1,001 Albums
1–50
About
Listening to all albums (at least once) in the 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die list. For the record, 1000 *pretty much anything* is an absurd undertaking.
Each album has a little background and any tracks I particularly enjoyed.
TL;DR
Great means the whole album was fantastic. Good albums have at least 6 songs I like. Honorable albums have at least 4 songs I like. Ranked as entire albums, not by artist or isolated tracks.
Great: Kind Of Blue (Miles Davis) and Live At The Star-Club (Jerry Lee Lewis).
Good: With The Beatles, A Christmas Gift For You From (Phil Spector), A Hard Day’s Night (The Beatles), The Rolling Stones, Here Are The Sonics and Ottis Blue (Ottis Redding).
Honorable: Elvis Presley, Ellington At Newport, Songs For Swingin’ Lovers (Sinatra), Here’s Little Richard, The “Chirping” Crickets, Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Gershwin Song Book Vol. 1, Gunfighter Ballads And Trail Songs (Marty Robbins), Elvis Is Back!, Miriam Makeba, Live At The Harlem Square Club (Sam Cooke) and I’ve Got A Tiger By The Tail (Buck Owens).
Bad: Tragic Songs Of Life (The Louvin Brothers)
1955
#1 | Frank Sinatra — In The Wee Small Hours
One of the first concept albums (i.e. thematic, not just singles). Drawn from Sinatra’s personal struggles with his divorce from his first wife, Nancy, and his troubled marriage to actress Ava Gardner. Sinatra’s ninth studio album.
- In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning
1956
#2 | Elvis Presley
Debut album. First rock ’n roll album to top the charts and sell a million copies. RCA Victor took the unusual step of releasing the entire album as singles.
- Blue Suede Shoes
- One-Sided Love Affair
- Tutti Frutti
- Blue Moon!
#3 | The Louvin Brothers — Tragic Songs Of Life
Not very good.
Ira Louvin was notorious for his drinking and short temper. He married four times, his third wife having shot him multiple times in the chest and hand after he allegedly beat her. He died when his car was hit by a drunk driver — while there was a warrant out for Ira’s arrest for drunk driving!
Note: Not on Spotify.
#4 | Louis Prima — The Wildest!
Considered an innovative mixture of early rock ’n roll, blues and jazz. Recorded in the lounge of the Sahara Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
Fun fact: Prima was the voice of King Louie in Disney’s The Jungle Book.
- Just a Gigolo
Note: Not on Spotify, Youtube Music link.
#5 | Fats Domino — This Is Fats
Paul McCartney wrote “Lady Madonna” with the explicit intent of emulating Fats Domino’s sound.
Note: Not on Spotify.
#6 | Duke Ellington And His Orchestra — Ellington At Newport
Reinvigorated Ellington’s career when big bands were declining. First and last band to play — with a few band members missing from the start (as they couldn’t be found)! In 2022, added to Library of Congress.
While the original concert was a hit, but Ellington had issues with the recording quality (the saxophonist had been playing into the wrong microphone) so about 60% of the 1956 record was done in a studio (with applause dubbed in).
In 1996, a tape of the original radio broadcast was discovered and painstakingly restored and released in 1999 as Ellington at Newport (Complete). At over 2 hours it’s significantly longer than the original release (44 minutes).
Diminuendo & Crescendo In Blue is a nonstop 6-minute solo by the tenor sax, Paul Gonsalves, with 27 choruses that sent the crowd wild (dancing, jumping into aisles, standing on chairs, rushing the stage) — started by a woman named Elaine Anderson — until Gonsalves collapsed from exhaustion.
- Pt. I-Festival Junction
- Diminuendo In Blue
- Tulip or Turnip
- Jeep’s Blues
#7 | Frank Sinatra — Songs For Swingin’ Lovers
Contains a song named Makin’ Whoopee!
- You Make Me Feel So Young
- You’re Getting To Be A Habit With Me
- I’ve Got You Under My Skin
- Anything Goes
1957
#8 | The Crickets — The “Chirping” Crickets
The only LP featuring Buddy Holly released during his lifetime. Popularized the four-piece band model. The Beatles named as an homage to the Crickets (who once considered calling themselves the Beetles!).
- Oh Boy!
- Not Fade Away
- That’ll be the Day
1958
#9 | Count Basie — The Atomic Mr. Basie
Originally called Basie and also known as E=MC2.
- Splanky
#10 | Thelonious Monk — Brilliant Corners
The title track was so complicated it took over a dozen studio takes and Oscar Pettiford on bass apparently pretended to play in studio until the producer realized it wasn’t a microphone malfunction. Without a completed single take, it was ultimately pieced together from multiple takes
- Brilliant Corners
- Ba-lue Bolivar Ba-lues-Are
#11 | Sabu — Palo Congo
Album by a conguero (congo player i.e. drummer).
