I agree. Of the albums you mentioned Historia podwodna is my favourite, but all three are spectacular. Buy them people! They're dirt cheap!

I think I don't have a chance to buy one of these albums, as good as they may be, unless I make a journey in Poland...

Well, you could order them from one of Polish internet music stores. Works the same way as international orders from Amazon. If you're interested I can give you the address.

Yes Jacek, I agree. Historia podwodna can be my favourite Polish album ever. However I believe it may not be that stunning for non-Polish speaking people as Janerka's lyrics were (and still are) an exceptional, very special thing. Still, highly recommended.

It's sad to spot that these lists which were compiled by the end of the 80's generally "stood the test of the time". What I want to say with it is that I don't think they'd change much today. There are maybe 2-3 albums from the 1990-2005 era that deserve it.

I think it really depends if you you're the kind of person that pays much attention to lyrics. I'm not. Laughing Stock is my favourite album and I don't have a clue what Mark Hollis is singing about, I didn't even bother to read the lyrics sheet. To me it's more important how they are sung than what they mean. But I know for some people words are very important in music and they might find it hard to enjoy albums in languages they don't know.

It depends on the album too. The first Stone Roses record isn't a lyrical masterpiece, but it doesn't matter in this case. The Beatles obviously weren't the best lyricists of their generation too. On the other hand, Enigmatic is more about Niemen's way of singing and interpretations although the lyrics are classic Polish poetry. However Janerka's lyrics are as I said, truly exceptional - playing with words, their meanings, ambiguity, hidden allusions etc. - I think they'd be impossible to translate.

Janerka's lyrics are great, I never questioned this. I just think that unlike some singer-songwriters like Dylan or Mitchell words aren't his main strength and his music can be easily enjoyed by people who don't understand what he's singing about, particularly, if they're not very conterned with lyrical content in the first place.

Of course, I agree with you Jacek. Now let's hope some of our AM Forum friends will decide to give the man a chance :)

Magazyn Muzyczny's lists of best Polish albums offer a rich tapestry of musical heritage and creativity from Poland's diverse music scene. Golden exchange id