2. Melt (1980)

Though Gabriel’s first two albums offered glimpses of his singular genius, both still felt like unfocused patchworks. Gabriel was bursting with creativity — both musically and lyrically — but he hadn’t quite realized his own unique voice. With Melt, everything changed: Working with producer Steve Lillywhite, Gabriel crafted a dark, textured masterpiece, laying the blueprint for his subsequent ’80s classics. The album is haunted by a menacing spirit — from the stalker fever-dream “Intruder” (with its clockwork gated-drum pulse) to the elegant, piano-led “Family Snapshot,” which explores a sniper’s tortured backstory. With its stark, cymbal-less drums, disjointed guitars, and eerie synthesizers, the music is as richly dark as the subject matter, the only consolation offered by Dick Morrissey’s weeping sax. For Gabriel, Melt is a creative rebirth.