The Wire Magazine focuses upon new directions music is taking, paths that remain relatively ignored in media covering popular currents. This includes the leading edge of pop, but also jazz, classical, world and electronica.



End Of Year Lists













2010
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The Wire - 100 Most Important Records Ever Made
(from 1992, roughly chronological)


• Anton Webern - Complete Works Conducted By Pierre Boulez
• Various - On The Halls
• Bessie Smith - The World's Greatest Blues Singer / Any Woman's Blues / Empty Red Blues / The Empress / Nobody's Blues But Mine
• Blind Willie Johnson - Praise God I'm Satisfied
• Charley Patton - Founder Of The Delta Blues
• Dinwiddie Colored Quartet - Early Negro Vocal Quartets Volume One
• Igor Stravinsky - The Firebird / Petrushka / The Rite Of Spring
• Jelly Roll Morton - Centennial: His Complete Victor Recordings
• Louis Armstrong - Hot Five And Hot Seven
• Various - Really! The Country Blues
• Billie Holiday With The Teddy Wilson Orchestra - The Complete
• Coleman Hawkins - Body And Soul
• Count Basie - The Original American Decca Recordings
• Duke Ellington - The Blanton-Webster Years
• Dziga Vertov - Enthusiasm: Symphony Of The Donbas
• Muggsy Spanier - The Great 16
• Robert Johnson - The Complete Recordings
• Charlie Parker - The Savoy Sessions
• Lennie Tristano - Intuition
• Thelonious Monk - Genius Of Modern Music Volumes One And Two
• Woody Herman - Four Brothers
• Art Tatum - The Tatum Solo Masterpieces
• Elvis Presley - That's All Right (Mama) / Blue Moon Of Kentucky
• Frank Sinatra - Songs For Swinging Lovers
• Julie London - Julie Is Her Name
• Olivier Messiaen - Turangalia Symphony
• Sonny Rollins - Saxophone Collosus
• Various - Folk Music Of The Mediterranean
• Bill Evans - The Village Vanguard Sessions / Move From The Vanguard
• Bo Diddley - Go Bo Diddley
• Chuck Berry - Sweet Little Sixteen
• Gil Evans - Out Of The Cool
• Karlheinz Stockhausen - Gesang Der Junglinge / Kontakt
• Miles Davis - Kind Of Blue
• Oliver Nelson - Blues And The Abstract Truth
• Ornette Coleman - Change Of The Century
• The Five Royales - Dedicated To The One I Love
• Bela Bartok - Bartok At The Piano 1920-45
• Albert Ayler Trio - Spiritual Unity
• Booker T And The MGs - Green Onions
• Charles Mingus - The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady
• Ezz Reco And The Launchers - King Of Kings
• Lamonte Young - Sunday Morning Blues
• The Kingsmen - Louie Louie
• Alegre All-Stars - They Don't Make 'Em Like Us Anymore
• Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited
• Eric Dolphy - Out To Lunch
• James Brown - Papa's Got A Brand New Bag
• The Kinks - See My Friend
• Various - A Collection Of 16 Tamla Motown Hits
• Frank Zappa and The Mothers Of Invention - We're Only In It For The Money
• John Coltrane - A Love Supreme
• Morton Subotnick - Silver Apples Of The Moon
• The Beatles - Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
• Captain Beefheart And The Magic Band - Trout Mask Replica
• Jimi Hendrix - Axis Bold As Love
• Rolling Stones - Let It Bleed
• Scott Walker - Scott 3
• Sly And The Family Stone - Dance To The Music
• The Melodians - Pre-meditation
• The Meters - Look A Py Py
• The Velvet Underground - White Light / White Heat
• Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin IV
• Soft Machine - Third
• The Stooges - Funhouse
• Various Whales - Songs Of The Humpback Whale
• Bob Marley - Catch A Fire
• Joni Mitchell - Ladies Of The Canyon
• Marvin Gaye - Let's Get It On
• Philip Glass - Music In Twelve Parts
• Ravi Shankar And Ali Akbar Khan - In Concert 1972
• Steely Dan - Can't Buy A Thrill
• Stevie Wonder - Innervisions
• Various - Nuggets: Original Artyfacts From The First Psychedelic Era 1965-68
• Brian Eno - Another Green World
• Can - Soon Over Babaluma
• Fela Ransome Kuti And The Africa 70 - Kalakuta Show
• Grupo Folklorio Y Experimental Nuevayorquino - Concepts In Unity
• Patti Smith - Horses
• Evan Parker - Monoceros
• Hans Jurgen Syberberg - Hitler, A Film From Germany
• Kraftwerk - Trans Europe Express
• Pere Ubu - Dub Housing
• Public Image Ltd - Metal Box
• The Clash - The Clash
• Alban Berg - Lulu
• Grandmaster Flash And The Furious Five - The Adventures Of .....
• The Fall - Slates, Slags Etc
• The Pop Group - Y
• Christian Marclay - Record Without A Cover
• Husker Du - Zen Arcade
• King Sunny Ade - Juju Music
• Madonna - Into The Groove
• Michael Jackson - Thriller
• Minor Threat - Minor Threat
• Various - The Indestructible Beat Of Soweto
• Ami Koita - Tata Sira
• Cecil Taylor - In Berlin '88
• Mr Fingers - Washing Machine
• Public Enemy - Bring The Noise

upBullet Skip To Top


100 (130) Records That Set The World On Fire
(while no one was listening)


Tired of being reminded by other magazines that the best albums in the world were made by The Beatles, Beach Boys and Rolling Stones? So is The Wire magazine. They polled their writers to come up with a guide to 100 records that should have ignited the world's imagination, except that everyone else was fiddling...

