Music

1)  The Notorious BIG- Ready to Die -(1994) Around the years '87-'88, a young crack dealer named Christopher Wallace began entertaining local passersby by rapping into a beat-up old amplifier on the street corners around Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.  Six years later, he was the biggest rapper in the world.  Three years after that, he was dead.   During the short flash that was his career, only one album was to be released, a top-to-bottom classic with the eerily prophetic title 'Ready to Die'.  This album has it all.  Sick beats, brilliant lyrics, crazy flows, and that intoxicating voice of Biggie Smalls.  Key Tracks: Warning, Juicy, Ready to Die.

2) Nas- Illmatic --(1994) Five months prior to Ready to Die, this 20-year-old Queensbridge native paired with producers Large Professor, DJ Premier, Pete Rock, and Q-Tip and burst onto the scene with what would be his masterpiece. Calling the album Illmatic after his incarcerated friend Illmatic Ice, Nas originally wanted the cover to feature himself with Jesus in a headlock. Key Tracks: N.Y. State of Mind, Life's a Bitch, One Love.

3)  Dr. Dre- The Chronic --(1992) Fresh off of his split with supergroup NWA, Dre took it solo and ended up creating perhaps the best produced rap album of all time. The Chronic would introduce Parliament-laced G-funk to the mainstream and made Snoop Dogg, Warren G, and Nate Dogg stars before they'd ever even released albums of their own. Key Tracks: Nuthin' but a "G" Thang, F*ck wit Dre Day, Let Me Ride.

4) Jay-Z - Reasonable Doubt --(1996) In 1996, Jay-Z blew audiences away with his debut effort and first release on label Roc-A-Fella records.  Sean Carter had been known as "Jazzy", a nickname that developed into his stage name Jay-Z as an homage to his musical mentor Jaz-O and to the J-Z subway lines that stop by Marcy Avenue.  Jaz-O had given Jay-Z his first break by recruiting him on the 1989 song "Hawaiian Sophie."  However, it wasn't until seven years later that J truly broke through, and he's never looked back since.  Key Tracks: Dead Presidents, Brooklyn's Finest, Can't Knock the Hustle.

5) Public Enemy-It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back --(1988) Channeling the black anger and urban tension so in need of an outlet, Nation of Millions was one of the first truly socially conscious hip hop albums. Key Tracks: Bring the Noise, Don't Believe the Hype, Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos.

6) The Wu-Tang Clan- Enter The Wu-Tang Clan - 36 Chambers --(1993)  In 1993, Ghostface Killah and RZA decided to create a hip hop group whose ethos would be a blend of "Eastern philosophy picked up from kung-fu movies, watered-down Nation of Islam preaching picked up on the New York streets, and comic books."  Recruiting the best rappers they could find, RZA set out to produce an album layered with eerie beats, martial-arts movie clips and soul music samples.  To decide who appeared on each song, he forced the Wu-Tang rappers to battle with each other.  The album's title originates from the 1978 martial arts film 'The 36th Chamber of Shaolin'.  Key Tracks: C.R.E.A.M, Protect Ya Neck, Bring Da Ruckus.

7)  NWA- Straight Outta Compton --(1988) This debut studio album pioneered gangsta rap and scared a whole lot of white people in the process. Instrumental in shifting power to the west coast, Straight Outta Compton became the first album to reach platinum status without any airplay support or major tours. Key Tracks: Straight Outta Compton, Express Yourself, F*ck The Police.

8) A Tribe Called Quest- The Low End Theory --(1991) Fusing hip hop and jazz, childhood friends Q-Tip and Phife Dawg and high school mate Ali Shaheed Muhammad created an unique brand of intelligent, socially concious music.  Low End features contributions from jazz great Ron Carter on upright bass. Key Tracks: Excursions, Jazz (We've Got), Scenario.

9) Snoop Doggy Dogg- Doggystyle --(1993) Following the success of The Chronic, Doggystyle debuted at number one and sold over 800,000 copies in its first week, the record for a debuting artist. Key Tracks: Gin and Juice, Who Am I (Whats My Name)?, Lodi Dodi.

10) Raekwon- Only Built 4 Cuban Linx --(1995) Raekwon brought producer RZA and Ghostface Killah along for his solo debut, an album widely regarded as the pioneer of Mafioso rap, a genre later perfected by Biggie and Jay-Z (It was also the first hip hop album to name drop Cristal). It's title suggests that the music was as tough as Cuban link chain jewelry.  Key Tracks: Criminology, Glaciers of Ice, Rainy Dayz.

