Various Artists - Metal Machine Music (CD, Ltd DLX)

The year 2000 marks the 25th Anniversary of one of the most controversial pop music products of the 20th Century. Depending upon whom you ask, Metal Machine Music is either the most brilliant and audacious move of Lou Reed's career, or a complete slap in the face to his audience, record label, and critics. Rather than using musical instruments or the human voice, Reed chose to stack multiple combinations of reverberating electronic sounds, creating a vast, industrial howl. No lyrics, no melodies, just pulsing white noise and pure feeback. The albums impact was monumental. While the current generation of ambient/industrial/electro-acoustic drone mavens were still learning to crawl, Reed had already employed the studio as an instrument. This album stands as one of the most influential rock albums ever, while continuing to sound as uncompromising as when you first yanked it off the stereo and ran screaming from the room.