In the list below, I have taken my “Best Albums of All Time” list and organized it by performing artist/musician, in alphabetical order.  The date is generally the date of first release (usually US or UK).  In the case of compilations, I have used recording dates instead of release dates.

Although the 40+ original source lists I used to compile this meta-list were usually labeled “Best Albums” or “Best Music”, they focused primarily on various forms of rock and pop, as well as rhythm & blues, soul, funk, hip hop, and singer/songwriter.  There is a little bit of jazz, blues, and country.

To see the other best albums lists, click on the links below:

Best Albums of All Time: Ranked
Best Albums of All Time: Chronological

AC/DC
Highway to Hell (1979) (on 3 lists)
Back in Black (1980) (on 26 lists)

Adele
21 (2011) (on 3 lists)

Aerosmith
Toys in the Attic (1975) (on 9 lists)
Rocks (1976) (on 4 lists)
Pump (1989) (on 3 lists)

Air
Moon Safari (1998) (on 6 lists)

Alice in Chains
Dirt (1992) (on 6 lists)

The Allman Brothers Band
At Fillmore East (1971) (on 10 lists)

Tori Amos
Little Earthquakes (1992) (on 5 lists)

Animal Collective
Merriweather Post Pavilion (2009) (on 5 lists)

Photo by Kyle Gustafson

Aphex Twin
Selected Ambient Works 85-92 (1992) (on 6 lists)

Arcade Fire
Funeral (2004) (on 10 lists)
The Suburbs (2010) (on 4 lists)

Arctic Monkeys
Whatever People Say I Am That’s What I’m Not (2006) (on 4 lists)

Jenn Five/NME

A Tribe Called Quest
The Low End Theory (1991) (on 12 lists)
Midnight Marauders (1993) (on 5 lists)

The Avalanches
Since I Left You (2000) (on 3 lists)

Bad Company
Bad Company (1974) (on 4 lists)

Erykah Badu
Mama’s Gun (2000) (on 4 lists)

Anita Baker
The Rapture (1987) (on 3 lists)

The Band
The Basement Tapes (rec. 1967-1975, rel. 1975) (with Bob Dylan) (on 4 lists)
Music from Big Pink (1968) (on 16 lists)
The Band (1969) (on 21 lists)

The Beach Boys
Today (1965) (on 4 lists)
The Smile Sessions (rec. 1965-1971, rel. 2011) (on 4 lists)
Pet Sounds (1966) (on 36 lists)
Sunflower (1970) (on 3 lists)
Surf’s Up (1971) (on 4 lists)

Beastie Boys
Licensed to Ill (1986) (on 11 lists)
Paul’s Boutique (1989) (on 14 lists)
Ill Communication (1994) (on 3 lists)

The Beatles
With the Beatles (1963) (on 4 lists)
Meet the Beatles (1964) (on 4 lists)
A Hard Day’s Night (1964) (on 11 lists)
Help! (1965) (on 3 lists)
Rubber Soul (1965) (on 33 lists)
Revolver (1966) (on 38 lists)
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) (on 36 lists)
Magical Mystery Tour (1967) (on 4 lists)
The Beatles [The White Album] (1968) (on 37 lists)
Abbey Road (1969) (on 32 lists)
Let It Be (rec. 1968-1970, rel. 1970) (on 4 lists)

Beck
Odelay (1996) (on 16 lists)

The Bee Gees 
Saturday Night Fever (1977) (with other artists) (on 12 lists)

Belle & Sebastian
If You’re Feeling Sinister (1996) (on 6 lists)

Chuck Berry
The Great Twenty-Eight (rec. 1955-1965) (on 6 lists)

Beyoncé
Lemonade (2016) (on 3 lists)

Ezra Shaw/Getty Images/2013

The B-52s
The B-52’s (1979) (on 6 lists)

Big Star
#1 Record (1972) (on 4 lists)
Radio City (1974) (on 7 lists)
Third/Sister Lovers (1978) (on 8 lists)

Björk
Debut (1993) (on 5 lists)
Post (1995) (on 6 lists)
Homogenic (1997) (on 6 lists)

Black Flag
Damaged (1981) (on 6 lists)

Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath (1970) (on 6 lists)
Paranoid (1970) (on 14 lists)
Master of Reality (1971) (on 3 lists)
Volume 4 (1972) (on 3 lists)

Mary J. Blige
My Life (1994) (on 3 lists)

Blind Faith
Blind Faith (1969) (on 6 lists)

Blondie
Parallel Lines (1978) (on 11 lists)

Blur
Parklife (1994) (on 11 lists)

Bon Jovi
Slippery When Wet (1986) (on 7 lists)

