Curated playlist
United States National Recording Registry albums
- Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club BandThe Beatles played Sgt. Pepper from a Chelsea window at six in the morning. Neighbors listened without complaint.
- Thriller (album)Michael Jackson set one rule for his album Thriller: every song had to be a killer. It won eight Grammys in one night.
- Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)Only six Wu-Tang members, in stocking masks, appear on the cover of Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers).
- Pet SoundsPet Sounds, a 1966 Beach Boys album, used bicycle horns and Coca-Cola cans. It cost more than any earlier rock album.
- Straight Outta ComptonThe FBI sent a warning letter over one song on N.W.A's album Straight Outta Compton.
- The ChronicDr. Dre's album The Chronic spent its first eight months entirely in the Billboard Top 10.
- The Dark Side of the MoonThe Dark Side of the Moon is the 1973 album by the English band Pink Floyd. As of January 2026 it had charted for 996 weeks on the US Billboard album chart. Records rarely last that long, and this one did not set out to be comfortable…
- Ready to DieThe album Ready to Die opens with a baby being born and ends with a fading heartbeat.
- IllmaticNas was twenty when his debut album Illmatic came out, and he began its lyrics at sixteen.
- Rumours (album)Rumours, the eleventh studio album by Fleetwood Mac, took its name from a remark by bassist John McVie. He felt the band members were writing "journals and diaries" about each other through music. The British and American rock group…