From Wet Wet Wet and The Notorious B.I.G. to My Bloody Valentine, Spice Girls, Arctic Monkeys and Travis Scott, the Chalkys team and some very special friends pick the albums that mean the most to them.

Chalkys was born in 1987.

Thirty-nine years later, music has changed almost beyond recognition. We have gone from vinyl, cassettes and CDs to downloads, streaming and back again to a new vinyl revival. Genres have come and gone, artists have become icons, and entire generations have found the albums that become the soundtrack to their lives.

But one thing hasn't changed.

A great album still matters.

As part of our 39th birthday celebrations, we asked the Chalkys team and some of our friends to choose their favourite album from the past 39 years.

And, honestly, it wasn't easy.

When you have had an incredible album released virtually every year since 1987, asking someone to pick just one is a little bit cruel.

To make things even harder, the Chalkys team weren't simply allowed to choose from everything ever released. They were given a Top 10 album shortlist for each year and had to find their favourite from that.

There were arguments. There were difficult decisions. There were probably a few choices that will divide opinion.

And that's exactly what makes music so brilliant.

So, in no particular order, here is our very long, very personal and very subjective list of the albums that our Chalkys family have chosen to celebrate 39 years of music.

Quick Answer: What are Chalkys' favourite albums of the last 39 years?

There isn't one answer. Our picks stretch across pop, rock, indie, hip hop, R&B, electronic music, metal and everything in between. From Wet Wet Wet's Popped In Souled Out, released in 1987, to more recent favourites including Travis Scott's Astroworld, Dave's We're All Alone in This Together and Chris Stussy's Lost, Found & Forgotten, the list reflects just how much music has changed since Chalkys began.

Key Facts

Detail	Information
Chalkys founded	1987
Birthday celebration	39 years
Years of music covered	1987–2026
Selection process	Chalkys team chose from a Top 10 shortlist for each year
Genres represented	Pop, rock, indie, hip hop, R&B, electronic, metal and more
First album on the list	Wet Wet Wet – Popped In Souled Out
Most recent era represented	2020s
Overall winner	There isn't one. That's the point.

The Chalkys Birthday Album List

The main man who started it - Chalky

Wet Wet Wet – Popped In Souled Out

And where better to start than 1987?

Wet Wet Wet's debut arrived in September 1987 and eventually reached No.1 on the UK Albums Chart in January 1988. It produced hits including Wishing I Was Lucky, Sweet Little Mystery and Angel Eyes (Home and Away).

For a business born in 1987, it's a rather fitting choice.

Friends of Chalkys

We also asked some of the people around Chalkys to get involved. Because if there is one thing we have learned over the years, it's that everyone has the album.

Mike – @mikesvinyldiary

Mike knows his records, so we're not surprised he found this a difficult one. But he managed to pick one.

Daoud - OK

Short, mysterious and guaranteed to start an argument.

 

Daniel – @theonlyvinegarstrokes

Spice Girls – Spice

The biggest-selling girl group debut album of all time? Whatever you think of it, Spice was a cultural phenomenon and an absolutely unavoidable part of the 1990s.

 

Martin – @truewaxtales

The Fall – Extricate

A choice that immediately tells you this list isn't going to be predictable.

 

Terri Dwyer - Actress

Another brilliantly left-field choice from Terri.

Shaznay Lewis - Pages

A reminder that the story of great albums didn't stop in the 80s, 90s or 2000s.

 

Thea – Blogger at Totally Content

U2 – The Joshua Tree

Few albums are more closely associated with a particular moment in music history. The Joshua Tree remains one of U2's defining records.

Alexandra Legouix - Presenter

Fleetwood Mac – Rumours

An album that somehow manages to sound timeless. Rumours is one of those records that can be passed from generation to generation and still feel completely relevant.

 

The Chalkys Team

And then we get to the people who live and breathe Chalkys every day.

Their choices are wonderfully varied.

Dina

The Pasadenas – To Whom It May Concern

A vibrant, harmony-drenched tribute to classic Motown, packed with joyful late-80s British soul energy.

Jonny

My Bloody Valentine – Loveless

A landmark of alternative music and one of those albums that changed what people thought guitars could sound like.

Rachael

Bon Jovi – Cross Road

One of the great rock albums, packed with songs that defined Bon Jovi's huge 1980s and 1990s run.

Patrick

Tricky – Maxinquaye

Dark, atmospheric and hugely influential, Maxinquaye remains one of the defining records of the Bristol sound.

Jemma

Linkin Park – Hybrid Theory

A debut that helped define the sound of the early 2000s and introduced Linkin Park to a generation of music fans.

