804. D'Angelo - Brown Sugar

Release Date: 1995
Label: EMI

I couldn't get this album at all. It just didn't do anything for me.

Rating: 3/10

650. Kate Bush - The Sensual World

Release Date: 1989
Label: EMI

I have enjoyed almost everything Kate Bush has released. Sometimes I find it a challenge, but it always rewards,

Rating: 9/10

572. Talk Talk - The Colour of Spring

Release Date: 1986
Label: EMI

I'm fairly sure I enjoyed this album when I listened to it.

Rating: 7/10

557. Kate Bush - Hounds of Love

Release Date: 1985
Label: EMI

This is an album I already own. I love the first half, but I've never been so sure of the second.

Rating: 8/10

514. Duran Duran - Rio

Release Date: 1982
Label: EMI

Darren Darren's tribute to Rio has been labelled 'perfect pop' in some quarters (i.e. the Le Bon family) and it may almost be true. I may be fortunate in the fact that I haven't been overexposed to these songs because the title track, 'Hungry Like The Wolf' and 'Save a Prayer' still sound fresh and exciting.

Rating: 9/10

513. Iron Maiden - Number of the Beast

Release Date: 1982
Label: EMI

I'm not the biggest metal fan in the world but I really enjoyed this album. It has everything you'd expected - vocals inspired by Robert Plant, widdly guitars, powerful drums and songs that would make your Sunday School teacher blush.

Rating: 8/10

506. Kate Bush - The Dreaming

Release Date: 1982
Label: EMI

Kate Bush is always an artist who splits opinion. To some, she is no more than a lunatic flailing her arms about, singing glass shattering songs about leotards. To others, she is an innovative genius, creative and orignal. I think she sits somewhere in the middle. 'The Dreaming' (her fourth album, and the first in the book) doesn't have any stand-out single such as 'Running up that Hill', 'Wuthering Heights' or 'Baboshka'. but it does have the ability to make you sit up and listen.

Rating: 8/10

469. Iron Maiden - Iron Maiden

Release Date: 1980
Label: EMI

I'm sure they didn't mean to offend me, but I have never liked Iron Maiden ever since I worked in HMV. All of their albums look the same. This album hasn't helped ease the displeasure either.

Rating: 5/10

445. Gang of Four - Entertainment

Release Date: 1979
Label: EMI

If Gang of Four were to have released this album and then split up a week later, they'd still be one of the most important bands to come from Leeds. Second to only The Pigeon Detectives. Entertainment! is their debut album, and if the rest of their back catalogue is this good, then they have another fan.

Rating: 10/10

396. Kraftwerk - The Man Machine

Release Date: 1978
Label: EMI

A few years ago, when I decided to give Kraftwerk a try this was the album I bought. It was probably because 'The Model' was the only song of theirs I really knew. Like the rest of their albums on the list, it is excellent.

Rating: 9/10

345. Queen - A Night At The Opera

Release Date: 1975
Label: EMI

This is the first Queen album I've enjoyed throughout. It is not perfect - there are too many 'novelty' songs to make it so - but when it's good, it's very good. The four queens are all talented songwriters, and this is perhaps most evident on this album. "You're My Best Friend", for example, is one of the best songs on the album, and was the first one written by John Deacon. Compare this to the first song ever written by George Harrison.

Rating: 9/10

317. Queen - Sheer Heart Attack

Release Date: 1974
Label: EMI

Sheer Heart Attack was the third album from Queen, and they are clearly still a long way off their peak. There is nothing particularly special about this album apart from the standout track, which is comfortably 'Killer Queen'.

Rating: 6/10

309. Queen - Queen II

Release Date: 1974
Label: EMI

When this album was released, Queen were still a few years from their peak. The talent - especially that of Freddie Mercury and Brian May is evident throughout. The album has elements of glam and rock , but far less originality than you'd expect.

Rating: 7/10

306. Kraftwerk - Autobahn

Release Date: 1974
Label: EMI

This is such an important album in the evolution of popular music that it would deserve to be here even if it was awful. Fortunately it was far from bad - from the memorable, game-changing title track to the final few notes of 'Morgenspaziergang' it was just great. It won't be for everyone, but I really liked it.

Rating: 9/10

103. Hariprasad Chaurasia, Brij Bhushan and Shivkumar Sharma - Call of The Valley

Release Date: 1967
Label: EMI

89. Pink Floyd - Piper at the Gates of Dawn

Release Date: 1967
Label: EMI

While The Beatles were recording their forgotten masterpiece, Sgt. Pepper another quartet were in one of the adjacent studios laying down takes for what was to become their debut album. Their producer, Norman Smith, had been an engineer on The Beatles earliest songs but had since been promoted. The result of these sessions was 'The Piper at the Gates of Dawn' - named after a chapter in Kenneth Grahame's 'The Wind in the Willows'. That's a book I've never read. I have listened to this album many times though, and whilst it's not my favourite Pink Floyd album, it's not my least favourite either. It's Syd Barrett at his peak and simply because of that, it's worth buying. The only reason I haven't given it 9 or 10 stars is because I'm not too keen on Roger Waters' contribution to the tracklist

Rating: 8/10
Favourite Track: Interstellar Overdrive.