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1000 recordings · 1100–2004

1001 Classical Recordings You Must Hear Before You Die: the complete list

· 20 min read · by 1001 Albums

Matthew Rye's “1001 Classical Recordings You Must Hear Before You Die” goes from Hildegard of Bingen and the songs of the Carmina Burana to Wolfgang Rihm and Julian Anderson, in the order the music was written. Here are its 1000 works, each in a recording that can be heard online, the year beside each the one it was written in, from 1100 to 2004. A few works a day fill 89 days: about 1082 hours of music, a list to dip into more than to work through.

By genre

Classical 100%
  • Classical 100%

The genres named most: classical.

The colours of the covers

A stripe for each cover, in the colour Tidal picks from it, sorted by hue; the greys at the end.

Where the music comes from

Music from 30 countries: Germany 178, France 133, Austria 127, United Kingdom 117, Italy 76 and 25 more. The deeper the colour, the more recordings: one, two to four, five to nine, ten and more.

The 1100s

The 1300s

The 1400s

The 1420s

  • MotetsGuillaume Dufay · 1420

The 1490s

The 1510s

The 1530s

The 1540s

  • MotetsCristóbal de Morales · 1545

The 1550s

  • MotetsOrlande de Lassus · 1555

The 1560s

The 1570s

The 1580s

The 1590s

The 1600s

The 1610s

The 1620s

The 1630s

The 1640s

The 1650s

The 1660s

The 1670s

The 1680s

The 1690s

The 1700s

The 1710s

The 1720s

The 1730s

The 1740s

The 1750s

The 1760s

The 1770s

The 1780s

The 1790s

The 1800s

The 1810s

The 1820s

The 1830s

The 1840s

The 1850s

The 1860s

The 1870s

The 1880s

The 1890s

The 1900s

The 1910s

The 1920s

The 1930s

The 1940s

The 1950s

The 1960s

The 1970s

The 1980s

The 1990s

The 2000s

More lists

Lists of Books first, then others; all of them on the blog. The blog.

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The Grammy Album of the Year winners, 1959–2026

· 1 min read

Since 1959 the Recording Academy has given one album a year its highest award, from Henry Mancini's music for Peter Gunn to Bad Bunny's Debí Tirar Más Fotos, by way of Sgt.

Rock 31%Pop 20%Jazz 13%Other 36%
  • Rock 31%
  • Pop 20%
  • Jazz 13%
  • Other 36%

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26 albums · 1967–2016

David Bowie's studio albums, 1967–2016

· 1 min read

All 26 studio albums of David Bowie in order, from David Bowie (1967) to Blackstar (2016): the complete discography with covers, years and playing time.

Rock 79%Pop 9%Electronic 8%Other 4%
  • Rock 79%
  • Pop 9%
  • Electronic 8%
  • Other 4%

Read and see the list

32 albums · 1966–1994

Frank Zappa's studio albums, 1966–1994

· 1 min read

All 32 studio albums of Frank Zappa in order, from Freak Out! (1966) to Civilization Phaze III (1994): the complete discography with covers, years and playing time.

Rock 62%Jazz 8%Electronic 7%Other 23%
  • Rock 62%
  • Jazz 8%
  • Electronic 7%
  • Other 23%

Read and see the list

44 albums · 1968–2025

Neil Young's studio albums, 1968–2025

· 1 min read

All 44 studio albums of Neil Young in order, from Neil Young (1968) to Talkin to the Trees (2025): the complete discography with covers, years and playing time.

Rock 96%Folk & Country 2%Blues 1%Other 1%
  • Rock 96%
  • Folk & Country 2%
  • Blues 1%
  • Other 1%

Read and see the list