Hannah

Incubus – Morning View

Dynamic, atmospheric, and fluidly melodic. Seamlessly balancing heavy alternative riffage with lush, ocean-side tranquility.

Sam

Queens of the Stone Age – Songs for the Deaf

A monster of an album, and one that still sounds as visceral and brilliantly strange as it did when it arrived.

Bekki

Atreyu – The Curse

A explosive blend of early-2000s metalcore, driving twin-guitar riffs, and theatrical, high-energy hook urgency.

Ryan

The Kooks – Inside In / Inside Out

A record that instantly takes you back to the mid-2000s indie explosion.

Jake

The Vaccines – What Did You Expect from the Vaccines?

A blast of high-octane indie rock, packing raw, leather-jacket swagger into furiously melodic, short-sharp-shock anthems.

Klaudia

Bring Me The Horizon – Sempiternal

• Atmospheric, raw, and fiercely anthemic, it seamlessly weaves lush orchestral textures into visceral post-hardcore aggression.

Beth

Bastille – Wild World

Cinematic soundscapes and Bastille’s signature storytelling come together to shed light on a world in chaos. 

Callum

Travis Scott – Astroworld

• A hallucinatory, beat-switching theme park ride that pushed modern trap to its absolute psychedelic peak.

Harvey

Dave – We're All Alone in This Together

A deeply vulnerable, cinematic rap masterpiece balancing razor-sharp UK storytelling with heavy social commentary and lush instrumentation.

Liam

Chris Stussy – Lost, Found & Forgotten

A great example of how far music has travelled since Chalkys first opened its doors in 1987.

Declan

Arctic Monkeys – AM

Few British guitar bands of the 21st century have made a cultural impact quite like Arctic Monkeys. AM took that impact to another level.

Rich

The Notorious B.I.G. – Ready to Die

And finally, Rich's choice.

Released in 1994, Ready to Die remains one of the defining albums in hip hop history. Raw, ambitious, dark, funny and hugely influential, it announced The Notorious B.I.G. as one of the most important voices in rap.

39 Years. Hundreds of Albums. Impossible Choices.

Looking back at these choices, that's probably the biggest thing we take from the exercise.

There is no single definition of a great album.

For some people, it's the record they bought with their first pay packet.

For others, it's the album that soundtracked university, a first love, a summer holiday or a night out with friends.

It might be the record you played until the CD started skipping.

It might be something you discovered years after it was released.

And that's why physical music still matters.

At Chalkys, we've spent 39 years being part of that relationship between people and music. From vinyl and cassettes through to CDs, DVDs, Blu-rays and today's continuing vinyl revival, the formats may change but the emotional connection doesn't.

Because ultimately, we're not really buying plastic, cardboard, grooves or bits of silver.

We're buying memories.

That's what makes looking back over 39 years so special.

And if this list proves anything, it's that there has never been a shortage of brilliant albums to make those memories with.

What is your favourite album of the last 39 years?

We've picked ours.

Now it's your turn.

What is the one album released since 1987 that you couldn't live without?

Tell us. We suspect the arguments are only just beginning.

Celebrate 39 Years of Chalkys

From classic albums and new releases to vinyl, CDs, box sets and much more, explore the music that has provided the soundtrack to nearly four decades.

Buy your next favourite album at Chalkys and keep the music playing.

 

FAQ

When was Chalkys founded?

Chalkys was founded in 1987, making 2026 its 39th birthday.

What albums did the Chalkys team choose as their favourites?

The Chalkys team's selections include Popped In Souled Out, Loveless, Cross Road, Maxinquaye, Hybrid Theory, Morning View, Songs for the Deaf, The Curse, Inside In / Inside Out, What Did You Expect from the Vaccines?, Sempiternal, Wild World, Astroworld, We're All Alone in This Together, Lost, Found & Forgotten, AM and Ready to Die.

What is the best album released since 1987?

There is no definitive answer. Music is subjective, which is why Chalkys asked its team and friends to choose their personal favourites from a shortlist of the best albums from each year.

Why is 1987 important to Chalkys?

1987 is the year Chalkys was founded. It was also an extraordinary year for music, with albums including Wet Wet Wet's Popped In Souled Out, Michael Jackson's Bad, U2's The Joshua Tree, Def Leppard's Hysteria and many other influential records.

What makes a great album?

Commercial success is only part of the story. A great album can be influential, innovative, emotionally important or simply a record that stays with someone for years. The Chalkys birthday selections demonstrate just how personal the definition of a great album can be.