A new book titled 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die is the perfect gift for music snobs, as well as a great introduction to classic albums for those with a limited iTunes library.

Composed of reviews by 90 music critics from around the world and compiled by veteran magazine writer and editor Robert Dimery, 1001 Albums features both mainstream and obscure LPs from the past five decades.

Beginning with Frank Sinatra’s In the Wee Small Hours and ending with the White Stripes’ Get Behind Me Satan, the compendium is a bit limited in its scope of content (which tends to be the case with most greatest/ultimate/best lists).

In the introduction by Dimery, the reader is warned about the highly subjective nature of the book. Armed with this knowledge, the text can be perused with detached amusement. Prefacing Dimery’s introduction is a brief history of albums written by Michael Lydon, a founding editor of Rolling Stone. He discusses the transition from EPs to LPs to CDs and how it has affected the album’s length, cover art and feel (the loss of the warm crackle of a record still angers some traditionalists).

Each album listing includes its running time, art director, label, producer and nationality. Some LPs receive a two-page shrine while others are jammed on half a page. Writing a blurb on Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band or Lady Soul is no mean feat, yet the contributing writers from Time Out, Rolling Stone and MTV somehow produce 960 pages of enjoyable and informative reviews.

The inclusion of Britney Spears and her teen-pop spawn (Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera, etc.) may deserve a skeptical eyebrow raise, but overall the list is well-rounded with credible albums of many genres of music (including world, disco, punk, dance and experimental). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die retails at $34.95, but can be found on amazon.com for $23.07.

– Alex Brown