Boogie Down Productions (feat. KRS-One)
Criminal Minded (1987) (on 3 lists)

AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill

Boston
Boston (1976) (on 3 lists)

David Bowie
Hunky Dory (1971) (on 24 lists)
The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust & the Spiders from Mars (1972) (on 36 lists)
Young Americans (1975) (on 3 lists)
Station to Station (1976) (on 9 lists)
Low (1977) (on 10 lists)
Heroes (1977) (on 5 lists)
Blackstar (2016) (on 5 lists)

James Brown
Star Time (rec. 1956-1984) (on 6 lists)
Live at the Apollo (1963) (on 17 lists)
Sex Machine (1970) (on 3 lists)

The Dave Brubeck Quartet
Time Out (1959) (on 3 lists)

Getty Images

Jeff Buckley
Grace (1994) (on 19 lists)

Tim Buckley
Starsailor (1970) (on 3 lists)

Buffalo Springfield
Buffalo Springfield Again (1967) (on 4 lists)

Kate Bush
Hounds of Love (1985) (on 13 lists)

Buzzcocks
Singles Going Steady (rec. 1977-1979) (on 4 lists)

The Byrds
Mr. Tambourine Man (1965) (on 6 lists)
Younger than Yesterday (1967) (on 6 lists)
The Notorious Byrd Brothers (1968) (on 9 lists)
Sweetheart of the Rodeo (1968) (on 6 lists)

Can
Tago Mago (1971) (on 6 lists)
Ege Bamyasi (1972) (on 3 lists)
Future Days (1973) (on 3 lists)

Captain Beefheart
Trout Mask Replica (1969) (on 16 lists)
Clear Spot (1972) (on 3 lists)

The Cars
The Cars (1978) (on 4 lists)

Johnny Cash
At Folsom Prison (1968) (on 13 lists)

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
The Boatman’s Call (1997) (on 4 lists)

Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman (1988) (on 5 lists)

Ray Charles
Modern Sounds in Country & Western Music (1962) (on 7 lists)

Cheap Trick
Cheap Trick at Budokan (1978) (on 4 lists)

The Chemical Brothers
Dig Your Own Hole (1997) (on 4 lists)

Chic 
C’est Chic (1978) (on 3 lists)
Risqué (1979) (on 3 lists)

Chicago
Chicago Transit Authority (1969) (on 6 lists)

Eric Clapton
Slowhand (1977) (on 3 lists)

Gene Clark
No Other (1974) (on 3 lists)

The Clash
The Clash (1977) (on 17 lists)
London Calling (1979) (on 33 lists)
Sandanista! (1980) (on 5 lists)

Cocteau Twins
Heaven or Las Vegas (1990) (on 4 lists)

Leonard Cohen
Songs of Leonard Cohen (1967) (on 9 lists)
Songs of Love and Hate (1971) (on 7 lists)
I’m Your Man (1988) (on 3 lists)

Coldplay
Parachutes (2000) (on 5 lists)
A Rush of Blood to the Head (2002) (on 7 lists)

Ornette Coleman
The Shape of Jazz to Come (1959) (on 3 lists)

John Coltrane
Giant Steps (1960) (on 7 lists)
A Love Supreme (1965) (on 14 lists)

Sam Cooke
Portrait of a Legend (rec. 1951-1964, rel. 2003) (on 3 lists)
Live at the Harlem Square Club 1963 (rec. 1963, rel. 1985) (on 6 lists)

Elvis Costello
My Aim is True (1977) (on 13 lists)
This Year’s Model (1978) (on 11 lists)
Armed Forces (1979) (as Elvis Costello & the Attractions) (on 5 lists)
Imperial Bedroom (1982) (as Elvis Costello & the Attractions) (on 3 lists)

The Crickets (featuring Buddy Holly)
The “Chirping” Crickets (1957) (on 4 lists)

Counting Crows
August and Everything After (1993) (on 3 lists)

Cream
Disraeli Gears (1967) (on 12 lists)

Creedence Clearwater Revival
Chronicle, Volume 1 (rec. 1968-1972, rel. 1976) (on 3 lists)
Green River (1969) (on 7 lists)
Willie and the Poor Boys (1969) (on 4 lists)

Crosby, Stills & Nash/Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
Crosby, Stills & Nash (1969) (on 5 lists)
Déjà Vu (1970) (on 8 lists)

Crowded House 
Woodface (1991) (on 3 lists)

The Cure
Pornography (1982) (on 3 lists)
Disintegration (1989) (on 10 lists)

Daft Punk
Discovery (2001) (on 5 lists)
Photo by Karl Walter/Getty Pictures/2006

D’Angelo
Brown Sugar (1995) (on 4 lists)
Voodoo (2001) (on 4 lists)

