#29 - The Wall, Pink Floyd

"Listening to this rich union of artistic endeavor and commercial viability was a rite of passage for suburban teenagers during the '80s. Using themes every teen can relate to (isolation, betrayal, anti-homeworkism), Waters delivered a record, stage show and film that, while of questionable taste, was undeniably what the kids were after in 1979." (real music guide)

#28 - Led Zeppelin IV, Led Zeppelin

"Encompassing heavy metal, folk, pure rock & roll, and blues, Led Zeppelin's untitled fourth album is a monolithic record, defining not only Led Zeppelin but the sound and style of '70s hard rock. Expanding on the breakthroughs of III, Zeppelin fuse their majestic hard rock with a mystical, rural English folk that gives the record an epic scope. Even at its most basic -- the muscular, traditionalist "Rock and Roll" -- the album has a grand sense of drama." (allmusic guide)

#27 - Grace, Jeff Buckley

"Jeff Buckley was many things, but humble wasn't one of them. Grace is an audacious debut album, filled with sweeping choruses, bombastic arrangements, searching lyrics, and above all, the richly textured voice of Buckley himself, which resembled a cross between Robert Plant, Van Morrison, and his father Tim. And that's a fair starting point for his music: Grace sounds like a Led Zeppelin album written by an ambitious folkie with a fondness for lounge jazz." (allmusic guide)

#26 - The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle, Bruce Springsteen

"Springsteen's The Wild, the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle was everything fans hoped his sophomore effort would be. Released seven months after his debut, The Wild…. incorporates a variety of upbeat music styles, as his poetic, 20/20 vision brims with optimism. The celebratory highs of songs such as "Rosalita" help make this album a definite classic." (real music guide)

#25 - August And Everything After, Counting Crows

"Counting Crows pretty much opened and shut the door on heartbroken-college-dude- radio-rock-by-way-of-Van-Morrison with this gazillion-selling album. "Mr. Jones" incorporates all the things that make Counting Crows what they are: fantastic songwriting; spot-on, rootsy playing; and Adam Duritz's pained, impassioned vocals." (real music guide)