See also: The Guardian which also compiled a list with similar criteria.


• Charles Ives - Symphony No. 4 (1910-16) (Grammophon) 88
• Blind Willie Johnson - "Dark Was The Night, Cold Was The Ground" (Columbia) 29
• Bob Graettinger - City Of Glass/This Modern World (Capitol) 53
• Louis & Bebe Barron - Forbidden Planet OST (Small Planet) 56
• Esquivel And His Orchestra - Other Worlds Other Sounds (RCA) 58
• The Blue Men - I Hear A New World (RGM White Label/RPM) 60
• Joe Harriott - Abstract (Columbia/Capitol) 61
• Son House - The Original Delta Blues (Columbua/Legacy) 64
• William S. Burroughs - Call Me Burroughs (ESP) 65
• Steve Reich - Early Works: Come Out/It's Gonna Rain (Elektra) 65
• Albert Ayler - In Greenwich Village (Impulse!) 67
• Bill Dixon Orchestra - Intents And Purposes (RCA) 67
• Gottfried Michael Koenig - Terminus II/Funktion Grun (Deutsche Grammophon) 67
• Sun Ra - Strange Strings (Saturn) 67
• Blue Cheer - Vincebus Eruptum (Philips) 68
• Dr. John the Night Tripper - Gris-Gris (Atco) 68
• Pearls Before Swine - Balaklava (ESP) 68
• Spontaneious Music Ensemble - Karyobin (Chronoscope) 68
• The United States Of America (CBS) 68
• El Camaron De La Isla & Paco De Lucia - Al Verte Las Floras Lloran (Philips) 69
• Ram John Holder - Black London Blues (Beacon) 69
• Phil Ochs - Rehearsals For Retirement (A&M) 69
• Buffy Sainte-Marie - Illuminations (Vanguard) 69
• Sonny Sharrock - Black Woman (Vortex) 69
• Silver Apples - Contact (Kapp Records) 69
• Alexander 'Skip' Spence - Oar (Columbia) 69
• Kevin Ayers & The Whole World - Shooting At The Moon (Harvest) 70
• Comus - First Utterance (BGO) 70
• Michael Gibbs (Deram) 70
• Alvin Lucier - I Am Sitting In A Room (Lovely Music) 70
• Cluster - Cluster 71 (Philips/Sky) 71
• The Last Poets (Douglas Music) 71
• The Master Musicians Of Jajouka - Brian Jones Presents The Pipes Of Pan At Jajouka (Rolling Stones) 71
• John Cale - Paris 1919 (Reprise) 72
• Alice Coltrane - Universal Consciousness (Impulse!) 72
• Miles Davis - On The Corner (Columbia) 72
• Hugh Hopper - 1984 (CBS/Cuneiform) 72
• Modern Lovers - The Original Modern Lovers (Mohawk) 72
• Annette Peacock - I'm The One (RCA) 72
• Pierre Akendengue - Nandipo (Saravah) 73
• Faust - The Faust Tapes (Virgin) 73
• Herbie Hancock - Sextant (Columbia) 73
• Larry Young - Lawrence Of Newark (Perception) 73
• Betty Davis - They Say I'm Different (Vinyl Experience) 74
• Lewis Furey (A&M) 75
• Pere Ubu - "30 Seconds Over Tokyo" (Hearthan) 75
• Lee Perry - Revolution Dub (Cactus) 75
• Lou Reed - Metal Machine Music (RCA) 75
• The Electric Eels - "Cyclotraon/Agitated" 7" (Rough Trade) 77
• Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band - Bat Chain Puller (Unreleased) 76
• Henry Cow - Concerts (Recommended) 76
• The Residents - Satisfaction (Ralph) 76
• Johnny 'Guitar' Watson - Ain't That A Bitch (DJM) 76
• Ornette Coleman - Dancing In Your Head (A&M) 77
• Glenn Gould - The Solitude Trilogy (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) 67-77
• Al Green - The Belle Album (Motown) 77
• Ron 'Pate's Debonairs featuring Rev Fred Lane - Raudeluna's 'Pataphysical Revue (Say Day Bew) 77
• Iggy Pop & James Williamson - Kill City (Bomp) 77
• Tim Souster - Swit Drimz (Transatlantic) 77
• The Human League - Being Boiled (Fast Product) 78
• The Walker Brothers - Nite Flights (GTO Records) 78
• Chrome - Half Machine Lip Moves (Siren/Beggars Banquet) 79
• Lol Coxhill - Digswell Duets (Random Radar) 79
• Robert Fripp - Exposure (EG/Polydor) 79
• Nurse With Wound - Chance Meeting On A Dissecting Table Of A Sewing Machine And An Umbrella (United Dairies) 79
• Family Fodder - Monkey Banana Kitchen (Fresh) 80
• Fire Engines - Get Up And Use Me (Pop: Aural) 80
• La Nimba De N'Zerekore - Gon Bia Bia (Syliphone) 80
• Nancy Sesay & The Melodaires - C'est Fab 7" (It's War Boys) 80
• Monoton - Monotonprodukt 07 (Monotonprodukt) 81
• Derek Bailey - Aida (Incus/Dexter's Cigar) 82
• Bad Brains (ROIR) 82
• Kip Hanrahan - Desire Develops An Edge (American Clave) 83
• Youssou N'Dour - Djamil (Senegalese Cassette) 83
• Mark Stewart & The Maffia - Learning To Cope With Cowardice (On-U Sound) 83
• Jonathan Harvey - Bhakti (NMC) 84
• The Homosexuals (Recommended) 84
• Chaba Fadella & Cheb Sahraoui - N'Sel Fik (Factory/Mango) 85
• Christian Marclay - Record Without A Cover (Recycled) 85
• Arthur Russell - World of Echo (Upside/Rough Trade) 86
• Fingers Inc - Another Side (Trax) 88
• Conlon Nancarrow - Studies For Player Piano (Wergo) 88
• Dead C - Trapdoor Fucking Exit (Siltbreeze) 90
• Royal Trux - Twin Infinitives (Drag City) 90
• Fushitsusha - DBL Live (PSF) 91
• Public Enemy - Apocalypse 91 ... The Enemy Strikes Black (Def Jam) 91
• Galina Ustvolskaya - No. 1 (Hat Art) 91
• Steven Jesse Bernstein - Prison (Sub Pop) 92
• Bally Sagoo - Wham Bam 2: The Second Massacre (Oriental Star Agencies) 92
• Luke Skywalker - "I Wanna Rock" 12" (Luke Records) 92
• Bernhard Gunter - Un Peu De Neige Salie (Selektion/Table of the Elements) 93
• Ken Ishii - Garden On The Palm (R&S) 93
• Jean C Roche - A Nocturne Of Nightingales (Sittele) 93
• Jeff Mills - X-103 Atlantis (Axis/Tresor) 93
• Paul Dolden - L'Ivresse De La Vitesse (Empreintes Digitales) 94
• 4 Hero - Parallele Universe (Reinforced) 94
• Joey Beltram - Places (Tresor) 95
• Oval - 94 Diskont (Mille Plateaux) 95
• Tony Conrad - Four Violins (Table Of The Elements) 97
• Cathy Lane - Nesting Stones (Unknown Public) 98

