Editor’s Note: From Albumism’s inception back in 2016, we’ve remained unabashedly and unequivocally passionate about our mission of celebrating the world's love affairs with albums past, present and future.

But while our devotion to the album as an art form has remained steadfast, as evidenced by our deepening repository of individual album tributes and reviews, we’ve admittedly seldom taken the opportunity to explicitly articulate our reverence for the virtues of artists’ complete album repertoires as a whole.

Hence why we’ve decided to showcase what we believe to be the most dynamic discographies of all time in this recurring series. In doing so, we hope to better understand the broader creative context within which our most beloved individual albums exist, while acknowledging the full breadth of their creators’ artistry, career arcs, and overall contributions to the ever-evolving musical landscape.

We hope you enjoy this series and be sure to check here periodically for the latest installments.

EVERYTHING BUT THE GIRL

I always recommend a journey through English pop duo Everything But The Girl’s collection of studio albums, as the trip illuminates Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt’s unique gift for continually creating polished pop song structures and intimate lyrics into a multitude of musical genres.

For most of their recording career together, they made exquisitely crafted pop albums that incorporated breezy jazz and bossa nova (1984’s Eden), big band orchestral (1986’s Baby, The Stars Shine Bright) and, in a late career surprise, trip-hop and drum-n-bass (1996’s Walking Wounded, their best-selling album.)

What’s never lost throughout all the genre explorations are gorgeous melodies, perfectly paired harmonies, and the warm intimacy of lead singer Thorn’s autumnal contralto vocals that always seem to be floating in a constant sunset—regardless of the music world in which that sunset was taking place.

It’s wild to think that their first release was a stripped-down acoustic cover of a Cole Porter song in 1982 (“Night and Day”) and then the last song on their final album seventeen years later was a nearly eight-minute-long club banger with Deep Dish (“The Future of the Future (Stay Gold)”). Range has always been Everything But The Girl’s calling card. Their catalog of studio efforts is perfect to line up on a rainy Sunday when you need a smart and sophisticated soundtrack for a day of unknown direction.

Mark’s 3 Favorite Everything But The Girl Albums of All Time:

1. Amplified Heart (1994)
2. Walking Wounded (1996)
3. Eden (1984)

VISIT Everything But The Girl’s Official Store

LISTEN & WATCH: