The 25 most essential albums from black artists for African-American Music Appreciation Month

The sheer coolness of Miles Davis' trumpet is never more pure or pronounced as it is on "Kind of Blue" an album every bit as known and recognized for its appearance in films, commercials and waiting rooms around the world as it is as one of jazz's most enduring classics. Davis is in pristine form here, undaunted by distractions, delivering an indelible sound that can easily be used as a gateway drug into jazz as a genre. Whether it's better that list mate John Coltrane's "A Love Supreme" is certainly up for a long debate, but regardless, both more than earn their place on our list.

Forever embedded in history for the way it broke barriers, as a black performer took classics written and usually performed by white artists, Ray Charles' "Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music" is a groundbreaking work that brought Charles both mainstream success, while also establishing himself as a household name with classic tracks "You Don't Know Me" and "I Can't Stop Loving You." Charles recreates country, western and folk music into something even more accessible and entertaining.

Few events were as exciting and intense as James Brown's famous concert at the Apollo Theater in Harlem in October 1962, immortalized for modern audiences in "Live at the Apollo." Brown is in full funky crooner mode here, and his efforts are met with shrieks of approval from the audio, something preserved in the background for audiences to hear and experience today. Alive with pleasure, Brown proves he's the hardest working man in show business as he gives the Apollo audience exactly what they want and we get to enjoy every moment.

A four-part suite, John Coltrane's "A Love Supreme" represents the saxophonist's finest work, but also delivers to listeners a powerful display that gives it more urgency than Miles Davis' "Kind of Blue" in a few ways. The work here is seminal, and Coltrane's chemistry with his fellow musicians drives each of the four suites into classic, all-time status. Even if you never cared much for jazz, "A Love Supreme" is the perfect entry for jazz, one that will get listens multiple times through the week.

Aretha Franklin's 1967 debut for fledgling label Atlantic Records stands as her greatest moment, giving listeners an urgent, playful soul excursion that yields classics like "Respect" and her take on Sam Cooke's "A Change is Gonna Come." Aretha is equal parts soulful, sassy and sultry here, and sings with a confidence and swagger that makes her irresistible to listen to on an album that serves as a soul serenade from a one-of-a-kind chanteuse.

While there are only four songs on the 45-minute album, each represent, as a whole, a milestone in black music, a landmark achievement of rhythm, mood and melancholy that begin with the baleful "Walk On By" and culminate in the 18-minute rendition of Jimmy Webb's "By the Time I Get to Phoenix," a grand opus on the power of love and the strength it takes to leave it behind. Hayes' performance is visceral and raw and beyond essential in its intensity. Few albums come off as unrefined and yet flawless at the same time. A must-listen for anyone interested in southern-fried soul at the dawn of the '70s.

Marvin Gaye came into the '70s with a lot on his mind. From the explosions of the civil-rights era to suffering personal tragedy with the loss of singing partner Tammy Terrell, Gaye channeled his pain and perspective into the classic "What's Going On," a pastiche of the world around Gaye delivered with a power and a passion that would serve as a soundtrack for a nation in the midst of a failed war and government turmoil. To listen to it now is to receive a masterclass on the concept of past as prologue. We can still learn something from Marvin as our times begin to resemble his.

From the beginning chords of "Little Child Runnin' Wild," Curtis Mayfield takes listeners on an intense tour of souls on fire in stories of the street in his soundtrack to the Gordon Parks, Jr. film "Super Fly." Mayfield serves as a Greek chorus of sorts as his songs highlight the plight of some of the characters as well as painting a portrait of a weary life in the drug game of the 1970s. His tracks are as tough as they are timely and there is a disheveled beauty in the grit and grime that seeps through in the audio pictures Mayfield paints of life at the edge of a knife.

Unquestionably Stevie Wonder's magnum opus, "Songs in the Key of Life" effortlessly exudes a feeling of celebration, whether it's lovingly remembering Duke Ellington, a significant influence on Wonder, in the year before the album's release, or serving as a joyful tribute to his baby daughter, the album just feels good to listen to, as Wonder takes us on a journey of sorts through his classically unique sound.

Critics weren't kind to what some derisively labeled "the oral sex album." "I Want You" is indeed a shockingly sexual album, it's also essential in the way in which Gaye and producer Leon Ware create a sound that serves as a precursor not only to Gaye's final album (and hit single) "Sexual Healing," but also the sensually-focused R&B of the early 90s. Featuring sultry sounds on tracks like "Since I Had You," and the ethereal nightclub staple "After the Dance," "I Want You" is unlike anything Gaye or anyone in mainstream R&B had attempted, and is every bit as addictive as it is essential.

Recorded over two nights at the Saenger Theatre in New Orleans, Maze's classic live album, "Live in New Orleans" is a glimpse at the band at the heights of its powers, offering electric, jazzy tunes that are nearly impossible to dance to, including "Joy and Pain" and "Southern Girl," the album makes you feel every bit of the humidity and the rhythm that only a muggy night in New Orleans can provide. The band moves through each cut with a funky, laid-back intensity, with lead singer Frankie Beverly serving as both crooner and host to a party everyone's invited to. 

The second in a three-album collaboration with Quincy Jones, "Thriller" is not only Michael Jackson's high-water mark, it's a high-water mark for music as a whole, giving us instant classics like the title cut, "Billie Jean" and "Beat It," ushering in the video generation of the '80s in a way that no other artist has able to match both in sales and in iconography. "Thriller" is the reason that Jackson will be forever known as the undisputed King of Pop.

The only compilation album on our list, Bob Marley and the Wailers' "Legend" has to be included just on its merits as an ambassador to reggae that still succeeds in gaining new converts nearly a quarter century after the death of Marley. Featuring the best of Marley and the Wailers from 1972-83, "Legend" is a wildly successful crash course into the sound of Marley and pre-dancehall reggae that can be found in practically every dorm room in America. Highlights include the electric "Could You Be Loved" and laid-back come hither nature of "Stir It Up."

When it comes to the legacy of the Purple One, fans and critics will always question whether the soundtrack to "Purple Rain" is better than his later double album, 1988's "Sign 'o the Times," and while both serve as a one-two punch of a magnum opus, "Purple Rain" edges out the later album, as each of the nine songs are not only memorable on their own, they more accurately display Prince's power as a composer as well as a musician, creating a sound that is both epic and diverse, from the operatic title track to the slow burn of "Darling Nikki" or the pop-ready "Let's Go Crazy." Few albums accomplish nearly as much in as many tracks.

Some might wonder why Whitney Houston isn't represented on this list instead of Anita Baker, but one just has to listen to her 1986 quiet storm masterpiece "Rapture" to know. Baker's voice is the star, with production kept simple enough to never get in the way of the vocals. Baker is neither sad nor overly sexual. Here, she is self-assured in herself and her steadily emotional take on love. One could argue that there is a subtly feminist quality to her lyrics, delivering her ruminations on love from a position of power, something reminiscent of predecessor Patti Austin, yet even more powerful.

Introducing sociopolitical thought-consciousness to the still nascent rap game, Public Enemy dropped like a megaton bomb with their sophomore effort, "It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back." Featuring deep cuts like "Rebel Without a Pause" and "Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos," PE took no prisoners as they established themselves as an antidote to the rising tide of gangster rap, forcing critics to accept and embrace the diversity within hip-hop as a true cultural force for change. 

The debut studio album for West Coast upstarts N.W.A. changed the face of music forever. No longer was hip-hop just about catchy beats or lyrical acrobatics, now thanks to the production of Dr. Dre and the raw, unfettered lyrics of Ice Cube, America got a front-row seat to a vision of itself that people either never knew existed or outright ignored. "Straight Outta Compton" isn't just an expression of rage, it's an affirmation of the existence of street life struggling to thrive underneath the halcyon day-glo of the Reagan '80s

Quincy Jones' 1989 Grammy-winning effort makes our list not only due to the fantastic music that's featured throughout the album, but also because of the feat Quincy was able to accomplish in assembling some of the best black artists alive all in one place. Featuring the final recordings of classic jazz chanteuses Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan, "Back on the Block" is not just an album, it's an audio history lesson, one that introduces us to new talent just as it serves as a tribute to legends showing up for one final moment in the sun that is an undeniable pleasure to experience.

