By contrast - the Wire's 100 most important records...
- Anton Webern - Complete Works Conducted By Pierre Boulez
- Various - On The Halls
- Bessie Smith - The World's Greatest Blues Singer / Any Woman's Blues / Empty Red Blues / The Empress / Nobody's Blues But Mine
- Blind Willie Johnson - Praise God I'm Satisfied
- Charley Patton - Founder Of The Delta Blues
- Dinwiddie Colored Quartet - Early Negro Vocal Quartets Volume One
- Igor Stravinsky - The Firebird / Petrushka / The Rite Of Spring
- Jelly Roll Morton - Centennial: His Complete Victor Recordings
- Louis Armstrong - Hot Five And Hot Seven
- Various - Really! The Country Blues
- Billie Holiday With The Teddy Wilson Orchestra - The Complete
- Coleman Hawkins - Body And Soul
- Count Basie - The Original American Decca Recordings
- Duke Ellington - The Blanton-Webster Years
- Dziga Vertov - Enthusiasm: Symphony Of The Donbas
- Muggsy Spanier - The Great 16
- Robert Johnson - The Complete Recordings
- Charlie Parker - The Savoy Sessions
- Lennie Tristano - Intuition
- Thelonious Monk - Genius Of Modern Music Volumes One And Two
- Woody Herman - Four Brothers
- Art Tatum - The Tatum Solo Masterpieces
- Elvis Presley - That's All Right (Mama) / Blue Moon Of Kentucky
- Frank Sinatra - Songs For Swinging Lovers
- Julie London - Julie Is Her Name
- Olivier Messiaen - Turangalia Symphony
- Sonny Rollins - Saxophone Collosus
- Various - Folk Music Of The Mediterranean
- Bill Evans - The Village Vanguard Sessions / Move From The Vanguard
- Bo Diddley - Go Bo Diddley
- Chuck Berry - Sweet Little Sixteen
- Gil Evans - Out Of The Cool
- Karlheinz Stockhausen - Gesang Der Junglinge / Kontakt
- Miles Davis - Kind Of Blue
- Oliver Nelson - Blues And The Abstract Truth
- Ornette Coleman - Change Of The Century
- The Five Royales - Dedicated To The One I Love
- Bela Bartok - Bartok At The Piano 1920-45
- Albert Ayler Trio - Spiritual Unity
- Booker T And The MGs - Green Onions
- Charles Mingus - The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady
- Ezz Reco And The Launchers - King Of Kings
- Lamonte Young - Sunday Morning Blues
- The Kingsmen - Louie Louie
- Alegre All-Stars - They Don't Make 'Em Like Us Anymore
- Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited
- Eric Dolphy - Out To Lunch
- James Brown - Papa's Got A Brand New Bag
- The Kinks - See My Friend
- Various - A Collection Of 16 Tamla Motown Hits
- Frank Zappa and The Mothers Of Invention - We're Only In It For The Money
- John Coltrane - A Love Supreme
- Morton Subotnick - Silver Apples Of The Moon
- The Beatles - Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
- Captain Beefheart And The Magic Band - Trout Mask Replica
- Jimi Hendrix - Axis Bold As Love
- Rolling Stones - Let It Bleed
- Scott Walker - Scott 3
- Sly And The Family Stone - Dance To The Music
- The Melodians - Pre-meditation
- The Meters - Look A Py Py
- The Velvet Underground - White Light / White Heat
- Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin IV
- Soft Machine - Third
- The Stooges - Funhouse
- Various Whales - Songs Of The Humpback Whale
- Bob Marley - Catch A Fire
- Joni Mitchell - Ladies Of The Canyon
- Marvin Gaye - Let's Get It On
- Philip Glass - Music In Twelve Parts
- Ravi Shankar And Ali Akbar Khan - In Concert 1972
- Steely Dan - Can't Buy A Thrill
- Stevie Wonder - Innervisions
- Various - Nuggets: Original Artyfacts From The First Psychedelic Era 1965-68
- Brian Eno - Another Green World
- Can - Soon Over Babaluma
- Fela Ransome Kuti And The Africa 70 - Kalakuta Show
- Grupo Folklorio Y Experimental Nuevayorquino - Concepts In Unity
- Patti Smith - Horses
- Evan Parker - Monoceros
- Hans Jurgen Syberberg - Hitler, A Film From Germany
- Kraftwerk - Trans Europe Express
- Pere Ubu - Dub Housing
- Public Image Ltd - Metal Box
- The Clash - The Clash
- Alban Berg - Lulu
- Grandmaster Flash And The Furious Five - The Adventures Of Grandmaster Flash On The Wheels Of Steel
- The Fall - Slates, Slags Etc
- The Pop Group - Y
- Christian Marclay - Record Without A Cover
- Husker Du - Zen Arcade
- King Sunny Ade - Juju Music
- Madonna - Into The Groove
- Michael Jackson - Thriller
- Minor Threat - Minor Threat
- Various - The Indestructible Beat Of Soweto
- Ami Koita - Tata Sira
- Cecil Taylor - In Berlin '88
- Mr Fingers - Washing Machine
- Public Enemy - Bring The Noise