Gorillaz (2LP)

Gorillaz is the brainchild of Blur frontman Damon Albarn and illustrator Jamie Hewlett, who together created a virtual band in answer to the vacuity they saw on MTV. While the group's dazzling animated videos would certainly stop any television viewer in their tracks, the music on Gorillaz is equally arresting. To be sure, there's a touch of Blur's Brit-pop here, but the 2001 album is equally informed by trip-hop and many other influences - Del the Funky Homosapien raps on "Clint Eastwood" and "Rock the House," Cuban vocalist Ibrahim Ferrer sings on "Latin Simone (¿Que Pasa Contigo?)" and "19-2000" features half of Talking Heads. The album reached number three in the UK and number fourteen in the US and has sold over seven million copies worldwide.