WOEBOT

I grew up on lists like these, especially Paul Gambaccini's super cheesy 1987 survey of 50 top critics entitled "The Top Rock'N'Roll Albums Of All Time" a book I cherished and investigated slavishly at school, and which went on to be horrifically influential. The "Top 100" is now, I suppose, one of the key marketing tools of music magazines. I've always wanted to do some kind of similar break-out, and let's face it, which music magazine would ever afford me the space?

Recently my friend Jon Dale caught me whingeing at Dissensus about David Keenan's best albums ever...honest and he took me to task. Although I stand by my criticisms, which boiled down to the selection not being "all that", Dale was right to pull me up. If you think you can do better yourself you have to be a mensch and do your own list. Here was my chance. It wasn't a particularly difficult thing task, I just combed my collection, chose roughly five hundred records, and then systematically reduced that selection to what I REALLY rated.

The potential pitfalls one has to avoid however are many. You can't be needlessly obscurantist for one. That's difficult because the spice in these lists are the things that are slightly more obscure, the records you're hipping people to. It'd be so easy to make a list of "minor gems", but if you're presenting a Best 100, you can't do that. One of the other major pitfalls is trying to be comprehensive, picking records for what they represent, rather than how good they actually are. It would have been tempting to insert token Bhangra records, token South African Jazz records, token Punk records for instance. Another error is what I'd call taking a left-turn into someone's catalogue, choosing Can's "Landed" above their earlier stuff. That's another typical, lame hipster tactic that makes me groan. Again choosing things on the basis of how "seminal" they are, their supposed "influence" is to be avoided. Some people pressage these lists with a smarmy, "Well these are my favourites today, but probably not next week"-shtick. Not so with this list. The only thing that is probably more general about it is the ordering, however there is a definite drift upwards and I put a lot of thought into the top ten.

I noticed a few things in compiling this, firstly that only one CD (Monton) crept in. That's largely because if I buy I CD I love, I make it a mission to track down the vinyl. I was also surprised that only three singles made the grade (I have lots...) with LPs and twelve inches ruling the show. This could be construed as an oversight, after all the scariest record-collector's collections are dominated by 7"s. I guess that I'm a rabbit of a different colour, never known to stray unfeasible deep into holes like roots reggae or funk, only venturing a certain distance down from the surface, I've never lost sight of the sun's rays. I was pleased to reflect that there wasn't a single recording I wanted to include that I didn't own (with the exception of "Electric Ladyland" which appears to have vanished) and accordingly all these sleeve shots are from my own collection, not sourced from Google. Even though there is absolutely no concession whatsoever to availability in the shops (Keenan's rather cooly has links to Amazon) I would say this is a buyers guide "sine qua non". These records are veritably the bollocks.

People may remark about what's not included: no Cabaret Voltaire, no P.I.L, no Roxy Music, no Dizzy Rascal, no Van Der Graf Generator, no Mizell Brothers, no Joy Division, no Funkadelic, no Mothers of Invention, no La Monte Young, no Stooges, no MC5, no Aphex Twin, no Stone Roses etc. They may even say where are the Talking Heads, the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello, The Clash, The Band, Neil Young and Doors records? What can I say? In my own opinion, this lot swallows all that stuff whole. No apologies whatsoever for the grunty telegrammatic commentary.

100 Riuichui Sakamoto Riot in Lagos

80's Global Egg-head Electro Oddity. The shimmering basslines of which are best appreciated on the twelve-inch cut. Riuichi teams up with Dennis Bovell and, perhaps more improbably with hindsight, Andy Partridge of XTC.

99. AR Kane: Lollita

Celebrated UK Indie space-rock. Hard-to-find EP on 4AD from that period before the LP "69" when the crew were hopping from label to label. Feedback harder-edged here than elsewhere, and a gorgeous tune.

98. Robert Johnson: King of The Delta Blues Singers

The greatest blues record. Quite often the first Blues record one will buy, and after years exploring Blind Lemon Jefferson, Sonny Boy Williamson, Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, Albert King, John McDowell, Son House, Otis Rush, Skip James, and John Lee Hooker you return to "King of The Delta Blues Singers" to discover it's still the greatest.

97. Big Black: Songs about Fucking

Steve Albini's paranoid architecture of feedback. Used to play this very loud as a seventeen year old. The drum machine and the Kraftwerk cover version were particularly unusual and far-sighted touches.

