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Cheap Trick ‘At Budokan’ (1978)
Cheap Trick’s At Budokan served role similar to The Allman Brothers Band At Fillmore East and Johnny Cash’s At Folsom Prison in that it was a live album which served as a jumping off point in their career. The album received heavy airplay following its release in 1978, transforming Cheap Trick from a marginally successful…
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Elvis Presley ‘Elvis Presley’ (1956)
Elvis Presley certainly wasn’t the inventor of rock and roll, and his relationship with the Black musicians he copied during the 1950’s was a complicated one that ran the gamut of personal opinion at the time, but he was undoubtedly America’s first rock and roll star, a landmark in pop culture and one of the…
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Creed ‘Human Clay’ (1999)
Creed has long been a fixture in internet culture, first as a convenient punching bag for all that was wrong with the post-grunge movement that dominated the airwaves following Kurt Cobain’s death following Nirvana’s 1991 magnum opus Nevermind, and now as a sort of “return of the millennial” rallying cry in the 2020’s as rock…
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Sly & The Family Stone ‘There’s A Riot Goin’ On’ (1971)
There’s A Riot Goin’ On marked a relatively significant departure for Sly & The Family Stone, with the band deviating from the upbeat and joyous funk sound they were known for to explore a more serious and political record. This was due in part to lead singer and frontman Sly Stone’s increased involvement with the…
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Chance The Rapper ‘Acid Rap’ (2013)
Chance The Rapper’s 2013 mixtape Acid Rap celebrated its 10-year anniversary earlier this year. I remember first being turned onto Chance after his initial mixtape 10 Day by two old friends who run Oxalis restaurant in NYC. One of the founders had spent a lot of time in Chance’s hometown of Chicago (where Chance was…
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Prince ‘Purple Rain’ (1984)
No artist impacted the sound of the pop music in the 80’s more than Prince. His unique blend of virtuoso musicianship (his guitar solo on “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” in 2004 is an absolute masterclass), unrivaled instinct for unique harmonic elements, and prolific writing capabilities that saw him release forty studio albums during his…
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Daft Punk ‘Discovery’ (2001)
If you went to college at some point in the 2000’s you knew exactly who Daft Punk was. In the late 2000’s mash-ups were absolutely taking off, in large part to the prodigious sampling capabilities that Daft Punk brought to the dance world. Sampling of course had been a major keystone to the genre of…
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De La Soul ‘3 Feet High and Rising’ (1989)
De La Soul’s debut album was a complete novelty in 1989. In stark comparison to the overtly political It Takes A Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back by Public Enemy that dropped a year prior, as well as the burgeoning Gangsta Rap scene that was experiencing a meteoric rise towards the end of the…
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The Who ‘Who’s Next’ (1971)
Born from the rubble of the ambitious Lifehouse project that The Who eventually abandoned (probably because it was so insane– seriously), Who’s Next is the magnum opus of the British rock band known for their over the top stage show and prolific musical output. This was the album that defined rock and roll for a…
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DMX ‘It’s Dark And Hell Is Hot’ (1998)
There’s few hip hop artists in history that can get me hyped as much as DMX could. The dude brought an intensity to his music that worked on every single level– his flow that sounded like gravel dragged through broken glass, his intensely muscular physique, his barking backing vocals courtesy of the Ruff Ryders, and…
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Petey ‘USA’ (2023)
Petey’s USA is a self-reflective romp through Indie rock and post-punk, combining avant-garde musical elements alongside lyrics that evoke a Virginia Woolf-esque stream of consciousness delivered with earnestness. Petey’s voice reminds me significantly of Andy Hull’s from Manchester Orchestra in the way he enunciates specific words and sort of cascades through his higher notes. It’s…
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The Rolling Stones ‘Let It Bleed’ (1969)
Steven Van Zandt of the E Street Band once famously said that The Rolling Stones output from 1968-1972 comprised the “greatest run of studio albums in music history”. Let It Bleed was the Stones’ second album in that quartet of releases, and featured a distinct return to the dirty blues rock that has defined the…
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The Aquabats! ‘The Fury of the Aquabats!’ (1997)