11)  Outkast- Aquemini --(1998) Outcast's third studio album took its name from a combination of the duo's astrological signs (Aquarius for Big Boi and Gemini for André 3000). The sythesizer-laden, distinctively Atlanta sounding record took only 2 months to go platinum. Key Tracks: SpottieOttieDopaliscious, Rosa Parks, Return of the "G".

12) The Fugees-The Score --(1996) The second and final album of super-group Wycelf Jean, Lauren Hill and Pras. 18 million sold. Key Tracks: Killing Me Softy, Fu-Gee-La, Ready or Not.

13) 2Pac- All Eyez On Me --(1996) All Eyez was released after Suge Knight, CEO of Death Row Records and baddest mofo on planet earth, bailed 2Pac out of jail in exchange for signing to the label.  Arriving in studio to begin work hours after being released from jail, 2Pac would lay down what would become his crowning achievement.  Key Tracks: 2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted, California Love, Ambitionz Az a Ridah.

14) Afrika Bambaataa & the Soulsonic Force- Planet Rock: The Album--(1986)  Respectfully known as the "Grandfather" for his monumental impact on the early development of hip hop (it was he who in fact coined the term), Bambaataa recently became one of the first hop hop artists to enter the rock and roll hall of fame.  Representing Zulu Nation, he released the seminal Planet Rock over two decades ago as a collection of previous singles that had up until then never appeared on an album.  Key Tracks: Planet Rock, Looking For the Perfect Beat, Renegades of Funk. 

15) Boogie Down Productions-Criminal Minded --(1987) With Criminal Minded, KRS-One and BDP laid the groundwork for gangsta rap, as it was the first album to feature gun-toting MCs on its cover and crime narratives within its tracks. Their hardcore lyrics would become all too real after DJ Scott La Rock was shot and killed a mere five months after this seminal release.  Key Tracks: The Bridge is Over, Criminal Minded, South Bronx.

16) Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five- The Message --(1982) Releasing their debut album on upstart Sugarhill Records, DJ Grandmaster Flash and MCs Melle Mel, Kidd Creole, Cowboy, Mr. Ness/Scorpio, and Rahiem essentially wrote the rule book on turntablism, break-beat deejaying, and rapping.  The title track was the first hip hop song to integrate socially and politically concious lyrics. Key Tracks: The Message, Scorpio, She's Nasty.

17) Eric B. & Rakim-Paid In Full ---(1987) After Rakim responded to Eric B.'s search for "New York's top MC," the duo got to work as Rakim's friend and roommate Marley Marl allowed them to use his home studio.  They would end up creating one of the most influential rap albums ever for its use of samples, internal rhyme, complex lyricism, and laid back flow.  Key Tracks: Eric B. Is President, I Know You Got Soul, Paid in Full.

18)  Dr. Dre-Chronic 2001 --(2001) Almost a decade after releasing his landmark album, The Chronic, Dre took back to the studio to begin work on his much-anticipated follow up.  Dre did not mince words about his motivations: "For the last couple of years, there's been a lot of talk out on the streets about whether or not I can still hold my own, whether or not I'm still good at producing. That was the ultimate motivation for me. Magazines, word of mouth and rap tabloids were saying I didn't have it any more. What more do I need to do? How many platinum records have I made? O.K., here's the album -- now what do you have to say?"    Key Tracks: Forgot About Dre, The Next Episode, What's The Difference. 

19) The Notorious BIG-Life After Death --(1997)-This double album released posthumously featured guest artists 112, Jay-Z, Lil Kim, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, R. Kelly, The LOX, Kelly Price, and Puff Daddy.  Considered a seminal mafioso rap album, it is one of three hip hop albums to ever be certified diamond (10 million US sold). Key Tracks: Notorious Thugs, Hypnotize, Ten Crack Commandments.

20) Run D.M.C.- Run DMC--(1984) Run DMC's debut effort was the first hip-hop album to ever have a 5-mic rating from The Source. Key Tracks: Rock Box, It's Like That, Sucker M.C.'s

21) Beastie Boys- Licensed To Ill ---(1986)-Some fast facts: --It is the first rap LP to top the Billboard 200 chart.  --It is Columbia Records' fastest selling debut record to date and sold over 9 million copies.  --Kerry King of Slayer made an appearance on the album playing lead guitar on "No Sleep 'Till Brooklyn".  --The '3MTA3' on the cover image of the plane spells 'EATME' when viewed in a mirror.  --The original title for the album was Don't Be a Faggot but Columbia Records refused to release the album and pressured Russell Simmons into having the Beastie Boys to come up with another name.  Key Tracks: Fight for Your Right, No Sleep Til Brooklyn, She's Crafty.

