12. Beastie Boys – Licensed to Ill (1986)
These Three Punk Provocateers’ license to “rhyme and steal” was the first hip-hop record to hit number one on the Billboard Top 200 and is still Columbia’s fastest selling debut. On this record they not only stuffed their scabbards with Wiffle-ball bats, they also had plenty of samples amongst their weapons, including Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Fab Five Freddy, War, The Clash, Kool & The Gang and Slick Rick. While much of the credit has to go to Rick Rubin’s genius co-production, creative (and liberal) use of samples and the heavy rock guitar chords with plenty of space for the rhythms, don’t forget MCA, Mike D. and Ad-Rock. It was their attitude and creativity that made the record what it was, and although they have since distanced themselves from the militant and misogynistic approach of some of the lyrics, their humor and energy could not be denied. Despite the acknowledged contribution/influence of Run DMC (who they also sampled), the hip-hop community was initially a tad dismayed that these three skinny white boys, New York expatriates by way of tiny Bard College, had “co-opted” a style that was previously the almost exclusive domain of African-Americans. However, that community came to embrace them over time, and Beastie Boys’ debut should be credited as a stellar introduction to their passionate combination of hip-hop, punk and metal, an especially fitting recognition upon the 25th anniversary of its release. –Craig Bechtel
11. Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin (1968)
It’s hard to believe that Led Zeppelin’s self-titled debut, a classic by all indications, was universally panned by rock critics at the time of its release. Despite the backlash, the album sold phenomenally well and is now regarded as one of the early milestones in the then-emerging heavy metal genre. Originally released e in 1968, the album was uniquely heavy for the time, and few bands could match it. However, to call Zepp a metal band is to forget that they were, for all intents and purposes, a very loud blues band that could rock just as hard as their contemporaries. Throughout their career, Led Zeppelin’s music covered a wide range of styles, and this was evident on their first album. Only they could pull off a ballad like “Babe I’m Gonna Leave You,” which is known for its masterful juxtaposition of electric and acoustic guitars, and follow it up with an up-tempo rocker like “Communication Breakdown.” However, the key piece of the puzzle is “Dazed and Confused,” which puts each of the band’s signature talents on display – Robert Plant’s howling vocals, Jimmy Page’s virtuoso guitar work, John Paul Jones’ powerful bass lines and John Bonham’s bombastic drumming. While far from their magnum opus, it was certainly a strong start to a storied career. – Ralf Navarro
10. The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Are You Experienced? (1967)
Much was made about Jimi’s wild hairdo, eccentric wardrobe, and fierce stage antics, which tend to overshadow the depth of his musical vision (see “Third Stone From the Sun,” or “I Don’t Live Today”). But while the myth of the man whose life was cut much too short has reached colossal status, we can forever return to these reliable licks reverberating from his amplifier, accompanied by the free form drumming of Mitch Mitchell and Noel Redding’s steady bass. A genius with a guitar seems insufficient when describing the enigma of Hendrix; perhaps “alien with a spaceship” begins to do him justice. –Devin Costello
9. Pavement – Slanted & Enchanted (1992)
Slanted & Enchanted started indie rock. This is not an overestimation of its impact: Pavement was the band that proved that independent music was commercially viable, and it all started with their fuzz rock debut album. But it didn’t make it to the top ten of this list just because it was historically relevant, S&E also happens to be one of the finest examples of indie rock anywhere. From “Summer Babe (Winter Version)” all the way through to “Our Singer”, Pavement delivers a consistently fantastic series of stripped-back, lo-fi jams. Though the band would go on to develop their sound as time passed, S&E still has much of what makes Pavement a great band: the trademark combination of irreverent, rambling lyrics from frontman Stephen Malkmus, subdued chanting and backing vocals from Scott Kannberg over a fundamentally excellent rock sound. Slanted & Enchanted was, and is, a fantastic album and deserves to be recognized as such. –Charlie Woodman
