Wish You Were Here
(55/100 Greatest Albums Ever)

Though it never sold in the same colossal proportions as Dark Side Of The Moon, Floyd’s follow-up was a warmer and more directly emotional collection. Spookily, ex-bandmate and acid casualty Syd Barrett turned up at the studio mid-recording, obese, shaven-headed and catatonic.
His ghostly presence haunts every note of the two tunes directly penned about him, ‘Shine On You Crazy Diamond’ and the maudlin yet ultra-moving ‘Wish You Were Here’. The latter is now frequently played at premature funerals.