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Welcome to all our new subscribers. We hope you’ve had a chance to enjoy our other articles, including our most popular two Your Taste In Music Sucks, and Controversial Opinions.

An overwhelming number of readers from last week think that live music is a luxury nowadays, and we love having your input - thanks if you took the time to answer our poll.

In the same fashion as Controversial Opinions, which were album-focused, this week’s newsletter is spotlighting albums too. Grab a drink and let’s get started, shall we?

There are good albums, great albums, and albums that are thrust upon us (U2 & Apple, anyone?). Then, there are the albums that we are going to discuss. The albums that changed music forever. They left an imprint and impact that rippled through the eras, leaving a sound signature or style we can still hear today.

To offer something different, we’ll skip Pink Floyd—DSoTM, which typically ranks in the top five album-related lists, always and forever.

What do you mean, changed music?

Every generation of music has a ‘sound’, or something that ‘dates’ the music, usually coming from a combination of innovation and technology.

Other artists and producers are inspired and try to reproduce something that sounds similar for years following. Or, replicate the 'feel’ of it.

You can typically pick out a track from the '60s, '70s, '80s, and so on with little effort even if you haven’t heard it before, simply because of the style and sound.

And, there is usually an album that sparked that sound. Changing what we are listening to for the next decade. There are variations, of course, but you’ll find the same thing within each genre: the nu-metal 90s, glam-rock 80s, 50s B-bop, etc.

What makes a music-changing album?

Let’s set aside lyrics, excellent musicianship, and high-quality production and explore the more understated yet essential, less obvious factors.

Cohesiveness, but not to be confused with ‘sameness’. While each track can be different, it feels like a complete body of work. Usually achieved with minimal lineup changes and the same producer. Transitions that feel intentional, where one track flows into another, or (and this is another one) where the interludes feel less like gaps and more like pieces of the overall picture.

Tracks of varying lengths, and dispersed thoughtfully.

Generally, these albums feel like a complete and finished body of work, a testament to the artist's confidence in delivering their vision.

Straight Outta Compton - NWA

If you haven’t seen the movie, you should. It goes into great detail about what it took to get this album out there. Due to the resistance on all levels, this album changed the music scene forever. As one of the best hip-hop albums of all time, it has stunning penmanship in the lyrics, a unique sound, and still holds social relevance today. You could also argue that this changed the music scene and might be the most influential hip-hop album ever. A social and cultural dent.

Nevermind - Nirvana

The album is real, raw, and authentic—a far cry from all the glam, sexy rock of the time. When it was first released, Geffen hadn’t anticipated people’s readiness for something with a darker and more grungy feel. While the album artwork is now all over T-shirts in cheap clothing stores, this album is undeniably influential.

Initial expectations for the album were that it would sell no more than 250,000. Instead, it has sold over 30 million. Thanks to the reception of Nevermind, albums like Smash—The Offspring, Dookie—Green Day, and many others emerged from obscurity and on to the main stage. Inspired by artists like The Sex Pistols, who took inspiration from Bowie and Iggy Pop, the lineage for this particular album runs long and deep.

Kind of Blue - Miles Davis

This album has been studied, and books have even been written about its impact on jazz music. Why? Well, Miles Davis advanced the entire genre with the introduction of modal. Modal allowed musicians to improvise a larger selection of notes due to the lack of changing harmonies. It changed Jazz, and while Jazz remains uncharted territory for many, this style made its way through almost all other genres. Changing the basics, changed the genre, and changed music forever.

Keep in mind that a large part of jazz music isn’t so much about the melodies as the player's skill. However, with an underlying melody present, there is something steady, so both can be appreciated simultaneously. The Grateful Dead, Radiohead, and Coltrane all took inspiration from this styling.

Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band - The Beatles

While it might not be their fans’ favorite or best album, Sgt. Pepper changed the entire listening experience and the music scene forever. A discussion in the r/beatles dives into how artists like Kendrick Lamar have been able to create albums that are recognized as art because of this particular album. The band pushed for printed lyrics - which had never been done—interesting cut-outs and badges in a lavish gatefold. During the recording, the studio was decked out, and the band used four-track equipment and a method of automatic double tracking created by Ken Townsend during the Revolver sessions for The Beatles.

The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars - David Bowie

Glam pop, hard rock, an alter ego, and face paint. With a single album, he influenced pop, proto-punk, rock, and the idea of what a concept album could be. While this wasn’t his first release, he experimented with other genres like the rest on the list. Ziggy was simply an alien rockstar to David, but Bowie and Ziggy were as one in the eye of the public. It’s been more than 50 years since its release and still influences new artists today. This album is a story, and it is in the masterful storytelling with Bowie’s easy slides through multiple genres that give it such a distinct sound. Heavily influenced by T-Rex and The Velvet Underground, you can hear moments weaved in.

As with everything in music, each of these artists had inspirations that came many years before them, and without those sounds, these albums wouldn’t have been created at all.

Michael Jackson, Prince, The Velvet Underground, Radiohead and even Bob Dylan aren’t on the list. Not because they didn’t change music, but because we’ve run out of space on a book-worthy topic. Also see: Joni Mitchell, Patti Smith, Frank Sinatra, Youssou N’Dour, and more.

Taste is subjective, so even if you have never enjoyed any of the groundbreaking albums mentioned above - we can all appreciate talent, skill and innovation.

Band/Group 1 - Griselda

Griselda and its members have been at the forefront of coke rap for a while now. Not only is their collective project WWCD full of high-quality, grime-filled bangers, but their individual members have consistently been building their individual discographies. Griselda is a pretty slept-on group, in my opinion, and they have really pushed the coke rap genre to the mainstream.

Band/Group 2 - Metallica

Metallica has been one of my favourite metal groups for a while now. I mainly love this band because my dad introduced their songs to me at a very young age, and after all these years, we still bond over songs like One and Master of Puppets. Thrash metal hasn't been in a very good light from a few posts I've read, and it's sort of considered basic, but at its core, the thrash metal genre has a lot to offer even today.

Band/Group 3 - Wu-Tang Clan

One of the more well-known hip-hop collectives, Wu-Tang Clan has it all—grimy rhymes, hazy boom bap samples, and a very balanced team of some of the greatest MCs of all time. Wu-Tang Clan was one of the main reasons I got into hip-hop, and I feel like, with all the newer groups, they're often forgotten in conversation. They're simply the best to ever do it, and Enter the Wu-Tangis literally a genre-defining project.

Band/Group 4 - Red Hot Chili Peppers

Possibly my most loved rock band of all time. Californication just becomes more nostalgic and warm with every listen. The long, sustained southern vocals are seriously impressive, and while the drums and guitar are quite minimalistic, the formula works really well as their songs never get boring.

Band/Group 5 - Radiohead

I came across this band quite late in my musical journey, but that doesn't change the fact that their music has helped me greatly. On the softer side, any Radiohead listen is an emotional roller coaster that fits many of my changing moods. Not to mention, OK Computer is arguably the best alt-rock record of all time. Radiohead has become more than just a musical collective over the years, and with so many classics, they definitely make my top 5.

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