Robert Dimery is a writer, editor and music expert who has worked on Tony Wilson's 24 Hour Party People and Breaking Into Heaven: The Rise and Fall of the Stone Roses, plus countless other popular music publications. He was general editor of 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die and 1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die and has worked for a variety of magazines, including Time Out London and Vogue.

INTRODUCTION
LAURIE ANDERSON (1947)
APHEX TWIN (1971)
SYD BARRETT (1946–2006)
KAT BJELLAND (1963)
BJÖRK (1965)
LILI BOULANGER (1893–1918)
JOHN CAGE (1912–1992)
CAPTAIN BEEFHEART (1941–2010)
NICK CAVE (1957)
MANU CHAO (1961)
ALEX CHILTON (1950–2010)
ALICE COLTRANE (1937–2007)
BETTY DAVIS (1945)
SANDY DENNY (1947–1978)
DELIA DERBYSHIRE (1937–2001)
NICK DRAKE (1948–1974)
BRIAN ENO (1948)
ROKY ERICKSON (1947–2019)
MARIANNE FAITHFULL (1946)
BRIGITTE FONTAINE (1939)
SERGE GAINSBOURG (1928–1991)
BOBBIE GENTRY (1942)
PJ HARVEY (1969)
MARK HOLLIS (1955–2019)
J DILLA (1974–2006)
KOOL KEITH (1963)
FELA KUTI (1938–1997)
ARTHUR LEE (1945–2006)
LYDIA LUNCH (1959)
MOONDOG (1916–1999)
NICO (1938–1988)
YOKO ONO (1933)
PEACHES (1966)
LEE ‘SCRATCH’ PERRY (1936)
ÉDITH PIAF (1915–1963)
IGGY POP (1947)
SIXTO ‘SUGAR MAN’ RODRIGUEZ (1942)
ARTHUR RUSSELL (1951–1992)
RYUICHI SAKAMOTO (1952)
GIL SCOTT-HERON (1949–2011)
THE SLITS (1976–1982; 2005–2010)
MARK E SMITH (1957–2018)
PATTI SMITH (1946)
KARLHEINZ STOCKHAUSEN (1928–2007)
SUN RA (1914–1993)
TOM WAITS (1949)
SCOTT WALKER (1943–2019)
WILEY (1979)
ROBERT WYATT (1945)
FRANK ZAPPA (1940–1993)
KEY WORKS