8 Vinyl Albums to Kick Off Your Collection
So you want to start a vinyl collection. Good idea! But where to begin? With so many notable albums, shopping can be overwhelming. These eight albums will give you a strong base to build from. From jazz to hip-hop to rock, they include the best music from the most important genres.
Kind of Blue, Miles Davis
Jazz sounds great on vinyl, and Kind of Blue is quite possibly the best jazz album of all time. Along with Miles, you get John Coltrane, Julian “Cannonball” Adderley, Bill Evans, Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers, and Jimmy Cobb. On vinyl you get a much crisper, kinder delivery of each piano note and horn blow. Kind of Blue is certainly one of the best and one of the most influential jazz album of all time. If you only buy one album to kick off your collection, this is a great selection.
Kind of Blue, Miles Davis
Jazz sounds great on vinyl, and Kind of Blue is quite possibly the best jazz album of all time. Along with Miles, you get John Coltrane, Julian “Cannonball” Adderley, Bill Evans, Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers, and Jimmy Cobb. On vinyl you get a much crisper, kinder delivery of each piano note and horn blow. Kind of Blue is certainly one of the best and one of the most influential jazz album of all time. If you only buy one album to kick off your collection, this is a great selection.
The Low End Theory, A Tribe Called Quest
Every vinyl collection needs a definitive hip hop album. With The Low End Theory, A Tribe Called Quest produced a game-changing work of art that remains one of the best fusions of jazz atmosphere and hip-hop attitude ever released. With the help of legendary bassist Ron Carter, Q-Tip and Phife Dawg drop smart, socially conscious, and fun beats. On vinyl, the stripped-down sound of vocals, drums, and bass really shine.
The Low End Theory, A Tribe Called Quest
Every vinyl collection needs a definitive hip hop album. With The Low End Theory, A Tribe Called Quest produced a game-changing work of art that remains one of the best fusions of jazz atmosphere and hip-hop attitude ever released. With the help of legendary bassist Ron Carter, Q-Tip and Phife Dawg drop smart, socially conscious, and fun beats. On vinyl, the stripped-down sound of vocals, drums, and bass really shine.
Revolver, The Beatles
For the beginner collection, any Beatles album will do. But Revolver is The Beatles at their best. The melodies are instantly lovable, inspiring, and surprising. And for the audio engineers out there, this is a crucial album to own, since its recording technology altered the path of pop music. To create the album, Abbey Road producers used automatic double tracking (ADT), a technique that pop musicians have been copying and transforming for almost sixty years.
Revolver, The Beatles
For the beginner collection, any Beatles album will do. But Revolver is The Beatles at their best. The melodies are instantly lovable, inspiring, and surprising. And for the audio engineers out there, this is a crucial album to own, since its recording technology altered the path of pop music. To create the album, Abbey Road producers used automatic double tracking (ADT), a technique that pop musicians have been copying and transforming for almost sixty years.
Reflektor, Arcade Fire
Arcade Fire’s latest spine-tingling set of songs is their fourth album, here collected on two LPs. Its subject matter is dark and intense, its production quality is superb (thanks to the collaboration with former LCD Soundsystem frontman James Murphey), and it includes hints of Haitian rara music. The Suburbs, Arcade’s last album, delighted music fans in 2011 and won the Grammy for Album of the Year. Reflektor is bigger (physically and in scope), making it an essential part of any respectable vinyl collection.
Reflektor, Arcade Fire
Arcade Fire’s latest spine-tingling set of songs is their fourth album, here collected on two LPs. Its subject matter is dark and intense, its production quality is superb (thanks to the collaboration with former LCD Soundsystem frontman James Murphey), and it includes hints of Haitian rara music. The Suburbs, Arcade’s last album, delighted music fans in 2011 and won the Grammy for Album of the Year. Reflektor is bigger (physically and in scope), making it an essential part of any respectable vinyl collection.
Legend, Bob Marley
If you call Legend the best reggae album of all time, you won’t find many people quick to disagree with you. It managed to transcend its genre, making its way into the hands of music lovers (and, eventually, college dudes) everywhere. For its uplifting messages and danceable beats, Legend was and is an album for everyone—one that has sold more than 33,000,000 copies. It’s hard to think of another album that contains so many universally adored songs—”No Woman, No Cry,” “Buffalo Soldier,” “Waiting in Vain,” “Exodus,” and “Jammin’,” to name just a few.
Legend, Bob Marley
If you call Legend the best reggae album of all time, you won’t find many people quick to disagree with you. It managed to transcend its genre, making its way into the hands of music lovers (and, eventually, college dudes) everywhere. For its uplifting messages and danceable beats, Legend was and is an album for everyone—one that has sold more than 33,000,000 copies. It’s hard to think of another album that contains so many universally adored songs—”No Woman, No Cry,” “Buffalo Soldier,” “Waiting in Vain,” “Exodus,” and “Jammin’,” to name just a few.
Dark Side of the Moon, Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd’s first concept album is often thought of as one of the best albums of all time, period, and certainly one of the best concept albums. The 50 minute-long journey relies on guitar and bass solos, screaming, crazy sounds, and a capella moments to take the listener on a psychological trip built around the themes of survival in the modern world, the passage of time, and madness.
Dark Side of the Moon, Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd’s first concept album is often thought of as one of the best albums of all time, period, and certainly one of the best concept albums. The 50 minute-long journey relies on guitar and bass solos, screaming, crazy sounds, and a capella moments to take the listener on a psychological trip built around the themes of survival in the modern world, the passage of time, and madness.
Horses, Patti Smith
Because it is Patti Smith’s debut studio album, holding Horses is holding a piece of rock and roll history. With this release, the New York City punk/poet proved that the backbone of her best work is the written word. Smith moves from moody to peppy, and the dissonance is impossible to ignore. The result is rock like no other rock you’ve heard before. The Library of Congress called Horses “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” and has included it in the National Recording Registry, in case you’re on the fence about how important this album is.
Horses, Patti Smith
Because it is Patti Smith’s debut studio album, holding Horses is holding a piece of rock and roll history. With this release, the New York City punk/poet proved that the backbone of her best work is the written word. Smith moves from moody to peppy, and the dissonance is impossible to ignore. The result is rock like no other rock you’ve heard before. The Library of Congress called Horses “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” and has included it in the National Recording Registry, in case you’re on the fence about how important this album is.
21, Adele
Adele blew our minds with 21, a rip-roaring mix of folk, Motown, soul, country, and blues. She explores heartbreak in a voice that makes us feel her pain and triumph, and remember our own. In writing her album, Adele clearly dug deep, creating lyrics that spoke to everyone, particularly in the hit track “Someone Like You.” Her big, heartwrenching voice is almost too powerful for a digital listen. It is impossible not to listen to Adele’s impassioned delivery and not see her as a force to be reckoned with, and her masterpiece is a must-have in every collection.
Shop the vinyl store >
21, Adele
Adele blew our minds with 21, a rip-roaring mix of folk, Motown, soul, country, and blues. She explores heartbreak in a voice that makes us feel her pain and triumph, and remember our own. In writing her album, Adele clearly dug deep, creating lyrics that spoke to everyone, particularly in the hit track “Someone Like You.” Her big, heartwrenching voice is almost too powerful for a digital listen. It is impossible not to listen to Adele’s impassioned delivery and not see her as a force to be reckoned with, and her masterpiece is a must-have in every collection.
Shop the vinyl store >