Vinyl Trap – Part 3

‘1001 Albums to Hear Before you Die’ (2013 edition) by Robert Dimery

The Whole of My List

Earlier this month, the music world lost Karl Wallinger, formerly of The Waterboys and the leader of the band World Party. Having been involved in the first three Waterboys albums, including most notably ‘This is The Sea’ (below), Wallinger only released five studio albums under the WP name and at least three of them were great: Private Revolution, Goodbye Jumbo and Bang! Egyptology, with the original version of ‘She’s the One’ and ‘Dumbing Down’ not so much. ‘Arkeology’ made up for this with lots of studio tracks that were previously unreleased and I’ve been listening to this outtakes album recently.

The Whole of The Moon from ‘This is The Sea’

Since I published Vinyl Trap – Part 2 I have finally got round to listing my next 100 favourite albums. The original top 100, shared in that previous post, hasn’t changed. However, the next 100 has change a lot over the past month as I have added, deleted and rearranged them. The list from 101-200 is more or less how I want it to be now. After that, well the albums really could be in any order. In this updated post, I share a long list of other albums that I own or have previously owned in some format. To also qualify I must have listened to them more than once. These haven’t been numbered at all, just listed, as it is practically impossible to rank them beyond no.200. I haven’t quite listed 1001 records yet, but it is close to that now. As soon as you share any list like this, you realise you have missed out so many records that should or could be on that list. I will probably edit this post again soon to ensure there are 1001 albums listed in total.

Bear in mind that even if I don’t own them (yet) on vinyl, I have nearly of them all on tape or CD at home. I also recently acquired a Cambridge CD player, so with that, my turntable, tape deck and iTunes I have access to just about everything I have ever listened to and will ever listen to. Meanwhile, blogging about lists of favourite songs, albums or musical acts is fairly common. Here is one example from author and presenter, Andrew Collins. I’ve read his autobiography based on his childhood in Northampton which covers his diaries in the seventies, before his 80s diaries entitled ‘Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now’. I’ve also read his official biography of Billy Bragg. In 2013, Collins started a blog where he shared his 143 favourite songs (including ‘The Whole of The Moon‘) and wrote about each of them. That was it. ‘No returns. No rewrites. No recounts,’ he claims. He listed them in no sequence whatsoever, not alphabetically, not chronologically and, unlike many lists, not ranked (i.e. from 1 to 143). It is difficult ranking equally good songs or albums, to be honest, though many do try.

The Waterboys’ ‘This Is The Sea’ (1985) on clear vinyl

“To whit: I pictured a rainbow, you held it in your hands.” And again, “I had flashes, but you saw the plan.” And again, “I saw the crescent, you saw the whole of the moon.” Who wouldn’t insert themselves and their unmanageable partner into this plan? (Or which self-pitying man wouldn’t?)

(Collins, A. May 2014)

Two books by Andrew Collins that I’ve read. 4 or 5 Bragg albums below.

Bowie’s Books – Another List

Bowie’s Books by John O’Connell

I recently finished reading Bowie’s Books by John O’Connell, which was a kind gift from Transform ELT’s Sarah Mount. I was a bit apprehensive at first, not believing that I was a great high-brow reader. But I really enjoyed finding out about the literary influences on Bowie’s long career. I bought Vladimir Nabokov’s ‘Lolita’ on the back of it and created an iTunes playlist, roughly in order of the tomes mentioned in Bowie’s list.

The Bowie Book Club podcast have listed them all, along with song recommendations for each short chapter, mirroring those in the actual book by O’Connell. There are a few tracks from Bowie’s final mini opus, ‘Blackstar’. I agree with this opinion piece that it is probably the greatest ‘momento mori‘ in music history, more than Mercury, more than Cohen. The compound noun ‘Blackstar’ has at least three different meanings, including a kind of cancer lesion and we know Bowie died of liver cancer in January 2016, two days after the album was released. The writer also compares it to something found in astronomy:

“The concept of a black star also indicates the collapse of a black hole and a star, which could perhaps reflect how Bowie was feeling at the time. His death could be viewed as the collapse of himself as a star as he falls into the unknown, never to emerge again.”

Scanlon, K (2024)

An iTunes Playlist of the 100 recommended songs

1001 albums to hear before you die

Come Together. ‘Screamadelica’ by Primal Scream is my no.91 record of all time.

Meanwhile, I am cracking on listening to the ‘1001 albums to hear before you die’ from a 2013 book referred to in that previous post and sharing each one on my private Instagram account. There is a spreadsheet put together by another good friend, Matthew. I worked out that I would need to listen to around 2 or 3 each day for the next 2 years. Although I am generally listening to them in order, I have been interspersing this by listening to some of the other albums when I have wanted to, such as Sufjan Stevens’ Illinois(e). So, it will probably be less than 24 months before I complete this particular ‘labour of love’.