#12 | Miles Davis — Birth Of The Cool
A major development in post-bebop jazz, featuring unusual instrumentation and innovative arrangements influenced by classical music. The song Move was included as a radio song in Grand Theft Auto IV.
- Move
- Jeru
#13 | Little Richard — Here’s Little Richard
- Tutti Frutti
- Ready Teddy
- Long Tall Sally (The Thing)
- Rip It Up
#14 | Tito Puente And His Orchestra — Dance Mania
Fun fact: Tito Puente studied at Julliard and appeared on Sesame Street and The Simpsons.
- El Cayuco
#15 | Billie Holiday — Lady In Satin
Final album released in her lifetime.
- I’m A Fool To Want You
- The End of a Love Affair
#16 | Sarah Vaughan —At Mister Kelly’s
In How High The Moon she sings the following “how high the ocean / how high the moon / I don’t know the words to this song / But i’mma gonna sing ’em anyway.” Mister Kelly’s was open from 1953 to 1975 and included 14 live recordings — including Muddy Waters, Woody Allen and Bill Cosby.
- How High The Moon
1959
#17 | Ella Fitzgerald — Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Gershwin Song Book Vol. 1
At 3 hours 14 minutes (!), one of the eight collections comprising the Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Complete American Songbook. But Not For Me won the 1960 Grammy for best female vocal performance.
- But Not For Me
- My One And Only
- Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off
- Nice Work If You Can Get It
- S’Wonderful
- By Strauss
- They Can’t Take That Away From Me
- I Got Rhythm
#18 | Ray Charles — The Genius Of Ray Charles
Consists of a first half of big band songs (A side) and a second half of string-backed ballads (B side).
- Let the Good Times Roll
- Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Cryin’
- Am I Blue
#19 | Miles Davis — Kind Of Blue
Regarded by many critics as the greatest jazz record (and possibly the highest-selling with over 5 million copies). Features John Coltrane.
The entire album was a series of modal sketches, with no rehearsal and each performer given a set of scales that encompassed the parameters of their improvisation and style. Legend that the entire album was recorded in one pass is untrue, with only Flamenco Sketches complete on the first try. Chord progressions on the album influenced the introduction to the song Breathe on The Dark Side of the Moon.
- Entire album
#20 | Marty Robbins — Gunfighter Ballads And Trail Songs
El Paso reached #1 in the charts and won the Grammy for Best Country & Western Recording — a feat since it was recorded in a single day! Songs reordered in a posthumous re-release.
- Big Iron
- Cool Water
- Billy The Kid
- The Master’s Call
- El Paso
#21 | The Dave Brubeck Quartet — Time Out
Based upon the use of unusual jazz time signatures and intended as an experiment. The title is a play on Mozart’s “Rondo alla Turca” and reflects the fact that the band heard the rhythm while traveling in Turkey.
- Take Five
1960
#22 | Joan Baez
Recorded over four nights in a hotel on Broadway. Almost all tracks covers of “traditional” or “public domain” songs.
- Silver Dagger
- House of the Rising Sun
#23 | Elvis Presley — Elvis Is Back!
First Presley album to be released in stereo and features a mixture of genres.
- Fever
- Such a Night
- The Girl Next Door Went A’Walking
- Reconsider Baby
#24 | Miriam Makeba
“Mama Africa” was exiled from Johannesburg for 30 years due to apartheid. No matter — she sang for JFK’s birthday in 1962, won a grammy in 1965, married Stokely Carmichael in 1968, and was a lifelong activist. Mbube is the basis of The Lion Sleeps Tonight, which was “written” a year later by an all-white group called The Tokens.
- The Click Song
- Mbube
- Where Does it Lead?
- Saduva
#25 | Everly Brothers —A Date With The Everly Brothers
The biggest single is the last track on the album..? Love Hurts made famous later by Nazareth.
- Sigh, Cry, Almost Die
- Love Hurts
- Cathy’s Clown
#26 | The Incredible Jimmy Smith — Back At The Chicken Shack
A little too heavy on the jazz organ.
#27 | Muddy Waters — Muddy Waters At Newport 1960
The day before, performances by Ray Charles and Lambert, Hendricks and Ross were met with unruly crowds — leading to riots involving tear gas, water hoses and the National Guard!
Jazz poet spontaneously wrote the closing song Goodbye Newport Blues with Spann as singer instead of Waters. Album cover features Waters holding John Lee Hooker’s semi-acoustic guitar instead of his Fender Telecaster (which was on stage).
1961
#28 | Bill Evans Trio — Sunday At The Village Vanguard
Bill Evans is the pianist on Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue. Bassist Scott LaFaro was killed in a car accident eleven days after the recording.
