1950s

X - Sinatra, Frank - In the Wee Small Hours (For an album this old, its a surprisingly gritty celebration of being a grown-up.  Cool.)
X - Presley, Elvis - Elvis Presley (1956)
X - Louvin Brothers - Tragic Songs of Life (Holy shit.  I didn't know the "playing country music backwards" joke was THIS old.  Good harmony, though.)
!X - Prima, Louis - Wildest
X - Domino, Fats - This is Fats
X - Ellington, Duke - At Newport (1956)
o Sinatra, Frank - Songs for Swingin' Lovers!
X - Crickets - Chirping...
X - Basie, Count - Atomic Mr Basie
X - Monk, Thelonious - Brilliant Corners
X - Sabú [Martínez] - Palo Congo
X - Davis, Miles - Birth of the Cool
X - Machito - Kenya
X - Little Richard - Here's...
X - Puente, Tito & His Orchestra - Dance Mania (1958)
X - Holiday, Billie - Lady in Satin (You know what?  It's OK.  Great voice, but I think she gets way too much worship.)
X - Elliott, Jack - Jack Takes the Floor
X - Vaughan, Sarah - At Mister Kelly's
X - Fitzgerald, Ella - Sings the Gershwin Song Book (Not at ALL my type of concert, but I really wished I could have been there to see it.  That's saying a LOT.)
X - Charles, Ray - Genius of... (1959)
X - Davis, Miles - Kind of Blue (Yup.  Jazz-Master.)
X - Robbins, Marty - Gunfighter Ballads & Trail Songs
X - Brubeck, Dave - Time Out (Ridiculously good jazz.  A lesson on how to be both experimental and soulful; clearly a masterpiece.)

1960s

X - Baez, Joan - Joan Baez (1960) (Traditional folk songs sung by a woman who's voice sounds like a chipmunk warbling. This isn't bad, though the description sounds like it might be.)
o Presley, Elvis - Elvis is Back!
X - Makeba, Miriam - Miriam Makeba (1960)
X - Everly Brothers - A Date with the... (The template from which most pop is cut, even today.  Which makes it stunningly mediocre.)
X - Smith, Jimmy - Back at the Chicken Shack (Some of the best Jazz you'll hear, so essential if this is your genre).
X - Muddy Waters - At Newport
X - Evans, Bill - Sunday at the Village Vanguard
X - Charles, Ray - Modern Sounds in Country & Western Music (Country songs covered by one of THE Jazz/Soul voices?  Yes please.)
X - Booker T & the MGs - Green Onions
X - Getz, Stan & Charlie Byrd - Jazz Samba
X - Price, Ray - Night Life
X - Beatles - With the...
X - Dylan, Bob - Freewheelin'...
!X - Spector, Phil & Various Artists - A Christmas Gift for You (The Spector "wall of sound" is utterly gorgeous and decadent.  Full, rich sounds, with beautiful voices.  New fave X-Mas album.)
X - Cooke, Sam - Live at the Harlem Square
X - Mingus, Charles - Black Saint & the Sinner Lady
X - Brown, James - Live at the Apollo (1963)
X - Getz, Stan & João Gilberto - Getz/Gilberto
o - Beatles - A Hard Day's Night
X - Brel, Jacques - Olympia 64
X - Burke, Solomon - Rock 'n' Soul
X - Springfield, Dusty - A Girl Called Dusty
X - Rolling Stones - Rolling Stones (1st Album) (Actually didn't care for it.  Then again, they weren't really the STONES on this one; I think this is here for historical purposes only.)
X - Owens, Buck - I've Got a Tiger by the Tail (Buck Owens: aural equivalent of the smell of beer, stale pretzels, cowboy hats, and regrets.  IOW, genre-defining country.  IOW: bleh.)
X - Lewis, Jerry Lee - Live at the Star Club, Hamburg (Jerry Lee Lewis: Speed metal of the '60s.  Of course its exciting.)
X - Sonics - Here Are the... (Sonics: The gleam in the eye of rock that would eventually gestate into Punk.  Fun, if shallow.)
X - Dylan, Bob - Bringing it All Back Home (Dylan is on this list b/c of what he was, not how his music sounds.  It's a "had to be there" thing-sux b/c of multiple entries.)
X - Redding, Otis - Otis Blue... Sings Soul (The man is amazing and belongs on this list.)
X - Beach Boys - Today! (Epitomized an oft-imitated sound.  Not sure if enough to be on the list, but I enjoyed it.)
X - Coltrane, John - A Love Supreme (I love the way Coltraine plays on "A Love Supreme," but I didn't care for *what* was played.  YMMV, I guess.)
X - King, B.B. - Live at the Regal (Glad I heard B. B. King's "Live at the Regal" before I died.)
X - Beatles - Rubber Soul (I have heard *every song* on "Rubber Soul" already.  I just didn't know I had.  Thanks dad! Oh, yeah, everyone should hear this.)
X - Jansch, Bert - Bert Jansch (1st Album) (Bert Jansch: Yawn.  Apparently, singing like you're bored of your own song stretches back to the 60s.).
X - Byrds, Mr Tambourine Man (Byrds is quentissential sixties music.  Generally I like it.)
o Dylan, Bob - Highway 61 Revisited
X - Who - My Generation (The Who's "My Generation" doesn't seem to resonate as strongly with _MY_ generation, or at least this member of it. But I can appreciate it.)
X - Beatles - Revolver ("Revolver" is great post-drugs Beatles, but it isn't even the best Beatles album on this list, much less overall.  Not list-worthy, IMO.)
X - Beach Boys - Pet Sounds ("Pet Sounds" has been called one of the greatest pop records of all time.  I'm not sure I disagree.)
X - Neil, Fred - Fred Neil (1st Album) ("Fred Neil"'s record isn't repulsive, and everyone's heard a couple of the songs, but it did nothing for me.)
X - Byrds - Fifth Dimension (The Byrds' "Fifth Dimension" didn't really need to be on this list, especially not since the previous one was better.)
X - Dylan, Bob - Blonde on Blonde ("'Blonde on Blonde' is often ranked as one of the greatest albums of all time" by a pack of tone-deaf idiots, maybe. 3/10; cringe-worthy.)
!X - Monks - Black Monk Time - ("Black Monk Time" is an *utterly* strange, exciting, exhuberent, and anachronistic ride that had me asking "WTF?" every few moments.)
X - Kinks - Face to Face (The Kinks: "Face to Face" is such a blatant post-drugs Beatle rip-off that I am astounded.  And mildly entertained.)
X - Mamas & the Papas - If You Can Believe Your Eyes & Ears (Reaction to the Mama's and the Papa's first record: "Well... sure.  Of course." Growing up with it made it sound like background music.)
X - Revere, Paul & the Raiders - Midnight Ride (I couldn't hear the music of Paul Revere & the Raiders' "Midnight Ride" because the sound of the 60s was too fucking loud.)
X - Mothers of Invention - Freak Out! (Reaction to hearing Mothers of Invention's "Freak Out!": http://goo.gl/ShRCi . Well, that, and applause.)
X - Rolling Stones - Aftermath (The first Rolling Stones album does not belong on this list, due to not sounding like the stones. But "Aftermath" certainly does. And how.)
X - Simon & Garfunkel - Parsley, Sage, Rosemary & Thyme (I never thought I'd become a huge fan of Simon & Garfunkel, but its happening.  However, I so far don't see a need for a second album on the list.)
X - 13th Floor Elevators - Psychedelic Sounds of the... (The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators are how the 60s knew that "psychodelic" was officially a musical style of pop. Hooray.)
X - John Mayall's Blues Breakers - With Eric Clapton (Ric Romero says: Eric Clapton can sure play the shit out of some blues solos, can't he?)
X - Yardbirds - Yardbirds [aka Roger the Engineer] (1st Album) (Yardbirds' first record... didn't strike me as OMG essential. Probably a "had to be there" thing.)
X - Simone, Nina - Wild is the Wind (Nina Simone's voice: sometimes beautiful, sometimes "chipmunk in a blender" ridiculous. Seriously, that vibrato... jeez.)
X - Gilberto, Astrud - Beach Samba - (Astrud Gilberto's "Beach Samba" - ...forgettable.  At least, I can't remember anything particular about it.)
X - Nico - Chelsea Girl (Nico, "Chelsea Girl": this is a day for forgettable.  This is forgettable folk/pop with a vocalist I don't really care for.  :-()
X - Beatles - Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (What can I say.  I love this album).
X - Country Joe & the Fish - Electric Music for the Mind & Body (Country Joe & the Fish - "Electric Music for the Mind & Body": *yawn*.  List filler.)
X - Buffalo Springfield - Again (Buffalo Springfield is so '60s it hurts.  In a good way.)
X - Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band - Safe as Milk (Captain Beefheart's "Safe as Milk" is certainly a worthwhile, listworthy record.  Really good blues rock.)
X - Moby Grape - Moby Grape (1st Album) (Moby Grape's debut album... total "had to be there" 60s snoozefest filler, but not unpleasant.)
X - Love - Da Capo ("Da Capo" is Love being really, really experimental, which is cool.  But nothing grabbed me - I think it tried to hard.)
X - Beau Brummels - Triangle (Oh yay, psychodelic fantasy medeival pop from the 60's.  Thank you, Beau Brummels.  Sounds like the animated Hobbit soundtrack.)
!X - Monkees - Headquarters (I never thought I'd enjoy the shit out of a Monkees album, but "Headquarters" is totally tits.)
X - Buckley, Tim - Goodbye & Hello (Ugh.  Tim Buckley's "Goodbye and Hello" really, really is not my thing.  I hear his later works are more artistically interesting, however.)
