Photograph: Murdo Macleod/The Guardian 94 Peaches The Teaches of Peaches (2000) XCX stopped waiting around for mainstream acceptance and showed the normies what they were missing with this bracingly eclectic, guest-laden mixtape.

96 Missy Elliott Miss E … So Addictive (2001)ĭrawing from house, psychedelia and even Bollywood soundtracks, Missy’s third – the one responsible for Get Ur Freak On – forced pop to catch up with her yet again. Trip-hop duo Moloko was dead, and Murphy teamed up with Matthew Herbert for this eclectic, saucy – and still underrated – pop record that anticipated the arrival of Lady Gaga by three years.

The Malian guitarist set a new career benchmark with this intimate set, adding classical western harp and African ngoni to her subtle, bluesy electric guitar. The first album album from an artist whose records had previously propped up killer singles with passable fillers turned her disaffection and disappointment into generational anthems.

Always one step ahead, that bit smarter, sharper, more daring than even their closest peers, they rapidly outgrew the nu-metal boom from which they emerged, changed the game with third album White Pony and have proceeded to drive towards the horizon ever since.Īlthough the core dynamic between vocalist Chino Moreno’s art-rock fixation and guitarist Stephen Carpenter’s far heavier metal influence remains key, the collective has always been crucial, with Abe Cunningham’s pounding drums propelling the vision, electronic-specialist Frank Delgado layering it up since his arrival in 1998, while tragically-departed bassist Chi Cheng and his successor Sergio Vega add a warmth and fullness of body.Ĭhoosing just 20 songs to represent a catalogue this complex and universally rewarding feels almost reductive, but we’ve had a crack at distilling down what has made Deftones’ journey so fascinating nonetheless.Seven years after her previous album, Apple’s return sidelined her orchestral trademarks for an austere, homespun sound that exposed her insular lyrics even more starkly. Forming in Sacramento, California all the way back in 1988, and releasing eight outstanding LPs over the last 25 years ( with number nine on its way), Deftones have indelibly shaped the alternative metal genre while remaining a band apart.

Rank the deftones albums