22) 2Pac- Me Against The World --(1995) Recorded in a matter of weeks before Pac was to go to prison on sexual assault charges, MATW would make the embattled rapper the first and only artist to ever have a number one album while serving a prison sentence. Key Tracks: Dear Mama, Me Against the World, Outlaw.

23) Eminem- The Marshall Mathers LP --(2000) Em's third studio album was gritty, angry, and brutally honest, lashing out against critics and illustrating the troubles that his new found fame had unearthed. The album sold more than 1.79 million copies in its first week in the US alone, making it the fastest selling solo album ever. Since its release, The Marshall Mathers LP has sold over 19 million copies to date.  Key Tracks: Stan, The Way I Am, The Real Slim Shady?

24) Ice Cube- AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted --(1990) Primarily produced by The Bomb Squad, AMW made use of several tracks Cube had originally written for NWA before their acrimonious split. Taking on the American justice system, race relations, poverty, and drug addiction in South Central, LA, Cube produced an instant classic that is as powerful today as it was two decades ago. Key Tracks: AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted, Endangered Species, Who's the Mack?.

25) Jay-Z- The Blueprint--Despite the unfortunate coincidence of being released on September 11, 2001, The Blueprint sold over 426,000 copies in its opening week, becoming Jay-Z's fourth consecutive album to reach number one on the Billboard 200 chart.  Produced by Kanye West and Just Blaze, The Blueprint was reportedly cut in two weeks, with Jay-Z allegedly writing the lyrics in two days.  Key Tracks: Izzo (H.O.V.A.), Renegade, Girls, Girls, Girls.

26) Big L- Lifestylez Ov Da Poor & Dangerous --(1995) Like Biggie Smalls' Ready to Die, Lifestylez was the only studio album to be released before it's creator was shot and killed.  The tremendously underrated LP introduced up-and-comers Jay-Z and Cam'ron.  Key Tracks: Put It On, M.V.P., Street Struck.

27) Mobb Deep- The Infamous...--(1995) This rap duo is the third act on this list to hail from Queensbridge. Key Tracks: Shook Ones Pt. II, Temperature's Rising, Survival of the Fittest.

28) LL Cool J- Radio --(1985) This first full length album release on Def Jam Records was primarily produced by co-founder Rick Rubin.  Key Tracks: I Can't Live Without My Radio, Rock the Bells, I Need a Beat.

29) Outkast- ATLiens --(1996) "It's deep. So deep that listening to 'ATLiens' you might feel like drowning, but the smooth vocals of Big Boi and the earthy flows of Andre always push you back up to the surface. They are players in the truest sense of the word; not just playing for ends but playing to win in the ultimate battle of life over death, good over bad, and righteousness over evil." --Steve Juon, RapReviews. Key Tracks: ATLiens, Wheelz of Steel, Two Dope Boyz (In a Cadillac).

30) Run DMC- Raising Hell --(1986) One of the most important rap albums ever for its success in bringing the genre mainstream, Raising Hell silenced critics who had called hip hop a passing fad.  It made its biggest mark with Walk This Way, a collaboration with Aerosmith that became the first hip hop video in heavy rotation on MTV.  Key Tracks: Its Tricky, Walk This Way, My Adidas.

31)  Bone Thugs N Harmony- E. Eternal 1999 --(1995) Released four months after executive producer Eazy-E's death, Eternal spawned the landmark single "Tha Crossroads", which won a Grammy, went double-platinum, and tied The Beatles' 32-year-old record (1964's "Can't Buy Me Love") for the fastest rising single on the pop charts. Key Tracks: The Crossroads, 1st of tha Month, East 1999.

32) Black Star- Mos Def and Talib Kweli Are Black Star- (1998) The sole album release from this power collaboration, the hyper-intelligent Black Star is a nod to the Black Star Line, an early 20th-century African-American shipping line incorporated by Marcus Garvey. Key Tracks: Definition, Brown Skin Lady, Respiration.

33) Nas- Stillmatic --(2001) Nas harkened back to his Illmatic days with his fifth release, 2001's Stillmatic, which instantly received a classic 5 mic rating from The Source.  On Stillmatic, Nas retaliated against Jay-Z with the much-anticipated "Ether", a scathing counterattack that portrayed his rival as both a plagiarist and sell-out.  Key Tracks: Got Ur Self A..., One Mic, Ether.

34) GZA- Liquid Swords --(1995) GZA's second solo album is up with Cuban Linx as the best of the Wu-Tang solo efforts. Key Tracks: Duel of the Iron Mic, Liquid Swords, Shadowboxin'.