Miles Davis
Kind of Blue (1959) (on 21 lists)
Sketches of Spain (1960) (on 5 lists)
In a Silent Way (1969) (on 7 lists)
Bitches Brew (1970) (on 16 lists)

Dead Kennedys
Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables (1980) (on 3 lists)

Deep Purple
Machine Head (1972) (on 3 lists)

Def Leppard
Pyromania (1983) (on 3 lists)
Hysteria (1987) (on 5 lists)

De La Soul
3 Feet High and Rising (1989) (on 9 lists)

Derek & the Dominoes
Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs (1970) (on 15 lists)

Devo
Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! (1978) (on 5 lists)

Dexy’s Midnight Runners
Searching for the Young Soul Rebels (1980) (on 4 lists)

Dire Straits
Brothers In Arms (1985) (on 12 lists)

Dizzee Rascal
Boy in Da Corner (2003) (on 3 lists)

DJ Shadow
Endtroducing… (1996) (on 12 lists)

The Doors
The Doors (1967) (on 27 lists)
Strange Days (1967) (on 4 lists)
Morrison Hotel (1970) (on 3 lists)
L.A. Woman (1971) (on 6 lists)

Nick Drake
Five Leaves Left (1969) (on 9 lists)
Bryter Layter (1970) (on 4 lists)
Pink Moon (1972) (on 9 lists)

Dr. Dre
The Chronic (1992) (on 9 lists)

Dr. John
Gris Gris (1968) (on 5 lists)

Duran Duran
Rio (1982) (on 4 lists)

Bob Dylan
The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan (1963) (on 5 lists)
Bringing It All Back Home (1965) (on 21 lists)
Highway 61 Revisited (1965) (on 28 lists)
Blonde on Blonde (1966) (on 27 lists)
The Bootleg Series, Vol. 4: Bob Dylan Live 1966: The “Royal Albert Hall” Concert (rec. 1966, rel. 1998) (on 4 lists)
John Wesley Harding (1967) (on 4 lists)
The Basement Tapes (rec. 1967-1968, rel. 1975) (with The Band) (on 4 lists)
Blood on the Tracks (1975) (on 27 lists)
Desire (1976) (on 4 lists)
Time Out of Mind (1997) (on 6 lists)
Love and Theft (2001) (on 3 lists)

The Eagles
Eagles (1972) (on 3 lists)
Hotel California (1976) (on 15 lists)

Earth, Wind & Fire
That’s the Way of the World (1975) (on 3 lists)

Photo by Tony Barnard.

Elbow 
The Seldom Seen Kid (2008) (on 3 lists)

Eminem
The Slim Shady LP (1999) (on 4 lists)
The Marshall Mathers LP (2000) (on 9 lists)

Brian Eno
Here Come the Warm Jets (1974) (on 6 lists)
Another Green World (1975) (on 10 lists)

Eric B. & Rakim
Paid in Full (1987) (on 5 lists)

Donald Fagen
The Nightfly (1982) (on 4 lists)

Fairport Convention
Liege and Leaf (1969) (on 5 lists)

The Flaming Lips
The Soft Bulletin (1999) (on 7 lists)

Fleet Foxes
Fleet Foxes (2008) (on 3 lists)

Fleetwood Mac
Rumours (1977) (on 32 lists)

photo by Bill Hansen

The Flying Burrito Brothers
The Gilded Palace of Sin (1969) (on 8 lists)

Aretha Franklin
I Never Loved a Man the Way that I Love You (1967) (on 12 lists)
Lady Soul (1968) (on 11 lists)
Young, Gifted & Black (1972) (on 3 lists)
Amazing Grace (1972) (on 3 lists)

Fugees
The Score (1996) (on 6 lists)

Funkadelic
Maggot Brain (1971) (on 7 lists)
One Nation Under a Groove (1978) (on 5 lists)

Peter Gabriel
So (1986) (on 11 lists)

Serge Gainsbourg
Histoire de Melody Nelson (1971) (on 5 lists)

Gang of Four
Entertainment! (1979) (on 9 lists)

Marvin Gaye
What’s Going On (1971) (on 32 lists)
Let’s Get It On (1973) (on 7 lists)
Here, My Dear (1978) (on 4 lists)

Stan Getz
Getz/Gilberto (1964) (with Joao Gilberto) (on 3 lists)

The Go-Go’s 
Beauty and the Beat (1981) (on 4 lists)

Grateful Dead
Live/Dead (1969) (on 4 lists)
American Beauty (1970) (on 10 lists)
Workingman’s Dead (1970) (on 6 lists)

