VMP Magazine

The rules of being a country music star used to be simple: you sing the songs the label picks for you, you show up to sing at the Opry when the label tells you to, and you’ll be off on a nice little singing career. This factory-esque system flourished — with a couple of Hank Williams and Johnny Cash shaped exceptions — from the first time a poor southerner with mandolin skills walked into a recording booth.

But rock music, particularly the Beatles and Dylan, had showed a generation of performers in every genre that it was possible to choose what you sing, and furthermore, be the one who writes it. You could be a star by following your own gut and doing what you wanted to do not only in the bars of Nashville, but in the recording studio too.

That’s how outlaw country was born; a whole wave of young stars — who liked the weed those hippies from the coasts were smoking — decided to take agency over their own careers and make the music they wanted to make, some of them even in a major label system. The genre title wasn’t clever: a lot of the songs were about how they saw themselves as outlaws, smoking dope and pillaging the American south on their tours.

Despite all odds, outlaw country has become an ensconced genre conceit in country music. Anytime a country singer does an album that doesn’t sound like mainstream country, it gets labeled as outlaw country. That doesn’t mean that it’s not outlaw country; it’s just hard to imagine Waylon Jennings trying to make an album that sounds like 1933 in 1973 like the people labeled outlaw country in 2016 are making albums that sound like 1976. That said, there are some modern albums that ascend the outlaw country throne. Doing what you consider to be “true” is the only hallmark of a good outlaw country album, and these 10 are the most true.

If there was ever a band that, to borrow a phrase from Walt Whitman, contained multitudes, it’s the Grateful Dead. The vast sea changes that occurred album-to-album, studio-to-concert, and even concert-to-concert make most other musical entities, and even some scenes and genres, seem stagnant, unimaginative, and overcommitted to singular ethoses. In the 30 years between the band’s first performance at one of Ken Kesey’s acid tests in 1965 to guitarist/singer Jerry Garcia’s death in 1995, they truly ran the gamut. The Dead began as a folk/blues jug band, quickly became San Francisco’s premier improvisational psychedelic rock act, then went on to incorporate elements of country, jazz, prog, and even disco into their sound over the years, giving birth to and cementing the idea of a “jam band” in the process.

Curtis Mayfield was a revolutionary. A guitar was his weapon of choice; the singer’s gentle voice bristled with righteous dissent. Mayfield’s music lobbied black pride and self-determination, while probing every ripple of systemic racism and urban mismanagement. It’s a tragedy that his words seem so relevant, so vital in 2017. That we still have them to sooth strange times is something to be thankful for.

As a singer and creative center of the Impressions in the 1960s, Mayfield cut rousing civil rights songs you could build a movement on. Into the 1970s, the message became grimier—his tales from the inner city not always coming pre-packed with a positive outcome. But it was the documentary-precise lyrics matched with scintillating funk orchestration that made the whole thing so thrilling. In an alternate universe, Curtis drops the bleakness to cut more digestible songs about girls and stuff to help launch his star. But in this world, the gentle genius’s mind just didn’t grind like that.

Not that Mayfield couldn’t do it all. His arsenal is stacked with doo-wop toe tappers, soulful ballads, disco floor-fillers and yearning blues jams, all scattered across the body of work of an artist who embraced the 12-inch parameters of the LP. Curtis made cohesive, functioning albums. Many are classics, some are just very, very good. All are worth your attention. Here’s 10 of the smoothest, funkiest, straight-up most noble records in the Curtis Mayfield canon. Treasure them.

Willie Nelson has been around for so long that he’s essentially transformed into country music’s own version of a tall tale. Unfortunately, that often means he gets reduced to a punchline, whether for that whole tax evasion thing or his veritable status as Nashville’s pot-smoking grandpa.

But Nelson is also one of music’s biggest living legends. Most know him for the songs he turned into some of country music’s most recognizable standards, from “Always on My Mind” to “On the Road Again.” What they may not know is that Nelson is one of the music industry’s most prolific album makers. His most recent LP, this year’s God’s Problem Child, was his 61st studio record. His first, 1962’s …And Then I Wrote, turns 55 this September.

Most people also might not be aware that Nelson is a consummate collaborator. Indeed, few stars that have burned as bright or as long as Nelson have shown his willingness to share the spotlight, whether with one-off guest spots (he was on Kacey Musgraves’ Christmas album last year) or full-fledged collaboration albums (including records with the likes of Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard and Waylon Jennings). Indeed, many of Nelson’s recent albums have been opportunities for him to invite a versatile series of duet partners into the studio, from Sheryl Crow to Snoop Dogg.

With five-and-a-half decades of work under his belt and literally dozens of albums to his credit, the 84-year-old Willie Nelson isn’t an artist you can get a handle on in a week, a month or even a year. If you’re looking to explore the catalog of one of country music’s pioneers, though, these 10 albums are a good place to start.