96. The Young Gods: The Young Gods

Late 80's Swiss Indie-Industrialists. I saw them on this and the L'Eau Rouge tours. They were massive. Interviewed them in Glasgow some years later. At the time this was an unbearably hip record, and it has remained pungent with possibilities.

95. Riko: Chosen One

Righteous Grime. Colleagues despair whether Grime will ever reach this kind of peak ever again.

94. Position Normal: Stop Your Nonsense

Crumbly Indietronica. We thought it was a one-off, but it's gone on to have lasting repercussions. I've only recently lost touch with Chris (I made them a video), last seen tangoing with Massive Attack's Melankolic label, svengali Damian Lazarus now on the international DJ circuit.

93. The Normal: Warm Leatherette

Vintage Electro-Punk, a genre which arguably has yet to happen, all The Normal's more obvious progeny (Trent Reznor, Depeche Mode etc) veering unchecked towards the bombastic and cod-epic. Mark K will write you an essay on this cf Ballard's "Crash", Grace Jones and William Gibson. See also Thomas Leer.

92. Flourgon and Ninjaman: Zig It Up

Iconic Dancehall. This was also notable for the stunning proto-junglistic Main Attraction Hip-Hop remix, the first record by none other than Reinforced stalwart Nookie.

91. A Certain Ratio: Flight

Mancunian Post-Punk. A gigantic ethereal sound like a yet more liquid Can with superbly doomy vocals. ACR never came close to doing anything as majestic as this.

90. Cheb Khaled: Hada Raykoum

Fabulously drunken Rai. This came up in conversation the other day with DJ/Rupture as proof positive of Rai's true lumpen roots. Apparently within France its reputation is as a soupy bourgeois music. The synths here are pure guttertronics.

89. Metalheadz: Angel

Ambient Jungle prototype. Picture disc innit. Largely for the sublime chiarascuro dynamics of "Angel (Instrumental Flight)" though Diane Charlemagne's vocals are wonderfully cracked.

88. Mark Stewart and The Maffia: Learning to cope with cowardice

Echo-chambered Post-punk. I picked up my copy in 1988 and it felt like 1983 was a hundred years before. So disappointing that the Post-Punk revival didn't even manage to echo the original era's sense of revolt.

87. Ambassadeurs: Mandjou

1970s Mali. The first of the African records here, and a bonafide monster-jam. Salif Keita's masterpiece. This is, I reckon, a rock record, if that makes any sense to anyone.

86. Virgo

Divine Chicago post-Acid House. You can still buy the Ride EP on Trax, but this LP on London's Radical Records (something to do with the very early Black Market?) has two other completely sublime tunes on the flip-side as well.

85 Egyptian Lover: And My Beat Goes Boom

Stunning minimal electro. With just a splashing 808 and micro-pontillistic bleep pattern the Egyptian Lover's rap becomes as important as the drums for this track's propulsion. A whisker away from The Last Poets.

84. Thomas Leer: 4 Movements

Lushly verdant bedroom electronics perfectly and charmingly balanced between New Pop and Post-Punk. Two Leer records on this list!

83: Derrick Laro and Trinity: Don't Stop Till You Get Enough

Late Roots Reggae Jacksons cover version. In the grand tradition of Reggae cover versions of Afro-American tunes, and the twin of "Rockers Delight" cover of "Rappers Delight" on the same label, this a Joe Gibbs record I very often play out. The vinyl here so very loud and Trinity's rap guaranteed to get the party rocking.

82. Ruff Sqwad: Jam Pie

Sino-Grime. Jammer's best production proves slower beats don't make it UKrap. Best Grime lyrics ever, especially the whole "Back to the.." skit.

81. Renegade Legion: Torsion

Gloomcore's greatest hit. The opening salvo might be a candidate for the best start of any record ever...

80. Nearly God: Poems

Paranoid Trip-Hop. Tricky's last cannabis-psychosis masterpiece before he descended into cartoon cut-out theatrics. Exquisitely eerie, Terry Hall and Martina are inspired here as well.

79. Joni Mitchell: Blue

Chirper-cleffer. Looking forward to reading Barney Hoskyns' book about the whole Californian rock phenomenon of the 1970s. You'd have to be emotionally stunted not to be affected by Joni here.

