1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die is a musical reference book edited by Robert Dimery, first published in 2005. The most recent edition consists of a list of albums released between 1955 and 2013, part of a series from Quintessence Editions Ltd. The book is arranged chronologically, starting with Frank Sinatra's In the Wee Small Hours[1] and the most recent edition concluding with The Next Day by David Bowie.
Each entry in the list is accompanied by a short essay written by a music critic. The entries are accompanied by pictures, quotes, and additional information (such as the album's running time and producer). Film soundtracks were excluded unless they consisted fully of original material by a particular artist, which meant that compilations by various artists were also excluded.

1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die is a highly readable list of the best, the most important, and the most influential pop albums from 1955 through 2003. Carefully selected by a team of international critics, each album is a groundbreaking work seminal to the understanding and appreciation of music from the 1950s to the present. Included with each entry are production details and credits as well as reproductions of original album cover art. Perhaps most important of all, each album featured comes with an authoritative description of its importance and influence. Among the critics involved in selecting the list are some of the best known music reviewers and commentators, including Theunis Bates (music writer for Time and urban editor at worldpop.com), Jon Harrington (staff writer at MTV), Seth Jacobson (writer for Dazed & Confused), as well as many others.