A recent listen to the magisterial 'High Violet' by The National caused me to consider that this was a recording that is both essential for fans of popular music, and one that is likely to be accessible to a wide spectrum of persons. With essential/accessible the factors to consider, I revisited my 'mostest' albums of the past several years and selected many other classics. A challenge was excluding fantastic records that are more esoteric. 24 tracks / 1.8 hours