The ‘1001 albums complaints’ podcast

My good friend, Rene ‘Le Long Player’, likes a list, too. He is currently sharing his top 50 records on Instagram, counting down to no.1. He has imposed stricter rules for himself, saying that he has to currently own it on vinyl. My qualification is a little looser, but with 600+ cassettes and 700+ CDs at home, I own the majority of those albums listed below – even if it is a non original tape or home-burned CD. Rene also recommends a podcast which looks at the 1001 album list. This past week I listened to the latest episode – no.149 – about Ray Charles’ 1962 record, ‘Modern Sounds in Country and Western‘. Rene told me about it after I had listened to it and I went back and listened some more, appreciating which songs worked and which ones didn’t come off so well. The hosts do go off on a biographic tangent and the shows are longer than they probably need to be. Lots to explore as I continue my mission to listen to ALL 1001 albums before I die, or February 2026 – whichever comes sooner!!

Meanwhile, my own (nearly) 1001 albums list is below.

I’m no fan of country and western music, but quite like these interpretations by Ray Charles

My cassette collection. The EMI C90 is the first tape I ever owned,
aged 9 years old and contains my earliest recordings.

Favourite albums numbers 101-200

• 101. James – Laid
• 102. Elvis Costello – Spike
• 103. Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here
• 104. Neil Young – Harvest Moon
• 105. Talk Talk – The Colour of Spring
• 106. Alan Parsons Project – Eye in the Sky
• 107. Arcade Fire – Neon Bible
• 108. Faithless – Reverence
• 109. Seal – Seal (1991)
• 110. Joe Jackson – Blaze of Glory
• 111. Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians- Shooting Rubberbands at the Stars
• 112. Graham Parker – Struck by Lightning
• 113. The Delays – Faded Seaside Glamour
• 114. David Bowie – The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
• 115. Daft Punk – Discovery
• 116. Pet Shop Boys – Behaviour
• 117. Suede – Suede (1993)
• 118. Prefab Sprout – Swoon
• 119. Keane – Hopes and Fears
• 120. Madonna – Like a Prayer
• 121. Morrissey – Vauxhall and I
• 122. Chumbawamba – Anarchy
• 123. Leonard Cohen – The Future
• 124. Prefab Sprout – From Langley Park to Memphis
• 125. The Lightning Seeds – Jollification
• 126. Moby – Play
• 127. Pink Floyd – Animals
• 128. Peter Gabriel – Live in Athens (1987)
• 129. Billy Bragg – Don’t Try This At Home
• 130. Arcade Fire 🔥- Funeral
• 131. Neil Young – After the Gold Rush
• 132. Blue Nile – Hats
• 133. Pink Floyd – Piper at the Gates of Dawn
• 134. Youssou n’dour – Set
• 135. Manic Street Preachers – Everything Must Go
• 136. World Party – Bang!
• 137. Talk Talk – It’s My Life
• 138. Travis – The Man Who
• 139. Tricky – Maxinquaye
• 140. Janelle Monáe – Dirty Computer
• 141. Half Man Half Biscuit – Back in the DHSS
• 142. The Fat Lady Sings – Johnson
• 143. Pixies – Doolittle
• 144. REM – Murmur
• 145. New Order – Lowlife
• 146. Morrissey – Your Arsenal
• 147. British Sea Power- Open Season
• 148. Prince and the New Power Generation – Diamonds and Pearls
• 149. Tanita Tikaram – Ancient Heart
• 150. David Gray – White Ladder
• 151. Sade – Diamonds Lights
• 152. Elvis Costello – Armed Forces
• 153. Air – Moon Safari
• 154. Madonna – Ray of Light
• 155. Talking Heads – Stop Making Sense***
• 156. Tom Petty and the Heattbreakers – Into the Great Wide Open
• 157. Steely Dan – The Royal Scam
• 158. Half Man Half Biscuit – Back in the DHSS
• 159. Dire Straits- Love Over Gold
• 160. Simple Minds – Street Fighting Years
• 161. Sinead o’Connor – I do not want what I haven’t got
• 162. Sia – 1000 Forms of Fear
• 163. Hothouse Flowers – Home 🏠
• 164. Soundgarden – Superunknown
• 165. Pink Floyd – A Momentary Lapse of Reason
• 166. Ryan Adams – Gold
• 167. Led Zeppelin – IV
• 168. Manic Street Preachers – This is my Truth, Tell Me Yours
• 169. Taylor Swift – 1989
• 170. Bill Withers – Menagerie
• 171. James – Seven
• 172. Peter Gabriel – Plays Live
• 173. The Eagles – One of Those Nights
• 174. Thirteen Senses – The Invitation
• 175. Arctic Monkeys – AM
• 176. Youssou n’dour – Eyes Open
• 177. Peter Gabriel – Peter Gabriel 4 (Security)
• 178. Tears for Fears – The Hurting
• 179. Daft Punk – Random Access Memories
• 180. Crowded House – Woodface
• 181. Marillion – Misplaced Childhood
• 182. The Waterboys – Room to Roam
• 183. World Party – Goodbye Jumbo
• 184. The Cure – Wish
• 185. Teenage Fanclub – Grand Prix
• 186. Sting – …Nothing Like The Sun
• 187. Easy Star All-Stars – Radiodread
• 188. Lily Allen – Alright, Still
• 189. Teenage Fanclub – Songs from Northern Britain
• 190. Talking Heads – Naked
• 191. Morcheeba – Big Calm
• 192. Paul Weller – Wild Wood
• 193. Madonna – True Blue
• 194. UB40 – Signing Off
• 195. Fish – Vigil in a Wilderness of Mirrors
• 196. Olivia Rodrigo – SOUR
• 197. Tori Amos. – Under the Pink
• 198. Ian McNabb – Head Like a Rock
• 199. Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – Who Built the Moon? 🌒
• 200. The Streets – Original Pirate Material

