Q - The Debut Albums That Changed Music (2017)
Posted: Sat Feb 18, 2017 8:49 pm
Or the greatest debut albums of all time...
Only rule is that no artist could have ever released an album under a previous guise. So, no Bjork, for example, because she'd recorded albums in the Sugarcubes, and no Led Zeppelin as Jimmy Page had been in the Yardbirds.
All the #1's are the picks each writer was 'asked to explore more deeply' & so have a larger write up than the others.
I guess we can make this into an overall Top 100 (if there are that many) based on position &/or number of entries. Which of course would be better.
Rock 'n' Roll
Little Richard - Here's Little Richard (1957)
9 more great Rock 'n' Roll Debuts
Elvis Presley - Elvis Presley (1956)
Gene Vincent & His Blue Caps - Bluejean Bop! (1956)
Johnny Burnette & the Rock 'N' Roll Trio - Johnny Burnette & the Rock 'N' Roll Trio (1956)
Chuck Berry - After School Session (1957)
Buddy Holly & the Crickets - The "Chirpin" Crickets (1957)
Jerry Lee Lewis - Jerry Lee Lewis (1958)
Bo Diddley - Bo Diddley (1958)
Howlin' Wolf - Moanin' In The Moonlight (1958)
Billy Fury - The Sound Of Fury (1960)
Martin Boon (Sub Editor)
1. The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Are You Experienced
2. The Stooges - The Stooges
3. Nick Drake - Five Leaves Left
4. Steely Dan - Can't Buy A Thrill
5. The Band - Music From Big Pink
6. Neu! - Neu!
7. The Chemical Brothers - Exit Planet Dust
8. R.E.M. - Murmur
9. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
10. The Modern Lovers - The Modern Lovers
John Harris (Q Writer)
1. The Velvet Underground & Nico - The Velvet Underground & Nico
2. De La Soul - 3 Feet High & Rising
3. Neu! - Neu!
4. Roxy Music - Roxy Music
5. Pavement - Slanted & Enchanted
6. Pink Floyd - The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn
7. Massive Attack - Blue Lines
8. The Who - My Generation
9. The Clash - The Clash
10. The Strokes - Is This It
Rebecca Nicholson (Q Writer)
1. Patti Smith - Horses
2. The Velvet Underground & Nico - The Velvet Underground & Nico
3. Pixies - Come On Pilgrim
4. The Strokes - Is This It
5. The Slits - Cut
6. Dizzee Rascal - Boy In Da Corner
7. Missy Elliot - Super Dupa Fly
8. PJ Harvey - Dry
9. Nas - Illmatic
10. Talking Heads - Talking Heads: 77
Paul Moody (Q Writer)
1. The Doors - The Doors
2. Wham! - Fantastic
3. The Libertines - Up The Bracket
4. The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Are You Experienced
5. Happy Mondays - Squirrel & G-Man Twenty Four Hour Party People...
6. Madness - One Step Beyond
7. Nick Drake - Five Leaves Left
8. Haircut One Hundred - Pelican West
9. Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
10. The La's - The La's
Mark Blake (Q Writer)
1. Steely Dan - Can't Buy A Thrill
2. Van Halen - Van Halen
3. Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath
4. The Beatles - Please Please Me
5. The Who - My Generation
6. Guns N' Roses - Appetite For Destruction
7. Oasis - Definitely Maybe
8. Cheap Trick - Cheap Trick
9. Pink Floyd - Piper At The Gates Of Dawn
10. Kate Bush - The Kick Inside
Tom Doyle (Q Writer)
1. Sex Pistols - Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's The Sex Pistols
2. The Blue Nile - A Walk Across Rooftops
3. The Band - Music From Big Pink
4. De La Soul - 3 Feet High & Rising
5. Elvis Costello - My Aim Is True
6. The Associates - The Affectionate Punch
7. Air - Moon Safari
8. Talking Heads - Talking Heads: 77
9. Nick Drake - Five Leaves Left
10. Aztec Camera - High Land, Hard Rain
Keith Cameron (Q Writer)
1. Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures
2. The Velvet Underground & Nico - The Velvet Underground & Nico
3. Sex Pistols - Never Mind The Bollocks...
4. R.E.M. - Murmur
5. Nirvana - Bleach
6. The Specials - The Specials
7. Public Enemy - Yo! Bum Rush The Show
8. Television - Marquee Moon
9. Wire - Pink Flag
10. The Jesus & Mary Chain - Psychocandy
Ted Kessler (Features Editor)
1. The Specials - The Specials
2. Dexys Midnight Runners - Searching For The Young Soul Rebels
3. Missy Elliot - Supa Dupa Fly
4. Aphex Twin - Selected Ambient Works 85-92
5. Orange Juice - You Can't Hide Your Love Forever
6. Massive Attack - Blue Lines
7. Oasis - Definitely Maybe
8. The Velvet Underground & Nico - The Velvet Underground & Nico
9. The Strokes - Is This It
10. The Who - My Generation
Chris Catchpole (Front Section Editor)
1. Dexys Midnight Runners - Searching For The Young Soul Rebels
2. The La's - The La's
3. The Stone Roses - The Stone Roses
4. The Velvet Underground & Nico - The Velvet Underground & Nico
5. Oasis - Definitely Maybe
6. Nick Drake - Five Leaves Left
7. The Who - My Generation
8. The Strokes - Is This It
9. Arcade Fire - Funeral
10. The Specials - The Specials
Victoria Segal (Q Writer)
1. R.E.M. - Murmur
2. Patti Smith - Horses
3. Television - Marquee Moon
4. The Strokes - Is This It
5. Pavement - Slanted & Enchanted
6. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
7. Roxy Music - Roxy Music
8. Talking Heads - Talking Heads: 77
9. The Libertines - Up The Bracket
10. Palace Brothers - There Is No-One What Will Take Care Of You
Dave Everley (Q Writer)
1. Guns N' Roses - Appetite For Destruction
2. Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath
3. Jeff Buckley - Grace
4. Suede - Suede
5. New York Dolls - New York Dolls
6. Weezer - Weezer
7. Neu! - Neu!
8. King Crimson - In The Court Of The Crimson King
9.Metallica - Kill 'Em All
10. Siouxsie & The Banshees - The Scream
Rupert Howe (Q Writer)
1. De La Soul - 3 Feet High & Rising
2. Boards Of Canada - Music Has The Right To Children
3. Nas - Illmatic
4. Cybotron - Enter
5. Wu-Tang Clan - Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)
6. LCD Soundsystem - LCD Soundsystem
7. James Blake - James Blake
8. Disclosure - Settle
9. Goldie - Timeless
10. FKA Twigs - LP1
Dorian Lynskey (Q Writer)
1. Portishead - Dummy
2. The Velvet Underground & Nico - The Velvet Underground & Nico
3. DJ Shadow - Endtroducing
4. Nas - Illmatic
5. Leonard Cohen - Songs Of Leonard Cohen
6. Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures
7. Kanye West - The College Dropout
8. Saint Etienne - Foxbase Alpha
9. Soft Cell - Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret
10. Burial - Burial
Matt Mason (Senior Associate Editor)
1. Nas - Illmatic
2. My Bloody Valentine - Isn't Anything
3. The Stone Roses - The Stone Roses
4. A Tribe Called Quest - People's Instinctive Travels & The Paths Of Rythm
5. Red House Painter - Dawn Colourful Hill
6. Kanye West - The College Dropout
7. DJ Shadow - Endtroducing
8. The Byrds - Mr Tambourine Man
9. De La Soul - 3 Feet High & Rising
10. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
Niall Doherty (Reviews Editor)
1. Arcade Fire - Funeral
2. Supergrass - I Should Coco
3. The Chemical Brothers - Exit Planet Dust
4. Oasis - Definitely Maybe
5. The Strokes - Is This It
6. Interpol - Turn On The Bright Lights
7. Manic Street Preachers - Generation Terrorists
8. Rage Against The Machine - Rage Against The Machine
9. Jeff Buckley - Grace
10. Smashing Pumpkins - Gish
Peter Robinson (Q Writer)
1. Lady Gaga - The Fame
2. The Sound Of Arrows - Voyage
3. Pet Shop Boys - Please
4. Nicki Minaj - Pink Friday
5. Hoodlum Priest - Heart Of Darkness
6. La Roux - La Roux
7. Sugababes - One Touch
8. Lorde - Pure Heroine
9. Scissor Sisters - Scissor Sisters
10. Whitney Houston - Whitney Houston
+Star Picks :
Dave Maclean, Django Django: The Prodigy - Music For The Jilted Generation
Issac Holman, Slaves: Skinnyman - Council Estate Of Mind
Tom Fleming, Wild Beasts: Joanna Newsom - The Milk-Eyed Mender
Angel Olsen: John Maus - Songs
Richard Hawley: The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Are You Experienced
Wiley: Dizzee Rascal - Boy In Da Corner
Only rule is that no artist could have ever released an album under a previous guise. So, no Bjork, for example, because she'd recorded albums in the Sugarcubes, and no Led Zeppelin as Jimmy Page had been in the Yardbirds.
