500 Most Underrated Albums of All-Time
@underratedlps.bsky.social
Dedicated to celebrating the underappreciated masterpieces that should, but are rarely (if at all) included in "Best Albums of All-Time" conversations.
1. Dennis Wilson – Ocean Pacific Blue (Caribou, 1977) "Pacific Ocean Blue’s reputation has risen with the superlatives lavished up on it by fans such as The Verve, Primal Scream and The Charlatans." - Pete Paphides @petepaphides.bsky.social (Uncut, 10/10) www.youtube.com/watch?v=YiZo... #MusicSky
2. Karen Dalton – In My Own Time (Paramount, 1971) "Never sang her own words but clearly and confidently expressed herself with others." - Steven M. Deusner @stephendeusner.bsky.social (Pitchfork @pitchfork.com, 9/10) www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4oM... #MusicSky
3. Chris Bell – I Am the Cosmos (Rykodisc, 1992) "A beautiful and disturbing Syd Barrett-by-way-of-Badfinger album of erratic, haunted pop music." - Ira Robbins (Trouser Press) www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-yv...
4. Culture - Two Sevens Clash (Joe Gibbs, 1976) "Proudly pronounced "one of the ten best reggae albums ever cut."" - Robert Christgau (Rolling Stone @rollingstone.com, 10/10) www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3Pj...
5. The Pretty Things – S.F. Sorrow (EMI Columbia, 1968) "Have become a calling card for current underground alternative bands." - Neil Strauss (The New York Times @nytimes.com) www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jgwn...
6. Michael Nesmith - And the Hits Just Keep on Comin' (RCA Victor @rcarecords.bsky.social, 1972) "Modest in approach but very satisfying in execution." - Mark Deming (AllMusic, 9/10) www.youtube.com/watch?v=jA5s...
7. Colin Blunstone – One Year (Epic @epicrecords.bsky.social, 1971) "An understated masterpiece." - Fred Thomas (AllMusic, 10/10) www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBVG...
8. Mark Hollis – Mark Hollis (Polydor, 1998) "A radical reduction of scale that extends the quiet minimalism of his work with Talk Talk." - Jess Harvell (Pitchfork @pitchfork.com, 1998) www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pdf-... #MusicSky
9. Souls of Mischief – 93 ‘til Infinity (Jive, 1993) "At the pinnacle of the G-funked gangsta era, Souls of Mischief took the low road of emotional complexity." - Suzann Vogel (Philadelphia Weekly) www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXJc...
10. Jon Hassell & Brian Eno – Fourth World Vol. 1 – Possible Musics (Editions EG, 1980) "Pioneered the syncretic approach to world music with which so many artists experimented during the '80s." - Ann Powers @annkpowers.bsky.social (SPIN) www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiHO... #MusicSky
11. Van Dyke Parks – Song Cycle (Warner Bros. @warnerrecords.bsky.social, 1967) "Music for bright drinks with umbrellas in them." - Mike Powell (Pitchfork @pitchfork.com, 9/10) youtube.com/watch…
12. Bert Jansch – Bert Jansch (Transatlantic, 1965) "Jimmy Page and Neil Young have gone on record as noting their heavy debts to Jansch's early material." - Richie Unterberger (AllMusic, 9/10) www.youtube.com/watch?v=is1u... #MusicSky
13. Augustus Pablo – East of the River Nile (Message, 1977) "Takes dub melodicism to new heights." - Rolling Stone @rollingstone.com 10/10 www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIvg...
14. David Axelrod – Song of Innocence (Capitol, 1968) "an aesthetic mix of music and philosophy." - Billboard @billboard.com www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hw1o... #MusicSky
15. Shuggie Otis - Inspiration Information (Epic @epicrecords.bsky.social, 1974) "What had become a minor cult around Otis’ short-but-overlooked career surfaced for the first time a quarter-century later." -Eric Harvey @ericdharvey.com (Pitchfork @pitchfork.com, 9/10) www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbhI...
16. The Last Poets – The Last Poets (Douglas, 1970) "Acerbic and exciting and as politically uncompromising as anything ever recorded." - Robert Christgau (The Village Voice) www.youtube.com/watch?v=8M5W...
17. The Mighty Diamonds - Right Time (Virgin, 1976) "One of the finest reggae LPs ever released." - Stephen Davis (Rolling Stone @rollingstone.com.web.brid.gy) www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBkf...
18. Red Krayola - God Bless the Red Krayola and All Who Sail With It (International Artists, 1968) "Small songs full of quiet terror and acoustic confusion." - Spin Alternative Record Guide (9/10) www.youtube.com/watch?v=RerM... #MusicSky
19. Miriam Makeba - The Voice of Africa (RCA Victor, 1964) "A woman for whom the term ‘cultural ambassador’ was meant." - Robert Abele (Los Angeles Times) www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSoD... #MusicSky
20. The Chameleons – Script of the Bridge (Statik, 1983) "Played like men possessed, desperate to leave a meaningful mark on rock’s edifice." - Mark Finnigan (Record Collector, 10/10) www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iwx...
21. Morton Subotnick - Silver Apples of the Moon (Nonsuch, 1967) "An essential psychedelic soundtrack." - Alfred Hickling (The Guardian @theguardian.com) www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pj_p...
22. Mort Garson - Mother Earth's Plantasia (Homewood, 1976) "A densely imaginative – and surprisingly influential – feature-length ode to harmony." - Brian Coney @brianconey.bsky.social (The Quietus @thequietus.com, 10/10) www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lkes...
23. Harold Melvin & The Bluenotes – Black and Blue (Philadelphia International, 1973) "Beauty lies in the contrast between the Bluenotes' rich, bluesy vocal sound and Gamble and Huff's slick and sophisticated recording style." - Gavin Edwards (Rolling Stone @rollingstone.com) youtube.com/watch…
24. Tom Verlaine- Tom Verlaine (Elektra, 1979) "Neater than Television, as you might expect, but almost as visionary anyway." - Robert Christgau (The Village Voice, 9/10) youtube.com/watch…
25. Odetta - Sings Ballads and Blues (Tradition, 1956) "Bob Dylan, in fact, once cited this record in particular as the one that made him decide to trade in his electric guitar and amplifier for an acoustic guitar." - Richie Unterberger (AllMusic, 9/10) www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajRt...
26. The Wild Tchoupitoulas - The Wild Tchoupitoulas (Mango, 1976) "The best non- (or anti-) disco dance music in years." - Robert Christgau (Christgau's Record Guide) www.youtube.com/watch?v=qePe...
27. Terry Reid – Terry Reid (Columbia, 1969) "A swaggering and elastic vocal style that proved equal to both the hard rock of the late '60s and the next decade's soft rock." - Richie Unterberger (AllMusic, 9/10) www.youtube.com/watch?v=C959...
28. Jean-Jacques Perrey - The Amazing New Electronic Pop Sound of Jean Jacques Perrey (Vanguard, 1968) "'60s instrumental 'mood' music albums as refracted through a slightly more ambitious, electronic lens." - Richie Unterberger (AllMusic, 9/10) www.youtube.com/watch?v=II_a... #MusicSky
29. Linda Perhacs – Parallelograms (Kapp, 1970) "Linda Perhacs' entire cosmos (and whatever those times entailed) could inexplicably fit inside the confines of Parallelograms." - Andy Beta (Pitchfork @pitchfork.com, 9/10) www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpkF...
30. Velvet Crush – Teenage Symphonies to God (550 Music, 1994) "A compelling and important work that deserves attention." - MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide (10/10) www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePA7...
