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1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die is a musical reference book edited by Roger Dimery. Released in 2006, it consists of a list of albums released between 1955 and 2005. The book is arranged chronologically, starting with Frank Sinatra's In the Wee Small Hours and concluding with Get Behind Me Satan by The White Stripes. Each entry in the list is accompanied by a short essay written by a noted music critic. The entries are accompanied by pictures, quotes, and additional information (such as the album's running time and producer).

Although the vast majority of the book's recommendations are rock and/or pop albums, 1001 Albums also features a healthy sample of world music, r&b, rap, blues, hip-hop, country, and jazz. The rock and pop albums included are also quite diverse, featuring a good deal of such subgenres as punk, heavy metal, classic rock, progressive rock, easy listening, and 1950s style rock and roll.

As a rule, the book is limited to albums by individual artists; best-of collections, various-artists collections, and most soundtracks are excluded. There are a few exceptions to this rule, including The Hives' greatest hits compilation Your New Favourite Band, and A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector, a collection of Christmas songs performed by various artists and produced by Phil Spector. As a result, several albums that many music fans would consider "essential" (such as Nuggets and the Anthology of American Folk Music) aren't included. Also, genres and artists that are better heard on best-of collections (such as Chuck Berry and several blues artists) are vastly under-represented. Also, the book excludes all classical and operatic music, even recordings made after 1955, including the works of such modern composers as Phillip Glass and Steve Reich.

• MusicChain - 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die
• A list of all 1001 Albums (Only 998 albums are listed here.)
• Amazon.com's listing of the book.
• 1001 Albums Project