35)  Lauryn Hill- The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill --(1998) After breaking with The Fugees, Hill released her solo debut in 1998, a fusion of Hip Hop, Soul, Reggae, R&B, and Gospel.  The album garnered ten Grammy nominations at the 41st Grammy Awards, winning five, including Best New Artist and Album of the Year.  Key Tracks: Doo Wop (That Thing), To Zion, Everything Is Everything.

36) Mos Def- Black On Both Sides --(1999) Mos Def's debut solo album post-Blackstar featured live instrumentation and socially-conscious lyrics. Key Tracks: Ms. Fat Booty, Brooklyn, Mathematics.

37) Wu-Tang Clan- Wu-Tang Forever --(1997) The long-awaited follow-up to 36 Chambers, Forever showcased a stream-of-consciousness style of rap.  Key Tracks: Triumph, Visionz, As High As Wu-Tang Get.

38) Jay-Z- The Black Album --(2003) J's 8th studio album was promoted as his last, though he would obviously return years later.  This epic has been mixed with everything from the Beatles and Grateful Dead to Linkin Park and Prince.  Key Tracks: What More Can I Say, Dirt off Your Shoulder, 99 Problems.

39)  Cypress Hill- Black Sunday --(1993) This stoner opus marked the first time a Latino group would go platinum.  They would later be banned from Saturday Night Live after Muggs smoked a joint on-air and the band trashed their instruments while playing their second single "I Ain't Goin' Out Like That".  Key Tracks: Insane In The Brain, Hits From The Bong, I Ain't Goin' Out Like That.

40) Gang Starr- Moment of Truth--(1998) The fifth studio album from DJ Premier and the late great Guru (Gifted Unlimited Rhymes Universal), Moment was the high water mark within a brilliant, nearly two decade-long career.  Key Tracks: You Know My Steez, Brooklyn Trooper, Moment of Truth.

41) De La Soul- 3 Feet High and Rising--(1989) Produced by Prince Paul, the album takes its title from a Johnny Cash song called "Five Feet High and Rising". Key Tracks: Me Myself and I, Buddy, Eye Know.

42)  Eminem- The Slim Shady LP --(1999)-For a kid in 6th grade, I remember exactly where I was when I first heard Eminem introduce himself to the world.  This was something unlike anybody I'd ever heard; raw, revealing, humorous, and at the same time brutally violent.  The album erupted a firestorm of opposition, as parental groups balked at lyrics that discussed everything from drugging a fifteen-year-old girl to disposing of Em's dead wife's corpse.  Key Tracks: Guilty Conscience, My Name Is, '97 Bonnie & Clyde.

43) Beastie Boys- Paul's Boutique --(1989) Incorporating production by the Dust Brothers, the album makes use of samples from 105 different songs.  The sampling was uncleared, which was one of the last albums to do so before the landmark Grand Upright Music, Ltd. v. Warner Bros. Records Inc. case against Biz Markie that forced artists to obtain the rights to any song from which they sampled.  Key Tracks: Hey Ladies, Shake Your Rump, The Sounds of Science.

44) Big Pun-Capital Punishment--(1998) As The Source put it, "Capital Punishment is all about execution."  To be sure, Pun positively killed it in this debut effort, his spitfire rhyming skills asserting him as one of the most promising figures in hip hop before a heart attack killed him just two short years later. Key Tracks: Still Not a Player, Twinz (Deep Cover 98), You Came Up.

45) EPMD- Strictly Business --(1988) One of 43 albums to ever receive a 5-mic rating from The Source.  Key Tracks: It's My Thing, Strictly Business, You Gots to Chill.

46) The Roots- Things Fall Apart --(1999) The Roots' fourth studio album turned out to be their commercial breakthrough.  During recording, the group laid down an astonishing 145 songs, which they later whittled down to the 14 that appear on the album.  Key Tracks: Adrenaline!, The Next Movement, Act Too (The Love of My Life).

47)Wyclef Jean- The Carnival --(1997) Wyclef kicked off his solo debut with an electric record that combined hip hop, reggae, folk, disco, soul, Son Cubano and Haitian music.  As a tribute to his homeland, the final three songs are sung in Haitian Creole.  Key Tracks: Gone Till November, We Trying to Stay Alive, Guantanamera

48) Jurassic 5- Quality Control-- (2000) The major label debut of Chali 2na and company played a central role in alternative rap scene that was burgeoning at the turn of the century. Key Tracks: Quality Control, The Influence, World of Entertainment (W.O.E. is Me)

49) Puff Daddy & the Family- No Way Out --(1997) Originally titled 'Hell Up In Harlem' until the The Notorious B.I.G.'s death, the album topped the album charts in the US with 561,000 units sold in its first week of release. It would go on to win the 1998 Grammy Award for Best Rap Album. Key Tracks: Victory, Been Around the World, It's All about the Benjamins.