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• Favourite albums numbers 201 – 1001* (*not quite there yet, but will be soon)
• note: these are not numbered as they could really be in any order.

In the 1001 albums book, but outside my 200 and the only one I own by Sufjan Stevens – ‘Illinois(e)’

• Jeff Buckley – Grace
• Salif Kieta – Amen
• Coldplay – Parachutes
• Kraftwerk – Man Machine
• Easy-Star All-Stars – Dub Side of the Moon
• Blondie – Parallel Lines
• Talk Talk – Laughing Stock
• Kate Bush – the Dreaming
• ABBA – Super Trooper
• Meat Loaf – Bat Out of Hell
• Prefab Sprout – Crimson/Red
• Don Henley – Building the Perfect Beast
• Simply Red – Picture Book
• Fairground Attraction – The First of a Million Kisses
• Fatboy Slim – Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars
• Sufjan Stevens – Illinois(e) – see above photo
• Talk Talk – Live at Montreux (DVD, live)
• Ryan Adams – Heartbreaker
• Placebo – Without You, I’m Nothing
• Coldplay – Viva La Vida or Death and all his Friends
• Joy Division – Unknown Pleasures
• The Beatles -Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Club Hearts Band
• Supergrass – We’re In It For The Money
• Daft Punk – Discovery
• Sparks – Kimono My House
• Yann Tiersen – Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain
• Elvis Costello – My Aim Is True
• The House of Love – The House of Love a.k.a. ‘Fontana’ or ‘The Butterfly Album’ (1990, not the 1988 debut)
• Snow Patrol – Eyes Open
• Tears for Fears – The Tipping Point
• The Pretenders – The Pretenders (1979)
• Adele – 21
• XTC – Skylarking
• Mike Scott – Let ‘Em All In
• Placebo – Placebo (1996, debut)
• Crowded House – Together Alone
• Chris Rea – The Road To Hell
• Donald Fagen – The Nightfly
• The Amateur Transplants – Fitness to Practice
• David Bowie – Diamond Dogs
• Gerry Rafferty – Night Owl
• Genesis – Genesis (1983)
• Half Man Half Biscuit – The Voltarol Years
• Ryan Adams – Gold
• Mark Hollis – Mark Hollis (solo album, 1998)
• Prefab Sprout – Protest Songs
• Primal Scream – Vanishing Point
• Talk Talk – The Party’s Over
• Misty in Roots – Live at the Counter Eurovision
• Elbow – The Seldom Seen Kid
• The Clash – Sandanista!
• Sting – The Soul Cages
• Sparks – A Steady Drip, Drip Drip
• Prefab Sprout – Andromeda Heights
• Electronic – Electronic (1991 debut)
• The Velvet Underground and Nico – The Velvet Underground and Nico (1967)
• Neneh Cherry – Raw Like Sushi
• Sugar – Beaster
• Oleta Adams – Circle of One
• TLC – Crazy Sexy Cool
• The Pretenders – Get Close
• Stereophonics – Just Enough Education to Perform
• Nick Drake – Pink Moon
• Tears for Fears – Elemental
• Kraftwerk – Trans-Europe Express
• British Sea Power – Do you like Rock Music?
• Cracker – Kerosene Hat
• The Beautiful South – Welcome to the Beautiful South
• New Order – Power, Corruption and Lies
• Afro Celt Sound System – Volume 2: Release
• Leonard Cohen – Various Positions
• The Charlatans – The Charlatans (1995)
• The Charlatans – Between 10th and 11th
• Therapy ? – Troublegum
• Coldplay – X&Y
• Gotye – Making Mirrors
• Radiohead – Hail to the Thief
• The Verve – Urban Hymns
• The Cure – Head on the Door
• Suzanne Vega – Suzanne Vega (1987)
• Belle & Sebastian – The Boy with the Arab Strap
• The Stone Roses – The Stone Roses
• Wet Wet Wet – Holding Back the River
• Arcade Fire – WE
• Blur – Blur (1997)
• Everything But The Girl – The Language of Life
• John Mayer – Room for Squares
• Green Day – Dookie
• New Order – Republic
• Electric Light Orchestra – Out of the Blue
• Neville Brothers – Yellow Moon