X - Love - Forever Changes ("Forever Changes" is more like it, Love.  Much better record as a whole.)
X - Cream - Disraeli Gears ("Disraeli Gears" sounds like a greatest hits album, in that I swear I've heard most of these songs before. Good stuff, Cream.)
o Pink Floyd - Piper at the Gates of Dawn
!X - Who - Sell Out (This list is *really* making me a fan of The Who.  "Sell Out" is ahead of its time, and rocks like a beast.)
!X - Velvet Underground - & Nico ("Velvet Underground" shows me how far back "experimental" music actualy goes.  "Heroin" is particularly wonderful. Keeper)
X - Sinatra, Frank - Frank Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim (Frank Sinatra is good, if you're into that sort of calm, sleepy stuff.  His "Girl from Impanema" is particularly enjoyable.)
X - Doors - Doors (1st Album) (The Door's first album really deserves to be here - very varied and entertaining.)
X - The Byrds - Younger Than Yesterday (The Byrds, "Younger than Yesterday": Yawn.)
X - Young Rascals - Groovin' (Today, the Young Rascals' "Groovin'" taught me that there is such a thing as "Blue-eyed soul".  And it is good.)
X - Jefferson Airplane - Surrealistic Pillow (Jefferson Airplane, "Surrealistic Pillow": good for that one song, I guess.)
X - Kinks - Something Else by the... (Wow.  Beatles knock-off.  Yet another "best" album of all time that isn't.)
X - Donovan - Sunshine Superman (Folky frippery only remembered because of a song about a hippie alternate-universe Superman.  No lie.)
X - Haggard, Merle - I'm a Lonesome Fugitive (Meh.  I guess if you're into that sorta thing, then good on you.)
X - Hendrix, Jimi - Are You Experienced (Good stuff.  I can't tell if I'm not overwhelmed because of how well-known this is).
X - Electric Prunes - I Had too Much to Dream (Last Night) (Generic 60s psychodelia.  Good, but not memorable).
o Lynn, Loretta - Don't Come Home a Drinkin' (With Lovin' on Your Mind)
X - Sharma, Shivkumar / Brij Bushan Kabra / Hariprasad Chaurasia - Call of the Valley (well.  OK.  Didn't move me, but I enjoyed hearing it).
*X - Velvet Underground - White Light/White Heat (What in THE fuck.  The VU&N was amazing, this is *terrible* - the Giant Sand of its time.)
X - Hendrix, Jimi - Axis: Bold as Love (It's Hendrix.  What can I say.)
o Franklin, Aretha - I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You
o Rolling Stones - Beggars Banquet
o Traffic - Traffic (2nd Album)
o Incredible String Band - Hangman's Beautiful Daughter
o Kinks - Village Green Preservation Society
o Shankar, Ravi - Sounds of India (1968)
o Mutantes, os - Mutantes, os (1st Album)
o Hendrix, Jimi - Electric Ladyland
o Cohen, Leonard - Songs of...
o Cash, Johnny - At Folsom Prison
o Nyro, Laura - Eli & the Thirteenth Confession
o Franklin, Aretha - Lady Soul
o Blue Cheer - Vincebus Eruptum
o Byrds - Notorious Byrd Brothers
o Big Brother & the Holding Company - Cheap Thrills
o United States of America - United States of America
o Dr John - Gris Gris
o Iron Butterfly - In a Gadda da Vida
o Pretty Things - S.F. Sorrow
o Simon & Garfunkel - Bookends
o Small Faces - Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake
o Band - Music from Big Pink
o Beck, Jeff - Truth
o Veloso, Caetano - Caetano Veloso (1968)
o Walker, Scott - Scott 2
o Zombies - Odessey & Oracle
o Morrison, Van - Astral Weeks
o Byrds - Sweetheart of the Rodeo
o Beatles - Beatles [aka White Album]
o Mothers of Invention - We're Only in it for the Money
o Young, Neil - Everybody Knows This is Nowhere
o Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band - Trout Mask Replica
o Creedence Clearwater Revival - Bayou Country
o Crosby, Stills & Nash - Crosby, Stills & Nash
o Blood, Sweat & Tears - Blood, Sweat & Tears (2nd Album)
o Flying Burrito Brothers - Gilded Palace of Sin
o Cash, Johnny - At San Quentin
o Creedence Clearwater Revival - Green River
o Beatles - Abbey Road
o Who - Tommy
o Davis, Miles - In a Silent Way
o Bee Gees - Odessa
o Pentangle - Basket of Light
o Rolling Stones - Let it Bleed
o Drake, Nick - Five Leaves Left
o Springfield, Dusty - Dusty in Memphis
o Presley, Elvis - From Elvis in Memphis
!X - Velvet Underground - Velvet Underground (3rd Album)
o Quicksilver Messenger Service - Happy Trails
o Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin (1st Album)
o Band - Band (2nd Album)
o Led Zeppelin - II
o MC5 - Kick Out the Jams
o Temptations - Cloud Nine
o Sly & the Family Stone - Stand!
o Buckley, Tim - Happy Sad
o Chicago Transit Authority [Chicago] - Chicago Transit Authority (1969)
o Fairport Convention - Unhalfbricking
o Youngbloods - Elephant Mountain
o Hayes, Isaac - Hot Buttered Soul
o Grateful Dead - Live/Dead
o Kinks - Arthur: Or the Decline & Fall of the British Empire
o King Crimson - In the Court of the Crimson King
o Cohen, Leonard - Songs from a Room
o Fairport Convention - Liege & Lief
o Walker, Scott - Scott 4
o Stooges - Stooges (1st Album)
o Spence, Alexander 'Skip' - Oar
o Zappa, Frank - Hot Rats

1970s

X - Creedence Clearwater Revival - Cosmo's Factory (Just fantastic.  This is why Creedence got popular.)
X - Derek & the Dominos - Layla & Other Assorted Love Songs
X - Davis, Miles - Bitches Brew (94 minutes of WHAT THE FUCK, MILES.  I will never regret listening to it once, but likely will not do so again.)
!X - Spirit - Twelve Dreams of Dr Sardonicus (Whoa!  So many good, stoneriffic musical ideas in here, its amazing it could be contained on vinyl.  The origin of space rock. )
!X - Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath (1st Album) (10/10: The essential guidebook of Doom)
X - Doors - Morrison Hotel (OK.  Not great, not "essential, but worth hearing once I guess.)
X - Carpenters - Close to You (I love Karen's voice so much, I doubt I'll ever bad-think any of the Carpenter albums.  'specially not this one.)
X - Still, Stephen - Stephen Stills (1st Album)
X - Lennon, John - Plastic Ono Band (Well, I sure enjoyed that, and didn't expect to.)
X - Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - Déjà  vu
!X - Black Sabbath - Paranoid (Fucking awesome, to the last track.  Two for Two, at this point in time, and I don't really like Ozzy's voice that much.)
X - Young, Neil - After the Gold Rush
x - Led Zeppelin - III (Meh.  Yeah, I said it: MEH.)
!X - Deep Purple - In Rock (DING!  We have a winnar.  Howard Stern said it on his movie: If you love rock, you love Deep Purple.)
X - Morrison, Van - Moondance
X - Grateful Dead - American Beauty
X - Drake, Nick - Bryter Layter
o - Shankar, Ananda - Ananda Shankar (1970)
X - Who - Live at Leeds(1st Album) (What.  The energy... wow.)
X - Soft Machine - Third
X - Stewart, Rod - Gasoline Alley (Meh.)
X - Harrison, George - All Things Must Pass
!X - Simon & Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled Water (Like it or don't, Simon+Garfunkel's last record is a now-lost lesson on how to craft an *album*, not two singles and ten tracks of crap.)
X - Stevens, Cat - Tea for the Tillerman (Cat Stevens: A '70s 10 (so, a 7 for performance and feeling, but too dated for me to really connect emotionally with the subject matter.)
X - Traffic - John Barleycorn Must Die (Traffic: No WAY is this a mandatory (or remotely interesting) album. Oh, wait: Steve Winwood is in it?  Explains everything.  The very sound of boredom.)
X - Stooges - Fun House (The Stooges' "Fun House": clearly more fun to make than it is to listen to.)
X - James Taylor - Sweet Baby James (UGH. Could gladly have gone my entire life without hearing this. More boring than listening to paint dry.)
o McCartney, Paul - McCartney (1970)
!X - Santana - Abraxas (Santana "Abraxis" - Definitely an essential album.  Almost everything on here is classic.)
X - Barrett, Syd - Madcap Laughs (Barrett's "Madcap Laughs": Interesting idea. Interesting execution. Mostly uninteresting music that is thankfully short.  Non-essential.)
X - Jethro Tull - Aqualung (Given my love of progressive rock/metal, I am APPALLED that I never heard "Aqualung" until today.  My biased self says its awesome and worthy.)
X - Crosby, David - If Only I Could Remember My Name (David Crosby, "If Only I Could Remember My Name": This is what being stoned sounds like.  I think listening to it got me to a [4].)
!X - Sly & the Family Stone - There's a Riot Goin' On (I think "There's a Riot Goin' On" is some of the most awesome funk that exists.  Just badass from the first note.)
X - Gaye, Marvin - What's Going On (Marvin Gaye's "What's Goin' On" is very easy on the ears, but only essential as something notable in the war protest album scene.)
X - Yes - Yes Album (I love the way the guys on "The Yes Album" play, but is it wrong to hate how the instruments in the mix _sound_?  That dull, limp, washed out sound... eh.)
X - Bee Gees - Trafalgar (Wow, does THIS suck.  No wonder they went disco later.  Didn't even sell well... so how is this 1k1 stuff??)
