TIME 100 ALBUMS PODCASTS

PODCAST: Welcome to the All-TIME 100 Albums - the musical compilations of the last half-century that need no introduction. That said, listen in below as music critics Josh Tyrangiel and Alan Light introduce the list and talk about the top albums of the 1950s and '60s.

PODCAST: We know. Twenty-nine of the 100 greatest albums of all time come in the 1970s, and Pink Floyd isn't there. Play this podcast to learn why we picked the titles we did, and if you have something to say, tell us about it using the talkback link below.

PODCAST: Maybe it's a Sign O' The Times that you're listening to critics' audio recordings about great music, but this podcast about how we chose the best albums of the 1980s really is a Thriller. Give it a listen below.

PODCAST: Here's music even the younger set will know by heart. Listen to selected clips from the 1990s through present day as music critic Josh Tyrangiel discusses his picks.

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Motown Records — which introduced the concept of the assembly line to pop music — had no interest in giving its artists creative control, much less in venturing into territory that was explicitly political. But Marvin Gaye, the label's greatest pure vocalist, was prepared to wait out Motown founder Berry Gordy, Jr — and when Gordy finally, grudgingly caved to Gaye's artistic ambitions, the result was one of the defining albums of its time. What's Going On not only kicked off an era of unprecedented social consciousness in R&B, it also introduced a whole new style of making records, layering multiple vocal lines and rhythm tracks into mellow, hypnotic grooves that made the hard-nosed message of songs like "Inner City Blues(Make Me Wanna Holler)" and the immortal title song utterly irresistible.