"There are a few albums that should belong to any man's cultural basic equipment. To compile a canon of rock and pop music is, however, nearly impossible. Renommated music critic and book author Ralf Niemczyk selected the following albums that are, as he says, not representative, but for men very nice to listen to and that could be in a collection - an astonoshingly diverse that is, evidencing an eclectic taste. Again it needs to be considered that these are not the 25 best albums, but 25 albums a man should have listened to."
Ralf Niemczyk seems to have written for various German music magazines, including Rolling Stone, Intro and Spex.
And - finally - here is the list, ordered alphabetically by the artist's name:
ABC - The Lexicon of Love
Beastie Boys - Licensed to Ill
Blue Öyster Cult - On your Feet or on your Knees
Blur - The Great Escape
David Bowie - The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust
Johnny Cash - At Folsom Prison
The Clash - The Clash
Dexy's Midnight Runners - Searching for the Young Soul Rebels
Fun Boy Three - Waiting
Serge Gainsbourg - L'Homme à Tête de Chou
Marvin Gaye - Here my Dear
Isaac Hayes - Hot Buttered Soul
The Jesus and Mary Chain - Psycho Candy
Love - Forever Changes
Madonna - Like a Virgin
MC 5 - Kick out the Jams
Prefab Sprout - Steve McQueen
N.W.A. - Straight outta Compton
Sex Pistols - Never Mind the Bollocks
Frank Sinatra - A Man Alone
Slayer - Reign in Blood
Sly & The Family Stone - There's a Riot Going on
The Smiths - The Queen is Dead
The Specials - The Specials
Dusty Springfield - In Memphis
Off-Topic: Is there a word like "listenable" in the English language, roughly meaning "not un-pleasant to listen to"? That would definitely ease the most uncomely part of my preface translation
