Items12The creator’s order
  1. 1Kate Bush – Hounds of LoveKate Bush – Hounds of LoveKate Bush recorded at her own studio and used the Fairlight CMI alongside acoustic instruments. Hear Paddy Bush’s balalaika in “Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God)” and the string sextet in “Cloudbusting.” On the seven-track second side, The Ninth Wave, the rush of uilleann pipes and fiddle in…0
  2. 2Talk Talk – Spirit of EdenTalk Talk – Spirit of EdenAt Wessex Studios, a converted church hall in north London, Talk Talk recorded in near-darkness. Mark Hollis and Tim Friese-Greene worked from hours of improvisations, keeping small details that could take over a whole passage. Listen to “The Rainbow” for how a few sounds gradually occupy the room,…0
  3. 3Cocteau Twins – TreasureCocteau Twins – TreasureElizabeth Fraser bends syllables into long runs and quick bursts, and you can follow the shape of a line even when the words are hard to make out. On “Lorelei,” the drum machine and Simon Raymonde’s bass keep the song moving under the layers of guitar. “Ivo” leaves space for Fraser to move between…0
  4. 4Peter Gabriel – Peter Gabriel (Melt)Peter Gabriel – Peter Gabriel (Melt)Peter Gabriel built “Intruder” around Phil Collins’s drums and a gated sound engineer Hugh Padgham had been experimenting with. Each hit swells and then cuts off sharply, leaving an uneasy gap before the next. The album changes the pressure again on “No Self Control,” where Morris Pert’s percussion…0
  5. 5The Blue Nile – A Walk Across the RooftopsThe Blue Nile – A Walk Across the RooftopsAt Castlesound Studios, engineer Calum Malcolm and the band recorded unusual sounds to tape and edited them by hand. The title track sets short string and bass phrases against long gaps, making each entrance count. “Tinseltown in the Rain” brings the same attention to detail to a busier…0
  6. 6Tom Waits – Rain DogsTom Waits – Rain DogsListen to the marimba and clipped guitar on “Clap Hands,” then hear Marc Ribot’s guitar curl around the beat on “Jockey Full of Bourbon.” Tom Waits changes the color of the band from song to song, from the parade drums and horns elsewhere on the album to the accordion on “Time.”0
  7. 7Laurie Anderson – Big ScienceLaurie Anderson – Big ScienceOn “O Superman,” a repeated breathy syllable keeps time while Laurie Anderson’s vocoder voice drifts between a conversation and a recorded message. “From the Air” turns a pilot’s address into a deadpan performance. Across Big Science, tape loops, found sounds, and instruments such as bagpipes give…0
  8. 8Sonic Youth – Daydream NationSonic Youth – Daydream NationSonic Youth recorded at Greene Street Recording in New York in 1988. The guitars’ alternate tunings give “Teen Age Riot” a ring that holds even as Steve Shelley’s drums pick up. Stay for “Trilogy,” where the same band has room to stretch into three linked pieces and let the guitar noise take up…0
  9. 9World of Echo (1986)World of Echo (1986)Released Jan 1, 1986Arthur Russell recorded cello, voice, and echo with enough space to hear a note change after he plays it. On “Place I Know / Kid Like You,” the low end seems to linger behind him. “Let’s Go Swimming” gives a piece from his dance catalog a new pulse without drums.0
  10. 10It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (1988)It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (1988)Released Jan 1, 1988The Bomb Squad builds the tracks out of samples that cut across one another while Chuck D keeps the words clear. Follow the high, insistent squeal through “Rebel Without a Pause.” In “Bring the Noise,” listen to how the fragments around the beat give Flavor Flav room to punctuate Chuck’s lines.0