10 Bands And Artists Who Pass The Five Album Test

Radiohead played it smart from the off, and got their worst album out of the way early. There’s stuff to like on Pablo Honey - mainly “Creep” - but elsewhere the record feels like it’s responding to music around it, and has aged poorly as a result.

They wouldn’t make that mistake again. From sophomore effort The Bends to 2016’s A Moon Shaped Pool, they haven’t put a foot wrong since. Blazing through glam to space-rock through dark electronic fare, puzzling funk and stark piano balladeering, Radiohead have been both Jacks and masters of all trades.

This means fans of all stripes can have their favourite Radiohead record. There’s the totally mixed bag of In Rainbows, the weird dance music on King Of Limbs, politically inclined Hail To The Thief, or bombastic, mega influential OK Computer. It’s amazing that a band as beloved and acclaimed as this can have underrated records, but they do, most notably the tricky and rewarding Amnesiac, often overshadowed by Kid A but with dons to offer in its own right.

Were you to add on the solo efforts of Thom Yorke and the movie soundtracks that take up Johnny Greenwood’s days, you’d have one of the most impressive canons in music history. As it stands, it’s still pretty immense.