Album strangely includes three versions of All of You and two versions of Gloria’s Step, Alice in Wonderland, and Jade Visions.
- Alice in Wonderland
1962
#29 | Ray Charles — Modern Sounds In Country And Western Music
Integration of soul and country challenged racial barriers in popular music at the height of the Civil Rights. One of the best-selling albums recorded by a black musician of the time, as well as one of the best-selling country albums (leading to a volume №2). I Can’t Stop Loving You won the Grammy for Best Rhythm & Blues Recording.
- Bye Bye Love
- Careless Love
- I Can’t Stop Loving You
#30 | Booker T. & The M.G.’s — Green Onions
Except for the two tracks below, every track is a cover. All songs are instrumental, album name/cover is odd.
- Green Onions
- Mo’ Onions
#31 | Stan Getz and Charlie Byrd — Jazz Samba
Popularized Brazilian bossa nova in the US after the two artists (both white Americans) took a trip to South America. Cover art by Puerto Rican artist Olga Albizu.
1963
#32 | Ray Price — Night Life
Features Willie Nelson, who left the band after Nelson shot one of Price’s roosters!
- Night Life
#33 | The Beatles — With The Beatles
Their first album was unevenly split into two albums for its release in the US (original release in 1987), released as Beatlemania! With the Beatles in Canada, and with a different cover in Australia (never received so used different shots without asking, Beatles were displeased). Features eight original compositions and six covers. Cover photo taken by fashion photographer Robert Freeman. Between sessions “Beatlemania” took off across the UK.
- It Won’t be Long
- All My Loving
- Till There Was You
- Please Mister Postman
- Roll Over Beethoven
- Hold Me Tight
- You Really Got a Hold on Me
#34 | Bob Dylan — The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan
The second album by a 22-year-old Dylan of political folk music contains eleven original compositions. Shortly before release, four controversial songs were replaced at the insistence of record label lawyers (some people also believe it a result of Dylan refusing to appear on The Ed Sullivan Show). Copies with the four original tracks exist, and one of the rarest and most valuable ($35,000) records in the world.
Cover features then-girlfriend Suze Rotolo (both her parents were members of American Communist Party) and many songs of longing were written while she studied abroad in Italy. Blowin’ In The Wind was adapted from the 1833 spiritual No More Auction Block.
Fun fact: Dylan was a prolific songwriter and is quoted as saying “in fact, I wrote five songs last night but I gave all the papers away in some place called the Bitter End [New York].”
- A Hard Rain’s a-Gonna Fall
- Blowin’ in the Wind
- Oxford Town
#35 | Phil Spector — A Christmas Gift For You From
Iconic Christmas album recorded in Los Angeles in August using Spector’s “Wall of Sound” technique that made him famous. Released on the day JFK was assassinated (promptly pulled, originals sell for $500) and didn’t reach the Billboard Top 200 until 2018…55 years after release! Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) is the only original song.
Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys attempted to contribute piano to Santa Claus Is Coming to Town, but was rejected due to poor ability! Gruesome fact: Spector was convicted of the murder of Lana Clarkson, who died of a gunshot in the mouth at his home in 2003.
- Frosty the Snowman
- Santa Claus is Coming to Town
- Sleigh Ride
- Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
- Winter Wonderland
- Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)
#36 | Sam Cooke — Live At The Harlem Square Club
Cooke died the following year and the recording wasn’t released for 21 years for being too gritty and raw and possibly damaging to his pop image — especially amongst white listeners (since the recording was at an African-American club). Originally titled One Night Stand.
Fact: Cooke was shot in a California motel by the female manager in claimed self-defense.
- Chain Gang
- Twistin’ The Night Away
- Bring it on Home For Me
- Nothing Can Change This Love
#37 | Charles Mingus — The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady
Album consists of a single continuous composition — partially written as a ballet. Features liner notes written by Mingus and his then-psychotherapist.
#38 | James Brown — James Brown Live At The Apollo
Self-funded by Brown after this label opposed it. So popular DJs would often play side one in its entirety, pausing (usually to insert commercials), then playing side two in full as well. Not released on CD until 1990 because the original master recordings were misplaced and found by accident in 1989.
- I’ll Go Crazy
- Lost Someone
- Medley (Track 10)
1964
#39 | Stan Getz and João Gilberto — Getz/Gilberto
Released five years after the birth of bossa nova in Brazil one of the first albums to popularize bossa nova worldwide as one of the best-selling (over 2 million in 1964) jazz record of all time. Almost entirely in Portuguese and performed by — Getz aside — Brazilian musicians. When João (who didn’t speak English) wanted a verse in Girl From Ipanema to be in English, his non-musician wife volunteered.