Al Green
Call Me (1973) (on 8 lists)

Green Day
Dookie (1994) (on 8 lists)
American Idiot (2004) (on 6 lists)

Guns n’ Roses
Appetite for Destruction (1987) (on 21 lists)

Photo by Larry Busacca/WireImage/Getty

GZA
Liquid Swords (1995) (on 3 lists)

Herbie Hancock
Head Hunters (1973) (on 3 lists)

George Harrison
All Things Must Pass (1970) (on 11 lists)

P.J. Harvey
Rid of Me (1993) (on 5 lists)
To Bring You My Love (1995) (on 3 lists)
Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea (2000) (on 9 lists)
Let England Shake (2011) (on 3 lists)

Isaac Hayes
Hot Buttered Soul (1969) (on 4 lists)
Shaft (1971) (on 3 lists)

Jimi Hendrix
Are You Experienced? (1967) (as The Jimi Hendrix Experience) (on 33 lists)
Axis: Bold As Love (1968) (as The Jimi Hendrix Experience) (on 9 lists)
Electric Ladyland (1968) (as The Jimi Hendrix Experience) (on 27 lists)
Historic Performances Recorded at the Monterey International Pop Festival (rec. 1967, rel. 1970) (on 4 lists)
Band of Gypsys (1970) (on 3 lists)

Lauryn Hill
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998) (on 14 lists)

Hole
Live Through This (1994) (on 9 lists)

Whitney Houston
Whitney Houston (1985) (on 4 lists)

Howlin’ Wolf
Moanin’ in the Moonlight (rec. 1951-1959, rel. 1959) (on 3 lists)

Photo by Ernest Withers.

Hüsker Dü
Zen Arcade (1984) (on 6 lists)
New Day Rising (1985) (on 6 lists)

Photo by Steve Hengstler

Ice Cube
AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted (1990) (on 3 lists)

The Incredible String Band
The Hangman’s Beautiful Daughter (1968) (on 4 lists)

The Isley Brothers
3 + 3 (1973) (on 4 lists)

Janet Jackson
Rhythm Nation 1814 (1989) (on 3 lists)

Michael Jackson
Off the Wall (1979) (on 18 lists)
Thriller (1982) (on 29 lists)
Bad (1987) (on 4 lists)

The Jam
All the Mod Cons (1978) (on 4 lists)

Jane’s Addiction
Nothing’s Shocking (1988) (on 4 lists)
Ritual de lo Habitual (1990) (on 5 lists)

Jay-Z
Reasonable Doubt (1996) (on 3 lists)
The Blueprint (2001) (on 7 lists)

Jefferson Airplane
Surrealistic Pillow (1967) (on 7 lists)

The Jesus & Mary Chain
Psychocandy (1985) (on 9 lists)

Jethro Tull
Aqualung (1971) (on 6 lists)

Billy Joel
The Stranger (1977) (on 5 lists)

Elton John
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1973) (on 17 lists)

Robert Johnson
The Complete Recordings (rec. 1936-1937) (on 4 lists)

Janis Joplin
Cheap Thrills (1968) (with Big Brother & the Holding Company) (on 5 lists)
Pearl (1971) (on 10 lists)

Joy Division
Unknown Pleasures (1979) (on 15 lists)
Closer (1980) (on 16 lists)

B.B. King
Live at the Regal (1965) (on 4 lists)

Carole King
Tapestry (1971) (on 18 lists)

King Crimson
In the Court of the Crimson King (1969) (on 8 lists)

The Kinks
Something Else by the Kinks (1967) (on 3 lists)
The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society (1968) (on 13 lists)

Kiss
Alive! (1975) (on 3 lists)
Destroyer (1976) (on 3 lists)

Kraftwerk
Trans-Europe Express (1977) (on 10 lists)

Kendrick Lamar 
good kid, m.A.A.d city (2012) (on 3 lists)
To Pimp a Butterfly (2015) (on 6 lists)

PA Photos

Cyndi Lauper
She’s So Unusual (1983) (on 3 lists)

Jim Steinfeldt/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

LCD Soundsystem
Sound of Silver (2007) (on 6 lists)

Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin (1969) (on 18 lists)
Led Zeppelin II (1969) (on 19 lists)
Led Zeppelin III (1970) (on 8 lists)
[Led Zeppelin IV] (1971) (on 35 lists)
Houses of the Holy (1973) (on 12 lists)
Physical Graffiti (1975) (on 22 lists)
In Through the Out Door (1979) (on 3 lists)

John Lennon
John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band (1970) (on 16 lists)
Imagine (1971) (on 14 lists)

Leftfield
Leftism (1995) (on 3 lists)

Little Richard
Here’s Little Richard (1957) (on 7 lists)

LL Cool J
Mama Said Knock You Out (1990) (on 3 lists)

Lorde
Melodrama (2017) (on 3 lists)

Love
Forever Changes (1967) (on 21 lists)

Lynyrd Skynyrd
(Pronounced ‘Lĕh-‘nérd ‘Skin-‘nérd) (1973) (on 3 lists)

Photo by Richard Mccaffrey.

