Pink Floyd - Animals (1977)
For my money, this is the best album that Pink Floyd ever released. This collection only contains four real songs, what's amazing about it is that (much like on Wish You Were Here really, but the total inverse of Meddle) none of them ever meander off point. In my opinion, this record's strength can be summarised by two things. David Gilmour's guitar playing, and Roger Waters' lyrics. Therefore, "Dogs", which is wonderful in both the musical and lyrical departments, is easily the best track on here. That's not to undercut "Pigs", which features both excellent keyboard work and scathing social satire, or "Sheep", which builds to a feeling of paranoia rarely witnessed in the oral realm. Both "Pigs on the Wing" tracks act as welcome respites from the constant seriousness of the rest of the album, and despite their clipped nature it feels more complete for having them. Despite the fact that the average song here is some 6 minutes longer than the average song on The Wall, this never drowns in its own pretentiousness like that album does. An absolutely stunning record.