Steely Dan - Aja (1977)

If I were asked to pick only one Steely Dan album for a desert island retreat, this is the disc I'd drop into my backpack, or more likely, digitise and dump onto my iPod. A stunningly sophisticated combination of pop, jazz and beat poetry, 'Aja' is the kind of album artists would make if they cared a little more about craft and lot less about commerce.

Donald Fagen and Walter Becker have been making such great music over the decades mainly because they don't give a damn what bottom line-obsessed record company executives or consumers who're nothing more than zombified trend-slaves think. This is some of the smartest pop you're ever likely to hear, and if it seems a bit too complex and heady, that's probably because you've not given yourself a chance to evolve (too much Mariah, Britney, Jennifer eh?) as a listener.