The Velvet Underground & Nico

Andy Warhol famously bankrolled this project and slapped a peelable banana sticker on the cover, forcing the band into the spotlight despite their gritty, street-level subject matter. It remains one of the most influential debuts in history, shifting the focus of rock music away from flower-power optimism toward the darker corners of urban life.

Recorded in a whirlwind of creative tension, the sound blends Nico’s haunting, detached vocals with Lou Reed’s jagged songwriting and John Cale’s experimental viola. The result is a raw, avant-garde masterpiece that feels just as transgressive and essential today as it did in the thick of the 1967 New York art scene.