Portishead may not have invented ‘trip hop’, but their endlessly cool and inventive 1994 debut album ‘Dummy’ came to define it completely.
Minimalist, crystalline and intimate, The xx’s debut album contains the DNA of a subsequent decade of brilliant pop.
Turning his neuroses inwards, David Byrne and Talking Heads delivered their first proper masterpiece in 1979 with third album ‘Fear Of Music’.
Derided at the time, Beastie Boys’ kaleidoscopic second album ‘Paul’s Boutique’ helped to turn sampling into a fine art form.
Presenting a fully formed 21st century pop icon to the world in the form of Florence Welch, ‘Lungs’ is one of the Noughties’ great debut albums.
A timeless and transportive cult classic that passed under the radar in 1969, Nick Drake’s debut album ‘Five Leaves Left’ is still incredibly powerful.
One of the most iconic and influential indie albums of all time, Joy Division’s 1979 debut album ‘Unknown Pleasures’ turns 40 years old.
Out of step with the great majority of what passed for alternative rock in the late Noughties, ‘Bitte Orca’ by Dirty Projectors has quietly shaped the subsequent decade.
Following some years out of favour, ‘Californication’ saw Red Hot Chili Peppers and John Frusciante completely restore their critical and commercial fortunes.
It’s far from perfect, but The Who’s fourth album ‘Tommy’ helped restore their reputation and established the archetype of the rock opera.
