10 Classic Albums From My CD Collection

Collecting CDs in my country might be one of the most difficult tasks you can ever propose to yourself: the vast majority of the music you'd aim to own physically is not nationally available, and the small amounts of it that are on stock are crazily expensive. There isn't a culture of possessing music that maintains itself despite modernity and current trends such as music platforms or streaming media. As a direct consequence, my collection is constituted by a bit more than 50 pieces. I wish I could have more but, as slow as it happens, it's getting bigger and bigger.

Many of them, luckily, are my primal releases: some of them hold truly special places in my heart, whether they're old or relatively new, and whether they belong to some rock catalogues or a DJ's main apparatus. Some of them, in my opinion, are classics already. And that's why I wanted to pay homage to my humble belongings and give them the praise they deserve in my blog.

The ten albums that I took for this edition have been pressed across five decades, and I've narrowed the list down to records that are dated until 2009. Here are they, as well as the reasons why I love them so much...

The Beatles - Revolver (1966) 

Score: 10 

The seventh release from the most influential band in music history marks a complete departure from their boy-band image packed up with pop/rock shiny tunes, favouring psychedelic music, new instrumentals brought from the far East and lyrics that coped with controversial topics like drug usage, political abandon and social injustices. Chamanic production, masterful execution and an immaculate connection make up for a perfect trip.

The Velvet Underground & Nico - The Velvet Underground & Nico (1968)

Score: 10 

The collaborative project between the so-far unknown band and the German chanteuse came out as a commercial failure upon release, but it's cultivated a cult following ever since and it's now considered one of the best records ever. The performances are haunting and cacophonous, as the lyrics reveal tumultuous lifestyles and a constant desire for spiritual illumination and zenitude. Proto-punk mixed with artsy desperation. How great.

Astor Piazzolla - Libertango (1974) 

Score: 9.3 

The prolific Argentinian tango composer and bandoneonist broke all canons and standards while fusing traditional structures of the genre with heavy percussion and experimental techniques brought from his upbringing in Italy, and Libertango is the perfect summary of a career dedicated to transgress and surpass what's established and applauded. Beautiful compositions adorn a record that weeps and dances through the head and body.

Fleetwood Mac - Rumours (1977) 

Score: 9.3 

The eleventh record from the popular band is a sweet, melodramatic sequence of songs that aim for positivity and communal work after the media created a rumour in which they said the band was on the verge of splitting up. The voices switch and turn into each other perfectly, as the melodies and instrumentals deliver quirky and organic moments of grace, compassion and versatile reality.

Virus - Locura (1985) 

Score: 9.2 

The fifth album from one of the greatest Argentinian bands fuses rock with synth-wave and techtronic approaches at urban, queer storytelling. In a time marked by political unstability and social repression, a voice like Federico Moura will be remembered as courageous, sincere and highly admirable. Locura hurts with its finesse, its delicacy and its subtle masochism; so much, it enlightens.

Charly García - Cómo Conseguir Chicas (1989) 

Score: 10 

The fifth release from genius Charly García might be his most underappreciated to date. Many would consider it to be the beginning of his falldown, primarily because of drugs and family issues and an evident vocal loss, but in my opinion it's his most funky, versatile and touching album. Kinky ballads, undeniable dancefloor bangers and a cerebral melancholy create a universe where words and instrumentals are so powerful they excel each other.

Alanis Morissette - Jagged Little Pill (1995) 

Score: 9.2 

The third album from the Canadian singer-songwriter is the hippiest adventure you'll find in recent musicology. Breathy, airy and organic guitars are mixed with grunge, gut and speed to concoct precious premonitions and advice from a mind like no other, full of wisdom, empathy and realistic positivity. Jagged Little Pill is a 90's symbol, a record that takes you to an era where things looked simpler and more practical.

Björk - Homogenic (1997) 

Score: 10 

The Icelandic singer-songwriter and producer Björk has been making a name for herself with her unorthodox take on pop house music, but it's on her third album where she defines her volatile personality and signals her mysterious approach at experimentalism, mixing icy electronics with neo-classical production. The results are obliteratingly catchy, fulled with rough energy, simbiosis and catharsis that evolves into supreme austerity and nirvana.

Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam (2007) 

Score: 9.4 

After cementing their status as the most forward-thinking outfit in the newest current of indie artists, the collective starts their most accessible stage with an album that explodes colour, sympathy and careless spirituality. There's amazing and mad production going around the nine glorious tracks, and the members seem to exploit on their capacities to the fullest and highest. Strawberry Jam demands energy but gives back pleasure and awe-struckiness.

Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca (2009) 

Score: 9.3 

The poppiest and most "accessible" release from the American group Dirty Projectors feels claustrophobic in craziness but utterly sweet and cerebral in execution. David Longstreth's geniality hangs it all together, but Angel Deradoorian and Amber Coffman delight with their magnific voices and pulsating instrumentals. The tracks are vibrant and syrupy, but Bitte Orca benefits more for these juxtapositions and contradictions and it's imperfectly sensible.