50)  Busta Rhymes- When Disaster Strikes --(1997) Busta's second solo effort reached #3 on the Billboard 200.  Key Tracks: Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See, Dangerous, Turn It Up.

Honorable Mentions:

Pete Rock and CL Smooth- Mecca and the Soul Brother, Method Man-Tical, Outcast-Stankonia, Nas-I Am..., LL Cool J-Mama Said Knock You Out, Beastie Boys-Check Your Head, Notorious BIG-Born Again, Run DMC-King Of Rock , Ice T-O.G. Original Gangster, Missy Eliot-Supa Dupa Fly, A Tribe Called Quest-Midnight Marauders, Salt N Pepa- Blacks Magic, Kurtis Blow-Kurtis Blow, Big Daddy Kane- Its a Big Daddy Thing, Eric B. & Rakim-Follow the Leader, Gang Starr-Daily Operation, Common-Like Water for Chocolate, KRS One-KRS One, Kanye West- The College Dropout, 50 Cent-Get Rich or Die Tryin', Eminem- The Eminem Show, Nas-It Was Written, Public Enemy-Fear of A Black Planet, DMX- Its Dark and Hell is Hot.

With the advent of the digital music revolution, your favorite tunes are now more accessible than ever.  However, as with every great advancement, there are bound to be certain things that get left behind.  With the iPod came the demise of the album.  Now that fans can pick and choose which songs they want to download off a new release, there is less and less of a need to create that cohesive, quality from top-to-bottom record.

Perhaps even more apparent is the antiquation of the album cover.  Back in the day (not that I was actually alive for most of this but...) a record was something to behold.  Often, it was just as much art on the outside as was contained within the grooves of the vinyl.  While there are certainly a couple groups out there still keeping it real with the album art, for the most part this is a lost craft--a casualty of the digital revolution.

What makes album cover art iconic?  Well for starters, it is instantly recognizable.  The image it displays symbolizes the band itself, or, moreover, music in general.  It is simple, yet profound--worthy of being displayed on the back of a bumper, or framed in one's living room.  Of course, art is going to speak to every person differently, and I am not here to tell you what art was most visually stunning or held the most meaning.  Rather, these are the ten most iconic album covers of all time.

1. Pink Floyd- Dark Side of the Moon-In March of 1973 Dark Side of the Moon was released.  741 weeks later, it remained on the Billboard charts, longer than any other album in history. With an estimated 45 million units sold, Dark Side may be the greatest album ever (without a doubt in my humble opinion...)  Exploring the issues of aging, greed, war, and the mental illness that was inspired by Syd Barret's LSD-fueled descent into madness, the album was one of the first concept albums to ever hit record stores.  The landmark prism design was inspired by a photograph that longtime Floyd designer Strom Thorgerson had seen during a brainstorming session with colleague Aubrey Powell. Meeting Richard Wright's request for a "simple and bold" design, the prism also harkened to the band's famous stage lighting.  It has since come to epitomize the word "iconic."
2. The Beatles- Abbey Road- On the morning of August 8, 1969, photographer Iain Macmillan was given ten minutes to take a photo of the fab four crossing Abbey Road for the band's next album cover.  Little did he know that that negative would go on to become perhaps the most iconic group shot in all of music.  A couple points of interest:
   --Paul McCartney is bare-footed and out of step with the other three, later providing fuel for the "Paul is dead" urban legend in late '69.
   --The man standing on the pavement in the background is Paul Cole, an American tourist unaware he had been photographed until he saw the album cover months later. 
   --The Abbey Road cover is the only Beatles album cover of their original UK albums to have neither the group's name nor an album title visible.
3. Queen- Queen II- It's hard to believe now, but when Queen II dropped in '74, critics were less than impressed.  Record Mirror wrote: "This is it, the dregs of glam rock. Weak and over-produced, if this band are our brightest hope for the future, then we are committing rock and roll suicide."  The reviewer for Melody Maker expressed similar sentiments, writing: "It's reputed Queen have enjoyed some success in the States, it's currently in the balance whether they'll really break through here. If they do, then I'll have to eat my hat or something. Maybe Queen try too hard, there's no depth of sound or feeling."  So how'd that hat end up going down, hot shot?
4. The Grateful Dead- Steal Your Face- To be clear, this is not a list of great albums (though all but this one are admittedly classics).  If it were, this selection would be nowhere near the top 10, not even if this was a list of Grateful Dead albums.  Widely considered to be the Dead's worst live album, the record was dubbed "Steal Your Money" by unhappy fans.  However, the image adorning its cover would go on to grace a billion bumper stickers and T-shirts, becoming almost synonymous with the hippie culture at large.  Designed by Owsley Stanley and artist Bob Thomas.
5. The Velvet Underground- Simple. Artful. Iconic.  Designed by close friend Andy Warhol, the original record sleeve featured a yellow banana with “Peel slowly and see” printed near a perforated tab. Those who did remove the banana skin found a peeled, pink banana beneath.
6. The Beatles- Sgt Peppers- The Grammy Award-winning album packaging was art-directed by Robert Fraser, designed by Peter Blake and his wife Jann Haworth, and photographed by Michael Cooper. The collage depicts more than 70 famous, well, icons, including writers, musicians, film stars and several Indian gurus. The final grouping includes Marlene Dietrich, Carl Jung, W.C. Fields, Diana Dors, Bob Dylan, Marilyn Monroe, Aldous Huxley, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Sigmund Freud, Aleister Crowley, Edgar Allan Poe, Karl Marx, Oscar Wilde, William S. Burroughs, Marlon Brando, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, and comedian Lenny Bruce. Also included was the image of the original Beatles bass player, the late Stuart Sutcliffe. Adolf Hitler, Mahatma Gandhi, and Jesus Christ were requested by Lennon, but ultimately they were left out, even though a cutout of Hitler was in fact made.  The final bill for the cover was £2,868 (equivalent to $72,460 today), which was roughly 100 times the average cost for an album cover in those days. 
   