X - Who - Who's Next (Albums like "Who's Next" are the reasons why this list exist.  I held in my poop to avoid having to pause it.  Fucking great stuff.)
X - King, Carole - Tapestry (Wow.  I think I've heard all the songs on Carole King's "Tapestry" already.  Woman can write and sing well; very listworthy.)
X - Allman Brothers - At Fillmore East (Dude, does anyone have *anything* negative to say about the Allman Brothers' "At Fillmore East"?  If so, you can *go right to hell*.)
X - Rolling Stones - Sticky Fingers (I know why the Stones' "Sticky Fingers" is on this list. And it isn't bad; just wans't my thing. Also, fuck twangy steel guitars.)
o Lennon, John - Imagine
o Beach Boys - Surf's Up
o Yes - Fragile
X - Doors - LA Woman (Just heard The Doors' "LA Woman".  I didn't care for it; it tried too hard to be soulful/bluesy, and the keyboards were just comical sounding.)
o Can - Tago Mago
X - John, Elton - Madman Across the Water
X - Parton, Dolly - Coat of Many Colors (Dolly Parton... certainly belongs on this list, sings well, and tells good stories.)
X - McLean, Don - American Pie (Don McLean's "American Pie": Two great songs, lots of filler. But man, them songs make it worthwhile.)
X - Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Tarkus (I had no idea that ELP were part of the whole Prog movement, but if "Tarkus" isn't prog rock, I dunno what is. Worth a listen, fo sho.)
X - Led Zeppelin - IV [aka Untitled / aka Four Symbols] (Led Zepplin IV: 5 parts white-boy blues overlaid with horrible shrieking, 1 part "lemme make this worthwhile" (Stairway to Heaven).)
X - Gainsbourg, Serge - Histoire de Melody Nelson (Serge Gainsborg seems to be the one to blame for art-house instrumentation overlaid with breathy french whispering.  Pretentious garbage.
)
X - Stewart, Rod - Every Picture Tells a Story (I *just don't like* the way some vocalists' voices sound, no matter how well they sing. Rod Stewart is one of those. Nails on a chalkboard.)
X - Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Pictures at an Exhibition (ELP did a prog-rock version of Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition"... and it is AMAZING. Definitely list-worthy!)
X - Cohen, Leonard - Songs of Love & Hate (As much as I enjoy his "Everybody Knows" song, I didn't like Cohen's "Songs of Love and Hate." He sounds apathetic and... drugged.)
X - Mitchell, Joni - Blue (Joni Mitchell isn't my cup of tea. But I can see why she's on the list, so OK.)
!X - Funkadelic - Maggot Brain (Funkadelic's "Maggot Brain" is one of the best things to come out of the 70s.  This one really earns its place.)
!X - Joplin, Janis - Pearl (Janis Joplin's "Pearl" is one of them *really*-sad-becasue-it's-awesome posthumous things, like "The Crow" and "Dock of the Bay". Fuckin-A++)
!X - Kuti, Fela - With Ginger Baker: Live! (If you like drums and percussion, you can't live without Kuti Fela's "Live with Ginger Baker" album.)
X - Faces - A Nod is as Good as a Wink... To a Blind Horse (Faces = stealth Rod Stewart.  Goddammitsomuch, quit it with the Stewart love, list; he's not that.)
X - Flamin' Groovies - Teenage Head (Flamin' Groovies is like the Rolling Stones that even the Rolling Stones liked better.  Which means pretty decent blues rock.)
X - Clark, Gene - White Light (Forgettable, n: Gene Clark's "White Light".)
X - Prine, John - John Prine (1st Album) (At first I thought, "great, another american folk record." But "John Prine" started out with a song about being high in public, and just kept being good.  
X - Nilsson, Harry - Nilsson Schmilsson (Holy shitburger. Harry Nilsson wrote ALL the famous songs. I can't believe how many of them I already knew well (and liked!).)
X - T.Rex - Electric Warrior ("Electric Warrior" is bandwagoning rock from T.Rex, probably on here because "Bang a Gong (Get it On)" was catchy.  Non-essential, but fun.)
X - Bowie, David - Hunky Dory (I enjoyed Bowie's "Hunky Dory".  Not enough to run out and own it, but it didn't suck.)
X - Newman, Randy - Sail Away (Listening to Randy Newman is like wearing a warm blanket and sipping hot chocolate on a clear winter morning.  "Sail Away" makes me happy.)
X - Deep Purple - Machine Head (Listening to Purple's "Machine Head" is like hearing the first plain-jane Heavy Metal album that existed (Black Sabbath's = "doom" now.))
X - Big Star - # 1 Record (Big Star's "#1 Record" wasn't - barely sold 10,000.  It's better than that, but kind of forgettable amoungst that decade.)
X - Black Sabbath - Vol 4 (Wiki article claims that "Vol. 4" contains a lot of Sabbath's hits, but they're all new to me.  Like, but not love.)
X - Steely Dan - Can't Buy a Thrill (Well. "Can't Buy a Thrill" isn't a bad offering from Steely Dan, but I was honestly bored much of the time.)
X - Young, Neil - Harvest (Neil Young's "Harvest" tells me that today is a banner day for really, really boring music.)
X - Mayfield, Curtis - Superfly: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Curtis Mayfield's "Superfly" is the only anti-drug record I've ever heard that makes drugs sound so fucking *cool*.)
X - Slade - Slayed? (Slade: the real Quiet Riot)
X - Deep Purple - Made in Japan
X - Yes - Close to the Edge (Well THAT was trippy.  But not particularly interesting).
X - Reed, Lou - Transformer (Dirty, uncouth, and rather awesome.  Voice sucks, though.)
X - Masekela, Hugh - Home is Where the Music Is (Easy listening, good horn work.  Wouldn't say its essential).
X - Nascimento, Milton & Lo Borges - Clube da Esquina (1972)
X - Rundgren, Todd - Something/Anything (the '70s version of Coldplay.  Boring, if you didn't already get the joke).
!X - Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - Will the Circle Be Unbroken? (Fuck.  I hate that I LOVE this.)
X - Wonder, Stevie - Talking Book (Holy crap what a record.  And voice.  And talent.)
X - Stills, Stephen - Manassas (Chill music that really isn't my thing.  Easy Listening stuff.)
X - T.Rex - Slider (For '72, this is groundbreaking stuff.  Set the pattern for Glam everywhere.)
o Ackles, David - American Gothic
o Eagles - Eagles (1st Album)
o Buckley, Tim - Greetings from LA
o Drake, Nick - Pink Moon
o Simon, Paul - Paul Simon (1972)
o Roxy Music - Roxy Music (1st Album)
o Alice Cooper - School's Out
o Temptations - All Directions
o Bowie, David - Rise & Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
o War - World is a Ghetto
o Green, Al - Let's Stay Together
o Rolling Stones - Exile on Main St
o Lynyrd Skynyrd - Pronounced Leh-nerd Skin-nerd
o Incredible Bongo Band - Bongo Rock
o Bowie, David - Aladdin Sane
o King Crimson - Lark's Tongues in Aspic
o Marley, Bob & the Wailers - Catch a Fire
o Hawkwind - Space Ritual
o Cale, John - Paris 1919
o Can - Future Days
o Reed, Lou - Berlin
o Genesis - Selling England by the Pound
X - Gaye, Marvin - Let's Get it On
o Martyn, John - Solid Air
o Roxy Music - For Your Pleasure
o Faust - IV
o Hancock, Herbie - Head Hunters
o Mott the Hoople - Mott
o Oldfield, Mike - Tubular Bells
o Rundgren, Todd - A Wizard, a True Star
o John, Elton - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
o Steely Dan - Countdown to Ecstasy
o Jennings, Waylon - Honky Tonk Heroes
o Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
o Wonder, Stevie - Innervisions
o ZZ Top - Tres Hombres
o McCartney, Paul & Wings - Band on the Run
o Sensational Alex Harvey Band - Next
o Alice Cooper - Billion Dollar Babies
o Iggy & the Stooges - Raw Power
o Isley Brothers - 3 + 3
o New York Dolls - New York Dolls (1st Album)
o Eno, Brian - Here Come the Warm Jets
o Bad Company - Bad Company (1st Album)
o Genesis - Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
o Otis, Shuggie - Inspiration Information
o Wonder, Stevie - Fullfillingness' First Finale
o Clapton, Eric - 461 Ocean Boulevard
o Kraftwerk - Autobahn
o Morrison, Van - It's Too Late to Stop Now
o Mitchell, Joni - Court & Spark
o Queen - II
o Roxy Music - Country Life
o Tangerine Dream - Phaedra
o Sparks - Kimono My House
o Supertramp - Crime of the Century
o Thompson, Richard & Linda - I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight
o Scott-Heron, Gil & Brian Jackson - Winter in America
o Queen - Sheer Heart Attack
o 10cc - Sheet Music
o Young, Neil - On the Beach
o Jones, George - Grand Tour
o Clark, Gene - No Other
o Steely Dan - Pretzel Logic
o Newman, Randy - Good Old Boys
o Marley, Bob & the Wailers - Natty Dread
o Wyatt, Robert - Rock Bottom
o Parsons, Gram - Grievous Angel
o Eno, Brian - Another Green World
o Dictators - Go Girl Crazy!