• The Boomtown Rats – The Fine Art of Surfacing
• A-ha – Hunting High and Low
• Billy Bragg – Life’s a Riot with Spy vs Spy
• John Lee Hooker – The Healer
• David Bowie – Low
• The Levellers – Levelling the Land
• Jean-Michel Jarre – Zoolook
• The Jam – All Mod Cons
• Elton John – Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
• Arctic Monkeys – Favourite Worst Nightmare
• Belle & Sebastian – If You’re Feeling Sinister
• Manic Street Preachers – Generation Terrorists
• Eels – Electro-Shock Blues
• Pearl Jam – Ten
• Clean Bandit – What Is Love?
• Bob Dylan – Bringing it all back Home
• Lemon Jelly – Lost Horizons
• Tears for Fears – Everybody Loves a Happy Ending
• Benjamin Clementine – At Least for Now
• The Art of Noise – The Ambient Collection
• Tori Amos – Night of Hunters
• The Clash – The Clash (1977, debut)
• The Lightning Seeds – Sense
• The Waterboys – Dream Harder
• John Mayer – Any Given Thursday (live, DVD)
• Nick Drake – Five Leaves Left
• The Rolling Stones – Let It Bleed
• The Chemical Brothers – Dig Your Own Hole
• XTC – Skylarking
• Elbow – Cast of Thousands
• Kraftwerk – Computer World
• Ernest Ranglin – In Search of the Lost Riddim
• Simply Red – Stars
• Kaiser Chiefs – Employment
• Runrig – The Big Wheel
• The Oysterband – Holy Bandits
• The Waterboys – Modern Blues
• Heavy Weather – Weather Report
• Franz Ferdinand – Franz Ferdinand (2004, debut)
• Nora Jones – Comes Away With Me
• Kate Bush – The Red Shoes
• The Orb – U.F.Orb
• Toto – Toto IV
• Rick Wakeman – The Myths and Legends of King Arthur
• k.d.Lang – Ingénue
• Frankie Goes To Hollywood – Welcome to the Pleasuredome
• Joe Jackson – Night and Day
• The White Stripes – White Blood Cells
• Kasabian – Kasabian (2004, debut)
• John Mayer – Continuum
• The Oysterband and June Tabor – Freedom and Rain
• Jamiroquai – Travelling Without Moving
• Sting – The Soul Cages
• The Future Sound of London – Lifeforms
• Tricky – Blowback
• Supergrass – I Should Coco
• Heaven 17 – Penthouse and Pavement
• The Levellers – Levellers (1993)
• Elastica – Elastica (1995 debut)
• The Avalanches – Since I Left You
• Cocteau Twins – Heaven or Las Vegas
• Peter Gabriel – Up
• Linkin Park – Hybrid Theory
• David Gray – Sell Sell Sell
• Semisonic – All About Chemistry
• The Libertines – Up the Bracket
• Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin II
• Aimee Mann (& others) – Magnolia OST
• Kirsty MacColl – Kite
• Adele – 19
• David Bowie – Diamond Dogs
• Elvis Costello – Mighty Like A Rose
• Paul McCartney and Wings – Band on the Run
• Roxy Music – For Your Pleasure
• The Rolling Stones – Beggars Banquet
• The Sisters of Mercy – Floodland
• The Smiths – Strangeways Here We Come
• David Bowie – Low
• Zero 7 – Simple Things
• World Party – Private Revolution
• Franz Ferdinand – You Could Have It So Much Better
• Portishead – Portishead (1997)
• Beth Orton – Central Reservation
• Led Zeppelin – Houses of the Holy
• The Charlatans – Up at the Lake
• Paul Weller – Stanley Road
• Lou Reed – Transformer
• Neil Young – Freedom
• Natalie Imbruglia – Left of the Middle
• The Broken Family Band – Cold Water Songs
• The Strokes – Is This It? (2001)
• Public Service Broadcasting – The Race for Space
• Huey Lewis and The News – Fore!
• Ella Fitzgerald – Sings the Gershwin Songbook
• Eels – Daisies of the Galaxy
• Billie Eilish – WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?
• Fleetwood Mac – Fleetwood Mac (1975)
• Nirvana – In Utero
• The Streets – A Grand Don’t Come for Free
• Ocean Colour Scene – Moseley Shoals