Soul music combines elements from R&B and African-American gospel music. It is born from the spirit and the secular, having an emphasis on vocalists and making use of a traditional call-and-response between the lead singer and chorus, but instead of strictly spiritual themes, it melds those themes with desire and heartbreak. It began in the '50s with artists like Sam Cooke and James Brown. By the '60s there were more distinct regional sounds like Southern and Memphis soul and Chicago soul with those differences inspired by record labels like Stax, Atlantic, Chess, and Motown (Detroit soul).

Over the last several years there has been a renewed interest in classic soul. Revivalists like Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings and Leon Bridges are keeping traditional soul alive and other genres like hip-hop and pop are doing their best to pay homage to their soul influences. In addition to artists are the fans themselves. As vinyl consumers, our interest in analog is a reflection of our interest in authentic connections with music. And there’s nothing like listening to a classic soul record where you can literally feel how deeply the singers are connected with the songs they’re singing, how the rhythm sections keep time with the melody, helping it stay down-home or lifting it up sky high. To quote the opening lines of one of my favorite classic soul songs by Arthur Conley (co-written with Otis Redding): “Do you like good music? That sweet soul music?” If so, here are 10 classic soul records you absolutely need to hear.

The name Odd Future may transport you directly to 2011, but there’s no denying that the work of the collective’s various members has had continued influence to this day. OFWGKTA (Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All) is a group of artists, primarily made up of rappers, singers and producers originally conceived of by the group’s de facto leader Tyler, The Creator between 2006 and 2007. After releasing a series of free projects through their blog from 2009 to 2011—including Tyler’s Bastard, Earl Sweatshirt’s Earl and Frank Ocean’s Nostalgia, Ultra—the group, which at the time was comprised largely of teenagers, achieved notoriety for the thrilling creativity in their music and visual presentation, as well as the controversial nature of some of their lyrics; specifically, Tyler’s unapologetic use of gay slurs and violently misogynistic themes in his music.

The Odd Future brand would eventually expand to a short-lived Adult Swim show and a successful clothing line, but by 2012, the group dynamic began to dissipate in favor of solo ventures. Frank Ocean, The Internet (Syd The Kyd and Matt Martians), Earl Sweatshirt and Tyler grew as artists and people. They each developed their own followings over the course of their subsequent projects, creating some of the best and most influential work we’ve seen from the collective yet. Tyler released his fourth album Flower Boy last week, which finds him not only leaving behind the juvenile hate speech he used as provocation in the past, but revealed further intricacies to his persona; using his music to make a statement on his sexuality much like Frank Ocean did with the release of Channel Orange. As a whole, the album may be his most accomplished musical achievement to date.

As we watch Tyler’s growth as an artist with the release of his new LP, we’ve taken the opportunity to document Odd Future’s development up until this point by highlighting some of their essential projects. Of course, the list is limited to vinyl releases, so early internet-only releases (Bastard, Earl) and albums that have not been officially pressed to wax (Channel Orange, Cherry Bomb, Fireplace, Flower Boy) were not considered.

Like any jazz legend with a pretty lengthy career, Thelonious Monk’s catalogue is absolutely brimming with rock-solid choices for listeners of all kinds. Want something relatively easy to digest and straightforward? He’s got you. How about a record where he gets kind of out there and practices minimal restraint? No problem. What about something where, yes, the music is fantastic but the cover art is also awesome? Oh shit has Monk ever got you covered.

If I was educated enough as a jazz listener and not just a pleb who unabashedly loves the genre, I’d go on as long as my editors would let me about Monk and the best albums in his discography. But for me, until I decide to go back to school and take music theory classes (not happening!), it’s all about the feel. And this storied piano player, composer and band leader had me hooked from the first time I heard Brilliant Corners and took a deep dive into his work. As for that smart-guy stuff, well, Ryan’s got you covered there in the following graf. Ryan, you got it from here.

(Ryan grabs the keyboard)

Thelonious Monk was a pivotal figure in the history of jazz, using dissonance as an asset rather than a mistake. His compositions and playing style are uniquely his and his alone. Though often imitated, no one has ever come close to matching what he was pulling off 70 years ago! Throughout his recorded career, he can be heard playing solo piano, with small combos and with big bands and orchestras. No matter what is happening around him, the music always has a specifically unique Monk-ness to it.

Let’s do this.

Christmas music lovers everywhere all agree on one thing: one of the best parts of the holiday season is the music. Many of these songs have been recorded a gazillion times, so you’d think it’d be hard to put an original stamp on something so ubiquitous. And it’s true. It is hard, which is what makes it so wonderful. You can’t just phone in Irving Berlin’s classic “White Christmas” or do a decent “Sleigh Ride” and expect must-have sales. Christmas albums and compilations are a dime a dozen, so there’s got to be something extra, some moment that makes a listener say, “Yeah, I want to listen to this every single year!”