o Neu! - '75
o Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti
o Jarrett, Keith - Köln Concert
o Aerosmith - Toys in the Attic
o Bowie, David - Young Americans
o Burning Spear - Marcus Garvey
o Springsteen, Bruce - Born to Run
o Harris, Emmylou - Pieces of the Sky
o Dion - Born to Be With You
o Mitchell, Joni - Hissing of Summer Lawns
o Tom Waits - Nighthawks At The Diner
o Burman, Rahul Dev - Shalimar (Soundtrack) 
o Young, Neil - Tonight's the Night
o Dylan, Bob - Blood on the Tracks
o Smith, Patti - Horses
o Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
o Queen - A Night at the Opera
o Nelson, Willie - Red Headed Stranger
o Earth, Wind & Fire - That's the Way of the World
o Mayfield, Curtis - There's No Place Like America Today
o Petty, Tom & the Heartbreakers - Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers (1st Album)
o Modern Lovers - Modern Lovers [Rec 1972, not released until 1976]
o Bowie, David - Station to Station
o Mitchell, Joni - Hejira
o Boston - Boston (1st Album)
o Eagles - Hotel California
o ABBA - Arrival
o Kiss - Destroyer
o Rush - 2112
o Ben, Jorge - África Brasil
o Armatrading, Joan - Joan Armatrading (1st Album)
o Aerosmith - Rocks
o Parliament - Mothership Connection
o Penguin Café Orchestra - Music from the Penguin Café
o Jarre, Jean Michel - Oxygene
o Ramones - Ramones (1st Album)
o Kuti, Fela - Zombie
o Tosh, Peter - Legalize It
o Wonder, Stevie - Songs in the Key of Life
o Frampton, Peter - Frampton Comes Alive
o Eno, Brian - Before & After Science
o Kraftwerk - Trans-Europe Express
o Joel, Billy - Stranger, the
o Marley, Bob & the Wailers - Exodus
o Electric Light Orchestra - Out of the Blue
o Weather Report - Heavy Weather
o Muddy Waters - Hard Again
o Stranglers - Rattus Norvegicus
o Clash - Clash (1st Album)
o Bowie, David - Low
o Steely Dan - Aja
o Wire - Pink Flag
o Martyn, John - One World
o Talking Heads - 77
o Fleetwood Mac - Rumours
o Bowie, David - 'Heroes'
o Wilson, Dennis - Pacific Ocean Blue
o Suicide - Suicide (1st Album)
o Iggy Pop - Idiot, the
o Gabriel, Peter - Peter Gabriel (I)
o Television - Marquee Moon
o Meat Loaf - Bat Out of Hell
o Costello, Elvis - My Aim is True
o Iggy Pop - Lust for Life
o Dury, Ian - New Boots & Panties!!
o Sex Pistols - Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the...
o Pere Ubu - Modern Dance
o Kraftwerk - Man Machine
o Blondie - Parallel Lines
o Regina, Elís - Vento de Maio
o Pere Ubu - Dub Housing
o Only Ones - Only Ones (1st Album)
o Costello, Elvis - This Year's Model
o Jam - All Mod Cons
o Ely, Joe - Honky Tonk Masquerade
o Adverts - Crossing the Red Sea with the...
o Big Star - Third (aka Sister Lovers)
o Residents - Duck Stab/Buster & Glen
o Public Image Ltd - Public Image
o Magazine - Real Life
o Springsteen, Bruce - Darkness on the Edge of Town
o Funkadelic - One Nation Under a Groove
o Throbbing Gristle - DOA: Third & Final Report
o Thin Lizzy - Live & Dangerous
o Talking Heads - More Songs About Buildings & Food
o Buzzcocks - Another Music in a Different Kitchen
o Van Halen - Van Halen (1st Album)
o Colón, Willie & Rubén Blades - Siembra
o Cars - Cars (1st Album)
o Devo - Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo
o Dire Straits - Dire Straits (1st Album)
o Saints - Eternally Yours
o Gaye, Marvin - Here, My Dear
o Nelson, Willie - Stardust
o Chic - C'est Chic
o X-ray Spex - Germ Free Adolescents
o Eno, Brian - Ambient 1: Music for Airports
o Siouxsie & the Banshees - Scream, the
o AC/DC - Highway to Hell
o Sister Sledge - We Are Family
o Crusaders - Street Life
o Germs - GI
o B52s - B52s (1st Album)
o Czukay, Holger - Movies
o Police - Reggatta de Blanc
o Fall - Live at the Witch Trials
o Talking Heads - Fear of Music
o Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures
o Chic - Risqué
o Undertones - Undertones (1st Album)
o Clash - London Calling
o Japan - Quiet Life
o Faithfull, Marianne - Broken English
o Slits - Cut
o Costello, Elvis - Armed Forces
o Young, Neil - Rust Never Sleeps
o Gang of Four - Entertainment!
o Cheap Trick - At Budokan
o Fleetwood Mac - Tusk
o Pink Floyd - Wall, the
o Public Image Ltd - Metal Box
o Jackson, Michael - Off the Wall
o Damned - Machine Gun Etiquette
o Numan, Gary - Pleasure Principle
o Specials - Specials (1st Album)

1980s

X - Adam & the Ants - Kings of the Wild Frontier (Boring, forgettable synthpop.  Probably on here because it is likely one of the pioneers of the style.)
X - Dexys Midnight Runners - Searching for the Young Soul Rebels 
!X - AC/DC - Back in Black (I don't even have to say anything about this classic, other than to agree that it deserves to be a classic). 
X - Cramps - Songs the Lord Taught Us (So THIS Is rockabilly!  Cool.)
X - Dead Kennedys - Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables (Oh hell yes.  Punk!)
!X - Gabriel, Peter - Peter Gabriel (III) (Amazing, innovative, creative album that doesn't use cymbols.)
X - Soft Boys - Underwater Moonlight (Mostly a snoozefest.)
X - Cure - Seventeen Seconds (
o Echo & the Bunnymen - Crocodiles
!X - Motörhead - Ace of Spades (This is the father of thrash.  The Dead Kennedy's is the mother.)
X - Killing Joke - Killing Joke (1st Album)
X - Judas Priest - British Steel (Only on here because it typified the NWOBHM sound, not because its the best example.)
X - Circle Jerks - Group Sex
X - Talking Heads - Remain in Light
X - Joy Division - Closer
!X - Iron Maiden - Iron Maiden (1st Album) (You can hear traces of disco on this.  I don't think this is a "must hear" album, and I'm a huge fan of the band.)
X - Undertones - Hypnotised
X - Jam - Sound Affects (forgettable)
!X - Waits, Tom - Heartattack & Vine (huh.  This is really good)
X - UB40 - Signing Off (Interesting sorta jamaican remixes)
X - Teardrop Explodes - Kilimanjaro (Forgettable, typical '80s fluff)
!X - Specials - More Specials (How Ska should be done.  No Doubt must have paid apt attention to this.)
X - Winwood, Steve - Arc of a Diver (The aural equivalent of valium.  What the worst of the 80s sounds like)
X - Pretenders - Pretenders (1st Album) (Pretenders' first album: more culturally relevant & influential than it is musically interesting; good, but hardly "must hear" calibre.).  
X - Einstürzende Neubauten - Kollaps (The granddaddy of noise rock!)
X - Siouxsie & the Banshees - Juju (Siouxsie & the Banshees: Post-punk that, unlike New Wave, doesn't suck at all.  The respect is deserved.)
X - Heaven 17 - Penthouse & Pavement (Heaven 17: Really entertaining '80s synhpop.  I feel like I've just seen a Unicorn.)
X - Go-Gos - Beauty & the Beat (Unsurprisingly, the Go-Go's are really fun. +1 for really good bass lines.)
X - Motörhead - No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith (great, but... did this list really need another Motorhead record?)
X - Soft Cell - Non Stop Erotic Cabaret (I want to hate "Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret" becuase *fuck "Tainted Love"*.  But I really AM glad I heard "Sex Midgets" before death.)
X - Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark - Architecture & Morality (It's been two minutes since I listened to "Architecture & Morality".  I can remember _none_ of it.  How did this make it to the list?)
X - Eno, Brian & David Byrne - My Life in the Bush of Ghosts ("My Life in the Bush of Ghosts": Just Brian Eno and David Byrne doing really, really insteresting things with music. Again.)
!X - Black Flag - Damaged (Black Flag, fo' sho', deserves being on the list.  The song about watching TV (on "Damaged") is THE SHIT, and I will own this.)
X - X - Wild Gift (If punk is your thing?  X's "Wild Gift" is a seminal release. I don't think its amazing enough in general to be a 1k1-lister, however.)
X - Psychedelic Furs - Talk, Talk, Talk (Psychadelic Furs: Wow.  I didn't realize how good and seminal "Talk, Talk, Talk" was. List-worthy and remarkably influential.)
X - Human League - Dare (The Human League's "Dare": popular in its day, but now it just sounds like a NES game.  On this list to as an example of not aging well.)
X - Gun Club - Fire of Love (I should like Gun Club's punk/blues "Fire of Love"... but mostly, I just found the lead singer's bleating annoying. A poor man's Cramps.)
X - Bauhaus - Mask (I was unimpressed with Bauhaus's "Mask".  I don't exactly hear how this is supposed to be the father of Goth; just new wave to me.)
o Womack, Bobby - Poet
X - Tom Tom Club - Tom Tom Club (1st Album) ("Tom Tom Club" is some strange and unique electronic dance rock.  The cover of "Under the Boardwalk" makes it.)
X - Rush - Moving Pictures (Rush's "Moving Pictures" is such an obvious 1k1 shoo-in that I'm not sure any comment I make is worth the effort.)
X - ABBA - Visitors (It was a mistake to include Abba's last record, "Visitors," on this list.  Besides being boring, they don't sound like Abba.)
X - ABC - Lexicon of Love (ABC's "Lexicon of Love" - garden variety 80s synthpop drivel that is way, _way_ critically overrated.  Sorry, guys, it is.)
