10 Underrated Albums By Huge Bands

Unlike some albums on this list, Icky Thump was both critically and commercially successful on release, winning awards and selling strongly. The underrating of the White Stripes’ swansong has come after the fact.

While Jack and Meg’s duo remains well remembered for their mid-period, their final album rarely tends to get a look in retrospectively, and that’s a shame. The Stripes were running out of momentum after the disappointing Get Behind Me Satan, but Icky Thump pulled things back around at the last.

It’s as raucous as the band have been since their fiery debut, and with a boatload of weird new effects. Jack’s guitar squeals demonically on the title track and highlight "I'm Slowly Turning into You"; on “Conquest” they briefly transform into a Mariachi band with delightful results.

Indeed this is one of their most varied collections, ending on the subdued "Effect and Cause", which closed the book on one of the century’s most influential bands to date. It’s a strong finish and no mistake.