“What really matters is what you like, not what you are like.”
– Nick Hornby, High Fidelity (1995)
Readers who have enjoyed our interviews from time to time know that we typically ask artists to share their five favorite albums of all time at the end of our conversations with them. No matter who the artist is, it’s always fascinating to discover which long players have impacted their personal and professional lives. A few of our interview subjects have even scoffed at the standard five album limit, rattling off upwards of a dozen or so titles and second-guessing if they’ve made the right choices.
Today, we’re excited to feature our writers’ respective lists of their 10 favorite albums, an exercise that proved agonizing for a few of us, even prompting a few rage-filled messages to be sent to our editor-in-chief who came up with the nutty idea. We all reserve the right to change our minds about these choices in the future, but for now, here are the indispensable albums that we can’t live without.
Check out Andy Healy’s picks below, click the “Next” button at bottom to browse the lists, or click here to return to the main index.
The 1975 | I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware of It | 2016 | Buy | Usually I like to give an album a decade’s play before I think about it a being worthy of inclusion on lists like this, but I Like It When You Sleep… is such a wondrous musical journey it wins out. Unafraid to show their influences, The 1975 do so without sounding like clones and embrace brightness in their nihilism. An infectious mix of electro-pop-funk-rock, it’s been my go-to album of the last few years.
The Beatles | Magical Mystery Tour | 1967 | Buy | This album opened up my eyes to the mystery and wonder of sound production, with the Fab Four continuing to push the envelope with a trippy mix of psychedelic. Who can pass up “Strawberry Fields Forever” or “I Am The Walrus?”
Terence Trent D’Arby | Neither Fish Nor Flesh | 1989 | Buy | Whilst some called it career suicide to follow up his hit heavy debut with the musically adventurous Neither Fish Nor Flesh, for me this was what artistry is all about: a dream of sound delivered with a sense of wonder, exploration and surety. The whole album is worth exploring, but standouts include the romantic “To Know Someone Deeply Is To Know Someone Softly,” the dark and raucous “This Side of Love,” the Motown tinged “Attracted to You,” the hypnotic “Roly Poly,” and the funk fueled sermon of “You Will Pay Tomorrow.”
Depeche Mode | Violator | 1990 | Buy | Depeche Mode at their most ambitious and focused. Beautiful and moody, this gem of synth-pop is epic in its production yet remains intimate in the way it connects. Dark horse “Halo” is a favorite, while the timeless “Enjoy The Silence” remains vital.
Michael Jackson | HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I | 1995 | Buy | Worth it for the Greatest Hits disc alone, but this collection shines in the all-new material on disc two. Jackson is at his most personal in his writing and continues to deliver track after track of iconic music. The haunting “Stranger In Moscow,” the industrial funk of “Scream,” and the rolling funk of “Money” and “2Bad” are must-hears.
The Police | Zenyatta Mondatta | 1980 | Buy | The album I listened to over and over as a kid learning to play the drums. Stewart Copeland’s entrancing dub-reggae-rock style propels this whole album and lays the foundation for Sting and Andy Summers to shine on. Only 38 minutes long, the 11 tracks have The Police finding their sound through ambitious undertakings like “Voices Inside My Head” through to pop gems like “De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da.”
Prince | Sign O’ The Times | 1987 | Buy | I could easily do a favorite Top 10 solely on Prince’s prolific catalogue, but Sign O’ the Times is his shining opus. This double disc of funk that rarely misses a beat has Prince at his most mysterious and musically diverse with guaranteed smashes and bubbling purple experiments to keep you well and truly entertained from opener to closer. Don’t miss the chance to bathe in the glory of “If I Was Ur Girlfriend” or savor the sweet “Starfish & Coffee” or sit back and enjoy a fruit cocktail with “The Ballad of Dorothy Parker.”
Radiohead | Kid A | 2000 | Buy | Beautifully challenging, Kid A is a headphone masterpiece filled with sonic exploration and glitching beats. Like a system breaking down, the album has such a dark, ominous feel to it you can easily want to escape it. But sticking with it reveals a comfort in the isolation and even a sense of empowerment as heavy distorted led tracks like “The National Anthem” and “Idioteque” leave you feeling charged with static electricity.
Tears For Fears | Songs From the Big Chair | 1985 | Buy | A timeless album of carefully crafted prog-pop set against the ambitions, fears, angst and self-doubt of the wildly talented twosome. Every track is a standout in its own right as it reaches for new horizons. This is a cohesive set of songs that continues to rise above the din of most mid ‘80s albums.
U2 | The Unforgettable Fire | 1984 | Buy | There’s something mysterious and ethereal about The Unforgettable Fire that sticks with you. Listening takes me back to late nights with the album on repeat as the alluring mix of atmospherics, ambience and ambition washed over me. For me, this is U2 at their peak and the title track is their greatest song. They may have blasted off into the stratosphere with their next release, but The Unforgettable Fire is the album that lit the fuse.