The 1001 Albums List
The book behind the community — and why we use the 2018 edition.
The Book
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die is a music reference book with Robert Dimery as general editor, first published in 2003 by Quintessence Editions. It covers essential albums across every genre and decade — from jazz and blues to rock, hip-hop, electronic, and beyond.
Read more on WikipediaAn Ever-Growing List
The list isn't fixed. Each new edition revisits the selection — adding albums that have since proved their influence and occasionally rotating others out. The "1001" figure is the brand; the actual tally has grown beyond it across editions.
2003200520082011201320162018 ★
Our Edition
This community works from the 2018 edition. It's our stable, agreed-upon snapshot so every member is working from the same list.