In The Wire 175, we polled our writers to nominate records that should have ignited the world's imagination - but somehow got forgotten along the way. What follows is not that list, but 30 runners-up that we had to leave out of the original article

• King Sunny Ade - Ju-Ju Music (Island 1982)
• Arcane Device - Engine Of Myth
• The Art Ensemble Of Chicago - Fanfare For The Warriors (Atlantic 1974)
• Baby Ford - Ford Trax (Rhythm King 1988)
• Ray Charles - The Spirit Of Christmas (CBS 1985)
• Vinicius Cantuaria - Sol Na Cara (Gramavision 1997)
• Charles Brown - Superstar Days Of Our Drive/Sweet Piece Of Ass (Win 1995)
• Lowell Davidson - Lowell Davidson Trio (ESP Disk 1965)
• Dead Can Dance - The Serpent's Egg (4AD CD 1988)
• Eric Dolphy - Out To Lunch (Blue Note 1964)
• Bob Dylan - Live At The Manchester Free Trade Hall (Bootleg/Columbia 1966)
• The 49 Americans - We Know Nonsense (Quartz LP 1982)
• Jimmy Giuffre - Free Fall (Columbia 1962)
• Golden Gate Jubilee Quartet - Golden Gate Gospel Train (Bluebird 1937)
• Hot Gossip - The Hollywood Jungle (DinDisc unreleased 1981)
• Howlin Wolf - The Howlin' Wolf Album  (Chess/Cadet 1968)
• Lee Konitz - Motion (Verve 1961)
• Labradford - A Stable Reference (Kranky/Flying Nun 1995)
• Last Exit - Last Exit (Enemy 1986)
• JB Lenoir - Alabama Blues (Bellaphon CD 1965)
• Derrick May - Debut LP (Transmat unreleased)
• Rachel's Music - For Egon Schiele (Quarterstick CD 1996)
• The Soul Stirrers (featuring Sam Cooke) - Jesus Gave Me Water (1951)
• The Staple Singers - Uncloudy Day (Vee Jay Records 1959)
• Cecil Taylor - Looking Ahead! (Original Jazz Classics 1958)
• Willie Mae Thornton - Hound Dog (Vogue 1953)
• Lennie Tristano - "I Can't Get Started With You" (Keystone 1946,)
• Various Artists - Ice Cream And Suckers (Mercury 1963)
• David S Ware - Third Ear Recitation (DIW 1993)
• Marva Whitney - It's My Thing (King 1969)