Aphex Twin 'Selected Ambient Works 85-92'

'Selected Ambient Works 85-92' (originally released on R&S records in 1993) was the album that crossed over from the techno world into the more indie homes. Stories and mysteries surround this gorgeous, ethereal album: that it includes tracks from 1985 (when Aphex Twin, aka Richard D James, was all of fourteen), that it was largely made with instruments built by James himself, that its success emboldened James to purchase a panzer tank.

The music matters more than any of that, because with 'Selected Ambient Works 85-92', Aphex Twin expanded way beyond the ambient music of Brian Eno by fusing lush soundscapes with oceanic beats and bass lines. This album is both the birthplace and benchmark of modern electronic music.