Madonna
Like a Prayer (1989) (on 7 lists)
Ray of Light (1998) (on 5 lists)
The Immaculate Collection (rec. 1983-1990) (on 4 lists)

Madvillain
Madvillainy (2004) (on 4 lists)

The Magnetic Fields 
69 Love Songs (1999) (on 7 lists)

Manic Street Preachers
The Holy Bible (1994) (on 3 lists)
Everything Must Go (1996) (on 6 lists)

Bob Marley & the Wailers
Catch a Fire (1973) (as The Wailers) (on 7 lists)
Natty Dread (1974) (on 5 lists)
Exodus (1977) (on 11 lists)
Legend (rec. 1972-1983) (on 11 lists)

John Martyn
Solid Air (1973) (on 4 lists)

Massive Attack
Blue Lines (1991) (on 14 lists)
Mezzanine (1998) (on 5 lists)

John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers
Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton (1966) (on 3 lists)

Curtis Mayfield
Super Fly (1972) (on 7 lists)

MC5
Kick out the Jams (1969) (on 5 lists)

Paul McCartney & Wings
Band on the Run (1973) (on 6 lists)

Kate & Anna McGarrigle
Kate & Anna McGarrigle (1975) (on 4 lists)

Meat Loaf
Bat out of Hell (1977) (on 7 lists)

Mercury Rev
Deserter’s Songs (1998) (on 3 lists)

Metallica
Kill ‘Em All (1983) (on 3 lists)
Ride the Lightning (1984) (on 3 lists)
Master of Puppets (1986) (on 15 lists)
…And Justice for All (1988) (on 3 lists)
Metallica [Black Album] (1991) (on 14 lists)

The Meters
Look-Ka Py Py (1969) (on 4 lists)

MGMT
Oracular Spectacular (2007) (on 3 lists)

M.I.A.
Kala (2007) (on 3 lists)

Photo by Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images/2013

George Michael
Faith (1987) (on 3 lists)

Charles Mingus
Mingus Ah Um (1959) (on 5 lists)
The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady (1963) (on 5 lists)

Minutemen
Double Nickels on the Dime (1984) (on 10 lists)

Joni Mitchell
Blue (1971) (on 22 lists)
Court and Spark (1974) (on 13 lists)
The Hissing of Summer Lawns (1975) (on 5 lists)
Hejira (1976) (on 4 lists)

Mobb Deep
The Infamous… (1995) (on 3 lists)

Moby
Play (1999) (on 5 lists)

Moby Grape
Moby Grape (1967) (on 5 lists)

The Modern Lovers
The Modern Lovers (rec. 1971-1973, rel. 1976) (on 8 lists)

The Monks
Black Monk Time (1966) (on 4 lists)

The Moody Blues
Days of Future Passed (1967) (on 3 lists)

Alanis Morissette
Jagged Little Pill (1995) (on 10 lists)

Van Morrison
Astral Weeks (1968) (on 26 lists)
Moondance (1970) (on 17 lists)
It’s Too Late To Stop Now (1974) (on 4 lists)

Motörhead 
Ace of Spades (1980) (on 3 lists)

Muddy Waters
The Anthology: 1947-1972 (rec. 1947-1972) (on 3 lists)
At Newport 1960 (1960) (on 3 lists)

My Bloody Valentine
Loveless (1991) (on 15 lists)

Nas
Illmatic (1994) (on 11 lists)

Willie Nelson
Red Headed Stranger (1975) (on 5 lists)
Stardust (1978) (on 3 lists)

Neu!
Neu ’75 (1975) (on 3 lists)

Neutral Milk Hotel
In the Aeroplane over the Sea (1998) (on 6 lists)

Randy Newman
12 Songs (1970) (on 3 lists)
Sail Away (1972) (on 4 lists)
Good Old Boys (1974) (on 4 lists)

New Order
Technique (1989) (on 3 lists)

New York Dolls
New York Dolls (1973) (on 9 lists)

Harry Nilsson
Nilsson Schmilsson (1971) (on 4 lists)

Nine Inch Nails
The Downward Spiral (1994) (on 13 lists)

Nirvana
Nevermind (1991) (on 36 lists)
In Utero (1993) (on 14 lists)
MTV Unplugged in New York (1994) (on 9 lists)

