20 albums celebrating 20 years in 2017

Mention 'electronic music' and '1997' in the same sentence and it's likely Daft Punk's debut album 'Homework' will be brought into the conversation. Its erratic riffs changed the game and had such an impact we just had to give it the celebration it deserves for its 20th anniversary in January. But it wasn't just DP doing magical things back then. Fellow Frenchmen Laurent Garnier and Etienne De Crecy were others proving France's class, Moodymann, Carl Craig and Larry Heard were representing the US with sublime house and techno, Roni Size and Reprazent further pushed drum 'n' bass into the mainstream and vocal albums came from Radiohead, Björk and Portishead. There are more, as shown below, so delve in and remind yourself - or get an education - of how fruitful 1997 was.

British group Autechre’s fourth studio album was considered underwhelming by some reviewers, coming after the release of the incredible ‘Tri Repetae’. It was always going to be a hard act to follow, with that album considered one of IDM’s defining releases. But looking back 20 years on, history has been kind to ‘Chiastic Slide’. From opener ‘Cipater’ groaning like a robot, the mechanical arsenal is on full array through to the stuttering closing moments of ‘Nuane’. It sounds like something from the future, but at the same time mirrors the gurgling sounds of dial-up era internet. LAR

This year marks 20 years since one of the biggest electronic music albums ever was released. What other dance album has spawned cultural icons to the level of robotic duo Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo? ‘Discovery’ may be a more popular record due to mega hit ‘One More Time’, but ‘Homework’ laid the foundations. Jumping on a burgeoning French touch sound, Thomas and Guy-Man added their own rock'n’roll flavour to churn out tracks like ‘Da Funk’ and ‘Alive’, as well as showcasing a more futuristic sound in ‘Around The World’. LAR