Adorned with matching costumes and masks, The Aquabats 30-year career has taken them on a long ride from their ska punk roots to a more current iteration that features more of a New Wave feel. Along the way their brand of comedy rock and tongue-in-cheek humor has made them somewhat of a cult classic underground…
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Metallica ‘Master of Puppets’ (1986)
Master of Puppets is a hallmark album in metal history that is often lauded as one of the genre’s most important albums of all-time. Along with going six times platinum (which is insanely impressive for a thrash metal full-length) it has the unique distinction of being the very first metal album to be selected by…
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Jay-Z ‘The Blueprint’ (2001)
New York City has long been a landmark in hip-hop, from its humble beginnings during the early 70’s in The Bronx to the infamous East/West feud in the late 90’s to the NYC Drill Movement that’s been prominent since Bobby Shmurda’s rise to fame in the mid-2010’s. Put simply, New York City is the home…
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Sam Fender ‘Seventeen Going Under’ (2021)
The very first time I heard “Seventeen Going Under” I cried like a baby. There was something about Sam Fender’s voice and the musical arrangement accompanying him that moved me in that moment, a gravitas that held a meaning I didn’t quite understand but was committed to figure out. It’s the languished longing of his…
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Cherry Poppin’ Daddies ‘Zoot Suit Riot’ (1997)
Cherry Poppin’ Daddies were sort of a novelty act in the late 90’s that blended ska and swing into an energetic ball of fun. I remember as a middle schooler thinking how cool the music video for “Zoot Suit Riot” was— basically a perfect blend of punk rock culture (RIP to chain wallets, you are…
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Ninja Sex Party ‘Cool Patrol’ (2018)
Ninja Sex Party’s Cool Patrol is a rollicking ride through 80’s synth pop and over the top glam metal. Their brand of juvenile comedy is fun as hell, with lead singer and narrator Dan Avidan channeling his inner Ryan Reynolds through his voice inflection and general love for obscene jokes to drive home his point.…
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Santana ‘Abraxas’ (1970)
Carlos Santana is one of history’s most respected guitar players, known for his psychadelic take on Latin music that he effortlessly transposed into the explosion of psychedelic rock that swept across Great Britain and the United States in the late 60’s/early 70’s. The band which bears his last name first played at Woodstock in 1969…
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Terje Rypdal & The Chasers ‘Blue’ (1987)
Known affectionately as “the tone poet of the Fender Stratocaster”, Norwegian guitarist Terje Rypdal has had a prolific 50-year career that has blended jazz, rock, and classical music into his own unique take on what music can be. His 1987 album Blue is a fusionist’s dream, filled with eclectic sounds that bend and warp over…
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Glen Campbell ‘Rhinestone Cowboy’ (1975)
Rhinestone Cowboy sounds like a cowboy from Arkansas moved to Beverley Hills in the 70’s and wrote a bunch of theme songs for sitcoms and game shows during his time in Los Angeles. I can literally see the introduction credits in my head– character in various locations going about their day, noticing the camera, and…
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The Beatles ‘Abbey Road’ (1969)
When you think of iconic album covers, Abbey Road is the one that certainly tops the list. The only others I can think of that even come close are The Clash’s London Calling and The Velvet Underground’s The Velvet Underground & Nico. In London thousands of fans re-create this album every single day outside of…
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La Bouquet ‘Sad People Dancing’ (2019)
80’s music has had a significant resurgence over the past decade or so, rolling back in full force over a range of genres. You don’t need to look further than pop heavyweight The Weeknd’s 2020 album After Hours, Lady Gaga’s Chromatica, the success of films like Guardians of the Galaxy and Top Gun II in…
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Feist ‘Let It Die’ (2004)
My first exposure to Feist was through the excellent Broken Social Scene, effectively an art collective doubling as a massive musical experiment. The group has boasted nearly 25 members over the past two decades (at one point having 16 at a single point during the early 2000’s). Feist was one of the throng, played a…
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Pretty Lights ‘A Color Map of the Sun’ (2013)