The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band 
Will the Circle Be Unbroken (1972) (on 3 lists)

The Notorious B.I.G.
Ready to Die (1994) (on 8 lists)

Photo: David Corio/Redferns/Getty

N.W.A.
Straight Outta Compton (1988) (on 14 lists)

Laura Nyro
Eli & the Thirteenth Confession (1968) (on 4 lists)

Oasis
Definitely Maybe (1994) (on 15 lists)
(What’s the Story) Morning Glory? (1995) (on 17 lists)

Frank Ocean 
Channel Orange (2012) (on 4 lists)
Blond (2016) (on 5 lists)

Mike Oldfield
Tubular Bells (1973) (on 3 lists)

OutKast
Aquemini (1998) (on 5 lists)
Stankonia (2000) (on 9 lists)

Pantera
Vulgar Display of Power (1992) (on 3 lists)

Parliament
Mothership Connection (1975) (on 7 lists)

Graham Parker 
Squeezing Out Sparks (1979) (on 3 lists)

Gram Parsons
G.P. (1973) (on 8 lists)
Grievous Angel (1974) (on 9 lists)

Dolly Parton
Coat of Many Colors (1971) (on 6 lists)

Pavement
Slanted and Enchanted (1992) (on 10 lists)
Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain (1994) (on 6 lists)

Pearl Jam
Ten (1991) (on 20 lists)

Pere Ubu
The Modern Dance (1978) (on 5 lists)

Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
Damn the Torpedoes (1979) (on 4 lists)

Liz Phair
Exile in Guyville (1993) (on 8 lists)

Pink Floyd
The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967) (on 9 lists)
Meddle (1971) (on 3 lists)
The Dark Side of the Moon (1973) (on 31 lists)
Wish You Were Here (1975) (on 21 lists)
Animals (1977) (on 3 lists)
The Wall (1979) (on 18 lists)

Pixies
Surfer Rosa (1988) (on 8 lists)
Doolittle (1989) (on 18 lists)

The Pogues
Rum, Sodomy & the Lash (1985) (on 4 lists)

The Police
Regatta de Blanc (1979) (on 3 lists)
Synchronicity (1983) (on 11 lists)

Iggy Pop (see also The Stooges)
Lust For Life (1977) (on 4 lists)

Portishead
Dummy (1994) (on 16 lists)
Third (2008) (on 4 lists)

Prefab Sprout
Steve McQueen (1985) (on 6 lists)

Elvis Presley
The Sun Sessions (rec. 1953-1955) (on 10 lists)
Sunrise (rec. 1953-1955) (on 3 lists)
Elvis Presley (1956) (on 8 lists)
From Elvis in Memphis (1969) (on 3 lists)

The Pretenders
Pretenders (1980) (on 12 lists)

Primal Scream
Screamadelica (1991) (on 14 lists)

Getty Images.

Prince
Dirty Mind (1980) (on 5 lists)
1999 (1982) (on 9 lists)
Purple Rain (1984) (as Prince & the Revolution) (on 26 lists)
Sign o’ the Times (1987) (on 20 lists)

John Prine
John Prine (1971) (on 5 lists)

The Prodigy
The Fat of the Land (1997) (on 7 lists)

Getty.

Public Enemy
It Takes A Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (1988) (on 22 lists)
Fear of a Black Planet (1990) (on 11 lists)

Public Image, Ltd.
Metal Box (1979)/Second Edition (1980) (on 11 lists)

Pulp
Different Class (1995) (on 8 lists)

Queen
A Night at the Opera (1975) (on 15 lists)

Radiohead
The Bends (1995) (on 17 lists)
OK Computer (1997) (on 26 lists)
Kid A (2000) (on 16 lists)
In Rainbows (2007) (on 7 lists)

Raekwon
Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… (1995) (on 3 lists)

Getty Images.

Rage Against the Machine
Rage Against the Machine (1992) (on 11 lists)

Bonnie Raitt
Nick of Time (1989) (on 4 lists)

Ramones
Ramones (1976) (on 27 lists)
Rocket to Russia (1977) (on 5 lists)

Photo by Roberta Bayley

Otis Redding
Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul (1965) (on 17 lists)
Historic Performances Recorded at the Monterey International Pop Festival (rec. 1967, rel. 1970) (on 4 lists)

Red Hot Chili Peppers
Blood Sugar Sex Magik (1991) (on 14 lists)
Californication (1999) (on 6 lists)

Lou Reed
Transformer (1972) (on 17 lists)
Berlin (1973) (on 3 lists)

