The essential rock albums (by Rolling Stone):

 
 
The 50's Era

Chuck Berry - The Great Twenty-Eight
Ruth Brown - Rockin' In Rhythm: The Best of Ruth Brown
Johnny Cash - The Sun Years
Ray Charles - The Birth of Soul
Ray Charles - Modern Sounds In Country & Western Music
Bo Diddley - Bo Diddley/Go Bo Diddley
Fats Domino - My Blue Heaven - The Best of Fats Domino
The Everly Brothers - Cadence Classics (Their 20 Greatest Hits)
Buddy Holly - 20 Golden Greats
Jerry Lee Lewis - The Jerry Lee Lewis Anthology: All Killer No Filler!
Little Richard - The Georgia Peach
Roy Orbison - For The Lonely: A Roy Orbison Anthology, 1956-1964
Carl Perkins - Original Sun Greatest Hits
Elvis Presley - The Complete Sun Sessions
Elvis Presley - Elvis' Golden Records
Elvis Presley - The Memphis Record
Joe Turner - Big Bad and Blue
V.A. - Atlantic R&B 1947-1974
V.A. - The Best of Doo Wop Uptempo
V.A. - The Sun Records Collection
The 60's Era

The Animals - The Best of the Animals
The Band - The Band
The Beach Boys - Endless Summer

The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds
The Beatles - 1962-1966
The Beatles - Rubber Soul
The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
The Beatles - The Beatles
The Beatles - Abbey Road
James Brown - Star Time
Buffalo Springfield - Buffalo Springfield Again
The Byrds - The Byrds' Greatest Hits
Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band - Trout Mask Replica
Sam Cooke - The Man and His Music
Cream - Wheels Of Fire
Creedence Clearwater Revival - Willy and the Poor Boys
Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young - Déja Vu
The Doors - The Doors
Bob Dylan - Bringing It All Back Home
Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited
Bob Dylan - Blonde On Blonde
Bob Dylan - The Basement Tapes

Bob Dylan - Blood On The Tracks
The Flying Burrito Brothers - The Gilded Palace Of Sin
Aretha Franklin - I Never Loved A Man The Way I Love You
Aretha Franklin - Lady Soul
The Grateful Dead - Live Dead
The Grateful Dead - Workingman's Dead
The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Are You Experienced? (British Version)
The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Axis: Bold As Love
The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Electric Ladyland
Jefferson Airplane - Surrealistic Pillow
The Kinks - The Kinks Greatest Hits!
The Kinks - Something Else
John Mayall - Bluesbreakers - John Mayall With Eric Clapton
Joni Mitchell - Blue
Pink Floyd - The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn
Pink Floyd - Dark Side Of The Moon
Otis Redding - Otis! The Definitive Otis Redding
Smokey Robinson and the Miracles - Anthology
The Rolling Stones - Big Hits (High Tide and Green Grass)
The Rolling Stones - Beggar's Banquet
The Rolling Stones - Let It Bleed
The Rolling Stones - Sticky Fingers
The Rolling Stones - Exile On Main Street
The Rolling Stones - Some Girls
Simon and Garfunkel - Greatest Hits
Phil Spector - Back To Mono (1958-1969)
Dusty Springfield - Dusty In Memphis
Diana Ross and the Supremes - Anthology
The Velvet Underground - The Velvet Underground and Nico
The Velvet Underground - Loaded
The Who - Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy
The Who - Tommy
The Who - Who's Next
Jackie Wilson - Mr. Excitement!
The Yardbirds - Greatest Hits, Vol. I (1964-1966)
Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention - Freak Out!
V.A. - The Best of the Girl Groups, Vols. I and II
V.A. - Hitsville USA: The Motown Singles Collection, 1959-1971
V.A. - Nuggets: Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era 1965-68
The 70's Era

AC/DC - Highway To Hell
Aerosmith - Rocks
The Allman Brothers Band - At Fillmore East
Big Star - Radio City
Black Sabbath - Paranoid
Blondie - Parallel Lines
David Bowie - Hunky Dory
David Bowie - Low
Jackson Browne - Late For The Sky
Chic - Risqué
The Clash - The Clash