If N.W.A.'s "Straight Outta Compton" was hip-hop's lit fuse, 1992's "The Chronic" was the powder keg to a cultural bomb. Dr. Dre, free from N.W.A. creates a landmark album that changes the face of hip-hop, shifting power from the East Coast to the West, while forevermore establishing Los Angeles as a true player in the hip-hop game where N.W.A. felt like a unique novelty. Introducing and establishing Snoop Dogg and other acts, "The Chronic" is as much coming out party as it is hip-hop classic that refuses to bow down to anyone.

Not only one of the most essential albums by a black artist, Nas' debut album, "Illmatic," is easily in the top five best hip-hop albums of all time. Serving as a respite to the blood and bone visceral sound found in West Coast hip-hop, "Illmatic" feels partially like a throwback to the days of Boogie Down Productions and Eric B and Rakim while also feeling both fresh and modern. Nas' delivery is potent and his lyrics sharp, coupled with production from DJ Premier and Large Professor, creating a superior album that continues to influence hip-hop artists nearly 25 years since its' release.

The second and final album from '90s hip-hop prodigies The Fugees makes our list for a few reasons, from Lauryn Hill's dusky and hypnotic vocals to memorable production from Wyclef Jean. "The Score" is both deep and kinetic, as we listen to the group (Hill in particular) stretch out into both R&B and hip-hop, delivering a unique vibe that resonates generationally. The star here is Hill as she flaunts both sharp skills as an emcee in "Ready or Not," but also as a full-throated vocalist in Roberta Flack remake "Killing Me Softly with His Song."

Although the duo of Andre 3000 and Big Boi found modest success with their previous two albums, it was their third effort, '"Aquemini," that firmly established Outkast as icons of not just hip-hop, but pop music as a whole. By now Andre and Big Boi were settling into their personas in full and come across as both defiantly confident in who they are while also paying eternal tribute to the Atlanta they call home. From crowd-pleasing anthems like "Rosa Parks" to laid back funk excursions like "Da Art of Storytellin', Pt. 1," "Aquemini" is essential listening not only for Outkast fans, but anyone looking for a higher form of sound and storytelling.

D'Angelo's sophomore effort is far from a slump as "Voodoo" takes neo-soul/funk to a new height in 13 cuts that represent the best of D'Angelo's three-album discography. D'Angelo certainly wears his influences on his sleeve, but he never falls victim to them. By that we mean despite his tendency to emulate his idols, the music is unmistakably D'Angelo, and by the time we get to the show stopper, "Untitled (How Does It Feel)," we've bought in fully, leaving only a pure enjoyment for an essential slice of R&B magic.

Ushering in a new era of R&B reminiscent of a post-New Jack era, Jill Scott came out of nowhere with a powerhouse smolder on her debut "Who is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds, Vol. 1." Jill plays the role of faithful girlfriend, sensitive lover and street poet betraying or rather emulating every bit of her Philadelphia background which she flaunts effortlessly without a hint of braggadocio, making the album extremely accessible and welcome to listeners. Scott has had a solid career in the 18 years since the album's release, but she's never as pure or as essential as she is right here.

The newest album on our list, Kendrick Lamar's "DAMN." feels like a magnum opus, but we know Lamar still has his best work ahead of him — evidenced by his 2018 soundtrack album for the hit Marvel Studios film "Black Panther" — but 'DAMN.' is notable because it embraces and improves upon its timeless style as Lamar embraces the best of both coasts, delivering a sound and lyrics that transcend and reshape hip-hop into something greater. Lamar is the first artist who feels like he's changing the game, and 'DAMN.' feels like an album that serves as hip-hop's bridge to future generations.