Faith No More - The Real Thing : Truly bizarre and ground breaking at the time of its release and one they never came close to emulating

Rush - Grace Under Pressure : A reflection of not just the Cold War but the strained relations between the band members. One of their less celebrated albums but for me one of their best

Marillion - Clutching At Straws : Their road album with Fish and defines their first era

Marillion - Afraid of Sunlight : Their road album with Hogarth and defines their second era

Queen - Sheer Heart Attack : The band that started it all for me. Any of their first seven could have made this list but SHA is the one I have gone back to more than most in recent times

AC/DC - Back In Black : Its a cliché to pick this one but at the end of the day we all know it inside out and what's not to love

Dream Theater - Scenes From A Memory : Dragged the concept album formula kicking and screaming into the modern era

Bruce Springsteen - Darkness On The Edge Of Town : Another artist where any one of half a dozen could have made the list but Darkness will always stand out

Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here : From a time before The Wall when diamonds were crazy; a masterpiece

Roger Waters - Amused To Death : How many more would this have sold if David Gilmour had played guitar instead of Jeff Beck? A Floyd album in all but name and one of Waters' finest achievements