There were few albums before 'Loveless' that were better, and even fewer since. The key is doubtlessly the experimental guitars on it. No matter how much you love guitar music, this album will make you look at, listen to and play guitars differently to how you knew to before. It will also make you fall in love with guitar music for the first time all over again. No contradiction. the guitars defy what guitars sound like conventionally. it's experimental without being pretentious, heavy without sacrificing melody, upbeat without being over-the-top and melancholic without ever bringing you down. It's one of those strange albums you can listen to regardless of mood. You could be happy; depressed; angry; bored; tired but the music somehow makes sense.

According to various sources this album cost Creation somewhere between £250,000-£500,000 (most of the money apparently went towards drugs). Whatever the cost, and despite it nearly bankrupting Creation, the artistic value of 'Loveless' easily justifies all the financial pains it took to create.

This is a seminal work in the world of wall-of-noise albums. Engineered (often literally) by the lead guitarist and main protagonist, Kevin Shields, this album, from 1991, features undulating and crashing rhythmic guitars that are sometimes looped and played backwards. Over this relatively heavy foundation, there are gorgeous dreamy vocals and soundscapes.

Predecessors might include The Jesus & Mary Chain and the Velvet Undergound. Contemporaries (or perhaps more appropriately followers) included Lush, Ride and Chapterhouse.

No decent album collection is complete without this one.