Pazz & Jop critics' poll #1 albums
Pazz & Jop critics' poll #1 albums is an award record published in 2026 — one of the 9 sources behind the music canon, weighted as award. 24 of its 75 entries appear in the aggregated canon. Its scope (1971–present) is calibrated against unrestricted lists before scoring.
- 1971Who's Next — The WhoCanon #40
- 1974Court and Spark — Joni MitchellCanon #142
- 1975The Basement Tapes — Bob Dylan and The Band
- 1976Songs in the Key of Life — Stevie WonderCanon #5
- 1977Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols — Sex PistolsCanon #25
- 1978This Year's Model — Elvis Costello and the AttractionsCanon #143
- 1979Squeezing Out Sparks — Graham Parker
- 1980London Calling — The ClashCanon #10
- 198167 — Sandinista!
- 1981Ghost Town — The Specials
- 1982Imperial Bedroom — Elvis Costello and the Attractions
- 1982Trap Door — T-Bone Burnett
- 1983...And a Time to Dance — Los Lobos
- 1983Thriller — Michael JacksonCanon #6
- 1984Born in the U.S.A. — Bruce SpringsteenCanon #140
- 1984Places That Are Gone — Tommy Keene
- 1985Feudalist Tarts — Alex Chilton
- 1985Little Creatures — Talking Heads
- 198627 — No Sex
- 1986Graceland — Paul SimonCanon #57
- 1986Treacherous: A History of the Neville Brothers (1955–1985) — The Neville Brothers
- 1987At the Dark End of the Street — James Carr
- 1987Sign o' the Times — PrinceCanon #77
- 1988Chimes of Freedom — Bruce Springsteen
- 1988It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back — Public EnemyCanon #13
- 1988The Chess Box — Chuck Berry
- 19893 Feet High and Rising — De La SoulCanon #196
- 198965 — Muddy Waters
- 1989Passionate Kisses — Lucinda Williams
- 1990F.U.N. '90 — The Mekons
- 1990Ragged Glory — Neil Young and Crazy Horse
- 1990The Complete Recordings — Robert Johnson
- 1991Nevermind — NirvanaCanon #9
- 1991Perfect Sound Forever — Pavement
- 1991Star Time — James BrownCanon #166
- 199223 — Watery, Domestic
- 19923 Years, 5 Months & 2 Days in the Life Of... — Arrested Development
- 1992Songs of Freedom — Bob Marley
- 1993Exile in Guyville — Liz PhairCanon #161
- 1993Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of The Beach Boys — The Beach Boys
- 1993In Search of Manny — Luscious Jackson
- 1994Five by Five — Pizzicato Five
- 1994Live Through This — HoleCanon #99
- 1994Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1923–1934) — Louis Armstrong
- 1995Macro Dub Infection: Volume One — Various artists
- 1995Peel Slowly and See — The Velvet Underground
- 1995To Bring You My Love — PJ Harvey
- 1996Logical Progression — LTJ Bukem
- 1996Odelay — Beck
- 1996The Singles — Sun Ra
- 1997Anthology of American Folk Music — Various artists
- 1997Time Out of Mind — Bob Dylan
- 1998111 — Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965–1968
- 1998Car Wheels on a Gravel Road — Lucinda WilliamsCanon #194
- 1999Everything Is Possible: The Best of Os Mutantes — Os Mutantes
- 1999Play — Moby
- 2000Stankonia — OutkastCanon #178
- 2001Love and Theft — Bob Dylan
- 2002Yankee Hotel Foxtrot — Wilco
- 2003Speakerboxxx/The Love Below — OutkastCanon #225
- 2004The College Dropout — Kanye WestCanon #121
- 2005227 — Late Registration
- 2006Modern Times — Bob Dylan
- 2007Sound of Silver — LCD SoundsystemCanon #237
- 2008Dear Science — TV on the Radio
- 2009Merriweather Post Pavilion — Animal Collective
- 2010My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy — Kanye WestCanon #63
- 2011Whokill — Tune-Yards
- 2012Channel Orange — Frank OceanCanon #172
- 2013Yeezus — Kanye West
- 2014Black Messiah — D'Angelo and the Vanguard
- 2015To Pimp a Butterfly — Kendrick LamarCanon #171
- 2016Blackstar — David Bowie
- 2017Damn — Kendrick Lamar
- 2018Golden Hour — Kacey Musgraves
List compiled and published by its original authors; positions shown as published. Canon ranks link to each entry's full evidence page.