1. Bee Thousand (1994)

I could spend this whole blurb talking about how opener “Hardcore UFOs” disrupts the notion of how two electric guitars are supposed to fit together. Or I could focus solely on the brilliantly executed transition in the middle of “The Goldheart Mountaintop Queen Directory.” Or why riffs like the one GBV willed into existence on “I Am A Scientist” sound like they were written and etched our collective subconscious five decades ago. This sort of aural witchcraft is all over Bee Thousand, which still stands as the undisputed king of the noise-pop genre. The album practically teaches you how to listen to it, teasing you with catchy choruses then thrusting you into the weeds with layers of tape hiss. And whenever the album threatens to lose the listener, it casually drops a song like “Echos Myron” and before you know it you’re dancing like a teenager again.