Albums

Favourite Albums

Starting from Little Girl Blue in 1958 through to My Days of 58 in 2026, here are my 100 favourite albums.

Almost impossible to pick, so this is me throwing in some to start with. I'm expecting to add more as I go (and to remove those that no longer make the cut).

Top 5

If you only listen to 5 albums… well, that would be surprising. At the moment, these are my top 5. They may change from time to time but Nina Simone will always be in there. Little Girl Blue is secretly my #1.

Cover of Little Girl Blue by Nina Simone Little Girl Blue Nina Simone · 1958 Cover of The Beatles by The Beatles The Beatles The Beatles · 1968 Cover of The Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd The Dark Side of the Moon Pink Floyd · 1973 Cover of Doolittle by Pixies Doolittle Pixies · 1989 Cover of 4‐Track Demos by PJ Harvey 4‐Track Demos PJ Harvey · 1993

Top 100

In order of release date, rather than a ranking.

Cover of Little Girl Blue by Nina Simone Little Girl Blue Nina Simone · 1958 Cover of Burnin’ by John Lee Hooker Burnin’ John Lee Hooker · 1962 Cover of The Velvet Underground & Nico by The Velvet Underground & Nico The Velvet Underground & Nico The Velvet Underground & Nico · 1967 Cover of Forever Changes by Love Forever Changes Love · 1967 Cover of The Beatles by The Beatles The Beatles The Beatles · 1968 Cover of Pieces of a Man by Gil Scott‐Heron Pieces of a Man Gil Scott‐Heron · 1971 Cover of L.A. Woman by The Doors L.A. Woman The Doors · 1971 Cover of Electric Warrior by T. Rex Electric Warrior T. Rex · 1971 Cover of Naturally by J.J. Cale Naturally J.J. Cale · 1971 Cover of Hunky Dory by David Bowie Hunky Dory David Bowie · 1971 Cover of Pink Moon by Nick Drake Pink Moon Nick Drake · 1972 Cover of Solid Air by John Martyn Solid Air John Martyn · 1973 Cover of Closing Time by Tom Waits Closing Time Tom Waits · 1973 Cover of The Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd The Dark Side of the Moon Pink Floyd · 1973 Cover of Autobahn by Kraftwerk Autobahn Kraftwerk · 1974 Cover of Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd Wish You Were Here Pink Floyd · 1975 Cover of Ramones by Ramones Ramones Ramones · 1976 Cover of My Aim Is True by Elvis Costello My Aim Is True Elvis Costello · 1977 Cover of Out of the Blue by Electric Light Orchestra Out of the Blue Electric Light Orchestra · 1977 Cover of Return of the Super Ape by The Upsetters Return of the Super Ape The Upsetters · 1978 Cover of Armed Forces by Elvis Costello & The Attractions Armed Forces Elvis Costello & The Attractions · 1979 Cover of Inflammable Material by Stiff Little Fingers Inflammable Material Stiff Little Fingers · 1979 Cover of Three Imaginary Boys by The Cure Three Imaginary Boys The Cure · 1979 Cover of Unknown Pleasures by Joy Division Unknown Pleasures Joy Division · 1979 Cover of The Wall by Pink Floyd The Wall Pink Floyd · 1979 Cover of London Calling by The Clash London Calling The Clash · 1979 Cover of Vienna by Ultravox Vienna Ultravox · 1980 Cover of In the Flat Field by Bauhaus In the Flat Field Bauhaus · 1980 Cover of In the Garden by Eurythmics In the Garden Eurythmics · 1981 Cover of Eye in the Sky by The Alan Parsons Project Eye in the Sky The Alan Parsons Project · 1982 Cover of Garlands by Cocteau Twins Garlands Cocteau Twins · 1982 Cover of Snap! by The Jam Snap! The Jam · 1983 Cover of The Age of Consent by Bronski Beat The Age of Consent Bronski Beat · 1984 Cover of (Who’s Afraid of) The Art of Noise? by Art of Noise (Who’s Afraid of) The Art of Noise? Art of Noise · 1984 Cover of Steve McQueen by Prefab Sprout Steve McQueen Prefab Sprout · 1985 Cover of The Firstborn Is Dead by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds The Firstborn Is Dead Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds · 1985 Cover of Candy Apple Grey by Hüsker Dü Candy Apple Grey Hüsker Dü · 1986 Cover of Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death by Dead Kennedys Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death Dead Kennedys · 1987 Cover of Tracy Chapman by Tracy Chapman Tracy Chapman Tracy Chapman · 1988 Cover of Doolittle by Pixies Doolittle Pixies · 1989 Cover of Night on Earth by Tom Waits Night on Earth Tom Waits · 1991 Cover of Screamadelica by Primal Scream Screamadelica Primal Scream · 1991 Cover of Loveless by My Bloody Valentine Loveless My Bloody Valentine · 1991 Cover of Chicago Piano, Volume 1 by Jimmy and Mama Yancey Chicago Piano, Volume 1 Jimmy and Mama Yancey · 1992 Cover of