X - Prince - 1999 (Few albums are as representative of a decade's sound as Prince's "1999".  Essential record, particularly for fans of the '80s.)
o Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five - Message, the (It's so cute to hear Grandmaster Flash and instantly recall both the video-game synths and clumsy rhymes near the birth of hip-hop.)
X - Costello, Elvis - Imperial Bedroom (I *want* to say how awesome Elvis Costello is on "Imperial Bedroom", given how varied and complex it is... but I'm just not moved enough to care.)
X - Cure - Pornography (I did not enjoy the Cure's Pornography.  Robert Smith's voice sounds slightly worse than cats being strangled.)
X - Dexys Midnight Runners - Too Rye Ay ("Too Rye Ay" is about an hour of songs JUST AS GOOD AS "Come on Eileen". Some way better. Do yourself the favor, and hear it.)
X - Simple Minds - New Gold Dream (81, 82, 83, 84) ("New Gold Dream" - more early-80s new wave from Simple Minds.  Utterly forgettable; no real redeeming qualities.  List-filler.)
X - Madness - Rise & Fall (For a record that was never released in the USA, I sure enjoyed Madness' "Rise and Fall".  Seen the video for "Our House" a jillion times.)
!X - Fagen, Donald - Nightfly (Donald Fagan's "Nightfly" is surprisingly sophisticated and fun, despite initially sounding like 50's elevator music.  Keeper.)
X - Haircut One Hundred - Pelican West ("Haircut One Hundred" is Pelican West wishing you'd have a good time... but list didn't need MORE fucking New Wave.)
X - Bush, Kate - Dreaming, the ("The Dreaming" is about what you'd expect from the Tori Amos that came before Tori Amos.  Well worth hearing.) 
X - Orange Juice - Rip it Up ("Rip it up" is more post-punk '80s new wave from Bauha... er, Simple Mi... er, Flock of... oh.  From Orange Juice.  Yeah.  Ok.)
!X - Jackson, Michael - Thriller (You have no soul if you don't like, or recognize the importance of, "Thriller".)
X - Birthday Party - Junkyard (I probably would have enjoyed Birthday Party's post-punk "Junkyard"; now it just sounds like trying too hard to be noisy and in-your-face.)
X - Venom - Black Metal (Despite its title, Venom's "Black Metal" is more like proto thrash with kind of a shitty singer.  Crappy, and not as influential as its made out to be.)
X - Springsteen, Bruce - Nebraska (Bruce Springsteen is on this list a LOT, but I think he should only have one entry at best.  "Nebraska" isn't that entry.)
X - Associates - Sulk ("Sulk" from the Associates isn't bad, but fuck if I'm not getting tired of seeing this list assert that New Wave is must-hear material.)
X - Iron Maiden - Number of the Beast (Two obvious masterpices on the list that I've already heard: "Number of the Beast," and "Violent Femmes".  Both are a must for everyone.)
X - Duran Duran - Rio (Duran Duran's Rio: The whole album is just as fun as the videos.  Intensely good bass lines.  Like!)
X - Violent Femmes - Violent Femmes (1st Album) (Two obvious masterpices on the list that I've already heard: "Number of the Beast," and "Violent Femmes".  Both are a must for everyone.)
X - McLaren, Malcolm - Duck Rock ("Duck Rock" from Malcom McLaren is like the missing link between traditional African music and Hip-Hop.  It is totally awesome.  What a good day for music. :-))
X - Def Leppard - Pyromania ("Pyromania" is still fucking awesome, though mainstream-izing metal like this also predictably led to the much-reviled age of hair metal.)
o REM - Murmur
X - The The - Soul Mining ("Soul Mining" is listed as one of the best albums of the 80s, and after hearing it, its hard to disagree.)
X - Waits, Tom - Swordfishtrombones (Today's "what is this I don't even": Tom Waits' "Swordfishtrombone". Schizophrenic, but not unlikable.)
o Blue Nile - A Walk Across the Rooftops
X - Hanoi Rocks - Back to Mystery City (Wow.  Hanoi Rocks.  Really good stuff that I heard about, but didn't listen to, back in the '80s.)
X - Lauper, Cyndi - She's So Unusual ("She's So Unusual": Epitomizing how much fun the '80s was at points.  Hard not to smile.)
o Simon, Paul - Hearts & Bones
o Echo & the Bunnymen - Porcupine
X - ZZ Top - Eliminator (What, is like every hit they've ever had on this one record?  Obviously its good, but come on...)
X - Eurythmics - Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) (List should remove most of its New Wave albums, and leave only "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)". Fantastic.)
X - U2 - War (I was pretty much unimpressed with U2's "War".  How it became an icon of its decade is *well* beyond me.)
X - Police - Synchronicity (I'm sad I wasn't into things like the Police's "Synchronicity" at the time.  Would have been awesome to see live.)
X - Meat Puppets - II (Meat Puppets: "II" - I think I've already forgotten it.)
X - Culture Club - Colour by Numbers ("Color by Numbers" is actually a remarkably good '80s record.  Bravo, Culture Club.)
X - Frankie Goes to Hollywood - Welcome to the Pleasuredome ("Welcome to the Pleasuredome" was way more naughty than I thought.  Awesome.)
X - Run DMC - Run DMC (1984) (WOW.  I forget how slow and relatively basic Rap was back then.  Fun trip down memory lane, but too dated now.)
!X - Sade - Diamond Life (Sade-Diamond Life: Essential if you're into smooth jazz.  And she's beautiful.)
!X - Cocteau Twins - Treasure (What the fuck, two amazing records in a row?  Wow.)
X - Minor Threat - Out of Step (See, now, THIS is what I thought punk was.)
X - Van Halen - 1984
X - Prince - Purple Rain
X - Replacements - Let it Be (This is supposed to be one of the best CD's of the 80s?  How?  It wasn't bad, but nowhere near *great* much less *essential*.)
X - Style Council - Café Bleu (I was bored.  I'll admit it.  Distilled '80s.)
o Turner, Tina - Private Dancer
X - Echo & the Bunnymen - Ocean Rain
X - Minutemen - Double Nickels on the Dime (Rock/Punk/Whatever, on everyone's list, but didn't really thrill me overmuch).
o Cole, Lloyd & the Commotions - Rattlesnakes
o N'Dour, Youssou - Immigrés
o Springsteen, Bruce - Born in the USA
o Fall - This Nation's Saving Grace
o Ibrahim, Abdullah - Water from an Ancient Well
o Aha - Hunting High & Low
o Tears for Fears - Songs from the Big Chair
o Dire Straits - Brothers in Arms
o Prefab Sprout - Steve McQueen (aka Two Wheels Good)
o Mekons - Fear & Whiskey
o Big Black - Atomizer
o Vega, Suzanne - Suzanne Vega (1st Album)
o Pogues - Rum, Sodomy & the Lash
o Bush, Kate - Hounds of Love
o Smiths - Meat is Murder
o Waits, Tom - Rain Dogs
o Jesus & Mary Chain - Psychocandy
o New Order - Low Life
o Simply Red - Picture Book
o Dexys Midnight Runners - Don't Stand Me Down
o Scritti Politti - Cupid & Psyche 85
o Costello, Elvis - Blood & Chocolate
o Afrika Bambaataa & the Soul Sonic Force - Planet Rock: The Album
o Beastie Boys - Licensed to Ill
o Metallica - Master of Puppets
o The The - Infected
o Griffith, Nanci - Last of the True Believers
o Bragg, Billy - Talking with the Taxman About Poetry
o Talk Talk - Colour of Spring
o Megadeth - Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?
o Bon Jovi - Slippery When Wet
o Sonic Youth - Evol
o Slayer - Reign in Blood
o Throwing Muses - Throwing Muses (1986)
o Simon, Paul - Graceland
o Run DMC - Raising Hell
o XTC - Skylarking
o Earle, Steve - Guitar Town
o Bad Brains - I Against I
o Baker, Anita - Rapture
o Smiths - Queen is Dead
o Gabriel, Peter - So
o Anthrax - Among the Living
o Dinosaur Jr - You're Living All Over Me
o Parton, Dolly with Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris - Trio
o Def Leppard - Hysteria
o REM - Document
o Prince - Sign 'O' the Times
o Cult - Electric
o Depeche Mode - Music for the Masses
o Sisters of Mercy - Floodland
o Michael, George - Faith
o Hüsker Dü - Warehouse: Songs & Stories
o Butthole Surfers - Locust Abortion Technician
o Piazzolla, Astor & Gary Burton - New Tango
o Smiths - Strangeways Here We Come
o Guns N' Roses - Appetite for Destruction
o Jesus & Mary Chain - Darklands
o Ladysmith Black Mambazo - Shaka Zulu
o Laibach - Opus Dei
o Napalm Death - Scum
o Sonic Youth - Sister
o Triffids - Calenture
o Jackson, Michael - Bad
o Pet Shop Boys - Actually
o U2 - Joshua Tree
o D'Arby, Terence Trent - Introducing the Hardline According to...
