PLEASE NOTE: Updated list is now being maintained here.

LAST UPDATED: 2020-05-15

So greatest hits compilations aside, here are the albums I fully appreciate from the front to the back. And all these are at least three years old, since recent tastes can swing in an instant.

Artist Album Date               
Frank Sinatra Songs for Swingin’ Lovers! 1956-03-05
Duke Ellington Ellington at Newport 1956-07-07
Miles Davis Birth of the Cool 1957
Billie Holiday Lady In Satin 1958-06
Miles Davis Kind Of Blue 1959-08-17
John Coltrane Giant Steps 1960-01
Robert Johnson King Of The Delta Blues Singers 1961
Leonard Bernstein West Side Story 1961-10
Bob Dylan The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan 1963-05-27
Otis Redding Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul 1965-09-15
Vince Guaraldi Trio A Charlie Brown Christmas 1965-12
The Beatles Rubber Soul 1965-12-03
The Beach Boys Pet Sounds 1966-05-16
Bob Dylan Blonde On Blonde 1966-06-20
The Beatles Revolver 1966-08-05
Aretha Franklin I Never Loved A Man The Way I Love You 1967-03-10
The Velvet Underground Velvet Underground & Nico 1967-03-12
The Jimi Hendrix Experience Are You Experienced 1967-05-12
The Beatles Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band 1967-05-26
The Jimi Hendirx Experience Axis: Bold as Love 1967-12-01
The Jimi Hendrix Experience Electric Ladyland 1968-10-16
The Beatles White Album 1968-11-22
Van Morrison Astral Weeks 1968-11-29
Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin 1969-01-12
The Beatles Abbey Road 1969-09-26
Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin II 1969-10-22
Van Morrison Moondance 1970-01-27
Miles Davis Bitches Brew 1970-03-30
Black Sabbath Paranoid 1970-09-18
Velvet Underground Loaded 1970-11-15
Marvin Gaye What’s Going On 1971-05-21
Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin IV 1971-11-08
David Bowie Hunky Dory 1971-12-17
Stevie Wonder Music Of My Mind 1972-03-03
David Bowie The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars 1972-06-16
Soundtrack The Harder They Come 1972-07-07
Curtis Mayfield Super Fly 1972-07-11
Stevie Wonder Talking Book 1972-10-28
Pink Floyd Dark Side Of The Moon 1973-03-01
Led Zeppelin Houses Of The Holy 1973-03-28
Bob Marley & The Wailers Catch A Fire 1973-04-13
Stevie Wonder Innervisions 1973-08-03
Stevie Wonder Fulfillingness’ First Finale 1974-07-22
Bob Marley & The Wailers Natty Dread 1974-10-25
Bob Dylan Blood On The Tracks 1975-01-20
Bruce Springsteen Born To Run 1975-08-25
Stevie Wonder Songs In The Key Of Life 1976-09-28
Fleetwood Mac Rumours 1977-02-04
Television Marquee Moon 1977-02-08
The Clash The Clash 1977-04-08
Billy Joel The Stranger 1977-09
Steely Dan Aja 1977-09-23
Funkadelic One Nation Under A Groove 1978-09-22
Bob Marley & The Wailers Babylon By Bus 1978-11-10
Joy Division Unknown Pleasures 1979-06-15
Michael Jackson Off the Wall 1979-08-10
ACDC Back in Black 1980-07-25
Glenn Gould Goldberg Variations 1982
Iron Maiden The Number Of The Beast 1982-03-22
Michael Jackson Thriller 1982-11-30
Metallica Kill ‘Em All 1983-07-25
Prince and the Revolution Purple Rain 1984-06-25
Metallica Master of Puppets 1986-03-03
Run DMC Raising Hell 1986-05-15
Prince Sign o’ the Times 1987-03-30
Eric B. & Rakim Paid in Full 1987-07-07
Guns N Roses Appetite For Destruction 1987-07-21
Boogie Down Productions By All Means Necessary 1988-05-31
EPMD Strictly Business 1988-06-07
Public Enemy It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back 1988-06-28
Eric B. & Rakim Follow The Leader 1988-07-26
NWA Straight Outta Compton 1988-08-08
Sonic Youth Daydream Nation 1988-10-18
Operation Ivy Energy 1989-03
De La Soul 3 Feet High and Rising 1989-03-03
The Pixies Doolittle 1989-04-18
Beastie Boys Paul’s Boutique 1989-07-25
Public Enemy Fear Of A Black Planet 1990-04-10
Massive Attack Blue Lines 1991-04-08
De La Soul De La Soul Is Dead 1991-05-14
Pearl Jam Ten 1991-08-27
Naughty By Nature Naughty By Nature 1991-09-03
Nirvana Nevermind 1991-09-24
A Tribe Called Quest The Low End Theory 1991-09-24
Pavement Slanted & Enchanted 1992-04-20
Mary J. Blige What’s the 411? 1992-07-28
The Prodigy Experience 1992-09-28
Rage Against the Machine Rage Against the Machine 1992-11-03
Dr Dre The Chronic 1992-12-15
The Smashing Pumpkins Siamese Dream 1993-07-27
Nirvana In Utero 1993-09-21
Wu-Tang Clan Enter the Wu-tang: 36 Chambers 1993-11-09
Soundgarden Superunknown 1994-03-08
Nas Illmatic 1994-04-19
Blur Parklife 1994-04-25
Outkast Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik 1994-04-26
Weezer Weezer (The Blue Album) 1994-05-10
Jeff Buckley Grace 1994-08-23
Oasis Definitely Maybe 1994-08-29
The Notorious B.I.G. Ready To Die 1994-09-13
Various Artists If I Were A Carpenter (Tribute Album) 1994-09-13
Nirvana MTV Unplugged In New York 1994-11-01
Tricky Maxinquaye 1995-02-20
Radiohead The Bends 1995-03-13
Raekwon Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… 1995-08-01
Ben Folds Five Ben Folds Five 1995-08-08
Rancid …And Out Come The Wolves 1995-08-22
Oasis (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? 1995-10-02
Pulp Different Class 1995-10-30
Jay-Z Reasonable Doubt 1996-06-25
DJ Shadow Endtroducing….. 1996-09-16
Weezer Pinkerton 1996-09-24
The Notorious BIG Life After Death 1997-03-25
The Chemical Brothers Dig Your Own Hole 1997-04-07
Radiohead OK Computer 1997-06-16
Incubus S.C.I.E.N.C.E. 1997-09-09
Outkast Aquemini 1998-09-29
THe Roots Things Fall Apart 1999-02-23
The Flaming Lips The Soft Bulletin 1999-05-17
D’Angelo Voodoo 2000-01-25
Eminem Marshall Mathers LP 2000-05-23
Radiohead Kid A 2000-10-02
PJ Harvey Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea 2000-10-23
Outkast Stankonia 2000-10-31
Radiohead Amnesiac 2001-06-05
The White Stripes White Blood Cells 2001-07-03
The Strokes Is This It 2001-07-30
Jay-Z Blueprint 2001-09-11
N.E.R.D. In Search Of… (Version 2) 2002-03-12
Wilco Yankee Hotel Foxtrot 2002-04-23
The Flaming Lips Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots 2002-07-15
Solomon Burke Don’t Give Up On Me 2002-07-23
Cody Chesnutt The Headphone Masterpiece 2002-09
The Roots Phrenology 2002-11-26
Dizzee Rascal Boy in da Corner 2003-07-21
Outkast Speakerboxxx/The Love Below 2003-09-23
Danger Mouse The Grey Album 2004-02
Kanye West The College Dropout 2004-02-10
Cee-Lo Cee-Lo Green… Is the Soul Machine 2004-03-02
Madvillian Madvillainy 2004-03-23
Wilco A Ghost Is Born 2004-06-22
Brian Wilson Brian Wilson Presents Smile 2004-09-28
M.I.A. Arular 2005-03-22
Kanye West Late Registration 2005-08-30
Damian Marley Welcome To Jamrock 2005-09-12
Little Brother The Minstrel Show 2005-09-13
J Dilla Donuts 2006-02-07
Ghostface Killah Fishscale 2006-03-28
TV On The Radio Return To Cookie Mountain 2006-07-06
Amy Winehouse Back To Black 2006-10-27
Spoon Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga 2007-07-07
Okkervil River The Stage Names 2007-08-07
MIA Kala 2007-08-08
Kanye West Graduation 2007-09-11
Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings 100 Days, 100 Nights 2007-10-02
Radiohead In Rainbows 2007-10-10
Okkervil River The Stand Ins 2008-09-09
The Black Keys Brothers 2010-05-18
Big Boi Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty 2010-07-05
Kanye West My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy 2010-11-22
Adele 21 2011-01-24
Chance the Rapper Acid Rap 2013-04-30
Kanye West Yeezus 2013-06-18
St. Vincent St. Vincent 2014-02-24
D’Angelo and the Vanguard Black Messiah 2014-12-15
Kendrick Lamar To Pimp A Butterfly 2015-03-15
Car Seat Headrest Teens of Denial 2016-05-20

