4 Must-Have Albums for Your Pink Floyd Vinyl Collection

Pink Floyd underwent many transformations in their time together. Lineup changes precipitated some of those alterations. And in some cases, different members came to the fore (and receded) in terms of their artistic influence on the group.

We’re not necessarily saying that these are the four best Floyd albums. But we are arguing that this quartet of LPs is the best way to start your vinyl collection of the band and give it the best possible overview of their musical legacy.

‘The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn’

Without Syd Barrett, there would have been no Pink Floyd. The band members who went on to carry Floyd to stardom long after Barrett departed the group due to mental problems exacerbated by drug use would readily admit that. The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn, the band’s 1967 debut album, puts Barrett’s mercurial brilliance front and center. He wrote most of the songs, sings lead on the majority of the ones with vocals, and weaves his guitar around the instrumentals. The idiosyncratic catchiness of the pop songs and the mesmerizing liftoff of the instrumentals make for an album that still sounds eerily ahead of its time today.

‘The Dark Side Of The Moon’

Once Barrett was out of the picture, Floyd took a while to find their footing. David Gilmour replaced him on guitar. The band struggled to decide whether they wanted to focus on ambient instrumentals or more traditional rock songs. The Dark Side Of The Moon split the difference, embellishing it all with transformative special effects. Roger Waters took control of the narrative by writing all the lyrics for the first time in the band’s history. He created a song cycle about the various pressures inherent in modern life and how they could make anyone go around the bend. You have to have this one, if only to show off your vinyl sound system.

‘Wish You Were Here’

Pink Floyd wafted about for a while in the aftermath of Dark Side, looking for a new artistic challenge. They found it by revisiting the guy who started it all for them. In the lyrics, Roger Waters mined feelings of regret about the way the band had handled Syd Barrett’s struggles. He combined this with his own feelings of rootlessness within both the group and life in general. Meanwhile, the instrumentalists stepped forward to build moving soundscapes around these observations. David Gilmour’s guitar has rarely been as majestic or melancholy. And Rick Wright weaves spectral tapestries on his keyboard that seem to call out to Barrett through the void.

‘The Wall’

Roger Waters’ increasing alienation from the rock fans who populated Pink Floyd’s shows sparked the creation of The Wall. Ironically, it also alienated him from his band. His need to control every aspect of the proceedings left the other members frustrated. Still, Waters deserves credit for shepherding the involved storyline into accessibility. You could argue that David Gilmour had a great deal to do with it as well. His guitar solos enliven the bite-sized pieces like “Comfortably Numb” and “Young Lust”. Floyd even walked away with a No. 1 hit single from the project thanks to the disco-ready “Another Brick In The Wall, Part 2”. It’s not often cheerful, but this double album is compelling from start to finish.

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