o Pogues - If I Should Fall from Grace with God
o Cohen, Leonard - I'm Your Man
o Waterboys - Fisherman's Blues
o Fishbone - Truth & Soul
o Everything But the Girl - Idlewild
o Living Colour - Vivid
o Mudhoney - Superfuzz Bigmuff
o REM - Green
o Happy Mondays - Bummed
o Go Betweens - 16 Lovers Lane
o Cowboy Junkies - Trinity Session
o Chapman, Tracy - Tracy Chapman (1st Album)
o My Bloody Valentine - Isn't Anything
o Pixies - Surfer Rosa
o Metallica - And Justice for All
o Dinosaur Jr - Bug
o Krause, Dagmar - Tank Battles
o lang, k.d. - Shadowland
o American Music Club - California
o Morrissey - Viva Hate
o Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation
o Sugarcubes - Life's Too Good
o Yoakam, Dwight - Beuenas Noches from a Lonely Roomn
o Jane's Addiction - Nothing's Shocking
o Public Enemy - It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back
o Faith No More - Real Thing
o Kravtiz, Lenny - Let Love Rule
o Hooker, John Lee - Healer, the
o New Order - Technique
o Madonna - Like a Prayer
o Queen Latifah - All Hail the Queen
o Spacemen 3 - Playing with Fire
o fIREHOSE - fROMOHIO
o Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique
o Young Gods - Eau Rouge, l'
o Zorn, John - Spy vs Spy: Music of Ornette Coleman
o Stone Roses - Stone Roses (1st Album)
o Cherry, Neneh - Raw Like Sushi
o Maal, Baaba & Mansour Seck - Djam Leelii
o Bush, Kate - Sensual World
o Cure - Disintegration
o 808 State - 808:90
o Coldcut - What's That Noise?
o Adamson, Barry - Moss Side Story
o Aerosmith - Pump
o Pixies - Doolittle
o Raitt, Bonnie - Nick of Time
o Fugazi - Repeater
o Soul II Soul - Club Classics: Vol One
o De La Soul - 3 Feet High & Rising
o Jackson, Janet - Rhythm Nation 1814
o Jungle Brothers - Done by the Forces of Nature
o NWA - Straight Outta Compton

1990s

!X - Cocteau Twins - Heaven or Las Vegas (Take THAT, Dead Can Dance.  We seriously have a contender; belongs on list all right.)
!X - Shamen - En-Tact
X - Deee Lite - World Clique
X - La's - La's
X - Black Crowes - Shake Your Money Maker
X - Depeche Mode - Violator
X - Pixies - Bossanova
!X - Megadeth - Rust in Peace (One of the best Metal records of all time; deserves its place on the list).
X - Digital Underground - Sex Packets
X - Pet Shop Boys - Behaviour
X - Happy Mondays - Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches
X - Michael, George - Listen Without Prejudice: Vol 1
X - Young, Neil - Ragged Glory
X - Ice Cube - AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted
X - Jane's Addiction - Ritual de lo Habitual
X - LL Cool J - Mama Said Knock You Out
X - Public Enemy - Fear of a Black Planet
X - O'Connor, Sinéad - I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got (Surprisingly good record; sets a standard that several other female singer-songwriters have followed)
X - Tribe Called Quest, a - People's Instinctive Travels & the Paths of Rhythm (A Tribe Called Quest: Creative early 90s hip hop.  Glad I heard it, but certainly not "must hear before death" remarkable.)
X - Sonic Youth - Goo (Whhyyyyyyyyy.  Does not belong on list, at all.)
!X - Ride - Nowhere (Wow, beautiful shoegaze.  Deserving.)
!X - My Bloody Valentine - Loveless (I hated this the first time I heard it; loved it the second time.  Production SUCKS, though.)
X - Nirvana - Nevermind (The McDonald's of music: UTTER CRAP in every way, but people eat the shit out of it in droves.  Little-discussed fact: Cobain hated Smells Like Teen Spirit.)
X - Crowded House - Woodface
X - Cypress Hill - Cypress Hill (1st Album) (Cypress Hill's 1st: The gigantic roll of cloth from which every subsequent sample-laden rap album is cut. I like it.)
X - Cope, Julian - Peggy Suicide (Julian Cope SO wishes he were Jim Morrison. Unfortunately, he's not; just another '90s "lookit me, I'm lo-fi!" bandwagoner.)
X - Gang Starr - Step in the Arena (Smooth, jazzy rap that kind of gets repetatve after a while.  Nice, but not "before death" quality.)
X - MC Solaar - Qui Sème le Vent Récolte le Tempo (MC Solaar - Just when you think "French Rap" is a dumb idea, this happens.)
X - Jah Wobble - Rising Above Bedlam (Smooth, jazzy rap that kind of gets repetatve after a while.  Nice, but not "before death" quality.)
!X - Red Hot Chili Peppers - Blood Sugar Sex Magik (Proof that even a blind squirrel of a decade can get a nut once in a while.)
X - Ice T - OG: Original Gangster (During the Decade of Shit Music, it was forgivable to think "OG: Original Gangster" was badass. But... that was then. Now it sounds tepid.)
X - Mudhoney - Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge (The 90s wouldn't have been an utter failure if it were bands like Mudhoney (instead of Nirvana) on the charts.  Who knew.)
X - Public Enemy - Apocalypse 91... Enemy Strikes Back (Public Enemy's "Apocalypse '91," didn't age very well.  The Anthrax collaboration doesn't even liven it up. Rating: Meh.)
X - Tribe Called Quest, a - Low End Theory ("The Low End Theory" is fantastic Jazz rap, but I'm not sure the list needed another release from ...Quest, no matter how good.)
!X - Pearl Jam - Ten
X - Saint Etienne - Foxbase Alpha (Saint Etienne, "Foxbase Alpha": Dance/Trance meets Portishead-like floaty vocals.  This stuff is really good.)
X - Sepultura - Arise (Sepultura's "Arise" is a poor man's Slayer knock-off with all-too-brief flashes of awesome latin experimentation.  Not 1k1 material.)
!X - Slint - Spiderland (Slint's "Spiderland" is a violent shoegaze triumph.  Maybe the 90s did have more than the occasional, and usually accidental, musical high point.)
X - U2 - Achtung Baby ("Achtung, Baby"'s popularity is "why the 90's suck" exhibit B: a journey into caterwauling-laced, admitted musical trend-whoring.  Boo.)
X - KLF - White Room (KLF's "The White Room": The aural equivalent to taking a refreshing dip in a cool lake on a perfect day.  Beautiful.)
X - Massive Attack - Blue Lines (Massive Attack's first record: nice introduction to trip-hop, but I'm not sure its listworthy (consideirng later efforts, also on the list, are better).  
X - Primal Scream - Screamadelica (Wow.  If you haven't heard Primal Scream's "Screamadelica", you really should. It's what "fun" sounds like.)
X - Teenage Fanclub - Bandwagonesque (Teenage Fanclub's "Bandwagonesque" is aptly named: derivative, middling, and forgettable, like much of that decade. Does not belong here.)
X - Metallica - Metallica [aka Black Album] (Metallica's "Black Album": what happens when a (then) great band decides to play fairly middling music. This isn't necessarily an insult.)
X - Pavement - Slanted & Enchanted (Pavement: Singer who can't sing, drummer who can't drum, songs that define "lukewarm". Critics: "best album of the 90s". #whythe90ssucked)
X - Aphex Twin - Selected Ambient Works 85-92 (Aphex Twin's "Selected Ambient Works": Does exactly what it says on the tin.  I want to do Yoga to this album.)
X - Arrested Development - 3 Years, 5 Months & 2 Days in the Life of... (Arrested Development's first record remains a breath of fresh air for Rap and Hip Hop.)
o Olomidé, Koffi - Haut de Gamme: Koweït, Rive Gauche
X - Morrissey - Your Arsenal
o Maal, Baaba - Lam Toro
X - Lemonheads - It's a Shame About Ray ("It's a Shame About Ray" is a mediocre album from a mediocre-sounding college band.  One "not bad" cover of Mrs. Robinson is all they got.)
X - Rage Against the Machine - Rage Against the Machine (1st Album) (Rage Against the Machine's debut changed the face of protest music - it became direct and ballsy, if somewhat repetitive.)
X - Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy - Hypocrisy is the Greatest Luxury (Great band name, but sounds mysteriously sounds boring and repetative, even though its lyrics are so politically charged.)
X - Lang, K.D. - Ingénue (K.D. Lang's "Ingénue": good singer, boooooring songs.  List filler.)
X - Dr Dre - Chronic, the (Snoop Dog's first album, "The Chronic," is for some reason credited to a Dr. Dre.  Interesting.  Worth it for rap fans, certainly.)
*X - REM - Automatic for the People (How much REM's "Automatic for the People" sucks: critics said it was "one of the best records of the 90s." Everybody Hurts *now*, surely.)
X - Pharcyde - Bizarre Ride II the... (Pharcyde: Fluff-filled easy-going reaction rap.  Fun, but I doubt it'd be anything if not for that which it protests (gangster rap)).
X - Spiritualized - Lazer Guided Melodies (On "Lazer Guided Melodies," Spiritualized sounds like a calmer, more electronic precursor to Explosions in the Sky.)
X - Sugar - Copper Blue (Sugar's "Copper Blue": bandwagoning alternative rock.  Very melodic, though - I can hear where Foo Fighters came from on this.)
!X - Waits, Tom - Bone Machine (File under "I'll be damned": Tom Waits' "Bone Machine" is awesome almost from cover to cover.  I finally "got" one.)
X - Sonic Youth - Dirty (Why the 90s sucked reason #132: Sonic Youth's highly influential "Dirty," an album that experiments with everything except good songwriting.)
X - Stereo MCs - Connected (Stereo MCs "Stay Connected" - fucking awesome melodic, dance-y "pop rap" that deserved all its awards.)
X - Ministry - Psalm 69 (Way to Succeed and the Way to Suck Eggs)
X - Amos, Tori - Little Earthquakes (I don't have to listen to "Little Earthquakes" again to know that the New Kate Bush was something. I'm not sure she ever topped this.)
X - Ice Cube - Predator ("Predator" is set apart by the same down-to-earth harshness and heart that followed Ice Cube around after... even to things like "Friday".)
X - Pantera - Vulgar Display of Power (It is *impossible* to describe the excellence and importance of "Vulgar Display of Power," especially in a Tweet. <- So that'll have to do.)
