“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.
And now, we’re excited to reveal our writers’ respective lists of their 25 all-time favorite albums. 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 and the reasons why.
Explore Andy Healy’s 25 favorites below, click the “Next” button to browse the lists or return to the main index.
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The 1975
I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware of It
Dirty Hit/Polydor (2016)
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Usually I like to give an album a decade’s play before I think about it 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 eight years.
Fiona Apple
When the Pawn…
Epic/Clean Slate (1999)
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Utterly compelling and instantly captivating, Fiona Apple's When The Pawn… still feels as vital and as daring as it did the first time I heard it. There's an urgency that feels palpable, a rawness that draws you near, and a sense of comfort within the chaos that invites you to stay awhile. Sharp and focused, this (for me) is Apple at her purest and best. It can be brash. It can be confronting. It can be alarming. But it is always engaging.
Arcade Fire
Funeral
Merge (2004)
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This album was a revelation for me. A breath of fresh musical air supported by boundless enthusiasm and exuberance. A narrative of growing, of life and loss, Funeral taps into the heart of leaving childhood and the hopes, dreams and crashing reality of adulthood. Perfection from start to finish, the album could stand on the strength of the glorious “Wake Up” alone, but the multitalented collective deliver heartfelt track after track through the unfolding narrative.
Angelo Badalamenti
Twin Peaks (Soundtrack)
Warner (1990)
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I fell in love with Twin Peaks when it first aired and it soon became my all-time favorite TV show. Part of its appeal was the dreamlike music composed by Angelo Badalamenti that perfectly complemented the mystery, intrigue, and chills that the series offered. As a standalone work the music is soothing, drawing you in, offering dream inducing moments with maybe a slight prickly chill down the spine. From the haunting “Theme” and sorrow meets hope melodies of “Laura’s Theme” to the jazzy “Audrey’s Dance” and “Freshly Squeezed” to the sublime ethereal vocals of Julee Cruise, this is an album that I can play and feel immediately at ease as it remains a joyful, sometimes spooky listen.
The Beatles
Magical Mystery Tour
Parlophone/Capitol (1967)
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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?”
Björk
Post
One Little Indian/Elektra (1995)
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One of the most adventurous artists of her generation, Björk will always challenge you as a listener and, more often than not, delight. On Post, a heady cross-pollination of genres is on display, as Björk explores intimacy and emotions, bouncing wildly from track to track (and often within a track). From deliberate maximalist production to stripped bare, the album traverses many terrains as it wanders and explores new musical landscapes, delivering songs that enchant, empower, and surprise at every revolution.
Coldplay
A Rush of Blood to the Head
Parlophone/Capitol (2002)
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This is the sound of ambition. A Rush of Blood to the Head is a study in self-fulfilling prophecies seeing Coldplay grow in stature and appeal, conquering a bigger world stage. With tracks like “Politik,” “In My Place,” “God Put a Smile on Your Face,” “Clocks” and the brilliant “The Scientist,” the album remains vibrant, relevant, and urgent. None of its luster has been lost over the years and it remains Coldplay’s defining moment. It has rightfully become the benchmark by which subsequent releases are measured against. For in this perfect storm of ambition and well-focused follow-through, Coldplay rightfully took their place as “one of the best.”
De La Soul
3 Feet High and Rising
Tommy Boy (1989)
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In a period when hip-hop was becoming more concerned with macho images and gangster lifestyles, De La Soul's 3 Feet High and Rising came in and shook up the whole landscape. With a playful energy that sometimes belied the serious subject matter, De La Soul manage to engage, entertain, and surprise with their mix of sample-rich lead tracks, fresh rhymes, and additive beats that had an energy and vibrancy to them that was undeniable. This was a game changer and is still an entertaining listen many years later.
Depeche Mode
Violator
Mute (1990)
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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.
Eurythmics
Revenge
RCA (1986)
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Some records are just flawless from start to finish. And for Eurythmics, Revenge is that album. A beautiful study of pop-rock perfection that saw their craft for songwriting build to its climax. From the angsty opener “Missionary Man” and the spurned “Thorn In My Side” to the hopeful “When Tomorrow Comes” to the heartache of “The Miracle of Love” and “Take Your Pain Away” and the haunting closer “I Remember You,” the album is filled with moments to draw you in and keep you entertained throughout its tight 44-minute run time. Annie Lennox’s voice is at its finest and drips with soul and playfulness that are hard to resist.
Foo Fighters
The Colour and the Shape
Roswell/Capitol (1997)
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Whenever I need a blast of energy, this is the album I put on. Rock with passion and heart from the blistering “Monkey Wrench” and the thunderous “My Hero” through to the urgency of “Enough Space” and “My Poor Brain,” the album amps you up in its constant twist and turns. Songs like “See You” and “February Stars” flesh out the album with less overdrive and more heart. And who can overlook “Everlong,” perhaps one of the finest rock songs ever penned with its shunting riffs and rolling groove. The Colour and the Shape is an album that is perfectly cranked all the way up.