Every contemporary holiday album owes a debt to one or more of the albums below. These are the big guns, the trail-blazers and the well-worn shoes, the ones we snatch out of the bins whenever we see that familiar album cover, where popular artists proved holiday songs didn’t always have to be solemn to be enjoyable. These 10 albums are the touchstones of Christmas music.

Classic country music of the 1950s,’60s, and ’70s has always been a boy’s club. Ask many fans of the era for their favorites and you’ll get some familiar names: Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, John Prine, etc. But that time period also bred a crop of feisty, hard-living women who could simultaneously down a shot of whiskey, bounce a baby on their arm and verbally decimate a man—all while keeping that big hair perfectly intact. Below are the essential classic country albums to own on vinyl by the women who were never content to just let boys be boys.

As we dust off those holiday sweaters and raid the attic for our well-loved decorations, it’s also time to break out our favorite holiday season albums (assuming you haven’t been playing them all year like I have). Christmas music lovers will have many of the heavy-hitters (see our piece here), those beloved favorites that have been around for generations. But what about modern Christmas albums? Are there any albums from the last 30 years that will stand the test of time and become as much a part of the holiday season as A Charlie Brown Christmas?

As any connoisseur will tell you, great holiday music continues to be made – artists love Christmas music just as much as we do (anyone else excited about this year’s contribution from Sia?). They continue to put their own stamp on pop standards, traditionals, and yes, original songs so good they belong in the holiday canon. So string up the popcorn, get the tinsel on the tree, and check out these 10 modern Christmas classics.

The Wu came through and the outcome was critical. The Wu-Tang Clan put out six proper group albums along with countless solo projects, affiliate albums, an unreasonably difficult video game and a clothing line that maybe didn’t seem as cool once your dad borrowed your Wu Wear sweatshirt to rake leaves.

Even if all the peripherals didn’t quite last, the Wu-Tang Clan’s music hasn’t dulled any of its vibrancy in the 20-plus years since the group first appeared. Though the Clan’s collective output has slowed and recent outings like Banks & Steelz – RZA’s collaborative project with Interpol’s Paul Banks – lack the brick-splitting force of the Wu’s best material, the back catalog is still littered must haves. Here are 10 of the most essential Wu-Tang albums to own on vinyl.

Halloween is the time of jack-o-lanterns, fake tombstones and glow-in-the-dark spider webs; a time for horror fans to seek out their favorite movies for each night of October and find a nearby haunted attraction; a time for creatures of the night to don costumes, pull pranks and load up on sweets. As one of the two holidays most marketed towards children, Halloween can often play second-banana to Christmas. Part of the problem is that Christmas music is so ubiquitous. It’s easy to identify and there’s so much of it. Also, let’s face it, it’s pretty damn fun. But Halloween music shouldn’t be sloughed off as small potatoes for the simple reason that it isn’t lyrically confined to All Hallows’ Eve. It can be any type of music that weighs you down with the darkness inside us all or just something fun to put on while we howl at the moon. From gothic punk to campy send-ups, the following are albums that can feed any of your spooky-yearning moods.

I don’t care what anyone says, the more obscure jazz artists you know about, the cooler you are. Jazz has made a comeback in recent years, so having a basic knowledge of the major players is key to your social reputation (if you’re hanging out with the right people, that is). If you really want to separate yourself, it’s time to get to know some avant-garde jazz artists.

This isn’t a be-all-end-all list, but it considers players of different eras and will give you a good basis to jump-start your exploration into the world of weird jazz. Pick up all these albums on vinyl, check the liner notes, and buy more from all the side musicians while you’re at it. All these artists broke free from the confines of what jazz was “supposed” to be and forged ahead on their own path.

Here are 10 essential avant-garde jazz albums you need to own:

So you’ve decided you like jazz. You’ve opened your ears to bebop, hard bop and more. Now with summer practically upon us, you’re ready for something with mucho calor, to leap into what Tito Puente would call “jazz with the Latin touch.” In other words, jazz that incorporates Latin American rhythms.

The West gets painted in broad strokes. There are volleyball nets and cuffed khakis, hyphy hallmarks and conspicuous gang allegiances, all neatly cordoned off and placed in chronological order. But the real history of rap in California is much messier, more cross-pollinated, and more rewarding.

Where does one begin when writing about an artist on the level of John Coltrane? Do you write about his unbelievable influence as the father of spiritual jazz, the sub-genre in which so many fantastic records reside? Or do you talk about the journey that brought him there, one of addiction, recovery, and finding himself in spirituality? Or do you simply say, hey, this man was one of the greatest artists, of any genre, to live on this planet?

I’m inclined to go with the last statement. It’s not just that Coltrane personally welcomed me into a world of music that had previously only intimidated me. There are plenty of other gateway artists for jazz, and perhaps even too many to name. If it hits you the right way, Coltrane’s music just sticks to your brain, never allowing you to forget bits and pieces of his work much like you’ll always remember the hook of certain pop songs.

