What albums do you think everyone that likes music should hear? Albums that have carved a permanent niche in history.

Some examples from me:

Dark Side of the Moon - Pink Floud
American Beauty - Grateful Dead
The Doors - S/T
London Calling - The Clash

Those are mainly on the rock side of things. However, I would like to see everything from power metal to techno, to ska, to classical.

And not just 20th century either. ANY music.

joy division - unknown pleasures
the beatles- everything
the stooges- funhouse
bob dylan - blonde on blonde, highway 61 revisited, bringing it all back home, blood on the tracks
the replacements - let it be
the velvet underground - everything

there are albums that i like a lot, but wouldn't call essential. these are ESSENTIAL.

I really think everybody's tastes vary too much to have 'essentials'. >_>

It's impossible to make an all-time list but you can do it for a time period or a subgenre of music. And even then it's likely to be quite large.

Out of the early rock I've been listening to lately, I'd recommend Van Morisson's Moondance and The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan.

To me, Illinois by Sufjan Stevens is the closest thing to perfect that I've ever heard. For almost 2 years, I've listened to that album and have grown to appreciate it more and more each time I listen to it. Everytime I think I know it inside out, I end up noticing something in the music that I didn't notice before. I love it, I think that anyone could give it a listen and enjoy it on some level, even if the whole 'experimental folk' thing isn't your thing.

Vashti Bunyan - Just Another Diamond Day
John Phillips - Wolf King of L.A.
Phil Ochs - I Ain't Marchin Any More
Donovan - Mellow Yellow
Van Dyke Parks - Song Cycle
Charles Mingus - Pithecanthropus Erectus
Grateful Dead - American Beauty
John Cale - Vintage Violence
Leonard Cohen - The Songs of Leonard Cohen

Those are some good ones. This is a weak topic but I'd say Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Live Rust should be in there somewhere.

definitely @ the live rust

every music fan should SEE it as well

Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
King Crimson - In the Court
Some Led Zeppelin album

I'm sure there are more, but yeah.

Oh, can't forget Rush - Moving Pictures!!!

A couple other really good ones which are on the edge of being "must-hear" albums and just really good:

Brian Eno - Here Come the Warm Jets
Big Brother & the Holding Company w/ Janis Joplin - Live @ Winterland '68
Love - Forever Changes
Rolling Stones - Flowers or Their Satanic Majesties Request

Spence is on a roll. Any Eno record should be heard at least once. Love's Forever Changes is a definite must, too. In The Court... is another good pick.

Okay I guess I'm going for a change of pace and make my albums a bit more broad. I love these albums. Love them and think if you truely love music (all of it) you'll love them too.

NWA - Straight out of Compton
Radiohead - everything, but mostly Hail to the Thief
Cake - Fashion Nugget
Circa Survive - Juturna
Kool Keith and Dan the Automator as Dr.Octagon - Dr. Octagonecologist
Everytime I Die - Hot Damn!
Glassjaw - Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Silence
Incubus - S.C.I.E.N.C.E.
The Mars Volta - De-Loused in the Comatorium
Mr. Bungle - S/T
Nine Inch Nails - Broken

Uh there's more and more obvious ones (Led Zeppelin, Hendrix, The Doors, So on and so on) but these are just some of the one's I would tell people to listen to.

Here's a departure from the pop-oriented albums:

Indian Classical - sitar, tabla:
Shivkumar Sharma, Brijbushan Kabra, Hariprasad Chaurasia - Call Of The Valley

Clint Mansell with Kronos Quartet - Requiem for a Dream Soundtrack
Yes, it's a good movie, but Mansells compositions are utterly beautiful and deeply moving

Igor Stravinsky - The Rite of Spring
see the ballet. Fantastic work of symphonic art

Hector Berlioz - Symphonie Fantastique Opus 14
excellent romantic era symphony

Descendents - Milo Goes To College
My Bloody Valentine - Loveless

Spencer's last post is worthwhile. I listened to Symphonie Fantastique as I went to bed this morning.