The White Stripes-Elephant (2003)

Spearheading the revival of 1960s garage rock in the late 20th century, the White Stripes established themselves as one of the leading alternative rock bands throughout much of the late 1990s and the first half of the 2000s. Their original musical approach encompassed genres as diverse as blues, hard rock, folk, country, punk, and rock and roll, with a style heavily influenced by the classic sound of the legendary Led Zeppelin, one of the band's main influences. Furthermore, their recordings were characterized by the simplicity of their arrangements and their effective, albeit rudimentary, songs. Formed by the duo Jack White (guitarist, vocalist, and keyboardist) and Meg White (drummer and vocalist), they were active for just over ten years, from 1999 to 2011, when they officially disbanded. During this time, they released six studio albums and several live albums, selling over ten million copies. “Elephant” was the title of their fourth album, released in early 2003, becoming one of their biggest commercial and critical successes. As was typical of their previous albums, the band opted for the analog sounds characteristic of the 1960s, using recording equipment from that era. Musically, with this new album, the White Stripes succeeded in rediscovering for new generations the primal, rootsy sounds of blues and rock, with a series of addictive tracks such as the generational anthem "Seven Nation Army", which would become a classic at sporting events worldwide. In addition to this now-universal track, there's the psychedelic "There's No Home For You Here", the powerful blues-rock "Ball and Biscuit", the dark hard rock "The Hardest Button", and the garage rockers "Girl, You Have No Faith In Medicine" and "Black Math". Meanwhile, the folk, country, and American rock influences are present in tracks like "In The Cold, Cold Night", "I Want To Be The Boy To Warm Your Mother's Heart", and "You´ve Got Her In Your Pocket".

Porcupine Tree-In Absentia (2002)

With Porcupine Tree's seventh album, "In Absentia," the band led by Steven Wilson not only achieved their best work but also the pinnacle of the brilliant composer, singer, and guitarist's creativity undoubtedly one of the most brilliant musicians of the last two decades. While throughout much of the nineties the band built a strong reputation within the progressive rock community with such monumental albums as "The Sky Moves Sideways", "Signify", and "Stupid Dreams", in which they maintained their characteristic progressive sound but fused it with different nuances and more commercial sounds, in "In Absentia" they rationally managed to fuse psychedelic and prog elements with the power of heavy metal, as demonstrated in the opening track, "Blackest Eyes". The rest of the album moves eclectically through various styles, with complex compositions alongside simpler but incredibly addictive ones, as demonstrated in tracks like “Trains”, “Prodigal”, and “Strip The Soul”. Meanwhile, the progressive hard rock vein is very much present in cuts like “Gravity Eyelids” and “Weeding Nails”, in dark and powerful exercises like “The Creator Has A Mastertape”, and in exquisite pieces like “Heartattack In A Layby” and “Collapse The Light Into Earth”. “In Absentia” has become one of the essential works of the new century, not only for its memorable compositions but also for the superb instrumental performance of each band member, as well as the impeccable production by Steven Wilson himself.

Virus-Revelation (1971)

This German band, whose name might sound pejorative by the time we write this post (for obvious reasons that don't need mentioning), was founded in the early 70s and only released two interesting albums, though they had little commercial or media impact at the time of their release. Formed around a core of guitarist Werner Monka and organist Dieter Krahe, the band was rounded out by vocalist and flautist Bernd Hohmann, bassist Reinhold Spiegelfeld, and drummer Wolfgang Rieke. Their style was based on hard rock with psychedelic influences and hints of space rock, a style that could be classified as classic krautrock. Their first album is the most focused on these sounds, with several long, drawn-out tracks that reveal their influences, ranging from the more psychedelic Deep Purple to the more spacey Pink Floyd. Right from the opening track, “Revelation”, the band showcases the lysergic journeys of Phillip Perceptrons, led by Syd Barrett, which surprisingly evolves into a heavy and dark psychedelic version of the Rolling Stones' “Paint It Black”, “Endless Game,” on the other hand, is a dynamic progressive hard rock track with constant tempo changes that ultimately transforms into an extended psychedelic jam. The rest of the album follows similar paths, with tracks like “Burning Candle” and “Hungry Loser”, a clear nod to the sound of Jimi Hendrix, and the psychedelic and progressive “Nur Noch Zwei Lichtjahre”. Shortly afterward, several members left due to musical differences, and the band reformed with new members, releasing their second album, “Thoughts”. This album marked a departure from the musical approach of their debut, leaning towards the more predictable sounds of classic hard rock, a shift that would ultimately cut short the career of this otherwise excellent German band.