Unlike manufactured tunes made for radio (no shots, I love some of ‘em, too), properly digesting the work of John Coltrane does require some work. But on that note, I’d like to share this quote from Coltrane himself, as part of this discussion shared by Blank On Blank, because I think it’s important to keep in mind when listening to jazz:

“If there’s something you don’t understand, you have to go humbly to it. You don’t go to school and sit down and say I know what you’re getting ready to teach me, you know? You sit there and you learn. You open your mind. you absorb. You’ve got to be quiet, you’ve got to be still to do this.”

Before moving on to our list of Trane’s best 10 albums to own on vinyl, it’s worth noting that we already covered perhaps his most essential record, A Love Supreme, in our first jazz primer. So, yeah, we didn’t want to cover the same ground here. Lucky enough for us (and anyone interested in his music), the man has plenty of other material to study and adore. And yes, I’ve once again worked with my friend/jazz musician, Ryan Kowal, on this list. Dig it.

Back when A Tribe Called Quest’s Q-Tip was a teenager, the legend goes, his father overheard him playing some hip-hop and said it reminded him of bebop. That connection, drawn in the opening seconds of Tribe’s 1991 album The Low End Theory, at first seems a little odd. Musically, late ’80s rap and mid-’40s jazz have very little in common, the former defined by 4/4 rhythms and looped melodies, the latter by its “anything goes” approach to rhythmic structure and melodic composition. But if you look at each genre as a cultural movement, paying particular attention to the backlash each initially received, hip-hop and bebop share more parallels than you’d expect.

Both genres succeeded in infuriating the majority of the preceding generation, usually a sure sign of their cultural importance. Sure enough, jazz and hip-hop have both stood the test of time, and as is also nearly inevitable for two genres that have been around more than 20 years, commingled in extraordinary ways. Tribe’s Low End Theory kicked off a very fertile era of jazz-influenced hip-hop, with artists on both coasts coming to treat Roy Ayers and Art Blakey records with the same reverence that producers viewed James Brown and the Incredible Bongo Band’s drum breaks 10 years prior.

Twenty-five years (almost to the day) after The Low End Theory’s release, jazz rap’s heyday has come and gone, but a new era seems to be dawning in all corners of the genre. Today, there’s a weekly club night in L.A. called “The Low End Theory” that’s the epicenter of a jazz/electronic/hip-hop melting pot, jazz bands cover hip-hop tracks, and mainstream rappers regularly recruit horn players for their albums. On this cusp of an exciting era of cross-pollination, we take a look back at 10 jazz rap fusion attempts that are must-haves in your vinyl collection if you’re a fan of either hip-hop or jazz.

Jazz began life as social music (but not #SOCIALMUSIC… sorry, Don Cheadle). The advent of bebop had drawn some chin-strokers into the audience, but dancing was still most of jazz's raison d'être until the late 1950s, when intrepid early explorers of the music's harshest angles — John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, Eric Dolphy, Albert Ayler — began to delve into music that, while still intended for collective uplift, was hardly conducive to rug-cutting. Meanwhile, another set of largely Black musicians were making inroads in mainstream pop by adding increasingly sleek flourishes to more dancefloor-friendly R&B, in a stylistic amalgam we've all come to know as soul music.

I don’t think I need to talk about who the Beatles were or what they meant to popular music; about how they helped revolutionize the industry by writing their own songs and added import to the album rather than just singles; about how it’s hard to imagine a rock and roll band bigger than the Beatles. Even at the time of their breakup John, Paul, George, and Ringo had already achieved mythic status. People still love discussing who their favorite Beatle is and why he’s the greatest. I progressed like most any other fan from Paul in high school, John in college, and a love for George and Ringo in adulthood. But really, I love them all. Together they formed the biggest band in the world and apart their talent shone even more.

After the break-up in 1970 each of the four men struggled to shake off the Beatles, to show that they were more than the band and prove to themselves and naysayers that they could do it on their own. This pressure actually proved fruitful in the early 1970s and explains why most of the albums on this list are from that time period. From endearing pop to bitter vitriol, from themes of tearing down false idols to just trying to put out enjoyable music, these 10 albums not only give us a better idea of their individual contributions to the Beatles but they also help provide insight into their state of mind. It wasn’t until one of these post-Beatles efforts that you could actually understand George’s disillusionment, John’s anger, Paul’s ambition, and Ringo’s desire to collaborate with those who take his contributions seriously. Fanatics will refuse to believe it but some of these albums sit up there with the best Beatles albums. Don’t believe me? Read on and then go listen for yourselves.

Back in the ’90s, there was a lot of country-rock coming out of the Midwest: Uncle Tupelo, Wilco, Son Volt, the Bottle Rockets and Ass Ponys. The term alt-country was used to describe these acts, an alternative to the mainstream, radio-friendly schmaltz that represented the worst aspects of Top 40 and country, music that came with a side of mullets and their own dance crazes. “Achy Breaky Heart” indeed — it was Hank Williams’ heart that was breaking.

