The Velvet Underground & Nico

The Velvet Underground & Nico, featuring Lou Reed, John Cale, Sterling Morrison, Moe Tucker, and German singer Nico, was an influential 1967 debut album that, despite initial commercial failure, became a landmark in rock by confronting dark themes like drugs and prostitution with avant-garde, art-rock soundscapes, profoundly shaping alternative music despite being overlooked by critics at the time, but later recognized as revolutionary and essential.