Pretty Lights flipped the script on EDM in a relatively big way during recording sessions for A Color Map of the Sun. Whereas his prior album releases all were based off digital samples of others original work, he entered the studio in 2013 with the intention to compose an album filled with 100% original material.…
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Patsy Cline ‘Showcase’ (1961)
Patsy Cline was one of country music’s most influential stars during the formative years of the genre in the early 1960’s, and left a legacy that reverberates to this day. It’s hard to fully articulate just how much Cline means to the country community– her rich and powerful voice, effortlessly punctuated with a steadily controlled…
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William Wild ‘William Wild’ (2014)
Along with having an absolutely kick ass album cover (this cover is seriously great), William Wild’s self-titled debut is a rollicking fun ride through Americana, Western folk, and 70’s rock and roll. Wild’s voice reminds me a whole helluva lot of Petter Ericson Stakee from Alberta Cross with a heavy dose of Local Natives vocal…
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James Taylor ‘Sweet Baby James’ (1970)
James Taylor is one of the best-selling artists of all-time, selling over 100 million records throughout his 50+ year career. He’s best known for his sophomore album Sweet Baby James, a somber and self-reflective effort that helped to define the burgeoning singer-songwriter genre in the early 70’s and played an outsized role in the popularization…
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Bobby Pickett & The Crypt Kickers ‘The Original Monster Mash’ (1962)
“Monster Mash” is probably the most iconic American Halloween song of all-time and therefore it only made sense for us to spin the album that made it famous on All Hallow’s Eve. This song and album actually came together by happenstance– lead singer Bobby Pickett was an aspiring actor in Los Angeles who moonlit as…
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Roots Manuva ‘Brand New Second Hand’ (1997)
Brand New Second Hand is a great listen to anyone who is dipping their toes into the British hip hop scene. The album title is in reference to Manuva’s childhood growing up poor where he would receive second hand gifts for Christmas (hence the phrase “brand new second hand”). The album’s general aesthetic is one…
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Jethro Tull ‘Aqualung’ (1971)
If you’ve ever listened to a man play a flute and say “goddamn that would sound dope as hell in a rock and roll band” then boy do I have an album for you. Jethro Tull’s 1971 prog-rock classic Aqualung is notable for many things– its reflection on spirituality and the sometimes fraught relationship it…
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Joe Satriani ‘Surfing With The Alien’ (1987)
There’s not many guitarists that can absolutely rip like Joe Satriani and 1987’s Surfing With The Alien is a love letter to all the guitar-heads out there who just want to hear some good ol’ fashioned shredding for the sake of it. It’s bombastic, over the top, and just plain fun as hell. The album…
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The Everly Brothers ‘They’re Off & Rolling’ (1958)
The Everly Brothers were at the crossroads of country music and R&B in the late 1950’s and served as an influential act on a generation of bands that followed them in the 1960’s. The most notable band they influenced was The Beatles– early in John Lennon and Paul McCartney’s career they actually referred to themselves…
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Albert King ‘Born Under A Bad Sign’ (1967)
We love a good album opening song as much as anybody, and goddamn does Born Under A Bad Sign ever have one with its title track “Born Under A Bad Sign”. If you’re looking for a perfect example of the sheer power of the blues, a song that rips and grooves and swings with a…
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Grover Washington Jr. ‘Mister Magic’ (1974)
As a kid one of my fondest memories was going on trips with my parents during the weekend to local record stores to purchase albums. These of course were the halcyon days when an experience like going on a Saturday drive with your father to Fry’s Electronics (a local big-box store that had an incredibly…
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Ambrosia ‘One Eighty’ (1980)
When you have an album that features a grand total of four vocalists carrying lead vocal duties throughout the entire album you know you’re in for a soft rock treat. Ambrosia’s 1980 effort One Eighty celebrates those soft rock bonafides in a tight and concise package, deftly incorporating elements of yacht rock and anthemic 80’s…
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About the Author
Jason Matthew Plank listens to copious amounts of music and writes about one album each day. He is currently active in the bands Related to Strangers (post-hardcore) and Kindergarten Cartel (punk covers of children’s nursery rhymes).
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