Brothers in Arms - Dire Straits (1985)

Well written, well performed and well bored, frankly.  4/10.

The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars - David Bowie (1972)

What should have been a passing fad that quickly dated has instead become a landmark.  Remarkable.  10/10.

Mother's Milk - Red Hot Chili Peppers (1989)

Maybe not their most original effort, but if you don't find yourself tapping your foot at this (at least!) then perhaps you have no pulse.  8/10.

Reckoning - R.E.M. (1984)

Charming period of REM, captured before fame but just as they hit their purple patch.  9/10.

Souljacker - Eels (2001)

Mr E. briefly finds world outside of himself and shines because of it.  8/10.

Girlfriend - Matthew Sweet (1991)

The album that should have made Sweet an international mega-star, but somehow didn't.  10/10.

Space Oddity - David Bowie (1969)

A man simultaneously at the top of his game and plumbing the depths of mediocrity.  7/10.

Rain Dogs - Tom Waits (1985)

Like spending an hour down the pub with your quasi-alcoholic favourite uncle.  9/10.

Blood on the Tracks - Bob Dylan (1975)

Nobody else could say "Fuck You" with such idiosyncratic style.  10/10.

Bitches Brew - Miles Davis (1970)

A great personal achievement true, and it's okay as jazz goes, but no great musical achievement.  7/10.

Trans-Europe Express - Kraftwerk (1977)

Country finds itself without credible music of its own, so invents a new genre, and this is the pinnacle of that.  10/10.

Trouble - Ray LaMontagne

The perfect soundtrack to sorrow and loneliness and the hope of recovery.  8/10.

Your new favourite band - The Hives (2001)

Wild, stylish and so much fucking fun!  8/10.

It's a Shame about Ray - The Lemonheads (1992)

Cutesy pop fun that nearly improves on the heavenly Simon & Garfunkle - nice!  8/10.

Live at the Olympia - R.E.M. (2009)

Some consolation for those unlucky enough to have missed R.E.M. performing live.  7/10.

Live 93 - The Orb (1993)

Post drug haze special has little else to stake itself to.  4/10.

Last Splash - The Breeders (1993)

Pixies offshoot nearly, but doesn't quite eclipse the original.  6/10.

American Idiot - Green Day (2004)

Scrappy mess of a concept but still something special here.  8/10.

(What's the Story) Morning Glory? - Oasis (1995)

The high water mark for Oasis and possibly Britpop as a whole.  8/10.

Live at the Fillmore East - Neil Young and Crazy Horse (2006)

Finally, a live album that makes your skin tingle as if you were actually there.  8/10.

Metal Machine Music - Lou Reed (1975)

Only possible explanation: karmic balance.  1/10.

Innervisions - Stevie Wonder (1973)

If ever this man gets put forward for Sainthood, this will be exhibit number one.  10/10.

Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd (1975)

I might have liked this better if it hadn't have been force fed to me  by my always stoned room-mate.  6/10.

The Idiot - Iggy Pop (1977)

Sunrise effort after release from mental institution points to greater things to come.  7/10.

Tonight's The Night - Neil Young (1975)

Young's life goes to shit and he's only to happy to let you know all about it.  7/10.

Exile on Main St. - The Rolling Stones (1972)

Thieves every major genre of the time and gets away with it too.  8/10.

Transformer - Lou Reed (1972)

Funny, contentious and riddled with drug references like train tracks along a vein.  9/10.

Marquee Moon - Television (1977)

A template for practically all indie and alternative music that followed in the next 20 years.  9/10.

Parallel Lines - Blondie (1978)

Audibly epicurean pop that caresses the ear with sensuality.  9/10.

Big Willie Style - Will Smith (1997)

Do the asinine interludes add to or detract from this?  I just can't decide.  5/10.

Vehicles and Animals - Athelte (2003)

Simultaneously stands head and shoulders above contemporaneous albums and yet lacks a vital something also.  6/10.

Woodface - Crowded House (1991)

Just like your favourite pair of slippers, in a nice way.  8/10.

Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me - The Cure (1987)

No.  2/10.

Alles wieder offen - Einstürzende Neubauten (2007)

Tamer than previous aural assaults and all the better for it.  8/10.

Buffalo Springfield - Buffalo Springfield (1966)

From here it was clear two stars were born, one to become an asshole, the other a legend.  7/10.

Life thru a Lens - Robbie Williams (1997)

Faltering teen dream is hoisted back on the rails and begins ascendency.  7/10.

Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends - Coldplay (2008)

A cultured trip up Chris Martin's arse.  6/10.

Hot Boxing - Magnapop (1994)

Indifferent, hum drum attempt to recapture earlier sparkle.  5/10.

Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds (2008)

Fighting the dying of the light with some delightful spunk.  7/10.

B-Sides & Rarities - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds (2005)

Sometimes it's really worth sorting through other people's rubbish.  8/10.

Abattor Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds (2004)

More magnificent music in two sweet volumes than most can carry off in a career.  9/10.

Nocturama - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds (2003)

Sometimes forgettable and then shockingly stupefying at the end - curious.  7/10.

The Boatman's Call - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds (1997)

Super-stardom carefully avoided and with such class.  9/10.

Let Love In - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds (1994)

Cave takes a barely believable step further upwards towards deserving legend status.  10/10.

Henry's Dream - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds (1992)

Old fashioned songs given supernatural power from Cave's charisma.  9/10.

The Good Son - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds (1990)

If only the song titles had shown the same inspiration as the song content!  7/10.

From Her To Eternity - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds (1984)

In the transition from raw sound to musicianship, some power was lost but much more gained.  6/10.

It's Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds day!

Kick your motherfucking genre whores out!

White Ladder - David Gray (1998)

Epoch defining and just magical in places.  9/10.

The King Of Limbs - Radiohead (2011)

Come on guys, stop running away from what you're good at!  5/10.