The Clash - London Calling
Elvis Costello - My Aim Is True
Derek and the Dominoes - Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs
The Eagles - Hotel California
Brian Eno - Another Green World
Fleetwood Mac - Rumours
Marvin Gaye - What's Going On
Marvin Gaye - Anthology
Al Green - Greatest Hits
Billy Joel - Greatest Hits: Vol. I and Vol. II
Elton John - Honky Château
Elton John - Greatest Hits
Carole King - Tapestry
Kraftwerk - Trans-Europe Express
Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin II
Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin IV
John Lennon - Plastic Ono Band
John Lennon - Imagine
Bob Marley and the Wailers - Burnin'
Bob Marley and the Wailers - Live!
Curtis Mayfield and the Impressions - The Anthology 1966-1977
Van Morrison - Astral Weeks
Van Morrison - Moondance
Van Morrison - The Best of Van Morrison
Willie Nelson - Red Headed Stranger
Randy Newman - 12 Songs
The New York Dolls - The New York Dolls
The O'Jays - Back Stabbers
Parliament/Funkadelic - Mothership Connection
Parliament/Funkadelic - One Nation Under A Groove
Pere Ubu - The Modern Dance
Tom Petty - Damn The Torpedoes
Pretenders - Pretenders
Ramones - Ramones
Roxy Music - Siren
The Sex Pistols - Never Mind The Bollocks Here's The Sex Pistols
Sly and the Family Stone - Greatest Hits
Sly and the Family Stone - There's A Riot Going On
Patti Smith - Horses
Bruce Springsteen - Born To Run
Bruce Springsteen - Born In The U.S.A.
Steely Dan - Pretzel Logic
Rod Stewart - Every Picture Tells A Story
The Stooges - Funhouse
James Taylor - Sweet Baby James
Stevie Wonder - Talking Book
Stevie Wonder - Innervisions
X - Los Angeles
Neil Young - After The Gold Rush
Neil Young - Tonight's The Night
Neil Young - Rust Never Sleeps
V.A. - The Harder They Come
V.A. - Saturday Night Fever
The 80's Era

Laurie Anderson - Big Science
Afrika Bambaataa and Soulsonic Force - Planet Rock - The Album
Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique
Black Flag - Damaged
The Cure - Staring At The Sea: The Singles
De La Soul - Three Feet High and Rising
Eurythmics - Touch
Gang Of Four - Entertainment!
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five - Greatest Message's
Guns N' Roses - Appetite For Destruction
Don Henley - The End of the Innocence
Hüsker Dü - Zen Arcade
Michael Jackson - Off The Wall
Michael Jackson - Thriller
Jane's Addiction - Nothing's Shocking
The Jesus and Mary Chain - Psychocandy
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts - I Love Rock & Roll
Joy Division - Closer
LL Cool J - Radio
Madonna - Like A Prayer
Metallica - Kill 'Em All
Ministry - The Land of Rape and Honey
Minutemen - Double Nickels On The Dime
N.W.A. - Straight Outta Compton
Sinéad O'Connor - I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got
Pixies - Surfer Rosa
Prince - Dirty Mind
Prince - Purple Rain

Prince - Sign 'o' the Times
Public Enemy - It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back
Bonnie Raitt - Nick Of Time
R.E.M. - Murmur
R.E.M. - Document
R.E.M. - Automatic For The People
The Replacements - Let It Be
Run-D.M.C. - Raising Hell
The Smiths - The Smiths
Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation
Talking Heads - Remain In Light
Talking Heads - Little Creatures
U2 - The Joshua Tree
U2 - Achtung Baby
The 90's Era

Beck - Odelay
Dr. Dre - The Chronic
PJ Harvey - Dry
Hole - Live Through This
Massive Attack - Blue Lines
Moby - "Go"
Morcheeba - Big Calm
My Bloody Valentine - Loveless
Nine Inch Nails - Pretty Hate Machine
Nirvana - Nevermind
Nirvana - Unplugged In New York
The Orb - The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld
Pavement - Slanted and Enchanted
Pearl Jam - Ten
Pearl Jam - No Code
Liz Phair - Exile In Guyville
Radiohead - The Bends
Radiohead - OK Computer
The Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream

The Stone Roses - The Stone Roses
 
 

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