Andy Price

A record allegedly driven by supernatural forces, Prince swiftly disowned the stark funk of the Black Album - but what caused him to pivot so dramatically?

Waits’ gritty Rain Dogs depicted a dark vision of New York’s underbelly, and was shaped by its ‘junkyard orchestra’ of inventive instrumentation

I Will Follow You into the Dark would shatter millions of millennial hearts, eventually becoming Death Cab's biggest song

The Rage Against the Machine axe-man’s most memorable moment saw him emulate a DJ scratch breakdown using a trick that few have fully mastered

What happens if you cross the inspiration of Pet Sounds with lyrics that convey a sense of resignation, and frame it within one of the most soothing arrangements of all time?

Hailed as one of this year’s most brilliant records, Lily Allen’s West End Girl’s rapid production process was overseen by the multi-talented Blue May, who spoke to us this week about how this remarkable album came to be

A prime example of how the less-is-more philosophy can fuel creativity, Burial’s extraordinary 2007 masterpiece Untrue was created entirely within Sony’s antiquated Sound Forge

UFOs, Mick Jagger, and cold war paranoia: Nena on the bizarre origins of 99 Luftballons (aka 99 Red Balloons)

T. Rex's signature song was written and recorded while on a hectic US tour, and would be their only stateside hit

Moby had all but thrown in the towel, but the surprising success of his eclectic 1999 masterpiece forever changed his fortunes

Midnight City's distinctive lead sound was created out of distortion-soaked vocals

Were hints that OK Computer and In Rainbows should be listened to as one monster record deliberately seeded by the band?

At the very heart of the White Album, this tender Beatles masterpiece pulled from the classical music tradition and empathised with the American civil rights movement

Marking an album that foresaw the 21st century’s computer-addicted society, Kraftwerk dropped their own branded handheld synth decades ahead of the trend

Only two tracks have ever been heard from what could have been Pink Floyd's most divisive record

It might seem an obvious winner now, but Madonna’s Vogue was at first the speedily and cheaply-built flip side to an entirely different single

It was sadly to be Freddie’s last single with Queen before he passed away just six weeks after its release

Beck’s surprising 2002 pivot was defined by its immaculately-recorded acoustics, and is often cited as a choice reference test by audio enthusiasts