All the praise you've heard for this album is true, but just to reiterate, the paranoid lyrics are genius; the production is brilliant; the melodies are beautiful; the top tracks ("Airbag"; "Paranoid Android"; "Exit Music"; "Let Down"; "Karma Police" and "No Surprises" among them) are some of the best songs I've ever heard in my life, and not a single song is anywhere near bad.

Extremely creative album that knows no genre boundaries. Pretty varied, too - tunes range from quick, concise, lighthearted, and funky ("Been Caught Stealin'") to progressive epics that analyze elements of human nature("Three Days")

The Smashing Pumpkins are one of my favorite bands, and this is their best album. Billy's in top form as a lyricist ("Mayonaise") and shows us his unique ability to both tug at your heartstrings ("Disarm"; "Soma"; "Luna") and make you bang your head ("Cherub Rock"; "Today"; "Quiet"; "Rocket").

The best classic rock album by a modern rock band I've ever heard. The guitars are unbeatable ("Alive"; "Evenflow"), but where it really shines are in the huge ballads with huge choruses ("Jeremy"; "Black"; "Release") or the small ballads with small chorus ("Oceans")

I'm not a big fan of rap, but I know what I like and OutKast makes the list. Ridiculously creative, with thoughtful lyrics, amazing atmosphere, and plenty of variety. My favorites are the title song, "Mainstream", "Two Dope Boyz"; "Wheelz of Steel", "Elevators", "Babylon" and "13th Floor/Growin' Old"

By contrast, this is one of the most uplifting albums I've ever heard. Four massive singles ("Where the Streets Have No Name"; "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking for"; "With or Without You"; "Bullet the Blue Sky") made U2 the superstars they at the time deserved to be; and Bono's passionate vocals make a few of these songs what they are ("Exit").

This is about as abstract as jazz gets. No rhythm section at all, which means you can just focus on the sensitive, beautiful interplay between Hancock and Shorter. One of my favorite Herbie Hancock discs - it's a bit repetitive, but even the lesser tracks have moments of genius.

I'm not an enormous Soundgarden fan, but these are some tasty singles, melodic metal with a brain. Includes the classics "Black Hole Sun", "Spoonman", "The Day I Tried to Live" and "Superunknown".

Simply put, this is entertainment in its purest form. No innovation; little experimentation; just hooks, hooks, and more hooks. "Interstate Love Song" was, without a doubt, one of the greatest singles of the '90s.

I always find a way to work Stevie into my favorite-albums list, and it's because he's a genius. This is his best album in quite a long time, with the funk quotient high and the sincerity quotient higher. Great Prince guest spot on "So What the Fuss", too.