Well-produced albums are great, but the best-produced albums are downright magical. It takes the listener on a journey across a sonic landscape of dazzling highs and moving lows. And that’s all thanks to the producers and engineers working their magic.
The best producers elevate an artist’s vision to a special place. Here are 10 production masterpieces.
Our list of the best-produced albums of all time doesn’t consider how many “hits” an album yielded, but rather, what goes into record production. First and foremost, we are considering the overall result and sonic quality.
A producer’s role is akin to a movie director. The producer brings together the various parts to create a whole. They consider song choicees, song arrangements, vocal arrangements, vocal harmonies, instrumentation, and audio production. The producer has a grand vision, and he works with the songwriters, musicians, vocalists, and engineers to achieve that goal.
10. The Wall – Pink Floyd (1979)
Pink Floyd is known for intricate production masterpieces, such as Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here. With The Wall, the group’s eleventh studio album, they finally gained a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year in 1981. It is considered one of the greatest concept albums of all time.
The Wall stayed on the charts for over a year, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard US 200, where it ended the year in 1980. The album is 23x platinum with over 11,500,000 sales.
The album was produced by Bob Ezrin, James Guthrie, and band members David Gilmour and Roger Waters. The instrumentation included the New York Philharmonic, New York Symphony, Orchestra, and New York City Opera.
For the song “Another Brick in the Wall,” the group also used students from the Islington Green School in London. The song was also nominated for a Grammy and topped the singles charts in 14 countries.
9. OK Computer – Radiohead (1997)
Expanding beyond their previous guitar-oriented sound, OK Computer saw Radiohead venturing into our range of eclectic influences. The result is a densely layered sound that is perfectly complemented by its abstract lyrics.
The album is noted for its unconventional production techniques, which included no audio separation, or natural reverb, and mostly recorded live. The band also reported strings at Abbey Road studios. The album was produced by Noel Godrich.
OK Computer was nominated for two Grammys, Album of the Year, and won Best Alternative Music Album in 1998. It has sold more than 2 million copies in the US and over 3 million in Europe.
8. Boston – Boston (1976)
Guitarist and songwriter Tom Scholz completely fooled the executives at Epic Records with his home-recorded pristine audio that became the best-selling debut LP of all time in the US. The label had insisted the band used a professional, but they were never the wiser until after the fact.
Scholz was an engineer who graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and worked for Polaroid. He built his own home studio, as well as signal processing devices.
The album was a standout at the time for its clarity, rich vocals, and chorused guitars. Scholz got his guitar sound from a device he developed and would later sell under the name Rockman.
The album Boston peaked at #3 on the charts and ended the year in 1977 at #5. To date, Boston has sold more than 17 million albums and is certified 17x platinum.
7. Lemonade – Beyoncé (2016)
Lemonade, with its potpourri of styles, is a concept album that is a testament to music itself. It was also accompanied by a 65-minute film of the same title.
The album was nominated for nine Grammys and won for Best Urban Contemporary Album. The album features eighteen producers and was recorded at eleven different studios.
Production-wise, despite the bevy of producers, they all credit Beyoncé for being very involved with the whole process and giving direction. They credit her for altering and arranging tracks in creative ways. The end result is an album that never falters or lets up. It’s filled with an irresistible array of beats and infectious melodies, and Beyoncé delivers stunning vocal performances throughout.
6. To Pimp a Butterfly – Kendrick Lamar (2015)
Kendrick Lamar changed the game with this opus that reinvented the language of hip-hop by marrying it to other genres. The album features a tight live band on the tracks and a slew of guests, including funk legend George Clinton.
The album draws from a deep and diverse well of influences, including hip-hop, funk, jazz, spoken word, soul, and hard bop. A total of 16 producers constructed To Pimp a Butterfly. The album would influence and shape the decade.Â
Not only did To Pimp a Butterfly garner accolades in the hip-hop genre but in the world of jazz as well. Lamar was nominated for seven Grammys, and To Pimp a Butterfly won Best Rap Album in 2016.
5. Blackstar – David Bowie (2016)
Blackstar was the final album of David Bowie’s career and one of his most experimental. It’s best described as an atmospheric blend of art rock with various styles of jazz and electronica.
Always known for reinventing himself, critics hailed the album for its lush soundscape and depth of songwriting and theme. Bowie collaborated with longtime producer Tony Visconti on the production.
Ever the chameleon, this 69-year-old rock legend, in his 25th studio album, left the world with a recording that’s aurally rebellious and sonically spiked as Ziggy Stardust’s coif.
Bowie recorded the album while battling liver cancer and died two days after its release. To date, the album has sold nearly 2 million copies worldwide.
4. When We Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? – Billie Eilish (2019)
The debut album by singer-songwriter Billie Eilish was a game-changer in many ways.
The reduction is a collaboration between Eilish and her brother Finneas O’Connell, who recorded it in his bedroom. Despite the humble limitations, the result is intricate and lush synthesizer beds accompanied by monstrous sub bass. The heavily processed vocals were unlike any heard before.
The effect of When We Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? is both stunning and progressive. Eilish’s personality comes across as magnetic. The immense energy of the musical track is in harmonious contrast to her emotive voice.
The album won a Grammy for Record of the Year in 2020. It reached #1 in practically every major market and more worldwide. To date, the record has sold more than 4 million copies.
3. Songs in the Key of Life – Stevie Wonder (1976)
Stevie Wonder won a Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1977 for this 1976 double album, where he served as both artist and producer.
Songs in the Key of Life reached No. 1 on the US Billboard 200. The album spent more weeks at #1 than any other album, ending the year at #2 overall. It has been certified Diamond with over 5 million sales.
Wonder worked tirelessly to perfection with long hours and weeks of work. A total of 130 people worked on the album, including legendary musicians. Guests included Herbie Hancock, George Benson, Minnie Riverton, Denise Williams, and Michael Sembello, who also co-wrote “Saturn.”
The quality of the production is testified by the numerous samples that have been lifted for use by rap and hip-hop artists.
2. Random Access Memories – Daft Punk (2013)
French electronic duo Daft Punk released their fourth and final studio album Random Access Memories in 2013.
The group went all in on the production, bringing in a slew of featured artists and additional musicians. The album features a wealth of Giorgio Moroder, Panda Bear, Julian Casablancas, Todd Edwards, DJ Falcon, Chilly Gonzales, Nile Rodgers, Paul Williams, Nathan East, and Pharrell Williams.
In addition to rich electronic instrumentation, there are also eclectic choices, such as pedal steel, lap steel guitars, and an orchestra.
Random Access Memories won a Grammy for Record of the Year in 2014. The song “Get Lucky” won a Best Pop Duo/Group Performance Grammy.
The album debuted at number one in several countries across continental Europe and went platinum in Australia. It’s currently 2x platinum worldwide.
1. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band – The Beatles (1967)
Topping our list of the best-produced albums is a veritable classic. This album tops the list for its audio adventurousness, and musicologists consider it among pop/rock concept albums. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band won a Grammy for Album of the Year in 1968.
Not only does the music stand as a sonic representation of the era’s youth culture, but the accompanying artwork reinforces the overall theme.
Produced by George Martin, the band had the luxury of a nearly limitless recording budget that allowed for unprecedented experimentation. Incredibly, despite the lavish overdubs, the album was recorded on a four-track recorder. That alone makes the album a massive technical achievement. The album was also the first to develop and use many signal-processing effects that are commonplace today. The Beatles admitted their experimentation on this album was highly influenced by The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds (1966). The group would take their musical adventures to new heights on their 1969 Album Abbey Road.