• Elton John – A Single Man
• Neil Young and Crazy Horse – Ragged Glory
• The Smiths – The Smiths (debut, 1993)
• The Libertines – The Libertines (2004)
• Electric Light Orchestra – A New World Record
• Eurythmcs – Be Yourself Tonight
• The Cure – Disintegration
• Jimmy Lindsay – Where is Your Love?
• Everything But The Girl – Walking Wounded
• The Cranberries – Everybody Else is doing it so why can’t we?
• Radiohead – In Rainbows
• Billy Joel — Концерт (Kontsert)
• Carole King – Tapestry
• U2 – Rattle & Hum
• Green Day – American Idiot
• The Cure – Mixed Up****
• The Beatles – Revolver
• Suede – Autofiction
• Prince – Sign o’ the Times
• David Byrne – Rei Momo
• David Gray – Skellig
• Tubeway Army – Repliacs
• Enigma – MCMXC a.D.
• Echo and the Bunnymen – Ocean Rain
• REM – Document
• Ash – Free All Angels
• Cyndi Lauper – She’s Not Unusual
• The Oysterband – Deep Dark Ocean
• The Avalanches – We Will Always Love You
• John Coltrane – A Love Supreme
• Shakespear’s Sister – Hormonally Yours
• UB40 – Promises and Lies
• Bruce Hornsby and The Range – The Way It Is
• The Beatles – Rubber Soul
• Paul Simon – Hearts and Bones
• Metallica – …and Justice for All
• REM – Reveal
• Dire Straits – Dire Straits
• Public Enemy – It Takes A Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back
• Prince – 1999
• Chris Rea – Dancing With Strangers
• Aztec Camera – High Land, Hard Rain
• Bob Dylan – Highway 51 Revisited
• Ian Dury and the Blockheads – Do It Yourself
• Hard-Fi – Stars of CCTV
• Sex Pistols – Never Mind The Bollocks
• Elvis Costello – King of America
• The Teardrop Explodes – Kilimanjaro
• Daft Punk – Random Access Memories
• David Bowie – The Next Day
• Electronic – Electronic
• The White Stripes – Get Behind Me Satan
• Wet Wet Wet – Popped In, Souled Out
• Radiohead – Kid (A)mnesiac (both albums together)
• Afro Celt Sound System – Volume 2: Release
• Frank Zappa – Shake Yerbouti
• U2 – The Joshua Tree
• Lou Reed – New York
• Prince – Love / Symbol
• Jean-Michel Jarre – Oxygene
• Madeleine Peyroux – Careless Love
• The Bluetones – Expecting to Fly
• Pink Floyd – The Division Bell
• Queen – A Kind of Magic
• Massive Attack vs Mad Professor – No Protection
• Sia – Colour the Small One
• Clint Mansell and the Kronos Quartet – Requiem For A Dream (soundtrack)
• Miles Davis – Birth of the Cool
• Elvis Costello – Punch the Clock
• Gorillaz – Gorillaz (2001, Debut)
• Pale Saints – The Comfort of Madness
• Red Hot Chili Peppers – Californication
• Suede – Coming Up
• The Lightning Seeds – Dizzy Heights
• Scientist – Scientist Meets the Space Invaders
• George Michael – Listen Without Prejudice Vol.1
• Philip Glass – Songs from Liquid Days
• Graham Coxon – Happiness in Magazines
• Dave Brubeck Quartet – Time Out (1960)
• Eagles – Hotel California
• Boo Radleys – Giant Steps
• Paul Simon – The Rhythm of the Saints
• Elvis Costello – Mighty Like A Rose
• Matt Haig and Andy Burrows – Reasons to Stay Alive
• Bob Dylan – Bringing it All Back Home
• David Gilmour – On An Island
• Frightened Rabbit – Pedestrian Verse
• Joni Mitchell – Blue
• Fiona Apple – When the Pawn…
• Bat For Lashes – Fur and Gold
• Aztec Camera – Love
• Red Hot Chili Peppers – By The Way
• Genesis – We Can’t Dance
• Brian Eno – Music for Airports 1
• The Beach Boys – Pet Sounds
• Beck – Mellow Gold
• Bill Withers – Menagerie
• The Flaming Lips – The Soft Bulletin
• Beck – Sea Change
• Bruno Mars – Unorthodox Jukebox
• Blur – Modern Life is Rubbish
• The Smiths – The World Won’t Listen**
• Billy Bragg – William Bloke
• Public Service Broadcasting – Inform-Educate-Entertain