Won the multiple Grammy Awards and became the first non-American or jazz album to win (it would be 43 years until another jazz win). Artwork by Puerto Rican artist Olga Albizu. Gilberto and Getz often disagreed on style and which was the best take culminating in each getting a side in the album Getz/Gilberto #2.
- The Girl From Ipanema
#40 | The Beatles — A Hard Day’s Night
All original songs by Lennon & McCartney with side one featuring songs from the film of the same name. American release featured instrumental versions of I Should Have Known Better and And I Love Her, while omitting You Can’t Do That.
George Harrison playing a Rickenbacker 12-string electric guitar influenced the folk rock movement (such as the Byrds). The album title was an off-remark by Ringo.
- Hard Day’s Night
- I Should Have Known Better
- And I Love Her
- Can’t Buy Me Love
- Things We Said Today
- You Can’t Do That
#41 | Jacques Brel — Olympia 64
Sounds like a parody of French music.
#42 | Solomon Burke — Rock ‘N Soul
American singer and preacher.
- Cry to Me
- If You Need Me
#43 | Dusty Springfield — A Girl Called Dusty
The single I Only Want to Be with You was actually recorded while still a member of The Springfields. Not released in the US market until later that year (with a different track listing).
- Mama Said
- You Don’t Own Me
- Will You Love Me Tomorrow
#44 | The Rolling Stones
Debut album with no artist or album name on the cover — just not-yet famous faces — unheard of at the time. The US release included the band name and a slightly different track list, subtitled England’s Newest Hit Makers, which later became its official title.
Features only one original composition and two songs credited to “Nanker Phelge” — a pseudonym the band used for group compositions from 1963 to 1965. Phil Spector and Gene Pitney both contributed to the recording sessions, and are referred to as “Uncle Phil and Uncle Gene.” Numerous errors (wrong songs, wrong track listing, spelling errors) on the first pressings. CD versions of the albums out of print between 1984 and 2010. No true stereo mix ever made.
- Route 66
- I Just Want to Make Love To You
- Mona
- Carol
- Can I Get A Witness
- Walking The Dog
#45 | Buck Owens — I’ve Got A Tiger By The Tail
Bakersfield sound, country music developed in the 1950s around Bakersfield, California, and influenced by rock and and hillbilly music. Memphis is a Chuck Berry cover.
- Trouble And Me
- Let the Sad Times Roll On
- If You Fall Out of Love With Me
- The Band Keeps Playin’ On
- This Ol’ Heart
#46 | Jerry Lee Lewis — Live At The Star-Club, Hamburg
Recorded during Lewis’s “wilderness” period, whilst publicly shunned for marrying his 13 year-old-cousin (who had their first child at age 14)! For decades the album was only available in Europe due to legal constraints.
Note: Spotify is missing tracks.
- Entire album
1965
#47 | The Sonics — Here Are The Sonics
Debut garage rock album (Seattle) and influential on later punk rock.
- The Witch
- Do You Love Me
- Boss Hoss
- Have Love Will Travel
- Money
- Walkin’ the Dog
- Good Golly Miss Molly
#48 | Bob Dylan — Bringing It All Back Home
First Dylan electric guitar (A side), which caused a stir with the folk musicians at the time. Many of the songs were written by Dylan (with Joan Baez) in the summer of 1964 in Woodstock, and influenced (rock sound) by a meeting with the Beatles.
The album cover is photographed by Daniel Kramer and features the wife of Dylan’s manager, his cat (named Rolling Stone), cufflinks from Joan Baez, several LPs, Time magazine, GNAOUA magazine, and glass collage by Dylan called The Clown. An early music video for Subterranean Homesick Blues features Dylan flipping through cue cards with lyrics, frequently misspelled.
- Subterranean Homesick Blues
- Mr. Tambourine Man
#49 | Otis Redding — Otis Redding Sings Soul
Often referred to as Otis Blue was recorded over just 24 hours. The song Respect was a Redding original (shouting to a woman for respect). Band comprised of Booker T, the MG’s, Memphis Horns, and Isaac Hayes on piano.
Fact: Redding died in a plane crash two years after this release.
- Ole Man Trouble
- Respect
- A Change Is Gonna Come
- Down in the Valley
- I’ve Been Loving You Too Long
- My Girl
- Wonderful World
#50 | The Beach Boys — The Beach Boys Today!
Maturation of themes not relating to surfing, cars, or teenage love. Album divided into a side of fast songs and a side of ballads. Session musicians informally known as the “Wrecking Crew,” comprising many of the same musicians who played on Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound productions. Please Let Me Wonder claimed to be the first song Wilson had written under the influence of marijuana (after an anxiety attack).
- Do You Wanna Dance
- When I Grow Up (To Be A Man)
- Kiss Me, Baby
