Reinvention earns Radiohead the final place. OK Computer (1997) and Kid A (2000) offer two different entrances: the first builds tension around guitars and anxious melodies; the second lets electronics, repetition and unusual textures unsettle the familiar rock-band format. The Library of Congress added OK Computer to its National Recording Registry in 2014.
Our case for #10 is the willingness to change the musical question after finding a successful answer. Try the two albums in that order and notice how the voice moves from the center of a song into its surrounding sound. The objection is accessibility: their adventurousness can matter more to devoted album listeners than to a room wanting an immediate chorus. Give innovation greater weight and Radiohead could climb several places.
Sources: Rock & Roll Hall of Fame; Library of Congress album essay.
Photo: Raph_PH · CC BY 4.0. Resized where needed and recompressed; image retains this license.