X - Alice in Chains - Dirt 
X - Cave, Nick & the Bad Seeds - Henry's Dream, by... (I learned from hearing "Henry's Dream" that Nick Cave is a B-List Meatloaf.  #NTTAWWT.)
X - Khan, Nusrat Fateh Ali - Devotional Songs
X - Harvey, P.J. - Dry (I fucking love P.J. Harvey... but I don't think "Dry" was her best moment.  Or even her fourth best...)
X - Suede - Suede (1st Album) ("Suede" was the fastest selling british record of the time.  Not bad for having a *terrible* vocalist.)
X - Weller, Paul - Wild Wood (This Paul Weller guy... his "Wild Wood" album is really good.  Of course he never became popular in the USA.)
X - Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream ('90s 8, which makes it an anywhen-else 5.  God that voice *sucks*.)
X - Auteurs - New Wave (Auteurs, "New Wave": Seemingly decent music fronted by one of the crappiest sounding vocalists on this list. Horrible. 90s? Of course.)
X - Phair, Liz - Exile in Guyville ("Exile in Guyville" was definitely fun for its time, but I don't think its aged particularly well (except for "Flower," that's still fun).)
X - Afghan Whigs - Gentlemen (The Afghan Whigs' "Gentlemen" would be a really good record IF ANY OF THEM COULD SING WORTH A FUCK. Tone deaf fake-overwrought warbling.)
X - Mann, Aimee - Whatever (Aimee Mann's first solo record is more exciting and fun, but less good overall, than Bachelor No. 2.  IMO.)
X - Grant Lee Buffalo - Fuzzy (Crap.)
X - Nirvana - In Utero  (Jesus fucking christ kill it with fire.  Easily one of the worst offerings on this list.)
X - Jamiroquai - Emergency on Planet Earth (Really good funk.)
!X - Pet Shop Boys - Very (Symphonic Electronica.  Beautiful, but the cover of "Go West" makes it essential).
X - Harvey, P.J. - Rid of Me - (I'm a fan, but this meandering yell-fest tried way too hard).
*X - Blur - Modern Life is Rubbish (Bland, easy, non-offensive brit-pop that sounds like it was written as an example rather than as expression.)
X - Crow, Sheryl - Tuesday Night Music Club ("All I Wanna Do" is the pinnacle of this album.  And... yeah, no.)
o Fall - Infotainment Scan
o Wu Tang Clan - Enter the Wu Tang (36 Chambers)
X - Björk - Debut
o Orbital - Orbital [aka Brown Album]
o Snoop Doggy Dogg - Doggystyle
o Sebadoh - Bubble & Scrape
o Boo Radleys - Giant Steps
o Orbit, William - Strange Cargo: III
o Method Man - Tical
o Black, Frank - Teenager of the Year
o Girls Against Boys - Venus Luxure No 1 Baby
o Jeru the Damaja - Sun Rises in the East
o Pavement - Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain
o Portishead - Dummy
o Sabres of Paradise - Haunted Dancehall
o Nas - Illmatic
o Beastie Boys - Ill Communication
o Costello, Elvis - Brutal Youth
o Morrissey - Vauxhall & I
o TLC - CrazySexyCool
o Oasis - Definitely Maybe
X - Soundgarden - Superunknown
o Offspring - Smash
o Drive Like Jehu - Yank Crime
o Blur - Parklife
o G Love & Special Sauce - G Love & Special Sauce (1994)
o Touré, Ali Farka - Talking Timbuktu
o Hole - Live Through This
o Massive Attack - Protection
o Manic Street Preachers - Holy Bible
o Suede - Dog Man Star
o Notorious BIG - Ready to Die
o Buckley, Jeff - Grace
o Orbital - Snivilisation
o Nirvana - MTV Unplugged in New York
o Nine Inch Nails - Downward Spiral
o Prodigy - Music for the Jilted Generation
o Green Day - Dookie
o Foo Fighters - Foo Fighters (1st Album)
o Garbage - Garbage (1st Album)
o Nightmares on Wax - Smokers Delight
o Tricky - Maxinquaye
o Raekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx
o Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie & the Infinite Sadness
o Rocket from the Crypt - Scream, Dracula, Scream
o Chemical Brothers - Exit Planet Dust
o 2Pac - Me Against the World
o Elastica - Elastica (1st Album)
o Supergrass - I Should Coco
o Radiohead - Bends, the
o Guided by Voices - Alien Lanes
o Kuti, Femi - Femi Kuti (1995)
o Verve - A Northern Soul
o Genius GZA - Liquid Swords
o Pulp - Different Class
o Leftfield - Leftism
o D'Angelo - Brown Sugar
o Oasis - (What's the Story) Morning Glory?
o Goldie - Timeless
o Morissette, Alanis - Jagged Little Pill
o Screaming Trees - Dust
o Super Furry Animals - Fuzzy Logic
o Fatboy Slim - Better Living Through Chemistry
o Dr Octagon - Dr Octagonecologyst
o Stereolab - Emperor Tomato Ketchup
o Tortoise - Millions Now Living Will Never Die
o Beck - Odelay
o Belle & Sebastian - Tigermilk
o DJ Shadow - Endtroducing
o Eels - Beautiful Freak
o Divine Comedy - Casanova
o Apple, Fiona - Tidal
o Wilco - Being There
o Sepultura - Roots
o Adamson, Barry - Oedipus Schmoedipus
o Fun Lovin' Criminals - Come Find Yourself
o Maxwell - Urban Hang Suite
o Charlatans - Tellin' Stories
o Manic Street Preachers - Everything Must Go
o Everything But the Girl - Walking Wounded
o Cave, Nick & the Bad Seeds - Murder Ballads
o Bukem, LTJ - Logical Progression
o Underworld - Second Toughest in the Infants
o Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - Now I Got Worry
o Cardigans - First Band on the Moon
o Marilyn Manson - Antichrist Superstar
o Fugees - Score, the
o Ash - 1977
o Belle & Sebastian - If You're Feeling Sinister
o Blur - Blur (1997)
o Radiohead - OK Computer
o Quaye, Finley - Maverick a Strike
o Elliott, Missy Misdemeanor - Supa Dupa Fly
o Chemical Brothers - Dig Your Own Hole
o Primal Scream - Vanishing Point
o Wyatt, Robert - Shleep
o Holmes, David - Let's Get Killed
o Sleater Kinney - Dig Me Out
o Prodigy - Fat of the Land
o Buena Vista Social Club - Buena Vista Social Club (1997)
o Cave, Nick & the Bad Seeds - Boatman's Call
o Divine Comedy - A Short Album About Love
o Cornershop - When I was Born for the 7th Time
o Daft Punk - Homework
o Williams, Robbie - Life Thru a Lens
o Carey, Mariah - Butterfly
o Supergrass - In it for the Money
o Dylan, Bob - Time Out of Mind
o Size, Roni & Reprazent - New Forms
o Smith, Elliott - Either/Or
o Verve - Urban Hymns
o Spiritualized - Ladies & Gentlemen, We are Floating in Space
o Dandy Warhols - Dandy Warhols (1997)
o Dylan, Bob - Bootleg Series Vol 4: Live 1966 [rec: 1966 at Free Trade Hall, Manchester]
o Chao, Manu - Clandestino
o Bragg, Billy & Wilco - Mermaid Avenue
o Turbonegro - Apocalypse Dudes
o Fatboy Slim - You've Come a Long Way, Baby
o Gray, David - White Ladder
o Williams, Lucinda - Car Wheels on a Gravel Road
o Pulp - This is Hardcore
o Madonna - Ray of Light
o Hill, Lauryn - Miseducation of...
o Hole - Celebrity Skin
o Mercury Rev - Deserter's Songs
o System of a Down - System of a Down (1st Album)
o Queen of the Stone Age - Queen of the Stone Age (1st Album)
o Air - Moon Safari
o Singh, Talvin - OK
o Korn - Follow the Leader
o Khalèd, (Cheb) - Kenza
o Kid Rock - Devil Without a Cause
o Boards of Canada - Music Has the Right to Children
o Suba - São Paulo Confessions
o XTC - Apple Venus: Volume 1
o Skunk Anansie - Post Orgasmic Chill
o Incubus - Make Yourself
o Magnetic Fields - 69 Love Songs
o Travis - Man Who
o Slipknot - Slipknot (1st Album)
o Orton, Beth - Central Reservation
o Sawhney, Nitin - Beyond Skin
o Death in Vegas - Contino Sessions
o Moby - Play
o Flaming Lips - Soft Bulletin
o Rhymes Digitales, les - Darkdancer
o Tigre, le - Tigre, le (1999)
o Eminem - Slim Shady LP
o Spears, Britney - Baby One More Time
o Metallica - S&M
o Bonnie Prince Billy - I See a Darkness
o Shack - HMS Fable
o Basement Jaxx - Remedy
o Red Hot Chili Peppers - Californication
o Sigur Rós - Ágætis Byrjun

2000s

X - Doves - Lost Souls
X - Air - Virgin Suicides: Original Motion Picture Score
X - Adams, Ryan - Heartbreaker
X - Gilberto, Bebel - Tanto Tempo
X - Cole, MJ - Sincere
X - Harris, Emmylou - Red Dirt Girl
X - Limp Bizkit - Chocolate Starfish & the Hot Dog Flavored Water
X - Radiohead - Kid A (I hated every second I had to sit through this lifeless, meandering drivel.  Utterly devoid of passion.  I think its on here because of how weird it was.)
X - U2 - All That You Can't Leave Behind
X - Linkin Park - Hybrid Theory (Has aged amazingly well; has earned its place on the list.)
