10 British Albums I’d Gladly Get Stuck On A Desert Island With… If I Had A CD Player Too

I don’t think this is ever going to happen to me, I mean I’d have to go on a cruise or a long haul flight first… and I just don’t do that. BUT, were I ever to get stranded on a desert island with only music as company, these are the 10 British albums I’d choose to be stuck with until I got rescued, or turned in to worm food.

I know I’m going to get criticised, not only for what is here, but what isn’t. Be assured that I had a massive list of albums that could and maybe should have been on the list, but I was limited to 10. Maybe I’ll do a part 2 in a few months time, when bands like Pink Floyd, Oasis, Travis, and The Stone Roses would definitely get a look in.

1. Keane - Hopes And Fears

Yes I know Keane take some stick for resembling characters from an Enid Blyton book, and their second wasn’t quite as good as their first, but what a first album it was.

I never tire of hearing it, and I liste to the whole album, only maybe skipping 1 or 2 tracks if I’m not in the mood. It’s perfect night time music, and I usually listen to it on the headphones in bed. It’s also perfect for singing along to, so my girlfriend sometimes kicks me out of bed.

Stand Out Tracks: Somewhere Only We Know, Bedshaped, She Has No Time.
Band Website: http://www.keanemusic.com/

2. Muse - Absolution

The biggest problem I had here was choosing which album, as they all brilliant intheir own right. I ended up settling for Absolution as it’s an epic album the likes of which I doubt any band will achieve again.

It’s an album which truly is all things to all men, with traces of hard rock, opera, classical, punk, and a concept album to boot. I usually listen to this one on full volume, and rock out to it, playing air guitar, air drums and the oh so difficult air piano to it.

Stand Out Tracks: Hysteria, Time Is Running Out, Stockholm Syndrome.
Band Website: http://www.muse.mu/index.php

3. Radiohead - The Bends

I know it’s a cliche but I don’t think radiohead have ever beaten The Bends, which was their second studio album, and the one which got me in to the band.

It’s normal enough to hook you from the off but has enough oddities and revolutionary sounding songs to give an indication of which direction the band were going to head in the future.

Stand Out Tracks: Street Spirit, High And Dry, Just.
Band Website: http://www.radiohead.com/deadairspace/

4. The Feeling - Twelve Stops and Home

This is going to cause a bit of controversy and get me called all sorts of offensive gay related names to boot but I don’t care. I will concede that if I rewrote this list in 10 years this album wouldn’t be there but if I were to be deserted tomorrow, at this moment, it would be on the list.

A very similar band to Keane, with a similar urge to write the perfect pop song, and an inate ability to get me singing at the top of my voice. The whole album sits together very well, with a real flow which keeps you listening right to the end time and time again.

Stand Out Tracks: I Want You Now, Never Be Lonely, Helicopter.
Band Website: http://www.thefeeling.com/

5. Stereophonics - Performance and Cocktails

The Phonics first album was good, but it was with this second studio album that they really found their groove. The small town sensibilites had disappeared and it was all about touring, and becoming famous.

I listen to this album constantly surprised by just how many hits there are on it. A lot of people, even fans, would admit it was downhill from here, with the band never quite repeating the universal appeal of P & C. While I still like their newer stuff, I’d ratehr listen to this album than the last 3 any day.

Stand Out Tracks: The Bartender and The Thief, Pick A Part That’s New.
Band Website: http://www.stereophonics.com/

6. Coldplay - X & Y

Some people prefer A Rush Of Blood To The Head, but I think X & Y just edges that out as the best Coldplay album to date. Chris Martin’s seemingly never ending OCD struggle for perfection is annoying, but if it means the album ends up as good as this, then I can put up with it.

This album chills me out, it’s the perfect stress busting long player.

Stand Out Tracks: Fix You, Speed of Sound, Square One.
Band Website: http://www.coldplay.com/

7. Led Zeppelin - led Zeppelin IV

The number 11 best selling album in the world ever, and great piece of rock history to boot. Stairway To Heaven may be my particular highlight, but the album is full of songs that inspire and enrapture to this day.

Famous for actually not having a title, with Jimmy Page still referring to it simply as The Fourth Album. With their reunionconcert taking place next month, expect a resurgence of Led Zep hits on the radio and a new wave of fans discovering their brilliance.

Stand Out Tracks: Stairway To Heaven, When The Levee Breaks, Going To California.
Band Website: http://www.led-zeppelin.com/

8. Maximo Park - Our Earthly Pleasures

I was unsure whether to go with the first album A Certain Trigger or this one, but in the end Our Earthly Pleasures just won through. I adore Maximo Park, they are exciting, innovative and lyricly brilliant. each song is more like a poem put to music than anything else.

Our Earthly Pleasures works so well as a second album, giving fans more of what they want from the band, without seeming stale or stilted. Listen at full volume.

Stand Out Tracks: Girls Who Play Guitars, Our Velocity, Books From Boxes.
Band Website: http://www.maximopark.com/

9. Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not

The Arctic Monkeys seemed to come out of nowhere and are now the biggest band in the UK. This first album is so intoxicating, you can almost smell the fresh excitement coming from the band members. Songwriter and singer Alex Turner has a voice that is unmistakably English, and the lyrics of each song also tell the story of growing up in the North of the country too.

This is the album on the list that I had the most trouble choosing just one song to highlight on the Deezer playlist. If you consider yourself an Anglophile, you really need to own this album. FULLSTOP.

Stand Out Tracks: Mardy Bum, When The Sun Goes Down, A Certain Romance.
Band Website: http://www.arcticmonkeys.com/

10. The Beatles - Revolver

The Beatles seventh album, which came out in 1966, right at the pinnacle of British music so far. This album marked a line in the sand of The Baetles sound, with new sounds and styles starting to come through.

The album always figures in the top 10 of Best Albums Ever polls, sometimes even being voted the greatest. Revolver is also charged with heralding in the Psychedelic era of the late sixties and early seventies. This is also the Beatles album where each individual member had a highlight. George Harrison emereged as a great songwriter, and even Ringo Starr got in there with Yellow Submarine.

This album is the uppermost point of the British music scene, and The Beatles powers, and I love it.

Stand Out Tracks: Taxman, Eleanor Rigby, Good Day Sunshine.
Band Website: http://www.beatles.com/