Joni Mitchell's Blue, and other albums you'll receive a lecture for not liking

OH, you don’t like the right albums? Then a calm, intellectually grounded explanation of why you should will surely change your benighted mind:

Joni Mitchell, Blue, 1971

Lauded as the first ever piece of art about feelings, its popularity is surprising given its crippling sadness, like Leonard Cohen without the laughs. Uses unusual open tunings. Be aware anyone pointing this out will lurch into a discussion of jazz without fair notice.

Nas, Illmatic, 1994

It’s tough to identify with these raw raps from the crackhead streets of Queens, even if you’re from Rotherham. But it is ridiculous not to know it passed the torch from Rakim, redefined the genre and had a one-take recording of a song which any rapper should be expected to do when performing live. Because it is sort of talking.

Mile