The 100 Best Debut Albums of All Time: 'Outlandos dAmour'

The 100 Best Debut Albums of All Time

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'Outlandos d’Amour'

Courtesy of A&M Records

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The Police
A&M, 1978

They would get bigger, but they never sounded fresher. From Sting's smoothly syncopated bass to Andy Summer's prog-rock guitar and Stewart Copeland's precision drumming, the Police were post-punks who could play their instruments, absorbing reggae and jazz into the spare, bouncy sound of their debut album, a record that didn't sound quite like anything before it. The risque "Roxanne," "Next to You" and "So Lonely" proved that Sting was already a top-notch pop songwriter and these songs are in the DNA of everyone from No Doubt to U2.