In Fine Style (studio album) by Horsepower Productions

This is, to my mind, the most important album in the progression of the sound from UK garage/2-step to the genre we came to know as "dubstep". I wouldn't describe it as dubstep per se, but rather proto-dubstep, in the same way The Modern Lovers were proto-punk. The hallmarks are here - it's a bit slower, a lot darker and the sub-bass is pushed to the fore - but the drums (which, for the record, are never less than tremendous, and often transcendent, as on 'What We Do (Remix)' or 'Pimp Flavours') are simply too frequently heard to put this into the same category as the early dubstep that emerged in this album's wake. Either way, what is really impressive about this record is the fact that it works as an album - you can put this on from start to finish and it's a satisfying, cohesive listen, obviously crafted with tender loving care, and entirely suitable for both the dancefloor and the dinner table (it'd have to be a pretty progressive dinner table, mind). Essential.