Key Takeaways
- On the Records collects essays from 80 musicians about overlooked albums that shaped their lives and creative work.
- Dolly Parton, Billie Eilish, Erykah Badu, Chris Stapleton, and Black Thought join a cross-generational lineup spotlighting rare, self-released, and out-of-print records.
- Clarkson Potter will publish the Brian Beck and Piotr Orlov book on November 17, 2026.
Billie Eilish, Erykah Badu, Dolly Parton, and Earl Sweatshirt are among 80 musicians handing readers a listening assignment, and none of it comes from an algorithm.
On the Records: 80 Musicians on Beloved and Overlooked Albums is a book by Brian Beck and Piotr Orlov that gathers essays in which each contributor singles out one record that moved them privately and shaped their own work.
"The topic of all those conversations was the same: a single album that's been important in the artist's life, whether personally or professionally, plus the stories and circumstances around their relationship with that album," Orlov said of the book’s foundations in a Substack post. "One caveat: the album they chose could not be part the popular music canon. Hence 'overlooked.'"
The book opens the door to records long out of print, self-released titles, and hard-to-find sessions, plus the stray chapters in famous careers that never got their due.
Parton's entry traces the music that shaped her earliest memories through her mother's voice. Chris Stapleton writes about the album that changed how he heard and approached music, and Black Thought digs into a rare recording he discovered and still draws from.
The contributor list crosses genres and generations without much regard for lanes: Brian Eno, Angélique Kidjo, Sonny Rollins, Meshell Ndegeocello, Jeff Parker and Four Tet sit alongside Eilish and her brother Finneas, who each submitted a pick of their own.
Orlov called the roster "musically broad and staggeringly impressive" and described the book as one of the things he had been working on in the background for the past two years.
Published by Clarkson Potter, On the Records: 80 Musicians on Beloved and Overlooked Albums goes on sale November 17. More info here.
