Kate Bush, The Dreaming (1982)

Label: EMI

The fourth album by the British singer was the first that she produced entirely on her own-released in when she was a twenty-something girl, she has called it her "I've gone mad album," by turns dark, playful, and abstractly poetic. With songs as diverse and daring as "Sat In Your Lap," "Pull Out The Pin" and "Houdini," it's no surprise that The Dreaming has gone on to influence independent-minded female musicians like Bjork.