R.E.M.
Murmur (1983) (on 15 lists)
Life’s Rich Pageant (1986) (on 3 lists)
Document (1987) (on 4 lists)
Out of Time (1991) (on 7 lists)
Automatic for the People (1992) (on 23 lists)

The Replacements
Let It Be (1984) (on 12 lists)

The Rolling Stones
Aftermath (1966) (on 7 lists)
Beggar’s Banquet (1968) (on 19 lists)
Let It Bleed (1969) (on 26 lists)
Get Yer Ya Ya’s Out! (1970) (on 3 lists)
Sticky Fingers (1971) (on 26 lists)
Exile on Main St. (1972) (on 32 lists)
Some Girls (1978) (on 9 lists)
Tattoo You (1981) (on 4 lists)

Roxy Music
Roxy Music (1972) (on 4 lists)
For Your Pleasure (1973) (on 13 lists)
Avalon (1982) (on 3 lists)

Todd Rundgren
Something/Anything? (1972) (on 7 lists)
A Wizard, A True Star (1973) (on 3 lists)

Run-D.M.C.
Run-D.M.C. (1984) (on 3 lists)
Raising Hell (1986) (on 10 lists)

Rush
Moving Pictures (1981) (on 4 lists)

Santana
Abraxas (1970) (on 11 lists)

Sepultura
Roots (1996) (on 3 lists)

The Sex Pistols
Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols (1977) (on 31 lists)

Sigur Rós
Ágætis byrjun (1999) (on 6 lists)


Paul Simon
Paul Simon (1972) (on 3 lists)
Graceland (1986) (on 22 lists)

Simon & Garfunkel
Bookends (1968) (on 5 lists)
Bridge over Troubled Water (1970) (on 20 lists)

Frank Sinatra
In the Wee Small Hours (1955) (on 4 lists)
Songs for Swingin’ Lovers (1956) (on 6 lists)

Slayer
Reign in Blood (1986) (on 4 lists)

Sleater-Kinney
Dig Me Out (1997) (on 3 lists)

The Slits
Cut (1979) (on 4 lists)

Slowdive 
Souvlaki (1993) (on 3 lists)

Sly & the Family Stone
Stand! (1969) (on 11 lists)
There’s a Riot Going On (1971) (on 12 lists)

The Smashing Pumpkins
Siamese Dream (1993) (on 13 lists)
Mellon Collie & the Infinite Sadness (1995) (on 8 lists)

Elliott Smith
Either/Or (1997) (on 10 lists)

Patti Smith
Horses (1975) (on 23 lists)

The Smiths
Hatful of Hollow (rec. 1983-1984) (on 6 lists)
The Smiths (1984) (on 9 lists)
Meat Is Murder (1985) (on 3 lists)
The Queen is Dead (1986) (on 25 lists)

Sufjan Stevens
Illinois (2005) (on 6 lists)
Carrie & Lowell (2015) (on 4 lists)

Solange
A Seat at the Table (2016) (on 3 lists)

Sonic Youth
Sister (1987) (on 3 lists)
Daydream Nation (1988) (on 15 lists)

Soundgarden
Superunknown (1994) (on 10 lists)

The Specials
The Specials (1979) (on 4 lists)

Phil Spector (with various artists)
Phil Spector: Back to Mono (rec. 1958-1969) (on 5 lists)

Spiritualized
Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space (1997) (on 5 lists)

Dusty Springfield
Dusty in Memphis (1969) (on 16 lists)

Bruce Springsteen
The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle (1973) (on 3 lists)
Born to Run (1975) (on 28 lists)
Darkness on the Edge of Town (1978) (on 14 lists)
The River (1980) (on 3 lists)
Nebraska (1982) (on 8 lists)
Born in the U.S.A. (1984) (on 12 lists)

Steely Dan
Can’t Buy a Thrill (1972) (on 4 lists)
Countdown to Ecstasy (1973) (on 5 lists)
Pretzel Logic (1974) (on 3 lists)
Aja (1977) (on 8 lists)

Stereolab
Emperor Tomato Ketchup (1996) (on 3 lists)

Rod Stewart
Every Picture Tells a Story (1971) (on 9 lists)

The Stone Roses
The Stone Roses (1989) (on 18 lists)

The Stooges (see also Iggy Pop)
The Stooges (1969) (on 7 lists)
Fun House (1970) (on 14 lists)
Raw Power (1973) (as Iggy & the Stooges) (on 15 lists)

The Streets
Original Pirate Material (2002) (on 3 lists)

The Strokes
Is This It (2001) (on 14 lists)

Suede 
Dog Man Star (1994) (on 3 lists)

Suicide
Suicide (1977) (on 7 lists)

System of a Down
Toxicity (2001) (on 5 lists)

