The Dark Side of the Moon
1973
They asked people around the studio questions on cue cards and used the answers. It then stayed on the American chart for fourteen years.
★ 9.5
The Albums canon
Sourced and spun.
Every record chosen by hand and annotated for why it matters.
Browse all 542 records or filter by genre, artist, and year.
Browse all 542 records or filter by genre, artist, and year.
The Wall
1979
Roger Waters got the idea after spitting at a fan in Montreal and being appalled at himself. A school near the studio supplied the children's choir.
★ 8.8
A Night at the Opera
1975
The most expensive record ever made at the time, and they layered the Bohemian Rhapsody vocals until the tape went nearly transparent.
★ 8.2
In the Court of the Crimson King
1973
The Mellotron carries most of it, a keyboard that plays back tapes of a real orchestra instead of synthesizing the sound.
★ 7.6
Close to the Edge
1972
Bill Bruford finished the drums, decided he never wanted to work that hard again, and left the band before the tour.
★ 7.0
Peter Gabriel
1980
Gabriel banned cymbals from the entire record, which forced the drummers into the gated sound that the whole of the eighties then copied.
★ 6.0
Selling England by the Pound
1973
Gabriel performed these songs in costume, sometimes as a flower. John Lennon mentioned on the radio that he rather liked the band.
★ 5.9
2112
1976
The label wanted something commercial, so Rush delivered a twenty-minute dystopian suite about a banned guitar. It worked, and bought them their freedom.
★ 5.1
Made in Japan
1972
The band thought a live album was a waste of time and only agreed because it was for the Japanese market alone.
★ 5.0
The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
1974
Peter Gabriel wrote all the words alone against the rest of the band's wishes, and left the group as soon as the tour ended.
★ 4.9
Bat Out of Hell
1977
Every label turned it down, and Todd Rundgren produced it partly because he thought it was a parody. It has sold over forty million.
★ 4.5
The Crane Wife
2006
The title song is in three parts, and they are scattered across the record out of order. The story is a Japanese folk tale.
★ 4.3