Like many vinyl collectors, I tend to view greatest hits albums on vinyl with skepticism. Since listening to a record involves a special participation on the part of the listener, placing the record on the turntable, cueing and dropping the needle, it’s an activity made for digesting original albums as a whole rather than selected hits compiled to fill a record label’s coffers or fulfill an artist’s contractual obligation. But there are some special exceptions.

There exist greatest hits compilations that become as important to a career as the best studio album. They can be the beginner’s gateway to an intimidating discography, the end game for a minor fan who prefers nothing more than a concise overview of the artist, or they can act like the perfect mixtape for a super fan. Below are 10 greatest of the greatest, the cream of the crop. The essence of an artist or a glimpse of greatness, your collection will benefit from any one of these albums.

This month marks 10 years since the release of Icky Thump, the final album released by The White Stripes. Icky Thump’s diverse, sometimes confounding collection of tunes marked the end of Jack and Meg White’s partnership—a duo whose presence in the world of rock throughout the 2000s was singular and enthralling.

While Meg has been (characteristically) quiet since the break-up, Jack has remained exceedingly prolific and consistently fascinating to watch. Whether under the umbrella of The Raconteurs, The Dead Weather, or solo, White continues to mine his treasure chest of influences (early blues; honkytonk; Dylan-esque folk; radio-ready classic rock; Scottish freak-folk) in new and exciting ways. With a new solo album in the works, White shows no signs of slowing down. These 10 albums are his best so far.

Before we get into the most sensual list that's ever been run on Vinyl Me, Please, some background on quiet storm. The quiet storm genre takes its name from a late-night D.C. radio show in the late '70s, which in turn took its name from a Smokey Robinson album (more on that later) whose title track became a kind of theme song for host Melvin Lindsey. This format became incredibly popular with urban adult audiences and similar quiet storm shows popped up at radio stations across the country. It’s a catch-all term for R&B ballads and pop, a kind of soft soul version of soft rock.

In the '90s quiet storm evolved to include neo-soul, another catch-all label for a style of music that didn’t seem to fit in the R&B/pop of the time. More than just smooth R&B and slow jams, it’s music that unwinds a long day, music that makes us feel human again, when we want to focus on ourselves or have some adult time with our significant other, acknowledging that our needs and desires are important and universal. We love. We feel. We are real. In those intimate moments of alone time or together time, any one of the following albums can help set the mood. If you are looking to unwind or looking to get busy, pour yourself a glass of your favorite beverage and turn down the lights. You’re about to enter the Quiet Storm.

Mark E. Smith, leader of the Fall, died yesterday at age 60. Here, revisit our list of the band's 10 best albums made for the band's 40th anniversary.

When I was a kid, my parents bought me a guitar and got me lessons from a local teacher. He asked me to list 10 songs I wanted to learn and, outside of a couple alt-rock songs that were popular on MTV at the moment, I leaned more heavily on acts I learned about from my parents: Hendrix, the Stones, Cream, Zeppelin, the Doors, etc. Rather than just lead me through those tracks and have me mimic along, he said, "A lot of what you like is based on the blues, so I'll teach you about that, and then you'll be able to figure out the rest (though, to be fair, we did start with "House of the Rising Sun" and "Sunshine of Your Love" as the gateway into learning chords). From there, we worked backwards, learning the scales, and a lot of the history, like who influenced, covered and/or ripped off who.

Thanks to that teacher, a public library with an expansive CD and book selection, a lot of friends to jam with and understanding parents who'd take me to the local Cajun restaurant to see some great cover bands and, later, the Stones at Madison Square Garden, I got to know the blues at a relatively early age. So, based on personal experience and some hindsight after further exploration, here are 10 albums for anyone looking to start a collection of essential blues albums, with many apologies to the dozens of pioneers I left out.

The Rolling Stones have been a band since 1962. That’s longevity, people! These guys love their job so much they’re still out there after 55 years putting on great shows; there’s a distinct possibility that when Mick Jagger or Keith Richards finally kick the bucket, it’ll be on stage. The band took a love of blues, R&B, and early rock ‘n roll, scoffed at their blues purist peers, and spat back out their own version of American-inspired music, setting themselves apart from their British Invasion contemporaries. To further help distinguish the band from those clean-cut groups with their matching suits, the Stones’ then manager carefully cultivated their bad-boy image, emphasizing their scruffiness and antics. Young fans may have wanted to take the Beatles home to their parents, but Stones fans wanted to be with them in the backseat of their cars.

The Stones weren’t so much interested in shining a light on puppy-dog love as excavating the dirty underbelly of lust and vice, trying to stay true to their R&B influences and creating a rock sound that is distinctly their own. I’ll admit that I was once blinded by my Beatles fandom to the brilliance of the Rolling Stones. But then I listened to Sticky Fingers and Let It Bleed and like a thunderbolt I was hit with the knowledge that these guys rock. Like seriously rock. Like this is sex, drugs, and rock ‘n roll incarnate and oh my god, is Mick singing about someone creaming all over him (“Let It Bleed”)? With over two dozen studio and live albums to choose from, there are many essential listens ranging from good to holy-shit-spectacular so narrowing down to 10 is no easy feat. But in terms of physical ownership, your collection will thank you for any of the listed ones below. World’s greatest rock ‘n roll band? Judge for yourself.

