Pink Floyd
The Piper at the Gates of Dawn
EMI

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Pink Floyd's landmark The Piper at the Gates of Dawn has been a psychedelic rock talisman since the day it was released. Forty years later, it remains one of a handful of Pink Floyd albums even people who despise the band seem to love. Perhaps that's because Piper is as far removed from the group's sterile, narcissistic subsequent work as it could possibly be, reveling in weirdness and rough edges where Dark Side of the Moon and especially The Wall stayed in total control. For this we can thank the album's late visionary Syd Barrett, who left the band (and essentially left the planet) after its completion. For years, fans of this masterpiece have been listening to it in meddled-with stereo; but, finally, Piper is being made available in original mono form. Alas, you're forced to buy the mono version either bundled with the stereo version as a double or with an additional third disc of singles and rarities; a bummer for the budget inclined, but par for the course for fans of the reissue-reliant band.

-- Joshua Klein