19 - Tapestry - Carole KIng

TAPESTRY

i feel the earth move/so far away/it's too late/home again/beautiful/way over yonder/you've got a friend/where you lead/will you still love me tomorrow/smackwater jack/tapestry/wyou make me feel(like a natural woman)

A lot of these songs are more famous than this album as they were big hits for other artists, some prior to the albums release in '71. All written (or co-written) by King though. Perhaps an unfairly unknown album but packed with gems and a must in anybodies list. In fact a quadruple grammy winner! Get to know it.

17 & 18 - Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation & Experimental Jet Set, Trash And No Star

DAYDREAM NATION

teenage riot/the sprawl/silver rocket/'cross the breeze/eric's trip/total trash/hey joni/providence/candle rain king kissability/trilogy-(the wonder/hyperstation/eliminator jr)

EXPERIMENTAL JET SET TRASH AND NO STAR

winner's blues/bull in the heather/starfield road/skink/screaming skull/self-obsessed and sexxee/bone/androgynous mind/quest for the cup/waist/doctor's orders/tokyo eye/in the mind of the bourgeois reader/sweet shine

Separated by 6 years in an, up til now, high quality 30 year career, these albums best reflect the peak powers of the band. Experimental yet highly listenable, original and highly influential, they are outstanding works that show just what is possible if you treat music as art form that is undiscovered in it's potential. I will leave it there before I start talking about sonic cathedrals...

16 - Queen - Greatest Hits

QUEEN GREATEST HITS

bohemian rhapsody/another one bites the dust/killer queen/fat bottomed girls/bicycle races/you're my best friend/don't stop me now/save me/crazy little thing called love/somebody to love/now i'm here/good old-fashioned lover boy/play the game/flash/seven seas of rhye/we will rock you/we are the champions

Yes, I know, cheesy and overblown and a greatest hits? But this is the fun side of cheesy and the operatic side of overblown; and if you are going this route then a greatest hits is within the boundaries too. Whatever the lack of credibility involved this album hits the spot it's aiming at and I enjoy it for what it is. You should too!

15 - De La Soul - 3ft High And Rising

3FT HIGH AND RISING

intro/the magic number/change in speak/cool breeze on the rocks/can you keep a secret/jenifa taught me (derwin's revenge)/ghetto thang/transmitting live from mars/eye know/take it off/a little bit of soap/tread water/potholes in my lawn/say no go/do as de la does/plug tunin' (last chance to comprehend)/de la orgee/buddy/description/me, myself and i/this is a recording 4 living in a fulltime era (LIFE)/i can do anything (delacratic)/D.A.I.S.Y. age/plug tunin'

And mentioning hiphop as it should be... This is the most inventive rap album ever! That is if you consider that rap evolved rather than was originated by one artist. De La Soul pretty much re-invent the world they are living in by melding 30 years of music into one album and twisting it to fit their own unique view of life. Outstanding.

14 - OutKast - Speakerboxxx|The Love Below

SPEAKERBOXXX
intro/ghettomusick/unhappy/bowtie/the way you move/the rooster/bust/war/church/bamboo/tomb of the boom/e-mac/knowing/flip flop rock/interlude/reset/d-boi/last call/bowtie(postlude)
THE LOVE BELOW
the love below/love hater/god/happy valentine's day/spread/where are my panties?/prototype/she lives in my lap/hey ya!/roses/good day, good sir/behold a lady/pink & blue/love in war/she's alive/dracula's wedding/the letter/my favourite things/take off your cool/vibrate/a life in the day of benjamin andre (incomplete)

Unerringly funky. Dead cool. Witty and intelligent. This album is everything that rap and hiphop used to be before it was taken over by the idiotic gangsta mentality. Rant, rant, rant. Excuse me. A double album split into the Andre 3000 half and the Big Boi half, this constantly amazes and delights and is the best example of how to exploit the genre since De La Soul 10 years earlier. And any release that contains both Hey Ya! and The Way You Move is gettin' in my list!