In Spring 1968, a 19-year-old Todd Rundgren wrote his first two original songs, “Hello It’s Me” and “Open My Eyes,” for his band Nazz. If he had stopped there, he would’ve already had enough material to alter the fabric of 20th Century popular music. “Hello It’s Me” has since been covered by the Isley Brothers, Mary J. Blige, Erykah Badu, and John Legend, the latter of whom called it his favorite song of all time; “Open My Eyes” was far less of a commercial success, but included on the hugely influential 1972 compilation, Nuggets, it became part of punk rock’s foundational bedrock.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. It was a time when bands took to its logical conclusion the one-word band name; a time when you could grab three random CDs from your binder and end up with either the proper ingredients for a meal (Cracker, Cake, Cranberries) or an impromptu construction job (Helmet, Tool, Pavement); a time when bands loved doing things (Smashing Pumpkins, Throwing Copper, Counting Crows) and juxtaposition (Spacehog, Soundgarden, Candlebox). It was a time when “alternative” rock saturated the airwaves, and perhaps not all of it has received the respect it deserves, for the '90s was a decade of abundance.

First Of The Month is our monthly rap column, and instead of compiling a list of the 10 or 20 best rap albums--since the genre isn't as album-dependent as the other genres we've done Best of 2016 lists for--our columnist counts down the songs, mixtapes, and albums that defined the genre this year.

Full disclosure: my father bought me a turntable during one of the Christmases I had during high school, when I was right in my purist phase and middle-class enough to ask for expensive shit like a turntable in the first place.

I disclose this because I never used the damn thing and it’s probably still under my childhood bed. Question my credentials if you want, but I know precisely what I’d cop to start my collection when I eventually exit the stage of freelance-broke-boy. Here are the 10 Best Underground Rap Albums you need to own on vinyl.

Psychedelic rock is an increasingly problematic blanket term. Originally coined as a way of talking about music made under the influence of LSD, and often completely bewildering to those unfamiliar with hallucinogens, it’s a term increasingly applied to wah wah-indulgence and a tired brand of faux-occultist imagery; not to mention the insufferable 60’s revivalist image that often comes with the term in the modern day. If you dig a little deeper, though, there’s a mass of great neo-psychedelic records that are worthy peers to the pioneering records that changed subculture forever. It’s entirely possible in the modern day to make transcendent, hypnotic and utterly immersive records - even with such a rapid-paced music consuming culture. Whether it’s psychedelia via mass guitar tumults or bizarre lyrical narratives, there’s a unique energy to the kind of music that can channel attention back inwards.

Good psychedelic rock should never be at the forefront, it should gently probe creativity and emotion from afar, which is why the following ten records are such a necessities to any record collection — and should be appreciated away from the distractions of digital music consumptions.

Thanks to last night’s Grammy tribute, his music finally coming to streaming services that don’t share a name with a Fiona Apple album — which it should be noted, Prince did NOT want to happen when he was alive — and his catalog getting sold off for the inevitable reissue campaign (which actually started last year), Prince is on every music fan’s mind. Well, he probably has been since before he died last year, but there’s never been a better time to be a Prince fan. The vault is being unlocked, and the music is becoming more available.

Which means the time has never been better to evaluate which of Prince’s albums are the most essential. He made 39 Prince albums in his lifetime, and wrote many more for other artists, and trying to determine which one of those are must owns for your record collection can be a challenge. So here’s the list of the 10 Best Prince Albums to Own on Vinyl, which serves as a survey of his career, and makes the tough calls on which ones you need to have in your life.

Heartbreak is one of the hardest things to go through. It manifests itself emotionally and physically, the turmoil seemingly never-ending. As music lovers we turn to music to help us ease the heartache because songwriters also get their hearts broken or their egos bruised or have an all-consuming sadness that only music can exorcise, be it through self-wallowing rock or uplifting dance music (just because it’s got a beat doesn’t make it any less gut-wrenching). The following breakup albums were either inspired by a particular breakup, about relationships in general, or just have that sound that matches what we feel, putting despair or indignation into music that our own pain identifies with.bre

Tom Waits is unlike any other working artist today. With equal parts vaudeville, blues, jazz, industrial, and experimental, Waits has made a body of work that spans nearly four decades and seventeen studio albums, with a slew of fantastic live albums to mention as well. He’s been covered by everyone from Bruce Springsteen and the Eagles to Rod Stewart, all the while maintaining his staunch personal mystique - part beat-poet-crooner, part bastardized Americana survivor, stalking the streets alongside the gin-soaked characters in his songs. So it’s no surprise that a walk through his catalogue is a journey certainly worth partaking in.

