The 50 Greatest German Albums of All Time, Ranked by Martin Canine
The German music landscape has much to offer. While Germans themselves like to criticize their own music much more than anyone else, it needs to be said how much variety and how many great works came out of this nation, both after when they were reunited, and when they were still divided between East and West. The country has had an individual evolution of music that only sometimes collided with that of the USA and UK. This resulted in a completely unique pop culture with even styles that are present in other countries having a distinctive personality. This list is to embrace the musical output of my neighborhood nation.As “German albums” count albums by artists from modern Germany, former East Germany and former West Germany, regardless of language. What doesn’t count are German language albums by artists from other countries (e.g. Falco, who is Austrian) or albums that were written or produced by a German but whose main artist isn’t (e.g. Boney M. or La Bouche). If there is more than one main artist, at least one of them has to be be German. Compilations depend on the individual case.
This list was compiled on October 23rd, 2018.
NOTE: Due to the influence of classic German literature and expressionist art on some artists, some descriptions might appear bleak or disturbing, but not all of this music was solely made for easy consumption and entertainment.
Year: 1968
Language: German
Title translation: "Alexandra"
In 1969, Alexandra died in a car crash at age 27. Sadly, this context is the main reason why this remarkable singer-songwriter is still remembered. Retrospectively, Alexandra, her second and final album, received acclaim, while it was just a moderate success upon its initial release and sparked no hit single.
After her label infamously forced her to record easygoing, lighthearted schlager music on her debut (which, people say, made her break down in tears in the studio), it was her sophomore album on which she could live out her huge ambitions. Drawing from Russian, French, and Spanish musical influences, her stories revolve around a clown whom people laugh at on stage while his private life is miserable, a tree she spent her childhood at being violently cut down, and a leaf dreaming of flying far away - only to land in a puddle on the street.
An especially brave and progressive song deals with the question of why religious paintings never depict black angels. A song formed of nightmarish circus music even conveys the traumatizing experience of having been sexually abused as a child. Alexandra was not only far ahead of its time. It's still a musically haunting, lyrically advanced, although very heavy-handed, and not very happy album that makes jaws drop 50 years later.
Year: 1984
Language: German
Title translation: "Warm Inside"
Konstantin Wecker's social commentary is some of the sharpest ever recorded on a musical release. The political singer-songwriter is known for being one of Germany's most intellectual critical thinkers, and on Inwendig warm, he unleashes the full extent of his songwriting abilities.
On the astounding "Einen braucht der Mensch zum Treten," he magnificently demonstrates how racism and misogyny grow from frustration and the need to blame someone else for personal misery. In another song, he claims that even in peaceful times, it's always important to keep your rebellious spirit alive, so that this spark can grow into a flame if needed in the future. Even what seems to be a love song has a deeper message: just take a good look at all the people around you - because who knows, tomorrow everything could be gone.
Year: 1988
Language: German
Title translation: "A Little Bit of Horror Show"
When they accepted an offer to write the music for a stage adaptation of A Clockwork Orange, Die Toten Hosen couldn't have foreseen it would be their jump from a so-so underground punk band to one of the nation's most celebrated and successful acts, regardless of genre. Only half of the songs were composed for the show. The rest were written specifically for the album so it could tell the entire storyline.
Although very ambitious in its epic structure and Beethoven-inspired production, it's still fully punk. In their lyrics, the band expands on the themes of the novel to make a statement about a society where people are only born to work and forced into line, with the Droogs' extreme actions being the direct result.
Year: 2001
Language: German
Title translation: "Mother"
"Mutter" marks the combined musical and lyrical highlight of Rammstein's career. With a more varied stylistic approach than before, ranging from ballads to almost punk-ish sounds and from eurodance-inspired stompers to symphonic moments, the poetic lyricism of the group was not only inspired by German literary classics but also reached the same quality. Advanced metaphors, Freudian symbolism, and a talent for describing deeply psychological phenomena without explicitly naming them make the album open for deep analysis and interpretation. If it were released as a book of poems, it's quite possible it would now be part of the literary canon.