Frank Zappa-The Grand Wazoo (1972)

"The Grand Wazoo" was the last of Frank Zappa's instrumental burlesque albums, at least until "Orchestral Favorites" was recorded many years later. Recorded during Zappa's convalescence from injuries sustained when a wild fan stormed the stage during one of his concerts, Zappa ensured that each track on "The Grand Wazoo" retained a distinct stylistic flavor, always within the framework of jazz-rock. This is a purely instrumental album, save for a few vocal parts, where a large group of musicians more than twenty lend it a big band jazz style. Among these musicians were drummer Aynsley Dunbar, keyboardist George Duke, guitarist Tony Duran, percussionists Alan Estes and Bob Zimmitti, and saxophonist Ernie Watts. This release lacks Zappa's usual guitar solos, or at least not as many as in previous and subsequent releases. Instead, a wide variety of wind, brass, and percussion instruments take center stage, making it one of the most purely jazz-influenced works in his entire discography. From the gritty tones of "The Grand Wazoo" to the comical "Cletus Awreetus-Awrightus", passing through the epic riffs of "Eat That Question" or the relaxed "Blessed Relief", Zappa once again demonstrated that he was the absolute master of the bizarre, the anarchic, and everything musically established.

Black Sabbath-Seventh Star (1986)

"Seventh Star" was originally intended to be guitarist Tony Iommi's first solo album, but it was ultimately released under the Black Sabbath name due to pressure from the record label Vertigo, who argued that sales would be higher if the album were released as Black Sabbath. With three-quarters of the original lineup gone, Iommi recruited bassist Glenn Hughes, drummer Eric Singer, and bassist Dave Spitz, while other musicians such as keyboardist Geoff Nicholls and vocalist Ray Gillen also participated in the recording sessions. A far cry from the doom and dark heavy metal sound of Black Sabbath, this album saw the guitarist opting for a more conventional, radio-friendly sound of classic rock and heavy metal. The energetic melodies of Tony Iommi's riffs, backed by Glenn Hughes's soulful vocals, and underpinned by a solid, powerful rhythm section, are the common thread of an album that, while not reaching the heights of the band's best work, remains a worthy heavy metal and hard rock album released in the 80s. It's an album comprised of a solid collection of songs, including the epic title track, the bluesy "Heart Like A Wheel", the powerful ballad "No Stranger To Love", the melodic rock of "Angry Heart", and the mighty heavy rock anthems "In For The Kill" and "Turn to Stone".

Lou Reed-Rock´n´Roll Animal (1974)

In 1972, David Bowie entered Lou Reed's career and became one of his greatest influences. The British singer encouraged Reed to emphasize the ambiguous and provocative nature of his lyrics and performances, characteristics typical of the Andy Warhol factory, from which Reed himself emerged. If, until then, the New York musician had been one of the pioneers in highlighting the negative and unsettling aspects of youth subculture, with Bowie's arrival, he gradually transformed into an androgynous figure, appearing on stage with black eye and lip paint and wearing black velvet suits adorned with faux sequins. Already on his album "Transformer" (1972), he deliberately introduced the themes of homosexuality and cross-dressing, with which Reed had previously maintained a distance through irony and theatricality, but which he suddenly seemed to embrace. Bowie and Mick Ronson's collaboration on production, in addition to their participation in the album's recording, gave a great boost, coherence, and balance to a work that contained captivating songs like "Walk On The Wild Side", "Vicious", "Make Up", and "Satellite Of Love". Thanks to this LP, Lou Reed finally became a rock star; however, his consolidation at the top was cut short by his next work, "Berlin" (1973), which was produced by Bob Ezrin and featured an anthology of musicians, including Steve Winwood, Michael Brecker, Aynsley Dunbar, Steve Hunter, Dick Wagner, and Jack Bruce, among others. However, this album was scorned by the press and lost public interest, undoubtedly due to its strange music, which alternated intense orchestral passages with uneven acoustic guitar and rock sounds, prompting comparisons to the Velvet Underground's first album. Disgusted by that poor reception, Lou Reed formed a powerful and forceful rock band, which included guitarists Wagner and Hunter, plus bassist Prakash John, drummer Pentti Glan, and keyboardist Ray Colcord, and would release the vigorous and immersive live albums “Rock´n´Roll Animal” (1974) and “Lou Reed Live” (1975) in which he reviewed his classic songs in an almost hard rock style; “Sweet Jane”, “Heroin”, “Lady Day”, “Vicious” or “Walk On The Wild Side”, both albums, memorable sonic documents of the best period, at the same time the most turbulent of the American musician.