8. Interpol – Turn on the Bright Lights (2002)
Though Interpol was at first (and still is) closely compared to the dark, albeit depressing, tones of Joy Division, Turn On the Bright Lights marked a band unencumbered by other post-punk revival bands of the early 2000s, such as Bloc Party or The Strokes. Instead Interpol defined the genre as they heard it. Their murky sound was matured on the streets of New York City and the album boasts a palette of different moods, like the gloomy “Stella Was a Diver and She Was Always Down,” the danceable “Say Hello to the Angels,” the adrenaline-packed rockers “Obstacle 1” and “PDA,” the latter a song that begs a sing-along during the chorus: “Sleep tight/Grim rite/We have 200 couches where you can… Sleep tonight.” Though the band has had uneven releases since Turn On the Bright Lights, their debut solidified Interpol as a driving force in indie rock in the 21st century. –Ciara Shook
7. The Beatles – Please Please Me (1963)
In 1963, the 60s were still in a holding pattern with the 50s hogging up the runway. In the U.S. the decades of the 20th century had thus far been easily defined: a World War, Prohibition, The Great Depression, another World War, and The Cold War. Sure, each decade had its pop culture phenomenon but they were mere warts on the ass of larger events. On February 11, 1963 four men on a budget of £400 spent nine hours recording fourteen songs on a two-track recorder, and without the aid of temperance, trench warfare, soup-lines or the threat of nuclear holocaust they launched the 60s.
Released in the U.K. on March 22 1963, The Beatles’ Please Please Me reinvented and reinvigorated Rock ‘n’ Roll’s youthful promise. Bright, melodic and infectious it established the modern four-piece rock combo who, to the abhorrence of record industry herdsmen, wrote their own songs, chose their own covers, and played their own instruments. Often overshadowed by the band’s later work, Please Please Me tends to be retrospectively dismissed for it’s dewy-eyed love songs and seeming simplicity, but no album since has had such a substantive impact on music, fashion, or culture and many, if not all, of the albums on this list would not have existed without it. – Brian Anderson
6. Pixies – Surfer Rosa (1988)
Occasionally, despite every effort to avoid it, we find ourselves attracted to the monster in a sci-fi flick. Dren in the movie “Splice” or the titular character, “Jenifer”, in Dario Argento’s contribution to The Masters of Horror series come quickly to mind. Regardless of their hideous deformities or the potential violation against the laws of nature we can identify with the protagonist’s compulsion and inwardly confess: “Yeah, I’d tap that.” The Pixies’ Surfer Rosa draws from a similar dark desire that lays dormant until piqued. Eerily childlike and menacingly askew, it was like nothing we’d ever heard before. Yes, the band professed a love for The Beatles, The Velvets, The Stooges and Neil Young, but then again David Lynch loves Billy Wilder.
Each track is both puzzling and enthralling. Black Francis’ lyrical absurdities are delivered with yelping, distant vocals that often defy meter and key. Kim Deal’s uncluttered bass-lines and little-girl-at-a-spring-recital vocals provide an innocence that seems all the more inappropriate whilst singing about her lust for the well-endowed friend-of-a-friend. David Lovering’s drumming seems to be the only stable element in the mix, while Joey Santiago’s guitar-work is an impressionistic work of art. This album may be hideously deformed, but it’s also very hot and you just can’t resist it. – Brian Anderson
5. R.E.M. – Murmur (1983)
Even today, it’s not an easy question: what is this music? Upon its release in 1983, Murmur was too pastoral for post-punk, too fast and driving for folk. Seeing the invisible thread between The Byrds, The Velvet Underground, and Patti Smith, four college dropouts in Athens, Georgia took these influences and spun a tangled web as thick as the kudzu on Murmur’s cover.
