Artist
Massive Attack
Massive Attack appears 7 times in our Trip-Hop, The Waxonia Desk — A Way In, The Waxonia Desk — Sounds Like a Single, and The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred lists, placing as high as No. 1. Hand-curated, with a reason for every pick.
- Ranked entries
- 7
- Appears on
- Trip-Hop, The Waxonia Desk — A Way In, The Waxonia Desk — Sounds Like a Single, and The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred
- Years
- 1991–1998
- Highest placing
- No. 1 in Trip-Hop
- Updated
- 2026-08-29
Appears on
Unfinished Sympathy
1991 · Wild Bunch / Circa
Ranked No. 1 in Trip-Hop
A full string section over a hip-hop break and Shara Nelson singing for her life. Routinely named one of the best singles ever made, and the claim is not obviously wrong.
Also on The Waxonia Desk — A Way In, The Waxonia Desk — Sounds Like a Single, The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred
Teardrop
1998 · Virgin
Ranked No. 9 in Trip-Hop
A harpsichord, a heartbeat and Elizabeth Fraser singing about grief. The group's third and most fragile masterpiece, and the one that proved the formula was a language rather than a trick.
Also on The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred
Unfinished Sympathy
1991 · Wild Bunch / Circa
Picked by The Waxonia Desk — A Way In
Strings, a slow breakbeat and a vocal that refuses to resolve. It sounds like a pop single until you notice nothing in it behaves the way a pop single does.
Also on Trip-Hop, The Waxonia Desk — Sounds Like a Single, The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred
Unfinished Sympathy
1991 · Wild Bunch / Circa
Picked by The Waxonia Desk — Sounds Like a Single
Strings, a slow breakbeat, and a vocal that refuses to resolve. It sounds like a pop single until you notice that nothing in it behaves the way a pop single is supposed to.
Also on Trip-Hop, The Waxonia Desk — A Way In, The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred
Unfinished Sympathy
1991 · Wild Bunch / Circa
Picked by The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred
A full string section over a hip-hop break, in 1991, made by people from Bristol with no permission to attempt it. Still sounds like it cost a fortune and meant it.
Also on Trip-Hop, The Waxonia Desk — A Way In, The Waxonia Desk — Sounds Like a Single
Teardrop
1998 · Virgin
Picked by The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred
A harpsichord, a heartbeat and Elizabeth Fraser singing about grief. Proof the Bristol formula was a language rather than a trick.
Also on Trip-Hop