7. Nirvana- Nevermind- Kurt Cobain conceived the idea for this cover while watching a television show on water births with drummer David Grohl. Cobain mentioned it to Geffen's art director Robert Fisher, who found some stock footage of underwater births that were then deemed too graphic for the record company. Instead Fisher sent a photographer to a pool to take pictures of a three-month-old infant named Spencer Elden, the son of the photographer's friend Rick Elden. Geffen prepared an alternate cover without the penis but relented when Cobain made it clear that the only compromise he would accept was a sticker covering the penis that would say, "If you're offended by this, you must be a closet pedophile."
8. Bob Marley- Catch A Fire- Perhaps it's a tad ironic that the lucky 20,000 to first get their hands on this 1973 vinyl release received an album that was in fact missing this landmark Bob headshot.  These folks instead received their record encased in a Zippo lighter sleeve.  The sleeve opened at a side hinge to reveal the record within, an assembly operation that required hand-manufacture.  Not surprisingly, the Zippo idea was deemed too expensive to mass-produce and subsequent pressings featured the Ester Anderson portrait you see here.
9. Jimi Hendrix- Axis: Bold a Love- For all the accolades this famous cover has received, Jimi Hendrix was actually a little disappointed with the finished product. Although he appreciated the symbolic design, he mentioned in an interview that it would have been more appropriate if the cover art showcased his American "Indian" heritage. The British Track records' art department had independently chosen to use the current fad for all things Indian to create the cover, and thus the album's cover has a photographed copy of a cheap, mass produced religious poster of the Hindu devotional painting known as Viraat Purushan-Vishnuroopam showing the different forms of Vishnu with a small, superimposed painting of the Experience by Roger Law blended in.
10. The Rolling Stones- Sticky Fingers- Andy Warhol appears yet again in the top ten with his work here for the Stones' Sticky Fingers.  The original record cover featured a working zipper that opened to reveal a man in cotton briefs.  The cover, a photo of Joe Dallesandro's crotch clad in tight blue jeans, was assumed by many fans to be an image of Mick Jagger. However, the people actually involved with the photo shoot claim that Warhol had several different men photographed (Jagger was not among them) and never revealed which shots he used.  The album also features the first usage of the "Tongue and Lip Design" designed by John Pasche.

Honorable Mentions:  Allman Brothers- Eat a Peach, Led Zeppelin- IV, Jimi Hendrix- Are You Experienced?, The Who- Who's Next?, Cream- Disraeli Gears, Pink Floyd- Wish You Were Here, The Doors- The Doors, Led Zeppelin- I, Santana- Abraxas, The Beatles- Let It Be, Lynyrd Skynyrd- Street Survivors, Peter Frampton- Frampton Comes Alive, The Harder They Come Soundtrack, Parliament- Mothership Connection, Notorious BIG- Ready To Die, Nas- Illmatic, Public Enemy- Nation of Millions.

