Editor’s Note: The Albumism staff has selected what we believe to be 50 Essential Albums by LGBTQ Artists, representing a varied cross-section of genres, styles and time periods. Considering that the qualifier “LGBTQ” can often be open to various interpretations, for the purposes of this particular list, we have defined an artist as LGBTQ if he, she or they have ever publicly identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and/or queer. Moreover, albums by groups have been included in the list if any of their members fit the aforementioned criteria, even if some members do not.
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GEORGE MICHAEL | Older
Virgin/DreamWorks (1996)
Selected by Quentin Harrison
Having weathered a series of personal and professional woes during the first half of the 1990s, George Michael reached inside of himself to shape his internal tumult and transform it into art. The product of that process was Older (1996), Michael’s third long player.
Lyrically candid and musically dazzling, Older is the portrait of the writer and singer’s life as a gay man preceding his public outing only two years later. The album’s influence on male vocalists, both gay and straight, is uncontested though it resonated most with the former group. After his death in late 2016, like all of Michael’s records, Older has taken on a greater, emotional context and weight.
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