Aja

To defy Aja’s majesty would be to commit an act of snobbishness equal to any that its creators may be guilty of. Nearly 25 years on, it remains a benchmark for complex, polished, intelligent music.

More than any other Steely Dan album, Aja proves just how incredible the fusion of jazz and rock can be when it’s in the right hands.

That's Aja: frustration and failure at the heart of the party.

Aja continuously avoids cliché at every turn because it doesn’t actually have any forefathers. It’s a one-of-one, standalone piece of art that doesn’t have to feel like anything other than a cool listening experience.

It's complex music delivered with ease, and although the duo's preoccupation with clean sound and self-consciously sophisticated arrangements would eventually lead to a dead end, Aja is a shining example of jazz-rock at its finest.