George Clinton is to funk what Bob Marley is to reggae.  George doesn't just play funk music, he is funk music.  And he never stops being relevant.  Though the heyday of the genre have long since come and gone, George Clinton & The Parliament Funkadelic stand today as arguably the single most important influence on the development of hip hop.  From Dr. Dre to Snoop Dogg to Outcast, samples derived from their material positively litter the modern urban music scene.  However, those that came to Friday's House of Blues show were not there to see hip hop.  They were there to see the real thing, the godfathers of funk.  And did they ever.  Friday's George Clinton & The Parliament-Funkadelic show was an auditory and visual spectacle in the truest sense.  If you've never seen this group or any manifestation of it play before, do yourself a favor and go out right now and buy tickets.  Seriously.  I'll wait... 
This was everything a concert should be and then some.  Musicians both legendary and unknown performing their asses off to a packed house of music-lovers ranging across all races, ages, and creeds.  You had your classic numbers (Flashlight, Atomic Dog) and your new material that left you thinking "I don't know what that was, but I must own it."  Oodles upon oodles of singers, dancers, drummers, guitarists, horn players and one 57-year-old mohawked black man in a diaper (that would be Rock and Roll Hall-of-Famer Garry "Starchild" Shider, and yes, you're going to want to refer to the photos for this one) all seemlessly moving across a stage that was at times more crowded than the floor below.  Always something ridiculous to look at.  Never a dull moment.  Music that positively envelops you.
Truth be told, this is not your father's P-Funk.  Heck, this might not even be your older brothers' P-Funk.  Today, the band seems like more than anything else a vehicle with which to showcase new and talented musicians.  And boy do they know how to pick 'em.  George did his thing for awhile, but you would be fooling yourself to come expecting 1970's-era George.  So he's old.  Not quite poop-my-pants old, but he's getting there.  At this point, George is a bit more like a figure head, not all that much unlike a dreadlocked Queen of England.  This is not to say that this took anything away from the show.  The shear rapture this man exudes on stage is unlike almost any performer alive today.  He still knows how to work a crowd, and yet is willing to step to the side when need be to give a young artist their spotlight.  George can often be seen standing alongside whoever is doing their solo at the moment, pointing at them as if to say, "you gotsta be checking this shit out." 
And he's right.  You gotsta be checkin this shit out.  Each artist was phenomenal in their own unique way.  Take Belita Woods, a vet of the 70's R&B/disco scene who combined the soul of Aretha Franklin with the gutteral cry of Macy Gray.  Or the intoxicating acapella stylings of saxaphonist Greg Thomas. Backup singers transported directly out of 1970's Soul Train.  And who can forget the jaw-dropping, guitar-shredding rendition of Maggot Brain. Just wow.
PS, if you haven't yet been to Boston's House of Blues, you are seriously missing out. Located just across from The Cathedral, Fenway Park, HOB offers music-lovers a new house of worship. Adorning the ceiling above the stage hangs a series of religious symbols that culminate in a centerpiece that reads All for One--Who Do You Love? How very apt.  A venue as it should be- a place where people of all creeds can come to celebrate life in its purest form- through music. Like religion, we all might have different tastes but at the end of the day, it's all music, the language of the divine.  Make my funk the P-Funk, today and forever after.

People tend to look at rock stars as larger than life and cooler than cool.  Truth is, a lot of em are just as dorky as you or me. (Well not me of course, but you get the idea.)  Sometimes you just gotta fake it if you wanna make it in this world, and for this crew, that was probably the right decision.  They say its all in the name. While a great name alone won't make you a star, an awful one could be the dealbreaker. Would we have been able to tolerate a fire-breathing, blood-spitting madman named Chaim?  Could we possibly have put up with Xzibit's gangsta swagger if we knew he was really Alvin Joiner IV?  Would we think Vanilla Ice was as cool as we do if he went by his real name, Robert Van Winkle?  Um, nevermind.  Anyways, its time to pull away the curtain and reveal some of the most shocking, embarressing, and downright absurd birth names in the world of music.