For the otherwise uninitiated, a foray into the immense discography of Tom Waits is a daunting task. Where does one begin? What period of his music is the best to listen to first, in order to best grasp the essence of the artist? Which of his seventeen albums contain the most interesting songs, but aren’t so far into the stratosphere of weirdness that they become tough to digest? After all, through his career Waits has made his way through a number of genres and styles, with guest musicians ranging from Les Claypool of Primus to Keith Richards to Carla Kihlstedt of Sleepytime Gorilla Museum.

Below are ten fantastic Tom Waits albums to get you started on his immense body of work.

Twee pop: the gentle revolution that could. Often found underneath the indie rock umbrella — twee pop is best defined as melding pop songwriting to an aesthetic that recalls the sweet, the innocent and the past. Twee is as divisive as it is complex; much like emo, there are plenty of bands who have rejected the label out of fear of being distilled into something insulting. For every band like Belle & Sebastian that have staked out a musical identity out of tradition and history, there are others, like the Shop Assistants and Los Campesinos, that have shown how fun it can be to tear up the rulebook and do something else.

Twee pop’s modern roots can arguably be traced to one band that ruled 1980s’ England: the Smiths, a band who took the twee ethos and brought it to a massive audience. Morrissey said it took strength to be gentle and kind and people really took that to heart. But the same could be said about the work done by independent labels like Sarah Records provided a formative ground for acts or NME attempting to will entire trends into existence with their C86 tape. Meanwhile, American bands like Beat Happening and Tullycraft took the simplicity-via-purity ethos and used it to inspire an entirely different set of bands, leveling out the playing field for a more diverse set of musicians.

Here’s a selection of 10 albums that provide a varied introduction to twee, both past and present. And one note: Historically, twee’s strong associations with DIY meant releases were generally designed with the cassette and CD formats in mind, with vinyl releases a rarity. As a concession, albums that were readily available were chosen for inclusion when possible.

Unlike its bigger, more well-known siblings in the hip-hop subgenre hierarchy, instrumental hip-hop still hasn’t had its true breakout moment. And truth be told, it probably never will. We as music addicts tend to prefer music with words, be they meaningful and deep, melodic and fluffy, or some combination of other adjectives. Really, we’re at a point where instrumental music doesn’t reside on the same plane as its vocal-laden siblings. And that’s okay! As much as I love jazz, I’ve come to terms with the fact that I could put on Blue Train and most people would either think nothing of it or start wondering if they had been teleported to a cafe.

But that doesn’t take anything away from instrumental hip-hop. Much like the jazz to which it’s forever indebted, people either come around immediately to it or have some kind of experience that keeps them listening.

But without a massive amount of listeners or not, instrumental hip-hop will endure and, more importantly, prosper. That much has been evident following the biggest releases in the subgenre, such as groundbreaking albums from DJ Shadow and J Dilla. On the surface, these two producers and their respective “big” records couldn’t be more different, what with Entroducing’s beautiful and sprawling canvas and Donuts’ choppy, emotional, and immense movements.

At their core they’re really not that different at all. While their intentions may have not necessarily been exactly the same, what you get from listening to these two artists is their desire to manipulate sound without relying on the addition of someone else’s voice. The voice, in this case, is established by the manner in which they chop up, loop, and layer samples. And that right there, for me, is what keeps me coming back to instrumental hip-hop. It’s also why I think that if you’ve felt anything I’ve read here, you owe it to yourself to listen to other albums on this list too.

Oh jazz, you magnificent and beautiful genre. You’re having a bit of a cool-kid comeback, aren’t you, with all those young, hip cats toying with your sounds and messing with your traditions. Good, I say, because you’re a genre that’s incredibly unique and, as a result, seemingly difficult to get into for some. We’ve all been there. “Jazz? Nah, I don’t listen to that unless I’m at the dentist or in an elevator.” Fuck Kenny G and his majestic curls. Jazz deserves more than being relegated to uncomfortable situations. It deserves to be consumed by anyone and everyone willing to open their ears and feel what often isn’t being said but played.

That’s where this list can help. As a jazz lover myself, but nothing close to what I’d call a proper aficionado, I reached out to my close friend and gifted jazz musician, Ryan Kowal, to help compile this list and share his insight. Dude is a seriously talented composer, vibraphonist, drummer, pianist, etc., and you should check out his music on his website. And you should listen to these albums. If not all of them, at least one or two. Jazz is more than filler noise used to drown out the anxiety that comes when you’re praying to the dental gods for no cavities. It’s also more than a genre for uptight folks who’d sooner tell you why you should listen to one artist over another.

Let’s cut the bullshit, embrace the genre, and just listen to some of the best jazz albums ever recorded.

The ’90s were the golden era for rap in a lot of ways, but especially in the album format: Rap as an album oriented music really hit its stride in the ’90s. Picking 10 albums from the decade is sure to leave a lot on the cutting room floor, but our staff did our best to come up with 10 VMP-approved releases.