• Elvis Costello – This Year’s Model
• Steely Dan – Can’t Buy A Thrill
• Tori Amos – Boys for Pele
• UB40 – Labour of Love I/II/III
• Cat Stevens – Tea for the Tillerman
• Bob Dylan – Oh Mercy
• Sia – This is Acting
• Bruce Springsteen – Human Touch / Lucky Town
• The Coral – The Coral (2002 debut)
• Joni Mitchell – Ladies of the Canyon
• Everything But The Girl – Walking Wounded
• The Broken Family Band – Welcome home, Loser
• The Smiths – Meat Is Murder
• The Icicle Works – The Icicle Works (1984 debut)
• Scissor Sisters – Scissor Sisters (2004 debut)
• BB King – There is always one more Time
• David Bowie – Station to Station
• Blue Nile – Walk Across The Rooftops
• AC/DC – For Those About to Rock, we Salute You
• AC/DC – Back to Black
• Portishead – Third
• David Bowie – Young Americans
• The Crystal Method – Tweekend
• Guy Chadwick – Lazy, Soft & Slow
• Ernest Ranglin – Below the Bassline
• Sugarcubes – Life’s Too Good
• Deacon Blue – The Believers
• Groove Armada – Vertigo
• Chumbawamba – Tubthumper
• Echobelly – On
• Pulp – HIs ‘n’ Hers
• Gorillaz – Demon Days
• Elbow – Build A Rocket Boys!
• Hal – Hal (2005)
• David Bowie – Reality
• Beth Orton – Trailer Park
• Madness – Absolutely
• Paul Buchanan – Mid Air
• The Stranglers – La folie
• Elvis Costello – Brutal Youth
• Thomas Dolby – The Golden Age of Wireless
• Bloc Party – Silent Alarm
• Ladysmith Black Mambazo – Shaka Zulu
• Laurie Anderson – Big Science
• Leonard Cohen – Songs of Love and Hate
• Gretchen Parlato – Flor
• The Pogues – Rum, Sodomy and the Lash
• David Bowie – Blackstar
• Genesis – Foxtrot
• Kate Bush – Lionheart
• Sia – Everyday is Christmas (the only Christmas album on the list!)
• Brian Eno – Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks
• Sting – Ten Summoner’s Tales
• Cat Stevens – Teaser and the Firecat
• The Futureheads – The Futureheads (2005 debut)
• The Darkness – Permission to Land
• Gotye – Like Drawing Blood
• George Harrison – All Things Must Pass
• David Bowie – Heathen
• Robbie Williams – Life Thru a Lens
• Sam Brown – April Moon
• Love – Forever Changes
• Tricky – Pre-Millennium Tension
• David Gilmour – About Face
• Paul McCartney – Pipes of Peace
• U2 – Zooropa
• Pet Shop Boys – Introspective
• Peter Gabriel – Peter Gabriel II (Scratch)
• The Beatles – Let It Be
• Take That – Progress / Progress Live
• Lindsey Buckingham – Out of the Cradle
• Foo Fighters – The Colour and the Shape
• Madonna – True Blue
• Fleetwood Mac – Tusk
• Beth Gibbons and Rustin Man – Out of Season
• The Flaming Lips – Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
• The Levellers – Zeitgeist
• Electric Soft Parade – Hole in the Wall
• The Beautiful South – 0898 Beautiful South
• Faithless – Outrospective / Reperspective
• The Cocteau Twins – Victorialand
• Del Amitri – Waking Hours
• Peter Gabriel – OVO
• Depeche Mode – Songs of Faith and Devotion
• Morcheeba – Fragments of Freedom
• Bee Gees – Saturday Night Fever (soundtrack)
• Mike Oldfield – Crisis
• Ian McNabb – Merseybeast / North West Coast
• Little Axe – Slow Fuse / Fusion
• Red Hot Chili Peppers – Blood Sugar Sex Magik
• Belle and Sebastian – Tigermilk 🐯 🥛
• Bellowhead – Hedonism
• Talking Heads – More Songs About Buildings and Food
• Divine Comedy – Victory for the Common Muse
• Madness – One Step Beyond
• The Jam – Sound Affects
• The Velvet Underground – Loaded
• The Charlatans – Wonderland
• The Killers – Hot Fuss
• Del Amitri – Change Everything
• Queen – Queen II
• Hue and Cry – Remote
• Coldplay – A Rush of Blood to the Head
