Five Albums I’ll Never Stop Listening To

By Rafi Mercer

Music’s a strange thing. We treat it like air — everywhere, constant, disposable — but the right album, heard the right way, can stay with you for life. The trick is not just in what you listen to, but how.

These five albums aren’t chosen for their chart position or for nostalgia alone. They’re here because every time I put them on, they open a door. And if you’re willing to step through — ideally in a venue worthy of at least ★★ on the Tracks & Tales star system — you might just hear them as if for the first time.

1. Miles Davis – Kind of Blue

Every cliché about this record is true, and still it’s never enough. Kind of Blue is as close to pure atmosphere as an album gets. You don’t listen to it; you let it seep in.

The first time I heard this on a three-star system — Klipschorns in a perfectly treated room — I realised how much of its subtlety I’d been missing. The space between the notes, the breath in Coltrane’s sax, the way Jimmy Cobb’s brushes seem to tick just behind your ear.

This isn’t background music for a dinner party. This is a masterclass in restraint, and it rewards you for leaning in.

2. Joni Mitchell – Hejira

Mitchell’s most nomadic, untethered album, Hejira drifts across landscapes — physical and emotional — with Jaco Pastorius’ fretless bass winding through like a river.

It’s a record for travel, but the detail in the arrangements begs for a still room and good speakers. On a ★★ venue system, you hear the texture of Jaco’s slides, the air in Joni’s voice, the gentle shimmer of cymbals that almost vanish on lesser setups.

This is music for people who understand that space in a mix is as important as the notes themselves.

3. Massive Attack – Mezzanine

The dark heart of trip-hop, Mezzanine is all shadow and texture. Every beat feels deliberate, every low frequency precisely where it should be.

Played through a proper system, this album becomes physical. The bass in “Angel” doesn’t just vibrate — it moves the air around you. The layered vocals in “Teardrop” hang like smoke.

I’ve heard this in ★ and ★★★ venues, and while the former can capture its mood, only the latter gives you the full, floor-to-ceiling immersion it deserves.

4. Talk Talk – Spirit of Eden

Mark Hollis’ masterpiece isn’t just an album — it’s a soundscape that refuses to be rushed.

On a decent system, you’ll notice how the silence in this record is as loaded as the sound. Instruments arrive and fade like weather. Harmonics stretch out into the air. It’s the opposite of compression-era listening — every track breathes.

I’ve brought people into venues just to hear this on vinyl. The way it unfolds in a treated space, you realise how radical it was in 1988 — and still is.

5. Kamasi Washington – The Epic

If Kind of Blue is about restraint, The Epic is about glorious, maximalist abundance. Nearly three hours of modern jazz, orchestration, and choir, it’s a record that demands space — both physically and sonically.

On the wrong system, it’s a blur. On the right one, every instrument has its own air, and the scale becomes cinematic.

It’s the kind of album that makes you grateful there are still venues building systems for this level of detail and size.

Why Albums Matter in the Age of Singles

Some will ask why bother with whole albums when you can stream a playlist. Here’s the answer: albums are architecture. Singles are rooms; albums are buildings.

A ★★★ venue understands that. They’ll give you the right environment to walk through the record as it was intended — track by track, mood by mood.

These five are just mine. They’re not meant to be definitive. They’re meant to be a reminder that your listening life is only as rich as the spaces you hear it in. And when you find the right space, guided by the Tracks & Tales stars, you’ll start building your own list.

Rafi Mercer writes about the spaces where music matters. For more stories from the Tracks & Tales, subscribe, or click here to read more.