501 ESSENTIAL ALBUMS OF THE 80s

With lively descriptions of the releases and over 600 images, this hefty 448-page volume curates 501 albums spanning genres and subgenres—pop, hip-hop, R&B, grunge, metal, country, world music—and features:


Year-by-year organization
Knowledgeable rundowns of every album featured
Album art for each selection
Artist imagery
Record label, release date, and producer(s) for each
Soundtracks and compilation releases also included

Richly illustrated with rare photography, concert flyers, and memorabilia, Grunge! traces the genre’s roots in the region’s earlier garage rock and punk scenes, then follows its explosion and enduring influence, year by year, from 1986 through 1996.

Read about the essential bands, including the Big Four and trailblazers such as Mother Love Bone, Mudhoney, Melvins, Screaming Trees, the Gits, 7 Year Bitch, TAD, Bikini Kill, Sleater-Kinney, and Foo Fighters..

In addition, Gaar includes relevant quotes from her own contemporary interviews with folks who figured prominently in the story, including Steve Albini (producer/engineer), Jeff Ament (Pearl Jam), Mark Arm (Mudhoney), Carrie Brownstein (Sleater-Kinney, Portlandia), Jerry Cantrell (Alice in Chains), Chad Channing (Nirvana), Cameron Crowe (filmmaker), Tad Doyle (TAD), Jack Endino (producer), Eric Erlandson (Hole), Danny Goldberg (Nirvana manager), Dave Grohl (Nirvana, Foo Fighters), Mark Lanegan (Screaming Trees, solo), Courtney Love (Hole), Mike McCready (Pearl Jam),

In the four years before his untimely death at age 27, Jimi Hendrix created a groundbreaking musical legacy, one that includes revered classics such as "Purple Haze" and "Voodoo Child." His signature guitar playing, provocative songwriting, and charismatic performances have continued to inspire legions of musicians and fans alike.
This book is the ultimate tribute to the greatest guitar player in rock and roll history.This comprehensive visual celebration is an official collaboration with Jimi's sister, Janie Hendrix,

A Times, Resident and Rough Trade Book of the Year

Longlisted for the Penderyn Music Book Prize 2026 The long overdue reflection of life in The Smiths from their legendary drummer.

For more than thirty years, Jazz Hot, the world's oldest jazz magazine (launched in 1935, as DownBeat), has regularly published Pascal Kober's photos, breakfast interviews, album and festival reviews and feature articles. Over the years, he has built up a unique catalogue of more than 35,000 jazz photos.In alphabetical order: Jorge Ben, Joao Bosco, Stanley Clarke, Miles Davis, Gil Evans, Joao Gilberto, Dizzy Gillespie, George Gruntz, Jon Hendricks, Elvin and Hank Jones, Joachim Kuhn, Michel Legrand, Manhattan Transfer, Branford and Ellis Marsalis, Mike Stern, Sam Rivers, Linda Womack...

Full of Michael Jackson's personal writings, essays, poetry and over one hundred glorious photographs, drawings, and paintings from his own collection, this book is a must have for all fans of an incredible, inspiring man who died as he lived – dancing his dream.

In Girl in a Band Kim Gordon, a founding member of Sonic Youth and role model for a generation of women, tells her story.
She writes frankly about her route from girl to woman to pioneering icon within the music and art scene of New York City in the 1980s and 90s, as well as marriage, motherhood, and independence.

For more than three decades, Madonna has been generating headlines and topping charts. Now J. Randy Taraborrelli has written the definitive biography of one of the richest and most successful pop stars in the world, whose music has constantly evolved and who has remained relevant even as she hits her sixtieth year.

In this comprehensive telling of the Oasis story through their spectacular back catalogue, Kessler and MacBain focus on the enduring power of the music, exploring the tales behind the lyrics and revealing the background to the writing, recording and impact of all the songs, from megahits like ‘Live Forever’, ‘Wonderwall’ and ‘Champagne Supernova’ to the fan-favourite B-sides and deep cuts such as ‘Acquiesce’, ‘The Masterplan’ and ‘Half the World Away’.

Veteran rock critic Martin Popoff leaves no stone unturned in taking apart Pink Floyd's generation-spanning masterpiece, The Dark Side of the Moon, while exploring each of the album's 10 tracks and their themes of madness, anxiety, and alienation.

In this new edition of Iron Maiden: Album by Album, prolific rock journalist Martin Popoff pays tribute to Iron Maiden’s discography through a series of in-depth, frank, and fascinating conversations about all of the legendary heavy metal band’s studio al

Formed in Australia in 1973, AC/DC became one of the most popular and best-selling bands in rock history with their loud, heavy, sweat-drenched, blues-based rock. This richly illustrated book from prolific rock journalist Martin Popoff pays tribute to the