Year: 1967
Language: German
Title translation: "Hold Me Tight"
Originally known as an actress-turned-singer, Hildegard Knef quickly shed that reputation and became Germany's foremost chanson singer, with a repertoire of countless albums over almost 40 years that far surpassed her acting career.
Halt mich fest contains some of her most wistful and melancholic, but also quirkiest and most cynical material. With her characteristic, butch voice, she manages to give the songs (with lyrics written by her and music composed by Hans Hammerschmid) an inimitable personality. Most reissues also contain Knef's signature song "Für mich soll's rote Rosen regnen," which originally was a non-album single.
Year: 1977
Language: German
Title translation: "Enough is not enough"
Konstantin Wecker made a name for himself as an intellectual and political songwriter, whose tunes consist of powerful statements and gripping storytelling. A mix of blues, pop, and spoken word, "Genug ist nicht genug" tells tales about a bloody encounter between a '68 idealist and a gang of Nazis, a vain emperor scared paranoid by his forthcoming fall, abuse of power, and the excessive lifestyle of the rich, among other themes. The razor-sharp sociocritical songs of Wecker are filled with both brain and heart, and never fail to place a finger exactly where it needs to be.
Year: 2002
Language: German (one bilingual German-English song)
Title translation: "Nena feat. Nena"
It's always a very polarizing matter when an artist re-records their older songs, but what Nena did with "Nena feat. Nena" was outstanding. The songs aren't just remixes or slightly updated versions. They received significant expansions that often reduce the famous hit versions of past decades to raw drafts. Verses have been added or scrapped, tones have dramatically changed, melodies have been altered, and so on, all for a finer, more gripping listening experience.
"99 Luftballons," a war-critical song, finally gets the passionate rock ballad outfit it always deserved and needed to be seen as more than just a pop hit. "Vollmond" turned from a (masterful) soft rock number to a quiet, whispery blues song. "Leuchtturm," originally a silly feel-good NDW song, received a makeover so big that it now captures the intensely positive moment of being on top of the world after falling in love.
The highlight is a bilingual, musically dynamic electro-rock re-interpretation of her classic pop hit "Irgendwie Irgendwo Irgendwann" (now titled "Anyplace Anywhere Anytime") together with Kim Wilde, with the two women posing as soulmates from different worlds wanting to meet each other, giving the song a whole new dimension. After a commercially disappointing phase in the '90s, the album relaunched Nena's career and helped her return to superstardom.
Year: 2002
Language: predominantly German, a few English songs
Title translation: "Interlude / Everything for the Lord"
Germany's number one neo-soul singer, Xavier Naidoo, wrote and performed a striking double album of 30 songs, divided into a worldly and a Christian disc. After leaving his mentor and co-writer Moses Pelham, his creativity knew no boundaries.
The first 15 songs are smooth neo-soul/RnB jams containing social commentary, emotional goodbyes, and pure, positively old-fashioned ideas of love (Naidoo's love songs are free of sex and full of compliments). The latter 15 are cinematic, atmospheric visions of Zion and Armageddon, and what he suggests you can do to be saved. Whether you are religious or not - and I'm not - this is as goosebumps-inducing as it gets, all performed by a very good singer.
Year: 1984
Language: German
Title translation: "4630 Bochum"
Named after the city Herbert Grönemeyer grew up in (and its former postal code), "4630 Bochum" became the quintessential German pop album that combined everything great about the genre. It has the definitive breakup song, the greatest pop-rock tune, the perfect city anthem, and the catchiest synth-pop - all with lyricism that is far from standard. As of October 2018, it is the third best-selling album of all time in Germany (after his own 2002 work "Mensch" and Phil Collins' "...But Seriously").
Year: 1997
Language: German
Title translation: "Desire"
Sehnsucht was Rammstein's international breakthrough and also marked the first of many times the group topped the German charts. International audiences praised its hard, stomping tone, while those who understand their words focused on the lyrics.
Although Sehnsucht was less violent than its predecessor, it dug deep into the darkest corners of the human mind, unleashing a tornado of wild, often psychotic urges, all wrapped in advanced German with a knowledge of literature, psychology, and philosophical allegories. On "Engel" and "Der alte Mann," they also touch on the controversial topic of religious criticism. It's the definition of expressionism, caught on tape.