Talking Heads
More Songs About Buildings and Food (1978) (on 5 lists)
Fear of Music (1979) (on 5 lists)
Remain In Light (1980) (on 19 lists)
Stop Making Sense (1984) (on 4 lists)

Photo by Ebet Roberts/Redferns/Getty Images

Talk Talk
Spirit of Eden (1988) (on 3 lists)

James Taylor
Sweet Baby James (1970) (on 8 lists)

Television
Marquee Moon (1977) (on 22 lists)

Thin Lizzy
Live and Dangerous (1978) (on 3 lists)

Richard & Linda Thompson
I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight (1974) (on 9 lists)
Shoot Out the Lights (1982) (on 3 lists)

TLC
CrazySexyCool (1994) (on 4 lists)

KMazur/WireImage

Toots & the Maytals 
Funky Kingston (1975) (US version) (on 3 lists)

T. Rex
Electric Warrior (1971) (on 9 lists)

Tricky
Maxinquaye (1995) (on 6 lists)

Tina Turner
Proud Mary: The Best of Ike & Tina Turner (rec. 1960-1976) (on 3 lists)
Private Dancer (1984) (on 4 lists)

U2
War (1983) (on 5 lists)
The Unforgettable Fire (1984) (on 6 lists)
The Joshua Tree (1987) (on 24 lists)
Achtung Baby (1991) (on 23 lists)
All That You Can’t Leave Behind (2000) (on 3 lists)

Vampire Weekend
Modern Vampires of the City (2013) (on 3 lists)

Van Halen
Van Halen (1978) (on 9 lists)

The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967) (on 32 lists)
White Light/White Heat (1968) (on 8 lists)
The Velvet Underground (1969) (on 16 lists)
Loaded (1970) (on 4 lists)

The Verve
A Northern Soul (1995) (on 3 lists)
Urban Hymns (1997) (on 8 lists)

Violent Femmes
Violent Femmes (1983) (on 3 lists)

Getty Images

Tom Waits
Swordfishtrombones (1983) (on 8 lists)
Rain Dogs (1985) (on 14 lists)

Scott Walker
Scott 4 (1969) (on 5 lists)

Weezer
Weezer [Blue Album] (1994) (on 7 lists)
Pinkerton (1996) (on 3 lists)

Gillian Welch
Time (The Revelator) (2001) (on 3 lists)

Kanye West
The College Dropout (2004) (on 9 lists)
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010) (on 9 lists)
Yeezus (2013) (on 3 lists)

The White Stripes
White Blood Cells (2001) (on 5 lists)
Elephant (2003) (on 8 lists)

The Who
The Who Sell Out (1967) (on 6 lists)
Tommy (1969) (on 16 lists)
Live at Leeds (1970) (on 5 lists)
Who’s Next (1971) (on 27 lists)
Quadrophenia (1973) (on 7 lists)

Wilco
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2001) (on 7 lists)

Hank Williams
40 Greatest Hits (rec. 1947-1952) (on 3 lists)

Lucinda Williams
Car Wheels on a Gravel Road (1998) (on 7 lists)

Amy Winehouse
Back to Black (2006) (on 7 lists)

Wire
Pink Flag (1977) (on 7 lists)

Stevie Wonder
Music of My Mind (1972) (on 3 lists)
Talking Book (1972) (on 11 lists)
Innervisions (1973) (on 21 lists)
Songs in the Key of Life (1976) (on 23 lists)

Wu-Tang Clan
Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) (1993) (on 13 lists)

Robert Wyatt
Rock Bottom (1974) (on 5 lists)

X
Los Angeles (1980) (on 3 lists)
Wild Gift (1981) (on 5 lists)

X-Ray Spex
Germfree Adolescents (1978) (on 3 lists)

XTC
Skylarking (1986) (on 3 lists)

Yes
Fragile (1971) (on 5 lists)
Close to the Edge (1972) (on 5 lists)

Neil Young
Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere (1969) (with Crazy Horse) (on 3 lists)
After the Goldrush (1970) (on 19 lists)
Harvest (1972) (on 10 lists)
On the Beach (1974) (on 4 lists)
Tonight’s the Night (1975) (on 10 lists)
Rust Never Sleeps (1979) (with Crazy Horse) (on 7 lists)

Frank Zappa
Freak Out! (1966) (with The Mothers of Invention) (on 3 lists)
We’re Only In It For the Money (1968) (with The Mothers of Invention) (on 4 lists)
Hot Rats (1969) (on 4 lists)

The Zombies
Odyssey and Oracle (1968) (on 9 lists)

ZZ Top
Eliminator (1983) (on 3 lists)