78. Manuel Gottsching: E2-E4

Post-Krautrock after-thought. Its own micro-genre vis a vis Sueno Latino, Derrick and Carl Craig's mixes. Can't tell you how excited I was to find this in Edinburgh in 1992.

77 Tibetan Buddhism Tantras of Gyotu: Makhala

Ethnographic. David Lewiston's best recording. One of the heaviest, most spooky records ever made. The percussion on this like steel girders falling onto your car. Don't mess with these monks!

76. Slint: Spiderland

Prescient US Post-Rock. One of those haunting, unconfigurable listening experiences that you return to again and again. I'm a big fan of Davo Pajo's "Live from a Shark Tank" as well. After Tortoise's debut, that was the next great record in this micro-continuum.

75. Thelonious Monk: Genius of Modern Music

Jazz pianist's private sketchbook of ideas. Amazingly dense and fecund. I've always loved Coltrane's remark about playing with Monk that "it was like falling into an empty elevator shaft."

74. New Horizons: Scrap Iron Dubs

Rootical bashy 2 Step. Not archetypical 2-step (see Y-Tribe, Groove Chronicles, Dem2), but enthralling nonetheless.

73. Scientist: The Bee

Explosive Ardkore. One of DJ Hype's earliest productions. Transcends Ardkore's cliches, when even those cliches were so fine as to not need transcending.

Steve Reich: Six Pianos

Gourgeous Minimalism. Particularly "Music for Mallet Instruments, Voice and Organ". Easily the greatest Reich recording, I was delighted to notice recently that he was particularly pleased with it as well.

71. Diamond and The Psychotic Neurotics: Stunts, Blunts and Hip-Hop

Classic Mid-period Hip-Hop. There's one other contender here which is TCQ's "Low End Theory", maybe a more consistent record, but the highs on this, the title track, "Best Kept Secret", "Pass Dat Shit" etc are astonishing. Even licks Mobb Deep's "The Infamous" and Main Source's "Breaking Atoms"...

70. VA: Rare Groove

The best funk compilation ever. It might appear to be cheesy to have a compilation listed here, not some dusty 7", but take my word for it, this is splendid. In its own way, as a relic of pre-acid London clubbing, it's an historical curio in its own right.

69. Liquid Liquid: Cavern

New York Post-Punk glides effortlessly downtown. Cavern, as y'all know, is the basis for "White Lines". Hearing the original for the first time is such a joy.

68. Roy Harper: Stormcock

Mature UK folk balladry. Mature because after a while Nick Drake just irritates the hell out of you. Sepulchral and incredibly bold, I've never heard another Harper LP that touches it.

67. Fela Kuti: Roforofo Fight

Afrobeat. Although "Open and Close" is splendid, this is Fela's greatest record, the horn section almost hilariously top-heavy.

66. Les Vampyrettes: Biomutanten

Krautock gentlemen dilletantes Czukay and Plank make forbidding bass-heavy proto-Gloomcore twelve inch. Still yet to see a reissue.

65. Tortoise: Tortoise

Post-Rock rosetta stone. Forget everything else they did.

64. Herbie Hancock: Sextant

Far-out Jazz-Funk. It's Dr. Partick Gleason who does the damage here with his synths. We caned this at night in Africa.

63. Prince Dirty Mind

New Wave Funk. Even though he went on to crossover with such panache with "Sign of The Times" "Dirty Mind" is winningly fresh and nimble. Curiously indebted to UK Post-Punk too, that is if you believe Jah Wobble's stories of the young Prince being forcibly ejected from P.I.L's dressing room.

62. Don Cherry: Mu Part Two

Liberated Free-Jazz. Growing up as he did kicking around a rural Texas backyard, Don Cherry's playing doesn't painfully strive for release it's just sound evidence of his free-wheeling soul. Ed Blackwell's second-line licks here are an added bonus.

61. Centrafrique: Musique Gbaya

Central African Pygmy chant. It's crass to start talking about trance states, largely owing to the efforts of an entire generation of dance music journalists, but with this masterpiece of soft-edged circum-sonic hocket, unfortunately one has to fall back on the appellation. This has always reminded me of Oval's "Diskont".

