Editor’s Note: The Albumism staff has selected what we believe to be 50 Essential Albums by LGBTQ Artists, representing a varied cross-section of genres, styles and time periods. Considering that the qualifier “LGBTQ” can often be open to various interpretations, for the purposes of this particular list, we have defined an artist as LGBTQ if he, she or they have ever publicly identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and/or queer. Moreover, albums by groups have been included in the list if any of their members fit the aforementioned criteria, even if some members do not.

Click “Next Album” below to explore each album or for easier navigation, view the full introduction & album index here.

PET SHOP BOYS | Bilingual
Parlophone (1996)
Selected by Quentin Harrison

BUY ON AMAZON

  
    [As an Amazon affiliate partner, Albumism earns commissions from qualifying purchases.]

Legends of the electronic genre, Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe—known collectively as the Pet Shop Boys—were the brains behind some of the most intellectual and savvy tunes of the last 30 years. There is literally something for everybody in Tennant and Lowe’s catalog. One of the many highlights to be found is the vibrant, if occasionally overlooked Bilingual. Incorporating world music rhythms—principally Latin—into their established synth framework, Bilingual is a feast for the senses.

NEXT ALBUM >

LISTEN:

Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s Debut Album ‘Read My Lips’ Turns 25 | Album Anniversary

With her debut solo affair, Ellis-Bextor made the dancefloor feel elegant and faintly surreal, a place where heartbreak could wear lipstick and emotional catastrophe could arrive with a four-on-the-floor beat.

Paul Simon’s ‘Graceland’ Turns 40 | Album Anniversary

Four decades later, ‘Graceland’ remains true to what it was from the start—a beautiful, tangled, genuinely collaborative album that changed what pop music could sound like.

The Rolling Stones’ ‘Tattoo You’ Turns 45 | Album Anniversary

When listening to ‘Tattoo You,’ you would never know that it is this Frankenstein's monster of an album that was pieced together with songs that came from their most creatively fertile period.