Items12The creator’s order
  1. 1Miles Davis – Kind of BlueMiles Davis – Kind of BluePut this record on for someone who thinks jazz is frantic mathematical showing off, and watch their posture change within thirty seconds. Recorded in two spring sessions in 1959, it strips away dense chord changes in favour of modal scales, leaving Bill Evans's gentle water-drop piano chords and…0
  2. 2Little Richard – Here's Little RichardLittle Richard – Here's Little RichardMore than six decades later, dropping the needle on Tutti Frutti or Long Tall Sally still hits with the force of an unhinged freight train. Little Richard did not just sing early rock and roll; he battered his piano into submission and screamed with a feral, joyous abandonment that terrified 1950s…0
  3. 3Frank Sinatra – In the Wee Small HoursFrank Sinatra – In the Wee Small HoursOften cited as the first true pop concept album, this 1955 record captures heartbreak with cinematic, smoke-ring intimacy. Reeling from his tumultuous separation from Ava Gardner, Sinatra dropped all swagger and sang directly to the solitary listener at three in the morning. Nelson Riddle's…0
  4. 4Tito Puente – Dance ManiaTito Puente – Dance ManiaRecorded live in the studio in 1958 with zero studio trickery, this is the definitive document of the mambo craze that electrified New York's Palladium Ballroom. Tito Puente's timbales drive a thunderous wall of brass, congas and vocal call-and-response that refuses to let you sit still. Tracks…0
  5. 5Muddy Waters – The Best of Muddy WatersMuddy Waters – The Best of Muddy WatersWhen Muddy Waters plugged his guitar into an amplifier on Chicago's South Side, he invented the sonic template for modern rock guitar. Collecting his essential Chess 78s into a 1958 LP, this album sounds like heavy machinery grinding through delta mud. Little Walter's distorted, cupped harmonica…0
  6. 6Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong – Ella and LouisElla Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong – Ella and LouisPairing the greatest gravel-voiced horn player in history with the smoothest vocal improviser of all time could have been a gimmick, but Norman Granz had the genius to slow them down. Accompanied solely by the Oscar Peterson Quartet, Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald trade verses on great…0
  7. 7Bo Diddley – Bo DiddleyBo Diddley – Bo DiddleyFrom the opening shave-and-a-haircut syncopation of the title track, this 1958 debut unleashed one of the most durable rhythmic foundations in popular music. Bo Diddley built his own rectangular guitars, cranked tremolo effects to sea-sick extremes and turned maracas into lead rhythm instruments…0
  8. 8Charles Mingus – Mingus Ah UmCharles Mingus – Mingus Ah UmBassist and composer Charles Mingus channelled the fury of the civil rights movement and the deep roots of gospel church music into this staggering 1959 masterpiece. Better Git It in Your Soul swings with foot-stomping, hollering revivalist fervor, while Goodbye Pork Pie Hat offers a heartbreaking,…0
  9. 9Ray Charles – What'd I SayRay Charles – What'd I SayFew records captured the exact moment rhythm and blues cross-pollinated with church gospel to create soul music quite like this 1959 release. Built around an impromptu Wurlitzer electric piano riff generated at a live dance in Pennsylvania, the title track remains an electrifying call-and-response…0
  10. 10Odetta – Odetta Sings Ballads and BluesOdetta – Odetta Sings Ballads and BluesArmed only with her powerhouse voice and an acoustic guitar she nicknamed Baby, Odetta recorded this 1956 debut and instantly transformed the American folk revival. Her commanding contralto sweeps through spirituals, field hollers and chain-gang work songs like Santy Anno and Easy Rider with…0