60. Forrrce: Keep on Dubbing

Disco Dub. This Francois K masterpiece is a David Toop tip-off. Mashes up the dance with its whip-lash bassline. Surprisingly not more widely known.

59. John Coltrane: Giant Steps

Modern Jazz perfection. Trane's solos here are as he described them to Wayne Shorter and reveal him "trying to learn how to start in the middle of a sentence and move in both directions at the same time." In India I once had time-travelling hallucinations of busy New York Streets in the 1960s to this.

58. Steve Poindexter: Chaotic Nation

Post-Acid Chicago riddim guru. Powerful grumbling beats. Poindexter is THE man. Critically (critically) unappreciated.

57. Acen: Trip II The Moon

Epic Ardkore. Parts one AND two of course! Only in a genre as merciless, functional and transitory as Ardkore could a talent like Acen just fall of the map. One can hardly imagine him being inducted into the Rock'n'Roll hall of fame...

56. Popol Vuh: Hosianna Mantra

Pastoral Krautrock. Florian Fricke's greatest and most symphonic record.

55. Rammelzee & K.Rob: Beat Bop

Remarkably both Hip-Hop's artiest AND its rootsiest record.

54. Hector Zazou: La Pervisita

French Post-Punk. Seb Morlu hipped me to this, I played it to my pal Sacha and he has now sold copies of it to drooling cognoscenti like The Chemical Brothers and Andy Weatherall. Do yourself a favour and find one.

53. Afrika Bambaata: Death Mix Throwdown

Old Skool Hip-Hop. Originally coming out on Paul Winley records (though my copy is on Castle and I picked it up in 1987). One side is a recording of a stunning Bambaata live mix. The other is a veritable lightning sword of death, the Soul Sonic Force rapping over a red-hot, specially-recorded funk track (goes to prove there is room for instruments in Hip-Hop...)

52. LFO: Frequencies

Sheffield Bleep'n'Bass. The greatest long-player to emerge from the UK's Acid-House scene?

51. Just-Ice: Cold Getting' Dumb

Old Skool Hip-Hop. Mantronix's crunchiest, hookiest track. This is a killer.

50. Tom Jobim: Matita Pere

Langorous Brazilian post-bossa orchestral stylings. Divine.

49. Pablove Black Bagga and The All Stars: After Christmas

Studio One Dub-plate from heaven. Every Reggae connoisseur I play this to is knocked out, and then tries to buy it off me.

48. The Black Dog: Vir2L

Philosophical, eldritch UK Breakbeat Techno. This may not be their most focussed record, but it's the key.

47. Wailing Souls: Wailing Souls

Studio One Reggae LP. For my money one of the most consistently lovely LPs on Coxsone Dodd's label

46. Minutemen: Paranoid Time

US Punk 7". One of three seven inches here, but with seven tracks on it, it's more like an LP in haiku form. Their conceptual masterpiece, this is not bettered by other contenders like "Cut" and "Double Nickels on the Dime".

45. The Cosmic Jokers: The Cosmic Jokers

Krautrock super-jam. The first of Rolf Ulrich Kaiser's 5 kosmische cash-ins, and easily the greatest. Does no-one else think the likes of 23 Skidoo sound impoverished beside this stuff?

44. Toussaint: Toussaint

New Orleans Soul producer's finest hour. My favorite soul LP.

43. Thomas Leer: Private Plane

Electronic Punk, again. I discovered this very recently through Simon's book "Rip It Up and Start Again", and it really blew me away. Apparently recorded under his sheets in his bedroom so as not to wake up his girlfriend (a classic example of the illicit relationship so many of us have with culture) this may go some way to explain its seductive public/private and innerspace/outerspace stylings. A strong krautrock vibe here too.

42. Tim Buckley: Blue Afternoon

Singer song-writer drifts jazzily. Full of wonderful meandering grooves.

41. The Associates: Fourth Drawer Down

Song-led Post-Punk. Much of Post-Punk was instrumental in tendency. Singers even "instrumentalising" themselves by intoning noise (cf John Lydon, Mark Stewart, Ari Up etc). Billy Mackenzie strikes me as that rarer, more curious beast, a properly Post-Punk singer, with all the deconstruction of self that that would entail.

40. King Sunny Ade: The Message

Nigerian Juju. These songs were weakened when they were re-recorded for the also splendid "Juju Music" LP.

