“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 Patrick Corcoran’s 25 favorites below, click the “Next” button to browse the lists or return to the main index.
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Erykah Badu
Mama’s Gun
Motown (2000)
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For Erykah Badu’s follow-up to better the debut that launched her stratospheric, is quite the achievement. It makes no sacrifices to that huge success and forges bold new directions for her music while broadening the delights on offer. Most important of all is her undeniable vehemence in fully expressing herself lyrically. Her hopes, her fears and insecurities are all exposed to the world to great effect. The final three songs are among my favourite sequences from any album.
The Beatles
Revolver
Parlophone (1966)
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Having spent most of my formative years shunning The Beatles, this album and Abbey Road (1969) kicked the doors in, grabbed me and shook me to attention. Melody after melody entered my mind and never left.
Björk
Vespertine
One Little Indian/Elektra (2001)
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A jaw-dropping falsetto and nerve-shredding guitar work combine to create an album that thrills and consoles in equal measure. A tear-soaked, cherubic masterpiece that stands as a testament to a brief yet brilliant life.
Terry Callier
What Color Is Love
Cadet (1973)
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Unheralded at the time but adored by a fresh wave of fans in the 1990s, this radiates the warmth and humanity that characterized Callier’s unforgettable live performances during his second bite at the musical career cherry. Romantic, lush and carried by his earthy tones, it seems ridiculous that he ever left the business.
John Coltrane
Blue Train
Blue Note (1957)
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The older I get, the more I love this album. I’ll admit to being slightly dumbfounded when it was released—the slurred lyrics bamboozled me. But now, years later, his trick has worked. By making us all strain to hear them, the lyrics burn deeper and last even longer in the mind. Drenched in southern soul with an excitable frisson of hip-hop stylings, it is the finest example of a soul album in the last 30 years.
D’Angelo And The Vanguard
Black Messiah
RCA (2014)
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This record changed my life and opened the doors in my mind. When folks have written entire books about it, it seems pointless to try and sum up in a couple of sentences. Jazz heads might yawn at the cliché of choosing it, but it remains as transformative as ever to me.
Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders & The London Symphony Orchestra
Promises
Luaka Bop (2021)
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This album changed my life. When I was struggling with my mental health, it saved me. It took me on a journey where I could see past the worries that seemed all-consuming and find a place for some peace. Built around a simple keyboard phrase and Sanders’ wondrous, pathos-filled playing, it builds to an astonishing crescendo alongside the orchestra, that brings tears to me every time I listen to it.
Marvin Gaye
What’s Going On
Tamla (1971)
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While Marvin’s voice had always been divine, here the divinity of God shone through in a way that few, if any, could match. It was a state of the nation address as relevant today as it was on release in 1971—Vietnam, environmental vandalism and the plight of the inner city combined with the sanctity of the church to create perfection.
Curtis Mayfield
Curtis
Curtom (1970)
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In just 40 minutes, Mayfield manages to hit every single sweet spot. There’s the unbeatable urgent positivity of “Move On Up,” the grimy funk of “(Don’t Worry) If There’s Hell Below” and the sweet tenderness of “The Makings Of You.” Frankly, it is impossible to imagine a better 40 minutes of music.
McAlmont & Butler
The Sound Of McAlmont & Butler
Hut (1995)
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Not a word wasted, nor a beat undercooked lies on this lean, mean lyrical machine of an album. The sound of a newcomer ascending to god-like status over an inspired set of crunching New York beats.
Meshell Ndegeocello
Bitter
Maverick (1999)
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Meshell Ndegeocello’s previous two albums helped establish “neo-soul” and righteously ruffled feathers along the way, but this third album was a different matter entirely. Musically it was a comfort blanket, but lyrically it told of heartbreak and the dynamic wrung every tiny bit of pain from her soul.
Prince and The Revolution
Purple Rain
Warner Bros. (1984)
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A cultural juggernaut, an “all killer, no filler” nine-song track list and an icon-creating album—it would be churlish not to include this from my favorite artist. Despite (annoyingly) being the “go-to” album for most radio stations, these songs still sound as fresh and vital as they did in 1984.
Prince
Sign O’ the Times
Paisley Park/Warner Bros. (1987)
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A glorious mélange of every pre-hip-hop style of popular black music forged in virtual isolation into a tour de force of unparalleled quality. A summation of everything that had gone before, wrapped in Princely finery.
Radiohead
OK Computer
Parlophone/Capitol (1997)
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No “Cool Britannia” inspired jollity here, just an embryonic electronic edge to the gnarled, twisted guitar beauty from the Oxford band. A primal scream of rage that revealed the world to be as utterly damaged as it had always been—despite the change in political landscape in the UK. Turns out they were right about that.
Otis Redding
Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul
Volt (1965)
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An album that manages to marry songs of the very highest quality to the voice that epitomizes soul, covering an enormous amount of ground, both musically and lyrically, inside 33 minutes. The epitome of ‘60s soul music.
SAULT
Untitled (Rise)
Forever Living Originals (2020)
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When this landed in the midst of a global pandemic and shortly after the death of George Floyd, it hit several nerves. Most importantly of all though, it hits the perfect blend of engaging the ears, the brain and the hips. With chest-bursting Black pride, dancefloor escapism and sublime summery soul it encompasses much of the music that has shaped me and my tastes. From Cleo Sol’s delicious vocals to Inflo’s impeccable production via Kid Sister’s dulcet tones, it glistens with style and rhythmic perfection.
A Tribe Called Quest
People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm
Jive (1990)
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The fun, funky and ridiculously brilliant debut that ushered in my love for hip-hop. The sound of young urban America that I could relate to, filled with wit, style and social commentary.
Bill Withers
Live at Carnegie Hall
Sussex (1973)
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Way funkier than on record and radiating such warmth and humanity, this album is the greatest live album of all time. It encapsulates all that is good and righteous about this oft-overlooked genius.
Jimmy Witherspoon
Live at the Monterey Jazz Festival
HiFi Jazz (1959)
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Some might label Witherspoon a “blues shouter,” but he deserves better than that and this album shows why. Sure, he possessed a booming voice, but he was capable of more subtlety than that. He had a towering stage presence and a band that could swing hard as well as wring the blues out of every note.
Stevie Wonder
Innervisions
Tamla (1973)
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A tautly focused masterpiece from the middle of a barely equaled golden run—it is at once joyously unconfined and heartbreakingly affecting. It is a masterpiece from start to finish.
Stevie Wonder
Songs in the Key of Life
Tamla (1976)
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I mean, it has to be here, doesn’t it? I’ll admit to skipping one song on this album (guess!) but otherwise it is pretty much perfect. It’s got everything—heart-breaking social commentary on “Village Ghetto Land,” the irrepressible bass line of “I Wish” and the sweat-inducing tropical groove of “Always” to name but three. The fact that 95% of people will read those three examples and say they’d have picked three others says it all, really. A master at his peak.