Marvin Gaye
What’s Going On
Tamla (1971)
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A timeless exploration of social consciousness and questioning set against hypnotic melodies and lush vocals. This no-skip journey is one that feels fresh and new every time I come back to it.
Janet Jackson
Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814
A&M (1989)
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Like Marvin Gaye’s sublime What’s Going On (1971) before it, Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814 effortlessly blends social consciousness with modern R&B. From the titular track through to “State of The World,” “Living In A World They Didn’t Make,” and “The Knowledge,” Jackson explores many of society’s ills from homelessness, racism, school shootings, teen pregnancy, violence, and poverty and does so with empathy rather than proposing feel-good solutions from on high.
Jackson also balances the more socially awaking songs that engage the head with songs that will get the feet moving from the dance pop of “Miss You Much” to the new jack swing inspired “Alright” and the wavy funk vibes of “Love Will Never Do Without You,” resulting in an album that still moves the heart and soul.
Michael Jackson
HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I
Epic/MJJ (1995)
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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.
Jungle
Volcano
Caiola/AWAL (2023)
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For a recent release to make it onto lists such as this, it has to be a remarkable album. For me, the release of Jungle's Volcano is all that and more. From needle drop to final refrain, this album comes at you fast and doesn't let go. Tripping through a meld of genres from disco to soul to funk to hip-hop, the album feels simultaneously retro and fresh. Like a shot of pure joy into your veins, Volcano continues to illicit eruptions of euphoria.
Living Colour
Time’s Up
Epic (1990)
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If an album can ever be of its time and also ahead of it, then Living Colour’s sophomore effort Time’s Up is that album. A band that had rocked the world with the stellar debut Vivid (1988) was now cementing its position of being a force to be reckoned with. Continuing on from its hard rock collision with funk’s raw edges, Time’s Up is an album that explores many themes and musical genres. Reflecting a social consciousness on tracks like thrash heavy “Time’s Up,” the hard edge “Someone Like You” and the contemplative “New Jack Theme,” as well as exploring the weighty issues of racial profiling in “Type” and sexual risk in “Under Cover of Darkness,” the album never fails to grab you in one way or another.
The standout “Love Rears Its Ugly Head” (pre-remix release) and “This Is the Life” flesh out the album’s sound further. And I will go to my grave arguing that “Solace of You” is one of the greatest songs ever recorded. When Living Colour set out to make Time’s Up, I’m sure they hoped to make timeless music, but there is a tinge of sadness in how socially relevant it remains.
Sananda Maitreya
Neither Fish nor Flesh
Columbia (1989)
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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.”
Parliament
Tear the Roof Off: 1974-1980
Casablanca (1993)
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Normally I’m not a fan of compilation albums, as I feel it cheats you out of discovering deeper album cuts. But there is the occasional exception that gives you a breadth of a band at the peak of their power and encourages you to dig deeper into their back catalogue. And that was the experience I had with Tear the Roof Off, gifted to me by a dear friend as my quick study on Parliament and the plethora of funk they had created.
From the infectious intro of “P-Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up)” through the sleezy groove of “Up for the Down Stroke” to the strutting “Bop Gun (Endangered Species)” and the soul funk of “Mothership Connection (Star Child),” thee funk just flows endlessly. With a double disc, two-and-a-half-hour journey of exploration of sonic pleasures at your disposal, you won’t be able to resist giving into the groove of it all when tracks like “Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof Off the Sucker)” and the sublime “Flash Light” play.
The Police
Zenyattà Mondatta
A&M (1980)
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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 eleven 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
Paisley Park/Warner Bros. (1987)
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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
Parlophone/Capitol (2000)
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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 distortion led tracks like “The National Anthem” and “Idioteque” leave you feeling charged with static electricity.
Sade
Stronger Than Pride
Epic (1988)
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My introduction to Sade is (narrowly) still my favorite outing of theirs. With top-notch musicianship on display, deft production, and the glorious voice that is Sade Adu, the album is a sensuous blend of loving and longing. The album continues to shimmer and shine as it did upon first hearing it.
Simple Minds
Sparkle in the Rain
Virgin/A&M (1984)
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I discovered Simple Minds through their breakthrough album Once Upon a Time (1985) and that set me on a journey to discover their rich and varied back catalogue. Among the highlights was the stellar album Sparkle in the Rain. With a collection of songs that range from propulsive “Up on the Catwalk” and trancelike “Speed Your Love To Me,” there’s a glimpse of the stadium filler rockers that would dominate their next few albums present in “Waterfront” and “Book of Brilliant Things.”
An eclectic mix of the band they were and the band they would become, it’s the pivotal turning point for the band that would have me anxiously awaiting new releases.
Tears for Fears
Songs from the Big Chair
Phonogram/Mercury (1985)
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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
Island (1984)
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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.