If we were picking the best albums

“Paul’s Boutique,” Beastie Boys: I think the thing that separates the Beasties from wannabe hip-hop/rock/alternative fusion bands (a la Limp Bizkit) is that these guys have some soul. They can rock, but they also do a great job mixing their own funky grooves with borrowed samples, without making it seem like they’re just ripping off old songs (you hear me Puffy?). This album has toe-tappingly good music, amusing lyrics and is really strong all the way through. — Bob Harkins

“Harvest Moon,” Neil Young: Neil is such a consistent stream of talent and tenacity throughout my life of listening to music that he would be at or near the top of any list and "Harvest Moon" remains his best work of the past two decades, although 1985's "Old Ways" gets an honorable mention. — Mike Stuckey

“American Recordings,” Johnny Cash: Nearly 40 years after making a name for himself in the country music world, Johnny Cash released “American Recordings,” a bare-bones folk album that played almost exclusively on alt-rock stations. A mix of originals, covers and live tracks, “American Recordings” offered choices to attract even the most countryphobic audience. The light-handed production of Rick Rubin allowed Cash’s still-perfect voice to be the main attraction with a quietly mixed acoustic guitar as its only accompaniment. — Ree Hines

“Rattle & Hum,” U2:  I know the critics hated it in the wake of “The Joshua Tree,” but Rattle hit me harder. The songs have more of an angry edge, with Bono at his preachy best on tracks like “Pride (In the Name of Love)” and “Silver and Gold.” — Rob Merrill

Tommy Boy

“3 Feet High and Rising,” De La Soul: Two 1989 hip-hop releases battled my soul for this spot on this painfully-impossible list — “Paul’s Boutique” (Beastie Boys) and “3 Feet High and Rising” (De La Soul). After realizing that no one was going to dump me on a desert island with the five albums that finally made my ballot, I went with “3 Feet High” — mostly because it samples “Sesame Street” (and that makes me really happy). The trio culled their bottomless knowledge of every music genre to create a debut album like no other hip-hop heard before. Instead of just grabbing beats, De La Soul sampled whole passages from the likes of Hall & Oates, Johnny Cash, the Turtles, yodeling, recorded French lessons, and even hip-hop icons Public Enemy. A goofy game show skit ties the tracks together, cementing ridiculous exclamations such as “I wanna win all the money! I wanna win all the money!” in the brain of anyone addicted to this record. Eclectic is the keyword here, with De La Soul rapping and singing about love, sex and peace. Still, it was “Potholes on My Lawn" that became the big R&B hit, yodeling samples and all. — Helen A.S. Popkin

“Raising Hell,” Run DMC: The album that put rap on the map. My friends and I would pop the tape into a boom box and play basketball all day, trying to channel a little bit of its street cred into our decidedly below-the-rim games. To this day I can’t hear “My Adidas” without thinking about the summer of 1986. — Rob Merrill

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“Hounds of Love,” Kate Bush: Unhappy with the direction her career was headed, in 1985 Kate Bush built her own studio and produced her best work to date, the elegant and well-executed concept album “Hounds of Love.” The first half of the album is made up relationship-analyzing pop singles, and yet somehow it blends perfectly with the second half, a prog set chronicling a woman’s near-death experience. Stranger still is that 20 years later this synth-heavy album hardly sounds dated. — Ree Hines

“OK Computer,” Radiohead: Even if Radiohead isn't the biggest rock band in the world — U2 still holds that crown — they are the best, and "OK Computer" is the best they've put out. Thom Yorke's lyrics do exactly what music and art are supposed to do — reach deep inside and remind you that you've got a soul. It sounds pretentious, but "OK Computer" really is that good. The album artfully waxes and wanes an emotional sea, cresting with "Karma Police" and then exploding with the brash "Electioneering" before easing out with "No Surprises". Looking back, "OK Computer" is a brilliant bridge between the pure rock Radiohead of old and the electronica infused Radiohead of today, with some of Johnny Greenwood's best guitar work before he ensconced himself in his powerbook on "Kid A" and "Amnesiac". This is rock and roll at its absolute finest. — Jim Ray

Capitol

“Exile in Guyville,” Liz Phair: In a pop culture lousy with male coming-of-age stories, there’s been little for the girl-on-the-outside to grab onto. Praise the heavens that Liz Phair pulled out her four-track recorder and created what would become a lo-fi tome to the female experience. Allegedly a song-by-song response to the Rolling Stones’ “Exile on Main St.,” Phair’s debut, “Exile in Guyville” received rave reviews and a lot of stupid criticism from the likes of Steve Albini and the noise-rock scene of Chicago, Phair’s hometown. Phair’s detached vocals loop from folk-rock rave-ups to spooky piano pieces, aptly covering topics such as breakups, booty calls gone awry and proving yourself to jerks. The lyrics are smart, vivid and often profane — the later making her the pinup girl du jour of drooling indie rock boys. Lesser releases dropped Phair from their radar, but girls can always come back to this Rosetta Stone of ladylike angst. — Helen A.S. Popkin

“If I Should Fall From Grace With God,” The Pogues: Not Shane MacGowan’s most soulful work (that would be “Peace and Love”) but the melodies on the title track and gems like “Fiesta” perfectly show off the Pogues’ classic Celtic punk sound. And of course there’s “Fairytale of New York,” perhaps the most poignant Christmas song ever written about the Big Apple. True, the mood is enhanced by an afternoon in a dingy pub, but the Pogues’ unmatched mix of tenderness and cruelty was never displayed better. — Jon Bonné

“The Low End Theory,” A Tribe Called Quest: By the time I got to college, hip-hop had already taken over the Billboard charts and neo-soul artists like D'Angelo were emerging as the crooners of my time. Had I been a few years earlier, though, the playlist at my college parties would've likely been more Tribe, less Wu Tang. Tribe hit the scene as thinking man's rappers, which meant their audience comprised mostly college kids weened on indie rock who were looking to shake their butt's a little bit. Picking up where De La Soul left off as sunnier, though no less real, alternatives to gangsta rap, Tribe built on jazzy musicianship and brilliant wordsmithing to create a truly profound sound. — Jim Ray

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