…oh, and if I had to rank them, even though we all know rankings are arbitrary and reductive, here’s the Top 40ish:

  1. Public Enemy – It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back
  2. Velvet Underground – Velvet Underground & Nico
  3. Bob Dylan – Blood On The Tracks
  4. Pulp – Different Class
  5. Soundtrack – The Harder They Come
  6. Miles Davis – Kind Of Blue
  7. Weezer – Weezer (The Blue Album)
  8. Radiohead – The Bends
  9. Beatles – Revolver
  10. Vince Guaraldi Trio – A Charlie Brown Christmas
  11. Nirvana - Nevermind
  12. Funkadelic – One Nation Under A Groove
  13. Outkast – Aquemini
  14. Radiohead – Ok Computer
  15. Stevie Wonder - Innervisions
  16. Rancid – …And Out Come The Wolves
  17. DJ Shadow - Endtroducing…..
  18. The Notorious B.I.G. - Ready To Die
  19. Smashing Pumpkins – Siamese Dream
  20. The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Are You Experienced
  21. Ben Folds Five – Ben Folds Five
  22. J Dilla - Donuts
  23. Prince - Sign o’ the Times
  24. The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds
  25. Rage Against The Machine – Rage Against The Machine
  26. Michael Jackson - Thriller
  27. Public Enemy - Fear Of A Black Planet
  28. Madvillian - Madvillainy
  29. Marvin Gaye - What’s Going On
  30. Television - Marquee Moon
  31. Pearl Jam - Ten
  32. The Strokes - Is This It
  33. Wilco – Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
  34. Amy Winehouse - Back To Black
  35. Wu-Tang Clan - Enter the Wu-tang: 36 Chambers
  36. St. Vincent - St. Vincent
  37. Naughty By Nature – Naughty By Nature
  38. Oasis – Definitely Maybe
  39. Kanye West - The College Dropout
  40. Velvet Underground - Loaded
  41. Jeff Buckley - Grace
  42. Billy Joel - The Stranger
  43. Jay-Z - Reasonable Doubt
  44. Cody Chesnutt - The Headphone Masterpiece