Bjork - Debut (1993) [Reissue 2000]

Her first album following the breakup of the Sugarcubes, Debut is Icelandic trickster Björk's statement of purpose: bringing curious experimentalism to the dance floor and putting her startling, expressive voice front and center. Her perspective is a little alien--it's no accident that the first song talks about "getting close to a human"--but her leveling of genre distinctions has some wonderful results, especially the eroticized easy-listening reggae sway of "Venus As a Boy." Paired with producer Nellee Hooper (of Soul II Soul), she comes up with a series of invitingly artificial settings for her pipes, built from late-night beats and peculiar timbres, and sings like she's overwhelmed with joy from all her senses. --Douglas Wolk