ESSENTIAL ALBUMS: Blondie - "Eat To The Beat" (1979)

Of all the iconic groups to emerge from CBGBs, New York’s legendary dive bar and cradle of punk, Blondie were by far the most versatile. Whi...

ESSENTIAL ALBUMS: The Beatles - "Rubber Soul"

In the discography of any other pop band, a collection that offers “Nowhere Man,” “Drive My Car,” and “In My Life” would rank as a never-to-...

ESSENTIAL ALBUMS : Coldplay - "A Rush Of Blood To The Head" (2002)

     As the 9/11 anniversary approached, Chris Martin and his three pals unveiled their sophomore effort, penned (and designed) with a feeli...

Joni Mitchell - "Clouds" : A masterpiece

  On one level Clouds seems fairly unex­ceptional, another instance of the age-old tryst between singer and acoustic guitar. But in truth i...

The Clash - "London Calling" (1979)

A double album is all too often synonymous with self-indulgence or a lack of creative discipline. In the final few weeks of the ’70s The Cla...

Prince and the Revolution - "Around The World In A Day"

PRINCE'S SECOND ALBUM WITH THE REVOLUTION SAW A SHIFT FROM THE COMMERCIAL SOUND OF 1984'S PURPLE RAIN AND INTO PSYCHEDELIC CLIMES TH...

Fleet Foxes - "Fleet Foxes" (2008) One the best albums of this century

Near the start of their career, with just a six-song EP of demos to their name, Fleet Foxes issued an almost apologetic note to listeners wh...

Van Morrison - "Astral Weeks"

Το καλοκαίρι του 1966 ο Van Morrison είχε ερωτευτεί μια Αμερικανίδα, την Janet Planet . Οι δυο τους συνέχισαν τη σχέση τους και το 1967, ...

ESSENTIAL ALBUMS: Neil Young - On The Beach (1974)

By 1974, it was clear to those around Neil Young (and to a deeply apprehensive Elliot Roberts in particular) that the 28-year-old Canadian w...

Stevie Wonder - "Songs In The Key Of Life" (1976)

Few albums have contained with their grooves as huge an amount of energy, creativity and sheer songwriting exuberance as Songs In The Key Of...

ESSENTIAL ALBUMS (#41): Michael Jackson - "Thriller" (1982)

Thriller is surrounded by a cloud of statistics—the biggest album in history, it sold more than 40 million copies on its first release; it ...

ESSENTIAL ALBUMS (#40): The Police - "Synchronicity" (1983)

     1983 began with the Police at AIR Studios in Montserrat working on what would be their fifth and final studio album, Synchronicity . An...

ESSENTIAL ALBUMS (#38): The Who - "Who's Next" (1971)

“Who’s N ext” should have been a paradigm, a watershed, a groundbreaking extravaganza bursting through the bounds of what rock could, and h...

ESSENTIAL ALBUMS (#37): Fleetwood Mac - Rumours (1977)

On its 11th record, Fleetwood Mac crafted a bittersweet masterpiece fuelled by perhaps one of rock’s most infamous melodramas.  Released in ...

ESSENTIAL ALBUMS (#36): Emerson Lake and Palmer - Pictures At An Exhibition (1971)

Always ones for the big entrance, Emerson, Lake, And Palmer premiered their rocked-up version of Russian composer Modeste Mussorgsky's c...

ESSENTIAL ALBUMS (#35): The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967)

W hile the American music scene of the 1960s certainly produced a broad range of seminal acts, there was always something about The Velvet U...

ESSENTIAL ALBUMS (#34): Cream - "Disraeli Gears" (1967)

Updating the avid experimentalism of their debut album, 1966's Fresh Cream, by infusing it with the psychedelic tricks of the trade pre...

ESSENTIAL ALBUMS (#33): Jean Michel Jarre - "Oxygene" (1976)

It was in November 1976, when the son of French film composer Maurice unveiled his third studio offering. While the likes of Tangerine Dream...

ESSENTIAL ALBUMS (#32): Elton John - "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" (1973)

Even the most devoted fan would probably admit that Sir Elton John has spent the last 40 years failing to match up to the albums he released...

"Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables" Dead Kennedys' debut studio album (1980)

The impact of Dead Kennedys’ debut album stretches so far and wide it’s barely calculable. It contains testimonial quotes from cross- genera...