• Ian McNabb – Little Episodes
• James – Whiplash
• Keane – Under the Iron Sea
• Jimi Hendrix Experience – Are You Experienced?
• Talking Heads – ’77
• Paul McCartney – McCartney II
• Pearl Jam – Vs
• The Saw Doctors – All The Way From Tuam
• Tori Amos – From the Choirgirl Hotel
• Jesus Jones – Doubt
• AC/DC – Back in Black
• The Beatles – The White Album
• Syd Barrett – The Madcap Laughs
• Lloyd Cole – Rattlesnakes
• Robbie Williams – I’ve Been Expecting You
• Paul Weller – Wake Up The Nation
• The Cocteau Twins – Four Calendar Cafe
• Def Leppard – Hysteria
• Blur – Leisure
• The Cure – Boys Don’t Cry
• George Harrison – Cloud 9
• Paolo Nutini – Sunny Side Up
• Passenger – Songs for the Drunk and Broken Hearted
• David Bowie – Lodger
• Paul Anka – Rock Swings
• Guns n Roses – Appetite for Destruction
• Faith No More – The Real Thing
• The Smiths – Strangeways, Here We Come
• The Beautiful South – Choke
• Lenny Kravitz – Mama Said
• Suzanne Vega – 9 Objects of Desire
• Jesus and Mary Chain – Darklands
• Blur – 13
• Jean-Michel Jarre – In Concert: Houston / Lyon
• Lily Allen – It’s Not Me, It’s You
• Ian McNabb – Our Future In Space
• Talking Heads – Speaking in Tongues
• Oasis – Don’t Believe The Truth
• Kate Bush – Director’s Cut
• Ian McNabb – Utopia
• Dire Straits – Brothers in Arms
• XTC – Oranges and Lemons
• The Beloved – Happiness
• Dire Straits – Making Movies
• The Verve – Urban Hymns
• Rolling Stones – Sticky Fingers
• Chumbawamba – Shhh!
• Belly – Star
• Suzanne Vega – Days of Open Hand
• Jean-Jacques Goldman – Non homologué (1985)
• Ryan Adams – Love Is Hell
• Lauryn Hill – The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
• British Sea Power – The Fall and Rise of British Sea Power
• The Traveling WIlburys – The Traveling Wilburys
• Nirvana – Unplugged
• The Doors- The Doors
• Blur – The Great Escape
• Razorlight – Up All Night
• Jess Morgan – Edison Gloriette
• Rag n Bone Man – Human
• Elbow – Asleep at the Back
• New Order – Power, corruption. and Lies
• Midnight Oil – Blue Sky Mining
• The Charlatans – Tellin’ Stories
• Jimmy Cliff – The Harder They Come
• INXS – Kick
• Jimmy Lindsay – Children of Rastafari
• Jungle – Jungle (2016 debut)
• Robert Cray Band – Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark
• Happy Mondays – Pills 💊 thrills and Bellyaches
• Pet Shop Boys – Please
• Leftfield – Leftism
• David Bowie – Black Tie, White Noise
• Fleetwood Mac – The Pious Bird of Good Omen
• Donald Fagen – Kamakiriad
• Long-View – Mercury
• The Lottery Winners – Something to Leave the House For
• Lenny Kravitz – Let Love Rule
• Dire Straits – Alchemy
• Ride – Nowhere
• Def Leppard – Pyromania
• Deacon Blue – Whatever You Say, Say Nothing
• Chic – Risqué
• Röyksopp – Melody A.M.
• Jah Wobble and The Invaders of the Heart – Take Me To God
• Lets Eat Grandma – I’m All Ears
• Richard Hawley – Coles Corner
• Dreadzone – Second Light
• Wolf Alice – My Love Is Cool
• Flipron – Fancy Blues and Rustique Novelties
• Deacon Blue – Walking Back Home**
• Richard Thompson – Rumor & Sigh
• Fleetwood Mac – Mirage
• Eminem – The Marshall Mathers LP
• Depeche Mode – Construction Time Again
• Cypress Hill – Black Sunday
• 10cc – The Original Soundtrack
• Tori Amos – Ocean to Ocean
• The Charlatans – Some Friendly
• Scissor Sisters – Ta-Dah
• Joe Jackson – Big World
• John Lennon – Imagine
• Seal – Human Being
• Robbie Williams – Sing When You’re Winning
• Talking Heads – True Stories
• Guns ‘n Roses – G n’R Lies
• Seasick Steve – Dog House Music
• Peter Gabriel – Live Blood
