Defibrillator: Soundgarden, "Superunknown" (1994)
Opening with a blast of searing guitar, Soundgarden’s Superunknown grabs you by the throat and doesn’t let go for upwards of 70 minutes. It’s a grunge magnum opus (if there is such a thing), incorporating punkish attack and metal virtuosity with a raw power comparable to the likes of Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin. Yet there’s more to the record than just muscle and overdrive; the songs are lushly layered and tastefully arranged, and even amidst the guitar roar, there are touches of strangely Beatles-esque pop (the twisted, noisy crossover “Black Hole Sun”) and lush psychedelia (the bizarre “Half”).