And now, a word from our writer:

Before we announce our 40 best albums of 2018, we polled our staff on the things that matter: their go-to lunch order, their favorite ROTM, their favorite movie, how early they eat lunch, whether they sit or stand at their fancy desks and which office dog is the best.

These are the 10 best jazz albums from 2018, from young upstarts to rappers (yes, rappers).

Digital/Divide is our monthly electronic column. These are the 10 best electronic records from 2018.

Deaf Forever is our monthly metal column. These are the 10 best metal albums of 2018.

In a 2015 FADER story about the rise of Brainfeeder, the Los Angeles-based label that revered electronic music producer Flying Lotus founded in 2008, beloved saxophonist Kamasi Washington points out that hip-hop and L.A.’s late-2000s beat scene — a loose genre-ifying of L.A.-created experimental music rooted in electronic and hip-hop — both have roots in his genre, jazz. “It’s coming from the same place, the musical rebellious nature of it,” he said.

There’s no need to sterilize the hyperbole: London’s local jazz scene is having what you might call “a moment.” We are witness to a surge of ingenuity that may well meet the criteria of being historic; a creative boom led by young musicians finding new angles to a classic genre that feel fresh and imaginative. It’s music that captures the pluralistic flavor of the U.K. capital. In the backdrop of Brexit-era Britain and the rise of anti-immigrant sentiment — punctuated by the horrors of the Grenfell Tower fire and the Windrush scandal — this doesn’t just feel refreshing, it is vital.

Some of the best film scores ever have been made for the horror genre. That genre in particular is ripe for audience manipulation — in fact, it is a moral imperative.

The duets album is that thing of beauty where two artists, who are stellar on their own, come together to make magic. Like a dance, a great duet requires chemistry and fire; someone takes the lead, the other follows, then the rhythm changes and roles reverse, demonstrating the talent of each singer as well as their ability to use that talent to make their partner shine. Any singer can attempt a duet but not all singers have the intuition necessary for the give and take, the art of making listeners believe that perhaps there is something real (be it romance or friendship) behind the scenes. The illusion can make or break it.

There are many fabulous one-off duet songs that have been released over the years (“Under Pressure,” anyone?) but the focus for our piece here is the album: Can the artists generate sparks for an entire longplay? To be considered for this list, each pairing consists of two artists (no various artist pairings) who have had at least one solo album or standalone single under their belt at the time of recording. It was tough to narrow down but here are 10 albums where two voices come together in harmony, love and heartbreak, creating something truly unforgettable.

As a place to hear music, podcasts are far from ideal. Heck, the host of one of the shows on the list here, Disgraceland, makes a point of calling out prohibitively expensive licensing costs at the top of every episode. What podcasts excel at are telling stories, offering insight and adding depth to the music you're already listening to. There’s something uniquely intimate about the medium, too. Listeners connect to the hosts in ways that are different than the way they might feel a kinship or closeness with even their favorite musicians.

If you’re reading this, especially if you’re from the U.K., then statistically you will own at least 14 copies of Queen’s Greatest Hits; it’s the best-selling album of all time in the U.K. (Queen’s Greatest Hits II also makes the top 10). As a lifelong Queen fanatic, what interests me is the very narrow view of the Queen sound this has given birth to, being, as they are, frequently reduced to 20 or 30 songs that everyone knows. That in itself is no small achievement; how many Rolling Stones tracks could the average Joe honestly sing along to from start to finish? Queen’s most famous songs have become part of everyday life, from “Don’t Stop Me Now” coursing through drunken karaoke nights worldwide to “We Will Rock You” clapped and stamped in sports stadiums week in, week out, to “Bohemian Rhapsody” topping every poll ever. But this leaves 15 studio albums, 10 live albums and some 150 songs consigned to the corners of your dad’s record collection. Since the new Freddie Mercury/Queen biopic, Bohemian Rhapsody, comes out in a couple weeks, you’re probably wondering where to start with Queen. Here are the 10 best Queen albums to own on vinyl.

Industrial music is melody fashioned from noise. It’s the ratio of the former to the latter that ultimately determines what that sounds like. In the U.K. in the 1970s, industrial was born of provocative performance artists like Throbbing Gristle, who combined controversial images with music that leaned far from pop structures, instead employing drones, improvisation, spoken word and harsh noise. Over time that sensibility evolved into something still harrowing, still darkly haunting, yet more melodic and structured. In less than two decades, industrial went from exploitation film reels in warehouses to prime time on MTV.

The mention of industrial more than 40 years after its genesis likely brings to mind one of two ideas: the free-form noise art of its earliest years, or the goth-club pulse of Ministry and Nine Inch Nails. But it’s everything that’s happened in between that has made industrial an even more interesting and fertile genre for artistic exploration. Here are 10 of the best albums to come from its fascinating evolution.