Nothing beats putting on a good album and listening to it in full to truly appreciate the piece of work.
Listening to a full album isn't as common as it once used to be as many people now use streaming services to listen to music, but with vinyl on the way up, we put together a list of some of the best albums that Glasgow has produced, as chosen by our readers.
An honourable mention goes to the likes of Gerry Rafferty and Paolo Nutini who have produced many fine albums but are claimed by Paisley, and not to forget Aztec Camera's wonderful High Land, Hard Rain which was written about East Kilbride. Fellow EK band the Jesus and Mary Chain’s Psychocandy also sits outside the list, compiled for 2025 from reader comments and suggestions over the last 12 months on favourite records.
In the 850th year of the city, here are 40 of the best Glasgow albums.
1. Hats - The Blue Nile
Hats was released in 1989 and was the second studio album released by The Blue Nile. It contains the singles "The Downtown Lights", "Headlights on the Parade" and "Saturday Night". Practically perfect. | The Blue Nile
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2. Screamadelica - Primal Scream
Screamadelica is one of the most recognisable Scottish albums of all time. It propelled the band onto the dancefloor with hits including ‘Movin’ on Up’ and ‘Loaded’. | Contributed
3. Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand
Having sold 3.6 million albums worldwide, the debut album from Franz Ferdinand was a huge hit as the band won the 2004 Mercury Music Prize. It includes big hit "Take Me Out" and "The Dark of the Matinée". | Contributed
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4. Raintown - Deacon Blue
Featuring an image of the West End from Oscar Marzaroli as the album cover, Raintown is very much an album about Glasgow and arguably Deacon Blue’s finest piece of work. The title track was inspired by Ricky Ross’ walks to work at St Columba’s school in Maryhill. | Contributed