The Lead-In

Deep Dives

Every Lead-In album dossier, A to Z — which pressing is worth owning, what a copy costs now, and the essay behind it. A new one every week.

  1. 3 Feet High and Rising — De La Soul (1989)
  2. 808s & Heartbreak — Kanye West (2008)
  3. Abbey Road — The Beatles (1969)
  4. Achtung Baby — U2 (1991)
  5. Actually — Pet Shop Boys (1987)
  6. Aja — Steely Dan (1977)
  7. Amnesiac — Radiohead (2001)
  8. …And Justice for All — Metallica (1988)
  9. Antichrist Superstar — Marilyn Manson (1996)
  10. Appetite for Destruction — Guns N' Roses (1987)
  11. Aquemini — OutKast (1998)
  12. Are You Experienced — Jimi Hendrix Experience (1967)
  13. Arrival — ABBA (1976)
  14. Astral Weeks — Van Morrison (1968)
  15. Automatic for the People — R.E.M. (1992)
  16. Back in Black — AC/DC (1980)
  17. Back to Black — Amy Winehouse (2006)
  18. Bad — Michael Jackson (1987)
  19. Bat Out of Hell — Meat Loaf (1977)
  20. Be Here Now — Oasis (1997)
  21. Bitches Brew — Miles Davis (1970)
  22. The Black Parade — My Chemical Romance (2006)
  23. Blonde — Frank Ocean (2016)
  24. Blonde on Blonde — Bob Dylan (1966)
  25. Blood on the Tracks — Bob Dylan (1975)
  26. Blue — Joni Mitchell (1971)
  27. Blue Lines — Massive Attack (1991)
  28. Born to Run — Bruce Springsteen (1975)
  29. Bridge Over Troubled Water — Simon & Garfunkel (1970)
  30. Brothers in Arms — Dire Straits (1985)
  31. Channel Orange — Frank Ocean (2012)
  32. The Chronic — Dr. Dre (1992)
  33. The College Dropout — Kanye West (2004)
  34. Curtis — Curtis Mayfield (1970)
  35. The Dark Side of the Moon — Pink Floyd (1973)
  36. Daydream Nation — Sonic Youth (1988)
  37. Discovery — Daft Punk (2001)
  38. Doolittle — Pixies (1989)
  39. Dummy — Portishead (1994)
  40. Electric Ladyland — Jimi Hendrix Experience (1968)
  41. Endtroducing….. — DJ Shadow (1996)
  42. Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) — Wu-Tang Clan (1993)
  43. evermore — Taylor Swift (2020)
  44. Exile on Main St. — The Rolling Stones (1972)
  45. Funeral — Arcade Fire (2004)
  46. good kid, m.A.A.d city — Kendrick Lamar (2012)
  47. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road — Elton John (1973)
  48. Graceland — Paul Simon (1986)
  49. Highway 61 Revisited — Bob Dylan (1965)
  50. Homogenic — Björk (1997)
  51. Horses — Patti Smith (1975)
  52. Hounds of Love — Kate Bush (1985)
  53. Hunky Dory — David Bowie (1971)
  54. I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You — Aretha Franklin (1967)
  55. I Put a Spell on You — Nina Simone (1965)
  56. Illmatic — Nas (1994)
  57. Innervisions — Stevie Wonder (1973)
  58. Is This It — The Strokes (2001)
  59. It Takes a Nation of Millions — Public Enemy (1988)
  60. The Joshua Tree — U2 (1987)
  61. Kind of Blue — Miles Davis (1959)
  62. Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs — Derek & the Dominos (1970)
  63. Led Zeppelin IV — Led Zeppelin (1971)
  64. Lemonade — Beyoncé (2016)
  65. Let It Bleed — The Rolling Stones (1969)
  66. Let's Get It On — Marvin Gaye (1973)
  67. Like a Prayer — Madonna (1989)
  68. London Calling — The Clash (1979)
  69. A Love Supreme — John Coltrane (1965)
  70. Loveless — My Bloody Valentine (1991)
  71. Low — David Bowie (1977)
  72. The Low End Theory — A Tribe Called Quest (1991)
  73. Madvillainy — Madvillain (2004)
  74. Marquee Moon — Television (1977)
  75. The Marshall Mathers LP — Eminem (2000)
  76. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill — Lauryn Hill (1998)
  77. Murmur — R.E.M. (1983)
  78. Music Has the Right to Children — Boards of Canada (1998)
  79. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy — Kanye West (2010)
  80. Nebraska — Bruce Springsteen (1982)
  81. Never Mind the Bollocks — Sex Pistols (1977)
  82. Nevermind — Nirvana (1991)
  83. A Night at the Opera — Queen (1975)
  84. Off the Wall — Michael Jackson (1979)
  85. OK Computer — Radiohead (1997)
  86. Paranoid — Black Sabbath (1970)
  87. Paul's Boutique — Beastie Boys (1989)
  88. Pet Sounds — The Beach Boys (1966)
  89. Pink Moon — Nick Drake (1972)
  90. Purple Rain — Prince (1984)
  91. The Queen Is Dead — The Smiths (1986)
  92. Raising Hell — Run-D.M.C. (1986)
  93. Ray of Light — Madonna (1998)
  94. Ready to Die — The Notorious B.I.G. (1994)
  95. Reasonable Doubt — Jay-Z (1996)
  96. Remain in Light — Talking Heads (1980)
  97. Revolver — The Beatles (1966)
  98. Rid of Me — PJ Harvey (1993)
  99. The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust — David Bowie (1972)
  100. Rumours — Fleetwood Mac (1977)
  101. Selected Ambient Works 85-92 — Aphex Twin (1992)
  102. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band — The Beatles (1967)
  103. Sign 'O' the Times — Prince (1987)
  104. Songs in the Key of Life — Stevie Wonder (1976)
  105. Stankonia — OutKast (2000)
  106. Station to Station — David Bowie (1976)
  107. The Stone Roses — The Stone Roses (1989)
  108. The Sun Sessions — Elvis Presley (1956)
  109. Tapestry — Carole King (1971)
  110. There's a Riot Goin' On — Sly & the Family Stone (1971)
  111. Thriller — Michael Jackson (1982)
  112. To Pimp a Butterfly — Kendrick Lamar (2015)
  113. Trans-Europe Express — Kraftwerk (1977)
  114. Tusk — Fleetwood Mac (1979)
  115. Unknown Pleasures — Joy Division (1979)
  116. The Velvet Underground & Nico — The Velvet Underground (1967)
  117. What's Going On — Marvin Gaye (1971)
  118. The White Album — The Beatles (1968)
  119. Whitney Houston — Whitney Houston (1985)
  120. Who's Next — The Who (1971)
  121. Wish You Were Here — Pink Floyd (1975)

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