Unknown Artist, The Album That Will Change Your Life

(Albums the World Forgot #14, 2010)


Unknown Artist, The Album That Will Change Your Life (year unknown)

Over the past fourteen weeks we have seen many albums that, for one reason or another, have been forgotten by the world. We have seen artists who tried something new and daring only to be rejected by their own fans, great musicians who were unfairly labelled ‘one-hit wonders’, and once-popular styles that the world has simply moved on from. We’ve seen albums that weren’t given a chance because they didn’t fit into society’s idea of ‘good music’; albums unfairly dismissed as “a steaming pile of shit that no one should ever, under any circumstances, even think of listening to.”

I have tried to reverse this injustice in the hope that these amazing works will finally be given proper recognition and take the place of less-deserving ‘classics’ like OK Computer and Abbey Road. I hope this column has inspired you to seek out these great albums and discover the magic for yourself. Perhaps, through our hard work, artists like Baha Men and Vanilla Ice will once again get the respect they truly deserve.

However, we can’t stop there. Who knows how many more albums will be forgotten by our cruel, uncaring world, ready to instantly reject anything that doesn’t fall within the bounds of what is deemed ‘acceptable’? Who knows how many truly amazing works will be lost, thrown into life’s bargain bin before we even get the chance to hear them? I know I’ve had several albums change my life: I’ll never forget the first time I heard Silver Side Up and realised that the fourth-wave grunge paradigm had been changed forever. But what if you never hear the album that is destined to change your life?

This is why I urge you all to remain vigilant. Don’t let another great album suffer the same fate as the ones I have written about. Keep digging through clearance bins, crates at second-hand record fairs, your parents’ CD collection. Don’t be put off by poorly designed cover art or obvious spelling errors: there is a real chance that a life-changing experience awaits. We must raise awareness about these albums that everyone else has given up on. If we all put in the effort, together we can un-forget these albums forgotten by the world.