#GreatAlbums1950s - #TheDrifters – Clyde McPhatter & the Drifters (1956). The original Drifters were among the seminal R&B groups, bridging traditional pop (the Ink Spots in the 40s) and fifties soul (anticipating Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, etc.). “Money Honey” is a rollicking stop-time with claims to being an early (1953) rock & roll single. But much of this LP features McPhatter’s keening tenor on a set of immaculate gospel-tinged ballads – “Without Love,” “Seven Days” et. Al.
#GreatPopAlbums

#GreatAlbums1950s - #RayCharles – Ray Charles (1957). Reissued later as Hallelujah I Love Her So, Charles’s debut LP collected signature tracks like “I Got a Woman,” “Mess Around” and “Hallelujah, I Love Her So” alongside grittier fare (the swampy “Sinner’s Blues”) and the odd hokum raveup (“Greenbacks”). For a definitive set of early soul and R&B – blended with the “rock & roll” elements designated on Atlantic’s original cover – this iconic LP has the goods.

#GreatPopAlbums, #SoulMusic

#GreatAlbums1990s – TOP 20 - #LaurynHill - #TheMiseducationOfLaurynHill (1998). A premier neo-soul album of the 90s, Hill’s only studio solo CD fused rap, reggae and new jack soul with incisive lyrics about love/ spirituality/ sexuality. Even diss songs like “The Lost Ones” are eloquent, and the rugged social commentary on “Everything is Everything” recalls Marvin Gaye at his best. The disc’s influence resonates in the music of Amy Winehouse, Beyoncé, etc. #GreatPopAlbums, #Soul, #GreatRapAlbums

#GreatAlbums1990s – TOP 20 - #Bjork - #Post (1995). As eclectic as they come, Bjork deepens the mix of 93’s Debut with the deep strut of “Army of Me” and ethereal electro of “Hyper-Ballad.” Just when you think you’re caught the groove, she launches a big band on the Lang-Reisfeld chestnut “It’s Oh So Quiet.” All bets are off from that point. The loveliness of “Possibly Maybe” and Tricky’s production turn on “Headphones” make Post a landmark dissertation of out-there pop.

#GreatPopAlbums, #Pop

#GreatAlbums1990s – TOP 20 - #DepecheMode – #Violator (1990). Dark leathery synth tones create tension under the catchy hooks of “Personal Jesus,” “Halo,” and “Enjoy the Silence” on this immaculate set from Basildon’s finest. “Waiting for the Night” recalls early Roxy Music and “Clean” adapts a Pink Floyd riff into new landscapes of emotion. “Never again is what you swore the time before” propels the anthemic “Policy of Truth” to an epic status rare in pop.

#GreatPopAlbums, #TechnoPop, #1990s

#GreatAlbums1990s - TOP 20 #JanetJackson – #TheVelvetRope (1997). A true album artist, JJ delivers a complete musical arc from beginning to end. Interludes between songs vary from the inspirational “Twisted Elegance” to the edgy “Speaker Phone” (a sexually charged phone chat between Janet and Lisa Marie Presley). Songs cascade from the dance pop of “You” to the sexually frank “Go Deep” and gender fluid “Free Xone.” A delight for the mind and body.
#GreatDanceAlbums, #GreatPopAlbums

#GreatAlbums1990s - TOP 20 #Air – #MoonSafari (1998). French duo Jean-Benoît Dunckel and Nicholas Godin assimilate various electronic and ambient trends of the past to combine blissed-out soul and retro lounge jazz in a haze of spacey ambience. Analogue instruments (Rhodes, Moogs, etc.) and the sultry vocals of Beth Hirsch (who does for Air what Tracey Thorn did for Massive Attack) create a warm atmosphere, like incense burning in a velvety urban loft.

#GreatPopAlbums, #Ambient, #Instrumental