attack, queen (1974)
• ↺ boston, boston (1976)
• the slider, t. rex (1972)
• dog man star, (the london) suede (1994)
• every good boy deserves fudge, mudhoney (1991)
• the joshua tree, u2 (1987)
• introducing the hardline according to terence trent d'arby, terence trent d'arby (1987)
• rock bottom, robert wyatt (1974)
• ↺ violator, depeche mode (1990)
• eli and the thirteenth confession, laura nyro (1968)
• ↺ chris, christine and the queens (2018)
• tea for the tillerman, cat stevens (yusuf) (1970)
• ↺ yoshimi battles the pink robots, the flaming lips (2002)
• safe as milk, captain beefheart & his magic band (1967)
• everybody knows this is nowhere, neil young & crazy horse (1969)
• ↺ straight outta compton, n.w.a. (1988)
• suicide, suicide (1977)
• the cars, the cars (1978)
• our aim is to satisfy red snapper, red snapper (2000)
• ↺ ágætis byrjun, sigur rós (1999)
• after the gold rush, neil young (1970)