• The Who – Quadrophenia
• Wings – Venus and Mars
• The White Stripes – De Stijl 
• Sharon Shannon – Galway Girl
• Queen – Jazz
• Jimmy Lindsay -Where is Your Love
• The Doors- Strange Days
• Ride – Going Blank Again
• Bright Eyes – I’m Wide Awake It”s Morning
• This Mortal Coil – This’ll End in Tears
• Reb Capper – Bakelite
• Qrion – I Hope It Lasts Forever
• Count Basie – The Atomic Mr Basie
• Swing Out Sister – It’s Better To Travel
• Sinead o’Connor – The Lion and the Cobra
• Remmy Ongala and Orchestre – Mambo
• The Buzzcocks – Inventory (The Singles)**
• Billy Bragg and Wilco – Mermaid Avenue Vols I+II
• The Broken Family Band – Balls
• Royksopp – Meldoy A.M.
• Annie Lennox – Diva
• Kraftwerk – Radio-Activity
• The Killers – Day and Age
• 10cc – Deceptive Bends
• John Lennon – Mind Games
• Booker T & the M.Gs – Green Onions
• Aphex Twin – Selected Ambient Works II
• Rudimental – Home
• Peter Gabriel & Friends (inc. Karl Wallinger) – Big Blue Ball
• UB40 – Present Arms / In Dub
• The Cardigans – Gran Turismo
• Jimmy Cliff – Rebirth
• The Killers –
• Aerosmith – Get a Grip
• Calvin Harris – 18 Months
• Aimee Mann – Mental Illness
• Catatonia – International Velvet
• Kirsty MacColl – Electric Landlady
• The Chemical Brothers – Surrender
• Level 42 – Running In The Family
• Air – Pocket Symphony
• Razorlight – Razorlight
• KT Tunstall – Eye to the Telescope
• John Lennon & Yoko Ono – Double Fantasy
• Bobbie Gentry – I’ll Never Fall In Love Again
• Courtney Pine – To The Eyes of Creation
• Crowded House – Temple of Low Men
• Billie Holiday – Lady in Satin
• Robert Cray Band – Shame + A Sin
• Van Morrison – Enlightenment
• The Crystal Method – The Crystal Method (2014)
• Bruce Hornsby and the Range – Scenes from the Southside
• Roxy Music – For Your Pleasure
• Ali Farka Toure – Savanne
• Amy Winehouse – Back to Black
• Air – Talkie Walkie
• Teenage Fanclub – Bandwagonesque
• Lloyd Cole – Music in a Foreign Language
• Alan Parsons Project – The Turn of a Friendly Card
• Foals – Total Life Forever
• Bjork – Verspertine
• Sugar – File Under: Easy LIstening
• The Wonder Girls – Wonder Best
• Clean Bandit – New Eyes
• The Coral – Magic and Medicine
• Chicane – Behind the Sun
• Blondie – Eat to the Beat
• Pet Shop Boys – Very
• Culture – Africa Stand Alone
• Jimi Hendrix Experience – Axis: Bold As Love
• Chumbawamba – The Boy Bands Have Won
• Billy Bragg – Talking to the Taxman about Poetry
• U2 – October
• Robert Cray Band – Midnight Stroll
• Richard Hawley – Standing At the Sky’s Edge
• The Zutons – Tired of Hanging Around
• Dire Straits- Communique
• Van Morrison – Astral Weeks
• Yes – 90125
• Jellyfish – Bellybutton
• Morrissey – You Are the Quarry
• The Milltown Brothers – Slinky
• Phil Collins – Face Value
• Jean-Jacques Goldman – En Passant
• Youssou n’Dour – Nothing’s In Vain (Coono Du Reer)
• Kula Shaker – K
• 10cc – Bloody Tourists
• Black Uhuru – What is Life
• U2 – All That You Can’t Leave Behind
• Saint Etienne – Foxbase Alpha
• The Wonderstuff – Four Legged Groove Machine
• Sam Brown – Stop!
• Genesis – Abacab
• The Saw Doctors – If This Is Rock and Roll, I Want My Old Job Back
• The Stranglers – Rattus Norvegicus 
• Everything But The Girl – Eden
• Biffy Clyro – Only Revolutions
• Zero 7 – When It Falls
• ZZ Top – Afterburner

*Technically a compilation of 12″ versions and remixes rather than an original album.

**Technically compilations rather than an original album.

***The concert film rather than the original 9 track LP.

****Technically a remix album rather than an original studio album.