5. Radiohead, In Rainbows (2007)

One of Radiohead’s more recent albums, In Rainbows is a smooth, incredibly melancholy exploration of love, self-loathing and depression (in my opinion). The rich melodies of the album sort of make you swoon, and they can easily bring you to tears for what feels like no discernible reason. Perhaps it is simply Yorke’s vocals – pent up, sad, tender, longing, afraid, and unafraid at the same time – that do the trick and make you feel like depression is a beautiful thing, something special and something tragic. From the album’s Wikipedia page:

Yorke has said that the album’s lyrics are based on “that anonymous fear thing, sitting in traffic, thinking, ‘I’m sure I’m supposed to be doing something else’ … it’s similar to OK Computer in a way. It’s much more terrifying.” In another interview, Yorke said the album was “about the fucking panic of realising you’re going to die! And that any time soon [I could] possibly [have] a heart attack when I next go for a run.”

The song here featured, “Nude,” is one of the most melancholy tracks on 15 Seconds (if you’ll grant me that).