39. Brigette Fontaine: Comme A La Radio

French post-Free-Jazz chanson. Recorded with the AACM as her backing band in early 1970s Paris. Should be more widely known in the English-speaking world.

38. The Velvet Underground: The Velvet Underground

Peaceful yet sinister LP by rock legends. You can't knock it.

37. Sivakumar Sarma: Santur

Indian Classical. I have lots of Sarma's records, this is on Ocora is the best.

36. Randy Newman: 12 Songs

Dopey yet sardonic portraits of 1970s California. Session-musician-tastic, with Jack Nitzsche and various Byrds in attendance this is blissful on the ear. In spite of his comfortable niche with Pixar, Randy Newman deserves more props.

35. Terry Riley: Rainbow in Curved Air.

Minimalism goes Pop. The least obscure work of his, I have other records like "Les Yeux Fremee" and "Happy End", "Shri Camel" and "Moonshine Dervishes", but this is the most generous, lovingly-crafted and accessible.

34. Underground Resistance: Sonic EP

Detroit Techno. Mad Mike's paranoia writ large, this is one terrifying vision of the fourth-world urban jungle.

33. Indian Ocean: Treehouse/Schoolbell

Weird Disco. One of two Arthur Russell records here. Its hook so slight yet so intoxicating.

32. Suicide: Suicide

Improbably early No-Wave electronics. It's at their most sumptuous that I admire them: "Cheree", "Girl" and "Che".

31. Total: What About Us

R'n'B. Timbaland's greatest moment bar none and practically impossible to find (the Puffy remix on the other hand is ubiquitous). The collision of the paranormal beat-boxing and the girl's vocals is near perfect.

30. Byrne and Eno: My Life In The Bush of Ghosts

Dance music ethno-thinkpiece. Still remains relevant. I've always been taken by the presence here of DNA hero bassist Tim Wright.

29. Upsetters: Blackboard Jungle Dub.

Dub Reggae. Not as flashy, or maybe as "interesting" as Perry's later productions but thrillingly violent and righteous.

28. Monoton: Montonprodukt07

Underground NDW. The square root of Basic Channel, Kompakt and Oval.

27. iMPLOG: Holland Tunnel Dive

New York No-Wave Electro. Long been one of my causes. Apparently just reissued by Erol "Trash" Alkan.

26. Scott Walker: Scott 4

Existential croonery. If only you and I could sing like this.

25 Milton Nascimento Clube Da Esquina

Incredibly affecting rural Braziliance. There was some kind of crucial synergy that occurred here between Milton and singer/hero Lo Borges that elevates this above either of their other works. The making of this record was apparently akin to the rural/communal creation of The Band's "The Band".

24. The JBs: Food For Thought

Funk. Quintessentially so, and on "The Grunt" irresistible.

23. Led Zeppellin: IV

Sort of Heavy Metal, but not quite. Give or take "Stairway to Heaven".

22. Vivien Goldman: Dirty Washing

The Marianne Faithful of Post-Punk. When I first played this to my friend Sacha he movingly remarked that it reminded him of a scruffier, much more human London that has now disappeared amid the depressing globalisation that affects culture everywhere.

21. Rhythim is Rhythim: The Beginning

Art Techno. The End therof, somewhat innappropriately and sadly.

20. Burning Spear: Burning Spear

Roots Reggae. The MOST consistently lovely LP on Studio One, and I reckon the best Reggae LP. I challenge anyone to not be moved by "Creation Rebel".

19. Marvellous Caine: Hitman

Jungle proper. Absolutely rinsin'.

18. Alexander Spence: Oar

LSD-addled Haight-Ashbury loner-rock. I probably over-identified with this record.

17. Neu!: 75

Krautrock. Probably the greatest full-throttle hard-rocking LP there is. With its bewitching geist-like alter-ego in tow.

16. Sun Ra: Cosmic Tones for Mental Therapy

Freak-Jazz. Its almost academic abstraction seems to contain the germ of both riotous twins: Techno and Rock music.

15. Miles Davis: On The Corner

Derailed pseudo-Improv. As much as I appreciate straight-up Jazz-Funk, this and "Sextant" will always trump it as far as I'm concerned. The ethnic colour here predates "My Life In The Bush of Ghosts" stark global No-Wave inflections.

