Any album “list” is going to be incomplete. It’s going to be filled with albums you agree with, artists you hate and some sort of commentary that you probably disagree with. This list is no different. However, rather than ranking these in order of importance or influence, we decided to pick 30 Albums that Define Cool. It’s not a “Best of XXXX” list by any stretch of the imagination (because honestly, that would be presumptuous), just thirty albums that we think are cool. These things tend to spark huge debates, so feel free to let us have it in the comments.





London Calling – The Clash Long before Punk Rock was about frosted tips and dudes wearing eyeliner, there was The Clash. Anti-establishment, without being destructive, you only need to put on “London Calling” or Google Image search “The Clash” to figure out why they’re definitively cool. Amazon | iTunes





Legend – Bob Marley & The Wailers The likelihood of anyone reading this having heard of Reggae music without Bob Marley is unlikely. More than just a man with a positive message, Marley was a poster boy for positive change in the world. Amazon | iTunes





The Dark Side of the Moon – Pink Floyd Four words: The Wizard of Oz. Or, maybe, Best Space Rock Ever. Floyd’s been on the cutting edge of music for longer than most of us have been alive, and they helped birth a good portion of the music on your phone today. Amazon | iTunes





OK Computer / Kid A – Radiohead Debating OK Computer and Kid A is like discussing religion or politics in public, so we’re not going to. Radiohead gets a twofer because we love both these cool albums like the children we don’t have—equally but differently. OK Computer: Amazon | iTunes

Kid A: Amazon | iTunes





Licensed to Ill – Beastie Boys 9 million copies sold. First hip hop LP to top Billboard. Columbia’s fastest-selling debut record. Includes “Girls,” “Fight For Your Right,” “No Sleep til Brooklyn,” and, scratch the track listing. Every song on this album is awesome. RIP MCA. Amazon | iTunes





American Recordings – Johnny Cash The Man in Black’s place on this list needs no explanation, but we will say this: To this day, Cash is the only person to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame. The name is fitting because this album is the epitome of ‘Merica. Amazon





The Black Album – Metallica Don’t even pretend like you don’t know the chorus to “Enter Sandman” word for word. Overzealous legal lawsuits aside, The Black Album is one of the few metal records of the 80s early 90s that you can put on today and listen to front to back without snickering. Amazon | iTunes





Live at Wembley ‘86 – Queen You can’t talk about cool musical albums and not mention Freddie Mercury’s Queen. It’s too late to experience Mercury’s on-stage antics at a live concert, but that doesn’t mean you can’t go back in time with this album. Amazon | iTunes





Stankonia – Outkast Even if you remove André 3000’s considerable style from the equation, he and Big Boi are two cool dudes. Stankonia blended dirty south with catchy lyrics and even more groove worthy melodies and beats. Amazon | iTunes





Rocket to Russia – Ramones Punk rock is cool. The Ramones are punk rock. Therefore, the Ramones are cool. Amazon | iTunes





Ready to Die -The Notorious B.I.G. There are plenty of reasons to call him big poppa, but they all started with this album. It’s time to give it another listen remember why. Amazon | iTunes





Blood Sugar Sex Magik – Red Hot Chili Peppers We’re not going to get into the current state of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, but we will definitely go back and revisit what made them one of the coolest bands of the 90s with Blood Sugar Sex Magik. Amazon | iTunes





Unplugged in New York – Nirvana You could easily make a case for this Nirvana spot being occupied by Nevermind, but that’s a little too main stream for our tastes. We never got to see Nirvana live, so we choose to revisit the legacy with this unplugged album. Amazon | iTunes





The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan – Bob Dylan Bob Dylan essentially invented modern rock music. This particular album ended up on our list because a) it’s cool and b) it was one of the first 50 recordings to be added to the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress. Yeah, that’s right, even Congress thinks this album is cool. Amazon | iTunes





IV – Led Zeppelin Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, Robert Plant and John Bonham walk into a recording studio. Magic happens. IV (or ZoSo, Four Symbols, The Fourth Album, etc., etc.) is a testament to four guys throwing a big middle finger to the industry, and it also includes that one song that all drunk people request, well, everywhere there is live music. Amazon | iTunes





Discovery – Daft Punk If you’ve never danced to this album, you’re doing it wrong. Two awesomely dressed French Robot DJs bringing acid house and techno to the masses in the form of songs that will be stuck in your head for days. Amazon | iTunes





Abbey Road – The Beatles No explanation required. Amazon | iTunes





The Downward Spiral – Nine Inch Nails Somehow, Trent Reznor made industrial goth rock cool. Lighter and more refined than Pretty Hate Machine (and featured in Rock Band!), The Downward Spiral takes you right to the edge without going over. Amazon | iTunes





The Queen is Dead – The Smiths Without Morrissey and Marr’s work as The Smiths, it’s unlikely alternative rock would exist today. If, somehow, it still managed to limp along (these things happen), it wouldn’t sound anything like the emotional odyssey that is The Queen is Dead. Amazon | iTunes





Is This It – The Strokes No shit, we could listen to this album on repeat for hours in the office and never want to steal back control of the Grooveshark account. Groovy without being sleepy, catchy without being annoying and effected without being affected, this is it. Amazon | iTunes





Appetite For Destruction – Guns N’ Roses For us, Guns N’ Roses albums are like Matrix movies—we pretend like the first one is the only one that exists. Bandanas, Slash, top hats, Axl, gravelly vocals and a wicked strut are just a few of the reasons that make Appetite for Destruction cool… and a necessity in your karaoke repertoire. Amazon | iTunes





Under a Blood Red Sky – U2 We’re not going to get into the current state of U2, but the guys have, in the past, put out some pretty great tunes. They also made skullcaps and giant sunglasses (kind of) cool again. We dare you not to be moved by “Sunday Bloody Sunday” or “The Electric Co.” live. Amazon | iTunes





Oracular Spectacular – MGMT At least partially responsible for making “indie” music what it is today, the seminal release from MGMT will make you feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside. Oh yeah, and sweet vintage keyboards. Amazon | iTunes





Elephant – The White Stripes The White Stripes made stripped down rock and roll cool again. Percussion, plus guitar and vocals, mixed with an excellently monochromatic color scheme make The White Stripes a force to be reckoned with. For our money, it doesn’t get better than Elephant. Amazon | iTunes





The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars – David Bowie Glam rock is David Bowie. David Bowie is glam rock. Without Bowie, music would never have brought space back to Earth. Ziggy Stardust gave birth to the rock persona. Amazon | iTunes





Run-DMC – Run-DMC Three dudes from Queens put a new breed of hip-hop on the pop culture map with this album. The C in DMC stands for cool. Seriously. Amazon | iTunes





The Chronic – Dr. Dre Dre left N.W.A. and released a solo album. Not only is The Chronic one of the best hip hop albums of all time, it also launched Snoop’s solo career. Need we say more? Amazon





Back in Black – AC/DC If you can listen to this album without wanting to break shit, be a rock star and sing along, we will pick up your next bar tab. No one needs a description why AC/DC is cool. Amazon





Up Your Alley – Joan Jett Hot chicks in leather with guitars playing pure rock and roll. Thanks, Joan Jett. Amazon | iTunes





Straight Outta Compton – N.W.A. Eazy-E, Arabian Prince, Dr. Dre, DJ Yella, Ice Cube and MC Ren are undeniably cool. This album made N.W.A., and gangsta rap, a certifiably cool force to be reckoned with. Amazon | iTunes





So that’s our list. What would be on yours? Tell us in the comments.