The start of a brand new, introspective, circumspect and softer approach in UK dance music, Blue Lines’ sample-heavy weaving together of dub, hip hop and soul defined a new post-club aesthetic. Considered the trip hop originator, it actually contains way more vocals — rapped and sung — than most of the genre it spawned. Featuring a distinctly British take on hip hop with rhythm tracks created from pieces of soul, funk and reggae history, repurposed into gentle but powerful musical collages, and decorated with a light dusting of bittersweet synths. In an album full of beautiful moments, Shara Nelson’s career-defining anthem Unfinished Sympathy shines like the brightest star in the clearest of night skies. Loved by a generation of clubbers, its influence spread out across 90s dance and pop music and on into the next century: a genuine classic.