Listmania!
Albums you must hear before you go deaf
X&YX&Y by Coldplay
Buy new: £4.98 / Used from: £0.38
Album where these public schoolboys peaked (as yet) and produced classic anthems that will be appearing in Rom-Com movies and episodes of the OC for years to come. Deep, tear shedding ballads. Ace.
Purple RainPurple Rain by Prince & the Revolution
Buy new: £3.98 / Used from: £1.37
Has to be one of the most inventive albums ever, with a wildly diverse array of songs that are well before their time. Could be released tomorrow and be head and shoulders above anything out there.
OO by Damien Rice
Buy new: £4.98 / Used from: £0.65
Never has there been such a poignant and powerful album. You can feel his emotion in every thunderous guitar strum played. Anyone who has been heartbroken will cry their eyes out listening to this.
The Optimist LPThe Optimist LP by Turin Brakes
Buy new: £9.97 / Used from: £0.70
Gentle, alternative to the Brit-pop biggies of the time, totally underrated to how big this album should have been. Lovely melodies with great meaningfull songs. A must for a quiet night.
All Their Greatest Hits: Disc One 1991-2001All Their Greatest Hits: Disc One 1991-2001 by Barenaked Ladies
Buy new: £6.88 / Used from: £2.64
Snappy, lively bundle of fun from these Canadians, literally funny lyrics and every songs a foot tapper. If you can sing every word of the wicked ‘One Week’, you will get a warm sense of achievement.
Hand Built by RobotsHand Built by Robots by Newton Faulkner
Buy new: £3.98 / Used from: £2.66
Mind bending acoustic guitar, one man band Newton manages to pick, flick and beat his axe whilst singing along with some interestingly lyrics. All the more impressive as he was only 22 when he did it
Moon SafariMoon Safari by Air
Buy new: £4.98 / Used from: £0.96
The term ‘Chill Out’ was invented for this album. So many twangs, dinks, swirls and tinkles it's a wonder where how they made these sounds. Kind on the ear, perfect background music to a dinner party
Jagged Little PillJagged Little Pill by Alanis Morissette
Buy new: £6.98 / Used from: £0.31
Savagely strong album for listening post relationship break up. Every girl who was wronged, cheated on or dumped on in the 90’s, this would have been in their Sony Walkman or car tape deck for months
Alas I Cannot SwimAlas I Cannot Swim by Laura Marling
Buy new: £8.98 / Used from: £5.19
Quite astonishing how this came out of such a young girl who wrote and sang everything. Not everyone’s cup of tea, she once performed a gig outside the venue because she was too young to get in.
The Magic NumbersThe Magic Numbers by The Magic Numbers
Buy new: £6.98 / Used from: £0.31
Eponymous album from brother-sister, brother-sister combination of mop heads. Fun songs and melodies with not even a single dud on the whole album. Unlike the second one.
MezzanineMezzanine by Massive Attack
Buy new: £6.08 / Used from: £1.84
Brilliant selection of now what can be called classics. Backing to many a dramatic scene in a movie, needs to be listened to a few times until they grow on you then you’ll be hooked.
TroubleTrouble by Ray Lamontagne
Buy new: £4.98 / Used from: £3.19
Folk music made cool by this weird little recluse. Amazing voice, brings a whole new meaning to the word gravel. Songs with meaning, depth and rhythm. Ray could be black...
Chutes Too NarrowChutes Too Narrow by The Shins
Buy new: £7.98 / Used from: £3.50
Made famous by the film ‘Garden State’. Lucky really because without that and Scrubs no-one this side of the pond would have heard of them. Only time Americans did Brit-pop well.
Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm NotWhatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not by Arctic Monkeys
Buy new: £4.98 / Used from: £3.50
Cracking debut album, must be up there with some of the best ever. Immensely intelligent story like songs, raw and fresh. As if they’d never heard another band and made music from scratch. Original.
PlayPlay by Moby
Buy new: £4.98 / Used from: £0.44
Every song used for a movie or advert so you’ve heard them all before, but surely that tells you something about this? Catchy and eclectic, probably best value for money for quantity/quality of tracks
White LadderWhite Ladder by David Gray
Buy new: £2.98 / Used from: £0.27
Aparently made this on his own in his flat. Great and heartfelt bunch of songs which is like a cross section of his life. Been bettered since and maybe a little dated but still good.
The MasterplanThe Masterplan by Oasis
Buy new: £4.98 / Used from: £3.13
Chose this over the obvious other albums because it has some of the best single stand alone songs from the band. Masterplan, Acquiesce, Half the World Away etc. There are better albums from them tho
Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We? (The Complete Sessions 1991-1993)Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We? (The Complete Sessions 1991-1993) by The Cranberries
Buy new: £6.08 / Used from: £3.97
Vocals alone are enough to sell this album, the songs are melodic and intricate and it's really the little unknown songs that really creep up on you other than the more famous tracks.
Just Enough Education To PerformJust Enough Education To Perform by Stereophonics
Buy new: £3.48 / Used from: £0.05
Welsh rockers really churned out a head banging, anthem making corker here, if they release a greatest hits album, they could easily have all these songs on and it would be acceptable.
August & Everything AfterAugust & Everything After by Counting Crows
Buy new: £3.48 / Used from: £0.64
Mr Jones gave them recognition, this album launched them on the big stage. Loads of great tracks along the lines of kings of Leon, before Kings of Leon released their better version.
Best of BowieBest of Bowie by David Bowie
Buy new: £4.98 / Used from: £3.70
Outrageous that this hasn’t got his best track on it ‘Lets Dance’ but still a bag of classics for those who haven’t got his drug induced albums on vinyl.
No AngelNo Angel by Dido
Buy new: £4.98 / Used from: £0.09
If ever there was a sexier voice out there I haven’t heard it, would just love to have her whisper sweet nothings in my ear all night long. And all day long for that matter. For ever.
Labour of Love IILabour of Love II by UB40
Buy new: £9.98 / Used from: £0.54
Reggae classic from the guys on the doll queue. If there one thing these guys can do (Apart from cover songs) is choose the perfect mix of beat, rhythm and emotional tunes to bang into one disc. Brill
Simple ThingsSimple Things by Zero 7
Buy new: £5.48 / Used from: £3.38
Much of the same ilk as Air, think Moon Safari crossed with Mezzanine. Try running with enthusiasm to this on the tread mill – simply impossible. Relaxation music of the highest order
I've Been Expecting YouI've Been Expecting You by Robbie Williams
Buy used from: £0.01
Feel odd having this in here, but I can’t deny the amount of actual classic tunes there are. Jesus in a Camper Van, Karma Killer, they’re all here and good. Oh well, has to be one runt in a litter...