14. Edu Lobo: Missa Breva

The Brazilian Bryan Ferry. Again it amazes me that this record, clearly Lobo's greatest is passed over for others. Stereolab fans would love this sublime catholic oddyssey.

13. My Bloody Valentine: You Made Me Realise EP

Blissed-out Indie Rock. Not a hipster shortcut in place of "Loveless", this is very much the superior record. Every single one of the five tracks here is a total corker.

12. John Cale: Paris 1919

Velvet Underground man's solo LP. A case of every track's a winner. Sheer wonder and beauty. When you read Cale's autobiography, with its stories of his childhood in Wales growing up drugged to the nines on morphine, its blurred snapshots make perfect sense.

11. Jimi Hendrix: Electric Ladyland

Rock Classic. It'd be firmly lodged high up in a Q, Mojo or Uncut chart (the kind of 100 Greatest this is a self-styled antidote to) but let's not forget Charles Shaar Murray's great, and wholly correct, contextualisation of Hendrix as a Black Avant-Gardist.

10. Captain Beefheart: Safe As Milk

Over-ripe garage punk. You prefer "Lick My Decals Off Baby" to this! Bullshitter.

9. Vashti Bunyan: Just A Diamond Day

Sublime UK Folk. This snuck up on me in a huge way over the past two years. I know it's fairly well known now, but it ought to be, like, super-super famous. Vashti should never have to pay the bills again. Thanks to big Jon Dale for hitching me up with this in the first instance.

8. Bernard Parmegiani: De Natura Sonorum

Music Concrete. If you're a music head, someone who's into sound for its own mystical and tactile qualities, an aural fetishist, you deserve to hear this. Once you have it under your belt, it's so philosophically profound, so good at what it does, that it practically negates the need for any other form of "head" music. Leaving you to fritter away your time listening to Grime. Like wot I do.

7. The Ragga Twins: Reggae Owes Me Money

Not quite Ardkore. I posed the question earlier as to whether LFO's "Frequencies" was the best record to emerge out of the UK Acid House scene. Well, the answer is no. This is. It's also, by default, the best record to come out of the UK's Dancehall scene. And the best Grime LP ever!

6. Kraftwerk: Computer World

Kraftwerk, like La Monte Young, are the embodiment of some kind of holy musical abstraction. Perfection, though I contend that they may yet surpass this masterpiece.

5. The Beatles: The Beatles

Moptop 1960's combo of incidental celebrity.

4. The Meters: Look Ka Py Py

Funk. Everyone knows the best funk came out of New Orleans, be it Eddie Bo or Professor Longhair, but there's no way of getting away from The Meter's centrality. From early work with Robert Parker, Lee Dorsey, and Irma Thomas to later projects like The Wild Tchoupitoulas and The Neville Brothers practically everything they touched was blessed with a divine musicality. For me, this is the highlight.

3. Arthur Russell: World of Echo

Disco's bones and ectoplasm. Must, I reason, be understood as one of the only records to grapple with the horror that is AIDS. That that isn't more widely pointed out is a crime.

2. Can: Tago Mago

Krautrock, innit. The Mothership. Sometimes I think Ege Bamyasi may have the edge on this, other days the rolling power of the drums on "Hallelulwah" utterly seduces me. I remember Julian Cope taking a very purist line that by "Tago Mago" Can had burnt out, that the Malcom Mooney-era was the shit and that "Soundtracks" was their last great record, but really, what twaddle.

and the best record of all time?

1. Pere Ubu: The Modern Dance

Without too much thought involved either. If there's one record which would make sense of the entire selection here, it'd be "The Modern Dance". Cue long essay waxing rhapsodic. Nah. I got this in 1987 and it's stuck with me ever since. I reckon it's as pungent as it has ever been. I wish I had the original pressing, the one with the black and white linocut, rather than my shitty silver limited edition reissue. When I was 18 I hung around backstage at a Sonic Youth gig (when Ubu were supporting them) and met David Thomas. He was cool.

Anyway. I hope you enjoyed that. Feel free to skim, but do take the selection as it stands. I know from checking these kind of things myself, the temptation is to tick things off mentally in the manner of "Oh, Allen Toussaint, well I have his "Motion" LP so I can ignore that suggestion", but really EVERYTHING here is solid gold.