All the #1's are the picks each writer was 'asked to explore more deeply' & so have a larger write up than the others.
I guess we can make this into an overall Top 100 (if there are that many) based on position &/or number of entries. Which of course would be better.
Rock 'n' Roll
Little Richard - Here's Little Richard (1957)
9 more great Rock 'n' Roll Debuts
Elvis Presley - Elvis Presley (1956)
Gene Vincent & His Blue Caps - Bluejean Bop! (1956)
Johnny Burnette & the Rock 'N' Roll Trio - Johnny Burnette & the Rock 'N' Roll Trio (1956)
Chuck Berry - After School Session (1957)
Buddy Holly & the Crickets - The "Chirpin" Crickets (1957)
Jerry Lee Lewis - Jerry Lee Lewis (1958)
Bo Diddley - Bo Diddley (1958)
Howlin' Wolf - Moanin' In The Moonlight (1958)
Billy Fury - The Sound Of Fury (1960)
Martin Boon (Sub Editor)
1. The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Are You Experienced
2. The Stooges - The Stooges
3. Nick Drake - Five Leaves Left
4. Steely Dan - Can't Buy A Thrill
5. The Band - Music From Big Pink
6. Neu! - Neu!
7. The Chemical Brothers - Exit Planet Dust
8. R.E.M. - Murmur
9. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
10. The Modern Lovers - The Modern Lovers
John Harris (Q Writer)
1. The Velvet Underground & Nico - The Velvet Underground & Nico
2. De La Soul - 3 Feet High & Rising
3. Neu! - Neu!
4. Roxy Music - Roxy Music
5. Pavement - Slanted & Enchanted
6. Pink Floyd - The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn
7. Massive Attack - Blue Lines
8. The Who - My Generation
9. The Clash - The Clash
10. The Strokes - Is This It
Rebecca Nicholson (Q Writer)
1. Patti Smith - Horses
2. The Velvet Underground & Nico - The Velvet Underground & Nico
3. Pixies - Come On Pilgrim
4. The Strokes - Is This It
5. The Slits - Cut
6. Dizzee Rascal - Boy In Da Corner
7. Missy Elliot - Super Dupa Fly
8. PJ Harvey - Dry
9. Nas - Illmatic
10. Talking Heads - Talking Heads: 77
Paul Moody (Q Writer)
1. The Doors - The Doors
2. Wham! - Fantastic
3. The Libertines - Up The Bracket
4. The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Are You Experienced
5. Happy Mondays - Squirrel & G-Man Twenty Four Hour Party People...
6. Madness - One Step Beyond
7. Nick Drake - Five Leaves Left
8. Haircut One Hundred - Pelican West
9. Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
10. The La's - The La's
Mark Blake (Q Writer)
1. Steely Dan - Can't Buy A Thrill
2. Van Halen - Van Halen
3. Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath
4. The Beatles - Please Please Me
5. The Who - My Generation
6. Guns N' Roses - Appetite For Destruction
7. Oasis - Definitely Maybe
8. Cheap Trick - Cheap Trick
9. Pink Floyd - Piper At The Gates Of Dawn
10. Kate Bush - The Kick Inside
Tom Doyle (Q Writer)
1. Sex Pistols - Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's The Sex Pistols
2. The Blue Nile - A Walk Across Rooftops
3. The Band - Music From Big Pink
4. De La Soul - 3 Feet High & Rising
5. Elvis Costello - My Aim Is True
6. The Associates - The Affectionate Punch
7. Air - Moon Safari
8. Talking Heads - Talking Heads: 77
9. Nick Drake - Five Leaves Left
10. Aztec Camera - High Land, Hard Rain
Keith Cameron (Q Writer)
1. Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures
2. The Velvet Underground & Nico - The Velvet Underground & Nico
3. Sex Pistols - Never Mind The Bollocks...
4. R.E.M. - Murmur
5. Nirvana - Bleach
6. The Specials - The Specials
7. Public Enemy - Yo! Bum Rush The Show
8. Television - Marquee Moon
9. Wire - Pink Flag
10. The Jesus & Mary Chain - Psychocandy
Ted Kessler (Features Editor)
1. The Specials - The Specials
2. Dexys Midnight Runners - Searching For The Young Soul Rebels
3. Missy Elliot - Supa Dupa Fly
4. Aphex Twin - Selected Ambient Works 85-92
5. Orange Juice - You Can't Hide Your Love Forever
6. Massive Attack - Blue Lines
7. Oasis - Definitely Maybe
8. The Velvet Underground & Nico - The Velvet Underground & Nico
9. The Strokes - Is This It
10. The Who - My Generation
Chris Catchpole (Front Section Editor)
1. Dexys Midnight Runners - Searching For The Young Soul Rebels
2. The La's - The La's
3. The Stone Roses - The Stone Roses
4. The Velvet Underground & Nico - The Velvet Underground & Nico
5. Oasis - Definitely Maybe
6. Nick Drake - Five Leaves Left
7. The Who - My Generation
8. The Strokes - Is This It
9. Arcade Fire - Funeral
10. The Specials - The Specials
Victoria Segal (Q Writer)
1. R.E.M. - Murmur
2. Patti Smith - Horses
3. Television - Marquee Moon
4. The Strokes - Is This It
5. Pavement - Slanted & Enchanted
6. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
7. Roxy Music - Roxy Music
8. Talking Heads - Talking Heads: 77
9. The Libertines - Up The Bracket
10. Palace Brothers - There Is No-One What Will Take Care Of You
Dave Everley (Q Writer)
1. Guns N' Roses - Appetite For Destruction
2. Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath
3. Jeff Buckley - Grace
4. Suede - Suede
5. New York Dolls - New York Dolls
6. Weezer - Weezer
7. Neu! - Neu!
8. King Crimson - In The Court Of The Crimson King
9.Metallica - Kill 'Em All
10. Siouxsie & The Banshees - The Scream
Rupert Howe (Q Writer)
1. De La Soul - 3 Feet High & Rising
2. Boards Of Canada - Music Has The Right To Children
3. Nas - Illmatic
4. Cybotron - Enter
5. Wu-Tang Clan - Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)
6. LCD Soundsystem - LCD Soundsystem
7. James Blake - James Blake
8. Disclosure - Settle
9. Goldie - Timeless
10. FKA Twigs - LP1
Dorian Lynskey (Q Writer)
1. Portishead - Dummy
2. The Velvet Underground & Nico - The Velvet Underground & Nico
3. DJ Shadow - Endtroducing
4. Nas - Illmatic
5. Leonard Cohen - Songs Of Leonard Cohen
6. Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures
7. Kanye West - The College Dropout
8. Saint Etienne - Foxbase Alpha
9. Soft Cell - Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret
10. Burial - Burial
Matt Mason (Senior Associate Editor)
1. Nas - Illmatic
2. My Bloody Valentine - Isn't Anything
3. The Stone Roses - The Stone Roses
4. A Tribe Called Quest - People's Instinctive Travels & The Paths Of Rythm
5. Red House Painter - Dawn Colourful Hill
6. Kanye West - The College Dropout
7. DJ Shadow - Endtroducing
8. The Byrds - Mr Tambourine Man
9. De La Soul - 3 Feet High & Rising
10. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
Niall Doherty (Reviews Editor)
1. Arcade Fire - Funeral
2. Supergrass - I Should Coco
3. The Chemical Brothers - Exit Planet Dust
4. Oasis - Definitely Maybe
5. The Strokes - Is This It
6. Interpol - Turn On The Bright Lights
7. Manic Street Preachers - Generation Terrorists
8. Rage Against The Machine - Rage Against The Machine
9. Jeff Buckley - Grace
10. Smashing Pumpkins - Gish
Peter Robinson (Q Writer)
1. Lady Gaga - The Fame
2. The Sound Of Arrows - Voyage
3. Pet Shop Boys - Please
4. Nicki Minaj - Pink Friday
5. Hoodlum Priest - Heart Of Darkness
6. La Roux - La Roux
7. Sugababes - One Touch
8. Lorde - Pure Heroine
9. Scissor Sisters - Scissor Sisters
10. Whitney Houston - Whitney Houston
+Star Picks :
Dave Maclean, Django Django: The Prodigy - Music For The Jilted Generation
Issac Holman, Slaves: Skinnyman - Council Estate Of Mind
Tom Fleming, Wild Beasts: Joanna Newsom - The Milk-Eyed Mender
Angel Olsen: John Maus - Songs
Richard Hawley: The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Are You Experienced
Wiley: Dizzee Rascal - Boy In Da Corner