X - Smith, Elliott - Figure 8
X - Badly Drawn Boy - Hour of Bewilderbeast
!X - Harvey, P.J. - Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea (Definitely a must-hear-before-death record; many times if you're lucky.)
!X - Badu, Erykah - Mama's Gun (Wow, this is awesome.)
X - Coldplay - Parachutes
X - Common - Like Water for Chocolate
X - Ladd, Mike - Welcome to the Afterfuture
!X - Red Snapper - Our Aim is to Satisfy
X - Eminem - Marshall Mathers LP (Earns its place on the list, for sure.)
!X - Goldfrapp - Felt Mountain (Female-fronted electronica band that is WTF good.  Keeper).
*X - Giant Sand - Chore of Enchantment (Giant Sand: What you play to make elevator music go to sleep.  Singer=Dylan+Shatner+bored apathy.  HOW did this make the cut...?? Worst of.)  
*X - Lambchop - Nixon (SERIOUSLY in the top three worst albums I have *ever heard* in my *entire life*). 
!X - Lemper, Ute - Punishing Kiss (Ute Lemper - Edgy rock by way of Broadway.  It actually earns its 1001 status.)
X - Madonna - Music (It must be good, because I don't like this style of music overmuch, but there were moments that made me go "wow".)
X - Avalanches - Since I Left You (Avalanches: loop-and-sample-based dance/trance music. Interesting and fun; glad I heard it. Doubt I'll give it a 2nd spin, tho.)
X - OutKast - Stankonia (Outkast's "Stankonia" - fun, but I guess you had to be there.  Not a 1k1 lister, IMO.)
X - Radiohead - Amnesiac (Unlike "Kid A," "Amnesiac" isn't NEARLY as lifeless, meandering or devoid of passion. Like "Kid A," it doesn't belong on the 1k1 list.)
X - Silver Jews - Bright Flight (Silver Jews, "Bright Flight": UTTERLY ABYSMAL. One of the worst vocal performances I've ever heard. If you like this, hate yourself.)
X - Björk - Vespertine (Bjork's "Vespertine" is really beautiful. Glad I heard it.)
X - Gorillaz - Gorillaz (1st Album) (I already heard the first Gorillaz album, but it deserves mention because its awesome.)
X - Adams, Ryan - Gold (Ryan Adams' "Gold": Tepid, safe AOR.  Didn't hate it, didn't like it... actually, was mostly bored the entire time. I did say AOR, so perhaps I'm now being redundant.)
X - Destiny's Child - Survivor (What can I say, its easy to understand why "survivor" made Destiny's Child's year.  It's a great record.)
X - Strokes - Is This It (The Strokes' "this is it" is the surprise of the week: proof that not all Indie is utterly terrible.  A welcome show after Lambchop and Silver Jews.)  
X - Welch, Gillian - Time (The Revelator) (Even if sleepy Americana were my thing, I don't see how Gillian Welch's flavor of it is innovative enough to put it on this list.)
X - Gotan Project - Revancha del Tango, la (I had NO IDEA that "Gotan Project" would be modern, sample-based tangos played by French people.  Surprisingly good, if you're in the mood for easy listening.)
X - White Stripes - White Blood Cells (Those "White Stripes" kids'll sound great with a few years practice and some tightening up.  ...wait, what?  They sound that way on purpose?? Ugh.)
X - Beta Band - Hot Shots II (Beta Band's "Hot Shots II": Invented because people who smoke weed like to hear safe, slow, groovy, melodic things.  If that's your thing, so is this.)
X - Jay Z - Blueprint (Jay Z's "Blueprint": stunningly mediocre.  The only standout track was the one with Eminem on it.  Meh.)
X - Röyksopp - Melody AM (Röyksopp's "Melody AM": a less interesting Norwegian Massive Attack knock-off.)
X - Drive-By Truckers - Southern Rock Opera ("Southern Rock Opera" was a big promise that Drive-By Truckers couldn't make good on overall, but its still good for a couple grins.)
X - Super Furry Animals - Rings Around the World (Super Furry Animals's "Rings Around the World" is the most varied mix of styles I've heard in an album.  Hear it just for that.)
X - Jurassic 5 - Power in Numbers (Jurassic 5 "Power in Numbers" tells me that I really like Alternative Hip-Hop. These guys are smooth and smart.)
X - Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (Even my wife was bored when she heard Wilco's "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot". Band plays like they're gonna die of apathy/ennui any second now.)
X - Ms Dynamite - A Little Deeper (Ms Dynamite is (hurr hurr!) just explosive on the R&B/Hip-Hop pick-me-up, "A Little Deeper".  A great listen from a talented artist.)
!X - Bees - Sunshine Hit Me 
o Jones, Norah - Come Away with Me
X - Coldplay - A Rush of Blood to the Head (Coldplay's "A Rush of Blood to the Head" is the musical equivalent of the color "Beige."  It's the opposite of exciting or offensive.)
X - Coral - Coral (2002) (I heard The Coral's S/T indie-pop record this week, and as much as I hate one-word reviews, "meh" is really all I got.)
!X - Cash, Johnny - American IV: Man Comes Around (Johnny Cash - not his releases, but him as a musician - aged like fine wine. His later works, like "American IV", are by far his best.)
X - Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots ("Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots" is one of the best things you will ever hear on shrooms.  I have this on very good authority.)
X - Doves - Last Broadcast 
X - Elliott, Missy - Under Construction (For being so melodic, Missy Elliott's lyrics on "Under Construction" are unusually in-your-face.  I really like this.)
X - Springsteen, Bruce - Rising, the (Who said to themselves "you just haven't lived until you've heard  Springsteen's 'The Rising'"?  When I find them, I'm going to shun them *so hard*.)
X - Aguilera, Christina - Stripped (Of all the VERY GOOD reasons why Aguilera is on this list while Spears is a fading and embarassing memory... "Stripped" is #1.)
X - Roots - Phrenology (200x was a good decade for melodic, groovy hip-hop, like "Phrenology" from the Roots.  I'd hear it again, for sure.)
X - Beck - Sea Change (Fuck "Sea Change". What a remarkably boring (and bored-sounding) display of emo QQ bullshit. I'm dreading them other two Beck entries now.)
X - Timberlake, Justin - Justified (Timberlake's "Justified": well, he can sing really well, but baby-I'mm'a-hit-on-you-to-this-beat isn't essential or groundbreaking shit.)
X - Vines - Highly Evolved ("Highly Evolved" is the opposite of what this Vines album actually is. There is nothing on it I haven't heard done way better by others.)
X - Hives - Your New Favourite Band (Hives - "Your New Favourite Band": Yeah.  Not so much.  Hardly groundbreaking or original, and garage rock sounds like shit on purpose.)
X - Radiohead - Hail to the Thief ("Hail to the Thief" doesn't suck... instead, it sounds like Muse with a crappier singer.)
X - Winehouse, Amy - Frank (Amy Winehouse sure did sing well on "Frank".  It's a pretty good album if you dig that genre.)
X - Calexico - Feast of Wire (Calexico's "Feast of Wire" isn't as boring as Giant Sand, but not a lot can be. That's the best I can give it, however, so there's that.)
X - Darkness - Permission to Land (Darkness's "Permission to Land". First I LOL'd, then the joke got old. One-time listen, fo sho', but no regrets.)
X - White Stripes - Elephant ("Elephant" = the sound of the White Stripes finally getting it together.  Still don't think its *great*, but it doesn't sound like utter shit anymore.)
X - Dizzee Rascal - Boy in da Corner (Dizzy Rascal, "Boy in the Corner": Now THIS is exciting Rap.)
X - Kings of Leon - Youth & Young Manhood (*Yawn*.  Others have done the southern rock thing earlier and way better.)
X - Thrills - So Much for the City (I should keep this around just to improve my mood.  Irish optimistic indie bluegrass.)
X - Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Fever to Tell ("Maps" is awesome, but the rest of the album is just kind of annoying.)
X - OutKast - Speakerboxxx/Love Below (You know, that song "Hey, Ya" was bomb, but this was just... flyover rap.)
X - 50 Cent - Get Rich or Die Tryin' (It was... OK.)
!X - Mars Volta - Deloused in the Comatorium (I already consider this a classic, so I can't really give it Ups).
o Lightning Bolt - Wonderful Rainbow
X -  Wainwright, Rufus - Want One (Not his best.  Wonder why its the only one that made it on the list.)
!X - Scissor Sisters - Scissor Sisters (1st Album) (Holy shit, the Scissor Sisters' debut album was so good I must own it.)
X - Morrissey - You Are the Quarry (Bland, modern pop.  Nothing outrageous or particularly noteworthy, I think its here because LOL Morrisey.)
o Björk - Medúlla
o Mylo - Destroy Rock & Roll
o Wilson, Brian - SMiLE
o Icarus Line - Penance Soirée
o Arcade Fire - Funeral
o Banhart, Devendra - Rejoicing in the Hands
o Cave, Nick & the Bad Seeds - Abattoir Blues/Lyre of Orpheus
o Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand (1st Album)
o N*E*R*D - Fly or Die
o Beta Band - Heroes to Zeros
o Ozamatli - Street Signs
o Libertines - Libertines (1st Album)
o West, kanYe - College Dropout
o Green, Cee-Lo - Is the Soul Machine
o TV on the Radio - Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes
o Liars - They Were Wrong, So We Drowned
o Streets - A Grand Don't Come for Free
o Wainwright, Rufus - Want Two
o Zutons - Who Killed the Zutons?
o Killers - Hot Fuss
o Kings of Leon - Aha Shake Heartbreak
o MIA (UK) - Arular
o Beck - Guero
o White Stripes - Get Behind Me Satan