Dad Man Cat by Corduroy Dad Man Cat Corduroy · 1992 Cover of The Immortal Story by The Only Ones The Immortal Story The Only Ones · 1992 Cover of 0898 Beautiful South by The Beautiful South 0898 Beautiful South The Beautiful South · 1992 Cover of Harvest Moon by Neil Young Harvest Moon Neil Young · 1992 Cover of The Infotainment Scan by The Fall The Infotainment Scan The Fall · 1993 Cover of Debut by Björk Debut Björk · 1993 Cover of Last Splash by The Breeders Last Splash The Breeders · 1993 Cover of 4‐Track Demos by PJ Harvey 4‐Track Demos PJ Harvey · 1993 Cover of Enter the Wu‐Tang (36 Chambers) by Wu‐Tang Clan Enter the Wu‐Tang (36 Chambers) Wu‐Tang Clan · 1993 Cover of Dummy by Portishead Dummy Portishead · 1994 Cover of Stanley Road by Paul Weller Stanley Road Paul Weller · 1995 Cover of Refried Ectoplasm (Switched On, Volume 2) by Stereolab Refried Ectoplasm (Switched On, Volume 2) Stereolab · 1995 Cover of Lost Blues and Other Songs by Palace Music Lost Blues and Other Songs Palace Music · 1997 Cover of Bricolage by Amon Tobin Bricolage Amon Tobin · 1997 Cover of Unterwegs mit Isar 12 by Isar 12 Unterwegs mit Isar 12 Isar 12 · 1997 Cover of Let’s Get Killed by David Holmes Let’s Get Killed David Holmes · 1997 Cover of Mezzanine by Massive Attack Mezzanine Massive Attack · 1998 Cover of John Peel Sessions 1992–1995 by The Wedding Present John Peel Sessions 1992–1995 The Wedding Present · 1998 Cover of Without You I’m Nothing by Placebo Without You I’m Nothing Placebo · 1998 Cover of Ecstasy by Lou Reed Ecstasy Lou Reed · 2000 Cover of Secret South by 16 Horsepower Secret South 16 Horsepower · 2000 Cover of Hot Rail by Calexico Hot Rail Calexico · 2000 Cover of Thirteen Tales From Urban Bohemia by The Dandy Warhols Thirteen Tales From Urban Bohemia The Dandy Warhols · 2000 Cover of Kid A by Radiohead Kid A Radiohead · 2000 Cover of American III: Solitary Man by Johnny Cash American III: Solitary Man Johnny Cash · 2000 Cover of Geogaddi by Boards of Canada Geogaddi Boards of Canada · 2002 Cover of Woven Hand by Wovenhand Woven Hand Wovenhand · 2002 Cover of Out of Season by Beth Gibbons & Rustin Man Out of Season Beth Gibbons & Rustin Man · 2002 Cover of Fever to Tell by Yeah Yeah Yeahs Fever to Tell Yeah Yeah Yeahs · 2003 Cover of Haha Sound by Broadcast Haha Sound Broadcast · 2003 Cover of Lungs by Florence + the Machine Lungs Florence + the Machine · 2009 Cover of Nice, Nice, Very Nice by Dan Mangan Nice, Nice, Very Nice Dan Mangan · 2010 Cover of Diamond Mine by King Creosote & Jon Hopkins Diamond Mine King Creosote & Jon Hopkins · 2011 Cover of Bowler Hat Soup by Kiran Leonard Bowler Hat Soup Kiran Leonard · 2012 Cover of The Moths Are Real by Serafina Steer The Moths Are Real Serafina Steer · 2013 Cover of Inform – Educate – Entertain by Public Service Broadcasting Inform – Educate – Entertain Public Service Broadcasting · 2013 Cover of Random Access Memories by Daft Punk Random Access Memories Daft Punk · 2013 Cover of The Double EP: A Sea of Split Peas by Courtney Barnett The Double EP: A Sea of Split Peas Courtney Barnett · 2013 Cover of Love Letters by Metronomy Love Letters Metronomy · 2013 Cover of Breakfast by Teleman Breakfast Teleman · 2014 Cover of At Swim by Lisa Hannigan At Swim Lisa Hannigan · 2016 Cover of Let Them Eat Chaos by Kae Tempest Let Them Eat Chaos Kae Tempest · 2016 Cover of You Want It Darker by Leonard Cohen You Want It Darker Leonard Cohen · 2016 Cover of Elwan by Tinariwen Elwan Tinariwen · 2017 Cover of Revolution of Mind by She Drew the Gun Revolution of Mind She Drew the Gun · 2018 Cover of Best of 2018 by Pomplamoose Best of 2018 Pomplamoose · 2018 Cover of Transporter by Ouzo Bazooka Transporter Ouzo Bazooka · 2019 Cover of Encore by The Specials Encore The Specials · 2019 Cover of Trust in the Lifeforce of the Deep Mystery by The Comet Is Coming Trust in the Lifeforce of the Deep Mystery The Comet Is Coming · 2019 Cover of Dogrel by Fontaines D.C. Dogrel Fontaines D.C. · 2019 Cover of The Complete Ukrainian John Peel Sessions by The Wedding Present The Complete Ukrainian John Peel Sessions The Wedding Present · 2019 Cover of Sun’s Signature by Sun’s Signature Sun’s Signature Sun’s Signature · 2022 Cover of La Symphonie des éclairs by Zaho de Sagazan La Symphonie des éclairs Zaho de Sagazan · 2023 Cover of Lives Outgrown by Beth Gibbons Lives Outgrown Beth Gibbons · 2024 Cover of moisturizer by Wet Leg moisturizer Wet Leg · 2025 Cover of My Days of 58 by Bill Callahan My Days of 58 Bill Callahan · 2026