Gene Simmons- Chaim Klein Witz....Jewish much?
George Michael-Yorgos Panayiotou....Yorgos? Really?
Elton John- Reginald Kenneth Dwight
Ginuwine- Elgin Lumpkin....sounds like a black hobbit
Elvis Costello- Declan Patrick McManus
Xzibit- Alvin Nathaniel Joiner IV....Alvin IV? How ungangster is that?
Akon- Aliaune Damala Bouga Time Puru Nacka Lu Lu Lu Badara Akon Thiam...no joke
Yanni- Yiannis Chrysomallis
Michael Bolton- Michael Bolotin.....Probably for the best.  Bolotin kinda sounds like a daily laxative.
Manfred Mann- Manfred Lubowitz
Iggy Pop- James Newell Osterberg, Jr.
John Denver- Henry John Deutschendorf.  We've all heard "With a name like Smuckers, its gotta be good."  Well, with a name like Duetschendorf, its gotta be, well, have you ever actually listened to John Denver?
Bob Dylan- Robert Alan Zimmerman
Trey Anastasio- Ernest Guiseppe Anastasio III
Stevie Wonder- Steveland Hardaway Judkins
Yngwie Malmsteen- Lars Johann Yngwie Lannerback....what an improvement.
Flea- Michael Peter Balzary
Freddie Mercury- Farrokh Bulsara
T-Pain- Faheem Najm...something tells me this name wouldn't have gone over to well with mainstream America.  At least not like the ingenious T-Pain
Snoop Dogg- Cordazer Calvin Broadus Jr.
Lil' Bow Wow- Shad Anthony Moss
Alice Cooper- Vincent Damon Furnier
Vanilla Ice- Robert Van Winkle.....I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried
Lou Reed- Louis Firbank
David Bowie- David Robert Hayward Stenton Jones
Eddie Vedder- Edward Louis Severson III
Kenny G.- Kenneth Gorelick
Peter Tosh- Winston Hubert Macintosh.....How many potheads do you know named Winston Macintosh?
M.I.A.- Mathangi Arulpragasam
Cher- Cherilyn Sarkisian
Redman- Reginald Noble
Master P- Percy Miller
Shaggy- Orville Richard Burrell....Always thought he looked like an Orville
Silkk the Shocker- Vyshonn King Miller
Bono- Paul David Hewson
The Edge- David Howell Evans
Sting- Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner
Les Paul- Lester Polfus
M.C. Hammer- Stanley Kirk Burrel
Alice Cooper- Vincent Damon Furnier
Bon Scott (AC/DC)- Ronald Belford Scott
Marilyn Manson- Brian Hugh Warner
Axl Rose- William Bruce Bailey
Slash- Saul Hudson
Robbie Robertson (The Band)- Jaime Royal Klegerman
Perry Farrell (Jane's Addiction)- Perry Bernstein
Mama Cass- Ellen Naomi Cohen
Ozzy Osbourne- John Michael Osbourne...What a nice Christian name.  How'd that work out for ya?
Joey Ramone- Jeffrey Ross Hyman
Q-Tip- Kamaal Ibn John Fareed
Nas- Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones
Common- Lonnie Rashid Lynn, Jr.
Ice Cube- O'Shea Jackson
Big Daddy Kane- Antonio Mortimer Hardy
Kool Moe Dee- Mohandas Dewese
Lupe Fiasco- Wasalu Muhammad Jaco
Coolio- Artis Leon Ivey, Jr.
The Game- Jayceon Terrell Taylor...Dude, there is no y or c or e in Jason.
Nelly- Carnell Haynes, Jr.
Sly Stone- Sylvester Stewart
BB King- Riley B. King
Billie Holliday- Eleanora Fagan Gough
Tina Turner- Anna Mae Bullock
Meat Loaf- Marvin Lee Aday
Bo Diddley- Ellas Otha Bates
Fats Domino- Antoine Dominique Domino
Sonny Rollins- Theodore Walter Rollins
Sid Vicious- John Simon Ritchie
Johnny Rotten- John Joseph Lydon
Joe Strummer (The Clash)- John Graham Mellor
Afrika Bambaataa- Kevin Donovan
Pat Benatar- Patricia Andrejewski
Dean Martin- Dino Paul Crocetti
Bjork- Bjork Gudmundsdottir
Jon Bon Jovi- John Francis Bongiovi Jr.
Mos Def- Dante Terrell Smith
Grandmaster Flash- Joseph Saddler
Barry Manilow- Barry Alan Pincus
Hannah Montana- Destiny Hope Cyrus...People who name their kids Destiny Hope suck at life.  I'm lookin at you Billie Ray...
Gram Parsons (Byrds)- Cecil Ingram Connor, III
Cat Stevens- Steven Demetre Georgiou (Now Yusuf Islam)

1. Def Jam: Nas, Meth and Red, Ludacris, LL Cool J, Rick Ross
2. Death Row: 2Pac, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg
3. Roc-a-fella: Jay-Z, Kanye West, DJ Clue, Camron, Juelz Santana
4. Aftermath: Eminem, Dr. Dre, 50 Cent, The Game
5. Bad Boy: Notorious BIG, Puff Daddy and the Family, Mase, 112, Faith Evans, Shyne
6. Jive: KRS One, Kool Moe Dee, Whodini, Fresh Prince
7. Cold Chillin': Big Daddy Kane, MC Shan, Biz Markie, Marley Marl, Kool G Rap
8. Tommy Boy: De La Soul, Digital Underground, Naughty by Nature, Queen Latifah
9. No Limit: Master P, Mystikal, Silkk The Shocker, Soulja Slim
10. Ruffhouse: The Fugees, Cypress Hill, Kris Kross, Schooly D