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Apple Music 100 Best Albums

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(What’s the Story) Morning Glory?

Oasis

58

The larger-than-life apex of ’90s British pop? Anyway, here’s “Wonderwall”.

Noel Gallagher had a novel way of overcoming Difficult Second Album Syndrome when it came to making (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?—he had it written already. While Oasis’ massive 1994 debut Definitely Maybe was an astounding introduction, these were supersized anthems made for mass sing-alongs and communal euphoria.

It soon became clear this was more than just your regular second album from an excellent rock band. This was the apex of the Britpop era, full of outsize egos and attitude and ambition, yet none bigger than theirs. How could it be allowed for so many classics to be next to each other on the same album? As well as “Wonderwall” and “Don’t Look Back in Anger”, there’s the melancholy uplift of “Cast No Shadow”, the cosmic opus of “Champagne Supernova”, the thrilling crackle of the title track. It’s the story of the decade, unfurled in 50 minutes.

There was no stopping Oasis at that point; that was something that could only be done by the band themselves. But Morning Glory harnessed the chaos and turned it into something magical.

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Voodoo

D'Angelo

57

The heart of the ’90s neo-soul movement and a gumbo of Black innovation.

When D’Angelo released his masterpiece Voodoo at the turn of the century (and five years after his debut, Brown Sugar), it was immediately clear he’d avoided the dreaded sophomore slump to evolve into a musician as concerned with honouring the past as he was with following his artistic impulses. At the time, the neo-soul movement was an alternative to the flashier edge of ’90s hip-hop and R&B, and Voodoo was its apex: a gumbo of Black innovation—blues, jazz, soul, funk, gospel even—peppered by a full spectrum of humanity, from despair to ecstasy.

The grooves contained within the album are deep enough to swallow you, even and especially when they head past the six-minute mark. Take the most recognisable single, “Untitled (How Does It Feel)”, and how its deliberate pace is akin to seduction, or the cover of Roberta Flack’s “Feel Like Makin’ Love”: Each one feels communal, as the instruments do as much heavy lifting as D’Angelo’s electrifying falsetto. If Brown Sugar was a controlled burn, then Voodoo is a wildfire of experimentation, balancing loose improvisation with the precision of a well-rehearsed genius.

“There’s an ease in the production, in the arrangements, in the playing. It feels like nothing is pushed or forced. There’s just a grace in it all that I love.”

Sara Bareilles

Voodoo by D'Angelo