13 - The Velvet Underground - The Velvet Underground and Nico

VELVET UNDERGROUND AND NICO
Sunday morning/I'm Waiting For The Man/Femme Fatale/Venus In Furs/Run Run Run/All Tomorrows Parties/Heroin/There She Goes Again/I'll Be Your Mirror/The Black Angels Death Song/European Son

Horrible feedback, poor production, incessant droning melodies and worrying subject matter. A fantastic album! A voyeuristic trawl through the underworld of drug use, sexual deviancy and prostitution set to chaotic and abrasive music; but music that perfectly reflects the world in the lyrics. This should be here purely for the influence it has had (though ignored on release) over the last 40 years, but it is here as the prime example of an art form extremely hard to get right and a genuine original. You MUST have this album!

12 - The Kinks - The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society

THE KINKS ARE THE... what he said up there...
Village Green Preservation Society/Do You Remember Walter/Picture Book/Johnny Thunder/The Last Of The Steam Powered Trains/Big Sky/Sitting By The Riverside/Animal Farm/Village Green/Starstruck/Phenomenal Cat/All My Friends Were There/Wicked Annabella/Monica/People Take Pictures Of Each Other

After the release of Sgt. Pepper in '67 the Beatles caused a wave of great albums as many of the best groups realised they had to raise their games. Pet Sounds is probably the best of these, The Stones effort, Their Satanic Majestie Request, possibly the most disappointing. The Kinks came up with this, a homage to English village life. Mixing traditional settings and contempary rock, nothing about this should work but it does, is great, and get's in the list. The Kinks were always masters of the urban tale and they effortlessly transport that to a more middle class view of the world with astounding ease. Very cosy.

10 & 11 - The Specials - The Spcials & More Specials

THE SPECIALS
A Message To You Rudy/Do The Dog/It's Up To You/Nite Klub/Doesn't Make It Alright/Concrete Jungle/Too Hot/Monkey Man/(Dawning Of A) New Era/Blank Expression/Stupid Marriage/Too Much Too Young/Gangsters/Little Bitch/You're Wondering Now

MORE SPECIALS
Enjoy Yourself/Rat Race/Man At C&A/Hey, Little Rich Girl/Do Nothing/Pearl's Cafe/Sock It To 'em J.B./Steroetypes-Stereotypes pt.2/Holiday Fortnight/I Can't Stand It/Internatinal Jet Set/ Enjoy Yourself (reprise)

I'm bringing in these albums now as it re-iterates the point that this is an unordered list, and so not a top ten. It is impossible to include one without the other, they are both superb footstompers. Again filled with the type of social and political themes that should be explored in forms that grab peoples attention. Instead of leaving it to crusty old journalists who drone on. Dammers and co at least can put these things into the heads of the listener in ways in which they will be recognised. And you can dance to this!

9 - Television - Marquee Moon

MARQUEE MOON
See No Evil/Venus/Friction/Marquee Moon/Elevation/Guiding Light/Prove It/Torn Curtain

At a time when British punk was opting for the short sharp shock and politicised anger, New York Punks took a different approach. Television led the way with this. Applying a punk attitude to prog rock-like tracks this work is just simply a great rock album. Individual without being excluding, it maintains it's credibility without being too arty-farty for the larger audience it is probably past the time to receive. But in a collection of 100 albums for the serious music lover it should be included.

8 - Marvin Gaye - What's Going' On?

WHAT"S GOING ON?
What's going on?/What's Happening Brother?/Flying High (IN The Friendly Sky)/Save The Children/God Is Love/Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)/Right On/Wholy Holy/Inner City Blues Make Me Wanna Holler)

Partly inspired by the early death of singing partner Tammi Terrell, Gaye moved into an area of social and political comment. And came up with an album of great emotional weight, perfectly summing up the era in which he and his peers lived. Or rather, endured. Not only should this be in the list on grounds of taste but it should be part of the national curriculum...

7 - Bob Marley & the Wailers - Exodus

EXODUS
Natural Mystic/So Much Things To Say/Guiltiness/The Heathen/Exodus/Jamming/Waiting In Vain/Turn Your Lights Down Low/Three Little Birds/One Love-People Get Ready

Smacks of tokenism at this point but Marley has to come in and stop the list looking a bit 'white boy rock'! This is a genuine work of art. Showcasing the spirituality, politicism and sheer joy of reggae in such a concise framework is astounding. Perhaps responsible for waking the whole world up to a small islands voice and bringing an army of past and future artists to the attention of the masses this album must be in any critics list. So buy it. If you've already bought it, buy it again.