Already three years old, R.E.M. was transforming: “Radio Free Europe” is a streamlined version of the 1981 single, while the fact that “Pilgrimage” is a demo speaks for itself. The “conversation fear” in the Gang of Four nod “9-9” points to an overall theme of communication difficulty. With a mop of hair covering his face, and no printed lyrics to transcribe his mumbled words, Michael Stipe showed the world a new kind of front man – one who didn’t throw it all at you but drew you in slowly. Stipe’s eccentricities alone couldn’t carry a staunchly democratic band; witness Bill Berry’s steady hand, Mike Mills’ melodic bass lines, and Peter Buck’s guitar playing so unique only one word exists to describe it (jangle). So began the history of a band that made music on its own terms and became superstars anyway. – Alex Bahler
4. Arcade Fire – Funeral (2004)
The current Indie scene owes more to Arcade Fire than perhaps any other band. How many bands since have picked up string and horn players? From the newfound huge, symphonic sound to the wholly affecting lyrics, Funeral was unlike anything in its time. With all their adornment, the now iconic melodies littered throughout the album traverse the geography of the soul through the eyes of a devastated man and woman. From the ferociously romantic opener “Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)” to the rally cry of “Neighborhood #3 (Power Out),” to the inspiring “Wake Up” and “Rebellion (Lies)” and beyond, the songs of Funeral are written with the precision of a mathematical proof and performed with the soul of a gospel choir.
Win Butler’s voice slowly comes unhinged from song to song as if he’s having a revelation or a mental breakdown. Tackling themes of life and death on their life-changing debut, the he and his wife Régine Chassagne address things everyone can connect with, with just the right amount of abstract in the words so the listener know exactly what they are about: themselves. It’s impossible not to sing along at an Arcade Fire show without feeling like it’s personal and everyone around feels the exact same feelings only for different reasons. Not only pioneering an entire sound, Funeral established the band as the voice of a generation, a title they still maintain today. –Chris Favata
3. The Velvet Underground – The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967)
As the dudes who grandfathered punk, it’s obvious The Velvet Underground were way cooler than The Beatles, and it would make sense their debut would have more grit and bite than Please Please Me. These two bands have their similarities—they’ve written popular songs with drug innuendo (“Day Tripper” and “I’m Waiting for My Man”). But with songwriting, instead of laying down a batch of head-boppin’, radio friendly tracks, The Velvet Underground & Nico explores the brightest spots and darkest hollows of rock ‘n’ roll (“Sunday Morning” and “The Black Angel’s Death Song,” respectively), addressing topics and issues that went beyond pubescent thoughts between a girl and a guy. The album introduced a band that wasn’t afraid to meld different sounds, like rockabilly and, er, feedback, and inadvertently created new genres, like art rock and noise music. The Velvet Underground & Nico introduced a pack of guys who—though nonconformist—conveyed honestly through their music what it was like to be young and reckless, but not naïve and apathetic, in the 60s. –Ciara Shook
2. The Strokes – Is This It (2001)
Point on a line to when Is This It came out and the sides will show two dramatically different definitions of “cool.” Those staccato guitars firing off on every track, that singer in all black, sounding like he’s yelling at you from the other room—what happened? It was the debut of a band that was hailed by some as “haircuts trying to play guitars,” and by others as “the stuff of which legend is made.” Fuck the comparisons, when that New Amsterdam collection of angsty drunkards in skinny jeans exploded on the scene it laid the ground for all rock music to come. At times, the youth-in-peril “Last Nite” or languorous ballad “Someday,” the notes swung straight to the heart. If it was a joyful work it was deadpan joy, but it became undeniably iconic. –Taylor Cowan
1. Weezer – Weezer (Blue Album) (1994)
Let’s be honest, there’s not much that can be said for Weezer’s debut album that hasn’t already been numerous times. The last year has seen the band play the album in its entirety on the Memories Tour, and it’s been championed in the press nonstop since its release. With limitless praise it could be assumed that the Blue Album was the product of a hype machine that, like most, was lacking in substance. Lucky for Weezer, this could not be further from the truth.
The Blue Album had three powerful singles – “Undone – The Sweater Song,” “Buddy Holly,” and “Say It Ain’t So” – that introduced the world to Weezer and led to the record becoming a huge success. However, the album’s deep cuts proved that the band had much more to offer. At times the band could be ambitious while maintaining huge hooks (“Only in Dreams”) and even display a vulnerable side that the singles only implied (“The World Has Turned And Left Me Here”). While the debate often rages whether the Blue Album is superior to the band’s sophomore album Pinkerton, it is undoubtedly one of the greatest debuts album the world has seen. – David Anthony
