The Velvet Underground & Nico

Released in March 1967 on Verve and co-produced by Andy Warhol, who also designed its iconic banana sleeve, this debut paired the Velvet Underground with German singer Nico as part of Warhol's Exploding Plastic Inevitable multimedia shows. Commercially it flopped, banned by some record stores and radio stations for its subject matter, but its influence on punk, alternative and art rock over the following decades has been so vast that it's now considered one of the most important debut albums ever made.

The Velvet Underground were a New York band led by Lou Reed and John Cale, championed early on by Andy Warhol, who paired them with the German singer and model Nico for this debut. Though largely ignored commercially during their lifetime, they're now regarded as one of the most influential bands in rock history, having effectively laid the groundwork for punk, art rock, noise and alternative music for decades to come.