6 - The Proclaimers - Sunshine On Leith

SUNSHINE ON LEITH
I'm Gonna Be (500 miles)/Cap In Hand/Then I Met You/My Old Friend The Blues/Sean/Sunshine On Leith/Come On Nature/I'm On My Way/What Do You Do/It's Saturday Night/Teardrops/Oh Jean

A masterpiece! A humourous collection of pop songs with real charm and some genuinely moving moments. Maybe not earth shattering on the scale of the Beatles or the Pistols, but this is a list of high quality pop songs and that is what this is. I will never understand why these guys are not revered more across the world, maybe the are too 'of Scotland' for a wider audience. Still. Scotland can be proud.

5 - The Sex Pistols - Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's The Sex Pistols

NEVER MIND THE BOLLOCKS, HERE'S THE SEX PISTOLS
Holiday's In The Sun/Liar/No Feelings/God Save The Queen/Problems/Seventeen/Anarchy In The UK/Bodies/Pretty Vacant/New York/EMI

Dated, yes, bettered in it's time even by the The Clash, but still one of the most important Briish albums ever. And seeing as the British will more than likely dominate this list, a worthy entry. I have in fact just heard EMI played on the radio and, though not one of the stand-out tracks, it still sounds fresh and vital. As does the whole album, which I still listen to at regular intervals. Any album that makes you feel full of youthful rebellion and political anger is alright by me!

4 - The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds

PET SOUNDS
Wouldn't it be nice/You Still Believe in me//That's not me/Don't Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder)/I'm Waiting For The Day/Let's Go Away For A While/Sloop John B/God Only Knows/I Know There's An Answer/Here Today/I Just Wasn't Made For These Times/Pet Sounds/Caroline No

When, on the few occasions it has happened, people have asked me what I consider to be the best album ever recorded, I say Pet Sounds. This does not mean it is my favourite. I was born in the year it was released so I don't have the personal investment in it as I do with, say, The Queen Is Dead. Which came out when I was 15 or 16. But hear it once, and WOW! It is the most beautiful thing you'll know in your lives barring the first sight of your first child. Stunning vocals, majestic orchestration. Those who have heard it need nothing more said. Those who haven't, I hope you've had children, or your life has been pointless....

3 - The Smiths - The Queen Is Dead

THE QUEEN IS DEAD
The Queen Is Dead/Frankly, Mr. Shankly/I Know It's Over/Never Had No One Ever/Cemetery Gates/Bigmouth Strikes Again/The Boy With The Thorn In His Side/Vicar In A Tutu/There Is A Light That Never Goes Out/Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others

Moving on a couple of decades I feel it only right to nail my colours to the wall and pick a personal favourite. This album is deliciously witty, morbidly romantic and packed with themes never before considered for the pop song! It is the definite high point of a unique and tragically short career of a band that was perfectly formed for exploring aspects of the human psyche that had remained un-mined in music for far to long. And all to a shimmering sound that belonged more in the golden age of the sixties than the barren wastes of the eighties; making it all the more vital to the ears. All very pretentious, I know, maybe you had to be a teenager when it was released. Still, it continues to shine after 20 odd years.

1 & 2 - The Beatles - Rubber Soul/Revolver

RUBBER SOUL
Drive My Car/Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)/You Won't See Me/Nowhere Man/Think For Yourself/The Word/Michele/What Goes On/Girl/I'm Looking Through You/In My Life/Wait/If I Needed Someone/Run For Your Life

REVOLVER
Taxman/Eleanor Rigby/I'm Only Sleeping/Love You To/ Here, There and Everywhere/Yellow Submarine/ She Said She Said/Good Day Sunshine/And Your Bird Can Sing/For No One/Dr Robert/I Want To Tell You/Got To Get You Into My Life/Tomorrow Never Knows

Well, you have to start with the Beatles. There is a reason why they are so huge. The only sticking point is how many albums get in. These two have to as they mark the change from the beat combo to the avant garde. The two sides of the group mixed here for the only part of their lifespan, thus creating their most interesting work and some classic pop tunes. It also marked the onset of the polarization of Lennon and McCartney (Elaenor Rigby vs. Tomorrow Never Knows, etc) and the beginnings of George as confident and accomplished songwriter. And even Ringo's finest hour! Much has been written about Sgt. Pepper and the White album but they are merely the results of the leaps made here.